CEDAR OF LEBANON. 173 



and celebrates a festival, called the feast of 

 cedars. 



Considering whatever relates to a spot so 

 celebrated in holy writ, must be interesting 

 to most readers, we shall extract observations 

 from the works of those travellers who have 

 visited the mountains, that afforded trees so 

 valuable that Solomon gave cities to Hiram 

 in exchange for them. Ranwolff, who visited 

 Lebanon, in the year 1575, saw only twenty- 

 four trees and two old decayed ones. " We 

 found ourselves," says he, " upon the 

 highest point of the mountain, and saw 

 nothing higher, but only a small hill before 

 us, all covered over with snow; at the 

 bottom whereof the high cedar trees were 

 standing ; and though this hill hath in former 

 ages been quite covered over with cedars, 

 yet, they are since so decreased, that I could 

 tell no more than twenty-four that stood 

 round about in a circle ; and two others, the 

 branches whereof are quite decayed by age. 

 I also went about in this place to look out 

 for some young ones, but could find none at 

 all." Maundrell, who journeyed there on the 

 9th of May, 1696, could only reckon 16 large 

 trees, but he found several small ones. This 

 author says, " Having gone for three hours 

 across the plain of Tripoli, I arrived at the 



