204 
A CRUSADE IN THE EAST. 
and Oriental names. Some of the remarks were curious 
enough. One gentleman, who probably imagined the cedars 
to be yellow or pink, with crimson tops, like those in the pan¬ 
oramas, says he visited the Cedars of Lebanon, and was 
greatly disappointed. Another traveler states that he could 
see much larger und finer trees at home without trouble or 
expense. What any body expects to see except the Cedars 
of Lebanon, I am at a loss to conceive. One does not travel 
three days over bad roads to witness a raree-show, or see sim¬ 
ply a few cedar-trees because they are cedars ; but, if I under¬ 
stand it, the object is to see the Cedars of Lebanon mentioned 
in the Scriptures ; and there they are without doubt. They 
can be seen by any body who has eyes to see. It is true 
they are only cedars, but they are very wonderful, as well 
from their great antiquity as from the Scriptural interest 
attached to them. 
Messrs. Lansing and Burnett, American missionaries at 
Damascus, visited this region last summer, and carefully 
counted the cedars, both old and young. They also made 
some measurements of a very interesting character. The 
entire grove, according to their estimate, consists of four hun¬ 
dred trees; the average circumference of the original twelve 
is about twenty-five feet, and one was found to measure up¬ 
ward of thirty. The trunks of the more ancient cedars do 
not rise to any great height before they branch out into enor¬ 
mous limbs, commencing ten or fifteen feet from the ground, 
some perhaps twenty feet. The branches are very crooked 
and tortuous, partly decayed, as before stated, and gnarled 
with the frosts and tempests of ages. It is said that no other 
specimens of the kind are found in any part of the world, ex¬ 
cept such as have been transplanted from this grove ; but 
Messrs. Lansing and Burnett ascertained to their entire satis¬ 
faction that other cedars of the same species do exist in the 
mountains of Syria. The wood is white, and has a pleasant 
perfume; and to this odor reference is made in the Scriptures. 
It is not stronger, however, than the scent of the ordinary red 
cedar, perhaps less apparent. 
From the front of the chapel there is a very fine view of 
