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THE SANDAL TREE. 
SANTALUM. 
-“ Groves of myrrh, 
And flowering odours, cassia, nard, and balm : 
A wilderness of sweets ; for Nature here 
Wanton’d as in her prime, and play’d at will, 
Her virgin fancies pouring forth more sweet, 
Wild above rule or art; enormous bliss! ” 
This exquisitely glowing picture of the bowers of 
Paradise seems, as regards the vegetable productions 
of the East, even at the present day, scarcely over¬ 
charged. The very prose descriptions of modern tra¬ 
vellers assume much of the character of poetry from 
the varied and fervid terms they are constrained to 
use in order to convey even a faint idea of the fragrance 
and beauty of the oriental forests and groves — 
“ Groves, whose rich trees weep odorous gums and balm." 
Palms of various species, guavas, plantains, bananas, 
tamarinds, mangos, sandal trees, and a long train of 
etcaeteras, are seen adorning both their woods and 
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