LEBANON stands in some respects alone and unrivalled among the mountains of the world. A most impressive signal of approach to the Holy Land is the first glimpse， off the shores of Cy"prus， of the ancient mountain rising from the eastern waters， its peaks wreathed with everlasting snows， and flushed with shifting hues of rose and purple in the clear evening sky. High up in its a？rial solitude， pure and lustrous like a cloud steeped in sunshine， it stands for us as the emblem of that old①oriental world which lies in its shadow； -Damascus，②buriedin its depths of ever-blooming verdure； Antioch，where theOron"tes runs sparkling through its laurel groves to the sea； Baalbec，③ with its gray colossal relics-the Stonehenge of the desert； Tyre， discrowned and desolate， by the waters； and away in the south， the hills of Galilee with Jerusalem beyond， and the red peaks of the great and terrible wilderness which closes in this land of wonder.
From the time when the Jewish leader④ sighed to see"the good land beyond Jordan， that goodly mountain， even Lebanon，" through those later days when Hebrew seers and poets looked up to its vineyards and forests， its purple slopes and its burnished silver diadem， and drew from them eternal types of truth and beauty， what a boundless wealth of sacred tradition and imagery has been treasured up in the venerable name of Lebanon！
This name， which is now confined to the eastern mountain chain， "Lib"anus" properly so called， is used in a wider sense by the inspired writers， and includes the great parallel range of "Anti-Libanus，" which in Hermon， its loftiest summit， attains a height of ten thousand feet. This mountain， towering in itsmagnificent elevation over the plain， is "the tower of Lebanonwhich looketh toward Damascus."To the Jewish people， so proud of their national Temple and its associations with the golden age of their history， Lebanon， on this account alone， would be reverently endeared. From its quarries were hewn the massive blocks of stone which rose onBEIROUT AND MOUNTAINS OF LEBANONMori"ah without sound of axe or hammer； and many a giant tree had been felled by the Tyrian woodman in its forests to yield the precious wood so largely employed in the building. In the luxurious days of the later kings the mansions of the noble and the wealthy in Jerusalem were embellished with this costly wood-"ceiled with cedar， and painted with vermilion."The height of this tree made it a symbol of pride； itsstateliness and far-spreading branches， of extended empire： "The Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches， and with a shadowing shroud， and of an high stature； no tree in the garden of God was like unto him for beauty." With a deeper meaning， as an emblem of the spiritual progress of the believer， the psalmist says： "The righteous shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon."The mountain region of Lebanon is a world in itself， peopled by ancient races， whose religious feuds have often carried devastation through its fairest valleys. The northern part of the range is occupied mainly by a Christian population， the Ma"ronites；⑤ the southern by the Drūs"es，⑥ a brave， high- spirited people， whose religion is a mystery， and seems to be a kind of Moham"medanism， tinctured with the wild fanaticism of the East.
Situated on a lovely bay at the base of Lebanon is Bei"rout， sug gesting to us what Tyre may have been like， in the days of its glory. The coast is dotted with villages， and the number of them scattered about the mountain is amazing. On approaching it from the sea， one is struck by the groups of white dwellings that gleam among the vineyards on its lower slopes， and higher up speckle the dark pine-groves，- multitudes of little hamlets clinging to its sides， or hanging like swallows" nests from its rocky eaves. Everywhere， as one makes his way through the storm-gashed ravines of the mountain， where cataracts leap and torrents twist and foam， each sudden turn of the road brings into view new villages， dropped about here and there in green retreats， and slumbering in their orchards and mulberry groves like nooks of Paradise shut out from the world.
