' All the
drinking-vessels, too, of this wonderful palace, which is always spoken
of as 'the house of the forest of Lebanon,' were of pure gold, and its
magnificence shows how highly the beautiful cedar-wood was valued."
[24] I Kings vii. 2.
[25] I Kings x. 17.
CHAPTER XXII.
_THE PALMS_.
"There is a wonderful evergreen," said Miss Harson, "which grows in
tropical countries, and also in some sub-tropical countries, such as the
Holy Land, and is said to have nearly as many uses as there are days in
a year. You must tell me what it is when you have seen the picture."
[Illustration: PALM TREE.]
Malcolm and Clara both pronounced it a palm tree, and Clara asked if
there were any such trees growing in this country.
"Some of its relations are found on our Southern seacoast," replied
their governess; "South Carolina, you know, is called 'the Palmetto
State.' There is a member of the family called the cabbage-palmetto,
the unexpanded leaves of which are used as a table vegetable, which you
may see in Florida. Its young leaves are all in a mass at the top, and
when boiled make a dish something like cabbage. The leaves of the
palmetto are also used, when perfect, in the manufacture of hats,
baskets and mats, and for many other purposes. But its stately and
majestic cousin, the date-palm of the East, with its tall, slender stalk
and magnificent crown of feathery leaves, has had its praises sung in
every age and clime. 'Besides its great importance as a fruit-producer,
it has a special beauty of its own when the clusters of dates are
hanging in golden ripeness under its coronal of dark-green leaves.
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