"Yes, dear," replied her governess, "it _was_ dreadful; but it is still
more dreadful that Absalom was such a wicked man. In Isaiah[4] we read
of the oaks of Bashan, that, like the cedars of Lebanon, were 'high and
lifted up,' and the oaks of Bashan are mentioned again in Zechariah[5].
Several varieties of the oak are found in Palestine.

[4] Isa. ii. 13.

[5] Zech. xi. 2.

[Illustration: ABRAHAM'S OAK, NEAR HEBRON.]

"In his _Ride Through Palestine_, Dr. Dulles tells of a great oak near
Hebron known as 'Abraham's oak,' supposed to occupy the ground where the
patriarch pitched his tent under the oaks of Mamre. It is an aged tree,
and a grand one. Here is a picture of it, from the _Ride_[6]. The crests
and sides of the hills beyond the Jordan are still clothed, as in
ancient times, with magnificent oaks.

[6] See page 85

"We get a good idea of the strength and durability of this wood from the
fact that there is an old wooden church near Ongar, in Essex, the nave
of which is composed of half logs of oak roughly fastened by wooden
pegs. The ancient fabric dates back to the time of King Edmund, who was
slain by the robber Leolf in the year A.D. 946. The oaken church was
hurriedly put together--according to report--in order to make a
temporary receptacle for the body of the murdered prince on its way to
burial. Be that as it may, it was afterward used as a parish church,