Page:Mount Seir, Sinai and Western Palestine.djvu/53

Rh behind, wielding the implements of his art with a master hand, and with a result which we were soon after fully to appreciate. In half-an-hour we were seated around the table of the dining tent, in which was served up a most excellent dinner, commencing with soup and passing through various stages to the final custard pudding. This was not a bad beginning for our desert life; and it occurred to us that "roughing it in the desert" was not such a terrible fate after all!

Our tents were spacious and prettily decorated inside with Eastern patterns. Each tent had its two little beds, a table with basin and water-jug, and two camp stools, while the floor was covered with carpets. Hooks fastened to the centre pole enabled us to hang clothes and other articles in a safe and convenient place. The baggage was piled in the centre of the camp. Near our tents were the camping places of the Arabs, who had broken up into groups round their little fires, the camels lying or standing around, and often giving vent to their feelings in deep groans. The men were preparing supper—some roasting or grinding coffee, others corn between two flat stones; others, again, were chatting over their pipes. The scene to us was novel and interesting; but only to be repeated day after day under varying conditions of time and place until both the novelty and interest had ceased.

Sunday, 11th November.—When we awoke this morning our camp presented a lively scene. The Arabs were busy at their coffee roasting, Abu Miriam at preparations for breakfast, which was being got ready in the dining tent. The sun was shining in a cloudless sky; all was bright and cheerful. The cocks, hens, and turkeys had been turned loose, and kept up such a cackling and crowing that one might have imagined oneself in a country farm house at home. We rested this day in our tents—a plan we always adopted unless under special cases of urgency—and we had a short service at 10.30, at which all the members of our party were present. It is no small advantage in the use of the Church of England Service that it forms a link of union and of prayerful sympathy with so many Christians at home and abroad. This, I think, we felt as we read the Lessons for the day, and offered in faith and hope our prayers in words which, though familiar to our ears, are ever fresh and appropriate. The remainder of the day was spent in short rambles and preporations for an early start into the desert next morning.

Monday, 12th November.—At length we are in the Desert and "on the track of the Israelites," as nearly all travellers agree that the first camp