12. In less than twenty-four hours we reached the town at the south end
of the canal. A boat came out from the shore, and this letter is going
back with it.--Love to you all. FATHER.

* * * * *

8. AMONGST THE ARABS.--I.


1. MY DEAR CHILDREN,--I am now sailing along the Red Sea. The weather is
very hot. All over the ship electric fans are hard at work. In spite of
them I cannot keep cool.

2. Away on the left, or port, side of the ship I see high hills. They
are red in colour, and seem to be baked by the hot sun. Even through my
spy-glass I cannot see a speck of green on them. All is red and bare.

3. Beyond the hills lies the land of Arabia. It is a hot, dry land, in
which years sometimes pass without a shower of rain. There is hardly
ever a cloud in the sky, and there is no dew at night.

4. Much of the land is covered with sand. Little or nothing will grow.
You know that we call a sandy waste of this kind a _desert_.

[Illustration: {Desert oasis}]

5. Here and there in the desert a few springs are found. The water of
these springs causes grass and trees to grow well. Around each spring is
what looks like an island of green in the midst of a red sea of sand. A