understand the Christian religion," he said, being himself a Latin
or Roman Catholic.

At the tail of the line we encountered two Bedouins, who were in
charge of the caravan, and Joseph at once addressed them. The men
were mounted, one on a very sorry-looking jade, but the other on a
good stout Arab barb. They had guns slung behind their backs,
coloured handkerchiefs on their heads, and they wore the striped
bernouse. The parley went on for about ten minutes, during which
the procession of pilgrims wound out of sight; and it ended in our
being accompanied by the two Arabs, who thus left their greater
charge to take care of itself back to the city. I understood
afterwards that they had endeavoured to persuade Joseph that we
might just as well go on alone, merely satisfying the demand of the
tariff. But he had pointed out that I was a particular man, and
that under such circumstances the final settlement might be
doubtful. So they turned and accompanied us; but, as a matter of
fact, we should have been as well without them.

The sun was beginning to fall in the heavens when we reached the
actual margin of the Dead Sea. We had seen the glitter of its still
waters for a long time previously, shining under the sun as though
it were not real. We have often heard, and some of us have seen,
how effects of light and shade together will produce so vivid an
appearance of water where there is no water, as to deceive the most
experienced. But the reverse was the case here. There was the
lake, and there it had been before our eyes for the last two hours;
and yet it looked, then and now, as though it were an image of a
lake, and not real water. I had long since made up my mind to bathe
in it, feeling well convinced that I could do so without harm to