, that had been more than comfortable in the early
morning along the lake, and pushed doggedly on. To our left, higher even
than the hill we climbed, was holy Safed, to which it is thought our
Lord may have pointed when he spoke of a city set upon a hill, that
cannot be hid; and straight before us, the object of our hopes and
efforts, was snow-clad Hermon, as beautiful, we thought, as an Alp. We
crossed the mountain at last, and, as our horses waded through a deep
brook on the other side, the Kurd bent slightly in his saddle, and,
reaching down, brought up great handfuls of water to stay his thirst,
without stopping for an instant. There was a sly twinkle of pleasure in
his eye when the muleteer told him we had admired his skill.

Late in the afternoon we came to the marshy lakes, "the waters of
Merom," where Joshua smote the kings of the north, who made a final
stand here with their united armies, "like the sands of the sea in
number." We should have been glad to find one of their royal palaces in
tolerable repair, for we were tired and wanted to stop for the night,
but there were no ruined regal mansions in sight, not even a mud hut
such as had given us shelter and hunting at Jenin. The sun had gone
down, and our horses shivered in the night air. The prospect was gloomy,
and grew no brighter as we went on. At last we saw some long black tents
across the plain sheltered by the hills; and, while we were wondering
what the chances might be of escaping robbery by the Bedawin at this
late hour of the night, the Kurd turned his horse out of the bridle-path
and headed for the largest tent. The probabilities seemed now about
equal that the Kurd was in league with these wild, wandering tribes, and
that they would pluck us, and torture us, and bury us without the aid of
undertaker or parson, or, on the other hand, that they might welcome us
to the few comforts within their command. The sheik was standing, with a
half-dozen of his leading men, at the door of his tent, and, as we
dismounted, he came forward with much grace and dignity and embraced my
friend, kissing him on each cheek. He only waved his hand to me, as a
younger and less important personage, and led us into his tent. Cushions
were thrown down for us on the bare earth, and we were told to be
seated. A little fire was burning just in front of the tent, and around
that the privileged persons of the tribe squatted, only the chief and
some of his great warriors being und