by no means sorry to have an addition to our party of four dependable Arabs, whose head Sheikh in Cairo was "to be held responsible for our safety." The messengers were accompanied by a small party of "the hawks" of Petra, who said we must now retrace our steps back to Akabah, as "the infidel dogs" had been defeated. We replied that we were now in the territory of the Sultan, and were in daily expectation of an escort of soldiers from Jerusalem. We added, also, for their information, that although it was an Englishman whose army had been defeated by the Mahdi, the army itself was composed of poor cowardly Egyptians who had run away and left their officers to be killed, and that if the Egyptians did not know how to defend their country, an English army would be sent to put matters straight. This view of the subject appeared to have a wholesome effect, as "the Fetra hawks" went off to the village of the Ghawarnehs for the night. We ordered a sheep to be prepared for the entertainment of the Arabs from Cairo, who took up a station behind our camp.
Christmas Day in the Wilderness amongst a people who love not the Saviour's name, and are governed by laws little in harmony with those He came to proclaim! Still, even amongst these strange scenes, we can lift up our hearts and say, "Glory to God in the highest; on earth, peace; good will towards men." It was not to be our lot to celebrate this Christian anniversary at the birthplace of the Messiah; but, for myself, I had rather spend the day here in the Wilderness, than be a witness to the grotesque and childish ceremonies which are annually enacted by the Greek and Latin Churches in Bethlehem, and which have brought discredit on the Christian name.
I had passed a night in which sleep was banished or disturbed by gloomy thoughts. The cries of the jackals and the barking of dogs repeated at intervals caused a cold chill to permeate my frame. The lines I had learnt somewhere when a youth would recur in spite of myself, "Nec spes erat salutis, nee redeundi domum." What if they should be prophetic! But the bright sunshine of the morn succeeded the deluge of rain and hail of the previous day, and helped to dispel these gloomy forebodings. The river which drains the Wâdy el Hessi had risen, and the distant roar of the torrent was audible from our camp. A thought occurred to me which rendered me uneasy for a time:—might not the River Jeib, swollen by the same rains, render our camp inaccessible from the opposite side of The Ghôr, and thus cut off our succours should they be on their way to us from
