Page 95 - Travels in Arabia (Vol 2)_Neat

76 SHEKM TO SINAI. [CH.

As soon as the moon rose, we again pro­
ceeded on our journey until eleven, when we
halted for the night in a cave by the side of a
considerable rivulet, and near the foot of a
steep mountain. Here we found some drift­
wood, and, from the intense cold during the
night, a large tire became very necessary. In

the interior of this cavern, amidst Nature’s
wildest scenery, and rendered doubly inte­
resting by our near approach to a spot so
interesting from Scriptural and historical re­
collections, we passed the night. The flames,
ascending flickering and tortuous to the roof,
illumined with their deep red flashes the walls
of our retreat, as well as the forms and coun­
tenances of my sailor companions. Bursts of
the wildest laughter, songs, and jests, arose

at intervals from everyone present except the
placid Bedowins, who squatted on the ground,
maintaining the most unmoved gravity, with
their matchlocks between their knees. Indeed
the whole scene was quite to a wanderer's
taste, probably not the less so from the con­
sciousness that we were travelling with ease
and security through a region which but a few

years ago was considered to be both difficult
and dangerous.