nnected this sea with the Red Sea in his day."

"Which way are Jerusalem from here, Sedgwick?" he asked.

Sedgwick pointed in the direction.

"And Tyre and Venice and Egypt and ther Hellespont?" Jordan asked.

Sedgwick explained.

"The country 'round this sea made ther world once, didn't it?" was
Jordan's next exclamation.

"Very nearly," answered Sedgwick. "The cradle of civilization was rocked
more on these shores than anywhere else. Egypt and Greece and Carthage
and Phoenicia and Syria and Rome, and a score of other nations, grew
into form on the shores of this sea. The arts had birth here; arts,
architecture, ship-building, sculpture, poetry, eloquence, law and
learning, all began on these shores; and Roman soldiers crucified the
Savior a little beyond where the waves of this sea break against its
eastern shore."

"Thet's good," said Jordan. "Big region this!"

And so the great-hearted man kept talking to try to lure Sedgwick's mind
away from the thoughts that possessed him, and which made his heart heavy
and his face grave.

The ship touched at several ports, and the changing of passengers, the
different races, the varying scenes, kept the minds of both men diverted
and their interest all the time awakened, and kept Jordan talking more
than he had talked before for weeks.

"I'm glad I cum, Jim," he kept saying. "Why, we fellers out in Texas as
never traveled don't know nuthin', so ter speak; nuthin' 'bout the world
outside, I mean. We useter think Texas wur almighty big. Tain't nuthin'."

Then after a pause he spoke again, and his next question was: "What did
yo' call them ships thet ther old fellers sailed?"

"They had many names. There were Galleys, Biremes, Triremes.
Quadquirimes, Quinquirimes and so on, according to the number of their
oars and the way they worked them," answered Sedgwick.

"This are a daisy ship thet we is on, don't you reckon?" said Jordan.
"Suppose yo' and I cud uv cum along heah with this ship when they hed
ther fightin' fleets out? Wouldn't we hev astonished them old-timers?"

"I think we would, indeed," said Sedgwick, "but, Tom, with the ships that
they had, they did some fighting that gave the world such a thrill that
men feel it still when the name of Actium or Salamis is mentioned. As
long before the coming of the Savior as it has been since, the
Phoenicians were scouring this sea with their craft, founding colonies,
and it is said they ventured out upon the Atlantic an