r mental abstraction, to rise
to such heights as he desired of devotion and comprehension of all the
holy influences around him, to seize every opportunity of
contemplation and lose nothing; being soon thoroughly exhausted with
his bodily exertions. Some alleviation there was: when holy
women--nuns of his own Order, who had a house in Jerusalem--washed his
scapular and tunic for him, and wrought other works of charity for
which he was very grateful.

The pilgrims had been warned not to wander away from their party. One
day as they went to the Dead Sea, they halted at a monastery; and
Fabri was tempted to ramble off alone to inspect a cliff which had
been hollowed out by hermits into innumerable caves. It was a
precipitous place; and at one point, where the path was narrow and the
cliff fell sheer below, he encountered an Eastern Christian. Seeing
that Fabri was afraid, the fellow began to trifle with him and
demanded money; and in the end Fabri was obliged to open his slender
purse. 'Ever since then', he says, 'I have abhorred the company of
Christians of that sort more than that of Saracens and Arabs, and have
trusted them less. Though perhaps he would not have thrown me down
the precipice, even had I given him nothing, yet it was wicked of him
to play with me in a place of such danger. If an Arab had done so, I
should have been pleased at his play, and should have held him to be a
good pagan; but I believe no good of that Christian.' When he rejoined
his party, the patron told him that the Eastern Christians were least
to be trusted of any men.

On arrival at Jordan there was much excitement. To bathe in that
ancient river was thought to renew youth, and so all the pilgrims were
eager to immerse themselves; even women of 80--a rather doubtful
figure--plunging into the lukewarm stream. Some had brought bells to
be blessed with Jordan water, others strips of material for clothes;
and wealthier members of the party jumped in as they were, in order
that the robes they had on might bring them luck in the future. Three
things were forbidden to the pilgrims: (1) to swim across the stream,
because in the excitement of emotion and amongst such crowds
individuals had often been drowned; (2) to dive in, because the bottom
was muddy; (3) to carry away phials of Jordan water. The first
regulation was openly violated. On his first journey Fabri had swum
across, but on the return had been seized with panic and nearly
drowned. So