ive in the mud hovels you see, raise fine vegetables here;
and, like all Arabs, they will expect a bakshish."

The springs were found to consist of several pools of rather muddy
water. The largest of them, shut in by an old wall, is said to be the
one called forth by the rod of Moses from the rock; but the tradition
is accommodating, and, if you choose, it is the one whose bitter waters
were sweetened by the casting in of the tree.

The party had brought a luncheon with them, and it was served by Sparks
at the usual hour. They had a delightful time under the trees, and
listened to an explanation by the professor of the natural formation of
the springs. In the middle of the afternoon they embarked, and returned
to the ship in the canal basin.

CHAPTER XXVI

THE VARIOUS ROUTES TO MOUNT SINAI

The next day was Sunday; and, in accordance with the custom from the
beginning of the voyage, no unnecessary work was required to be done by
any person, and the business of sight-seeing was discontinued. But all
were at liberty to observe the day in their own way. Religious services
were conducted by the commander on the deck or in the cabin, which were
usually attended by all. Most of them went to church on shore when it
was convenient; but going to see the edifice or the pictures they did
not regard as a devotional exercise.

It was a warm and pleasant day for the seventeenth of January, in
latitude 30 deg., about the same as New Orleans or the northern part of
Florida; and the service was held in Conference Hall, as the carpeted
section of the promenade deck had come to be called. The captain began
the exercises by reading selections from Exodus xv.:--

"Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and
spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed
gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The
Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my
God, and I will prepare him a habitation; my father's God, and I will
exalt him.... Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea:
his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea. The depths have
covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone."

Several "Gospel Hymns" were sung, and the sermon read by the commander
was as nearly fitted to the surroundings as any he could find in his
collection. After the service Mrs. Blossom struck up "Turn back
Pharaoh's Army, Hallelu!" in