which those who knew this Jubilee Singers'
melody joined. The conversation that followed naturally turned in the
direction of the Peninsula of Sinai, which they could see from the deck.

"Are we going to Mount Sinai, Captain Ringgold?" asked Mrs. Belgrave, in
a rather decided tone for her, as though she intended to have the
question settled this time.

A great deal had been said by the ladies from Von Blonk Park in relation
to this proposed excursion; but for some reason of his own the commander
had not yet given a definite answer. They all attended the same church
at home, and the captain and the two ladies were members of it. While
the others of the party were deeply interested in the Biblical history,
they were not so enthusiastic as the two ladies mentioned.

"Are we going to Mount Sinai?" replied the commander, repeating the
question of the owner's mother, "No!"

It was a decided "no" this time, and the jaws of the two Von Blonk
Parkites suddenly dropped. Everybody in the company knew that the
commander would do anything, even to swimming across the gulf where the
children of Israel had walked over, to oblige her, and they were very
much surprised at the emphatic negative.

"I shall not finally decide this interesting question without giving my
reasons," continued Captain Ringgold. "It would be an extremely
interesting excursion to me, as well as to the others. Though I have
been to Suez before, I have not made the trip, and I should be as glad
to go as any person present. Many travellers go there, especially
clergymen, to whom it is in a sense professional, aside from the
interest their studies would naturally create in the subject, and the
excursion finds a place in many excellent books of travel. I do not
consult my own personal desires so much as the situation and
circumstances in which we are placed.

"Although we call our voyage an All-Over-the-World affair, the title is
considerably exaggerated in the truest and most literal sense; for if we
devoted the rest of our natural lives to the work, we could not go
everywhere. It is impossible to visit every country on the earth even,
and we must use judgment and discretion in determining where we will go.
We are travelling by sea, making only such excursions inland as the
facilities of the country we visit will conveniently permit. Such trips
as we make of this kind must be regulated or controlled by conditions
over which we have no influence.

"Times and s