_Thou hast taken me into the tent of the world, O God: Beneath thy blue canopy I have found shelter: Therefore thou wilt not deny me the right of a guest._ _Naked and poor I arrived at the door before sunset: Thou hast refreshed me with beautiful bowls of milk: As a great chief thou hast set forth food in abundance._ _I have loved the daily delights of thy dwelling: Thy moon and thy stars have lighted me to my bed: In the morning I have found joy with thy servants._ _Surely thou wilt not send me away in the darkness? There the enemy Death is lying in wait for my soul: Thou art the host of my life and I claim thy protection._ _Then the Lord of the tent of the world made answer: The right of a guest endureth but for an appointed time: After three days and three nights cometh the day of departure._ _Yet hearken to me since thou fearest the foe in the dark: I will make with thee a new covenant of everlasting hospitality: Behold I will come unto thee as a stranger and be thy guest._ _Poor and needy will I come that thou mayest entertain me: Meek and lowly will I come that thou mayest find a friend: With mercy and with truth will I come to give thee comfort._ _Therefore open the door of thy heart and bid me welcome: In this tent of the world I will be thy brother of the bread: And when thou farest forth I will be thy companion forever._ _Then my soul rested in the word of the Lord: And I saw that the curtains of the world were shaken, But I looked beyond them to the eternal camp-fires of my friend._ XII THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS I THROUGH THE LAND OF THE DRUSES You may go to Damascus now by rail, if you like, and have a choice between two rival routes, one under government ownership, the other built and managed by a corporation. But to us encamped among the silvery olives at Baniyas, beside the springs of Jordan, it seemed a happy circumstance that both railways were so far away that it would have taken longer to reach them than to ride our horses straight into the city. We were delivered from the modern folly of trying to save time by travelling in a conveyance more speedy than picturesque, and left free to pursue our journey in a leisurely, independent fashion and by the road that would give us most pleasure. So we chose the longer way, the northern path around Mount Hermon, through the country of the Druses, instead of the more frequented road to the east by Kafr Hawar.