They  climbed  the  Alps  to  study  the  serenity  and  poise  of
monastic  life,  and  loved  the  human-eyed  St.  Bernard  dogs  of  the
friendly  hospice.  At  London  they  tried  athletic  feats  in  the  globe
of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  at  least  Frances  did;  Kate  had  more  good
sense  !  They  went  up  the  Nile  in  a  steamer  borrowed  of  the
Pasha  for  the  occasion.  Certain  insects  —  not  locusts  —  of  Egypt
demanded  first  attention,  and  a  half-page  of  journal  comment
settles  them  as  probably  lineal  descendants  of  the  historical
plagues.  But  even  the  fleas,  engaging  from  their  very  activity,
were  forgotten  when  ' '  in  the  frame  of  the  violet  sky  hung  constel-
lations." They  perched  on  the  broken  columns  of  ancient  temples,
they  faced  with  questioning  woman-eyes  the  eternal  woman,  the
Sphinx,  themselves  part  of  her  mystery,  most  unknown  to  them-
selves.
In  Palestine  they  took  no  joy  in  pretended  tombs  and  places,
alien  with  the  mixed  breath  of  crowds,  although  they  tried  to
"do"  them  dutifully.     But  as  the  day  shut  its  doors  they  went


70  MEMORIAL    VOLUME

out  to  the  Mount  of  Olives,  where  our  Lord  prayed  in  the  deep-
ening silence,  and  the  same  stars  looked  down  on  them  which
looked  on  Him  that  night  so  long  gone  by,  the  same  stars  He  had
created.  And  they  went  to  Bethany,  the  Lord's  "home  of  rest,"
where  lived  those  He  loved,  who  loved  Him;  Jordan,  and  Jericho,
and  the  Dead  Sea,  where  by  some  mischance  of  travel  they  found
themselves  with  just  ten  minutes  to  stay;  but  why  add  to  the  list?
each  place  lived  again  in  that  clear-cut,  imaginative  life.
