284 
A CRUSADE IN THE EAST. 
we became sleepy from the monotony of our journey, and lag¬ 
ged along in pairs, conversing drowsily upon various topics 
suggested by the occasion. I was very fond of drawing Yusef 
out, when he was in the proper spirit, not only because he 
was well informed upon the every-day affairs of Syrian life; 
but from a habit of argument into which I have fallen, in 
consequence of three years’ experience as a reporter in the 
United States Senate. If I sometimes become a little dispos¬ 
ed to indulge in flights of eloquence, not strictly called for 
by any existing emergency, it is altogether through the force 
of example. 
The tall Southerner and the English Captain, having both 
fallen into a doze, while they jogged along about a mile be¬ 
hind, I took advantage of the occasion to indulge in one of my 
customary chats with Yusef, who seemed in an uncommonly 
good humor, considering that all the Bedouins were out of 
sight. But this conversation being of an important character, 
I must give a verbatim report of it in a separate chapter. 
