The reason of this detour was twofold.
First, it was the route taken by the Saviour of mankind, on His
last journey to the guilty city which crucified Him; and the Knight
of the Holy Sepulchre felt a spiritual satisfaction in tracing the
steps of the Redeemer.
Secondly, the direct route had been taken by the host, and, like
locusts, they had devoured all the provisions on the way, and
scared from their track every edible beast.
From time to time the elder knight pointed out some venerable ruin
which tradition--ever active, if not always truthful--identified as
a resting place of the Divine Wayfarer; but there was little doubt
that they crossed the Jordan at the same fords which had been in
use in those far-off days, shortly before they entered and passed
through the city of ruins, which had once been Jericho.
Then followed the ascent of the rocky way, familiar to the readers
of the parable of the "Good Samaritan;" and let me remind my
younger friends that even in the days when there were few readers
and fewer books, all the leading episodes of our Lord's life,
including His miracles and parables, were oft-told tales
{xxviii}.
It was a day of feverish excitement when they drew near Bethany and
the Mount of Olives. All the followers of the young English knight,
who had never been in Palestine before, looked forward to the
moment when the Holy City would first meet their gaze with an
intense expectation which even rendered them silent; only as they
pressed onward they sometimes broke out into the Crusading
hymn--familiar to them as some popular song to modern soldiers.
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