To Major Glubb the desert has a personality of its own. He knows how to negotiate its terrors; he abides by its tradition-bound ethical code. In his daily life he observes with mint£e care the laws which govern desert society. Once Major Glubb gave an entertainment in camp to his Highness the Emir Abdulla of Trans-Jordan. The camp was pitched not far from the village of Wadi Musa near Petra, and a number of villagers, perhaps 500, arrived in the evening to pay their respects to his highness. Major Glubb had not counted on having so many guests but in accordance w: th the ancient tradition of Arab hospitality, he directed his tribesmen, all of them Bedou'ns, to feed everyone present. Not only did the Major provide dinners of mutton and rice for 500 Arabs, but with a stroke of genius served boiled rice and butter to the horses and donkeys of the visitors also. Where he procured these supplies ¿n such a short time remains an official mystery to this day.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.