continues sightseeing with Nehemiah. In Gethsemane, Clarel meets Vine and Rolfe, two opposites. Rolfe is a Protestant and religious skeptic who historicizes Jerusalem and calls into question Christ's claim to divinity. Vine is a quiet man whose example leads Clarel to hope for faith — at least initially. When Vine and Rolfe decide to take a tour of other important sites in the Holy Land — the wilderness where John the Baptist preached, the monastery at Mar Saba and Bethlehem — Clarel wants to accompany them, but he does not wish to leave Ruth. At this critical juncture, Ruth's father Nathan dies. Jewish customs prohibit Clarel's presence, so the student decides to take the journey, confident that he will see his beloved when he returns to Jerusalem. The night before his departure, he sees a frieze depicting the death of a young bride, which makes him pause with foreboding. He banishes his doubts and sets off on his pilgrimage. Part Two: The Wilderness Clarel travels with a wide range of fellow pilgrims — Nehemiah, Rolfe and Vine accompany him, and Melville introduces new characters for this book: Djalea, son of an emir, turned tour guide; Belex, the leader of six armed guards protecting the pilgrimage; a Greek banker and his son-in-law Glaucon; a Lutheran minister named Derwent; an unnamed former elder who has lost the faith; and a Swedish Jew named Mortmain, whose black skull cap constantly forebodes ill. The tour through the desert starts with an explicit invitation to compare Clarel and his companions' journey to "brave Chaucer's" pilgrims to Canterbury. Unaccustomed to desert hardships, the banker and his son-in-law soon abandon the group for a caravan headed back to Jerusalem. When Clarel and his companions come to the stretch of road where Christ’s good Samaritan rescued a Jew from robbers, the taciturn elder also departs, scoffing at the cautions of Djalea and Belex, who fear robbers. Mortmain is the final deserter; he leaves before the party makes a stop at Jericho, refusing to enter a city he considers wicked. During their travels, Clarel's party is joined by Margoth, an apostate Jewish geologist who scoffs at the faith expressed by Derwent. Listening to Margoth's atheism prompts Rolfe to move closer to Derwent’s faith. The company also speaks briefly with a Dominican friar traveling through the desert. In the absence of these travelers, Derwent and Rolfe engage in a number