Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1827-03-29

10 eat had none; to have drank wine, WIN the
high fever which continued OIL me, would nave
been poison; and Of water no supply had been
laid in, from an expectation that the cble' u
whose care and protection had been com
mended, would afford il to nae from his tent, as
well as every other species Of provision; so tha'
subsequently, when unable 10 endure any long
er the parched thirst that oppressed me, was
obliged to alight, and walking by the side OF the
camel, to suck from goats skin the putfid
water which our drivers had provided for The
asses and beasts of burden-they having, tor
their own use, only small kids skin full, which
the impossibility of repenishing in the desert
made them carefully preserve.
sensbly lessened by the yeowish whiteness of
the plains around, as well as by the unclouded
sky, which Welded us.a clear and steady light
from the brilliant orbs that studded it, whose
lustre, through the clear transparency oil de-
ssrt atmosphere in southern climates, surpasses
in the highest degree the briiliancy which they
shed on those who inhabit beneath the humid
and cloudy canopy OF a northern sky.
The halt of our caravan being nearly three
hours il must have been about ten o'clock when
the cannon announced 10 us the order tor re-
mounting Immediately the camels were rais-
ed, the portable table service OF their oriental
riders thrown into their bags, and in less than
quarter Of an hour every one had resumed his
| station.
For the supposed safer direction of our mid
night march, considerable number Of torches
had been lighted, the largest of them consisting
Of long pole, having on its summit a circular
frame work Of iron, after the manner OF cage,
in which fire is borne aloit, AND fed with wood
as occasion requires These torches were not
only dispersed amongst The body Of the caravan
itself, butwere carried also before the advanced,
the wings, and the rear guards; who excepting
al momentary intervals, when they were hid
den by the inequalities of the road, were always
in sight, Amid all nv sufftrngs f ON fatigue,
inconvenience, and severe illness, II was imPos-
sble to be perfectly prepared Tor the impress
sons which our situations was so well calcu!at-
ed to excite; yet | am sure they occasionally
lost for moment their poighancy, II they were
not altogether forgotten, in the admiration with
which viewed so great spectacle as the one
that this hour Of midnight presented. The ca
ravan consisted Of more than five thousand ca
mels, besides mules, asses, wheeled carriages,
sc and the number Of persons who accompan-
led it mounted, and on foot, were certainly dou-
be-
The four points Of The horizon were inter-
copied by the separate groups Of lights that &C
companed those respective divisions OF our sur
rounding guards; although while the waving
movements Of the lights themselves were dis
tincily marked, not an individual, either OF the
Arabs by whom they were borne, or OF the
guard, whose path they were intended to lliu-
inmate, could al all be seen. Immediately a.
round us, the crowded caravan pursued It's
march in the most compact and closest order,
ia he nnhraker preservation Of which every in
dividual was induced to attend by regard to
his own personal safety; when it was considered
that we had entered desert, before whose
tribes, if they attacked us, flight would be in
eAectual, ard upon whose naked plains no re-
fuge from them could be found.
The Arab drivers sang TO their cameIs most
appropriate songs alternately encouraging
them to continue with unsIackened steps to-
wards the fountain Whose streams awaited their
arrival, and promising TO lead them to spot
where wells and heritage would reward them
with sweet repasl; then imploring Allah 10
give strength and hrmness to their limbs and
steadness 10 their PAGES; while .he beasts Them
ser'sclves seemed really conscious Of approba-
ton and encouragement being implied in the
sounds they heard, most probably from their
frequent repetition. / have never listened 10
them myself Without considerable pleasure,
from knowing how unaffected is the attachment
which the Arabs bear towards their animals in
general, and it has always forcibly recalled to
my memory the general truth, as we'll as beau
", of that affecting address which Hassan
makes TO his camels while traversing the desert
at midday, so POLITICALLY expressed by Collins
in the second Of his Oriental Eclogues:-
''ie mute companions of my tolls, that bear
In all my grief, more than equal share!
Here, where no springs in murmurs break away,
Or moss-crowned fountains mitigated the day,
In vain We hope the green delights to know,
Which PLAIN, more blest, verdant wales bestow;
Here rocks alone, and tasteless sands, found
And faint and sickly winds for howl around!"
In short, all the variety of scenes, of circum.
stances, and OF recollections, arising out Of our
immediate situation, contributed only TO height
en- the interest Of it; while the slow and steady
pace of the camels; the songs of their drivers;
the countless number of torches that blazed
through every part of the caravan; the flying
squadrons OF horse that galloped through our
lines, and skirted their extremes, to preserve
the compact order Of our march; the scattered
parties of Arab musicians who surrounded the
litters or palanquins of the harem, and the re-
pea,ed cries Of "Ish Allah" that were heard
at intervals from every quarter being nro-