Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1845-07-10
a'qf Gin lie direction & iss

9esststy, he urged the als6aa afied
Horse until lie GEN erto1s aiiifiais ffell
down dead, and left his fItIeF alone siil ia.
fhe Hidstof the desert of i long
lime the FrenchAaiI walked on with
iiBe perseverance of runaway sIaye,,t
but he was al hast obliged % stop. The
day was finished; not &iihs difsg lie
beauty md freshness 5 tlfllIl m - 4 u
fie did not feei Strength enough 70 puf~
sue his Journey. Having reached a
little cluster Of palms, which had glad
dened his heart at a distance, he laid
his head upon a stone and slept with.
out taking any precaution for his de-
fence. 81 ~. 'etl '..r ..-ssee,
He was awakened by the pittiless
rays Of the sun, which fell upon him
with lntolerable fervor; for in his wea.
riness he had reposed on the side oppo-
site to the morning shadows ofthe ma
jestic palms. The prospect around
filled him with despair. In every di-
rection nothing met his eye but wide
ocean ofsand, sparkling and dancing.
like a dagger in the sunshine. The pure
brilliancy Of the sky left the imagina-
tion nothing 10 desire. Not a cloud
obscured its splendor, not zephyr
moved the surface ofthe desert. The
earth and the heavens seemed on fire
-they met at the horizon in a line Of
light, as fine and glittering as the edge
of a sword. There was a mild and
awful majesty in the universal stiffness!
God, in all his infnity, seemed press
ent to the soul! "s'. .hs
The desolate wanderer thought Of
the fountain and roses of his own native
province, and wept aloud. He clasped
the palm as if II had been a living
friend. He shouted to relieve the for
getfulness of. utter solitude. The wide
wilderness sent back a sharp Sound
from the distance;-but no echo was
awakened. The echo was in his heart
With melancholy steps lie walked
taround the eminence on which the palm
trees grew. To his great joy he dis
covered on the opposite side, sort o
natural grotto formed by a pile Of gran.
ite. Hope was awakened in his breast
The palm woods furnished him with
dates for food, and human beings might
come that way before they were ex-
haustcd. Perhaps another party oI
Maugrubins, whose wandering life be-
gan to'Iluve some charms for his imag.
ination or he might hear the noise 81
approaching tcannon-for Bonaparte
was then passing over Egypt. The
Frenchman experienceda sudden trans
ition from the deepest despair to the
widest joy. He occupied himself du-
ring the day with cutting down some
Of the palm trees to defend ahe mouth
ef the grotto against wild beasts, which
would probably come lin the night time
to drink at the rivulet flowing at the
foot ofthe palms. Notwithstanding the
4eagerness produced by fear ofbcing de-
,voured in his sleep, he could not finish
bis fortifications during the day. To
wards evening the mighty tree he hae
been cutting, fell to the ground with 9
crash that resounded through the des,
Ecrt, as if solitude had uttered deer
groan. ..-.......-..'-..... AJAX,
The soldier trembled as if there hat
been supernatural voice in the air
But like an heir who soon ceases t
mourn over richsparcnt, he immedi-
ately began to-strip off the broad ant
beautiful leaves to form his couch fol
the night. Fatiegued BY his exertion.
and the extreme warmth OF the climate
he soon fell into profound slumber
I'm the middle of the night his sleeI
was suddenly disturbed by an extraor-
dinary noise. He raised himself ant
listened--and amid the deep silence ht
heard the'loud breathing of some pow
erful animal. The sound fell upon his
heart like ice. The, hair started upor
his head, and he strained his eyes t
the utmost TO perceive the object Of hi
terror. He caught the glimpse of two
faint yellow lights at a distance from
him; he thought it might be an optica
del1sion. produced by his own earnes
gaze, but as the rays Of the moon en-
tered the chinks of the cave, he dis
tinct!y saw an enormous ami maliayins
about two feet frem him. There wa
not sufficient light to distinguish wha
|species Of animalit was; ut might be {
lion, a tiger, or a crocadile: 'but tht
strong odor that filled the cave left NJ
doubt Of the presence Of some large ant
terrible creature.
Wien the moon rose SO aseto Shin,
directly upon the opening of the grotto