The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1847-06-12
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FRIENDSHIP OFAPANTHER;
or, A Soldier in the Desert.

or, A Soldier in the Desert.
During the en,crprsing expedition into
Upper Egypt, by General DessaiX, n provin-
caI soldier fell into the power of Il tribe of
Arabs, called Mangrabins, and WINS by them
carried into the desert beyond the cataract
of the Nile. In order TO place n safe distance
between themselves and the French army,
the Mangrabins made forced march aud did
not stop till night closed in. They eucamped
round II fountain surrounded by palm trees.
Not supposing their prisoner would attempt
TO escape, they contented themselves with
merely binding his hands; and after having
fed their horses, and made their supper upon
dates, they all of thom slept soundly. As
soon as the French prisoner was convinced
ofthis fact, he began TO gnaw the cords that
bound him, and as soon regainGd the liberty
of his hands. He seized carbine, and took
the precaution to provide himself with some
dry dates, and little bag ofgruin, aud armed
with scimetar, started ofin the direction of
the French army.
in his eagerness to arrive at place of safe
ty, he urged the already wearied horse until
the generous animal fell down dead, and left
his rider alone i'll in the midst of the desert
For long time the Frenchman walked on
with the perseverance ola runaway slave, but
he was at las; obliged to stop. The day was
finished Notwithstanding the beauty and
freshness of oriental nights, he did not feel
strength enough to pursue his journey
Having reached cluster Of Palms, which
had gIaddened his heart at distance, he land
his head upon stone and slept without TAX
ing any precaution for his defence.
He was awakened by the pitiIess rays of
the sun, which fell upon him with intolerable
tervor; for in his WEAKNESS he had reposed on
the side opposite to the morning shadows Of
the majestic palms. The prospect around
filled him with despair. In every direction
nothing met his eye but wide ocean of sand,
sparkling and dancing like n dagger in the
sunshine. The pure brillancy of the SIX
left the Imagination nothing to desire. Not
a cloud obscured its spIendor, not a zephyr
moved the surface of the desert The earth
and the heavens seemed on fire-they met
ut the horizon in line oflight, as fine and
glittering ms the edge ola sword, There was
II mild and awful majesty in the universal still
ness! God in all his infnity, seemed present
to the soul
The desolate wanderer thought of the
fountains and roses of his native province
and wept aloud. He cIasped the palm, us if
it had been living friend. He shouted TO
relieve the forgetfulness of utter Solitude
The wild wilderness sent back II sharp sound
from the distance; but no echo was awaken
ed. The echo was in his heart!
With melancholy steps he walked around
the eminence on which the palm trees grew.
To his great joy he discovered on the oppo-
site side, sort of natural grotto formed by a
pile of granite. 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 exhausted.
Perhaps another party of Mangrabins, whose
wandering life began to have some charms for
his imagination--or he might hear the noise
of approaching cannon-tor Bonaparte was
then over Egypt. The Frenchmau expert
enced sudden transition from the deepest
despair to the widest joy. He occupied him
self during the day with cutting down some
of the palm trees to defend the mouth of the
grotto against wild beasts, which would prob
ably come in the night time to drink at the
rvnlet flowing at the foot ofthe palms. Not
withstanding the eagerness produced by fear
of being devoured in his sleep, he could not
finish his Notifications during the day: To-
wards evening, the mighty tree he had been
cutting, fell to the ground with crash that
resounded through the desert, as if solitude
had uttered deep groau.
The soldier trembled as ifthere had been
voice in the air. But like one
who soon ceases to mourn over rich parent,
he Immediately began to strip off the broad
and beautiful leaves to form his couch for the
night. Fatigued by his exertions and the ex-
treme warmth ofthe climate, he soon fell in
to profound slumDer. In the middle of the
night his sleep was suddenly disturbed by an
extraordinary noise. He raised himself and
listened and amid the deep silence he heard
the loud breathing of some powerful animal.
The sound fell upon his heart like ice. The
hair started upon his head, and he strained
his eyes to the utmost to perceive the object
of his terror. He caught the glimpse of two
faint yellow lights at distance from him; he
thought it might be an optical delusion, pro-
duced by his own earnest gaze, but as the
rays ofthe moon entered the chinks of the
cove, he distinctly saw an enormous animal
laying about two feet from him. There was
not sufficient light to distinguish what species
ofanimal it was; it might be lion tiger, or
but the strong odor that filled the
cave left no doubt ofthe presence of some
arge and terrible creature.
When the moon rose so as to shine direct
y upon the opening in the grotto, its beams
lighted up the beautiful spotted side of huge
panther! This lion of Egypt slept with her
read upon her paws, with the comfortable
dignity ola great house dog. Her eyes
which had opened from time to time, were
now closed. Her face was turned towards
, Frencbman. A thousand confused