The Rutland herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1850-1852, 1851-05-26
y RAILROAD THROUGH TIE
AFRICAN DESERT.


AFRICAN DESERT.
The Niceroy Of Esyp, las sane
toucl tie proicc, Of railroad from
Alexandria by way cf CAIRO. TO the
l-ls;hnus Of Sucs, anl the work will hc
commenced without delay. With the
most sAillfuI European engineers At
his con.naad, and able at any time TO
Summea one hundred thousand Arabs
. add Copts 10 the labor. the energetic
anl cn.crpr.sing lbtal.i,n Pasha will
not allow long time h clapsc before
the whistle Of tho locomotive will wake
the solitulcs of Petra and Mount Sr-
nai, scare the .maraaaing Bcdouin
ont Of his wits. and render the jour
ncy from Alexandria to the Holy Land
as casv and as rapid as the passage
from Buffalo to New York. The trav.
eier will start FROM the base Of Cleo.
patra's Needle, reach Carlo in six
hours, refresh himself at mammoth
depot in the midst of the waste howl
ing wilderness" and stand upon the
ancient shores Of tho Rcd Sea in two
days after leaving the Delta Of the
Nile.
A railroad through the scene Of IL.
racl's flight and pharaoh's keen pur.
suit through the regions. where the
silence Of death has reisned ever
since, amid ,hunlerlnys and loud Gle
meotal strife, tho law was given from
Mount llorcb--now for the first tlmo
in thousands Of years to be disturbed
by the clanking and roar of modern
machinery! Here job drove his nu.
,ncrous hocks to the great marts of
the South. Moses led the murmui-
ing and mu,inous Hebrews to the
Land Of Promise. In this now dlear
solitude, the hand Of cultivated arch.
itcctural scicnce scoorcl magnificent
palaces on; Of the solid rock land bid
snmptuous mansions and temp lea, and
mighty cities rise at its mandate.
This WAS the Path Of the mul,ltua-
nous hosts Of Amru, the successor OF
Mahomet, when lie led his fanatical
aud victorious thousands from Syria
to Cairo and Alexanliia. poured his
dense dark masses upon Southern En-
rope, and aimed to snAject the Cross
to the Crescent. These vast and arid
deserts, over which the bald and rock.
y Sinai frowns in stern grandeur; long
afterwards trembling beneath the
tread of armed millions, whirlins lik,
some horrible tempest through the
scene Of lsracl's trial and punishment
He who, from the position Of an hun
bic snba'tern, reached the throne d
the Bourbors, b. series Of usurpa
tons the most wonderful on record
would rival the fame aud miracles o
the Hebrew lawgivcr. lie eyes tho
same waters that closed over the cn
quilted chariot and horscmcn of pha
raoh, and exhibits the temerity Of at
tempting to pass dry.slod through Tx
stormy waters Of the Arabian sea.
BIT what was this dcsccraiion, il
comparison with the painting cough
ing Of the iron horse, within view o
the spot where the burning bush cx
hibitel its mysterious sign to ih
trcmbling Moses, where tables Of the
law were broken into fra -ments. an(
over which the pillar Of cloud by day
and Of E.c by night, hovercd, an,
Guided the people Of Israel to The
lovely region Of the Phlis,incs an,
Canaanitcs.
The tour Of the Crusaders, was ;
pilgrimage Of imminent peril, and ac
compaaied by priyatlous and suffer
iuss little short cf martyrlom, vii
soon Oe accomplished By party frou
New York or st. Louis, within the
limit Of a single season. The tomb
Of Aaron, the site of Calvary, the
Mount Of Olives, and the shores o.
the beautifu! Sea Of Gal,lcc, will soor
be as accessible as the tower Of Lon
don or the Lake Of Como are now, -
all! all the scenes Of scripture histo
ry become familiar b the eye, anC
commonplace in the mind Of almos
every transatlantic tourist.