Meigs County telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy [Ohio]) 1848-1859, 1851-10-28
LIFE In THE DESERT:
OR, now A PANTHER FELL IN LOVE
WITH A FRENCH SOLDIER.

During the en'erprising expedition into
upper Egypt, by General DessaiX. a Provin.
claI soldier fell inlo The power Of a tribe of
Arabs, called Maugrabins, and was thence
carried into the desert, beyond the cataract
of The Nile. Ia order to place a safe dis
lance between themselves and tho French
army, the MaugrabinS made q forced march.
and did no, stop ill night closed in. They
cncampcd around fountain surrounded by
palm aces Not supposing their prisoner
would attempt 10 escape, they con'ented
themselves with merely binding his hands;
and after having f d their horses, and made
their supper upon dates, they all Of them
slept soundiy. As soon as The French pris-
oncr was convinced Of this fact, he began
to gnaw the cords that bound lin, and 500 n
b. reganad the liberty Of his hands. lie
sejz,d ca.binc, and took the Trecaution 10
provide himself wlh some dry dalcs and q
iii;le hag Of grain, armed with scunetar,
slurcd Of, in ihe objection Of the French
army
In his cngcrncsS 20 arrive n, place of
sal, ly, be urged lis alrrcjy weary horse un-
Ill the generous animal fcII down dead, and
left his rider alone in The midst of the des-
erl. For long time The Frenchman walk
ed on with the perseverance, Of a runaway
slave. bur was at las, Obliged TO stop. The
day was finished; Notwithstanding the beau
Iy and freshness Of oriental nights, he did
not feel Strength enough lo pursue his Jour
ney. Having reached itle cluster oI
palms. which had gladdened his heart al q
dislonce he laid his head upon s;one and
SLEPT, without lakius any precau'on for his
defence.
He was awakened by The phIless rays o
lhr sun, which fell upon him with intolIera-
ble iervUr Tor in his WEAKNESS he had re-
posed on the side opposite 10 the morning
shadows Of the majestic palms. The pros
dpec. around him filled him with despair
In every direction nothing mel his eye bu
II wide ocean Of sara, sparkling and dane
ing like dagger in the sunshine. The
pure briiancy Of the sky left the imagina
lion nothing to desire. Not u cloud obscur
ed its spendor, not a zephyr moved the sur
face Of The desert. The earth and III,
heavens seemed on fire. There was milt
a.and awful majesty in the universal stiffness
God in all his infnity, seemed present Il
The soul!
The dcsolulr wandcrer thought Of III
fountains aud r,ses OF his own naive prov
inces, and wept aloud. He clasped III
pain, as if it had been living friend. III
shouted 10 relieve The forgetluness Of ute
solitude. The wide wderncsness ser
hnoI ehnpn eo,nd G,nn, ,hn bt
no echo was awakened. The echo was i
his head
with melancholy steps he walked aroun
the eminence on which the palm trees grew
20 his grea. joy, he discovered on the OF
posle side son Of natural grouo, formr
by piles of granile. Hope was awakcnc
in his breast The palm woods lurnishe
him with date for food, and human being
might come that way before they were e,
hauSled. Perhaps another party Of Mau
grabins, whose wandering life began 10 hay
some charms for his imaginulion-or b
might hear the noise Of approaching cai
,non-lor Napoleon l'unapurte was the
y.passing over Egypt The Frenchman {!
perienccd sudden transition from the dec
est despair 10 the widest joy, He occupi'
himself during the day with cutting dow
,gsome palm lrees to defend The mouth of Il
ogroao against wild beasts, which wou
Come in the nighttime 10 drink nj the riv
Z lei flowing AT tho foot of the palms. Nc
understanding the eogcrness produced by ie
u Of being devoured in his sleep, he could n
finish his GOrufcalion during the day. L
wards evening the mighty Tree he was CT
s,,ingfeI 10 the ground with crash that +
iusounded through The desert as if soll'u
had uttered deep groan.
~ u Du, like an heir, who soon ceases
mourn over rich parent. he immediate
/, Vbegen TO strip off tho broad and beaui
n .tedyes to Gorm his couch for the night. +
Ahshcd bS his excrlion and the extrer
wapph Of the climate, he soon fell int
profound sIumber. In the middle of
nighl his sleep was suddenly Jislurbud by
extraordinary noise lie raised himself a