Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1852-01-06
Life in the Desert:
Or, how a Panther Fell in Love
with n French. Soldier.

81 htAA ~ (tAAAA TO1UANAs
During the enterprising expedition
into upper Egypt, by General Des
saix, a provincial soldier fell into The
power of tribe Of Arabs, calico
Maugrabins, and was thence carried
into the desert, beyond the cataract
of the Nile. In order to place {
safe distance between themselves and
the French army, the Maugrabins
made forced march, andsdid moi
stop till night closed in. They en-
camped around fountain surrounded
by palm trees. Not supposing THEN
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
them slept souhdsy. AS soon as the
French prisoner was convinced Of
this fact, be began to gnaw the cords
that bound him, and soon be regained
the liberty Of his hands. He seized
a carbine, and took the precaution to
provide himself with some dry dates
and a little bag Of grain, armed with
scimetar, started of, in the direc-
ton of the French army ~
In his eagerness to arrive at place
Of safety, he urged hat already
weary horse until the generous ami
NAL fell down dead, and left his rider
alone in the midst of the desert
For a. long time the Frenchman
walked on with the perseverance of q
runaway slave, but was at last obliged
to stop. The day was finished; not
withstanding the beauty and fresh
ness of the oriental nights, he did
| not feel strength enough to pursue
his journey. Having reached lit
tie cluster of palms, which had glad
dened lis heart at a distance, he laid
his head upon stone and slept, with
out taking any pFeeaution for his de-
fence.
He was awakened BY the pitiless
rays of the sun, which fell upon him
with intolerable fervor: for in bis
WEAKNESS he had reposed on the
side opposite to the morning shadow
of the majestic palms The prospect
around him filled him with despair.
In every direction nothing met bis
eye but wide ocean Of sand, spark
ling and dancing like dagger in the
sunshine. The pure brilEancy of the
sky left the imagination nothing to
desire. Not a cloud obscured its
splendor, not a zephyr moved the
surface of the desert. The earth
and the heavens seemed on FIRE,
There was mild and aw wful majesty
in the universal stillnessl God, in
all his infnity, seemed p resent to the
soul!
The desolate wanderer thought ol
the fountains and roses Of his native
provinces, and wept aloud. He
clasped the palm, as if It had been 3
living friend. He shouted to re-
lieve the forgetfulnesst Of utter soil
tude. The wild wilderness sent back
sharp sound from a distance, but
no echo was awakened. The echo
was in his head. :
With melancholy steps he walked
around the eminence on which the
palm trees grew, To his great joy,
he discovered on the opposite side 9
sort of natural grotto, formed BY
pilesof granite. Hope wasawakened
in his breast. The palm wood fur
nished him with dates for food, and
human beings might come that way
before they were exhausted. Per
haps another party Of Maugrabins.
whose wandering life began to have
l.some charms for his imagination-
| or he might hear the noise oil ap-
nroachine cannon-for Napoleon
Bonaparte was then passing over
| Eevpt The Frenchnlan expert.
enced 4 sudden transition, from the
deenest of despair to the widest joy
He ocenpied himself during the day
with cutting down some palm trees
f. defend the mouth Of the grotte
acainst Wild beasts, which would come
in the night time to drink at the
r;vulet flowing at the foot of the
nalms. Notwithstanding the eager
ness produced by fear Of being de.
voured in bis sleep, he could not
finish his fortifcation during the day.
Towards evening the mighty tree he
was cutting fell to the ground with
llx~k -A-o.,lnH fhr0fyHl the