Washington sentinel., 1853-10-14
Mashington gentinel

| The IsTHAUs OF SuEz-We find in one of
| the French newspapers the following details
on this part Of Africa, which is now so ambi-
tiously looked for by the English government.
From Cairo to Suez there is about thirty
hours of travel: camels take from two to three
days to travel it; merchandise wagons one day,
and the horse post little less. Cairo and Suez
communicate by high road kept in good or
der. The India mail takes this route; sixteen
stations have been established for it to change
horses. These stations are all square buildings
Of single story, with courtyard in the CEN
tire. They resemble the chdiets of Switzerland
The traveller, dying with thirst and oppressed
by fatigue, perccives them with real joy, for he
is always sure of finding there o good stock of
water drawn from the Nile. They are always
provided with necessary comforts.
The desert begins at the gates of Cairo
After once entering it, no verdure is met, except
miserable herb, which serves as pasture to the
camels as they pass, and two or three solitary
trees. One of the latter, an old and large syca-
more, at about midway, is the object of great
veneration among the Bedouins. All the pill
grims Of Mecca suspend there some portions of
their wardrobe to obtain a prosperous voyage.
In Egypt number of these trees is met, to
which the people attribute marvellous virtue.
ID tTct uIlucI NIOSC cIltuC ~ 10
and Mary reposed it is the same as that Of the
Island Of Rhodes, not far from Cairo, which has
the property Of removing barrenness from wo-
men. The soil on the entire route after leaving
Cairo is hard and stony, so that, if it be design
ed to build a railroad here, there will be nothing
to be apprehended from the moving sands. 1t
would be an error to suppose that the desert is
one eternal plain The route is traversed by a
range Of small hills, which offer to the eye new
points Of vew---the passage of a single bird re-
ioices the heart, for it is proof that living
ture has penetrated into this valley of death.
Now and again a caravan passes; the cam
els advance with equal step, one after another,
loaded with the treasures OF India-Moch
coffee, mother Of pearl from the Red sea, gum
| from Arabia, and African ivory. The caravan
is saluted with Salam-aleikam," and every
thing becomes still again. You are once
| more master Of the solitude, for no one is there
to dispute it with you, save the sanguinary hy-
ena, which watches in the gloom the tired
camels. When one traverses this sea of sand,
| the imagination, excited by the heat of the day
and the profound calm of the night, is pleased
| in evoking strange forms; thus, to me, a
chateau appeared to rise from the midst of the
sand, its windows respendent with fantastic
| light.
We walk on towards the light; already we
are approaching the walls, but we perceive that
| they are the telegraph buildings. After ajour
ney of two nights and one day we arrive at
Suez. This little city is supported by naviga-
| ton and transit commerce. The inhabitants
are for the most part, sailors of the Jor and its
neighborhood. The pilgrimage of Mecca pro-
duces, particularly, great benefits to it; but this
| year the greater part Of the pilgrims have gone
| by land to Kosseir. There are about thirty
| Europeans settled in this city, who are engaged
| in the transit. Suez is surrounded on all sides
| by the desert, and provisions must therefore be
| brought to it from a great distance. The water
| drank there has very disagreeable lniry taste.
| The traveller who has come from the Nile can
not accustom himself to it, and the Frenchman
is also right in saying that the water of the Nile
is far from champagne.
| DEcIsIvE.-Y Yesterday morning the dock of
| Recorder Winters court was thrown into a
momentary excitement by female of surpass-
| ing beauty and most fair to look upon, but
foul witha suddenly making her advent among
the ragamuffins congregated together before
the bar of justice, whittier, on account of their
too frequent visits to another bar, they had
been dragged. The whisper ran round the
room, "Who is that divine creature ~ "Some
poor Maiden replied bystander, who /
dare swear, for no fault of her own, has thus
rudely been dragged before the tribune of a
blind and inexorable justice" Then did the
tender heart of our reporter throb with sympa-
thetic emotion at the forlorn condition Of the
unhappy-unknown. He impatienty waited
for the trial of the fair one to commence, that
he might have an opportunity to vindicate her
innocence before harsh and unforgiving world.
Her accuser was bid to stand forth and prefer
her charge She did so---(for the accuser was
also of the softer sex)--and in calm, mild,
sweet, delicious, heavenly voice, she laid before
his honor her grievances. The recorder then,
turning to our favorite, demanded what answer
she could make. She at once screamed FORTH
in a coarse, masculine voice, that startled the
whole court, g She is liar: never struck her,
nor stole her clothes" Twas like cold show
er-bath in mid-winter Here the poetic thought
and romantic dream of our reporter vanished,
like the baseless fabric of vision, and left
not a wreck behind His sympathies we're
Immediately transferred to the less beautiful
more modestly attired and silvery-voiced ac-
cuser-and was rejoiced when the recorder sent
the virago before the first district court for
trial, on charge of assault and battery and
destroying property. Though we despise sent
ment, and have as great an aversion to it as
had Sir Peter Teazle, yet we will wind this up
a la Crescent with a.
Morul.-"'Tis not fine feathers make fine
BIRDS Never praise a. bird till you hear it |
sing, nor a woman till you hear her speak.
". o. Delta.
WEIGHTS AND MEAsuREs.-The following