The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1853-08-15
Tie DAILY DISPATCH.
FRIEEDsHTP OF laPANTHER.

lie DAILY DISPATCH.
FRlEEDSHIP or lPANTFFR.
oh, SOLDIER IN THE DESERT.
-. n's = very beautiful and interesting story by
- DAL11c, he French Novelist. that has been
plouaceu ana reproduced in the press Of this coun
''y, very oiten within the past fourteen yearsl
r,,,us. tue enserprising expedition into Inner
to the power of tribe Of Arahs as,ss spaler ie IN
and was by them carried into the dessrt
cataract OF the Nile, In order to nace so. s;1
.t .hncs o..wesh themselves and the French army
tne maugrapins made forced march and 1;d ~, -,
stop until night closed in They encar,,aJ III os
fountain surrounded by palm trees M % :, vuu
ing their prisoner would attefunt IN escs. -
contented themselves with merely binding 's ~
hands; and alter having fed their heraes and .a II
their supper upon dates, they all Of the, sa..s
soundly. As soon the French prisoner uss ~. n
ynced of this fact he began to gnaw the cord. a..
bound him, and soon regained the liberty Of his
hands. He seized carhine, and took the precau
ton to provide himself with some dry dates. and
little bag of grain, and armed with a scimeter
started OFF In the direction of the French army.
In his eagcrness to arrive at place of safety he
urged the already wearied horse until the generous
animal fell down dead and left his rider alone IN
the midst of the desert For long time the French
man walked on with the perseverance of a runa-
way slave, but he was at last obliged to stop The
day was finished; notwithstanding the beauty and
freshness forental nights he did not feel strength
little cluster of the palms, which had gladdened his
heart at distance he slept without taking any pre-
caution for his defence
He was awakened by the pitiless rays of the sun,
which fell upon him with intolerable feryor for in
his weariness he had reposed on the side opposite
to the morning shadows of the majestic palms.
The prospect around filed him with despair In
every direction nothing met his eye but wide
ocean of sand sparkling and dancing like dagger
in the sunshine. The pure brilliancy of the sky
left the Imagination nothing to desire. Not cloud
obscured its splendor, not zephyr moved the sur
face of the desert. The earth and the heavens
seemed on fre-they met at the horizon in line of
light as fine and glittering the edge of sword
There was mild and awful majesty in the univer-
sal stinessl God, in all his infnity seemed pre-
sent TO the soul
The desolate wanderer thought of the fountains
and roses OF his native province, and wept aloud.
He clasped the palm as lit had been living friend
He shouted to relieve the forgetulness of utter sol
itude. The wide wilderness sent back sharp sound
from the distance; but echo was Awakened The
echo was in his heart!
With melancholy steps, he walked around the
eulinence on which the palm trees grew. To his
great JOY, he discovered the opposite side sort
of natural grotto formed by pile of granite Hope
was awakened in his breast The palms would fur
nish him with dates for food, and human beings
might come that way before they were exhausted.
dering lite began to have some charms for his ma-
gination-or he might hear the noise of approach
ing cannon-for BOnaparte was then passing over
Egypt. The Frenchman experienced sudden
transition from the deepest despair to the widest
joy.
He occupied himself during the day with cutting
down some of the palm trees TO defend the mouth
of the grotto against wild beasts, which would pro-
bably come in the night time to drink at the riyulet
flowing at the foot of the palms. Notwithstanding
w 0f rod
IN his Sleep he could not finish his fortications du-
ring the day. Toward evening, the mighty; tree he
had been cutting, fell to the ground with a crash
that resounded through the desert as fsOlitude had
. uttered deep groan.
The soldier trembled as if there had been super
natural voice in the air. But like an heir who soon
ceases to mourn over rich parent he immediate
~ began to strip off the broad and beautiful leaves
to form his couch for the night. Fatigued by his
exertions and the extreme warmth of the climate
he soon fell into profound slumber In the mid
die OF the night biz slf5ape was suddenly disturbed
fstened-and amid the deep silence he distinctly
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, produced by his own earnest gaze but as
the rays of the entered the chnks of the cave
he distinctly an enormous animal lying about
two feet from him. There was not sufficient light
to distinguish what species of animal it was; it
might be lion, tiger crocodile; but the strong
odor that filled the cave left no doubt of the pre-
sence of some large and terrible creature
When the moon rose so as to shine directly upon
the opening in the grotto its beam lighted up the
beautiful spotted hide of huge pantherl This lion
of Egypt slept with her head upon her paws with
the comfortable dignity of great house dog. Her
now closed. Her face was turned toward the
Frenchman. A thousand confused thoughtspassed
through the soldiers bosom. His first idea was TO
shoot his enemy through the head; but he saw that
there was not room enough for that; the ball
would inevitably have passed her. He dared not
make the slightest movement lest he should awake
her. nothing broke the deep silence but the breath
ing of the panther and the beating of his heart.
Twice he put his hand upon his scimtar, but the
difficulty of penetrating her hard rough skin, made
him relinquish hisproject. To attempt her destruc
ton and fail in the attempt would be certain death
At all events he resolved to wait for daylight. Day
came at last, and showed the jaws OF the sleeping
panther covered with blood.
sShe has eaten lately said the Frenehman to
himself ''She will not awake in hunger"
She was in truth a beautiful monster. The fur
on her throat and legs was of dazzling whiteness;
circle of little dark spots of light velvet formed
pretty bracelets around her paws; her large mus
cular tail was beautifully white, terminated by
black rings; and the soft smooth fur ON her body
was of glowing yellow, like unwrought gold richly
shaded with dark brown spots In the form of roses
his pOWeTIul uostess TtpOseu IN as
graceful an attitude as puss sleeping on foot
STOOL Her head stretched on nervous outstretched
paws, from which her long white smellers spread
out like silver threads. Had she been in acage the
Frenchman would certainly have admired the per-
feet symmetry of her dark FORM and the rich con-
trast of colors, that gave such an imperial brancy
to her robe; but alone, and in her power, it was
different thing At the mouth of the cannon he had
felt his courage rise with increasing danger but it
was sinking now. The cold sweat poured from his
forehead, as he watched the sleeping panther
Con onsidering himself dead man he waited his Fate
as courageously as he could. When the sun rose,
the panther suddenly opened her eyes-stretched
out her paws and gaped, showing trighttul row of
teeth and great tongue as hard and rough as a
file She then shook herself and began to wash her
bloody paws, passing them from time to time over
her ears like a kitten. .Very well done, thought
the soldier who felt his gaiely and courage return
ing-"She does her toilet very handsomely" He
seized little dagger which he had taken from one
of the Arabs-.come let wish each other good
morning." thought he. At this moment the pam
fher turned her head toward him suddenly, and
liked surprised and earnest gaze upon him.
The fixedness of her bright metallic eyes, and
their almost insupportable briliancy, made the SOL
| .a;a. xyhe "a ynigbfv ha.uf