Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1855-12-12
EVENING STAR.
AN AWFUL DRY TINE.
BY FRED. PEvRRLY.

l. BY FRED. PRvKRLY.
Does the reader know what it is to suffer
thirst Of the most horrible description? He
| is fortunate IL he does not, for he has escaped
one OF the most sxcruciating tortures to which
| the human system is susceptible. Imagina-
ton is incapable of eonceiving such excrucia-
| ting misery as he feels who is compelled to
wander across arid wastes, under the heat of
tropical sun, or to cling to the bottom of a
wreck for days, in the midst of q Southern
sea, with water, water all around" and not
| drop to TASTE So situated, one can easiIy
conceive the sufferings of the rich man in hell,
| who, lifted up mis- eyes, being in torment
and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in
his bosom; and he cried, and said, Father
Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Laza.
| rus that he may dip the tip of his finger in
water and cool my tongue, for am tormented
| in this fame" Such suferings have myself
experienced, and I hope it may never be the
lot Of any friend Of mine to be similarly sit
| uated.
set out from Constantinopls to cross the
Great Desert, in company with a caravan Of
| traders. Our first days travel passed over
without any extraordinary incident, and at
| night We encamped near one Of those delight
| fol oases, which occasionally as if by Gods
| providence, the traveller meets with in Jour
| neying across that weary ocean of sand. Af-
ter partaking OF our evening repast, we dis
posed ourselves for rest, and were soon, camels
and all, to use hacknsyed expression, fast
| locked in tho arms of Somnus, or Morpheus
| the reader is privileged to make his choice
| of the deities who preside over the slumbers
| Of the weary.
The night was glorious, as far as the 90 star
| ry armament on high was concerned The
entire eXpanse of the heavens was one nm.
ciouded blue. The full moon had Just risen
as we retired to rest, and the myriads of stars
ypH lo1 Iupf ell -. l. l.
head. The scene and the hour was deeply
impressive, and pictures of my quiet New
England home arose before my mental vision;
the low-roofed cottage where L was born--the
garden and the orchard-the green fields and
the waving of the forest foliage-the little
trout brook at the foot Of the garden wall
the lowing Of herds and the bleating of lambs
Ihe faces OF my mother and sister-and the
dear familiar haunts of childhood, and the
| mlll-these all appered before me with a
strange familiarity that brought tears to nv
| eyes. Those who have never wandered from
home, cannot appreciate its endearments but
when one wanders into far countries, and is
surrounded with strange and unsympathizing
| faces, he will look back to the home of his
youth and yearning desire to return, and
clasp, IN one fond embrace, the friends he has
| lett behind. Oh, at such moments with what
| Joy would he hail the sound of familiar
voice, or greet the presence of a kindred
heart. lt is no wonder that the wanderer.
who has been for years absent from the home
OF his youth, as the last hours of his mortal
career are drawing to close, yearns for the
place of his nativity, and will traverse oceans
aud deserts that he may be enabled to die
| among his kindred
The pleasure that is derived from travel. is
IN great measure imaginary Novelty is
! the attraction, and ambition is too frequently
the incentive. The excitement consequent
| uron visiting new scenes in a measure repays
| for the loss Of companions, and the comforts
OF home: nor should the information and
knowledge which one thus acquires of human
nature, be the least consideration; but a Jour
nsy across an Arabian desert has nothing to
recommend 1t, and the nights are awfully
gloomy. You can hear nothing but your own
breathing, and that of your companions, or the
throbbing of your heart You hear mono of
that mystic music, which so charms the ear in
temperate cimates-the chipping of crickets,
and the rustic of myriads of insects The air is
not fragrant with flowers and grasses; the
murmur Of no fr0licking brook reaches your
pillow, and no voice Of chanticleer awakens
you in the morning. 1t is o weary travel
| across some Of our Western prairies, but the
most drcary Of them all is paradise of glory
compared withan Arabian desert.
suppose it might have been about an hour
before daylight when awoke. was already
up, and standing alone. 1 looked around me
for my companions. They were nowhere to
be seen. At first l could not realize my sit
uation. 1 conceived that 1 must be dream
ing. A thrill of horror crspt over me at the
thought that had been deserted. Wildly /
ran hither and thither. / called aloud for
assistance, but yet my voice did not return
even an echo. / imagined 1 was under the
influence of horrible dream. L smote my
breast and cried aloud in my agony-alI in
vain pulled my hair to be assured that L
was awake. / ran frantically to and fro to
sec If could discover any traces of my late
cOmpanions-no track nor sign could see
resigned myself to despair, and threw myself
upon the ground, and prayed for death to re-
lease me from my sufferings, and it seemed as
though my voice returned TO me in mockery,
and jeered me with the malice Of devil |
would have killed myself at once, and ended
my misery, but searched my person in vain
for the means of .elf-destruction; had neither
knife, nor weapon Of any kind. thought to
dash my brains out on the ground; but IN vain
sprang up, and threw myself head foremost
on the sand, but at every effort demon seem
ed TO laugh at me for my futile attempts at
self-destruction.
To add to my horror, a most intolerable
thirst seized upon me that rendered me de.
lirious. Strange and torturing visions of
green and fertile fields appeared to me.
Broad lakes Of crystal water arose to my view,
ana the melody OF tlnkllng brooks filled my
ears with their music. Wierd creature, danced
before me, outholding golden gobIea filed
with iced shsrbst, luscious fruits, and the
sparkling fluid from the cooling springs.
implored and begged but for one drop 20 cool
my parched tongue, but in vain; and my agony
was increased tsn-fold by the uprising of the
sun, which shone upon my head with intense
heat.
At last was suffered to approach small
lake, into whose cooling waters / threw NV.
self laughed in my wild frenzy. lsapt,
and dove. opened my mouth and took in
huge draughts, till the water almost seemed
to hiss a. it ran down my parched throat, and
yet my intolsrable thirst abated not in the
least dashed the surface of the lake in my
fury-I cursed It'll implored it. L sank to
the bottom and held on to the rocks to drown
myself, and the big fishes swan around and
stared at me with their strange and dsathly
eyes. arose again to the surface, snd swan
to the shore. ran shrieking across the des
ert In pursuit of a river that seemed to run
from me as approached. Gay parties of
hnfh L IL - L.