The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1857-07-29
THE STAR OF LOVE.

1nefe is moment, In every mehe oA'ot
ence, on which turns his future destiny
There are many such moments; for ofien-
times life hangs upon a thread, andif the
thread is not cut, it requires but 9uchto
change The whole direction of the fut4e. But
in every mans life there is at least qle, and
in that Of young Sheik Houssein il occurred
thus:
II was not often in those days thit :ravel-
srs crossed the great desert. Few Europeans
came 10 Egypt, and fewer stlll wentto Sinai.
But there was a time when Housein was
called to Cairo 10 NEE. noble party OF west.
ern travellers, gentleman and two ladies,
who were making pilgrimage 70 Sinai and
The Holy Lang. end who wishsa6h ptAsestioE
in crossing the desert. He saw the gen.
tlsman, and readily enssged 10 sform the
desired service.
II was not until the party had left the BIrk-
et-el.Haj that be met them, where they were
encamped, by moonlight, on the sand that
stretches away 10 Susz. As be sprang from
his mare, before the tsnt-doof, he was startled
by such vision as he had never before seen,
but thought he had dreamed of in his waking
dreams.
She was slight, fair, and, in the moonlight,
pale as creature OF dreams Was this one
of the aouris of his tabled paradises No;
he rejected the thought, if it rose. There was
no spot in all the heaven of Mahommed fit
for an angel like this. Away, like the sands
on the whirlwind, like the clouds before the
sun, like the stars at daybreak: away swept
all his faith in Islam, aud, in an instant the
Shiek Houssein was an idolslor, worshipping
as thousands greater than Hifs done, the
beauty Of woman Perhaps he might have
quenched his thirst for the unknown at some
other fountain, but thus was enough now. He
had found that wherewith 10 fill The void, and
he was content.
Love was a new emotion, a sensation he
had never before experienced, and il satisfied
him. Did che love him? That was ques-
tion which never occurred tc.aiua.. What did
he care Tor that? He was not seeking TO be
loved He was looking for employment for
his own soul, and he had lound it, and that
was enough.
The tradition goes on TO describe his long
crossing of the deserl--how he fingered
among the hills of Sinai; how he led them
by Akaba and Petra, and detained them many
weeks in the city Of Rock /; how the fair Eng.
lish girl faded slowly away, for she was now
weary, well-nigh dead, he carried her to the
Holy City, and pitched their tents by The
mountain of the Ascension. And all this
time he watched over her with The jealous
care of father or brother, and The quick
heart Of The lady say it and understood it all.
And sometimes he would try, in broken
words, 10 tell her of bis old belief and his
ideas of Immortality, and she would read in
his hearing sublime promises aud glorious
hopes that were in language that he knew
nothing of, but which he half understood from
her uplilted eye and countenance.
How he worshipped that matchless eye!
He worshipped nothing else, on earth or in
heaven.
1t was noon OF night under The walls Of Je.
rusalem; and in white tent close by the hill
on which the footsteps of the ascending Lord
left their hallowing touch, @ English girl
was waiting His bidding TO ioilow hin.
Outside the lent, Prone on the ground, with
eyes fixed on the everlasting stars, lay a
group Of Bedouins, and apart from them
little way their chief, silent, motionless--to
all that was earthly, dead. A low voice with.
in the tent broke The stiffness of the night,
but he did not move. Al voice was utiering
again those words, of which the sooud had
become familiar 10 him already, the Christian
prayer.
"Shiek Houssienw
He sprang to his feet. Il was her voice,
faint low, but silvery. The ient-door was,
thrust aside, and as hand mo,oned 10 him
10 enter, he obeyed.
She lay on the cushions, her head lifted
somewhat from the pillow by the arms Of her
sister; her brother, who spoke the language
of the desert well, stood by her as the young
Shiek approached. His coofea was gathered
around his head; only bis dark eye, flashing
glorously, was visible. She looked up into
it and whispered he half understood her
before the words came through her brothers.
lips, as she told him the story Of Calvary and
Christ, and the cloud that received The King
and Saviour returning 10 His throne.
II were vain TO say he understood all this.
He only knew that she was telling him of her
hope ere long 10 be above him, above the
world, above the sky; and bis active but be-
wiIdersd mind inwrought all this with an
cient traditions, and having long sgo rejected
the creed that did not teach him that she was
immortal, as he fell back on the idea tAat the
immor,als had something 10 do with Tho stars,
and as he lay down on The ground, close by
the side OF the tent, listening for every sound
from within, he fixed his eyes on the zenith
and watched the psssing of the hosts OF the
night, until she died. There was q rushing
of garments, voicesof ins<sassibls sweet
ness suddenly silent, alows sol sigt, the ex-
piraiion of saint; aud that al iha. iusian,
far in the depths of the meridian blue, clear
star flashed on his eye, for the frat time its
silver radiance, and he believed that she was
thepo