THE SULTANA OF THE DESERT. 29 



of freshness and beauty. At a little distance he discov 

 ered a cluster of palms. To these he dragged his weary 

 limbs, and lay down and slept. 



4. He was awakened by the pitiless rays of the sun. 

 The prospect around him filled him with despair. In 

 every direction nothing met his eye but a wide ocean of 

 sand sparkling and glancing in the sunshine. The pure 

 brilliancy of the sky left nothing for the imagination to 

 conceive. Not a cloud obscured its splendor ; not a zephyr 

 moved the face of the desert. There was a wild and awful 

 majesty in the universal stillness. God in all his infinite 

 majesty seemed present to the soul. 



5. Sad and gloomy the desolate wanderer walked 

 around the little eminence on which the palm-trees grew. 

 To his great joy he discovered on the opposite side a sort 

 of natural grotto, formed in a ledge of granite. Hope 

 was awakened in his breast. Here he might rest in safety. 

 The palms would furnish him with dates for food, and 

 human beings might come that way before they were ex- 

 hausted. 



6. He occupied himself during the day with arranging 

 defenses for the mouth of the grotto, so that he would not 

 be molested by wild beasts, which would probably come 

 in the night-time to drink at the little spring bubbling up 

 at the foot of the palms. Before his fortifications were 

 finished, night came on, and, wearied by his exertions and 

 the extreme heat of the day, he crawled into the grotto 

 and soon fell into a profound sleep. 



7. In the night he was awakened by a sudden noise. 

 He started up and listened, and in the deep silence he 

 could hear the loud breathings of some animal. The hair 

 rose upon his head, and he strained his eyes to the utmost 

 to perceive the object of his terror. By the rays of the 

 moon that entered the chinks of the cave, he discovered 



