132 
ARABIAN CAME&,' 
their nourishment ; they feed upon its flesh* 
particularly when young * they clothe themselves 
with its hair, which it is seen to moult regularly 
once a year, and if they fear an invading enemy* 
their camels serve them in flight, and in a single 
day they are known to travel above a hundred 
miles. Thus, by means of the camel, an Arabian 
finds safety in his deserts ; all the armies upon 
earth might be lost in the pursuit of a flying 
squadron of this country, mounted upon their 
camels, and taking refuge in solitudes where no- 
thing interposes to stop their flight, or to force 
them to wait the invader. Nothing can be more 
dreary than the aspect of these sandy plains, that 
seem entirely forsaken of life and vegetation ; 
wherever the eye turns, nothing is presented but a 
sterile and dusty soil, sometimes torn up by the 
winds, and moving in great waves along, which, 
when viewed from an eminence, resemble less the 
earth than the ocean ; here and there a few shrubs 
appear, that only teach us to wish for the grove 
that reminds us of the shade, without affording 
its refreshment ; the return of morning, which, 
in x ther places carries an idea of cheerfulness, 
here serves only to enlighten the endless and dreary 
waste, and to present the traveller with an unfinish- 
ed prospect of his forlorn situation ; yet in this 
chasm of nature, by the help of the camel, the 
Arabian finds safety and subsistence. There are 
here and there found spots of verdure, which, 
though remote from each other, are, in a manner 
approximated by the labour and industry of the 
camel. Thus these deserts, which present the 
stranger with nothing but objects of danger and 
sterility, afford the inhabitant protection, food, 
and liberty. The Arabian lives independent and 
tranquil, in the midst of his solitudes ; and, instead 
of considering the vast solitudes spread round 
