Captain Lyon Had Not Been More Than Ten Days At Mourzouk, Before He Was Attacked With Severe Dysentery, Which Confined Him To His Bed During Twenty-Two Days, And Reduced Him To The Last Extremity.

His unadorned narrative conveys an affecting account of the sufferings to which the party were exposed from the insalubrity of the climate; the inadequate arrangements which had been made for their comfort, or even subsistence, and the sordid and treacherous conduct of the sultan.

"Our little party," he says, "was at this time miserably poor; for we had money only sufficient for the purchase of corn to keep us alive, and never tasted meat, unless fortunate enough to kill a pigeon in the gardens. My illness was the first break up in our little community, and from that time, it rarely happened that one or two of us were not confined to our beds. The extreme saltness of the water, the poor quality of our food, together with the excessive heat and dryness of the climate, long retarded my recovery, and when it did take place, it was looked on as a miracle by those who had seen me in my worst state, and who thought it impossible for me to survive. I was no sooner convalescent than Mr. Ritchie fell ill, and was confined to his bed with an attack of bilious fever, accompanied with delirium, and great pain in his back and kidneys, for which he required frequent cupping. When a little recovered, he got up for two days, but his disorder soon returned with redoubled and alarming violence.

Enter page number Go  Previous Next
Page 324 of 1124
Words from 88052 to 88317 of 309561