Then
Within My Tent There Were Heaps Of Luxuries - Dining-Rooms,
Dressing-Rooms, Libraries, Bedrooms, Drawing-Rooms, Oratories, All
Crowded Into The Space Of A Hearthrug.
The first night, I
remember, with my books and maps about me, I wanted light; they
brought me a taper, and immediately from out of the silent Desert
there rushed in a flood of life unseen before.
Monsters of moths,
of all shapes and hues, that never before perhaps had looked upon
the shining of a flame, now madly thronged into my tent, and dashed
through the fire of the candle till they fairly extinguished it
with their burning limbs. Those who had failed in attaining this
martyrdom suddenly became serious, and clung despondingly to the
canvas.
By-and-by there was brought to me the fragrant tea and big masses
of scorched and scorching toast, and the butter that had come all
the way to me in this Desert of Asia from out of that poor, dear,
starving Ireland. I feasted like a king, like four kings, like a
boy in the fourth form.
When the cold, sullen morning dawned, and my people began to load
the camels, I always felt loth to give back to the waste this
little spot of ground that had glowed for a while with the
cheerfulness of a human dwelling. One by one the cloaks, the
saddles, the baggage, the hundred things that strewed the ground
and made it look so familiar - all these were taken away and laid
upon the camels. A speck in the broad tracts of Asia remained
still impressed with the mark of patent portmanteaus and the heels
of London boots; the embers of the fire lay black and cold upon the
sand, and these were the signs we left.
My tent was spared to the last, but when all else was ready for the
start then came its fall; the pegs were drawn, the canvas shivered,
and in less than a minute there was nothing that remained of my
genial home but only a pole and a bundle. The encroaching
Englishman was off, and instant upon the fall of the canvas, like
an owner who had waited and watched, the genius of the Desert
stalked in.
To servants, as I suppose of any other Europeans not much
accustomed to amuse themselves by fancy or memory, it often happens
that after a few days journeying the loneliness of the Desert will
become frightfully oppressive. Upon my poor fellows the access of
melancholy came heavy, and all at once, as a blow from above; they
bent their necks, and bore it as best they could, but their joy was
great on the fifth day when we came to an oasis called Gatieh, for
here we found encamped a caravan (that is, an assemblage of
travellers) from Cairo. The Orientals living in cities never pass
the Desert except in this way; many will wait for weeks, and even
for months, until a sufficient number of persons can be found ready
to undertake the journey at the same time - until the flock of sheep
is big enough to fancy itself a match for wolves.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 100 of 170
Words from 52720 to 53247
of 89094