DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.12664#0264
THE VALUE OF WATER.
251
lion, and while moving slowly upon my drome-
dary, with the hot sun beating upon my head, I
wiped the sweat from my face, and thought upon
the frosty Caucasus. And when, after travelling
an hour aside from the main track, through an
opening in the mountains, we saw a single palm-
tree shading a fountain, our progress was gradu-
ally accelerated, until, as we approached, we broke
into a run, and dashing through the sand, and with-
out much respect of persons, all threw ourselves
upon the fountain.
If any of my friends at home could have seen
me then, they would have laughed to see me
scrambling among a party of Arabs for a place
around a fountain, all prostrate on the ground, with
our heads together, for a moment raising them to
look gravely at each other, while we paused for
breath, and then burying our noses again in the de-
licious water. And yet, when my thirst was satis-
fied, and I had time to look at it, I thought it lucky
that I had not seen it before. It was not a foun-
tain, but merely a deposite of water in a hollow
sandstone rock ; the surface was green, and the
bottom muddy. Such as it was, however, we
filled our skins and returned to the main track.
We continued about an hour in the valley, rising
gently until we found ourselves on the top of a lit-
tle eminence, from which we saw before us an-
other valley, bounded also by high rocky cliffs ; and
directly in front, still more than a day's journey
distant, standing directly across the road, and, as
has been forcibly and truly said, " looking like the
251
lion, and while moving slowly upon my drome-
dary, with the hot sun beating upon my head, I
wiped the sweat from my face, and thought upon
the frosty Caucasus. And when, after travelling
an hour aside from the main track, through an
opening in the mountains, we saw a single palm-
tree shading a fountain, our progress was gradu-
ally accelerated, until, as we approached, we broke
into a run, and dashing through the sand, and with-
out much respect of persons, all threw ourselves
upon the fountain.
If any of my friends at home could have seen
me then, they would have laughed to see me
scrambling among a party of Arabs for a place
around a fountain, all prostrate on the ground, with
our heads together, for a moment raising them to
look gravely at each other, while we paused for
breath, and then burying our noses again in the de-
licious water. And yet, when my thirst was satis-
fied, and I had time to look at it, I thought it lucky
that I had not seen it before. It was not a foun-
tain, but merely a deposite of water in a hollow
sandstone rock ; the surface was green, and the
bottom muddy. Such as it was, however, we
filled our skins and returned to the main track.
We continued about an hour in the valley, rising
gently until we found ourselves on the top of a lit-
tle eminence, from which we saw before us an-
other valley, bounded also by high rocky cliffs ; and
directly in front, still more than a day's journey
distant, standing directly across the road, and, as
has been forcibly and truly said, " looking like the