DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.12665#0033
A TRIAL OF THE FEELINGS,
25
of it made me sick. I told him that it was utterly
out of my power to help him ; that I knew no more
of the healing art than he did himself; and that the
only advice I could give him, was to endeavour to
get to Cairo and put himself under the hands of a
physician. I shall never forget the poor fellow's
look, and almost blamed myself for not giving hirn
some simple preparation, which might have cheated
him, at least for a few days, with the hope that he
might escape the tomb to which he was hurrying.
His hands fell lifeless by his side, as if he had heard
a sentence of death; he gave me a look which
seemed to say that it was all my fault, and fell
senseless on the ground. His two companions
lifted him up ; his faithful di^medary kneeled to re-
ceive him; and, as he turned away, he cast a re-
proachful glance towards me; which made me al-
most imagine myself guilty of his death. I have
no doubt that, long before this, the poor Arab is
dead, and that in his dying moments, when strug-
gling with the king of terrors, he has seen, in his
distracted visions, the figure of the hard-hearted
stranger, who, as he thought, might have saved
him, but would not.
Anxious to escape an object so painful to my
feelings, I walked on, and was soon busily engaged
in picking up shells and coral; of the former I
never saw so many as at this place. Some were
particularly beautiful, but exceedingly delicate, and
difficult to be carried. The first day I could have
loaded a camel with them. The coral, too, such as
c 2
25
of it made me sick. I told him that it was utterly
out of my power to help him ; that I knew no more
of the healing art than he did himself; and that the
only advice I could give him, was to endeavour to
get to Cairo and put himself under the hands of a
physician. I shall never forget the poor fellow's
look, and almost blamed myself for not giving hirn
some simple preparation, which might have cheated
him, at least for a few days, with the hope that he
might escape the tomb to which he was hurrying.
His hands fell lifeless by his side, as if he had heard
a sentence of death; he gave me a look which
seemed to say that it was all my fault, and fell
senseless on the ground. His two companions
lifted him up ; his faithful di^medary kneeled to re-
ceive him; and, as he turned away, he cast a re-
proachful glance towards me; which made me al-
most imagine myself guilty of his death. I have
no doubt that, long before this, the poor Arab is
dead, and that in his dying moments, when strug-
gling with the king of terrors, he has seen, in his
distracted visions, the figure of the hard-hearted
stranger, who, as he thought, might have saved
him, but would not.
Anxious to escape an object so painful to my
feelings, I walked on, and was soon busily engaged
in picking up shells and coral; of the former I
never saw so many as at this place. Some were
particularly beautiful, but exceedingly delicate, and
difficult to be carried. The first day I could have
loaded a camel with them. The coral, too, such as
c 2