,
going round the hillock, beheld a sight of horror. In the midst of
twelve eunuchs and about a hundred camels, he saw all these girls,
from twelve to fifteen years old, stretched on the ground in the
agonies of a burning thirst and inevitable death. Some had already
been buried; a larger number had fallen down by the side of their
keepers, who had not sufficient strength left to bury them. On every
hand were heard the sobs of the dying; and the cries of those in
whom enough of life still remained, begging for a drop of water. The
traveller hastened to open his flask, in which a little water was
left, and was now offering it to one of these poor victims. 'You
fool!' exclaims his Arabian conductor, 'would you have _us_ also to
perish for want of water?' and with his arrow he laid the girl dead
at his feet; laid hold of the bottle, and threatened the life of any
one who dared to touch it. He advised the Turkish merchant to go on
to Taibu, where he would find water. 'No,' said the Turk, 'at Taibu
the robbers would carry off all my slaves.' The Arab forced the
traveller to accompany him. At the moment of their departure, these
unfortunates, losing the last ray of hope, uttered a piercing
shriek: the Arab was affected, he took one of the girls, poured some
drops of water on her burning lips, and placed her on his camel,
intending her as a present for his wife. The poor girl fainted
repeatedly on passing the dead bodies of her companions. The small
stock of water of the travellers was soon exhausted, when they
discovered a well of fresh clear water. Here, disconcerted by the
depth of the well, and the shortness of their rope, they tore their
clothes into strips, which they tied together, and, with this frail
cordage, contrived to take up the water in small quantities,
dreading the loss of their bucket, and the disappointment of their
hopes. Through such perils and anxieties, they at last found their
way to Syria."

MRS. WILTON. "With this we will conclude the evening's business; and
as we have been so much in the East, I have prepared a little
present for each of you, in the form of a Chinese Puzzle; and
whenever you exercise your patience on them (and I assure you they
will require it, for they are most ingenious) you will think of our
travels, and of the many little facts you learnt while visiting the
lands of other nations. Also, I wish you to endeavor to gain
knowledge, not merely for ornament and reputation, but becaus