With
rapid steps I swept round the base of the hills, threaded the
winding hollows, and at last, as I rose in my swift course to the
crest of a lofty ridge, Thalatta! Thalatta! by Jove! I saw the
sea!
My tongue can tell where to find a clue to many an old pagan creed,
because that (distinctly from all mere admiration of the beauty
belonging to nature's works) I acknowledge a sense of mystical
reverence when first I look, to see some illustrious feature of the
globe--some coast-line of ocean, some mighty river or dreary
mountain range, the ancient barrier of kingdoms. But the Red Sea!
It might well claim my earnest gaze by force of the great Jewish
migration which connects it with the history of our own religion.
From this very ridge, it is likely enough, the panting Israelites
first saw that shining inlet of the sea. Ay! ay! but moreover, and
best of all, that beckoning sea assured my eyes, and proved how
well I had marked out the east for my path, and gave me good
promise that sooner or later the time would come for me to rest and
drink. It was distant, the sea, but I felt my own strength, and I
had HEARD of the strength of dromedaries.
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