La Poule Noire (The Black Pullet)

...to occupy myself with my work, when suddenly a horde of Arabs of the desert In the context of the late 18th-century French occupation of Egypt, "Arabs" usually referred to the Bedouin tribes who launched frequent guerrilla-style raids against French troops and scientific missions. fell upon us. We had no time to put ourselves on the defensive; saber blows rained down upon us, bullets whistled, and I received several wounds. My unfortunate companions in misfortune lay stretched upon the sand, either dead or expiring; and our cruel enemies, after having stripped us of our arms and clothes, seized our horses and disappeared with the speed of lightning.

I remained for some time in a state of total exhaustion original: anéantissement. This term suggests a state of complete physical collapse or a profound fainting spell., facing the sea; The mention of the "sea" here likely refers metaphorically to the vast "sea of sand" (the desert), as the Pyramids of Giza are quite far from the Mediterranean or Red Sea. at last, regaining a little of my strength, I raised myself with difficulty. I had two saber wounds on my head and one on my left arm; I looked around me, and I saw only corpses, a burning sky, arid sand, an immense desert, a frightful solitude, and the prospect of a certain and cruel death. I resigned myself to it, saying farewell to my homeland, to my parents, and to my friends. Invoking heaven, I dragged myself to the foot of the pyramid, and the blood which flowed abundantly from my wounds reddened the sand upon which I crawled, and which was soon to be my tomb.