Page 271 - Travels in Arabia (Vol 2)_Neat

252 COAST OF ARABIA. [CH.

But when its bosom is agitated by the tem­
pests which so frequently sweep over it, its
waves rear their snowy crests, and gleam and
sparkle in the sunbeams, as they here un-
interruptedly hold their wild and stormy
course, or then rise high, and expend their
fury on the almost countless reefs with which
the shores are bounded. The nights are
equally pure and clear,—the starry host il­

lumine the heavens with a brilliancy rarely
witnessed in more northern climes. I have
gazed thereon, and felt the full force of the
Prophet’s mournful exclamation,— “ Canst
thou bind the sweet influence of the stars ? ”
This was Job’s country,—can we, therefore,
be surprised at his frequent allusions to the
“ bespangled heavens ?”
Though the beri-beri is by no means pre­
valent amongst the Arabs themselves, yet
few ships have visited the Red Sea of late
years without their crews suffering consider­

ably from the ravages of that fatal disease
Our exemption from it may be mainly attri­
buted to the excellent water which we were
enabled to procure during our stay on the
coast, as well as to the care that was taken