Page 321 - Travels in Arabia (Vol 2)_Neat

302 COAST OF AKA HI A. [ClI.

Within the southern portion of the Red
Sea southerly winds prevail for nine months
in the year, although in October, November,
and December they not unfrequently blow
home to Suez. On ordinary occasions their
violence is not perceptible above one hun­
dred and fifty miles above Mokha, and an
inspection of the Hugh Lyndsay’s journal for
November will show that neither of these
winds retarded her progress to any consider­

able extent.
But of all doubts hitherto raised as to the
practicability of an uninterrupted communi­
cation with India by the present plan, the
only one worthy of attention is, whether
steamers could effect a passage to the Red
Sea in the months of July, August, and Sep­
tember. Had India, however, been less dis­
tant from England, how soon would this dif­

ficulty have vanished ! We should then have
discovered that, instead of being obstacles to
the constancy of our intercourse, their un­

varying character might be turned to good
account: that, as in the sea itself, by sub­
stituting sails for steam, we should be en­
abled to effect a great saving, not only in