. On the
third night of their sailing, the wind became higher, and the swell from
the south stronger than ever. They pitched about in the most dreadful
manner, and during the night two sails were carried away, and the
fore-topmast. They were now in peril; but they had the steam in reserve,
and steered for their port. On the 9th of June they were in smooth
water, running up between the coasts of Arabia and Africa. The weather
now suddenly changed; the sun became intensely hot, and though forty
miles from the shore, they were visited by numerous butterflies,
dragon-flies, and moths. In two days after, they sailed through an
orange-coloured sea, filled with a shoal of animalculae fifteen miles
long. On the next day they came in sight of the harbour of Aden. This
whole track was the voyage from which the Arabian story-tellers have
fabricated such wonders. One of the voyages of the celebrated Sinbad the
sailor, the most picturesque of all voyagers, was over this very ocean.
The orange-coloured waters, the strong effluvium of the waves
intoxicating the brain, the wild headlands of Africa--each the dwelling
of a necromancer--the Maldives, filled with mermaids and sea-monsters,
the volcanic blaze that guarded the entrance to the Red Sea, the fiery
mountains of Aden, the Hadramant, or region of Death, the Babelmandeb,
or Gate of Tears, the Isle of Perim, and the Cape of Burials, wild,
black, and terrific--fill the Arab imagination with wonders that throw
all modern invention to an immeasurable distance.

The town of Aden is not seen from the sea; it lies behind the mountains,
which are first visible. To look at the coast from this spot, nothing
but a sandy desert presents itself. The peninsula is joined to the
mainland, Arabia Felix, by a narrow sandy isthmus, nearly level with the
ocean. It is only 14,000 feet wide. There are three rocky islands in the
bay, one of which, commanding the isthmus, is fortified. The passengers
of the India were disturbed during the whole day by the yells of the
Arabs who were bringing the coals on board. They look more like demons
than human beings. "The coal-dust, of which we had lost sight for some
time, now began once more to turn every thing into its own colour. The
coolies employed in this service come from the coast of Zanzibar. They
keep up a continual yell during their work, and perform a kind of dance
all the time." They must be very well paid, and this is the true secret
of making men wor