The sky had been
for some time obscured by clouds, which had gathered themselves in a
bank upon the Eastern horizon. The sun's rays started up at once,
like an imperial crown, above this bank, and as they darted their
glittering spears, for such they seemed, along the heavens, the
clouds, dispersing, formed into a mighty arch, their edges becoming
golden; while below all was one flush of crimson light. Neither at sea
nor on land had I ever witnessed any thing so magnificent as this,
and those who desire to see the god of day rise in the fulness of his
majesty must make a pilgrimage to the desert.
We made no stay at the rest-house, which we reached about nine o'clock
in the morning; and here, for the last time, we saw the governor of
Jiddah and his party, winding along at some distance, and giving life
and character to the desert. The fantastic appearance of the hills
increased as we advanced; the slightest stretch of fancy was alone
necessary to transform many into fortresses and towers, and at length
a bright glitter at a distance revealed the Red Sea. The sun gleaming
upon its waters shewed them like a mirror, and soon afterwards the
appearance of some low buildings indicated the town of Suez.
I happened to be in advance of the party, under the conduct of one of
the gentlemen who had joined us on the preceding evening; I therefore
directed Mohammed to go forward, to announce our approach; and either
the sight of the Red Sea, or their eagerness to reach a well-known
spring of water, induced my donkeys to gallop along the road with me;
a fortunate circumstance, as the day was beginning to be very sultry,
and I felt that I should enjoy the shelter and repose of a habitation.
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