136 THE OUT-STATION ; OR, 



one, until his share was afterwards doled out to him), 

 and having piled them in a heap on the sand, they 

 formed a circle around, and chaunted a hymn to 

 ALLAH, before commencing the repast. 



The moon had risen above the waters in one round 

 ball of fire, apparently of double the size that it as- 

 sumes in our own hemisphere, and as its beams fell 

 on the white sails of the stranded ship in the distance, 

 and illumined our shipwrecked group in their adora- 

 tion of the Prophet, it left an impression on my mind 

 that a thousand years of earthly vicissitudes could 

 never efface. 



I could not help imagining, however, how different 

 might probably have been the scene, had I been 

 thrown in such a situation with the denizens of more 

 civilised nations, with whom, I am much inclined to 

 believe, Allah would have been far less noticed than 

 the cockles, and when again, I fear, it might have 

 been said with truth, " There are not found that re- 

 turn to give glory to God, save this stranger." 



For the following two days and a half I was as 

 staunch as a Mahornmedan (barring the giving up of 

 wine), as ever dreamt of the black eyes of a houri. 



The hymn over, the men were ranged in a row, 

 and about a quart of cockles dealt out to each (I 

 see, my dear reader, you are dying to perpetrate a 

 pun, and to affirm that there could be no more appro- 

 priate food for " muscle-men" than cockles) ; and 

 for my own part, I candidly own to have never en- 



