RELIGIOUS OPINIONS. 55 



freely applied to the walls outside, but having no 

 windows, the interiors looked like open sepulchres. 

 One of these stood at a short distance behind the 

 house of the Sultaun, the other flanked the sea 

 front of the town, at the opposite extremity of which 

 was a ruined stone building, of a square form, 

 standing close to the water's edge, and which, I 

 suppose, was meant originally for a protecting tower, 

 but nothing except the remains of the walls were 

 left to enable us to form any idea of its original 

 character. The mosque on the sea-shore was much 

 frequented at the time of the morning prayers, 

 immediately before and after sunrise, great num- 

 bers of the inhabitants taking advantage of the sea 

 to indulge in a more extensive ablution than they 

 could conveniently perform during the rest of the 

 day. 



Although I always professed to be of the same reli- 

 gion as Mahomet, that we both could have worship- 

 ped God together, and as regarded the stated number 

 of times, I might also have been an advocate for 

 the first proposal made to him by the angel Gabriel, 

 of at least five hundred prayers per day being neces- 

 sary, still I objected to the laws and regulations lie 

 had established, and preferred, with all deference 

 to the opinions of my Dankalli friends the institutes 

 of Jesus ; and as they admitted he was a prophet 

 sent from God, I contended that I could not be 

 much in error in following his instructions, even if 

 judged by the Koran. I did not find it necessary, 



