41 
" the management of the boat; and woe to him who 
" dares to dispute it with me." 
I had well observed the position of the land at the 
commencement of the night; but I was ignorant to 
which side I ought to turn, not being able to set the 
boat in an easterly direction, by the smallest reflection 
of light from the heavens. I tried as much as possible 
to preserve our position relatively to the ship, which 
I still perceived. To increase my misfortune, I found 
myself attacked with violent vomitings of bile; but I 
could not quit the helm. I ordered them to row, but 
my companions did not know how. Nevertheless I 
pointed out to them their places, distributed the oars 
to them, showed them the method, and began to sing 
after the manner of the sailors of the Red Sea, to give 
them the time, and to make them move uniformly. 
What a spectacle! almost naked; buffetted by the 
waves, the rain, and the hail; lashed to the helm, with- 
out knowing where to go; surrounded with the most 
dismal darkness; suffering terrible sickness; and ob- 
liged to sing to regulate the uniformity of their 
movements. Sometimes the boat, our last and only 
resource, touched a rock, and made our blood freeze 
in our veins. At length, after a whole hour passed in 
this frightful agony, the clouds cleared a little: a ray 
of light from the raoon served to point out the east to 
me, and to bring joy to my heart. I cried, " We are 
saved." Then I turned the head of the boat to the 
Arabian coast. The weather was not sufficiently clear, 
however, to discover it; but after three hours of the 
greatest fatigue, the day began to appear; and we found 
ourselves almost close to the land. 
W e all landed, fifteen in number, almost naked. The 
first thing we did was to embrace, and to felicitate each 
Vol. II. F 
