Casting my eyes over the bright, full moon, I perceived that an
eclipse was just coming upon it. What astronomer had calculated this
eclipse for Arabia? It was indeed a privilege to witness one in the
bright sky that over-spread the lonely mountains of Seir. Soon we were
seated in a circle, with our Arabs round their watch-fire, enquiring
of them their views of an eclipse, and explaining to them ours. They
appeared to have no idea of its real cause, regarding it as a judgment
from God, a sign of a bad season, and little camel feed. When we
undertook to explain to them the theory of the earth being round,
turning over every day, sometimes getting between the sun and moon,
they seemed to look upon us as telling very strange tales. The eclipse
was nearly total. I gazed upon it with interest, and then eyed the
strange scene around me. The wild, lonely landscape of rock and
sand--the camels kneeling round the bivouac--the wild faces of the
Arabs, reflecting the red light of the fire round which they were
seated--their wild voices and strange guttural language, all combined
to produce an effect so startling, that I felt till then I had never
been thoroughly sensible of our complete separation from the civilized
world.
* * * * *