Gulls and terns here swam
the tide; there, seated upon the coral, devoured their prey. In the
air, troops of birds contended noisily for a dead flying fish,[FN#14]
and in the deep water they chased a shoal, which, in fright and hurry
to escape the pursuers, veiled the surface with
[p.219] spray and foam. And as night came on the scene shifted,
displaying fresh beauties. Shadows clothed the background, whose
features, dimly revealed, allowed full scope to the imagination. In the
forepart of the picture lay the sea, shining under the rays of the moon
with a metallic lustre; while its border, where the wavelets dashed
upon the reef, was lit by what the Arabs call the "jewels of the
deep[FN#15]"-brilliant flashes of phosphoric light giving an idea of
splendour which Art would vainly strive to imitate. Altogether it was a
bit of fairyland, a spot for nymphs and sea-gods to disport upon: you
might have heard, without astonishment, old Proteus calling his flocks
with the writhed conch; and Aphrodite seated in her shell would have
been only a fit and proper climax for its loveliness.
But-as philosophically remarked by Sir Cauline the Knyghte-
"Every whyte must have its blacke,
And every sweete its soure-"
this charming coral reef was nearly being the scene of an ugly
accident.
