MR. BARRAUD. "I propose a vote of thanks to Emma for introducing the subject, as by so doing we have gained a great deal of information."
MR. WILTON. "There you see, Emma, you are not laughed at, but we all thank you, for revealing your thoughts. Now to the Persian Gulf, if you have any particulars."
EMMA. "The Persian Gulf is another noted inland sea, about half the length of the Red Sea, and is the grand receptacle of those celebrated rivers, the Euphrates and the Tigris. The small bays within this gulf are Katiff Bay, Assilla Bay, Erzoog Bay. There are various islands and large pearl banks here; and on the Euphrates, not many miles from these shores, stands Chaldaea. The inhabitants are the Beni Khaled Arabs, descendants of the founders of the 'Great Babylon.'"
GEORGE. "Oh, papa, I have a discovery: here is an island nobody has noticed—its name is Dahalac."
MRS. WILTON. "That was certainly an omission, for Dahalac is a large island, sixty miles in circumference. It contains goats which have long silky hair, and furnishes gum-lac, the produce of a particular kind of shrub. To this island vessels repair for fresh water, which, however, is very bad, being kept in 370 dirty cisterns!"
MR. BARRAUD. "This district is especially interesting to Christians, for here are situated the mounts celebrated in Scripture. In the centre of Armenia you may observe Mount Ararat, a detached elevation with two summits; the highest covered with perpetual snow. On this mountain rested the Ark, when God sent his vengeance over all the earth, and destroyed every living thing. Mount Lebanon is in Syria; and not far distant stands Mount Sinai, an enormous mass of granite rocks, with a Greek convent at its base, called the convent of St. Catharine: here was the law delivered to Moses, inscribed on two tables of stone by the Most High God."
MR. WILTON. "The whole coast of Oman, in South Arabia, which on the north is washed by the waters of the Persian Gulf, and on the south by the Sea of Oman, abounds with fish; and, as the natives have but few canoes, they generally substitute a single inflated skin, or sometimes two, across which they place a flat board. On this contrivance the fisherman seats himself, and either casts his small hand-net, or plays his hook and line. Some capital sport must arise occasionally, when the sharks, which are here very numerous and large, gorge the bait; for, whenever this occurs, unless the angler cuts his line, (and that, as the shark is more valued by them than any other fish, he is often unwilling to do,) nothing can prevent his rude machine from following their track; and the fisherman is sometimes, in consequence, carried out a great distance to sea. It requires considerable dexterity to secure these monsters; for when they are hauled up near to the skins, they struggle a good deal, and if they happen to jerk the fisherman from his seat, the infuriate monster dashes at once at him. Many accidents arise in this manner; but if they succeed in getting him quickly alongside, they soon despatch him by a few blows on the snout."[[7]]
MRS. WILTON. "There are many little circumstances of interest connected with the Persian Gulf. In several parts fresh springs rise in the middle of the salt water, particularly near the Islands of Baharein. The whole shore of this gulf is lined with islands; and on its shores are several independent Arabs, who almost all live in the same manner. They subsist by maritime trade, and by the peril and other fisheries. Their food consists of dates, fish, and dhoura bread. Their arms are muskets, with matchlocks, sabres, and bucklers. These tribes, among whom the Houles are the most powerful, all speak the Arabic language, and are enemies to the Persians, with whom they form no alliances. Their houses are so wretched, that an enemy would think it lost labor to destroy them. As they generally have but little to lose on land, if a Persian army approaches, all the inhabitants of the towns and villages go on board their little vessels, and take refuge in some island in the Persian Gulf until the enemy retires."
EMMA. "Where are the Baharein Isles, mamma?"
MRS. WILTON. "Near the Arabian shore. They are remarkable for the pearl fishery, which is carried on in their neighborhood during the months of June, July, and August; a fishery which, in the sixteenth century, was estimated at 500,000 ducats.[[8]] The name Baharein signifies two seas."