These masks
are worn by the women only when they are at some distance from home;
in and near their houses they are not used. All the women that I
saw were very ugly; the men, also, had not the fine, proud features
which are so frequently met with among the Arabians. Great numbers
of negroes are employed here as slaves.
I made this excursion at the time of the greatest heat (124 degrees
Fah. in the sun), and rather weakened by my illness, but did not
experience the slightest ill consequences. I had been repeatedly
warned that in warm countries the heat of the sun was very injurious
to Europeans who were not accustomed to it, and frequently caused
fever and sometimes even sun-stroke. If I had attended to every
advice, I should not have seen much. I did not allow myself to be
led astray--went out in all weathers, and always saw more than my
companions in travel.
On the 2nd of May we again set sail, and on the 3rd of May entered
the Persian Sea, and passed very near to the island of Ormus. The
mountains there are remarkable for a variegated play of colours;
many spots shine as if they were covered with snow.
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