lgae
and fuci. What an indescribable spectacle, and what variety of sites
and landscapes along these sandbanks and volcanic islands which bound
the Libyan coast! But where these shrubs appeared in all their beauty
was on the eastern coast, which the Nautilus soon gained. It was on
the coast of Tehama, for there not only did this display of zoophytes
flourish beneath the level of the sea, but they also formed picturesque
interlacings which unfolded themselves about sixty feet above the
surface, more capricious but less highly coloured than those whose
freshness was kept up by the vital power of the waters.

What charming hours I passed thus at the window of the saloon! What
new specimens of submarine flora and fauna did I admire under the
brightness of our electric lantern!

The 9th of February the Nautilus floated in the broadest part of the
Red Sea, which is comprised between Souakin, on the west coast, and
Komfidah, on the east coast, with a diameter of ninety miles.

That day at noon, after the bearings were taken, Captain Nemo mounted
the platform, where I happened to be, and I was determined not to let
him go down again without at least pressing him regarding his ulterior
projects. As soon as he saw me he approached and graciously offered me
a cigar.

"Well, sir, does this Red Sea please you? Have you sufficiently
observed the wonders it covers, its fishes, its zoophytes, its
parterres of sponges, and its forests of coral? Did you catch a
glimpse of the towns on its borders?"

"Yes, Captain Nemo," I replied; "and the Nautilus is wonderfully fitted
for such a study. Ah! it is an intelligent boat!"

"Yes, sir, intelligent and invulnerable. It fears neither the terrible
tempests of the Red Sea, nor its currents, nor its sandbanks."

"Certainly," said I, "this sea is quoted as one of the worst, and in
the time of the ancients, if I am not mistaken, its reputation was
detestable."

"Detestable, M. Aronnax. The Greek and Latin historians do not speak
favourably of it, and Strabo says it is very dangerous during the
Etesian winds and in the rainy season. The Arabian Edrisi portrays it
under the name of the Gulf of Colzoum, and relates that vessels
perished there in great numbers on the sandbanks and that no one would
risk sailing in the night. It is, he pretends, a sea subject to
fearful hurricanes, strewn with inhospitable islands, and `which offers
nothing good either on its surface or in its depth