Always the same impassable member of the reform club , whom no incident could surprise , as unvarying as the ship s chronometers , and seldom having the curiosity even to go upon the deck , he passed through the memorable scenes of the red sea with cold indifference ; did not care to recognize the historic towns and villages which , along its borders , raised their picturesque outlines against the sky ; and betrayed no fear of the dangers of the arabic gulf , which the old historians always spoke of with horror , and upon which the ancient navigators never ventured without propitiating the gods by ample sacrifices 他也不去看那些红海两岸的奇异古城，那浮现在天边的城影简直就象是美丽的图画。他也不想一想那些在这阿拉伯海湾可能发生的危险：古代多少史学家如斯特拉朋艾里安阿尔得米多艾德里西等人一提起这里，无不谈虎色变。从前，路过此处的航海家若不给海神奉献祭品，祈求旅行安全，他们是决不敢冒然航行的。
