"Earth, sea, and sky, all seemed wrapped in a soft and sensuous repose, in the tranquil life of the Lotos-eaters, in the swoon-like slumber of the Seven Sleepers, in the dreams of the Castle of Indolence. The sea of purest sapphire, which had not parted with its blue rays to the atmosphere-a frequent appearance near the equator- lay basking, lazy as the tropical man, under a blaze of sunshine which touched every object with a dull burnish of gold."