[4] It would be wonderful if Orientals omitted to romance about the origin of such an invention as the Dayrah or compass. Shaykh Majid is said to have been a Syrian saint, to whom Allah gave the power of looking upon earth, as though it were a ball in his hand. Most Moslems agree in assigning this origin to the Dayrah, and the Fatihah in honor of the holy man, is still repeated by the pious mariner. Easterns do not "box the compass" after our fashion: with them each point has its own name, generally derived from some prominent star on the horizon. Of these I subjoin a list as in use amongst the Somal, hoping that it may be useful to Oriental students. The names in hyphens are those given in a paper on the nautical instrument of the Arabs by Jas. Prinseps (Journal of the As. Soc., December 1836). The learned secretary appears not to have heard the legend of Shaykh Majid, for he alludes to the "Majidi Kitab" or Oriental Ephemeris, without any explanation. North Jah [Arabic] East Matla [Arabic] N. by E. Farjad [Arabic] E. by S. Jauza [Arabic] (or [Arabic]) E.S.E. Tir [Arabic] N.N.E. Naash [Arabic] S.E. by E. Iklil [Arabic] N.E. by E. Nakab [Arabic] S.E. Akrab [Arabic] N.E. Ayyuk [Arabic] S.E. by S. Himarayn [Arabic] N.E. by E. Waki [Arabic] S.S.E. Suhayl [Arabic] E.N.E. Sumak [Arabic] S. by E. Suntubar [Arabic] E. by N. Surayya [Arabic] (or [Arabic]) The south is called El Kutb ([Arabic]) and the west El Maghib ([Arabic]). The western points are named like the eastern. North-east, for instance is Ayyuk el Matlai; north-west, Ayyuk el Maghibi. Finally, the Dayrah Jahi is when the magnetic needle points due north. The Dayrah Farjadi (more common in these regions), is when the bar is fixed under Farjad, to allow for variation, which at Berberah is about 4° 50' west. [5] The curious reader will find in the Herodotus of the Arabs, El Masudi's "Meadows of gold and mines of gems," a strange tale of the blind billows and the singing waves of Berberah and Jofuni (Cape Guardafui, the classical Aromata). [6] "Foyst" and "buss," are the names applied by old travellers to the half-decked vessels of these seas. [7] Holcus Sorghum, the common grain of Africa and Arabia: the Somali call it Hirad; the people of Yemen, Taam. [8] The Somal being a people of less nervous temperament than the Arabs and Indians, do not fear the moonlight. [9] The first name is that of the individual, as the Christian name with us, the second is that of the father; in the Somali country, as in India, they are not connected by the Arab "bin"--son of. [10] Abdy is an abbreviation of Abdullah; Abokr, a corruption of Abubekr. The "End of Time" alludes to the prophesied corruption of the Moslem priesthood in the last epoch of the world.