. The heart of Arabia, a record of travel and exploration . ain of the guard, to whom I took a stronginstinctive disUke at sight, with whom I was destined duringthe following months to become intimately acquainted,and for whom my antipathy grew with every day of ouracquaintance, until, more than six months later, I shookmyself free of the incubus of his attentions by an openrupture. The reader of these pages will make his closer ac-quaintance and judge between us as my narrative proceeds ;for the nonce he was the bearer of Ibn Sauds welcome. After the customary interchange of formal greetings,
. The heart of Arabia, a record of travel and exploration . ain of the guard, to whom I took a stronginstinctive disUke at sight, with whom I was destined duringthe following months to become intimately acquainted,and for whom my antipathy grew with every day of ouracquaintance, until, more than six months later, I shookmyself free of the incubus of his attentions by an openrupture. The reader of these pages will make his closer ac-quaintance and judge between us as my narrative proceeds ;for the nonce he was the bearer of Ibn Sauds welcome. After the customary interchange of formal greetings, weall remounted and moved slowly down the hill towards thepalms, Ibrahim, a magnificent figure in his splendid raimentand sitting his breedy palfrey with the Arabs natural grace,riding level with me, exchanging news and down the slope a group of Arabs awaited ourapproach, their Dhaluls couched beside them ; as we cameup to them and their leader stood forward to greet us, werecognised in him Colonel Hamilton, the Political Agent at 62. R. E. A. ON Willi FaHAD OF THK KOVALBODVllUARI) AT I-llV\|iH. THE WAHHABI CAPITAL 63 Kuwait, who had reached Riyadh by way of the Qasimsome three weeks before us. Joining forces, we all rode on together to the edge ofthe palm-belt, where a halt was called to await the openingof the city gates, for the day was Friday and the hour noon ;the whole male population, high and low, was gathered inthe Great Mosque for the weekly public prayer and all thegates were shut against ingress and egress. We dismountedon a dusty road leading between walled palm-groves andsat down to wait in the shade of a high garden-wall untilthe coast was clear. The while the long-drawn wail of aneighbouring well-wheel accentuated the deathly stillnessof the scene, as it were the shrill cry of some ghostly Muadh-dhin calling the world to endless prayer. Suddenly there was a stir as of rustling leaves ; some-how it was known that t
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1922
