Page 206 - Travels in Arabis (Vol I)

XL] TRAVELS IN OMAN. J 67

nient with a Sheikh, in the Imam’s presence,
to convey us, when we reached Bireimah, with

one hundred of his followers, to El Hassa,
and from thence to Der’ayyah; but for the pre­

sent it was necessary all our plans should be
abandoned. To proceed in our present state

of health was impossible; to remain at Nes-
wah was to destroy the only chance of re­

covery for the other patients, who were now
sinking fast; and not without a severe pang
of vexation, I turned from all my former

splendid visions, to a determination of pro­
ceeding at once to Sib, on the sea-coast, in

which spot, renowned for its salubrity, I
hoped in a short time to recover the health

of all.
On the 22nd January, accompanied by the

Sheikh and about fifty of his followers, we
*
left Neswah in circumstances somewhat dif­
ferent from those under which we had first
entered it. We were then full of health, and

joyous at the idea of visiting unknown dis­

* Spelt Nizzuwah in the accompanying Map, which seems to
be the more correct orthography. This town is called Tama in
Idrisi’s printed epitome.— Geog. Nub. page 54. In the Oxford
MSS. it is spelt yjj.