Page 45 - Travels in Arabis (Vol I)

6 TRAVELS IN OMAN. [di.

that so long as I remained in Oman, the best

the country afforded should be mine; that all
expenses of camels, guides, &c., would be de­

frayed by him, and that letters were preparing,
under his own direction, to the chiefs of the

different districts through which I had to pass,
requiring them to receive me with all possible

attention. Placing on one side every con­
sideration which might have actuated this

prince in furthering what he supposed the
views of my government to serve me, there

was, on this occasion, in the style and mode
in which he exhibited it, a spirit in full ac­

cordance with the truly noble character which
he bears.

Sayyid S’aid is fifty-two years of age, and
has reigned twenty-seven years. He pos­

sesses a tall and commanding figure ; a mild,
yet striking countenance ; and an address and

manner courtly, affable, and dignified. In
his personal habits, the Imdm has preserved

the simplicity of his Bedowin origin ; he is
frugal almost to abstemiousness; he never

wears jewels ; his dress, excepting in the fine­
ness of the materials, is not superior to that of

the principal inhabitants; and he is attended,