Page 76 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

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1926

Sunday [25th July]

Always a dullish day at the office, the people take long to realise that though the Agency is closed on Sunday my office
is open, being the Mohamedan State Office. Motored back in taxi, de Grenier came up too. He is terribly oily. In the
evening we walked in the bazaar & met the Captain of the Lawrence, so tiresome, they sail tomorrow so we cant have a
dinner party. Took him to the Pearl Market, a little corner of the bazaar, rather quiet, where the big pearl merchants sit
drinking coffee and bargaining over pearls. Really most interesting. Several brought pearls to show, undid untidy little
bundles, undid one corner, & took out a scrap of red cloth, undid the cloth & out rolled some glorious pearls, huge
beautiful things. We fingered & examined quite a lot, yellow, gray & white, all shapes and sizes, really lovely. Then
we walked on to Abdel Aziz Kuseiby's & called on him, the Captain had met him in Bombay, then down to the quay &
back to the fort. He sat for a while on the veranda, then I motored him down to see Daly, & back to the quay where his
launch was waiting for him, a nice fellow, & was at Bedford. Pity they are off tomorrow.

Monday [26th July]

Sheikh came in the morning & passed judgment on the man who was banished from Bahrain for being implicated in a
political murder, & who returned without leave & came to the Sheikh's house. He is a cousin of the sheikh's, one of the
Khalifa family, which is the Royal Family here. The Sheikh was lamentably unfirm with him & practically told him
that he was sorry to have to give him six months hard labour, but hoped that he would get off easy in prison. I shall see
that he is treated just as any other prisoner. Daly called for us & motored us out to the Spring where Spence was