Page 207 - Neglected Arabia Vol 1 (2)

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4 NEGLECTED ARABIA

You may be sure that I at once got busy. * ./as in attendance for
an hour every forenoon, afternoon and evening. It was necessary to
lance the swelling in three places. The following Thursday he was
well enough to hold a public reception to which the whole town and
hundreds of Bedouins turned out. I should roughly guess that about
5,000 people streamed into the reception hall during the forenoon. It
was very interesting to watch from a well hidden observatory. The
next day he attended the big Friday prayers at the large mosque. He
had not been able to attend for four Fridays previously because of this
infection. He continued to improve and within another few days was
much improved and is today quite himself again.
We were then able to get to work in our dispensary. We were
given a good house and living quarters for the hospital helpers. 1
cuiiiinucd to live at the caslle. In twenty-seven actual working days

SHEIKH ABO EL AZIZ BIN SAOUD AND ATTENDANTS.
we made 3,374 treatments of which 1,306 were new cases and 1,978 *
re-treatments and 90 outcalls. We performed 36 major operations and
101 minor operations and gave 15 intravenous injections.
We were very well received and have been very well treated. There
was not that open hostility and antagonism which were so depressing
in my first visit here. We were invited to a number of hornet,
received greetings on the street and had frequent callers, especially
from the royal family and better class. This does not mean that we
were everywhere welcome, that everyone went out of his way tu
please us; not at all, far from it. No few cold sullen glances were
cast at us and no few refused to return our greetings, but I especially
wish to emphasize the difference between the general attitude toward*
us three years ago and now. Only once have I heard the word
kaffir; really I did not hear it, a Bedouin came to the hospital yestcr-