1903] News from Nejd 39 



Dunlop, the Adviser of the Ministry of Instruction, who told him 

 roundly that he would not have any Englishman under him who came 

 to Egypt knowing a word of Arabic. It only gave them romantic 

 ideas about the natives, and they would waste their time explaining 

 what they taught to the natives in Arabic instead of making these 

 learn English. For this reason he would not hear of accepting young 

 men from Cambridge who had passed an examination in Arabic. 

 He prefers to go to England, and pick up young men himself for 

 the places vacant in his department. 



" 2&th Jan. — An interesting man has been here, one of Ibn Rashid's 

 slaves from Hail, a half-bred Arab negro born in Nejd, by name 

 Eid. He is here on a political mission of some kind to find out what 

 is going on in the world, and possibly to seek alliances for the new 

 Emir Abd el Aziz Ibn Rashid. His master is just now in rather bad 

 luck, having lost a considerable battle to Ibn Saoud, and been driven 

 out of Aared. He gave us a graphic account of the battle, and how 

 Ibn Rashid's standard had been passed on from hand to hand by 

 his khayal (horsemen) as one after the other was slain, he himself 

 taking it at last, though Mutlak declares it fell into the hands of 

 Ibn Saoud. According to Eid, Ibn Saoud has now gained posses- 

 sion of Aared, and is living at Derayyeh, but Kassim is still under 

 Ibn Rashid, who has his Wakil at Bereydah. I asked him what part 

 the Dowlah (the Ottoman Government) had played in the matter, 

 and he protested that it had played none, except that the Sultan had 

 sent a present of Martini rifles and cannons to Abdul Aziz on his 

 accession. Of the English he said that Koweit was full of them. 

 Mohammed Abdu, who came in while we were talking, helped to 

 cross-question him, and there is no doubt the man is what he states 

 he is, for he knows all the politics of Nejd past and present; he is 

 quite new to the outside world, having travelled by way of Jof to 

 Damascus, where he left his delul and came on by steamer from 

 Beyrout, a strange experience for him. He has stopped the night 

 with us, and this morning he is to go back straight to Hail. I gave 

 him a piece of parting advice, and a message to his master and to 

 Hamoud and Majid, and the rest of them there. ' Listen,' I said, 

 ' to my word, and let these listen. There is danger to the Arabs 

 from the Dowlah, and there is danger also from the English ; have 

 nothing to do with either of them. Make peace at once with Ibn 

 Saoud and remain quietly in your own country ; leave Mubarrak alone 

 at Koweit and leave Ibn Saoud alone in Aared, otherwise the Gov- 

 ernment of the Ibn Rashids at Hail will perish. You have seen here 

 what comes of English intervention, how the Khedive's Government 

 has been undermined and destroyed, and so it will be with you in 

 Arabia if you do not mind your own affairs. Have nothing to do 



