I think I have mentioned that a priest is disqualified for the priesthood if he has any bodily blemish, and this enlargement in the throat distressed the Moolah greatly, for he was jeered at on account of it. Several times he had asked me to “cut away” the tumour, but there were reasons why I refused to employ _surgical_ treatment. He was improving, though slowly, under _medical_ treatment; the swelling was distinctly smaller. Removal of a goitre by the knife is not an operation to be generally recommended; firstly, because of the proximity of the gland to the great arteries of the throat and its very free blood supply; and, secondly, because, if the gland is removed successfully there are serious consequences that invariably follow, namely, the slow development of a most curious disease called Myxœdema, in which the sufferer has the appearance of being dropsical, though he is not so, and in which the speech and intellect are curiously affected. I could not explain all this to the Moolah through the Armenian, and I contented myself by saying “Né me-kunum, mé-muri.” “I shall not do it, you would die.” He bothered me time after time, and at last I said impatiently to the Armenian-- “Tell him to go and get an order from His Highness.” I thought that would end the matter, never thinking that he would go. He went, and, moreover, got the order. I at once wrote to the Amîr and explained that the operation was not necessary, and that, if attempted, the man would probably die. I received His Highness’s answer very soon after. He said-- [Sidenote: The Amîr’s Reply.] “Your letter, in which you say ---- and so on ---- has been received by me. The reasons therein set forth as to the danger of the cutting need not be an obstacle in the way of its performance. If the man recover it is good, and if he die, what does it matter! He himself is willing to undergo the risk.” There was nothing for it, therefore, but to operate. I told the Moolah he was foolish, and the operation would probably cost him his life. He said--being interpreted-- “No, sir. I have no fear. You will not let me die.”