Ebn Sihoud, on being informed of our arrival, ordered us to be ushered into an elegant and well-furnished apartment, where a plentiful repast was set before us. This beginning seemed to augur well, and we congratulated ourselves upon not having yielded to the suspicions which had been suggested to us. The same night, having suitably attired ourselves, we were presented to the king; whom we found to be about forty-five years of age, with a harsh countenance, a bronzed complexion, and a very black beard. He was dressed in a robe fastened round the loins by a white sash, a striped turban of red and white on his head, and a black embroidered mantle thrown over his left shoulder, holding in his right hand the sceptre of the King of Mahlab, the ensign of his authority. He was seated, surrounded by the grandees of his court, at the extremity of a large audience-chamber, richly furnished with mats, carpets, and cushions. The draperies, as well as the king’s habiliments, were of cotton or the wool of Yemen,--silk being prohibited in his dominions, together with everything that would recall the luxury or customs of the Turks. I had leisure for making my observations; for when Ebn Sihoud had answered concisely and in a chilling tone to the Drayhy’s compliments, we seated ourselves, and waited in silence till he should propose a subject of conversation. The Drayhy, however, observing that after half an hour had elapsed he neither ordered coffee nor cleared his brow, opened the conference himself by thus addressing him:-- “I see, O son of Sihoud, that our reception from you is not such as we had a right to expect. We have travelled through your territories, and are come under your roof, upon your own invitation: if you have anything to allege against us, speak--conceal nothing from us.” Ebn Sihoud, casting a fiery glance at him, replied: “Yes, truly, I have many things to allege against you: your crimes are unpardonable! You have revolted against me; you have refused to obey me, and you have devastated the tribe of Sachrer, in Galilee, knowing that it belonged to me. “You have corrupted the Bedouins, and confederated them against me, and against my authority. “You have destroyed my armies, pillaged my camps, and supported my mortal enemies, those idolaters, those profaners, those rascals, those debauchees, the Turks.” Growing more and more exasperated as he spoke, and accumulating invective upon invective, his rage at last exceeded all bounds, and he concluded by commanding us to leave his presence and await his pleasure.