Some Kurdish gentlemen were disposed to welcome the coming of the English for other and more personal reasons. Among these was a certain Agha Reshid of Ghara (a distinct man from his namesake of Berwar) whose fame as a murderer rivalled even that of the Agha of Châl. This distinguished man came to visit us one day, sadly scaring our household staff by the train that he thought necessary for his dignity; and perhaps for his safety also, for both the Government and his private enemies had designs upon him. "Will you receive him, Rabbi?" said the servants, "he is the man who has committed fifteen murders himself." He proved, however, to be, like Lambro, "as mild a mannered man as ever scuttled ship or cut a throat;" and after the usual compliments, disclosed his real business. "Could we see our way to registering him as a British subject?" The fact was, as he explained, that his enemies were getting quite troublesome to him now, over the crimes they said he had committed; and if we could oblige him in this, then he would be entitled to Consular protection, and that would give him a clean slate. As usual, in return for that favour he would cheerfully undertake the removal of any enemies of ours whom we named. We could only regret our inability to do him the service asked, and explain that there was really nobody whom we wished to have murdered; a statement which in the light of our known relations to our neighbours was received with an incredulity that was courteous, but quite undisguised. In the interests of science, however, we had to put one further question. "O Agha, that thing which your enemies say of you concerning those fifteen murders; is it true at all?" "O _Effendim_," he answered coolly; "they were all of them my enemies but two. And one of them was a Jew who had looked at my womankind." We could not come to an understanding, but we parted the best of friends.[143] As for the Christian villagers, they of course welcomed the arrival of what promised protection, and refused to believe any disclaimers of political power and aims. "Now we shall be able to send out our sheep to the far pastures," they proclaimed. To do so previously would have been a mere invitation to cattle-raiders, which they would not have been slow to accept! The person who was most to be pitied in the whole matter was the unfortunate Governor of Amadia. He had to veil under a decent show of politeness the disgust that he must have felt over the advent of a nuisance whom he was bound to protect; and a critic whom he could not turn out, or altogether disregard. Further, all his Kurdish neighbours who desired the removal of the foreigner were sure that the governor could do it if he would; and that he would have done so, had he not been bribed in a contrary sense.