oothache and partly on account of Ramadan, he sent his
commodore, Captain Abdullah, to receive the _Thule_. When the English
flag was hauled down in the _Thule_, it went up to the mainmast of the
_Iskander Shah_, and was saluted by twenty-one guns; then the _Wasp_
saluted the Arab flag with an equal number, which honour being duly
acknowledged by a second royal salute from the _Iskander Shah_,
Captain Abdullah's frigate, the ceremony ended.

Next day, the 7th, we were received by the Sultan, and through his
interpreter, I told him that his friend, the Governor of Bombay, had
lately visited the South Mahratta Princes, and had pressed on them the
necessity of education; the world was moving on, and those who
neglected to acquire knowledge would soon find that power slipped
through their fingers, and that the Bombay Government, in presenting
his Highness with a portion of steam power, showed its desire to
impart one of the greatest improvements of modern times, not desiring
to monopolize power, but hoping to lift up others with themselves, and
I wished him to live a hundred years and enjoy all happiness. The idea
was borrowed partly from Sir Bartle Frere's addresses, because I
thought it would have more weight if he heard a little from that
source than if it emanated from myself. He was very anxious that
Captain Brebner and his men, in returning to India, should take a
passage from him in the _Nadir Shah_, one of his men-of-war, and
though he had already placed his things aboard the _Vigilant_, to
proceed to Seychelles, and thence to Bombay, we persuaded Captain
Brebner to accept his Highness's hospitality. He had evidently set his
heart on sending them back with suitable honours, and an hour after
consent was given to go by the _Nadir Shah_, he signed an order for
the money to fit her out.

_11th February, 1866._--One of the foremost subjects that naturally
occupied my mind here was the sad loss of the Baron van der Decken, on
the River Juba, or Aljib. The first intimation of the unfortunate
termination of his explorations was the appearance of Lieutenant von
Schich at this place, who had left without knowing whether his leader
were dead or alive, but an attack had been made on the encampment
which had been planned after the steamer struck the rocks and filled,
and two of the Europeans were killed. The attacking party came from
the direction in which the Baron and Dr. Link went, and three men of
note in it were slain. V