Yes and no. After Gandalf smoked pipeweed it seems that Saruman did order shipments of the Longbottom leaf, so he was copying there.
But I don't think he copied Gandalf about the Shire. When evil things came back into the world, and things begain to tip Saruman off, he guessed why Gandalf might be spend- ing so much time in the Shire. He knew if he (Saruman) knew where the Ring was, he'd be frequenting that spot as well. So Saruman began to pay attention to the Shire, sure that the Ring he wanted lay there. So he wasn't really copying Gandalf there, he only took interest in the Shire because of the Ring. Gandalf was interested in the hobbits, but Saruman would never have been paying attention (even if Gandalf was) to the Shire if there was no Ring there. Guilty on one count, not guilty on the other. [img]smilies/cool.gif[/img]
|