Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1873-04-29
ROMANCE OF A LIFE,

An English Lady weds an Arab
Chief.
Mrs. Isabel Burton writes under date
Of Trieste, March 18th, to the Pail Mall
Gazette: Will you allow me to contra
dict, as the editor Of the Triester Zeitung
has done here, the correspondent at Bey-
rout, who writes to the German Gazette
of Vienna concerning the late Lady
Ellenborough2 | scarcely know where
to begin, but must do it to keep my last
promise to her. / lived for two years at
Damascus while my husband, Captain
Burton, was consul there, and in daily
intercourse with the subject Of this par
agraph. Knowing that after her death
all sorts of untruths would appear in the
papers very painful to her family-as,
indeed, she was not spared while living
she wished me to write her biography,
and gave me an hour day until it was
accomplished. She did not spare herself,
debating the bad with the same frank
ness as the good. / was pledged not to
publish this until after her death and
that Of certain near relatives; but | am
in position to state that there is a grain
of truth to ton of falsehood in the par
agraph from Beyrout, and inasmuch as
Beyrout is only seventy-two miles from
Damascus, the writer must know that as
we'll as do. 1t must have come from q
yery common source when such English
as this is used: Between Beyreut and
Damascus she got pleased with the
cameldriverl 1t suggests a dis
charged lady's maid. left Damas-
Gus Just year and half ago, in the
middle of the night, and she was the last
friend to see me out of the city. AS she
wrung my hand, these were her last
words: do not forget your promise, II
| die and we never meet again. re-
piled: Inshallah, shall soon return.
She rode a black thoroughbred Arab
mare, and, as far as could see anything
in the moonlight, her large, sorrowfnl,
blue eyes, glistening with tears, haunted
me. | cannot meddle with the past with
outinfringing on the biography con6ded
to me, but can say few words con,
oerping her life, dating from her arrival
In the East, about sixteen years ago, as
tod me By herself and by those now liv-
inc tbere, and eaa add my testimony as
to what / saw, which ! believe will in
terest every one id England, from the
highest downward, and oe grathc,ation
to those more nearly concerned. ABOUT
sixteen years ago. tired of Europe, Lady
Ellenborough conceived the idea OF Wis
ting the East, and of initsting Lady
Hester Stanhope and Lady Mary wort
lev Montagu. (There is also a French
lady. Nine. de la Tour de Auvergne, who
has built herself o temple on the top OF
Mount Olivet, and lives there still.)
Lady Ellenborough arrived at Beyrout
and went to Damascus, where shs Or
ranged to 90 to Bagdad across the
desert. A Bedopin escort for this Jour-
ney was necessary, and as the Mezrap
tribe occupied the ground the duty OF
commanding the escort devolved Epon
Shavkh Miiwal a young brother OF
Sbaykh Mohsmmad, chief of this
tribe. which is g branch of the great
Anazen tribe. On the journey the
young shaykh fell in love with this seRn-
-tiful woman, who possessed all the quaii-
ties that could fire the Arab imaglna-
tod. Even two years ago she was more
attractive than half the young girls OF
our time. Il ended by his proposing to
divorce his MosieEl wives and to marry
her; to pass half the year IN Damascus
(which to him was like what L0Rdpn or
Paris would be to us) for her pleasure,
and half in the desert, to lead his natu-
raj life. The romantic picture OF be-
coming a queen OF the desert and of the
wild Bedouin tribes exactly suited her
wild fancies, and was at once accepted,
and she was married in spite Of all op-
position made By her friends and the
British consulate. She was married ac-
cording to Mohammedap laws, changed
her name TO that of the Hon. Mrs. pigby
El Mezrab, and was horribed when she
found that she had lost her. nationality
by her marriage, and had become Tur-
kish subject. For fifteen years she
lived. as she died, the faithful and afec-
tionate vie of the shaykh, to whom she
was devotsdly Al.Sched. Halt the year
vas passed in very prettF house she
bulk AZ Damascus just without TIE gates
III tie city, and the other six months
we're passed according to his nature IN
tbe desert in the Bedoqin tents OF the
tribe. In spite Of this hard life neeesssi-
tated BY accommodating herself 20 iia
babits-for they were never apart-she
never lost anything Of the English lady,
nor the softness Of q woman. She was
. agrsnde dame an bout des doigts in
.s5timent. voice, manners and speech.
~ never said o. did anything you
conl5 Vish stherwise. She kept sll his re-
snsot and vas the mother and thequeen
ii his hiba. in Damascus We we're
oalT nineteen Europeans, but We All
aoc-ss around her with affection and
friendship. The natives the sane. -
TO strangers. she only received toose
who brought q letter q introan.ct,o,n, (, (,
from a friend or relative but this did
m -. Hsfsa.rrH ranenr.nV