New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-09-30
NEW PUBLICATIONS
AN ECCENTRIC SCHOLAR.

Mr. Besant's biography OF one Oh TUG inos' ~
powned of modern Orientalsts bears the maiks OF
haste but Is not the less spirited ana s''i"o''e
.l.,cb. IL would have been difficult, indeed, even
e., wrter less xccompl ished and friend less de-
v,tsd 10 make uninteresting thedrawing OF Palmer
character and the story of his life. That eharafef
was unconventional and original; that short lie
WAS full of labor and achievement, with curious
sangle of the dramatic and humorous elements
Palmer was man of an almosa incredible capacity
for work: he had actual genius for the aequisi-
t,on of languages, vet never JAILED TO suppIeuonV
his marvellous instructive appreciation vi thei'
rceties by the painful industry which one expects
l., lind only in o student OF the pioddmg Vpe'
His trend says of him thai he was scholar most
earnest and resolule, "yot always Win the near'
of boy 50 great lingulst that he stood alone yet
ALWAYS modest; full of reliance IN himseH yeS
n.ver yainplorious; always at work. yet always
with time for leisure the most scrio de man IN inc
WORD when be bad purpose in view, yet the most
AZ ,htfnl and the most mirthful of companions"
rb,s translator of the New Testament. this Cam
hrioge Professor of Arabic. this Interpreter VI
strange and intricate tongues, was not as chiid
booI worm nor was he precocious. tie was OIL
,b. mlddle-class the son of Cambridge school
master who died so early that he contributed little
10 the training of the future Orientalist While
iovable petted aud somewhat fragile boy al
school, Palmer was moro distinguished LOT MS
cleyerness with his fingers in constantly maHhg
and devising things and for his gymnastlc itats
than for intellectual proves the only wav In
which 10 then BETRAYED the promise of the future
wears was IN his Independent acquisition OF Rom
any. He freqaeLted the gypsy tents. he paid SIX
peuce a lesson to travelling unkers and deprived
himself Of his pocket money IN buying from dark
.,od ci,sv girls few moro words to add to his
frius
srv and became posses ed of taste which he
rovsr Lost for wandering with these Iawless and
pieturesoue people. The unusual had always
charm for him. al do not think" says Charles
Jeland. he ever heard strange word or saw
.,ropcs face or heard strange thing that he did
mt remember it," The distinguished Professor
hecame n beloved companion OF theso Wild va
grants He would sit the doors OF their tents and
would talk though he was 4" gorgo," like Rom-
any of the purest blood sin fact. they believed
that he belonged to them but that for some I'M
known reason he chose to 60 about among the
swells and dressed like them" They never con-
ce,,led from him their many misdemeanors in the
way Of poaching, cheating etc. Many were the
adventures he mad among them with his friend
Charles Leland" To these good folk. says the
latter we were always irst-class mystery"
What with our sp aking ROmany down 10 the
bottom crust and Palmers incredible proficiency at
tbmble-ng, ringing the changes picking pockets,
card-sharplng, three-mon'e, ana every KIND OF
lecerdemain these honest people never could quite
make up their minds whether we were kind of
Brahu.ins TO which they were as Sudras. or what.
Voc to the gypsy snar wbo rn e onv nt m
where we all unknown and regarded as couple
of green Gentlles! And with what wonderful air |
of innocence would Palmer plav the part OF lamb !
and ask them to give him specimen of their lam |
puage and when they refused. or protested them |
selves unable to do So how amiably he would turn
.oYEi in Haan hat
mistaken aud that the people OF the tent were oDly
miserable mumpeTs of mixed blood who could not |
who retaliated in great rage, "How the devil could
j know that you were gypsy, II you come here |
dressed up like goTgio and looking ike gentle
mani"
When the boy Palmer lett school, he went di
fectly into mercantile life IN London. and there
unlike most city clerks spent every spare moment
in learning Frer CHI and Italian The od-fashioned
methods of learning be threw aside useless en-
cum5rances, and found his masters among Cont |
mental refugees organgrinders sailors at the docks
and sellers of plaster-cast images. Before be was
eighteen he had made himself perfect master of |
these two languages. knowing the country speech as
we'll as that of the schools There was no patois of
Italy or France which he could not speak. He thus
discovered for himself as youth the method of
learning languages which to serve him so
efectually IN the years that followed.
Either you want to learn language" he would
saw " or YOU do not. If you do not. follow the way
of the English schools, and you Will succeed. If,
however. you dO-l"-and here he would 90 on
to explain how 1t should first be studied without
the grammar, and with the intention of acquiring,
TO begin with, the most important part of the actual
vocabulary; how languages beng n groups, pre-
are common property how infections, sufiIes and
so forth also resemble each other and therefore
come quite easily TO the man who has begun with
the words so that in learning simply how read a
tongue, without opening anything more than die
tionary, you acquire insenslbly a vast amount of
and great quantity of syntax. The true
reason, he always insisted, of the brilliant failure
10 teach modern languages which distinguishes our
schools is that We only approach them by the aid of
grammars modelled after the Latin and Greek man
ner and that we mistake the teaching Of infection
and syntax Tor that of language. Any intelligent |
person, Palmer maintained can learn to read a
months, unless II be his first attempt at Oriental
language.
At twenty and In the enforced idleness of conva-
escence after severe illress in Cambridge. Palmer
began the study of Arabic. The incentive was his
acquaintance with Syed Abdullah learned teacher
of lndan languages who came to the university
.own TO read with a class Of who were going
,ut ln.the Indian Civil Service. The conversation
md the writings of this able Oriental stirrud
Palmers imas ination he began to learn the Arabic
character; the taste became a passion. and Syed
Abdullah found that he had pupil not only apt,
,ut with an extraordinary natural genius fer East
I'm nugages" Palmer never resumed his clerk-
hip; there is always demand In England for the
literary and pedagogical services of Drientalsts.
md he pursued his understanding at last the
fervor which quickly brought
lin helpers and employers. At twenty-six he was
aid to be OF ali Europeans the most thoroughly
ersed in Eastern languages. He became q notable
translator professor and explorer of the sacred re-
ions of the East-a scholar and poet with q strange
ash OF the boy and the actor. " lie Stood" writes
fr. Stanley Lane Poole, " In strongly marked con-
rast to the other scholars of his time Most of them
were brought up upon srammars and dictionaries; ]
e learned Arabic by the ear and mouth. Others