Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1885-04-21
THE LATE COLONEL BuRNAsY.

THE LATE COLONEL BuRNABY.
Some Interesting Incidents In His Re-
markablc Career.
In the list of the dead at Aboo-Klea
there is no line that will strike wider
chord of panied sympathy than that
which records his name. His renown
was worldwide, and he was in many
ways remarkable man. His personal
appearance, rs he sauntcred down the
street or as he sat on horseback on
parade, never failed to attract atten-
ton. The hardships undergone by him
in his ride to Khiva and in his latter
expedition to Asia Minor had begun to
tell upon him. He suffered grievously
from heart disease, and with his accus-
toned gay courage every hour faced the
consciousness of the probability Of sud-
den death.
In his youth nc WAS passionately fond
of gymnastics, in which he excelled
above all his fellows. There used to DO
in one of his clubs colossal dumb-bell
in glass case with the offer of heavy
wager that no man would hold it out
at arms length for the space of sixty
seconds. The wager was never won,
though Burnaby made nothing of ac-
complishing the feat. Among the
many stories of his physical proves
one relates to period shortly after he
Joined the Blues. The regiment was
down at Windsor, and q hurse-dcaler
who had come into possession of a
couple of very small ponies, had taken
them thither by command to exhibit
them to the Queen. Before going to
the castle he showed them to the
officers OF the Blues, to whom happy
thought occurred. Burnaby, who was
captain then, was in his own
room ON the first flight, With some
trouble the ponies were got upstairs,
and, the door quietly opening, they
trotted in unannounced, This was a
capital joke, and had great success.
But, as presently appeared, it had a
gloomy side. The ponies had gone up
stairs quietly enough, hut neither force
nor entreaty could induce them to 90
down. The hour approached at which
they were TO be presented to the Queen,
and the owner was in despair. Burma
by settled the matter olIhand. Taking
a pony up in either arm, he walked
down stairs and set them in the court
yard.
Probably no man in the army or out
OF it took such infinite pains to get
killed as Burnaby did. In times of
peace he was always going up in bal
loon, as affording the maximum of dan
ger with the minimum of preparation.
He had been up altogether thirteen
times. His last adventure in this direc-
ton was little less than three years
ago, when, there having been some ac-
cidents to people trying to cross the
channel in balloon, the enterprise at
tracted Burnaby, who safely accom-
plished the journey. In times of war
he was always eager to be at the front
His first experience of real fighting was
in the Carlist war, where he made the
personal friendship of Don Carlos,
which he always retained. When a
British expedition was sent to the Sou
dan he went out as a volunteer, and was
severely wounded at FL Teb. Previous
to this he had seen some hard lighting
by the side of Valentine Baker in the
Russo-Turkish war; When Lord
Wolseley set out on the last
expedition Burnaby volunteered his
services, which Lord Wolseley was
much inclined to accept But Bur-
naby was not in high favor at the
Hose Guards, and the nomination was
rejected. He, however. was not a man
TO be easily repulsed. He had made up
his mind to go out and see the fight.
and he went. He knew that If his |
movements were known a telegram
from the Horse Guards would precede
him to Korti. He accordingly kept |
his own secret, Withholding it even
from his most intimate friends. He |
gave out in mysterious way that he !
was bound for the Transvaal, and the |
first that was known of his where
abouts by his friends in London was |
learned from telegram announcing
his arrival at Korti.
Burnaby was man of wide reading
and much culture. His knowledge of
languages was extraordinary. He could
speak and write nine, including Russian |
and Arabic. The time was near at |
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