The morning call., 1891-07-27
For CONSCIENCE SAKE.
Lady Burton Burns Manuscripts Wort
a Handsome Fortune.

Handsome Fortune.
Lady Burton, widow of Captain Burton,
the famous traveller and author, contributes
to the London Morning Post letter re-
speeding her husbands man uscripts, in the
course of which she says:
my husband had been collecting for
fourteen years information and materials
on certain subject. His last volume of the
Supplemental Nights had been finished
and out on the 18th of November, 1888. He
then gave himself up entirely to the writing
OF this book, which was called the Scented
Garden translation from the Arabic.
THE day before he died lie called me into
his room and showed me half page of
Arabic manuscript upon which he was
working, and he said: Tomorrow l shall
have finished tbis, and promise you after
this will never write another book upon
this subject. l will take TO our biography
l told him it would be a happy day when he
left off that subject, and that the only thing
that recOnciled me to ii was that the doctors
had said that 1t was so fortunate, with his
partial loss of health, that he could find
something 10 interest and occupy his days.
He said: This is to be your jointure, and
the proceeds are to be set apart for an an
nuity for you And l said: L hope not;
/ hope you will live to spend it like the
other he said: i am afraid il will make
big row in England, because the Arabian
Nights was a baby tale in comparison to
this, and L am in communication with sew
eral men in England about it,
The next morning at o'clock he had
ceased to exist. Some days later, when l
locked myself up III his rooms and sorted
and examined the manuscripts, read this
one. No promise had been exacted from
me, because the end had been SO unforeseen,
and L remained for three days in state of
perfect torture as to what | ought to do
about it. During that time | received an
offer from wbOSn shall alpaps
be kept private, OF 5000 guineas for it. He
said i know from 1900 to 1000 men who
will buy it at guineas that is, at 2 gnineas
the volume. and as shall not restrict my
on payment, shall probably make
10000 out of it, | said to myself:
Out of 1900 men, ffteen will probably
read it in the spirit of science in which it
was written, the other 1885 will read il for
flth's sake aud pass it 10 their friends, and
the harm done may be incalcuable.' Bury
it, said one adviser; Don't decide That
means digging it up again and reproducing
at Will Get man to do it for YOU said
No. 2; don't appear in it, i have got
cannot deceive God Almighty, who holds
my husbands soul in his hands, l tested
one man who was very earnest about il.
Let us go and consult so and So but he,
with little shrek of horror, said, oh,
pray, don't let me have anything to do with
81 sat down on the floor before the fire at
dark to consult my own heart my own
head How | wanted a brother! Ny head
told me that sin Is the only rolling stone
that gathers moss. That what gentleman.
a scholar, man of the world may write
when living. he would see very differently
to what the poor soul would see standing
naked before its God, with its good or evil
deeds alone to answer for, and their conSe-
quences visible TO it for the first moment,
rpll inn m tn md Of inc for
friend on earth to stop and check theml
What would he care for the applause of
1900 men now-for the whole worlds praise
and God offended? My heart said, you
can have COCO guineas; your husband
worked for you, kept you in happy home
with honor and respect for thirty years.
How are you going to reward him? That
your wretched body may be fed and clothed
ana warmed for few miserable months or
years, will you let that soul, which is part
of your soul, be left out in cold and darkness
till the end of time. till all those sins which
have been committed on account of reading
those writings have been expiated or passed
away perhaps forever? Why. it would be
Just parallel with the original thirty pieces
OF silver
81 fetched the manuscript and laid 1t out
on the ground before me-two large volumes
worth. Still my thoughts were, was ii
sacrilege? It was his maguum opus-his
last work. that he was so proud Of, that was
to have been finished on the awful morrow
that never came. VIII he rise up in his
grave and curse me or bless me? The
thought will haunt me to death, but Sadi
ard FL Shaykh ell NafZawih, who were
pagans. begged pardon of God, and prayed
not TO be cast into hell fire for having writ
ten them, and implored their friends to pray
for them to the Lord that he would have
mercy on them. And then | said Not
only not for 5000 guineas, but not for $780,
600 guineas, will l risk it, Sorrowfully,
reverently, and in fear and trembling, |
burned sheet after sheet until the whole of
tina volume was consumed.
ut is my belief that by this act, il my
husbands soul were weighted down, the
cords were cut, and it was left free 10 soar
to its native heaven. AS we had received
no money in advance, l was mistress of the
situation. If any judge otherwise, and
deem me unworthy Of their friendship,
muSt hear il I'm silpnpp'