Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1893-11-26

was In great sympathy Mltn tOrdcn,
having lived the same kind OF exciting
life and having experienced the same
neglect from the English government,
iypd he 8scribed 0ordon's failure 10 the
fact that the government sent him TO
Khartown alone. Captain Burton main
tanned that had they sent with G@nerai
Gordon 600 or COO men there would have
been no war.
Sir Richard Afterwards visited the
MOrmons in the United states, explored
the Cameron mountains, visited the King
OF Dahomi. trayersed the Interior Cf
Brazil. made voyage to Iceland, and
last, but not least, discos erel and re-
stored the land of indian. in ancient
California. About all these lands and
people with their various languages he
wrote and published some eighty i1l-
umes. His vocabulary was said 10 be the
largest OF any English writer, and no
doubt this was due 10 the fact that he
knew twenty-nine languages. and that
he never passed a day without reading
up something IN one OF them, ana hence
he spoke them without difficulty, never
mixing them. Lord Derby once said OF
him: In a Hfe of less than forty-iiye
years Captain Burton has crowded more
Of study. more OF hardships. and more
Of successful enterprise and adventure
than would sufiice to MI up the existence
Of half dozen ordinary men IAN Affi-
can traveller" said Captain Burton,
in this section OF the nineteenth CCn>
tury Is an animal overworked. Formerly
the reading public was satisfied with dry
details OF mere discovery; was delighted
with Il few ATTITUDES and lOngitudes. OF
late, in this, as in other pursuits, the
standard has been raised. Whilst march
ing 50 many miles per diem. and watching
certain number Of hours per nOctem,
the traveller who Is in fact his own
general, adjutant, quartermaster, and exc
cutlve, IS expected 10 survey and observe
to record meteOrology, hygrometry, and
hypsOmetfy-tO shoot and stuff birds and
beasts; TO collect geological specimens.
to gather political and commercial in
formation; to advance the infant study,
elhnology; 10 keep accounts TO sketch;
TO indte copious, legibe journal; to
collect examiners and vOcabularies, and
frequently 10 forward long reports, which
shall present the Royal Geographical So
ciety happenings through evening meet
insS ii X right / own, 10 establish a
high standard which insures some work
being done. but explorations should be
distinguished from railway journeys and
a broad line drawn between the feasible
and impossible. The unconsclonable ply
siclst now deems II his right 10 COM
plain, because the explorer has not used
MS theodolte In the temple Of Mecca,
or introduced his sympiesOmeter within
the walls Of Harar. An ancient gentle
man once requested me to collect beetles
and another sent me excellent receipts
for preserving tickS!'
Sir Richard was consul at Damascus,
Fernando, 20, and Trieste respectively.
lie was a strong, impatient character,
and his impatience often led him into
doing the right thing in the wrong way.
owing 70 this ana 10 spite and jealousy
ne was dismissed from Damascus. After
Sir Richards removal his successor be
came 80 alarmed AT the demonstration Of
dissatisfaction On the part VI the natives,
he left the town. and consulate to take
care Of itself. Sir Richard was not as
diplomatic as Lady Burton. consequently
h- often, indeed generally. engaged her
services when he had any request 10
make Of the government / cannot help
thinking this was a mistake on his part
Ills one desire in life was the consulate OF
Morocco, and had he pushed his own
claims, and represented his own cause. he
might have gained his point. The limits
# this article do not allow more than a
touch upon many points Of interest and
discussion in the life and character OF
this great man. Wherever he went
wherever he lived he made friends, and
showed that powerful magnetism which
marks strength and force.
The natural outcome OF his pilgrimage
10 Mecca, though he worked at IL thirty
years, IL Sir Richard Burton's Trans
lat!on Of the Arabian Nights" in ten vol
Jues. 1t Is the most complete translation
Of these works that has ever been given,
and It Is considered Sir Richards mag
mum opus. Being a master Of both En-
slish and Arabic, he Initiated the rythmic
prose which is characteristic of the Arab
ic lie said himself that ARAB ideas OF
morality are different from European
and If we are TO understand the Arabs
and if the translation ia TO be OF any
value from an anthropological point Of
view, it can only be written "a / have
written il. ] do not care a button about
being prosecuted. and if the matter comes
20 "a fght, ! will walk into court with my
Bible, my Shakespeare, and my Rabelais
under my arm. and prove to them that
before they condemn me they must cut
half Of them out and not allow them
10 be circulated to the public" At first
a thousand copies were issued but IT was
afterwards agreed that Lady Burton
would reproduce her husbands original
text. eXpureating such words as were
unfit for the drawing table, and
issue n larger edition. Lady Burton man
aged the finances, and when a publisher
offered $500 for It. she said no" and the
Burtons became their own publishers In
three years they realized by its sale $50. 900
3winburne wrote an lode TO Richard Bur
ton on his Translation of the Arabian
Nights" Sir Richard was a remarkable
swordsman, and his System of Bayonet
Exercise" published I'm 1865, is the one
now In use in the British army
II is interesting TO turn from his public
life and note how so great a man lived.
what were his fanCies, his peculiarities,
and so forth. Everything in connection
with him was romantic, and particularly
50 the meeting between him and his wife
She and her sister were walking on the
ramparts at Bologne when they met
Captain Burton. then a handsome officer
IN the Bombay service. Isabel Arundel
turned TO her sister and said, THAT man
viii marry me-" The next day he was
there and followed them. On q wall no
wrote, May / speak to your and leav-
ing the chalk there Isabel took il up and
answered mo. mother will be angry
The mother found 1t out and was angry
and for some time there were no more
walks. Finally by a cousin they were in
troduced to each other, but the little
school girl Contented herself with a look
at the officer at every turn on the ram
parts when he was not looking her way
and as she used to turn red and pale and
grow dizzy and faint, her mother applied
To a physician. who prescribed some pills
which the young lady threw into the
fire. She says of herself: Il was struck
with the shaft Of destiny but i had no
hopes (being nothing but an ugly school
girD of taking the winds out of the sails
OF the dashing creature with whom Cap
tain Burton was carrying on a serious
filtration. The only luxury l INDUCED in
was a short but heartfelt prayer for him
every morning. One night an exception
was made TO our dull rule Of life. My
cousins gave a tea-party and dance and
the great majority flocked In. and there
was Sir Richard like a star amongst
flashlights. That was a night Of nights
he waltzed with me once and spoke TO
me several times, and j kept my sash
and gloves and would not wear them
again" After romantic courtship Of
opposition and waiting for five years
they were married.
Sir Richard was man Of simple tastes.
The moment his wife put anything pretty
in his room he would set il out in the
hallway. lie liked large, plain-deal tables,
about six feet long, and three or four
feet broad, with no table cloth. He would
tie n rad bandanna on the leR for a nan.