The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-09-03

mixture 81 the two formed an unGodty erueie>
He was sent 10 Oxford 1t the age Of nineteen
and mstrioulated ~ Trinity. but soon
found that. with his training. he could
not rely upon gaining . nrst class. A
second class he did not care for. and his
disbursement was completed By his
failure to obtain two scholarships which
he had essayed to get The fact that
he pronounced Latin In the Continental way
was drawback. His father having refused to
permit him to leave the university and enter
at Heidelberg. he deliberately got himself rus
ticated. and left his college In great form. be-
hind q tandem. Invited to explain what he
Intended to do. he announced that he wished
to 60 into the army. but preferred the Indian
service. as II would show him more OF the
world. commission was procured for him
without difficulty. and. after spending some
months In learning the rudiments OF Hin
dustani, he set sail for Bombay In 1872 The
CORPS to which he was appointed was In coun-
try quarters at Baroda, in Gujerat, whore 1t
was lot easy to find good instructors. Never
theless. this obstacle was surmounted. and IN
ak months he found himself In the position
Of passed Interpreter In Hindustani"
This success encouraged him to SEQ
ond attempt, and four months later his name
appeared in orders as qualified to interpret In
the Guzerattee tongue. BY the end OF the hrst
year ne had Persian at his fingers ends, sum
cient Arabic to read. write. and converse nu-
entity. aud q superficial knowledge OF that dia-
lect OF Puniabee which 10 spoken In the wilder
parts OF the province. During his hrst seven
years In India. Burton passed successfully tho
official exa minations not only In the languages
mentioned. but in Msharattee. Sindhee. Telugu.
Pushtu. together with Turkish and Armenian.
His principal object In acquiring oollo-
ouial familiarity with Eastern tongues was
to pass for an Oriental After trying several
characters no found that the easiest to DO as
sumed was that Of half Arab. half Iranian.
such rs may DO met In thousands along the
northern shore Of the Persian Gulf The Sind
ians would have detected In moment the dill
ference between his articulation and their own
had he attempted in tho guise OF one OF their
com patriots to speak their vernacular tongue.
but, a. It was. they attributed his accent to
his strange country. just as q home bred Eng
lishman would account for the bad pronunci-
alton OF q foreigner calling himself partly
Spanish, partly Portuguese. As 1t was his
prolonged impersonation OF Moslem In sinde
that enabled him afterward to carry out his
extraordinary journey to Mecca. 1t may be In
teresting 10 hear how he managed It with
hair falling upon his shoulders. long beard.
face and hands. arms and feet stained with
thin coat Of henna. Mira Abdullah OF Bushire.
your humble servant, set out upon many and
many a trip. He was O bazzaz. vender OF fine
linen. cnlicoes. and muslins- Such ohapmen are
sometimes admitted to display their wares oven
in the sacred harem. and he had little pack Of
bijouterie and vertu reserved for emergencies.
1t was only. however. whom absolutely neoes-
sary that he displayed his stock In trade: gen.
orally. he contented himself with abiding to
1t on all possible occasions boasting largely
OF his profits. and asking Q thousand questions
concerning the state Of the market Thus. he
could walk into most mons houses quito with
out ceremony: even II the master dreamed OF
kicking him out. tho mistress was sure to op-
Dose suoh measure with might and main. He
secured numberless invitations. was proposed
to by several papas. and won. or had to think
no won. o few hearts: for he came as rich
man, and he stayed with dignity. and he de-
parted exacting all tho honors. When vending
his way he usually urged . return OF the visit
in tho morning. but no was seldom to DO found
at the caravansersi he speciasd-Was Mira
Abdullah the BushirL"