New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-08-13


of animals from cruelty and TO wonder why
she has so little pity on those poor bipeds-her
readers She has u perverse way OF spelling SOME
croper names Occasionally one looks In vain
for the verb in "a sentence. But there Is never
any trouble in discovering her intent. one IoNe'
her husband, and she is profoundly earnest in
the effort TO depict him for Others just as she
saw him herself.
EPISODES OF TRAVEL.
The advantage of the consulate at Trieste for
a man as restless as Burton, was that he could
Obtain leave frequently for journeyings. In this
way he revisited India, accompanied by his wife.
who cave an account of the tour in her work.
ARABIA. Egypt and India, just as she had marked
the soiourn at Damascus with the Inner Lille OF
Syria Under contract with 1smail, the ktedive
of Egypt, he made explorations in Egyptian Arabia
searching for gold but the fall of 1smai and the
succession of Tewfik made Burtons discoveries
useless to the country and costly TO himself. When
Professor Palmer and his companions were assas-
sinated by the Bedouins, Burton WAS sent OF by
the Foreign Office to join the party which searched
the desert Cor the victims and the murderers
True to his friendship for the desert Arabs ne
AWAY insisted that the crime was not character
istic of them but had been planned in another
quarter. One of the most forcible phrases he
ever invented and he skilful in putting
words together so that they flashed a meaning out
Of darkness like stroke of lightning, found its
place in his comment this affair. He pointed
ont that the superstitous caution OF the Betiouhs
respecting blood feud would have prevented theni
from codly plotting such crime, ana declared
that If was due to the farseeing iniquity oil CIV
ilized men"
.rhe work of the searching party was practI-
cally done when Burton arrived on the @rounu'
hut he wrote an article upon his journey which
went begging among the periodicals Lady Dur
ton remarks on the annoyance which this literary
slight and others caused her husband and herself
She has published the article on the search ior
Palmer in the appendix, and it bears the reasons
for its rejection on its face. The English occupa-
ton of Egypt is sore topic even now pu' inc
blunt uncomprOmising advice Of Burton would
have been greeted with a howl of execration IN
1882 lie saw as clearly then as most men see
now the impossiblity of Englnnds Withdrawal
from the Nile and he balanced the stock phrase,
Egypt for the Egyptians with another equally
pertinent. Egyptians must he trained for Egypt
The article was thoroughly characteristic. III de-
iivered blow at the regard for the military fore
sight of Lord Wolseey and at the engineering
genius of Lesseps. 1t was just because Burton saw
things clearly and was incapable of reverence Tor
official preiudice that he seemed meddlesOme to
who cannot 90 through so simple an act as cross
ing the room without being attended by the out
cry of the sister whom he pinches. the dog whose
tail he twists and the cat which he trcads under
foot When it came TO making people IN Office
uncomfortable he was an expert: and yet his
thrusts which hit the weak spot with invariable
accuracy were given with an air OF innocence that
seemed TO Ike real.
Gordon of Khartoum saw in Burton the only
man on earth who shared his own spirit or was
capable of similar achievements. When he went
TO the Soudan he formally asked Burton to di
vide the work with him. The latter refused be-
cause he was married and because he felt that he
and Gordon were too much alike. He died in
the belief that Gordon was still alive somewhere
I'm Central Africa, and he insisted from first to
last that II the defender OF khartOum had been
ACCOMPANIED with five hundred soldiers his mis-
sion TO the Soudan would have been successful.
But Burton probably had other reasons for not
wishing TO bury himself in Africa. As he grew
older he felt desire to he rich lie would, per-
haps. have liked TO treat the Foreign Office to
the same satircal politeness with which he took
leave Of the dignitaries at Oxford. But as long
"a he was dependent on his salary at Trieste to
eke out his living he had to make the best OF his
uosition On the other hard, his intellectual fit
ness for a much higher place made it difficult for
his enemies 20 remove him. Surprising that Trieste
was worth his keeping, the game was well played
for him by his friends. who never allowed any
Government to forget that they allowed one Of the
foremost explorers, one OF the most capab"
,;rouists one of the most fertile literary minds Of
tbc century TO NOPE at the head Of the Adriatic
Sea The feeling that he was not TO he measured
nv his political place was universal Once at
some function OF the Court in Vienna it was found
that his Office of consul prevented his being pres
emf. What an absurdity,' said the Emperor III
substance; tell him TO come as miNtary man.
All influences tended to strengthen ms hoiu on
his place in spite Of complaints that became irr-
tatngly frequent in later years about Ills absences
He got leave where certainly no other man couin
nave obtained it, And so his consulate at trieste
comprises succession of exploring Journeys w
Arabia. TO the Gold Coast, to Iceland, all OF whic
were undertaken in the hope of discoveries 'ha'
would bring wealth. Burton had the utmost con-
hdence in his conclusions as to the goid-heds OF
Arabia and Africa But Lady Burton insists that
he made nothing by these prospecting tours. He
was invariably followed by others who deprecated
the value of his labors. His courage also de-
serted him in matters of business, and he chung
TO his consulate while he dreamed Of being mill
ionaire Many man far less capable could have
told him that IN desperate play for wealth he
must 60 for all or nothing. II, in spite of enthn
siastic reports and books that predicted the OBJ
tanning of gold in endless amount, he still re-
tanned his little salary of $500 year. the infer.
ence to the ordinary practical mind was OBJ
vio,isly against his written statements
LOOKED UPON AS CELEBRITY.
nj, retirement was varied, Also by many
Journeys to London. Every time that he visited