New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-07-18
THE BUTTONS.
MORE THREsH1NG OF OLD STRAW.

DID XIV viii 77S Dodd, Mead co.
Sir Richard Burton was a voluminous writer
and his wife resembled him. When she wrote
his biography, after his death. she ihaoe =.
grievous long, and now her own isohiah'e'
thanks quite as much to her lapors as 10 '"o'e
of Mr. Wilkins, her literary executor runs ~
nearly eight hundred pages. Also Hiis' 49,
giana Sisted has published DOCK aoou. nv
famous explorer and linguist; the TRUE Life OF
Sir Richard Burton" she calls it. but III spi'e
Of the small mountain Of material thus accuthu-
,otod - doas NOT anpear that the world is really
in need of it. Much of it has been as 'euiouS
as II has been superfuous This is the more
surprisng inasmuch as Burton was undoubtedly
q very remarkable man and had a career VI
peculiar picturesque1ess. Perhaps his laiiuic
to loom attractivey upon the horizon Oh pio
graphical literature is but the natural result VI
the treatment fate gave him while he hVeu' anu
of his own character. He had unique aohiIieS'
but he failed to put them to account IN the rien.
way. He added to our geographical anu
ethnographical knowledge, he wrote useiui
books of travel and his masterpiece, the trahS-
lation from 1.-The Arabian Nights, VIII Keep
his name alive among scholars. But he was
black sheep from the beginning. In lnula ne
got into trouble with his regimental superiofS'
Later his experience in the consular service
showed him equally difficult He was recaileu
from Damascus the best post he ever had be-
cause his arbitrary ways made him unpopular
there He wanted the consulate at Tangier,
but the case against him was well put by the
Minister who wrote in a friendly way to Lady
Burton: 1--WE don't want to annex Morocco, ana
we know that you two would be Emperor ana
Empress in about six months
The present volumes do little to make the
emperor" more conciliating than ne mas
hitherto appeared The Empress they pant
at full length, throwing new ilght upon he'
character Is it worth while? On the whole we
think not. Since Burton himself has been sulii-
GENTLY portrayed, or rather has been revealed
az a man of whom no one could ever make a
particularly inspiring portrait, we don't see why
Lady Burton should be brought conspicuously
upon the scene to heighten the interest OF Things
She heightens them, too. in very slight de-
gree Only two passages in the biography be-
fore us are of special significance. The iirst
deals with the forecasting Of Isabel Arundeis
marriage by a gypsy of the English tribe Of
Burton. You will cross the sea, ran TINS
Romany's horoscope land be in the same town
with your Destiny and know 1t not Every op-
stacle will rise up against you, and such COM
bination of circumstances that it will require
all your courage. energy and intelligence TO meet
them. Your life will be like one swimming
against big waves, but God will be with you, so
you will always win. You will fix your eye on
your polar star and you will go for that with
out looking right or left. You will bear the
name of our tribe, and be right proud of it..
There is more of this singular forecast All OF
it came true In detail it paints Lady Bur-
tons character to the life. you will fix your
eye on your polar star, and you will go for that
without looking right or left These two thick
volumes but a confirmation of this text.
They are the story of an overwhelming passion
Burton himself loved his wife Enthusiastically in
his silent curious. even enignatlc way, Dut
It does not appear that he ever had for her the
tremendous feeling that she had for him. She
gave up her life to him. worked, waited,
obeyed fulfilled, in fact every item OF the llst
Of wifely duties she wrote out for her guidance
before she eloped with her knight. He was al
ways her knight and this biography is really
we'll named. There is something undeniably
romantic about her complete surrender to the
gipsy like man of genius whom she worshipped
even before they met-as the Romany had
prophesied-in Boulogne. across the Channel
whether she was fitted to do than
ship him is question upon which the readers
of the already considerable Burton family
literature are to split. If you find Miss
Sisted convincing, you will believe that Lady
Burton was at the bottom of her husbands re-
call from Damascus. that she had him kid
mapped into the Roman Catholic Church as he
drew his last breath. and that finally she COM
mitted heinous crime. unworthy in the last de-
gree of a scholar like Burton, in consgning his
translation of THE Scented Garden" to the
flames But it must be admitted that Mr.. Will
kins draws up a tolerably final refutation of
no Ia