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diff --git a/old/54578-0.txt b/old/54578-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 5377f4b..0000000 --- a/old/54578-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,30542 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life of Captain Sir Richard F. Burton, by -Isabel Burton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Life of Captain Sir Richard F. Burton - By his Wife Isabel Burton - -Author: Isabel Burton - -Release Date: April 20, 2017 [EBook #54578] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF SIR RICHARD F. BURTON *** - - - - -Produced by Clare Graham and Marc D'Hooghe at Free -Literature (online soon in an extended version, also linking -to free sources for education worldwide ... MOOC's, -educational materials,...) Images generously made available -by the Internet Archive. - - - - - -THE LIFE OF - -CAPTAIN - -SIR RICHARD F. BURTON, - -K.C.M.G., F.R.G.S. - -BY HIS WIFE, - -ISABEL BURTON. - -WITH NUMEROUS PORTRAITS, ILLUSTRATIONS, - -AND MAPS. - -_IN TWO VOLUMES_. - -VOL. I. - -LONDON: CHAPMAN & HALL, LD. - -1893. - -[Illustration: RICHARD BURTON IN HIS TENT IN AFRICA.] - - - - - - -CONSECRATION. - -TO MY EARTHLY MASTER, - -WHO IS WAITING FOR ME ON HEAVEN'S FRONTIERS. - -Whilst waiting to rejoin you, I leave as a message to the World we -inhabited, the record of the Life into which both our lives were -fused. Would that I could write as well as I can love, and do you -that justice, that honour, which you deserve! I will do my best, and -then I will leave it to more brilliant pens, whose wielders will feel -less--and write better. - -Meet me soon--I wait the signal! - -ISABEL BURTON. - - - - -FOREWORD. - -"No man can write a man down except himself." - - -In speaking of my husband, I shall not call him "Sir Richard," or -"Burton," as many wives would; nor yet by the pet name I used for him -at home, which for some reason which I cannot explain was "Jemmy;" nor -yet what he was generally called at home, and what his friends called -him, "Dick;" but I will call him Richard in speaking of him, and "I" -where he speaks on his own account, as he does in his private journals. -I always thought and told him that he destroyed much of the interest of -his works by hardly ever alluding to himself, and now that I mention -it, people may remark it, that in writing he seldom uses the pronoun -_I_. I have therefore drawn, not from his books, but from his private -journals. It was one of his asceticisms, an act of humility, which the -world passed by, and probably only thought one of his eccentricities. -In his works he would generally speak of himself as the Ensign, the -Traveller, the Explorer, the Consul, and so on, so that I often think -that people who are _not_ earnest readers never understood _who_ it -was that did this, thought that, or saw the other. If I make him speak -plainly for himself, as he does in his private journals, but never to -the public, it will give twenty times the interest in relating events; -so I shall throughout let him speak for himself where I can. - -In early January, 1876, Richard and I were on our way to India for a -six months' trip to visit the old haunts. We divided our intended -journey into two lots. We cut India down the middle, the long way on -the map, from north to south, and took the western side, leaving the -eastern side for a trip which was deferred, alas! for our old age and -retirement. We utilized the voyage out (which occupied thirty-three -days in an Austrian Lloyd, used as a Haj, or pilgrim-ship), and also -the voyage back, in the part of the following pages which refers to his -early life, he dictating and I writing. - -In 1887, when my husband was beginning to be a real invalid, he lent -some of these notes to Mr. Hitchman (who asked leave to write his -biography), Richard promising not to tread upon his heels by his own -Autobiography till he should be free from service in 1891. It will not, -I think, do any harm to the reading public to reproduce it with more -detail, because only seven hundred people got Mr. Hitchman's, who did -not by any means use the whole of the material before he returned it, -and what I give is the original just as Richard dictated it, and it is -more needful, because it deals with a part of his life that was only -known to himself, to me only by dictation; because everything that he -wrote of himself is infinitely precious, and because to leave to the -public a sketch of an early Richard Burton is desirable, otherwise -readers would be obliged to purchase Mr. Hitchman's, as well as this -work, in order to make a perfect whole. - -I must take warning, however, that when Mr. Hitchman's book came out, -part of the Press found this account of my husband's boyhood and youth -charming, and another part of the Press said that I was too candid, -and did nothing to gloss over the faults and foibles of the youthful -Burtons; they doubted the accuracy of my information--I was informed -that my style was too rough-and-ready, and of many others of my -shortcomings. In short, I was considered rather as writing against my -own husband, whilst both sides of the Press in their reviews assumed -that I wrote it; this charmed Richard, and he would not let me refute. -Not one word was mine--it was only dictation, and peremptory dictation -when I objected to certain self-accusations. I beg leave to state -that I did not write one single word; I could not, for I did not know -it--and all that the family objected to, or considered exaggerated, -will not be repeated here. Before entering on these pages, I must warn -the reader not to expect the goody-goody boy nor yet the precocious -vicious youth of 1893. It is the recital of a high-spirited lad of the -old school, full of animal spirits and manly notions, a lively sense -of fun and humour, reckless of the consequences of playing tricks, -but without a vestige of vice in the meaner or lower forms--a lad, in -short, who _would_ be a gentleman and a man of the world in his teens, -and who, from his foreign travel, had seen more of life than boys do -brought up at home. - -I do not begin this work--the last important work of my life--without -fear and trembling. If I can perform this sacred duty--this labour of -love--well,--I shall be glad indeed, but I begin it with unfeigned -humility. I have never needed any one to point out to me that my -husband was on a pedestal far above _me_, or anybody else in the world. -I have known it from 1850 to 1893, from a young girl to an old widow, -_i.e._ for forty-three years. I feel that I cannot do justice to his -scientific life, that I may miss points in travel that would have -been more brilliantly treated by a clever man. My only comfort is, -that his travels and services are already more or less known to the -public, and that other books will be written about them. But if I am -so unfortunate as to disappoint the public in _this_ way, there is one -thing that I feel I _am_ fit for, and that is to lift the veil as to -the _inner_ man. He was misunderstood and unappreciated by the world -at large, during his life. No one ever thought of looking for the real -man beneath the cultivated mask that generally hid all feelings and -belief--but now the world is beginning to know what it _has_ lost. The -old, old, sad story. - -He shall tell his own tale till 1861, the first forty years, annotated -by me. Whilst dictating to me I sometimes remarked, "Oh, do you think -it would be well to write this?" and the answer always was, "Yes! I do -not see the use of writing a biography at all, unless it is the exact -truth, a very photograph of the man or woman in question." On this -principle he taught me to write quite openly in the unconventional and -personal style--being the only way to make a biography interesting, -which we _now_ class as the Marie Bashkirtcheff style. As you will -see, he always makes the worst of himself, and offers no excuse. As a -lad he does not know what to do to show his manliness, and all that a -boy should, ought, and does think brave and honourable, be it wild or -not, all that he does. - -What appals me is, that the task is one of such magnitude--the enormous -quantity of his books and writings that I have to look through, and, -out of eighty or more publications, to ascertain what has seen the -light and what has not, because it is impossible to carry the work of -forty-eight years in one's head; and, again, the immense quantity of -subjects he has studied and written upon, some in only a fragmentary -state, is wonderful. My wish would be to produce this life, speaking -only of him--and afterwards to reproduce everything he has written -that has not been published. I propose putting all the heavier matter, -such as pamphlets, essays, letters, correspondence, and the _résumé_ -of his works--that is, _what portion shows his labours and works for -the benefit of the human race_--into two after-volumes, to be called -"Labours and Wisdom of Richard Burton." After his biography I shall -renew _his_ "Arabian Nights" with his Forewords, Terminal Essay, and -Biography of the book in such form that it can be copyrighted--it is -now protected by _my_ copyright. His "Catullus" and "Pentamerone" are -now more or less in the Press, to be followed by degrees by all his -unpublished works. His hitherto published works I shall bring out as -a Uniform Library, so that not a word will be lost that he ever wrote -for the public. Fortunately, I have kept all his books classified as he -kept them himself, with a catalogue, and have separate shelves ticketed -and numbered; for example, "Sword," "Gypsy," "Pentamerone," "Camoens," -and so on. - -If I were sure of life, I should have wished for six months to look -through and sort our papers and materials before I began this work, -because I have five rooms full. Our books, about eight thousand, only -got housed in March, 1892, and they _are_ sorted--but not the papers -and correspondence; but I fancy that the public would rather have a -spontaneous work sooner, than wait longer. If I live I shall always go -on with them. I have no leisure to think of style or of polish, or -to select the best language, the best English,--no time to shine as -an authoress. I must just think aloud, so as not to keep the public -waiting. - -From the time of my husband's becoming a real invalid--February, -1887--whilst my constant thoughts reviewed the dread To Come--the -catastrophe of his death--and the subsequent suffering, I have been -totally incapable, except writing his letters or attending to his -business, of doing any good literary work until July, 1892, a period of -five years, which was not improved by four attacks of influenza. - -Richard was such a many-sided man, that he will have appeared different -to every set of people who knew him. He was as a diamond with so many -facets. The tender, the true, the brilliant, the scientific,--and to -those who deserved it, the cynical, the hard, the severe. Loads of -books will be written about him, and every one will be different; -and though perhaps it is an unseemly boast, I venture to feel sure -that mine will be the truest one, for I have no interest to serve, no -notoriety to gain, belong to no party, have nothing to sway me, except -the desire to let the world understand what it once possessed, what it -has lost. With many it will mean _I_. With me it means _HIM_. - -When this biography is out, the public will, theoretically, but not -practically, know him as well as I can make them, and all of his -friends will be able after that to put forth a work representing that -particular facet of his character which he turned on to them, or which -they drew from him. He was so great, so world-wide, he could turn a -fresh facet and sympathy on to each world. I always think that a man is -one character to his wife at his fireside corner, another man to his -_own_ family, another man to _her_ family, a fourth to a mistress or an -amourette--if he have one,--a fifth to his men friends, a sixth to his -boon companions, and a seventh to his public, and so on _ad infinitum_; -but I think the wife, if they are happy and love each other, gets the -pearl out of the seven oyster-shells. - -I fear that this work will be too long. I cannot help it. When I -embarked on it I had no conception of the scope: it was a labour of -love. I thought I could fly over it; but I have found that the more -I worked, the more it grew, and that the end receded from me like the -mirage in the desert. I only aim at giving a simple, true recital -without comment, and at fairness on all questions of whatever sort. I -am very personal, because I believe the public like it. I want to give -Richard as I knew him at home. I apologize in advance to my readers if -I am sometimes obliged to mention myself oftener than they and I care -about; but they will understand that our lives were so interwoven, -so bound together, that I should very often spoil a good story or an -anecdote or a dialogue were I to leave myself out. It would be an -affectation that would spoil my work. - -I am rather disheartened by being told by a literary friend that the -present British public likes its reading "in sips." How _can_ I give -a life of seventy years, every moment of which was employed in a -remarkable way, "in sips"? It is impossible. Though I must not detail -much from his books, I want to convey to the public, at least, what -they were about; striking points of travel, his schemes, wise warnings, -advice, and plans for the benefit of England--then what about "sips"? -It must not be dry, it must not be heavy, nor tedious, nor voluminous; -so it shall be personal, full of traits of character, sentiments and -opinions, brightened with cheerful anecdotes, and the more serious part -shall go into the before-mentioned two volumes, the "Labours and Wisdom -of Richard Burton." - -I am not putting in many letters, because he generally said such -personal things, that few would like them to be shown. His business -letters would not interest. To economize time he used to get expressly -made for him the smallest possible pieces of paper, into which he used -to cram the greatest amount of news--telegram form. He only wrote much -in detail, if he had any literary business to transact. - -One of my greatest difficulties, which I scarcely know how to express, -is, that which I think the most interesting, and which most of my -intimates think well worth exploring; it is that of showing the dual -man with, as it were, two natures in one person, diametrically opposed -to each other, of which he was himself perfectly conscious. I had a -party of literary friends to dinner one night, and I put my manuscript -on the table before them after dinner, and I begged them each to take -a part and look over it. Feeling as I do that the general public never -understood him, and that his mantle after death seemed to descend -upon my shoulders, that everything I say seems to be misunderstood, -and that, in some few eyes, I can do nothing right, I said at the end -of the evening, "If I endeavour to explain, will it not be throwing -pearls to swine?" (not that I meant, dear readers, to compare _you_ to -swine--it is but an expression of thought well understood). And the -answer was, "Oh, Lady Burton, _do_ give the world the ins and outs -of this remarkable and interesting character, and let the swine take -care of themselves." "If you leave out by order" (said one) "religion -and politics, the two touchstones of the British public, you leave -out the great part of a man." "Mind you gloss over nothing to please -anybody" (said a second). I think they are right--one set of people -see one side, and another see another side, and neither of the two -will comprehend (like St. Thomas) anything that they have not seen -and felt; or, to quote one of Richard's favourite mottoes from St. -Augustine, "Let them laugh at me for speaking of things which they do -not understand, and I must pity them, whilst they laugh at me." So I -must remain an unfortunate buffer amidst a cyclone of opinions. I can -only avoid controversies and opinions _of my own_, and quote his and -his actions. - -These words are forced from me, because I have received my orders, if -not exactly from the public, from a few of the friends who profess to -know him best. I am ordered to describe Richard as a sort of Didérot -(a disciple of Voltaire's), who wrote "that the world would never be -quiet till the last king was strangled with the bowels of the last -priest,"--whereas there was no one whom Richard delighted more to -honour than a worthy King, or an honest straightforward Priest. - -There _are_ people who are ready to stone me, if I will not describe -Richard as being absolutely without belief in anything; yet I really -cannot oblige them, without being absolutely untruthful. He was a -spade-truth man, and he honestly used to say that he examined every -religion, and picked out its pearl to practise it. He did not scoff at -them, he was perfectly sincere and honest in what he said; nor did he -change, but he _grew_. He always _said_, and innumerable people _could_ -come forward, if they had the courage--I could name some--to say that -they have heard him declare, that at the end of all things there were -only two points to stand upon--NOTHING and CATHOLICISM; and many -_could_, if they _would_, come forward and say, that when they asked -him what religion he was, he answered Catholic. - -He _never was_, what is called _here_ and _now_ in England, an -Agnostic; he was a Master-Sufi, he practised Tasáwwuf or Sufi-ism, -which combines the poetry and prose of religion, and is mystic. The -Sufi is a profound student of the different branches of language and -metaphysics, is gifted with a musical ear, indulges in luxuriant -imagery and description. They have a simple sense--a _double entendre_ -understood amongst themselves--God in Nature,--Nature in God--a -mystical affection for a Higher Life, dead to excitement, hope, fear, -etc. He was fond of quoting Sayyid Mohammad Hosayn's motto, "It is -better to restore one dead heart to Eternal Life, than Life to a -thousand dead bodies." - -I have seen him receive gratuitous copies of an Agnostic paper in -England, and I remember one in particular--I do not know who wrote -it,--it was very long, and all the verses ended with "Curse God the -Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." I can see him now reading it--and -stroking his long moustache, and muttering, "Poor devil! Vulgar beast!" -He was quite satisfied, as his friends say, that we are not gifted with -the senses to understand the origin of the Mysteries by which we are -surrounded, and in this nobody agrees more thoroughly than I do. He -likewise said he believed there was a God, but that he could not define -Him; neither can I, neither can you, but _I_ do not want to. Great -minds tower above and see into little ones, but the little minds never -climb sufficiently high to see into the Great Minds, and never did Lord -Beaconsfield say a truer thing, speaking of religion than when he said, -"_Sensible men never tell_." As I want to make this work both valuable -and interesting, I am not going into the unknown or the unknowable, -only into what he knew--what I know; therefore I shall freely quote -his early training, his politics, his Mohammedanism, his Sufi-ism, his -Brahminical thread, his Spiritualism, and all the religions which he -studied, and nobody can give me a sensible reason why I should leave -out the Catholicism, except to point the Spanish proverb, "that no one -pelts a tree, unless it has fruit on it," but were I to do so, the -biography would be incomplete. - -Let us suppose a person residing inside a house, and another person -looking at the house from the opposite side of the street; you would -not be unjust enough to expect the person on the outside to describe -minutely its inner chambers and everything that was in it, because he -would have to take it on trust from the person who resided inside, -but you _would_ take the report of the man living outside as to the -_exterior_ of the house. That is exactly the same as my writing my -husband's history. Do you want an edition of the inside or an edition -of the outside? If you do not want the truth, if you order me to -describe a Darwin, a Spencer, a John Stuart Mill, I can do it; but it -will not be the home-Richard, the fireside-Richard whom _I_ knew, the -two perfectly distinct Richards in one person; it will be the man as -he was at lunch, at dinner, or when friends came in, or when he dined -out, or when he paid visits; and if the world--or, let us say, a small -portion of the world,--is so unjust and silly as to wish for untrue -history, it must get somebody else to write it. To me there are only -two courses: I must either tell the truth, and lay open the "inner -life" of the man, by a faithful photograph, or I must let it alone, and -leave his friends to misrepresent him, according to their lights. - -It has been threatened to me that if I speak the truth I am to reap -the whirlwind, because others, who claim to know my husband _well_, -see him quite in a different light. (I know many people intimately, -but I am quite incompetent to write their lives--I am only fit to do -that for the man with whom I lived night and day for thirty years; -there are three other people who could each write a small section of -his life, and after those nobody; I do not accept the so-called general -term "friend.") I shall be very happy indeed to answer anybody who -attacks me, who is brave enough to put his or her name; but during -the two years I have been in England I have hardly had anything but -anonymous communications and paragraphs signed under the brave names of -"Agnostic," or "One who knows," so I have no man or woman to deal with, -but empty air, which is beneath my contempt. This is a very old game, -perhaps even more ancient than "Prophesy, O Christ, who it was that -struck Thee!" but it is cowardly and un-English--that is, if England -"stands where she did." I would also remind you of the good old Arab -proverb, that "a thousand curses never tore a shirt." - -I would have you remember that I gain _nothing_ by trying to describe -my husband as belonging to _any particular religion_. If I would -describe him as an English Agnostic--the last new popular word--the -small band of people who call themselves his intimate friends, and who -think to honour him by injuring me, would be perfectly satisfied. I -should have all their sympathy, and my name would be at rest, both in -Society and in the Press. I have no interest to serve in saying he was -a Catholic more than anything else; I have no bigotry on the question -_at all_. If he did something Catholic I shall say it, and if he did -something Mohammedan or Agnostic I shall equally say it. - -It is also a curious fact, that the people who are most vexed with me -on this score, are men who, before their wives, mothers, sisters, are -good Protestants, and who go twice to the Protestant church on Sundays, -but who are quite scandalized that my husband should be allowed a -religion, and are furious because I will not allow that Richard Burton -was their Captain. No, thank you! it is not good enough: he was not, -never _was_ like _any_ of you--nor can I see what it can possibly be to -you what faith, or no faith, Richard Burton chose to die in, and why -you threaten me if I speak the truth! _We_ only knew _two_ things--the -beautiful mysticism of the East, which, until I lived here, I thought -was Agnosticism, and I find it is _not_; and calm, liberal-minded Roman -Catholicism. The difference between you and Richard is--you, I mean, -who admired my husband--that you are not going anywhere,--according to -your own Creed you have nowhere to go to,--whilst _he_ had a God and -a continuation, and said he would wait for me; he is only gone a long -journey, and presently I shall join him; we shall take up where we left -off, and we shall be very much happier even than we have been here. - -Of the thousands that have written to me since his death, everybody -writes, "What a marvellous brain your husband had! How modest about -his learning and everything concerning himself! He was a man never -understood by the world." It is no wonder he was _not_ understood -by the World; his friends hindered it, and when one who knew him -thoroughly, offers to _make_ him understood, it is resented. - -The Press has recently circulated a paragraph saying that "I am not -the fittest person to write my husband's life." After I have finished -these two volumes, it will interest me very much to read those of the -competent person, who will be so kind as to step to the front,--with a -name, please, not anonymously,--and to learn all the things I do not -know. - -He, she, or it, will write what he said and wrote; I write what he -_thought_ and _did_. - -ISABEL BURTON. - -29_th May_, 1893. - - -NOTE.--I must beg the reader to note, that a word often has -several different spellings, and my husband used to give them a turn -all round. Indeed, I may say that during the latter years of his life -he adopted quite a different spelling, which he judged to be correcter. -In many cases it is caused by the English way of spelling a thing, and -the real native way of spelling the same. For English Meeanee, native -way Miani. The battle of Dabba (English) is spelt Dubba, Dubbah, by the -natives. Fulailee river (English) is spelt Phuleli (native). Mecca and -Medina have sometimes an _h_ at the end of them. Karrachee is Karáchi. -Sind is spelt Sind, Sindh, Scind, Scinde; and what the Anglo-Indians -call Bóbagees are really Babárchis, and so on. I therefore beg that -the spelling may not be criticized. In quoting letters, I write as the -author does, since I must not change other people's spelling.--I. B. - -[TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE.--The page headings of the original -edition have been converted into sidenotes in this digital edition. -Typographical and other obvious errors have also been corrected, but -the variations in the spelling of proper names, etc., mentioned above -remain.] - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE EARLY DAYS OF RICHARD F. BURTON. - -Family history--The Napoleon Romance--The Louis XIVth -Romance. - - -CHAPTER II. - -RICHARD'S BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD. - -Richard Burton's early life--At Tours--His first -school--Trips--Grandmammas Baker and Burton--Aunt -G.--They leave Tours. - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE CHILDREN ARE BROUGHT TO ENGLAND. - -School at Richmond--Measles disperse the -school--Education at Blois--They leave Blois -for Italy--Pisa--Siena--Vetturino-travelling ---Florence--Shooting--Rome in Holy Week ---Sorrento--Classical games--Chess--Naples ---Cholera--Marseille--Pau--Bagnières de -Bigorres--Contrabandistas--Pau education--Argélés--The -boys fall in love--Drawing--Music--The baths of -Lucca--The boys get too old for home--Schinznach and -England--The family break up. - - -CHAPTER IV. - -OXFORD. - -Practical jokes--Friends--Fencing-rooms--Manners and -customs--Food and smoking--Drs. Newman and Pusey--Began -Arabic--Play--Town life--College friends--Coaching -and languages--Latin--Greek--Holidays--The Rhine to -Wiesbaden--The Nassau Brigade--The straws that broke the -camel's back--Rusticated. - - -CHAPTER V. - -GOING TO INDIA. - -He gets a commission and begins Hindostani--He goes -to be sworn in at the India Office. - - -CHAPTER VI. - -MY PUBLIC LIFE BEGINS. - -The voyage and arrival--The sanitarium--His -moonshee--Indian Navy--English bigotry--Engages -servants--Reaches Baroda--Brother officers--Mess ---Drill--Pig-sticking--Sport--Society--Feeding ---Nautch--Reviews--Races--Cobden and Indian history ---Somnath gates--Outram and Napier--He learns Indian -riding and training--Passes exams. in Hindostani ---Receives the Brahminical thread--On the march--Embarks -for Sind--Karáchi, Sind--He passes in Maharátta. - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE REMINISCENCES WRITTEN FOR MR. HITCHMAN IN 1888--INDIA. - -A later chapter on same events differently told--His -little autobiography--His books on India--Burying a -Sányasi--His Indian career practically ends. - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -ON RETURN FROM INDIA. - -Boulogne--Bayonet exercise--Meets me at Boulogne at -school--His famous journey to Mecca and El Medinah--His -start from Alexandria to Cairo--Twelve days in an open -Sambúk--Ten days' ride to Mecca--Moslem Holy Week--The -all-important crisis--His safe return--On board an English -ship--Interesting letters--The Kasîdah--The end of the -Kasîdah--Christian Poetry. - - -CHAPTER IX. - -HARAR--THE MOSLEM ABYSSINIA--THE TIMBUCTOO OF EAST AFRICA, -THE EXPLORATION OF WHICH HAD BEEN ATTEMPTED IN VAIN BY -SOME THIRTY TRAVELLERS. - -He starts for Harar in Somali-land--Preparations -at Zayla--Desert journey--He enters the city -in triumph--Interview with the Amir--Has great -success--Damaging reports--He leaves Harar safely--A -fearful desert journey--Want of water--They reach -Berberah--Join Speke, Herne, Stroyan--He sails for -Aden--Returns with forty men--They are attacked--A -desperate fight--Richard and Speke desperately wounded. - - -CHAPTER X. - -WITH BEATSON'S HORSE. - -The Crimea--End of Crimea--Beatson's trial. - - -CHAPTER XI. - -BETWEEN THE CRIMEA AND THE LAKE REGIONS OF CENTRAL AFRICA. - -We become engaged--The story of Hagar Burton--Hagar -Burton, the Gipsy--Our strange parting. - - -CHAPTER XII. - -HIS EXPLORATION OF THE LAKE REGIONS, TAKING CAPTAIN SPEKE -AS SECOND IN COMMAND. - -Preliminary canter--Hippopotamus shooting--Our first fever. - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -THE REAL START FOR TANGANYIKA IN THE INTERIOR. - -A long march--Marsh fever--They ascend from Zungomero -to a better climate--From lovely scenery to fœtid -marshes--Ants--The war-cry of the Wahúmba--Evil -reports--Game--Vermin--A hard jungle march--Description -of caravans and difficulties--Reptiles--Ill and attended -by a witch--Partial paralysis--Blindness--Elephants--The -crossing of the great river Malagarázi. - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -OUR REWARD--SUCCESS. - -Scenery--In an Arab craft to Ujiji--More Scenery ---After twenty-seven days Speke returns--A fight--Are -received with honour--A caravan arrives--Geographical -remarks--Troublesome following--Forest on fire--He -sends Speke to find the Nyanza--The Chief Suna--Richard -collects a vocabulary--Speke returns and the differences -arose--Richard soliloquizes on Speke's change of -front--For geographers--The kindness of Musa Mzuri and -Snay bin Amir--Speke's illness--They cross the "Fiery -Field"--An official wigging--Christmas Day, 1858--Speke -leaves Richard ill, but apparently friendly. - - -CHAPTER XV. - -RICHARD AND I MEET AGAIN. - -We try to effect a reconciliation between Speke and -Richard--My appeal to my mother--My letter to my -mother--Not a success--News of Richard and subsequent -return--A family council decides the matter--Our -wedding--We are received at home again--A delightful -London season--Fire at Grindlay's--Delightful days at -country houses--Richard goes to West Africa. - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -WEST COAST OF AFRICA--RICHARD'S FIRST CONSULATE. - -The West African negroes--The black man is raised above -the white man--Richard inaugurates a better state of -things--Method of protecting the negro--Teaching fair -treatment for the negro--West African gold. - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -HIS FIRST LEAVE. - -We sail for West Africa--We land at Madeira--Yellow -fever--The peak of Teneriffe--I return home--Richard sent -as H.M.'s Commissioner to Dahomè--Dahomè and Richard's -travels--His travels, business, etc., on the West Coast. - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -HOME. - -Speke's death--Some lines I wrote on Richard and -Speke--Richard's "Stone Talk"--Gaiety--Winwood -Reade--We go to Ireland--Richard and Sir Bernard -Burke--Bianconi--The anthropological farewell dinner--Lord -Derby's speech as chairman--Richard returns thanks--He -speaks his mind about the Nile. - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -SANTOS, SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL--RICHARD'S SECOND CONSULATE. - -We explore Portugal--I rejoin him at Rio de -Janeiro--Arrival at Santos and São Paulo--Life in -Brazil--Brazilian life--Life at Rio--The Barra for -contrast--To the mines in Minas Gerães--We go down the big -mine--Below--Chico and I start on a fifteen days' ride -alone--The landlord of the hotel is mystified--Richard -dangerously ill--Mesmerizing--Regatta--We leave -Brazil--Richard goes south--Lord Derby gives Richard -Damascus--His carbine pistol--Pleasant days in -Vichy and Auvergne--The Fell Railway--Geographical -disagreeables--Work--The Nile--Still the Nile--I sail for -Damascus. - - -CHAPTER XX. - -DAMASCUS--HIS THIRD CONSULATE. - -I find Richard has had a cordial reception--We go to -Palmyra, or Tadmor in the desert--We go without an -escort--Tadmor--Camp life--Our travelling day--Night -camps--Return home after desert--Native life--The Arabic -library at Damascus--The library--The environs of -Damascus--How our days were passed--Our reception day ---A most interesting and remarkable woman--A romantic -history--Richard's love for children--Richard's notes -on our wilder travels--The Tulúl el Safá--Our home in -the Anti-Lebanon--Our day--With Drake and Palmer in -the Lebanon--Religious disturbances--Holo Pasha gives -us a panther--The Druzes--Their stronghold--We camp at -the Waters of Merom--Richard is stung by a scorpion ---Explorations of unknown tracts--I prevent Rashíd -Pasha's intentions taking effect--Rashíd's intrigue -about the Druzes--The manner in which we are received in -villages--Remarks on the journey--Kurdish dogs--Excursions -to unknown tracts--Troubles from a self-appointed zealot ---Usurers very troublesome--A Jehád threatened--Jews ---Usurers try to remove Richard--Letters of indignation -and sympathy--Jews--Omar Bey's fine mare--Horse-breeding ---The Holy Land. - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -RELIGION. - -Shádilis--Sufis becoming Catholics--They are tried and -condemned--And persecuted--The Protestant converts--The -Shádilis--Richard quotes Mr. Gladstone--Letters approving -his conduct--Richard's answer and remarks--He leaves--I -take a night ride across country--We were stoned at -Nazareth--General information--Salih's description of -Richard--Letters showing the state of Syria after his -recall--The interval I remained as a hostage--I leave the -Anti-Lebanon--Wind up at Damascus--I get fever--Eventually -reach home--He gets an _amende_--We become -penniless--Small jottings--Death of my mother--Richard -accepts Trieste--The old story of shooting people, and a -newer one--The truth--Difficulty of English officials -doing their duty--Conclusion of his Damascus career. - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - -RICHARD BURTON IN HIS TENT. - -LUNGE AND CUT IN CARTE (INSIDE). - -RICHARD BURTON, AS HAJI ABDULLAH, EN ROUTE TO MECCA. - -MECCA AND THE KA'ABAH, OR THE HOLY GRAIL OF THE MOSLEMS. - -BURTON'S SKETCH MAP OF AFRICA. - -MINIATURE OF RICHARD BURTON. - -RICHARD BURTON. _By Louis Desanges._ - -ISABEL BURTON. _By Louis Desanges._ - -FACSIMILE LETTER. - -THE MAN WHO WINS. - -THE CHIEF OFFICER OF RICHARD'S BRIGADE OF AMAZONS. - -CRUCIFIX FROM DAHOMÈ. - -MAPS OF AFRICA. - -CARBINE PISTOL. - -OUR DESERT CAMP. - -THE BURTONS' HOUSE IN SALAHÍYYAH, DAMASCUS. -_By Sir Frederick Leighton._ - -SALAHÍYYAH, DAMASCUS IN THE OASIS. - -THE BURTONS' HOUSE-ROOF AT DAMASCUS AND THE ADJOINING -MOSQUE-MINARET. - -THE BURTONS' HOUSE AT BLUDÁN, IN ANTI-LEBANON. - - - - -THE LIFE OF SIR RICHARD BURTON. - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE EARLY DAYS OF RICHARD F. BURTON. - -_By himself. Copied from his private Journals._ - - "He travels and expatriates; as the bee - From flower to flower, so he from land to land, - The manners, customs, policy of all - Pay contributions to the store he gleans; - He seeks intelligence from every clime, - And spreads the honey of his deep research - At his return--a rich repast for _me!_" - - -GENEALOGY AND FAMILY. - - -Autobiographers generally begin too late. - -Elderly gentlemen of eminence sit down to compose memories, describe -with fond minuteness babyhood, childhood, and boyhood, and drop the pen -before reaching adolescence. - -Physiologists say that a man's body changes totally every seven years. -However that may be, I am certain that the moral man does, and I cannot -imagine anything more trying than for a man to meet himself as he was. -Conceive his entering a room, and finding a collection of himself at -the several decades. First the puking squalling baby one year old, then -the pert unpleasant schoolboy of ten, the collegian of twenty who, like -Lothair, "knows everything and has nothing to learn." The _homme fait_ -of thirty in the full warmth and heyday of life, the reasonable man of -forty, who first recognizes his ignorance and knows his own mind, of -fifty with white teeth turned dark, and dark hair turned white, whose -experience is mostly disappointment with regrets for lost time and -vanished opportunities. Sixty when the man begins to die and mourns -for his past youth, at seventy when he _ought_ to prepare for his long -journey and never does. And at all these ages he is seven different -beings not one of which he would wish to be again. - -[Sidenote: _Family History._] - -First I would make one or two notes on family history. - -My grandfather was the Rev. Edward Burton, Rector of Tuam, in Galway -(who with his brother, eventually Bishop Burton, of Killala, were the -first of our branch to settle in Ireland). They were two of the Burtons -of Barker Hill, near Shap, Westmoreland, who own a common ancestor -with the Burtons of Yorkshire, of Carlow, and Northamptonshire. My -grandfather married Maria Margaretta Campbell, daughter, by a Lejeune, -of Dr. John Campbell, LL.D., Vicar-General of Tuam. Their son was my -father, Lieut.-Colonel Joseph Netterville Burton, of the 36th Regiment, -who married a Miss (Beckwith) Baker, of Nottinghamshire, a descendant, -on her mother's side, of the Scotch Macgregors. The Lejeune above -mentioned was related to the Montmorencys and Drelincourts, French -Huguenots of the time of Louis XIV. To this hangs a story which will -be told by-and-by. This Lejeune, whose real name was Louis Lejeune, -is supposed to have been a son of Louis XIV. by the Huguenot Countess -of Montmorency. He was secretly carried off to Ireland. His name -was translated to Louis Young, and he eventually became a Doctor of -Divinity. The royal, or rather morganatic, marriage contract was -asserted to have existed, but has disappeared. The Lady Primrose of -that date, who was a very remarkable personage, and a strong ally of -the Jacobites, protected him and conveyed him to Ireland. - -The Burtons of Shap derive themselves from the Burtons of Longnor, like -Lord Conyngham and Sir Charles Burton of Pollacton, and the two above -named were the collateral descendants of Francis Pierpoint Burton, -first Marquis of Conyngham, who gave up the name of Burton. The notable -man of the family was Sir Edward Burton, a desperate Yorkist who was -made a Knight Banneret by Edward IV. after the second battle of St. -Albans, and who added to his arms the Cross and four roses. - -The Bishop of Killala's son was Admiral J. Ryder Burton, who entered -the Navy in 1806. He served in the West Indies, and off the North -Coast of Spain, when in an attack on the town of Castro, July, 1812, -he received a gunshot wound in the left side, from which the ball was -never extracted. From 1813 to 1816 he served in the Mediterranean -and Adriatic, and was present at the bombardment of Algiers, when he -volunteered to command one of the gunboats for destroying the shipping -inside the Mole. His last appointment was in May, 1820, to the command -of the _Cornelian_ brig, in which he proceeded in early 1824 to -Algiers, where, in company with the _Naiad_ frigate, he fell in with -an Algerine corvette, the _Tripoli_, of eighteen guns and one hundred -men, which, after a close and gallant action under the batteries of the -place, he boarded and carried. This irascible veteran at his death was -in receipt of a pension for wounds. He was Rear Admiral in 1853, Vice -Admiral in 1858, and Admiral in 1863. He married, in 1822, Anna Maria, -daughter of the thirteenth Lord Dunsany; she died in 1850, leaving -one son, Francis Augustus Plunkett Burton, Colonel of the Coldstream -Guards. He married the great heiress Sarah Drax, and died in 1865, -leaving one daughter, Erulí, who married her cousin, John Plunkett, the -future Lord Dunsany. - -My father, Joseph Netterville Burton, was a lieutenant-colonel in the -36th Regiment. He must have been born in the latter quarter of the -eighteenth century, but he had always a superstition about mentioning -his birthday, which gave rise to a family joke that he was born in -Leap Year. Although of very mixed blood, he was more of a Roman in -appearance than anything else, of moderate height, dark hair, sallow -skin, high nose, and piercing black eyes. He was considered a very -handsome man, especially in uniform, and attracted attention even in -the street. Even when past fifty he was considered the best-looking man -at the Baths of Lucca. As handsome men generally do, he married a plain -woman, and, "Just like Provy," the children favoured, as the saying is, -the mother.[1] - -In mind he was a thorough Irishman. When he received a commission in -the army it was on condition of so many of his tenants accompanying -him. Not a few of the younger sort volunteered to enlist, but when they -joined the regiment and found that the "young master" was all right, -they at once ran away. - -The only service that he saw was in Sicily, under Sir John Moore, -afterwards of Corunna, and there he fell in love with Italy. He was -a duellist, and shot one brother officer twice, nursing him tenderly -each time afterwards. When peace was concluded he came to England and -visited Ireland. As that did not suit him he returned to his regiment -in England. Then took place his marriage, which was favoured by his -mother-in-law and opposed by his father-in-law. The latter, being a -sharp old man of business, tied up every farthing of his daughter's -property, £30,000, and it was well that he did so. My father, like too -many of his cloth, developed a decided taste for speculation. He was a -highly moral man, who would have hated the idea of _rouge et noir_, but -he gambled on the Stock Exchange, and when railways came out he bought -shares. Happily he could not touch his wife's property, or it would -speedily have melted away; yet it was one of his grievances to the end -of his life that he could not use his wife's money to make a gigantic -fortune. He was utterly reckless where others would be more prudent. -Before his wedding tour, he passed through Windermere, and would not -call upon an aunt who was settled near the Lakes, for fear that she -might think he expected her property. She heard of it, and left every -farthing to some more dutiful nephew. - -He never went to Ireland after his marriage, but received occasional -visits from his numerous brothers and sisters. - -The eldest of the family was the Rev. Edward Burton, who had succeeded -to the living. He wasted every farthing of his property, and at -last had the sense to migrate to Canada, where he built a little -Burtonville. In his younger days he intended to marry a girl who -preferred another man. When she was a widow with three children, and -he a widower with six children, they married, and the result was -eventually a total of about a score. Such families do better than is -supposed. The elder children are old enough to assist the younger -ones, and they seem to hang together. My father's sisters, especially -Mrs. Mathews, used to visit him when in England, and as it was known -that he had married an heiress, they all hung to him, apparently, -for themselves and their children. They managed to get hold of all -the Irish land that fell to his share, and after his death they were -incessant in their claims upon his children. My mother was Martha -Baker, one of three sister co-heiresses, and was the second daughter. -The third daughter married Robert Bagshaw, Esq., M.P. for Harwich, and -died without issue. The eldest, Sarah, married Francis Burton, the -youngest brother of my father. He had an especial ambition to enter -the Church, but circumstances compelled him to become military surgeon -in the 66th Regiment. There was only one remarkable event in his life, -which is told in a few very interesting pages by Mrs. Ward, wife of -General Ward, with a short comment by Alfred Bate Richards, late editor -of the _Morning Advertiser_, who, together with Andrew Wilson, author -of the "Abode of Snow," who took it up at his death, compiled and put -together a short _résumé_ of the principal features of my life, of -which some three hundred copies were printed, in pamphlet form and -circulated to private friends. - -[Sidenote: _The Napoleon Romance._] - - "FACTS CONNECTED WITH THE LAST HOURS OF NAPOLEON. - - - "On the night of the 5th of May, 1821, a young ensign of the 66th - Regiment, quartered at St. Helena, was wending his solitary way - along the path leading from the plain of Deadwood to his barracks, - situated on a patch of table-land called Francis Plain. The road was - dreary, for to the left yawned a vast chasm, the remains of a crater, - and known to the islanders as the 'Devil's Punchbowl;' although the - weather had been perfectly calm, puffs of wind occasionally issued - from the neighbouring valleys; and, at last, one of these puffs having - got into a gully, had so much ado to get out of it, that it shrieked, - and moaned, and gibbered, till it burst its bonds with a roar like - thunder--and dragging up in its wrath, on its passage to the sea, a - few shrubs, and one of those fair willows beneath which Napoleon, - first Emperor of France, had passed many a peaceful, if not a happy, - hour of repose, surrounded by his faithful friends in exile. - - "This occurrence, not uncommon at St. Helena, has given rise to an - idea, adopted even by Sir Walter Scott, that the soul of Napoleon had - passed to another destiny on the wings of the Storm Spirit; but, so - far from there being any tumult among the elements on that eventful - night, the gust of wind I have alluded to was only heard by the few - whose cottages dotted the green slopes of the neighbouring mountains. - But as that fair tree dropped, a whisper fell among the islanders that - Napoleon was dead! No need to dwell upon what abler pens than mine - have recorded; the eagle's wings were folded, the dauntless eyes were - closed, the last words, '_Tête d'armée_,' had passed the faded lips, - the proud heart had ceased to beat...!! - - "They arrayed the illustrious corpse in the attire identified with - Napoleon even at the present day; and among the jewelled honours of - earth, so profusely scattered upon the breast, rested the symbol of - the faith he had professed. They shaded the magnificent brow with the - unsightly cocked hat,[2] and stretched down the beautiful hands in - ungraceful fashion; every one, in fact, is familiar with the attitude - I describe, as well as with a death-like cast of the imperial head, - from which a fine engraving has been taken. The cast is true enough to - Nature, but the character of the engraving is spoiled by the addition - of a laurel-wreath on the lofty but insensate brow. - - "About this cast there is a _historiette_ with which it is time the - public should become more intimately acquainted; it was the subject - of litigation, the particulars of which are detailed in the _Times_ - newspaper of the 7th September, 1821, but to which I have now no - opportunity of referring. Evidence, however, was unfortunately wanting - at the necessary moment, and the complainant's case fell to the - ground. The facts are these:-- - - "The day after Napoleon's decease, the young officer I have alluded - to, instigated by emotions which drew vast numbers to Longwood House, - found himself within the very death-chamber of Napoleon. After the - first thrill of awe had subsided, he sat down, and on the fly-leaf - torn from a book, and given him by General Bertrand, he took a rapid - but faithful sketch of the deceased Emperor. Earlier in the day, the - officer had accompanied his friend, Mr. Burton, through certain paths - in the island, in order to collect material for making a composition - resembling plaster of Paris, for the purpose of taking the cast with - as little delay after death as possible. Mr. Burton having prepared - the composition, set to work and completed the task satisfactorily. - The cast being moist, was not easy to remove; and, at Mr. Burton's - request, a tray was brought from Madame Bertrand's apartments, - Madame herself holding it to receive the precious deposit. Mr. Ward, - the ensign alluded to, impressed with the value of such a memento, - offered to take charge of it at his quarters till it was dry enough - to be removed to Mr. Burton's; Madame Bertrand, however, pleaded so - hard to have the care of it, that the two gentlemen, both Irishmen - and soldiers, yielded to her entreaties, and she withdrew with the - treasure, which she _never afterwards would resign_. - - "There can scarcely, therefore, be a question that the casts and - engravings of Napoleon, now sold as emanating from the skill and - reverence of Antommarchi, are from the original taken by Mr. Burton. - We can only rest on circumstantial evidence, which the reader will - allow is most conclusive. It is to be regretted that Mr. Burton's cast - and that _supposed_ to have been taken by Antommarchi were not _both_ - demanded in evidence at the trial in 1821. - - "The engraving I have spoken of has been Italianized by Antommarchi, - the name inscribed beneath being _Napoleone_. - - "So completely was the daily history of Napoleon's life at St. - Helena a sealed record, that, on the arrival of papers from England, - the first question asked by the islanders and the officers of the - garrison was, 'What news of Buonaparte?' Under such circumstances - it was natural that an intense curiosity should be felt concerning - every movement of the mysterious and ill-starred exile. Our young - soldier one night fairly risked his commission for the chance of a - glimpse behind the curtain of the Longwood windows, and, after all, - saw nothing but the imperial form from the knees downwards. Every - night at sunset a _cordon_ of sentries was drawn round the Longwood - plantations. Passing between the sentinels, the venturesome youth - crept, under cover of trees, to a lighted window of the mansion. - The curtains were not drawn, but the blind was lowered. Between the - latter, however, and the window-frame were two or three inches of - space; so down knelt Mr. Ward! Some one was walking up and down the - apartment, which was brilliantly illuminated.[3] The footsteps drew - nearer, and Mr. Ward saw the diamond buckles of a pair of thin shoes, - then two well-formed lower limbs, encased in silk stockings; and, - lastly, the edge of a coat, lined with white silk. On a sofa at a - little distance was seated Madame Bertrand, with her boy leaning - on her knee; and some one was probably writing under Napoleon's - dictation, for the Emperor was speaking slowly and distinctly. Mr. - Ward returned to his guard-house satisfied with having _heard the - voice of Napoleon Buonaparte_. - - "Mr. Ward had an opportunity of seeing the great captive at a distance - on the very last occasion that Buonaparte breathed the outer air. It - was a bright morning when the serjeant of the guard at Longwood Gate - informed our ensign that 'General Buonaparte' was in the garden on - to which the guard-room looked. Mr. Ward seized his spy-glass, and - took a breathless survey of Napoleon, who was standing in front of - his house with one of his Generals. Something on the ground attracted - his notice; he stooped to examine (probably a colony of ants, whose - movements he watched with interest), when the music of a band at a - distance stirred the air on Deadwood Plain; and he who had once led - multitudes forth at his slightest word now wended his melancholy way - through the grounds of Longwood, to catch a distant glimpse of a - British regiment under inspection. - - "We have in our possession a small signal book which was used at St. - Helena during the period of Napoleon's exile. The following passages - will give some idea of the system of vigilance which it was thought - necessary to exercise, lest the world should again be suddenly - uproused by the appearance of the French Emperor on the battle-field - of Europe. It is not for me to offer any opinion on such a system, - but I take leave to say that I never yet heard any British officer - acknowledge that he would have accepted the authority of Governor - under the burden of the duties it entailed. In a word, although every - one admits the difficulties and responsibilities of Sir Hudson Lowe's - position, all deprecate the system to which he considered himself - obliged to bend. - - "But the signal-book! Here are some of the passages which passed from - hill to valley while Napoleon took his daily ride within the boundary - prescribed:-- - - "'General Buonaparte has left Longwood.' - - "'General Buonaparte has passed the guards.' - - "'General Buonaparte is at Hutt's Gate.' - - "'General Buonaparte is missing.' - - "The latter paragraph resulted from General Buonaparte having, in - the course of his ride, turned an angle of a hill, or descended some - valley beyond the ken, for a few minutes, of the men working the - telegraphs on the hills! - - "It was not permitted that the once Emperor of France should be - designated by any other title than '_General_ Buonaparte;' and, alas! - innumerable were the squabbles that arose between the Governor and - his captive, because the British Ministry had made this puerile order - peremptory. I have now no hesitation in making known the great Duke's - opinion on this subject, which was transmitted to me two years ago, - by one who for some months every year held daily intercourse with his - Grace, but who could not, while the Duke was living, permit me to - publish what had been expressed in private conversation. - - "'I would have taken care that he did not escape from St. Helena,' - said Wellington: 'but he might have been addressed by any name he - pleased.' - - "I cannot close this paper without saying a word or two on the - condition of the buildings once occupied by the most illustrious and - most unfortunate of exiles. - - "It is well known that Napoleon never would inhabit the house which - was latterly erected at Longwood for his reception; that, he said, - 'would serve for his tomb;' and that the slabs from the kitchen - _did_ actually form part of the vault in which he was placed in his - favourite valley beneath the willows, and near the fountain whose - crystal waters had so often refreshed him. - - "This abode, therefore, is not invested with the same interest as his - real residence, well named the 'Old House at Longwood;' for a more - crazy, wretched, filthy barn, it would scarcely be possible to meet - with; and many painful emotions have filled my heart during nearly - a four years' sojourn on 'The Rock,' as I have seen French soldiers - and sailors march gravely and decorously to the spot, hallowed in - their eyes, of course, by its associations with their invisible but - unforgotten idol, and degraded, it must be admitted, by the change it - has undergone. - - "Indeed, few French persons can be brought to believe that it ever was - a decent abode; and no one can deny that it must outrage the feelings - of a people like the French, so especially affected by associations, - to see the bedchamber of their former Emperor a dirty stable, and the - room in which he breathed his last sigh, appropriated to the purpose - of winnowing and thrashing wheat! In the last-named room are two - pathetic mementoes of affection. When Napoleon's remains were exhumed - in 1846, Counts Bertrand and Las Casas carried off with them, the - former a piece of the boarded floor on which the Emperor's bed had - rested, the latter a stone from the wall pressed by the pillow of his - dying Chief. - - "Would that I had the influence to recommend to the British - Government, that these ruined and, I must add, desecrated, buildings - should be razed to the ground; and that on their site should be - erected a convalescent hospital for the sick of all ranks, of - _both_ services, and of _both_ nations. Were the British and French - Governments to unite in this plan, how grand a sight would it be to - behold the two nations shaking hands, so to speak, over the grave of - Napoleon! - - "On offering this suggestion, when in Paris lately, to one of the - nephews of the first Emperor Napoleon, the Prince replied that 'the - idea was nobly philanthropic, but that England would never listen - to it.' I must add that his Highness said this 'rather in sorrow - than in anger;' then, addressing Count L----, one of the faithful - followers of Napoleon in exile, and asking him which mausoleum - _he_ preferred,--the one in which we then stood, the dome of the - _Invalides_, or the rock of St. Helena,--he answered, to my surprise, - 'St. Helena; for no grander monument than that can ever be raised to - the Emperor!' - - "Circumstances made one little incident connected with this, our visit - to the _Invalides_, most deeply interesting. Comte D'Orsay was of the - party; indeed it was in his elegant _atélier_ we had all assembled, - ere starting, to survey the mausoleum then being prepared for the - ashes of Napoleon. Suffering and debilitated as Comte D'Orsay was, - precious, as critiques on art, were the words that fell from his lips - during our progress through the work-rooms, as we stopped before the - sculptures intended to adorn the vault wherein the sarcophagus is to - rest. Ere leaving the works, the Director, in exhibiting the solidity - of the granite which was finally to encase Napoleon, struck fire - with a mallet from the magnificent block. 'See,' said Comte D'Orsay, - 'though the dome of the _Invalides_ may fall, France may yet light a - torch at the tomb of her Emperor.' I cannot remember the exact words, - but such was their import. Comte D'Orsay died a few weeks after this. - - "Since the foregoing was written, members of the Burton family - have told me, that, after taking the cast, Mr. Burton went to his - regimental rounds, leaving the mask on the tray to dry; the back of - the head was left on to await his return, not being dry enough to take - off, and was thus overlooked by Madame Bertrand. When he returned he - found that the mask was packed up and sent on board ship for France in - Antommarchi's name. From a feeling of deep mortification he took the - back part of the cast, reverently scraped off the hair now enclosed - in a ring, and, overcome by his feelings, dashed it into a thousand - pieces. He was afterwards offered by Messrs. Gall and Spurzheim - (phrenologists), one thousand pounds sterling for that portion of the - cast which was wanting to the cast so called Antommarchi's. Amongst - family private papers there was a correspondence, read by most members - of it, between Antommarchi and Mr. Burton, in which Antommarchi stated - that he knew Burton had made the plaster and taken the cast. Mrs. - Burton, after the death of her husband and Antommarchi, thought the - correspondence useless and burnt it; but the hair was preserved under - a glass watch-case in the family for forty years. There was an offer - made about the year 1827 or 1828 by persons high in position in France - who knew the truth to have the matter cleared up, but Mr. Burton was - dying at the time, and was unable to take any part in it, so the - affair dropped. - - * * * * * - - "THE BUST OF BUONAPARTE. - - "_Extract from the 'New Times' of September_ 7_th,_ 1821. - - - "On Wednesday a case of a very singular nature occurred at the Bow - Street Office. - - "Count Bertrand, the companion of Buonaparte in his exile at St. - Helena (and the executor under his will), appeared before Richard - Birnie, Esq., accompanied by Sir Robert Wilson, in consequence of a - warrant having been issued to search the residence of the Count for - a bust of his illustrious master, which, it was alleged, was the - property of Mr. Burton, 66th Regiment, when at St. Helena. - - "The following are the circumstances of the case:-- - - "Previous to the death of Buonaparte, he had given directions to his - executors that his body should not be touched by any person after his - death; however, Count Bertrand directed Dr. Antommarchi to take a bust - of him; but not being able to find a material which he thought would - answer the purpose, he mentioned the circumstances to Mr. Burton, who - promised that he would procure some if possible. - - "The Englishman, in pursuance of this promise, took a boat and picked - up raw materials on the island, some distance from Longwood. He made a - plaster, which he conceived would answer this purpose. When he showed - it to Dr. Antommarchi he said it would not answer, and refused to have - anything to do with it, in consequence of which Mr. Burton proceeded - to take a bust himself, with the sanction of Madame Bertrand, who was - in the room at the time. An agreement was entered into that copies - should be made of the bust, and that Messieurs Burton and Antommarchi - were to have each a copy. - - "It was found, however, that the plaster was not sufficiently durable - for the purpose, and it was proposed to send the original to England - to have copies taken. - - "When Mr. Burton, however, afterwards inquired for the bust, he was - informed that it was packed and nailed up; but a promise was made, - that upon its arrival in Europe, an application should be made to the - family of Buonaparte for the copy required by Mr. Burton. - - "On its arrival, Mr. Burton wrote to the Count to have his promised - copy, but he was told, as before, that application would be made to - the family of Buonaparte for it. - - "Mr. Burton upon this applied to Bow Street for a search warrant in - order to obtain the bust, as he conceived he had a right to it, he - having furnished the materials and executed it. - - "A warrant was issued, and Taunton and Salmon, two officers, went to - the Count's residence in Leicester Square. When they arrived, and - made known their errand, they were remonstrated with by Sir Robert - Wilson and the Count, who begged they would not act till they had an - interview with Mr. Birnie, as there must be some mistake. The officers - politely acceded to the request, and waived their right of search. - - "Count Bertrand had, it seems, offered a pecuniary compensation to - Mr. Burton for his trouble, but it was _indignantly refused by that - officer_, who persisted in the assertion of his right to the bust as - his own property, and made application for the search warrant. - - "Count Bertrand, in answer to the case stated by Mr. Burton, said that - the bust was the property of the family of the deceased, to whom he - was executor, and he thought he should not be authorized in giving - it up. If, however, the law of this country ordained it otherwise, he - must submit; but he should protest earnestly against it. - - "The worthy magistrate, having sworn the Count to the fact that he was - executor under the will of Buonaparte, observed that it was a case out - of his jurisdiction altogether, and if Mr. Burton chose to persist in - his claim, he must seek a remedy before another tribunal. - - "The case was dismissed, and the warrant was cancelled. - - * * * * * - - "The sequel to the Buonaparte story is short; Captain Burton (in - 1861) thinking that the sketch, which was perfect, and the lock - of hair which had been preserved in a family watch-case for forty - years, would be great treasures to the Buonapartes, and should be - given to them, begged the sketch of General and Mrs. Ward, and the - hair from the Burtons; he had the hair set in a handsome ring, with - a wreath of laurels and the Buonaparte bees. His wife had a complete - set of her husband's works very handsomely bound, as a gift, and in - January, 1862, Captain Burton sent his wife over to Paris, with the - sketch, the ring, and the books, to request an audience with the - Emperor and Empress, and offer them these things, simply as an act - of civility--for Captain and Mrs. Burton in opinion and feeling were - Legitimists. Captain Burton was away on a journey, and Mrs. Burton had - to go alone. She was young and inexperienced, and had not a single - friend in Paris to advise her. She left her letter and presents at the - Tuileries. The audience was not granted. His Imperial Majesty declined - the presents, and she never heard anything more of them. They were - not returned. Frightened and disappointed at the failure of this, her - first little mission at the outset of her married life, she returned - to London directly, where she found the Burton family anything but - pleased at her failure and her want of _savoir faire_ in the matter, - having unwittingly caused their treasure to be utterly unappreciated. - She said to me on her return, 'I never felt so snubbed in my life, and - I shall never like Paris again;' and I believe she has kept her word. - - "OXONIAN." - -Francis Burton, alluded to in these pages, returned to England after -the death of Napoleon, married one of the three co-heiress (Baker) -sisters, and died early, leaving only two daughters. One died, and the -other, Sarah, became Mrs. Pryce-Harrison. - -[Sidenote: _The Louis XIVth Romance._] - -Nor was this the only little romance in our Burton family, as the -following story taken from family documents tends to show. Here is the -Louis XIV. history-- - - "With regard to Louis XIV. there are one or two curious and - interesting legends in the Burton family, well authenticated, which - make Richard Burton great-great-great-grandson of Louis XIV. of - France, by a morganatic marriage; and another which would entitle him - to an English baronetcy, dating from 1622. - - "One of the documents in the family is entitled, 'A Pedigree of the - Young family, showing their descent from Louis XIV. of France,' and - which runs as follows:-- - - "Louis XIV. of France took the beautiful Countess of Montmorency from - her husband and shut him up in a fortress. After the death of (her - husband) the Constable de Montmorency, Louis morganatically _married_ - the Countess. She had a son called Louis le Jeune, who 'was brought - over to Ireland by Lady Primrose,' then a widow. This Lady Primrose's - maiden name was Drelincourt, and the baby was named Drelincourt after - his godfather and guardian, Dean Drelincourt (of Armagh), who was the - father of Lady Primrose. He grew up, was educated at Armagh, and was - known as Drelincourt Young. He married a daughter of Dean Drelincourt, - and became the father of Hercules Drelincourt Young, and also of Miss - (Sarah) Young, who married Dr. John Campbell, LL.D., Vicar-General of - Tuam (_ob_. 1772). Sarah Young's brother, the above-mentioned Hercules - Young, married and had a son George, a merchant in Dublin, who had - some French deeds and various documents, which proved his right to - property in France. - - "The above-named Dr. John Campbell, by his marriage with Miss Sarah - Young (rightly Lejeune, for they had changed the name from French to - English), had a daughter, Maria Margaretta Campbell, who was Richard - Burton's grandmother. The same Dr. John Campbell was a member of the - Argyll family, and a first cousin of the 'three beautiful Gunnings,' - and was Richard Burton's great-grandfather. - - "These papers (for there are other documents) affect a host of - families in Ireland--the Campbells, Nettervilles, Droughts, Graves, - Burtons, Plunketts, Trimlestons, and many more. - - "In 1875 _Notes and Queries_ was full of this question and the various - documents, but it has never been settled. - - "The genealogy runs thus:-- - - "Louis XIV. - - "_Son_, Louis le Jeune (known as Louis Drelincourt Young), by Countess - Montmorency; adopted by Lady Primrose[4] (see Earl of Rosebery), and - subsequently married to a daughter of Drelincourt, Dean of Armagh. - - "_Daughter_, Sarah Young; married to Dr. John Campbell, LL.D., - Vicar-General of Tuam, Galway. - - "_Daughter_, Maria Margaretta Campbell; married to the Rev. Edward - Burton, Rector of Tuam, Galway. - - "_Son_, Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Netterville Burton, 36th Regiment. - - "_Son_, Richard Burton, whose biography I am now relating. - - "There was a Lady Primrose buried in the Rosebery vaults, by her - express will, with a little casket in her hands, containing some - secret, which was to die with her; many think that it might contain - the missing link. - - "The wife of Richard Burton received, in 1875, two very tantalizing - anonymous letters, which she published in _Notes and Queries_, but - which she has never been able to turn to account, through the writer - declining to come forward, _even secretly_. - - "One ran thus:-- - - - "'MADAM,--There is an old baronetcy in the Burton family to - which you belong, dating from the reign of Edw. III.[5]--I rather - believe _now in abeyance_--which it was thought Admiral Ryder Burton - would have taken up, and which after his death can be taken up by your - branch of the family. All particulars you will find by searching the - Heralds' Office; but I am positive my information is correct.--From - one who read your letter in _N. and Q_. - - - "She shortly after received and published the second anonymous letter; - but, though she made several appeals to the writer in _Notes and - Queries_, no answer was obtained, and Admiral Ryder Burton eventually - died. - - - "'MADAM,--I cannot help thinking that if you were to have - the records of the Burton family searched carefully at Shap, in - Westmoreland, you would be able to fill up the link wanting in your - husband's descent, from 1712 to 1750, or thereabouts. As I am _quite - positive_ of a baronetcy _being in abeyance_ in the Burton family, - and that _an old one_, it would be worth your while getting all the - information you can from Shap and Tuam--the Rev. Edward Burton, Dean - of Killala and Rector of Tuam, whose niece he married was a Miss - Ryder, of the Earl of Harrowby's family, by whom he had no children. - His second wife, a Miss Judge, was a descendant of the Otways, of - Castle Otway, and connected with many leading families in Ireland. - Admiral James Ryder Burton could, if he _would_, supply you with - information respecting the missing link in your husband's descent. I - have always heard that _de Burton_ was the proper family name, and I - saw lately that a _de Burton_ now lives in Lincolnshire. - - "'Hoping, madam, that you will be able to establish your claim to the - baronetcy, - - "'I remain, yours truly, - - "'A READER OF _N. and Q_. - - "'P.S.--I rather think also, and advise your ascertaining the _fact_, - that the estate of Barker Hill, Shap, Westmoreland, by the law of - _entail_, will devolve, at the death of Admiral Ryder Burton, on your - husband, Captain Richard Burton.' - - "From the Royal College of Heralds, however, the following information - was forwarded to Mrs. Richard Burton:-- - - "'There _was_ a baronetcy in the family of Burton. The first was Sir - Thomas Burton, Knight, of Stokestone, Leicestershire; created July - 22nd, 1622, a baronet, by King James I. Sir Charles was the last - baronet. He appears to have been in great distress--a prisoner for - debt, 1712. He is supposed to have died without issue, when the title - became extinct--at least nobody has claimed it since. If your husband - can prove his descent from a younger son of any of the baronets, he - would have a right to the title. The few years must be filled up - between 1712 and the birth of your husband's grandfather, which was - about 1750; and you must prove that the Rev. Edward Burton, Rector of - Tuam in Galway, your husband's grandfather (who came from Shap, in - Westmoreland, with his brother, Bishop Burton, of Tuam), was descended - from any of the sons of any of the baronets named.'"[6] - -[1] N.B.--This I deny. Richard was the handsomest and most attractive -man I have ever seen, and Edward, though smaller, was very -good-looking, but there is no doubt that Richard grew handsomer every -year of his life, and I can remember Maria exceedingly attractive so -far back as 1857.--I. B. - -[2] "The coffin being too short to admit this array in the order -proposed, the hat was placed at the feet before interment." - -[3] "Napoleon's dining-room lamp, from Longwood, is, I believe, still -in the possession of the 91st Regiment, it having been purchased by the -officers at St. Helena in 1836." - -[4] "This Lady Primrose was a person of no small importance, and -was the centre of the Jacobite Society in London, and the friend of -several distinguished people; and as she was connected on her own side -and her husband's with the French Calvinists, she may very likely -have protected Lejeune from France to Ireland, and he would probably -have, when grown up, married some younger Drelincourt--as such were -undoubtedly the names of the parents of Sarah Young, who married Dr. -John Campbell. We can only give the various documents as we have seen -them." - -[5] "This is an error of the anonymous writer. Baronetcies were first -created in 1605."--I. B. - -[6] N.B.--We never had the money to pursue these enquiries. But should -they ever be sifted, the proper heir, since my husband is dead, will be -Captain Richard St. George Burton, of the "Black Watch." We made out -all the links, except twelve years from 1712. It is said that Admiral -Ryder Burton himself was the author of those two anonymous letters to -me. My husband often used to say there were only two titles he would -care to have. Firstly, the old family baronetcy, and the other to be -created Duke of Midian.--ISABEL BURTON. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -RICHARD'S BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD. - - -[Sidenote: _Richard Burton's Early Life._] - -I was born at 9.30 p.m., 19th March (Feast of St. Joseph in the -calendar), 1821, at Barham House, Herts, and suppose I was baptized -in due course at the parish church. My birth took place in the same -year as, but the day before, the grand event of George IV. visiting -the Opera for the first time after the Coronation, March 20th. I was -the eldest of three children. The second was Maria Catherine Eliza, -who married Henry, afterwards General Sir Henry Stisted, a very -distinguished officer, who died, leaving only two daughters, one of -whom, Georgina Martha, survives. Third, Edward Joseph Netterville, late -Captain in the 37th Regiment, unmarried. - -The first thing I remember, and it is always interesting to record a -child's first memories, was being brought down after dinner at Barham -House to eat white currants, seated upon the knee of a tall man with -yellow hair and blue eyes; but whether the memory is composed of a -miniature of my grandfather, and whether the white frock and blue sash -with bows come from a miniature of myself and not from life, I can -never make up my mind. - -Barham House was a country place bought by my grandfather, Richard -Baker, who determined to make me his heir because I had red hair, an -unusual thing in the Burton family. The hair soon changed to black, -which seems to justify the following remarks by Alfred Bate Richards in -the pamphlet alluded to. They are as follows:-- - - "Richard Burton's talents for mixing with and assimilating natives of - all countries, but especially Oriental characters, and of becoming as - one of themselves without any one doubting or suspecting his origin; - his perfect knowledge of their languages, manners, customs, habits, - and religion; and last, but not least, his being gifted by nature - with an Arab head and face, favoured this his first enterprise" - (the pilgrimage to Mecca). "One can learn from that versatile - poet-traveller, the excellent Théophile Gautier, why Richard Burton - is an Arab in appearance; and account for that incurable restlessness - that is unable to wrest from fortune a spot on earth wherein to repose - when weary of wandering like the desert sands. - - "'There is a reason,' says Gautier, who had studied the Andalusian - and the Moor, 'for the fantasy of nature which causes an Arab to be - born in Paris, or a Greek in Auvergne; the mysterious voice of blood - which is silent for generations, or only utters a confused murmur, - speaks at rare intervals a more intelligible language. In the general - confusion race claims its own, and some forgotten ancestor asserts - his rights. Who knows what alien drops are mingled with our blood? - The great migrations from the table-lands of India, the descents of - the Northern races, the Roman and Arab invasions, have all left their - marks. Instincts which seem _bizarre_ spring from these confused - recollections, these hints of distant country. The vague desire of - this primitive Fatherland moves such minds as retain the more vivid - memories of the past. Hence the wild unrest that wakens in certain - spirits the need of flight, such as the cranes and the swallows feel - when kept in bondage--the impulses that make a man leave his luxurious - life to bury himself in the Steppes, the Desert, the Pampas, the - Sahara. He goes to seek his brothers. It would be easy to point out - the intellectual Fatherland of our greatest minds. Lamartine, De - Musset, and De Vigny are English; Delacroix is an Anglo-Indian; Victor - Hugo a Spaniard; Ingres belongs to the Italy of Florence and Rome.' - - "Richard Burton has also some peculiarities which oblige one to - suspect a drop of Oriental, perhaps gipsy, blood. By gipsy we must - understand the pure Eastern." - -My mother had a wild half-brother--Richard Baker, junior, a -barrister-at-law, who refused a judgeship in Australia, and died a -soap-boiler. To him she was madly attached, and delayed the signing of -my grandfather's will as much as possible to the prejudice of her own -babe. My grandfather Baker drove in his carriage to see Messrs. Dendy, -his lawyers, with the object of signing the will, and dropped dead, on -getting out of the carriage, of ossification of the heart; and, the -document being unsigned, the property was divided. It would now be -worth half a million of money. - -When I was sent out to India as a cadet, in 1842, I ran down to see -the old house for the last time, and started off in a sailing ship -round the Cape for Bombay, in a frame of mind to lead any forlorn hope -wherever it might be. Warren Hastings, Governor-General of India, under -similar circumstances threw himself under a tree, and formed the fine -resolution to come back and buy the old place; but _he_ belonged to -the eighteenth century. The nineteenth is far more cosmopolitan. I -always acted upon the saying, _Omne solum_ _forti patria_, or, as I -translated it, "For every region is a strong man's home." - -Meantime my father had been obliged to go on half-pay by the Duke of -Wellington for having refused to appear as a witness against Queen -Caroline. He had been town mayor at Genoa when she lived there, and her -kindness to the officers had greatly prepossessed them in her favour; -so, when ordered by the War Office to turn Judas, he flatly refused. A -great loss to himself, as Lord William Bentinck, Governor-General of -India, was about to take him as aide-de-camp, and to his family, as -he lost all connection with the army, and lived entirely abroad, and, -eventually coming back, died with his wife at Bath in 1857. However, he -behaved like a gentleman, and none of his family ever murmured at the -step, though I began life as an East Indian cadet, and my brother in a -marching regiment, whilst our cousins were in the Guards and the Rifles -and other crack corps of the army. - -[Sidenote: _At Tours._] - -The family went abroad when I was a few months old, and settled at -Tours, the charming capital of Touraine, which then contained some two -hundred English families (now reduced to a score or so), attracted -by the beauty of the place, the healthy climate, the economy of -living, the facilities of education, and the friendly feeling of the -French inhabitants, who, despite Waterloo, associated freely with the -strangers. - -They had a chaplain, the Rev. Mr. Way (whose son afterwards entered the -Indian army; I met him in India, and he died young); their schoolmaster -was Mr. Clough, who bolted from his debts, and then Mr. Gilchrist, who, -like the Rev. Edward Irving, Carlisle's friend (whom the butcher once -asked if he couldn't assist him), caned his pupils to the utmost. The -celebrated Dr. Brettoneau took charge of the invalids. They had their -duellist, the Honourable Martin Hawke, their hounds that hunted the -Forest of Amboise, and a select colony of Irishmen, Messrs. Hume and -others, who added immensely to the fun and frolic of the place. - -At that period a host of these little colonies were scattered over the -Continent nearest England; in fact, an oasis of Anglo-Saxondom in a -desert of continentalism, somewhat like the society of English country -towns as it was in 1800, not as it is now, where society is confined to -the parson, dentist, surgeon, general practitioners, the bankers, and -the lawyers. And in those days it had this advantage, that there were -no snobs, and one seldom noticed the _aigre discorde_, the _maladie -chronique des ménages bourgeoises_. Knowing nothing of Mrs. Grundy, the -difference of the foreign colonies was that the _weight_ of English -respectability appeared to be taken off them, though their lives were -respectable and respected. The Mrs. Gamps and Mrs. Grundys were not so -rampant. The English of these little colonies were intensely patriotic, -and cared comparatively little for party politics. They stuck to their -own Church because it _was_ their Church, and they knew as much about -the Catholics at their very door, as the average Englishman does of the -Hindú. Moreover, they honestly called themselves Protestants in those -days, and the French called themselves Catholics. There was no quibble -about "their being Anglo-Catholics, and the others Roman-Catholics." -They subscribed liberally to the Church, and did not disdain to act -as churchwardens. They kept a sharp look-out upon the parson, and one -of your Modern High Church Protestants or Puseyites or Ritualists -would have got the sack after the first sermon. They were intensely -national. Any Englishman in those days who refused to fight a duel -with a Frenchman was sent to Coventry, and bullied out of the place. -English girls who flirted with foreigners, were looked upon very much -as white women who permit the addresses of a nigger, are looked upon -by those English who have lived in black countries. White women who do -these things lose caste. Beauséjour, the château taken by the family, -was inhabited by the Maréchale de Menon in 1778, and eventually became -the property of her _homme d'affaires_, Monsieur Froguet. The dear old -place stands on the right bank of the Loire, halfway up the heights -that bound the stream, commanding a splendid view, and fronted by a -French garden and vineyards now uprooted. In 1875 I paid it a last -visit, and found a friend from Brazil, a Madame Izarié, widow of my -friend the French Consul of Bahía, who had come to die in the house of -his sister, Madame Froguet. - -Tours was in those days (1820-30) the most mediæval City in France. -The western half of the city, divided from the eastern by the Rue -Royale, contained a number of old turreted houses of freestone, which -might have belonged to the fifteenth century. There also was the tomb -of the Venerable St. Martin in a crypt, where lamps are ever burning, -and where the destroyed cathedral has not yet been rebuilt. The -eastern city contained the grand Cathedral of St. Garcien, with its -domed towers, and the Archévêché or Archbishop's palace with beautiful -gardens. Both are still kept in the best order. In forty-five years the -city has grown enormously. The southern suburbs, where the Mall and -Ramparts used to be, has become Boulevards Heurteloup and Béranger; -and "Places," such as that of the Palais de Justice, where cabbage -gardens fenced with paling and thorn hedges once showed a few pauper -cottages defended by the fortifications, are now Crescents and Kiosks -for loungers, houses with tall mansarde roofs, and the large railway -station that connects Tours with the outer world. The river, once -crossed by a single long stone bridge, has now two suspension bridges -and a railway bridge, and the river-holms, formerly strips of sand, -are now grown to double their size, covered with trees and defended by -stone dykes. - -I remember passing over the river on foot when it was frozen, but -with the increased population that no longer happens. Still there are -vestiges of the old establishments. The Boule d'Or with its Golden -Ball, and the Pheasant Hotel, both in the Rue Royale, still remain. -You still read, "Maison Piernadine recommended for _is_ elegance, _is_ -good taste, _is_ new fashions of the first choice." Madame Fisterre, -the maker of admirable apple-puffs, has disappeared and has left no -sign. This was, as may be supposed, one of my first childish visits. We -young ones enjoyed ourselves very much at the Château de Beauséjour, -eating grapes in the garden, putting our Noah's ark animals under the -box hedges, picking snail-shells and cowslips in the lanes, playing -with the dogs--three black pointers of splendid breed, much admired by -the Duke of Cumberland when he afterwards saw them in Richmond Park, -named Juno, Jupiter, and Ponto. Charlotte Ling, the old nurse, daughter -of the lodge-keeper at Barham House, could not stand the absence of -beef and beer and the presence of kickshaws and dandelion salad, and -after Aunt Georgina Baker had paid us a visit, she returned with her -to Old England. A favourite amusement of us children was swarming up -the tails of our father's horses, three in number, and one--a horse -of Mecklenburg breed--was as tame as an Arab. The first story Aunt -Georgina used to tell of me was of my lying on my back in a broiling -sun, and exclaiming, "How I love a bright burning sun!" (Nature -speaking in early years). Occasional drawbacks were violent storms of -thunder and lightning, when we children were hustled out of our little -cots under the roof, and taken to the drawing-room, lest the lightning -should strike us, and the daily necessity of learning the alphabet and -so forth, multiplication table, and our prayers. - -I was intended for that wretched being, the infant phenomenon, and so -began Latin at three and Greek at four. Things are better now. Our -father used to go out wild-boar hunting in the _Forêt d'Amboise_, where -is the château in which Abd-el-Kadir was imprisoned by the French -Government from 1847 to 1852, when he was set free by Napoleon III., -at the entreaties of Lord Londonderry. (It is said that his Majesty -entered his prison in person and set him free. Abd-el-Kadir, at -Damascus, often expressed his obligations to the English, and warmly -welcomed any English face. On one occasion I took a near relation of -Lord Londonderry's to see him, and he was quite overcome.) My father -was periodically brought home hurt by running against a tree. Sport was -so much in vogue then as to come between the parson and his sermon. - -[Sidenote: _His First School._] - -This pleasant life came to a close one day. We were three: I was six, -Maria four, and Edward three. One morning saw the hateful school-books -fastened with a little strap, and we boys and our little bundle were -conveyed in a small carriage to the town, where we were introduced -into a room with a number of English and French boys, who were sitting -opposite hacked and ink-spotted desks, looking as demure as they could, -though every now and then they broke out into wicked grins and nudges. -A lame Irish schoolmaster (Clough) smiled most graciously at us as -long as our father was in the room, but was not half so pleasant when -we were left alone. We wondered "what we were doing in that _Galère_," -especially as we were sent there day after day, and presently we learnt -the dread truth that we were at school at the ripe ages of six and -three. Presently it was found that the house was at an inconvenient -distance from school, and the family transferred itself to the Rue de -l'Archévêché, a very nice house in the north-eastern corner of what is -still the best street in the town (Rue Royale being mostly commercial). -It is close to the Place and the Archbishop's palace, which delighted -us, with small deer feeding about the dwarf lawn. - -Presently Mr. Clough ran away, leaving his sister to follow as best she -could, and we were transferred to the care of Mr. John Gilchrist, a -Scotch pedagogue of the old brutal school, who took an especial delight -in caning the boys, especially with a rattan or ferula across the palm -of the hand; but we were not long in discovering a remedy, by splitting -the end of the cane and inserting a bit of hair. We took lessons in -drawing, dancing, French, and music, in which each child showed its -individuality. Maria loved all four; Edward took to French and music -and hated drawing; I took to French and drawing, and hated music and -dancing. My brother and I took to the study of Arms, by nature, as soon -as we could walk, at first with popguns and spring pistols and tin and -wooden sabres, and I can quite well remember longing to kill the porter -at five years old, because he laughed at our _sabres de bois_ and -_pistolets de paille_. - -I was a boy of three ideas. Usually if a child is forbidden to eat -the sugar or to lap up the cream he simply either obeys or does the -contrary; but I used to place myself before the sugar and cream and -carefully study the question, "Have I the courage not to touch them?" -When I was quite sure of myself that I had the courage I instantly -rewarded resolution by emptying one or both. Moreover, like most -boys of strong imagination and acute feeling, I was a resolute and -unblushing liar; I used to ridicule the idea of my honour being any -way attached to telling the truth, I considered it an impertinence the -being questioned, I never could understand what moral turpitude there -could be in a lie, _unless it was told for fear of the consequences_ of -telling the truth, or one that would attach blame to another person. -That feeling continued for many a year, and at last, as very often -happens, as soon as I realized that a lie was contemptible, it ran into -quite the other extreme, a disagreeable habit of scrupulously telling -the truth whether it was timely or not.[1] - -The school was mostly manned by English boys, sprinkled with French, -and the mixture of the two formed an ungodly article, and the Italian -proverb-- - - "Un Inglese Italianato - È un Diavolo incarnato" - -may be applied with quite as much truth to English boys brought up -in France. To succeed in English life, boys must be brought up in a -particular groove. First the preparatory school, then Eton and Oxford, -with an occasional excursion to France, Italy, and Germany, to learn -languages, not of Stratford-atte-Bowe, and to find out that England is -not the whole world. I never met any of my Tours schoolfellows save -one--Blayden Edward Hawke, who became a Commander in the Navy, and died -in 1877. - -We boys became perfect devilets, and played every kind of trick despite -the rattan. Fighting the French gutter-boys with sticks and stones, -fists, and snowballs was a favourite amusement, and many a donkey-lad -went home with ensanguined nose, whilst occasionally we got the worst -of it from some big brother. The next favourite game was playing -truant, passing the day in utter happiness, fancying ourselves Robinson -Crusoes, and wandering about the strip of wood (long since doomed to -fuel) at the top of the Tranchée. Our father and mother went much into -the society of the place, which was gay and pleasant, and we children -were left more or less to the servants. We boys beat all our bonnes, -generally by running at their petticoats and upsetting them. There was -one particular case when a new nurse arrived, a huge Norman girl, who -at first imposed upon this turbulent nursery by her breadth of shoulder -and the general rigour of her presence. One unlucky day we walked to -the Faubourg at the south-east of the town, the only part of old Tours -now remaining; the old women sat spinning and knitting at their cottage -doors, and remarked loud enough for us boys to hear, "Ah ça! ces -petits gamins! Voilà une honnête bonne qui ne leur laissera pas faire -des farces!" Whereupon Euphrosyne became as proud as a peacock, and -insisted upon a stricter discipline than we were used to. That forest -walk ended badly. A jerk of the arm on her part brought on a general -attack from the brood; the poor bonne measured her length upon the -ground, and we jumped upon her. The party returned, she with red eyes, -torn cap, and downcast looks, and we hooting and jeering loudly, and -calling the old women "Les Mères Pomponnes," who screamed predictions -that we should come to the guillotine. - -Our father and mother had not much idea of managing their children; it -was like the old tale of the hen who hatched ducklings. By way of a -wholesome and moral lesson of self-command and self-denial, our mother -took us past Madame Fisterre's windows, and bade us look at all the -good things in the window, during which we fixed our ardent affections -upon a tray of apple-puffs; then she said, "Now, my dears, let us go -away; it is so good for little children to restrain themselves." Upon -this we three devilets turned flashing eyes and burning cheeks upon our -moralizing mother, broke the windows with our fists, clawed out the -tray of apple-puffs, and bolted, leaving poor mother a sadder and a -wiser woman, to pay the damages of her lawless brood's proceedings. - -Talking of the guillotine, the schoolmaster unwisely allowed the boys, -by way of a school-treat, to see the execution of a woman who killed -her small family by poisoning, on condition that they would look away -when the knife descended; but of course that was just the time (with -such an injunction) when every small neck was craned and eyes strained -to look, and the result was that the whole school played at guillotine -for a week, happily without serious accidents.[2] - -[Sidenote: _Trips._] - -The residence at Tours was interrupted by occasional trips, summering -in other places, especially at St. Malo. The seaport then thoroughly -deserved the slighting notice, to which it was subjected by Captain -Marryat, and the house in the Faubourg was long remembered from its -tall avenue of old yew trees, which afforded abundant bird's-nesting. -At Dieppe the gallops on the sands were very much enjoyed, for we were -put on horseback as soon as we could straddle. Many a fall was of -course the result, and not a few broken heads, whilst the rival French -boys were painfully impressed by the dignity of spurs and horsewhips. - -[Sidenote: _Grandmamma Baker._] - -At times relations came over to visit us, especially Grandmamma Baker -(Grandmamma Baker was a very peculiar character). Her arrival was a -signal for presents and used to be greeted with tremendous shouts of -delight, but the end of a week always brought on a quarrel. Our mother -was rather thin and delicate, but our grandmother was a thorough old -Macgregor, of the Helen or the Rob Roy type, and was as quick to resent -an affront as any of her clan. Her miniature shows that she was an -extremely handsome woman, who retained her good looks to the last. When -her stepson, Richard Baker, jun., inherited his money, £80,000, he went -to Paris and fell into the hands of the celebrated Baron de Thierry. -This French friend persuaded him to embark in the pleasant little -speculation of building a bazaar. By the time the walls began to grow -above ground the Englishman had finished £60,000, and, seeing that a -million would hardly finish the work, he sold off his four greys and -fled Paris post-haste in a post-chaise. The Baron Thierry followed him -to London, and, bold as brass, presented himself as an injured creditor -at grandmamma's pretty little house in Park Lane. The old lady replied -by summoning her servants and having him literally kicked downstairs in -true Highland fashion. That Baron's end is well known in history. He -made himself king of one of the Cannibal Islands in the South Sea, and -ended by being eaten by his ungrateful subjects. - -Grandmamma Baker was determined to learn French, and, accordingly, -secured a professor. The children's great delight was to ambuscade -themselves, and to listen with joy to the lessons. "What is the sun?" -"Le soleil, madame!" "La solelle." "Non, madame. Le so--leil." "Oh, -pooh! La solelle." After about six repetitions of the same, roars -of laughter issued from the curtains--we of course speaking French -like English, upon which the old lady would jump up and catch hold of -the nearest delinquent and administer condign punishment. She had a -peculiar knack of starting the offender, compelling him to describe a -circle of which she was the centre, whilst, holding with the left hand, -she administered smacks and cuffs with the right; but, as every mode -of attack has its own defence, it was soon found out that the proper -corrective was to throw one's self on one's back, and give vigorous -kicks with both legs. It need hardly be said that Grandmamma predicted -that Jack Ketch would make acquaintance with the younger scions of her -race, and that she never arrived at speaking French like a Parisian. - -[Sidenote: _Grandmamma Burton._] - -Grandmamma Burton was also peculiar in her way. Her portrait shows the -regular Bourbon traits, the pear-shaped face and head which culminates -in Louis Philippe's. Although the wife of a country clergyman, she -never seemed to have attained the meekness of feeling associated with -that peaceful calling. The same thing is told of her as was told -of the Edgeworth family. On one occasion during the absence of her -husband, the house at Tuam was broken into by thieves, probably some -of her petted tenantry. She lit a candle and went upstairs to fetch -some gunpowder, loaded her pistols, and ran down to the hall, when -the robbers decamped. She asked the raw Irish servant girl who had -accompanied her what had become of the light, and the answer was that -it was standing on the barrel of "black salt" upstairs; thereupon -Grandmamma Burton had the pluck to walk up to the garret and expose -herself to the risk of being blown to smithereens. When my father -returned from service in Sicily, at the end of the year, he found the -estate in a terrible condition, and obtained his mother's leave to take -the matter in hand. He invited all the tenants to dinner, and when -speech time came on, after being duly blarneyed by all present, he made -a little address, dwelling with some vigour upon the necessity of being -for the future more regular with the "rint." Faces fell, and the only -result was, that when the rent came to be collected, he was fired at -so frequently (showing that this state of things had been going on for -some sixty or seventy years), that, not wishing to lead the life of the -"Galway woodcock," he gave up the game, and allowed matters to take -their own course. - -[Sidenote: _Aunt G._] - -Another frequent visitor was popularly known as "Aunt G."--Georgina -Baker, the younger of the three sisters, who was then in the heyday -of youth and high spirits. An extremely handsome girl, with blue eyes -and dark hair and fine tall figure, she was the life of the house as -long as her visits lasted. Her share of the property being £30,000, she -had of course a number of offers from English as well as foreigners. -On the latter she soon learned to look shy, having heard that one of -her rejected suitors had exclaimed to his friend, "Quelle dommage, -avec cette petite ferme à vendre," the wished-for farm, adjoining his -property, happening then to be in the market. Heiresses are not always -fortunate, and she went on refusing suitor after suitor, till ripe -middle age, when she married Robert Bagshaw, Esq., M.P. for Harwich. -She wanted to adopt me, intending to accompany me to Oxford and leave -me her property, but this project had no stay in it. At the time she -was at Tours, Aunt G. had a kind of "fad" that she would marry one -of her brother-in-law Burton's brothers. Her eldest sister Sarah had -married my uncle Burton, elder brother of my father, who, sorely -against his wish, which pointed to the Church, had been compelled by -the failure of the "rint" to become an army surgeon--the same who had -the disappointment at St. Helena. - -At last it became apparent that Tours was no longer a place for us -who were approaching the ticklish time of teens. All Anglo-French -boys generally were remarkable young ruffians, who, at ten years of -age, cocked their hats and loved the ladies. Instead of fighting and -fagging, they broke the fine old worked glass church windows, purloined -their fathers' guns to shoot at the monuments in the churchyards, and -even the shops and bazaars were not safe from their impudent raids. -The ringleader of the gang was a certain Alek G----, the son of a -Scotchmen of good family, who was afterwards connected with or was the -leading spirit of a transaction, which gave a tablet and an inscription -to Printing House Square. Alek was very handsome, and his two sisters -were as good looking as himself. He died sadly enough at a hospital -in Paris. Political matters, too, began to look queer. The revolution -which hurled Charles X. from the throne, produced no outrages in quiet -Tours, beyond large gatherings of the people with an immense amount -of noise, especially of "_Vive la Chatte!_" (for La Charte), the good -_commères_ turning round and asking one another whom the Cat might be -that the people wished it so long a life; but when Casimir Périer had -passed through the town, and "the three glorious days of July" had -excited the multitude, things began to look black, and cries of "_À -bas les Anglais!_" were not uncommon. An Englishmen was threatened -with prison because the horse he was driving accidentally knocked -down an old woman, and a French officer of the line, who was fond of -associating with English girls, was grossly insulted and killed in a -dastardly duel by a pastrycook. - -[Sidenote: _They leave Tours._] - -At last, after a long deliberation, the family resolved to leave Tours. -Travelling in those days, especially for a large family, was a severe -infliction. The old travelling carriages, which had grown shabby in -the coach-house, had to be taken out and furbished up, and all the -queer receptacles, imperial, boot, sword-case, and plate-chest, to be -stuffed with miscellaneous luggage. After the usual sale by auction, my -father took his departure, perhaps mostly regretted by a little knot -of Italian exiles, whom he liked on account of his young years spent -in Sicily, and whose society not improbably suggested his ultimate -return to Italy. Then began the journey along the interminable avenues -of the old French roads, lined with parallel rows of poplars, which -met at a vanishing point of the far distance. I found exactly the same -thing, when travelling through Lower Canada in 1860. Mighty dull work -it was, whilst the French postilion in his seven-league boots jogged -along with his horses at the rate of five miles an hour, never dreaming -of increasing the rate, till he approached some horridly paved town, -when he cracked his whip, like a succession of pistol shots, to the awe -and delight of all the sabots. Very slow hours they were, especially as -the night wore on, and the road, gleaming white between its two dark -edges, looked of endless length. And when at last the inn was reached, -it proved very unlike the inn of the present day. A hard bargain had -to be driven with a rapacious landlady, who, if you objected to her -charges, openly roared at you with arms akimbo, "that if you were not -rich enough to travel, you ought to stay at home." Then the beds had to -be inspected, the damp sheets to be aired, and the warming-pans to be -ordered, and, as dinner had always to be prepared after arrival, it was -not unusual to sit hungry for a couple of hours. - -The fatigues of the journey seriously affected my mother's health, -and she lost no time in falling very ill at Chartres. Then Grandmamma -Baker was sent for to act _garde-malade_, and to awe the children, who -were wild with delight at escaping school and masters, with the weight -of her sturdy Scotch arm. The family passed through Paris, where the -signs of fighting, bullets in the walls, and burnt houses, had not been -wholly obliterated, and were fortunate enough to escape the cholera, -which then for the first time attacked Europe in its very worst form. -Grandmamma Baker was very nearly as bad, for she almost poisoned her -beloved grandchildren, by stuffing our noses and mouths full of the -strongest camphor whenever we happened to pass through a town. The -cold plunge into English life was broken by loitering on the sands of -Dieppe. A wonderful old ramshackle place it was in those days, holding -a kind of intermediate place between the dulness of Calais and the -liveliness of "Boolone," as the denizens called it. It wanted the fine -hotels and the _Établissement_, which grew up under the Second Empire, -but there was during the summer a pleasant, natural kind of life, -living almost exclusively upon the sands and dipping in the water, -galloping about on little ponies, and watching the queer costumes of -the bathers, and discussing the new-comers. Though railways were not -dreamt of, many Parisians used to affect the place, and part of the -French nature seems to be, to rush into the sea as soon as they see it. - -[1] N.B.--From that he became a man wholly truthful, wholly -incorruptible, who never lost his "dignity," a man whose honour and -integrity from the cradle to the grave was unimpeachable.--I. B. - -[2] N.B.--This kind of _indulgence_ should never be allowed by parents -or tutors. During our eighteen years in Austria, there were some -parents up the Slav district who allowed their two eldest children, boy -and girl, six and seven, to see the pigs killed for a treat. They saw -everything, to the hanging up of the pigs ready for buying. Next day -the mother went down to the Trieste market, father to work, and the -children were left in charge of the cottage. When the parents got near -the cottage in late afternoon, the two children ran out and said, "We -have had such fun, mamma; we have played all day at killing pigs, and -we have done baby beautifully, and he squealed at first just like a -real pig." The horrified parents rushed in, and found truly that baby -was beautifully done, hanging up by the legs, his poor little stomach -kept open by a bit of wood just like a real pig, and had been dead for -hours.--I. B. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE CHILDREN ARE BROUGHT TO ENGLAND. - - -Landing in England was dolorous. Grandmamma Baker inflated her -nostrils, and, delighted at escaping from those _crapauds_ and their -kickshaws, quoted with effusion her favourite Cowper, "England, with -all thy faults, I love thee still." The children scoffed. The air -of Brighton, full of smoke and blacks, appeared to them unfit for -breathing. The cold grey seas made them shudder. In the town everything -appeared so small, so prim, so mean, the little one-familied houses -contrasting in such a melancholy way with the big buildings of Tours -and Paris. We revolted against the coarse and half-cooked food, and, -accustomed to the excellent Bordeaux of France, we found port, sherry, -and beer like strong medicine; the bread, all crumb and no crust, -appeared to be half baked, and milk meant chalk and water. The large -joints of meat made us think of Robinson Crusoe, and the vegetables -_cuite à l'eau_, especially the potatoes, which had never heard of -_"Maître d'hôtel"_ suggested the roots of primitive man. Moreover, -the national temper, fierce and surly, was a curious contrast to the -light-hearted French of middle France. A continental lady of those -days cautioned her son, who was about to travel, against ridicule in -France and the _canaille_ in England. The little children punched one -another's heads on the sands, the boys punched one another's heads -in the streets, and in those days a stand-up fight between men was -not uncommon. Even the women punched their children, and the whole -lower-class society seemed to be governed by the fist. - -[Sidenote: _School at Richmond._] - -My father had determined to send his boys to Eton to prepare for -Oxford and Cambridge. In the mean time some blundering friend had -recommended him a preparatory school. This was kept by the Rev. -Charles Delafosse, who rejoiced in the title of Chaplain to the Duke -of Cumberland, a scion of royalty, who had, apparently, very little -to do with the Church. Accordingly, the family went to Richmond, the -only excitement of the journey being the rage of the post-boys, when we -boys on the box furtively poked their horses with long sticks. After -sundry attempts at housing themselves in the tiny doll-rooms in the -stuffy village, they at last found a house, so called by courtesy, -in "Maids of Honour Row," between the river and the Green, a house -with a strip of garden fronting it, which a sparrow could hop across -in thirty seconds. Opening upon the same Green, stood that horror of -horrors, the school, or the "Establishment," as it would _now_ be -called. It consisted of a large block of buildings (detached), lying -between the Green and the Old Town, which has long been converted into -dwelling-houses. In those days it had a kind of paling round a paddock, -forming a long parallelogram, which enclosed some fine old elm trees. -One side was occupied by the house, and the other by the school-room. -In the upper stories of the former, were the dormitories with their -small white beds, giving the idea of the Lilliput Hospital; a kind of -outhouse attached to the dwelling was the place where the boys fed -at two long tables stretching the whole length of the room. The only -decoration of the palings were names cut all over their inner surfaces -and rectangular nails at the top, acting as _chevaux de frise_. The -school-room was the usual scene of hacked and well-used benches and -ink-stained desks, everything looking as mean and uncomfortable as -possible. - -This was the kind of Dotheboys Hall, to which, in those days, gentlemen -were contented to send their sons, paying a hundred a year, besides -"perquisites" (plunder): on the Continent the same treatment would be -had for £20. - -The Rev. Charles was a bluff and portly man, with dark hair and short -whiskers, whose grand aquiline nose took a prodigious deal of snuff, -and was not over active with the rod; but he was no more fit to be a -schoolmaster than the Grand Cham of Tartary. He was, however, rather a -favourite with the boys, and it was shrewdly whispered, that at times -he returned from dining abroad half-seas over. His thin-lipped wife -took charge of the _ménage_, and looked severely after the provisions, -and swayed with an iron sceptre the maid-servants, who had charge of -the smaller boys. The ushers were the usual consequential lot of those -days. There was the handsome and dressy usher, a general favourite with -the fair; the shabby and mild usher, despised by even the smallest boy; -and the unfortunate French usher, whose life was a fair foretaste of -Purgatory. - -Instead of learning anything at this school, my brother and I lost much -of what we knew, especially in French, and the principal acquisitions -were, a certain facility of using our fists, and a general development -of ruffianism. I was in one perpetual scene of fights; at one time I -had thirty-two affairs of honour to settle, the place of meeting being -the school-room, with the elder boys sitting in judgment. On the first -occasion I received a blow in the eye, which I thought most unfair, and -having got my opponent down I proceeded to hammer his head against the -ground, using his ears by way of handles. My indignation knew no bounds -when I was pulled off by the bystanders, and told to let my enemy stand -up again. "Stand up!" I cried, "after all the trouble I've had to get -the fellow down." At last the fighting went on to such an extent, that -I was beaten as thin as a shotten herring, and the very servant-maids, -when washing me on Saturday night, used to say, "Drat the child! what -has he been doing? he's all black and blue." Edward fought just as well -as I did, but he was younger and more peaceable. Maria says that I was -a thin, dark little boy, with small features and large black eyes, and -was extremely proud, sensitive, shy, nervous, and of a melancholy, -affectionate disposition. Such is the effect of a boys' school after a -few months' trial, when the boys learn to despise mother and sisters, -and to affect the rough as much as possible, and this is not only in -England, but everywhere where the boy first escapes from petticoat -government. He does not know what to do to show his manliness. There is -no stronger argument in favour of mixed schools, up to a _certain age_, -of boys and girls together. - -At the little Richmond theatre we were taken to see Edmund Kean, who -lived in a cottage on the Green. He had gentle blood in his veins, -grandson (illegitimate) of George Savile, Marquis of Halifax, and -that accounted for his Italian, or rather un-John-Bull appearance, -and for his fiery power. I saw him in his famous Richard III. _rôle_, -and remember only what old Colley Grattan described, "Looks bloated -with brandy, nose red, cheeks blotched, and eyes blood-shot." He was -drinking himself to death. His audience appeared not a little afraid of -him; perhaps they had heard of the Guernsey scene, where he stood at -the footlights and flashed out, "Unmannered dogs! stand ye where _I_ -command." - -Our parents very unwisely determined to correct all personal vanity -in their offspring by always dwelling upon our ugliness. My nose was -called cocked; it was a Cross which I had to carry, and was a perpetual -plague to me; and I was assured that the only decent feature in my face -was my teeth. Maria, on account of her fresh complexion, was called -Blousabella; and even Edward, whose features were perfect, and whom -Frenchmen used to stop and stare at in the streets, and call him "Le -petit Napoleon," was told to nauseousness that "handsome is as handsome -does." In later life we were dressed in a marvellous fashion; a piece -of yellow nankin would be bought to dress the whole family, like three -sticks of barley sugar. Such was the discipline of the day, and nothing -could be more ill-judged; it inflicted an amount of torment upon -sensitive children which certainly was not intended, but which had the -very worst effect. - -If we children quarrelled, and turned up our noses at the food in -English hotels, what must have been our surprise at the food of an -English school? Breakfast at 8 a.m., consisting of very blue milk and -water, in chipped and broken-handled mugs of the same colour. The -boys were allowed tea from home, but it was a perpetual battle to get -a single drink of it. The substantials were a wedge of bread with a -glazing of butter. The epicures used to collect the glazing to the end -of the slice in order to convert it into a final _bonne bouche_. The -dinner at one o'clock began with stickjaw (pudding) and ended with -meat, as at all second-rate schools. The latter was as badly cooked as -possible, black out and blue inside, gristly and sinewy. The vegetables -were potatoes, which could serve for grapeshot, and the hateful carrot. -Supper was a repetition of breakfast, and, at an age when boys were -making bone and muscle, they went hungry to bed. - -Occasionally the pocket-money and tips were clubbed, and a "room" -would go in for a midnight feed of a quartern loaf, ham, polony, and -saveloys, with a quantity of beer and wine, which generally led to -half a dozen fights. Saturday was a day to be feared on account of its -peculiar pie, which contained all the waifs and strays of the week. -On the Sunday there was an attempt at plum-pudding of a peculiarly -pale and leaden hue, as if it had been unjustly defrauded of its -due allowance of plums. And this dull routine lasted throughout the -scholastic year. School hours were from seven till nine, and ten to -one, and three to five, without other changes, save at the approach -of the holidays, when a general burst of singing, locally called -"challenging," took place. Very few were the schoolfellows we met in -after life. The ragged exceptions were Guildford Onslow, the Claimant's -friend. Tuckey Baines, as he was called on account of his exploits -on Saturday pie, went into the Bombay army, and was as disagreeable -and ill-conditioned as when he was a bully at school. He was locally -celebrated for hanging the wrong Mahommad, and for his cure for Sindee -litigiousness, by making complainant and defendant flog each other in -turn. The only schoolboy who did anything worthy, was Bobby Delafosse -(who was appointed to the 26th Regiment, N.I.), who showed immense -pluck, and died fighting bravely in the Indian Mutiny. I met him in -Bombay shortly before I went off to the North-West Provinces, but my -remembrances of the school were so painful, that I could not bear to -recognize him. In fact, that part of life, which most boys dwell upon -with the greatest pleasure, and concerning which, most autobiographers -tell the longest stories--school and college--was ever a nightmare to -us. It was like the "Blacking-shop" of Charles Dickens. - -[Sidenote: _Measles disperse the School._] - -Before the year concluded, an attack of measles broke out in the -school, several of the boys died, and it was found necessary to -disperse the survivors. We were not hard-hearted, but we were delighted -to get home. We worked successfully on the fears of Aunt G., which was -assisted by my cadaverous appearance, and it was resolved to move us -from school, to our infinite joy. My father had also been thoroughly -sick of "Maids of Honour Row" and "Richmond Green." He was sighing for -shooting and boar-hunting in the French forests, and he felt that he -had done quite enough for the education of the boys, which was turning -out so badly. He resolved to bring us up abroad, and picked up the -necessary assistance for educating us by tutor and governess. Miss -Ruxton, a stout red-faced girl, was thoroughly up in the three R's, and -was intended to direct Maria's education. Mr. Du Pré, an undergraduate -at Exeter College, Oxford, son of the Rector of Berkhampstead, wanted -to see life on the Continent, and was not unwilling to see it with a -salary. He was an awkward-looking John Bull article, with a narrow -forehead, eyes close together, and thick lips, which secured him a -perpetual course of caricaturing. He used to hit out hard whenever he -found the caricatures, but only added bitterness to them. Before he had -been in the family a week, I obliged him with a sketch of his tomb and -the following inscription:-- - - "Stand, passenger! hang down thy head and weep, - A young man from Exeter here doth sleep; - If any one ask who that young man be, - 'Tis the Devil's dear friend and companion--Du Pré"-- - -which was merely an echo of Shakespeare and John à Combe, but it showed -a fine sense of independence. - -I really caught the measles at school, and was nursed by Grandmamma -Baker in Park Street. It was the only infantine malady that I ever -had. The hooping-cough only attacked me on my return from Harar, when -staying with my friend Dr. Steinhaüser at Aden, in 1853. As soon as -I was well enough to travel, the family embarked at the Tower Wharf -for Boulogne. We boys scandalized every one on board. We shrieked, -we whooped, we danced for joy. We shook our fists at the white -cliffs, and loudly hoped we should never see them again. We hurrah'd -for France, and hooted for England, "The Land on which the Sun ne'er -sets--nor rises," till the sailor who was hoisting the Jack, looked -upon us as a pair of little monsters. In our delight at getting away -from school and the stuffy little island, we had no idea of the -disadvantages which the new kind of life would inflict on our future -careers. We were too young to know. A man who brings up his family -abroad, and who lives there for years, must expect to lose all the -friends who could be useful to him when he wishes to start them in -life. The conditions of society in England are so complicated, and -so artificial, that those who would make their way in the world, -especially in public careers, must be broken to it from their earliest -day. The future soldiers and statesmen must be prepared by Eton and -Cambridge. The more English they are, even to the cut of their hair, -the better. In consequence of being brought up abroad, we never -thoroughly understood English society, nor did society understand us. -And, lastly, it is a _real_ advantage to belong to some parish. It is a -great thing, when you have won a battle, or explored Central Africa, to -be welcomed home by some little corner of the Great World, which takes -a pride in your exploits, because they reflect honour upon itself. In -the contrary condition you are a waif, a stray; you are a blaze of -light, without a focus. Nobody outside your own fireside cares. - -No man ever gets on in the world, or rises to the head of affairs, -unless he is a representative of his nation. Taking the marking -characters of the last few years--Palmerston, Thiers, Cavour, and -Bismarck--what were they but simply the types of their various -nationalities? In point of intellect Cavour was a first-rate man, -Thiers second-rate, Palmerston third-rate, whilst Bismarck was -strength, Von Moltke brain. Their success in life was solely owing to -their representing the failings, as well as the merits of their several -nationalities. Thiers, for instance, was the most thoroughbred possible -_épicier_, and yet look at his success. And his death was mourned even -in England, and yet he was the bitterest enemy that England ever had. -His Chauvinism did more than the Crimean War to abolish the prestige -of England. Unhappily for his Chauvinism, it also thoroughly abolished -France. - -Mr. Du Pré, the tutor, and Miss Ruxton, the governess, had their work -cut out for them. They attempted to commence with a strict discipline; -for instance, the family passing through Paris lodged at the Hôtel -Windsor, and they determined to walk the youngsters out school fashion. -The consequence was that when the walk extended to the boulevards, the -young ones, on agreement, knowing Paris well, suddenly ran away, and -were home long before the unfortunate strangers could find their way, -and reported that their unlucky tutor and governess had been run over -by an omnibus. There was immense excitement till the supposed victims -walked in immensely tired, having wandered over half Paris, not being -able to find their way. A scene followed, but the adversaries respected -each other more after that day. - -The difficulty was now where to colonize. One of the peculiarities of -the little English colonies was the unwillingness of their denizens to -return to them when once they had left them. My father had been very -happy at Tours, and yet he religiously avoided it. He passed through -Orleans--a horrid hole, with as many smells as Cologne--and tried to -find a suitable country house near it, but in vain; everything seemed -to smell of goose and gutter. Then he drifted on to Blois, in those -days a kind of home of the British stranger, and there he thought -proper to call a halt. At last a house was found on the high ground -beyond the city, which, like Tours, lies mainly on the left bank of -the river, and where most of the English colonists dwelt. There is no -necessity of describing this little bit of England in France, which -was very like Tours. When one describes one colony, one describes them -all. The notables were Sir Joseph Leeds, Colonel Burnes, and a sister -of Sir Stamford Raffles, who lived in the next-door villa, if such a -term may be applied to a country house in France in 1831. The only -difference from Tours was, there was no celebrated physician, no pack -of hounds, and no parson. Consequently service on Sundays had to be -read at home by the tutor, and the evening was distinguished by one of -Blair's sermons. This was read out by us children, each taking a turn. -The discourse was from one of Blair's old three volumes, which appeared -to have a soporific effect upon the audience. Soft music was gradually -heard proceeding from the nasal organs of father and mother, tutor and -governess; and then we children, preserving the same tone of voice, -entered into a conversation, and discussed matters, until the time came -to a close. - -[Sidenote: _Education at Blois._] - -At Blois we were now entering upon our teens; our education was -beginning in real earnest. Poor Miss Ruxton soon found her task -absolutely impossible, and threw up the service. A schoolroom -was instituted, where time was wasted upon Latin and Greek for -six or seven hours a day, besides which there was a French -master--one of those obsolete little old men, who called themselves -_Professeurs-ès-lettres_, and the great triumph of whose life was that -he had read Herodotus in the original. The dancing-master was a large -and pompous oldster, of course an _ancien militaire_, whose kit and -whose capers were by contrast peculiarly ridiculous, and who quoted at -least once every visit, "Oh, Richard! oh, mon roi!" He taught, besides -country dances, square and round, the Minuet de la Cour, the Gavotte -de Vestris, and a Danse Chinoise, which consisted mainly in turning -up thumbs and toes. The only favourite amongst all those professors -was the fencing-master, also an old soldier, who had lost the thumb -of his right hand in the wars, which of course made him a _gauché_ in -loose fencing. We boys gave ourselves up with ardour to this study, -and passed most of our leisure hours in exchanging thrusts. We soon -learned not to neglect the mask: I passed my foil down Edward's throat, -and nearly destroyed his uvula, which caused me a good deal of sorrow. -The amusements consisted chiefly of dancing at evening parties, we -boys choosing the tallest girls, especially a very tall Miss Donovan. -A little fishing was to be had, my father being a great amateur. There -were long daily walks, swimming in summer, and brass cannons, bought in -the toy shops, were loaded to bursting. - -The swimming was very easily taught; in the present day boys and -girls go to school and learn it like dancing. In our case Mr. Du Pré -supported us by a hand under the stomach, taught us how to use our arms -and legs, and to manage our breath, after which he withdrew his hand -and left us to float as we best could. - -This life lasted for a year, till all were thoroughly tired of it. -Our father and mother were imperceptibly lapsing into the category -of professed invalids, like people who have no other business in -life, except to be sick. This was a class exceptionally common in the -unoccupied little English colonies that studded the country. It was -a far robuster institution than the Parisian invalid, whose object -in life was to appear _maladive et souffrante_. The British _malade_ -consumed a considerable quantity of butcher's meat, but although he -or she always saw death in the pot, they had not the moral courage to -refuse what disagreed with them. They tried every kind of drug and -nostrum known, and answered every advertisement, whether it agreed -with their complaint or not. Their _table de nuit_ was covered with -bottles and gallipots. They dressed themselves three or four times a -day for the change of climate, and insensibly acquired a horror of -dining out, or passing the evening away from home. They had a kind -of rivalry with other invalids; nothing offended them more than to -tell them that they were in strong health, and that if they had been -hard-worked professionals in England, they would have been ill once a -year, instead of once a month. Homœopathy was a great boon to them, and -so was hydropathy. So was the grape-cure and all the humbug invented -by non-professionals, such as hunger-cure and all that nonsense. - -Our parents suffered from asthma, an honest and respectable kind of -complaint, which if left to itself, allows you, like gout, to last till -your eightieth year, but treated systematically, and with the aid of -the doctor, is apt to wear you out. Grandmamma Baker, who came over to -Blois, compared them in her homely Scotch fashion to two buckets in a -well. She was very wroth with my father, when, remembering the days of -his youth, he began to hug the idea of returning to Italy and seeing -the sun, and the general conclusion of her philippics ("You'll kill -your wife, sir") did not change his resolution. She even insinuated -that in the olden day there had been a Sicilian young woman who -received the Englishman's pay, and so distributed it as to keep off -claims. So Grandmamma Baker was sent off to her beloved England, "whose -faults she still loved." - -[Sidenote: _They leave Blois for Italy._] - -The old yellow chariot was brought out of the dusty coach-house once -more, and furbished up, and, after farewell dinners and parties all -round, the family turned their back on Blois. The journey was long, -being broken by sundry attacks of asthma, and the posting and style -of travel were full of the usual discomforts. In crossing over the -Tarare a drunken postilion nearly threw one of the carriages over the -precipice, and in shooting the Pont de St. Esprit the steamer nearly -came to grief under one of the arches. We stayed a short time in Lyons, -in those days a perfect den of thieves. From Avignon my tutor and I -were driven to the Fountain of Vaucluse, the charming blue well in -the stony mountain, and the memories of Petrarch and Laura were long -remembered. The driver insisted upon a full gallop, and the protests of -the unfortunate Englishman, who declared every quarter of an hour that -he was the father of a large family, were utterly disregarded. - -The first view of Provence was something entirely new, and the escape -was hailed from the flat fields and the long poplar avenues of Central -France. Everything, even the most squalid villages, seemed to fall -into a picture. It was something like a sun that burst upon the rocks. -The olive trees laden with purple fruit were a delight after the -apples and pears, and the contrast between the brown rock and the blue -Mediterranean, was quite a new sensation. At Marseilles we embarked -for Leghorn, which was then, in Italy, very much what Lyons was in -France. It was the head-quarters of brigands. Indeed it was reported -that a society existed, whose members were pledged to stab their -fellow-creatures, whenever they could do it safely. And it was brought -to light by the remorse of a son, who had killed his father by mistake. -The Grand Duke of Tuscany, with his weak benevolence, was averse to -shedding blood, and the worst that these wretches expected was to be -dressed in the red or the yellow of the Galeotti, and to sweep the -streets and to bully the passenger for _bakshish_. Another unpleasant -development was the quantity of vermin,--even the washerwoman's head -appeared to be walking off her shoulders. Still there was a touch of -Italian art about the place, in the days before politics and polemics -had made Italian art, with the sole exception of sculpture, the basest -thing on the Continent: the rooms were large, high, and airy, the -frescoes on the ceiling were good, and the pictures had not been sold -to Englishmen, and replaced by badly coloured daubs, and cheap prints -of the illustrated paper type. - -[Sidenote: _Pisa._] - -After a few days, finding Leghorn utterly unfit to inhabit, my father -determined to transfer himself to Pisa. There, after the usual delay, -he found a lodging on the wrong side of the Arno--that is to say, the -side which does not catch the winter sun--in a huge block of buildings -opposite the then highest bridge. Dante's old "Vituperio delle gante" -was then the dullest abode known to man, except perhaps his sepulchre. -The climate was detestable (Iceland on the non-sunny, Madeira on the -sunny side of the river), but the doctors thought it good enough -for their patients; consequently it was the hospital of a few sick -Britishers upon a large scale. These unfortunates had much better -have been left at home instead of being sent to die of discomfort in -Tuscany, but there they would have died upon the doctor's hands. The -dullness of the place was something preternatural. - -The Italians had their own amusements. The principal one was the opera, -a perfect den of impurity, where you were choked by the effluvia of -_pastrane_ or the brigands' cloaks, which descended from grandfather to -grandson. The singing, instrumentation, and acting were equally vile, -but the Pisani had not the critical ferocity of the Livornesi, who -were used to visit the smallest defect with "Torni in iscena, bestia!" -The other form of amusement was the conversazione. Here you entered -about six o'clock, and found an enormous room, with a dwarf sofa and an -avenue of two lines of chairs projecting from it perpendicularly. You -were expected to walk through the latter, which were occupied by the -young women, to the former, upon which sat the dowagers, and after the -three _saluts d'usage_ and the compliments of the season, you backed -out by the way you came in, and then passed the evening leaning over -the back of the chair of the fair dame whose _cavaliere servente_ you -were supposed to be. Refreshments were an occasional glass of cold -water; in luxurious houses there were water ices and sugared wafers. -They complain that we English are not happy in society without eating, -and I confess that I prefer a good beefsteak to cold water and water -ices. - -There was no bad feeling between the Italians and English; they simply -ignored one another. Nothing could be shadier than the English colony -at Pisa. As they had left England, the farther they were the more -wretched they became, till they reached the climax at Naples. They -had no club, as at Tours, and they met to read their _Gagliani_ at a -grocer's shop on the Lung' Arno. They had their parson and doctor and -their tea-caddies, but the inhospitable nature of the country--and -certainly Italy is the least given to the savage virtue--seemed to have -affected the strangers. Equally unknown were the dinner-parties of -Tours and the hops of Blois. No one shot and no one fished. A madman -used to plunge through the ice on the Lung' Arno in midwinter, but most -of them contented themselves with promenading the Quai and basking in -its wintry sun till they returned to their stuffy rooms. A good many of -them were half-pay officers. Others were Jamaican planters, men who had -made their fortunes in trade; the rest were nondescripts whom nobody -knew. At times some frightful scandal broke out in consequence of some -gentleman who had left his country for his country's good. - -The discomforts of Pisa were considerable. The only fireplace in -those days was a kind of brazier, put in the middle of the room. The -servants were perfect savages, who had to be taught the very elements -of service, and often at the end of the third day a great burly peasant -would take leave, saying, "Non mi basta l'anima!" My father started a -fearful equipage in the shape of a four-wheeled trap, buying for the -same a hammer-headed brute of a horse which at once obtained the name -of "Dobbin." Dobbin was a perfect demon steed, and caused incalculable -misery, as every person was supposed to steal his oats. One of us -boys was sent down to superintend his breakfast, dinner, and supper. -On journeys it was the same, and we would have been delighted to see -Dobbin hanged, drawn, and quartered. We tried riding him in private, -but the brute used to plant his forelegs and kick up and down like a -rocking-horse. The trap was another subject of intense misery. The -wheels were always supposed to be wanting greasing, and as the natives -would steal the grease, it was necessary that one of us should always -superintend the greasing. There is no greater mistake than that of -trying to make boys useful by making them do servant's work. - -The work of education went on nimbly, if not merrily. To former -masters was added an Italian master, who was at once dubbed "Signor -No," on account of the energy of his negation. The French master -unfortunately discovered that his three pupils had poetic talents; the -consequence was that we were set to write versical descriptions, which -we hated worse than Telemachus and the _Spectator_. - -And a new horror appeared in the shape of a violin master. Edward took -kindly to the infliction, worked very hard, and became an amateur -almost equal to a professional; was offered fair pay as member of an -orchestra in Italy, and kept it up after going into the Army, till -the calls of the Mess made it such a nuisance that he gave it up; but -took to it again later in life _con amore_. I always hated my fiddle, -and after six months it got me into a terrible scrape, and brought the -study to an untimely end. Our professor was a thing like Paganini, -length without breadth, nerves without flesh, hung on wires, all hair -and no brain, except for fiddling. The creature, tortured to madness -by a number of false notes, presently addressed his pupil in his -grandiloquent Tuscan manner, "Gli altri scolari sono bestie, ma voi -siete un Arci-bestia." The "Arci" offended me horribly, and, in a fury -of rage, I broke my violin upon my master's head; and then my father -made the discovery that his eldest son had no talent for music, and I -was not allowed to learn any more. - -Amongst the English at Pisa we met with some Irish cousins, whose -names had been Conyngham, but they had, for a fortune, very sensibly -added "Jones" to it, and who, very foolishly, were ashamed of it -ever after. There was a boy, whose face looked as if badly cut out -of a half-boiled potato, dotted with freckles so as to resemble a -goose's egg. There was a very pretty girl, who afterwards became -Mrs. Seaton. The mother was an exceedingly handsome woman of the -Spanish type, and it was grand to see her administering correction to -"bouldness." They seemed principally to travel in Italy for the purpose -of wearing out old clothes, and afterwards delighted in telling how -many churches and palaces they had "done" in Rome per diem. The cute -Yankee always travels, when he is quite unknown, in his best bib and -tucker, reserving his old clothes for his friends who appreciate him. -Altogether the C.J.'s were as fair specimens of Northern barbarians -invading the South, as have been seen since the days of Brennus. - -[Sidenote: _Siena._] - -The summer of '32 was passed at Siena, where a large rambling old house -was found inside the walls. The venerable town, whose hospitality was -confined to an inscription over the city gate, was perhaps one of -the dullest places under heaven. No country in the world shows less -hospitality--even Italians amongst themselves--than Italy, and in the -case of strangers they have perhaps many reasons to justify their -churlishness. - -Almost all the English at Siena were fugitives from justice, social -or criminal. One man walked off with his friend's wife, another with -his purse. There was only one old English lady in the place who -was honourable, and that was a Mrs. Russell, who afterwards killed -herself with mineral waters. She lived in a pretty little _quinta_ -outside the town, where moonlight nights were delightful, and where -the nightingales were louder than usual. Beyond this amusement we had -little to do, except at times to peep at the gate of Palone, to study -very hard, and to hide from the world our suits of nankin. The weary -summer drew to a close. The long-surviving chariot was brought out, and -then Dobbin, with the "cruelty van," was made ready for the march. - -[Sidenote: _Vetturino-Travelling._] - -Travelling in _vetturino_ was not without its charm. It much resembled -marching in India during the slow old days. It is true you seldom -progressed along more than five miles an hour, and uphill at three. -Moreover, the harness was perpetually breaking, and at times a horse -fell lame; but you saw the country thoroughly, the _vetturino_ knew -the name of every house, and you went slowly enough to impress -everything upon your memory. The living now was none of the best; food -seemed to consist mostly of omelettes and pigeons. The pigeons, it is -said, used to desert the dove-cotes every time they saw an English -travelling-carriage approaching. And the omelettes showed more hair in -them than eggs usually produce. The bread and wine, however, were good, -and adulteration was then unknown. The lodging was on a par with the -food, and insect powder was not invented or known. Still, taking all in -all, it is to be doubted whether we are more comfortable in the Grand -Hotel in these days when every hotel is grand, when all mutton is _pré -salé_, when all the beer is bitter, when all the sherry is dry. - -It was now resolved to pass the Holy Week at Rome, and the only events -of the journey, which went on as usual, were the breaking down of -Dobbin's "cruelty van" in a village near Perugia, where the tutor and -boys were left behind to look after repairs. We long remembered the -peculiar evening which we passed there. The head ostler had informed -us that there was an opera, and that he was the _primo violino_. We -went to the big barn, that formed the theatre. A kind of "Passion -play" was being performed, with lengthy intervals of music, and all -the mysteries of the faith were submitted to the eyes of the faithful. -The only disenchanting detail was, that a dove not being procurable, -its place was supplied by a turkey-cock, and the awful gabbling of the -ill-behaved volatile caused much more merriment than was decorous. - -We, who had already examined Voltaire with great interest, were -delighted with the old Etruscan city of Perugia, and were allowed a -couple of hours' "leave" to visit Pietro di Aretino's tomb, and we -loitered by the Lake Thrasimene. - -[Sidenote: _Florence._] - -The march was short, and the family took a house on the north side of -the Arno, near the Boboli Gardens, in Florence. The City of Flowers -has always had a reputation beyond what it deserved. Though too fair -to be looked upon except upon holidays, it has discomforts of its -own. The cold, especially during the _Tramontana_ blowing from the -Apennines, is that of Scotland. The heat during the dog-days, when the -stone pavements seem to be fit for baking, reminds one of Cairo during -a _Khamsin_, and the rains are at times as heavy and persistent as -in Central Africa. The Italians and the English, even in those days, -despite all the efforts of the amiable Grand Duke, did not mix well. - -Colonies go on as they begin, and the Anglo-Florentine flock certainly -has contained, contains, and ever will contain some very black sheep. -They were always being divided into cliques. They were perpetually -quarrelling. The parson had a terrible life. One of the churchwardens -was sure to be some bilious old Indian, and a common character was to -be a half-pay Indian officer who had given laws, he said, to millions, -who supported himself by gambling, and induced all his cronies to drink -hard, the whispered excuse being, that he had shot a man in a duel -somewhere. The old ladies were very scandalous. There were perpetual -little troubles, like a rich and aged widow being robbed and deserted -by her Italian spouse, and resident old gentlemen, when worsted at -cards, used to quarrel and call one another liars. Amongst the number -was a certain old Dr. Harding who had a large family. His son was sent -into the army, and was dreadfully wounded under Sir Charles Napier in -Sind. He lived to be Major-General Francis Pim Harding, C.B., and died -in 1875. - -Another remarkable family was that of old Colonel de Courcy. He had -some charming daughters, and I met his son John when he was in the -Turkish Contingent and I was Chief of the Staff of Irregular Cavalry in -the Crimea. - -Still Florence was always Florence. The climate, when it was fine, was -magnificent. The views were grand, and the most charming excursions -lay within a few hours' walk or drive. The English were well treated, -perhaps too well, by the local Government, and the opportunities of -studying Art were first-rate. Those wonderful Loggie and the Pitti -Palace contained more high Art than is to be found in all London, -Paris, Berlin, and Vienna put together, and we soon managed to become -walking catalogues. A heavy storm, however, presently broke the -serenity of the domestic atmosphere at Siena. - -[Sidenote: _Shooting._] - -We boys had been allowed to begin regular shooting with an old -single-barrelled Manton, a hard-hitter which had been changed from -flint to percussion. We practised gunnery in secret every moment we -could, and presently gave our tutor a specimen of our proficiency. He -had been instituting odious comparisons between Edward's length and -that of his gun, and went so far as to say that for sixpence he would -allow a shot at fifty yards. On this being accepted with the firm -determination of peppering him, he thought it better to substitute his -hat, and he got away just in time to see it riddled like a sieve. We -then began to despise shooting with small shot. - -Our parents made a grand mistake about the shooting excursions, -especially the mother, who, frightened lest anything should occur, used -to get up quarrels to have an excuse to forbid the shooting parties, as -punishment. It was soon found out and resented accordingly. - -We hoarded the weekly francs which each received, we borrowed Maria's -savings, _i.e._ the poor girl was never allowed to keep it for a -day, and invested in what was then known as a "case of pistols." -My father--who, when in Sicily with his regiment, had winged a -brother-officer, an Irishman, for saying something unpleasant, had -carefully and fondly nursed him, and shot him again as soon as ever -he recovered, crippling him for life--saw the turn that matters were -taking, and ordered the "saw-handles" to be ignominiously returned -to the shop. The shock was severe to the _pun d'onor_ of we two Don -Quixotes. - -I have a most pleasant remembrance of Maria Garcia, a charming young -girl, before she became wife and "divine devil" to the old French -merchant Morbihan. Both she and her sister (afterwards Madame Viardot) -were going through severe training under the old Tartar of a father -Garcia, who was, however, a splendid musician and determined to see his -girls succeed. They tell me she had spites and rages and that manner of -thing in after life, but I can only remember her as worthy of Alfred de -Musset's charming stanza. - -[Sidenote: _Rome in Holy Week._] - -After a slow but most interesting drive we reached the Eternal City, -and, like all the world, were immensely impressed by the entrance at -the Porto del Popolo. The family secured apartments in the Piazza di -Spagna, which was then, as it is now, the capital of English Rome. -Everything in it was English, the librarian, the grocer, and all the -other little shops, and mighty little it has changed during the third -of a century. In 1873, when my wife and I stayed there, the only points -of difference observed were the presence of Americans and the large -gilded advertisements of the photographers. The sleepy atmosphere was -the same, and the same was the drowsy old fountain. - -At Rome sight-seeing was carried on with peculiar ardour. With "Mrs. -Starke" under the arm, for "Murray" and "Baedeker" were not invented in -those days, we young ones went from Vatican to the Capitol, from church -to palazzo, from ruin to ruin. We managed to get introductions to the -best studios, and made acquaintance with all the shops which contained -the best collections of coins, of cameos, of model temples, in -rosso-antico, and giallo-antico, and of all the treasures of Roman Art, -ancient and modern. We passed our days in running about the town, and -whenever we found an opportunity, we made excursions into the country, -even ascending Mount Soracte. In those days Rome was not what it is -now. It was the ghost of the Imperial City, the mere shadow of the -Mistress of the world. The great Forum was a level expanse of ground, -out of which the half-buried ruins rose. The Coliseum had not changed -for a century. The Palatine hill had never dreamt of excavation. The -greater part of the space within the old walls, that represents the -ancient City, was a waste, what would in Africa be called bush, and it -was believed that turning up the ground caused fatal fevers. It had -no pretensions to be a Capital. It wanted fortifications; the walls -could be breached with six-pounders. The Tiber was not regulated, and -periodically flooded the lower town. The Ghetto was a disgrace. Nothing -could be fouler than the Trastevere: and the Leonine City, with the -exception of St. Peter's and the Vatican, was a piggery. - -At Rome there was then very little society. People met when doing the -curiosities, and the principal amusements were conversaziones, when the -only conspicuous object was some old Cardinal sitting in red, enthroned -upon a sofa. Good old Gregory XVI. did not dislike foreigners, and -was even intimate with a certain number of heretics, but _that_ could -not disperse the sleepy atmosphere of the place, whilst the classes -of society were what the satirical French duchesse called, 'une -noblesse de Sacrament'--and yet it was the season of the year. Then, -as now, the wandering world pressed to Rome to see ceremonies of the -Holy Week, to hear the music of the Sistine Chapel, to assist at the -annual conversion of a Jew at St. John of Lateran, to walk gaping -about at the interior of St. Peter's, and to enjoy the magnificent -illuminations, which were spoiled by a high wind, and a flood of rain. -Nothing could be more curious than the contrast between the sons of -the Holy City and the barbarians from the North, and the far West, -when the Pope stood in the balcony delivering his benediction _urbi et -orbi_; the English and Irish Catholics seemed to be overwhelmed with -awe whilst the Romans delivered themselves of small jokes, very audible -withal, upon the mien and the demeanor of the Vecchierello. Inside the -great cathedral the crowd used to be of the most pushing kind, and -young priests attempted to scale one's shoulders. Protestant ladies -consumed furtive sandwiches, and here and there an aged sightseer was -thrown down and severely trampled upon. In fact, there was a perfect -opposition between the occasion of the ceremony and the way it was -carried out. - -It was necessary to leave Rome in time to reach Naples before the hot -season began, and return to summer quarters. In those days the crossing -of the Pontine Marshes was considered not a little dangerous. Heavy -breakfasts were eaten to avoid the possible effect of malaria upon an -empty stomach, and the condemned pistols were ostentatiously loaded to -terrify the banditti, who were mostly the servants and hangers-on of -the foul little inns. - -At Terracina we found an Englishman temporarily under arrest. This -was Mr. St. John, who had just shot in a duel Count Controfiani. The -history of the latter was not a little curious. He was a red-haired -Neapolitan, extremely plain in appearance, and awkward in manner, but -touchy and sensitive in the extreme. His friends and his acquaintances -chose to make a butt of him, little fancying how things were going to -end. One day he took leave of them all, saying that he was going to -travel for some years. He disguised himself with a wig, and hid in -the suburbs, practising pistol-shooting, foil, and broadsword. When -satisfied with his own progress, he reappeared suddenly in society, -and was received with a shout of ironical welcome, "Ecco il nostro bel -Controfiani." He slapped the face of the ringleader, and in the duel -which followed cut him almost to pieces. After two or three affairs -of the kind, his reputation was thoroughly made, even in a City where -duelling was so common as Naples. At last, by some mischance, he met -St. John at Rome, and the two became intimate. They used to practise -pistol-shooting together, and popular report declares that both -concealed their game. At last a quarrel arose about some young person, -and Controfiani was compelled to fight at the pleasure of a member of -the Royal family of Naples, of whose suite he was. The duel was to be -_à la barrière_, first shot at twenty-five paces, and leave to advance -twelve, after standing the fire. The delay was so great that the -seconds began to show signs of impatience, when St. John levelled his -pistol, and hit his adversary in the flank, above the hip. Controfiani -had the courage to plug his wound with the forefinger of his left hand, -and had the folly to attempt advancing, mortally wounded as he was. The -movement shook him, his hand was unsteady; his bullet whizzed past St. -John's head, and he was dead a few hours later. - -The family halted a short while at Capua, then a quiet little country -town, equally thoughtless of the honours of the past, or the fierce -scenes that waited it in the future; many years afterwards my friend -Blakeley of the Guns, and I, offered the Government of King Francis, to -go out to rifle the cannon, which was to defend them against Garibaldi -and his banditti. Unfortunately the offer came too late, It would have -been curious had a couple of Englishmen managed, by shooting Garibaldi, -to baffle the plans which Lord Pam. had laid with so much astuteness -and perseverance. - -[Sidenote: _Sorrento._] - -At Naples a house was found upon the Chiaja, and after trying it for -a fortnight, and finding it perfectly satisfactory and agreeing to -take it for the next season, the family went over to Sorrento. This, -in those days, was one of the most pleasant _villegiature_ in Italy. -The three little villages that studded the long tongue of rock and -fertile soil, were separated from one another by long tracts of orchard -and olive ground, instead of being huddled together, as they are now. -They preserved all their rural simplicity, baited buffalo-calves in -the main squares, and had songs and sayings in order to enrage one -another. The villas scattered about the villages were large rambling -old shells of houses, and Aunt G. could not open her eyes sufficiently -wide when she saw what an Italian villa really was. The bathing was -delightful; break-neck paths led down the rocks to little sheltered -bays with the yellowest of sands, and the bluest of waters, and old -smugglers' caves, which gave the coolest shelter after long dips in -the tepid seas. There was an immense variety of excursion. At the -root of the tongue arose the Mountain of St. Angelo, where the snow -harvest, lasting during summer, was one perpetual merry-making. There -were boating trips to Ischia, to Procida, to romantic Capri, with its -blue grotto and purple figs, to decayed Salerno, the splendid ruin, -and to the temples of Pæstum, more splendid still. The shooting was -excellent during the quail season; tall poles and immense nets formed -a _chevaux de frise_ on the hilltops, but the boys went to windwards, -and shot the birds before they were trapped in the nets, in the usual -ignoble way. In fact, nothing could be more pleasant than Sorrento in -its old and uncivilized days. Amongst the amusements at Sorrento, we -indulged ourselves with creeping over the Natural Arch, simply because -the Italians said, "Ma non è possibile, Signorini." It was a dangerous -proceeding, as the crumbling stone was ready at every moment to give -way. - -[Sidenote: _Classical Games._] - -Amongst other classical fads, we boys determined to imitate Anacreon -and Horace. We crowned ourselves with myrtle and roses, chose the -prettiest part of the garden, and caroused upon the best wine we could -afford, out of cups, disdaining to use glasses. Our father, aware of -this proceeding, gave us three bottles of sherry, upon the principle -that the grocer opens to the young shopboy his drawers of figs and -raisins. But we easily guessed the meaning of the kind present, and -contented ourselves with drinking each half a bottle a day, as long -as it lasted, and then asked for more, to the great disgust of the -donor. We diligently practised pistol-shooting, and delighted in -cock-fighting, at which the tutor duly attended. Of course the birds -fought without steel, but it was a fine game-breed, probably introduced -of old by the Spaniards. It not a little resembles the Derby game-cock, -which has spread itself half over South America. - -[Sidenote: _Chess._] - -There was naturally little variety in amusements. The few English -families lived in scattered villas. Old Mrs. Starke, Queen of Sorrento, -as she loved to be called, and the authoress of the guide book, was the -local "lion," and she was sketched and caricatured in every possible -way in her old Meg Merrilies' cloak. Game to the last, she died on the -road travelling. An Englishman, named Sparkes, threw himself into one -of the jagged volcanic ravines that seam the tongue of Sorrento; but -there is hardly a place in Italy, high or low, where some Englishman -has not suicided himself. A painter, a Mr. Inskip, brought over an -introduction, and was very tipsy before dinner was half over. The -Marsala wine supplied by Iggulden & Co. would have floored Polyphemus. -The want of excitement out of doors, produced a correspondent increase -of it inside. We were getting too old to be manageable, and Mr. Du -Pré taking high grounds on one occasion, very nearly received a good -thrashing. My father being a man of active mind, and having nothing in -the world to do, began to be unpleasantly chemical; he bought Parke's -"Catechism;" filled the house with abominations of all kinds, made -a hideous substance that he called soap, and prepared a quantity of -filth that he called citric acid, for which he spoiled thousands of -lemons. When his fit passed over it was succeeded by one of chess, and -the whole family were bitten by it. Every spare hour, especially in -the evening, was given to check and checkmating, and I soon learned -to play one, and then two games, with my eyes blindfolded. I had the -sense, however, to give it up completely, for my days were full of -Philidor, and my dreams were of gambits all night. - -The dull life was interrupted by a visit from Aunt G. She brought -with her a Miss Morgan, who had been governess to the three sisters, -and still remained their friend. She was a woman of good family in -Cornwall, but was compelled, through loss of fortune, to take service. - -Miss Morgan was very proud of her nephew, the Rev. Morgan Cowie, who -was senior Wrangler at Cambridge. He had had the advantage of studying -mathematics in Belgium, where in those days the entering examination of -a College was almost as severe as the passing examination of an English -College. She was also very well read, and she did not a little good in -the house. She was the only one who ever spoke to us children as if we -were reasonable beings, instead of scolding and threatening with the -usual parental brutality of _those days_. That unwise saying of the -wise man, "Spare the rod and spoil the child," has probably done more -harm to the junior world than any other axiom of the same size, and -it is only of late years that people have begun to "spoil the rod and -spare the child." So Miss Morgan could do with the juniors what all the -rest of the house completely failed in doing. The only thing that was -puzzling about her was, that she could not play at Chess. Aunt G. waxed -warm in defence of her friend, and assured the scoffers that "Morgan, -with her fine mind, would easily learn to beat the whole party." "Fine -mind!" said the scoffers. "Why, we would give her a Queen." - -[Sidenote: _Naples._] - -Naples after Sorrento was a Paris. In those days it was an exceedingly -pleasant City, famous as it always has been for some of the best cooks -in Italy. The houses were good, and the servants and the provisions -were moderate. The Court was exceedingly gay, and my father found a -cousin there, old Colonel Burke, who was so intimate with the King, -known as "Old Bomba," as to be admitted to his bedroom. There was also -another Irish cousin, a certain Mrs. Phayre, who for many years had -acted duenna to the Miss Smiths (Penelope and Gertrude). Penelope had -always distinguished herself in Paris by mounting wild horses in the -Bois de Boulogne, which ran away with her, and shook her magnificent -hair loose. She became a favourite at the Court of Naples, and amused -the dull royalties with her wild Irish tricks. It is said that, on -one occasion, she came up with a lift instead of the expected _vol au -vent_, or pudding. She ended by marrying the Prince of Capua, greatly -to the delight of the King, who found an opportunity of getting rid -of his brother, and put an end to certain scandals. It was said that -the amiable young Prince once shot an old man, whom he found gathering -sticks in his grounds, and on another occasion that he was soundly -thrashed by a party of English grooms, whom he had insulted in his -cups. The happy pair had just run away and concluded the "triple -alliance," as it was called (this is a marriage in three different -ways, in order to make sure of it; Protestant, Catholic, and Civil), -when our family settled in Naples, and they found Mrs. Phayre and -Gertrude Smith, the other sister, in uncomfortable State, banished -by the Court, and harassed by the police. All their letters had been -stopped at the post-office, and they had had no news from home for -months. My father saw them carefully off to England, where Gertrude, -who had a very plain face and a very handsome figure, presently married -the rich old Lord Dinorben. Poor Miss Morgan also suffered considerably -at Naples from the stoppage of all her letters; she being supposed -at least to be a sister of Lady Morgan, the "wild Irish girl," whose -writings at that time had considerably offended the Italian Court. - -Naples was perhaps the least strict of all the Italian cities, and -consequently it contained a colony, presided over by the Hon. Mrs. -Temple, Lady Eleanor Butler, Lady Strachan, and Berkeley Craven, who -would somewhat have startled the proprieties of another place. The -good-natured Minister was the Hon. Mr. Temple, Lord Palmerston's -brother, who cared nothing for a man's catechism provided he kept -decently clear of scandal. The Secretary of Legation was a Mr. -Kennedy, who married a Miss Briggs, and died early. These were great -friends of the family. On the other hand, the Consul, Captain Galway, -R.N., was anything but pleasant. He was in a perpetual state of rile -because his Consular service prevented his being received at Court; -moreover, he heard (possibly correctly) that Mrs. Phayre and her two -_protégées_ were trying to put Colonel Burton in his place. He was also -much troubled by his family, and one of them (the parson) especially -troubled him. This gentleman having neglected to provide for a young -Galway whose mamma he had neglected to marry, the maternal parent took -a position outside the church, and as the congregation streamed out, -cried in a loud voice, pointing to the curate, "Him the father of my -child." Another element of confusion at Naples was poor Charley Savile, -Lord Mexborough's son, who had quarrelled himself out of the Persian -Legation. He was a good hand with his sword, always ready to fight, and -equally ready to write. He always denied that he had written and sent -about some verses which all Naples attributed to him, and they were -certainly most scandalous. Of one lady he wrote-- - - "Society courts her, wicked old sinner, - Yet what won't man do for the sake of a dinner?" - -Of another he wrote-- - - "You look so demure, ma'am, - So pious, so calm, - Always chanting a hymn, - Or singing a psalm. - Yet your thoughts are on virtue and heav'n no more - Than the man in the moon--you dreadful young bore." - -This pasquinade led to some half-dozen challenges and duels. It was -severe, but not worse than society deserved. Naples has never been -strict; and about the forties it was, perhaps, the most dissolute City -on the Continent. The natives were bad, but the English visitors were -worse. In fact, in some cases their morals were unspeakable. - -There was a charming family of the name of Oldham. The father, when -an English officer serving in Sicily, had married one of the beauties -of the island, a woman of high family and graceful as a Spaniard. The -children followed suit. The girls were beautiful, and the two sons -were upwards of six feet in height, and were as handsome men as could -well be seen. They both entered the army. One, in the 2nd Queen's, was -tortured to death by the Kaffirs when his cowardly soldiers ran away, -and left him wounded. The other, after serving in the 86th in India, -was killed in the light cavalry charge of Balakalava. The families -became great friends, and I met them both in India. - -Naples was a great place for excursions. To the north you had Ischia -and the Solfatara, a miniature bit of Vulcanism somewhat like the -Geyser ground in Iceland, where ignoramuses thought themselves in the -midst of untold volcanic grandeur. Nothing could be more snobbish than -the visit to the Grotto del Cane, where a wretched dog was kept for -the purpose of being suffocated half a dozen times a day. There I was -determined to act dog, and was pulled up only in time to prevent being -thoroughly asphyxiated. The Baths of Nero are about equal to an average -Turkish _Hammám_, but nothing more. To the south the excursions were -far more interesting. - -Beyond Herculaneum, dark and dingy, lay Pompeii, in those days very -different from the tame Crystal Palace affair that it is now. You -engaged a cicerone as best you could; you had nothing to pay because -there were no gates; you picked up what you liked, in shapes of bits -of mosaic, and, if you were a swell, a house or a street was opened -up in your honour. And overlaying Pompeii stood Vesuvius, which was -considered prime fun. The walking up the ash cone amongst a lot of -seniors, old men dragged up by _lazzaroni_, and old women carried up -in baskets upon _lazzaroni's_ backs, was funny enough, but the descent -was glorious. What took you twenty minutes to go up took four minutes -to go down. Imagine a dustbin magnified to ten thousand, and tilted up -at an angle of thirty-five degrees; in the descent you plunged with -the legs to the knees, you could not manage to fall unless you hit a -stone, and, arrived at the bottom, you could only feel incredulous that -it was possible to run at such a rate. We caused no end of trouble, -and I was found privily attempting to climb down the crater, because -I had heard that an Englishman had been let down in a basket. Many of -these ascents were made; on one occasion during an eruption, when the -lava flowed down to the sea, and the Neapolitans with long pincers were -snatching pieces out of it to stamp and sell, we boys, to the horror of -all around, jumped on the top of the blackening fire stream, burnt our -boots, and vilely abused all those who would not join us. - -At Naples more was added to the work of education. Caraccioli, the -celebrated marine painter, was engaged to teach oil-painting; but he -was a funny fellow, and the hours which should have been spent in -exhausting palettes passed in pencil-caricaturing of every possible -friend and acquaintance. The celebrated Cavalli was the fencing-master; -and in those days the Neapolitan school, which has now almost died out, -was in its last bloom. It was a thoroughly business-like affair, and -rejected all the elegances of the French school; and whenever there was -a duel between a Neapolitan and a Frenchman, the former was sure to -win. We boys worked at it heart and soul, and generally managed to give -four hours a day to it. I determined, even at that time, to produce -a combination between the Neapolitan and the French school, so as to -supplement the defects of the one by the merits of the other. A life of -very hard work did not allow me any leisure to carry out my plan; but -the man of perseverance stores up his resolve, and waits for any number -of years till he sees the time to carry it out. The plan was made in -1836, and was completed in 1880 (forty-four years).[1] - -My father spared no pains or expense in educating his children. He -had entered the army at a very early age. Volunteers were called for -in Ireland, and those who brought a certain number into the field -received commissions gratis. The old Grandmamma Burton's tenants' -sons volunteered by the dozen. They formed a very fair company, and -accompanied the young master to the wars; and when the young master got -his commission, they all, with the exception of one or two, levanted, -bolted, and deserted. Thus my father found himself an officer at the -age of seventeen, when he ought to have been at school; and recognizing -the deficiencies of his own education, he was determined that his -children should complain of nothing of the kind. He was equally -determined they none of them should enter the army; the consequence -being that both the sons became soldiers, and the only daughter married -a soldier. Some evil spirit, probably Mr. Du Pré, whispered that the -best plan for the boys would be to send them to Oxford, in order that -they might rise by literature, an idea which they both thoroughly -detested. However, in order to crush their pride, they were told that -they should enter "Oxford College as sizars, poor gentlemen who are -supported by the alms of the others." Our feelings may be imagined. -We determined to enlist, or go before the mast, or to turn Turks, -banditti, or pirates, rather than undergo such an indignity. - -Parthenope was very beautiful; but so true is English blood, that -the most remarkable part of it was "Pickwick," who happened to make -his way there at the time of the sojourn of our family. We read with -delight the description of the English home. We passed our nights, as -well as our days, devouring the book, and even "Ettore Fieramosca" and -the other triumphs of Massimo d'Azelio were mere outsiders compared -with it; but how different the effect of the two books--"Pickwick," -the good-humoured caricature of a boy full of liquor and good spirits, -and the "Disfida di Barletta," one of the foundation-stones of Italian -independence. - -At last the house on the Chiaja was given up, and the family took a -house inside the City for a short time. The father was getting tired -and thinking of starting northwards. The change was afflicting. The -loss of the view of the Bay was a misfortune. The only amusement was -prospecting the streets, where the most extraordinary scenes took -place. It was impossible to forget a beastly Englishman, as he stood -eating a squirting orange surrounded by a string of gutter-boys. The -dexterity of the pickpockets, too, gave scenes as amusing as a theatre. -It was related of one of the Coryphæi that he had betted with a friend -that he would take the pocket-handkerchief of an Englishman, who had -also betted that no man born in Naples could pick his pocket. A pal -walked up to the man as he was promenading the streets, flower in -button-hole, solemnly spat on his cravat, and ran away. The principal, -with thorough Italian politeness, walked up to the outraged foreigner, -drew his pocket-handkerchief and proceeded to remove the stain, -exhorted the outraged one to keep the fugitive in sight, and in far -less time than it takes to tell, transferred the handkerchief to his -own pocket, and set out in pursuit of the _barbaro_. - -[Sidenote: _Cholera._] - -The _lazzaroni_, too, were a perpetual amusement. We learned to eat -maccaroni like them, and so far mastered their dialect, that we could -exchange chaff by the hour. In 1869 I found them all at Monte Video -and Buenos Ayres, dressed in _cacciatore_ and swearing "M'nnaccia -l'anima tua;" they were impressed with a conviction that I was myself a -_lazzarone_ in luck. The shady side of the picture was the cholera. It -caused a fearful destruction, and the newspapers owned to 1300 a day, -which meant say 2300. The much-abused King behaved like a gentleman. -The people had determined that the cholera was poison, and doubtless -many made use of the opportunity to get rid of husbands and wives and -other inconvenient relationships; but when the mob proceeded to murder -the doctors, and to gather in the market square with drawn knives, -declaring that the Government had poisoned the provisions, the King -himself drove up in a phaeton and jumped out of it entirely alone, told -them to put up their ridiculous weapons, and to show him where the -poisoned provisions were, and, seating himself upon a bench, ate as -much as his stomach would contain. Even the _lazzarone_ were not proof -against this heroism, and viva'd and cheered him to his heart's content. - -My brother and I had seen too much of cholera to be afraid of it. We -had passed through it in France, it had followed us to Siena and Rome, -and at Naples it only excited our curiosity. We persuaded the Italian -man-servant to assist us in a grand escapade. He had procured us the -necessary dress, and when the dead-carts passed round in the dead of -the night, we went the rounds with them as some of the _croquemorts_. -The visits to the pauper houses, where the silence lay in the rooms, -were anything but pleasant, and still less the final disposal of the -bodies. Outside Naples was a large plain, pierced with pits, like the -silos or underground granaries of Algeria and North Africa. They were -lined with stone, and the mouths were covered with one big slab, just -large enough to allow a corpse to pass. Into these flesh-pots[2] were -thrown the unfortunate bodies of the poor, after being stripped of the -rags which acted as their winding-sheets. Black and rigid, they were -thrown down the apertures like so much rubbish, into the festering heap -below, and the decay caused a kind of lambent blue flame about the -sides of the pit, which lit up a mass of human corruption, worthy to -be described by Dante. - -Our escapades, which were frequent, were wild for strictly brought up -Protestant English boys--they would be nothing now, when boys do so -much worse--but there were others that were less excusable. Behind the -Chiaja dwelt a multitude of syrens, who were naturally looked upon as -the most beautiful of their sex. One lady in particular responded to -the various telegraphic signs made to her from the flat terrace of the -house, and we boys determined to pay her a visit. Arming ourselves with -carving-knives, which we stuffed behind our girdles, we made our way -jauntily into the house, introduced ourselves, and being abundant in -pocket-money, offered to stand treat, as the phrase is, for the whole -neighbourhood. The orgie was tremendous, and we were only too lucky -to get home unhurt, before morning, when the Italian servant let us -in. The result was a correspondence, consisting in equal parts of pure -love on our side and extreme debauchery on the syrens'. These letters, -unfortunately, were found by our mother during one of her Sunday -visitations to our chambers. A tremendous commotion was the result. Our -father and his dog, Mr. Du Pré, proceeded to condign punishment with -the horsewhip; but we climbed up to the tops of the chimneys, where the -seniors could not follow us, and refused to come down till the crime -was condoned. - -This little business disgusted our father of Naples, and he resolved to -repair to a pure moral air. Naples is a very different place now; so -is all the Italy frequented by travellers, and spoiled by railways and -officialdom. - -In 1881 a distinguished officer, and a gentleman allied to Royalty, -wrote as follows: "You threw some doubts on the efficiency of the -Italian posts, and I believe you; I don't think I was ever so glad -to get home. At Malta it looks so clean after the filth of Naples. I -think Italy, the Italians, their manners, customs, and institutions, -more damnable every time I see them, and feel sure you will meet with -less annoyance during your travels on the Gold Coast, than I met with -coming through Italy. Trains crowded, unpunctual; starvation, filth, -incivility, and extortion at every step; and, were it not that there -are so many works of art and of interest to see, I doubt if any one -would care to visit the country a second time." - -(Here is an account of a purchase made to transfer home.) "A small -table was packed in a little case, and firmly nailed down. At the -station they refused to let it go in the luggage van, unless it were -corded, _lest it might be opened en route_. The officials offered to -cord it for _bakshish_, which was paid, but the cord not put on. They -cut open my leather bag, and tried to open my portmanteau, but when I -called this fact to the notice of the station-master at Rome, he simply -turned on his heel and declined to answer. At Naples they opened the -little case, because furniture was subject to octroi; and, on leaving, -the case was again inspected, lest it might contain a picture (they -were not allowed to leave the country)." It is no longer the classical -Italy of Landor, nor the romantic Italy of Leigh Hunt, nor the ideal -Italy of the Brownings, nor the spiritualized Italy of George Eliot, -nor the everyday Italy of Charles Lever. They thought they were -going to be everything when they changed Masters, but they have only -succeeded in making it a noisy, vulgar, quarrelsome and contentious, -arrogant, money-grasping Italy, and the sooner it receives a sound -drubbing from France or Austria the better for it. It will then reform -itself. - -[Sidenote: _Marseille._] - -The family left Naples in the spring of 1836. The usual mountain of -baggage was packed in the enormous boxes of the period, and the Custom -House officers never even opened them, relying, as they said--and did -in those good old days--upon the word of an Englishman, that they -contained nothing contraband. How different from the United Italy, -where even the dressing-bag is rummaged to find a few cigars, or an -ounce of coffee. The voyage was full of discomforts. My mother, after -a campaign of two or three years, had been persuaded to part with her -French maid Eulalie, an old and attached servant, who made our hours -bitter, and our faces yellow. The steamer of the day was by no means -a floating palace, especially the English coasting steamers, which -infested the Mediterranean. The machinery was noisy and offensive. -The cabins were dog-holes, with a pestiferous atmosphere, and the -food consisted of greasy butter, bread which might be called dough, -eggs with a perfume, rusty bacon, milkless tea and coffee, that might -be mistaken for each other, waxy potatoes, graveolent greens _cuite -à l'eau_, stickjaw pudding, and cannibal haunches of meat, charred -without, and blue within. - -The only advantage was that the vessels were manned by English crews, -and in those days the British sailor was not a tailor, and he showed -his value when danger was greatest. - -We steamed northwards in a good old way, puffing and panting, pitching -and rolling, and in due time made Marseille. - -The town of the Canebière was far from being the splendid City that -it is now, but it always had one great advantage, that of being in -Provence. I always had a particular propensity for this bit of Africa -in Europe, and in after life in India for years, my greatest friend, -Dr. Steinhaüser, and myself indulged in visions of a country cottage, -where we would pass our days in hammocks, and our nights in bed, and -never admit books or papers, pens or ink, letters or telegrams. This -retreat was intended to be a rest for middle age, in order to prepare -for senility and second childhood. But this vision passed into the -limbo of things imagined (in fact, the vision of two hard-working and -overworked men), and I little thought that at fifty-five I should be a -married man, still in service, still knocking about the world, working -hard with my wife, and poor Steinhaüser dead fifteen years ago. - -To return. However agreeable Provence was, the change from Italians -to French was not pleasant. The subjects of Louis Philippe, the -Citizen-King, were rancorous against Englishmen, and whenever a -fellow wanted to get up a row he had only to cry out, "These are the -_misérables_ who poisoned Napoleon at St. Helena." This pleasant little -scene occurred on board a coasting steamer, between Marseille and -Cette, when remonstrance was made with the cheating steward, backed -by the rascally captain. Cette was beginning to be famous for the -imitation wines composed by the ingenuity of Monsieur Guizot, brother -of the _austère intrigant_. He could turn out any wine, from the -cheapest Marsala to the choicest Madeiran Bual. - -But he did his counterfeiting honestly, as a little "G" was always -branded on the bottom of the cork, and Cette gave a good lesson about -ordering wines at hotels. The sensible traveller, when in a strange -place, always calls for the _carte_, and chooses the cheapest; he knows -by sad experience, by cramp and acidity of stomach, that the dearest -wines are often worse than the cheapest, and at best that they are -the same with different labels. The proprietor of the hotel at Cette, -had charged his _dame de comptoir_ with robbing the till. She could -not deny it, but she replied with a _tu quoque_: "If I robbed you I -only returned tit for tat. You have been robbing the public for the -last quarter of a century, and only the other day you brought a bottle -of ordinaire and _escamoté'd_ it into sixteen kinds of _vins fin_." -The landlord thought it better to drop the proceedings. From Cette we -travelled in hired carriages (as Dobbin and the carriages had been -sold at Naples) to Toulouse. We stayed at Toulouse for a week, and I -was so delighted with student life there, that I asked my father's -leave to join them. But he was always determined on the Fellowship at -Oxford. Our parents periodically fell ill with asthma, and we young -ones availed ourselves of the occasion, by wandering far and wide over -the country. We delighted in these journeys, for though the tutor was -there, the books were in the boxes. My chief remembrances of Toulouse -were, finding the mistress of the hotel correcting her teeth with -_table d'hôte_ forks, and being placed opposite the model Englishman -of Alexandre Dumas and Eugène Sue. The man's face never faded from my -memory. Carroty hair, white and very smooth forehead, green eyes, a -purple-reddish lower face, whiskers that had a kind of crimson tinge, -and an enormous mouth worn open, so as to show the protruding teeth. - -[Sidenote: _Pau--Bagnières de Bigorres._] - -In due time we reached Pau in the Pyrenees, the capital of the Basses -Pyrénées, and the old Bearnais. The little town on the Gave de Pau was -no summer place. The heats are intense, and all who can, rush off to -the Pyrénées, which are in sight, and distant only forty miles. Our -family followed suit, and went off to Bagnières de Bigorres, where we -hired a nice house in the main Square. There were few foreigners in -the Bagnières de Bigorres; it was at that time a thoroughly French -watering-place. It was invaded by a mob of Parisians of both sexes, the -men dressed in fancy costumes intended to be "truly rural," and capped -with Basque bonnets, white or red. The women were more wonderful still, -especially when on horseback; somehow or other the Française never -dons a riding-habit without some solecism. Picnics were the order of -the day, and they were organized on a large scale, looking more like a -squadron of cavalry going out for exercise than a party of pleasure. -We boys obtained permission to accompany one of those caravans to the -Brêche de Roland, a nick in the mountain top clearly visible from the -plains, and supposed to have been cut by the good sword "Joyeuse." - -[Sidenote: _Contrabandistas._] - -Here we boys were mightily taken with, and tempted to accept the offer -made to us by, a merry party of _contrabandistas_, who were smuggling -to and fro chocolate, tobacco, and _aguardienta_ (spirits). Nothing -could be jollier than such a life as these people lead. They travelled -_au clair de la lune_, armed to the teeth; when they arrived at the -hotels the mules were unloaded and turned out to grass, the guitar, -played _à la Figaro_, began to tinkle, and all the young women, like -"the Buffalo girls," came out to dance. Wine and spirits flowed freely, -the greatest good humour prevailed, and the festivities were broken -only sometimes by "knifing or shooting." - -We also visited Tarbes, which even in those days was beginning to -acquire a reputation for "le shport;" it presently became one of the -centres of racing and hunting in France, for which the excellent -climate and the fine rolling country admirably adapted it. It was no -wonder that the young French horse beat the English at the same age. -In the Basque Pyrénées a colt two years old is as well grown as a -Newmarket weed at two and a half. - -When the great heat was over, the family returned to Pau, where they -found a good house over the arcade in the Place Gramont. Pau boasts of -being the birthplace of Henry IV., Gaston de Foix, and Bernadotte. -Strangers go through the usual routine of visiting the Castle, called -after the Protestant-Catholic King, Henry IV.; driving to Ortez, where -Marshal Soult fought unjustifiably the last action of the Peninsular -War; and of wandering about the flat, moor-like _landes_, which not -a little resemble those about Bordeaux. The society at Pau was an -improvement upon that of Naples. The most remarkable person was Captain -(R.N.) Lord William Paget, who was living with his mother-in-law -(Baroness de Rothenberg), and his wife and children, and enjoying -himself as usual. Though even impecunious, he was the best of boon -companions, and a man generally loved. But he could also make himself -feared, and, as the phrase is, would stand no nonsense. He had a -little affair with a man whom we will call Robinson, and as they were -going to the meeting-place he said to his second, "What's the fellow's -pet pursuit?" "Well!" answered the other, "I don't know--but, let me -see--ah, I remember, a capital hand at waltzing." "Waltzing!" said -Lord William, and hit him accurately on the hip-bone, which spoilt his -saltations for many a long month. Years and years after, when both were -middle-aged men, I met at Shepherd's Hotel, Cairo, his son, the boy -whom I remembered straddling across a diminutive donkey--General Billy -Paget. He had also entered the Anglo-Indian army, and amongst other -things had distinguished himself by getting the better (in an official -correspondence) of General John Jacob, the most obstinate and rancorous -of men. "Billy" had come out to Egypt with the intention of returning -to India, but the Red Sea looked so sweltering hot and its shores so -disgustingly barren, that he wrote to Aden to recall his luggage, which -had been sent forward, then and there retired from the service, married -a charming woman, and gave his old friends a very excellent dinner in -London. - -There were also some very nice L'Estranges, one of the daughters a very -handsome woman, some pretty Foxes, an old Captain Sheridan, with two -good-looking daughters, and the Ruxtons, whom we afterwards met at Pisa -and the Baths of Lucca. Certain elderly maidens of the name of Shannon -lived in a house almost overhanging the Gave de Pau. Upon this subject -O'Connell, the Agitator, produced a _bon mot_, which is, however, not -fit for the drawing-room. Pau was still a kind of invalid colony for -consumptives, although the native proverb about its climate is, "that -it has eight months winter, and four of the Inferno." Dr. Diaforus acts -upon the very intelligible system of self-interest. He does not wish -his patients to die upon his hands, and consequently he sends them -to die abroad. In the latter part of the last century he sent his -moribunds to Lisbon and to Montpellier, where the _vent de bise_ is as -terrible as a black east wind is in Harwich. - -Then he packed them off to Pisa, where the tropics and Norway meet, and -to damp, muggy, reeking Madeira, where patients have lived a quarter -of a century with half a lung, but where their sound companions and -nurses suffer from every description of evil which attend biliousness. -They then found out that the dry heat of Teneriffe allowed invalids to -be out after sunset, and, lastly, they discovered that the dry cold -of Canada and Iceland, charged with ozone, offers the best chance -of a complete cure. I proposed to utilize the regions about the -beautiful Dead Sea, about thirteen hundred feet below the level of -the Mediterranean, where oxygen accumulates, and where, run as hard -as you like, you can never be out of breath. This will be the great -Consumptive Hospital of the future. - -[Sidenote: _Pau Education._] - -At Pau the education went on merrily. I was provided with a French -master of mathematics, whose greasy hair swept the collar of the -_redingote_ buttoned up to the chin. He was a type of his order. He -introduced mathematics everywhere. He was a red republican of the -reddest, hating rank and wealth, and he held that _Le Bon Dieu_ was not -proven, because he could not express Him by a mathematical formula, and -he called his fellow-men _Bon-Dieusistes_. We were now grown to lads, -and began seriously to prepare for thrashing our tutor, and diligently -took lessons in boxing from the Irish groom of a Captain Hutchinson, -R.N. Whenever we could escape from study we passed our hours in the -barracks, fencing with the soldiers, and delighting every _piou-piou_ -(recruit) by our powers of consuming the country spirit (the white and -unadulterated cognac). We also took seriously to smoking, although, as -usual with beginners in those days, we suffered in the flesh. In the -later generation, you find young children, even girls, who, although -their parents have never smoked, can finish off a cigarette without the -slightest inconvenience, even for the first time. - -Smoking and drinking led us, as it naturally does, into trouble. There -was a Jamaica Irishman with a very dark skin and a very loud brogue, -called Thomas, who was passing the winter for the benefit of his chest -at Pau. He delighted in encouraging us for mischief sake. One raw snowy -day he gave us his strongest cigars, and brewed us a bowl of potent -steaming punch, which was soon followed by another. Edward, not being -very well, was unusually temperate, and so I, not liking to waste it, -drank for two. A walk was then maliciously proposed, and the cold air -acted as usual as stimulant to stimulant. Thomas began laughing aloud, -Edward plodded gloomily along, and I got into half a dozen scrimmages -with the country people. At last matters began to look serious, and -the too hospitable host took his two guests back to their home. I -managed to stagger upstairs; I was deadly pale, with staring eyes, and -compelled to use the depressed walk of a monkey, when I met my mother. -She was startled at my appearance, and as I pleaded very sick she put -me to bed. But other symptoms puzzled her. She fetched my father, who -came to the bedside, looked carefully for a minute at his son and heir, -and turned upon his heel, exclaiming, "The beast's in liquor." The -mother burst into a flood of tears, and next morning presented me with -a five-franc piece, making me promise to be good for the future, and -not to read Lord Chesterfield's "Letters to his Son," of which she had -a dreadful horror. It need hardly be said that the five francs soon -melted away in laying in a stock of what is popularly called "a hair of -the dog that bit." - -What we learnt last at Pau was the Bearnais dialect. It is a charmingly -naïve dialect, mixture of French, Spanish, and Provençale, and -containing a quantity of pretty, pleasant songs. The country folk were -delighted when addressed in their own lingo. It considerably assisted -me in learning Provençale, the language of Le Geysaber; and I found -it useful in the most out-of-the-way corners of the world, even in -Brazil. Nothing goes home to the heart of a man so much as to speak to -him in his own _patois_. Even a Lancashire lad can scarcely resist the -language of "Tummas and Mary." - -[Sidenote: _Argélés._] - -At length the wheezy, windy, rainy, foggy, sleety, snowy winter passed -away, and the approach of the warm four months, warned strangers to -betake themselves to the hills. This time the chosen place was Argélés. -In those days it was a little village, composed mainly of one street, -not unlike mining Arrayal in Brazil, or a negro village on the banks -of the Gaboon. But the scenery around it was beautiful. It lay upon a -brawling stream, and the contrast of the horizontal meadow-lands around -it, with the backing of almost vertical hills and peaks, thoroughly -satisfied the eye. It had cruel weather in winter time, and a sad -accident had just happened. A discharged soldier had reached it in -midwinter, when the snow lay deep and the wolves were out, and the -villagers strongly dissuaded him from trying to reach his father's -home in the hills. He was armed with his little _briquet_, the little -curved sword then carried by the French infantry soldiers, and he -laughed all caution to scorn. It was towards nightfall; he had hardly -walked a mile, before a pack came down upon him, raging and ravening -with hunger. He put his back to a tree, and defended himself manfully, -killing several wolves, and escaped whilst the carcases were being -devoured by their companions; but he sheathed his sword without taking -the precaution to wipe it, and when he was attacked again it was glued -to the scabbard. The wolves paid dearly for their meal, for the enraged -villagers organized a battue, and killed about a score of them as an -expiatory sacrifice for the poor soldier. - -We two brothers, abetted by our tutor, had fallen into the detestable -practice of keeping our hands in by shooting swifts and swallows, of -which barbarity we were afterwards heartily ashamed. Our first lesson -was from the peasants. On one occasion, having shot a harmless bird -that fell among the reapers, the latter charged us in a body, and being -armed with scythes and sickles, caused a precipitous retreat. In those -days the swallow seemed to be a kind of holy bird in the Bearnais, -somewhat like the pigeons of Mecca and Venice. I can only remember that -this was the case with old Assyrians and Aramæans, who called the swift -or devilling the destiny, or foretelling bird, because it heralded the -spring. - -[Sidenote: _The Boys fall in Love._] - -There was a small society at Argélés, consisting chiefly of English and -Spaniards. The latter were mostly refugees, driven away from home by -political changes. They were not overburdened with money, and of course -looked for cheap quarters. They seemed chiefly to live upon chocolate, -which they made in their own way, in tiny cups so thick and gruelly, -that sponge-cake stood upright in it. They smoked cigarettes with -maize-leaf for paper, as only a Spaniard can. The little cylinder hangs -down as if it were glued to the smoker's lower lip. He goes on talking -and laughing, and then, by some curious movement of a muscle developed -in no other race, he raises the weed to the horizontal and puffs out -a cloud of smoke. They passed their spare time in playing the guitar -and singing party songs, and were very much disgusted when asked to -indulge the company with Riego el Cid. There was a marriage at Argélés, -when a Scotch maiden of mature age married M. Le Maire, an old French -_mousquetaire_, a man of birth, of courtly manners, and who was the -delight of the young ones, but his _plaisanteries_ are utterly unfit -for the drawing-room. There was also a Baron de Meydell, his wife, her -sister, and two very handsome daughters. The eldest was engaged to a -rich young planter in the Isle of Bourbon. We two lads of course fell -desperately in love with them, and the old father, who had served in -the Hessian Brigade in the English army, only roared with laughter when -he saw and heard our _polissoneries_. The old man liked us both, and -delighted in nothing more than to see us working upon each other with -foil and sabre. The parting of the four lovers was something very sad, -and three of us at least shed tears. The eldest girl was beyond such -childishness. - -As the mountain fog began to roll down upon the valley, our father -found that his poor chest required a warmer climate. This time we -travelled down the Grand Canal du Midi in a big public barge, which -resembled a Dutch _trekschuyt_. At first, passing through the locks was -a perpetual excitement, but this very soon palled. The L'Estranges were -also on board, and the French part of the company were not particularly -pleasant. They were mostly tourists returning home, mixed with a fair -proportion of _commis-voyageurs_, a class that corresponds with, but -does not resemble, our commercial traveller. The French species seems -to have but two objects in social life: first, to glorify himself, and -secondly, to glorify Paris. - -Monsieur Victor Hugo has carried the latter mania to the very verge of -madness, and left to his countrymen an example almost as bad as bad can -be. The peculiarity of the _commis-voyageur_ in those days, was the -queer thin varnish of politeness, which he thought it due to himself -to assume. He would help himself at breakfast or dinner to the leg, -wing, and part of the breast, and pass the dish to his neighbour when -it contained only a neck and a drumstick, with a pleased smile and a -ready bow, anxiously asking "Madame, veut elle de la volaille?" and he -was frightfully unprogressive. He wished to "let sleeping dogs lie," -and hated to move quiet things. It almost gave him an indigestion to -speak of railways. He found the diligence and the canal boat quite fast -enough for his purpose. And in this to a certain extent he represented -the Genius of the Nation. - -With the excellent example of the Grand Canal du Midi before them, the -French have allowed half a century to pass before they even realized -the fact that their rivers give them most admirable opportunities for -inland navigation, and that by energy in spending money they could have -a water line leading up from Manches to Paris, and down from Paris -to the Mediterranean. In these days of piercing isthmuses, they seem -hardly to have thought of a canal that would save the time and expense -of running round Spain and Portugal, when it would be so easy to cut -the neck that connects their country with the Peninsula. The rest of -the journey was eventless as usual. The family took the steamer at -Marseille, steamed down to Leghorn, and drove up to Pisa. There they -found a house on the south side of the Lung' Arno, belonging to a widow -of the name of Pini. It was a dull and melancholy place enough, but it -had the advantage of a large garden that grew chiefly cabbages. It was -something like a return home; a number of old acquaintances were met, -and few new ones were made. - -[Sidenote: _Drawing._] - -The studies were kept up with unremitting attention. I kept up drawing, -painting, and classics, and it was lucky for me that I did. I have -been able to make my own drawings, and to illustrate my own books. -It is only in this way that a correct idea of unfamiliar scenes can -be given. Travellers who bring home a few scrawls and put them into -the hands of a professional illustrator, have the pleasure of seeing -the illustrated paper style applied to the scenery and the people of -Central Africa and Central Asia and Europe. Even when the drawings -are carefully done by the traveller-artist, it is hard to persuade -the professional to preserve their peculiarities. For instance, a -sketch from Hyderabad, the inland capital of Sind, showed a number of -mast-like poles which induced the English artist to write out and ask -if there ought not to be yards and sails. In sending a sketch home of a -pilgrim in his proper costume, the portable Korán worn under the left -arm narrowly escaped becoming a revolver. On the chocolate-coloured -cover of a book on Zanzibar, stands a negro in gold, straddling like -the Colossus of Rhodes. He was propped crane-like upon one leg, -supporting himself with his spear, and applying, African fashion, the -sole of the other foot to the perpendicular calf. - -[Sidenote: _Music._] - -But music did not get on so well. We all three had good speaking -voices, but we sang with a "_voce di gola_," a throaty tone which -was terrible to hear. It is only in England that people sing without -voices. This may do very well when chirping a comic song, or -half-speaking a ballad, but in nothing higher. I longed to sing, began -singing with all my might at Pau in the Pyrenees, and I kept it up at -Pisa, where Signor Romani (Mario's old master) rather encouraged me, -instead of peremptorily or pathetically bidding me to hold my tongue. -I wasted time and money, and presently found out my mistake and threw -up music altogether. At stray times I took up the flageolet, and other -simple instruments, as though I had a kind of instinctive feeling how -useful music would be to me in later life. And I never ceased to regret -that I had not practised sufficiently, to be able to write down music -at hearing. Had I been able to do so, I might have collected some two -thousand motives from Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, and have -produced a musical note-book which would have been useful to a Bellini, -or Donizetti, or a Boito. - -We had now put away childish things; that is to say, we no longer broke -the windows across the river with slings, or engaged in free fights -with our coevals. But the climate of Italy is precocious, so, as the -Vicar of Wakefield has it, "we cocked our hats and loved the ladies." -And our poor father was once appalled by strange heads being put out of -the windows, in an unaccustomed street, and with the words, "Oh! S'or -Riccardo, Oh! S'or Edoardo." - -Madame P----, the landlady, had three children. Sandro, the son, was a -tall, gawky youth, who wore a _cacciatore_ or Italian shooting-jacket -of cotton-leather, not unlike the English one made loose, with the -tails cut off. The two daughters were extremely handsome girls, in -very different styles. Signorina Caterina, the elder, was tall, slim, -and dark, with the palest possible complexion and regular features. -Signorina Antonia, the younger, could not boast of the same classical -lines, but the light brown hair, and the pink and white complexion, -made one forgive and forget every irregularity. Consequently I fell in -love with the elder, and Edward with the latter. Proposals of marriage -were made and accepted. The girls had heard that, in her younger days, -mamma had had half a dozen strings to her bow at the same time, and -they were perfectly ready to follow parental example. But a serious -obstacle occurred in the difficulty of getting the ceremony performed. -As in England there was a popular but mistaken idea that a man could -put a rope round his wife's neck, take her to market, and sell her like -a quadruped, so there was, and perhaps there is still, in Italy, a -legend that any affianced couple standing up together in front of the -congregation during the elevation of the Host, and declaring themselves -man and wife, are very much married. Many inquiries were made about -this procedure, and at one time it was seriously intended. But the -result of questioning was, that _promessi sposi_ so acting, are at once -imprisoned and punished by being kept in separate cells, and therefore -it became evident, that the game was not worth the candle. This is -like a Scotch marriage, however--with the Italian would be binding in -religion, and the Scotch in law. - -Edward and I made acquaintance with a lot of Italian medical students, -compared with whom, English men of the same category were as babes, -and they did us no particular good. At last the winter at Pisa ended, -badly--very badly. The hard studies of the classics during the day, -occasionally concluded with a revel at night. On one hopeless occasion -a bottle of Jamaica gin happened to fall into the wrong hands. The -revellers rose at midnight, boiled water, procured sugar and lemons, -and sat down to a steaming soup tureen full of punch. Possibly it was -followed by a second, but the result was that they sallied out into the -streets, determined upon what is _called_ a "spree." Knockers did not -exist, and Charleys did not confine themselves to their sentry-boxes, -and it was vain to ring at bells, when every one was sound asleep. -Evidently the choice of amusements was limited, and mostly confined to -hustling inoffensive passers-by. But as one of these feats had been -performed, and cries for assistance had been uttered, up came the watch -at the double, and the revellers had nothing to do but to make tracks. -My legs were the longest, and I escaped; Edward was seized and led -off, despite his fists and heels, ignobly to the local _violon_, or -guard-house. One may imagine my father's disgust next morning, when he -was courteously informed by the prison authorities that a _giovinotto_ -bearing his name, had been lodged during the night at the public -expense. The father went off in a state of the stoniest severity to the -guard-house, and found the graceless one treating his companions in -misfortune, thieves and ruffians of every kind, to the contents of a -pocket-flask with which he had provided himself in case of need. This -was the last straw; our father determined to transfer his head-quarters -to the Baths of Lucca, and then to prepare for breaking up the family. -The adieux of Caterina and Antonia were heartrending, and it was agreed -to correspond every week. The journey occupied a short time, and a -house was soon found in the upper village of Lucca. - -[Sidenote: _The Baths of Lucca._] - -In those days, the Lucchese baths were the only place in Italy that -could boast of a tolerably cool summer climate, and a few of the -comforts of life. Sorrento, Montenero, near Leghorn, and the hills -about Rome, were frequented by very few; they came under the category -of "cheap and nasty." Hence the Bagni collected what was considered to -be the distinguished society. It had its parson from Pisa, even in the -days before the travelling continental clergyman was known, and this -one migrated every year to the hills, like the flight of swallows, and -the beggars who desert the hot plains and the stifling climate of the -lowlands. There was generally at least one English doctor who practised -by the kindly sufferance of the _then_ Italian Government. The Duke -of Lucca at times attended the balls; he was married, but his gallant -presence and knightly manner committed terrible ravages in the hearts -of susceptible English girls. - -The queen in ordinary was a Mrs. Colonel Stisted, as she called -herself, the "same Miss Clotilda Clotworthy Crawley who was" so rudely -treated by the wild Irish girl, Lady Morgan. I was also obliged to -settle an old score with her in after years in "Sinde, or the Unhappy -Valley." And so I wrote, "She indeed had left her mark in literature, -not by her maudlin volume, 'The Byeways of Italy,' but by the abuse of -her fellow authors." She was "the sea goddess with tin ringlets and -venerable limbs" of the irrepressible Mrs. Trollope. She also supplied -Lever with one of the characters which he etched in with his most -corrosive acid. In one season the Baths collected Lady Blessington, -Count D'Orsay, the charming Lady Walpole, Mrs. Elizabeth Barrett -Browning, the poetess, whose tight _sacque_ of black silk gave us -youngsters a series of caricatures. There, too, was old Lady Osborne, -full of Greek and Latin, who married her daughter to Captain Bernal, -afterwards Bernal Osborne. Amongst the number was Mrs. Young, whose -daughter became Madame Matteucci, wife of the celebrated scientist and -electrician of Tuscany. She managed, curiously to say, to hold her -own in her new position. Finally, I remember Miss Virginia Gabriell, -daughter of old General Gabriell, commonly called the "Archangel -Gabriel." Virginia Gabriell, "all white and fresh, and virginally -plain," afterwards made a name in the musical world, composed beautiful -ballads, published many pieces, and married, and died in St. George's -Hospital by being thrown from a carriage, August 7, 1877. She showed -her _savoir faire_ at the earliest age. At a ball given to the Prince, -all appeared in their finest dresses and richest jewellery. Miss -Virginia was in white, with a single necklace of pink coral. They -danced till daylight; and when the sun arose, Miss Virginia was like a -rose amongst faded dahlias and sunflowers. - -There was a very nice fellow of the name of Wood, who had just married -a Miss Stisted, one of the nieces of the "Queen of the Baths," with -whom all the "baths" were in love. Another marking young person was -Miss Helen Crowley, a girl of the order "dashing," whose hair was the -brightest auburn, and complexion the purest white and red. Her father -was the Rev. Dr. Crowley, whose Jewish novel "Salathiel" made a small -noise in the world; but either he or his wife disliked children, so -Miss Helen had been turned over to the charge of aunts. These were -two elderly maiden ladies, whose agnosticism was of the severest -description. "Sister, what is that noise?" "The howling of hymns, -sister." "The beastly creatures," cried she, as "Come across hill and -dale" reached her most irreverent ears. I met both of these ladies -in later life, and it was enough to say that all three had terribly -changed. - -Amongst the remarkable people we knew were the Desanges family, who -had a phenomenon in the house. A voice seemed to come out of it of -the very richest volume, and every one thought it was a woman's. It -really belonged to Master Louis, who afterwards made for himself so -great a name for battle-scenes (The Desanges' Crimea and Victoria Cross -Gallery) and also for portraits.[3] The voice did not recover itself -thoroughly after breaking, but sufficient remained for admirable comic -songs, and no man who ever heard them came away from "Le Lor Maire" and -"Vilikens et sa Dinah" without aching sides. There was another learned -widow of the name of Graves, whose husband had been a kinsman of my -father. Her daughter prided herself upon the breadth of her forehead -and general intellectuality. She ended by marrying the celebrated -historian Von Ranke. Intellectual Englishwomen used to expect a kind -of intellectual paradise in marrying German professors. They were to -share their labours, assist in their discoveries, and wear a kind of -reflected halo or gloria, as the moon receives light from the sun; but -they were perfectly shocked when they were ordered to the kitchen, and -were addressed with perhaps "Donner--Wetter--Sacrament" if the dinner -was not properly cooked. - -These little colonies like the "Baths of Lucca" began to decline -about 1850, and came to their Nadir in 1870. Then they had a kind -of resurrection. The gambling in shares and stocks and loans lost -England an immense sum of money, and the losses were most felt by that -well-to-do part of the public that had a fixed income and no chance -of ever increasing it. The loss of some five hundred millions of -pounds sterling, rendered England too expensive for a large class, and -presently drove it abroad. It gained numbers in 1881, when the Irish -Land Bill, soon to be followed by a corresponding English Land Bill, -exiled a multitude of landowners. So the little English colonies, which -had dwindled to the lowest expression, gradually grew and grew, and -became stronger than they ever did. - -[Sidenote: _The Boys get too Old for Home._] - -It was evident that the Burton family was ripe for a break up. Our -father, like an Irishman, was perfectly happy as long as he was the -only man in the house, but the presence of younger males irritated him. -His temper became permanently soured. He could no longer use the rod, -but he could make himself very unpleasant with his tongue. "Senti come -me li rimangia quei poveri ragazzi!" (Hear how he is chawing-up those -poor lads!) said the old Pisan-Italian lady's-maid, and I do think -now that we were not pleasant inmates of a household. We were in the -"Sturm und drang" of the teens. We had thoroughly mastered our tutor, -threw our books out of the window if he attempted to give a lesson in -Greek or Latin, and applied ourselves with ardour to Picault Le Brun, -and Paul de Kock, the "Promessi Sposi," and the "Disfida di Barletta." -Instead of taking country walks, we jodelled all about the hillsides -under the direction of a Swiss scamp. We shot pistols in every -direction, and whenever a stray fencing-master passed, we persuaded him -to give us a few hours of "point." We made experiments of everything -imaginable, including swallowing and smoking opium. - -The break-up took place about the middle of summer. It was -comparatively tame. Italians marvelled at the Spartan nature of the -British mother, who, after the habits of fifteen years, can so easily -part with her children at the cost of a lachrymose last embrace, and -watering her prandial beefsteak with tears. Amongst Italian families, -nothing is more common than for all the brothers and sisters to swear -that they will not marry if they are to be separated from one another. -And even now, in these subversive and progressive days, what a curious -contrast is the English and the Italian household. Let me sketch one -of the latter, a family belonging to the old nobility, once lords of -the land, and now simple proprietors of a fair Estate. In a large -garden, and a larger orchard of vines and olives, stands a solid old -house, as roomy as a barrack, but without the slightest pretension of -comfort or luxury. The old Countess, a widow, has the whole of her -progeny around her--two or three stalwart sons, one married and the -others partially so, and a daughter who has not yet found a husband. -The servants are old family retainers. They consider themselves part -and parcel of the household; they are on the most familiar terms with -the family, although they would resent with the direst indignation the -slightest liberty on the part of outsiders. The day is one of extreme -simplicity, and some might even deem it monotonous. Each individual -leaves his bed at the hour he or she pleases, and finds coffee, milk, -and small rolls in the dining-room. Smoking and dawdling pass the hours -till almost mid-day, when _déjeuner à la fourchette_, or rather a young -dinner, leads very naturally up to a siesta. In the afternoon there is -a little walking or driving, and even shooting in the case of the most -energetic. There is a supper after nightfall, and after that dominoes -or cards, or music, or conversazione, keep them awake for half the -night. The even tenor of their days is broken only by a festival or a -ball in the nearest town, or some pseudo Scientific Congress in a City -not wholly out of reach; and so things go on from year to year, and all -are happy because they look to nothing else. - -[Sidenote: _Schinznach and England._] - -Our journey began in the early summer of 1840. My mother and sister -were left at the Baths of Lucca, and my father, with Mr. Du Pré, and -Edward and I, set out for Switzerland. We again travelled _vetturino_, -and we lads cast longing eyes at the charming country which we were -destined not to see again for another ten years. How melancholy we -felt when on our way to the chill and dolorous North! At Schinznach I -was left in charge of Mr. Du Pré, while my father and brother set out -for England direct. These Hapsburg baths in the Aargau had been chosen -because the abominable sulphur water, as odorous as that of Harrogate, -was held as sovereign in skin complaints, and I was suffering from -exanthémata, an eruption brought on by a sudden check of perspiration. -These eruptions are very hard to cure, and they often embitter a man's -life. The village consisted of a single Establishment, in which all -nationalities met. Amongst them was an unfortunate Frenchman, who had -been attacked at Calcutta with what appeared to be a leprous taint. He -had tried half a dozen places to no purpose, and he had determined to -blow his brains out if Schinznach failed him. The only advantage of the -place was, its being within easy distance of Schaffhausen and the falls -of the Rhine. - -When the six weeks' cure was over, I was hurried by my guardian across -France, and Southern England, to the rendezvous. The Grandmother and -the two aunts, finding Great Cumberland Place too hot, had taken -country quarters at Hampstead. Grandmamma Baker received us lads with -something like disappointment. She would have been better contented had -we been six feet high, bony as Highland cattle, with freckled faces, -and cheek-bones like horns. Aunt Georgina Baker embraced and kissed her -nephews with effusion. She had not been long parted from us. Mrs. Frank -Burton, the other aunt, had not seen us for ten years, and of course -could not recognize us. - -We found two very nice little girl-cousins, who assisted us to pass -the time. But the old dislike to our surroundings, returned with -redoubled violence. Everything appeared to us so small, so mean, so -ugly. The faces of the women were the only exception to the general -rule of hideousness. The houses were so unlike houses, and more like -the Nuremberg toys magnified. The outsides were so prim, so priggish, -so utterly unartistic. The little bits of garden were mere slices, as -if they had been sold by the inch. The interiors were cut up into such -wretched little rooms, more like ship-cabins than what was called rooms -in Italy. The drawing-rooms were crowded with hideous little tables, -that made it dangerous to pass from one side to the other. The tables -were heaped with nick-nacks, that served neither for use or show. And -there was a desperate neatness and cleanness about everything that -made us remember the old story of the Stoic who spat in the face of -the master of the house because it was the most untidy place in the -dwelling. - -[Sidenote: _The Family break up._] - -Then came a second parting. Edward was to be placed under the charge -of the Rev. Mr. Havergal, rector of some country parish. Later on, he -wrote to say that "Richard must not correspond with his brother, as -he had turned his name into a peculiar form of ridicule." He was in -the musical line, and delighted in organ-playing. But Edward seemed to -consider the whole affair a bore, and was only too happy when he could -escape from the harmonious parsonage. - -In the mean time I had been tried and found wanting. One of my father's -sisters (Mrs. General D'Aguilar, as she called herself) had returned -from India, after an uninterrupted residence of a score of years, with -a large supply of children of both sexes. She had settled herself -temporarily at Cambridge, to superintend the education of her eldest -son, John Burton D'Aguilar, who was intended for the Church, and who -afterwards became a chaplain in the Bengal Establishment. Amongst her -many acquaintances was a certain Professor Sholefield, a well-known -Grecian. My father had rather suspected that very little had been -done in the house, in the way of classical study, during the last two -years. The Professor put me through my paces in Virgil and Homer, and -found me lamentably deficient. I did not even know who Isis was! worse -still, it was found out that I, who spoke French and Italian and their -dialects like a native, who had a considerable smattering of Bearnais, -Spanish, and Provençale, barely knew the Lord's Prayer, broke down in -the Apostles' Creed, and had never heard of the Thirty-nine Articles--a -terrible revelation! - -[1] "The Sword," in three large works nobly planned out, when after the -first part was brought out, death frustrated the other two.--I. B. - -[2] There are three hundred and sixty-five of these pits, one for every -day in the year.--I. B. - -[3] In 1861 he painted Richard's and my portraits as a wedding -gift.--I. B. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -OXFORD. - - -As it was Long Vacation at Oxford, and I could not take rooms at -once in Trinity College, where my name had been put down, it was -necessary to place me somewhere out of mischief. At the intervention -of friends, a certain Doctor Greenhill agreed to lodge and coach me -till the opening term. The said doctor had just married a relation of -Dr. Arnold, of Rugby, and he had taken his bride to Paris, in order -to show her the world and to indulge himself in a little dissecting. -Meanwhile I was placed _pro tem._ with another medical don, Dr. Ogle, -and I enjoyed myself in that house. The father was a genial man, and he -had nice sons and pretty daughters. As soon as Dr. Greenhill returned -to his house in High Street, Oxford, I was taken up there by my father, -and was duly consigned to the new tutor. Mr. Du Pré vanished, and was -never seen again. - -The first sight of Oxford struck me with a sense of appal. "O Domus -antiqua et religiosa," cried Queen Elizabeth, in 1664, standing -opposite Pembroke College, which the Dons desecrated in 1875. I could -not imagine how such fine massive and picturesque old buildings as the -colleges could be mixed up with the mean little houses that clustered -around them, looking as if they were built of cardboard. In after days, -I remembered the feeling, when looking at the Temple of the Sun in -Palmyra, surrounded by its Arab huts, like swallows' nests planted upon -a palace wall. And everything, _except_ the colleges, looked so mean. - -The good old Mitre was, if not the only, at least the chief hostelry of -the place, and it had the outward and visible presence of a pot-house. -The river with the classical name of Isis, was a mere moat, and its -influent, the Cherwell, was a ditch. The country around, especially -just after Switzerland, looked flat and monotonous in the extreme. The -skies were brown-grey, and, to an Italian nose, the smell of the coal -smoke was a perpetual abomination. Queer beings walked the streets, -dressed in aprons that hung behind, from their shoulders, and caps -consisting of a square, like that of a lancer's helmet, planted upon -a semi-oval to contain the head. These queer creatures were carefully -shaved, except, perhaps, a diminutive mutton-cutlet on each side of -their face, and the most serious sort were invariably dressed _in -vestibus nigris aut sub fuscis_. - -Moreover, an indescribable appearance of donnishness or incipient -donnishness pervaded the whole lot. The juniors looked like schoolboys -who aspired to be schoolmasters, and the seniors as if their -aspirations had been successful. I asked after the famous Grove of -Trinity, where Charles I. used to walk when tired of Christ Church -meadows, and which the wits called Daphne. It had long been felled, and -the ground was covered with buildings. - -At last term opened, and I transferred myself from Dr. Greenhill to -Trinity College. - -Then my University life began, and readers must be prepared not to be -shocked at the recital of my college failures, which only proves the -truth of what I said before, that if a father means his boy to succeed -in an English career, he must put him to a preparatory school, Eton or -Oxford, educate him for his coming profession, and not drag his family -about the Continent, under governesses and tutors, to learn fencing, -languages, and become wild, and to belong to nowhere in particular as -to parish or county. - -In the autumn term of 1840, at nineteen and a half, I began residence -in Trinity College, where my quarters were a pair of dog-holes, called -rooms, overlooking the garden of the Master of Balliol. My reception -at College was not pleasant. I had grown a splendid moustache, which -was the envy of all the boys abroad, and which all the advice of Drs. -Ogle and Greenhill failed to make me remove. I declined to be shaved -until formal orders were issued to the authorities of the college. -For I had already formed strong ideas upon the Shaven age of England, -when her history, with some brilliant exceptions, such as Marlborough, -Wellington, or Nelson, was at its meanest. - -[Sidenote: _Practical Jokes._] - -As I passed through the entrance of the College, a couple of brother -collegians met me, and the taller one laughed in my face. Accustomed -to continental decorum, I handed him my card and called him out. But -the college lad, termed by courtesy an Oxford man, had possibly read -of duels, had probably never touched a weapon, sword or pistol, and -his astonishment at the invitation exceeded all bounds. Explanations -succeeded, and I went my way sadly, and felt as if I had fallen amongst -_épiciers_. The college porter had kindly warned me against tricks -played by the older hands, upon "fresh young gentlemen," and strongly -advised me to "sport my oak," or, in other words, to bar and lock my -outer door. With dignity deeply hurt, I left the entrance wide open, -and thrust a poker into the fire, determined to give all intruders the -warmest possible reception. This was part and parcel of that unhappy -education abroad. In English public schools, boys learn first "to -take," and then "to give." They begin by being tossed, and then by -tossing others in the blanket. Those were days when practical jokes -were in full force. Happily it is now extinct. Every greenhorn coming -to college or joining a regiment, was liable to the roughest possible -treatment, and it was only by submitting with the utmost good humour, -that he won the affection of his comrades, and was looked upon as a -gentleman. But the practice also had its darker phase. It ruined many a -prospect, and it lost many a life. The most amusing specimen that _I_ -ever saw was that of a charming youngster, who died soon after joining -his Sepoy regiment. The oldsters tried to drink him under the table at -mess, and had notably failed. About midnight, when he was enjoying his -first sleep, he suddenly awoke and found a ring of spectral figures -dancing round between his bed and the tent-walls. After a minute's -reflection, he jumped up, seized a sheet, threw it over his shoulders, -and joined the dancers, saying, "If this is the fashion I suppose I -must do it also." The jokers, baffled a second time, could do nothing -but knock him down and run away. - -The example of the larky Marquis of Waterford, seemed to authorize all -kinds of fantastic tricks. The legend was still fresh, that he had -painted the Dean of Christ Church's door red, because that formidable -dignitary had objected to his wearing "pink" in High Street. Another, -and far more inexcusable prank, was his sending all the accoucheurs in -the town, to the house of a middle-aged maiden lady, whose father, a -don, had offended him. In the colleges they did not fly at such high -game, but they cruelly worried everything in the shape of a freshman. -One unfortunate youth, a fellow who had brought with him a dozen of -home-made wine, elder and cowslip, was made shockingly tight by brandy -being mixed with his port, and was put to bed with all his bottles -disposed on different parts of his person. Another, of æsthetic tastes, -prided himself upon his china, and found it next morning all strewed in -pieces about his bed. A third, with carroty whiskers, had them daubed -with mustard, also while in a state of insensibility, and had to have -them fall, yellow, next morning under a barber's hands. - -I caused myself to be let down by a rope into the Master of Balliol's -garden, plucked up some of the finest flowers by the roots, and -planted in their place great staring marigolds. The study of the old -gentleman's countenance when he saw them next morning was a joy for -ever. Another prank was to shoot with an air-cane, an article strictly -forbidden in college, at a brand-new watering-pot, upon which the old -gentleman greatly prided himself, and the way which the water spirted -over his reverend gaiters, gave an ineffable delight to the knot of -mischievous undergraduates who were prospecting him from behind the -curtain. I, however, always had considerable respect for the sturdy -common sense of old Dr. Jenkins, and I made a kind of amends to him in -"Vikram and the Vampire," where he is the only Pundit who objected to -the tiger being resurrectioned. Another neat use of the air-cane, was -to shoot the unhappy rooks, over the heads of the dons, as they played -at bowls; the grave and reverend signiors would take up the body, and -gravely debate what had caused the sudden death, when a warm stream of -blood, trickling into their shirts, explained it only too clearly. No -undergraduate in college could safely read his classics out loud after -ten o'clock p.m., or his "oak" was broken with dumb-bells, and the -dirty oil lamp, that half lit the stairs, was thrown over him and his -books. - -[Sidenote: _Friends._] - -I made amends to a certain extent for my mischief by putting my -fellow-collegians to bed, and I always maintain that the Welshmen were -those who gave me the most trouble. - -The Oxford day, considered with relation to the acquisition of -knowledge, was a "fast" pure and simple--it began in the morning -with Chapel, during which time most men got up their logic. We then -breakfasted either in our rooms, or in large parties, where we consumed -an immense quantity of ham, bacon, eggs, mutton chops, and indigestible -muffins. We then attended a couple of lectures, and this was Time -completely thrown away. We were then free for the day, and every man -passed his time as he best pleased. I could not afford to keep horses, -and always hated the idea of riding hired hacks. My only amusements -therefore were walking, rowing, and the school-at-arms. My walks -somehow or other always ended at Bagley Wood, where a pretty gypsy girl -(Selina), dressed in silks and satins, sat in state to receive the -shillings and the homage of the undergraduates. I worked hard, under -a coach, at sculling and rowing; I was one of the oars in the College -Torpid, and a friend and I challenged the River in a two-oar, but -unfortunately both of us were rusticated before the race came off. - -My friend in misfortune belonged to an eminent ecclesiastical family, -and distinguished himself accordingly. Returning from Australia, -he landed at Mauritius without a farthing. Most men under the -circumstances would have gone to the Governor, told their names, and -obtained a passage to England. But the individual in question had far -too much individuality to take so commonplace a step. He wrote home to -his family for money, and meanwhile took off his coat, tucked up his -sleeves, and worked like a coolie on the wharf. When the cheque for -his passage was sent, he invited all his brother coolies to a spread -of turtle, champagne, and all the luxuries of the season, at the swell -hotel of the place, and left amidst the blessings of Shem and the curse -of Japhet. Another of my college companions--the son of a bishop, -by-the-by--made a cavalry regiment too hot to hold him, and took his -passage to the Cape of Good Hope in an emigrant ship. On the third day -he brought out a portable roulette table, which the captain sternly -ordered off the deck. But the ship was a slow sailer, she fell in with -calms about the Line, and the official rigour was relaxed. First one -began to play, and then another, and at last the ship became a perfect -"hell." After a hundred narrow escapes, and all manner of risks by -fire and water, and the fists and clubs of the enraged losers, the -distinguished youth landed at Cape Town with almost £5000 in his pocket. - -[Sidenote: _Fencing-rooms._] - -The great solace of _my_ life was the fencing-room. When I first -entered Oxford, its only _salle d'armes_ was kept by old Angelo, the -grandson of the gallant old Italian, mentioned by Edgeworth, but who -knew about as much of fencing as a French collegian after six months -of _salle d'armes_. He was a priggish old party too, celebrated for -walking up to his pupils and for whispering stagely, after a salute -with the foil, "This, sir, is not so much a School of Arms as a -_School of Politeness_." Presently a rival appeared in the person of -Archibald Maclaren, who soon managed to make his mark. He established -an excellent saloon, and he gradually superseded all the wretched -gymnastic yard, which lay some half a mile out of the town. He was -determined to make his way; he went over to Paris, when he could, -to work with the best masters, published his systems of fencing and -gymnastics, and he actually wrote a little book of poetry, which he -called "Songs of the Sword." He and I became great friends, which -friendship lasted for life. The only question that ever arose between -us was touching the advisability or non-advisability of eating sweet -buns and drinking strong ale at the same time. At the fencing-rooms I -made acquaintance, which afterwards became a life-long friendship, with -Alfred Bates Richards. He was a tall man, upwards of six feet high, -broad in proportion, and very muscular. I found it unadvisable to box -with him, but could easily master him with foil and broadsword. He was -one of the few who would take the trouble to learn. Mostly Englishmen -go to a fencing school, and, after six weeks' lessons, clamour to be -allowed to fence loose, and very loose fencing it is, and is fated -always to be. In the same way, almost before they can fix their -colours they want to paint _tableaux de genre_, and they have hardly -learnt their scales, when they want to attempt _bravura_ pieces. On -the Continent men work for months, and even years, before they think -themselves in sight of their journey's end. A. B. Richards and I often -met in after life and became intimates.[1] His erratic career is well -known, and he died at a comparatively early age, editor of the _Morning -Advertiser_. He had raised the tone of the Licensed Victuallers' organ -to such a high pitch that even Lord Beaconsfield congratulated him upon -it. - -A. B. Richards was furious to see the treatment my services received; -he always stood up bravely for me--his fellow-collegian, both with word -and pen--in leaders too. - -[Sidenote: _Manners and Customs--Food and Smoking._] - -The time for "Hall," that is to say for college dinner, was five p.m., -and the scene was calculated to astonish a youngster brought up on the -Continent. The only respectable part of it was the place itself, not -a bad imitation of some old convent refectory. The details were mean -in the extreme, and made me long for the meanest _table d'hôte_. Along -the bottom of the Hall, raised upon a dwarf dais, ran the high table, -intended for the use of fellows and fellow-commoners. The other tables -ran along the sides. Wine was forbidden, malt liquor being the only -drink. The food certainly suited the heavy strong beers and ales brewed -in the college. It consisted chiefly of hunches of meat, cooked after -Homeric or Central African fashion, and very filling at the price. The -vegetables, as usual, were plain boiled, without the slightest aid to -digestion. Yet the college cooks were great swells. They were paid -as much as an average clergyman, and put most of their sons into the -Church. In fact, the stomach had to do the whole work, whereas a good -French or Italian cook does half the work for it in his saucepans. This -cannibal meal was succeeded by stodgy pudding, and concluded with some -form of cheese, Cheshire or double Gloucester, which painfully reminded -one of bees'-wax, and this was called dinner. Very soon my foreign -stomach began to revolt at such treatment, and I found out a place in -the town, where, when I could escape Hall, I could make something of a -dinner. - -The moral of the scene offended all my prepossessions. The -fellow-commoners were simply men, who by paying double what the -commoners paid, secured double privileges. This distinction of castes -is odious, except in the case of a man of certain age, who would not -like to be placed in the society of young lads. But worse still was -the gold tuft, who walked the streets with a silk gown, and a gorgeous -tassel on his college cap. These were noblemen, the offensive English -equivalent for men of title. _Generosus nascitur nobilis fit._ The -Grandfathers of these noblemen may have been pitmen or grocers, but -the simple fact of _having_ titles, entitled them to most absurd -distinctions. For instance, with a smattering of letters, enough to -enable a commoner to squeeze through an ordinary examination, gold -tuft took a first class, and it was even asserted that many took their -degrees by merely sending up their books. They were allowed to live -in London as much as they liked, and to condescend to college at the -rare times they pleased. Some Heads of Colleges would not stoop to this -degradation, especially Dean Gaisford of Christ Church, who compelled -Lord W---- to leave it and betake himself to Trinity; but the place -was, with notable exceptions, a hotbed of toadyism and flunkeyism. -When Mr. (now Sir Robert) Peel first appeared in the High Street, man, -woman, and child stood to look at him because he was the son of the -Prime Minister. - -After dinner it was the custom to go to wine. These desserts were -another abomination. The table was spread with a vast variety of fruits -and sweetmeats, supplied at the very highest prices, and often on -tick, by the Oxford tradesmen,--model sharks. Some men got their wine -from London, others bought theirs in the town. Claret was then hardly -known, and port, sherry, and Madeira, all of the strong military ditto -type, were the only drinks. These wines were given in turn by the -undergraduates, and the meal upon meal would have injured the digestion -of a young shark. At last, about this time, some unknown fellow, whose -name deserved to be immortalized, drew out a cigar and insisted on -smoking it, despite the disgust and uproar that the novelty created. -But the fashion made its way, and the effects were admirable. The -cigar, and afterwards the pipe, soon abolished the cloying dessert, and -reduced the consumption of the loaded wines to a minimum. - -But the English were very peculiar about smoking. In the days of -Queen Anne it was so universal that dissident jurymen were locked up -without meat, drink, or tobacco. During the continental wars it became -un-English to smoke, and consequently men, and even women, took snuff. -And for years it was considered as disgraceful to smoke a cigar out -of doors as to have one's boots blacked, or to eat an orange at Hyde -Park Corner. "Good gracious! you don't mean to say that you smoke in -the streets?" said an East Indian Director in after years, when he met -me in Pall Mall with a cigar in my mouth. Admiral Henry Murray, too, -vainly endeavoured to break through the prohibition by leading a little -squad of smoking friends through Kensington Gardens. Polite ladies -turned away their faces, and unpolite ladies muttered something about -"snobs." At last the Duke of Argyll spread his plaid under a tree in -Hyde Park, lighted a cutty pipe, and beckoned his friends to join him. -Within a month every one in London had a cigar in his mouth. A pretty -lesson to inculcate respect for popular prejudice! - -After the dessert was finished, not a few men called for cognac, -whisky, and gin, and made merry for the rest of the evening. But -what else was there for them to do? Unlike a foreign University, the -theatre was discouraged; it was the meanest possible little house, -decent actors were ashamed to show themselves in it, and an actress of -the calibre of Mrs. Nesbitt appeared only every few years. Opera, of -course, there was none, and if there had been, not one in a thousand -would have understood the language, and not one in a hundred would -have appreciated the music. Occasionally there was a concert given by -some wandering artists, with the special permission of the college -authorities, and a dreary two hours' work it was. Balls were unknown, -whereby the marriageable demoiselles of Oxford lost many an uncommon -good chance. A mesmeric lecturer occasionally came down there and -caused some fun. He called for subjects, and amongst the half-dozen -that presented themselves was one young gentleman who had far more -sense of humour than discretion. When thrown into a deep slumber, he -arose, with his eyes apparently fast closed, and, passing into the -circle of astonished spectators, began to distribute kisses right and -left. Some of these salutations fell upon the sacred cheeks of the -daughters of the Heads of Houses, and the tableau may be imagined. - -[Sidenote: _Drs. Newman and Pusey._] - -This dull, monotonous life was varied in my case by an occasional -dinner with families whose acquaintance I had made in the town. At Dr. -Greenhill's I once met at dinner Dr. (afterwards Cardinal) Newman and -Dr. Arnold. I expected great things from their conversation, but it was -mostly confined to discussing the size of the Apostles in the Cathedral -of St. Peter's in Rome, and both these eminent men showed a very dim -recollection of the subject. I took a great fancy to Dr. Newman, and -used to listen to his sermons, when I would never give half an hour to -any other preacher. There was a peculiar gentleness in his manner, and -the matter was always suggestive. Dr. Newman was Vicar of St. Mary's, -at Oxford, and used to preach, at times, University sermons; there -was a stamp and seal upon him, a solemn music and sweetness in his -tone and manner, which made him singularly attractive, yet there was -no change of inflexion in his voice; action he had none; his sermons -were always read, and his eyes were ever upon his book; his figure was -lean and stooping, and the _tout ensemble_ was anything but dignified -or commanding, yet the delivery suited the matter of his speech, and -the combination suggested complete candour and honesty; he said only -what he believed, and he induced others to believe with him.[2] On the -other hand, Dr. Pusey's University sermons used to last for an hour -and a half; they were filled with Latin and Greek, dealt with abstruse -subjects, and were delivered in the dullest possible way, and seemed to -me like a _mauvais rêve_ or nightmare. - -[Sidenote: _Began Arabic._] - -At Dr. Greenhill's, too, I met Don Pascual de Gayangos, the Spanish -Arabist. Already wearying of Greek and Latin, I had attacked Arabic, -and soon was well on in Erpinius's Grammar; but there was no one to -teach me, so I began to teach myself, and to write the Arabic letters -from left to right, instead of from right to left, _i.e._ the wrong -way. Gayangos, when witnessing this proceeding, burst out laughing, -and showed me how to copy the alphabet. In those days, learning Arabic -at Oxford was not easy. There was a Regius Professor, but he had -other occupations than to profess. If an unhappy undergraduate went -up to him, and wanted to learn, he was assured that it was the duty -of a professor to teach a class, and not an individual. All this was -presently changed, but not before it was high time. The Sundays used -generally to be passed in "outings." It was a pleasure to get away from -Oxford, and to breathe the air which was not at least half smoke. - -Another disagreeable of Oxford was, the continuous noise of bells. You -could not make sure of five minutes without one giving tongue, and in -no part of the world, perhaps, is there a place where there is such a -perpetual tinkling of metal. The maddening jangle of bells seems to -have been the survival of two centuries ago. In 1698 Paul Heutzner -wrote: "The English are vastly fond of great noises that fill the air, -such as the firing of cannon, drums, and the ringing of bells, so that -it is common for a number of them that have got a 'glass' in their -heads, to go up into some belfry, and ring the bells for hours together -for the sake of exercise." - -A favourite Sunday trip used to be to Abingdon, which, by the wisdom of -the dons in those days, was the railway station of Oxford. Like most -men of conservative tendency, who disliked to move quiet things, who -cultivated the _status quo_, because they could hardly be better off, -and might be worse off, and who feared nothing more than innovations, -because these might force on enquiring into the disposal of the -revenues and other delicate monetary questions, they had fought against -the line with such good will, that they had left it nearly ten miles -distant from the town. Their conduct was by no means exceptional; -thousands did the same. For instance, Lord John Scott, determined to -prevent the surveyor passing through his estate, engaged a company of -"Nottingham Lambs," and literally strewed the floor of the porter's -lodge with broken surveying instruments. Mrs. Partington cannot keep -out the tide with her rake, and the consequence was that Oxford was -obliged to build a branch line, and soon had to lament that she had -lost the advantage of the main line. - -The Rev. Thomas Short was at that time doing Sunday duty at Abingdon. -He was not distinguished for ability as a college tutor, but he was -a gentlemanly and kind-hearted man; he was careful not to be too -sharp-eyed when he met undergraduates at Abingdon. They generally -drove out in tandems, which the absurd regulations of the place kept -in fashion, by forbidding them. No one would have driven them had they -not possessed the merits of stolen fruit. I, having carefully practised -upon "Dobbin" in my earlier days, used thoroughly to enjoy driving. In -later years I met with my old tutor, the Rev. Thomas Short, who lived -to a great age, and died universally respected and regretted by all who -knew him.[3] - -At last the lagging autumnal term passed away, and I went up to my -grandmother and aunts in Great Cumberland Place. It was not lively; a -household full of women only, rarely is. - -The style of Society was very promiscuous. The Rev. Mr. Hutchins, the -clergyman under whom the family "sat" in the adjoining Quebec Chapel, -introduced me to the eccentric Duke of Brunswick, who used to laugh -consumedly at my sallies of high spirits. Lady Dinorben, with whom Mrs. -Phayre still lived, gave me an occasional invitation. The aunts' near -neighbours were old General Sutherland of the Madras Army, whose son -Alick I afterwards met in the Neilgherry Hills. Mr. Lawyer Dendy was -still alive, and one of his sons shortly after followed me to India -as a Bombay civilian. Another pleasant acquaintance was Mrs. White, -wife of the colonel of the 3rd Dragoons, whose three stalwart sons -were preparing for India, and gave me the first idea of going there. -A man who dances, who dresses decently, and who is tolerably well -introduced, rarely wants invitations to balls in London, and I found -some occupation for my evenings. - -[Sidenote: _Play._] - -But I sadly wanted a club, and in those days the institution was not as -common as it is now. At odd times I went to the theatres, and amused -myself with the humours of the little "Pic" and the old Cocoa-Nut -Tree. But hazard is a terrible game. It takes a man years to learn it -well, and by that time he has lost all the luck with which he begins. -I always disliked private play, although I played a tolerable hand at -whist, _écarté_, and piquet, but I found it almost as unpleasant to -win from my friends as to lose to my friends. On the other hand, I -was unusually lucky at public tables. I went upon a principle, not a -theory, which has ruined so many men. I noted as a rule that players -are brave enough when they lose, whereas they begin to fear when -they win. My plan, therefore, was to put a certain sum in my pocket -and resolve never to exceed it. If I lost it I stopped, one of the -advantages of public over private playing; but I did not lay down any -limits to winning when I was in luck; I boldly went ahead, and only -stopped when I found fortune turning the other way. - -[Sidenote: _Town Life--College Friends._] - -My grandmother's house was hardly pleasant to a devoted smoker; I was -put out on the leads, leading from the staircase, whenever I required -a weed. So I took lodgings in Maddox Street, and there became as it -were a "man about town." My brother Edward joined me, and we had, as -the Yankees say, "A high old time." It appeared only too short, and -presently came on the Spring Term, when I returned to my frouzy rooms -in Trinity College; and I had not formed many friendships in Trinity -itself. It had made a name for fastness amongst the last generation of -undergraduates, and now a reaction had set in. They laughed at me, at -my first lecture, because I spoke in Roman Latin--real Latin--I did not -know the English pronunciation, only known in England. The only men of -my own college I met in after life, were Father Coleridge, S.J., and -Edward A. Freeman, of Somerleaze, the historian. - -Mrs. Grundy had then just begun to reign, inaugurated by Douglas -Jerrold with "What will Mrs. Grundy say?" This ancient _genitrix_ -highly disapproved of my foreign ways, and my expressed dislike to -school and college, over which I ought to have waxed sentimental, -tender, and æsthetic; it appeared to her little short of blasphemy. -I had a few friends at "Exeter," including Richards, and three -at Brasenose, then famous for drinking heavy beers and ales as -Bonn or Heidelberg, especially on Shrove Tuesday, when certain -verses chaffingly called the "Carmen seculare" used to be sung. -But I delighted in "Oriel," which, both as regards fellows and -undergraduates, was certainly the nicest college of _my_ day. There I -spent the chief part of my time with Wilberforce, Foster, and a little -knot, amongst whom was Tom Hughes (afterwards Tom Brown). We boxed -regularly, and took lessons from Goodman, ex-pugilist and pedestrian, -and actual tailor, who came down to Oxford at times. We had great fun -with Burke--the fighting man--who on one occasion honoured Oxford with -his presence. The "Deaf 'un," as he was called, had a face that had -been hammered into the consistency of sole-leather, and one evening, -after being too copiously treated, he sat down in a heavy armchair, and -cried out, "Now, lads! half a crown a hit." We all tried our knuckles -upon his countenance, and only hurt our own knuckles. - -Balliol (it was chiefly supplied from Rugby) then held her head -uncommonly high. As all know, Dr. Arnold had made the fortune of Rugby, -and caused it to be recognized among public schools. During his early -government the Rugbyites had sent a cricket challenge to Eton, and -the Etonians had replied "that they would be most happy to send their -scouts;" but as scholarship at Eton seemed to decline, so it rose -in Rugby and Oxford. Scholarship means £ _s. d._ At Balliol I made -acquaintance with a few men, whose names afterwards made a noise in the -world. They all belonged to a generation, collegically speaking, older -than myself. Coleridge (now Lord Coleridge) was still lingering there, -but he had taken his bachelor's degree, and his brother, afterwards -a Jesuit and author of many works, was a scholar at Trinity. Ward of -Balliol, who also became a Catholic, was chiefly remarkable for his -minute knowledge of the circulating library novels of the Laura-Matilda -type. He suffered from insomnia, and before he could sleep, he was -obliged to get through a few volumes every night. Lake of Balliol, then -a young don, afterwards turned out a complete man of the world; and -there is no need to speak of Jowett, who had then just passed as B.A., -and was destined to be Master of Balliol. - -[Sidenote: _Coaching and Languages._] - -Oxford between 1840 and 1842 was entering upon great changes. The -old style of "fellow," a kind of survival of the Benedictine monks, -was rapidly becoming extinct, and only one or two remained. Men who -lived surrounded by their books on vertical stands, were capable of -asking you if "cats let loose in woods would turn to tigers," and -tried to keep pace with the age by reading up the _Times_ of eight -years past. But a great deal of reform was still wanted. Popular -idea about Oxford was, that the Classic groves of Isis were hotbeds -for classical _Scholasticism_, whilst Cambridge succeeded better in -Mathematics, but I soon found out that one would learn more Greek and -Latin in one year at Bonn and Heidelberg than in three at Oxford. The -college teaching, for which one was obliged to pay, was of the most -worthless description. Two hours a day were regularly wasted, and those -who read for honours were obliged to choose and to pay for a private -coach. Amongst the said coaches were some _drôles_, who taught in very -peculiar ways, by Rhymes, not always of the most delicate description. -One celebrated coach, after lecturing his blockheads upon the subject, -we will say, of Salmanizer, would say to them, "Now, you fellows, -you'll forget in a day everything that I've been teaching you for the -last hour. Whenever you hear this man's name, just repeat to yourselves ----- and you'll remember all about it." - -The worst of such teaching was, that it had no order and no system. -Its philology was ridiculous, and it did nothing to work the reasoning -powers. Learning foreign languages, as a child learns its own, is -mostly a work of pure memory, which acquires, after childhood, every -artificial assistance possible. My system of learning a language in two -months was purely my own invention, and thoroughly suited myself. I got -a simple grammar and vocabulary, marked out the forms and words which -I knew were absolutely necessary, and learnt them by heart by carrying -them in my pocket and looking over them at spare moments during the -day. I never worked more than a quarter of an hour at a time, for after -that the brain lost its freshness. After learning some three hundred -words, easily done in a week, I stumbled through some easy book-work -(one of the Gospels is the most come-atable), and underlined every -word that I wished to recollect, in order to read over my pencillings -at least once a day. Having finished my volume, I then carefully -worked up the grammar minutiæ, and I then chose some other book whose -subject most interested me. The neck of the language was now broken, -and progress was rapid. If I came across a new sound like the Arabic -_Ghayn_, I trained my tongue to it by repeating it so many thousand -times a day. When I read, I invariably read out loud, so that the ear -might aid memory. I was delighted with the most difficult characters, -Chinese and Cuneiform, because I felt that they impressed themselves -more strongly upon the eye than the eternal Roman letters. This, -by-and-by, made me resolutely stand aloof from the hundred schemes for -transliterating Eastern languages, such as Arabic, Sanscrit, Hebrew, -and Syriac, into Latin letters, and whenever I conversed with anybody -in a language that I was learning, I took the trouble to repeat their -words inaudibly after them, and so to learn the trick of pronunciation -and emphasis. - -The changes which followed 1840 made an important difference in the -value of fellowships. They were harder to get and harder to keep. -They were no longer what the parlous and supercilious youth defined -them, "An admirable provision for the indigent members of the middle -classes." The old half-monk disappeared, or rather he grew his -moustachios, and passed his vacations "sur le Continong." But something -still remains to be done. It is a scandal to meet abroad in diplomacy, -and other professions, a gentleman belonging to the _bene nati, bene -vestiti, modice docti_ of "All Souls'," drawing, moreover, his pay -for doing nothing. The richest University in the world is too poor to -afford the host of professors still required, and it is a disgrace that -an English University, whose name means the acquisition of universal -knowledge, should not be able to teach Cornish, Gaelic, Welsh, and -Irish, the original languages of the island. Again, the endowment of -research, a _sine quâ non_, is simply delayed because money is not -forthcoming. A little sensible economy would remedy this, and make -Oxford what she ought to be, a Seat of Learning--not, as the old -fellows of Christ Church define it, "A place to make rather ignorant -gentlemen." The competition fellowships at Oxford were started in 1854, -which changed the whole condition of things. - -During this term I formally gave up my intention to read for a first -class. _Aut primus aut nullus_ was ever my motto, and though many -second-class men have turned out better than many first-class men, I -did not care to begin life with a failure. I soon ascertained the fact -that men who may rely upon first classes are bred to it from their -childhood, even as horses and dogs are trained. They must not waste -time and memory upon foreign tongues. They must not dissipate their -powers of brain upon anything like general education. They may know the --isms, but they must be utterly ignorant of the -ologies; but, above -all things, they must not indulge themselves with what is popularly -called "_The World_." They must confine themselves to one straight -line, a college curriculum, and even then they can never be certain of -success. At the very moment of gaining the prize their health may break -down, and compel them to give up work. I surprised Dr. Greenhill by -my powers of memory when I learned Adam's "Antiquities" by heart. But -the doctor, who had not taken a class himself, threw cold water on my -ambition--perhaps the best thing he could do--and frankly told me that, -though I _could_ take a first class, he could by no means answer that I -_would_. The fellows of Trinity were nice gentlemanly men, but I by no -means wished to become one of the number. My father had set his heart -upon both sons being provided for by the Universities, and very often -"when fathers propose, sons dispose." - -My disgust at the idea of University honours was perhaps not decreased -by my trying for the two scholarships, and failing to get them. - -[Sidenote: _Latin--Greek._] - -I attributed my non-success at University College (where I was beaten -by a man who turned a chorus of Æschylus into doggerel verse) chiefly -to my having stirred the bile of my examiners with my real (Roman) -Latin. At times, too, the devil palpably entered into me, and made me -speak Greek Romaically by accent, and not by quantity, even as they -did and still do at Athens. I had learnt this much from one of the -Rhodo-Kanakis Greek merchants at Marseille, so that I could converse in -Latin and Greek as spoken as well as ancient Latin and Greek. - -The history of the English pronunciation of Latin is curious. In -Chaucer it was after the Roman fashion, in Spencer the English A -appears, and the change begins to make itself felt under the succession -of Queen Elizabeth. It is most probable that this was encouraged by -the leaders of education, in order more thoroughly to break with -Rome. The effect was, that after learning Greek and Latin for twenty -years, a lad could hardly speak a sentence, because he had never been -taught to converse in the absurdly _called_ Dead Languages, and if -he did speak, not a soul but an Englishman could understand him. The -English pronunciation of Latin vowels, happens to be the very worst -in the world, because we have an O and an A which belongs peculiarly -to English, and which destroys all the charms of those grand-sounding -vowels. - -Years after I was laughed at at Oxford, public opinion took a turn, -and Roman pronunciation of Latin was adopted in many of the best -schools. I was anxious to see them drop their absurd mispronunciation -of Greek, but all the authorities whom I consulted on the subject, -declared to me that schoolmasters had quite enough to do with learning -Italianized Latin, and could not be expected to trouble themselves with -learning Athenianized Greek. I had another most quixotic idea, which -was truly breaking one's head against a windmill. I wanted the public -to pronounce Yob for Job, Yericho for Jericho, Yakoob for Jacob, and -Yerusalem for Jerusalem. The writers of the Anglican version, must -certainly have intended this, and it is inconceivable how the whole -English public dropped the cognate German pronunciation of J, and took -to that of France and Italy. - -[Sidenote: _Holidays._] - -At last the dreary time passed away, and a happy family meeting was -promised. My father brought my mother and sister from Pisa to Wiesbaden -in Germany, and we boys, as we were still called, were invited over -to spend the Long Vacation. We were also to escort Mrs. D'Aguilar, -who with two of her daughters were determined to see the Rhine. One of -the girls was Emily, who died soon. The other was Eliza, who married a -clergyman of the name of Pope, and whose son, Lieutenant Pope of the -24th Queen's, died gallantly at Isandula; though surrounded by numbers, -he kept firing his revolver and wounding his enemies, till he received -a mortal wound by an assegai in the breast. This was on January 22nd, -1879. In the end of 1875 he came to Folkestone, to take leave of my -wife and me, who were going out to India. We both liked him very much. - -In those days travellers took the steamer from London Bridge, dropped -quietly down the Thames, and, gaining varied information about the -places on both sides of it, dined as usual on a boiled leg of mutton -and caper sauce, and roast ribs of beef with horse-radish, and slept -as best they could in the close boxes called berths or on deck; if the -steamer was in decent order, and there was not too much head wind, they -could be in the Scheldt next morning. - -Our little party passed a day at Antwerp, which looked beautiful from -the river. The Cathedral tower and the tall roofs and tapering spires -of the churches around it made a matchless group. We visited the -fortifications, which have lately done such good work, and we had an -indigestion of Rubens, who appeared so gross and so fleshy after the -Italian school. Mrs. D'Aguilar was dreadfully scandalized, when, coming -suddenly into a room, she found her two nephews at romps with a pretty -little _soubrette_, whose short petticoats enabled her to deliver the -sharpest possible kicks, while she employed her hands in vigorously -defending her jolly red cheeks. The poor lady threw up her hands and -her eyes to heaven when she came suddenly upon this little scene, and -she was even more shocked when she found that her escort had passed the -Sunday evening in the theatre. - -From Antwerp we travelled to Bruges, examined the belfry, heard the -chimes, and then went on to Cologne. A marvellous old picturesque place -it was, with its combination of old churches, crumbling walls, gabled -houses, and the narrowest and worst-paved streets we had ever seen. -The old Cathedral in those days was not finished, and threatened never -to be finished. Still there was the grand solitary tower, with the -mystical-looking old crane on the top, and a regular garden growing out -of the chinks and crannies of the stonework. Coleridge's saying about -Cologne, was still emphatically true in those days, and all travellers -had recourse to "Jean Marie Farina _Gegenüber_." What a change there is -now, with that hideous Gothic railway bridge, and its sham battlements, -and loopholes to defend nothing, with its hideous cast-iron turret -over the centre of the church, where the old architect had intended a -light stone lantern-tower, with the ridiculous terrace surrounding the -building, and with the hideous finials with which the modern German -architects have disfigured the grand old building! - -[Sidenote: _The Rhine to Wiesbaden._] - -At Cologne we took the steamer and ran up the river. A far more -sensible proceeding than that of these days, when tourists take the -railway, and consequently can see only one side of the view. The river -craft was comfortable, the meals were plentiful, the Piesporter was a -sound and unadulterated wine, and married remarkably well with Knaster -tobacco, smoked in long pipes with painted china bowls. The crowd, too, -was good-tempered, and seemed to enjoy its holiday. Bonn, somehow or -other, always managed to show at least one very pretty girl, with blue -porcelain eyes and gingerbread-coloured hair. Then came the Castle Crag -of Drachenfels and the charming Siebengebirge, which in those days were -not spoiled by factory chimneys. We landed at Mainz, and from there -drove over to the old Fontes Mattiace, called in modern day Wiesbaden. - -It has been said that to enjoy the Rhine one must go to it _from_ -England, not the other way from Switzerland; and travellers' opinions -are very much divided about it, some considering it extremely grand, -and others simply pretty. I was curious to see what its effect upon me -would be after visiting the four quarters of the globe; so, in May, -1872, I dropped down the river from Basle to the mouth. The southern -and the northern two-thirds were uninteresting, but I found the -middle as pretty as ever, and, in fact, I enjoyed the beautiful and -interesting river more than when I had seen it as a boy. - -I found the middle, beginning at Bingen, charming. Bishop Hatto's -Tower had become a cockneyfied affair, and the castles, banks, and -islands were disagreeably suggestive of Richmond Hill. But Drachenfels, -Nonnenswerth, and Rolandseck, were charming, and I quite felt the -truth of the saying, that this is one of the paradises of Germany. -At Düsseldorf the river became old and ugly, and so continued till -Rotterdam. - -Wiesbaden in those days was intensely "German and ordinary," as Horace -Walpole says. It was a kind of Teutonic Margate, with a _chic_ of its -own. In the days before railways, this was the case with all these -"Baths," where people either went to play, or to get rid of what the -Germans call _eine sehr schöne corpulenz_, a corporation acquired by -stuffing food of three kinds, salt, sour, or greasy, during nine or ten -months of the year. It was impossible to mistake princely Baden-Baden -and its glorious Black Forest, for invalid Kissingen or for Homberg, -which combined mineral waters and gambling tables. Wiesbaden was -so far interesting that it showed the pure and unadulterated summer -life of middle-class Germans. There you see in perfection the grave -blue-green German eye. - -You are surprised at the frequency of the name of Johann. Johann was -a servant; Johannes, a professor; Schani, a swell; Jean, a kind of -_fréluqué_; Hans, a peasant; and Hansl, a village idiot. Albrecht, -with flat occiput, and bat-like ears, long straight hair and cap, -with unclean hands, and a huge signet ring on his forefinger, with a -pipe rivalling the size of a Turkish _chibouque_, took his regular -seat on one of the wooden benches of the promenade, with Frau Mutter -mending his stockings on one side, and Fraülein Gretchen knitting -mittens on the other. This kind of thing would continue perhaps for ten -seasons, but on the eleventh you met Albrecht, _au petit soins_, with -Mütze as his bride, and Gretchen being waited upon by her bridegroom -Fritz, and then everything went on as before. Amongst the women the -_kaffee-gesellschaft_ flourished, when coffee and scandal took the -place of scandal and tea, the beverage which I irreverently call -"chatter-water." The lady of the house invites two or three friends -to come and bring their work and drink a cup of coffee. Before the -hour arrives the invitations most likely number twenty. They dress in -afternoon promenade toilette, which was very unadorned at Wiesbaden, -and they drop in one by one--much kissing and shaking of hands and -uncloaking; then each one pulls out knitting, or various pieces of -work, which are mutually admired, and patterns borrowed, and then they -fall to upon children, servants, toilettes, domestic economy, and the -reputations of such of their friends as are not there. This goes on for -hours, only interrupted by the servant wheeling in a table covered with -coffee, cakes, sweetmeats, jam, and _kugelhupf_. - -In the evening there was often a dance at the Kursaal--admirable -waltzing, and sometimes quadrilles with steps. Here the bald old -Englishman, who in France would collect around him all the old ladies -in the room to see him dance, was little noticed. The hearty and homely -Germans danced themselves, even when they had grey hair. - -Our family found a comfortable house at Wiesbaden, and the German -servants received the "boys," as we were still called, with -exclamations of "Ach! die schöne schwarze kinder." We paid occasionally -furtive visits to the Kursaal, and lost a few sovereigns like men. But -our chief amusement was the fencing-room. Here we had found new style -of play, with the _schläger_, a pointless rapier with razor-like edges. -It was a favourite student's weapon, used to settle all their affairs -of honour, and they used it with the silly hanging guard. Some of them -gave half an hour every day to working at the post, a wooden pillar -stuck up in the middle of the room and bound with vertical ribbons of -iron. - -When we were tired of Wiesbaden, we amused ourselves with wandering -about the country. We visited the nearer watering-places. The first was -Schwalbach, "the Swallows' Brook," where the rusty waters turned all -our hair red. We then went off to Schlangenbad, "the Snakes' Bath," -whose Kalydor made the Frenchman fall in love with himself. These -waters had such a reputation, that one lady (of course she was called a -Russian Princess) used to have them sent half across Europe for daily -use. - -In those days there were not many English in these out-of-the-way -places, and the greater number were Oxford and Cambridge men. They -were learning German and making the most extraordinary mistakes. -One gentleman said that the German particles were difficult, but he -made a great confusion of the matter. Amongst others, there were the -daughters of Archbishop Whately, at that time very nice girls. We -then returned to Wiesbaden, and went over to Heidelberg, which is so -charmingly picturesque. Here we found a little colony of English, and -all fraternized at once. - -[Sidenote: _The Nassau Brigade._] - -We "boys" wanted to enter one of the so-called brigades, and chose -the Nassau, which was the fightingest of all. An Irish student, who -was one of the champions of the corps, and who had distinguished -himself by slitting more than one nose, called upon us, and, over -sundry _schoppes_ of beer, declared that we could not be admitted -without putting in an appearance at the Hirschgasse. This was a little -pot-house at the other side of the river, with a large room where -monomachies were fought. The appearance of the combatants was very -ridiculous. They had thick felt caps over their heads, whose visors -defended their eyes. Their necks were swathed in enormous cravats, and -their arms were both padded, and so were their bodies from the waist -downwards. There was nothing to hit but the face and the chest. That, -however, did not prevent disagreeable accidents. Sometimes too heavy -a cut went into the lungs, and at other times took an effect upon -either eye. But the grand thing was to walk off with the tip of the -adversary's nose, by a dexterous upward snick from the hanging guard. -A terrible story was told of a duel between a handsome man and an ugly -man. Beauty had a lovely nose, and Beast so managed that presently it -was found on the ground. Beauty made a rush for it, but Beast stamped -it out of all shape. There was a very little retreating in these -affairs, for the lines were chalked upon the ground. The seconds stood -by, also armed with swords and protected with masks, to see that there -was nothing like a _sauhieb_ or unfair cut. A medical student was -always present, and when a cut went home, the affair was stopped to -sew it up. Sometimes, however, the artery shrank, and its patient was -marked with a cross, as it was necessary to open his cheek above and -below in order to tie it up. - -A story is told of a doctor who attended a students' duel, when the -mask fell, and one of them lost his nose. The doctor flew at it and -picked it up, and put it in his mouth to keep it warm, whipped out his -instruments, needle and thread, and so skilfully stitched on the nose, -and stopped it with plaster, that the edges united, and in a few weeks -the nose was as handsome and useful as ever. - -We boys did not see the fun of this kind of thing, and when our Irish -friend told us what the ordeal was, we said that we were perfectly -ready to turn out with foils or rapiers, but that we could not stand -the paddings. Duels with the broadsword, and without protection, were -never fought except on desperate occasions. Our friend promised to -report it to the brigade, and the result was that some time afterwards -we were introduced to a student, who said that he knew a little -fencing, and should like to try a _botte_ with us. We smelt a rat, -as the phrase is, and showed him only half of what we could do. But -apparently that was enough, for our conditions were not accepted, and -we were not admitted into the Nassau Brigade. - -At Heidelberg I told my father that Oxford life did not in any way -suit me. I pleaded for permission to go into the Army, and, that -failing, to emigrate to Canada or Australia. He was inexorable. He -was always thinking of that fellowship. Edward, too, was deadly tired -of Dr. Havergal, and swore that he would rather be a "private" than -a fellow of Cambridge. However, he was sent _nolens volens_ to the -University on the Cam, and there he very speedily came to grief. It -was remarked of him, before the end of the first term, that he was -never seen at Chapel. His tutor sent for him, and permitted himself -strong language on this delinquency. "My dear sir," was the reply, "no -party of pleasure ever gets me out of bed before ten o'clock, and do -you _really, really_ think that I am going to be in Chapel at eight -o'clock?" "Are you joking, or is that your mature decision?" said the -tutor. "My very ripest decision," said Edward, and consequently he was -obliged to leave college without delay. - -When the visit was over, and the autumnal term was beginning, I left -Germany and steamed down the Rhine. Everything that I saw made me less -likely to be pleased at the end of my journey. However, there was no -choice for it. I arrived in London, and found my grandmother and aunts -still at the seaside, in a house over the cliff at Ramsgate. Ramsgate -I rather liked. There were some very handsome girls there, the Ladies -P----t, and the place had a kind of distant resemblance to Boulogne. -The raffles at the libraries made it a caricature of a German Bath. -I wandered about the country; I visited Margate, where the tone of -society was perfectly marvellous, and ran about the small adjacent -bathing-places, like Broadstairs and Herne Bay. This brought on the -time when I was obliged to return to Oxford. - -I went there with no good will, and as my father had refused to -withdraw me from the University, I resolved to withdraw myself. - -[Sidenote: _The Straws that broke the Camel's Back._] - -My course of action was one of boyish thoughtlessness. Reports of -wine-parties were spread everywhere, whispers concerning parodies on -venerable subjects, squibs appeared in the local papers--in those days -an unpardonable offence--caricatures of Heads of Houses were handed -about, and certain improvisations were passed from mouth to mouth. I -had a curious power of improvising any number of rhymes, without the -slightest forethought; but the power, such as it was, was perfectly -useless to me, as it was accompanied with occasional moments of -nervousness, when I despaired, without the slightest reason whatever, -of finding the easiest rhyme. Probably the professional Italian, who -declaims a poem or a tragedy, labours under the perfect conviction that -nothing in the world can stop him. And then it is so much easier to -rhyme in Italian than in English; so my efforts were mostly confined to -epigrams and epitaphs, at wines and supper-parties, and you may be sure -that these brilliant efforts did me no good. - -This was the beginning of the end. My object was to be rusticated, not -to be expelled. The former may happen in consequence of the smallest -irregularity, the latter implies ungentlemanly conduct. I cast about -in all directions for the safest line, when fortune put the clue -into my hands. A celebrated steeplechaser, Oliver the Irishman, came -down to Oxford, and I was determined to see him ride. The collegiate -authorities, with questionable wisdom, forbad us all to be present at -the races, and especially at what they called "the disgraceful scenes -of 'race ordinaries.'" Moreover, in order to make matters sure, they -ordered all the undergraduates to be present at the college lecture, at -the hour when the race was to be run. - -A number of high-spirited youngsters of the different colleges swore -that they would not stand this nonsense, that it was infringing the -liberty of the subject, and that it was treating them like little boys, -which they did not deserve. Here, doubtless, they were right. But, well -foreseeing what would be the result, they acted according to the common -saying, "In for a penny, in for a pound;" so the tandem was ordered to -wait behind Worcester College, and when they should have been attending -a musty lecture in the tutor's room, they were flicking across the -country at the rate of twelve miles an hour. The steeplechase was a -delight, and Oliver was very amusing at the race ordinary, although he -did not express much admiration for the riding of what he called "The -Oxford lads." - -[Sidenote: _Rusticated._] - -Next morning there was eating of humble-pie. The various culprits -were summoned to the Green Room and made conscious of the enormity -of the offence. I secured the respect of the little knot by arguing -the point with the college dignitaries. I boldly asserted that there -was no moral turpitude at being present at a race. I vindicated the -honour and dignity of collegiate men by asserting that they should not -be treated as children. I even dropped the general axiom "that trust -begets trust," and "they who trust us elevate us." Now, this was too -much of a good thing, to commit a crime, and to declare it a virtuous -action. Consequently, when all were rusticated, I was singled out -from the _Hoi polloi_, by an especial recommendation not to return to -Oxford from a Rus. Stung by a sense of injustice, I declared at once -that I would leave the college, and expressed a vicious hope, that -the caution-money deposited by my father would be honestly returned -to him. This was the climax. There was a general rise of dignitaries, -as if a violent expulsion from the room was intended. I made them my -lowest and most courtly bow, Austrian fashion, which bends the body -nearly double, wished them all happiness for the future, and retired -from the scene. I did not see Oxford again till 1850, when, like the -prodigal son, I returned to Alma Mater with a half-resolution to finish -my terms and take my bachelor degree.[4] But the idea came too late. -I had given myself up to Oriental studies, and I had begun to write -books. Yet I was always glad, during my occasional visits home, to call -at my old college, have a chat with the Reverend and Venerable Thomas -Short, and to breakfast and dine with the dons who had been bachelors -or undergraduates at the time of my departure. - -The way in which I left Oxford was characteristic of the rest. One of -my rusticated friends, Anderson of Oriel, had proposed that we should -leave with a splurge--"go up from the land with a soar." There was now -no need for the furtive tandem behind Worcester College. It was driven -boldly up to the college doors. My bag and baggage were stowed away -in it, and with a cantering leader and a high-trotting shaft-horse, -which unfortunately went over the beds of the best flowers, we started -from the High Street by the Queen's Highway to London, I artistically -performing upon a yard of tin trumpet, waving adieu to my friends, and -kissing my hand to the pretty shop-girls. In my anger I thoroughly felt -the truth of the sentiment-- - - "I leave thee, Oxford, and I loathe thee well, - Thy saint, thy sinner, scholar, prig, and swell." - -Alfred Bates Richards, Dick's college mate, wrote in after years: "It -is a curious reflection at school for any boy or any master, 'What -will become of the boy? Who will turn out well? who ill? Who will -distinguish himself? who will remain in obscurity? Who live? who die?' -I am sure, though Burton was brilliant, rather wild, and very popular, -none of us foresaw his future greatness, nor knew what a treasure we -had amongst us." - -[1] He began and wrote the "Career of R. F. Burton," printed by -Waterlow, and brought it up to 1876. We deeply regretted him.--I. B. - -[2] Richard always said that if _all_ Catholics were like Dr. Newman, -nearly every thinking person would become Catholic.--I. B. - -[3] I can remember, in later years, Richard going to see him, and -when he was so old he had almost to be supported, gazing at him with -affection and moist eyes.--I. B. - -[4] How often I have heard him regret that he did not do this, and I -can testify that at the bottom of his heart he loved Oxford, but he -could not obey his father, and also carry out the destiny for which he -was best fitted and obliged to follow.--I. B. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -GOING TO INDIA. - - -Arriving in London, I was received by the family harem with some -little astonishment, for they already knew enough of "terms" to -be aware that the last was unfinished. I was quite determined to -have two or three days in peace, so I thoroughly satisfied all the -exigencies of the position by declaring that I had been allowed an -extra vacation for taking a double-first with the very highest honours. -A grand dinner-party was given, quite the reverse of the fatted -calf. Unfortunately, amongst the guests was the Rev. Mr. Phillips, a -great friend of mine, who grinned at me, and indirectly ejaculated, -"Rusticated, eh?" The aunts said nothing at the time, but they made -inquiries, the result of which was a tableau. - -This Phillips was the brother of Major-General Sir B. T. Phillips, who -served long and well in the Bengal army, was rather a noted figure as a -young-old man in London, and died in Paris in 1880. - -You will say that these are wild oats with a vengeance, but most thus -sow them, and it is better that they should sow them in early youth. -Nothing is more melancholy than to see a man suddenly emancipated from -family rule, and playing tricks when the heyday is passed. Youth is -like new wine that must be allowed to ferment freely, or it will never -become clear, strong, and well flavoured. - -[Sidenote: _He gets a Commission and begins Hindostani._] - -I was asked what I intended to do, and I replied simply that I wished -to go into the Army, but that I preferred the Indian service, as it -would show me more of the world, and give me a better chance of active -service. There was no great difficulty in getting a commission. The -Directors were bound not to sell them, but every now and then they -would give a nomination to a friend, and my friend did not throw away -the chance. My conviction is that the commission cost £500. - -It was arranged that I should sail in the spring, and meanwhile I -determined to have a jolly time. I made a number of new acquaintances, -including old Mr. Varley, the artist, of whom I was very fond. He had -just finished a curious book that he called "Zodiacal Physiognomy," -in order to prove that every man resembled, after a fashion, the sign -under which he was born. Readers will kindly remember, that in the -old Zodiacs, all the figures were either human or bestial. Mr. Varley -was a great student of occult science, and perhaps his favourite was -astrology. It is curious how little London knows of what goes on in the -next-door house. A book on "Alchemy" was printed, and the curious fact -came out, that at least one hundred people in London were studying the -philosopher's stone. - -Mr. Varley drew out my horoscope, and prognosticated that I was to -become a great astrologer; but the prophesy came to nothing, for, -although I had read Cornelius Agrippa and others of the same school at -Oxford, I found Zadkiel quite sufficient for me. Amongst the people -that I met was the Rev. Robert, popularly called Satan Montgomery, -who had come up from Scotland deadly tired of Glasgow punch, and was -making a preaching campaign. He had written a quantity of half-nonsense -verses, which were very much admired by his feminine devotees, and -which were most savagely mangled by Lord Macaulay in the _Quarterly_. -He was an effective figure in the pulpit; he had a very pale face, and -tolerably straight features, very black hair, and very white hands, -with a large diamond and a very white pocket-handkerchief. - -He had, to a marvellous extent, what is vulgarly called the "gift of -the gab;" he spoke for an hour without a moment's hesitation. But there -was something solid below all this froth, and he had carefully read up -all the good old theological works. The women, including the aunts, -went literally mad; they crowded the little Gothic chapel, they mobbed -as he came in and went out, and they literally overwhelmed him with -slippers, chest-protectors, and portable articles to administer the -Sacrament. His reign was short; he married, came up to London, took -a chapel, subsided into the average popular preacher, and soon died. -Amongst others that I met was a certain Robert Bagshaw from Calcutta, -who was destined afterwards to marry my aunt Georgina Baker. I managed -to offend him very much. He was rather boasting of a new dress-coat, -when I delicately raised the tail, and said, "You don't mean to say -that you call _this_ a coat?" - -With all this wasting of time, I kept my eye steadily fixed upon the -main chance. I gave up boxing at Owen Swift's, and fencing at Angelo's, -and spent all my spare time in learning Hindostani with old Duncan -Forbes. A very curious old Scotchman it was. He had spent a year or -so in Bombay, and upon the strength of it, he was perfect master of -Oriental languages. He had two passions: one was for smoking a huge -meerschaum, stuffed with the strongest possible tobacco, and the other -was for chess, concerning which he published some, at that time, very -interesting and novel studies. - -Perhaps his third passion was not quite so harmless; it was simply -for not washing. He spoke all his Eastern languages with the broadest -possible Scotch accent; and he cared much more for telling anecdotes, -than for teaching. However, he laid a fair foundation, and my _then_ -slight studies of Arabic, secured me the old man's regard. He published -a number of books, and he certainly had not the _suaviter in modo_. He -attacked Eastwick, the Orientalist, in the most ferocious style. - -[Sidenote: _He goes to be sworn in at the India Office._] - -Presently the day came when I was to be sworn in at the India House. -In those days the old building stood in Leadenhall Street, and gave -Thackeray a good opportunity of attacking it as the "Hall of Lead;" a -wonderful dull and smoky old place, it was, with its large and gorgeous -porter outside, and its gloomy, stuffy old rooms inside, an atmosphere -which had actually produced "The Essays of Elia." In those days it -kept up a certain amount of respect for itself. If an officer received -a gift of a sword, he was conducted by the tall porter to the general -meeting of the Directors, and duly spoken to and complimented in form; -but as times waxed harder, the poor twenty-four Kings of Leadenhall -Street declined from Princes into mere _Shayhks_. They actually sent -a Sword of Honour to one of their officers by a street messenger, and -the donee returned it, saying, he could, not understand the _manner_ -of the gift; and so it went on gradually declining and falling, till -at last the old house was abandoned and let for offices. The shadowy -Directors flitted to the West End, into a brand-new India House, which -soon brought on their Euthanasia. - -My bringing-up caused me to be much scandalized by the sight of my -future comrades and brother officers, which I will presently explain. -The Afghan disaster was still fresh in public memory. The aunts had -been patriotic enough to burst into tears when they heard of it; and -certainly it was an affecting picture, the idea of a single Englishman, -Dr. Brydone, riding into Jellalabad, the only one of thirteen thousand, -he and his horse so broken as almost to die at the gates. - -Poor General Elphinstone, by-the-by, had been my father's best man at -his marriage, and was as little fitted for such field service, as Job -was at his worst. Alexander Burns was the only headpiece in the lot. He -had had the moral courage to report how critical the position was; but -he had not the moral courage to insist upon his advice being taken, -and, that failing, to return to his regiment as a Captain. - -MacNaghten was a mere Indian civilian. Like too many of them, he had -fallen into the dodging ways of the natives, and he distinctly deserved -his death. The words used by Akbar Khan, by-the-by, when he shot him, -were, "Shumá mulk-e-má mí gírid" ("So you're the fellow who've come to -take our country"). - -But the result of the massacre was a demand for soldiers and officers, -especially Anglo-Indians. Some forty medical students were sent out, -and they naturally got the name of the "Forty Thieves." The excess of -demand explained the curious appearance of the embryo cadets when they -met to be sworn in at the India House. They looked like raw country -lads, mostly dressed in home-made clothes, and hair cut by the village -barber, country boots, and no gloves. So, my friend, Colonel White's -son, who was entering the service on the same day, and I looked at one -another in blank dismay. We had fallen amongst young Yahoos, and we -looked forward with terror to such society. I was originally intended -for Bengal, but, as has been seen, I had relations there. I was not -going to subject myself to surveillance by my uncle by marriage, an old -general of invalids. Moreover, one of my D'Aguilar cousins was married -to a judge in Calcutta. I was determined to have as much liberty as -possible, and therefore I chose Bombay. I was always of opinion that a -man proves his valour by doing what he likes; there is no merit in so -doing when you have a fair fortune and independent position, but for a -man bound by professional ties, and too often lacking means to carry -out his wishes, it is a great success to choose his own line and stick -to it. - -The next thing to do was to obtain an outfit. This was another great -abuse in those days. As the friends of the Directors made money by -the cadets' commissions to the friends, the friends made money by -sending them to particular houses. The unfortunate cadets, or rather -their parents, were in fact plundered by everything that touched them. -The outfit, which was considered _de rigueur_, was absurdly profuse. -Dozens upon dozens of white jackets and trousers, only fit to give -rheumatism--even tobacco, niggerhead, and pigtail, as presents for the -sailors. Even the publishers so arranged that their dictionaries and -grammars of Hindostani should be forced upon the unhappy youths.[1] The -result was absolutely ridiculous. As a rule, the bullock trunks were -opened during the voyage, the kit was displayed, and on fast ships -it was put down as a stake at cards. Stories are told of sharp hands -landing in India after winning half a dozen outfits, which literally -glutted the market. Guns, pistols, and swords, and saddles were of the -most expensive and useless description, and were all to be bought much -better, at a quarter the price, in any Indian port. - -The average of the voyage lasted four months. Two or three changes of -suits only, were necessary, and the £100 outfit was simply plunder to -the outfitter. - -An unusual article of outfit was ordered by me, and that was a wig from -Winter in Oxford Street. In early life I found the advantage of shaving -my head, enabling me to keep it cool, when it was usually in the other -condition. - -An old Joe Miller was told in Bombay about a certain Duncan Grey, -a Scotch doctor, who was famous for selling hog-mane ponies to -new-comers. He was in medical attendance upon the cadets, and took the -opportunity of pocketing his wig, and persuading them that shaved heads -were the official costume. He accompanied them for the first official -visit, and as they were taking off their caps he whipped on his wig, -and presented to the astonished Commanding Officer half a dozen utterly -bald pates, which looked as if they belonged to as many lunatics. - -My only companion was a bull-terrier of the Oxford breed, more bull -than terrier. Its box-head and pink face had been scratched all over -during a succession of dog-fights and various tussles with rats. It was -beautifully built in the body, and the tail was as thin as a little -finger, showing all the vertebræ. The breed seems to have become almost -extinct, but I found it again at Oxford when I went there in 1850. The -little brute bore a fine litter of pups, and died in Gujarat, as usual -with every sign of old age, half-blind eyes, and staggering limbs. The -pups grew up magnificently. One, which rejoiced in the name of Bachhûn, -received the best of educations. He was entered necessarily on mice, -rats, and _Gilahris_, or native squirrels, which bite and scratch -like cats. He was so thoroughly game, that he would sally out alone -in the mornings, and kill a jackal single-handed. He was the pride of -the regiment, and came as usual to a bad end. On one of my journeys, -dressed as a native, I had to leave him behind in charge of my friend -Dr. Arnold, surgeon of the regiment. Dr. Arnold also, when absent, -confided him to the care of a brother-medico, Dr. Pitman, who had -strict opinions on the subject of drugs. The wretch actually allowed -the gallant little dog to die of some simple disease, because he would -not give him a dose of medicine belonging to the Company. - -[1] Our boxes were stuffed with Wellington's despatches, Army -Regulations, Mill's ponderous "History of India," and whatever the -publisher chose to agree upon with the outfitter. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -MY PUBLIC LIFE BEGINS. - - "Wanted: Men. - Not systems fit and wise, - Not faiths with rigid eyes, - Not wealth in mountain piles, - Not power with gracious smiles, - Not even the potent pen; - Wanted: Men. - - "Wanted: Deeds. - Not words of winning note, - Not thoughts from life remote, - Not fond religious airs, - Not sweetly languid prayers, - Not love of scent and creeds; - Wanted: Deeds. - - "Men and Deeds. - Men that can dare and do; - Not longing for the new, - Not pratings of the old: - Good life and action bold-- - These the occasion needs, - Men and Deeds." - ----DUNCAN MACGREGOR. - - -The next thing was to choose a ship, and the aunts were directed by -their friend of the commission, to the _John Knox_ (Captain Richard B. -Cleland), sailing barque, belonging to Messrs. Guy and Co. I was to -embark at Greenwich; the family harem went down with me. I was duly -wept over, and I dropped down the river with the scantiest regret -(except for my relatives) for leaving Europe, on June 18th, 1842. - -My companions were Ensign Boileau, of the 22nd Regiment, Ensign -Thompson, of the Company (line), and Mr. Richmond, going out to a -commercial house in Bombay.[1] - -There was an equal number of the other sex--a lady calling herself Mrs. -Lewis, and three sturdy wives of sergeants. Fortunately also, there -were three native servants who spoke Hindostani. - -[Sidenote: _The Voyage and Arrival._] - -The voyage began as usual by a straight run down the Channel, and a -June weather passage along the coasts of Europe and Africa. There were -delays in the Doldrums and calms near the Line. Neptune came on board -as usual, but there was very little fun, the numbers being too small. -At such times troubles are apt to break out on board. The captain, -Richard Cleland, was one of the best seamen that ever commanded a ship, -yet his career had been unlucky--as Vasco da Gama said to Don Manoel, -"Men who are unfortunate at sea should avoid the affairs of the sea." -He had already lost one ship, which was simply ill-fortune, for no -seaman could be more sober or more attentive to his duty. He managed, -however, to have a row on board, called upon the cadets to load their -pistols and accompany him to the forecastle, where he was about to make -a mutineer a prisoner. These were very disagreeable things to interfere -with, and the Supreme Court of Bombay always did its best to hang an -officer if a seaman was shot on these occasions; one man in particular -had a narrow escape. - -The discipline on the ship was none of the best. Captain Cleland had -begun early, and determined to establish a raw, and invited me to put -on the gloves with him. The result was that the tall lanky Scotchman, -who was in particularly bad training, got knocked into a cocked hat. -Then arose the usual troubles amongst the passengers. Normally on -such voyages, all begin by talking together, and end by talking with -themselves. Of course there were love passages, and these only made -matters worse. The chief mate, a great hulking fellow, who ought to -have hit like Tom Spring, but whose mutton fist could not dent a pat -of butter, was solemnly knocked down on quarter-deck for putting in -his oar. Then followed a sham duel, the combatants being brought up at -midnight, and the pistols loaded with balls of blackened cork instead -of bullets. During the day there were bathings along the ship in a -sail, to keep out the sharks; catching of sharks and flying-fish, and -massacring of unhappy birds. I, however, utilized my time by making -the three native servants who were on board, talk with me, and by -reading Hindostani stories from old Shakespeare's text-book. I made a -final attempt to keep up musical notation, and used the flageolet to -the despair of all on board; but the chief part of my time was passed -in working at Hindostani, reading all the Eastern books on board, -gymnastics, and teaching my brother youngsters the sword. There was -also an immense waste of gunpowder, for were not all these young -gentlemen going out to be Commanders-in-Chief? - -The good ship _John Knox_ ran past the Cape in winter, and a -magnificent scene it was. Waves measuring miles in length came up from -the South Pole, in lines as regular as those of soldiers marching -over a dead plain. Over them floated the sheep-like albatrosses, whom -the cadets soon tired of shooting, especially when they found that it -was almost impossible to stuff the bird. The little stormy petrels -were respected, but the Cape pigeons were drawn on board in numbers, -with a hook and a bit of bait. Nothing could be brighter than the -skies and seas, and the experience of what is called "a white gale" -gave universal satisfaction. It came down without any warning, except -ploughing up the waters, and had not Captain Cleland been on deck and -let go his gear, most of the muslin would have been on the broad bosom -of the Atlantic. - -There was little interest in sailing up the eastern coast of South -Africa. We saw neither the coast nor Madagascar, but struck north-east -for the western coast of India. The usual tricks were played upon -new-comers. They had been made to see the Line by a thread stretched -over a spy-glass, and _now_ they were told to smell India after a -little oil of cloves had been rubbed upon the bulwarks! - -When the winds fell, the cadets amused themselves with boarding the -_pattymars_, and other native craft, and went ferreting all about -the cabins and holes, to the great disgust of the owners. They gaped -at the snakes, which they saw swimming about, and were delighted -when the _John Knox_, one fine night, lumbered on her way through -nets and fishing stakes, whose owners set up a noise like a gigantic -frog concert. Next morning, October 28th, the Government pilot came -on board; excited questions were put to him, "What was doing in -Afghanistan? What of the war?" At his answer all hopes fell to zero. -Lord Ellenborough had succeeded Lord Auckland. The avenging army had -returned through the Khaybar Pass. The campaign was finished. Ghuzni -had fallen, the prisoners had been given up. Pollock, Sale, and Pratt -had been perfectly successful, and there was no chance of becoming -Commanders-in-Chief within the year. - -I never expected to see another Afghan War, and yet I did so before -middle age was well over. - - "Thy towers, Bombay! gleam bright, they say, - Against the dark blue sea," - -absurdly sings the poet. It was no picture like this we saw on the -morning of the 28th of October, 1842, when our long voyage ended. The -bay so celebrated appeared anything but beautiful. It was a great splay -thing, too long for its height, and it had not one of the beautiful -perpendiculars that distinguish Parthenope. - -The high background is almost always hid by the reek that rises -during the day, and the sun seems to burn all the colour out of the -landscape. The rains had just ceased, yet the sky seemed never clear, -and the water wanted washing. After this preliminary glance, the -companions shook hands, and, not without something of soreness of -heart, separated, after having lived together nearly five months. I -went to the British Hotel in the Fort, then kept by an Englishman named -Blackwell, who delegated all his duty to a Parsee, and never troubled -himself about his guests. A Tontine Hotel had been long proposed, -but there is a long interval between sayings and doings in India. -The landing in a wretched shore-boat at the unclean Apollo Bunder, -an absurd classicism for Palawa Bunder, was a complete disenchanter. -Not less so to pass through the shabby doorway in the dingy old -fortifications, which the Portuguese had left behind them when the -island was ceded to Charles II. The bright Towers were nowhere, and -the tower of a cathedral that resembled a village church, seemed to be -splotched and corroded as if by gangrene. - -Bombay was in those days the most cosmopolitan City in the East, -and the Bhendi Bazaar, the centre of the old town, was the most -characteristic part of all--perhaps more characteristic than were those -of Cairo or Damascus. It was marvellously picturesque with its crowds -of people from every part of the East, and its utter want of what is -called civilization, made it a great contrast to what it became a score -of years afterwards. Englishmen looked at it with a careless eye, as a -man scours his own property, but foreigners (Frenchmen like Jacquemont, -and Germans like Von Orlich) were delighted with its various humours, -and described them in their most picturesque style. Everything looked -upon a pauper scale. - -The first sight of a Sepoy nearly drove me back to the _John Knox_. I -saw an imitation European article; I saw a shako, planted on the top -of a dingy face, and hair as greasy as a Chinese's. The coat of faded -scarlet seemed to contain a mummy with arms like drumsticks, and its -legs, clad in blue dungaree, seemed to fork from below its waist; and -yet this creature in his national dress, was uncommonly picturesque, -with his long back hair let down, his light jacket of white cotton, his -salmon-coloured waistcloth falling to his ankles, in graceful folds, -and his feet in slippers of bright cloth, somewhat like the _piéd -d'ours_ of the mediæval man-at-arms. The hotel was an abomination. -Its teas and its curries haunted the censorium of memory for the rest -of man's natural life. The rooms were loose boxes, and at night -intoxicated acquaintances stood upon chairs and amused themselves by -looking over the thin cloth walls. I stood this for a few days till -I felt sick with rage. I then applied to the garrison surgeon, in -those days Dr. J. W. Ryan, popularly known as Paddy Ryan.[2] He was a -good-natured man; he enquired copiously about my Irish relations and -connections, knew something of Lord Trimleston, and removed me from the -foul hotel, to what in those days was called the Sanitarium. - -[Sidenote: _The Sanitarium._] - -The Sanitarium was a pompous name for a very poor establishment. About -half a dozen bungalows of the semi-detached kind, each with its bit of -compound or yard, fronted in a military line Back Bay, so famous for -wrecks. The quarters consisted of a butt and ben, an outer room and an -inner room, with unattached quarters for servants. They were places in -which an Englishman tolerably well off would hardly kennel his dogs, -and the usual attendants were lizards and bandicoot rats. As each -tenant went away he carried off his furniture, so it was necessary to -procure bed, table, and chairs. That, however, was easily done by means -of a little Parsee broker, who went by the name of "The General," and -who had plundered generations after generations of cadets. He could -supply everything from a needle to a buggy, or ten thousand rupees -on interest, and those who once drank his wine never forgot it. He -was shockingly scandalized at the sight of my wig. Parsees must touch -nothing that come from the human body. - -[Sidenote: _His Moonshee._] - -He recommended as _moonshee_, or language-master, a venerable old -Parsee priest, in white hat and beard, named Dosabhai Sohrabji, at that -time the best-known coach in Bombay. Through his hands also generations -of griffins have passed. With him, as with all other Parsees, Gujarati -was the mother tongue, but he also taught Hindostani and Persian, the -latter the usual vile Indian article. He had a great reputation as a -teacher, and he managed to ruin it by publishing a book of dialogues -in English and these three languages, wherein he showed his perfect -unfitness. He was _very_ good, however, when he had no pretensions, and -in his hands I soon got through the Akhlak-i-Hindi and the Tota-Kaháni. -I remained friends with the old man till the end of his days, and the -master always used to quote his pupil, as a man who could learn a -language running. - -The Sanitarium was not pleasantly placed. In latter days the foreshore -was regulated, and a railroad ran along the sea. But in 1842 the -façade was a place of abominations, and amongst them, not the least, -was the _Smashán_, or Hindú burning-ground. The fire-birth was -conducted with very little decency; the pyres were built up on the -sands, and heads and limbs were allowed to tumble off, and when the -wind set in the right quarter, the smell of roast Hindú was most -unpleasant. The occupants of the Sanitarium were supposed to be -invalids, but they led the most roystering and rackety life. Mostly -they slept in the open, under mosquito-curtains, with a calico ceiling, -and a bottle of cognac under the bed. One of these, who shall be -nameless, married shortly after, and was sturdily forbidden by his wife -to indulge in night draughts when he happened to awake. He succumbed, -but pleaded permission to have an earthen gugglet of pure water. The -spouse awoke one night in a state of thirst, which she proceeded to -quench, and was nearly choked by a draught of gin-and-water compounded -in what are called nor'-wester proportions, three of spirit to one -of water. One of the invalids led me into all kinds of mischief, -introducing me to native society of which the less said the better. - -The Governor of Bombay at the time was Colonel Sir George Arthur, Bart, -K.C.H., who appears in "Jack Hinton, the Guardsman." He was supposed -to be connected with the Royal Family through George IV., and had -some curious ideas about his visitors "backing" from the "Presence." -The Commander-in-Chief was old Sir Thomas Macmahon, popularly called -"Tommy." He was one of the old soldiers who had served under the Duke -of Wellington, who had the merit of looking after his friends, as well -as looking up his enemies; but he was utterly unfit for any command, -except that of a brigade. It would be impossible to tell one tithe -of the stories current about him. One of his pet abominations was -a certain Lieutenant Pilfold, of the 2nd Queen's, whose commanding -officer, Major Brough, was perpetually court-martialling. Pilfold -belonged to that order of soldiers which is popularly called "the -lawyer," and invariably argued himself out of every difficulty. Pilfold -was first court-martialled in 1840, then 1841, and 1844, when, after -being nearly cashiered, he changed into a regiment in Australia, and -died. At last he revenged himself upon the Commander-in-Chief by -declaring that "as hares go mad in March, so Major-Generals go mad in -May"--the day when "Tommy" confirmed one of the court-martials, that -was quashed from home. - -[Sidenote: _Indian Navy._] - -The Bombay Marine, or, as the officers preferred it to be called, -"The Indian Navy," had come to grief. Their excellent superintendent, -Admiral Sir Charles Malcolm, was a devoted geographer; in fact, he was -the man who provoked the saying, "Capable of speaking evil, even of -the Equator." Under his rule, when there was peace at sea, the officers -were allowed ample leave to travel and explore in the most dangerous -countries, and they did brilliant service. Their names are too well -known to require quotation. But Sir Charles was succeeded by a certain -Captain Oliver, R.N., a sailor of the Commodore Trunnion type, and a -martinet of the first water. He made them stick to their monotonous and -wearisome duties in the Persian Gulf, and in other places, popularly -said to be separated by a sheet of brown paper. He was as vindictive as -he was one-ideaed, and the service will never forget the way in which -he broke the heart of an unfortunate Lieutenant Bird. - -[Sidenote: _English Bigotry._] - -Captain Cleland, of the _John Knox_, had introduced me to his sister, -Mrs. Woodburn, who was married to an adjutant of the 25th Regiment -of Sepoys, and she kindly introduced me to Bombay society. I stood -perfectly aghast in its presence. The rank climate of India, which -produces such a marvellous development of vegetation, seems to have -a similar effect upon the Anglo-Indian individuality. It shot up, -as if suddenly relieved of the weight with which society controls -it in England. The irreligious were marvellously irreligious, and -the religious no less marvellously religious. The latter showed the -narrowest, most fanatic, and the most intolerant spirit; no hard-grit -Baptist could compare with them. They looked upon the heathen around -them (very often far better than themselves) as faggots ready for -burning.[3] They believed that the Parsees adored the sun, that the -Hindús worshipped stocks and stones, and that the Mohammedans were -slaves to what they called "the impostor Mahomet." They were not more -lenient to those of their own blood who did not run on exactly the -same lines with them. A Roman Catholic, as they called him, was doomed -to perdition, and the same was the case with all non-church-going -Protestants. It is hardly to be wondered at if, at times, they lost -their wits. One man, who was about the wildest of his day, and who was -known as the "Patel" of Griffin-gaon, suddenly got a "call." He used to -distinguish himself by climbing a tree every morning, and by shouting -with all his might, "Dunga Chhor-do, Jesus Christ, Pakro," meaning, -"Abandon the world, and catch hold of the Saviour." This lasted for -years, and it ended in his breaking down in the moral line, and dying -in a mad-house. - -The worst of all this was, that in 1842, there were very few white -faces in Bombay, and every man, woman, and child knew his, her, or -its religious affairs, as well as their own. It was, in fact, a -garrison, not a colony. People lived in a kind of huge barracks. -Essentially a middle-class society, like that of a small county town -in England, it was suddenly raised to the top of a tree, and lost its -head accordingly. Men whose parents in England were small tradesmen, or -bailiffs in Scotland, found themselves ruling districts and commanding -regiments, riding in carriages, and owning more pounds a month than -their parents had pounds a year. Those who had interest, especially in -Leadenhall Street, monopolized the best appointments, and gathered in -clans at the Residency, as head-quarters were called. They formed the -usual ring--a magic circle into which no intruder was admitted, save by -the pain _fort et dure_ of intermarriage. The children were hideously -brought up, and, under the age of five, used language that would make a -porter's hair stand on an end. The parents separated, of course, into -cliques. At that time Bombay was ruled by two Queens, who in subaltern -circles went by the name of "Old Mother Plausible," and "Old Mother -Damnable." - -To give a taste of "Mother Damnable's" quality: I had been waltzing -with a girl, who, after too much exertion, declared herself fainting. I -led her into what would at home be called the cloak-room, fetched her a -glass of water, and was putting it to her lips, when the old lady stood -at the door. "Oh dear! I never intended to interrupt you," she said, -made a low bow, and went out of the room, positively delighted. "Mother -Plausible's" style was being intensely respectable. She was terribly -"exercised" about a son at Addiscombe, and carefully consulted every -new cadet about his proficiency in learning. "But does he prefer the -classics?" she asked a wild Irishman. "I don't know that he does," was -the answer. "Or mathematics?" The same result. "Or modern languages?" -"Well, no!" "Then what does he do?" "Faix," said the informant, -scratching his head for an idea, "he's a very purty hand at football." - -But it was not only Society that had such an effect upon me. I found -the Company's officers, as they were called, placed in a truly ignoble -position. They had double commissions, and signed by the Crown, and -yet they ranked with, but after, their brothers and cousins in the -Queen's service. Moreover, with that strange superciliousness, which -seems to characterize the English military service, and that absence -of brotherhood which distinguishes the Prussian and Austrian, all -seemed to look down upon their neighbours. The Queen's despised the -Company, calling them armed policemen, although they saw as much, if -not much more service, than the Queen's in India. The Artillery held -its head above the Cavalry, the Cavalry above the Line, and, worse -still, a Company's officer could not, except under very exceptional -circumstances, rise above a certain rank. Under the circumstances, I -ventured to regret that I had not entered the Duke of Lucca's Guards. -India had never heard of the Duke of Lucca, or his Guards, and when -they heard the wild idea-- - - "Their inextinguished laughter rent the skies." - -For instance, they had no hopes of becoming local Commanders-in-Chief, -and the General Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies was carefully -put out of their reach. None but Englishmen would have entered such a -service under such conditions. A French _piou-piou_, with his possible -marshal's bâton in his knapsack, would have looked down upon it with -contempt; but England, though a fighting nation, is not a military -people, or rather _was_ not until Louis Napoleon made it necessary -that they should partially become so. At the end of six weeks or -so, I received orders to join my regiment, which was then stationed -at Baroda, in Gujarat. In those days there were no steamers up the -coast, and men hired what were called _pattymars_.[4] As the winds -were generally northerly, these tubs often took six weeks over what a -civilized craft now does in four days. - -[Sidenote: _Engages Servants._] - -The happy family embarked from Bombay. I preferred engaging -Goanese-Portuguese servants, as they were less troublesome than Hindús -and Mussulmans. I had engaged an excellent _buttrel_, named Salvador -Soares, who was _major domo_ over the establishment, for at that time -a subaltern never had less than a dozen servants. The sail northwards, -with all its novelties, was delightful, and I made a point of landing -every evening to see all that I could see upon the way. And so I had my -first look at Bassein, Broach, and Surat, the latter a kind of nursery -of the Anglo-Indian Empire. After a fortnight or so the _pattymar_ -reached the Tankaria-Bunder, the mud-bank where travellers landed to -reach Baroda. Then came the land march of four days, which was full -of charms for a Griffin. I had utterly rejected the so-called Arab -horses--bastard brutes from the Persian Gulf--which were sold at the -Bombay bomb-proofs then at extravagant prices of five hundred rupees, -now doubled, and had contented myself with Kattywar horses. This -was a bright dun, with black stripes and stockings, a very vicious -brute, addicted to all the sins of horseflesh, but full of spirit as a -thoroughbred. Master and horse got on thoroughly well, and the gallant -animal travelled everywhere, till it was killed on the Neilgherry Hills -by a heavy fall on its side on the slippery clay. The marching was at -the rate of about twelve or fifteen miles a day, and the leisure hours -gave ample opportunity of seeing everything on and off the road. - -To the traveller from Europe, Gujarat in winter was a novel spectacle. -The ground, rich black earth, was almost flat, and was covered with -that vivid leek-like verdigris green, which one associates with early -spring in the temperates. The little villages, with their leafy huts, -were surrounded and protected by hedge milk-bush, green as emeralds, -and nothing could be more peaceful or charming than the evening hour, -when the flocks and herds were returning home, and the villagers were -preparing for supper and sleep, with a sky-blue mist overhanging the -scene. A light veil, coloured like Damascene silver, hung over each -settlement, and the magnificent trees, compared with which the oaks in -Hyde Park appeared like shrubs, were tipped by peacocks screaming their -good-night to the sun. How curious that the physiologist will assert -that the nose has no memory! That light cloud was mostly composed of -cow-chips smoke, and I could never think of Gujarat without recalling -it; even the bazar always suggested spices and cocoa-nut oil. - -Again I was scandalized by the contrast of the wretched villages under -English rule, and those that flourished under the Gaikwar. After the -boasting of Directorial speeches, and their echoes in the humbug press, -I could not understand this queer contrast of fiction and fact. I -made inquiries about it from every one, and immensely disgusted the -Company's Resident, Mr. Boyd, by my insistence, but a very few weeks -explained the matter to me. The Anglo-Indian rule had no elasticity, -and everything was iron-bound; it was _all rule_ without exception. A -crack young Collector would have considered himself dishonoured had he -failed to send in the same amount of revenues during a bad season, as -during the best year. It was quite different with the natives. After a -drought or an inundation, a village would always obtain remission of -taxes, it being duly understood that a good harvest would be doubly -taxed, and this was the simple reason why the natives preferred their -own to foreign rule. In the former case they were harried and plundered -whenever anything was to be got out of them, but in the mean time -they were allowed to make their little piles. Under the English they -were rarely tortured, and never compelled to give up their hardly won -earnings, but they had no opportunity of collecting the wherewithal for -plunder. - -[Sidenote: _Reaches Baroda--Brother Officers._] - -On the fourth day I arrived at my head-quarters, Baroda, and found -myself lodged in the comfortless travellers' bungalow. Here I was duly -inspected by my brother officers--Major H. James, then commanding -the 18th Bombay Native Infantry, Captain Westbrooke, second in -command, Lieutenant MacDonald, who was married, Lieutenant and -Adjutant Craycroft, Lieutenant J. J. Coombe, Ensign S. N. Raikes, and -Assistant-Surgeon Arnott, and a few others present. One wing of the -corps, containing a greater number of officers, had been stationed for -some time at Mhow, on the borders of the Bengal Presidency, and the -rest, as usual in those days, were on the Staff, that is, on detached -employment, some in Civil employ, and others in the Corps called -Irregulars. - -[Sidenote: _Mess._] - -The first night at Mess was an epoch, and the old hands observed that -I drank no beer. This was exceptional in those days. Malt liquor had -completed the defeat of brandy pawnee and the sangaree (sherry, etc., -with water, sugar, and spices) affected by a former generation, and -beer was now king. The most moderate drank two bottles a day of strong -bottled stuff supposed to have been brewed by Bass and Allsopp, but too -often manipulated by the Parsee importer. The immoderate drank a round -dozen, not to speak of other liquors. The messes in those days were -tolerably rich, and their _godowns_, or stores, generally contained a -fair supply of port, sherry, and Madeira. "Drink beer, think beer" is -essentially true in India. Presently the bloating malt liquor began to -make way for thin French wines, claret, and Burgundy, and a quarter of -a century afterwards, the Anglo-Indian returned to brandy pawnee with -a difference. The water was no longer plain water, but soda-water, -that is, carbonic-acid gas pumped into well water, and every little -station had its own manufactory. Consequently the price declined from -eighteenpence to twopence a bottle, and most men preferred the "peg," -as it is called, which is probably one of the least harmful. I adhered -manfully to a couple of glasses of port a day. Paddy Ryan at Bombay -had told me that the best tonic after fever, was a dozen of good port. -I soon worked out the fact, that what would cure fever, might also -prevent it, and consequently drank port as a febrifuge. It was the same -with me on the West Coast of Africa, where during four years of service -I came off well, when most other men died. - -[Sidenote: _Drill._] - -I was duly introduced to the drill-ground, where I had not much to -learn. Yet I studied military matters with all my might, for the -ominous words "tail of the Afghan storm" were in many men's mouths. -I had taught myself, with the assistance of books, the mysteries of -goose-step and extension movements, and perpetual practice with the -sword had made the other manœuvres easy to me. Having lodged myself in -what was called a bungalow, a thatched article not unlike a cowshed, -and having set up the slender household, I threw myself with a kind of -frenzy upon my studies. I kept up the little stock of Arabic that I had -acquired at Oxford, and gave some twelve hours a day to a desperate -tussle with Hindostani. Two _moonshees_ barely sufficed for me. Sir -Charles J. Napier in 1842 was obscurely commanding at Poonah. Presently -he was appointed to the Command in Sind, and all those who knew the old -soldier looked forward to lively times. Brevet-Major Outram, of the -23rd N.I., had proceeded to England on December 13th, 1842, and had -returned to India in February, 1843. This rapid movement also had an -ominous sound. The military day was then passed in India as follows:-- - -Men rose early, for the sun in India keeps decent hours (not like the -greater light in England, which in summer seems to rise shortly after -midnight, and in winter shortly before noon). The first proceeding was -a wash in cold water and a cup of tea. After that the horse was brought -round saddled, and carried the rider to the drill-ground. Work usually -began as soon as it was light, and lasted till shortly after sunrise. -In the Bengal Presidency the officers used to wash their teeth at three -a.m., and scarcely ever saw the face of the sun. Consequently the -Qui-hyes, or Bengalis, died like sheep upon a march where much exposure -was necessary. - -In India the sun requires a little respect. It is not wise, for -instance, to wade through cold water with the rays beating upon the -upper part of the body, but it is always advisable to accustom one's -self to sunshine. After the parade was over, the officers generally -met at what was called a coffee shop, where one of the number hung out -_Choti-hazri_ or little breakfast--tea or _café au lait_, biscuit, -bread and butter, and fruit. After that, the heavy work of the day -being done, each proceeded to amuse himself as he best could; some to -play at billiards, others for a day's sport. - -Some few youths in the flush of Griffinhood used to mount their -tattoos (ponies) and go out "peacocking," that is to say, calling upon -officers' wives. With the usual Indian _savoir vivre_, visiting hours -were made abominable. Morning calls began at eleven o'clock, when the -_beau sexe_ was supposed to be in war-paint, and ended at two, when -it was supposed to sit down to tiffin. The ride through the burning -sun, followed by a panting _ghorewalla_, and the self-preservation in -a state of profuse perspiration, were essentials of peacocking, which -soon beat off the most ardent admirers of the white fair sex. The -latter revenged itself for anything like neglect in the most violent -way, and the consequence was that, in those days, most men, after their -first year, sought a refuge in the society of the dark fair. Hence in -the year of grace 1842 there was hardly an officer in Baroda who was -not more or less morganatically married to a Hindí or a Hindú woman. -This could be a fertile ground for anecdote, but its nature forbids -entering into details. - -These irregular unions were mostly temporary, under agreement to -cease when the regiment left the station. Some even stipulated that -there were to be no children. The system had its advantages and -disadvantages. It connected the white stranger with the country and -its people, gave him an interest in their manners and customs, and -taught him thoroughly well their language. It was a standing joke in -my regiment that one of the officers always spoke of himself in the -feminine gender. He had learnt all his Hindostani from his harem. On -the other hand, these unions produced a host of half-castes, mulattos, -"neither fish nor fowl, nor good red herring," who were equally -despised by the races of both progenitors. - -[Sidenote: _Pig-sticking._] - -Baroda was not a great place for pig-sticking. The old grey boars -abounded, but the country was too much cut up by deep and perpendicular -hillocks, which were death to horse and man. I invested in an old -grey Arab, which followed the game like a bloodhound, with distended -nostrils, and ears viciously laid back. I began, as was the cruel -fashion of the day, by spearing pariah dogs for practice, and my first -success brought me a well-merited accident. Not knowing that the -least touch of the sharp leaf-like head is sufficient to kill, I made -a mighty thrust with my strong-made bamboo shaft, which was carried -under the arm, Bombay fashion, not overhand, as in Bengal. The point -passed through the poor brute and deep into the ground. The effect of -the strong elastic spear was to raise me bodily out of the saddle, and -to throw me over the horse's head. It was a good lesson for teaching -how to take first blood. The great centres for pig-sticking were in -the Deccan and in Sind. The latter, however, offered too much danger, -for riding through tamarisk bushes is much like charging a series of -well-staked fishing-nets. Baroda, however, abounded in wild beasts; -the jackals screamed round the bungalows every night, and a hyæna -once crossed, in full day, the parade ground. One of the captains -(Partridge) cut it down with his regimental sword, and imprudently -dismounted to secure it. The result was a bite in the arm which he had -reason long to remember. - -[Sidenote: _Sport._] - -The sport all about Baroda was excellent, for in the thick jungle to -the east of the City, tigers were to be shot, and native friends would -always lend their elephants for a day's work. In the broad plains to -the north, large antelopes, called the _nilghai_, browsed about like -cows, and were almost as easy to shoot, consequently no one shot them. -It was different with the splendid black buck, sly and wary animals, -and always brought home in triumph. Cheetahs, or hunting leopards, were -also to be had for the asking. As for birds, they were in countless -numbers, from the huge adjutant crane, and the _sáras_ (_antigoni_), -vulgarly called _Cyrus Gries antigone_, which dies if its mate be shot, -and the peacock, which there, as in most parts of India, is a sacred -bird, to the partridge, which no one eats because it feeds on the road, -the wild duck, which gives excellent shooting, and the snipe, equal to -any in England. During the early rains quails were to be shot in the -compounds, or yards, attached to the bungalows. In fact, in those days, -sensible men who went out to India took one of two lines--they either -shot, or they studied languages. - -Literature was at a discount, although one youth in the Bombay Rifles -was addicted to rhyme, and circulated a song which began as follows:-- - - "'Tis merry, 'tis merry in the long jungle grass, - When the Janwars around you fly, - To think of the slaughter that you will commit, - On the beasts that go passing by"-- - -this being the best stanza of the whole. - -The 18th Bombay Infantry was brigaded with the 4th Regiment, _alias_ -Rifles, under the command of Major C. Crawley. These Sepoys, in -their dingy green uniform, which seemed to reflect itself upon their -chocolate-coloured cheeks, looked even worse than those dressed in red. - -There was also a company called Golandaz, a regular native artillery, -commanded by a Lieutenant Aked. Gunners are everywhere a peculiar -race, quite as peculiar as sailors. In India they had the great merit -of extreme attachment to their weapons, which, after a fashion, they -adored as weapons of destruction. "One could hit a partridge with a gun -like this," said a pink-faced youngster to a grizzly old cannonier. -"A partridge!" cried the veteran. "This does not kill partridges; -it smashes armies, slaughters Cities, and it would bring down Shiva -himself." And in Baroda City the Gaikwar had two guns, to which regular -adoration was offered. They were of massive gold, built around steel -tubes, and each was worth about £100,000. Yet the company of Native -Artillery was utterly absurd in European eyes. Nothing more beautiful -than the Gujarat bullocks, with their noble horns and pure white coats. -Europe has seen them in the _cascine_ of Tuscany. But it was truly -absurd to see these noble animals dragging a gun into position at a -shambling and dislocated trot. Satirical subalterns spoke of the "cow -batteries." In these days all, of course, are horsed. - -[Sidenote: _Society._] - -There was no such thing as society at Baroda. The Station was commanded -by an old Brigadier, named Gibbons, who had no wife, but a native -family. He was far too infirm to mount a horse; he never received, -ignored dinners either at home or abroad, and lived as most General -Officers did in those days. But he managed to get into a tremendous -row, and was removed from his Command for losing his temper, and -beating a native Chief of the Bazar about the head, with a leg of -mutton. - -Hospitalities used to be exchanged between the corps on certain -ceremonious occasions, but a Mess dinner was the extent of sociability. -As in all small Societies, there were little tiffs, likings, and -dislikings. But the age of duelling had passed away, especially after -the fatal affairs of Colonel Fawcet of the 55th Regiment, and his -brother-in-law, Mr. Monro. - -[Sidenote: _Feeding._] - -A most pernicious practice, common in those days, was that of eating -"tiffin"--in other words, a heavy luncheon--at two, which followed -the normal breakfast, or _pakki-hazri_, at nine. Tiffin was generally -composed of heavy meats and the never-failing curry, washed down with -heavy bottled beer, was followed by two or three Manilla cheroots, and -possibly by a siesta. Nothing could be more anti-hygienic than this. It -is precisely the same proceeding by which the liver of the Strasbourg -goose is prepared for _pâté de foie gras_. The amount of oxygen present -in the air of India, is not sufficient to burn up all this carbon, -hence the dingy complexions and the dull dark hair which distinguished -Anglo-Indians on their return home. I contented myself with a biscuit -and a glass of port, something being required to feed the brain, after -the hard study of many hours. - -The French in India manage these things much better. They keep up their -natural habits, except that they rise very early, take a very light -meal, chiefly consisting of _café noir_, and eat a heavy breakfast at -eleven. Between that and dinner, which follows sunset, they rarely -touch anything, and the consequence is that they return with livers -comparatively sound. But Anglo-Indian hours of meals were modelled upon -those of England, and English hours are laid down by the exigencies of -business. Hence the Briton, naturally speaking, breakfasts at nine. -As he rises late and has little appetite at that hour, he begins the -work of the day upon such a slender basis as tea, bread and butter, an -egg, or a frizzle of bacon. It was very different in the days of Queen -Elizabeth, as certainly the beefsteaks and beer produced a stronger -race. But in those days all rose early and lived much in the open air. - -During the fine weather there was generally something to do on the -parade ground, shortly before sunset, after which the idlers mounted -their nags and took a lazy ride. The day ended at Mess, which was also -characteristically Indian. It was a long table in the Mess bungalow, -decorated with the regimental plate, and surmounted by creaking -punkahs, that resembled boards horizontally slung, with a fringe -along the lower part. A native, concealed behind the wall, set these -unpleasant articles in movement, generally holding the rope between two -toes. At the top of the table sat the Mess President, at the bottom -the Vice, and their duty was to keep order, and especially to prevent -shop-talking. The officers dressed like so many caterpillars in white -shell-jackets, white waistcoats, and white overalls, were a marvellous -contrast to the gorgeous Moslem _Khidmatgars_, who stood behind them, -with crossed arms, turbans the size of small tea-tables, waist-shawls -in proportion. The dinner consisted of soup, a joint of roast mutton -at one end, and boiled mutton or boiled fowls at the other, with -vegetables in the side dishes. Beef was never seen, because the cow -was worshipped at Baroda, nor was roast or boiled pork known at native -messes, where the manners and customs of the unclean bazar pig were -familiar to all, and where there were ugly stories about the insults to -which his remains were exposed on the part of the Mohammedan scullions. -At times, however, a ham made its appearance, disguised under the name -of "Wilayati Bakri," _Anglicè_ "Europe mutton." - -This substantial part of the dinner always concluded with curry, -accompanied by dry fish, Bombay ducks, and _papris_ (assafœtida cake). -Anglo-Indians appreciate curry too much to allow it, as in England, to -precede other dishes, and to rob them of all their flavour. After this -came puddings and tarts, which very few men touched, as they disagreed -with beer, and cheese, which was a universal favourite. Coffee, curious -to say, was unknown, ice was rare, except at the Residency, and tin -vegetables, like peas and asparagus, had only lately been invented. -Immediately after cheese, all lit their cigars, which in those days -were invariably Manillas. They cost only twenty rupees a thousand, so -few were driven to the economy of the abominable Trichinopoly, smoked -in Madras. Havanas were never seen, pipes were as little known, and -only the oldsters had an extensive article, with a stand two feet high -and a pipe twenty feet long, in which they smoked a mixture called -Guraku. This was a mingling of tobacco, with plantains, essence of -roses, and a dozen different kinds of spices, that gave a very peculiar -perfume. The Hookah was, however, then going out of fashion, and -presently died the death. It is now as rarely seen in Anglo-India, as -the long _chibouque_ at Constantinople. - -[Sidenote: _Nautch._] - -The Mess dinner sometimes concluded with a game of whist, but a wing -of a native Corps had not officers enough to make it interesting. -After a _quantum sufficit_ of cheroots and spirits and water, the -members of the Mess broke up, and strolled home, immensely enjoying -the clear moonlight, which looked as if frost were lying on the -emerald green of Gujarat. On festive occasions there was a _Nach_, -which most men pronounced "Nautch." The scene has often been described -in its picturesque aspect. But it had a dark side. Nothing could be -more ignoble than the two or three debauched and drunken musicians, -squealing and scraping the most horrible music, and the _figurantes_ -with Simiad or apish faces, dressed in magnificent brocades, and -performing in the most grotesque way. The exhibition gave one a shiver, -yet not a few of the old officers, who had been brought up to this -kind of thing, enjoyed it as much as the Russians, of the same epoch, -delighted in the gypsy _soirées_ of Moscow, and ruined themselves with -Madeira and Veuve Clicquot. - -It was very different during the rains, which here, as in most parts of -the western lowlands of India, were torrential, sometimes lasting seven -days and seven nights, without an hour's interruption. The country -was mostly under water, and those who went to Mess had to protect -themselves with waterproofs; and if they wished to save their horses -from the dangerous disease called _barsáti_, had to walk to and fro -with bare legs and feet. - -[Sidenote: _Reviews._] - -This even tenor of existence was varied by only two things. The first -was the annual reviews, when old General Morse came over from Ahmedabad -to inspect the Corps, preparations for which ceremony had been going -on for a couple of months. These old officers were greatly derided by -the juniors, chiefly because their brains seemed to have melted away, -and they had forgotten almost everything except drill, which they had -learnt in their youth. This old General in particular prided himself -upon his Hindostani, and suffered accordingly. "How would you say 'Tell -a plain story,' General?" "Maydan-ki bát bolo"--which means, "Speak a -word of a level country." - -[Sidenote: _Races._] - -Another great event were the annual Races. Even here, however, there -was a division of the small Society. They were encouraged by the -Company's Resident, Mr. Boyd, and by Major Henry Corsellis, who had -come up with his wife to take command of the regiment. They were -discouraged, on the other hand, by Major Crawley, of the 4th Rifles, -who invariably had a picnic during the Race week. The reason, however, -was not "principle," but some quarrel about an old bet. I was one of -the winners at the Welter Stakes, having beaten an experienced rider, -Lieutenant Raikes. - -The state of things at Baroda was not satisfactory. The French govern -their colonies too much, the English too little. The latter, instead -of taking their stand as the Masters, instead of declaring, _Sic volo, -sic jubeo, sit pro ratione voluntas,_ seemed, in Baroda at least, to -rule on sufferance: they were thoroughly the Masters of the position; -they could have superseded the Gaikwar, or destroyed the town in a -week. But the rule of the Court of Directors was not a rule of honour. - -The officers in Cantonments, distant only half an hour's ride from -the Palace, were actually obliged to hire _rámosis_ (Paggis) to -protect their lives and properties. These men were simply professed -thieves, who took blackmail to prevent their friends and relations from -plundering. In the bungalows, on the borders of the camp, a couple of -these scoundrels were necessary. In two bungalows, officers had been -cut down, and the one in which I lived showed, on the door-lintel, -sabre cuts. Officers were constantly robbed and even murdered when -travelling in the districts, and the universally expressed wish was, -that some Director's son might come to grief, and put an end to this -miserable state of things. Now, these things _could_ have been put a -stop to by a single dispatch of the Court of Directors to the Resident -at Baroda. They had only to make the Gaikwar and the Native Authorities -answerable for the lives and property of their officers. A single -hanging and a few heavy fines would have settled the business once -and for ever; but, I repeat, the Government of the Court of Directors -was not a rule of honour, and already the hateful doctrine was being -preached, that "prestige is humbug." - -[Sidenote: _Cobden and Indian History._] - -The officers marvelled at the proceedings of their Rulers, and -marvelled without understanding things. Little could they know what was -going on at home. Here Mr. Richard Cobden, one of the most single-sided -of men, whose main strength was that he embodied most of the weakness, -and all the prejudice, of the British middle-class public, was watching -the affairs of India with a jealous and unfriendly eye, as a Military -and Despotic Government, as an acquisition of impolitic violence and -fraud, and as the seat of unsafe finance. India appeared to him utterly -destitute of any advantage either to the natives or to their foreign -masters. - -He looked upon the East India Company in Asia as simply monopoly, not -merely as regards foreigners, but against their own countrymen. He -openly asserted that England had attempted an impossibility in giving -herself to the task of governing one hundred millions of Asiatics. -Rumours of an Asiatic war were in the air, especially when it was -known that Lieut.-Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly had been foully -murdered by the Amir of Bokhara. He declared (as if he had been taken -into supernatural confidence), that God and His visible Natural Laws -have opposed insuperable obstacles to the success of such a scheme. His -opinion as a professional reformer was, that Hindostan must be ruled -by those that live on that side of the globe, and that its people will -prefer to be ruled badly by its own colour, kith, and kin, than subject -itself to the humiliation of being better governed by a succession of -transient intruders from the Antipodes. He declared that ultimately, -of course, Nature (of which he knew nothing) will assert the supremacy -of her laws, and the white skins will withdraw to their own latitudes, -leaving the Hindús to the enjoyment of the climate, for which their -dingy skins are suited. - -All this was the regular Free-trade bosh, and the Great Bagsman would -doubtless have been thunderstruck, had he heard the Homeric shouts of -laughter with which his mean-spirited utterances were received by every -white skin in British India. There was not a subaltern in the 18th -Bombay N.I. who did not consider himself perfectly capable of governing -a million Hindús. And such a conviction realizes itself-- - - "By the sword we won the land, - And by the sword we'll hold it still;" - -for every subaltern felt (if he could not put the feeling into words) -that India had been won, _despite England_, by the energy and bravery -of men like himself. Every history tells one so in a way that all can -understand. The Company began as mere traders, and presently they -obtained the right of raising guards to defend themselves. The guards -naturally led to the acquisition of territory. The territory increased, -till its three centres, Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, became centres of -little Kingdoms. - -The native Princes were startled and frightened. They attacked their -energetic neighbours, with more or less success, and the intruders -became more intrusive than before. Next day they began to elect -Governors, and Governor-Generals. Whenever a new man was sent out from -England, the natives, after the fashion of their kind, thought that -they saw an opportunity, and, losing their fear of the old Governor, -declared war against the new one. The latter assembled an army, and -duly reported the fact home. It took from eight to nine months before -the document was received and answered. The general tone of the reply -was a fierce diatribe against territorial aggrandizement, but in the -mean time a great battle or two had been fought, a province had been -conquered and duly plundered, and a large slice of territory had been -added to Anglo-Indian rule. This is the way in which British Empire in -the East arose, and probably this was the least objectionable way. For -when the Company rose to power, it began to juggle native Princes out -of their territory, to deny the right of adopting a sacred privilege -amongst the Hindús, and to perpetrate all kinds of injustice. A fair -example was the case of the Rajah of Patara, and the same proceedings -in Oudh, led to the celebrated Mutiny in 1857, and nearly wrecked -British dominion in India. - -At last a bright day dawned. The whole of the little Cantonment was -electrified by the news of the battle of Meeanee, which had been fought -on February 21st, 1843. After a number of reverses truly humiliating -to British self-esteem, the Sun of Victory had at last shone upon her -bayonets. Sir Charles Napier had shown that, with a little force of -mixed Englishmen and Sepoys, he could beat the best and bravest army -that any Native Power could bring into the field. It was a gallant -little affair, because the few white faces had done nearly the whole -work. The Sepoys, as usual, had behaved like curs, and five of their -officers had been killed, to one of the Queen's service. - -Then, on March 25th, followed the battle of Dabba, and Sind fell into -the power of the English, and Major Outram returned to England on -April 1st. Then arose the great quarrel between the two great men. -The general opinion of the time was, that the Bayard of India, as his -future enemy had called him, wished _himself_ to depose the Ameers, -and resented the work being done by another. His (Major Outram's) own -writings show, that he found them unfitted to rule, and that he had -proposed the most stringent remedies. But when these were carried out -by another man, he ranged himself in the ranks of the opposition. -Sir Charles Napier and his free-spoken brother, Sir William, had -been bitterly opposed to the twenty-four little Kings in Leadenhall -Street, and had never hesitated to express their opinions. One of -their energetic dicta was, that every rupee has a blood-spot on it, -and that wash as you will, the cursed spot will not out. Talking of -which, by-the-by, I, in one of those pungent epigrams, which brought me -such abundance of "good will (?)," wrote as follows, referring to the -£60,000 which Sir Charles Napier cleared by way of prize money:-- - - "Who, when he lived on shillings, swore - Rupees were stained with Indian gore, - And 'widows' tears' for motto bore, - But Charley? - - "And yet who, in the last five years, - So round a sum of that coin clears, - In spite of 'gore' and 'widows' tears,' - As Charley?" - -Major Outram again left India for England. The Court of Directors -persuaded him to become their champion, against their old enemy, Sir -Charles Napier. The latter was very strong, for he was thoroughly -supported by the new Governor-General (Lord Ellenborough), in -opposition to all others, and thoroughly identified himself with -the Army, and the Army adored him accordingly. One of his sayings, -"_Kacheri_ (or Court-House) hussar," alluding to the beards or the -mustachios of the civilians, caused a perfect tornado of wrath -amongst the black coats of India. He was equally free-spoken in his -condemnation of the politicals. The Court of Directors did not dare to -recall him at once, but they riled with impotent rage. - -[Sidenote: _Somnath Gates._] - -Amongst other cabals that they brought against him was the affair of -the Somnath Gates. Few people understood the truth of the question in -that day, and most who did, have not forgotten it. These famous doors, -which had been carried off in the year A.D. 1023 from a Hindú temple -in Gujarat by the great warrior, Mahmoud of Ghazni, had been matters -of dispute years before Lord Ellenborough's time. As early as 1831, -when Shah Shuja was in treaty with Runjeet Singh, of the Panjab, for -aid to recover his throne, one of the conditions of the latter, was -the restoration of the Gates of Somnath. Probably the Rajah, like the -Governor-General, was utterly ignorant of the fact that the ruins of -the Moon Temple have entirely perished. On that occasion, however, -the Shah reminded the Hindú of an old prophesy which foreboded the -downfall of the Sikh empire, or the withdrawal of the Gates from the -warrior's tomb at Ghazni. They were removed to India at the end of -1842, and in September, 1843, the Sikh empire practically collapsed -with the murder of Sher Singh--a curious case of uninspired prophecy. -The Gates were removed by General Mott, acting under the orders of the -Governor-General, on March 10th, 1843; they were deposited in Agra, -where they were kept, and may even now be kept, in an old palace in -the Fort, formerly used as an arsenal by the British.[5] The venerable -relics ought long ago to have been sent to the South Kensington Museum. - -[Sidenote: _Outram and Napier._] - -The feud between Sir Charles Napier and Major Outram, divided Western -Anglo-India into two opposing camps. Major Outram belonged to a family -of mechanics, from whose name came the tramways, and he had begun his -service in the Bombay marine. He was presently transferred to the -Native Infantry, and carved out a career for himself. His peculiar -temperament gave him immense power amongst the wild Bhíls and other -tribes, whom he had been sent, as it were, to civilize. He was a short, -stout man, anything but prepossessing in appearance, but of immense -courage and most violent temper. A story is told concerning him and -his brother, who, in a dispute at a tiger-hunt, turned their rifles -against each other. He hated to be outdone, or even to be equalled. On -one occasion, when he found a man who could spring into the lake, off -the house terrace, like himself, he made a native raise him upon his -shoulders, and so managed to outdo the rival jumper. He was immensely -generous and hospitable, living quite in the native way, with a troupe -of _Nach_ girls to pass the evening. He always acted upon impulse, and -upon generous impulses. On one occasion, when marching past, at the -head of his troops, he was grossly insulted by a villager, whereupon he -turned to and administered condign chastisement to the villagers. When -transferred to Sind, he had denounced the Ameers in the severest way; -in fact, his account of them, as political, seemed to justify their -being dethroned. But, as I said, when that operation was performed by -another than himself, he suddenly turned round and denounced the deed. -He was a Scotchman, and was by no means wanting in that canniness -which teaches a man which side his bread carries the butter. He was -thoroughly impressed with the axiom that "bluid is thicker than water," -and always promoted, if he could, the interests of a countryman, to the -detriment of others. Sir Charles Napier, on the other hand, belonged -to that exceptional order of Scotchmen, who are chiefly remarkable for -having nothing of the Scotchman about them. He was utterly deficient -in prudence, he did not care a fig how many enemies he made, and his -tongue was like a scorpion's sting. He spoke of Sir James Hogg as "that -Hogg," alluding to the Hindostani word _suar_ ("pig"), one of the most -insulting words in the language. He spoke of Dr. Buist, a Scotch editor -at Bombay, as "the blatant beast of the Bombay _Times_." In fact, he -declared war to the knife. - -On the other hand, Outram's friends were not idle. He had a large -party of his own. Men liked his courage, his generosity, his -large-heartedness, and his utter disregard for responsibility. He -could also write, in a dull, thick style, it is true, but thoroughly -intelligible to the multitude, and quite unlike the style, like -polished steel, that was so doughtily used by Sir William Napier. -Become a politician, the "Bayard" did not improve; in fact, two or -three dodges were quoted about him which added very little to his -reputation. I had no reason to like him. In his younger days, thirsting -for distinction, Outram was ambitious to explore the Somali country, -then considered the most dangerous in Africa, but when I proposed to -do so, he openly opposed me. This was, however, perhaps natural, as he -was then commanding at Aden. - -As soon as I had passed my drill I was placed in charge of a Company, -and proceeded to teach what I had just learnt. I greatly encouraged -my men in sword exercise, and used to get the best players to my -quarters for a good long bout every day. The usual style in India is -a kind of single-stick, ribbonded with list cloth, up to the top, -and a small shield in the left hand. The style of work seems to -have been borrowed from the sword-dance of some civilized people, -like the Bactrian-Greeks. The swordsman begins with "renowning it," -vapouring, waving his blade, and showing all the curious _fantasie_ -that distinguish a Spanish Espada. Then, with the fiercest countenance, -he begins to spring in the air, to jump from side to side, to crouch -and to rush forwards and backwards, with all the action of an excited -baboon. They never thought of giving "point:" throughout India the -thrust is confined to the dagger. The cuts, as a rule, were only -two--one in the shoulder, and the other, in the vernacular called -_kalam_, at the lower legs. Nothing was easier than to guard these -cuts, and to administer a thrust that would have been fatal with steel. -I gave a prize every month, to the best swordsman, wrestler, and -athlete, generally some gaudy turban. But, although I did my best, I -never could teach them to use a foil. - -[Sidenote: _He learns Indian Riding and Training._] - -These proceedings excited not a little wonder amongst my brother subs, -but much more when I sent for a _Chábu Sawar_, or native jockey, -and began to learn the Indian system of riding, and of training the -horse. As a rule, this was absurdly neglected in India. Men mostly -rode half-broken Arabs, and many an annual review showed the pleasant -spectacle of a commanding officer being run away with in one direction, -and the second in command in another. And when it came to meeting -Indians in the field, the Englishman was at a terrible disadvantage. An -old story is told of an encounter between an Indian and English cavalry -officer, who had been offended by the remarks of the former. They -charged, sword in hand, in presence of their regiments, and both were -equally skilful in parrying the enemy's attack; presently, however, the -Britisher found himself in a fix, the native with his sharp light blade -having cut the horse's reins, without hurting either horse or man. This -is a favourite native ruse. Whereupon the English officer drew his -pistol and disloyally shot the Indian, who in his lingering illness, -which ended fatally, declared that he never meant to hurt the English -officer, but only to prove his own words, that he was not his equal in -swordsmanship or horsemanship. Light chains were afterwards adopted to -accompany the leather bridle. The English officer deeply regretted the -event, and it was hushed up; but such acts are never quite buried. - -A similar manslaughter took place during one of the Sind campaigns. An -officer, who shall be nameless, attacked a Beluch chief, who, being -mounted upon a tired mare, made no attempt to fly. The Englishman, who -had some reputation as a swordsman, repeatedly bore down upon him, -making a succession of cuts, which the opponent received upon his blade -and shield. At last, being unable to win fairly, the Englishman, who is -now high in command, drew his pistol and shot him, and, curious to say, -was not court-martialled! - -[Sidenote: _Passes Exams. in Hindostani._] - -At last I considered myself thoroughly qualified to pass in Hindostani, -and in early April, 1843, obtained leave from the Commander-in-Chief -to visit Bombay for the purpose of examination. I made the same march -from Baroda to Tankaria-Bunder, and then found a _pattymar_ for Bombay. -The sail southwards, despite the extraordinary heat of the season, was -perfectly charming. The north-east monsoon, about drawing to its end, -alternated with the salt sea-breeze and the spicy land-breeze, the -former justly called "The Doctor." The sky was deep blue, unflecked -by a single cloud, and the sea bluer, still hardly crisped by the -wind. There was perfect calm inside and outside the vessel. No posts -and no parades. The living was simple enough, consisting chiefly of -rice, curry and _chapatís_, with the never-failing tea and tobacco. -Tea in India is better than in England, although of inferior quality, -because it has less sea voyage. The native servants, however, have a -peculiar way of brewing it, and those who have once drunk a sneaker, or -double-sized cup, full of Indian tea, will never forget it. Sensible -men, therefore, brew their tea for themselves. - -Despite landing almost every evening, the voyage down coast occupied -only six or seven days. This time I hired a tent, with the aid of the -old Parsee General, and pitched in the Strangers' Lines. They extended -southwards from the Sanitarium, along the shore of Back Bay, and were -not, as now, huddled up into a little space on the other side of the -road. With the assistance of old Dosabhai Sohrabji I worked up the last -minutiæ of the language, and on May 5th appeared in the Town Hall, -where the examinations were held. - -These were not without a certain amount of difficulty. The candidate -was expected to make a written translation, to read and translate -_vivâ voce_ from a native book, to read a written letter, often vilely -scrawled, and to converse with the _moonshee_, Mohammed Makba, a -Concani Mussulman, whose son I afterwards met in 1876. I was fortunate -in my examiner. Captain Pope, who formerly held that position, had been -made Assistant-Commissary-General, and could no longer indulge his -pet propensity of plucking candidates. The committee was composed of -Major-General Vans-Kennedy and three or four nobodies. The former was -an Orientalist after a fashion, knew a great deal of books, and much -more of native manners and customs. In fact, he lived in their society, -and was, as usual, grossly imposed upon. Whenever a servant wanted -"leave," he always begged permission to leave a _badli_, or substitute, -to do his work, and when number one returned, number two remained. -Consequently, the old man was eaten up by native drones. He lived -amongst his books in a tumble-down bungalow, in a tattered compound, -which was never repaired, and he had a slight knowledge of Sanscrit -and Arabic, an abundant acquaintance with Hindostani and Persian, and -general Oriental literature. - -The one grievance of his life was his treatment by Sir John -(afterwards Lord) Keane. This Western barbarian came out to India -when advanced in years, and, imbued with a fine contempt "of the -twenty-years-in-the-country-and-speak-the-language man," he could not -understand what was the use of having officers who did nothing but -facilitate the study of Orientalism, and he speedily sent off Colonel -Vans-Kennedy to join his regiment. The latter was deeply in debt, as -usual, under his circumstances; his creditors tolerated him at the -Presidency, where they could lay ready claws upon his pay, but before -he could march up country, he was obliged to sell, for a mere nothing, -his valuable library of books and manuscripts, which had occupied him -a lifetime in collecting. He was a curious spectacle, suggesting only -a skeleton dressed in a frock-coat of worn-out blue cloth uniform, and -he spoke all his languages with a fine broad lowland accent, which is, -perhaps, Orientally speaking, the best. - -I passed my examination the first of twelve. Next to me was Ensign -Robert Gordon, of the 4th Bombay Rifles, and Ensign Higginson, of the -78th Highlanders. The latter brought to the Examination Hall one of -the finest Irish brogues ever heard there. I had been humble enough -before I passed, but, having once got through, I was ready to back my -knowledge against the world. This was no great feat on my part, as I -had begun Arabic at Oxford, and worked at Hindostani in London, and -on board the ship, and had studied for twelve hours a day at Baroda. -Before I quitted the Presidency, I had an unpleasantness with a certain -Dr. Bird, a pseudo-Orientalist, who, after the fashion of the day, used -the brains of _moonshee_ and _pandit_ to make his own reputation. I -revenged myself by lampooning him, when, at the ripe age of forty-five, -he was about to take to himself a spare-rib. The line began-- - - "A small grey bird goes out to woo, - Primed with Persian ditties new; - To the gardens straight he flew, - Where he knew the rosebud grew." - $/ - -We afterwards met in London, and were very good friends. - -Dr. Bird only regretted that he had wasted his time on native -languages, instead of studying his own profession. He practised -medicine for a short time in London, and died. - -I left Bombay on May 12th, and rejoined my regiment just before -the burst of the south-west monsoon. This was a scene that has -often been described in verse and prose. It was a prime favourite -with the Sanscrit poets, and English readers are familiar with it -through Horace Hayman Wilson's Hindú theatre. But the discomforts -of the season in a cowshed-like bungalow were considerable; -you sat through the day in a wet skin, and slept through the night -with the same. The three months were an alternation of steaming -heat and damp, raw cold. - -The rains are exceptionally heavy in Gujarat, and sometimes -the rainpour lasted without interval for seven days and seven -nights. This is mostly the case in the lowlands of India, especially -at Bombay and other places, where the Gháts approach the coast. -Throughout the inner plateau, as at Poonah, the wet season, -which the Portuguese call winter, with its occasional showers and -its bursts of sunshine, is decidedly pleasant. The brown desolation -of the land disappears in a moment, and is replaced by a -brilliant garb of green. The air is light and wholesome, and the -change is hailed by every one; but at Baroda there were torments -innumerable. The air was full of loathsome beings, which -seemed born for the occasion--flying horrors of all kinds, ants -and bugs, which persisted in intruding into meat and drink. At -Mess it was necessary to have the glasses carefully covered, and it -was hardly safe to open one's mouth. The style of riding to a -dinner has been already described. There was no duty, and the -parade-ground was a sheet of water. Shooting was impossible, -except during the rare intervals of sunshine; and those who did not -play billiards suffered from mortal _ennui_. - -I now attacked with renewed vigour the Gujarati language, spoken -throughout the country, and by the Parsees of Bombay and elsewhere. -My teacher was a Nagar Brahman, named Him Chand. Meanwhile -I took elementary lessons of Sanscrit, from the regimental _pandit_. -Every Sepoy Corps, in those days, kept one of these men, who was a -kind of priest as well as a schoolmaster, reading out prayers, and -superintending the nice conduct of Festivals, with all their complicated -observances. Besides these men, the Government also supplied -schoolmasters, and the consequence was, that a large percentage of -young Sepoys could read and write. I once won a bet from my -brother-in-law Stisted, by proving that more men in the 18th Bombay -Native Infantry than in the 78th Queen's could read and write. In -the latter, indeed, they occasionally had recruits who could not -speak English, but only Gaelic. - -[Sidenote: _Receives the Brahminical Thread._] - -Under my two teachers I soon became as well acquainted, as a -stranger can, with the practice of Hinduism. I carefully read up -Ward, Moor, and the publications of the Asiatic Society, questioning -my teachers, and committing to writing page after page of notes, and -eventually my Hindú teacher officially allowed me to wear the _Janeo_ -(Brahminical thread). My knowledge, indeed, not a little surprised -my friend Dr. H. G. Carter, who was secretary to the Asiatic Society -at Bombay. On June 26th, 1843, I was appointed interpreter to -my regiment, which added something--a few rupees, some thirty a -month--to my income. My brother officers now began to see that -I was working with an object. When I returned from Bombay, they -had been surprised at my instantly resuming work, and not allowing -myself a holiday. They grumbled not a little at having so unsociable -a messmate. - -About that time, too, I began to acquire the ominous soubriquet -of "The White Nigger," and what added not a little to the general -astonishment was, that I left off "sitting under" the garrison Chaplain, -and transferred myself to the Catholic Chapel of the chocolate-coloured -Goanese priest, who adhibited spiritual consolation to the -_bultrels_ (butlers and head-servants) and other servants of the camp.[6] -At length, on August 22nd, 1843, I again obtained leave "to -proceed to Bombay to be examined in the Guzerattee language." -This time I was accompanied on the journey by Lieutenant R. A. -Manson, who was on like business, to the Presidency. The march -was detestable. We could hardly ride our horses through the -sticky and knee-deep mud of Gujarat. So we fitted up native carts -with waterproof tilts, and jogged behind the slow-paced steers on -the high-road to Broach. Here we found a detachment of a native -Corps, living the usual dull, monotonous life. - -Hence we proceeded to Surat, once the cradle of the British -power in India, and afterwards doomed to utter neglect. Its -masterful position for trade secured it from utter ruin, but no thanks -to its rulers. Here we again took a _pattymar_, and dropped down -the river, _en route_ to the Presidency. But this time it was very -different voyaging. The south-west monsoon was dead against us, -and nothing could be more ominous than the aspect of the weather. -We reached Bombay on September 26th, just in time to avoid the -_Elephanta_, or dangerous break up of the rainy monsoon. Little -Manson, who had been wrecked when coming out in Back Bay, was -in an extreme state of nervousness, and I was prepared for any -risk when I saw the last sheets of lightning hung out by the purple-black -clouds. The examination took place on October 16th, 1843, -again in presence of old General Vans-Kennedy and the normal -three or four nobodies, and I again passed first, distancing my -rival, Lieutenant C. P. Rigby, of the 16th Bombay N.I. I wished -to remain in Bombay to await my regiment, then under orders for -Sind, but on the 10th of November I was ordered north, and yet -the corps had received orders to march on November 23rd. - -The break up of the Cantonment produced all manner of festivities. -The two Corps took leave of one another, and passed the last -night in the enjoyment of a stupendous _Nach_, or Nautch. - -[Sidenote: _On the March._] - -A March with a regiment in those days was a pleasure. The first -bugle sounded shortly after midnight, and presently came the -signal-- - - "Don't you hear the general say, - 'Strike your tents and march away'?" - -After a few days' practice, the camp was on the ground and ready packed -for starting on carts and camels, within a few minutes. Naturally loose -marching was the rule. The men were only expected to keep in Companies, -and the officers, with rifles in their hands, rode before, behind, or -alongside of them. In this way many a head of game made its appearance -at the regimental Mess. The Marches seldom exceeded fifteen miles -a day; at the end of the stage the Sepoys were drawn up into line, -inspected, and told off to pitching the tents. Breakfast was generally -eaten by the officers shortly after sunrise, and the morning air gave -fine appetites. The food was generally carried in a _dúli_, a kind of -portable palanquin, primarily intended for the sick and wounded. After -the tents were pitched most men were glad to have a short sleep. They -assembled again at Tiffin, and its objectionable properties disappeared -during the march. They then amused themselves with shooting, or -strolling about the country, till Mess hour. The officers' wives were -always present at dinner, and no smoking was allowed until they had -disappeared. After mess, men were only too glad to turn in, and to get -as much sleep as they could before the morning bugle. - -The regiment embarked in a native craft at Tankaria-Bunder, and on -December 26th, 1843, encamped on the Esplanade, Bombay. They were -in the highest spirits, for all expected to see service. The wing -from Mhow had been ordered to rejoin head-quarters, and the same was -the case with the Staff officers, Captains Jamieson and Partridge, -Lieutenants MacDonald, Hough, Compton, and Ensign Anderson. Needless -to say that the latter were in high dudgeon at leaving their fat -appointments. - -[Sidenote: _Embarks for Sind._] - -On New Year's Day of 1844, the corps embarked on board the H.E.I. -Company's steamship _Semiramis_, generally known as the "Merry -Miss." She was commanded by Captain Ethersey, who ended badly. His -"'aughtiness," as the crew called it, won him very few friends. And now -I come to the time when I began to describe my experiences in print. -The first chapter of "Scinde; or the Unhappy Valley" gives a facetious -account of this voyage. - -On board the _Semiramis_ I made a good friend in Captain Walter Scott, -of the Bombay Engineers, who had been transferred from Kandesh, to -take charge of the Survey in Lower Sind, by general order of November -23rd, 1843. He was a handsome man in the prime of life, with soft blue -eyes, straight features, yellow hair, and golden-coloured beard. Withal -he not a little resembled his uncle, "The Magician of the North," of -whom he retained the fondest remembrance. He preserved also the trick, -wholly unintentional, of the burr and the lisp, the former in the -humorous parts, and the latter in the tenderer part of his stories. He -was an admirable conversationist, and his anecdotes were full of a dry -and pawky humour, which comes from north of the Tweed. Yet, curious -to say, when he took pen in hand his thoughts seemed to fly abroad. -His lines were crooked, and his sentences were hardly intelligible. -Something of this was doubtless owing to his confirmed habit of cheroot -smoking, whilst he was writing, but it was eminently characteristic of -the man. - -Walter Scott was a truly fine character. His manners were those -of a gentleman of the Old School, and he never said a disagreeable -word or did an ungraceful deed. A confirmed bachelor, he was not at -all averse to women's society; indeed, rather the contrary. He was -generous, even lavish to the extreme, and he was quite as ready to -befriend an Englishman, as a "brither Scot." These two latter qualities -seemed to distinguish a high-bred Scotchman, whilst the English and -Irish gentleman preserved the characteristics of his nationality, -of course refining it and raising it to the highest standard. The -Scottish gentleman seems to differ not only in degree, but in kind, -and to retain only the finer qualities of his race. This is not -speaking of the aristocracy, but of the finer nature, which is the -nature of a true gentleman. Whereas the common herd errs in excess of -canniness and cautiousness, keeps a keen eye upon the main chance, and -distrusts everything and everybody. The select few are rather rash than -otherwise, think less of gain than of a point of honour, and seem to -believe all other men as true-hearted and high-spirited as themselves, -as well as utterly destitute of religious fanaticism. - -Walter Scott's favourite reading was old history and romance. He was -delighted to meet with a man who was acquainted with Hollingshed and -Froissart. Moreover, he had sent to Italy for a series of books upon -the canalization of the valley of the Po, and was right glad to find a -man who had been in that part of the world, and could assist him by his -knowledge of Italian. And I capped the good effect I had upon him, by -quoting some of the finest of his uncle's lines, which end with-- - - "I bless thee, and thou shalt be blessed." - -The little voyage, beautiful outside the ship, and stiff and prim -within, ended on the fourth day. The _Semiramis_ ran past Manora Head -and anchored near the Bar, which in those days was as bad as bad could -be. My first impressions of the country, a marvellous contrast to -Gujarat and Bombay, were as follows:-- - -[Sidenote: _Karáchi, Sind._] - - "In those days Sind was in the most primitive state. The town, or - rather village, of Karáchi was surrounded by a tall wall of guy swish, - topped with fancy crenelles, and perpendicularly striped with what the - Persians call _Da mágheh_, or nostril holes, down which the besieged - could pour hot oil, or boiling water. Streets there were none; every - house looked like a small fort, and they almost met over the narrow - lanes that formed the only thoroughfares. The bazar, a long line - of miserable shops, covered over with rude matting of date leaves, - was the only place comparatively open. Nothing could exceed the - filthiness of the town; sewers there were none. And the deodorization - was effected by the dust. The harbour, when the tide was out, was a - system of mud-flats, like the lagoons of Venice, when you approach - them by the Murazzi. A mere sketch of a road, which in these days - would be called a Frere highway, led from the nearest mud-bank to the - Cantonment. The latter was in its earliest infancy. The ground of hard - clay was still covered with milk-bush and desert vegetation, and only - here and there a humble bungalow was beginning to be built. There was - no sign of barracks, and two race-courses were laid out before any one - thought of church or chapel. - - "Yet Karáchi showed abundant sign of life. Sir Charles Napier - thoroughly believed in its future, and loudly proclaimed that in - a few years it would take the wind out of Bombay sails. The old - Conqueror himself was temporarily staying there. He had his wife and - two handsome daughters. His personal staff was composed of his two - nephews, Captain William Napier and Lieutenant Byng. In his general - Staff he had Major Edward Green, Assistant Adjutant-General, for - Quarter-Master-General; Captain MacMurdo, who afterwards married his - daughter; a civilian named Brown, _alias_ 'Beer' Brown; Captain Young, - of the Bengal army, as his Judge Advocate-General; and Captain Preedy - for his Commissary-General. The latter was the son of a violent old - officer in the Bombay army, and of whom many a queer story was told. - One of them is as follows:--He was dining at a Dragoon mess at Poonah, - when they began to sing a song which had been written by an officer of - the regiment, and which had for refrain-- - - 'Here's death to those - Who dare oppose - Her Majesty's Dragoons.' - - Old Preedy well knew that in the affair alluded to, the Dragoons, - having ventured into a native village, had been soundly thrashed by - the villagers. After patiently hearing the song out, he proposed - to give the villagers a turn, but he had hardly finished his first - verses-- - - 'Success to who - Dare to bamboo - Her Majesty's Dragoons.' - - before he was duly kicked out of the Mess. - - "Karáchi was then swarming with troops. The 78th Highlanders were - cantoned there, and were presently joined by the 86th, or 'County Down - Boys.' Both consumed a vast quantity of liquor, but in diametrically - different ways. The kilts, when they felt fou, toddled quietly to bed, - and slept off the debauch; the brogues quarrelled and fought, and - made themselves generally disagreeable, and passed the night in the - guard-house. There was horse artillery and foot artillery, and the - former, when in uniform, turned out in such gorgeous gingerbread-gold - coats, that gave a new point to the old sneer of 'buying a man at - your own price, and selling him at his own,' and there were native - regiments enough to justify brigade parades on the very largest scale." - -The 18th was presently ordered off to Gharra, a desolate bit of rock -and clay, which I described as follows:-- - - "Look at that unhappy hole--it is Gharra. - - "The dirty heap of mud-and-mat hovels that forms the native village is - built upon a mound, the _débris_ of former Gharras, close to a creek - which may or may not have been the 'western outlet of the Indus in - Alexander's time.' All round it lies a-- - - 'windy sea of land:'-- - - salt, flat, barren rock and sandy plain, where eternal sea-gales - blow up and blow down a succession of hillocks--warts upon the foul - face of the landscape--stretching far, far away, in all the regular - irregularity of desolation. - - "You see the cantonment with its falling brick lines outside, and its - tattered thatched roofs peeping from the inside of a tall dense hedge - of bright green milk-bush." - -We were obliged to pitch tents, for there was no chance of lodging in -the foul little village, at the head of the Gharra creek. Under the -circumstances, of course, the work was very hard. - -A sandstorm astonished an English visitor considerably. - - "When we arose in the morning the sky was lowering, the air dark; the - wind blew in puffs, and--unusual enough at the time of the year--it - felt raw and searching. If you took the trouble to look towards the - hills about eight a.m. you might have seen a towering column of sand - from the rocky hills, mixed with powdered silt from the arid plains, - flying away as fast as it could from the angry puffing Boreas. - - "The gale increases--blast pursuing blast, roaring and sweeping round - the walls and over the roofs of the houses with the frantic violence - of a typhoon. There is a horror in the sound, and then the prospect - from the windows! It reminds one of Firdausi's vast idea that one - layer has been trampled off earth and added to the coats of the - firmament. You close every aperture and inlet, in the hope of escaping - the most distressing part of the phenomenon. Save yourself the - trouble, all such measures are useless. The finer particles with which - the atmosphere is laden would pass without difficulty through the - eye of a needle; judge what comfortable thoroughfares they must find - the chinks of these warped doors and the crannies of the puttyless - munnions. - - "It seems as though the dust recognized in our persons kindred - matter. Our heads are powdered over in five minutes; our eyes, unless - we sit with closed lids, feel as if a dash of cayenne had been - administered to them; we sneeze like schoolboys after a first pinch of - 'blackguard;' our epidermises are grittier than a loaf of provincial - French bread, and washing would only be a mockery of resisting the - irremediable evil. - - "Now, Mr. Bull, if you wish to let your friends and old cronies at - home see something of the produce of the East, call for a lighted - candle, and sit down to compose an 'overland letter.' It will take you - at least two hours and a half to finish the four pages, as the pen - becomes clogged, and the paper covered every few minutes; moreover, - your spectacles require wiping at least as often as your quill does. - By the time the missive comes to hand it will contain a neat little - cake of Indus mud and Scinde sand moulded in the form of paper. Tell - Mrs. Bull that you went without your tiffin--lunch I mean--that you - tried to sleep, but the novel sensation of being powdered all over - made the attempt an abortive one--that it is impossible to cook during - a dust-storm--and that you are in for a modification of your favourite - 'intramural sepulture,' if the gale continues much longer. However, - your days are safe enough; the wind will probably fall about five or - six in the afternoon,--it is rare that it does not go down with the - sun--and even should it continue during the night, it will be a farce - compared to what we are enduring now." - -[Sidenote: _He passes in Maharátta._] - -There was great excitement on June 20th, 1844, when the Sepoys of the -64th Regiment mutinied at Shikapur and beat their officers. The station -was commanded by Major-General Hunter, C.B. Most of his experience was -in studs. When campaigning with Sir Charles Napier, the latter sent to -him for something to eat, and the reply was a ham and a round of press -beef. The "devil's brother," as the Sindís called him, cut a slice out -of the ham and another out of the beef, and then sent the remainder -back to the owner. On June 27th a general order established vernacular -examination, making it every officer's duty to learn something more -or less of the language. In September I went down to Bombay to pass -an examination in Maharátta, and on October 15th I distanced some six -competitors. - - * * * * * - -Richard produced another Chapter on India when he was sick, in 1888, -for Mr. Hitchman, which is the one the biographer used, having objected -to some of the other parts, whilst I have used the original manuscript -just as it was given to me in 1876. - -[1] The general orders of the Commander-in-Chief-- - -"To rank from date of sailing from Gravesend to the ship by which they -proceeded in the following order, viz.:-- - -"Charles Thompson, per barque _John Knox_ June 18, 1842. -Richard Francis Burton, per barque _John Knox_ June 18, 1842. -The latter appointed to the 14th Regiment B.N.I. Sept. 24, 1842. -The latter transferred to 18th B.N.I. Oct. 25, 1842. -No. 106, date of arrival at Bombay Oct. 28, 1842." - -[2] He was assistant garrison surgeon, serving under Superintendent -Surgeon A. C. Kane. The latter's name evidently subjected him to a -variety of small witticisms, especially when he was called in to treat -a certain A. Bell. - -[3] Amongst natives, caste is so powerful in India that it even affects -Mlenchha, or outcast races. - -[4] For description of _pattymar_, see "Goa and Blue Mountains," by R. -F. Burton. - -[5] Colonel Yule gives an illustration of these gates in his second -volume of "Marco Polo." - -[6] I was at this time a child in the schoolroom; we had no knowledge -of each other's existence; I therefore had no part in the matter. He -did not tell me of it until we had been married for some time, as -he wished, he said, to see if _he_ was paramount in _my_ mind, and -that I would make the sacrifice for him, which was necessary for our -marriage later on. He then said, "that if a man _had_ a religion, it -must be the Catholic; it was the religion of a gentleman--a terrible -religion for a man of the world to live in, but a good one to die in." -I have often wondered that this step never excited any comment; he -wrote of it freely; he spoke of it freely until his latter years; but -as he did not like _me_ to do so, I never did. Nobody ever dared to -question his action till after he was dead; but when the master-mind, -the witty tongue was powerless, when the scathing pen the strong right -sword-arm could no longer wield, people fell foul of me for speaking of -it as a simple and natural fact. I never called him a devout practical -Catholic; I only said he was received into the Church, and that he -meant to have its rites at the time of his death.--I. B. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE REMINISCENCES WRITTEN FOR MR. HITCHMAN IN 1888--INDIA. - - -[Sidenote: _A Later Chapter on same events differently told._] - -When I landed at Bombay (October 28th, 1842), "Momba Devi" town was a -marvellous contrast with the "Queen of Western India," as she thrones -it in 1887; no City in Europe, except perhaps Vienna, can show such a -difference. The old Portuguese port-village _temp. Caroli Secundi_, -with its silly fortifications and useless esplanade, its narrow alleys -and squares like _places d'armes_, had not developed itself into -"Sasson-Town," as we may call the olden, and "Frére-Town" the modern -moiety. - -Under the patriarchal rule of the Court of Directors to the Hon. East -Indian Company, a form of torpidity much resembling the paternal -government of good Emperor Franz, no arrangements were made for the -reception of the queer animals called "cadets." They landed and fell -into the knowing hands of some rascals; lodged at a Persian tavern, -the British Hotel, all uncleanliness at the highest prices. I had a -touch of "seasoning sickness," came under the charge of "Paddy Ryan," -Fort Surgeon and general favourite, and was duly drafted into the -Sanitary Bungalow--thatched hovels facing Back Bay, whence ever arose -a pestilential whiff of roast Hindú, and opened the eyes of those -who had read about the luxuries of the East. Life was confined to a -solitary ride (at dawn and dusk), a dull monotonous day, and a night in -some place of dissipation--to put it mildly--such as the Bhendi bazar, -whose attractions consisted of dark young persons in gaudy dress, -mock jewels, and hair japanned with cocoa-nut oil, and whose especial -diversions were an occasional "row"--a barbarous manner of "town and -gown." But a few days, of residence had taught me that India, at least -Western India, offered only two specialities for the Britisher; first -_Shikar_ or sport, and secondly, opportunities of studying the people -and their languages. These were practically unlimited; I found that -it took me some years of hard study before I could walk into a bazar -and distinguish the several castes, and know something of them, their -manners and customs, religion and superstitions. I at once engaged a -venerable Parsee, Dosabhai Sohrabji, also a _mubid_, or priest, as -his white cap and coat showed, who had coached many generations of -_griffs_, and under his guidance dived deep into the "Ethics of Hind" -(Akhlak-i-Hindi) and other such text-books. - -This was the year after the heir-apparent was born; when Nott, Pollock, -and Sale revenged the destruction of some 13,000 men by the Afghans; -when the Chinese War broke out; when Lord Ellenborough succeeded -awkward Lord Auckland; and when Major-General Sir Charles J. Napier, -commanding at Poonah, was appointed to Sind (August 25th, 1842), -and when his subsequent unfriend, Brevet-Major James Outram, was on -furlough to England; lastly, and curious to say, most important of all -to me, was the fact that "Ensign Burton" was ranked and posted in the -G. G. O. of October 15th, 1842, to the 18th Regiment, Bombay N.I. - -Nor was I less surprised by the boasting of my brother officers (the -Sepoys had thrashed the French in India and elsewhere, they were the -flower of the British army, and so forth)--fine specimen of _esprit -de corps_ run mad, which was destined presently to change its tone, -after 1857. Meanwhile this loud brag covered an ugly truth. We officers -of the Indian army held her Majesty's commission, but the Company's -officers were looked upon by the Queen's troops as mere auxiliaries, -locals without general rank, as it were black policemen. Moreover the -rules of the service did not allow us to rise above a certain rank. -What a contrast to the French private, who carries a Marshal's baton in -his knapsack! - -Captain Cleland introduced me to his sister, the wife of a -field-officer, and she to sundry of her friends, whose tone somewhat -surprised me. Here and there a reference was made to my "immortal -soul," and I was overwhelmed with oral treatises upon what was expected -from a "Christian in a heathen land." And these ladies "talked shop," -at least, so it appeared to me, like non-commissioned officers. After -_Shikar_ and the linguistics, the only popular pursuit in India is -(I should think always was) "Society." But indigestible dinners are -not pleasant in a Turkish bath; dancing is at a discount in a region -of eternal dog-days; picnics are unpleasant on the "palm-tasselled -strand of glowing Ind," where scorpions and cobras come uninvited; -horse-racing, like Cicero's "Mercaturi," to be honoured, must be on a -large scale; the Mess tiffin is an abomination ruinous to digestion and -health; the billiard-table may pass an hour or so pleasantly enough, -but it becomes a monotonous waste of time, and the evening bands, or -meet at "Scandal Point," is open to the charge of a deadly dullness. - -Visits become visitations, because that tyrant Madam Etiquette -commanded them about noon, despite risk of sunstroke, and "the ladies" -insisted upon them without remorse of conscience. Needless to say that -in those days the _Gym-hánah_ was unknown, and that the Indian world -ignored lawn-tennis, even croquet. - -Another point in Bombay Society at once struck me, and I afterwards -found it in the Colonies and most highly developed in the United -States. At home men and women live under an incubus, a perfect system -of social despotism which is intended to make amends for an unnatural -political equality, amongst classes born radically unequal. Abroad, the -weight is taken off their shoulders, and they result of its removal is -a peculiar rankness of growth. The pious become fanatically one-idea'd, -pharisaical, unchristian, monomaniacal. The un-pious run to the other -extreme, believe nothing, sneer at the holies, "and look upon the mere -Agnostic as a 'slow coach.'" Eccentricity develops itself Bedlam-wards. -One of my friends had a mania and swore "By my halidom." Another had -an image of Gánpati over his door, which he never passed without -the prayer, "Shri ganeshayá Hamahá" ("I bow to auspicious Janus"). -A third, of whom I heard, had studied Aristotle in Arabic, and when -shown the "Novum Organon," asked, indignantly, "who the fellow might -be that talked such stuff." And in matters of honesty the social idea -was somewhat lax; to sell a spavined horse to a friend was considered -a good joke, and to pass off plated wares for real silver was looked -upon as only a trifle too "smart." The Press faithfully reflected -these nuances with a little extra violence and virulence of its own. -By-the-by, I must not forget making the acquaintance of a typical -Scot, Dr. Buist (afterwards Sir Charles Napier's "blatant beast of the -_Bombay Times_"). He wrote much (so badly that only one clerk could -read it) and washed little; and as age advanced he married a young wife. - -After a month or so at Bombay, chiefly spent in mugging "Hindostani," -and in providing myself with the necessaries of life--servants, headed -by Salvador Soares, a handsome Goanese; a horse, in the shape of a -dun-coloured Kattywár nag; also a "horsekeeper," a dog, a tent, and -so forth--I received my marching orders and set out to "join" my own -corps. The simple way of travelling in those days before steam and rail -was by palanquin or _pattymar_. I have described the latter article -in "Goa," and I may add that it had its advantages. True it was a -"slow coach," creeping on seventy or eighty miles a day, and some days -almost stationary; it had few comforts and no luxuries. I began by -actually missing "pudding," and have often smiled at the remembrance -of my stomach's comical disappointment. _En revanche_, the study of -the little world within was most valuable to the "young Anglo-Indian," -and the slow devious course allowed landing at places rarely visited -by Europeans. During my repeated trips I saw Diu, once so famous in -Portuguese story, Holy Dwarká, guarded outside by sharks and filled -with fierce and fanatic mercenaries, and a dozen less interesting spots. - -The end of this trip was Tankária-Bunder, a small landing in the Bay of -Cambay, a most primitive locale to be called a port, where a mud-bank, -adapted for a mooring-stake, was about the only convenience. It showed -me, however, a fine specimen of the _Ghora_, or bore, known to our -Severn and other rivers--an exaggerated high tide, when the water -comes rushing up the shallows like a charge of cavalry. Native carts -were also to be procured at Tankária-Bunder for the three days' short -march to Baroda, and a mattress spread below made the rude article -comfortable enough for young limbs and strong nerves. - -Gujarat, the classical Gujaráhtra, a land of the Gujar clan, which -remained the Syrastrena Regio of Arrian, surprised me by its tranquil -beauty and its vast natural wealth. Green as a card-table, flat as -a prairie, it grew a marvellous growth of trees, which stunted our -English oaks and elm trees-- - - "to ancient song unknown, - The noble sons of potent heat and flood"-- - -and a succession of fields breaking the glades, of townlets and -villages walled by luxuriant barriers of caustic milk-bush (euphorbia), -teemed with sights and sounds and smells peculiarly Indian. The sharp -bark of Hanu the Monkey and the bray of the _Shankh_ or conch near -the bowery pagoda were surprises to the ear, and less to the nose was -the blue vapour which settled over the hamlets morning and evening, a -semi-transparent veil, the result of _Gobar_ smoke from "cow-chips." -A stale trick upon travellers approaching India by sea was to rub a -little sandal oil upon the gunwale and invite them to "smell India," -yet many a time for miles off shore I have noted that faint spicy -odour, as if there were curry in the air, which about the abodes of man -seems to be crossed with an aroma of drugs, as though proceeding from -an apothecary's store. Wondrous peaceful and quiet lay those little -Indian villages, outlaid by glorious banyan and pipal trees, topes or -clumps of giant figs which rain a most grateful shade, and sometimes -provided by the piety of some long-departed Chief with a tank of cut -stone, a _baurá_ or draw-well of fine masonry and large dimensions. But -what "exercised" not a little my "Griffin" thoughts was to note the -unpleasant difference between villages under English rule and those -belonging to "His Highness the Gaikwar" or cowkeeper; the penury of the -former and the prosperity of the latter. Mr. Boyd, the then Resident at -the local court, soon enlightened me upon the evils of our unelastic -rule of "smart Collectors," who cannot and dare not make any allowance -for deficient rainfall or injured crops, and it is better to have -something to lose, and to lose it even to the extent "of being ousted -of possessions and disseized of freehold," with the likely hope of -gaining it again, than to own nothing worth plundering. - -The end of the march introduced me to my corps, the 18th Regiment, -Bombay Native Infantry, whose head-quarters were in Gujarat, one wing -being stationed at Mhow, on the Bengal frontier. - -The officer commanding, Captain James (C.V.), called upon me at the -Travellers' bungalow, the rudimentary Inn which must satisfy the -stranger in India, suggesting the while such sad contrast, and bore me -off to his bungalow, formally presented me at Mess--then reduced to -eight members besides myself--and the Assistant-Surgeon Arnott put me -in the way of lodging myself. The regimental Mess, with its large cool -Hall and punkahs, its clean napery and bright silver, its servants each -standing behind his master's chair, and the cheroots and hookahs which -appeared with the disappearance of the "table"-cloth, was a pleasant -surprise, the first sight of comfortable home-life I had seen since -landing at Bombay. Not so the Subalterns' bungalow, which gave the idea -of a dog-hole at which British Ponto would turn up his civilized nose. -The business of the day was mainly goose-step and studying the drill -book, and listening to such equivocal words of command as "Tandelees" -(stand at ease) and "Fiz-bagnat" (fix bayonets). Long practice with -the sword, which I had began seriously at the age of twelve, sometimes -taking three lessons a day, soon eased my difficulties, and led to the -study of native swordsmanship, whose grotesqueness and buffoonery can -be rivalled only by its insufficiency.[1] - -The wrestling, however, was another matter, and not a few natives in my -Company had at first the advantage of me, and this induced a trial of -Indian training, which consisted mainly of washing down balls of _Gur_ -(unrefined sugar) with bowls of hot milk hotly spiced. The result was -that in a week I was blind with bile. Another set of lessons suggested -by common sense, was instruction by a _chábuhsawar_, or native jockey. -All nations seem to despise one another's riding, and none seem to -know how much they have to learn. The Indian style was the merit of -holding the horse well in hand, making him bound off at a touch of the -heel, stopping him dead at a hand gallop, and wheeling him round as -on a pivot. The Hindú will canter over a figure-of-eight, gradually -diminishing the dimensions till the animal leans over at an angle of -45°, and throwing himself over the off side and hanging by the heel to -the earth, will pick up sword or pistol from the ground. Our lumbering -chargers brought us to notable grief more than once in the great Sikh -War. And as I was somewhat nervous about snakes, I took lessons of a -"Charmer," and could soon handle them with coolness. - -The _Bibi_ (white woman) was at that time rare in India; the result was -the triumph of the _Búbú_ (coloured sister). I found every officer in -the corps more or less provided with one of these helpmates. - -We boys naturally followed suit; but I had to suffer the protestations -of the Portuguese _padre_, who had taken upon himself the cure and -charge of my soul, and was like a hen who had hatched a duckling. I -had a fine opportunity of studying the _pros_ and _cons_ of the _Búbú_ -system. - -_Pros_: The "walking dictionary" is all but indispensable to the -Student, and she teaches him not only Hindostani grammar, but the -syntaxes of native Life. She keeps house for him, never allowing him -to save money, or, if possible, to waste it. She keeps the servants in -order. She has an infallible recipe to prevent maternity, especially if -her tenure of office depends on such compact. She looks after him in -sickness, and is one of the best of nurses, and, as it is not good for -man to live alone, she makes him a manner of home. - -The _disadvantages_ are as manifest as the advantages. Presently, as -overland passages became cheaper and commoner, the _Bibi_ won and the -_Búbú_ lost ground. Even during _my_ day, married men began, doubtless -at the instance of their wives, to look coldly upon the half-married, -thereby showing mighty little common sense. For India was the classic -land of Cicisbeism, where husbands are occupied between ten a.m. and -five p.m. at their offices and counting-houses, leaving a fair field -and much favour to the sub unattached, and whose duty often keeps -the man sweltering upon the plains, when the wife is enjoying the -_somer-frisch_ upon "the Hills." Moreover, the confirmed hypocrite and -the respectable-ist, when in power, established a kind of inquisitorial -inquiry into the officer's house, and affixed a black mark to the -name of the half-married. At last the _Búbú_ made her exit and left a -void. The greatest danger in British India is the ever-growing gulf -that yawns between the governors and the governed; they lose touch of -one another, and such racial estrangement leads directly to racial -hostility. - -The day in Cantonment-way is lively. It began before sunrise on the -parade-ground, an open space, which any other people but English -would have converted into a stronghold. Followed, the baths and the -_choti-hazri_, or little breakfast, the _munshi_ (language-master), and -literary matters till nine o'clock meal. The hours were detestable, -compared with the French system--the _déjeuner à la fourchette_, which -abolished the necessity of lunch; but throughout the Anglo-American -world, even in the places worst adapted, "business" lays out the day. -After breakfast, most men went to the billiard-room; some, but very -few, preferred "peacocking," which meant robing in white-grass clothes -and riding under a roasting sun, as near the meridian as possible, to -call upon "regimental ladies," who were gruff as corporals when the -function was neglected too long. The dull and tedious afternoon again -belonged to _munshi_, and ended with a constitutional ride, or a rare -glance at the band; Mess about seven p.m., possibly a game of whist, -and a stroll home under the marvellous Gujarat skies, through a scene -of perfect loveliness, a paradise bounded by the whity-black line. - -There was little variety in such days. At times we rode to Baroda -City, which seemed like a Mansion, to which the Cantonment acted as -porter's Lodge. "Good Water" (as the Sanskritists translate it) was -a walled City, lying on the north bank of the Vishwamitra river, and -containing some 150,000 souls, mostly hostile, who eyed us with hateful -eyes, and who seemed to have taught even their animals to abhor us. The -City is a _mélange_ of low huts and tall houses, grotesquely painted, -with a shabby palace, and a _Chauk_, or Bazar, where four streets -meet. At times H.M. the Gaikwar would show us what was called sport--a -fight between two elephants with cut tusks, or a caged tiger and a -buffalo--the last being generally the winner--or a wrangle between -two fierce stallions, which bit like camels. The cock-fighting was, -however, of a superior kind, the birds being of first-class blood, -and so well trained, that they never hesitated to attack a stranger. -An occasional picnic, for hunting, not society, was a most pleasant -treat. The native Prince would always lend us his cheetahs or hunting -leopards, or his elephants; the jungles inland of the city swarmed with -game, from a snipe to a tiger, and the broad plains to the north were -packs of _nilghai_ and the glorious black buck. About twenty-eight -miles due east, rises high above the sea of verdure the picturesque -hill known as Pávangarh, the Fort of Eolus, and the centre of an old -Civilization. Tanks and Jain temples were scattered around it, and -the ruins of Champenír City cumbered the base. In a more progressive -society, this place, 2500 feet high, and cooler by 18° to 20° F., -would have become a kind of sanitarium. But men, apparently, could not -agree. When the Baroda races came round, Major C. Crawley, commanding -the 4th Bombay Rifles, used, in consequence of some fancied slight, to -openly ride out of cantonment; and Brigadier Gibbons, the commander, -did nothing for society. But the crowning excitement of the season was -the report of Sir Charles Napier's battle of Miani (February 21st), -followed by the affair of Dubba (March 25th), the "tail of the Afghan -War." The account seemed to act as an electric shock upon the English -frame, followed by a deep depression and a sense of mortal injury at -the hands of Fate in keeping us out of the fray. - -At length, in April, 1843, I obtained two months' leave of absence -to the Presidency, for the purpose of passing an examination in -Hindostani. The function was held at the Town Hall. Major-General -Vans-Kennedy presided, a queer old man as queerly dressed, who -had given his life to Orientalism, and who had printed some very -respectable studies of Hinduism. The examining _munshi_, Mohammed -"Mucklá," was no friend to me, because I was coached by a rival, old -Dosabhai, yet he could not prevent my distancing a field of eleven. -This happened on May 5th, and on May 12th I had laid in a full supply -of Gujarati books, and set out by the old road to rejoin. - -If Baroda was dull and dreary during the dries, it was mortal during -the rains. I had been compelled to change my quarters for a bigger -bungalow, close to the bank of the _nullah_ which bounded the camp -to the east and fed the Vishwamitra. It was an ill-omened place; an -English officer had been wounded in it, and the lintel still bore -the mark of a sabre which some native ruffian had left, intending -to split a Serjeant's head. Other quarters in the cantonment were -obliged to keep one _ramosi, alias_ Paggi, a tracker, a temporarily -reformed thief who keeps off other thieves; my bungalow required two. -An ignoble position for a dominant race, this openly paying blackmail -and compounding felony. The rule of the good Company was, however, not -a rule of honour, but of expediency, and the safety of its officers -was little regarded; they were stabbed in their tents, or cut down by -dacoits, even when travelling on the highways of Gujarat. Long and -loudly the survivors hoped that some fine day a bishop or a Director's -son would come to grief, and _when this happened at last_ the process -was summarily stopped. Indeed, nothing was easier to find than a -remedy. A heavy fine was imposed upon the district in which the outrage -was committed. By such means, Mohammed Ali of Egypt made the Suez -Desert safer than a London street, and Sir Charles Napier pacified -Sind, and made deeds of violence unknown--by means not such as Earl -Russell virtually encouraged the robber-shepherds of Greece to plunder -and murder English travellers. - -The monsoon,[2] as it is most incorrectly termed, completely changes -the tenor of Anglo-Indian life. It is ushered in by a display of -"insect youth" which would have astonished Egypt in the age of the -plagues, "flying bugs," and so forth. At Mess every tumbler was -protected by a silver lid. And when the downfall begins it suggests -that the "fountains of the great deep" have been opened up. I have -seen tropical rains in many a region near the Line, but never anything -that rivals Gujarati. Without exaggeration, the steady discharge of -water buckets lasted literally, on one occasion, through seven days -and nights without intermission, and to reach Mess we had to send our -clothes on, and to wear a single waterproof, and to gallop through -water above, around, and below at full speed. This third of the year -was a terribly dull suicidal time, worse even than the gloomy month -of November. It amply accounted for the card-table surface and the -glorious tree-clump of the Gujarat-- - - "The mighty growth of sun and torrent-rains." - -Working some twelve hours a day, and doing nothing but work, I found -myself ready in later August for a second trip to the Presidency, and -obtained leave from September 10th to October 30th (afterwards made to -include November 10th) for proceeding to Bombay, and being examined in -the Guzerattee language.[3] - -This time I resolved to try another route, and, despite the warning of -abominable roads, to ride down coast _viâ_ Baroch and Surat. I had not -been deceived; the deep and rich black soil, which is so good for the -growth of cotton, makes a mud truly terrible to travellers. Baroch, the -Hindú Brighu-Khatia, or Field of Brighú, son of Brahma, is generally -made the modern successor of Ptolemy and Arrian's "Barygaza," but there -are no classic remains to support the identification of the spot, nor -indeed did any one in the place seem to care a fig about the matter. -A truly Hindú town of some twelve thousand souls on the banks of the -Nerbudda, it boasted of only one sight, the _Kabir-bar_, which the -English translated "Big Banyan," and which meant, "Banyan-tree of (the -famous ascetic and poet) Das Kabir." I remember only two of his lines-- - - "Máyá mare na man mare, mar mar gaya sarir" - ("Illusion dies; dies not the mind, though body die and die")-- - -_Máyá_ (illusion) being sensuous matter, and old Fakirs express the -idea of the modern Hylozoist,[4] "All things are thinks." The old tree -is hardly worth a visit, although it may have sheltered five thousand -horsemen and inspired Milton, for which see the guide-books. - -Surat (Surashtra = good region), long time the "Gate of Meccah," where -pilgrims embarked instead of at Bombay, shows nothing of its olden -splendour. - -This was the nucleus of British power on the western coast of India in -the seventeenth century, and as early as May, 1609, Captain Hawkins, of -the _Hector_, obtained permission at Agra here to found a factory for -his half-piratical countrymen, who are briefly described as "Molossis -suis ferociores." They soon managed to turn out the Portuguese, -and they left a Graveyard which is not devoid of some barbaric -interest--Tom Croyate of the Crudities, however, is absent from it. At -Surat I met Lieutenant Manson, R.A. He was going down to "go up" in -Maharátta, and we agreed to take a _pattymar_ together. We cruised down -the foul Tapti river--all Indian, like West African, streams seem to be -made of dirty water--and were shown the abandoned sites of the Dutch -garden and French factory, Vaux's Tomb, and Dormus Island. We escaped -an _Elephanta_ storm, one of those pleasant September visitations -which denote the break up of the "monsoon," and which not unfrequently -bestrews the whole coast of Western India with wreckage. This time I -found lodging in the Town Barracks, Bombay, and passed an examination -in the Town Hall before General Vans-Kennedy, with the normal success, -being placed first. The process consisted of reading from print (two -books), and handwriting, generally some "native letter," and of -conversing and of writing an "address" or some paper of the kind. - -Returning Baroda-wards, whence my regiment was transferred to our -immense satisfaction to Sind, I assisted in the farewell revelries, -dinners and _Naches_, or native dances--the most melancholy form in -which Terpsichore ever manifested herself. - -By far the most agreeable and wholesome part of regimental life in -India is the march; the hours are reasonable, the work not too severe, -and the results, in appetite and sleep, admirable. At Bombay we -encamped on the Esplanade, and on January 1st, 1844, we embarked for -Karáchi on board the H.E.I.C.'s steamer _Semiramis_, whose uneventful -cruise is told in "Scinde, or the Unhappy Valley," chap. I, "The Shippe -of Helle." Yet not wholly uneventual to me. - -On board of the _Semiramis_ was Captain Walter Scott, Bombay Engineers, -who had lately been transferred from commanding in Candeish to the -superintendence of the Sind Canals, a department newly organized by -the old Conqueror of "Young Egypt," and our chance meeting influenced -my life for the next six years. I have before described him. With -short intervals I was one of his assistants till 1849. We never had a -diverging thought, much less an unpleasant word; and when he died, at -Berlin, in 1875, I felt his loss as that of a near relation. - -Karáchi, which I have twice described, was in 1844 a mere stretch of -a Cantonment, and nothing if not military; the garrison consisting of -some five thousand men of all arms, European and native. The discomfort -of camp life in this Sahara,[5] which represented the Libyan Desert, -after Gujarat, the Nile Valley, was excessive, the dust-storms were -atrocious,[6] and the brackish water produced the most unpleasant -symptoms. Parades of all kinds, regimental and brigade, were the rule, -and Sir Charles Napier was rarely absent from anything on a large scale. - -The Conqueror of Scinde was a noted and remarkable figure at that time, -and there is still a semi-heroic ring about the name. In appearance -he was ultra-Jewish, a wondrous contrast to his grand brother, Sir -William; his countrymen called him Fagan, after Dickens, and his -subjects, Shaytan-á-Bhái, Satan's brother, from his masterful spirit -and reckless energy. There is an idealized portrait of him in Mr. W. H. -Bruce's "Life" (London, Murray, 1885), but I much prefer the caricature -by Lieutenant Beresford, printed in my wife's volume, "A.E.I." Yet -there was nothing mean in the Conqueror's diminutive form; the hawk's -eye, and eagle's beak, and powerful chin would redeem any face from -vulgarity. - -Sir Charles, during his long years of Peninsular and European service, -cultivated the habit of jotting down all events in his diary, with -a _naïveté_, a vivacity, and a fulness which echoed his spirit, and -which, with advancing years, degenerated into intemperance of language -and extravagance of statement. He was hard, as were most men in those -days, upon the great Company he termed the "Twenty-four Kings of -Leadenhall Street"--"ephemeral sovereigns;" he quoted Lord Wellesley -about the "ignominious tyrants of the East." - -In his sixtieth year he was appointed to the command of Poonah -(December 28th, 1841), and he was so lacking in the goods of this world -that a Bombay house refused to advance him £500. He began at once to -study Hindostani, but it was too late; the lesson induced irresistible -drowsiness, and the _munshi_ was too polite to awaken the aged scholar, -who always said he would give Rs. 10,000 to be able to address the -Sepoys. On September 3rd, 1842, he set off to assume his new command -in Upper and Lower Sind, and he at once saw his opportunity. Major -Outram had blackened the faces of the Amirs, but he wanted to keep the -work of conquest for himself, and he did not relish its being done by -another. He, however, assisted Sir Charles Napier, and it was not till -his return to England in 1843 that he ranged himself on the side of the -Directors, whose hatred of the Conqueror grew with his success, and -two factions, Outramists and Napierists, divided the little world of -Western India. - -The battles of Miani and Dubba were much criticized by military -experts, who found that the "butcher's bill" did not justify the -magnificent periods of Sir William Napier. This noble old soldier's -"Conquest of Scinde" was a work of _fantaisie_; the story was admirably -told, the picture was perfect, but the details were so incorrect, that -it became the subject of endless "chaff" even in Government House, -Karáchi. The corrective was an official report by Major (afterwards -General) Waddington, B.O. Eng., which gave the shady, rather than the -sunlit side of the picture. And there is still a third to be written. -Neither of our authorities tell us, nor can we expect a public document -to do so, how the mulatto who had charge of the Amir's guns had been -persuaded to fire high, and how the Talpur traitor who commanded the -cavalry, openly drew off his men and showed the shameless example -of flight. When the day shall come to publish details concerning -disbursement of "Secret service money in India," the public will learn -strange things. Meanwhile those of us who have lived long enough to see -how history is written, can regard it as but little better than a poor -romance. - -However exaggerated, little Miani taught the world one lesson which -should not be forgotten--the sole plan to win a fight from barbarians, -be they Belochis, Kafirs, or Burmese. It is simplicity itself; a sharp -cannonade to shake the enemy, an advance in line or _échelon_ as the -ground demands, and a dash of cavalry to expedite the runaways. And -presently the victory led to organizing the "Land Transport Corps" -and the "Baggage Corps," two prime wants of the Indian army. Here Sir -Charles Napier's skill as an inventor evolved order out of disorder, -and efficiency from the most cumbrous of abuses. The pacification of -the new Province was marvellously brought about by the enlightened -despotism of the Conqueror. Outram had predicted ten years of guerilla -warfare before peace could be restored; Sir Charles made it safer than -any part of India within a year, and in 1844, when levelling down the -canals, I was loudly blessed by the peasants, who cried out, "These men -are indeed worthy to govern us, as they work for our good." - -But Sir Charles Napier began India somewhat too late in life, and -had to pay the penalty. His mistakes were manifold, and some of them -miserable. When preparing for the "Truhkee campaign," he proposed to -content himself with a "_Numero-cent_" tent for a Commander-in-Chief! -When marching upon Multan, his idea was to quarter the Sepoys in the -villages, which would have been destroyed at once; and it was some time -before his Staff dared put it in this light. - -From over-deference to English opinion, he liberated all the African -slaves in Sind and turned them out to starve; it would have been wiser -to "free the womb," and forbid importation. He never could understand -the "Badli system," where a rich native buys a poor man to be hanged -for him who committed the crime, and terribly scandalized Captain -Young, the civilian Judge Advocate-General, by hanging the wrong man. -Finding that the offended husband in Sind was justified by public -opinion for cutting down his wife, he sent the unfortunate to the -gallows, and the result was a peculiar condition of society. On one -occasion, the anonymas of Hyderabad sent him a deputation to complain -"that the married women were taking the bread out of their mouths." - -Sir Charles was a favourite among the juniors, in fact, amongst all who -did not thwart or oppose him. He delighted in Rabelaisian _bon-mots_, -and the _Conte grivois_, as was the wont of field-officers in his day; -his comment upon a newspaper's "peace and plenty at Karáchi" was long -quoted. - -After a month of discomfort at Karáchi, rendered more uncomfortable -by the compulsory joining of six unfortunate Staff-officers who lost -their snug appointments in India,[7] we were moved to Gharra--"out of -the frying-pan into the fire"--a melancholy hole some forty miles by -road north of Head-quarters, and within hearing of the evening gun. I -have already described its horror.[8] Our predecessors had not built -the barracks or bungalows, and we found only a parallelogram of rock -and sand, girt by a tall dense hedge of bright green milk-bush, and -surrounded by a flat of stone and gravel, near a filthy village whose -timorous inhabitants shunned us as walking pestilences. - -This, with an occasional temperature of 125° F., was to be our "house" -for some years. As I had no money wherewith to build, I was compelled -to endure a hot season in a single-poled tent, pitched outside the -milk-bush hedge; and after, to escape suffocation, I was obliged to -cover my table with a wet cloth and pass the hot hours under it. -However, energy was not wanting, and the regimental _pandit_ proving -a good school-master, I threw away Sindi for Maráthá; and in October, -1844, I was able to pass my examination in Maráthá at the Presidency, -I coming first of half a dozen. About this time Southern Bombay was -agitated by a small mutiny in Sáwantwádi, and the papers contained a -long service-correspondence about Colonels Outram and Wallace, the -capture of Amanghar, and Lieutenant Brassy's descent on Shiva Drug. I -at once laid in a store of Persian books, and began seriously to work -at that richest and most charming of Eastern languages. - -On return to Karáchi, I found myself, by the favour of my friend Scott, -gazetted as one of his four assistants in the Sind "Survey," with -especial reference to the Canal Department; my being able to read and -translate the valuable Italian works on hydro-dynamics being a point -in my favour. A few days taught me the use of compass, theodolite, and -spirit-level, and on December 10th, 1844, I was sent with a surveying -party and six camels to work at Fulayli (Phuleli) and its continuation, -the Guni river. The labour was not small; after a frosty night using -instruments in the sole of a canal where the sun's rays seemed to -pour as through a funnel, was decidedly trying to the constitution. -However, I managed to pull through, and my surveying books were -honoured with official approbation. During this winter I enjoyed some -sport, especially hawking, and collected material for "Falconry in the -Valley of the Indus."[9] I had begun the noble art as a boy at Blois, -but the poor kestrel upon which I tried my "'prentice hand" had died -soon, worn out like an Eastern ascetic by the severities of training, -especially in the fasting line. Returning northwards, I found my Corps -at Hyderabad, and passing through the deserted Gharra, joined the -Head-quarters of the Survey at Karáchi in April. - -Here I made acquaintance with Mirza Ali Akhbar, who owed his rank (Khan -Bahádur) to his gallant conduct as Sir Charles Napier's _munshi_ at -Miani and Dubba, where he did his best to save as many unfortunate -Beloch braves as possible. He lived outside the camp in a bungalow -which he built for himself, and lodged a friend, Mirza Dáud, a -first-rate Persian scholar. My life became much mixed up with these -gentlemen, and my brother officers fell to calling me the "White -Nigger." I had also invested in a Persian _munshi_, Mirza Mohammad -Musayn, of Shiraz; poor fellow, after passing through the fires of -Scinde unscathed, he returned to die of cholera in his native land. -With his assistance I opened on the sly three shops at Karáchi,[10] -where cloth, tobacco, and other small matters were sold exceedingly -cheap to those who deserved them, and where I laid in a stock of native -experience, especially regarding such matters as I have treated upon -in my "Terminal Essay" to the "Thousand Nights and a Night,"[11] but -I soon lost my _munshi_ friends. Mirza Dáud died of indigestion and -patent pills at Karáchi; I last saw Mirza Ali Akhbar at Bombay, in -1876, and he deceased shortly afterwards. He had been unjustly and -cruelly treated. Despite the high praises of Outram and Napier for -the honesty and efficiency of Ali Akhbar,[12] the new commission had -brought against the doomed man a number of trumped-up charges, proving -bribery and corruption, and managed to effect his dismissal from the -service. The unfortunate Mirza, in the course of time, disproved them -all, but the only answer to his application for being reinstated was -that what had been done could not now be undone. I greatly regretted -his loss. He had promised me to write out from his Persian notes a -diary of his proceedings during the conquest of Scinde; he was more -"behind the curtain" than any man I knew, and the truths he might have -told would have been exceedingly valuable. - -Karáchi was, for India, not a dull place in those days. Besides our -daily work of planning and mapping the surveys of the cold season, -and practising latitudes and longitudes till my right eye became -comparatively short-sighted, we organized a "Survey Mess" in a bungalow -belonging to the office "Compound." There were six of us--Blagrave, -Maclagan, Vanrenin, and afterwards Price and Lambert--and local -society pronounced us all mad, although I cannot see that we were -more whimsical than our neighbours. I also built a bungalow, which -got the title of the "Inquisition," and there I buried my favourite -game-cock Bhujang (the dragon), who had won me many a victory--people -declared that it was the grave of a small human. I saw much of Mirza -Husayn, a brother of Agha Khan Mahallati, a scion of the Isma'iliyah, -or "Old Man of the Mountain," who, having fled his country, Persia, -after a rebellion, ridiculous even in that land of eternal ridiculous -rebellions, turned _condottière_, and with his troop of one hundred -and thirty ruffians took service with us and was placed to garrison -Jarak (Jerruch). Here the Belochis came down upon him, and killed -or wounded about a hundred of his troop, after which he passed on -to Bombay and enlightened the Presidency about his having conquered -Scinde. His brother, my acquaintance, also determined to attack Persia -_viâ_ Makran, and managed so well that he found himself travelling to -Teheran, lashed to a gun carriage. The Lodge "Hope" kindly made me -an "entered apprentice," but I had read Carlisle, "The Atheistical -Publisher," and the whole affair appeared to me a gigantic humbug, -dating from the days of the Crusades, and as Cardinal Newman expressed -it, "meaning a goose club." But I think better of it now, as it still -serves political purposes in the East, and gives us a point against -our French rivals and enemies. As the "Scinde Association" was formed, -I was made honorary secretary, and had no little correspondence with -Mr. E. Blyth, the curator of the Zoological Department, Calcutta. Sir -Charles Napier's friends also determined to start a newspaper, in order -to answer the Enemy in the Gate, and reply to the "base and sordid -Bombay faction," headed by the "Rampant Buist," with a strong backing -of anonymous officials. - -The _Karrachee Advertiser_ presently appeared in the modest shape of -a lithographed sheet on Government foolscap, and, through Sir William -Napier, its most spicy articles had the honour of a reprint in London. -Of these, the best were "the letters of Omega," by my late friend -Rathborne, then Collector at Hyderabad, and they described the vices -of the Sind Amirs in language the reverse of ambiguous. I did not keep -copies, nor, unfortunately, did the clever and genial author. - -This pleasant, careless life broke up in November, 1845, when I started -with my friend Scott for a long tour to the north of Sind. We rode by -the high-road through Gharra and Jarak to Kotri, the station of the -Sind flotilla, and then crossed to Hyderabad, where I found my Corps -flourishing. After a very jolly week, we resumed our way up the right -bank of the Indus and on the extreme western frontier, where we found -the Beloch herdsmen in their wildest state. About that time began to -prevail the wildest reports about the lost tribes of Israel (who were -never lost), and with the aid of Gesenius and Lynch I dressed up a very -pretty grammar and vocabulary, which proved to sundry scientists that -the lost was found at last. But my mentor would not allow the joke -to appear _in print_. On Christmas Day we entered "Sehwán," absurdly -styled "Alexander's Camp." Here again the spirit of mischief was too -strong for me. I buried a broken and hocussed jar of "_Athenæum_ -sauce," red pottery with black Etruscan figures, right in the way of -an ardent amateur antiquary; and the results were comical. At Larkháná -we made acquaintance with "fighting FitzGerald," who commanded there, -a magnificent figure, who could cut a donkey in two; and who, although -a man of property, preferred the hardships of India to the pleasures -of home. He had, however, a mania of blowing himself up in a little -steamer mainly of his own construction, and after his last accident he -was invalided home to England, and died within sight of her shores. At -Larkháná the following letter was received:-- - - "Karáchi, January 3, 1846. - - "MY DEAR SCOTT, - - "The General says you may allow as many of your assistants as you - can spare to join their regiments, if going on service, with the - understanding that they must resign their appointments and will not be - reappointed, etc. - - "(Signed) JOHN NAPIER." - -This, beyond bazar reports, was our first notice of the great Sikh War, -which added the Punjab to Anglo-India. This news made me wild to go. A -carpet-soldier was a horror to me, and I was miserable that anything -should take place in India without my being in the thick of the fight. -So, after a visit to Sahkar Shikarpúr and the neighbourhood, I applied -myself with all my might to prepare for the Campaign. After sundry -small surveyings and levellings about Sahkar (Sukhur), I persuaded -Scott, greatly against the grain, to send in my resignation, and called -upon General James Simpson, who was supposed to be in his dotage, and -was qualifying for the Chief Command in the Crimea. - -My application was refused. Happily for me, however, suddenly appeared -an order from Bengal to the purport that all we assistant-surveyors -must give sureties. This was enough for me. I wrote officially, saying -that no man would be bail for me, and was told to be off to my corps; -and on February 23rd, I marched with the 18th from Rohri. - -Needless to repeat the sad story of our disappointment.[13] It was a -model army of thirteen thousand men, Europeans and natives, and under -"Old Charley" it would have walked into Multan as into a mutton-pie. -We had also heard that Náo Mall was wasting his two millions of gold, -and we were willing to save him the trouble. Merrily we trudged through -Sabzalcote and Khanpur, and we entered Baháwalpur, where we found the -heart-chilling order to retire and to march home, and consequently -we marched and returned to Rohri on April 2nd; and after a few days' -halt there, tired and miserable, we marched south, _viâ_ Khayrpur, -and, after seventeen marches, reached the old regimental quarters in -Mohammad Khan Ká Tándá, on the Fulayli river.[14] - -But our physical trials and mental disappointments had soured our -tempers, and domestic disturbances began. Our colonel was one Henry -Corsellis, the son of a Bencoolen civilian, and neither his colour nor -his temper were in his favour. The wars began in a small matter. - -I had been making doggrel rhymes on men's names at Mess, and knowing -something of the commanding officer's touchiness, passed him over. -Hereupon he took offence, and seeing well that I was "in for a row," -I said, "Very well, Colonel, I will write your Epitaph," which was as -follows-- - - "Here lieth the body of Colonel Corsellis; - The rest of the fellow, I fancy, in hell is." - -After which we went at it "hammer and tongs." - -I shall say no more upon the subject; it is, perhaps, the part of my -life upon which my mind dwells with least satisfaction. In addition -to regimental troubles, there were not a few domestic disagreeables, -especially complications, with a young person named Núr Jan. To make -matters worse, after a dreadful wet night my mud bungalow came down -upon me, wounding my foot.[15] The only pleasant reminiscences of the -time are the days spent in the quarters of an old native friend[16] -on the banks of the beautiful Phuleli, seated upon a felt rug, spread -beneath a shadowy tamarind tree, with beds of sweet-smelling _rayhan_ -(basil) around, and eyes looking over the broad smooth stream and the -gaily dressed groups gathered at the frequent ferries. I need hardly -say that these visits were paid in native costume, and so correct was -it, that I, on camel's back, frequently passed my Commanding Officer -in the Gateway of Fort Hyderabad, without his recognizing me. I had -also a host of good friends, especially Dr. J. J. Steinhaüser, who, in -after years, was to have accompanied me, but for an accident, to Lake -Tanganyika, and who afterwards became my collaborateur in the "Thousand -Nights and a Night." - -The hot season of 1846 was unusually sickly, and the white regiments -at Karáchi, notably the 78th Highlanders, suffered terribly. Hyderabad -was also threatened, but escaped better than she deserved. In early -July I went into "sick quarters," and left my regiment in early -September, with a strong case. At Bombay my friend Henry J. Carter -assisted me, and enabled me to obtain two years' leave of absence to -the Neilgherries. - -My _munshi_, Mohammed Husayn, had sailed for Persia, and I at once -engaged an Arab "coach." This was one Haji Jauhur, a young Abyssinian, -who, with his wife, of the same breed, spoke a curious Semitic dialect, -and was useful in conversational matters. Accompanied by my servants -and horse, I engaged the usual _pattymar_, the _Daryá Prashád_ ("Joy -of the Ocean"), and set sail for Goa on February 20th, 1847. In three -days' trip we landed in the once splendid capital, whose ruins I have -described in "Goa and the Blue Mountains" (1851). Dom Pestanha was -the Governor-General, Senhor Gomez Secretary to Government, and Major -St. Maurice chief aide-de-camp, and all treated me with uncommon -kindness. On my third visit to the place in 1876, all my old friends -and acquaintances had disappeared, whilst the other surroundings had -not changed in the least degree. - -From Goa to Punány was a trip of five days, and from the little Malabar -Port, a terrible dull ride of ten days, halts and excursions included, -with the only excitement of being nearly drowned in a torrent, -placed me at Conoor, on the western edge of the "Blue Mountains." At -Ootacamund, the capital of the sanitarium, I found a friend, Lieutenant -Dyett, who offered to share with me his quarters. Poor fellow! he -suffered sadly in the Multan campaign, where most of the wounded came -to grief, some said owing to the salt in the silt, which made so many -operations fatal; after three amputations his arm was taken out of -the socket. I have noted the humours of "Ooty" in the book before -mentioned, and I made myself independent of society by beginning the -study of Telugu, in addition to Arabic. - -But the sudden change from dry Scinde to the damp cold mountains -induced in me an attack of rheumatic ophthalmia, which began at the -end of May, 1847, and lasted nearly two years, and would not be shaken -off till I left India in March, 1849. In vain I tried diet and dark -rooms, change of place, blisters of sorts, and the whole contents of -the Pharmacopœia; it was a thorn in the flesh which determined to -make itself felt. At intervals I was able to work hard and to visit -the adjacent places, such as Kotagherry, the Orange Valley, and St. -Catherine's Falls.[17] Meanwhile I wrote letters to the _Bombay -Times_, and studied Telugu and Toda as well as Persian and Arabic, and -worked at the ethnology of Hylobius the Hillman, whose country showed -mysterious remains of civilized life, gold mining included. - -"Ooty" may be a pleasant place, like a water-cure establishment to -an invalid in rude health; but to me nothing could be duller or more -disagreeable, and my two years of sick leave was consequently reduced -to four months. On September 1st, 1847, glad as a partridge-shooter, -I rode down the Ghát, and a dozen days later made Calicut, the old -capital of Camoens' "Jamorim," the Samriry Rajah. Here I was kindly -received, and sent to visit old Calicut and other sights, by Mr. -Collector Conolly, whom a Madras civilianship could not defend from -Fate. A short time after my departure he was set upon and barbarously -murdered in his own verandah, by a band of villain _Moplahs_,[18] a -bastard race got by Arab sires on Hindú dams. He was thus the third of -the gallant brothers who came to violent end. - -This visit gave me a good opportunity of studying on the spot the most -remarkable scene of "The Lusiads," and it afterwards served me in good -stead. The _Seaforth_, Captain Biggs, carried me to Bombay, after -passing visits to Mangalore and Goa, in three days of ugly monsoon -weather. On October 15th I passed in Persian at the Town Hall, coming -out first of some thirty, with a compliment from the examiners; and -this was succeeded by something more substantial, in the shape of an -"honorarium" of Rs. 1000 from the Court of Directors. - -This bright side of the medal had its reverse. A friend, an Irish -medico, volunteered to prescribe for me, and strongly recommended -frictions of citric ointment (calomel in disguise) round the orbit -of the eye, and my perseverance in his prescription developed ugly -symptoms of mercurialism, which eventually drove me from India. - -My return to Scinde was in the s.s. _Dwárká_, the little vessel which, -in 1853, carried me from Jeddah to Suez, and which, in 1862, foundered -at the mouth of the Tapti or Surat river. She belonged to the Steam -Navigation Company, Bombay, and she had been brought safely round the -Cape by the skipper, a man named Tribe. That "climate" had demoralized -him. He set out from Karáchi without even an able seaman who knew the -Coast; the Captain and his Mate were drunk and incapable the whole way. -As we were about to enter the dangerous port, my fellow-passengers -insisted upon my taking Command as Senior Officer, and I ordered the -_Dwárká's_ head to be turned westward under the easiest steam, so that -next morning we landed safely. - -My return to head-quarters of the Survey was a misfortune to my -comrades; my eyes forbade regular work, and my friends had to bear my -share of the burden. However, there were painless intervals when I -found myself able to work at Sindí under Munshi Nandú, and at Arabic -under Shaykh Háshim, a small half-Bedawin, who had been imported by me -from Bombay. Under him also I began the systematic study of practical -Moslem divinity, learned about a quarter of the Korán by heart, and -became a proficient at prayer. It was always my desire to visit Meccah -during the pilgrimage season; written descriptions by hearsay of its -rites and ceremonies were common enough in all languages, European as -well as native, but none satisfied me, because none seemed practically -to know anything about the matter. So to this preparation I devoted all -my time and energy; not forgetting a sympathetic study of Sufi-ism, -the _Gnosticism_ of Al-Islam,[19] which would raise me high above the -rank of a mere Moslem. I conscientiously went through the _chillá_, -or quarantine of fasting and other exercises, which, by-the-by, -proved rather over-exciting to the brain. At times, when overstrung, -I relieved my nerves with a course of Sikh religion and literature: -the good old priest solemnly initiated me in presence of the swinging -_Granth_, or Naná Shah's Scripture. As I had already been duly -invested by a strict Hindú with the _Janeo_, or "Brahminical thread," -my experience of Eastern faiths became phenomenal, and I became a -Master-Sufi. - -There was a scanty hope of surveying for weak eyes; so I attempted -to do my duty by long reports concerning the country and the people, -addressed to the Bombay Government, and these were duly printed in its -"Selections," which MSS. I have by me. To the local branch of the Royal -Asiatic Society, there were sent two papers, "Grammar of the Játakí -or Mulltani Language," and "Remarks on Dr. Dorn's Chrestomathy of the -Afghan Tongue."[20] Without hearing of Professor Pott, the _savant_ -of Halle (and deceased lately), I convinced myself that the Játs of -Scinde, a race which extends from the Indus's mouth to the plains of -Tartary, give a clue to the origin of the Gypsies as well as to the -Getæ and Massagetæ (Great Getæ). - -And this induced me to work with the Camel men, who belong to that -notorious race, and to bring out a grammar and vocabulary. - -Indeed the more sluggish became my sight, the more active became my -brain, which could be satisfied only with twelve to fourteen hours a -day of alchemy, mnemonics, "Mantih," or Eastern logic, Arabic, Sindi, -and Panjábi. In the latter, official examinations were passed before -Captain Stack, the only Englishman in the country who had an inkling of -the subject. - -The spring of 1848, that most eventful year in Europe, brought us two -most exciting items of intelligence. The proclamation of the French -Republic reached us on April 8th, and on May 2nd came the news of the -murder of Anderson and his companion by Náo Mall of Multan. - - * * * * * - -[Sidenote: _His Little Autobiography._] - -Richard wrote a little bit of autobiography about himself in 1852. In -case all may not have seen it, and many may not remember it, I here -insert it. - - - RICHARD BURTON'S LITTLE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. - - - "The only scrap of autobiography we have from Richard Burton's pen," - said Alfred Richard Bates, "was written very early in life, whilst in - India, and dates thirty years ago. It is so characteristic it deserves - to be perpetuated:-- - - "I extract the following few lines from a well-known literary - journal as a kind of excuse for venturing, unasked, upon a scrap of - autobiography. As long as critics content themselves with bedevilling - one's style, discovering that one's slang is 'vulgar,' and one's - attempts at drollery 'failures,' one should, methinks, listen silently - to their ideas of 'gentility,' and accept their definitions of wit, - reserving one's own opinion upon such subjects. For the British - author in this, our modern day, engages himself as clown in a great - pantomime, to be knocked down, and pulled up, slashed, tickled, and - buttered _à discrétion_ for the benefit of a manual-pleasantry-loving - Public. So it would be weakness in him to complain of bruised back, - scored elbows, and bumped head. - - "Besides, the treatment you receive varies prodigiously according to - the temper and the manifold influences from without that operate upon - the gentleman that operates upon you. For instance-- - - "''Tis a _failure_ at being _funny_,' says surly Aristarchus, when, - for some reason or other, he dislikes you or your publisher. - - "'It is a _smart_ book,' opines another, who has no particular reason - to be your friend. - - "'Narrated with _freshness of thought_,' declares a third, who takes - an honest pride in 'giving the devil his due.' - - "'Very _clever_,' exclaims the amiable critic, who for some reason or - another likes you or your publisher. - - "'There is _wit_ and _humour_ in these pages,' says the gentleman who - has some particular reason to be your friend. - - "'Evinces considerable _talent_.' - - "And-- - - "'There is _genius_ in this book,' declare the dear critics who in any - way identify themselves or their interests with you. - - "Now for the extract:-- - - "'Mr. Burton was, it appears, stationed for several years in Sind - with his regiment, and it is due to him to say that he has set a - good example to his fellow-subalterns by pursuing so diligently his - inquiries into the language, literature, and customs of the native - population by which he was surrounded. We are far from accepting all - his doctrines on questions of Eastern policy, especially as regards - the treatment of natives; but we are sensible of the value of the - additional evidence which he has brought forward on many important - questions. For a young man, he seems to have adopted some very extreme - opinions; and it is perhaps not too much to say, that the fault from - which he has most to fear, not only as an author, but as an Indian - officer, is a disregard of those well-established rules of moderation - which no one can transgress with impunity.' - - "The greatest difficulty a raw writer on Indian subjects has to - contend with, is a proper comprehension of the _ignorance crasse_ - which besets the mind of the home-reader and his oracle the critic. - What a knowledge these lines _do_ show of the opportunity for study - presented to the Anglo-Indian subaltern serving with his corps! Part - of the time when I did duty with mine we were quartered at Ghárrá, - a heap of bungalows surrounded by a wall of milk-bush; on a sandy - flat, near a dirty village whose timorous inhabitants shunned us as - walking pestilences. No amount of domiciliary visiting would have - found a single Sindian book in the place, except the accounts of the - native shopkeepers; and, to the best of my remembrance, there was not - a soul who could make himself intelligible in the common medium of - Indian intercourse--Hindostani. An ensign stationed at Dover Castle - might write 'Ellis's Antiquities;' a _sous-lieutenant_ with his corps - at Boulogne might compose the 'Legendaire de la Morinie,' but Ghárrá - was sufficient to paralyse the readiest pen that ever coursed over - foolscap paper. - - "Now, waiving, with all due modesty, the unmerited compliment of - 'good boy,' so gracefully tendered to me, I proceed to the judgment - which follows it, my imminent peril of 'extreme opinions.' If there - be any value in the 'additional evidence' I have 'brought forward on - important questions,' the reader may, perchance, be curious to know - how that evidence was collected. So, without further apology, I plunge - into the subject. - - "After some years of careful training for the Church in the north - and south of France, Florence, Naples, and the University of Pisa, - I found myself one day walking the High Street, Oxford, with all - the emotions which a Parisian exquisite of the first water would - experience on awaking--at 3 p.m.--in 'Dandakaran's tangled wood.' - - "To be brief, my 'college career' was highly unsatisfactory. I began - a 'reading man,' worked regularly twelve hours a day, failed in - everything--chiefly, I flattered myself, because Latin hexameters - and Greek iambics had not entered into the list of my studies--threw - up the classics, and returned to old habits of fencing, boxing, and - single-stick, handling the 'ribbons,' and sketching facetiously, - though not wisely, the reverend features and figures of certain - half-reformed monks, calling themselves 'fellows.' My reading also ran - into bad courses--Erpenius, Zadkiel, Falconry, Cornelius Agrippa, and - the Art of Pluck. - - "At last the Afghan War broke out. After begging the paternal - authority in vain for the Austrian service, the Swiss Guards at - Naples, and even the _Légion étrangère_, I determined to leave - Oxford, _coûte qui coûte_. The testy old lady, Alma Mater, was easily - persuaded to consign, for a time, to 'country nursing' the froward - brat who showed not a whit of filial regard for her. So, after two - years, I left Trinity, without a 'little go,' in a high dog-cart,--a - companion in misfortune too-tooing lustily through a 'yard of tin,' as - the dons started up from their game of bowls to witness the departure - of the forbidden vehicle. Thus having thoroughly established the fact - that I was fit for nothing but to be 'shot at for sixpence a day,' and - as those Afghans (how I blessed their name!) had cut gaps in many a - regiment, my father provided me with a commission in the Indian army, - and started me as quickly as feasible for the 'Land of the Sun.' - - "So, my friends and fellow-soldiers, I may address you in the words - of the witty thief--slightly altered from Gil Blas--'Blessings on the - dainty pow of the old dame who turned me out of her house; for had she - shown clemency I should now doubtless be a dyspeptic Don, instead of - which I have the honour to be a lieutenant, your comrade.' - - "As the Bombay pilot sprang on board, twenty mouths agape over the - gangway, all asked one and the same question. Alas! the answer was - a sad one!--the Afghans had been defeated--the avenging army had - retreated! The twenty mouths all ejaculated a something unfit for ears - polite. - - "To a mind thoroughly impressed with the sentiment that - - 'Man wants but little here below, - Nor wants that little long,' - - the position of an Ensign in the Hon. E. I. Company's Service is a - very satisfactory one. He has a horse or two, part of a house, a - pleasant Mess, plenty of pale ale, as much shooting as he can manage, - and an occasional invitation to a dance, where there are thirty-two - cavaliers to three dames, or to a dinner-party when a chair - unexpectedly falls vacant. But some are vain enough to want more, and - of these fools was I. - - "In India two roads lead to preferment. The direct highway is - 'service;'--getting a flesh wound, cutting down a few of the enemy, - and doing something eccentric, so that your name may creep into a - despatch. The other path, study of the languages, is a rugged and - tortuous one, still you have only to plod steadily along its length, - and, sooner or later, you must come to a 'staff appointment.' _Bien - entendu_, I suppose you to be destitute of or deficient in Interest - whose magic influence sets you down at once a heaven-born Staff - Officer, at the goal which others must toil to reach. - - "A dozen lessons from Professor Forbes and a native servant on board - the _John Knox_ enabled me to land with _éclat_ as a griff, and to - astonish the throng of palanquin bearers that jostled, pushed, and - pulled me at the pier head, with the vivacity and nervousness of - my phraseology. And I spent the first evening in company with one - Dosabhai Sohrabji, a white-bearded Parsee, who, in his quality of - language-master, had vernacularized the tongues of Hormuzd knows how - many generations of Anglo-Indian subalterns. - - "The corps to which I was appointed was then in country quarters - at Baroda, in the land of Gujerat; the journey was a long one, the - difficulty of finding good instructors there was great, so was the - expense, moreover fevers abounded; and, lastly, it was not so easy to - obtain leave of absence to visit the Presidency, where candidates for - the honours of language are examined. These were serious obstacles to - success; they were surmounted, however, in six months, at the end of - which time I found myself in the novel position of 'passed interpreter - in Hindostani.' - - "My success--for I had distanced a field of eleven--encouraged me - to a second attempt, and though I had to front all the difficulties - over again, in four months my name appeared in orders as qualified to - interpret in the Guzerattee tongue. - - "Meanwhile the Ameers of Sind had exchanged their palaces at - Haydarábád for other quarters not quite so comfortable at Hazareebagh, - and we were ordered up to the Indus for the pleasant purpose of - acting police there. Knowing the Conqueror's chief want, a man who - could speak a word of his pet conquest's vernacular dialect, I had - not been a week at Karáchee before I found a language-master and a - book. But the study was undertaken _invitâ minervâ_. We were quartered - in tents, dust-storms howled over us daily, drills and brigade - parades were never ending, and, as I was acting interpreter to my - regiment, courts-martial of dreary length occupied the best part of - my time. Besides, it was impossible to work in such an atmosphere of - discontent. The seniors abhorred the barren desolate spot, with all - its inglorious perils of fever, spleen, dysentery, and congestion of - the brain, the juniors grumbled in sympathy, and the Staff officers, - ordered up to rejoin the corps--it was on field service--complained - bitterly of having to quit their comfortable appointments in more - favoured lands without even a campaign in prospect. So when, a month - or two after landing in the country, we were transferred from - Karáchee to Ghárrá--purgatory to the other locale--I threw aside Sindí - for Maharattee, hoping, by dint of reiterated examinations, to escape - the place of torment as soon as possible. It was very like studying - Russian in an English country-town; however, with the assistance of - Molesworth's excellent dictionary, and the regimental _pundit_, or - schoolmaster, I gained some knowledge of the dialect, and proved - myself duly qualified in it at Bombay. At the same time a brother - subaltern and I had jointly leased a Persian _moonshee_, one Mirza - Mohammed Hosayn, of Shiraz. Poor fellow, after passing through the - fires of Sind unscathed, he returned to his delightful land for a - few weeks, to die there!--and we laid the foundation of a lengthened - course of reading in that most elegant of Oriental languages. - - "Now it is a known fact that a good Staff appointment has the general - effect of doing away with one's bad opinion of any place whatever. So - when, by the kindness of a friend whose name _his_ modesty prevents - my mentioning, the Governor of Sind was persuaded to give me the - temporary appointment of Assistant in the Survey, I began to look with - interest upon the desolation around me. The country was a new one, so - was its population, so was their language. After reading all the works - published upon the subject, I felt convinced that none but Mr. Crow - and Captain J. MacMurdo had dipped beneath the superficies of things. - My new duties compelled me to spend the cold season in wandering over - the districts, levelling the beds of canals, and making preparatory - sketches for a grand survey. I was thrown so entirely amongst the - people as to depend upon them for society, and the 'dignity,' not - to mention the increased allowances of a Staff officer, enabled me - to collect a fair stock of books, and to gather around me those who - could make them of any use. So, after the first year, when I had - Persian at my fingers'-ends, sufficient Arabic to read, write, and - converse fluently, and a superficial knowledge of that dialect of - Punjaubee which is spoken in the wilder parts of the province, I began - the systematic study of the Sindian people, their mariners and their - tongue. - - "The first difficulty was to pass for an Oriental, and this was as - necessary as it was difficult. The European official in India seldom, - if ever, sees anything in its real light, so dense is the veil which - the fearfulness, the duplicity, the prejudice, and the superstitions - of the natives hang before his eyes. And the white man lives a life - so distinct from the black, that hundreds of the former serve through - what they call their 'term of exile' without once being present at - a circumcision feast, a wedding, or a funeral. More especially the - present generation, whom the habit and the means of taking furloughs, - the increased facility for enjoying ladies' society, and, if truth be - spoken, a greater regard for appearances, if not a stricter code of - morality, estrange from their dusky fellow-subjects every day more and - more. After trying several characters, the easiest to be assumed was, - I found, that of a half-Arab, half-Iranian, such as may be met with in - thousands along the northern shore of the Persian Gulf. The Sindians - would have detected in a moment the difference between my articulation - and their own, had I attempted to speak their vernacular dialect, - but they attributed the accent to my strange country, as naturally - as a home-bred Englishman would account for the bad pronunciation - of a foreigner calling himself partly Spanish, partly Portuguese. - Besides, I knew the countries along the Gulf by heart from books, I - had a fair knowledge of the Shiah form of worship prevalent in Persia, - and my poor _moonshee_ was generally at hand to support me in times - of difficulty, so that the danger of being detected--even by a 'real - Simon Pure'--was a very inconsiderable one. - - "With hair falling upon his shoulders, a long beard, face and hands, - arms and feet, stained with a thin coat of henna, Mirza Abdullah of - Bushire--your humble servant--set out upon many and many a trip. He - was a _bazzaz_, a vendor of fine linen, calicoes, and muslins--such - chapmen are sometimes admitted to display their wares, even in the - sacred harem, by 'fast' and fashionable dames--and he had a little - pack of _bijouterie_ and _virtù_ reserved for emergencies. It was - only, however, when absolutely necessary that he displayed his - stock-in-trade; generally, he contented himself with alluding to it on - all possible occasions, boasting largely of his traffic, and asking a - thousand questions concerning the state of the market. Thus he could - walk into most men's houses, quite without ceremony; even if the - master dreamed of kicking him out, the mistress was sure to oppose - such measure with might and main. He secured numberless invitations, - was proposed to by several papas, and won, or had to think he won, a - few hearts; for he came as a rich man and he stayed with dignity, and - he departed exacting all the honours. When wending his ways he usually - urged a return of visit in the morning, but he was seldom to be found - at the caravanserai he specified--was Mirza Abdullah the Bushiri. - - "The timid villagers collected in crowds to see the rich merchant in - Oriental dress, riding spear in hand, and pistols in holsters, towards - the little encampment pitched near their settlements. But regularly - every evening on the line of march the Mirza issued from his tent and - wandered amongst them, collecting much information and dealing out - more concerning an ideal master--the Feringhee supposed to be sitting - in State amongst the _moonshees_, the Scribes, the servants, the - wheels, the chains, the telescopes, and the other magical implements - in which the camp abounded. When travelling, the Mirza became this - mysterious person's factotum, and often had he to answer the question - how much his perquisites and illicit gains amounted to in the course - of the year. - - "When the Mirza arrived at a strange town, his first step was to - secure a house in or near the bazar, for the purpose of evening - _conversazioni_. Now and then he rented a shop, and furnished it - with clammy dates, viscid molasses, tobacco, ginger, rancid oil, and - strong-smelling sweetmeats; and wonderful tales Fame told about these - establishments. Yet somehow or other, though they were more crowded - than a first-rate milliner's rooms in town, they throve not in a - pecuniary point of view; the cause of which was, I believe, that the - polite Mirza was in the habit of giving the heaviest possible weight - for their money to all the ladies, particularly the pretty ones, that - honoured him by patronizing his concern. - - "Sometimes the Mirza passed the evening in a mosque listening to the - ragged students who, stretched at full length with their stomachs on - the dusty floor, and their arms supporting their heads, mumbled out - Arabic from the thumbed, soiled, and tattered pages of theology upon - which a dim oil light shed its scanty ray, or he sat debating the - niceties of faith with the long-bearded, shaven-pated, blear-eyed, - and stolid-faced _genus loci_, the _Mullah_. At other times, when - in merrier mood, he entered uninvited the first door whence issued - the sounds of music and the dance;--a clean turban and a polite bow - are the best 'tickets for soup' the East knows. Or he played chess - with some native friend, or he consorted with the hemp-drinkers and - opium-eaters in the _estaminets_, or he visited the Mrs. Gadabouts and - Go-betweens who make matches amongst the Faithful, and gathered from - them a precious budget of private history and domestic scandal. - - "What scenes he saw! what adventures he went through! But who would - believe, even if he ventured to detail them?[21] - - "The Mirza's favourite school for study was the house of an elderly - matron on the banks of the Fulailee River, about a mile from the - Fort of Haydarábád. Khanum Jan had been a beauty in her youth, and - the tender passion had been hard upon her--at least judging from the - fact that she had fled her home, her husband, and her native town, - Candahar, in company with Mohammed Bakhsh, a purblind old tailor, the - object of her warmest affections. - - "'Ah, he is a regular old hyæna now,' would the Joan exclaim in her - outlandish Persian, pointing to the venerable Darby as he sat in the - cool shade, nodding his head and winking his eyes over a pair of - pantaloons which took him a month to sew, 'but you should have seen - him fifteen years ago, what a wonderful youth he was!' - - "The knowledge of one mind is that of a million--after a fashion. I - addressed myself particularly to that of 'Darby;' and many an hour - of tough thought it took me before I had mastered its truly Oriental - peculiarities, its regular irregularities of deduction, and its - strange monotonous one-idea'dness. - - "Khanum Jan's house was a mud edifice, occupying one side of a - square formed by tall, thin, crumbling mud walls. The respectable - matron's peculiar vanity was to lend a helping hand in all manner - of _affaires du cœur_. So it often happened that Mirza Abdullah was - turned out of the house to pass a few hours in the garden. There he - sat upon his felt rug spread beneath a shadowy tamarind, with beds of - sweet-smelling basil around him, his eyes roving over the broad river - that coursed rapidly between its wooded banks and the groups gathered - at the frequent ferries, whilst the soft strains of mysterious, - philosophical, transcendental Hafiz were sounded in his ears by the - other Mirza, his companion; Mohammed Hosayn--peace be upon him! - - "Of all economical studies this course was the cheapest. For tobacco - daily, for frequent draughts of milk, for hemp occasionally, for - four months' lectures from Mohammed Bakhsh, and for sundry other - little indulgences, the Mirza paid, it is calculated, the sum of six - shillings. When he left Haydarábád, he gave a silver talisman to the - dame, and a cloth coat to her protector: long may they live to wear - them!" - - * * * * * - - "Thus it was I formed my estimate of the native character. I am as - ready to reform it when a man of more extensive experience and greater - knowledge of the subject will kindly show me how far it transgresses - the well-established limits of moderation. As yet I hold, by way of - general rule, that the Eastern mind--I talk of the nations known to me - by personal experience--is always in extremes; that it ignores what - is meant by 'golden mean,' and that it delights to range in flights - limited only by the _ne plus ultra_ of Nature herself. Under which - conviction I am open to correction. - - "RICHARD F. BURTON." - -[Sidenote: _His Books on India._] - -Richard's works on India are--A grammar of the Játakí, or Belochi -dialect. Here I would remark he mixed with the Játs of Sind, a race -extending from the mouth of the Indus to the plains of Tartary, and -who _he_ believed to be the origin and head of the numerous tribes -of Oriental gypsies, and he worked with the Camel men to assimilate -himself with them. The next work was a grammar of the Mooltanee -language, "Notes on the Pushtû, or Afghan Dialect," Reports to Bombay, -(1) "General Notes on Sind," (2) "Notes on the Population of Sind." - -These were all _preparatory_ to becoming an author, and were brought -out in 1849 by the Royal Asiatic Society, Bombay branch, and the -Government Records. I have a single copy of each, but they must be out -of print; meantime he prepared "Goa and the Blue Mountains," 1 vol.; -"Scinde, or the Unhappy Valley," 2 vols.; and "Sindh and the Races that -inhabit the Valley of the Indus," 1 vol.; but these did not appear -until 1851. - -"Scinde, or the Unhappy Valley," is, I think, the freshest, most witty -and spirited thing I ever read. He had not been to war with the critics -and Mrs. Grundy then, and there is all the boy's fun and fire in it. -"Falconry in the Valley of the Indus" was produced in 1852, and is -worthy of any sportsman's attention. That is Van Voorst's, now Gurney -and Jackson, whom Richard used to say was the only honest publisher he -ever met. It is _not_ out of print. In 1870 appeared "Vikram and the -Vampire," 1 vol. These tales are thoroughly witty, and make those laugh -heartily who have lived in the East, but it was a great amusement to -Richard and me, when the publisher, having accepted "Vikram," which -is full of "chaff," said to me with a long face, "My eldest boy and I -read over some of the tales last night, and we were so disappointed we -could not laugh." I could not help saying drily, "No, I dare say you -couldn't." - -The last book on India was "Sind Revisited," 2 vols., 1877. It was -written in maturer years and after hard experience of the world. It -may be more valuable, but to my mind has not the sparkle of twenty-six -years earlier. All these eight or ten books, including my own -"A.E.I."--"Arabia, Egypt, and India"--brought out in 1879, I boiled -down into Christmas books for boys. I took my manuscript (enough for -three Christmas books) to David Bogue, King William Street, Strand, -and went abroad, and the next thing I heard was, that David Bogue was -bankrupt, and my manuscript had disappeared. - -I give a few pages in the appendixes out of his first book on Scinde as -a sample. One describes his visit to the village of a Scindian chief, -a perfect picture of an Oriental visit; the other is a description of -a cock-fight. After his transfer to the Goanese Church, his bungalow -was nicknamed the "Inquisition," and there he buried Bhujang, when his -favourite game-cock departed this life, and people declared it was -a baby's grave. For all that my husband _said_ of India, he talked -exactly as Mr. Rudyard Kipling writes, and when I read him, I can -hear Richard talking; hence I knew how true and to the point are his -writings. Also I think Mr. Kipling must have taken his character of -"Strickland" from my husband, who mixed with, and knew all about, the -natives and their customs, as Strickland did. - -During those first seven years in India, Richard passed in Hindostani, -Guzaratee, Persian, Maharattee, Sindhee, Punjaubee, Arabic, Telugu, -Pushtû (Afghan tongue), with Turkish and Armenian. In 1844 he went to -Scinde with the 18th Native Infantry, and Colonel Walter Scott put him -on Sir Charles Napier's staff, who soon found out what he was worth, -and turned his merits to account, but he accompanied his regiment to -Mooltan to attack the Sikhs. He became much attached to his Chief; they -quite understood each other, and remained together for five years. -Richard's training was of the uncommon sort, and glorious as it was, -dangerous as it was, and romantic as it will ever be to posterity, he -did not get from dense and narrow-minded Governments those rewards -which men who risk their lives deserve, and which would have been -given to the man who took care of "number one," and who, with average -stupidity, worked on red-tape lines. He was sent out amongst the wild -tribes of the hills and plains to collect information for Sir Charles. -He did not go as a British officer or Commissioner, because he knew he -would see nothing but what the natives chose him to see; he let down a -curtain between himself and Civilization, and a tattered, dirty-looking -dervish would wander on foot, lodge in mosques, where he was venerated -as a saintly man, mix with the strangest company, join the Beloch and -the Brahui tribes (Indo-Scythians), about whom there was nothing then -known. Sometimes he appeared in the towns; as a merchant he opened a -shop, sold stuffs or sweetmeats in the bazar. Sometimes he worked with -the men in native dress, "Játs" and Camel men, at levelling canals. - -When Richard was in India he at one time got rather tired of the daily -Mess, and living with men, and he thought he should like to learn -the manners, customs, and habits of monkeys, so he collected forty -monkeys of all kinds of ages, races, species, and he lived with them, -and he used to call them by different offices. He had his doctor, his -chaplain, his secretary, his aide-de-camp, his agent, and one tiny one, -a very pretty, small, silky-looking monkey, he used to call his wife, -and put pearls in her ears. His great amusement was to keep a kind of -refectory for them, where they all sat down on chairs at meals, and the -servants waited on them, and each had its bowl and plate, with the food -and drinks proper for them. He sat at the head of the table, and the -pretty little monkey sat by him in a high baby's chair, with a little -bar before it. He had a little whip on the table, with which he used -to keep them in order when they had bad manners, which did sometimes -occur, as they frequently used to get jealous of the little monkey, and -try to claw her. He did this for the sake of doing what Mr. Garner is -now doing, that of ascertaining and studying the language of monkeys, -so that he used regularly to talk to them, and pronounce their sounds -afterwards, till he and the monkeys at last got quite to understand -each other. He obtained as many as sixty words, I think twenty more -than Mr. Garner--that is, leading words--and he wrote them down and -formed a vocabulary, meaning to pursue his studies at some future time. -Mr. Garner has now the advantage of phonographs, and all sorts of -appliances. Had Richard been alive, he could have helped him greatly. -Unfortunately his monkey vocabulary was burnt in Grindlay's fire. He -also writes--but this was with his regiment-- - - [Sidenote: _Burying a Sányasi._] - - "Amongst other remarkable experiments made by me, a Sányasi, whom I - knew, talked to me about their manner of burying themselves alive. - I said I would not believe it unless I saw it. The native therefore - told me that he would prove it, by letting me try it; but that he - should require three days for preparation, and hoped for a reward. - Accordingly for three days he made his preparations by swallowing - immense draughts of milk. I refused to put him in a coffin, or to - bury him in the earth, lest he should die; but he lay down in a - hammock, rolled his tongue up in his throat, and appeared to be dead. - My brother officers and I then slung him up to the ceiling by four - large hooks and ropes, lying comfortably in the hammock, and, to avoid - trickery, one of us was always on guard day and night, each taking two - hours' watch at a time. After three weeks we began to get frightened, - because if the man died there would be such a scandal. So we lowered - him down, and tried to awake him. We opened his mouth and tried to - unroll his tongue into its natural position. He then, after some time, - woke perfectly well. We gave him food, paid him a handsome reward, and - he went away quite delighted, offering to do it for _three months_, if - it pleased us." - -Richard would be in a dozen different capacities on his travels, -but when he returned, he was rich with news and information for Sir -Charles, for he arrived at secrets quite out of the reach of the -British Army. He knew all that the natives knew, which was more -than British officers and surveyors did. General MacMurdo consulted -his journals and Survey books, which were highly praised by the -Surveyor-General. He was frequently in the presence of and speaking -before his own Colonel without his having the slightest idea that it -was Richard. - -Sir Charles Napier liked decision; he hated a man who had not an -answer ready for him. For instance, a young man would go and ask him -for an appointment. Sir Charles would say, "What do you want?" The -youth of firm mind would answer, "An Adjutancy, Sir." "All right," -said Sir Charles, and he probably got it. But "Anything you please, -Sir Charles," would be sure to be contemptuously dismissed. On -returning from his native researches, Sir Charles would ask Richard -such questions as: "Is it true that native high-class landowners, who -monopolize the fiefs about the heads of the canals, neglect to clear -out the tails, and allow Government ground and the peasants' fields to -lie barren for want of water?" - -"Perfectly true, Sir." - -"What would be my best course then?" - -"Simply to confiscate the whole or part of those estates, Sir." - -"H'm! You don't mince matters, Burton." - -He once asked Richard how many bricks there were in a newly built -bridge (an impossible question, such as are put to lads whom the -examiner intends to pluck). Richard, knowing his foible, answered, -"229,010, Sir Charles." He turned away and smiled. Another time he -ordered a review on a grand scale to impress certain Chiefs-- - -"Lieutenant Burton, be pleased to inform these gentlemen that I propose -to form these men in line, then to break into échelon by the right, -and to form square on the centre battalion," and so on, for about -five minutes in military technical terms, for which there were no -equivalents in these men's dialects. - -"Yes, Sir," said Richard, saluting. - -Turning to the Chiefs, Richard said, "Oh, Chiefs! our Great Man is -going to show you the way we fight, and you must be attentive to the -rules." He then touched his cap to Sir Charles. - -"Have you explained all?" he asked. - -"Everything, Sir," answered Richard. - -"A most concentrated language that must be," said Sir Charles, riding -off with his nose in the air. - -[Sidenote: _His Indian Career practically ends._] - -After seven years of this kind of life, overwork, overstudy, combined -with the hot season, and the march up the Indus Valley, told on -Richard's health, and at the end of the campaign he was attacked by -severe ophthalmia, the result of mental and physical fatigue, and he -was ordered to take a short rest. He utilized that leave in going to -Goa, and especially to Old Goa, where, as he said himself, he made a -pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Francis Xavier, and explored the scenes -of the Inquisition. At last news reached him that another campaign -was imminent in Mooltan, that Sir Charles Napier would take command; -Colonel Scott and a host of friends were ordered up. He writes as -follows:-- - - "I applied in almost suppliant terms to accompany the force as - interpreter. I had passed examinations in six native languages, - besides studying others, Multani included, and yet General Auchmuty's - secretary wrote to me that this could not be, as he had chosen for the - post Lieutenant X. Y. Z., who had passed in Hindustani. - - "This last misfortune broke my heart. I had been seven years in India, - working like a horse, volunteering for every bit of service, and - qualifying myself for all contingencies. Rheumatic ophthalmia, which - had almost left me when in hopes of marching northward, came on with - redoubled force, and no longer had I any hope of curing it except - by a change to Europe. Sick, sorry, and almost in tears of rage, I - bade adieu to my friends and comrades in Sind. At Bombay there was no - difficulty in passing the Medical Board, and I embarked at Bombay for - a passage round the Cape, as the Austral winter was approaching, in a - sixty-year-old teak-built craft, the brig _Eliza_, Captain Cory. - - "My career in India had been in my eyes a failure, and by no fault of - my own; the dwarfish demon called 'Interest' had fought against me, - and as usual had won the fight." - -[1] Those curious upon the subject will consult my "Book of the Sword," -vol. i. p. 163. Remember, young swordsman, these people never give -point and never parry it. - -[2] The word is a Portuguese "corruption" of _mausim_, in Arabia a -season, and _per excellentiam_ the sailing season. Thence it was -transferred to the dry season, when the north-eastern trade-winds blow -upon the Indian Ocean. But popular use transferred the name to the -south-western rainy winds, which last from June to September. - -[3] On June 26th, 1843, "Ensign Burton" appeared in orders as -"Regimental Interpreter." - -[4] See "Humanism _versus_ Theism, or Solipsism (Egoism)--Atheism," -letters by Robert Lewin, M.D. London: Freethought Publishing Company, -1887. - -[5] "Scinde, or the Unhappy Valley," 2 vols.; and "Sind Revisited," -1877. - -[6] "Scinde," chapter iv. - -[7] "Scinde," vol. i. p. 252. - -[8] Ibid., p. 89. - -[9] It was brought out in 1852, by my friend John Van Voorst, of -Paternoster Row, who, after a long and honourable career, retired at -the ripe age of eighty-four to take well-merited rest. He has proved -himself to me a phœnix amongst publishers. "Half profits are no profits -to the author," is the common saying, and yet for the last thirty years -I have continually received from him small sums which represented my -gains. Oh that all were so scrupulous! - -[10] "Falconry in the Valley of the Indus," pp. 100, 101. - -[11] Vol. x. p. 205, _et seqq._ - -[12] See, in vol. i. p. 53 of "Sind Revisited," Sir Charles's outspoken -opinion. - -[13] "Scinde," vol. ii. p. 258, etc. - -[14] "Sind Revisited," vol. i. p. 256, shows how I found my old home in -1876. - -[15] "Scinde," vol. i. p. 151. - -[16] "Falconry," pp. 103-105. - -[17] "Goa," etc., p. 355. - -[18] See Ibid., p. 339. - -[19] This stuck to him off and on all his life.--I. B. - -[20] Written with the assistance of a fine old Afghan _mullah_, Akhund -Burhan al-Din. - -[21] This was the manner in which he excelled in Eastern life and -knowledge, and knew more than all your learned Orientalists and men -high in office. I wish he would have written a personal novel about -these scenes, but I never could induce him to do so. First he thought -that they would never suit Mrs. Grundy, and though he could retain a -crowd of friends around him till the small hours of the morning to -listen to his delightful experiences, in print he never could be got to -talk about himself.--I. B. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -ON RETURN FROM INDIA. - - -[Illustration: LUNGE AND CUT IN CARTE (INSIDE).] - -When Richard came home, he first ran down full of joy to visit all -his relations and friends. He then went to Oxford with half a mind to -take his degree. He was between twenty-eight and twenty-nine years of -age. In 1850 he went back to France, and devoted himself to fencing. -To this day "the Burton _une-deux_" and notably the _manchette_ (the -upward slash, disabling the swordarm, and saving life in affairs of -honour), earned him his _brevet de pointe_ for the excellence of his -swordsmanship, and he became a _Maître d'armes_. Indeed, as horseman, -swordsman, and marksman, no soldier of his day surpassed him, and very -few equalled him. His family, that is his father, mother and sister, -with her two children--her husband being in India, and his brother -Edward in the 37th Regiment (Queen's)--went to Boulogne, like all the -rest of us, for change, quiet, and economy, and there he joined them. - -[Sidenote: _Boulogne._] - -_We_ did exactly the same, the object being to put me and my sisters -into the Sacré Cœur to learn French. Boulogne, in those days, was a -very different town to what it is now. It was "the home of the stranger -who had done something wrong." The natives were of the usual merchant, -or rich _bourgeoisie_ class; there was a sprinkling of local _noblesse_ -in the Haute-Ville; the gem of the natives in the lower class were the -Poissardes, who hold themselves entirely distinct from the town, are -a cross between Spanish and Flemish, and in _those_ days were headed -by a handsome "Queen" called Caroline, long since dead. The English -colony was very large. The _créme_, who did not mix with the general -"smart people," were the Seymours, Dundases, Chichesters, Jerninghams, -Bedingfelds, Cliffords, Molyneux-Seels, and ourselves. Maybe I have -forgotten many others. - -The rest of the colony, instead of living like the colonies that -Richard describes at Tours, used to walk a great deal up and down the -Grand Rue, which was the fashionable lounge, the Rue de l'Écu, the -Quai, and the Pier. The men were handsome and smart, and beautifully -dressed, with generally an immense amount of white shirt-front, as in -the Park, and the girls were pretty and well dressed. So were the young -married women in those days. The Établissement was a sort of Casino, -where everybody passed their evening, except the _créme;_ they had -music, dancing, cards, old ladies knitting, and refreshments, and it -was the hotbed, like a club, of all the gossip and flirtation, with an -occasional roaring scandal. - -The hardship of _my_ life and that of my sisters, was, that our mother -would never let us set foot inside of it, which was naturally the -only thing we longed to do, so that we had awfully dull, slow lives. -Here Richard brought out his "Goa," his two books on Scinde, and his -"Falconry," and prepared a book that came out in 1853, "A Complete -System of Bayonet Exercise," of which, I regret to say, the only copy -I possessed has been lost with the manuscript at David Bogue's. People -were _now_ beginning to say that "Burton was an awfully clever young -fellow, a man of great mark, in fact the coming man." Whilst I am -speaking of that system of bayonet exercise, I may say that it was, as -all he did, undervalued _at the time_, but still it has long been the -one used by the Horseguards. Colonel Sykes, who was Richard's friend, -sent for him, and sharply rebuked him with printing a book that would -do far more harm than good. - -[Sidenote: _Bayonet Exercise._] - -It was thought that bayonet exercise would make the men unsteady in the -ranks. The importance of bayonet exercise was recognized everywhere -_except_ in England. Richard detected our weak point in military -system, and he knew that it would be the British soldier's forte when -properly used. Richard was not "in the ring," but when that was proved, -his pamphlet was taken down from the dusty pigeon-hole, and a few -modifications--not improvements--were added, so as to enable a just and -enlightened War Office, not to send him a word of thanks, a compliment, -an expression of official recognition, which was all his soul craved -for, but a huge letter from the Treasury, with a seal the size of a -baby's fist, with a gracious permission to draw upon the Treasury for -the sum of one shilling. - -Richard always appreciated humour. He went to the War Office at -once, was sent to half a dozen different rooms, and, to the intense -astonishment of all the clerks, after three-quarters of an hour's very -hard work he drew his shilling, and instead of framing it, he gave it -to the first hungry beggar that he saw as soon as he came out of the -War Office. - -"Lord love yer, sir," said the beggar. - -"No, my man, I don't exactly expect Him to do _that_. But I dare say -you want a drink?" - -He did not lead the life that was led by the general colony at -Boulogne. He had a little set of men friends, knew some of the French, -had a great many flirtations, one very serious one. He passed his days -in literature and fencing: at home he was most domestic; his devotion -to his parents, especially to his sick mother, was beautiful. - -My sisters and I were kept at French all day, music and other studies, -but were frequently turned into the Ramparts, which would give one a -mile's walk around, to do our reading; then we had a turn down the -Grande Rue, the Rue de l'Écu, the Quai, and the Pier at the fashionable -hour, for a treat, or else we were taken a long country walk, or a long -row up the river Liane in the summer time, where we occasionally saw a -Guingette; but we were religiously marched home at half-past eight to -supper and bed, unless one of the _créme_ gave a dull tea-party. - -[Sidenote: _Meets me at Boulogne at School._] - -One day, when we were on the Ramparts, the vision of my awakening brain -came towards us. He was five feet eleven inches in height, very broad, -thin, and muscular;[1] he had very dark hair, black, clearly defined, -sagacious eyebrows, a brown weather-beaten complexion, straight Arab -features, a determined-looking mouth and chin, nearly covered by an -enormous black moustache. I have since heard a clever friend say "that -he had the brow of a God, the jaw of a Devil." But the most remarkable -part of his appearance was, two large black flashing eyes with long -lashes, that pierced you through and through. He had a fierce, proud, -melancholy expression, and when he smiled, he smiled as though it hurt -him, and looked with impatient contempt at things generally. He was -dressed in a black, short, shaggy coat, and shouldered a short thick -stick as if he was on guard. - -He looked at me as though he read me through and through in a moment, -and started a little. I was completely magnetized, and when we had got -a little distance away I turned to my sister, and whispered to her, -"That man will marry _me_." The next day he was there again, and he -followed us, and chalked up, "May I speak to you?" leaving the chalk -on the wall, so I took up the chalk and wrote back, "No, mother will -be angry;" and mother found it,--and _was_ angry; and after that we -were stricter prisoners than ever. However, "destiny is stronger than -custom." A mother and a pretty daughter came to Boulogne, who happened -to be a cousin of my father's; they joined the majority in the Society -sense, and one day we were allowed to walk on the Ramparts with them. -There I met Richard, who--agony!--was flirting with the daughter; we -were formally introduced, and the name made me start. I will say why -later. - -I did not try to attract his attention; but whenever he came to the -usual promenade I would invent any excuse that came, to take another -turn to watch him, if he was not looking. If I could catch the sound -of his deep voice, it seemed to me so soft and sweet, that I remained -spell-bound, as when I hear gypsy-music. I never lost an opportunity -of seeing him, when I could not be seen, and as I used to turn red and -pale, hot and cold, dizzy and faint, sick and trembling, and my knees -used to nearly give way under me, my mother sent for the doctor, to -complain that my digestion was out of order, and that I got migraines -in the street, and he prescribed me a pill which I put in the fire. All -girls will sympathize with me. I was struck with the shaft of Destiny, -but I had no hopes (being nothing but an ugly schoolgirl) of taking -the wind out of the sails of the dashing creature, with whom he was -carrying on a very serious flirtation. - -In early days Richard had got into a rather strong flirtation with -a very handsome and very fast girl, who had a vulgar, middle-class -sort of mother. One day he was rather alarmed at getting a polite -but somewhat imperious note from the mother, asking him to call upon -her. He obeyed, but he took with him his friend Dr. Steinhaüser, a -charming man, who looked as if his face was carved out of wood. After -the preliminaries of a rather formal reception, in a very prim-looking -drawing-room, the lady began, looking severely at him, "I sent for you, -Captain Burton, because I think it my dooty to ask what your intentions -are, with regard to my daughter?" Richard put on his most infantile -face of perplexity as he said, "Your dooty, madam--" and, then, as if -he was trying to recall things, and after a while suddenly seizing -the facts of the case, he got up and said, "Alas! madam, strictly -dishonourable," and shaking his head as if he was going to burst into -tears at his own iniquities, "I regret to say, strictly dishonourable;" -and bowed himself out with Dr. Steinhaüser, who never moved a muscle -of his face. Richard had never done the young lady a scrap of harm, -beyond talking to her a little more than the others, because she was -so "awfully jolly," but the next time he met her he said, "Look here, -young woman, if I talk to you, you must arrange that I do not have -'mamma's dooty' flung at my head any more." "The old fool!" said the -girl, "how like her!" - -The only luxury I indulged in was a short but heartfelt prayer for -him every morning. I read all his books, and was seriously struck as -before by the name when I came to the Játs in Scinde--but this I will -explain later on. My cousin asked him to write something for me, which -I used to wear next to my heart. 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 Richard like a star amongst -rushlights. That was a Night of nights; he waltzed with me once, and -spoke to me several times, and I kept my sash where he put his arm -round my waist to waltz, and my gloves. I never wore them again. I did -not know it then, but the "little cherub who sits up aloft" is not -_only_ occupied in taking care of poor Jack, for I came in also for a -share of it. - - -MECCA. - - -[Sidenote: _His Famous Journey to Mecca and El Medinah._] - -Whilst leading this sort of life, on a long furlough, Richard -determined to carry out a project he had long had in his head, to study -thoroughly the "inner life of the Moslem." He had long felt within -himself the qualifications, both mental and physical, which are needed -for the exploration of dangerous regions, impossible of access, and -of disguises difficult to sustain. His career as a dervish in Scinde -greatly helped him. His mind was both practical and imaginative; he set -himself to imagine and note down every contingency that _might_ arise, -and one by one he studied each separate thing until he was master -of it. As a small sample he apprenticed himself to a blacksmith; he -learned to make horseshoes and shoe his horse. - -To accomplish a journey to Mecca and Medinah quite safely in those -days (1853) was almost an impossibility, for the discovery that he was -_not_ a Mussulman would have been avenged by a hundred Khanjars. It -meant living with his life in his hand, and amongst the strangest and -wildest companions, adopting their unfamiliar manners, and living for -perhaps nine months in the hottest and most unhealthy climate, upon -repulsive food, complete and absolute isolation from all that makes -life tolerable, from all civilization, from all his natural habits--the -brain at high tension, never to depart from the _rôle_ he had adopted. - -He obtained a year's leave on purpose, and left London as a Persian, -for, during the time, he had to assume and sustain _several_ Oriental -characters. Captain Grindlay, who was in the secret, travelled to -Southampton and Alexandria as his English interpreter. John Thurburn, -who, curiously to say, was also the host of Burckhardt till he died, -and was buried in Cairo, received Richard at Alexandria. He and his -son-in-law, John Larking, of the Firs, Lee, Kent, were the only -persons throughout the perilous expedition who knew of his secret. He -went to Cairo as a dervish, and he lived there as a native, till (as -he told me) he actually believed himself to be what he represented -himself to be, and then he felt he was safe, and he practised on his -own country-people the finding out that he was unrecognizable. He had -wished to cross the whole length of Arabia, but the Russian War had -caused disturbances, which might have delayed him over his year's leave. - -In those days it was almost impossible to visit the Holy City as one -of the Faithful. First, there was the pilgrim-ship to embark on; then -there were long desert caravan marches, with their privations and their -dangers; then there was the holy shrine, the Ka'abah, to be visited, -and all the ceremonies to be gone through, like a Roman Catholic Holy -Week at Rome. Burckhardt, the Swiss traveller, did get in, but he -never could see the Ka'abah, and he confessed afterwards that he was -so nervous that he was unable to take notes, and unable to write or -sketch for fear of being detected, whereas Richard was sketching and -writing in his white _burnous_ the whole time he was prostrating and -kissing the holy Stone. He did not go in mockery, but reverentially. -He had brought his brain to believe himself one of them. Europeans, -converted Moslems, have of late gone there, but they have been received -with the utmost civility, consistent with coldness, have been admitted -to outward friendship, but have been carefully kept out of what they -most wished to know and see, so that Richard was thus the only European -who had beheld the inner and religious life of the Moslems as one of -themselves. - -Amongst the various Oriental characters that Richard assumed, the -one that suited best was half-Arab, half-Iranian, such as throng the -northern shores of the Persian Gulf. With long hair falling on his -shoulders, long beard, face and hands, arms and legs browned and -stained with a thin coat of henna, Oriental dress, spear in hand, and -pistols in belt, Richard became Mirza Abdullah, el Bushiri. Here he -commenced his most adventurous and romantic life, explored from North -to South, from East to West, mixed with all sorts of people and tribes -without betraying himself in manners, customs, or speech, when death -must often have ensued, had he created either dislike or suspicion. - -I here give a slight sketch from his private notes, and for fuller -details refer the reader to his "Pilgrimage to Mecca and El Medinah," 3 -vols., with coloured illustrations, published in 1855, and which made a -great sensation. Although he has been the author of some eighty books -and pamphlets, I think that this original edition of three volumes is -the one that his name should live by, and it will be the first of the -Uniform Library with the Meccan Press. The Uniform Library means a -reproduction of all his hitherto published works, and eventually his -unpublished ones, so that the world may lose nothing of what he has -ever written. - -As I have said, on the night of the 3rd of April, 1853, a Persian -Mirza, accompanied by an English interpreter, Captain Henry Grindlay, -of the Bengal Cavalry, left London for Southampton, and embarked -on the P. and O. steamer _Bengal_. The voyage was profitable but -tedious; Richard passed it in resuming his Oriental character, with -such success, that when he landed at Alexandria, he was recognized and -blessed as a true Moslem by the native population. - -[Illustration: RICHARD BURTON AS HAJI ABDULLAH, EN ROUTE TO MECCA.] - -John Thurburn and his son-in-law, John Larking, received him at their -villa on the Mahmudíyah Canal, but he was lodged in an outhouse, the -better to deceive the servants. Here he practised the Korán and prayer, -and all the ceremonies of the Faith, with a neighbouring Shaykh. He -also became a _hakím_, or doctor, and called himself Shaykh Abdullah, -preparing to be a dervish. The dervish is a chartered vagabond; nobody -asks why he comes, where he goes; he may go on foot, or on horseback, -or alone, or with a large retinue, and he is as much respected -without arms, as though he were armed to the teeth. "I only wanted," he -said, "a little knowledge of medicine, which I _had_, moderate skill in -magic, a studious reputation, and enough to keep me from starving." He -provided himself with a few necessaries for the journey. - -When he had to leave Alexandria he wrote-- - - "Not without a feeling of regret, I left my little room among the - white myrtle blossoms and the rosy oleander flowers with the almond - scent. I kissed with humble ostentation my good host's hand, in - the presence of his servants. I bade adieu to my patients, who now - amounted to about fifty, shaking hands with all meekly, and with - religious equality of attention; and mounted in a 'trap' which looked - like a cross between a wheelbarrow and a dog-cart, drawn by a kicking, - jibbing, and biting mule, I set out for the steamer, the _Little - Asthmatic_. - - [Sidenote: _His Start from Alexandria to Cairo._] - - "The journey from Alexandria to Cairo lasted three days and nights. - We saw nothing but muddy water, dusty banks, sand, mist, milky sky, - glaring sun, breezes like the blasts of a furnace, and the only - variation was that the steamer grounded four or five times a day, and - I passed my time telling my beads with a huge rosary. I was a deck - passenger. The sun burnt us all day, and the night dews were raw and - thick. Our diet was bread and garlic, moistened with muddy water from - the canal. At Cairo I went to a caravanserai. Here I became a Pathán. - I was born in India of Afghan parents, who had settled there, and I - was educated at Rangoon, and sent out, as is often the custom, to - wander. I knew all the languages that I required to pass me, Persian, - Hindostani, and Arabic. It is customary at the shop, on the camel, in - the Mosque, to ask, 'What is thy name? Whence comest thou?' and you - must be prepared. I had to do the fast of the Ramazan, which is far - stricter than the Catholics' Lent, and in Cairo I studied the Moslem - faith in every detail. I had great difficulty in getting a passport - without betraying myself, but the chief of the Afghan college at the - Azhar Mosque contrived it for me. I hired a couple of camels, and - put my Meccan boy and baggage on one, and I took the other. I had an - eighty-four mile ride in midsummer, on a bad wooden saddle, on a bad - dromedary, across the Suez Desert. - - "Above, through a sky terrible in its stainless beauty, and the - splendours of a pitiless blinding glare, the simoom caresses you like - a lion with flaming breath. Around lie drifted sand-heaps, upon which - each puff of wind leaves its trace in solid waves, frayed rocks, the - very skeletons of mountains, and hard unbroken plains, over which he - who rides is spurred by the idea that the bursting of a waterskin, or - the pricking of a camel's hoof, would be a certain death of torture; a - haggard land infested with wild beasts and wilder men; a region whose - very fountains murmur the warning words, 'Drink and away!' - - "In the desert, even more than upon the ocean, there is present - Death, and this sense of danger, never absent, invests the scene of - travel with a peculiar interest. - - "Let the traveller who suspects exaggeration leave the Suez road, and - gallop northwards over the sands for an hour or two; in the drear - silence, the solitude, and the fantastic desolation of the place, he - will feel what the desert _may_ be. And then the oases, and little - lines of fertility--how soft and how beautiful!--even though the - Wady-el-Ward ('the Vale of Flowers') be the name of some stern flat - in which a handful of wild shrubs blossom, while struggling through a - cold season's ephemeral existence. - - "In such circumstances the mind is influenced through the body. - Though your mouth glows, and your skin is parched, yet you feel no - languor,--the effect of humid heat; your lungs are lightened, your - sight brightens, your memory recovers its tone, and your spirits - become exuberant. Your fancy and imagination are powerfully aroused, - and the wildness and sublimity of the scenes around you, stir up all - the energies of your soul, whether for exertion, danger, or strife. - Your _morale_ improves; you become frank and cordial, hospitable - and single-minded; the hypocritical politeness and the slavery - of Civilization are left behind you in the City. Your senses are - quickened; they require no stimulants but air and exercise; in the - desert spirituous liquors excite only disgust. - - "There is a keen enjoyment in mere animal existence. The sharp - appetite disposes of the most indigestible food; the sand is softer - than a bed of down, and the purity of the air suddenly puts to flight - a dire cohort of diseases. - - "Here Nature returns to Man, however unworthily he has treated - her, and, believe me, when once your tastes have conformed to the - tranquillity of such travel, you will suffer real pain in returning to - the turmoil of civilization. You will anticipate the bustle and the - confusion of artificial life, its luxuries and its false pleasures, - with repugnance. Depressed in spirits, you will for a time after your - return feel incapable of mental or bodily exertion. The air of Cities - will suffocate you, and the careworn and cadaverous countenances of - citizens will haunt you like a vision of judgment. - - "I was nearly undone by Mohammed, my Meccan boy, finding my sextant - amongst my clothes, and it was only by Umar Effendi having read a - letter of mine to Haji Wali that very morning on Theology, that he was - able to certify that I was thoroughly orthodox. - - "When I started my intention had been to cross the all but unknown - Arabian Peninsula, and to map it out, either from El Medinah to - Maskat, or from Mecca to Makallah on the Indian Ocean. I wanted to - open a market for horses between Arabia and Central India, to go - through the Rubá-el-Khali ('the Empty Abode'), the great wilderness - on our maps, to learn the hydrography of the Hejaz, and the - ethnographical details of this race of Arabs. I should have been very - much at sea without my sextant. I managed to secrete a pocket compass. - - "The journey would have been of fifteen or sixteen hundred miles, - and have occupied at least ten months longer than my leave. The - quarrelling of the tribes prevented my carrying it out. I had - arranged with the Beni Harb, the Bedawin tribe, to join them - after the Pilgrimage like a true Bedawin, but it _meant_ all this - above-mentioned work; I found it useless to be killed in a petty - tribe-quarrel, perhaps, about a mare, and once I joined them it would - have been a point of honour to aid in all their quarrels and raids. - - [Sidenote: _Twelve Days in an Open Sambúk._] - - "At Suez we embarked on a _Sambúk_, an open boat of about fifty tons. - She had no means of reefing, no compass, no log, no sounding-line, - no chart. Ninety-seven pilgrims (fifteen women and children) came - on deck. They were all barefoot, bare-headed, dirty, ferocious, and - armed. The distance was doubled by detours; it would have been six - hundred miles in a straight line. Even the hardened Arabs and Africans - suffered most severely. After twelve days of purgatory, I sprang - ashore at Yambú; and travelling a fortnight in this pilgrim-boat gave - me the fullest possible knowledge of the inner life of El Islam. - However, the heat of the sun, the heavy night dews, and the constant - washing of the waves over me, had so affected one of my feet that I - could hardly put it to the ground. - - "Yambú is the port of El Medinah, as Jeddah is that of Mecca. The - people are a good type, healthy, proud, and manly, and they have - considerable trade. Here I arranged for camels, and our Caravan hired - an escort of irregular cavalry--very necessary, for, as the tribes - were out, we had to fight every day. They did not want to start till - the tribes had finished fighting; but I was resolved, and we went. - Here I brought a _shugduf_, or litter, and seven days' provisions - for the journey, and here also I became an Arab, to avoid paying the - capitation tax, the _Jizyát_. - - "We eventually arrived at El Hamra, the 'Red Village,' but in a - short while the Caravan arrived from Mecca, and in about four hours - we joined it and went on our way. That evening we were attacked by - Bedawi, and we had fighting pretty nearly the whole way. We lost - twelve men, camels, and other beasts of burden; the Bedawi looted the - baggage and ate the camels. - - "One morning El Medinah was in sight. We were jaded and hungry; and - we gloried in the gardens and orchards about the town. I was met at - El Medinah by Shaykh Hamid, who received me into his family as one of - the faithful, and where I led a quiet, peaceful, and pleasant life, - during leisure hours; but of course, the pilgrimage being my object, - I had a host of shrines to visit, ceremonies to perform, and prayers - to recite, besides the usual prayers five times a day; for it must - be remembered that El Medinah contains the tomb of Mahommad." (For - description see Burton's 'Mecca and El Medinah,' 3 vols.) - - "The Damascus Caravan was to start on the 27th Zu'l Ka'adah (1st - September). I had intended to stay at El Medinah till the last moment, - and to accompany the _Kafilat el Tayyárah_, or the 'Flying Caravan,' - which usually leaves on the 2nd Zu'l Hijjah, two days after that of - Damascus. - - "Suddenly arose the rumour that there would be no _Tayyárah_,[2] and - that all pilgrims must proceed with the Damascus Caravan or await the - _Rakb_.[3] The Sheríf Zayd, Sa'ad, the robbers' only friend, paid - Sa'ad an unsuccessful visit. Sa'ad demanded back his shaykhship, in - return for a safe conduct through his country; 'otherwise,' said he, - 'I will cut the throat of every hen that ventures into the passes.' - - "The Sheríf Zayd returned to El Medinah on the 25th Zu'l Ka'adah. - (30th August). Early on the morning of the next day, Shaykh Hamid - returned hurriedly from the bazar, exclaiming, 'You must make ready at - once, Effendi! There will be no _Tayyárah_. All Hajis start to-morrow. - Allah will make it easy to you! Have you your water-skins in order? - You are to travel down the Darb el Sharki, _where you will not see - water for three days!_' - - "Poor Hamid looked horror-struck as he concluded this fearful - announcement, which filled me with joy. Burckhardt had visited and - described the Darb el Sultani, the 'High' or 'Royal Road' along - the coast; but _no_ European had as yet travelled down by Harún el - Rashíd's and the Lady Zubaydah's celebrated route through the Nejd - Desert. And here was my chance! - - "Whenever he was ineffably disgusted, I consoled him with singing the - celebrated song of Maysúnah, the beautiful Bedawin wife of the Caliph - Muawíyah." (Richard was immensely fond of this little song, and the - Bedawin screams with joy when he hears it.) - - "'Oh, take these purple robes away, - Give back my cloak of camel's hair, - And bear me from this tow'ring pile - To where the black tents flap i' the air. - The camel's colt with falt'ring tread, - The dog that bays at all but me, - Delight me more than ambling mules, - Than every art of minstrelsy; - And any cousin, poor but free, - Might take me, fatted ass, from thee.'[4] - - "The old man was delighted, clapped my shoulder, and exclaimed, - 'Verily, O Father of Moustachios, I will show thee the black Tents of - my Tribe this year.' - - [Sidenote: _Ten Days' Ride to Mecca._] - - "So, after staying at Medinah about six weeks, I set out with the - Damascus Caravan down the Darb el Sharki, under the care of a - very venerable Bedawin, who nicknamed me 'Abú Shuwárib,' meaning, - 'Father of Moustachios,' mine being very large. I found myself - standing opposite the Egyptian gate of El Medinah, surrounded by my - friends--those friends of a day, who cross the phantasmagoria of - one's life. There were affectionate embraces and parting mementoes. - The camels were mounted; I and the boy Mohammed in the litter or - _shugduf_, and Shaykh Nur in his cot. The train of camels with the - Caravan wended its way slowly in a direction from north to north-east, - gradually changing to eastward. After an hour's travel, the Caravan - halted to turn and take farewell of the Holy City. - - "We dismounted to gaze at the venerable minarets and the green dome - which covers the tomb of the Prophet. The heat was dreadful, the - climate dangerous, and the beasts died in numbers. Fresh carcases - strewed our way, and were covered with foul vultures. The Caravan was - most picturesque. We travelled principally at night, but the camels - had to perform the work of goats, and step from block to block of - basalt like mountaineers, which being unnatural to them, they kept up - a continual piteous moan. The simoom and pillars of sand continually - threw them over. - - "Water is the great trouble of a Caravan journey, and the only remedy - is to be patient and not to talk. The first two hours gives you the - mastery, but if you drink you cannot stop. Forty-seven miles before - we reached Mecca, at El Zaríbah, we had to perform the ceremony of - _El Ihram_, meaning 'to assume the pilgrim garb.' A barber shaved us, - trimmed our moustachios; we bathed and perfumed, and then we put on - two new cotton cloths, each six feet long by three and a half broad. - It is white, with narrow red stripes and fringe, and worn something as - you wear it in the baths. Our heads and feet, right shoulder and arm, - are exposed. - - "We had another fight before we got to Mecca, and a splendid camel - in front of me was shot through the heart. Our Sheríf Zayd was an - Arab Chieftain of the purest blood, and very brave. He took two or - three hundred men, and charged them. However, they shot many of our - dromedaries, and camels, and boxes and baggage strewed the place; and - when we were gone the Bedawi would come back, loot the baggage, and - eat the camels. On Saturday, the 10th of September, at one in the - morning, there was great excitement in the Caravan, and loud cries of - 'Mecca! Mecca! Oh, the Sanctuary, the Sanctuary!' All burst into loud - praises, and many wept. We reached it next morning, after ten days and - nights from El Medinah. I became the guest of the boy Mohammed, in the - house of his mother. - - [Sidenote: _Moslem Holy Week._] - - "First I did the circumambulation at the Haram. Early next morning I - was admitted to the house of our Lord; and we went to the holy well - Zemzem, the holy water of Mecca,[5] and then the Ka'abah, in which - is inserted the famous black stone, where they say a prayer for - the Unity of Allah. Then I performed the seven circuits round the - Ka'abah, called the _Tawaf_. I then managed to have a way pushed for - me through the immense crowd to kiss it. While kissing it, and rubbing - hands and forehead upon it, I narrowly observed it, and came away - persuaded that it is an aerolite. It is curious that almost all agree - upon one point, namely, that the stone is volcanic. Ali Bey calls it - mineralogically a 'block of volcanic basalt, whose circumference is - sprinkled with little crystals, pointed and straw-like, with rhombs of - tile-red felspath upon a dark ground like velvet or charcoal, except - one of its protuberances, which is reddish.' It is also described as - 'a lava containing several small extraneous particles of a whitish and - of a yellowish substance.' - - "All this time the pilgrims had scorched feet and burning heads, as - they were always uncovered. I was much impressed with the strength - and steadfastness of the Mohammedan religion. It was so touching to - see them; one of them was clinging to the curtain, and sobbing as - though his heart would break.[6] At night I and Shaykh Nur and the boy - Mohammed issued forth with the lantern and praying-carpet. - - "The moon, now approaching the full, tipped the brow of Abú Kubáya, - and lit up the spectacle with a more solemn light. In the midst stood - the huge bier-like erection-- - - 'Black as the wings - Which some spirit of ill o'er a sepulchre flings!' - - except where the moonbeams streaked it like jets of silver falling - upon the darkest marble. It formed the point of rest for the eye; - the little pagoda-like buildings and domes around it, with all their - gilding and framework, faded to the sight. One object, unique in - appearance, stood in view--the temple of the one Allah, the God of - Abraham, of Ishmael, and of their posterity. Sublime it was, and - expressing by all the eloquence of fancy the grandeur of the one idea - which vitalized El Islam, and the strength and steadfastness of its - votaries. - - "One thing I remarked, and think worthy of notice, is that ever since - Noah's dove, every religion seems to consider the pigeon a sacred - bird; for example, every Mosque swarms with pigeons; St. Mark's, at - Venice, and the same exists in most Italian market-places; the Hindoo - pandits and the old Assyrian Empire also have them; whilst Catholics - make it the emblem of the Holy Ghost. - - "The day before I went to Arafat, I spent the night in the Mosque, - where I saw many strange sights. One was a negro possessed by the - devil. There, too, he prayed by the grave of Ishmael. After this - we set out for Arafat, where is the tomb of Adam. (I have seen two - since--one at Jerusalem, and one in the mountains behind Damascus.) - - "It was a very weary journey, and, with the sun raining fire on our - heads and feet, we suffered tortures. The camels threw themselves on - the ground, and I myself saw five men fall out and die. On the Mount - there were numerous consecrated shrines to see, and we had to listen - to an immensely long sermon. On the great festival day we stoned the - Devil, each man with seven stones washed in seven waters, and we - said, while throwing each stone, 'In the name of Allah--and Allah is - Almighty--I do this in hatred of the Devil, and to his shame.' There - is then an immense slaughter of victims (five or six thousand), which - slaughter, with the intense heat, swarms of flies, and the whole space - reeking with blood, produces the most noisome vapours, and probably is - the birthplace of that cholera and small-pox which generally devastate - the World after the Haj. _Now_ we were allowed to doff the pilgrim's - garb. - - "We all went to barbers' booths, where we were shaved, had our beards - trimmed and our nails cut, saying prayers the while; and, though we - had no clothes, we might put our clothes over our heads, and wear our - slippers, which were a little protection from the heat. We might then - twirl our moustachios, stroke our beards, and return to Mecca. At the - last moment I was sent for. I thought, 'Now something is going to - happen to me; now I am suspected.' - - [Sidenote: _The All-important Crisis._] - - "A crowd had gathered round the Ka'abah, and I had no wish to stand - bare-headed and bare-footed in the midday September sun. At the cry - of 'Open a path for the Haji who would enter the House!' the gazers - made way. Two stout Meccans, who stood below the door, raised me in - their arms, whilst a third drew me from above into the building. - At the entrance I was accosted by several officials, dark-looking - Meccans, of whom the blackest and plainest was a youth of the Benu - Shaybah family, the true blood of the El Hejaz. He held in his hand - the huge silver-gilt padlock of the Ka'abah, and presently, taking - his seat upon a kind of wooden press in the left corner of the hall, - he officially inquired my name, nation, and other particulars. The - replies were satisfactory, and the boy Mohammed was authoritatively - ordered to conduct me round the building, and to recite the prayers. I - will not deny that, looking at the windowless walls, the officials at - the door, and a crowd of excited fanatics below-- - - 'And the place death, considering who I was,' - - my feelings were of the trapped-rat description, acknowledged by the - immortal nephew of his uncle Perez. A blunder, a hasty action, a - misjudged word, a prayer or bow, not strictly the right shibboleth, - and my bones would have whitened the desert sand. This did not, - however, prevent my carefully observing the scene during our long - prayer, and making a rough plan with a pencil upon my white _ihram_. - - [Illustration: MECCA AND THE KA'ABAH, OR THE HOLY GRAIL OF THE - MOSLEMS.] - - "I returned home after this _quite_ exhausted, performed an elaborate - toilet, washing with henna and warm water, to mitigate the pain the - sun had caused on my arms, shoulders, and breast, head and feet, and - put on my gayest clothes in honour of the festival. When the moon - rose, there was a second stoning, or lapidation, to be performed, and - then we strolled round the coffee-houses. There was also a little - pilgrimage to undertake, which is in honour of Hagar seeking water for - her son Ishmael. - - "I now began to long to leave Mecca; I had done everything, seen - everything; the heat was simply unendurable, and the little room where - I could enjoy privacy for about six hours a day, and jot my notes - down, was a perfect little oven.[7] - - "I slowly wended my way with a Caravan to Jeddah, with donkeys and - Mohammed; I must say that the sight of the sea and the British flag - was a pleasant tonic. I went to the British Consulate, but the - Dragomans were not very civil to the unfortunate Afghan. - - [Sidenote: _His Safe Return._] - - "So I was left kicking my heels at the Great Man's Gate for a long - time, and heard somebody say, 'Let the dirty nigger wait.' Long inured - to patience, however, I did wait, and when the Consul consented to see - me, I presented him with a bit of paper, as if it were a money order. - On it was written, 'Don't recognize me; I am Dick Burton, but I am - not safe yet. Give me some money' (naming the sum), 'which will be - returned from London, and don't take any notice of me.' He, however, - frequently afterwards, when it was dark, sent for me, and, once safe - in his private rooms, showed me abundance of hospitality. Necessity - compelled me living with Shayk Nur in a room (to myself), swept, - sprinkled with water, and spread with mats. - - [Sidenote: _On Board an English Ship._] - - "When I went out in gay attire, I was generally mistaken for the Pasha - of El Medinah. After about ten days' suspense, an English ship was - sent by the Bombay Steam Navigation Company to convey pilgrims from - El Hejaz to India, so one day the Afghan disappeared--was supposed to - have departed with other dirty pilgrims, but in reality, had got on - board the _Dwárká_,[8] an English ship, with a first-class passage; he - had emerged from his cabin, after washing all his colouring off, in - the garb of an English gentleman; experienced the greatest kindness - from the Commander and Officers, which he much needed, being worn out - with fatigue and the fatal fiery heat, and felt the great relief to - his mind and body from being able to take his first complete rest in - safety on board an English ship; but was so changed that the Turkish - pilgrims, who crowded the deck, never recognized their late companion - pilgrim." - -He ends his personal narrative of his sojourn in El Hejaz thus:-- - - "I have been exposed to perils, and I have escaped from them; I have - traversed the sea, and have not succumbed under the severest fatigues; - but they with fatal fiery heat have worn me out, and my heart is moved - with emotions of gratitude that I have been permitted to effect the - objects I had in view." - -An Irish missionary wrote of my husband after he was dead:-- - - "At Damascus Burton began a new chapter, but he was not permitted - to start with a clean page. Two incidents in his previous record - foreshadowed him, and hampered him in his efforts to make the best of - his new Consulate. He had offended the religious susceptibilities of - both Mohammedans and Christians, and he found himself confronted with - bitter, unreasoning prejudice. - - "It is a question of how far Burton's Oriental disguise concealed - the Englishman in his pilgrimage to Mecca. I never conversed with a - Mohammedan who had accompanied Burton on that journey, but I have - seen Arabs who saw Palgrave on his way to Nejd, and his attempts to - pose as a native were a constant source of amusement to all with whom - he came in contact. Burton's Oriental cast of face helped him when - putting on the outward appearance of a Bedawin, but at no period of - his life could he have passed for an Arab one second after he began - to speak.[9] On the pilgrimage to Mecca, Burton would be known as a - devout British Mohammedan, just as easily as we recognize an Arab - convert on a missionary platform, notwithstanding the efforts of the - schoolmaster and the tailor to transform him into an Englishman. And - as a perverted Englishman, Burton would be as welcome in the Hajj as a - converted Arab would be in Exeter Hall." - -This is a ridiculous paragraph, and spoils an otherwise splendid -article. The writer speaks fairly good Syrian Christian Arabic with -an Irish accent, but he is not conversant with the Arabic of scholars -and high-class Mohammedans, and he does not know a word of Persian, -Hindostani, Afghani, Turkish, or any of the other ten Oriental -languages, in which my husband passed his pilgrimages. I think native -testimony is best. I can remember, at a reception at Lady Salisbury's, -the Persian Ambassador and his suite following Richard about the -whole evening, and when I joked them about it, they said, "It is such -an extraordinary thing to us, to see any foreigner, especially an -Englishman, speaking our language like ourselves. He might have never -been out of Teheran; he even knows all the slang of the market-place as -well as we do." When he arrived in Damascus, his record was perfectly -clean with the Mohammedans, and the only bitter, unreasoning prejudice -was in the breast of Christian missionaries, and Christian Foreign -Office employés, whose friends wanted the post. Burton and Palgrave -were quite two different men, as silver and nickel. I know exactly the -_sort_ of Arabic Palgrave spoke. - -In the days that Richard went to Mecca, _no_ converted Englishman -would have been received as _now_. As to his Arabic, Abd el Kadir told -me--and, mind, he was _the_ highest cultivated and the most religious -Moslem in Damascus; the only Sufi, I believe--that there were only -two men in Damascus whose Arabic was worth listening to; one was my -husband, and the other was Shaykh Mijwal El Mezrab, Lady Ellenborough's -Bedawin husband. We may remember that at Jeddah his life was saved -by being mistaken for the Pasha of El Medinah, and when he went to -the departure of the Haj at Damascus, as he rode down the lines in -frock-coat and fez, he was accosted by more than one as the Pasha of -the Haj; and when the mistake was explained, and he told them who he -was, they only laughed and said, "Why don't you come along with us -again to Mecca, as you did before?" He was looked upon by _all_ as a -friend to the Moslem. He _never_ profaned the sanctuaries of Mecca and -Medina, and so far from being unpopular with the Moslems, he received -almost yearly an invitation to go back with the Haj, and no opposition -would have been made to him had he made another pilgrimage to the -jealously guarded Haramayn or the holy Cities of the Moslems. Even _I_ -am always admitted to the Mosques with the women for _his_ sake. - -There was no tinsel and gingerbread about anything Richard did; it was -always true and real. - -[Sidenote: _Interesting Letters._] - -In further support of the above I quote two letters, one from _Sporting -Truth_. - - "I had the pleasure of a slight acquaintance with the late Sir Richard - Burton, familiarly known among his friends as 'Ruffian Dick.' Not - that there was anything offensive meant by that epithet. Indeed, in - his case, it had a playfully complimentary significance. There were, - in the old days, as many readers of _Sporting Truth_ will recollect, - two familiar pugilists who went by the nicknames respectively of the - 'Old' and 'Young Ruffian.' The term referred purely to their style of - fighting, and was not intended to convey the idea that they were any - less decent or civilized members of society than their neighbours. - For much the same reason was Sir Richard Burton dubbed 'Ruffian - Dick' by his pals. He was, without doubt, a terrible fighter, and - fought in single combat more enemies than perhaps any man of his - time. A man of peculiar temper, too, and strong individuality, with - a wholesome contempt for Mrs. Grundy and all her ways. But his great - distinguishing feature was his courage. No braver man than 'Ruffian - Dick' ever lived. His daring was of that romantic order which revels - in danger for danger's sake. No crisis, however appalling, could shake - his splendid nerve. He was as cool when his life hung on a hair's - breadth, as when he sat smoking in his own snuggery. - - "I know of nothing in the annals of adventure to surpass his memorable - journey to Mecca with the Mohammedan pilgrims. None but a follower of - the true Prophet had ever penetrated the shrine where the coffin of - Mohammed swings between earth and heaven. No eyes but those of the - faithful were permitted to gaze upon that holy of holies. Certain and - speedy death awaited any infidel who should profane with his footsteps - those sacred precincts, or seek to pry into those hidden mysteries. - There were secret passwords among the pilgrims, by which they could - detect at once any one who was not of the true faith; and detection - meant instant death at the hands of the enraged fanatics. Yet all - these difficulties and dangers--apparently insurmountable--did not - deter Ruffian Dick from undertaking the perilous enterprise. He went - through a long course of preparation, studied all the minute ways of - the Arabs--he already spoke their language like a native--professed - the Mohammedan religion, acquired the secret passwords, and then - boldly joined the great annual procession of pilgrims to the shrine of - the Prophet. - - "How perfect his disguise was, the following anecdote will show. On - his return from the pilgrimage to Mecca, his leave had expired, and - he had to return to India at once without time to rig himself out - with a fresh outfit. One evening a party of officers were lounging - outside Shepherd's Hotel, at Cairo. As they sat talking and smoking, - there passed repeatedly in front of them an Arab in his loose flowing - robes, with head proudly erect, and the peculiar swinging stride of - those sons of the desert. As he strode backwards and forwards he - drew nearer and nearer to the little knot of officers, till at last, - as he swept by, the flying folds of his burnous brushed against one - of the officers. 'Damn that nigger's impudence!' said the officer; - 'if he does that again I'll kick him.' To his surprise the dignified - Arab suddenly halted, wheeled round, and exclaimed, 'Well, damn it, - Hawkins, that's a nice way to welcome a fellow after two years' - absence.' 'By G--d, it's Ruffian Dick,' cried Hawkins. And Ruffian - Dick it was, but utterly transformed out of all resemblance to a - European. His complexion was burned by the sun to a deep umber tint, - and his cast of features was more Oriental than English, so that in - the robes of an Arab he might well pass for one of that nomad race." - -Here is the second, from _Allen's Indian Mail_. - - - "THE LATE SIR RICHARD BURTON. - - "To the Editor of the _Times_ of India. - - - "SIR, - - "Unlike your correspondent, Mr. Levick (of Suez), questioning Sir - Richard's visit to Medinah in 1853, I merely want to say that in Sir - Richard the scientific world has lost a bright star. In linguistic - attainments there was not his equal in the world. He could not only - speak the languages, but act so well that his most intimate friends - were often deceived. I was often witness to this feat of his while - at Kurrachee in 1847, as I happened to be employed under Dr. Stocks, - botanist, in Sind, as his botanical draughtsman. Sir Richard (then - a lieutenant) and the doctor occupied the same bungalow. I had - necessarily to work in the hall, and consequently had the opportunity - of seeing and admiring his ways. He was on special duty, which in his - case meant to perfect himself for some political duty, by mastering - the languages of the country. When I knew him he was master of half - a dozen languages, which he wrote and spoke so fluently that a - stranger who did not see him and heard him speaking would fancy he - heard a native. His domestic servants were--a Portuguese, with whom - he spoke Portuguese and Goanese, an African, a Persian, and a Sindi - or Belochee. These spoke their mother tongue to Sir Richard as he - was engaged in his studies with _moonshees_, who relieved each other - every two hours, from ten to four daily. The _moonshees_ would read - an hour and converse the next, and it was a treat to hear Sir Richard - talk; one would scarcely be able to distinguish the Englishman from a - Persian, Arabian, or a Scindian. - - "His habits at home were perfectly Persian or Arabic. His hair was - dressed _à la Persian_--long and shaved from the forehead to the top - of the head; his eyes, by some means or other he employed, resembled - Persian or Arabian; he used the Turkish bath and wore a cowl; and when - he went out for a ride he used a wig and goggles. His complexion was - also thorough Persian, so that Nature evidently intended him for the - work he afterwards so successfully performed, namely, visiting the - shrine of the Prophet Mohammed--a work very few would have undertaken - unless he was a complete master of himself. - - "I was a witness to his first essay in disguising himself as a poor - Persian, and taking in his friend Moonshee Ali Akbar (the father of - Mirza Hossein, solicitor of this City). The _moonshee_ was seated - one evening in an open space in front of his bungalow in the town of - Kurrachee, with a lot of his friends enjoying the evening breeze, and - chatting away as Persians are wont to do. Sir Richard, disguised as a - Persian traveller, approached them, and after the usual compliments, - inquired for the rest-house, and, as a matter of course, gave a long - rigmarole account of his travels and of people the _moonshee_ knew, - and thus excited his curiosity and got him into conversation; and - when he thought he acted his part to perfection, bid him the time and - left him, but did not go far when he called out to the _moonshee_ in - English if he did not know him. The _moonshee_ was completely taken - aback; he did not know where the voice (his friend Burton's) came - from, till he was addressed again, and a recognition took place, to - the great astonishment of the _moonshee_ and his friends. Such a - jovial companion Sir Richard was, that his bungalow was the resort of - the learned men of the place, amongst whom I noticed Major (afterwards - General) Walter Scott, Lieutenant (and now General) Alfred De Lisle, - Lieutenant Edward Dansey of Mooltan notoriety, Dr. Stocks, and many - others, but who, with the exception of General De Lisle, are all gone - to their home above, where Sir Richard has now followed. May their - souls rest in peace! - - "Some time or other Lady Burton may write a memoir of Sir Richard's - life, and a slight incident as the one I have related may be of use to - her, and if you think as I do, and consider it worth inserting in a - corner of your paper, I shall be very much obliged to you if you will - do so. - - "Yours, etc., - - "WALTER ABRAHAM. - - "October 31, 1891." - -On the return journey from Mecca, when Richard could secure any -privacy, he composed the most exquisite gem of Oriental poetry, that -I have ever heard or imagined, nor do I believe it has its equal, -either from the pen of Hafiz, Saadi, Shakespeare, Milton, Swinburne, -or any other. It is quite unique; it is called the Kasîdah, or the -"Lay of the Higher Law," by Haji Abdu el-Yezdi. It will ride over the -heads of most, it will displease many, but it will appeal to all large -hearts and large brains for its depth, height, breadth, for its heart, -nobility, its pathos, its melancholy, its despair. It is the very -perfection of romance, it seems the cry of a Soul wandering through -space, looking for what it does not find. I have read it many times -during my married life, and never without bitter tears, and when I read -it now, it affects me still more; he used to take it away from me, it -impressed me so. I give you the poem here in full. - -It reminds me more than any other thing of the Rubáiyát of Omar -Khayyâm, the astronomer-poet of Khorasán, known as the tent-maker, -written in the eleventh century, which poem was made known by Mr. -Edward Fitzgerald in about 1861, to Richard Burton, to Swinburne, and -Dante Rossetti. Richard at once claimed him as a brother Sufi, and said -that all his allusions are purely typical, and particularly in the -second verse-- - - II. - "Before the phantom of False morning died, - Methought a Voice within the Tavern cried, - 'When all the temple is prepared within, - Why nods the drowsy Worshipper outside?'" - -Yet the "Kasîdah" was written in 1853--the Rubáiyát he did not know -till eight years later. - -[Sidenote: _The Kasîdah._] - -I shall reproduce the "Kasîdah" in its entirety, with its fifteen pages -of copious annotations, in the Uniform Library of Sir Richard's works -which I am editing. I give the annotations in the Appendix. - -It is a poem of extraordinary power on the nature and destiny of Man, -anti-Christian and Pantheistic. So much wealth of Oriental learning has -rarely been compressed into so small a compass. - - "Let his page - Which charms the chosen spirits of the age, - Fold itself for a serener clime - Of years to come, and find its recompense - In that just expectation." - ----SHELLEY. - -"Let them laugh at me for speaking of things which they do not -understand; and I must pity them while they laugh at me."----ST. -AUGUSTINE. - - * * * * * - - TO THE READER. - -The Translator has ventured to entitle a "Lay of the Higher Law" the -following Composition, which aims at being in advance of its time; and -he has not feared the danger of collision with such unpleasant forms -as the "Higher Culture." The principles which justify the name are as -follows:-- - -The Author asserts that Happiness and Misery are equally divided and -distributed in the world. - -He makes Self-cultivation, with due regard to others, the sole and -sufficient object of human life. - -He suggests that the affections, the sympathies and the "divine gift -of Pity" are man's highest enjoyments. - -He advocates suspension of judgment, with a proper suspicion of -"Facts, the idlest of superstitions." - -Finally, although destructive to appearance, he is essentially -reconstructive. - -For other details concerning the Poem and the Poet, the curious reader -is referred to the end of the volume (_i.e._ the Appendix). - - - THE KASÎDAH (COUPLETS) OF HAJI ABDU EL-YEZDI. - - A LAY OF THE HIGHER LAW. - - - The hour is nigh; the waning Queen walks forth to rule the later night; - Crown'd with the sparkle of a Star, and throned on orb of ashen light: - - The Wolf-tail[10] sweeps the paling East to leave a deeper gloom behind, - And Dawn uprears her shining head, sighing with semblance of a wind: - - The highlands catch yon Orient gleam, while purpling still the lowlands lie; - And pearly mists, the morning-pride, soar incense-like to greet the sky. - - The horses neigh, the camels groan, the torches gleam, the cressets flare; - The town of canvas falls, and man with din and dint invadeth air: - - The Golden Gates swing right and left; up springs the Sun with flamy brow; - The dew-cloud melts in gush of light; brown Earth is bathed in morning-glow. - - Slowly they wind athwart the wild, and while young Day his anthem swells, - Sad falls upon my yearning ear the tinkling of the Camel-bells: - - O'er fiery waste and frozen wold, o'er horrid hill and gloomy glen, - The home of grisly beast and Ghoul,[11] the haunts of wilder, grislier men;-- - - With the brief gladness of the Palms, that tower and sway o'er seething plain, - Fraught with the thoughts of rustling shade, and welling spring, and rushing rain; - - With the short solace of the ridge, by gentle zephyrs played upon, - Whose breezy head and bosky side front seas of cooly celadon;-- - - 'Tis theirs to pass with joy and hope, whose souls shall ever thrill and fill - Dreams of the Birthplace and the Tomb,--visions of Allah's Holy Hill.[12] - - But we? Another shift of scene, another pang to rack the heart; - Why meet we on the bridge of Time to 'change one greeting and to part? - - We meet to part; yet asks my sprite, Part we to meet? Ah! is it so? - Man's fancy-made Omniscience knows, who made Omniscience nought can know. - - Why must we meet, why must we part, why must we bear this yoke of MUST, - Without our leave or askt or given, by tyrant Fate on victim thrust? - - That Eve so gay, so bright, so glad, this Morn so dim, and sad, and grey; - Strange that life's Registrar should write this day a day, that day a day! - - Mine eyes, my brain, my heart, are sad,--sad is the very core of me; - All wearies, changes, passes, ends; alas! the Birthday's injury! - - Friends of my youth, a last adieu! haply some day we meet again; - Yet ne'er the self-same men shall meet; the years shall make us other men: - - The light of morn has grown to noon, has paled with eve, and now farewell! - Go, vanish from my Life as dies the tinkling of the Camel's bell. - - * * * * * - - In these drear wastes of sea-born land, these wilds where none may dwell but He, - What visionary Pasts revive, what process of the Years we see: - - Gazing beyond the thin blue line that rims the far horizon-ring, - Our sadden'd sight why haunt these ghosts, whence do these spectral shadows spring? - - What endless questions vex the thought, of Whence and Whither, When and How? - What fond and foolish strife to read the Scripture writ on human brow; - - As stand we percht on point of Time, betwixt the two Eternities, - Whose awful secrets gathering round with black profound oppress our eyes. - - "This gloomy night, these grisly waves, these winds and whirlpools loud and dread: - What reck they of our wretched plight who Safety's shore so lightly tread?" - Thus quoth the Bard of Love and Wine,[13] whose dream of Heaven ne'er could rise - Beyond the brimming Kausar-cup and Houris with the white-black eyes; - - Ah me! my race of threescore years is short, but long enough to pall - My sense with joyless joys as these, with Love and Houris, Wine and all. - - Another boasts he would divorce old barren Reason from his bed, - And wed the Vine-maid in her stead;--fools who believe a word he said![14] - - And "'Dust thou art to dust returning,' ne'er was spoke of human soul" - The Soofi cries, 'tis well for him that hath such gift to ask its goal. - - "And this is all, for this we're born to weep a little and to die!" - So sings the shallow bard whose life still labours at the letter "I." - - "Ear never heard, Eye never saw the bliss of those who enter in - My heavenly Kingdom," Isâ said, who wailed our sorrows and our sin: - - Too much of words or yet too few! What to thy Godhead easier than - One little glimpse of Paradise to ope the eyes and ears of man? - - "I am the Truth! I am the Truth!" we hear the God-drunk gnostic cry - "The microcrosm abides in ME; Eternal Allah's nought but I!" - - Mansûr[15] was wise, but wiser they who smote him with the hurled stones; - And, though his blood a witness bore, no wisdom-might could mend his bones. - - "Eat, drink, and sport; the rest of life's not worth a fillip," quoth the King; - Methinks the saying saith too much: the swine would say the self-same thing? - - Two-footed beasts that browse through life, by Death to serve as soil design'd, - Bow prone to Earth whereof they be, and there the proper pleasures find: - - But you of finer, nobler stuff, ye, whom to Higher leads the High, - What binds your hearts in common bond with creatures of the stall and sty? - - "In certain hope of Life-to-come I journey through this shifting scene" - The Zâhid[16] snarls and saunters down his Vale of Tears with confi'dent mien. - - Wiser than Amrân's Son[17] art thou, who ken'st so well the world-to-be, - The Future when the Past is not, the Present merest dreamery; - - What know'st thou, man, of Life? and yet, for ever 'twixt the womb, the grave, - Thou pratest of the Coming Life, of Heav'n and Hell thou fain must rave. - - The world is old and thou art young; the world is large and thou art small; - Cease, atom of a moment's span, to hold thyself an All-in-All! - - * * * * * - - Fie, fie! you visionary things, ye motes that dance in sunny glow, - Who base and build Eternities on briefest moment here below; - - Who pass through Life like cagèd birds, the captives of a despot will; - Still wond'ring How and When and Why, and Whence and Whither, wond'ring still; - - Still wond'ring how the Marvel came because two coupling mammals chose - To slake the thirst of fleshly love, and thus the "Immortal Being" rose; - - Wond'ring the Babe with staring eyes, perforce compell'd from night to day, - Gript in the giant grasp of Life like gale-borne dust or wind-wrung spray; - - Who comes imbecile to the world 'mid double danger, groans, and tears; - The toy, the sport, the waif and stray of passions, error, wrath and fears; - - Who knows not Whence he came nor Why, who kens not Whither bound and When, - Yet such is Allah's choicest gift, the blessing dreamt by foolish men; - - Who step by step perforce returns to countless youth, wan, white and cold, - Lisping again his broken words till all the tale be fully told: - - Wond'ring the Babe with quenched orbs, an oldster bow'd by burthening years, - How 'scaped the skiff an hundred storms; how 'scaped the thread a thousand shears; - - How coming to the Feast unbid, he found the gorgeous table spread - With the fair-seeming Sodom-fruit, with stones that bear the shape of bread: - - How Life was nought but ray of sun that clove the darkness thick and blind, - The ravings of the reckless storm, the shrieking of the ravening wind; - - How lovely visions 'guiled his sleep, aye fading with the break of morn, - Till every sweet became a sour, till every rose became a thorn; - - Till dust and ashes met his eyes wherever turned their saddened gaze; - The wrecks of joys and hopes and loves, the rubbish of his wasted days; - - How every high heroic Thought that longed to breathe empyrean air, - Failed of its feathers, fell to earth, and perisht of a sheer despair; - - How, dower'd with heritage of brain, whose might has split the solar ray, - His rest is grossest coarsest earth, a crown of gold on brow of clay; - - This House whose frame be flesh and bone, mortar'd with blood and faced with skin, - The home of sickness, dolours, age; unclean without, impure within; - - Sans ray to cheer its inner gloom, the chambers haunted by the Ghost, - Darkness his name, a cold dumb Shade stronger than all the heav'nly host. - - This tube, an enigmatic pipe, whose end was laid before begun, - That lengthens, broadens, shrinks and breaks;--puzzle, machine, automaton; - - The first of Pots the Potter made by Chrysorrhoas' blue-green wave;[18] - Methinks I see him smile to see what guerdon to the world he gave! - - How Life is dim, unreal, vain, like scenes that round the drunkard reel; - How "Being" meaneth not to be; to see and hear, smell, taste and feel. - - A drop in Ocean's boundless tide, unfathom'd waste of agony; - Where millions live their horrid lives by making other millions die. - - How with a heart that would through love, to Universal Love aspire, - Man woos infernal chance to smite, as Min'arets draw the Thunder-fire. - - How Earth on Earth builds tow'er and wall, to crumble at a touch of Time; - How Earth on Earth from Shinar-plain the heights of Heaven fain would climb. - - How short this Life, how long withal; how false its weal, how true its woes, - This fever-fit with paroxysms to mark its opening and its close. - - Ah! gay the day with shine of sun, and bright the breeze, and blithe the throng - Met on the River-bank to play, when I was young, when I was young: - - Such general joy could never fade; and yet the chilling whisper came - One face had paled, one form had failed; had fled the bank, had swum the stream; - - Still revellers danced, and sang, and trod the hither bank of Time's deep tide, - Still one by one they left and fared to the far misty thither side; - - And now the last hath slipt away yon drear Death-desert to explore, - And now one Pilgrim worn and lorn still lingers on the lonely shore. - - Yes, Life in youth-tide standeth still; in Manhood streameth soft and slow; - See, as it nears th abysmal goal how fleet the waters flash and flow! - - And Deaths are twain; the Deaths we see drop like the leaves in windy Fall; - But ours, our own, are ruined worlds, a globe collapst, last end of all. - - We live our lives with rogues and fools, dead and alive, alive and dead, - We die 'twixt one who feels the pulse and one who frets and clouds the head: - - And,--oh, the Pity!--hardly conned the lesson comes its fatal term; - Fate bids us bundle up our books, and bear them bod'ily to the worm: - - Hardly we learn to wield the blade before the wrist grows stiff and old; - Hardly we learn to ply the pen ere Thought and Fancy faint with cold: - - Hardly we find the path of love, to sink the Self, forget the "I," - When sad suspicion grips the heart, when Man, _the_ Man, begins to die: - - Hardly we scale the wisdom-heights, and sight the Pisgah-scene around, - And breathe the breath of heav'enly air, and hear the Spheres' harmonious sound; - - When swift the Camel-rider spans the howling waste, by Kismet sped, - And of his Magic Wand a wave hurries the quick to join the dead.[19] - - How sore the burden, strange the strife; how full of splendour, wonder, fear; - Life, atom of that Infinite Space that stretches 'twixt the Here and There. - - How Thought is imp'otent to divine the secret which the gods defend, - The Why of birth and life and death, that Isis-veil no hand may rend. - - Eternal Morrows make our Day; our _Is_ is aye _to be_ till when - Night closes in; 'tis all a dream, and yet we die,--and then and THEN? - - And still the Weaver plies his loom, whose warp and woof is wretched Man - Weaving th' unpattern'd dark design, so dark we doubt it owns a plan. - - Dost not, O Maker, blush to hear, amid the storm of tears and blood, - Man say Thy mercy made what is, and saw the made and said 'twas good? - - The marvel is that man can smile dreaming his ghostly ghastly dream;--Better - the heedless atomy that buzzes in the morning beam! - - O the dread pathos of our lives! how durst thou, Allah, thus to play - With Love, Affection, Friendship, all that shows the god in mortal clay? - - But ah! what 'vaileth man to mourn; shall tears bring forth what smiles ne'er brought; - Shall brooding breed a thought of joy? Ah hush the sigh, forget the thought! - - Silence thine immemorial quest, contain thy nature's vain complaint - None heeds, none cares for thee or thine;--like thee how many came and went? - - Cease, Man, to mourn, to weep, to wail; enjoy thy shining hour of sun; - We dance along Death's icy brink, but is the dance less full of fun? - - * * * * * - - What Truths hath gleaned that Sage consumed by many a moon that waxt and waned? - What Prophet-strain be his to sing? What hath his old Experience gained? - - There is no God, no man-made God; a bigger, stronger, crueller man; - Black phantom of our baby-fears, ere Thought, the life of Life, began. - - Right quoth the Hindu Prince of old,[20] "An Ishwara for one I nill, - Th' almighty everlasting Good who cannot 'bate th' Eternal Ill:" - - "Your gods may be, what shows they are?" Hear China's Perfect Sage declare;[21] - "And being, what to us be they who dwell so darkly and so far?" - - "All matter hath a birth and death; 'tis made, unmade and made anew; - "We choose to call the Maker 'God':"--such is the Zâhid's owly view. - - "You changeful finite Creatures strain" (rejoins the Drawer of the Wine)[22] - "The dizzy depths of Inf'inite Power to fathom with your foot of twine;" - - "Poor idols of man's heart and head with the Divine Idea to blend; - "To preach as 'Nature's Common Course' what any hour may shift or end." - - "How shall the Shown pretend to ken aught of the Showman or the Show? - "Why meanly bargain to believe, which only means thou ne'er canst know? - - "How may the passing Now contain the standing Now--Eternity?-- - "An endless _is_ without a _was_, the _be_ and never the _to-be?_ - - "Who made your Maker? If Self-made, why fare so far to fare the worse? - "Sufficeth not a world of worlds, a self-made chain of universe? - - "Grant an Idea, Primal Cause, the Causing Cause, why crave for more? - "Why strive its depth and breadth to mete, to trace its work, its aid to 'implore? - - "Unknown, Incomprehensible, whate'er you choose to call it, call; - "But leave it vague as airy space, dark in its darkness mystical. - - "Your childish fears would seek a Sire, by the non-human God defin'd, - "What your five wits may wot ye weet; what _is_ you please to dub 'design'd;' - - "You bring down Heav'en to vulgar Earth; your Maker like yourselves you make, - "You quake to own a reign of Law, you pray the Law its laws to break; - - "You pray, but hath your thought e'er weighed how empty vain the prayer must be, - "That begs a boon already giv'en, or craves a change of Law to see? - - "Say, Man, deep learnèd in the Scheme that orders mysteries sublime, - "How came it this was Jesus, that was Judas from the birth of Time? - - "How I the tiger, thou the lamb; again the Secret, prithee, show - "Who slew the slain, bowman or bolt or Fate that drave the man, the bow? - - "Man worships self: his God is Man; the struggling of the mortal mind - "To form its model as 'twould be, the perfect of itself to find. - - "The God became sage, priest and scribe where Nilus' serpent made the vale; - "A gloomy Brahm in glowing Ind, a neutral something cold and pale: - - "Amid the high Chaldean hills a moulder of the heavenly spheres; - "On Guebre steppes the Timeless-God who governs by his dual peers: - - "In Hebrew tents the Lord that led His leprous slaves to fight and jar; - "Yahveh,[23] Adon or Elohim, the God that smites, the Man of War. - - "The lovely Gods of lib'ertine Greece, those fair and frail humanities - "Whose homes o'erlooked the Middle Sea, where all Earth's beauty cradled lies, - - "Ne'er left its blessèd bounds, nor sought the barb'arous climes of barb'arous gods - "Where Odin of the dreary North o'er hog and sickly mead-cup nods: - - "And when, at length, 'Great Pan is dead' uprose the loud and dol'orous cry - "A glamour wither'd on the ground, a splendour faded in the sky. - - "Yea, Pan was dead, the Nazar'ene came and seized his seat beneath the sun, - "The votary of the Riddle-god, whose one is three and three is one; - - "Whose sadd'ening creed of herited Sin split o'er the world its cold grey spell; - "In every vista showed a grave, and 'neath the grave the glare of Hell; - - "Till all Life's Po'esy sinks to prose; romance to dull Real'ity fades; - "Earth's flush of gladness pales in gloom and God again to man degrades. - - "Then the lank Arab foul with sweat, the drainer of the camel's dug, - "Gorged with his leek-green lizard's meat, clad in his filthy rag and rug, - - "Bore his fierce Allah o'er his sands and broke, like lava-burst upon - "The realms where reigned pre-Adamite Kings, where rose the grand Kayânian throne.[24] - - "Who now of ancient Kayomurs, of Zâl or Rustam cares to sing, - "Whelmed by the tempest of the tribes that called the Camel-driver King? - - "Where are the crown of Kay Khusraw, the sceptre of Anûshirwân, - "The holy grail of high Jamshîd, Afrâsiyab's hall?--Canst tell me, man? - - "Gone, gone, where I and thou must go, borne by the winnowing wings of Death, - "The Horror brooding over life, and nearer brought with every breath: - - "Their fame hath filled the Seven Climes, they rose and reigned, they fought and fell, - "As swells and swoons across the wold the tinkling of the Camel's bell." - - * * * * * - - There is no Good, there is no Bad; these be the whims of mortal will: - What works me weal that call I 'good,' what harm and hurts I hold as 'ill:' - - They change with place, they shift with race; and, in the veriest span of Time, - Each Vice has worn a Virtue's crown; all Good was banned as Sin or Crime: - - Like ravelled skeins they cross and twine, while this with that connects and blends; - And only Khizr[25] his eye shall see where one begins, where other ends: - - What mortal shall consort with Khizr, when Musâ turned in fear to flee? - What man foresees the flow'er or fruit whom Fate compels to plant the tree? - - For Man's Free-will immortal Law, Anagkê, Kismet, Des'tiny read - That was, that is, that aye shall be, Star, Fortune, Fate, Urd, Norn or Need. - - "Man's nat'ural State is God's design"; such is the silly sage's theme; - "Man's primal Age was Age of Gold"; such is the Poet's waking dream: - - Delusion, Ign'orance! Long ere Man drew upon earth his earli'est breath - The world was one contin'uous scene of anguish, torture, prey and Death; - - Where hideous Theria of the wild rended their fellows limb by limb; - Where horrid Saurians of the sea in waves of blood were wont to swim: - - The "fair young Earth" was only fit to spawn her frightful monster-brood; - Now fiery hot, now icy frore, now reeking wet with steamy flood. - - Yon glorious Sun, the greater light, the "Bridegroom" of the royal Lyre, - A flaming, boiling, bursting mine; a grim black orb of whirling fire: - - That gentle Moon, the lesser light, the Lover's lamp, the Swain's delight, - A ruined world, a globe burnt out, a corpse upon the road of night. - - What reckt he, say, of Good or Ill who in the hill-hole made his lair, - The blood-fed rav'ening Beast of prey, wilder than wildest wolf or bear? - - How long in Man's pre-Ad'amite days to feed and swill, to sleep and breed, - Were the Brute-biped's only life, a perfect life sans Code or Creed? - - His choicest garb a shaggy fell, his choicest tool a flake of stone; - His best of orn'aments tattoo'd skin and holes to hang his bits of bone; - - Who fought for female as for food when Mays awoke to warm desire; - And such the lust that grew to Love when Fancy lent a purer fire. - - Where _then_ "Th' Eternal nature-law by God engraved on human heart"? - Behold his simiad sconce and own the Thing could play no higher part. - - Yet, as long ages rolled, he learnt from Beaver, Ape and Ant to build - Shelter for sire and dam and brood, from blast and blaze that hurt and killed; - - And last came Fire; when scrap of stone cast on the flame that lit his den, - Gave out the shining ore, and made the Lord of beasts a Lord of men. - - The "moral sense," your Zâhid-phrase, is but the gift of latest years; - Conscience was born when man had shed his fur, his tail, his pointed ears. - - What conscience has the murderous Moor, who slays his guest with felon blow, - Save sorrow he can slay no more, what prick of pen'itence can he know? - - You cry the "Cruelty of Things" is myst'ery to your purblind eye, - Which fixed upon a point in space the general project passes by: - - For see! the Mammoth went his ways, became a mem'ory and a name; - While the half-reasoner with the hand[26] survives his rank and place to claim. - - Earthquake and plague, storm, fight and fray, portents and curses man must deem - Since he regards his self alone, nor cares to trace the scope, the scheme; - - The Quake that comes in eyelid's beat to ruin, level, 'gulf and kill, - Builds up a world for better use, to general Good bends special Ill: - - The dreadest sound man's ear can hear, the war and rush of stormy Wind - Depures the stuff of human life, breeds health and strength for humankind: - - What call ye them or Goods or Ills, ill-goods, good-ills, a loss, a gain, - When realms arise and falls a roof; a world is won, a man is slain? - - And thus the race of Being runs, till haply in the time to be - Earth shifts her pole and Mushtari-men[27] another falling star shall see: - - Shall see it fall and fade from sight, whence come, where gone no Thought can tell,-- - Drink of yon mirage-stream and chase the tinkling of the Camel-bell! - - * * * * * - - All Faith is false, all Faith is true: Truth is the shattered mirror strown - In myriad bits; while each believes his little bit the whole to own. - - What is the Truth? was askt of yore. Reply all object Truth is one - As twain of halves aye makes a whole; the moral Truth for all is none. - - Ye scantly-learned Zâhids learn from Aflatûn and Aristû,[28] - While Truth is real like your good: th' Untrue, like ill, is real too; - - As palace mirror'd in the stream, as vapour mingled with the skies, - So weaves the brain of mortal man the tangled web of Truth and Lies. - - What see we here? Forms, nothing more! Forms fill the brightest strongest eye, - We know not substance; 'mid the shades shadows ourselves we live and die. - - "Faith mountains move" I hear: I see the practice of the world unheed - The foolish vaunt, the blatant boast that serves our vanity to feed. - - "Faith stands unmoved"; and why? Because man's silly fancies still remain, - And will remain till wiser man the day-dreams of his youth disdain. - - "'Tis blessèd to believe"; you say: The saying may be true enow - An it can add to Life a light:--only remains to show us how. - - E'en if I could I nould believe your tales and fables stale and trite, - Irksome as twice-sung tune that tires the dullèd ear of drowsy wight. - - With God's foreknowledge man's free will! what monster-growth of human brain, - What pow'ers of light shall ever pierce this puzzle dense with words inane? - - Vainly the heart on Providence calls, such aid to seek were hardly wise - For man must own the pitiless Law that sways the globe and sevenfold skies. - - "Be ye Good Boys, go seek for Heav'en, come pay the priest that holds the key;" - So spake, and speaks, and aye shall speak the last to enter Heaven,--he. - - Are these the words for men to hear? yet such the Church's general tongue, - The horseleech-cry so strong so high her heav'enward Psalms and Hymns among. - - What? Faith a merit and a claim, when with the brain 'tis born and bred? - Go, fool, thy foolish way and dip in holy water burièd dead![29] - - Yet follow not th' unwisdom-path, cleave not to this and that disclaim; - Believe in all that man believes; here all and naught are both the same. - - But is it so? How may we know? Happily this Fate, this Law may be - A word, a sound, a breath; at most the Zâhid's moonstruck theory. - - Yes Truth may be, but 'tis not Here; mankind must seek and find it There, - But Where nor _I_ nor _you_ can tell, nor aught earth-mother ever bare. - - Enough to think that Truth can be: come sit we where the roses glow, - Indeed he knows not how to know who knows not also how to 'unknow. - - * * * * * - - Man hath no Soul, a state of things, a no-thing still, a sound, a word - Which so begets substantial thing that eye shall see what ear hath heard. - - Where was his Soul the savage beast which in primeval forests strayed, - What shape had it, what dwelling-place, what part in nature's plan it played? - - This Soul to ree a riddle made; who wants the vain duality? - Is not myself enough for me? what need of "I" within an "I"? - - Words, words that gender things! The soul is a new-comer on the scene; - Sufficeth not the breath of Life to work the matter-born machine? - - We know the Gen'esis of the Soul; we trace the Soul to hour of birth; - We mark its growth as grew mankind to boast himself sole Lord of Earth: - - The race of Be'ing from dawn of Life in an unbroken course was run; - What men are pleased to call their Souls was in the hog and dog begun: - - Life is a ladder infinite-stepped, that hides its rungs from human eyes; - Planted its foot in chaos-gloom, its head soars high above the skies: - - No break the chain of Being bears; all things began in unity; - And lie the links in regular line though haply none the sequence see. - - The Ghost, embodied natural Dread of dreary death and foul decay, - Begat the Spirit, Soul and Shade with Hades' pale and wan array. - - The Soul required a greater Soul, a Soul of Souls, to rule the host: - Hence spirit-powers and hierarchies, all gendered by the savage Ghost. - - Not yours, ye Peoples of the Book, these fairy visions fair and fond, - Got by the gods of Khemi-land[30] and faring far the seas beyond! - - "Th' immortal mind of mortal man"! we hear yon loud-lunged Zealot cry; - Whose mind but means his sum of thought, an essence of atomic "I." - - Thought is the work of brain and nerve, in small-skulled idiot poor and mean; - In sickness sick, in sleep asleep, and dead when Death lets drop the scene. - - "Tush!" quoth the Zâhid, "well we ken the teaching of the school abhorr'd - "That maketh man automaton, mind a secretion, soul a word." - - "Of molecules and protoplasm you matter-mongers prompt to prate; - "Of jelly-speck, development and apes that grew to man's estate." - - Vain cavil! all that is hath come either by Mir'acle or by Law;-- - Why waste on this your hate and fear, why waste on that your love and awe? - - Why heap such hatred on a word, why "Prototype" to type assign, - Why upon matter spirit mass? wants an appendix your design? - - Is not the highest honour his who from the worst hath drawn the best; - May not your Maker make the world from matter, an it suit His best? - - Nay more, the sordider the stuff the cunninger the workman's hand: - Cease, then, your own Almighty Power to bind, to bound, to understand. - - "Reason and Instinct!" How we love to play with words that please our pride; - Our noble race's mean descent by false forged titles seek to hide! - - For "gift divine" I bid you read the better work of higher brain, - From Instinct diff'ering in degree as golden mine from leaden vein. - - Reason is Life's sole arbiter, the magic Laby'rinth's single clue: - Worlds lie above, beyond its ken; what crosses it can ne'er be true. - - "Fools rush where Angels fear to tread!" Angels and Fools have equal claim - To do what Nature bids them do, sans hope of praise, sans fear of blame! - - * * * * * - - There is no Heav'en, there is no Hell; these be the dreams of baby minds; - Tools of the wily Fetisheer, to 'fright the fools his cunning blinds. - - Learn from the mighty Spi'rits of old to set thy foot on Heav'en and Hell; - In life to find thy hell and heav'en as thou abuse or use it well. - - So deemed the doughty Jew who dared by studied silence low to lay - Orcus and Hades, lands of shades, the gloomy night of human day. - - Hard to the heart is final death: fain would an _Ens_ not end in _Nil_; - Love made the senti'ment kindly good: the Priest perverted all to ill. - - While Reason sternly bids us die, Love longs for life beyond the grave: - Our hearts, affections, hopes and fears for Life-to-be shall ever crave. - - Hence came the despot's darling dream, a Church to rule and sway the State; - Hence sprang the train of countless griefs in priestly sway and rule innate. - - For future Life who dares reply? No witness at the bar have we; - Save what the brother Potsherd tells,--old tales and novel jugglery. - - Who e'er return'd to teach the Truth, the things of Heaven and Hell to limn? - And all we hear is only fit for grandam-talk and nursery-hymn. - - "Have mercy, man?" the Zâhid cries, "of our best visions rob us not! - "Mankind a future life must have to balance life's unequal lot." - - "Nay," quoth the Magian, "'tis not so; I draw my wine for one for all. - "A cup for this, a score for that, e'en as his measure's great or small: - - "Who drinks one bowl hath scant delight; to poorest passion he was born; - "Who drains the score must e'er expect to rue the headache of the morn." - - Safely he jogs along the way which "Golden Mean" the sages call; - Who scales the brow of frowning Alp must face full many a slip and fall. - - Here èxtremes meet, anointed Kings whose crowned heads uneasy lie, - Whose cup of joy contains no more than tramps that on the dunghill die. - - To fate-doomed Sinner born and bred for dangling from the gallows-tree; - To Saint who spends his holy days in rapturous hope his God to see; - - To all that breathe our upper air the hands of Dest'iny ever deal, - In fixed and equal parts, their shares of joy and sorrow, woe and weal. - - "How comes it, then, our span of days in hunting wealth and fame we spend? - "Why strive we (and all humans strive) for vain and visionary end?" - - Reply; mankind obeys a law that bids him labour, struggle, strain; - The Sage well knowing its unworth, the Fool a-dreaming foolish gain. - - And who, 'mid e'en the Fools, but feels that half the joy is in the race - For wealth and fame and place, nor sighs when comes success to crown the chase? - - Again: In Hind, Chin, Franguestân that accident of birth befell, - Without our choice, our will, our voice: Faith is an accident as well. - - What to the Hindu saith the Frank: "Denier of the Laws divine! - However godly-good thy Life, Hell is the home for thee and thine." - - "Go strain the draught before 'tis drunk, and learn that breathing every breath, - "With every step, with every gest, some thing of life thou do'est to death." - - Replies the Hindu: "Wend thy way for foul and foolish Mlenchhas fit; - "Your Pariah-par'adise woo and win; at such dog-Heav'en I laugh and spit. - - "Cannibals of the Holy Cow! who make your rav'ening maws the grave - "Of Things with self-same right to live;--what Fiend the filthy license gave?" - - What to the Moslem cries the Frank? "A polygamic Theist thou! - "From an impostor-Prophet turn; thy stubborn head to Jesus bow." - - Rejoins the Moslem: "Allah's one tho' with four Moslemahs I wive, - "One-wife-men ye and (damnèd race!) you split your God to Three and Five." - - The Buddhist to Confucians thus: "Like dogs ye live, like dogs ye die; - "Content ye rest with wretched earth; God, judgment, Hell ye fain defy." - - Retorts the Tartar: "Shall I lend mine only ready-money 'now,' - For vain usurious 'Then' like thine, avaunt, a triple idiot Thou!" - - "With this poor life, with this mean world I fain complete what in me lies; - I strive to perfect this my me; my sole ambition's to be wise." - - When doctors differ who decides amid the milliard-headed throng? - Who save the madman dares to cry: "'Tis I am right, you all are wrong"? - - "You all are right, you all are wrong," we hear the careless Soofi say, - "For each believes his glimm'ering lamp to be the gorgeous light of day." - - "_Thy_ faith why false, _my_ faith why true? 'tis all the work of Thine and Mine, - "The fond and foolish love of self that makes the Mine excel the Thine." - - Cease then to mumble rotten bones; and strive to clothe with flesh and blood - The skel'eton; and to shape a Form that all shall hail as fair and good. - - "For gen'erous youth," an Arab saith. "Jahim's[31] the only genial state; - "Give us the fire but not the shame with the sad, sorry blest to mate." - - And if your Heav'en and Hell be true, and Fate that forced me to be born - Force me to Heav'en or Hell--I go, and hold Fate's insolence in scorn. - - I want not this, I want not that, already sick of Me and Thee; - And if we're both transform'd and changed, what then becomes of Thee and Me? - - Enough to think such things may be; to say they are not or they are - Were folly: leave them all to Fate, nor wage on shadows useless war. - - Do what thy manhood bids thee do, from none but self expect applause; - He noblest lives and noblest dies who makes and keeps his self-made laws. - - All other Life is living Death, a world where none but Phantoms dwell, - A breath, a wind, a sound, a voice, a tinkling of the Camel-bell. - - * * * * * - - How then shall man so order life that when his tale of years is told, - Like sated guest he wend his way; how shall his even tenour hold? - - Despite the Writ that stores the skull; despite the Table and the Pen;[32] - Maugre the Fate that plays us down, her board the world, her pieces men? - - How when the light and glow of life wax dim in thickly gath'ering gloom, - Shall mortal scoff at sting of Death, shall scorn the victory of the Tomb? - - One way, two paths, one end the grave. This runs athwart the flow'ery plain, - That breasts the bush, the steep, the crag, in sun and wind and snow and rain: - - Who treads the first must look adown, must deem his life an all in all; - Must see no heights where man may rise, must sight no depths where man may fall. - - Allah in Adam form must view; adore the Maker in the made - Content to bask in Mâyâ's smile,[33] in joys of pain, in lights of shade, - - He breaks the Law, he burns the Book, he sends the Moolah back to school; - Laughs at the beards of Saintly men; and dubs the Prophet dolt and fool. - - Embraces Cypress' taper-waist; cools feet on wavy breast of rill; - Smiles in the Nargis' love-lorn eyes, and 'joys the dance of Daffodil; - - Melts in the saffron light of Dawn to hear the moaning of the Dove; - Delights in Sundown's purpling hues when Bulbul woos the Rose's love. - - Finds mirth and joy in Jamshid-bowl; toys with the Daughter of the vine; - And bids the beauteous cup-boy say, "Master I bring thee ruby wine!"[34] - - Sips from the maiden's lips the dew; brushes the bloom from virgin brow:-- - Such is his fleshly bliss that strives the Maker through the Made to know. - - I've tried them all, I find them all so same and tame, so drear, so dry; - My gorge ariseth at the thought; I commune with myself and cry:-- - - Better the myriad toils and pains that make the man to manhood true, - This be the rule that guideth life; these be the laws for me and you: - - With Ignor'ance wage eternal war, to know thy self for ever strain, - Thine ignorance of thine ignorance is thy fiercest foe, thy deadliest bane; - - That blunts thy sense, and dulls thy taste; that deafs thine ears, and blinds thine eyes; - Creates the thing that never was, the Thing that ever is defies. - - The finite Atom infinite that forms thy circle's centre-dot, - So full-sufficient for itself, for other selves existing not, - - Finds the world mighty as 'tis small; yet must be fought the unequal fray; - A myriad giants here; and there a pinch of dust, a clod of clay. - - Yes! maugre all thy dreams of peace still must the fight unfair be fought; - Where thou may'st learn the noblest law, to know that all we know is nought. - - True to thy Nature, to Thyself, Fame and Disfame nor hope nor fear: - Enough to thee the small still voice aye thund'ering in thine inner ear. - - From self-approval seek applause: What ken not men thou kennest, thou! - Spurn ev'ry idol others raise: Before thine own Ideal bow: - - Be thine own Deus: Make self free, liberal as the circling air: - Thy Thought to thee an Empire be; break every prison'ing lock and bar: - - Do Thou the Ought to self aye owed; here all the duties meet and blend, - In widest sense, withouten care of what began, for what shall end. - - Thus, as thou view the Phantom-forms which in the misty Past were thine, - To be again the thing thou wast with honest pride thou may'st decline; - - And, glancing down the range of years, fear not thy future self to see; - Resign'd to life, to death resign'd, as though the choice were nought to thee. - - On Thought itself feed not thy thought; nor turn from Sun and Light to gaze, - At darkling cloisters paved with tombs, where rot the bones of bygone days: - - "Eat not thy heart," the Sages said; "nor mourn the Past, the buried Past;" - Do what thou dost, be strong, be brave; and, like the Star, nor rest nor haste. - - Pluck the old woman from thy breast: Be stout in woe, be stark in weal; - Do good for Good is good to do: Spurn bribe of Heav'en and threat of Hell. - - To seek the True, to glad the heart, such is of life the HIGHER LAW, - Whose difference is the Man's degree, the Man of gold, the Man of straw. - - See not that something in Mankind that rouses hate or scorn or strife, - Better the worm of Izrâil[35] than Death that walks in form of life. - - Survey thy kind as One whose wants in the great Human Whole unite;[36] - The Homo rising high from earth to seek the Heav'ens of Life-in-Light; - - And hold Humanity one man, whose universal agony - Still strains and strives to gain the goal, where agonies shall cease to be. - - Believe in all things; none believe; judge not nor warp by "Facts" the thought; - See clear, hear clear, tho' life may seem Mâyâ and Mirage, Dream and Naught. - - Abjure the Why and seek the How: the God and gods enthroned on high, - Are silent all, are silent still; nor hear thy voice, nor deign reply. - - The Now, that indivis'ible point which studs the length of infinite line - Whose ends are nowhere, is thine all, the puny all thou callest thine. - - Perchance the law some Giver hath: Let be! let be! what canst thou know? - A myriad races came and went; this Sphinx hath seen them come and go. - - Haply the Law that rules the world allows to man the widest range; - And haply Fate's a Theist-word, subject to human chance and change. - - This "I" may find a future Life, a nobler copy of our own. - Where every riddle shall be ree'd, where every knowledge shall be known; - - Where 'twill be man's to see the whole of what on Earth he sees in part; - Where change shall ne'er surcharge the thought; nor hope deferr'd shall hurt the heart. - - But!--faded flow'er and fallen leaf no more shall deck the parent tree; - And man once dropt by Tree of Life what hope of other life has he? - - The shatter'd bowl shall know repair; the riven lute shall sound once more; - But who shall mend the clay of man, the stolen breath to man restore? - - The shiver'd clock again shall strike; the broken reed shall pipe again: - But we, we die, and Death is one, the doom of brutes, the doom of men. - - Then, if Nirwânâ[37] round our life with nothingness, 'tis haply best; - Thy toils and troubles, want and woe at length have won their guerdon--Rest. - - Cease, Abdû, Cease! Thy song is sung, nor think the gain the singer's prize; - Till men hold Ignor'ance deadly sin, till man deserves his title "Wise:"[38] - - In Days to come, Days slow to dawn, when Wisdom deigns to dwell with men, - These echoes of a voice long stilled haply shall wake responsive strain; - - Wend now thy way with brow serene, fear not thy humble tale to tell;-- - The whispers of the Desert-wind; the Tinkling of the Camel's bell. - - טלם - - -[Sidenote: _The End of the Kasîdah--Christian Poetry._] - -But then, again, a year later I find amongst his writings:-- - - "Man wendeth to his long, long home, - About the streets the mourners go; - Behold the tomb, and hereby mete - The length and depth of mortal woe. - Thou hast nor lover, kin, nor friend! - The deepest grief hath shallows. - - "Ah yes, thou hast; but close thine eyes - Upon this world and gaze above. - There, and there only, shalt thou find - Unchanging and unmeasured love. - Then dare the way, and meekly bend - Thy footsteps t'ward the heavenly Friend. - - "Dies Iræ! - Lord, Saviour, God, my only stay, - Desert me not that dreadful day." - -Richard's idea was that every man, by doing all the good he could in -this life, always working for others, for the human race, always acting -"Excelsior," should leave a track of light behind him on this World as -he passes through. His idea of God was so immeasurably grander than -anything people are _usually_ taught to think about God. It always -seemed to him that we dwindled God down to our own mean imaginations; -that we made something like ourselves, only bigger, and far crueller. -There is some truth in this; we are always talking about God just as -if we understood Him. His idea of a Divine Being was so infinite, so -great, that to pray to Him was an impertinence; that it was monstrous -that we should expect Him to alter one of His decrees, because _we_ -prayed for it; that He was a God of big universal love, but so far off, -as to be far above anything we can understand. These were the _utmost_ -extent of his _own_ Agnostic fits. - -Almost contemporary with these sentiments, I find the following -verses:-- - - 1. - "Bright imaged in the glassy lake below, - Crisped by the zephyrs' nimble run, - I saw two sister stars appear. - I looked above, there shone but one; - Then fled the zephyrs, and my eye - The sole reflection could descry. - - 2. - "Then rising high, the crescent skiff - Thro' the deep azure rolled its way; - On earth a misty shadow lay, - While all of heaven was bright and gay. - Then waxed the night cloud thin and rare, - And died within its home, the air. - - 3. - "Thus senses that improve the soul - To deadliest error oft give birth; - Dust-born, they grovel and apply - To highest heaven low rubs of earth, - Fell fatal masters where they sway, - Obedient slaves when taught t' obey. - - 4. - "Nor let th' immortal "I" depend - On Reason, blind and faithless guide, - Who knowing nothing knoweth all - Of mortal folly--human pride; - Not thus may truth be wooed and won-- - A _reasonable_ creed is none. - - 5. - "Who then thy falt'ring steps may lead - O'er the wild waste of doubt and fear, - Where sense and reason shed no ray? - The marks and glooms what light may clear? - Shall nature tread a law-girt course, - While man walks earth a living corpse? - - 6. - "Ah, no! there is a heavenly guide - That leads, directs this fragile clay; - We call it spirit, soul, and life, - Let mortal call it as he may; - Man, go not far, seek not elsewhere; - Search that within--Truth dwelleth _there_." - -He was always in one of the two extremes, meaning _All_ or _Nothing_. -It is what we Catholics call "resisting of Divine grace;" it is -what Agnostics would call "resisting a temptation," or the correct -shibboleth, I believe, is "upholding his integrity," _i.e._ -disbelieving in God and another _world_, which he _never did_ at any -time of his life. - -[1] He was so broad and muscular that he did not look more than five -feet nine--but he really was two inches taller, and the one complaint -of his life was not to be able to grow another inch to make six feet. - -[2] "The _Tayyárah_, or 'Flying Caravan,' is lightly laden, and travels -by forced marches." - -[3] "The _Rakb_ is a dromedary-caravan, in which each person carries -only his saddle-bags. It usually descends by the road called El Khabt, -and makes Mecca on the fifth day." - -[4] "By the term 'fatted ass' the intellectual lady alluded to her -royal husband." - -[5] N.B.--I have still got some of Richard's bottles of this holy -water, if any one would wish to analyze it.--I. B. - -[6] N.B.--I found in later years he had recently copied into this part -of his journal, from some paper, "The Meditations of a Hindu Prince and -Sceptic," by the author of "The Old Pindaree"-- - - "All the world over, I wonder, in lands that I never have trod, - Are the people eternally seeking for the signs and steps of a God? - Westward across the ocean, and Northward ayont the snow, - Do they all stand gazing, as ever? and what do the wisest know? - - "Here, in this mystical India, the deities hover and swarm, - Like the wild bees heard in the treetops, or the gusts of a gathering storm; - In the air men hear their voices, their feet on the rocks are seen, - Yet we all say, 'Whence is the message? and what may the wonders mean?' - - "Shall I list to the word of the English, who came from the uttermost sea? - 'The secret, hath it been told you? and what is your message to me?' - It is nought but the wide-world story how the earth and the heavens began; - How the gods are glad and angry, and a Deity once a man. - - "I had thought, 'Perchance in the cities where the rulers of India dwell, - Whose orders flash from the far land, who girdle the earth with a spell, - They have fathomed the depths we float on, or measured the unknown main:' - Sadly they turn from the venture, and say that the quest is vain. - - "Is life, then, a dream and delusion? and where shall the dreamer awake? - Is the world seen like shadows on water? and what if the mirror break? - Shall it pass, as a camp that is struck, as a tent that is gathered and gone, - From the sands that were lamp-lit at eve, and at morning are level and lone? - - "Is there nought in the heavens above, whence the hail and the levin are hurled, - But the wind that is swept around us by the rush of the rolling world?-- - The wind that shall scatter my ashes, and bear me to silence and sleep - With the dirge, and the sounds of lamenting, and the voices of women who weep." - -[7] I have only given the barest outlines of what took place, referring -my readers to the original, because, as there were between fifty and -fifty-five mosques, besides other places, and various interesting -ceremonies to be performed in each one, there would be no room for -anything else; and the same may be said of El Medinah.--I. B. - -[8] On the _Dwárká_, before he had time to go down to the cabin and -change his clothes, one of his English brother officers, who was on -board the ship, gave him a sly kick, and said, "Get out of the way, -you dirty nigger." He often told me how he longed to hit him, but did -not dare to betray himself. He was also part of the way in the Red Sea -with my cousin William Strickland, a priest, and he used to tease him -by sitting opposite to him, reciting his Korán out loud, while William -was saying his breviary also out loud. At last one day Strickland got -up, saying, "Oh, my God, I can't stand this much more," and afterwards -these two became great friends.--I. B. - -[9] This is absolutely untrue. Since Richard's death, two Englishmen, -out of jealousy, have made this remark--one only knew Syrian Christian -Arabic; the other, the dialect of Suez. - -[10] The false dawn. - -[11] The Demon of the Desert. - -[12] Arafât, near Mecca. - -[13] Hâfiz of Shirâz. - -[14] Omar-i-Khayyâm, the tent-maker poet of Persia. - -[15] A famous Mystic stoned for blasphemy. - -[16] The "Philister" of "respectable" belief. - -[17] Moses in the Korán. - -[18] The Abana, River of Damascus. - -[19] Death in Arabia rides a Camel, not a pale horse. - -[20] Buddha. - -[21] Confucius. - -[22] The Soofi or Gnostic opposed to the Zâhid. - -[23] Jehovah. - -[24] Kayâni--of the race of Cyrus; old Guebre heroes. - -[25] Supposed to be the Prophet Elijah. - -[26] The Elephant. - -[27] Mushtari: the Planet Jupiter. - -[28] Plato and Aristotle. - -[29] I think he is alluding, though he has not expressed it, to the -Marcionites' heresy of baptizing for the dead. The Marcionites were -heretics who lived at Sinope, A.D. 150. Marcian came to Rome and -believed in principles similar to the Manichæans. When a man died, -one of the Marcionites sat on his coffin, and another asked him if he -were willing to be baptised, and he answered, "Yes," upon which he was -baptised. These heretics quoted Paul (1 Cor. xv. 29): "Else what shall -they do which are baptised for the dead, if the dead do not rise at -all? why are they then baptised for the dead?"--ISABEL BURTON. - -[30] Egypt; Kam, Kem, Khem (hierogl.), in the Demotic Khemi. - -[31] Jehannum, Gehenna, Hell. - -[32] Emblems of Kismet, or Destiny. - -[33] Illusion. - -[34] That all the senses, even the ear may enjoy. - -[35] The Angel of Death. - -[36] The "Great Man" of the Enochites and the Mormons. - -[37] Comparative annihilation. - -[38] "Homo sapiens." - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -HARAR--THE MOSLEM ABYSSINIA--THE TIMBUCTOO OF EAST AFRICA, THE -EXPLORATION OF WHICH HAD BEEN ATTEMPTED IN VAIN BY SOME THIRTY -TRAVELLLERS. - - -Richard returned up the Red Sea to Egypt, and much enjoyed the rest -and safety for a short time, and then returned to Bombay, his leave -being up; but the wandering fever was still upon him, and as the most -difficult place for a white man to enter was Harar, in Somali-land, -Abyssinia, he determined that that should be his object. It is -inhabited by a very dangerous race to deal with, and no white man had -ever penetrated to Harar. The first white man who went to Abyssinia -was kept prisoner till he died. The East India Company had long wished -to explore it, because Berberah, the chief port of Somali-land, is the -safest and best harbour on the western side of the Indian Ocean--far -better than Aden. They went to work with that strange mixture of -caution and generosity with which they treated those of their servants -who stepped out of what Richard calls their "quarter-deck" routine, -that is, to let him go as a private traveller, and the Government to -give him no protection, but would allow him to retain the same pay that -he would enjoy whilst on leave. Dr. Carter and others refused to do -more than to coast along in a cruiser. - -Richard applied for Lieutenant Herne, of the 1st Bombay Fusiliers, -Lieutenant Stroyan, Indian Navy, and Lieutenant Speke, 46th Bengal -Native Infantry. Herne was distinguished by his surveys, photography, -and mechanics on the west coast of India, in Scinde, and on the Punjaub -rivers; Stroyan as amateur surveyor; and Speke, collector of the Fauna -of Tibet and the Himalayas and sportsman. Assistant-Surgeon Ellerton -Stocks, botanist, traveller, and a first-rate man in all ways, died -before the expedition started. - -Jealousy, as usual, immediately rose up in opposition. First, Sir -James Outram, Political Resident at Aden, called it a tempting of -Providence, and Dr. Buist, the editor of the _Bombay Times_, was told -to run down the Somali Expedition, in which task he was assisted by the -unpopular chaplain. This was not very gratifying to four high-spirited -men; so, instead of using Berberah as a base of operations, then -westward to Harar, and then south-east to Zanzibar, the Resident -changed the whole scheme and made it fail. Herne was to go to Berberah, -where he was joined later by Stroyan. Speke was to land in a small -harbour called Bunder Guray, and to trace the watershed of the Wady -Nogal, to buy horses and camels, and collect red earth with gold in it; -but his little expedition failed through his guide's treachery. Herne -and Stroyan succeeded. Richard reserved for himself the post of danger. -Harar was as difficult to enter as Mecca. It is the southernmost -masonry-built settlement in North Equatorial Africa. He would go as an -Arab merchant. Harar had never been visited, has its own language, its -own unique history and traditions. The language was unwritten, but he -wrote a grammar, and a vocabulary in which the etymology is given, and -there he had enough savage anthropology to interest him. He writes-- - - "In the first place, Berberah is the true key of the Red Sea, the - centre of East African traffic, and the only safe place for shipping - upon the Western Erythræan shore, from Suez to Guardafui, backed by - lands capable of cultivation, and by hills covered with pine and other - valuable trees, enjoying a comparatively temperate climate, with a - regular, though thin monsoon. This harbour has been coveted by many a - foreign conqueror. Circumstances have thrown it into our arms, and if - we refuse a chance, another and a rival nation will not be so blind. - [We have since given it away, and kept the far inferior Aden.] We are - bound to protect the lives of subjects on this coast. In 1825 the crew - of the _Mary Ann_ brig was treacherously murdered by the Somal. They - continued in that state, and if to-morrow a Peninsular and Oriental - Company steamer by any chance fell into their power, it would be - the same history. Harar, scarcely three hundred miles distance from - Aden, is a counterpart of the ill-famed Timbuctoo. A tradition exists - that with the entrance of the first Christian, Harar will fall. All - therefore who have attempted it were murdered. It was therefore a - point of honour with me to utilize my title of Haji, by entering this - City, visiting its Ruler, and returning in safety, after breaking the - Guardian's spell." - -[Sidenote: _He starts for Harar in Somali-land._] - -This exploration of Harar was one of Richard's most splendid and -dangerous expeditions, and, for some reason or other, the least -known; the reason being, as I think, that his pilgrimage to Mecca was -still making a great noise, and that the Crimean War had cropped -up, deadening the interest in all _personal_ adventure. He therefore -thought himself fortunate in being able to persuade Lord Elphinstone, -Governor of Bombay, to patronize an expedition into Somali-land. - -He was away four months. The journey was useful; at least, it has -proved so to the Egyptians, to the English, and now to the Italians. -He sailed away, leaving Herne, Stroyan, and Speke, each engaged on his -respective work, and arrived at Zayla. - - "My ship companions," he writes, "were the wildest of the wild, and - as we came into port Zayla a barque came up to give us the bad news. - Friendship between the Amir of Harar and the Governor of Zayla had - been broken; the road through the Eesa Somal had been closed by the - murder of Masúd, a favourite slave and adopted son of Sharmarkay; - all strangers had been expelled the City for some misconduct by the - Harar chief; moreover, small-pox was raging there with such violence - that the Galla peasantry would allow neither ingress nor egress. The - tide was out, and we waded a quarter of a mile amongst giant crabs, - who showed gristly claws, sharp coralline, and seaweed so thick as to - become almost like a mat. In the shallower pacts the sun was painfully - hot even to my well-tried feet. I was taken immediately to the - Governor at Zayla, a fellow Haji, who gave me hospitality. - - "The well-known sounds of El Islam returned from memory. Again the - melodious chant of the _muezzin_--no evening bell can compare with it - for solemnity and beauty--and in the neighbouring Mosque, the loudly - intoned 'Amin' and 'Allaho Akbar,' far superior to any organ, rang in - my ear. The evening gun of camp was represented by the _nakkarah_, or - kettle-drum, which sounded about seven p.m. at the southern Gate; and - at ten a second drumming warned the paterfamilias that it was time - for home, and thieves and lovers, that it was the hour for bastinado. - Nightfall was ushered in by the song, the dance, and the marriage - festival--here no permission is required for 'native music in the - lines'--and muffled figures flitted mysteriously through the dark - alleys. - - * * * * * - - "After a peep through the open window, I fell asleep, feeling once - more at home. - - [Sidenote: _Preparations at Zayla._] - - "I was too much of an Arab to weary of the endless preparations for - forming a caravan. I used to provide myself with a Korán and sit - receiving visitors, and would occasionally go into the Mosque, my - servant carrying the prayer carpet, three hundred pair of eyes staring - at me, and after reciting the customary two-bow prayer, in honour of - the Mosque, I would place a sword and rosary before me, and, taking - the Korán, read the cow-chapter, No. 18, in a loud and twanging voice. - This is the character I adopted. You will bear in mind, if you please, - that I am a Moslem merchant, a character not to be confounded with the - notable individuals seen on ''Change.' Mercator, in the East, is a - compound of tradesmen, divine, and T.G. Usually of gentle birth, he is - everywhere welcomed and respected; and he bears in his mind and manner - that, if Allah please, he may become Prime Minister a month after he - has sold you a yard of cloth. Commerce appears to be an accident, not - an essential, with him, yet he is by no means deficient in acumen. - He is a grave and reverend seignior, with rosary in hand and Korán - on lip; is generally a pilgrim; talks at dreary length about Holy - Places; writes a pretty hand; has read and can recite much poetry; - is master of his religion; demeans himself with respectability; is - perfect in all points of ceremony and politeness, and feels equally at - home whether Sultan or slave sit upon his counter. He has a wife and - children in his own country, where he intends to spend the remnant of - his days; but 'the world is uncertain'--'Fate descends, and man's eyes - seeth it not'--'the earth is a charnel-house;' briefly, his many old - saws give him a kind of theoretical consciousness that his bones may - moulder in other places but his fatherland. - - "For half a generation we have been masters of Aden, filling Southern - Arabia with our calicos and rupees--what is the present state of - affairs there? We are dared by the Bedouins to come forth from behind - our stone walls and fight like men in the plain,--British _protégés_ - are slaughtered within the range of our guns,--our allies' villages - have been burned in sight of Aden,--our deserters are welcomed and - our fugitive felons protected,--our supplies are cut off, and the - garrison is reduced to extreme distress, at the word of a half-naked - bandit,--the miscreant Bhagi, who murdered Captain Mylne in cold - blood, still roams the hills unpunished,--gross insults are the sole - acknowledgements of our peaceful overtures,--the British flag has been - fired upon without return, our cruisers being ordered to act only on - the defensive,--and our forbearance to attack is universally asserted - and believed to arise from mere cowardice. Such is, and such will be, - the opinion and the character of the Arab! - - "I stayed here for twenty-six days, rising at dawn; then went to - the Terrace to perform my devotions, and make observation of my - neighbours; breakfast at six, then coffee, pipe, and a nap; then - receive visitors, who come by dozens with nothing to do or say. When - they were only Somal, I wrote Arabic, or extracted from some useful - book. When Arabs were there, I would recite tales from the 'Arabian - Nights,' to their great delight. At eleven, dinner, more coffee and - pipes; then the natives would go to sleep, and I wrote my journals and - studies. At about two p.m. more visitors would come, and at sunset - again to the Terrace, or walk to a mosque, where games are going on, - or stroll to a camp of Bedawi. The Gates are locked at sunset, and the - keys are carried to the Haji. It is not safe to be without the City - later. Then comes supper. - - "After it we repair to the roof to enjoy the prospect of the far - Tajarrah Hills and the white moonbeams sleeping upon the nearer sea. - The evening star hangs like a diamond upon the still horizon; around - the moon a pink zone of light mist, shading off into turquoise blue - and a delicate green-like chrysopraz, invests the heavens with a - peculiar charm. The scene is truly suggestive; behind us, purpling in - the night air and silvered by the radiance from above, lie the wolds - and mountains tenanted by the fiercest of savages, their shadowy - mysterious forms exciting vague alarms in the traveller's breast. - Sweet as the harp of David, the night-breeze and the music of the - water comes up from the sea; but the ripple and the rustling sound - alternate with the hyæna's laugh, and the jackal's cry, and the wild - dog's lengthened howl. - - [Sidenote: _Desert Journey._] - - "This journey, which occupied nearly four months, was to be through a - savage, treacherous, ferocious, and bloodthirsty people, whose tribes - were in a constant state of blood-feud. The party consisted of nine, - an _abban_ or guide, three Arab matchlock men, two women cooks, who - were called Shehrazade and Deenarzade after the 'Arabian Nights,' a - fourth servant, and a Bedawin woman to drive a donkey, which camels - will follow and which is the custom. We had four or five mules, - saddled and bridled, and camels for the baggage. Every one wept over - us, and considered us dead men. The _abban_ objected to some routes on - account of avoiding tribes with which he had a blood-feud." - -This was, as I have said, far the most dangerous of Richard's -explorations, quite as difficult as Mecca, and far more difficult than -anything Stanley has ever done, with his advantages of men, money, -and luxuries. The women seemed to be much hardier than the men; they -carried the pipe and tobacco, led the camels, adjusted the burdens, at -the halt unloaded the cattle, disposed the baggage, covered them with a -mat tent, cooked the food, made tea and coffee, and bivouacked outside -the tent. - -He writes-- - - "The air was fresh and clear; and the night breeze was delicious - after the stormy breath of day. The weary confinement of walls made - the weary expanse a luxury to the sight, whilst the tumbling of the - surf upon the near shore, and the music of the jackal, predisposed to - sweet sleep. We now felt that at length the die was cast. Placing my - pistols by my side, with my rifle butt for a pillow, and its barrel as - a bed-fellow, I sought repose with none of the apprehension which even - the most stout-hearted traveller knows before the start. It is the - difference between fancy and reality, between anxiety and certainty; - to men gifted with any imaginative powers the anticipation must ever - be worse than the event. Thus it happens, that he who feels a thrill - of fear before engaging in a peril, exchanges it for a throb of - exultation when he finds himself hand to hand with the danger." - -The description of the journey is filled in his notes by being hindered -and almost captured by Bedawi, lamed with thorns, the camels casting -themselves down from fatigue, famishing from hunger, and, worse, from -thirst--the only water being sulphurous, which affected both man and -beast--and attacks from lions, sleep being disturbed by large ants, -three-quarters of an inch long, with venomous stings. Everywhere -they went, everybody wept over them, as dead men. He finds time, -nevertheless, to remark, that at the height of 3350 feet he found a -buttercup and heard a woodpecker tapping, that reminded him of home. He -describes a sham attack of twelve Bedawi, who, when they saw what his -revolver could do, said they were only in fun. - -At one of the kraals he gives an account of how, being surrounded by -Somals, they were boasting of their shooting, and of the skill with -which they used the shield, but they seemed not to understand the -proper use of the sword. - - "Thinking it was well to impress them with the superiority of arms, I - requested them to put up one of their shields as a mark. They laughed - very much, but would not comply. The Somal hate a vulture, because it - eats the dead and dying; so, seeing a large brown bare-necked vulture - at twenty paces distance, I shot it with my revolver; then I loaded a - gun with swan-shot, which they had never seen, and, aiming at a bird - that they considered far out of gunshot distance, I knocked it over - flying. Fresh screams followed this marvellous feat, and they said, - 'Lo! he bringeth down the birds from heaven.' Their Chief, putting his - forefinger in his mouth, praised Allah, and prayed to be defended from - such a calamity; and always after, when they saw me approach, they - said, 'Here comes the Shaykh who knows knowledge.' I then gave a stick - to the best man; I provided myself in the same way, and allowed him - to cut at me as much as ever he liked, easily warding off the blows - with a parry. After repeated failures, and tiring himself enormously, - he received a sounding blow from me upon the least bony part of his - person. The crowd laughed long and loud, and the knight-at-arms - retired in confusion. - - "Every now and then we got into difficulties with the Bedawi, who - would not allow us to proceed, declaring the land was theirs. We - did not deny the claim, but I threatened sorcery, death, and wild - beasts, and foraging parties to their camels, children, and women. - It generally brought them to their senses. They would spit on us for - good luck, and let us depart. Once a Chief was smitten by Shehrazade's - bulky charms, and wanted to carry her off. Once in the evening we came - upon the fresh trail of a large Habr Awal cavalcade, which frightened - my companions dreadfully. We were only nine men and two women, to - contend against two hundred horsemen, and all, except the Hammal and - Long Guled, would have run away at the first charge. The worst of the - ride was over rough and stony road, the thorns tearing their feet and - naked legs, and the camels slipping over the rounded pebbles. - - "The joy of coming to a kraal was great, where the Chiefs of the - village appeared, bringing soft speech, sweet water, new milk, fat - sheep and goats, for a _tobe_ of Cutch canvas. We passed a quiet, - luxurious day of coffee and pipes, fresh cream and roasted mutton. - After the great heats and dangers from horsemen on the plain, we - enjoyed the cool breeze of the hills, cloudy skies, and the verdure of - the glades which refreshed our beasts. Here I shot a few hawks, and - was rewarded with loud exclamations of 'Allah preserve thy hand! may - thy skill never fail thee before the foe.' A woman ran away from my - steam kettle, thinking it was a weapon. They looked upon my sunburnt - skin with a favour they denied to the lime-white face. The Somali - Bedawi gradually affiliated me to their tribes. - - "At one village the people rushed out, exclaiming, 'Lo! let us look at - the Kings;' at others, 'Come and see the white man; he is the Governor - of Zayla.' My fairness (for, brown as I am, I am fair to them) and the - Arab dress made me sometimes the ruler of Aden, the Chief of Zayla, - the Haji's son, a boy, an old woman, a man painted white, a warrior in - silver armour, a merchant, a pilgrim, a head priest, Ahmed the Indian, - a Turk, an Egyptian, a Frenchman, a Banyan, a Sheríf, and, lastly, a - calamity sent down from heaven to weary out the lives of the Somal. - Every kraal had its own conjecture. - - "On December 9th, I rode a little off my way to visit some ruins, - Darbíyah Kola, or Kola's Fort, so called on account of its Galla - queen. There were once two cities, Aububah, and they fought like the - Kilkenny cats till both were eaten up. This was about three hundred - years ago, and the substantial ruins have fought a stern fight with - Time. - - "Remnants of houses cumber the soil, and the carefully built wells are - filled with rubbish. The palace was pointed out to me, with its walls - of stone and clay, intersected by layers of woodwork. The Mosque is - a large, roofless building, containing twelve square pillars of rude - masonry, and the _mihrab_, or prayer niche, is denoted by a circular - arch of tolerable construction. But the voice of the _muezzin_ is - hushed for ever, and creepers now twine around the ruined fane. The - scene was still and dreary as the grave; for a mile and a half in - length all was ruins--ruins--ruins. - - "Leaving this Dead City, we rode towards the south-west between two - rugged hills. Topping the ridge, we stood for a few minutes to observe - the view before us. Beneath our feet lay a long grassy plain--the - sight must have gladdened the hearts of our starving mules--and for - the first time in Africa horses appeared grazing free amongst the - bushes. A little further off lay the Aylonda Valley, studded with - graves and dark with verdure. Beyond it stretched the Wady Haráwwah, - a long gloomy hollow in the general level. The background was a bold - sweep of blue hill, the second gradient of the Harar line, and on its - summit, closing the western horizon, lay a golden streak, the Marar - Prairie. Already I felt at the end of my journey. - - "It was not an unusual thing in the dusk to see a large animal - following us with quick stealthy strides, and that I, sending a rifle - ball as correctly as I could in the direction, put to flight a large - lion. - - "The nearer I got to Harar, the more I was stopped by parties of - Gallas, and some went on to report evil of me, and many threats were - uttered. The 'End of Time' in the last march turned tail. 'Dost thou - believe me to be a coward, O Pilgrim?' 'Of a truth I do,' I answered. - Nothing abashed, and with joy at his heart, he hammered his mule with - his heel, and rode off, saying, 'What hath man but a single life, and - he who throweth it away, what is he but a fool?'" - -He gives a good account of elephant-hunting, but they did not get -near any. The water was in some places so hard it raised lumps like -nettle-stings, and they had to butter themselves. At one place the -inhabitants flocked out to stare at them. He fired his rifle by way -of salute over the head of the prettiest girl. The people, delighted, -exclaimed, "Mod! Mod! honour to thee!" and he replied with shouts of -"Kulliban! may Heaven aid thee!" - - "When there is any danger a Somali watchman sings and addresses - himself in dialogue, with different voices, to persuade thieves that - several men are watching. Ours was a spectacle of wildness as he - sat before the blazing fire. The 'End of Time' conceived the jocose - idea of crowning me King of the country, with loud cries of 'Buh! - Buh! Buh!' while showering leaves from a gum tree and water from a - prayer-bottle over my head, and then with all solemnity bound on my - turban. I was hindered and threatened in no end of places, and my - companions threatened to desert me, saying, 'They will spoil that - white skin of thine at Harar.' Still I pushed on. The Guda Birsi - Bedawi number ten thousand spears. - - "One night we came upon a sheet of bright blaze, a fire threatening - the whole prairie. - - "At last came the sign of leaving the Desert. The scene lifted, and we - came to the second step of the Ethiopian highlands. In the midst of - the valley beneath ran a serpentine of shining waters, the gladdest - spectacle we had yet witnessed. Further in front, masses of hill - rose abruptly from shady valleys, encircled on the far horizon by - a straight blue line of ground resembling a distant sea. Behind us - glared the desert. We had now reached the outskirts of civilization, - where man, abandoning his flocks and herds, settles, cultivates, and - attends to the comforts of life. - - "We saw fields, with lanes between, the daisy, the thistle, and the - sweet-briar, settled villages, surrounded by strong _abatis_ of - thorns, which stud the hills everywhere, clumps of trees, to which - the beehives are hung, and yellow crops of holcus, or grain. The - Harvest-Home-song sounded pleasant to my ears, and, contrasting with - the silent desert, the hum of man's habitation was music. They - flocked out to gaze upon us, unarmed, and welcomed us. We bathed in - the waters, on whose banks were a multitude of huge Mantidæ, pink and - tender green. I now had ample time to see the manners and customs of - the settled Somali, as I was conducted to the cottage of the Gerad's - pretty wife, and learned the home, and the day, and the food. They - spoke Harari, Somali, Galla, Arabic, and dialects. My kettle seems to - have created surprise everywhere. - - "Here the last preparations were made for entering this dreadful - City. All my people, and my camels, and most of my goods, had to be - left here for the return journey, and it was the duty of this Chief - (Gerad) to accompany me. I happened to hear one of them say, 'Of what - use is his gun? Before he could fetch fire I should put this arrow - through him.' I wheeled round, and discharged a barrel over their - heads, which threw them into convulsions of terror. The man I had now - to depend upon was Adan bin Kaushan, a strong wiry Bedawin. He was - tricky, ambitious, greedy of gain, fickle, restless, and treacherous, - a cunning idiot, always so difficult to deal with. His sister was - married to the father of the Amir of Harar, but he said, 'He would as - soon walk into a crocodile's mouth as go into the walls of Harar.' - He received a sword, a Korán, a turban, an Arab waistcoat of gaudy - satin, about seventy _tobes_, and a similar proportion of indigo-dyed - stuff--he privily complained to me that the Hammal had given him but - twelve cloths. A list of his wants will best explain the man. He - begged me to bring him from Berberah a silver-hilted sword and some - soap, one thousand dollars, two sets of silver bracelets, twenty guns - with powder and shot, snuff, a scarlet cloth coat embroidered with - gold, some poison that would not fail, and any other little article - of luxury which might be supposed to suit him. In return he was to - present me with horses, mules, slaves, ivory, and other valuables: he - forgot, however, to do so before he departed. - - "Whilst we were discussing the project, and getting on satisfactorily, - five strangers well mounted rode in. Two were citizens, and three were - Habr Awal Bedawi, high in the Amir's confidence; they had been sent to - settle blood-money with Adan. They then told him that I, the Arab, was - not one who bought and sold, but a spy; that I and my party should be - sent prisoners to Harar. Adan would not give us up, falsely promising - to present our salaams to the Amir. When they were gone he told me how - afraid he was, and that it was impossible for him to conduct me to the - City. I then relied upon what has made many a small man Great, my good - star and audacity. - - "Driven to bay, I wrote an English letter from the Political Agent - at Aden, to the Amir of Harar, intending to deliver it in person; it - was 'neck or nothing.' I only took what was necessary, Sherwa the son - of Adan, the Bedawi Actidon and Mad Said, and left everything behind - me, excepting some presents for the Amir, a change of clothes, an - Arab book or two, a few biscuits, ammunition, and a little tobacco. - I passed through a lovely country, was stopped by the Gallas, and by - the Habr Awal Bedawi, who offered, if we could wait till sunrise, to - take us into the City; so I returned a polite answer, leading them - to expect that I should wait till eight a.m. for them. I left my - journals, sketches, and books in charge of Adan. - - [Sidenote: _He enters the City in Triumph._] - - "The journey was hard, and I encountered a Harar Grandee, mounted - upon a handsomely caparisoned mule, and attended by servants. He was - very courteous, and, seeing me thirsty, ordered me a cup of water. - Finally arriving, at the crest of a hill, stood the City--the end - of my present travel--a long, sombre line, strikingly contrasting - with the white-washed towns of the East. The spectacle, materially - speaking, was a disappointment; nothing conspicuous appeared but two - grey minarets of rude shape; many would have grudged exposing three - lives to win so paltry a prize. But of all that have attempted it, - none ever succeeded in entering that pile of stones; the thoroughbred - traveller will understand my exultation, although my two companions - exchanged glances of wonder. Stopping while my companions bathed, I - retired to the wayside and sketched the town. We arrived at three - p.m., and advancing to the gate, Mad Said accosted a warder whom he - knew, sent our salaams to the Amir, saying we came from Aden, and - requested the honour of audience. The Habr Awal collected round me - _inside_ the town, and scowling, inquired why we had not apprised them - of our intention of entering the City; but it was 'war to the knife,' - and I did not deign to answer. - - - TEN DAYS AT HARAR--THE MOST EXCITING TRIAL OF ALL. - - - "We were kept waiting half an hour, and were told by the warder to - pass the threshold. Long Guled gave his animal to the two Bedawi, - every one advising my attendants to escape with the beasts, as we - were going to be killed, on the road to this African St. James. We - were ordered to run, but we leisurely led our mules in spite of the - guide's wrath, entered the gate, and strolled down the yard, which was - full of Gallas with spears, and the waiting gave me an opportunity to - inspect the place. I walked into a vast hall, a hundred feet long, - between two long rows of Galla spearmen, between whose lines I had - to pass. They were large half-naked savages, standing like statues, - with fierce movable eyes, each one holding, with its butt end on the - ground, a huge spear, with a head the size of a shovel. I purposely - sauntered down them coolly with a swagger, with my eyes fixed upon - their dangerous-looking faces. I had a six-shooter concealed in my - waist-belt, and determined, at the first show of excitement, to run up - to the Amir, and put it to his head, if it were necessary, to save my - own life. - - [Sidenote: _Interview with the Amir._] - - "The Amir was like a little Indian Rajah, an etiolated youth about - twenty-four or twenty-five years old, plain, thin bearded, with a - yellow complexion, wrinkled brows, and protruding eyes. His dress was - a flowing robe of crimson cloth, edged with snowy fur, and a narrow - white turban tightly twisted round a tall conical cap of red velvet, - like the old Turkish headgear of our painters. His throne was a - common Indian _kursi_, or raised cot, about five feet long, with back - and sides supported by a dwarf railing; being an invalid, he rested - his elbow upon a pillow, under which appeared the hilt of a Cutch - sabre. Ranged in double line, perpendicular to the Amir, stood the - 'Court,' his cousins and nearest relations, with right arms bared - after the fashion of Abyssinia. - - "I entered this second avenue of Galla spearsmen with a loud 'Peace - be upon ye!' to which H.H. replying graciously, and extending a hand, - bony and yellow as a kite's claw, snapped his thumb and middle finger. - Two chamberlains stepping forward, held my forearms, and assisted me - to bend low over the fingers, which, however, I did not kiss, being - naturally averse to performing that operation upon any but a woman's - hand. My two servants then took their turn: in this case, after the - back was saluted, the palm was presented for a repetition.[1] These - preliminaries concluded, we were led to, and seated upon a mat in - front of the Amir, who directed towards us a frowning brow and an - inquisitive eye. - - "I made some inquiries about the Amir's health: he shook his head - captiously, and inquired our errand. I drew from my pocket my own - letter: it was carried by a chamberlain, with hands veiled in his - _tobe_, to the Amir, who, after a brief glance, laid it upon the - couch, and demanded further explanation. I then represented in Arabic - that we had come from Aden, bearing the compliments of our _Daulah_, - or Governor, and that we had entered Harar to see the light of - H.H.'s countenance: this information concluded with a little speech - describing the changes of Political Agents in Arabia, and alluding to - the friendship formerly existing between the English and the deceased - Chief Abubakr. - - "The Amir smiled graciously. - - "This smile, I must own, was a relief. We had been prepared for - the worst, and the aspect of affairs in the Palace was by no means - reassuring. - - "Whispering to his Treasurer, a little ugly man with a baldly shaven - head, coarse features, pug nose, angry eyes, and stubbly beard, the - Amir made a sign for us to retire. The _baisé main_ was repeated, - and we backed out of the audience-shed in high favour. According to - grandiloquent Bruce, 'the Court of London and that of Abyssinia are, - in their principles, one;' the loiterers in the Harar palace-yard, who - had before regarded us with cut-throat looks, now smiled as though - they loved us. Marshalled by the guard, we issued from the precincts, - and, after walking a hundred yards, entered the Amir's second palace, - which we were told to consider our home. There we found the Bedawi, - who, scarcely believing that we had escaped alive, grinned in the joy - of their hearts, and we were at once provided from the Chief's kitchen - with a dish of _shabta_, holcus cakes soaked in sour milk, and thickly - powdered with red pepper, the salt of this inland region. - - "When we had eaten, the Treasurer reappeared, bearing the Amir's - command that we should call upon his Wazir, the Gerad Mohammad. We - found a venerable old man, whose benevolent countenance belied the - reports current about him in Somali-land. Half rising, although his - wrinkled brow showed suffering, he seated me by his side upon the - carpeted masonry-bench, where lay the implements of his craft--reeds, - inkstands, and whitewashed boards for paper--politely welcomed me, - and, gravely stroking his cotton-coloured beard, desired to know my - object in good Arabic. - - "I replied almost in the words used to the Amir, adding, however, some - details, how in the old day one Madar Faríh had been charged by the - late Sultan Abubakr with a present to the Governor of Aden, and that - it was the wish of our people to re-establish friendly relations and - commercial intercourse with Harar. - - "'Khayr Inshallah! it is well, if Allah please!' ejaculated the Gerad. - I then bent over his hand, and took leave. - - "Returning, we inquired anxiously of the Treasurer about my servants' - arms, which had not been returned, and were assured that they had - been placed in the safest of storehouses, the Palace. I then sent a - common six-barrelled revolver as a present to the Amir, explaining its - use to the bearer, and we prepared to make ourselves as comfortable - as possible. The interior of our new house was a clean room, with - plain walls, and a floor of tamped earth; opposite the entrance were - two broad steps of masonry, raised about two feet, and a yard above - the ground, and covered with hard matting. I contrived to make upon - the higher ledge a bed with the cushions which my companions used - as _shabracques_, and after seeing the mules fed and tethered, lay - down to rest, worn out by fatigue and profoundly impressed with the - _poésie_ of our position. I was under the roof of a bigoted prince - whose least word was death; amongst a people who detest foreigners; - the only European that had ever passed over their inhospitable - threshold; and, more than that, I was _the fated instrument of their - future downfall_." - -He gives a very detailed account of the City of Harar, its inhabitants, -and all he saw during his ten days there, for which I refer people to -"First Footsteps in East Africa," one large volume, 1856. He says-- - - "The explorer must frequently rest satisfied with descrying from - his Pisgah, the knowledge which another more fortunate is destined - to acquire. _Inside_ Harar, I was so closely watched, that it was - impossible to put pen to paper. It was only when I got back to Wilensi - that I hastily collected the grammatical forms, and a vocabulary which - proves that the language is not Arabic; that it _has_ an affinity with - the Amharic. Harar has its own tongue, unintelligible to any save the - citizens. Its little population of eight thousand souls is a distinct - race. A common proverb is, 'Hard as the heart of Harar.' They are - extremely bigoted, especially against Christians, and are fond of a - religious war, or _jehád_, with the Gallas. They hold foreigners in - hate and contempt, and divide them into two classes, Arabs and Somal. - - "The Somals say that the State dungeon is beneath the palace, and - that he who once enters it lives with unkempt beard and untrimmed - nails till the day when death sets him free. There is nothing more - terrible; the captive is heavily ironed, lies in a filthy dungeon, and - receives no food, except what he can obtain from his own family, or - buy or beg from his guards. The Amir has bad health; I considered him - consumptive. It is something in my favour that, as soon as I departed, - he wrote to the acting Political Resident at Aden, earnestly begging - to be supplied with a Frank physician, and offering protection to any - European who might be persuaded to visit his dominions. His rule was - severe, if not just, and it has all the prestige of secrecy. Even the - Gerad Mohammad, even the Queen Dowager, are threatened with fetters if - they offer uncalled-for advice. His principal occupation is spying his - many stalwart cousins, indulging in vain fears of the English and the - Turks, amassing treasure by commerce and cheating. - - "The Amir Ahmed is alive to the fact that some State should hedge in - a Prince. Neither weapons nor rosaries are allowed in his presence; - a chamberlain's robe acts as spittoon; whenever anything is given - to or taken from him his hand must be kissed; even on horseback two - attendants fan him with the hems of their garments. Except when - engaged on the Haronic visits, which he, like his father, pays to - the streets and byways at night, he is always surrounded by a strong - body-guard. He rides to Mosque escorted by a dozen horsemen, and a - score of footmen with guns and whips precede him; by his side walks - an officer, shading him with a huge and heavily fringed red-satin - umbrella--from India to Abyssinia the sign of princely dignity. Even - at his prayers, two or three chosen matchlockmen stand over him with - lighted fusees. When he rides forth in public, he is escorted by a - party of fifty men; the running footmen crack their whips and shout, - 'Let! Let!' (Go! go!), and the citizens avoid stripes by retreating - into the nearest house, or running into another street. - - [Sidenote: _Has Great Success._] - - "Immediately on our arrival we were called upon by all sorts of Arabs; - they were very civil to me at first, but when the Amir ceased to send - for me, just as at civilized Courts, they prudently cut me. The moment - the Amir sent for me, my Habr Awal enemies, seeing the tide of fortune - setting in my favour, changed their tactics, and proposed themselves - as my escort to return to Berberah, which I politely refused. They - did me all the harm they could, but my good star triumphed. After one - day's rest, I was summoned to wait upon the Gerad Mohammad, who was - Prime Minister. Sword in hand, and, followed by my two attendants, I - walked to the Palace, and found him surrounded by six counsellors; - they were eating _jat_, which has somewhat the effect of hashish. - - "He sat me by his right hand on the dais, where I ate _jat_, being, - fortunately, used to these things, and fingered the rosary. Then - followed prayer, and then a theological discussion, in which, - fortunately, I was able to distinguish myself. My theology won general - approbation and kind glances from the elders. In a very short time I - was sent for by the Amir, and this time was allowed to approach the - outer door with covered feet. I entered as ceremoniously as before, - and the prince motioned me to sit near the Gerad, on a Persian rug to - the right of the throne; my attendants on humble mats at a greater - distance. After sundry inquiries of what was going on at Aden, the - Resident's letter was suddenly produced by the Amir, who bade me - explain its contents, and wished to know if it was my intention to buy - and sell at Harar. I replied, 'We are neither buyers nor sellers; we - have become your guests to pay our respects to the Amir, who may Allah - preserve, and that the friendship between the two Powers may endure.' - The Amir was pleased, and I therefore ventured to hope that the Prince - would soon permit me to return, as the air of Harar was too dry for - me, and that we were in danger of small-pox, then raging in the town, - and through the Gerad, the Amir said, 'The reply will be vouchsafed,' - and the interview was over. - - "I sent my salaam to one of the Ulema, Shaykh Jámi; he accepted the - excuse of health and came to see me. He was remarkably well read in - the religious sciences, and a great man at Mecca, with much influence - with the Sultan, and employed on political Missions amongst the - Chiefs. He started with the intention of winning the Crown of Glory by - murdering the British Resident at Aden, but he was so struck with the - order of justice of our rule, he offered El Islam to that officer, who - received it so urbanely, that the simple Eastern, instead of cutting - the Kaffir's throat, began to pray fervently for his conversion. We - were kindly looked upon by a sick and decrepid eunuch, named Sultán. I - used to spend my evenings preaching to the Gallas. - - [Sidenote: _Damaging Reports._] - - "The Gerad Mohammad was now worked upon by the Habr Awal, my enemies, - to make inquiries about me, and one of the Ayyal Gedíd clan came up - and reported that three brothers[2] had landed in the Somal country, - that two of them were anxiously waiting at Berberah the return of - the fourth from Harar, and that, though dressed like Moslems, they - were really English spies in Government employ, and orders were - issued for cutting off Caravans. We, however, were summoned to the - Gerad's, where, fortunately for me, I found him suffering badly from - bronchitis. I saw my chance. I related to him all its symptoms, and - told him that if I could only get down to Aden, I could send him - all the right remedies, with directions. He clung to the hope of - escaping his sufferings, and begged me to lose no time. Presently - the Amir sent for him, and in a few minutes I was sent for alone. - A long conversation ensued about the state of Aden, of Zayla, of - Berberah, and of Stamboul. The Chief put a variety of questions about - Arabia, and every object there; the answer was that the necessity of - commerce, confined us to the gloomy rock Aden. He used some obliging - expressions about desiring our friendship, and having considerable - respect for a people who built, he understood, large ships. I took the - opportunity of praising Harar in cautious phrase, and especially of - regretting that its coffee was not better known amongst the Franks. - The small wizen-faced man smiled, as Moslems say, the smile of - Umar;[3] seeing his brow relax for the first time, I told him that, - being now restored to health, we requested his commands for Aden. He - signified consent with a nod, and the Gerad, with many compliments, - gave me a letter addressed to the Political Resident, and requested me - to take charge of a mule as a present. I then arose, recited a short - prayer, the gist of which was that the Amir's days and reign might be - long in the land, and that the faces of his foes might be blackened - here and hereafter, bent over his hand, and retired. Returning to the - Gerad's levée-hut, I saw by the countenances of my two attendants that - they were not a little anxious about the interview, and comforted them - with the whispered word, 'Achha!' (all right!) - - "Presently appeared the Gerad, accompanied by two men, who brought - my servants' arms, and the revolver which I had sent to the prince. - This was a _contretemps_. It was clearly impossible to take back the - present; besides which, I suspected some _finesse_ to discover my - feelings towards him. The other course would ensure delay. I told the - Gerad that the weapon was intended especially to preserve the Amir's - life, and, for further effect, snapped caps in rapid succession, to - the infinite terror of the august company. The Minister returned to - his Master, and soon brought back the information that, after a day or - two, another mule should be given to me. With suitable acknowledgments - we arose, blessed the Gerad, bade adieu to the assembly, and departed - joyful; the Hammal, in his glee, speaking broken English, even in the - Amir's courtyard. - - "Shaykh Jámi was rendered joyful by the news he told me when I - arrived; he had been informed that in the Town was a man who had - brought down the birds from heaven, and the citizens had been thrown - into a great excitement by my probable intentions. One of the - principal Ulema, and a distinguished Haji, had been dreaming dreams in - my favour, and sent their salaams. My long residence in the East had - made me grateful to the learned, whose influence over the people, when - unbiased by bigotry, is for the good. On January 11th, I was sent for - by the Gerad, and given the second mule; he begged me not to forget - his remedies as soon as I reached Aden, and I told him that I would - start on the morrow. I scarcely had got in, when there were heavy - showers and thunder. When I got up to mount early on Friday morning, - of course a mule had strayed; then Shaykh Jámi would not go till - Monday. Now, as I had been absent from my goods and chattels a whole - fortnight, as the people at Harar are immensely fickle, as you never - know the moment that the Amir may change his mind, for all African - Cities are prisons on a large scale--you enter by your own will, but - you leave by another's--I longed to start; however, the storms warned - me to be patient, and I deterred my departure till next morning. - - [Sidenote: _He leaves Harar safely._] - - "Long before dawn on Saturday, January 13th, the mules were saddled, - bridled, and charged with our scanty luggage. After a hasty breakfast - we shook hands with old Sultán, the eunuch, mounted and pricked - through the desert streets. Suddenly my weakness and sickness left - me--so potent a drug is joy--and, as we passed the Gates, loudly - salaaming to the warders, who were crouching over the fire inside, a - weight of care and anxiety fell from me like a cloak of lead. - - "Yet I had time, on the top of my mule, for musing upon how melancholy - a thing is Success. Whilst failure inspirits a man, attainment reads - the sad prosy lesson that all our glories - - 'Are shadows, not substantial things.' - - Truly said the _sayer_, 'Disappointment is the salt of life'--a - salutary bitter which strengthens the mind for fresh exertion, and - gives a double value to the prize. - - "This shade of melancholy soon passed away. We made in a direct line - for Kondura. At one p.m. we safely threaded the Gallas' pass, and - about an hour afterwards we exclaimed, 'Alhamdulillah,' at the sight - of Sagharrah and the distant Marar Prairie. Entering the village, - we discharged our firearms. The men gave cordial _poignées de - mains_--some danced with joy to see us return alive; they had heard - of our being imprisoned, bastinadoed, slaughtered; they swore that - the Gerad was raising an army to rescue or revenge us--in fact, had - we been their kinsmen, more excitement could not have been displayed. - Lastly, in true humility, crept forward the "End of Time," who, as he - kissed my hand, was upon the point of tears. - - "A pleasant evening was spent in recounting our perils, as travellers - will do, and complimenting one another upon the power of our star. - - "At eight next morning we rode to Wilensi, and as we approached, all - the villagers and wayfarers inquired if we were the party that had - been put to death by the Amir of Harar. - - "Loud congratulations and shouts of joy awaited our arrival. The - Kalendar was in a paroxysm of delight; both Shehrazade and Deenarzade - were affected with giggling and what might be blushing. We reviewed - our property and found that the One-eyed had been a faithful steward, - so faithful indeed that he had wellnigh starved the two women. - Presently appeared the Gerad and his sons, bringing with them my - books; the former was at once invested with a gaudy Abyssinian - _tobe_ of many colours, in which he sallied forth from the cottage - the admired of all admirers. The pretty wife, Sudíyah, and the good - Khayrah were made happy by sundry gifts of huge Birmingham ear-rings, - brooches and bracelets, scissors, needles, and thread. The evening as - usual ended in a feast. - - "We were obliged to halt a week at Wilensi to feed, for both man and - beast to lay in a stock of strength for the long desert march before - us, to buy onions, tobacco, spices, wooden platters, and a sort of - bread called _karanji_. Here I made my grammar and vocabulary of the - Harari tongue, under the supervision of Mad Said and Ali the poet, a - Somali educated at Harar, who knew Arabic, Somali, Galla, and Harar - languages. - - "On January 21st I wanted to start, but Shaykh Jámi appeared with - all the incurables of the country. Nobody can form an idea of the - difficulties that an Eastern will put in your way when you want to - start, and unfortunately in nine cases out of ten the ruses they have - resort to, _do_ prevent your starting. Now, in this case, I decided - that talismans were the best and safest medicines in these mountains. - The Shaykh doubted them, but when I exhibited my diploma as a - Master-Sufi, a new light broke in upon him and his attendants. 'Verily - he hath declared himself this day!' whispered each to his neighbour, - sorely mystified. Shaykh Jámi carefully inspected the document, raised - it reverently to his forehead, muttered prayers, and owned himself my - pupil. - - [Sidenote: _A Fearful Desert Journey._] - - "Now, however, all my followers had got some reason why they could - not go, so I sauntered out alone, attended only by the Hammal, and, - in spite of the Chief summoning me to halt, I took an abrupt leave - and went off, and entered the Marar Prairie with pleasure. The - truants joined us later on, and we met a party whose Chief, a Somali, - expressed astonishment at our escaping from Harar, told us that the - Berberi were incensed with us for leaving the direct road, advised us - to push on that night, to 'ware the bush, whence the Midjans would - use their poisoned arrows. The Berberi had offered a hundred cows - for our person dead or alive. Then my party sat down to debate; they - palavered for three hours. They said that the camels could not walk, - that the cold of the prairies was death to man, till darkness came on. - Experience had taught me that it was waste of time to debate overnight - about dangers to be faced next day, so I ate my dates, drank my milk, - and lay down to enjoy sweet sleep in the tranquil silence of the - desert. Although I did not know it till after my return from Berberah, - Gerad Adan was my greatest danger. If his plotting had succeeded it - would have cost him dear, but would also have proved fatal to me. - The 23rd of January passed in the same manner, and the explanation - I had with my men was, that on the morrow at dawn I would cross the - Marar Prairie by myself; and we started at dawn on the 24th, giving a - wide berth to the Berberis, whose camp-fires were quite visible at a - distance. As we were about to enter the lands of the Habr Awal, our - enemies, a week would elapse before we could get protection. We had - resolved to reach the coast within the fortnight, instead of which a - month's march was in prospect. Suddenly Beuh appeared, and I proposed - to him that he should escort the Caravans to Zayla, and that I and the - two others who had accompanied me to Harar would mount our mules, only - carrying arms and provisions for four days. I pushed through the land - of our enemies the Habr Awal. In the land we were to traverse every - man's spear would be against us, so I chose the desert roads, and - carefully avoided all the kraals. It was with serious apprehension - that I pocketed all my remaining provisions--five biscuits, a few - limes, a few lumps of sugar. Any accident to our mules, any delay - would starve us; we were traversing a desert where no one would sell - us meat or milk, and only one water-bottle in the whole party. - - [Sidenote: _Want of Water._] - - "We rode thirty-five miles over awful tracks. Our toil was rendered - doubly dreadful by the Eastern traveller's dread--the demon of Thirst - rode like Care behind us--for twenty-four hours we did not taste - water, the sun parched our brains, the mirage mocked us at every - turn, and the effect was a species of monomania. As I jogged along - with eyes closed against the fiery air, no image unconnected with the - want suggested itself. Water ever lay before me, water lying deep in - the shady well, water in streams bubbling icy from the rock, water in - pellucid lakes inviting me to plunge and revel in their treasures. Now - an Indian cloud was showering upon me fluid more precious than molten - pearl, then an invisible hand offered a bowl for which the mortal part - would gladly have bartered years of life. Then--drear contrast!--I - opened my eyes to a heat-reeking plain, and a sky of that eternal - metallic blue so lovely to painter and poet, so blank and death-like - to us, whose χαλον [Greek: chalon] was tempest, rain-storm, and the - huge purple nimbus. I tried to talk--it was in vain; to sing--in vain; - vainly to think; every idea was bound up in one subject--water.[4] - - "As a rule, twelve hours without water in the desert during hot - weather kill a man. We had another frightful journey to the next - water. I never suffered severely from thirst but on this expedition; - probably it was in consequence of being at the time but in weak health - so soon after Mecca. A few more hours and the little party would have - been food for the desert beasts. We were saved by a bird. When we - had been thirty-six hours without water we could go no further, and - we were prepared to die the worst of all deaths. The short twilight - of the tropics was drawing in, I looked up and saw a _katta_, or - sand-grouse, with its pigeon-like flight, making for the nearer hills. - These birds must drink at least once a day, and generally towards - evening, when they are safe to carry water in their bills to their - young. I cried out, 'See, the _katta_! the _katta_!' All revived at - once, took heart, and followed the bird, which suddenly plunged down - about a hundred yards away, showing us a charming spring, a little - shaft of water, about two feet in diameter, in a margin of green. We - jumped from our saddles, and men and beasts plunged their heads into - the water and drank till they could drink no more. I have never since - shot a _katta_. - - "With unspeakable delight, after another thirty hours, we saw in the - distance a patch of lively green: our animals scented the blessing - from afar, they raised their drooping ears, and started with us at - a canter, till, turning a corner, we suddenly sighted sundry little - wells. To spring from the saddle, to race with our mules, who now - feared not the crumbling sides of the pits, to throw ourselves into - the muddy pools, to drink a long slow draught, and to dash the water - over our burning faces, took less time to do than to recount. A calmer - inspection showed a necessity for caution; the surface was alive with - tadpoles and insects: prudence, however, had little power at that - time--we drank, and drank, and then drank again. As our mules had - fallen with avidity upon the grass, I proposed to pass a few hours - near the wells. My companions, however, pleading the old fear of - lions, led the way before dark to a deserted kraal upon a neighbouring - hill. We had marched this time about thirty hours _eastward_, and had - entered a safe country belonging to the Bahgoba, our guide's clan. - - "There is nothing so dreadful as crossing a country full of blocks - and boulders piled upon one another in rugged steps, and it was such - a ravine, the Splügen of Somali-land, that we had to dismount. To a - laden camel it is almost impossible; the best-fed horses, mules, or - asses, having to perform the work of goats instead of their own, are - worn out by it after a few hours; and this was what I and my party - had to do, and often the boulders were covered with thorns two inches - long, tipped with wooden points as sharp as a needle. After three days - of hard travelling in this way we saw the face of man--some shepherds, - who fled at our approach. We then followed an undulating growth of - parched grass, shaping our course for Jebel Almis, to sailors the - chief landmark of this coast, and for a certain thin blue stripe - on the far horizon,--the sea,--upon which we gazed with gladdened - eyes. That night we arrived at a kraal, unsaddled, and began to make - ourselves comfortable, when we found we had fallen upon the Ayyal - Shirdon, our bitterest enemies. They asked, 'What tribe be ye?' I - boldly answered, 'Of Habr Gerhagis.' Thereupon ensued a war of words; - they rudely insisted on knowing what had taken us to Harar, when a - warrior armed with two spears came forward, recognized the 'End of - Time,' and they retired but spoke of fighting. So we made ready with - our weapons and bade them come on; but while they were considering, - we saddled our mules and rode off. We stopped at three villages, and - the Hammal failed to obtain even a drop of water from his relations. - It was most distressful, as men and beasts were faint from thirst, - so I determined to push forward for water that night. Many times the - animals stopped,--a mute hint that they could go no further;--but - _I_ pushed on, and the rest had learned to follow without a word. - The moon arose, and still we tottered on. About midnight--delightful - sound!--the murmur of the distant sea. Revived by the music, we pushed - on more cheerily. At three in the morning we found some holes which - supplied us with bitter water, truly delicious after fifteen hours' - thirst. Repeated draughts of this element, and coarse stubbly grass, - saved us and our mules. Rain came on, but we slept like the dead. - At six, we resumed our march, going slowly along the seacoast, and - at noon we were able to sit on the sands and bathe in the sea. Our - beasts could hardly move, and slippery mud added to their troubles. - At three p.m. we again got a patch of grass, and halted the animals - to feed; and a mile further some wells, where we again rested them, - watered them, finished our last mouthful of food, and prepared for a - long night march. - - [Sidenote: _They reach Berberah--Join Speke, Herne, Stroyan._] - - "We managed to pass all our enemies in the dark, and they cursed the - star that had enabled us to slip unhurt through their hands. I was - obliged to call a halt within four miles of Berberah; the animals - could not move, neither could the men, except the Hammal and I, and - they all fell fast asleep on the stones. As soon as we could go on, - a long dark line appeared upon the sandy horizon, the silhouettes of - shipping showing against sea and sky. A cry of joy burst from every - mouth. 'Cheer, boys, cheer! our toils here touch their end.' The 'End - of Time' still whispered anxiously lest enemies might arise; we wound - slowly and cautiously round the southern portion of the sleeping town, - through bone-heaps, and jackals tearing their unsavoury prey, straight - into the quarter of the Ayyal Gedíd, our protectors. Anxiously I - inquired if my comrades had left Berberah, and heard with delight that - they were there. It was two o'clock in the morning, and we had marched - forty miles. - - "I dismounted at the huts where my comrades were living. A glad - welcome, a dish of rice, and a glass of strong waters made amends for - past privations and fatigue. The servants and the wretched mules were - duly provided for, and I fell asleep, conscious of having performed a - feat which, like a certain ride to York, will live in local annals for - many and many a year. - - "Great fatigue is seldom followed by long sleep. Soon after sunrise - I woke, hearing loud voices, seeing masses of black faces, and tawny - wigs. The Berberah people, who had been informed of our five-day ride, - swore that the thing was impossible, that we _had_ never, _could_ - never have been near Harar, but were astonished when they found it - was true. I then proceeded to inspect my attendants and cattle. The - former were delighted, having acquitted themselves of their trust; - the poor mules were by no means so easily restored. Their backs were - cut to the bone by the saddle, their heads drooped sadly, their hams - showed dread marks of the spear-point. I directed them to be washed in - the sea, to be dressed with cold-water bandages, and copiously fed. - Through a broad gap, called Duss Malablay, appear in fine weather the - granite walls of Wagar and Gulays, 5700 feet above the level of the - sea. Lieutenant Herne found it would make an admirable sanitarium. - The emporium of Eastern Africa has a salubrious climate, abundance - of sweet water, a mild monsoon, a fine open country, an excellent - harbour, a highly productive soil, is the meeting-place of commerce, - has few rivals, and for half the money wasted on Aden, might have - been covered with houses, gardens, and trees. My companions and I, - after a day's rest, made some excursions. We had a few difficulties - about our _Abans_, or protectors. We did not choose to be dictated - to, so there was a general council of the elders. It took place upon - the shore, each Chief forming a semicircle with his followers, - all squatting on the sand, with shield and spear planted upright - in the ground. I entered the circle sword in hand, and sat down in - their midst. After much murmuring had gone on the Chief asked, in a - loud voice, 'Who is thy protector?' The reply was, 'Burhale Nuh,' - followed by an Arabic speech as long as an average sermon, and then, - shouldering my blade, I left the circle abruptly. It was a success; - they held a peace conference, and the olive waved over the braves of - Berberah. On the 5th of February, 1855, I left my comrades _pro tem._, - and went on board _El Kásab_, or the Reed, the ill-omened name of our - cranky craft, and took with me the Hammal, Long Guled, and the 'End - of Time,' who were in danger, and rejoiced at leaving Berberah with - sound skins. I met with opposition at landing. I could not risk a - quarrel so near Berberah, and was returning to moralize on the fate - of Burckhardt--after a successful pilgrimage refused admittance to - Aaron's tomb at Sinai--when a Bedawin ran to tell us that we might - wander where we pleased. - - [Sidenote: _He sails for Aden._] - - "The captain of the _Reed_ drew off a great deal further than I - ordered, and when I went down to go on board, the vessel was a mere - speck upon the sea horizon. He managed to cast anchor at last, after - driving his crazy craft through a bad sea. I stood on the shore making - signs for a canoe, but he did not choose to see me till about one p.m. - As soon as I found myself on quarter-deck-- - - "'Dawwír el farmán!' (Shift the yard!) I shouted, with a voice of - thunder. - - "The answer was a general hubbub. 'He surely will not sail in a sea - like this?' asked the trembling captain of my companions. - - "'He will!' sententiously quoth the Hammal, with a Burleigh nod. - - "'It blows wind,' remonstrated the _rais_. - - "'And if it blew fire?' asked the Hammal, with the air _goguenard_, - meaning that from the calamity of Frankish obstinacy there was no - refuge. - - "A kind of death-wail rose, during which, to hide untimely laughter, - I retreated to a large drawer in the stern of the vessel, called a - cabin. There my ears could distinguish the loud entreaties of the - crew, vainly urging my attendants to propose a day's delay. Then one - of the garrison, accompanied by the Captain, who shook as with fever, - resolved to act forlorn hope, and bring a _feu d'enfer_ of phrases to - bear upon the Frank's hard brain. Scarcely, however, had the head of - the sentence been delivered, before he was playfully upraised by his - bushy hair and a handle somewhat more substantial, carried out of the - cabin, and thrown, like a bag of biscuit, on the deck. - - "The case was hopeless. All strangers plunged into the sea--the - popular way of landing in East Africa--the anchor was weighed, the ton - of sail shaken out, and the _Reed_ began to dip and rise in the yeasty - sea laboriously, as an alderman dancing a polka. - - "For the first time in my life I had the satisfaction of seeing the - Somal unable to eat--unable to eat mutton!! In sea-sickness and - needless terror, the Captain, crew, and passengers abandoned to us - all the baked sheep, which we three, not being believers in the Evil - Eye, ate from head to trotters with especial pleasure. That night the - waves broke over us. The 'End of Time' occupied himself in roaring - certain orisons which are reputed to calm stormy seas; he desisted - only when Long Guled pointed out that a wilder gust seemed to follow, - as in derision, each more emphatic period. The Captain, a noted - reprobate, renowned on shore for his knowledge of erotic verse and - admiration of the fair sex, prayed with fervour; he was joined by - several of the crew, who apparently found the charm of novelty in the - edifying exercise. About midnight a _sultan el bahr_, or sea-King--a - species of whale--appeared close to our counter; and as these animals - are famous for upsetting vessels in waggishness, the sight elicited a - yell of terror, and a chorus of religious exclamations. - - "On the morning of Friday, the 9th of February, 1855, we hove in - sight of Jebel Shamsan, the loftiest peak on the Aden crater. And ere - evening fell, I had the pleasure of seeing the faces of friends and - comrades once more. - - * * * * * - - [Sidenote: _Returns with Forty Men._] - - "If I had 'let well alone,' I should have done well; but I wanted - to make a new expedition Nile-wards, _viâ_ Harar, on a larger and - more imposing scale. For that I went back to Aden. On April 7th, - 1855, I returned successful. Lieutenant King, Indian Navy, commanded - the gunboat _Mahi_, and entered the harbour of Berberah with us on - board. I was in command of a party of forty-two men, armed, and we - established an agency, and selected the site of our camp in a place - where we could have the protection of the gunboat; but the Commander - of the schooner had orders to relieve another ship, and so could not - remain and superintend the departure of the Expedition. It was the - time after the Fair, and one might say that Berberah was empty, and - that there was scarcely any one but ourselves. Our tents were pitched - in one line--Stroyan's to the right, Herne and myself in the middle, - and Speke on the left. The baggage was placed between our tents, the - camels were in front, the horses and mules behind us. Two sentries - all night were regularly relieved and visited by ourselves. We were - very well received, and they listened with respectful attention to a - letter, in which the Political Resident at Aden enjoined them to treat - us with consideration and hospitality. We had purchased fifty-six - camels; Ogadayn Caravan was anxious for our escort. If we had departed - then, perhaps all would have been well; but we expected instruments - and other necessaries by the mid-April mail from Europe. Three days - afterwards, a craft from Aden came in with a dozen Somals, who wanted - to accompany us, and fortunately I feasted the Commander and the crew, - which caused them to remain. We little knew that our lives hung upon - a thread, and that had the vessel departed, as she would otherwise - have done, the night before the attack, nothing could have saved us. - Between two and three a.m. of April 19th, there was a cry that the - enemy was upon us, three hundred and fifty strong. Hearing a rush of - men, like a stormy wind, I sprang up, and called for my sabre, and - sent Herne to ascertain the force of the foray. Armed with a 'Colt,' - he went to the rear and left of the camp, the direction of danger, - collecting some of the guards--others having already disappeared--and - fired two shots into the assailants. Then finding himself alone, he - turned hastily towards the tent; in so doing, he was tripped up by - the ropes, and, as he arose, a Somali appeared in the act of striking - at him with a club. Herne fired, floored the man, and, rejoining me, - declared that the enemy was in great force and the guard nowhere. - Meanwhile, I had aroused Stroyan and Speke, who were sleeping in the - extreme right and left tents. The former, it is presumed, arose to - defend himself, but, as the sequel shows, we never saw him alive. - Speke, awakened by the report of firearms, but supposing it to be the - normal false alarm--a warning to plunderers--remained where he was; - presently, hearing clubs rattling upon his tent, and feet shuffling - around, he ran to my _rowtie_, which we prepared to defend as long as - possible. - - [Sidenote: _They are attacked--A Desperate Fight._] - - "The enemy swarmed like hornets, with shouts and screams, intending to - terrify, and proving that overwhelming odds were against us. It was by - no means easy to avoid in the shades of night the jobbing of javelins, - and the long, heavy daggers thrown at our legs from under and through - the opening of the tent. We three remained together; Herne knelt by - my right, on my left was Speke guarding the entrance, I stood in the - centre, having nothing but a sabre. The revolvers were used by my - companions with deadly effect; unfortunately there was but one pair. - When the fire was exhausted, Herne went to search for his powder-horn, - and, that failing, to find some spears usually tied to the tent-pole. - Whilst thus engaged, he saw a man breaking into the rear of our - _rowtie_, and came back to inform me of the circumstance. - - "At this time, about five minutes after the beginning of the affray, - the tent had been almost beaten down--an Arab custom, with which we - were all familiar--and had we been entangled in its folds, like mice - in a trap, we should have been speared with unpleasant facility. I - gave the word for escape, and sallied out, closely followed by Herne, - with Speke in the rear. The prospect was not agreeable. About twenty - men were kneeling and crouching at the tent entrance, whilst many - dusky figures stood further off, or ran about shouting the war-cry, - or with shouts and blows drove away our camels. Among the enemy were - many of our friends and attendants; the coast being open to them, - they naturally ran away, firing a few useless shots, and receiving a - modicum of flesh-wounds. - - "After breaking through the mob at the tent entrance, imagining - that I saw the form of Stroyan lying upon the sand, I cut my way - with my sabre towards it amongst dozens of Somal, whose war-clubs - worked without mercy, whilst the Balyuz, who was violently pushing - me out of the fray, rendered the strokes of my sabre uncertain. - This individual was cool and collected. Though incapacitated by a - sore right thumb from using the spear, he did not shun danger, and - passed unhurt through the midst of the enemy. His efforts, however, - only illustrated the venerable adage, 'Defend me from my friends.' - I mistook him in the dark and turned to cut him down; he cried - out in alarm. The well-known voice stopped me, and that instant's - hesitation allowed a spearman to step forward, and leave his javelin - in my mouth, and retire before he could be punished. Escaping as by - a miracle, I sought some support. Many of our Somal and servants - lurking in the darkness offered to advance, but 'tailed off' to a man - as we approached the foe. Presently the Balyuz reappeared, and led - me towards the place where he believed my three comrades had taken - refuge. I followed him, sending the only man that showed presence of - mind, one Golab of the Yusuf tribe, to bring back the _Aynterad_ craft - from the Spit into the centre of the harbour. Again losing the Balyuz - in the darkness, I spent the interval before dawn wandering in search - of my comrades, and lying down when overpowered with faintness and - pain. As the day broke, with my remaining strength I reached the head - of the creek, was carried into the vessel, and persuaded the crew to - arm themselves and visit the scene of our disasters. - - "Meanwhile, Herne, who had closely followed me, fell back, using the - butt-end of his discharged six-shooter upon the hard heads around - him. In so doing he came upon a dozen men, who, though they loudly - vociferated, 'Kill the Franks who are killing the Somal!' allowed him - to pass uninjured. - - "He then sought his comrades in the empty huts of the town, and at - early dawn was joined by the Balyuz, who was similarly employed. When - day broke, he also sent a negro to stop the native craft, which was - apparently sailing out of the harbour, and in due time he came on - board. With the exception of sundry stiff blows with the war-club, - Herne had the fortune to escape unhurt. - - "On the other hand, Speke's escape was in every way wonderful. - Sallying from the tent, he levelled his 'Dean and Adams' close to an - assailant's breast. The pistol refused to revolve. A sharp blow of a - war-club upon the chest felled our comrade, who was in the rear and - unseen. When he fell, two or three men sprang upon him, pinioned his - hands behind, felt him for concealed weapons--an operation to which he - submitted in some alarm--and led him towards the rear, as he supposed, - to be slaughtered. There, Speke, who could scarcely breathe from the - pain of the blow, asked a captor to tie his hands before instead of - behind, and begged a drop of water to relieve his excruciating thirst. - The savage defended him against a number of the Somal who came up - threatening and brandishing their spears. He brought a cloth for the - wounded man to lie upon, and lost no time in procuring a draught of - water. - - "Speke remained upon the ground till dawn. During the interval he - witnessed the war-dance of the savages--a scene striking in the - extreme; the tallest and largest warriors marching with the deepest - and most solemn tones, the song of thanksgiving. At a little distance - the grey uncertain light disclosed four or five men lying desperately - hurt, whilst their kinsmen kneaded their limbs, pouring water upon - their wounds, and placing lumps of dates in their stiffening hands.[5] - As day broke, the division of plunder caused angry passions to rise. - The dead and dying were abandoned. One party made a rush upon the - cattle, and with shouts and yells drove them off towards the wilds. - Some loaded themselves with goods; others fought over pieces of - cloth, which they tore with hand and dagger; whilst the disappointed, - vociferating with rage, struck at one another and brandished their - spears. More than once during these scenes a panic seized them; they - moved off in a body to some distance; and there is little doubt that, - had our guard struck one blow, we might still have won the day. - - [Sidenote: _Richard and Speke desperately wounded._] - - "Speke's captor went to seek his own portion of the spoil, when a - Somal came up and asked in Hindostani what business the Frank had in - their country, and added that he would kill him if a Christian, but - spare the life of a brother Moslem. The wounded man replied that he - was going to Zanzibar, that he was still a Nazarene, and therefore - that the work had better be done at once. The savage laughed, and - passed on. He was succeeded by a second, who, equally compassionate, - whirled a sword round his head, twice pretending to strike, but - returning to the plunder without doing damage. Presently came another - manner of assailant. Speke, who had extricated his hands, caught the - spear levelled at his breast, but received at the same moment a blow - which, paralyzing his arm, caused him to lose his hold. In defending - his heart from a succession of thrusts, he received severe wounds - on the back of his hand, his right shoulder, and his left thigh. - Pausing a little, the wretch crossed to the other side, and suddenly - passed his spear clean through the right leg of the wounded man. - The latter, 'smelling death,' then leapt up, and, taking advantage - of his assailant's terror, rushed headlong towards the sea. Looking - behind, he avoided the javelin hurled at his back, and had the good - fortune to run, without further accident, the gauntlet of a score of - missiles. When pursuit was discontinued, he sat down, faint from loss - of blood, upon a sandhill. Recovering strength by a few minutes' rest, - he staggered on to the town, where some old women directed him to us. - Then, pursuing his way, he fell in with the party sent to seek him, - and by their aid reached the craft, having walked and run at least - three miles, after receiving eleven wounds, two of which had pierced - his thighs. A touching lesson how difficult it is to kill a man in - sound health![6] My difficulty was, with my comrades' aid, to extract - the javelin which transfixed my jaws. It destroyed my palate and four - good back teeth, and left wounds on my two cheeks. - - "When we three survivors had reached the craft, Yusuf, the Captain, - armed his men with muskets and spears, landed them near the camp, - and ascertained that the enemy, expecting a fresh attack, had fled, - carrying away our cloth, tobacco, swords, and other weapons. The - corpse of Stroyan was then brought on board. Our lamented comrade - was already stark and cold. A spear had traversed his heart, another - had pierced his abdomen, and a frightful gash, apparently of a - sword, had opened the upper part of his forehead. The body had been - bruised with war-clubs, and the thighs showed marks of violence after - death. This was the severest affliction that befell us. We had lived - together like brothers. Stroyan was a universal favourite, and his - sterling qualities of manly courage, physical endurance, and steady - perseverance had augured for him a bright career, thus prematurely cut - off. Truly melancholy to us was the contrast between the evening when - he sat with us full of life and spirits, and the morning when we saw - amongst us a livid corpse. - - "We had hoped to preserve the remains of our friend for interment at - Aden. But so rapid were the effects of exposure that we were compelled - most reluctantly, on the morning of the 20th of April, to commit them - to the deep, Herne reading the Funeral Service. - - "Then, with heavy hearts, we set sail for the near Arabian shore, - and, after a tedious two days, carried our friends the news of the - unexpected disaster. - - "RICHARD F. BURTON." - -When Speke wrote the manuscript of this affair, and in _Blackwood_, and -also in his book on the "Sources of the Nile," he said that _he_ was -the Head of the Expedition; _he_ had given the order for the night, it -was before _him_ the spies were brought, _he_ was the first to turn -out, and no one but _he_ had the courage to defend himself. It is -hardly worth while to contradict it. It is obvious that this expedition -could only be commanded by a man who knew Arabic and some of the other -languages, of which he was perfectly ignorant. - -So the results of this Expedition, to sum up in short, were, that they -barely escaped being caught like mice in a trap, by having their tents -thrown down upon them, the four fought bravely against three hundred -and fifty Bedawi, poor Stroyan was killed, Herne was untouched, Richard -and Speke were desperately wounded, though they all cut their way -gallantly through the enemy. Poor Speke had eleven wounds, and Richard, -with a lance transfixing his jaws, which carried away four back teeth -and part of his palate, wandered up and down the coast suffering from -his wounds, fever, hunger, and thirst consequent on the wounds; but -they met, they carried off the dead body of their comrade, and were -taken on board the native dhow or boat, which the fortunate accident -of Richard's hospitality had retained there just half an hour, long -enough to save them, and the natives sacked their property. They were -so badly wounded, he had to return to England, and here his wounds -soon healed and he picked up health. He rendered an account of his -explorations before the Royal Geographical Society.[7] After a month's -rest, he obtained leave to volunteer for the Crimea. Here I would -rather give his own original manuscript word for word, because it is so -fresh, and, in a few pages, gives a better insight into outspoken truth -than many other large volumes. - -[1] In Abyssinia, according to the Lord of Geesh, this is a mark of -royal familiarity and confidence. - -[2] "Speke, Herne, and Stroyan." - -[3] "Because it was reported that he had never smiled but once." - -[4] I often thought Grant Allen, in the third volume of "The Devil's -Die," drew his account of the journey of Mohammed Ali and Ivan Royle -from Eagle City through the desert to Carthage on the edge of the -desert from Richard's journey from Harar; it is so like it--but he told -me he did not.--I. B. - -[5] "The Somal place dates in the hands of the fallen to ascertain the -extent of injury. He that cannot eat that delicacy is justly decided to -be _in articulo_." - -[6] "In less than a month after receiving such injuries, Speke was on -his way to England. He never felt the least inconvenience from the -wounds, which closed up like indiarubber." - -[7] He began to prepare his public account of Harar in "First Footsteps -in East Africa," one large volume, which, however, did not see the -light till 1856. It might have been called "Harar," to distinguish it -from the trial trip previous to the Great Lake Expedition. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -WITH BEATSON'S HORSE. - - -[Sidenote: _The Crimea._] - -The Crimean War is an affair of the last generation; thirty years' -distance has given it a certain perspective, and assigned its proper -rank and place in the panorama of the nineteenth century. Estimates -of its importance, of course, vary; while one man would vindicate its -_péripéties_ on the plea of being the first genuine attempt to develop -the European Concert, to create an International tribunal for the -discouragement of the modern revival of _La Force prime le droit_, -and for the protection of the weak minority, others, like myself, -look upon it as an unmitigated evil to England. It showed up all her -characteristic unreadiness, all her defects of organization. It proved -that she could not _then_ produce a single great _sailor_ or _soldier_. -It washed her dirty linen in public, to the disgust and contempt of -Europe; and, lastly, it taught her the wholly novel and unpleasant -lesson of "playing second fiddle" (as the phrase is) to France. -Considered with regard to her foreign affairs, this disastrous blunder -lost us for ever the affection of Russia, our oldest and often our only -friend amongst the continentals of Europe. It barred the inevitable -growth of the northern Colossus in a southern direction, and encouraged -her mighty spread to the south-east, India-wards, at the same time -doubling her extent by the absorption of Turcomania. - -The causes which led to the war are manifold enough. Some are trivial -enough, like the indiscreet revelation of Czar Nicholas' private talk, -talk anent the "Sick Man," by the undiplomatic indiscretion of the -diplomatist, Sir Hamilton Seymour. Others are vital, especially the -weariness caused by a long sleep of peace which made England, at once -the most unmilitary and the most fighting of peoples, "spoil for a -row." The belief in the wretched Turk's power of recuperation and even -of progress had been diffused by such authorities as Lords Palmerston -and Stratford de Redcliffe, and, _en route_ to the war, I often -heard, to my disgust, British officers exclaim, "If there ever be a -justifiable campaign (in support of the unspeakable Turk!) it is this." - -Outside England, the main moving cause was our acute ally Louis -Napoleon, whose ambition was to figure arm-in-arm in the field with -the nation which annihilated his uncle. But he modestly proposed -that France should supply the army, England the navy, an arrangement -against which, even now, little can be said. Here, however, our jaunty -statesman stepped in; Cupidon (Lord Palmerston), the man with the straw -in his mouth, the persistent "Chaffer" of wiser men that appreciated -the importance of the Fenian movement, the opposer of the Suez -Canal,[1] the Minister who died one day and was forgotten the next, -refused to give up the wreath of glory; and, upon the principle that -one Englishman can fight three Frenchmen, sent an utterly inadequate -force and enabled the French to "revenge Waterloo." French diplomatists -were heavily backed against English; a nervous desire to preserve the -_entente cordiale_ made English Generals and Admirals (as at Alma and -the bombardment of Sebastopol) put up with the jockeying and bullying -measures of French officers. And the alliance ended not an hour too -soon. - -After French successes and our failures the _piou-piou_ would cry -aloud, "Malakoff--yes, yes; Redan--no, no;" whereto Tommy Atkins -replied with a growl, "Waterloo, ye beggars!" And the English medal -distributed to the _troupier_ was pleasantly known as the "Médaille de -Sauvetage." At the end of the disastrous year '56 England had come up -smiling, after many a knock-down blow, and was ready to go in and win. -But Louis Napoleon had obtained all _he_ wanted, the war was becoming -irksome to _his_ fickle lieges; so an untimely peace was patched up, -and England was left to pay the piper by the ever-increasing danger to -India. - -After the disastrous skirmish with the Somali at Berberah, it is no -wonder that I returned to England on sick certificate, wounded and -sorely discomfited. The Crimean War seemed to me some opportunity -of recovering my spirits, and, as soon as my health permitted, I -applied myself to the ungrateful task of volunteering. London then -was in the liveliest state of excitement about the Crimean bungles, -and the ladies pitilessly cut every officer who shirked his duty. So -I read my paper about Harar before the Royal Geographical Society, -and had the pleasure of being assured by an ancient gentleman, who -had never _smelt_ Africa, that when approaching the town Harar I had -crossed a large and rapid river. It was in vain for me to reject this -information. Every one seemed to think he must be right.[2] - -Having obtained a few letters of introduction, and remembering that -I had served under General James Simpson, at Sakhar, in Sind, I -farewelled my friends, and my next step was to hurry through France, -and to embark at Marseille on board one of the Messageries Impériales, -bound for Constantinople. Very imperial was the demeanour of her -officers. They took command of the passengers in most absolute style, -and soundly wigged an Englishman, a Colonel, for opening a port, and -shipping a sea. I was ashamed of my fellow-countryman's tameness, and -yet I knew him to be a brave man. The ship's surgeon was Dr. Nicora, -who afterwards became a friend of ours at Damascus, where he died -attached to the French sanitary establishment; he talked much, and -could not conceal his Anglophobia and hatred of the English. The only -pleasant Frenchman on board was General MacMahon, then fresh from his -Algerian campaign, and newly transferred to the Crimea, where his -fortunes began. - -It was a spring voyage on summer seas, and in due time we stared at -the Golden Horn, and lodged ourselves at Missiri's Hôtel. The owner, -who had been a dragoman to Eöthen, presumed upon his reputation, and -made his house unpleasant. His wine, called "Tenedos," was atrocious, -his cookery third rate, and his prices first rate. He sternly forbade -"gambling," as he called card-playing, in his house, private as well -as public; and we had periodically to kick downstairs the impudent -dragomans who brought us his insolent messages. However, he had -some excuse. Society at Missiri's was decidedly mixed; "bahaduring" -was the rule, and the extra military swagger of the juveniles, -assistant-surgeons, commissariats, and such genus, booted to the -crupper, was a caution to veterans. - -At Stamboul, I met Fred Wingfield, who was bound to Balaclava, as -assistant under the unfortunate Mr. Commissary-General Filder, and had -to congratulate myself upon my good fortune. We steamed together over -the inhospitable Euxine, which showed me the reason for its sombre name. - -The waters are in parts abnormally sweet, and they appear veiled in a -dark vapour. Utterly unknown the blues, amethyst and turquoise, of that -sea of beauty, the Mediterranean; the same is the case with the smaller -Palus Meotis--Azoff. After the normal three days we sighted the Tauric -Chersonese, the land of the Cimmerians and Scythians, the colony of the -Greek, the conquest of Janghiz and the Khans of Turkey, and finally -annexed by Russia after the wars, in which Charles XII. had taught the -Slav to fight. We then made Balaclava (Balik-liwa, "Fish town"), with -its dwarf fjord, dug out of dove-coloured limestones, and forming a -little port stuffed to repletion with every manner of craft. - -But it had greatly improved since October 17, 1854, when we first -occupied it and formally opened the absurdly so-called siege, in which -we were as often the besieged as the besiegers. Under a prodigiously -fierce-looking provost-marshal, whose every look meant "cat," some -cleanliness and discipline had been introduced amongst the suttlers and -scoundrels who populated the townlet. Store-ships no longer crept in, -reported cargoes which were worth their weight of gold to miserables, -living - - "On coffee raw and potted cat," - -and crept out again without breaking bulk. A decent road had been run -through Kadikeui (Kazi's village) to camp and to the front, and men no -longer sank ankle-deep in dust, or calf-deep in mud. In tact, England -was, in the parlance of the "ring," getting her second wind, and was -settling down to her work! - -The unfortunate Lord Raglan, with his _courage antique_, his -old-fashioned excess of courtesy, and his nervous dread of prejudicing -the _entente cordiale_ (!) between England and France, had lately died. -He was in one point exactly the man _not_ wanted. At his age and with -one arm and many infirmities, he could not come up to the idea of Sir -Charles Napier's model officer under the same circumstances, "eternally -on horseback, with a sword in his hand, eating, sleeping, and drinking -in the saddle." - -But with more energy and fitness for command he might have deputed -others to take his place. A good ordinary man, placed by the folly of -his aristocratic friends in extraordinary circumstances, he was fated, -temporarily, to ruin the prestige of England. He began by allowing -himself to be ignobly tricked by that shallow intriguer, Maréchal de -Saint Arnaud (_alias_ Leroy). At Alma he was persuaded to take the -worst and the most perilous position; his delicacy in not disturbing -the last hours of his fellow Commander-in-Chief prevented his capturing -the northern forts of Sebastopol, which Todleben openly declared were -to be stormed by a _coup de main_; and allowed Louis Napoleon, in -the _Moniteur_, to blame England only for the _lâches_ of the French, -after the "last of European battles fought on the old lines," etc. At -Inkermann, where the Guards defended themselves, like prehistoric men, -with stones, Lord Raglan allowed his whole army to be surprised by the -Russians, and to be saved by General Bosquet, with a host of Zouaves, -Chasseurs, and Algerian rifles. No wonder that a Russian general -declared, "The French saved the English at Inkermann as the Prussians -did at Waterloo, and all Europe believed that France would conquer both -Russia and England, the first by arms and the second by contrast." The -"thin red line" of Balaclava allowed some national chauvinism, but that -was all to be said in its favour, except that the gallantry of the men -was to be equalled only by the incompetency of their Chiefs. - -I passed a week with Wingfield and other friends, in and about -Balaclava, in frequent visits to the front and camp. A favourite -excursion from the latter was to the Monastery of St. George, classic -ground where Iphigenia was saved from sacrifice. There was a noble view -from this place, a foreground of goodly garden, a deep ravine clad with -glorious trees, a system of cliffs and needles studding a sandy beach, -and a lovely stretch of sparkling sea. No wonder that it had been -chosen by a hermit, whose little hut of unhewn blocks lay hard by; he -was a man upwards of sixty apparently, unknown to any one, and was fed -by the black-robed monks. At Kadikeui also I made the acquaintance of -good Mrs. Seacole, Jamaican by origin, who did so much for the comfort -of invalids, and whom we afterwards met with lively pleasure at Panámá. - -The British cavalry officers in the Crimea were still violently excited -by reports that Lord Cardigan was about returning to command; and I -heard more than one say, "We will not serve under him." And after -a long experience of different opinions on the spot, I came to the -following conclusion:--The unhappy charge of the "Six Hundred" was -directly caused by my old friend, Captain Nolan of the 15th Hussars. An -admirable officer and swordsman, bred in the gallant Austrian Cavalry -of that day, he held, and advocated through life, the theory that -mounted troops were an overmatch for infantry, and wanted only good -leading to break squares and so forth. He was burning also to see the -Lights outrival the Heavies, who, under General Scarlett, had charged -down upon Russians said to be four times their number. Lord Lucan -received an order to take a Russian 12-gun battery on the Causeway -Heights, from General Liprandi, and he sent a verbal message by Nolan -(General Airey's aide-de-camp) to his brother-in-law, Lord Cardigan, -there being bad blood between the two. - -Nolan, who was no friend to the hero of the Black Bottle, delivered -the order disagreeably, and when Lord Cardigan showed some hesitation, -roughly cut short the colloquy with, "You have your commands, my Lord," -and prepared, as is the custom, to join in the charge. Hardly did it -begin, than he was struck by a shot in the breast, and, as he did not -fall at once, some asked Lord Cardigan where he was, and the reply -came, "I saw him go off howling to the rear." During the fatal charge -Lord Cardigan lost his head, and had that _moment de peur_ to which -the best soldiers are at times subject. He had been a fire-eater with -the "Saw-handles," and the world expected too much of him; again, a -man of ordinary pluck, he was placed in extraordinary circumstances, -and how few there are who are _born_ physically fearless. I can count -those known to me on the fingers of my right hand. Believing that his -force was literally mown down, he forgot his duty as a Commanding -Officer, and instead of rallying the fugitives, he thought only of -_sauve qui peut_. Galloping wildly to the rear, he rushed up to many -a spectator, amongst others to my old Commander, General Beatson, -nervously exclaiming, "You saw me at the guns?" and almost without -awaiting a reply, rode on. Presently returning to England, he had not -the sound sense and good taste to keep himself in the background; but -received a kind of "ovation," as they call it, the ladies trying to -secure hairs from his charger's tail by way of keepsake. Of course he -never showed his face in the Crimea again. The tale of this ill-fated -and unprofessional charge has now changed complexion. It is held up -as a _beau fait d'armes_, despite the best bit of military criticism -that ever fell from soldier's lips: "_c'est beau, mais ce n'est pas la -guerre_," the words of General Bosquet, who saved the poor remnants of -the Lights. - -At head-quarters I called upon the Commander-in-Chief, General Simpson, -whom years before I had found in charge of Sakhar, Upper Sind, held by -all as wellnigh superannuated. He was supposed to be one of Lever's -heroes, the gigantic Englishman who, during the occupation of Paris, -broke the jaw of the duelling French officer, and spat down his throat. -But age had told upon him, mentally as well as bodily, and he became -a mere plaything in the hands of the French, especially of General -Pélissier, the typical Algerian officer, who well knew when to browbeat -and when to cajole. "Jimmy Simpson," as the poor old incapable was -called, could do nothing for me, so I wrote officially at once to -General Beatson, whom I had met at Boulogne, volunteering for the -Irregular Cavalry then known as "Beatson's Horse," and I was delighted -when my name appeared in orders. Returning to Constantinople, I called -upon the Embassy, then in summer quarters at Therapia, where they had -spent an anxious time. The gallant Vukados, Russianized in Boutákoff, -a Greek, who, in the nineteenth century, belonged to the heroic days -of Thermopylæ and Marathon, and who was actually cheered by his -enemies, with the little merchant-brig the _Wladimir_, alias _Arciduca -Giovanni_, had shown himself a master-breaker-of-blockades, and might -readily have taken into his head to pay the Ambassador a visit. - -I looked forward to a welcome and found one; a man who had married -my aunt, Robert Bagshaw, of Dovercourt, M.P., and quondam Calcutta -merchant, who had saved from impending bankruptcy the house of -Alexander and Co., to which Lady Stratford belonged. - -Nothing quainter than the contrast between that highly respectable -middle-class British peer and the extreme wildness of his surroundings. -There were but two exceptions to the general rule of eccentricity--one, -Lord Napier and Ettrick with his charming wife, and the other, Odo -(popularly called "O don't!") Russell, who died as Lord Ampthill, -Ambassador to Berlin. It was, by-the-by, no bad idea to appoint this -high-bred and average talented English gentleman to the Court of Prince -Bismarck, who disliked and despised nothing more thoroughly than the -pert little political, the "Foreign Office pet" of modern days. - -Foremost on the roll stood Alison, who died Minister at Teheran. -He was in character much more a Greek than an Englishman, with a -peculiar _finesse_, not to put too fine a point upon it, which made -him highly qualified to deal with a certain type of Orientals. He knew -Romaic perfectly, Turkish well, Persian a little, and a smattering of -Arabic; so that, most unlike the average order of ignorant secretaries -and attachés, he was able to do good work. He seemed to affect -eccentricity, went out walking with a rough coat with a stick torn -from a tree, whence his cognomen "The Bear with the Ragged Staff," and -at his breakfasts visitors were unpleasantly astonished by a weight -suddenly mounting their shoulders in the shape of a bear-cub with cold -muzzle and ugly claws. He managed to hold his own with his testy and -rageous old Chief, and the following legend was told of him:--"Damn -your eyes, Mr. Alison, why was not that despatch sent?" "Damn your -Excellency's eyes, it went this morning." Miladi also seemed to regard -his comical figure with much favour. At Teheran he did little good, -having become unhappily addicted to "tossing the elbow," which in an -evil hour was reported home by my late friend Edward Eastwick; and -he married a wealthy Levantine widow, who predeceased him. On this -occasion he behaved uncommonly well, by returning all her large fortune -to her family. - -Next to him in office, and far higher in public esteem, ranked Percy -Smythe, who succeeded his brother as Lord Strangford. Always of the -weakest possible constitution, and so purblind that when reading he -drew the paper across his nose, he fulfilled my idea of the typical -linguist in the highest sense of the word; in fact, I never saw his -equal except, perhaps, Professor Palmer, who was murdered by Arábi's -orders almost within sight of Suez. Strangford seemed to take in a -language through every pore, and to have time for all its niceties and -eccentricities: for instance, he could speak Persian like a Shirázi, -and also with the hideous drawl of a Hindostani. Yet his health sent -him to bed every night immediately after dinner, for which he was more -than once taken severely to task by Lady Stratford. He dressed in the -seediest of black frock-coats, and was once mightily offended by a -Turkish officer, who, overhearing us talking in Persian about "Tasáwaf" -(Sufi-ism), joined in the conversation. He treated me with great regard -because I was in the gorgeous Bashi-Bazouk uniform, blazing with gold, -but looked upon Lord Strangford with such contempt that the latter -exclaimed, "Hang the fellow! Can't he see that I am a gentleman?" I -then told him that an Eastern judges _entirely_ by dress, and that, -as I was gorgeous, I was supposed to be the swell, and that, as his -coat was very shabby, he was taken for a poor interpreter, probably my -dragoman, and induced him to change for the future. - -Some years afterwards, when he came to the title, he married Emily -Beaufort, the result of reviewing her book "Syrian Shrines," etc. The -choice was a mistake; she was far too like him in body and mind, with -a strong dash of Israelitish blood, to be a success matrimonially -speaking. Had he taken to wife a comely "crummy" little girl with -blue eyes, barley-sugar hair, and the rest to match, he might have -lived much longer. But the lady was an overmatch for him. When she -was a little tot of twelve I saw her at the head of her father's, the -hydrographer's table, laying down the law of professional matters to -grey-headed Admirals. The last of the Staff was General Mansfield, -an ill-conditioned and aggressive man, who held General Beatson in -especial dislike for "prostitution of military rank." I have the most -unpleasant remembrance of him; he afterwards became Commander-in-Chief -of the Army in India, and his conduct in the "Affair of the Pickles" -ought to have caused the recall of "Lord Sandhurst." - -The Ambassador, whose name was at that time in every mouth, was as -remarkable in appearance as in character and career. When near sixty -years of age he had still the clear-cut features and handsome face -of his cousin, whom he loved to call the "Great Canning," and under -whom, he, like Lord Palmerston, had began official life as private -secretary. One of the cleanest and smoothest shaven of old men, he had -a complexion white and red as a Westphalia ham, and his silver locks -gave him a venerable and pleasing appearance; whilst his chin, that -most characteristic feature, showed, in repose, manliness, and his -"Kaiser-blue" eye was that of the traditional Madonna, only at excited -moments the former tilted up with an expression of reckless obstinacy, -and the latter flashed fire like an enraged feline's. The everyday look -of the face was diplomatic, an icy impassibility (evidently put on, and -made natural by long habit); but it changed to the scowl of a Medusa in -fits of rage, and in joyous hours, such as sitting at dinner near the -beautiful Lady George Paget--whose like I never saw--it was harmonious -and genial as a day in spring. - -Such was the personal appearance of the man who, together with the -Emperor Nicholas, one equally, if not more remarkable, both in body and -in mind, set the whole Western World in a blaze. I heard the origin -of the blood-feud minutely told by the late Lord Clanricarde, one of -the most charming _raconteurs_ and original conversationalists ever -met at a London dinner-table. Mr. Stratford Canning became, in early -manhood, _Chargé d'affaires_ at Constantinople, and took a prominent -part in the Treaty of Bucharest, which the Czar found, to speak mildly, -unpalatable. However, some years after, when the Embassy at St. -Petersburg fell vacant, the Emperor refused to receive this _personâ -ingrata_, and aroused susceptibilities which engendered a life-long -hatred and a lust for revenge. Lastly, after the affair of 1848, the -"Eltchi" persuaded his unhappy tool, the feeble-minded Sultan, Abd -Al-Majid, whom he scolded and abused like a naughty schoolboy, now by -threats then by promises, to refuse giving up the far-famed Hungarian -refugees. This again became well known to all the world, and thus -a private and personal pique between two elderly gentlemen of high -degree, involved half Europe in hideous war, and was one of the worst -disasters ever known to English history, by showing the world how -England could truckle to France, and allow her to play the leading part. - -Lord Stratford had, as often happens to shrewder men, completely -mistaken his vocation. He told me more than once that his inclination -was wholly to the life of a _littérateur_, and he showed himself unfit -for taking any, save the humblest, _rôle_ among the third-rates. He -had lived his life in the East without learning a word of Turkish, -Persian, or Arabic. - -He wrote "poetry," and, amid the jeers of his staff, he affixed to a -rustic seat near Therapia, where once Lady Stratford had sat, a copy of -verses beginning-- - - "A wife, a mother to her children dear," - -with rhyme "rested here," and reason to match. After his final return -home he printed a little volume of antiquated "verse or _worse_" with -all the mediocrity which the gods and the columns disallow, and which -would hardly have found admittance to the poet's corner of a country -paper. His last performance in this line was a booklet entitled, "Why -I am a Christian" (he of all men!), which provoked a shout of laughter -amongst his friends. They owned that, mentally, he was a fair modern -Achilles-- - - "Impiger, iracundus, inexorabilis acer;" - -but of his "Christianity," the popular saying was, "He is a Christian, -and he never forgives." His characteristic was vindictiveness; he could -not forget (and here he was right), but also he could not forgive (and -here he was wrong). One instance: he tried to hunt out of the service -Grenville Murray, whose "Roving Englishman" probably owed much of its -charm to Dickens's staff in _Household Words_. Yet Murray, despite -all his faults, was a capable man, and a Government more elastic and -far-seeing and less "respectable" than that of England, would have -greatly profited by his services. Lord Stratford could not endure -badinage, he had no sense for and of humour; witness the scene between -him and Louis Napoleon's Ambassador, General Baraguay d'Hilliers, -recorded by Mr. Consul Skene in his "Personal Reminiscences." He -abhorred difference of opinion, and was furious with me for assuring -him that "Habash" and "Abyssinia" are by no means equivalent and -synonymous terms; he had been enlightening the "Porte" with information -that Turkey had never held a foot of ground in "Habash," when the -Turk, as my visit to Harar showed, had been an occupant, well hated, -as he was well known. And when in a rage he was not pleasant; his eyes -flashed fury, his venerable locks seemed to rise like the quills of -a fretful porcupine, he would rush round the room like a lean maniac -using frightful language--in fact, "langwidge," as the sailor hath -it--with his old dressing-gown working hard to keep pace with him, -and when the fit was at its worst, he would shake his fist in the -offender's face. - -The famous Ambassador struck me as a weak, stiff-necked, and violent -old man, whose strength physically was in his obstinate chin, -together with a "pursed-up mouth and beak in a pet," and morally in -an exaggerated "respectability," iron-bound prejudices, and profound -self-esteem. He had also a firm respect for rank and the divine right -of Kings; witness his rage, when the young naval lieutenant, Prince of -Leiningen, was ordered by a superior officer to "swab decks." He lived -long enough to repent the last step of his official life. After peace -was concluded, a visit to the Crimea greatly disgusted him. With a kind -of bastard repentance, he quoted John Bright and the Peace Party in his -sorrow at having brought about a Campaign whose horrors contrasted so -miserably with its promised advantages. - -In the next Russian-Turkish War he remembered that some ten thousand -English lives and £80,000,000 had been sacrificed to humble Russia, -whose genius and heroism had raised her so high in the opinion of -Europe, only to serve the selfish ends of Louis Napoleon, to set up -Turkey and the Sultan ("Humpty-dumpty," who refused to be set up), -and to humour the grudges of two rancorous old men. So he carefully -preached non-intervention to England. He took his seat in the House of -Lords, but spoke little, and when he spoke he mostly broke down. Of -his literary failures I have already spoken. Yet this was the "Great -Eltchi" of Eöthen, a man who gained a prodigious name in Europe, -chiefly by living out of it. - -After seeing all that was to be seen at Therapia and Constantinople, I -embarked on an Austrian Lloyd steamer, and ran down to the Dardanelles, -then the head-quarters of the Bashi-Bazouks. The little town shared in -the factitious importance of Gallipoli, and other places more or less -useful during the war; it had two Pashas, Civil and Military, with a -large body of Nizam or Regulars, whilst the hillsides to the north were -dotted with the white tents of the Irregulars. General Beatson had -secured fair quarters near the old windmills, and there had established -himself with his wife and daughters. I at once recognized my old -Boulogne friend, although slightly disguised by uniform. He looked like -a man of fifty-five, with bluff face and burly figure, and probably -grey hair became him better than black. He always rode English chargers -of good blood, and altogether his presence was highly effective. - -There had been much silly laughing at Constantinople, especially -amongst the grinning idiot tribe, about his gold coat, which was said -to stand upright by force of embroidery. But here he was perfectly -right, and his critics perfectly wrong. He had learnt by many -years' service to recognize the importance of show and splendour -when dealing with Easterns. And no one had criticised the splendid -Skinner or General Jacob of the Sind Horse, for wearing a silver -helmet and a diamond-studded sabretache. General Beatson had served -thirty-five years in the Bengal army, and was one of the few amongst -his contemporaries who had campaigned in Europe during the long peace -which followed the long war. In his subaltern days he had volunteered -into the Spanish Legion, under the Commander, General Sir de Lacy -Evans. After some hard fighting there, and seeing not a few adventures, -he had returned to India. When the Crimean War broke out he went to -Head-quarters at once, and, for the mere fun of the thing, joined in -the Heavy Cavalry charge. - -In October, 1854, the Duke of Newcastle, then Minister of War, -addressed him officially, directing him to organize a Corps of -Bashi-Bazouks, not exceeding in number four thousand, who were to -be independent of the Turkish Contingent, consisting of twenty-five -thousand Regulars under General Vivian. So, unfortunately for himself, -he had made the Dardanelles his Head-quarters, and there he seemed to -be settled with his wife and family. Mrs. Beatson was a quiet-looking -little woman, who was reputed to rule her spouse with a rod of iron in -a velvet case; and the two daughters were charming girls who seemed -to have been born on horseback, and who delighted in setting their -terriers at timid aides-de-camp, and teaching their skittish little -Turkish nags to lash out at them when within kicking distance. General -Beatson at once introduced me to his Staff and officers, amongst whom -I found some most companionable comrades. There were two ex-Guardsmen, -poor Charles Wemyss, who died years after, chronically impecunious, -in London, and Major Lennox-Berkeley, who is still living. Of the -Home army were Lieut.-Colonel Morgan, ex-cavalry man, and Major -Synge. The Indian army had contributed Brigadier-General De Renzi, -Brett, Hayman, Money, Grierson, and others. Sankey, whom I had known -in Egypt, and whose family I had met at Malta, had been gazetted as -lieutenant-colonel. There was also poor Blakeley of the Gun, who -afterwards died so unhappily of yellow fever at Chorillos, in Perú. - -But there were unfortunately black sheep among the number. -Lieut.-Colonel Fardella had only the disadvantage of being a Sicilian, -but Lieut.-Colonel Giraud, the head interpreter, was a Smyrniote and -a Levantine of the very worst description, and, worse still, there -was a Lieut.-Colonel O'Reilly, whose antecedents and subsequents were -equally bad. He had begun as a lance-corporal in one of her Majesty's -regiments, which he had left under discreditable circumstances. In the -Bashi-Bazouks he joined a faction against General Beatson, and when -the war was over he openly became a Mussulman, and entered the Turkish -service. He left the worst of reputations between Constantinople and -Marocco, and Englishmen had the best reason to be ashamed of him. In -subsequent years to the Massacre of Damascus, the English Government -had chosen out Fuad Pasha, a witty, unscrupulous, and over-clever Turk, -and proposed him as permanent Governor-General of the Holy Land, or -to govern in a semi-independent position, like that of the Khedive of -Egypt. - -No choice could be worse, except that of the French, who favoured with -even more inaptitude, by way of a rival candidate, their Algerian -captive, the Emir Abd el Kadir, one of the most high-minded, religious, -and honourable of men, who was utterly unfit to cope with Turkish -roguery and Syrian rascaldom. The project fell through, but till his -last day Fuad Pasha never lost sight of it, and kept up putting in an -appearance, by causing perpetual troubles amongst the Bedawi and the -Druzes. - -This man O'Reilly was one of his many tools, and at last, when he had -brought about against the Turkish Government an absurd revolt of naked -Arabs, upon the borders of the Hamah Desert, he was taken prisoner and -carried before Rashíd Pasha, then the Governor-General, and in his -supplications for pardon he had the meanness to kneel down and kiss the -Turk's foot. - -But worse still was the position of the affairs which met my eyes -at the Dardanelles. Everything had combined to crush our force of -Irregulars. First, there was the Greek faction, who naturally hated -the English, and adored the Russians, and directed all the national -genius to making the foreigners fail. Their example was followed by the -Jews, many of them wealthy merchants at the Dardanelles, who in those -days, before the Juden-hetze, loved and believed in Russia and had -scanty confidence in England. The two Turkish pashas were exceedingly -displeased to see an _Imperium in Imperio_, and did their best to -breed disturbance between their Regulars and the English Irregulars. -They were stirred up by the German Engineers, who were employed upon -the fortifications of the Dardanelles, and who strongly inoculated -them with the idea that France and England aimed at nothing less than -annexation. - -Hence the Pashas not only fomented every disturbance, but they -supplied deserters with passports and safe-conducts. The French played -the friendly-foelike party; the envy, jealousy, and malice of the -_Gr-r-r-ande Nation_ had been stirred to the very depths by the failure -of their Algerine General Yousouf in organizing a corps of Irregulars, -and they saw with displeasure and disgust that an Englishman was going -to succeed. Accordingly Battus, their wretched little French Consul for -the Dardanelles, was directed to pack the local Press at Constantinople -(which was almost wholly in the French interests) with the falsest -and foulest scandals. He had secured the services of the _Journal -de Constantinople_, which General Beatson had with characteristic -carelessness neglected to square, and his cunningly concocted scandals -found their way not only into the Parisian, but even into the London -Press. - -But our deadliest enemies were of course those nearest home. Mr. -Calvert was at that time Vice-Consul for the Dardanelles, and he openly -boasted of its having been made by himself so good a thing that he -would not exchange it for a Consulate General. I need not enter into -the subsequent career of this man, who, shortly after the Crimean War, -found his way into a felon's jail at Malta, for insuring a non-existing -ship. He had proposed to General Beatson a contract in the name of -a creature of his own, who was a mere man of straw, and it was at -once refused, because, although Mr. Vice-Consul Calvert might have -gained largely thereby, Her Majesty's Government would have lost in -proportion. This was enough to make a bitter enemy of him, and he was -a manner of Levantine, virulent and scrupulous as he was sharp-witted. -He also had another grievance. In his Consulate he kept a certain -Lieutenant Ogilvie, who years after fought most gallantly in the -Franco-German War, and was looked upon, after he was killed, as a sort -of small national hero. - -He and his agents were buying up cattle for the public use, and it -was a facetious saying amongst the "Buzoukers," as the Bashi-Bazouk -officers were called, that they had not left a single three-legged -animal in the country. It is no wonder that the reports of these men -had a considerable effect upon Lord Stratford, who was profoundly -impressed with the opinions of unhappy Lord Raglan, the Commander, -who by weak truckling to the French, a nettle fit only to be grasped, -had more than once placed us in an unworthy position. He was angrily -opposed to the whole scheme; it was contrary to precedent: Irregulars -were unknown at Waterloo, and the idea was offensive, because unknown -to the good old stock and pipe-clay school. Moreover, but for a -Campaign these men are invaluable to act as eyes and feelers for a -regular force. The English soldier, unless he be a poacher--by-the-by, -one of the best of them--cannot see by night; his want of practice -gives him a kind of "noctilypia," and he suffers much from want of -sleep. His Excellency already had his own grievance against General -Beatson, being enormously scandalized by a letter from the Irregular -officer casually proposing to hang the Military Pasha of the -Dardanelles, if he continued to intrigue and report falsely concerning -his force. And I must confess the tone of the General's letter was -peculiar, showing that he was better known to "Captain Sword" than -to "Captain Pen." When he put me in orders as "Chief of the Staff" I -overhauled his books and stood aghast to see the style of his official -despatches. He was presently persuaded, with some difficulty, to let me -mitigate their candour under the plea of copying, but on one occasion -after the copy was ready I happened to look into the envelope, and I -found-- - - "P.S.--This is official, but I would have your Lordship to know that I - also wear a black coat." - -Fancy the effect of a formal challenge to combat, "pistols for two and -coffee for one," upon the rancorous old man of Constantinople, whose -anger burnt like a red-hot fire, and whose revenge was always at a -white heat! I took it out, but my General did not thank me for it. - -The result of these scandalous rumours was, that Lord Stratford deemed -fit to send down the Dardanelles (for the purpose of reporting the -facts of the case) a certain Mr. Skene. I have no intention of entering -into the conduct of this official, who had been an officer in the -English army, and who proposed to make himself comfortable in the -Consulate of Aleppo! He has paid the debt of Nature, and I will not -injure his memory. Suffice it to say, that he was known on the spot to -be taking notes, that every malignant won his ear, and that he did not -cease to gratify the Ambassador's prejudices by reporting the worst. - -General Beatson was peppery, like most old Indians, and instead of -keeping diplomatically on terms with Mr. Skene, he chose to have a -violent personal quarrel with him. Consequently Mr. Skene returned -to Constantinople, and his place was presently taken by Brigadier T. -G. Neil, who shortly appeared in the same capacity--note-taker. His -offensive presence and bullying manner immediately brought on another -quarrel, especially when he loudly declared that "he represented -Royalty," and that he was a universal unfavourite with Beatson's -Horse. He afterwards served in the Indian Mutiny, and there he ended -well. He made an enormous reputation at home by recklessly daring to -arrest a railway clerk, and he was shot before his incapacity could be -discovered. - -I was also struck with consternation at the condition of Beatson's -Horse, better known on the spot as the "Bashi-Bazouks." The correct -term in Turkish is _Bāsh Buzuk_, equivalent to _Tête-pourrie_; it -succeeded the ancient _Dillis_, or madmen, who in the good old times -represented the Osmanli Irregular Cavalry. It was the habit of those -men in early spring, when the fighting season opened, to engage -themselves for a term to plunder and loot all they could (and at this -process they were first-rate hands), and to return home when winter -set in. General Beatson wisely determined that his four thousand -sabres should be wholly unconnected with the twenty-five thousand -men of the Turkish Contingent. He wished to raise them in Syria, -Asia Minor, Bulgaria, and other places, regiment them according to -their nationalities, and to officer them, like Sepoy regiments, with -Englishmen and Subalterns of their own races. - -The idea was excellent, but it was badly carried out, mainly by -default of the War Office, which had overmuch to do and could not -be at the trouble of sending out officers. So the men, whose camps -looked soldier-like enough, were left lying on the hillsides, and -Satan found a very fair amount of work for them. This was, however, -chiefly confined to duelling, and other such pastimes. The Arnauts or -Albanians, who generally fight when they are drunk, had a peculiar -style of monomachy. The principals, attended by their seconds and by -all their friends, stood close opposite, each holding a cocked pistol -in their right hand and a glass of _raki_, or spirits of wine, in their -left. The first who drained his draught had the right to fire, and -generally blazed away with fatal effect. It would have been useless -to discourage this practice, but I insisted on fair play. Although -endless outrages were reported at Constantinople, very few really -took place: only one woman was insulted, and robbery with violence -was exceptionally rare. In fact, the _Tête-pourries_ contrasted most -favourably with the unruly French detachments at Gallipoli, and with -the turbulent _infirmiers_ of the Nagara Hospital. With the English -invalids at the Abydos establishment no disputes ever arose. - -The exaggerated mutinies were mere sky-larking. After a few days' -grumbling, a knot of "Rotten Heads" would mount their nags with immense -noise and clatter, and, loudly proclaiming that they could stand the -dullness of life no longer, would ride away, hoping only to be soon -caught. But the worst was, I could see no business doing; there were no -morning roll-calls or evening parades, no drilling or disciplining of -men, and the General contented himself with riding twice a day through -the camp, and listening to many grievances. However, as soon as I was -made "Chief of the Staff," I persuaded him that this was not the thing, -and induced him to establish all three, and to add thereto a riding -school for sundry officers of infantry who were not very firm in the -saddle, and also to open a School of Arms for the benefit of _all_ -(the last thing a British officer learns is, to use his "silly sword"); -and the consequence was, that we soon had a fine body of well-trained -sabres, ready to do anything or to go anywhere. - -The _Maître d'armes_ was an Italian from Constantinople, and he began -characteristically by proposing to call out the little Consul Battus, -while another purposed making love to Madame! Alas! it was too late. -On September 12th, a gunboat, dressed in all her colours, steamed at -full speed down the Dardanelles, and caused an immense excitement in -camp. The news flew like wildfire that Sebastopol had been captured. -It proved, to say the least, premature, and the details filled every -Englishman with disgust. I need not describe the grand storming of the -Malakoff, which gave Pélissier his _bâton de Maréchal_, or the gallant -carrying of the Little Redan by Bourbaki. But our failure at the Great -Redan was simply an abomination. Poor old Jemmy Simpson was persuaded -by Pélissier to play the second part, and to attack from the very -same trench as that which sent forth the unsuccessful assault of June -18th. About half the force required was sent, and these were mostly -regiments which had before suffered severely, and the bravest of them -could only stand up to be shot down, instead of sneaking, as not a few -did, in the trenches. Lastly, instead of leading them himself, the -Commander-in-Chief sent General Wyndham, whose gasconade about putting -on his gloves under fire seems to be the only item of this disgraceful -affair which appears known to and remembered by the British public. The -result of our attack was simply a _sauve qui peut_, and (_proh pudor!_) -the Piedmontese General Cialdini was obliged to order up one of his -brigades to save the British. - -Continentals attributed this systematic paucity of our troops to the -most urgent emergencies, either to inconsiderate national parsimony, -or to overweening contempt for the enemy. It was nothing of the kind; -it resulted from the normal appointment of thoroughly incapable -Commanders. The private soldier was perfectly right, who volunteered -before Lord Raglan that he and his comrades were perfectly ready to -take Sebastopol by storm, under the Command of their own officers, if -not interfered with by the _Generals_. - -I now thought that I saw my way to a grand success, and my failure was -proportionally absurd. This was nothing less than the relief of Kars, -which was doomed to fall by famine, to the Russians. Pélissier and the -Frenchmen were long-sighted enough to know the culminating importance -of this stronghold as a _pierre d'échappe_ in the way of Russia, and -possibly, or rather probably, they had orders from home. However, they -managed to keep Omar Pasha and his Turkish troops in the Crimea, where -this large force were compelled to lie idle, instead of being sent -to attack the Trans-Caucasian provinces, where they might have done -good service. So when Omar Pasha, on the 29th of September, gloriously -defeated the Russians before the walls of Kars, his victory was -useless, and he was compelled to retire. Had the affair been managed -in other ways, England might have struck a vital blow at Russia, by -driving her once more behind the Caucasus, and by putting off for many -a year the threatened advance upon India, which is now one of our -_cauchemars_. - -Meanwhile the reports concerning the siege of Kars, whose gallant -garrison was allowed to succumb to famine, cholera, and the Russians, -were becoming a scandal. It was reported that General Williams, who, -with the Hungarian General Metz, was taking a prominent part in the -defence, addressed upwards of eighty officials to Lord Stratford -without receiving a single reply; in fact, as Mr. Skene's book shows, -the great man only turned them into ridicule. However, the "Eltchi" -feared ultimate consequences, and wrote to Lieut.-General (afterwards -Sir) Robert J. Hussey-Vivian, to consult him concerning despatching -on secret errand the Turkish Contingent, consisting, as it may be -remembered, of twenty-five thousand Nizam or Regulars, commanded by a -sufficiency of British officers. - -The answer was that _no_ carriage could be procured. Vivian, who was -a natural son of Lord Vivian's, had seen some active service in his -youth, but he was best known as an Adjutant-General of the Madras army, -a man redolent of pipe-clay and red tape, and servilely subject to the -Ambassador. So I felt that the game was in _my_ hands, and proceeded -in glorious elation of spirits to submit my project for the relief of -Kars to his Excellency. We had already 2640 sabres in perfect readiness -to march, and I could have procured _any quantities_ of carriage. The -scene which resulted passes description. He shouted at me in a rage, -"You are the most impudent man in the Bombay Army, Sir!" But I knew -him, and understood him like Alison, and did not mind. It ended with, -"Of course you'll dine with us to-day?" - - * * * * * - -It was not until some months afterwards that I learnt what my unhappy -plan proposed to do. Kars was doomed to fall as a make-weight for the -capture of half of Sebastopol, and a Captain of Bashi-Bazouks (myself) -had madly attempted to arrest the course of _haute politique_. - -The tale of the fall of Kars is pathetic enough. While the British -officers dined with General Mouravieff, the gallant Turkish soldiers -were ordered to _pile_ arms and march off under escort, and, dashing -their muskets to the ground, they cried, "Perish our Wazirs who have -even shamed us with this shame." And the disastrous and dishonourable -result brought about by our political inaptitude has never ceased to -weaken our prestige in Central Asia. Civilized Turks simply declared -that an officer of artillery, sent out as Commissioner by England, had -unwarrantably interfered with the legitimate command of Kars, where -Turkey had a powerful army and an important position; and that by -keeping the soldiers behind walls, when he knew the City could not be -saved, he had lost both Army and City. The criticism was fair and sound. - -General (afterwards Sir) W. F. Williams of Kars was at first in huge -indignation, and declared that he would persuade the Government to -impeach Lord Stratford. But on the way he was met by an offer of -the Command at Woolwich, which apparently made him hold his peace. -He was somewhat an exceptional man. For years an instructor of the -Turkish Artillery, then English member of the mixed Commission for -the topography of the Turko-Persian frontier, and finally Queen's -Commissioner with the Turkish army at Kars, he had never learnt a -word of Turkish. Of course he was hustled into the House of Commons. -Whenever a man makes himself known in England that is apparently his -ultimate fate. But he fell flatly, as even Kars did, before the sharp -tongue of Bernal Osborne. During some debate on the Chinese question, -he had assured the House that he was an expert, because he had had much -experience of Turkish matters. "Oh, the fall of Kars!" cried the wit; -and the ex-Commissioner was extinguished for ever. - -Lord Stratford, I suppose by way of consoling _me_, made an indirect -offer, through Lord Napier and Ettrick, about commissioning me to pay -an official visit to Schamyl, whom some call "The Patriot," and others -"The Bandit," of the Caucasus. The idea was excellent, but somewhat -surprised me. Schamyl had lately been accused, amongst other atrocious -actions, of flogging Russian ladies whom he had taken prisoners, and -I could not understand how Lord Stratford, who had an unmitigated -horror of all Russian cruelties, and who always expressed it in the -rawest terms, could ally himself with such a ruffian. Possibly the -political advantages in his opinion counterbalanced his demerits, -for, had Schamyl been fairly supported, the Russian conquest of the -great mountains might have been retarded for years. I consulted on the -subject Alison and Percy Smythe, and both were of the same opinion, -namely, that although there were difficulties and dangers, involving -a long ride through Russian territory, the task might have been -accomplished. They relied greatly upon the ardent patriotism of the -Circassian women who then filled the harems of Constantinople. I should -not have seen a single face, except perhaps that of a slave-girl, but -I should have been warmly assisted with all the interest the fair -patriots could make. So I began seriously to think of the matter. But -the first visit to Lord Stratford put it entirely out of my head. I -asked his Excellency what my reply was to be, should Schamyl ask me -upon what mission I came. "Oh, say that you are sent to report to -_me_." "But, my lord, Schamyl will expect money, arms, and possibly -troops, and what am I to reply if he asks me about it? Otherwise he -will infallibly set me down for a spy, and my chance of returning to -Constantinople will be uncommonly small." - -However, the "Eltchi" could not see it in that light, and the project -fell through. - -Here also, although somewhat out of place, I may relate my last chance -of carrying out a project upon which I was very warm, namely, to assist -Circassia and to attack Georgia. - -On returning to London I received a hint that Lord Palmerston had still -some project of the kind, and was willing that I should be employed -on it. So I wrote a number of letters, which I was allowed to publish -in the _Times_, upon the subject of levying a large force of Kurdish -Irregular Cavalry, and these being supported by the excellent work of -Sir Henry Rawlinson, found favour with the public. But presently came -the Franco-Russian peace of 1856. France, who had won all the credit -of the mismanaged Campaign because she washed her dirty linen at home, -and who had left all the discredit to England, whose practice was the -opposite, lost all interest in the war. Louis Napoleon was thoroughly -satisfied with what he had done, and Russia, after a most gallant -and heroic defence of her territory, wanted time to heal her wounds. -Accordingly the Treaty of Paris was entered into, the result being -that, fifteen years afterwards, when France was in her sorest straits, -Russia, with the consent of England (!), tore up that treaty and threw -it in our face. - -After this fruitless visit to Constantinople, I returned post haste to -the Dardanelles, where I found the Bashi-Bazouks, like the unfortunate -Turks at Kars, in a state of siege. On the morning of the 26th of -September we were astounded to see the Turkish Regulars drawn out in -array against us, Infantry supported by the guns, which were pointed at -our camp, and patrols of Cavalry occupying the rear. Three War-steamers -commanded the main entrance of the Town, and the enemy's outposts were -established within three hundred yards of the 1st Regiment of Beatson's -Horse, evidently for the purpose of ensuring a sanguinary affair. -The inhabitants had closed their shops, and the British Consulate -was deserted. The steamer _Redpole_ was sent off in hottest haste to -Constantinople with a report that a trifling squabble between the -French _infirmiers_ and the Bashi-Bazouks had ended in deadly conflict, -and that the most terrible consequences were likely to ensue. - -General Beatson at once issued an order to his men, who were furious at -this fresh insult, and requested permission to punish the aggressors by -taking the enemy's guns; and by means of his officers _he restrained -the natural anger of his much-suffering men_. - -The result was a triumph of discipline, and not a shot was fired that -day. About four p.m. the Military Pasha, ashamed of his attitude, -marched the Regulars back to their barracks, but he did not fail to -complain to Constantinople of General Beatson's order, keeping his men -in camp "till the Turkish authorities should have recovered from their -panic and _housed_ their guns." But the _Redpole_ had also carried from -the English and French Consuls an exaggerated account of the state of -affairs, and earnestly requesting a reinforcement. The reply was an -order from Lieut.-General Vivian removing General Beatson from command, -and directing him to make it over to Major-General Richard Smith, who -appeared at the Dardanelles on September 28th, supported by a fresh -body of Nizam; and, lest any insult might be omitted, three hundred -French soldiers had been landed at the Nagára Hospital to attack us in -the rear. - -[Sidenote: _End of Crimea._] - -General Beatson was at the time suffering from an accident, and was -utterly unfitted for business. So Major Berkeley and I collected as -many of the officers as we could at head-quarters, and proposed to go -in a body to General Smith and lay the case before him. We assured him -that all the reports were false, and proposed to show him the condition -and the discipline of the Bashi-Bazouks; we also suggested that -Brigadier-General Brett might be directed to assume temporary Command -of the Force, until fresh orders and instructions should be received -from General Vivian. Of course General Smith could not comply with our -request, so we both declared that we would send in our resignations. -After an insult of the kind, we felt that we could no longer serve with -self-respect. It was this proceeding, I suppose, which afterwards gave -rise to a report that I had done my best to cause a Mutiny. - -On the last day of September General Beatson, with his Chief of Staff -and military Secretary, left the Dardanelles for ever. Arrived at -Buyukdere, a report was sent to General Vivian, and he presently came -on board, where a lengthened communication passed between the Generals. -Rumours of a Russian attack had induced a most conciliatory tone. -General Vivian appeared satisfied with the explanation, and listened -favourably to General Beatson's urgent request for permission to return -at once to the Dardanelles. He asked expressly if the "Buzouker" could -keep his men in order. The answer was a _decided affirmative_, which -appeared to have considerable weight with him, and he expressed great -regret for having, under a false impression, written an unfavourable -letter to Lord Panmure, the tone of whose correspondence had been most -offensive. He stated, however, that nothing could be done without the -order of her Majesty's Ambassador; and, promising to call upon him for -instructions, he left the steamer about midday, declaring that he would -return in the course of the afternoon. After a few hours appeared, -instead of General Vivian, a stiff official letter, directed to General -Beatson. The interview with Lord Stratford had completely altered the -tone of his official conduct. - -On the 12th of October General Beatson reported officially to Lords -Panmure and Stratford the efficient state of his force, concerning -which General Smith had written most favourably. An equally favourable -view was expressed in the public press by that Prince of War -Correspondents, William H. Russell, whose name in those days was quoted -by every Englishman. General Beatson begged to be sent on service, -offering, upon his own responsibility, to take up transports, and to -embark his men for Eupatoria, Yinikali, Batum, Balaclava, or--that -unhappy Kars. To this no reply was returned. - -Nothing now remained to be done, and on the 18th of October we left -Therapia _en route_ to England. - -[Sidenote: _Beatson's Trial._] - -The sequel to this affair was sufficiently remarkable. General Beatson -came home and attempted to take civil proceedings against his enemies. -Chief amongst them was Mr. Skene--one of the Consuls already referred -to--who, from the inception of General Beatson's scheme, had shown -himself most bitterly opposed to it, and who had used all his influence -to make General Beatson's position untenable. - -Afterwards he chose to say that, "when General Smith arrived at the -Dardanelles, General Beatson assembled the Commanding Officers of the -regiments, and actually endeavoured to persuade them to make a mutiny -in the regiments against General Smith, and against the authority of -Vivian. Two of these Commanding Officers then left the room, saying -they were soldiers, and they could not listen to language which they -thought most improper and mutinous. These two were Lieut.-Colonels -O'Reilly and Shirley. General Beatson subsequently had a sort of -round robin prepared by the Chief Interpreter, and sent round to the -different officers, in the hope that they would sign it, refusing to -serve under any other General than himself. Both of these mutinous -attempts are said to have originated from Captain Burton, who it also -appears kept the order from Lord Panmure, placing the Irregular Horse -under Lieut.-General Vivian, for three whole weeks unknown to any one -but General Beatson, and the order was not promulgated until after -General Smith had arrived." - -General Beatson went into the witness-box and categorically denied the -charges made against him.[3] I followed and gave evidence to the same -effect, as did also General Watt; but there was a great difficulty in -proving the publication of the libel, the War Office, then represented -by Mr. Sidney Herbert, refusing to produce certain letters. Mr. Skene -was very ably defended by Mr. Bovill (afterwards Lord Chief Justice), -Mr. Lush (afterwards a judge), and Mr. Garth, and he brought forward -a considerable number of witnesses, including General Vivian himself. -Their evidence, however, tended rather to establish the case against -him (Skene), so that he was compelled to plead that his libel was a -privileged communication. Mr. Baron Bramwell confined himself in his -summing-up strictly to the legal aspects of the case, but he allowed -his view of Mr. Skene's conduct to be very distinctly understood. - -The jury (a special one), after half an hour's deliberation, returned -a verdict for the defendant on the technical ground, but added a rider -to their verdict, expressive of their disgust at Mr. Skene for having -refrained from retracting his charges against General Beatson when he -found how utterly without foundation they were. The verdict of the jury -was confirmed on appeal, but it was generally felt that General Beatson -had fully vindicated his character, and had very successfully exposed -the conspiracy against the Irregulars, which had ended so disastrously -for him and for his officers. The characters of the plaintiff and the -defendant respectively may be estimated from one small circumstance. -Beatson began his action just as the Indian Mutiny broke out, and being -reasonably refused an extension of leave for the purpose of prosecuting -it, went out to India. When the Mutiny was suppressed he obtained six -months' leave, without pay, for the purpose of prosecuting his case. -Mr. Skene had obtained the appointment of Consul at Aleppo, and could -have reached England in a fortnight, but he chose to remain at his -Consulate, though there would have been no difficulty in obtaining -leave of absence on full pay. Under such circumstances, it was perhaps -hardly worth while for his counsel to dwell upon the cruelty of pushing -on this case in his absence, a complaint for which the presiding -judge somewhat emphatically declared _that there was not the smallest -foundation_. - -[1] Here, however, "Pam" was in the right. He foresaw that if the -Canal was once made, England would cling to Egypt, and never again -have a Crimean War. He also appreciated the vast injury which would -accrue to our Eastern monopoly. But he never would or could do anything -_sérieusement_, and he would humbug his countrymen with such phrases -as a "ditch in the sand." He knew as well as any man that the project -was feasible, and yet he persuaded Admiral Spratt and poor Robert -Stephenson to join in his little dodge. I lost his favour for ever by -advocating the Canal, and by proposing to assist the emigration of -Fenian emigrants, at the expense of that fatal humbug, the "Coffin -Squadron" on the West Coast of Africa. - -[2] How often one has to witness this in learned societies!--I. B. - -[3] Richard was not altogether lucky, as far as promotion went, about -his Chiefs. Sir Charles Napier had seen what stuff he was made of, and -had utilized and praised him to the utmost, but Napier's patronage was -not in those days a recommendation, because he was always fighting some -big-wig at home, and high officials who are ruffled up are quite as -dangerous as fighting Sikhs or Afghans. He then served under General -Beatson, who, like Napier, was always plunging into hot water; but -Richard was devoted to his Chiefs, who well deserved his loyalty, and -in this instance Richard gave valuable evidence on his old Commander's -behalf. He was very amusing in the witness-box; he was so cool and -ready, and always worried his cross-examiner into a white heat of rage, -playing with him as a cat does a mouse, when the lawyer was doing his -best to bewilder him, and make him contradict himself, especially when -Richard got him into a network of military terms, the cross-examiner -being rather at sea among its technicalities. I can see him now, -just as he used to be in the fencing school; he would play with his -adversary, just as if he was carving a chicken, and tire him out long -before the real play began, so that an ill-tempered man would almost -spit himself with rage, if the button had not been on. - -It was good to see him under cross-examination. Bovill, subsequently -Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, was leading counsel on the other -side, and was so ill-advised as to attempt to browbeat Richard. His -failure was naturally disastrous. A very simple answer of Richard's -quite upset Bovill. "In what regiment did you serve under the -plaintiff?" "Eh?" "In what regiment, I say----" "In no regiment." After -playing with counsel for a minute or two, Richard let him know that he -had served in a "corps." Bovill was still further discomfited in the -course of the trial, by a manœuvre of Edwin James, who was managing -Beatson's case. James coolly got up while Bovill was speaking for the -defence, declared he could not stay and listen to such stuff, and left -the court for a while. It is only fair to add that Bovill won the -case.--I. B. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -BETWEEN THE CRIMEA AND THE LAKE REGIONS OF CENTRAL AFRICA. - - "Aye free, aff-hand your story tell, - When wi' a bosom crony; - But still keep something to yoursel' - Ye scarcely tell to ony." - ----BURNS. - - -As soon as Richard was well home from the Crimea, and had attended -Beatson's trial, he began to turn his attention to the "Unveiling of -Isis," in other words, "Discovering the sources of the Nile, the Lake -Regions of Central Africa," on which his heart had long been set, and -he passed most of his time in London working it up. - -One summer day, in August, 1856, thirty-seven years ago, we had not -gone out of town, and I was walking in the Botanical Gardens with my -sister, Blanche Pigott, and a friend, and Richard was there, walking -with the gorgeous creature of Boulogne--then married. We immediately -stopped and shook hands, and asked each other a thousand questions -of the four intervening years, and all the old Boulogne memories and -feelings which had lain dormant, but not extinct, returned to me. He -asked me before I left if I came very often to the Botanical Gardens, -and I said, "Oh yes, we always come and read and study here from eleven -to one, because it is so much nicer than staying in the hot rooms at -this season."' "That is quite right," he said. "What are you studying?" -I had that day with me an old friend, Disraeli's "Tancred," the book of -my heart and tastes, which he explained to me. We were there about an -hour, and when I had to leave, as I moved off, I heard him say to his -companion, "Do you know that your cousin has grown charming? I would -not have believed that the little schoolgirl of Boulogne would have -become such a sweet girl;" and I heard her say, "Ugh!" with a tone of -disgust. - -Next day, when we got there, he was also there--alone--composing poetry -to show to Monckton-Milnes on some pet subject, and he came forward, -saying laughingly, "You won't chalk up 'Mother will be angry' now, -will you, as you did when you were a little girl?" Again we walked and -talked. This went on for a fortnight--I trod on air. - -[Sidenote: _We become engaged._] - -At the end of a fortnight he asked me "if I could dream of doing -anything so sickly as to give up Civilization, and if he could obtain -the Consulate at Damascus, to go and live there." He said, "Don't -give me an answer _now_, because it will mean a very serious step for -you--no less than giving up your people, and all that you are used to, -and living the sort of life that Lady Hester Stanhope led. I see the -capabilities in you, but you must think it over." I was so long silent -from emotion--it was just as if the moon had tumbled down and said, "I -thought you cried for me, so I came"--that he thought I was thinking -worldly thoughts, and said, "Forgive me! I ought not to have asked so -much." At last I found my voice, and said, "I don't _want_ to 'think -it over'--I have been 'thinking it over' for six years, ever since I -first saw you at Boulogne on the Ramparts. I have prayed for you every -day, morning and night. I have followed all your career minutely. I -have read every word you ever wrote, and I would rather have a crust -and a tent with _you_ than be Queen of all the world. And so I say now, -Yes! YES! YES!" I will pass over the next few minutes. Then he -said, "Your people will not give you to me." I answered, "I know that, -but I belong to myself--I give myself away." "That is all right," he -answered; "be firm, and so shall I." - -After that he came and visited a little at our house as an -acquaintance, having been introduced at Boulogne, and he fascinated, -amused, and pleasantly shocked my mother, but completely magnetized my -father and all my brothers and sisters. My father used to say, "I don't -know what it is about that man, but I can't get him out of my head, I -dream about _him every night_." - -Cardinal Wiseman and Richard had become friends in early days. -Languages had brought them together, and the Cardinal now furnished him -with a special passport, recommending him to all the Catholic Missions -in wild places all over the World, with special letters describing him -as a Catholic Officer. - -[Sidenote: _The Story of Hagar Burton._] - -I now think I must introduce to you two cuttings from the _Journal of -the Gypsy Lore Society_. The first was an obituary after his death, -January, 1891; the other was a small contribution from me, throwing a -light on his Gypsy interests, and this will explain better than any -other way why I was so impressed on hearing his name when we were -introduced, and why I was so startled at his pursuit and mingling with -the Jats, the aboriginal Gypsies in India, mentioned in my Boulogne -recital. - - - OBITUARY IN THE "GYPSY LORE SOCIETY JOURNAL," JANUARY, 1891. - - - "Not only this Society, but the whole civilized world, has recently - had to mourn the death of our distinguished fellow-member, Sir Richard - Francis Burton. Of the many events of his eventful life it is needless - to speak here. As soldier, explorer, linguist, and man of letters (the - writer of about eighty more or less bulky volumes), he made himself - separately famous. 'His most famed achievement--the pilgrimage to - Mecca and Medina in the character of an Afghan Muslim--was,' says one - writer, 'an achievement of the first order. To consider it without a - wondering admiration is impossible: so vast is the amount involved - of hardihood and self-confidence, of linguistic skill and histrionic - genius, of resourcefulness and vigilance and resolve.' - - "But the aspect in which he may most suitably be regarded in these - pages, is that of a student of the Gypsies, to whom he was affiliated - by nature, if not actually by right of descent. - - "Whether there may not be also a tinge of Arab, or, perhaps, of Gypsy - blood in Burton's race, is a point which is perhaps open to question. - For the latter suspicion an excuse may be found in the incurable - restlessness which has beset him since his infancy, a restlessness - which has effectually prevented him from ever settling long in any one - place, and in the singular idiosyncrasy which his friends have often - remarked--the peculiarity of his eyes. 'When it (the eye) looks at - you,' said one who knows him well, 'it looks through you, and then, - glazing over, seems to see something behind you. Richard Burton is - the only man (not a Gypsy) with that peculiarity, and he shares with - them the same horror of a corpse, death-bed scenes, and graveyards, - though caring little for his own life.' When to this remarkable fact - he added the scarcely less interesting detail that 'Burton' is one - of the half-dozen distinctively Romany names, it is evident that - the suspicion of Sir Richard Burton having a drop of Gypsy blood in - his descent--crossed and commingled though it be with an English, - Scottish, French, and Irish strain--is not altogether unreasonable. - - "Unreasonable or not, it can hardly be said that this constitutes a - firm basis on which to rear a theory of Gypsy lineage. Yet Burton - himself acknowledged a certain Gypsy connection, though, it will - be noticed, he does not say the affinity was that of blood, in the - following extract from a letter to Mr. J. Pincherle, accepting that - gentleman's dedication of his Romany version of the 'Song of Songs' - (_I Ghiléngheri Ghilia Salomuneskero_). 'Dear Mr. Pincherle,' writes - Sir Richard, 'I accept the honour of your dedication with the same - frankness with which you accompanied its offer. And indeed, I am not - wholly dissociated from this theme; there is an important family of - Gypsies in foggy England, who, in very remote times, adopted our - family name. I am yet on very friendly terms with several of these - strange people; nay, a certain Hagar Burton, an old fortune-teller - (_divinatrice_), took part in a period of my life which in no small - degree contributed to determine its course.' - - "Whether such slight indications as these really point to a Gypsy - line of descent or not, there can be no question as to the interest - which Sir Richard Burton took in Gypsy lore. Apart from his various - well-known published accounts of the Jats and other tribes of the - Indus Valley, he had a work specially entitled 'The Gypsies,' which - his biography of 1887 announces as then 'in course of preparation.' - The materials of this work are now, we understand, in the possession - of Lady Burton, and we trust that they will some day see the light. - Sir Richard was himself one of the original members of the Gypsy Lore - Society, in which he always took a deep interest; and a letter which - he wrote to the secretary, only five days before his death, concludes - with the good wish--'All luck to the Society; I will not fail to do - what little I can.' - - "His death, which was very sudden, took place on October 20th last, - while he still held the office of British Consul at Trieste. The - high esteem in which he was held by the citizens of Trieste, not - only on account of his official position and the great name which - he had made for himself in the world of science, but also for those - personal qualities which had won their regard, is amply testified by - the sincere expressions of regret which accompanied the last honours - there paid to his memory. At the time of his death Sir Richard Burton - was sixty-nine years of age, having been born at Barham House, - Hertfordshire, on March 19th, 1821." - - - "AN EPISODE FROM THE LIFE OF SIR RICHARD BURTON, BY HIS WIFE. - - - "In our obituary notice of the late Sir Richard Burton, mention was - made of a certain Gypsy named Hagar Burton, who, Sir Richard stated, - had been instrumental, to some extent, in shaping his destiny. This - reference has been fully explained by Lady Burton, who, in favouring - us with some account of her illustrious husband, writes as follows:-- - - "'In the January number of the _Gypsy Lore Journal_ a passage is - quoted from "a short sketch of the career" of my husband (a little - black pamphlet) which half suspects a remote drop of Gypsy blood in - him. There is no proof that this was ever the case, but there is no - question that he showed many of their peculiarities in appearance, - disposition, and speech--speaking Romany like themselves. Nor did we - ever enter a Gypsy camp without their claiming him: "What are you - doing with a black coat on?" they would say, "why don't you join us - and be our King?" - - "'He had the peculiar eye, which looked you through, glazed over and - saw something behind, and is the only man, not a Gypsy, with that - peculiarity. He had the restlessness which could stay nowhere long, - nor own any spot on earth--the same horror of a corpse, death-bed - scenes, and graveyards, or anything which was in the slightest degree - ghoulish, though caring but little for his own life--the same aptitude - for reading the hand at a glance. With many, he would drop it at once - and turn away, nor would anything induce him to speak a word about it. - - "'You quote a letter of his to Mr. James Pincherle, a dear old friend - of ours, where he relates the influence that a Gypsy, named Hagar - Burton, had upon his life. I will now tell you the story, which will - reappear in his biography, if I live to finish it. - - [Sidenote: _Hagar Burton the Gipsy._] - - "'When I was a girl in the schoolroom in the country, I was - enthusiastic about Gypsies, Bedouin Arabs, everything Eastern and - mysterious, and especially wild, lawless life. Disraeli's "Tancred" - was my second Bible. I was strictly forbidden to associate with the - Gypsies in our lanes, which was my delight. When they were only - travelling tinkers or basket-menders I was very obedient, but wild - horses would not have kept me out of the camps of the Oriental, yet - English-named, tribes of Burton, Cooper, Stanley, Osbaldiston, and - one other whose name I forget. My particular friend was Hagar Burton, - a tall, slender, handsome, distinguished, refined woman, of much - weight in the tribe. Many an hour have I passed with her (she called - me Daisy), and many a little service I did them when any of them were - sick, or had got into a scrape with the squires, anent poultry or eggs - and other things. At last a time came when we were to go to school - in France, and my departure was regretted by them. The last day but - one I ever saw Hagar, she cast my horoscope, and wrote it in Romany. - The rest of the tribe presented me with a straw flycatcher of many - colours, which I still have. The horoscope was translated to me by - her, and I give you the most important part concerning my husband-- - - "'"You will cross the sea, and be in the same town with your Destiny, - and know it not. Every obstacle will rise up against you, and such a - combination of circumstances, that it will require all your courage - and energy and intelligence to meet them. Your life will be like one - always swimming against big waves, but God will always be with you, - so you will always win. You will fix your eye on your polar star, and - you will go for that without looking right or left. _You will bear - the name of our Tribe, and be right proud of it. You will be as we - are, but far greater than we._ Your life is all wandering, change, - and adventure. One soul in two bodies, in life or death; never long - apart. Show this to the man you take for your husband.--HAGAR - BURTON." - - "'In June, 1856, I went to Ascot. I met Hagar and shook hands with - her. "Are you Daisy Burton yet?" was her first question. I shook my - head--"Would to God I were!" Her face lit up. "Patience, it is just - coming." She waved her hand, being rudely thrust from the carriage. I - never saw her since, but I was engaged to Richard two months later. - - [Sidenote: _Our Strange Parting._] - - "'After we were engaged, I gave him the horoscope in Romany. It was - before he set out in October, 1856, with Speke, for the discovery of - Tanganyika. We had been engaged for some weeks. One day in October - we had passed several hours together, and he appointed to come next - day, at four o'clock in the afternoon. I went to bed quite happy, but - I could not sleep at all. At two a.m. the door opened, and he came - into my room. A current of warm air came towards my bed. He said, - "Good-bye, my poor child. My time is up, and I have gone, but do not - grieve. I shall be back in less than three years, and _I am your - destiny_. Good-bye." - - "'He held up a letter--looked long at me with those Gypsy eyes, and - went slowly out, shutting the door. I sprang out of bed to the door, - into the passage--there was nothing--and thence into the room of one - of my brothers. I threw myself on the ground, and cried my heart out. - He got up, asked me what ailed me, and tried to soothe and comfort - me. "Richard is gone to Africa," I said, "and I shall not see him for - three years." "Nonsense," he replied; "you have only got a nightmare. - You told me he was coming at four in the afternoon." "So I did; but - I have seen him, and he told me this; and if you wait till the post - comes in, you will see I have told you truly." I sat all the night in - my brother's armchair, and at eight o'clock, when the post came in, - there was a letter to my sister, Blanche Pigott, enclosing one for me. - "He had found it too painful to part, and had thought we should suffer - less that way, begged her to break it gently to me, and to give me the - letter" (which assured me we should be reunited in 1859--as we were, - on the 22nd May of that year). He had left London at six o'clock the - previous evening, eight hours before I saw him in the night. - - "'This is the story of Hagar Burton. We have mixed a great deal since - with Gypsies, in all parts of the world, and have sought her in vain. - The other Gypsies have chiefly warned us of having to fight through - our lives, and to be perpetually on guard against treacheries and - calumnies "_chiefly through jealous men and nasty women_." Well, we - have mostly left them to God, and they nearly always come to grief. I - may add that all that Hagar Burton foretold came true, and I pray God - it may be so to the end, _i.e._ "never long apart" in Life _or_ Death. - - "'ISABEL BURTON.'" - -Richard traced for me a little sketch of what he expected to find in -the Lake Regions (see below). - -[Illustration: SKETCH MAP OF AFRICA.] - -That last afternoon I had placed round his neck a medal of the Blessed -Virgin upon a steel chain, which we Catholics commonly call "the -miraculous medal." He promised me he would wear it throughout his -journey, and show it me on his return. I had offered it to him on a -gold chain, but he had said, "Take away the gold chain; they will cut -my throat for it out there." He did show it me round his neck when he -came back; he wore it all his life, and it is buried with him. - -What made my position more painful was, that he knew that I should -not be allowed to receive any letters from him, and therefore it was -not safe to write often, and then only to say what others might read. -He left to me, at my request, the task of breaking the fact of my -engagement to my people, when, where, and how I pleased, as it would be -impossible to marry me until he came back. I would here insert a little -poem he wrote on leaving-- - - "I wore thine image, Fame, - Within a heart well fit to be thy shrine! - Others a thousand boons may gain, - One wish was mine-- - - "The hope to gain one smile, - To dwell one moment cradled on thy breast, - Then close my eyes, bid life farewell, - And take my rest! - - "And now I see a glorious hand - Beckon me out of dark despair! - Hear a glorious voice command, - 'Up, bravely dare. - - "'And if to leave a deeper trace - 'On earth, to thee, Time, Fate, deny; - 'Drown vain regret, and have the grace - 'Silent to die.' - - "She pointed to a grisly land, - Where all breathes death--earth, sea, and air! - Her glorious accents sound once more: - 'Go, meet me there!' - - "Mine ear will hear no other sound, - No other thought my heart will know. - Is this a sin? 'Oh, pardon, Lord! - 'Thou mad'st me so.' - -"R. F. B. - -"_September_, 1856." - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -HIS EXPLORATION OF THE LAKE REGIONS, TAKING CAPTAIN SPEKE AS SECOND IN -COMMAND. - - -MY FOREWORD. - - -It was the Royal Geographical Society which induced Lord Clarendon, -Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to supply Richard with funds -for an exploration of the then utterly unknown Lake Regions of Central -Africa. In October, 1856, he set out for Bombay, applied for Captain -Speke, and landed at Zanzibar on December 19th, 1856. Lieut.-Colonel -Hamerton, her Majesty's Consul at Zanzibar, was very good to them; -they made a tentative expedition from January 5th to March 6th, 1857, -about the Mombas regions. They got a bad coast fever, and returned -to Zanzibar. They then set out again into the far interior, into -which only one European, Monsieur Maizan, a French naval officer, had -attempted to penetrate; he was cruelly murdered at the outset of his -journey. - -It was the first successful attempt to penetrate that country, and laid -the foundation for others. It was the base on which all subsequent -journeys were founded; Livingstone, Cameron, Speke and Grant, Sir S. -Baker, and Stanley carried it out. Where Richard found the rudest -barbarians, Church missions have been established, and commerce, and -now a railway is proposed to connect the coast with the Lake Regions. -This expedition brought neither honour nor profit to Richard; but the -world is not likely to forget it; the future will be more generous and -juster than the past or present. During these African explorations, -Richard was attacked by fever twenty-one times, by temporary paralysis -and partial blindness. On his return he brought out "The Lake Regions -of Equatorial Africa," 2 vols., 1860, and the Royal Geographical -Society devoted the whole of their thirty-third volume to its recital -(Clowes and Son). Richard's book was translated into French by Madame -H. Loreau, and republished in New York by Fakir, 1861. It will -shortly be added to the Uniform Library in preparation. In May, 1859, -the moment he returned to England, he immediately proposed another -Expedition, which, however, the Royal Geographical Society gave to -his disloyal companion, who completely and wilfully spoiled the first -Expedition as far as lay in his power. - - - ZANZIBAR; AND TWO MONTHS IN EAST AFRICA. - - (From his own notes.) - - _Preliminary Canter._ - - - "Of the gladdest moments, methinks, in human life, is the departing - upon a distant journey into _unknown_ lands. Shaking off with one - effort the fetters of habit, the leaden weight of routine, the cloak - of carking care, and the slavery of Civilization, Man feels once more - happy. The blood flows with the fast circulation of youth, excitement - gives a new vigour to the muscles, and a sense of sudden freedom adds - an inch to the stature. Afresh dawns the morn of life, again the - bright world is beautiful to the eye, and the glorious face of Nature - gladdens the soul. A journey, in fact, appeals to Imagination, to - Memory, to Hope--the sister Graces of our moral being. - - "The shrill screaming of the boatswain's whistle, and sundry shouts - of, 'Stand by yer booms!' 'All ready, for'ard?' 'Now make sail!' - sounded in mine ears with a sweet significance. - - - ZANZIBAR. - - - "Our captain decided, from the absence of Friday flags on the - Consular Staffs, that some great man had gone to his long home. The - _Elphinstone_, however, would not have the trouble of casting loose - her guns for nothing with H.H. the Sayyid of Zanzibar's ensign--a - plain red--at the fore, and the Union at the main, she cast anchor - in Front Bay, about half a mile from shore, and fired a salute of - twenty-one. A gay bunting thereupon flew up to every truck, and the - brass cannon of the _Victoria_ roared a response of twenty-two. We had - arrived on the fortieth, or the last day of mourning. - - "When 'chivalry' was explained to the late ruler, Said of Zanzibar - (1856), as enlightened a prince as Arabia ever produced, and - surrounded by intrigue, he was shrewd enough to remark 'that only the - _siflah_ (low fellows) interfere between husband and wife.' - - "Peace to his soul! he was a model of Arab princes, a firm friend to - the English nation, and a great admirer of the 'Malikat el Aazameh,' - our most gracious Majesty Queen Victoria. - - "The unworthy merchants of Zanzibar, American and European, did their - best to secure for us the fate of M. Maizan, both on this and on a - subsequent occasion, by spreading all manner of reports amongst the - Banyans, Arabs, and Sawahilis. - - "Considering the unfitness of the season, we were strongly advised to - defer exploration of the interior until we had learned something of - the coast, and for that purpose we set out at once, for a two or three - months' cruise. - - "If we, travellers in transit, had reason to be proud of our - countryman's influence at Zanzibar, the European and American - merchants should be truly thankful for it. Appointed in 1840 H.B.M.'s - Consul and H.E.I. Co.'s agent at the court of H.H. Sayyid Said, and - directed to make this island his Head-quarters, Colonel Hamerton - found that for nine years not a British cruiser had visited it, and - that report declared us to be no longer Masters of the Indian seas. - Slavery was rampant. Wretches were thrown overboard, when sick, to - prevent paying duty; and the sea-beach before the town, as well as - the plantations, presented horrible spectacles of dogs devouring - human flesh. The Consul's representations were accepted by Sayyid - Said; sundry floggings and confiscation of property instilled into - slave-owners the semblance of humanity. The insolence of the negro - was as summarily dealt with. The Arabs had persuaded the Sawahilis - and blacks that a white man is a being below contempt, and the 'poor - African' carries out the theory. Only seventeen years have elapsed - since an American Trader-Consul, in consular cocked hat and sword, was - horsed upon a slave's back, and solemnly 'bakered' in his own consular - house, under his own consular flag. A Sawahili would at any time enter - the merchant's bureau, dispose his sandalled feet upon the table, call - for a cognac, and if refused, draw his dagger. Negro fishermen would - anchor their craft close to a window, and, clinging to the mast, enjoy - the novel spectacle of Kafirs feeding. - - "_Now_ an Englishman here is even more civilly treated than at one of - our Presidencies. This change is the work of Colonel Hamerton, who, - in the strenuous and unremitting discharge of his duties, has lost - youth, strength, and health. The iron constitution of this valuable - public servant--I have quoted merely a specimen of his worth--has been - undermined by the terrible fever, and at fifty his head bears the - 'blossoms of the grave,' as though it had seen its seventieth summer. - - "The reader asks, What induced us to take a guide apparently so - little fit for rough-and-ready work? In the first place, the presence - of Said bin Salim el Lamki was a pledge of respectability. And - lastly, a bright exception to the rule of his unconscientious race, - he _appears_ truthful, honest, and honourable. I have never yet had - reason to suspect him of a low action. 'Verily,' was the reply, 'whoso - benefiteth the beneficent becometh his Lord; but the vile well-treated - turneth and rendeth thee.' I almost hope that he may not deceive us in - the end. - - "The traveller in Eastern Africa must ever be prepared for three - distinct departures--the little start, the great start, and the start. - - "On the 10th of January we ran through the paradise of verdant banks - and plateaus, forming the approach to Pemba,[1] and halted a day - to admire the Emerald Isle of these Eastern seas. In A.D. 1698 the - bold buccaneer, Captain Kidd, buried there his blood-stained hoards - of precious stones and metal, the plunder of India and the further - Orient. The people of Pemba have found pots full of gold lumps, - probably moulded from buttons that the pirate might wear his wealth. - - "On the heights of Chhaga, an image or statue of a long-haired - woman, seated in a chair and holding a child, is reported to remain. - Iconolatry being here unknown, the savages must have derived them from - some more civilized race--Catholic missionaries. - - "The Mazrui, a noble Arab tribe, placed themselves under British - protection in their rebellion against the late Sayyid. They - were permitted to fly our flag--a favour for which, when danger - disappeared, they proved themselves ungrateful; and a Mr. Reece was - placed at Mombas to watch its interests. The travellers lamented that - we abandoned Mombas: had England retained it, the whole interior would - now be open to us. But such is the history of Britain the Great: hard - won by blood and gold, her conquests are parted with for a song. - - "The very Hindús required a lesson in civility. With the _Wali_, or - Governor, Khalfan bin Ali, an Omani Arab of noble family, we were on - the best of terms. But the manifest animus of the public made us feel - light-hearted, when, our inquiries concluded, we bade adieu to Mombas. - - "The people of Eastern Intertropical Africa are divided by their - occupations into three orders. First is the fierce pastoral nomad, - the Galla and Masai, the Somal and the Kafir, who lives upon the - produce of his cattle, the chase, and foray. Secondly rank the - semi-pastoral, as the Wakamba, who, though without fixed abodes, make - their women cultivate the ground. And the last degree of civilization, - agriculture, is peculiar to the Waníka, the Wasumbára, and the various - tribes living between the coast and the interior lakes. - - "The Waníka, or Desert race, is composed of a Negritic base, now - intimately mixed with Semitic blood. - - "When that enlightened Arab statesman, H.E. Ali bin Nasir, H.H. the - Imaum of Muscat's Envoy Extraordinary to H.B. Majesty, was Governor of - Mombas, he took advantage of a scarcity to feed the starving Waníka - from the public granaries. He was careful, however, to secure as - pledges of repayment, the wives and children of his debtors, and he - lost no time in selling off the whole number. Such a feat was probably - little suspected by our countrymen, when, to honour enlightened - beneficence, they welcomed the Statesman with all the triumphs of - Exeter Hall, presented him with costly specimens of Government, - and sent him from Aden to Zanzibar in the H.E.I. Co.'s brig of war - _Tigris_. This Oriental votary of free trade came to a merited end. - Recognized by the enraged savages, he saw his sons expire in torments; - he was terribly mutilated during life, and was put to death with all - the refinements of cruelty. - - "A report, prevalent in Mombas--even a Sawahili sometimes speaks the - truth--and the march of an armed party from the town which denoted - belief in their own words, induced my companions and myself to hasten - up once more to the Rabai Hills, expecting to find the mission-house - invested by savages. The danger had been exaggerated, but the inmates - were strongly advised to take temporary shelter in the town. Left - Kisulodiny on the 22nd of January, 1857. Some nights afterwards, - fires were observed upon the neighbouring hills, and Waníka scouts - returned with a report that the Masai were in rapid advance. The wise - few fled at once to the _kaza_, or hidden and barricaded stronghold, - which these people prepare for extreme danger. The foolish many said, - 'To-morrow morning we will drive our flocks and herds to safety.' But - ere that morning dawned upon the world, a dense mass of wild spearmen, - sweeping with shout and yell, and clashing arms, by the mission-house, - which they either saw not or they feared to enter, dashed upon the - scattered villages in the vale below, and left the ground strewed - with the corpses of hapless fugitives. When driving off their cattle, - the Masai, rallying, fell upon them, drove them away in ignominious - flight, and slew twenty-five of their number. - - "Jack[2] and I landed at Wasin, and found the shore crowded with - a mob of unarmed gazers, who did not even return our salaams: we - resolved in future to keep such greetings for those who deserved - them. Abd-el-Karím led us to his house, seated us in chairs upon a - terrace, and mixed a cooling drink in a vase not usually devoted to - such purpose. There is no game on the island, or on the main. In the - evening we quitted the squalid settlement without a single regret. - - "Our _nakhoda_ again showed symptoms of trickery; he had been allowed - to ship cargo from Mombas to Wasin, and, Irish-like, he thereupon - founded a right to ship cargo from Wasin to Tanga. Unable to disabuse - his mind by mild proceedings, I threatened to cut the cable. - - "At last, having threaded the _báb_, or narrow rock-bound passage - which separates the bluff headland of Tanga Island from Ras Rashíd on - the main, we glided into the bay, and anchored in three fathoms of - water, opposite, and about half a mile from, the town. - - "Tanga Bay extends six miles deep by five in breadth. The entrance is - partially barred by a coralline bank, the ancient site of the Arab - settlement. - - "We landed on the morning of the 27th of January, and were met upon - the sea-shore, in absence of the Arab Governor, by the _Diwans_ or - Sawahili Headmen, the _Jemadar_ and his Belochies, the Collector of - customs, Mizan Sahib, a daft old Indian, and other dignitaries. They - conducted us to the hut formerly tenanted by M. Erhardt; brought - coffee, fruit, and milk; and, in fine, treated us with peculiar - civility. Here Sheddad built his City of brass, and encrusted the - hill-top with a silver dome that shines with various and surpassing - colours. - - "The mountain recedes as the traveller advances, and the higher he - ascends the higher rises the summit. At last blood bursts from the - nostrils, the fingers bend backwards, and the most adventurous is - fain to stop. Amongst this Herodotian tissue of fact and fable, ran - one fine thread of truth: all testified to the intense cold. - - "They promised readily, however, to escort me to one of the ancient - Cities of the coast. - - "Setting out at eight a.m. with a small party of spearmen, I walked - four or five miles south of Tanga, on the Tangata road, over a country - strewed with the bodies of huge millepedes, and dry as Arabian sand. - - "I assumed an Arab dress--a turban of portentous circumference, and a - long henna-dyed shirt--and, accompanied by Said bin Salim, I went to - inspect the scene. - - "The wild people, Washenzy, Wasembára, Wadígo, and Waségeju, armed as - usual, stalking about, whilst their women, each with baby on back, - carried heavy loads of saleable stuff, or sat opposite their property, - or chaffered and gesticulated upon knotty questions of bargain. - - "The heat of the ground made my barefooted companions run forward - to the shade, from time to time, like the dogs in Tibet. Sundry - excursions delayed us six days at Tanga. - - "Five hours of lazy sailing ran us into Tangata, an open road between - Tanga and Pangany. Here we delayed a day to inspect some ruins, where - we had been promised Persian inscriptions and other wonders. - - "We spent the remainder of the day and night at Tangata, fanned by the - north-east breeze, and cradled by the rocking send of the Indian Ocean. - - "At five a.m. on the 3rd of February we hoisted sail, and slipped down - with the tepid morning breeze to Pangany, sighting Maziny Island, its - outpost, after three hours' run. Soon after arrival I sent Said bin - Salim, in all his bravery, on shore with the Sayyid of Zanzibar's - circular letter to the _Wali_ or Governor, to the _Jemadar_, to - the Collector of customs, and the different _Diwans_. All this - preparation for a mere trifle! We were received with high honour. The - _Diwans_ danced an ancient military dance before us with the pomp and - circumstance of drawn swords, whilst bare-headed slave-girls, with - hair _à la Brutus_, sang and flapped their skirts over the ground, - with an affectedly modest and downcast demeanour. After half an hour's - endurance, we were led into the upper-storied house of the Wali - Meriko, a freedman of the late Sayyid Said, and spent the evening in a - committee of ways and means. - - "African villages are full of bleared misery by day, and animated - filth by night, and of hunting adventures and hair-breadth escapes, - lacking the interest of catastrophe. - - "We arose early in the morning after arrival at Pangany, and repaired - to the terrace for the better enjoyment of the view. - - "If it had half-a-dozen white kiosks, minarets, and latticed - summer-houses, it would almost rival that gem of creation, the - Bosphorus. - - "The settlement is surrounded by a thorny jungle, which at times - harbours a host of leopards. One of these beasts lately scaled the - high terrace of our house, and seized upon a slave-girl. Her master, - the burly black _Wali_, who was sleeping by her side, gallantly caught - up his sword, ran into the house, and bolted the door, heedless of the - miserable cry, 'B'ana, help me!' The wretch was carried to the jungle - and devoured. The river is equally full of alligators, and whilst we - were at Pangany a boy disappeared. - - "Of course the two tribes, Wasumbara and Wazegura, are deadly foes. - Moreover, about a year ago, a violent intestine feud broke out - amongst the Wazegura, who, at the time of our visit, were burning and - murdering, kidnapping, and slave-selling in all directions. - - "The timid townsmen had also circulated a report that we were bound - for Chhaga and Kilimanjaro: the Masai were 'out,' the rains were - setting in, and they saw with us no armed escort. They resolved - therefore not to accompany us. - - "With abundance of money--say not less than £5000 per annum--an - exploring party can trace its own line, pay the exactions of all - Chiefs; it can study whatever is requisite; handle sextants in - presence of negroes, who would cut every throat for one inch of - brass; and, by travelling in comfort, can secure a very fair chance - of return. Even from Mombas or from Pangany, with an escort of one - hundred matchlock-men, we might have marched through the Masai - plunderers to Chhaga and Kilimanjaro. But pay, porterage, and - provisions for such a party would have amounted to at least £100 per - week; a month and a half would have absorbed our means. Thus it was, - gentle reader, that we were compelled to rest contented with a visit - on foot to Fuga, for we had only one thousand pounds. - - "Presently the plot thickened. Muigni Khatib, son of Sultan Kimwere, a - black of most unprepossessing physiognomy, with a 'villanous trick of - the eye, and a foolish hanging of the nether lip,' a prognathous jaw, - garnished with cat-like moustaches and cobweb beard, a sour frown, and - abundant surliness by way of dignity, dressed like an Arab, and raised - by El Islam above his fellows, sent a message directing us to place in - his hands what we intended for his father. This Chief was travelling - to Zanzibar in fear and trembling. He had tried to establish at his - village, Kirore, a Romulian asylum for runaway slaves, and, having - partially succeeded, he dreaded the consequences. The Beloch _Jemadar_ - strongly urged us privily to cause his detention at the islands, a - precaution somewhat too Oriental for our tastes. We refused, however, - the _muigni's_ demand in his own tone. Following their Prince, the - dancing _Diwans_ claimed a fee for permission to reside; as they - worded it, '_el adah_'--the habit; based upon an ancient present from - Colonel Hamerton; and were in manifest process of establishing a local - custom which, in Africa, becomes law to remotest posterity. We flatly - objected, showed our letters, and in the angriest of moods threatened - reference to Zanzibar. Briefly, all began to beg bakhshish; but I - cannot remember any one obtaining it. - - "Weary of these importunities, we resolved to visit Chogway, a Beloch - outpost, and thence, aided by the _Jemadar_ who had preceded us - from Pangany, to push for the capital village of Usumbara. We made - preparations secretly, dismissed the 'Riami,' rejected the _Diwans_ - who wished to accompany us as spies, left Said bin Salim and one - Portuguese to watch our property in the house of Meriko, the Governor, - who had accompanied his _muigni_ to Zanzibar, and, under pretext of a - short shooting excursion, hired a long canoe with four men, loaded it - with the luggage required for a fortnight, and started with the tide - at eleven a.m. on the 6th of January, 1857. - - "First we grounded; then we were taken aback; then a puff of wind - drove us forward with railway speed; then we grounded again. - - "And now, while writing amid the soughing blasts, the rain, and the - darkened air of a south-western monsoon, I remember with yearning - the bright and beautiful spectacle of those African rivers, whose - loveliness, like that of the dead, seems enhanced by proximity to - decay. We had changed the agreeable and graceful sandstone scenery, - on the sea-board, for a view novel and most characteristic. The - hippopotamus now raised his head from the waters, snorted, gazed - upon us, and sank into his native depths. Alligators, terrified by - the splash of oars, waddled down with their horrid claws, dinting - the slimy bank, and lay like yellow logs, measuring us with small, - malignant, green eyes, deep set under warty brows. Monkeys rustled the - tali trees. Below, jungle--men and woman-- - - 'So withered, so wild in their attire, - That look not like th' inhabitants o' th' earth, - And yet are on't.' - - And all around reigned the eternal African silence, deep and - saddening, broken only by the curlew's scream, or by the breeze - rustling the tree-tops, whispering among the matted foliage, and - swooning upon the tepid bosom of the wave. - - "We sat under a tree till midnight, unsatiated with the charm of the - hour. The moon rained molten silver over the dark foliage of the wild - palms, the stars were as golden lamps suspended in the limpid air, - and Venus glittered diamond-like upon the front of the firmament. The - fireflies now sparkled simultaneously over the earth; then, as if by - concerted impulse, their glow vanished in the glooms of the ground. At - our feet lay the black creek; in the jungle beasts roared fitfully; - and the night wind mingled melancholy sounds with the swelling - murmuring of the stream. - - "The tide flowing about midnight, we resumed our way. The river then - became a sable streak between lofty rows of trees. The hippopotamus - snorted close to our stern, and the crew begged me to fire, for the - purpose of frightening 'Sultan Momba'--a pernicious rogue. At times we - heard the splashing of the beasts as they scrambled over the shoals; - at others, they struggled with loud grunts up the miry banks. Then - again all was quiet. After a protracted interval of silence, the - near voice of a man startled us in the deep drear stillness of the - night, as though it had been some ghostly sound. At two a.m., reaching - a clear tract on the river side--the Ghaut or landing-place of - Chogway--we made fast the canoe, looked to our weapons, and, covering - our faces against the heavy, clammy dew, lay down to snatch an hour's - sleep. The total distance rowed was about 13.5 miles. - - "Fifty stout fellows, with an ambitious leader and a little money, - might soon conquer the whole country, and establish there an absolute - monarchy. - - "These Beloch mercenaries merit some notice. They were preferred, as - being somewhat disciplinable, by the late Sayyid Said, to his futile - blacks and his unruly and self-willed Oman Arabs. He entertained from - one thousand to fifteen hundred men, and scattered them over the - country in charge of the forts. The others hate them--divisions even - amongst his own children was the ruler's policy--and nickname them - 'Kurara Kurara.' The _Jemadar_ and the Governor are rarely on speaking - terms. Calling themselves Belochies, they are mostly from the regions - about Kech and Bampur. They are mixed up with a rabble rout of Afghans - and Arabs, Indians and Sudies, and they speak half a dozen different - languages. Many of these gentry have left their country for their - country's good. A body of convicts, however, fights well. The Mekrani - are first-rate behind walls; and if paid, drilled, and officered, they - would make as 'varmint' light-bobs as Arnauts. They have a knightly - fondness for arms. A 'young barrel and an old blade' are their - delight. All use the matchlock, and many are skilful with sword and - shield. - - "Having communicated our project to the _Jemadar_ of Chogway, he - promised, for a consideration, all aid; told us that we should start - the next day; and, curious to relate, kept his word. - - "A start was effected at five p.m., every slave complaining of his - load, snatching up the lightest, and hurrying on regardless of what - was left behind. This nuisance endured till summarily stopped by an - outward application easily divined. The evening belling of deer and - the clock-clock of partridge struck our ears. In the open places were - the lesses of elephants, and footprints retained by the last year's - mud. These animals descend to the plains during the monsoon, and in - summer retire to the cool hills. The Belochies shoot, the wild people - kill them with poisoned arrows. More than once during our wanderings - we found the grave-like trap-pits, called in India, _ogi_. - - "Tusks weighing 100 lbs. each are common, those of 175 lbs. are not - rare, and I have heard of a pair whose joint weight was 560 lbs. - - "At Makam Sayyid Sulayman--a half-cleared ring in the thorny - jungle--we passed the night in a small babel of Belochies. One recited - his Korán; another prayed; a third told funny stories; whilst a fourth - trolled lays of love and war, long ago made familiar to my ear upon - the rugged Asian hills. This was varied by slapping lank mosquitoes - that flocked to the camp-fires; by rising to get rid of huge black - pismires, whose bite burned like a red-hot needle; and by challenging - two parties of savages, who, armed with bows and arrows, passed - amongst us. - - "Tongway is the first offset of the mountain-terrace composing the - land of Usumbara. It rises abruptly from the plain, lies north-west - of, and nine miles, as the crow flies, distant from, Chogway. The - summit, about two thousand feet above the sea-level, is clothed with - jungle, through which, seeking compass-sights, we cut a way with our - swords. - - "The climate appeared delicious--even in the full blaze of an African - and tropical summer; and whilst the hill was green, the land around - was baked like bread-crust. - - "The escort felt happy at Tongway, twice a day devouring our rice--an - unknown luxury; and they were at infinite pains to defer the evil hour. - - "Petty pilferers to the backbone, they steal, like magpies, by - instinct. On the march they lag behind, and, not being professional - porters, they are restive as camels when receiving their load. One of - these youths, happening to be brother-in-law--after a fashion--to the - _Jemadar_, requires incessant supervision to prevent him burdening - the others with his own share. The guide, Muigni Wazira, is a huge, - broad-shouldered Sawahili, with a coal-black skin; his high, massive, - and regular features look as if carved in ebony, and he frowns like a - demon in the 'Arabian Nights.' - - "A prayerless Sheríf, he thoroughly despises the Makapry or Infidels; - he has a hot temper, and, when provoked, roars like a wild beast. He - began by refusing his load, but yielded, when it was gently placed - upon his heavy shoulder, with a significant gesture in case of - recusance. - - "Rahewat, the Mekrani, calls himself a Beloch, and wears the title - of Shah-Sawar, or the Rider-king. He is the _chelebi_, the dandy and - tiger of our party. A 'good-looking brown man,' about twenty-five - years old, with a certain girlishness and affectation of _tournure_ - and manner, which bode no good, the Rider-king deals in the externals - of respectability; he washes and prays with pompous regularity, combs - his long hair and beard, trains his bushy moustache to touch his eyes, - and binds a huge turban. Having somewhat high ideas of discipline, he - began with stabbing a slave-boy by way of a lesson. - - "The Rider-king, pleading soldier, positively refuses to carry, - anything but his matchlock, and a private stock of dates, which he - keeps ungenerously to himself. He boasts of prowess in vert and - venison: we never saw him hit the mark, but we missed some powder and - ball. - - "The gem of the party is Sudy Mubárak, who has taken to himself the - cognomen of 'Bombay.' His sooty skin, and teeth pointed like those - of the reptilia, denote his Mhiav origin. He is one of those rare - 'Sudies' that delight the passengers in an Indian steamer. Bombay, - sold in early youth, carried to Cutch by some Banyan, and there - emancipated, looks fondly back upon the home of his adoption, and - sighs for the day when a few dollars will enable, him to return. He - has ineffable contempt for all 'jungly niggers.' His head is a triumph - of phrenology. He works on principle, and works like a horse, openly - declaring that not love of us, but attachment to his stomach, make - him industrious. He had enlisted under the _Jemadar_ of Chogway. We - thought, however, so highly of his qualifications, that persuasion - and paying his debts induced him, after a little coquetting, to take - leave of soldiering and follow our fortunes. Sudy Bombay will be our - head gun-carrier, if he survives his present fever, and, I doubt not, - will prove himself a rascal in the end. - - "During the first night all Bombay's efforts were required to prevent - a _sauve qui peut_. - - "On the 10th of February, after a night of desert silence, we arose - betimes, and applied ourselves to the work of porterage. Our luggage - again suffered reduction. It was, however, past six a.m. when, forming - Indian file, we began to descend the thorn-clad goat-track which spans - the north-east spur of Mount Tongway. Overhead floated a filmy canopy - of sea-green verdure, pierced by myriads of sunbeams, whilst the azure - effulgence above, purified as with fire, from mist and vapour set the - picture in a frame of gold and ultramarine. Painful splendours! The - men began to drop off. None but Hamdan had brought a calabash. Shaaban - clamoured for water. Wazira and the four slave-boys retired to some - puddle, a discovery which they wisely kept to themselves, leaving the - rest of the party to throw themselves under a tree and bush upon the - hot ground. - - "As the sun sank westward, Wazira joined us with a mouthful of lies, - and the straggling line advanced. Our purblind guide once more lagged - in the rear, yielding the lead to old Shaaban. This worthy, whose - five wits were absorbed in visions of drink, strode blunderingly - ahead, over the Wazira Hills and far away. Jack, keeping him in - sight, and I in rear of both, missed the road. Shortly after sunset - we three reached a narrow _fiumara_, where stood, delightful sight! - some puddles bright with chickweed, and black with the mire below. - We quenched our thirst, and bathed our swollen feet, and patted, and - felt, and handled the water as though we loved it. But even this - charming occupation had an end. Evidently we had lost our way. Our - shots and shouts remained unanswered. It would have been folly to - thread the thorny jungle by the dubious light of a young moon. We - therefore kindled a fire, looked at our arms, lay down upon a soft - sandy place, and certain that Shaaban would be watchful as a vestal - virgin, were soon lulled to sleep by the music of the night breeze, - and by the frogs chanting their ancient querele upon the miry margins - of the pools. That day's work had been little more than five leagues. - But-- - - 'These high wild hills and rough uneven ways - Draw out the miles.' - - "Our guide secured, as extra porters, five wild men, habited in - primitive attire. Their only garment was a kilt of dried and split - rushes or grass. All had bows and poisoned arrows, except one, who - boasted a miserable musket and literally a powder-horn, the vast - spoils of a cow. The wretches were lean as wintry wolves, and not - less ravenous. We fed them with rice and ghee. Of course they asked - for more, till their stomachs, before like shrunken bladders, stood - out in the shape of little round bumps from the hoop-work of ribs. - We had neglected to take their arms. After feeding, they arose, and - with small beady eyes, twinkling with glee, bade us farewell. Though - starving they would not work. A few hours afterwards, however, they - found a hippopotamus in the open, killed it with their arrows, and - soon left nothing but a heap of bones and a broad stain of blood upon - the ground. - - * * * * * - - "Arrived at Kohoday, the elders, as we landed, wrung our hands with - rollicking greetings, and those immoderate explosive laughings which - render the African family to all appearance so 'jolly' a race. - - "We were shown, on the mountain-pass of Usumbara, the watch-fire which - is never extinguished; and the Mzegura chief, when supplying us with a - bullock, poked his thumb back towards the hills and said, with a roar - of laughter, that already we had become the King's guests. Our Beloch - guard applauded this kindred soul, patted him upon the shoulder, and - declared that, with a score of men of war like themselves, he might - soon become lord of all the mountains. - - "Our parting was pathetic. He swore he loved us, and promised, on our - return, the boat to conduct us down the river; but when we appeared - with empty hands, he told the truth, namely, that it is a succession - of falls and rapids. - - "At five p.m., passing two bridges, we entered Msiky Mguru, a Wazegura - village distant twelve miles from Kohoday. It is a cluster of hay-cock - huts, touching one another, built upon an island formed by divers - rapid and roaring branches of the river. The headman was sick, but - we found a hospitable reception. We spent our nights with ants and - other little murderers of sleep which shall be nameless. Our hosts - expressed great alarm about the Masai. It was justified by the sequel. - Scarcely had we left the country when a plundering party of wild - spearmen attacked two neighbouring villages, slaughtering the hapless - cultivators, and, with pillage and pollage, drove off the cows in - triumph. - - "After an hour's march we skirted a village, where the people - peremptorily ordered us to halt. We attributed this annoyance to - Wazira, who was forthwith visited with a general wigging. But the - impending rain sharpened our tempers; we laughed in the faces of our - angry expostulators, and, bidding them stop us if they could, pursued - our road. - - "Presently ascending a hill, and turning abruptly to the north-east, - we found ourselves opposite, and about ten miles distant from, a tall - azure curtain, the mountains of Fuga. Water stood in black pools, and - around it waved luxuriant sugar-canes. In a few minutes every mouth - in the party was tearing and chewing at a long pole. This cane is of - the edible kind. The officinal varieties are too luscious, cloying, - and bilious to be sucked with impunity by civilized men. After walking - that day sixteen miles, at about four p.m. a violent storm of thunder, - lightning, and raw south-west wind, which caused the thermometer to - fall many degrees, and the slaves to shudder and whimper, drove us - back into the _bandany_, or palaver-house of a large village. The - place swarmed with flies and mosquitoes. We lighted fires to keep off - fevers. - - "Sunday, the 15th of February, dawned with one of those steady little - cataclysms, which, to be seen advantageously, must be seen near the - Line. At eleven a.m., weary of the steaming _bandany_, our men loaded, - and in a lucid interval set out towards the Fuga Hills,[3] to which we - walked for economy sake. As we approached them, the rain shrank to a - spitting, gradually ceased, and was replaced by that reeking, fetid, - sepulchral heat which travellers in the tropics know and fear. The - slippery way had wearied our slaves, though aided by three porters - hired that morning; and the sun, struggling through vapour, was still - hot enough to overpower the whole party. - - "Issuing from the dripping canopy, we followed a steep goat-track, - fording a crystal burn, and having reached the midway, sat down to - enjoy the rarefied air, and to use the compass and spyglass. The - view before us was extensive, if not beautiful. Under our feet the - mountains fell in rugged folds, clothed with plantain fields, wild - mulberries, custard-apples, and stately trees, whose lustrous green - glittered against the ochreous ground. The sarsaparilla vine hung - in clusters from the supporting limbs of the tamarind, the toddy - palm raised its fantastic arms over the dwarf coco, and bitter - oranges mingled pleasant scent with herbs not unlike mint and sage. - Below, half veiled by rank streams, lay the yellow Nika or Wazegura - wilderness, traversed by a serpentine of trees denoting the course of - the Mkomafi affluent. Far beyond we could see the well-wooded line of - the Lufu river, and from it to the walls of the southern and western - horizon stretched a uniform purple plain. - - "The three fresh porters positively refused to rise unless a certain - number of cloths were sent forward to propitiate the magnates of - Fuga. This was easily traced to Wazira, who received a hint that - such trifling might be dangerous. He had been lecturing us all that - morning upon the serious nature of our undertaking. Sultan Kimwere was - a potent monarch, not a Momba. His Ministers and councillors would, - unless well paid, avert from us their countenances. We must enter with - a discharge of musketry to awe the people, and by all means do as we - are bid. The Belochies smiled contempt, and, pulling up the porters, - loaded them, deaf to remonstrance. - - "Resuming our march after a short halt, we climbed rather than walked, - with hearts beating from such unusual exercise, up the deep zigzag of - a torrent. Villages then began to appear perched like eyries upon the - hilltops, and the people gathered to watch our approach. At four p.m. - we found ourselves upon the summit of a ridge. The Belochies begged - us to taste the water of a spring hard by. It was icy cold, with a - perceptible chalybeate flavour, sparkled in the cup, and had dyed its - head with rust. - - "The giant flanks of Mukumbara bound the view. We stood about four - thousand feet above the sea-level, distant thirty-seven miles from - the coast, and seventy-four or seventy-five along the winding river. - There is a short cut from Kohoday across the mountains; but the route - was then waterless, and the heat would have disabled our Belochies. - - "After another three-mile walk along the hill flanks, we turned a - corner and suddenly sighted, upon the opposite summit of a grassy - cone, an unfenced heap of hay-cock huts--Fuga. This being one of the - Cities where ingress is now forbidden to strangers, we were led by - Wazira through timid crowds that shrank back as we approached, round - and below the cone, to four tattered huts, which superstition assigns - as the 'travellers' bungalow.' Even the son and heir of great Kimwere - must abide here till the lucky hour admits him to the presence and - the Imperial City. The cold rain and sharp rarefied air rendering any - shelter acceptable, we cleared the huts of sheep and goats, housed our - valuables, and sent Sudy Bombay to the Sultan, requesting the honour - of an interview. - - "Before dark appeared three bareheaded _mdue_, or 'Ministers,' who - in long palaver declared that council must squat upon two knotty - points--_Primo_, Why and wherefore we had entered the country _viâ_ - the hostile Wazegura? _Secundo_, What time might be appointed by his - Majesty's _mganga_, or medicine-man, for the ceremony? Sharp-witted - Hamdan at once declared us to be European wizards, and _waganga_ of - peculiar power over the moon and stars, the wind and rain. Away ran - the Ministers to report the wonder. - - "The _mganga_, who is called by the Arabs _tabib_, or doctor, and by - us priest, physician, divine, magician, and medicine-man, combines, as - these translations show, priestly with medical functions. - - "At six p.m. the Ministers ran back and summoned us to the 'Palace.' - They led the way through rain and mist to a clump of the usual huts, - half hidden by trees, and overspreading a little eminence opposite to - and below Fuga. - - "Sultan Kimwere half rose from his cot as we entered, and motioned - us to sit upon dwarf stools before him. He was an old, old man, - emaciated by sickness. His head was shaved, his face beardless, and - wrinkled like a grandam's; his eyes were red, his jaws disfurnished, - and his hands and feet were stained with leprous spots. Our errand - was inquired and we were welcomed to Fuga. As none could read the - Sayyid of Zanzibar's letter, I was obliged to act secretary. The - centagenarian had heard of our scrutinizing stars, stones, and trees. - He directed us at once to compound a draught which would restore him - to health, strength, and youth. I replied that our drugs had been left - at Pangany. He signified that we might wander about the hills and seek - the plants required. After half an hour's conversation, Hamdan being - interpreter, we were dismissed with a renewal of welcome. - - "On our return to the hovels, the present was forwarded to the Sultan - with the usual ceremony. We found awaiting us a fine bullock, a - basketful of _sima_--young Indian corn pounded and boiled to a thick - hard paste--and balls of unripe bananas, peeled and mashed up with - sour milk. Our Belochies instantly addressed themselves to the making - of beef, which they ate with such a will that unpleasant symptoms - presently declared themselves in camp. We had covered that day ten - miles--equal, perhaps, to thirty in a temperate climate and a decent - road. The angry blast, the groaning trees, and the lashing rain, heard - from within a warm hut, affected us pleasurably, and I would not have - exchanged it for the music of Verdi. We slept the sweet sleep of - travellers. - - "The African Traveller, in this section of the nineteenth century, is - an animal overworked. Formerly, the reading public was satisfied with - dry details of mere discovery; was delighted with a few latitudes and - longitudes. Of late, in this, as in other pursuits, the standard has - been raised. Whilst marching so many miles _per diem_, and watching - a certain number of hours _per noctem_, the traveller, who is in - fact his own general, adjutant, quarter-master, and executive, is - expected to survey and observe--to record meteorology, hygrometry, and - hypsometry--to shoot and stuff birds and beasts, to collect geological - specimens, to gather political and commercial information, to advance - the infant study ethnology, to keep accounts, to sketch, to indite - a copious legible journal, to collect grammar and vocabularies, and - frequently to forward long reports which shall prevent the Royal - Geographical Society napping through evening meetings. It is right, - I own, to 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 the impossible. The - unconscionable physicist now deems it his right to complain, because - the explorer has not used his theodolite in the temple of Mecca, and - introduced his sympiesometer within the walls of Harar. An ardent - gentlemen once requested me to collect beetles, and another sent me - excellent recipes for preserving ticks. - - "These African explorations are small campaigns, in which the - traveller, unaided by discipline, is beset by all the troubles, - hardships, and perils of savage war. He must devote himself to - feeding, drilling, and directing his men to the use of arms and - the conduct of a Caravan, rather than the study of infusoria and - barometers. The sight of an instrument convinces barbarians that the - stranger is bringing down the sun, stopping rain, causing death, and - bewitching the land for ages. Amidst utter savagery such operations - are sometimes possible; amongst the semi-civilized they end badly. - The climate also robs man of energy as well as health. He cannot, if - he would, collect ticks and beetles. The simplest geodesical labours, - as these pages will prove, are unadvisable. Jack has twice suffered - from taking an altitude. Why is not a party of physicists sent out to - swallow the dose prescribed by them to their army of martyrs? - - "The rainy monsoon had set in at Fuga. Heavy clouds rolled up from - the south-west, and during our two days and nights upon the hills - the weather was a succession of drip, drizzle, and drench. In vain - we looked for a star; even the sun could not disperse the thick raw - vapours that rose from the steamy earth. We did not dare to linger - upon the mountains. Our Belochies were not clad to resist the - temperature--here 12° lower than on the coast; the rain would make the - lowlands a hotbed of sickness, and we daily expected the inevitable - 'seasoning-fever.' In the dry monsoon this route might be made - practicable to Chhaga and Kilimanjaro. With an escort of a hundred - musketeers, and at an expense of £600, the invalid who desires to - avail himself of this 'sanitarium,' as it is now called by the Indian - papers, may, if perfectly sound in wind, limb, and digestion, reach - the snowy region, if it exist, after ten mountain-marches, which will - not occupy more than a month. - - "The head-quarter village of Usumbara is Fuga, a heap of some five - hundred huts, containing, I was told, three thousand souls. It is - defenceless, and composed of the circular abodes common from Harar to - Timbuctoo. - - "On Monday, the 16th of February, we took leave of, and were duly - dismissed by, Sultan Kimwere. The old man, however, was mortified - that our rambles had not produced a plant of sovereign virtue against - the last evil of life. He had long expected a white _mganga_, and now - two had visited him, to depart without even a trial! I felt sad to - see the wistful lingering look with which he accompanied 'Kuahery!' - (farewell!) But his case was far beyond my skill. - - "None of Sultan Kimwere's men dared to face the terrible Wazegura. - - "We descended the hills in a Scotch mist and drizzle, veiling every - object from view. It deepened into a large-dropped shower upon the - fœtid lowlands. That night we slept at Pasunga; the next at Msiky - Mguru; and the third, after marching seventeen miles--our greatest - distance--at Kohoday. - - "Our Belochies declared the rate of marching excessive; and Hamdan, - who personified 'Master Shoetie, the great traveller,' averred that he - had twice visited the Lakes, but had never seen such hardships in his - dreams. - - "With some toil, however, we coaxed him into courage, and joined on - the way a small party bound for Pangany. At one p.m. we halted to - bathe and drink, as it would be some time before we should again sight - the winding stream. During the storm of thunder and lightning which - ensued, I observed that our savage companions, like the Thracians of - old Herodotus, and the Bheels and coolies of modern India, shot their - iron-tipped arrows in the air. - - "About four p.m. we found ourselves opposite Kizanga, a large Wazegura - village on the right bank of the river. From Kizanga we followed the - river by a vile footpath. The air was dank and oppressive; the clouds - seemed to settle upon the earth, and the decayed vegetation exhaled a - feverish fœtor. As we advanced, the roar of the swollen stream told - of rapids, whilst an occasional glimpse through its green veil showed - a reefous surface, flecked with white froth. Heavy nimbi purpled the - western skies, and we began to inquire of Wazira whether a village was - at hand. - - "About sunset, after marching fifteen miles, we suddenly saw tall - cocos--in these lands the 'traveller's joy'--waving their feathery - heads against the blue eastern firmament. Presently, crossing a - branch of the river by a long bridge, we entered an island settlement - of Wazegura. This village, being upon the confines of civilization, - and excited by wars and rumours of wars, suggested treachery to - experienced travellers. Jack and I fired our revolvers into trees, and - carefully reloaded them for the public benefit. The sensation was such - that we seized the opportunity of offering money for rice and ghee. No - provision, however, was procurable. Our escort went to bed supperless; - Hamdan cursing this _Safar kháis--Anglicè_, rotten journey. Murad Ali - had remained at Msiky Mguru to purchase a slave without our knowledge. - A novice in such matters, he neglected to tie the man's thumb, and - had the exquisite misery to see, in the evening after the sale, his - dollars bolting at a pace that baffled pursuit. We then placed our - weapons handy, and were soon lulled to sleep, despite smoke, wet beds, - and other plagues, by the blustering wind and the continuous pattering - of rain. - - "At sunrise on Friday, the 20th of February, we were aroused by the - guide; and, after various delays, found ourselves on the road about - seven a.m. This day was the reflection of the last march. At nine a.m. - we stood upon a distant eminence to admire the falls of the Pangany - river. Here the stream, emerging from a dense dark growth of tropical - forest, hurls itself in three huge sheets, fringed with flashing - foam, down a rugged wall of brown rock. Halfway the fall is broken - by a ledge, whence a second leap precipitates the waters into the - mist-veiled basin of stone below. These cascades must be grand during - the monsoon, when the river, forming a single horseshoe, acquires a - volume and a momentum sufficient to clear the step which divides the - shrunken stream. Of all natural objects, the cataract most requires - that first element of sublimity--size. Yet, as it was, this fall, - with the white spray and bright mist, set off by black jungle, and a - framework of slaty rain-cloud, formed a picture sufficiently effective - to surprise us. - - "As we journeyed onwards the heat became intense. The nimbi hugged - the mountain tops. There it was winter; but the sun, whose beams shot - stingingly through translucent air, parched the summer plains. At - ten a.m. our Belochies, clean worn out by famine and fatigue, threw - themselves upon the bank of a broad and deep ravine, in whose sedgy - bed a little water still lingered. Half an hour's rest, a cocoa-nut - each, a pipe, and, above all things, the _spes finis_, restored their - vigour. We resumed our march over a rolling waste of green, enlivened - by occasional glimpses of the river, whose very aspect cooled the - gazer. Villages became frequent as we advanced, far distancing our - Belochies. At three p.m., after marching fourteen miles, we sighted - the snake-fence and the pent-houses of friendly Chogway. - - "The _Jemadar_ and his garrison received us with all the honours - of travel, and admired our speedy return from Fuga. As at Harar, a - visitor can never calculate upon a prompt dismissal. We were too - strong for force, but Sultan Kimwere has detained Arab and other - strangers for a fortnight before his _mganga_ fixed a fit time for - audience. Moreover, these walking journeys are dangerous in one point: - the least accident disables a party, and accidents will happen to the - best-regulated expedition. - - "Our feet were cut by boots and shoes, and we had lost 'leather' by - chafing and sunburns. A few days' rest removed these inconveniences. - Our first visit was paid to Pangany, where Said bin Salim, who had - watched his charge with the fidelity of a shepherd's dog, received us - with joyous demonstrations. After spending a day upon the coast, we - returned, provided with _munitions de bouche_ and other necessaries, - to Chogway, and settled old scores with our escort. Then, as the - vessel in which we were to cruise southward was not expected from - Zanzibar till the 1st of March, and we had a week to spare, it was - resolved to try a fall with Behemoth.[4] - - [Sidenote: _Hippopotamus Shooting._] - - "Captain Owen's officers, when ascending streams, saw their boats torn - by Behemoth's hard tusks; and in the Pangany, one 'Sultan Momba,' a - tyrant thus dubbed by the Belochies in honour of their friend the - Kohoday chief, delighted to upset canoes, and was once guilty of - breaking a man's leg. - - "Behold us now, O brother in St. Hubert, dropping down the stream in a - _monoxyle_, some forty feet long, at early dawn, when wild beasts are - tamest. - - "As we approach the herds, whose crests, flanked with small - pointed ears, dot the mirrory surface, our boatmen indulge in such - vituperations as 'Mana marira!' (O big belly!) and 'Hanamkia!' (O - tasteless one!) In angry curiosity the brutes raise their heads, and - expose their arched necks, shiny with trickling rills. Jack, a man - of speculative turn, experiments upon the nearest optics with two - barrels of grape and B shot. The eyes, however, are oblique; the - charge scatters, and the brute, unhurt, slips down like a seal. This - will make the herd wary. Vexed by the poor result of our trial, we - pole up the rippling and swirling surface, that proves the enemy to - be swimming under water towards the further end of the pool. After a - weary time he must rise and breathe. As the smooth water undulates, - swells, and breaches a way for the large black head, eight ounces of - lead fly in the right direction. There is a splash, a struggle; the - surface foams, and Behemoth, with mouth bleeding like a gutter-spout, - rears, and plunges above the stream. Wounded near the cerebellum, he - cannot swim straight. At last a _coup de grâce_ speeds through the - air; the brute sinks, gore dyes the surface purple, and bright bubbles - seethe up from the bottom. Hippo is dead. We wait patiently for his - reappearance, but he appears not. At length, by peculiar good luck, - Bombay's sharp eye detects an object some hundred yards down stream. - We make for it, and find our "bag" brought up in a shallow by a spit - of sand, and already in process of being ogled by a large fish-hawk. - The hawk suffers the penalty of impudence. We tow our defunct to the - bank, and deliver it to certain savages, whose mouths water with the - prospect of hippopotamus beef. At sundown they will bring to us the - tusks and head picked clean, as a whistle is said to be. - - "The herd will no longer rise; they fear this hulking craft; we must - try some 'artful dodge.' Jack, accompanied by Bombay, who strips to - paddle in token of hot work expected, enters into a small canoe, ties - fast his shooting-tackle in case of an upset, and, whilst I occupy one - end of the house, makes for the other. Whenever a head appears an inch - above water, a heavy bullet 'puds' into or near it; crimson patches - adorn the stream; some die and disappear, others plunge in crippled - state, and others, disabled from diving by holes drilled through - their noses, splash and scurry about with curious snorts, caused - by breath passing through their wounds. At last Jack ventures upon - another experiment. An infant hippo, with an imprudence pardonable at - his years, uprears his crest; off flies the crown of the kid's head. - The bereaved mother rises for a moment, viciously regards Jack, who - is meekly loading, snorts a parent's curse, and dives as the cap is - being adjusted. Presently a bump, a shock, and a heave send the little - canoe's bows high in the air. Bombay, describing a small parabola - in frog-shape, lands beyond the enraged brute's back. Jack steadies - himself in the stern, and as the assailant, with broad dorsum hunched - up and hogged like an angry cat, advances for another bout, he rises, - and sends a bullet through her side. Bombay scrambles in, and, nothing - daunted, paddles towards the quarry, of which nothing is visible but - a long waving line of gore. With a harpoon we might have secured her; - now she will feed the alligators or the savages. - - "The Belochies still take great interest in the sport, as Easterns - will when they see work being done. They force the boatmen to obey us. - Jack lands with the black woodmen, carrying both 'smashers.' He gropes - painfully through mangrove thicket, where parasitical oysters wound - the legs with their sharp edges, and the shaking bog admits a man to - his knees. After a time, reaching a clear spot, he takes up position - behind a bush impending the deepest water, and signals me to drive - up the herd. In pursuit of them I see a hole bursting in the stream, - and a huge black head rises with a snort and a spirt. 'Momba! Momba!' - shout the Belochies, yet the old rogue disdains flight. A cone from - the Colt strikes him full in front of the ear; his brain is pierced; - he rises high, falls with a crash upon the wave, and all that flesh - 'cannot keep in a little life.' Momba has for ever disappeared from - the home of hippopotamus; never shall he break nigger's leg again. - Meanwhile the herd, who, rubbing their backs against the great canoe, - had retired to the other end of the pool, hearing an unusual noise, - rise, as is their wont, to gratify a silly curiosity. Jack has two - splendid standing shots, and the splashing and circling in the stream - below tell the accuracy of the aim. - - "We soon learned the lesson that these cold-blooded animals may be - killed with a pistol-ball if hit in brain or heart; otherwise they - carry away as much lead as elephants. At about ten a.m. we had slain - six, besides wounding I know not how many of the animals. They might - be netted, but the operation would not pay in a pecuniary sense; the - ivory of small teeth, under four pounds each, is worth little. Being - perpetually pop-gunned by the Belochies, they are exceedingly shy, and - after an excess of bullying they shift quarters. We returned but once - to this sport, finding the massacre monotonous, and such cynegetics - about as exciting as partridge-shooting. - - "On Thursday, the 26th of February, we left 'the bazar.' Jack walked - to Pangany, making a route survey, whilst I accompanied the _Jemadar_ - and his tail in our large canoe. - - [Sidenote: _Our First Fever._] - - "For two days after returning to the coast we abstained from exercise. - On the third we walked out several miles, in the hottest of suns, to - explore a cavern, of which the natives, who came upon it when clearing - out a well, had circulated the most exaggerated accounts. Jack already - complained of his last night's labour--an hour with the sextant upon - damp sand in the chilly dew. This walk finished the work. On entering - the house we found the Portuguese lad, who had accompanied us to Fuga, - in a high fever. Jack was prostrated a few hours afterwards, and next - day I followed their example. - - "As a rule, the traveller in these lands should avoid exposure and - fatigue beyond a certain point, to the very best of his ability. You - might as well practise sitting upon a coal-fire as inuring yourself - (which green men have attempted) to the climate. Dr. B----, a Polish - divine, who had taken to travelling at the end of a sedentary life, - would learn to walk bareheaded in the Zanzibar sun; the result was a - sunstroke. Others have paced barefooted upon an exposed terrace, with - little consequence but ulceration and temporary lameness. The most - successful in resisting the climate are they who tempt it least, and - the best training for a long hungry march is repose, with good living. - Man has then stamina to work upon; he may exist, like the camel, upon - his own fat. Those who fine themselves down by exercise and abstinence - before the march, commit the error of beginning where they ought to - end. - - "Our attacks commenced with general languor and heaviness, a lassitude - in the limbs, a weight in the head, nausea, a frigid sensation - creeping up the extremities, and dull pains in the shoulders. Then - came a mild, cold fit, succeeded by a splitting headache, flushed - face, full veins, vomiting, and an inability to stand upright. - Like 'General Tazo' of Madagascar, this fever is a malignant - bilious-remittent. The eyes become hot, heavy, and painful when turned - upwards; the skin is dry and burning, the pulse full and frequent, - and the tongue furred; appetite is wholly wanting (for a whole week - I ate nothing), but a perpetual craving thirst afflicts the patient, - and nothing that he drinks will remain upon his stomach. During the - day extreme weakness causes anxiety and depression; the nights are - worse, for by want of sleep the restlessness is aggravated. Delirium - is common in the nervous and bilious temperament, and if the lancet - be used, certain death ensues; the action of the heart cannot be - restored. The exacerbations are slightly but distinctly marked (in my - own case they recurred regularly between two and three a.m. and p.m.), - and the intervals are closely watched for administering quinine, after - due preparation. This drug, however, has killed many, especially - Frenchmen, who, by overdosing at a wrong time, died of apoplexy. - - "Whilst the Persians were at Zanzibar they besieged Colonel Hamerton's - door, begging him to administer Warburg's drops, which are said to - have a wonderful effect in malignant chronic cases. When the disease - intends to end fatally, the symptoms are aggravated; the mind wanders, - the body loses all power, and after perhaps an apparent improvement, - stupor, insensibility, and death ensue. On the other hand, if yielding - to treatment, the fever, about the seventh day, presents marked signs - of abatement; the tongue is clearer, pain leaves the head and eyes, - the face is no longer flushed, nausea ceases, and a faint appetite - returns. The recovery, however, is always slow and dubious. Relapses - are feared, especially at the full and change of the moon; they - frequently assume the milder intermittent type, and in some Indians - have recurred regularly through the year. In no case, however, does - the apparent severity of the fever justify the dejection and debility - of the convalescence. For six weeks recovery is imperfect; the liver - acts with unusual energy, the stomach is liable to severe indigestion, - the body is lean, and the strength wellnigh prostrated. At such - times change of air is the best of restoratives; removal, even to a - ship in the harbour, or to the neighbouring house, has been found - more beneficial than all the tonics and the preventatives in the - Pharmacopœia. - - "In men of strong nervous diathesis the fever leaves slight - consequences, in the shape of white hair, boils, or bad toothaches. - Others suffer severely from its secondaries, which are either visceral - or cerebral. Some lose memory, others virility, others the use of - a limb; many become deaf or dim-sighted; and not a few, tormented - by hepatitis, dysentery, constipation, and similar disease, never - completely recover health. - - "Captain Owen's survey of the Mombas Mission, and of our numerous - cruisers, proves that no European can undergo exposure and fatigue, - which promote the overflow of bile, without undergoing the - 'seasoning.' It has, however, one advantage--those who pass the ordeal - are acclimatized; even with a year's absence in Europe, they return - to the tropics with little danger. The traveller is always advised - to undergo his seasoning upon the coast before marching into the - interior; but after recovery he must await a second attack, otherwise - he will expend in preparation the strength and bottom required for the - execution of his journey. Of our party the Portuguese boy came in for - his turn at Zanzibar. The other has ever since had light relapses; and - as a proof that the negro enjoys no immunity, Seedy[5] Bombay is at - this moment (June 8th) suffering severely. - - "The Banyans intended great civility; they would sit with us for - hours, asking, like Orientals, the silliest of questions, and thinking - withal that they were 'doing the agreeable:' repose was out of the - question. During the day, flies and gnats added another sting to - the mortifications of fever. At night, rats nibbled at our feet, - mosquitoes sang their song of triumph, and a torturing thirst made - the terrible sleeplessness yet more terrible. Our minds were morbidly - fixed upon one point, the arrival of our vessel; we had no other - occupation but to rise and gaze, and exchange regrets as a sail hove - in sight, drew near, and passed by. We knew that there would be no - failure on the part of our thoughtful friend, who had written to - promise us a _battela_ on the 1st of March, which did not make Pangany - till the evening of the 5th of March. - - "After sundry bitter disappointments, we had actually hired a Banyan's - boat that had newly arrived, when the expected craft ran into the - river. Not a moment was to be lost. Said bin Salim, who had been a - kind nurse, superintended the embarkation of our property. Jack, less - severely treated, was able to walk to the shore; but I--alas for - manliness!--was obliged to be supported like a bedridden old woman. - The worst part of the process was the presence of a crowd. The Arabs - were civil, and bade a kindly farewell. The Sawahili, however, audibly - contrasted the present with the past, and drew dedecorous conclusions - from the change which a few days had worked in the man who bore a - twenty-four pound gun, my pet four-ounce.[6] - - "All thoughts of cruising along the southern coast were at an end. - Colonel Hamerton had warned us not to despise bilious-remittents; and - evidently we should not have been justified in neglecting his caution - to return, whenever seized by sickness. With the dawn of Friday, - the 6th of March, we ordered the men to up sail; we stood over for - Zanzibar with a fine fresh breeze, and early in the afternoon we found - ourselves once more within the pale of Eastern civilization. _Deo - gratias!_ our excellent friend at once sent us to bed, whence, gentle - reader, we have the honour to make the reverential salaam." - -[1] The distance between Bombay and Zanzibar is two thousand five -hundred miles. - -[2] Jack was Speke's christian name. - -[3] One of the places forbidden to strangers. - -[4] Hippopotamus. - -[5] He was originally Sudy, but afterwards they dubbed him Seedy.--I. B. - -[6] These two guns I still treasure.--I. B. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -THE REAL START FOR TANGANYIKA IN THE INTERIOR. - - - "When we left Zanzibar the Sultan of Zanzibar and the Sawahil and his - sons came on board with three letters of introduction. One was to - Musa Mzuri, the Indian _doyen_ of the merchants settled at Unyamwezi; - secondly, a letter to the Arabs there resident, and thirdly, one to - all his subjects who were travelling in the interior. I carried, in an - _étui_ round my neck, the diploma of the Shaykh El Islam of Mecca, and - a passport from Cardinal Wiseman to all the Catholic missionaries. His - Highness the Sultan Said of Muscat had died on his way from Arabia to - Zanzibar. The party, besides Jack and I, were two Goanese boys, two - negro gun-carriers, the Seedy Mubárak Mombai (Bombay), his brother, - and eight Beloch mercenaries appointed by the Sultan. Lieut.-Colonel - Hamerton, her Majesty's Consul at Zanzibar, a friend of mine, gave - me all particulars and recommendations, and enlisted in my favour - the Sayyid Sulayman bin Hamid bin Said (the noble Omani, 'who never - forgets the name of his Grandsire'), landed us upon the coast, and - superintended our departure, attended by Mr. Frost, the apothecary - attached to the Consulate. - - "My desire was to ascertain the limits of the Sea of Ujiji, - Tanganyika, or Unyamwezi Lake, to learn the ethnography of its tribes, - and determine the export of the produce of the interior. The Foreign - Office granted £1000, and the Court of Directors allowed me two years' - leave of absence to command the Expedition. Consul Hamerton warned us - against Kilwa, where any one attempting to open the interior ran the - danger of being murdered. - - [Sidenote: _A Long March._] - - "We landed at Wale Point, about eighty-four miles distant from the - little town of Bagamóyo. We wanted to engage one hundred and seventy - porters, but we could only get thirty-six, and thirty animals were - found, which were all dead in six months, so we had to leave part of - our things behind, greater part of the ammunition, and our iron boat. - The Hindoos were faithful to their promise to forward everything, but, - great mistake, received one hundred and fifty dollars for the hire of - twenty-two men to start in ten days; we went on, obliged to trust, but - we did not get them for eleven months. We paid various visits to the - hippopotamus haunts, and had our boat uplifted from the water upon - the points of two tusks, which made corresponding holes in the bottom. - My escort were under the impression that nothing less than one hundred - guards, one hundred and fifty guns, and several cannon would enable - them to fight a way through the perils of the interior. We were warned - that for three days we must pass through savages, who sat on the - trees, and discharged poisoned arrows into the air with extraordinary - dexterity (meaning the Amazons); that they must avoid trees (which was - not easy in a land all forest); that the Wazaramo had sent six several - letters forbidding the white man to enter their country, and that they - buried their provisions in the jungle, that travellers might starve; - that one rhinoceros kills two hundred men; that armies of elephants - attack camps by night; that the craven hyæna is more dangerous than a - Bengal tiger. - - "We owed all our intrigues to a rascal named Ramji, who had his own - commerce in view, and often to our _Ras Kaptan_, or Caravan leader, - Said bin Salim, who did not wear well. The varnish soon melted, and - showed him as great a liar and thief as his men. At times it is good - to appear a dupe, to allow people to think and to say that you are a - muff, chronicling a vow that they shall change places with you before - the end of the game. I confided to Mr. Frost two manuscripts addressed - through the Foreign Office, one to Mr. John Blackwood of Edinburgh, - the other to Mr. Norton Shaw, of the Royal Geographical Society. - Blackwood's arrived safe, Norton Shaw's in six years.[1] I took a - melancholy leave of my warm-hearted friend, Lieut.-Colonel Hamerton, - who had death written on his features. He looked forward to death - with a feeling of delight, the result of his Roman Catholic religious - convictions, and, in spite of my entreaties, he _would_ remain near - the coast till he heard of our safe transit through the lands of the - dangerous Wazaramo. This courage was indeed sublime, an example not - often met with. After this affecting farewell we landed at Kaolé. I - insisted that Ladha, the Collector of customs, and Ramji, his clerk, - should insert in the estimate the sum required to purchase a boat - upon the Sea of Ujiji. Being a Hindoo, he thought I was ignorant of - Cutchee, so the following conversation took place:-- - - "_Ladha_. Will he ever reach it? - - "_Ramji_. Of course not. What is _he_ that he should pass through - Ugogo? (a province about halfway). - - "So I remarked at once that I _did_ intend to cross Ugogo, and also - the Sea of Ujiji, that I did know Cutchee, and that I was even able - to distinguish between the debits and the credits of his voluminous - sheets. The worst loss that I had was that my old and valued - friend, Dr. Steinhaüser, civil surgeon at Aden, sound scholar, good - naturalist, skilful practitioner, with rare personal qualities, which - would have been inestimable, was ill and could not come. His Highness - the late Sayyid Said, that great ally of the English nation, had made - most public-spirited offers to his friend, Lieut.-Colonel Hamerton, - for many years. Lieut.-Colonel Hamerton's extraordinary personal - qualities enabled him to perform anything but impossibilities amongst - the Arabs, and he was dying. Finally, as Indian experience taught - me, I was entering the 'unknown land' at the fatal season when the - shrinking of the waters after the wet monsoon would render it a hotbed - of malaria, but I was tied by scanty means and a limited 'leave;' it - was neck or nothing, and I determined to risk it. All the serving men - in Zanzibar Island and the East African coast are serviles. There is - no word to express a higher domestic. There was no remedy, so that I - paid them wages, and treated them as if they were free men. I had no - power to prevent my followers purchasing slaves, because they would - say, 'We are allowed by our law to do so;' all I could do was to see - that their slaves were well fed and not injured; but I informed all - the wild people that Englishmen were pledged against slavery, and I - always refused all slaves offered as presents. - - "In eighteen days we accomplished (despite sickness and every manner - of difficulty) a march of one hundred and eighteen indirect statute - miles, and entered K'hutu, the safe rendezvous of foreign merchants, - on the 14th of July. On the 15th we entered Kiruru, where I found a - cottage, and enjoyed for the first time an atmosphere of sweet, warm - smoke." (In all Richard's wilder travels in damp places, he laid such - a stress upon "sweet, warm smoke.") "Jack (that is, Speke), in spite - of my endeavours, would remain in the reeking miry tent, and laid the - foundations of the fever which threatened his life in the mountains of - Usagára. - - [Sidenote: _Marsh Fever._] - - "As soon as we reached Dut'húmi, where we were detained nearly a week, - the malaria brought on attacks of marsh fever. In my case it lasted - twenty days." (In all Richard's fever fits, and for hours afterwards, - both now and always, he had a queer conviction of divided identity, - never ceasing to be two persons, who generally thwarted and opposed - each other, and also that he was able to fly.) "Jack suffered still - more; he had a fainting-fit which strongly resembled a sunstroke, - and it seemed to affect him more or less throughout our journey. Our - sufferings were increased by the losses of our animals, and we had - to walk, often for many miles, through sun, rain, mud, and miasmatic - putridities. The asses shy, stumble, rear, run away, fight, plunge - and pirouette when mounted; they hog and buck till they burst their - girths; they love to get into holes and hollows; they rush about like - pigs when the wind blows; they bolt under tree-shade when the sun - shines; so they have to be led, and if the least thing happens the - slave drops the halter and runs away. - - "The Zanzibar riding-asses were too delicate and died; we were then - reduced to the half-reclaimed beast of Wamyamwezi. As to the baggage - animals, they were constantly thrown, and the Beloch only grumbled, - sat down, and stared. They stole the ropes and cords; they never were - pounded for the night, nobody counted them, and we were too ill to - look after it. We were wretched; each morning dawned with a fresh load - of care and trouble, and every evening we knew that another miserable - morrow was to dawn, but I never relinquished the determination to - risk everything, myself included, rather than to return unsuccessful. - At Dut'húmi, two Chiefs fought, and the strongest kidnapped five of - his weaker neighbour subjects. I could not stand by and see iniquity - done without an attempt, so I headed a little Expedition against the - strong, and I had the satisfaction of restoring the rescued, the five - unhappy stolen wretches, to their hearths and homes, and two decrepit - old women, that had been rescued from slavery, thanked me with tears - of joy" (Richard lightly calls this "an easy good deed" done), "after - which I was able, though with swimming head and trembling hands, to - prepare a report for the Geographical Society. - - "On the 24th of July we were able to move on under the oppressive - rain-sun. From Central K'hutu to the base of the Usagára Mountains - there were nothing but filthy heaps of the rudest hovels, built in - holes of the jungle. Their miserable inhabitants, whose frames are - lean with constant intoxication, and whose limbs are distorted by - ulcerous sores, attest the hostility of Nature to Mankind. - - "Arrived at Zungomero, we waited a fortnight for the twenty-two - promised porters. It was a hotbed of pestilence, where we nearly - found wet graves. Our only lodging was the closed eaves of a hut; the - roof was a sieve, the walls all chinks, and the floor a sheet of mud. - The Beloch had no energy to build a shed, and became almost mutinous - because we did not build it for them. - - "Our life here was the acme of discomfort; we had pelting showers, - followed by fiery sunshine, which extracted steam from the grass, - bush, and trees. My Goanese boys got a mild form of 'yellow Jack,' - and I was obliged to take them into my hut, already populated with - pigeons, rats, flies, mosquitoes, bugs, and fleas. We were weary of - waiting for the porters and baggage, so we prepared our papers, and - sent them down by a confidential slave to the coast. Jack and I left - Zungomero on the 7th of August. We were so weak, we could hardly sit - our asses, but we were determined to get to the nearest ascent of the - Usagára Mountains, a march of five hours, and succeeded in rising - three hundred feet from the plain, ascending its first gradient. - - [Sidenote: _They ascend from Zungomero to a Better Climate._] - - "This is the frontier of the second region, or Ghauts. There was no - vestige of buildings, nor sight nor sound of Man. There was a wondrous - change of climate at this place, called Mzizi Maogo; strength and - health returned as if by magic, even the Goanese shook off their mild - 'yellow Jack.' Truly delicious was the escape from the nebulous skies, - the fog-driving gusts, the pelting rain, the clammy mists veiling a - gross growth of fœtor, the damp raw cold rising as it were from the - earth, and the alternations of fiery and oppressive heat; in fact, - from the cruel climate of the river valley, to the pure sweet mountain - air, alternately soft and balmy, cool and reviving, and to the aspect - of clear blue skies, which lent their tints to highland ridges well - wooded with various greens. - - "Dull mangrove, dismal jungle, and monotonous grass were supplanted - by tall solitary trees, amongst which the lofty tamarind rose - conspicuously graceful, and a card-table-like swamp, cut by a network - of streams, nullahs, and stagnant pools, gave way to dry healthy - slopes, with short steep pitches and gently shelving hills. The beams - of the large sun of the Equator--and nowhere have I seen the Rulers - of Night and Day so large--danced gaily upon blocks and pebbles of - red, yellow, and dazzling snowy quartz, and the bright sea-breeze - waved the summits of the trees, from which depended graceful llianas - and wood-apples large as melons, whilst creepers, like vine tendrils, - rising from large bulbs of brown-grey wood, clung closely to their - stalwart trunks. Monkeys played at hide-and-seek, chattering behind - the bolls, as the iguana, with its painted scale-armour, issued - forth to bask upon the sunny bank; white-breasted ravens cawed - when disturbed from their perching places, doves cooed on the - well-clothed boughs, and hawks soared high in the transparent sky. The - field-cricket chirped like the Italian cicala in the shady bush, and - everywhere, from air, from earth, from the hill-slopes above, and from - the marshes below, the hum, the buzz, and the loud continuous voice of - insect life, through the length of the day, spoke out its natural joy. - Our gypsy encampment lay - - 'By shallow rivers, to whose falls - Melodious birds sing madrigals.' - - By night, the soothing murmurs of the stream at the hill's base rose - mingled with the faint rustling of the breeze, which at times, broken - by the scream of the night-heron, the bellow of the bull-frog in - his swamp home, the cynhyæna's whimper, and the fox's whining bark, - sounded through the silence most musical, most melancholy. Instead of - the cold night rain, and the soughing of the blast, the view disclosed - a peaceful scene, the moonbeams lying like sheets of snow upon the - ruddy highlands, and the stars hanging like lamps of gold from the - dome of infinite blue. I never wearied with contemplating the scene, - for, contrasting with the splendours around me, still stretched in - sight the 'Slough of Despond,' unhappy Zungomero, lead-coloured above, - mud-coloured below, wind-swept, fog-veiled, and deluged by clouds that - dared not approach these Delectable Mountains. - - "All along our way we were saddened by the sight of clean-picked - skeletons, and here and there the swollen corpses of porters who had - perished in this place by starvation. A single large body which - passed us but yesterday had lost fifty of their number by small-pox, - and the sight of their deceased comrades made a terrible impression. - Men staggering on, blinded by disease, mothers carrying on their - backs infants as loathsome as themselves. The poor wretches would - not leave the path, as every step in their state of failing strength - was precious. He who once fell would never rise again. No village - would admit a corpse into its precincts, no friend or relation would - return for them, and they would lie till their agony was ended by - the raven, the vulture, and the fox. Near every kraal were detached - huts set apart for those seized with the fell disease. Several of our - party caught the infection, and must have thrown themselves into some - jungle, for when they were missed we came back to look and there was - no sign of them. The further we went on, the more numerous were the - corpses. Our Moslems passed them with averted faces, and with the low - 'La haul!' of disgust, and a decrepit old porter gazed and wept for - himself. At the foot of the 'Goma Pass' we found the outlying huts for - the small-pox, and an old kraal, where we made comfortable for the - night. All around peeped the little beehive villages of the Wakaguru - and the Wakwivi. - - "When we arrived at Rufuta I found that nearly all our instruments had - been spoilt or broken, the barometer had come to grief, no aneroid - had been sent from Bombay, and we had chiefly to get on with two - bath thermometers. Zonhwe was the turning-point of the expedition's - difficulties. The 17th of August, as we went on, the path fell - easily westwards down a long grassy jungly incline, cut by several - water-courses. At noon I lay down fainting in the sandy bed of the - Muhama nullah, meaning the 'Palmetto' or 'Fan-palm,' and keeping - Wazira and Mabruki with me, I begged Jack to go on, and send me back - a hammock from the halting-place. The men, who were partly mutinous - and deserting, suddenly came out well; they reappeared, led me to a - place where stagnant water was found, and showed abundant penitence. - At three o'clock, as Jack did not send the hammock, I remounted and - passed through another 'Slough of Despond' like Zungomero, and found - two little villages, and on a hillside my caravan halted, which had - been attacked by a swarm of wild bees. At Muhama we halted three days, - and forded the Makata, and pursuing our march next day, I witnessed - a curious contrast in this strange African nature, which is ever in - extremes, and where extremes ever meet, where grace and beauty are - seldom seen without a sudden change to a hideous grotesqueness. - - [Sidenote: _From Lovely Scenery to Fœtid Marshes._] - - "A splendid view charmed me in the morning. Above lay a sky of purest - azure, flaked with fleecy opal-tinted vapours floating high in the - empyrean, and catching the first roseate smiles of the unrisen sun. - Long lines, one bluer than the other, broken by castellated crags and - towers of the most picturesque form, girdled the far horizon; the - nearer heights were of a purplish-brown, and snowy mists hung like - glaciers about their folds. The plain was a park in autumn, burnt - tawny by the sun or patched with a darker hue where the people were - firing the grass--a party was at work merrily, as if preparing for an - English harvest home--to start the animals, to promote the growth - of a young crop, and, such is the popular belief, to attract rain. - Calabashes, palmyras, tamarinds, and clumps of evergreen trees, were - scattered over the scene, each stretching its lordly form over subject - circlets of deep dew-fed verdure. Here the dove cooed loudly, and the - guinea-fowl rang its wild cry, whilst the peewit chattered in the open - stubble, and a little martin, the prettiest of its kind, contrasted by - its nimble dartings along the ground, with the vulture wheeling slowly - through the upper air. The most graceful of animals, the zebra and the - antelope, browsed in the distance; now they stood to gaze upon the - long line of porters, then, after leisurely pacing, with retrospective - glances, in an opposite direction, they halted motionless for a - moment, faced about once more to satiate curiosity, and lastly, - terrified by their own fancy, they bounded in ricochets over the plain. - - "About noon the fair scene vanished as if by enchantment. We suddenly - turned northwards into a tangled mass of tall fœtid reeds, rank - jungle, and forest. One constantly feels, in malarious places, - suddenly poisoned as if by miasma; a shudder runs through the frame - and a cold perspiration, like a prelude for a fainting fit, breaks - from the brow. We came upon the deserted--once flourishing--village - of Wasagara, called Mbumi. The huts were torn and half burnt, the - ground strewed with nets and drums, pestles and mortars, cots and - fragments of rude furniture; the sacking seemed to be about ten days - old. Two wretched villagers were lurking in the jungle, not daring to - revisit the wreck of their own homes. The demon of Slavery reigns over - a solitude of his own creation; can it be, that by some inexplicable - law, where Nature has done her best for the happiness of Mankind, Man, - doomed to misery, must work out his own unhappiness? - - [Sidenote: _Ants._] - - "Next day our path was slippery as mud, and man and beast were - rendered wild by the cruel stings of a small red ant and a huge black - pismire. They are large headed; they cannot spring, but show great - quickness in fastening themselves to the foot or ankle as it brushes - over them. The pismire is a horse-ant, about an inch in length, whose - bulldog head and powerful mandibles enable it to destroy rats and - mice, lizards and snakes; its bite burns like a pinch of a red-hot - needle. When it sets to work, twisting itself round, it may be pulled - in two without relaxing its hold. As the people stopped to drink they - were seized by these dreadful creatures, and suddenly began to dance - and shout like madmen, pulling off their clothes, and frantically - snatching at their lower limbs. In the evening it was like a savage - opera scene. One would recite his Korán, another pray; a third told - funny stories; a fourth trolled out in a minor key lays of love and - war that were familiar to me upon the Scindian hills. This was varied - by slapping away the black mosquitoes, ridding ourselves of ants, and - challenging small parties of savages who passed us from time to time - with bows and arrows. - - "Now we also began to suffer severely from the tzetze fly, which is - the true _Glossina morsitans_. It extended from Usagara westward as - far as the Central Lakes. It has more persistency of purpose than - an Egyptian fly; when beaten off, it will return half a dozen times - to the charge. It cannot be killed except by a smart blow, and its - long sharp proboscis draws blood through a canvas hammock. The sting - is like an English horse-fly and leaves a lasting trace. This land - is eminently fitted for breeding cattle and for agriculture, which, - without animals, cannot be greatly extended. Why this plague should - have been placed here, unless to exercise human ingenuity, I cannot - imagine. Perhaps some day it will be exterminated by the introduction - of some insectiferous bird, which will be the greatest benefactor that - Central Africa ever knew. The brown ant has cellular hills of about - three feet high, whereas in Somali-land they become dwarf ruins of - round towers. When we reached Rumuma the climate was new to us, after - the incessant rains of the Maritime Valley, and the fogs and mists - of the Rufuta range; but it was in extremes--the thermometer under - the influence of dewy gusts sank in the tent to 48° F., a killing - temperature in these latitudes to half-naked and houseless men. During - the day it showed 90° F.; the sun was fiery, and a furious south wind - coursed through skies purer and bluer than I had ever seen in Greece - or Italy. - - "When we were ill our followers often mutinied, and would do nothing, - but stole and lost our goods, and would not work. Sometimes, though - they carried the water, they would refuse us any. Jack was as ill - as I was. We reached Rubeho, the third and westernmost range of the - Usagára Mountains, and here we were welcomed with joy, and given milk - and butter and honey, a real treat. Here we were in danger of being - attacked by the Wahúmba. Next day a Caravan arrived, under the command - of four Arab merchants, of which Isa bin Hijji was most kind, and did - us good service. I was always at home when I got amongst Arabs. They - always treat me practically as one of themselves. They gave us useful - information for crossing the Rubeho range, and superintended our - arrangements. When they went away I charged them not to spread reports - of our illness. I saw them depart with regret. It had really been a - relief to hear once more the voice of civility and sympathy. - - [Sidenote: _The War-cry of the Wahúmba._] - - "Our greatest labour was before us. Trembling with ague, with swimming - heads, ears deafened by weakness, and limbs that would hardly support - us, we contemplated with dogged despair the perpendicular scramble - over the mountains and the ladders of root and boulder, up which we - and our starving, drooping asses had to climb. Jack was so weak that - he had three supporters; I, having stronger nerves, managed with one. - We passed wall-like sheets of rock, long steeps of loose white soil - and rolling stones. Every now and then we were compelled to lie down - by cough and thirst and fatigue; and when so compelled, fires suddenly - appeared on the neighbouring hills. The War-cry rang loud from hill - to hill, and Indian files of archers and spearmen, streaming like - lines of black ants, appeared in all directions down the paths. It - was the Wahúmba, who, waiting for the Caravans to depart, were going - down to fall fiercely on the scattered villages in the lowlands, kill - the people, and to drive off the cattle, and plunder the villages of - Inengé. Our followers prepared to desert us, but, strange to say, the - Wahúmba did not touch us. By resting every few yards, and clinging to - our supporters, we reached the summit of this terrible path after six - hours, and we sat down amongst aromatic flowers and bright shrubs, - to recover strength and breath. Jack was almost in a state of coma, - and could hardly answer. The view disclosed a retrospect of severe - hardships past and gone. - - "We eventually arrived, after more walking, at a place called the - Great Rubeho, where several settlements appeared, and where poor Jack - was seized with a fever fit and dangerous delirium; he became so - violent that I had to remove his weapons, and, to judge from certain - symptoms, the attack had a permanent cerebral effect. Death appeared - stamped upon his features, and yet our followers clamoured to advance, - _because it was cold_. This lasted two nights, when he was restored - and came to himself, and proposed to advance. I had a hammock rigged - up for him, and the whole Caravan broke ground. We went on ascending - till we reached the top of the third and westernmost range of the - Usagára Mountains, raised 5700 feet above sea level, and we begin to - traverse Ugogi, which is the halfway district between the Coast and - Unyanyembe, and stands 2760 feet above sea level, and the climate of - Ugogi pleases by its elasticity and its dry healthy warmth. - - [Sidenote: _Evil Reports._] - - "The African traveller's fitness for the task of Exploration depends - more upon his faculty of chafing under delays and kicking against the - pricks than upon his power of displaying the patience of a Griselda - or a Job. Another Caravan of coast Arabs arrived. They brought news - from the sea-board, and, wondrous good fortune, the portmanteau - containing books, which a porter, profiting by the confusion when they - were attacked by bees, had deposited in the long grass at the place - where I directed the slaves to look for it. Some half-caste Arabs had - gone forward and spread evil reports of us. They said we had each - one eye and four arms; we were full of magic; we caused rain to fall - in advance, and left droughts in our rear; we cooked water-melons, - and threw away the seeds, thus generating small-pox; we heated and - hardened milk, thus breeding a murrain amongst cattle; our wire, - cloth, and beads caused a variety of misfortunes; we were Kings of the - Sea, and therefore white-skinned and straight-haired, as are all men - who live in salt water, and next year we would seize their land. - - [Sidenote: _Game._] - - "As far as _our_ followers were concerned, there was not a soul to - stand by Jack and me except ourselves. Had anything happened we must - have perished. We should have been as safe with six as with sixty - guns, but six hundred stout fellows, well armed, might march through - the length and breadth of Central Africa." (Richard said when the - Government sent Gordon to Khartoum they failed because they sent him - _alone_. Had they sent him with five hundred soldiers there would - have been no war.) "And now a word to sportsmen in this part of - Africa. Let no future travellers make my mistake. I expected great - things without realizing a single hope. In the more populous parts - the woodman's axe and the hunter's arrows have melted away game. Even - where large tracks of jungle abound with water and forage, the notes - of a bird rarely strike the ear, and during the day's march not a - single large animal will be seen. In places such as the park-lands - of Dut'húmi, the jungles and forests of Ugogi and Mgunda Mk'hali, - the barrens of Usukuma, and the tangled thickets of Ujiji, there is - abundance of noble game--lions, leopards, elephants, rhinoceroses, - wild cattle, giraffes, gnus, zebras, quaggas, and ostriches; but the - regions are so dangerous that a sportsman cannot linger. There is - miasma, malaria, want of food, rarely water, no camels, and every - porter would desert, whilst the extraordinary expense of provision and - of carriage would be the work of a very rich man. As for us, we could - only shoot on halting days at rare periods, and there is nothing left - but the hippopotamus and the crocodile of the seacoast. - - [Sidenote: _Vermin._] - - "On the 8th of October we fell in with a homeward-bound Caravan headed - by Abdullah bin Nasib, who was very, very kind to us. He kindly halted - a day that we might send home a mail, and gave me one of his riding - animals, and would take nothing for it except a little medicine. We - left K'hok'ho, a foul strip of crowded jungle, where we were stung - throughout the fiery day by the tzetze fly, swarms of bees, and - pertinacious gadflies, where an army of large poisonous ants drove us - out of the tent by the wounds which they inflicted between the fingers - and other tender parts of the body, till kettles of boiling water - persuaded them to abandon us. These ant-fiends made the thin-skinned - asses mad with torture. In this ill-omened spot my ass Seringe, the - sole survivor of the riding animals brought from Zanzibar, was so - torn by a hyæna that it died of its wounds, and fifteen of my porters - deserted, so that I thought that it was no use continuing my weary - efforts and anxiety about baggage. - - [Sidenote: _A Hard Jungle March._] - - "I gave Jack my good donkey, because he was worse than I was, and I - took one of the poor ones, and found that I must either walk or leave - valuable things behind. Trembling with weakness, I set out to march - the length of the Mdáburu jungle. The memory of that march is not - pleasant. The burning sun and the fiery reflected heat arising from - the parched ground--here a rough, thorny, and waterless jungle, where - the jessamine flowered and the frankincense was used for fuel; there a - grassy plain of black and sun-cracked earth--compelled me to lie down - every half-hour. The water-gourds were soon drained by my attendant - Beloch; and the sons of Ramji, who, after reaching the resting-place, - had returned with ample stores for their comrades, hid their vessels - on my approach. Sarmalla, a donkey-driver, the model of a surly negro, - whose crumpled brow, tightened eyes, and thick lips, which shot out - on the least occasion of excitement, showed what was going on within - his head, openly refused me the use of his gourd, and--thirst is even - less to be trifled with than hunger--found ample reason to repent - himself of the proceeding. Near the end of the jungle I came upon a - party of the Beloch, who, having seized upon a porter belonging to a - large Caravan of Wanyamwezi that had passed us on that march, were - persuading him, half by promises and half by threats, to carry their - sleeping mats and their empty gourds. - - "Towards the end of that long march I saw with pleasure the kindly - face of Seedy Bombay, who was returning to me in hot haste, leading - an ass and carrying a few scones and hard-boiled eggs. Mounting, I - resumed my way, and presently arrived at the confines of Mdáburu, - where, under a huge calabash, stood our tent, amidst a kraal of grass - boothies, surrounded by a heaped-up ridge of thorns. - - "We left Ugogi and pursued our way to 'Mgunda Mk'hali,' a very wild - part, and at last got to Jiwella Mkoa, the halfway house. We were - cheered by the sight of the red fires glaring in the kraal, but Jack's - ass, perhaps frightened by some wild beast which we did not see, - reared high in the air, bucked like a deer, broke his girths, and - threw Jack, who was sick and weak, heavily upon the hard earth. Our - people had become so selfish that they always attended to themselves - first, and Said bin Salim, the leader, actually refused to give us a - piece of canvas to make a tent. Bombay made a memorable speech: 'If - you are not ashamed of your Master, O Said, be at least ashamed of his - servant,' which had such an effect that he sent the whole awning, and - refused the half which I sent back to him. - - "The three Tribes of this part are the Wagogo (the Wamasai), the - Wahúmba, and the Wakwafi, who are remarkable for their strength and - intelligence, and for their obstinate and untamable characters. They - only sell their fellow tribesmen when convicted of magic, or from - absolute distress, and many of them would rather die under the stick - than work. The Wagogo are thieves; they would rob during the day, are - importunate beggars, and specify their long lists of wants without - stint or shame. An Arab merchant once went out to the Wahúmba to buy - asses. He set out from Tura in Eastern Unyamwezi, and traversing - the country of the wild Watatúru, arrived on the eighth day at the - frontier district, I'ramba, where there is a river which separates - the tribes. He was received with civility, but none have ever since - followed his example. - - "As we neared Unyanyembe the porters became more restive under their - light loads, their dignity was hurt by shouldering a pack, and day - after day, till I felt weary of life, they left their burdens upon the - ground. At Rubuga I was visited by an Arab merchant, who explained - something which had puzzled me. Whenever an advance beyond Unyanyembe - was spoken of, Said bin Salim's countenance fell. The merchant asked - me if I thought the Caravan was strong enough to bear the dangers of - the road between that and Ujiji, and I replied that I did, but even - if I did not, I should go on. The perpetual risk of loss, discourages - the traveller in these lands. In a moment papers which have cost - him months of toil may be scattered to the winds. Collectors should - _never_ make them on the _march upwards_, but on their _leisurely - return_. My field and sketch-books were entrusted to an Arab merchant - who preceded me to Zanzibar. Jack sent down maps, papers, and - instruments, and I my vocabularies, ephemeris, and drawing-books, - which ran no danger, except from Hamerton's successor, who seemed - careless. - - "The hundred and thirty-fourth day from leaving the coast, after - marching over six hundred miles, we prepared to enter Kázeh. I was - met by Arabs who gave me the Moslem salutation, and courteously - accompanied me. I was to have gone to the _tembe_ kindly placed at my - disposal by Isa bin Hijji and the Arabs met at Inengé, but by mistake - we were taken to that of Musa Mzuri, an Indian merchant, for whom - I bore an introductory letter, graciously given by H.H. the Sayyid - Majjid of Zanzibar. Here I dismissed the porters, who separated to - their homes. What a contrast between the open-handed hospitality - and the hearty good will of this truly noble race (Arabs), and the - niggardliness of the savage and selfish African! It was heart of - flesh after heart of stone. They warehoused my goods, disposed of my - extra stores, and made all arrangements for my down march on return. - During two long halts at Kázeh, Snay bin Amir never failed to pass - the evening with me, and, as he thoroughly knew the country all - around, I derived immense information from his instructive and varied - conversation. - - "Here were the times when Jack was at such a disadvantage from want - of language; he could join in none of these things, and this made - him, I think, a little sour, and partly why he wished to have an - expedition of his own. Snay bin Amir was familiar with the language, - the religion, the manners, and the ethnology of all the tribes. He - was of a quixotic appearance, high featured, tall, gaunt, and large - limbed. He was well read, had a wonderful memory, fine perceptions, - and passing power of language. He was the stuff of which I could make - a friend, brave as all his race, prudent, ready to perish for honour, - and as honest as he was honourable. At Unyanyembe the merchants - expect some delay, because the porters, whether hired at the coast or - at Tanganyika, here disperse, and a fresh gang has to be collected. - When Snay bin Amir and Musa Mzuri, the Indian, settled at Kázeh, - it was only a desert; they built houses, sunk wells, and converted - it into a populous place. The Arabs here live comfortably and even - splendidly. The houses are single-storied, but large, substantial, and - capable of defence. They have splendid gardens; they receive regular - supplies of merchandise, comforts, and luxuries from the coast; they - are surrounded by troops of concubines and slaves, whom they train to - divers crafts and callings. The rich have riding asses from Zanzibar, - and the poorest keep flocks and herds. When a stranger appears he - receives _hishmat l'il gharib_, or 'the guest welcome.' He is provided - with lodgings, and introduced by the host to the rest of the society - at a general banquet. A drawback to their happiness is the failure of - constitution. A man who escapes illness for a couple of months boasts, - and, as in Egypt, no one enjoys robust health. The residents are very - moderate in their appetites, and eat only light dishes that they may - escape fever. - - [Sidenote: _Description of Caravans and Difficulties._] - - "From Unyanyembe there are twenty marches to Ujiji upon the - Tanganyika, seldom accomplished under twenty-five days. The two - greatest places are, first, Msene; the second is the Malagarázi - river; but now I bade adieu for a time to the march, the camp, and - the bivouac, and was comfortably housed close to my new friend, - Shakyh Snay bin Amir. You are all familiar with the Arab Kafilah - and its hosts of litters, horses, camels, mules, and asses; but the - porter-journeys in East Africa have, till this year of my arrival, - escaped the penman's pen. There are three kind of Caravans. These are - the Wanyamwezi, the Wasawahili free men, and lastly that of the Arabs. - That of the Arabs is splendid, and next to the Persian, he is the most - luxurious traveller in the East. A veteran of the way, he knows the - effects of protracted hardship and scarcity upon a wayfarer's health; - but the European traveller does not enjoy it, because it marches by - instinct rather than reason. It dawdles, it hurries, it lingers, - losing time twice. It is fatal to observation, and nothing will induce - them to enable an Explorer to strike into an unbeaten path, or to - progress a few miles out of the main road. Malignant epidemics attack - Caravans, and make you repent joining them. For the rest, the porters, - one and all, want to eat, drink, sleep, carry the lightest load or - none at all; for the slightest service they want double pay; they lose - your mules and your baggage; they steal what they can; they desert - when they can; they run away when there is the slightest danger. When - it is safe, they are mutinous and insolent, because you are dependent - on them. If you come to a comfortable place, you cannot dislodge them; - if you come to a dangerous place, they will not give the necessary - time for food or sleep, or resting the animals. Everything is done to - get as much out of you as possible, to do as little as they can for - it; gain and self are almost their only thoughts. Bombay proved more - or less an exception. During our journey from start to finish, there - was not one, from Said bin Salim, the leader, to the very porter, - except Bombay and the two Goanese Catholics, who did not attempt to - desert. - - "About five p.m. the camp was fairly roused, and a little low chatting - commences. The porters overnight have promised to start early, and - to make a long wholesome march; but, 'uncertain, coy, and hard to - please,' the cold morning makes them unlike the men of the warm - evening, and so one of them will have fever. In every Caravan there is - some lazy lout and unmanageable fellow whose sole delight is to give - trouble. If no march be in prospect, they sit obstinately before the - fire, warming their hands and feet, and casting quizzical looks at - their fuming and fidgety employer. If all be unanimous it is vain to - tempt them; even soft sawder is but 'throwing comfits to cows,' and we - return to our tent. If, however, there be a division, a little active - stimulating will cause a march. They hug the fire till driven from it, - when they unstack the loads piled before our tents and pour out of - camp or village. Jack and I, when able, mount our asses; we walk when - we can, but when unable for either we are borne in hammocks. The heat - of the ground, against which the horniest sole never becomes proof, - tries the feet like polished leather boots on a quarter-deck in the - dog-days near the Line. Sometimes, when in good humour, they are very - sportive. When two bodies meet, that commanded by an Arab claims the - road. When friendly caravans meet, the two _kirangozis_ sidle up with - a stage pace, a stride and a stand, and, with sidelong looks, prance - till they arrive within distance; then suddenly and simultaneously - 'ducking,' like boys 'giving a back,' they come to loggerheads and - exchange a butt violently as fighting rams. Their example is followed - by all with a rush and a crush, which might be mistaken for the - beginning of a fight; but it ends, if there be no bad blood, in shouts - of laughter. - - "When a Unyamwezi guide is leader of a Caravan the _kirangozi_ - deliberately raises his plain blood-red flag, and they all follow him. - If any man dares to go before him, or into any but his own place, an - arrow is extracted from his quiver to substantiate his identity at the - end of the march. - - "The Wamrima willingly admit strangers into their villages, and the - Wazaramo would do the same, but they are constantly at feud with the - Wanyamwezi, and therefore it is dangerous hospitality. My Goanese - boys, being 'Christians,' that is to say, Roman Catholics, consider - themselves semi-European, and they will not feed with the heathenry, - so there are four different messes in the Camp. The dance generally - assumes, as the excitement increases, the frantic semblance of a ring - of Egyptian dervishes. The performance often closes with a grand - promenade, all the dancers being jammed in a rushing mass, a _galop - infernale_, with features of satyrs, and gestures resembling aught - but human. Sometimes they compose songs in honour of me. I understand - them, and the singers know that I do. They sing about the Muzungú - Mbáya, 'the wicked white man;' to have called me a '_good_ white man' - would mean that one was a natural, an innocent, who would be plucked - and flayed without flinching; moreover, despite my wickedness, it - was always to _me_ that they came for justice and redress if any one - bullied or ill-treated them. - - "The Caravan scene at night is often very impressive. The dull red - fires flickering and forming a circle of ruddy light in the depths of - the black forest, flaming against the tall trunks, and defining the - foliage of the nearer trees, illuminate lurid groups of savage men, - in every variety of shape and posture. Above, the dark purple sky, - studded with golden points, domes the earth with bounds narrowed by - the gloom of night. And, behold, in the western horizon, a resplendent - crescent, with a dim, ash-coloured globe in its arms, and crowned by - Hesperus, sparkling, like a diamond, sinks through the vast space in - all the glory and gorgeousness of Eternal Nature's sublimest works. - From such a night, methinks, the Byzantine man took his device, the - crescent and the star. - - [Sidenote: _Reptiles._] - - "At Kázeh, as in Ugogi and everywhere else, the lodgings are a - menagerie of hens, pigeons, rats, scorpions, earwigs (the scorpions - are spiteful), and in Ugogi there is a green scorpion from four to - five inches long, which inflicts a torturing wound. Here they say that - it dies after inflicting five consecutive stings, and kills itself if - a bit of stick be applied to the middle of its back. House crickets - and cockroaches are plentiful, as well as lizards, and frightful - spiders weave their webs. One does not count ticks, flies of sorts, - bugs, fleas, mosquitoes, and small ants, and the fatal bug of Miana, - which vary in size, after suction, from almost invisible dimensions - to three-quarters of an inch. The bite does not poison, but the - irritation causes sad consequences. Huts have to be sprinkled with - boiling water to do away with some of these nuisances. - - [Sidenote: _Ill and attended by a Witch._] - - "It is customary for Caravans proceeding to the Tanganyika to remain - for six weeks or two months at Unyanyembe for repose and recovery - from the labours they are supposed to have endured, to enjoy the - pleasures of 'civilized society,' to accept the hospitality offered - by the Arabs. All our party, except Jack and I, considered Unyanyembi - the end of the exploration, but to us it merely meant a second point - of departure easier than the first, because we had gained experience. - We had, however, a cause of delay. Jack had become strong, but all - the rest got ill. Valentine, my Goanese boy, was insensible for three - days and nights from bilious fever, and when he recovered Gaetano got - it and was unconscious. Then followed the bull-headed slave, Mabruki, - and lastly Bombay, while the rest of the following, who had led a very - irregular life, began to pay the penalty of excess. They brought us - a _mganga_, or witch, who doctored us. However, we got distressing - weakness, liver derangement, burning palms, tingling soles, aching - eyes, and alternate chills of heat and cold, and we delayed till the - 1st of December, during which we learnt a lot of necessary things. - - "My good Snay bin Amir sent into the country for plantains and - tamarinds, and brewed a quantity of beer and plantain wine. He lent me - valuable assistance concerning the country and language, and we were - able, through him, to learn all about the Nyanza or Northern Lake, - and the maps forwarded from Kázeh to the Royal Geographical Society - will establish this fact, as they were subsequently determined, after - actual exploration, by Jack. Snay bin Amir took charge of all the - letters and papers for home, and his energy enabled me afterwards to - receive the much-needed reserve of supplies in the nick of time. - - "On the 15th we went on to Yombo, where I remarked three beauties who - would be deemed beautiful in any part of the world. Their faces were - purely Grecian, they had laughing eyes, their figures were models for - an artist, like the bending statue that delights the world, cast in - bronze. These beautiful domestic animals smiled graciously when, in my - best Kinyamwezi, I did my _devoir_ to the sex, and a little tobacco - always secured for me a seat in the 'undress circle.' - - "On the 22nd of December Jack came back, and we left on the 23rd of - December, and marched to the district of Eastern Wilyankuru; and there - we again separated, and I went on alone to Muinyi Chandi, and my - people were very troublesome. Said bin Salim, believing that my days - were numbered, passed me on the last march without a word. The sun was - hot, and he and his party were hastening to shade, and left me with - only two men to carry the hammock in a dangerous jungle, where shortly - afterwards an Arab merchant was murdered. On Christmas Day I mounted - my ass, passed through the western third of the Wilyankuru district, - and was hospitably received by one Salim bin Said, surnamed Simba the - Lion, who received me with the greatest hospitality. He was a large, - middle-aged man, with simple and kindly manners, and an honesty of - looks and words which rendered his presence extremely prepossessing. - - "The favourite dish in this country is the _pillaw_, or _pilaf_, here - called _pulao_; and here I want to digress. For the past century, - which concluded with reducing India to the rank of a British province, - the proud invader has eaten her rice after a fashion which has secured - for him the contempt of the East. He deliberately boils it, and after - drawing off the nutritious starch, or gluten, called _conjee_, which - forms the perquisite of the Portuguese or his pariah cook, he is fain - to fill himself with that which has become little more nutritious - than the prodigal's husks. Great, indeed, is the invader's ignorance - upon that point. Peace be to the manes of Lord Macaulay, but listen - to and wonder at his eloquent words: 'The Sepoys came to Clive, not - to complain of their scanty fare, but to propose that all the grain - should be given to the Europeans, who required more nourishment than - the natives of Asia. The thin gruel, they said, which was strained - away from the rice, would suffice for themselves. History contains no - more touching instance of military fidelity, or of the influence of a - commanding mind.' Indians never fail to drink the _conjee_. The Arab, - on the other hand, mingles with his rice a sufficiency of _ghee_ to - prevent the extraction of the 'thin gruel,' and thus makes the grain - as palatable and as nutritious as Nature intended it to be--and dotted - over with morsels of fowl, so boiled that they shredded like yarn - under the teeth. - - "Shaykh Masud boasted of his intimacy with the Sultan Msimbira, whose - subjects had plundered our portmanteau, and offered, on return to - Unyanyambe, his personal services in ransoming it. I accepted with - joy, but it afterwards proved that he nearly left his skin in the - undertaking. The climate of Kíríra, where I arrived on the 27th of - December, is called by the Arabs a medicine, and I spent a delicious - night in the cool Barzah after the unhealthy air of Kázeh. Three - marches more brought me to Msene, where I was led to the _tembe_ of - one Saadullah, a low-caste Msawahili, and there I found Jack, looking - very poorly. We were received with great pomp and circumstance; the - noise was terrific, and Gaetano, Jack's boy, was so excited by the - scene that he fell down in an epileptic fit, which fits returned - repeatedly. - - "On the 10th of January we left, and arrived at Mb'hali, and passed - through dense jungle, and eventually came to Sorora and Kajjanjeri, - and here we were freshly ill from miasma. About three in the afternoon - I was forced to lay aside my writing by an unusual sensation of - nervous irritability, which was followed by a general shudder as - in the cold paroxysm of fevers. Presently my extremities began to - weigh, and began to burn as though exposed to a glowing fire, and my - jack-boots became too tight and heavy to wear. At sunset the attack - reached its height. I saw yawning wide to receive me-- - - 'Those dark gates across the wild - That no man knows.' - - My body was palsied, powerless, motionless; the limbs appeared to - wither and die; the feet had lost all sensation, except a throbbing - and a tingling as if pricked by needle points, the arms refused to - be directed by will, and to the hands the touch of cloth and stone - was the same. Gradually the attack spread upwards till it seemed to - compress my ribs, and stopped short there. This at a distance of - two months of any medical aid, and with the principal labour of the - expedition still in prospect! If one of us was lost, I said to myself, - the other might survive to carry home the results of the exploration, - which I had undertaken with the resolve either to do or die. I had - done my best, and now nothing appeared to remain for me but to die as - well. - - [Sidenote: _Partial Paralysis. Blindness. Elephants._] - - "It was partial paralysis, brought on by malaria, well known in India. - I tried the usual remedies without effect, and the duration of the - attack presently revealed what it was. The contraction of the muscles, - which were tightened like ligatures above and below the knees, and - those λύταγούνατα [Greek: lytagounata], a pathological symptom - which the old Greek loves to specify, prevented me from walking to - any distance for nearly a year; the numbness of the hands and feet - disappeared more slowly, but the _Fundi_ predicted that I should be - able to move in ten days, and on the 10th I again mounted my ass. At - Usagozi, Jack, whose blood had been impoverished, and whose system had - been reduced by many fevers, now began to suffer from inflammation of - the eyes, which produced an almost total blindness, rendering every - object enclouded by a misty veil. Goanese Valentine suffered the - same on the same day, and subsequently, at Ujiji, was tormented by - inflammatory ophthalmia. I suffered in a minor degree. On the 3rd of - February we debouched from a jungle upon the river plain; the swift - brown stream, there fifty yards broad, was swirling through the tall - wet grasses of its banks on our right hand, hard by our track. Upon - the off-side, a herd of elephants in Indian file broke through the - reed fence in front of them. - - [Sidenote: _The Crossing of the Great River Malagarázi._] - - "The Malagarázi, corrupted by speculative geographers to - Mdjigidgi--the uneuphonious terminology of the 'Mombas Mission - Map'--to 'Magrassie,' and to 'Magozi,' has been wrongly represented - to issue from the Sea of Ujiji. According to all travellers in these - regions, it rises in the mountains of Urundi, at no great distance - from the Kitangure, or river of Karagwah; but whilst the latter, - springing from the upper counterslope, feeds the Nyanza, or Northern - Lake, the Malagarázi, rising in the lower slope of the equatorial - range, trends to the south-east, till it becomes entangled in the - decline of the Great Central African Depression--the hydrographical - basin first indicated in his address of 1852 by Sir Roderick I. - Murchison, president of the Royal Geographical Society of London.[2] - Thence it sweeps round the southern base of Urundi, and, deflected - westwards, it disembogues itself into the Tanganyika. Its mouth - is in the land of Ukaranga, and the long promontory behind which - it discharges its waters is distinctly visible from Kawele, the - head-quarters of Caravans in Ujiji. The Malagarázi is not navigable; - as in primary and transition countries generally, the bed is broken - by rapids. Beyond the ferry the slope becomes more pronounced, branch - and channel islets of sand and verdure divide the stream, and as every - village near the banks appears to possess one or more canoes, it is - probably unfordable. The main obstacle to crossing it on foot, over - the broken and shallower parts near the rock-bars, would be the number - and the daring of the crocodiles. - - "The _mukunguru_ of Unyamwezi is the severest seasoning-fever in this - part of Africa; it is a bilious-remittent lasting three days, which - reduces the patient to nothing, and often followed by a long attack of - tertian type. The consequences are severe and lasting, even in men of - the strongest nervous diathesis; burning and painful eyes, hot palms - and soles, a recurrence of shivering and flushing fits, extremities - alternately icy cold, then painfully hot and swollen, indigestion, - sleeplessness, cutaneous eruptions, fever sores, languor, dejection, - all resulting from torpidity of liver, from inordinate secretion of - bile, and shows the poison in the system. Sometimes the fever works - speedily; some become at once delirious, and die on the first or - second day. - - "From Tura to Unyamwezi the Caravans make seven marches of sixty - geographical miles. The races requiring notice in this region are - two--Wakimbu and the Wanyamwezi." - -[1] Some of these things disappeared in a very singular manner, and -one was very curiously fated. It was missed here, and came home to me -in six years. Later on, in 1863, it again disappeared for six years. -It was stolen at Fernando Po in 1863; it was marked by somebody on a -bit of parchment, "Burton's Original Manuscript Diary, Africa, 1857." -Colonel Maude, the Queen's Equerry, saw it outside an old book-shop, -was attracted by the label on the Letts's Diary. He bought it for a few -shillings, called on Lord Derby, and left it in the hall, forgetting -it. Lord Derby, coming down, saw the book, recognized my handwriting, -wrote to Colonel Maude for permission to restore the private diary to -its rightful owner. We happened to be in town. He kindly called and -gave it back to us, so that journal twice disappeared for six years, -but had to come home. Who shall say there is no destiny in this? - -[2] "The following notice concerning a discovery which must ever be -remembered as a triumph of geological hypothesis, was kindly forwarded -to me by the discoverer:-- - -"'My speculations as to the whole African interior being a vast watery -plateau-land of some elevation above the sea, but subtended on the east -and west by much higher grounds, were based on the following data:-- - -"'The discovery in the central portion of the Cape Colony, by Mr. Bain, -of fossil remains in a lacustrine deposit of Secondary age, and the -well-known existence on the coast of loftier mountains known to be of -a Palæozoic or Primary epoch, and circling round the younger deposits, -being followed by the exploration of the Ngami Lake, justified me in -believing that Africa had been raised from beneath the ocean at a -very early geological period; and that ever since that time the same -conditions had prevailed. I thence inferred that an interior network of -lakes and rivers would be found prolonged northwards from Lake Ngami, -though at that time no map was known to me showing the existence of -such central reservoirs. Looking to the west as to the east, I saw -no possibility of explaining how the great rivers could escape from -the central plateau-lands and enter the ocean except through deep -lateral gorges, formed at some ancient period of elevation, when the -lateral chains were subjected to transverse fractures. Knowing that -the Niger and the Zaire, or Congo, escaped by such gorges on the west, -I was confident that the same phenomenon must occur upon the eastern -coast, when properly examined. This hypothesis, as sketched out in -my 'Presidential Address' of 1852, was afterwards received by Dr. -Livingstone just as he was exploring the transverse gorges by which -the Zambesi escapes to the east, and the great traveller has publicly -expressed the surprise he then felt that his discovery should have been -thus previously suggested.'" - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -OUR REWARD--SUCCESS. - - - "At length we sight the Lake Tanganyika, or the 'Sea of Ujiji.' The - route before us lay through a howling wilderness laid waste by the - fierce Watuta. Mpete, on the right bank of the Malagarázi river, is - very malarious, and the mosquitoes are dreadful. We bivouacked under - a shady tree, within sight of the ferry. The passage of this river - is considered dangerous on account of attacks of the tribes. At one - place I could only obtain a few corn cobs, and I left the meat, - with messages, for the rear. In the passages of the river our goods - and chattels were thoroughly sopped. After a while, from a hillside - we saw, long after noon, the other part of our Caravan, halted by - fatigue, upon a slope beyond a weary swamp; a violent storm was - brewing, and the sky was black, and we were anxious and sorry about - them. - - "On the 13th February, after about an hour's march, I saw the _Fundi_ - running forward, and changing the direction of the Caravan, and I - followed him to know _why_ he had taken this responsibility upon - himself. We breasted a steep stony hill, sparsely clad with thorny - trees, which killed Jack's riding ass. Our fagged beasts refused to - proceed. 'What is that streak of light which lies below?' said I to - Bombay. 'I am of opinion,' said Bombay, 'that that _is the_ water you - are in search of.' I gazed in dismay; the remains of my blindness, the - veil of trees, a broad ray of sunshine illuminating but one reach of - the lake, had shrunk its fair proportions. I began to lament my folly - in having risked life and lost health for so poor a prize, to curse - Arab exaggeration, and to propose an immediate return to explore the - Nyanza, or Northern Lake. - - [Sidenote: _Scenery._] - - "Advancing a few yards, the whole scene suddenly burst upon my view, - filling me with admiration, wonder, and delight. Nothing I in sooth - could be more picturesque than this first view of Tanganyika Lake, as - it lay in the lap of the mountains, basking in the gorgeous tropical - sunshine. There were precipitous hills, a narrow strip of emerald - green, a ribbon of glistening yellow sand, sedgy rushes, cut by the - breaking wavelets, an expanse of light, soft blue water foam thirty to - thirty-five miles wide, sprinkled by crisp tiny crescents of snowy - foam, with a background of high broken wall of steel-coloured mountain - flecked and capped with pearly mist, sharply pencilled against the - azure sky, yawning chasms of plum-colour falling towards dwarf hills, - which apparently dip their feet in the wave. One could see villages, - cultivated lands, fishermen's canoes on the water, and a profuse - lavishness and magnificence of Nature and vegetation. The smiling - shores of this vast crevasse appeared doubly beautiful to me after the - silent and spectral mangrove-creeks on the East African sea-board, and - the melancholy monotonous experience of desert and jungle scenery, - tawny rock and sun-parched plain, or rank herbage and flats of black - mire. Truly it was a revel for Soul and Sight! Forgetting toils, - dangers, and the doubtfulness of return, I felt willing to endure - double what I had endured; and all the party seemed to join with me in - joy. Poor purblind Jack found nothing to grumble at, except the 'mist - and glare before his eyes.' Said bin Salim looked exulting--_he_ had - procured for me this pleasure; the monoculous _Jemadar_ grinned his - congratulations, and even the surly Beloch made civil salaams. - - [Sidenote: _In an Arab Craft to Ujiji._] - - "As soon as we were bivouacked, I proceeded to get a solid-built Arab - craft, capable of containing thirty or thirty-five men, belonging to - an absent merchant. It was the second largest on the lake, and being - too large for paddling, the crew rowed, and at eight next morning we - began coasting along the eastern shore of the lake in a north-westerly - direction, towards the Kawele district. The picturesque and varied - forms of the mountains rising above and dipping into the lake were - clad in purplish blue, set off by the rosy tints of the morning, and - so we reached the great Ujiji. A few scattered huts in the humblest - beehive shape represent the Port town. This fifth region includes - the alluvial valley of the Malagarázi river, which subtends the - lowest spires of the highlands of Karagwah, and Urundi, the western - prolongation of the chain which has obtained, _probably_ from African - tradition, the name of 'Lunar Mountains.' - - "At Ujiji terminates, after twelve stages, the transit of the fifth - region. The traveller has now accomplished a hundred stages, which - with necessary rests, but not including detentions and long halts, - should occupy a hundred and fifty days. The distance, on account of - the sinuosities of the road, numbers nine hundred and fifty statute - miles, which occupied us seven and a half months on account of our - disadvantages and illnesses. Arab Caravans seldom arrive at the - Tanganyika, for the same reasons, under six months, but the lightly - laden and the fortunate may get to Unyamyembe in two and a half, and - to the Tanganyika in four months. It is evident that the African - authorities (this was written thirty-five years ago) have hitherto - confounded the Nyanza, the Tanganyika, and the Nyassa Lakes. Ujiji was - first visited in 1840 by the Arabs, and after that they penetrated - to Unyamwesi. They found it conveniently situated as a central point - from whence their factors and slaves could navigate the waters, and - collect slaves and ivory from the tribes upon its banks, but the - climate proved unhealthy, the people dangerous, and the coasting - voyages ended in disaster. Ujiji never rose to the rank of Unyamyembe, - or Msene. Now, from May to September, flying Caravans touch here, - and return to Unyamyembe so soon as they have loaded their porters. - The principal tribes are the Wajiji, the Wavínza, the Wakaránga, the - Watúta, the Wabuha, and the Wáhha; but the fiercest races in the whole - land, and also the darkest, are the Wazarámo, the Wajíji, and the - Watatúru. The Lakists are almost an amphibious race, are excellent - divers, strong swimmers and fishermen, and vigorous eaters of fish, - and in the water they indulge in gambols like sportive water-fowls, - whether skimming in their hollow logs, or swimming. - - "It is a great mistake not to go as a Trader. It explains the - Traveller's motives, which are always suspected to be bad ones. Thus - the Explorer can push forward into unknown countries, will be civilly - received and lightly fined, because the host expects to see him or his - friends again: to go without any motive only induces suspicion, and - he is opposed in every way. Nobody believes him to be so stupid as to - go through such danger and discomfort for exploring or science, which - they simply do not understand. - - "The cold damp climate, the over-rich and fat fish diet, and the - abundance of vegetables, which made us commit excesses, at first - disagreed with us. I lay for a fortnight upon the earth, too blind to - read or write, too weak to ride, too ill to converse. Jack was almost - as groggy upon his legs as I was, suffering from a painful ophthalmia, - and a curious contortion of the face, which made him chew sideways, - like an animal that chews the cud. Valentine was the same. Jack and - Valentine were always ill of the same things, and on the same days, - showing that certain climates affected certain temperaments and not - others. Gaetano ate too much and brought on a fever. I was determined - to explore the northern extremity of the lake, whence, every one said, - issued a large river flowing northwards, so I tried to hire the only - dhow or sailing craft, and provision it for a month's cruise, and at - last Jack went to look after it, and I was twenty-seven days alone. - - "I spent my time chiefly in eating, drinking, smoking, dozing. At two - or three in the morning I lay anxiously expecting the grey light to - creep through the door-chinks; then came the cawing of crows, and the - crowing of the village cocks. When the golden rays began to stream - over the red earth, torpid Valentine brought me rice-flour boiled in - water with cold milk. Then came the slavey with a leafy branch to - sweep the floor and to slay the huge wasps. This done, he lit the - fire, the excessive damp requiring it, and sitting over it, he bathed - his face and hands--luxurious dog!--in the pungent smoke. Then came - visits from Said bin Salim and the _Jemadar_ (our two headmen), who - sat and stared at me, were disappointed to see no fresh symptoms of - approaching dissolution, told me so with their eyes and faces, and - went away; and I lay like a log upon my cot, smoking, _dreaming of - things past, visioning things present,_ and indulging myself in a few - lines of reading and writing. - - [Sidenote: _More Scenery._] - - "As evening approached, I made an attempt to sit under the broad - eaves of the _tembe_, and to enjoy the delicious spectacle of this - virgin Nature, and the reveries to which it gave birth-- - - 'A pleasing land of drowsihed it was, - Of dreams that wave before the half-shut eye, - And of gay castles in the clouds that pass - For ever flushing round a summer sky.' - - "It reminded me of the loveliest glimpses of the Mediterranean; there - were the same 'laughing tides,' pellucid sheets of dark blue water, - borrowing their tints from the vinous shores beyond; the same purple - light of youth upon the cheek of the earlier evening; the same bright - sunsets, with their radiant vistas of crimson and gold opening like - the portals of a world beyond the skies; the same short-lived grace - and loveliness of the twilight; and, as night closed over the earth, - the same cool flood of transparent moonbeams, pouring on the tufty - heights and bathing their sides with the whiteness of virgin snow. - - "At seven p.m., as the last flush faded from the occident, the lamp--a - wick in a broken pot full of palm oil--was brought in. A dreary, - dismal day you will exclaim, a day that-- - - 'lasts out a night in Russia, - When nights are longest there.' - - [Sidenote: _After Twenty-seven Days Speke returns._] - - "On the 29th of March the rattling of matchlocks announced Jack's - return. He was moist, mildewed, and wet to the bone, and all his - things were in a similar state; his guns grained with rust, his - fireproof powder-magazine full of rain, and, worse than that, he - had not been able to gain anything but a promise that, _after three - months,_ the dhow should be let to us for five hundred dollars. The - very dhow that had been promised to me whenever I chose to send for - it! The faces of my following were indeed a study. - - "I then set to work to help Jack with his diaries, which afterwards - appeared in _Blackwood_, September, 1859, when I was immensely - surprised to find, amongst many other things, a vast horseshoe of - lofty mountains that Jack placed, in a map attached to the paper, - near the very heart of Sir R. Murchison's Depression. I had seen the - mountains growing upon paper under Jack's hand, from a thin ridge of - hills fringing the Tanganyika until they grew to the size given in - _Blackwood_, and Jack gravely printed in the largest capitals, 'This - mountain range I consider to be the true Mountains of the Moon;' thus - men _do_ geography, and thus discovery is stultified. The poor fellow - had got a beetle in his ear, which began like a rabbit at a hole to - dig violently at the tympanum, and maddened him. Neither tobacco, - salt, nor oil could be found; he tried melted butter, and all failing, - he applied the point of a penknife to its back, and wounded his ear - so badly that inflammation set in and affected his facial glands, - till he could not open his mouth, and had to feed on suction. Six or - seven months after, the beetle came away in the wax. At last I got - hold of Kannena the Chief, and after great difficulty and enormous - extortion, I promised him a rich reward if he kept his word; for I - was resolved at all costs, even if we were reduced to actual want, to - visit the mysterious stream. I threw over his shoulders a six-foot - length of scarlet broadcloth, which made him tremble with joy, and all - the people concerned in my getting the dhow received a great deal more - than its worth. I secured two large canoes and fifty-five men. - - "On the 11th of April, at four in the morning, I slept comfortably on - the crest of a sand-wave, and under a mackintosh escaped the pitiless - storm, so as to be ready to start lest they should repent, and at 7.20 - on the 12th of April, 1858, my canoe, bearing for the first time on - those dark waters-- - - 'The flag that braved a thousand years - The battle and the breeze,' - - stood out of Bangwe Bay, and, followed by Jack's canoe, we made for - the cloudy and storm-vexed north. The best escort to a European - capable of communicating with and commanding them, would be a small - party of Arabs, fresh from Hazramaut, untaught in the ways and tongues - of Africa. They would save money to the explorer, and also his life. - There were great rejoicings at our arrival at Uvira, the _ne plus - ultra_, the northernmost station to which merchants have as yet been - admitted. Opposite still, rose in a high broken line the mountains - of the inhospitable Urundi, apparently prolonged beyond the northern - extremity of the waters. Some say the voyage is of two days, some say - six hours; the breadth of the Tanganyika here is between seven and - eight miles. - - "Now my hopes were rudely dashed to the ground. The stalwart sons - of the Sultan Maruta, the noblest type of Negroid seen near the - lake, visited me. They told me they had been there, and that the - Rusizi enters _into_ and does not _flow out_ of the Tanganyika. I - felt sick at heart. Bombay declared that Jack had misunderstood, and - _his_ (Bombay's) informer _now_ owned that he had never been beyond - Uvira, and never intended to do so. We stopped there nine days, and - there I got such a severe ulceration of the tongue that I could not - articulate. An African traveller may be arrested at the very bourne of - his journey, on the very threshold of his success, by a single stage, - as effectually as if all the waves of the Atlantic or the sands of - Arabia lay between him and it. Now Maruta and his young giants claimed - their blackmail, and also Kannena, and I had to pay up. Slaves are - cheaper here than in the market of Ujiji. Gales began to threaten, and - the crews, fearing wind and water, insisted on putting out to sea on - the 6th of May. - - [Sidenote: _A Fight._] - - "We touched at various stages and anchored at Mzimu, our former - halting-place, where the crew swarmed up a ladder of rock, and - returned with pots of palm oil. We left again at sunset; the waves - began to rise, the wind also, and rain in torrents, and it was a doubt - whether the cockleshell craft could live through the short chopping - sea in heavy weather. The crew was frightened, but held on gallantly, - and Bombay, a noted Agnostic in fine weather, spent the length of that - wild night in reminiscences of prayer. I sheltered myself under my - then best friend, my mackintosh, and thought of the couplet-- - - 'This collied night, these horrid waves, these gusts that sweep the whirling deep; - What reck they of our evil plight, who on the shore securely sleep?' - - Fortunately the rain beat down the wind and sea, or nothing could have - saved us. The next morning Mabruki rushed into the tent, thrust my - sword into my hands, said the Warundi were upon us, and that the crews - were rushing to their boats and pushing them off. Knowing that they - _would_ leave us stranded in case of danger, we hurried in without - delay; but presently no enemy appeared, and Kannena, the Chief, - persuaded them to re-land, and demand satisfaction of a drunken Chief - who had badly wounded a man, and then there was a general firing and - drawing of daggers. The crew immediately confiscated the three goats - that were for our return, cut their throats, and spitted the meat upon - their spears. Thus the lamb died and the wolf dined; the innocent - suffered, the plunderer was joyed; the strong showed his strength, - the weak his weakness--as usual. I saw the sufferer's wounds washed, - forbade his friends to knead and wrench him as they were doing, and - gave him a purgative which did him good. On the second day he was able - to rise. This did not prevent the report at home that I had killed the - man. - - "On the 11th of May we paddled round to Wafanya Bay, to Makimoni, a - little grassy inlet, where our canoes were defended from the heavy - surf. On the 12th we went to Kyasanga, and the next night we spent in - Bangwe Bay. We were too proud to sneak home in the dark; we deserved - the Victoria Cross, we were heroes, braves of braves; we wanted to be - looked at by the fair, to be howled at by the valiant. - - [Sidenote: _Are received with Honour._] - - "On the 13th of May we appeared at the entrance of Kawele, and had a - triumphal entrance; the people of the whole country-side collected - to welcome us, and pressed waist-deep into the water. Jack and I - were repeatedly 'called for,' but true merit is always modest; it - aspires to 'Honour, not honours.'[1] We regained the old _tembe_, - were salaamed to by everybody, and felt like a 'return home.' We had - expended upwards of a month boating about the Tanganyika Lake. All the - way down, we were like baited bears, mobbed every moment; they seemed - to devour us; in an ecstasy of curiosity they shifted from Jack to - me, and back again, like the well-known ass between the bundles of - hay. Our health palpably improved. Jack was still deaf, but cured of - his blindness; the ulcerated mouth, which had compelled me to live - on milk for seventeen days, returned to its usual state, my strength - increased, my feet were still swollen, but my hands lost their - numbness, and I could again read and write. I attribute the change - from the days and nights spent in the canoe, and upon the mud of the - lake. Mind also acted upon matter; the object of my Mission was now - effected, and I threw off the burden of grinding care, with which the - imminent prospect of a failure had before sorely laden me." - -Although Richard did not get the meed of success in England, and it -has taken the world thirty-four years to realize the grandeur of that -Exploration, he was the Pioneer (without money, without food, without -men or proper escort, without the bare necessaries of life, to dare -and do, in spite of every obstacle, and every crushing thing, bodily -and mentally) who opened up that country. It is to _him_ that later -followers, that Grant and Speke, and Baker and Stanley, Cameron, and -all the other men that have ever followed, owe it, that he opened the -oyster-shell for them, and they went in to take the pearl. I do not -want to detract from any other traveller's merits, for they are all -brave and great, but I _will_ say that if Richard Burton had had Mr. -Stanley's money, escort, luxuries, porterage, and white comrades, -backed by influence, there would not have been one single white spot -on the whole map of the great Continent of Africa that would not have -been filled up. Owing to shameful intrigues (which prospered none of -the doers, but injured him, the man who did all this), he got very few -words of praise, and that from a few, yet the World owes it to him -now that there are Missions and Schools and Churches, and Commerce, -and peaceful Settlements, and that anybody can go there. To _him_ you -owe "Tanganyika in a Bath-Chair;" but Speke got the cheering of the -gallery and the pit, and Stanley inherited them. And here I insert the -innocent joy-bells of his own heart, as I found them scribbled on the -edge of his private journal, and anybody thinking of what he had done -and what he had passed through, can warmly enter into his feelings of -self-gratulation, so modestly hidden-- - - "I have built me a monument stronger than brass, - And higher than the Pyramids' regal site; - Nor the bitterness shown, nor the impotent wind, - Nor the years' long line, nor the ages' flight - Shall e'en lay low! - - "Not _all_ shall I perish; much of _me_ - Shall vanquish the grave, and be living still, - When Mr. Macaulay's Zealanders view - The ivied ruin on Tower Hill, - And men shall know - - "That when Isis hung, in the youth of Time, - Her veil mysterious over the land, - And defied mankind and men's puny will, - All that lay in the shadow, my daring hand - Was _first_ to show, - - "Then rejoice thee, superb in the triumph of mind, - And the Delphian bay-leaf, O sweet Muse, bind - Around my brow!" - - - [Sidenote: _A Caravan arrives._] - - "The rainy monsoon broke up after our return to Kawele. The - climate became truly enjoyable, but it did not prevent the strange - inexplicable melancholy which accompanies all travellers in tropical - countries. Nature is beautiful in all that meets the eye; all is soft - that affects the senses; but she is a syren whose pleasures pall, - and one sighs for the rare simplicity of the desert. I never felt - this sadness in Egypt and Arabia; I was never without it in India - and Zanzibar. We got not one single word from the agents who were to - forward our things, and Want began to stare us in the face. We had to - engage porters for the hammocks, to feed seventy-five mouths, to fee - several Sultans, and to incur the heavy expenses of two hundred and - sixty miles' march back to Unyanyembe, so I had to supplement with my - own little patrimony. One thousand pounds does not go very far, when - it has to be divided amongst a couple of hundred greedy savages in two - and a half years. On the 22nd of May musket-shots announced arrivals, - and after a dead silence of eleven months arrived a Caravan with - boxes, bales, porters, slaves, and a parcel of papers and letters from - Europe, India, and Zanzibar. Here we first knew of the Indian Mutiny. - This good fortune happened at a crisis when it was really wanted, but - as my agent could find no porters for the packages, he had kept back - some, and what he had sent me, were the worst. They would take us to - Unyamyembe, but were wholly inadequate for exploring the southern - end of the Tanganyika, far less for returning to Zanzibar, _viâ_ the - Nyassa Lake and Kilwa, as I hoped to do. - - [Sidenote: _Geographical Remarks._] - - "At the time I write, the Tanganyika, though situated in the - unexplored centre of intertropical Africa, and until 1858 unvisited by - any European, has a traditionary history of its own, extending over - three centuries. The Tanganyika, 250 miles in length, occupies the - centre of the length of the African continent. The general formation - suggests the idea of a volcanic depression, while the Nyanza is a vast - reservoir formed by the drainage of the mountains. The lay is almost - due north and south, and the form a long oval widening at the centre, - and contracting at the extremities; the breadth varies from thirty - to thirty-five miles, the circumference about 550 miles, and the - superficial area covers about 5000 square miles. By the thermometers - we had with us, the altitude was 850 feet above sea-level, and about - 2000 feet below the Nyanza or Northern Lake, with high hill ranges - between the lakes, which precluded a possibility of a connection - between the waters. The parallel of the northern extremity of the - Tanganyika nearly corresponds with the southern creek of the Nyanza, - and they are separated by an arc of the meridian of about three - hundred and forty-three miles. The waters of the Nyanza are superior - to those of Tanganyika. The Tanganyika has a clear soft blue, like - the ultramarine of the Mediterranean, with the light and milky tints - of tropical seas. I believe that the Tanganyika receives and absorbs - the whole river system, the network of streams, nullahs, and torrents - of that portion of the Central African Depression, whose watershed - converges towards the great reservoir. I think that the Tanganyika, - like the Dead Sea, _as_ a reservoir, supplies with humidity the winds - which have parted with their moisture in the barren and arid regions - of the south, and maintains its general level by the exact balance - of supply and evaporation, and I think it possible that the saline - particles deposited in its waters may be wanting in some constituent, - which renders them evident to the taste; hence the freshness. - - "According to the Wajiji, from their country to the Marungú river, - which enters the lake at the _south_, there are twelve stages, - numbering one hundred and twenty stations, but at most of them - provisions are not procurable, and there are sixteen tribes and - districts. The people of Usige, _north_ of the Tanganyika, say that - six rivers fall into the Tanganyika from the _east_, and _westernmost_ - is the Rusizi, and that it is an _influent_. - - "The Chief Kazembe is like a viceroy of the country lying south-west - of the Tanganyika, and was first visited by Dr. Lacerda, Governor of - the Rios de Sena, in 1798-99. He died, and his party remained nine - months in the country, without recording the name and position of this - African capital. A second expedition went in 1831, and the present - Chief was the grandson of Dr. Lacerda's Kazembe. He is a very great - personage in these parts, and many Arabs are said to be living with - him in high esteem. Marungú, though dangerous, was visited by a party - of Arab merchants in 1842, who assisted Sámá in an expedition against - a rival. He compelled the merchants to remain with him; they had found - means of sending letters to their friends, they are unable to leave - the country, but they are living in high favour with the Kazembe - who enriched them. Of course there are people who doubt their good - fortune. I collect my details from a mass of Arab _oral_ geography. - - "The 26th of May, 1858, was the day appointed for our departure _en - route_ for Unyamyembe. Kannena had been drunk for a fortnight, and was - attacked by the Watuta, and fled. I heard of him no more. He showed - no pity for the homeless stranger--may the World show none to him! I - shall long remember my last sunrise look at Tanganyika, enhanced by - the reflection that I might never again behold it. Masses of brown - purple clouds covered the sunrise. The mists, luminously fringed with - Tyrian purple, were cut by filmy rays, and the internal living fire - shot forth broad beams like the spokes of a huge aërial wheel, rolling - a flood of gold over the light blue waters of the lake, and a soft - breeze, the breath of morn, awoke the waters into life. - - [Sidenote: _Troublesome Following._] - - "The followers were very tiresome, mutinous, and inconsequent in their - anxiety to escape from Kannena and the fighting Watuta. So, desiring - the headman to precede me with a headstrong gang to the first stage, - and to send back men to carry my hammock and remove a few loose loads, - I breakfasted, and waited alone till the afternoon in the empty and - deserted _tembe_; but no one came back, and the utter misery depicted - in the countenance of the Beloch induced me to mount my _manchil_, - and to set out carried by only two men. As the shades of evening - closed around us we reached the ferry of the Ruche river, and we - found no camp. The mosquitoes were like wasps, and the hippopotamus - bellowed, snorted, and grunted; the roars of the crocodiles made the - party miserable, as the porters waded through water waist-deep, and - crept across plains of mud, mire, and sea-ooze. As it was too dark - and dangerous to continue the march, and that, had I permitted, they - would have wandered through the outer gloom, without fixed purpose, - till permanently bogged, I called a halt, and we snatched, under a - resplendent moon and a dew that soaked through the blankets, a few - hours of sleep. We were destitute of tobacco and food, and when the - dawn broke, I awoke and found myself alone; they had all fled and left - me. About two p.m., some of them came back to fetch me; but they were - so impertinent, ordering me to endure the midday heat and labour, - that I turned them out, and told them to send back their master, - Said bin Salim, in the evening or the next morning. Accordingly, the - next morning, the 28th of May, at nine o'clock, appeared Said, the - _Jemadar_, and a full gang of bearers. He was impertinent too, but - I soon silenced him, and then we advanced till evening: for having - tricked me he lost two days. Later on, a porter placed his burden upon - the ground and levanted, and being cognac and vinegar, it was deeply - regretted. Then the Unyamwezi guide (because his newly purchased - slave-girl had become footsore and was unable to advance) cut off - her head, lest out of his evil should come good to another. The - bull-headed Mabruki bought a little slave of six years old. He trotted - manfully alongside the porters, bore his burden of hide bed and water - gourd upon his tiny shoulders. At first Mabruki was like a girl with - a new doll, but when the novelty wore off, the poor little devil was - so savagely beaten that I had to take him under my own protection. All - these disagreeables I was obliged to smooth down, because a traveller - who cannot utilize the raw material that comes to his hand, will make - but little progress. Their dread of the Wavinza increased as they - again approached the Malagarázi ferry. Here there are magnificent - spectacles of conflagration. - - [Sidenote: _Forest on Fire._] - - "A sheet of flame, beginning with the size of a spark, overspreads - the hillside, advancing on the wings of the wind with the roaring - rushing sound of many hosts where the grass lay thick, shooting huge - forky tongues high into the dark air, where tall trees, the patriarchs - of the forest, yielded their lives to the blast, smouldering and - darkening, as if about to be quenched, where the rock afforded scanty - fuel, then flickering, blazing up and soaring again till, topping the - brow of the hill, the sheet became a thin line of fire, and gradually - vanished from the view, leaving its reflection upon the canopy of - lurid smoke studded with sparks and bits of live braise, which marked - its descent on the other side of the buttress. - - "We were treated with cruel extortion at the crossing of the - Malagarázi, but the armies of ants, and an earthquake at 11.15 a.m. - on the 4th of June, which induced us to consent, was considered a bad - omen by my party. They took seven hours to transport us, and at four - p.m. we found ourselves, with hearts relieved of a heavy load, once - more at Ugogi, on the left bank of the river. Fortunately I arrived - just in time to prevent Jack from buying a little pig for which he was - in treaty, otherwise we should have lost our good name amongst the - Moslem population. On the 8th of June we emerged from the inhospitable - Uvinza into neutral ground, where we were pronounced 'out of danger.' - The next day, when in the meridian of Usagozi, we were admitted for - the first time to the comforts of a village. - - "On the 17th of June, in spite of desertions, we came to Irora, the - village of Salim bin Salih, who received us very hospitably. Here we - saw the blue hills of Unyanyembe, our destination. Next day we got to - Yombo, where we met some of our things coming up by the coast, sent - by the Consul of France--the French do things smartly--and a second - packet of letters. Every one had lost some friend or relation near and - dear to him. My father had died on the 6th of last September, after a - six weeks' illness, at Bath, and was buried on the 10th, and I only - knew it on the 18th of June--the following year. Such tidings are - severely felt by the wanderer who, living long behind the world, is - unable to mark its gradual changes, lulls (by dwelling upon the past) - apprehension into a belief that _his_ home has known no loss, and who - expects again to meet each old familiar face ready to smile upon his - return, as it was to weep at his departure. - - "We collected porters at Yombo, passed Zimbili, the village of our - former miseries, and re-entered Kázeh, where we were warmly welcomed - by our hospitable Snay bin Amir, who had prepared his house and - everything grateful to starving travellers. Our return from Ujiji to - Unyanyembe had been accomplished in twenty-two stations, two hundred - and sixty-five miles. After a day's repose, all the Arab merchants - called upon me, and I had the satisfaction of finding that my last - order on Zanzibar for four hundred dollars' worth of cloth and beads - had arrived, and I also recovered the lost table and chair which the - slaves had abandoned. - - "During the first week following the march, we all paid the penalty of - the toilsome trudge through a perilous jungly country in the deadly - season of the year, when the waters are drying up under a fiery sun, - and a violent _vent de bise_ from the east pours through the tepid air - like cold water into a warm bath. I again got swelling and numbness of - the extremities; Jack was a martyr to deafness and dimness of sight, - which prevented him from reading, writing, and observing correctly; - the Goanese were down with fever, severe rheumatism, and liver pains; - Valentine got tertian type, and was so long insensible that I resolved - to try the _tinctura Warburgii_. Oh, Doctor Warburg! true apothecary! - we all owe you a humble tribute of gratitude; let no traveller be - without you. The result was miraculous; the paroxysms did not return, - the painful sickness at once ceased; from a death-like lethargy, sweet - childish sleep again visited his aching eyes; chief boon of all, the - corroding thirst gave way to appetite, followed by digestion. We all - progressed towards convalescence, and in my case, stronger than any - physical relief, was the moral effect of Success and the cessation of - ghastly doubts and fears, and the terrible wear and tear of mind. I - felt the proud consciousness of having done my best, under conditions, - from beginning to end, the worst and most unpromising, and that - whatever future evils Fate might have in store for me, it could not - rob me of the meed won by the hardships and sufferings of the past. - - [Sidenote: _He sends Speke to find the Nyanza._] - - "I had not given up the project of returning to the seaboard _viâ_ - Kilwa. As has already been mentioned, the merchants had detailed to - me, during my first halt here, their discovery of a large lake, lying - about sixteen marches to the north; and, from their descriptions - and bearings, Jack laid down the water in a hand-map, and forwarded - it to the Royal Geographical Society. All agreed in claiming for it - superiority of size over the Tanganyika, and I saw that, if we could - prove this, much would be cleared up. Jack was in a much fitter state - of health to go. There was no need for two of us going, and I was - afraid to leave him behind at Kázeh. It is very difficult to associate - with Arabs as one of themselves. Jack was an Anglo-Indian, without - any knowledge of Eastern manners and customs and religion, and of - any Oriental language beyond broken Hindostanee. Now, Anglo-Indians, - as everybody knows, often take offence without reason; they expect - civility as their _due_, they treat all skins a shade darker than - their own as 'niggers,' and Arabs are, or can be, the most courteous - gentlemen, and exceedingly punctilious.[2] - - "Jack did not afterwards represent this fairly in _Blackwood_, - October, 1859. He said I 'was most unfortunately quite done up, and - most graciously consented to wait with the Arabs and recruit my - health;' but in July, 1858, _writing on the spot_, he wrote, 'To - diminish the disappointment caused by the shortcoming of our cloth, - and in not seeing the whole of the Sea of Ujiji, I have proposed - to take a flying trip to the unknown lake, while Captain Burton - prepares for our return homewards.' Said bin Salim did all he could - to thwart the project, and Jack threatened him with the _forfeiture - of his reward_ after he returned to Zanzibar. Indeed, he told him _it - was already forfeited_. He said 'he should certainly recommend the - Government _not to pay the gratuity, which the Consul had promised on - condition that he worked entirely for our satisfaction, in assisting - the expedition to carry out the arranged plans._' How Jack reconciled - himself to misrepresent my conduct about the payment on reaching home, - will never be understood. - - "Our followers were to receive _certain_ pay in _any case_, which they - _did_ receive, and a reward in _case they behaved well_; our asses, - thirty-six in number, all died or were lost; our porters ran away; our - goods were left behind and stolen; specimens of the fine poultry of - Unyamwezi, intended to be naturalized in England, were bumped to death - in the cases; our black escort were so unmanageable as to require - dismissal; the weakness of our party invited attacks, and our wretched - Beloch deserted us in the jungle, and throughout were the cause of an - infinity of trouble. Jack agreed with me thoroughly, that it would be - an _act of weakness_ to pay the _reward_ of _ill-conduct_; instead of - putting it down to generosity, they would have put it down to fear, - and they would have played the devil with every future traveller; yet - he used this afterwards as a means to procure the Command of the next - Expedition for himself, and pointed it at me as a disgrace. - - "By dint of severe exertion, Jack was able to leave Kázeh on the 10th - of July. These northern kingdoms were Karágwah, Uganda, and Unyoro. - The _Mkámá_, or Sultan, of Karágwah was Armaníka, son of Ndagára, who - was a very great man. He is an absolute Ruler, and governs without - squeamishness. He receives the traveller with courtesy, he demands - no blackmail, but you are valued according to your gifts. A European - would be received with great kindness, but only a rich man could - support the dignity of the white face. Corpulence is a beauty. Girls - are fattened to a vast bulk by drenches of curds and cream, thickened - with flour, and are beaten when they refuse, and they grow an enormous - size. - - [Sidenote: _The Chief Suna._] - - "From the Kitangure river, fifteen stations conduct the traveller to - Kibuga, the capital of Uganda, the residence of its powerful despot, - Suna. The Chief of Uganda has but two wants, with which he troubles - his visitors. One is a medicine against Death, the other a charm to - avert thunderbolts, and immense wealth would reward the man who would - give him either of these two things. The army of Uganda numbers three - hundred thousand men; each brings an egg to muster, and thus something - like a reckoning of the people is made. Each soldier carries one - spear, two assegais, a long dagger, and a shield; bows and swords are - unknown. The women and children accompany, carrying spare weapons, - provisions, and water. They fight to the sound of drums, which are - beaten with sticks like ours; should this performance cease, all fly - the field. - - "Suna, when last visited by the Arabs, was a red man, of about - forty-five, tall, robust, powerful of limb, with a right kingly - presence, a warrior carriage, and a fierce and formidable aspect. He - always carried his spear, and wore a long piece of bark-cloth from - neck to ground; he makes over to his women the rich clothes presented - by the Arabs. He has a variety of names, all expressing something - terrible, bitter, and mighty. He used to shock the Arabs by his - natural, unaffected impiety. He boasted to them that he was the God - of earth, as their Allah was the Lord of heaven. He murmured loudly - against the abuse of lightning, and claimed from his subjects divine - honours, such as the facile Romans yielded to their Emperors. His - sons, numbering more than a hundred, were confined in dungeons; the - heir _elect_ was dragged from his chains to fill a throne, and the - cadets linger through their dreadful lives till death releases them. - His female children were kept under the most rigid surveillance within - the palace; but he had one favourite daughter, named Nasurú, whose - society was so necessary to him, that he allowed her to appear with - him in public. - - [Sidenote: _Richard collects a Vocabulary._] - - "Suna encouraged, by gifts and attentions, the Arab merchants to trade - in his capital, but the distance has prevented more than half a dozen - caravans from reaching him; yet all loudly praised his courtesy and - hospitality. My friend Snay Bin Amir paid him a visit in 1852. He - was received in the audience hall, outside which were two thousand - guards, armed only with staves. He was allowed to retain his weapons. - He saluted the Chief, who motioned his guest to sit in front of him. - Two spears were close to his hand. He has a large and favourite dog, - resembling an Arab greyhound. The dog was, and is always, by his side. - The ministers and the women were also present, but placed so that - they could only see the visitor's back. He was eager of news. When - the despot rose, all dispersed. At the second visit, Snay presented - his blackmail, and it was intimated to the 'King's Stranger' that - he might lay hands upon whatever he pleased, animate or inanimate; - but Snay was too wise to avail himself of this privilege. There were - four interviews, in which Suna inquired much about the Europeans, - and was anxious for a close alliance with the Sultan of Zanzibar. - He treated Snay very generously; but Snay, when he could without - offence, respectfully declined things. Like all African Chiefs, the - despot considered these visits as personal honours paid to himself. - It would depend, however, upon his ingenuity and good fortune whether - a traveller would be allowed to explore further, and perhaps the - best way would have been to buy or to build boats upon the nearest - western shore, with Suna's permission. During Jack's absence, I - collected specimens of the multitudinous dialects. Kisawahili, or - coast language, into which the great South African family here divides - itself, is the most useful, because most generally known, and, once - mastered, it renders the rest easy. With the aid of the slaves, I - collected about five hundred words in the three principal dialects - upon this line of road--the Kisawahili, the Kizaramo, which included - the Kik'hutu, and the Kinyamwezi. It was very difficult, for they - always used to answer me, 'Verily in the coast tongue, words never - take root, nor do they ever bear branches.' The rest of my time was - devoted to preparation for journeying, and absolute work--tailoring, - sail-making, umbrella-mending, etc. - - "On the 14th of July the last Arab Caravan left Unyanyembe, under the - command of Sayf bin Said el Wardi. He offered to convey letters and - anything else, and I forwarded the useless surveying instruments, - manuscripts, maps, field and sketch books, and reports to the Royal - Geographical Society. This excitement over, I began to weary of Kázeh. - - - DIFFERENCES BEGIN BETWEEN SPEKE AND RICHARD. - - - "Already I was preparing to organize a little expedition to K'hokoro - and the southern provinces, when unexpectedly--in these lands a few - cries and gun-shots are the only credible precursors of a Caravan--on - the morning of the 25th of August reappeared Jack. - - [Sidenote: _Speke returns and the Differences arose._] - - "At length Jack had been successful. His 'flying trip' had led him to - the northern water, and he had found its dimensions surpassing our - most sanguine expectations. We had scarcely, however, breakfasted - before he announced to me the startling fact that 'he had discovered - the sources of the White Nile.' It was an inspiration perhaps. The - moment he sighted the Nyanza, he felt at once no doubt but that the - 'lake at his feet gave birth to that interesting river, which has - been the subject of so much speculation and the object of so many - explorers.' The fortunate discoverer's conviction was strong. His - reasons were weak, were of the category alluded to by the damsel - Lucetta, when justifying her penchant in favour of the 'lovely - gentleman,' Sir Proteus-- - - 'I have no other but a woman's reason-- - I think him so because I think him so;'[3] - - and probably his Sources of the Nile grew in his mind as his Mountains - of the Moon had grown under his hand. - - "His main argument in favour of the lake representing the great - reservoir of the White Nile was that the 'principal men' at the - southern extremity ignored the extent northward. 'On my inquiring - about the lake's length,' said Jack, 'the man (the greatest traveller - in the place) faced to the north, and began nodding his head to it. - At the same time he kept throwing forward his right hand, and making - repeated snaps of his fingers, endeavouring to indicate something - immeasurable; and added that nobody knew, but he thought it probably - extended to the end of the world.' Strongly impressed by this valuable - statistical information, Jack therefore placed the northern limit - about 4° to 5° N. lat., whereas the Egyptian Expedition sent by the - late Mohammed Ali Pacha, about twenty years ago, to explore the coy - Sources, reached 3° 22' N. lat. The expedition therefore ought to - have sailed fifty miles upon the Nyanza Lake. On the contrary, from - information derived on the spot, that expedition placed the fountains - at one month's journey--three hundred to three hundred and fifty - miles--to the south-east, or upon the northern counterslope of Mount - Kenia. - - "Whilst marching to the coast, Jack--he tells us--was assured by a - 'respectable Sawahili merchant that when engaged in traffic, some - years previously, to the northward of the Line and the westward of - this lake, he had heard it commonly reported that large vessels - frequented the northern extremity of these waters, in which the - officers engaged in navigating them used sextants and kept a log, - precisely similar to what is found in vessels on the ocean. Query, - Could this be in allusion to the expedition sent by Mohammed Ali up - the Nile in former years?' (_Proceedings of the Royal Geographical - Society_, May 9, 1859). Clearly, if Abdullah bin Nasib, the Msawahili - alluded to, had reported these words, he merely erred. The Egyptian - Expedition, as has been shown, not only did not find, they never even - heard of a lake. But not being present at the conversation, besides - the geographical difficulties which any scientific geographer could - see at a glance, I am tempted to assign further explanation. Jack, - wholly ignorant of Arabic, was obliged to depend upon 'Bombay.' - Bombay misunderstood Jack's bad Hindostani. He then mistranslated the - words in Kisawahili to the best African, who, in his turn, passed - it on in a still wilder dialect to the noble savages who were under - cross-examination. My experience is that words in journeys to and fro - are liable to the severest accidents and have often bad consequences, - and now I felt that an _influent_ of the Nyanza was described as an - _effluent_, and the real original and only genuine White Nile would - remain thus described for years to our shame, and it is easy to see - how the blunder originated. - - "The Arabic _bahr_ and the Kisawahili _báhari_ are equally applicable, - in vulgar parlance, to a river or sea, a lake or river. Traditions - concerning a Western sea--the to them now unknown Atlantic--over - which the white men voyage, are familiar to many East Africans; I - have heard at Harar precisely the same report concerning the log and - sextants. Either, then, Abdullah bin Nasib confounded, or Jack's - '_interrupter_' caused _him_ to confound, the Atlantic and the lake. - In the maps forwarded from Kázeh by Jack, the river Kivira was, after - ample inquiry, made a western _influent_ of the Nyanza Lake. In the - map appended to the paper in _Blackwood_, before alluded to, it has - become an _effluent_, and the only minute concerning so very important - a modification is, 'This river (although I must confess at first I did - not think so) is the Nile itself.' - - "Beyond the assertion, therefore, that no man had visited the north, - and the appearance of 'sextants' and 'logs' upon the waters, there - is not a shade of proof _pro_. Far graver considerations lie on the - _con_ side; the reports of the Egyptian Expedition, and the dates - of the several inundations which--as will presently appear--alone - suffice to disprove the possibility of the Nyanza causing the flood - of the Nile. It is doubtless a satisfactory thing to disclose to an - admiring public of 'Statesmen, Churchmen, Missionaries, Merchants, - and more particularly Geographers,' the 'solution of a problem, which - it had been the first geographical desideratum of many thousand - years to ascertain, and the ambition of the first Monarchs in the - World to unravel' (_Blackwood's Magazine_, October, 1859). But how - many times since the days of a certain Claudius Ptolemæius, surnamed - Pelusiota, have not the fountains of the White Nile been discovered - and re-discovered after this fashion? - - "What tended at the time to make me the more sceptical, was the - substantial incorrectness of the geographical and other details - brought back by Jack. This was natural enough. The first thing - reported to me was 'the falsehood of the Arabs at Kázeh, who had - calumniated the good Sultan Muhayya, and had praised the bad Sultan - Machunda:' subsequent inquiries proved their rigid correctness. Jack's - principal informant was one Mansur bin Salim, a half-caste Arab, - who had been flogged out of Kázeh by his compatriots; he pronounced - Muhayya to be a 'very excellent and obliging person,' and of - course he was believed. I then heard a detailed account 'of how the - Caravan of Salim bin Rashid had been attacked, beaten, captured, and - detained at Ukerewe, by its Sultan Machunda.' The Arabs received the - intelligence with a smile of ridicule, and in a few days Salim bin - Rashid appeared in person to disprove the report. These are but _two_ - cases of _many_. And what knowledge of Asiatic customs can be expected - from the writer of the following lines?--'The Arabs at Unyanyembe had - advised my donning their habit for the trip in order to attract less - attention; a vain precaution, which I believe they suggested more to - gratify their own vanity in _seeing an Englishman lower himself to - their position_ (?), than for any benefit that I might receive by - doing so' (_Blackwood, loco cit._). This galamatias of the Arabs! the - haughtiest and the most clannish of all Oriental peoples. - - [Sidenote: _Richard soliloquizes on Speke's Change of Front._] - - "Jack changed his manners to me from this date. His difference of - opinion was allowed to alter companionship. After a few days it became - evident to me that not a word could be uttered upon the subject of the - lake, the Nile, and his _trouvaille_ generally without offence. By a - tacit agreement it was, therefore, avoided, and I should never have - resumed it, had Jack not stultified the results of my expedition by - putting forth a claim which no geographer can admit, and which is at - the same time so weak and flimsy, that no geographer has yet taken the - trouble to contradict it. - - "Now, for the first time, although I had pursued my journey under - great provocations from time to time, I never realized what an - injury I had done the Expedition publicly, as well as myself, by - not travelling alone, or with Arab companions, or at least with a - less crooked-minded, cantankerous Englishman. He is energetic, he is - courageous and persevering. He distinguished himself in the Punjaub - Campaign. I first found him in Aden with a three years' furlough. - His heart was set on spending two years of his leave in collecting - animals north of the Line in Africa. He never _thought_ in any way - of the Nile, and he was astonished at _my_ views, which he deemed - impracticable. He had no qualifications for the excursion that he - proposed to himself, except that of being a good sportsman. He was - ignorant of the native races in Africa, he had brought with him - about £400 worth of cheap and useless guns and revolvers, swords and - cutlery, beads and cloth, which the Africans would have rejected with - disdain. He did not know any of the manners and customs of the East; - he did not know any language except a little Anglo-Hindostani; he - did not _even_ know the names of the Coast Towns. I saw him engage, - as protectors or _Abbans_, any Somali donkey-boys who could speak a - little English. I saw that he was going to lose his money and his - 'leave' and his life. Why should I have cared? I do not know; but as - 'virtue is really its own reward,' I did so, and have got a slap in - the face, which I suppose I deserve. I first took him to Somali-land; - then I applied officially for him, and thus saved his furlough and - his money by putting him on full service. You would now think, to see - his conduct, that the case was reversed--that he had taken me, not - I him; whereas I can confidently say that, except his shooting and - his rags of Anglo-Hindostani, I have taught him everything he knows. - He had suffered in purse and person at Berberah, and though he does - not know French or Arabic, though he is not a man of science, nor an - acute astronomical observer, I thought it only just to offer him the - opportunity of accompanying me as second in command into Africa. He - quite understood that it _was_ in a subordinate capacity, as we should - have to travel amongst Arabs, Belochs, and Africans, whose language - he did not know. The Court of Directors refused me, but I obtained - it by an application, to the Local Authorities at Bombay. He knew by - experience in Somali-land what travelling with _me_ meant, and yet he - was only too glad to come. - - "I have also done more than Jack in the cause. The Royal Geographical - Society only allowed us £1000, and sooner than fail I have sacrificed - a part of the little patrimony I inherited, and my reward is, that - I and my expenditure, and the cause for which I have sacrificed - everything, are made ridiculous." - -N.B.--Richard's kind-heartedness and forethought for others often -militated against himself, owing to the meanness and unworthiness of -the objects it was bestowed upon. - - -A FEW DETAILS OF THE LAKES FOR GEOGRAPHERS. - - - [Sidenote: _For Geographers._] - - "I will here offer to the reader a few details concerning the lake in - question; they are principally borrowed from Jack's diary, carefully - corrected, however, by Snay bin Amir, Salim bin Rashid,[4] and other - merchants at Kázeh. - - "This fresh-water sea is known throughout the African tribes as - Nyanza, and the similarity of the sound to 'Nyassa,' the indigenous - name of the little Maravi, or Kilwa Lake, may have caused in part the - wild confusion in which speculative geographers have involved the Lake - Regions of Central Africa. The Arabs, after their fashion of deriving - comprehensive names from local and minor features, call it Ukerewe, - in the Kisukuma dialect meaning the 'place of Kerewe' (Kelewe), an - islet. As has been mentioned, they sometimes attempt to join by a - river, a creek, or some other theoretical creation, the Nyanza with - the Tanganyika, the altitude of the former being 3750 feet above - sea-level, or 1900 feet above the latter, and the mountain regions - which divide the two having been frequently travelled over by Arab and - African caravans. Hence the name Ukerewe has been transferred in the - 'Mombas Mission Map' to the northern waters of the Tanganyika. The - Nyanza, as regards name, position, and even existence, has hitherto - been unknown to European geographers; but, as will presently appear, - descriptions of this sea by native travellers have been unconsciously - transferred by our writers to the Tanganyika to Ujiji, and even to the - Nyassa of Kilwa. - - "M. Brun-Rollet ('Le Nil Blanc et le Soudan,' p. 209) heard that on - the west of the Padongo tribe--which he places to the south of Mount - Kambirah, or below 1° S. lat.--lies a great lake, from whose northern - extremity issues a river whose course is unknown. In a map appended - to his volume this water is placed between 1° S. and 3° N. lat., and - about 25° 50' E. long. (Greenwich), and the reservoir is made an - influent of the White Nile. - - "Bowditch ('Discoveries of the Portuguese,' pp. 131, 132), when - speaking of the Maravi Lake (the Nyassa), mentions that the 'negroes - or the Moors of Melinde' have mentioned a great water which is - known to reach Mombaça, which the Jesuit missionaries conjectured - to communicate with Abyssinia, and of which Father Lewis Marianna, - who formerly resided at Tete, recommended a discovery, in a letter - addressed to the Government at Goa, which is still preserved among - the public archives of that city. Here the confusion of the Nyanza, - to which there was of old a route from Mombasah, with the Nyassa is - apparent. - - "At the southern point, where the Muingwira river falls into the - tortuous creek, whose surface is a little archipelago of brown rocky - islets crowned with trees and emerging from the blue waters, the - observed latitude of the Nyanza Lake is 2° 24' S.; the longitude by - dead reckoning from Kázeh is E. long. 33° and nearly due north, and - the altitude by B. P. thermometer 3750 feet above sea-level. Its - extent to the north is unknown to the people of the southern regions, - which rather denotes some difficulty in travelling than any great - extent. They informed Jack that from Mwanza to the southern frontier - of Karágwah is a land journey of one month, or a sea voyage of five - days towards north-north-west, and then to the north. They also - pointed out the direction of Unyoro N. 20° W. The Arab merchants of - Kázeh have seen the Nyanza opposite Weranhanja, the capital district - of Armanika, King of Karágwah, and declares that it receives the - Kitangure river, whose mouth has been placed about the equator. - - "Beyond that point all is doubtful. The merchants have heard that - Suna, the late despot of Uganda, built _matumbi_, or undecked - vessels, capable of containing forty or fifty men, in order to - attack his enemies, the Wasoga, upon the creeks which indent the - western shores of the Nyanza. This, if true, would protract the lake - to between 1° and 1° 30' of N. lat, and give it a total length of - about 4°, or 250 miles. This point, however, is still involved in - the deepest obscurity. Its breadth was estimated as follows:--A hill - about two hundred feet above the water-level, shows a conspicuous - landmark on the eastern shore, which was set down as forty miles - distant. On the south-western angle of the line from the same point, - ground appeared; it was not, however, perceptible north-west. The - total breadth, therefore, has been assumed at eighty miles--a - figure which approaches the traditions unconsciously chronicled by - European geographers. In the vicinity of Usoga, the lake, according - to the Arabs, broadens out; of this, however, and in fact of all the - formation north of the equator, it is at present impossible to arrive - at certainty. - - "The Nyanza is an elevated basin or reservoir, the recipient of the - surplus monsoon rain, which falls in the extensive regions of the - Wamasai and their kinsmen to the east, the Karágwah line of the - Lunar Mountains to the west, and to the south Usukuma, or Northern - Unyamwezi. Extending to the equator in the central length of the - African peninsula, and elevated above the limits of the depression in - the heart of the continent, it appeared to be a gap in the irregular - chain which, running from Usumbara and Kilima-ngao to Karágwah, - represents the formation anciently termed the Mountains of the Moon. - The physical features, as far as they were observed, suggest this - view. The shores are low and flat, dotted here and there with little - hills; the smaller islands also are hill-tops, and any part of the - country immediately on the south would, if inundated to the same - extent, present a similar aspect. - - "The lake lies open and elevated, rather like the drainage and the - temporary deposit of extensive floods than a volcanic creation like - the Tanganyika, a long narrow mountain-girt basin. The waters are said - to be deep, and the extent of the inundation about the southern creek - proves that they receive during the season an important accession. The - colour was observed to be clear and blue, especially from afar in the - early morning; after nine a.m., when the prevalent south-east wind - arose, the surface appears greyish or of a dull milky white, probably - the effect of atmospheric reflection. The tint, however, does not, - according to travellers, ever become red or green like the waters of - the Nile. But the produce of the lake resembles that of the river in - its purity; the people living on the shores prefer it, unlike that - of the Tanganyika, to the highest and clearest springs; all visitors - agree in commending its lightness and sweetness, and declare that the - taste is rather of river or of rain water, than resembling the soft - slimy produce of stagnant, muddy bottoms, or the rough harsh flavour - of melted ice and snow. - - "From the southern creek of the Nyanza, and beyond the archipelago of - neighbouring islets, appear the two features which have given to this - lake the name of Ukerewe. The Arabs call them 'Jezirah'--an ambiguous - term, meaning equally insula and peninsula--but they can scarcely - be called islands. The high and rocky Mazita to the east, and the - comparatively flat Ukerewe on the west, are described by the Arabs as - points terminating seawards in bluffs, and connected with the eastern - shore by a low neck of land--probably a continuous reef--flooded - during the rains, but never so deeply as to prevent cattle fording - the isthmus. The northern and western extremities front deep water, - and a broad channel separates them from the southern shore, Usukuma. - The Arabs, when visiting Ukerewe or its neighbour, prefer hiring the - canoes of the Wasakuma, and paddling round the south-eastern extremity - of the Nyanza, to exposing their property and lives by marching - through the dangerous tribes of the coast. - - "The altitude, the conformation of the Nyanza Lake, the argilaceous - colour and the sweetness of its waters, combine to suggest that it - may be one of the feeders of the White Nile. In the map appended to - M. Brun Rollet's volume, before alluded to, the large water west of - the Padongo tribe, which clearly represents the Nyanza or Ukerewe, - is, I have observed, made to drain northwards into the Fitri Lake, - and eventually to swell the main stream of the White River. The - details supplied by the Egyptian Expedition, which, about twenty - years ago, ascended the White River to 3° 22' N. lat. and 31° 30' E. - long., and gave the general bearing of the river from that point of - its source as south-east, with a distance of one month's journey, or - from three hundred to three hundred and fifty miles, would place the - actual sources 2° S. lat. and 35° E. long., or in 2° eastward of the - southern creek of the Nyanza Lake. This position would occupy the - northern counterslope of the Lunar Mountains, the upper watershed of - the high region whose culminating apices are Kilima-ngao, Kenia, and - Doengo Engai. The distance of these peaks from the coast as given by - Dr. Krapf must be considerably reduced, and little authority can be - attached to his river Tumbiri.[5] The site, supposed by Mr. Macqueen - (_Proceedings of the Geographical Society of London_, January 24th, - 1859) to be at least twenty-one thousand feet above the level of the - sea, and consequently three or four thousand feet above the line of - perpetual congelation, would admirably explain the two most ancient - theories concerning the source of the White River, namely, that it - arises in snowy regions, and that its inundation is the result of - tropical rains. - - "It is impossible not to suspect that between the upper portion - of the Nyanza and the watershed of the White Nile there exists a - longitudinal range of elevated ground, running from east to west--a - _furca_ draining northwards into the Nile and southwards into the - Nyanza Lake--like that which separates the Tanganyika from the Maravi - or Nyassa of Kilwa. According to Don Angelo Vinco, who visited Loquéck - in 1852, beyond the Cataract of Garbo--supposed to be in N. lat. 2° - 40'--at a distance of sixty miles lie Robego, the capital of Kuenda - and Lokoya (Logoja), of which the latter receives an affluent from the - east. Beyond Lokoya the White Nile is described as a _small and rocky - mountain river_, presenting none of the features of a stream flowing - from a broad expanse of water like the great Nyanza reservoir. - - "The periodical swelling of the Nyanza Lake, which, flooding a - considerable tract of land on the south, may be supposed--as it lies - flush with the basal surface of the country--to inundate extensively - all the low lands that form its periphery, forbids belief in the - possibility of its being the head-stream of the Nile, or the reservoir - of its periodical inundation. In Karágwah, upon the western shore, - the _masika_, or monsoon, last from October to May or June, after - which the dry season sets in. The Egyptian Expedition found the river - falling fast at the end of January, and they learned from the people - that it would rise again about the end of March, at which season the - sun is vertical over the equator. About the summer solstice (June), - when the rains cease in the regions south of and upon the equator, - the White Nile begins to flood. From March to the autumnal equinox - (September) it continues to overflow its banks till it attains its - magnitude, and from that time it shrinks through the winter solstice - (December) till March. - - "The Nile is, therefore, full during the dry season and low during - the rainy season, south of and immediately upon the equator. And as - the northern counterslope of Kenia will, to a certain extent, be - a lee-land like Ugogi, it cannot have the superfluity of moisture - necessary to send forth a first-class stream. The inundation is - synchronous with the great falls of the northern equatorial regions, - which extend from July to September, and is dependent solely upon the - tropical rains. It is therefore probable that the true sources of the - 'Holy River' will be found to be a network of runnels and rivulets of - scanty dimensions, filled by monsoon torrents, and perhaps a little - swollen by melted snow on the northern water-parting of the eastern - Lunar Mountains. - - - OUR RETURN. - - - "At Kázeh, to my great disappointment, it was settled, in a full Arab - conclave, that we must return to the coast by the path with which - we were painfully familiar. It was only the state of our finances - which prevented us, whilst at Ujiji, from navigating the Tanganyika - southwards and arriving, after a journey of three months, at Kilwa. - That and 'leave' prevented us from going to Karágwah and Uganda. The - rains, which rendered travelling impossible, set in about September; - our two years' leave of absence were drawing to a close, and we were - afraid to risk it, but we meant to return and do these things, tracing - the course of the Rufiji river (Rwaha) and visiting the coast between - the Usagára Mountains and Kilwa, an unknown line. - - [Sidenote: _The Kindness of Musa Mzuri and Snay bin Amir._] - - "Musa Mzuri returned with great pomp to Kázeh; he is between - forty-five and fifty, tall, gaunt, with delicate extremities, and the - regular handsome features of a high-caste Indian Moslem. He is sad - and staid, wears a snowy skull-cap, and well-fitting sandals. His - abode is a village in size, with lofty gates, spacious courts, full - of slaves and hangers-on, a great contrast to the humility of the - Semite tenements. His son knew a little English, but he had learnt no - Hindostani from his father, who, though expatriated for thirty-five - years, spoke his mother tongue purely and well. Musa was a man of - quiet, unaffected manner, dashed with a little Indian reserve. One - Salim bin Rashid, while collecting ivory to the eastward of the Nyanza - Lake, had recovered a Msawahili porter, who, having fallen sick on - the road, had been left by a Caravan amongst the wildest of the East - African tribes, the Wahuma (the Wamasai). From this man, who spent - two years amongst these plunderers and their rivals in villany, the - Warudi, I gained most valuable information. I also was called upon by - Amayr bin Said el Shaksi, a strong-framed, stout-hearted Arab, who, - when his vessel foundered in the Tanganyika, swam for his life, and - lived for five months on roots and grasses, until restored to Ujiji by - an Arab canoe. He spent many hours a day with me--he gave me immense - information; and Hilal bin Nasur, a well-born Harisi returned from - K'hokoro, also gave me most valuable facts. - - "It is needless to say that, with all our economy and care, we arrived - at the coast destitute. The hospitable Snay bin Amir came personally, - although only a convalescent, to superintend our departure, provided - us with his own slaves and a charming Arab breakfast; he spent the - whole of that day with us, and followed us out of the compound - through a white-hot sun and a chilling wind; nay, he did more--he - followed us to our next station with Musa, and he helped us to put - the finishing touches to the journals. I thanked these kind-hearted - men for their many good deeds and services, and promised to report - to H.H. the Sayyid Majid the hospitable reception of his subjects - generally, and of Snay and Musa in particular. In the evening we took - a most affecting farewell.[6] On the 4th of October, insufficiency - of porterage compelled me to send back men for articles left by them - at several of the villages, and we at last reached Hanga, our former - quarters. Desertions were rife, and so were quarrels, in which I was - always begged to take an active part, but experience amongst the - Bashi-Bazouks in the Dardanelles taught me better. - - - LITTLE IRONS. - - - [Sidenote: _Speke's Illness._] - - "At Hanga, Jack had been chilled on the march from the cruel easterly - wind, and at the second march he had ague. At Hanga we were lodged in - a foul cowhouse full of vermin, and exposed to the fury of the gales. - He had a deaf ear, an inflamed eye, and a swollen face, but worst of - all was a mysterious pain, which shifted--he could not say whether - it was liver or spleen. It began with a burning sensation as by a - branding iron above the right breast, and then extended to the heart - with sharp twinges. It then ranged round the spleen, attacked the - upper part of the right lung, and finally settled in the liver. - - "On the 10th of October, at dawn, he woke with a horrible dream of - tigers, leopards, and other beasts, harnessed with a network of iron - hooks, dragging him, like the rush of a whirlwind, over the ground. He - sat up on the side of his bed, forcibly clasping both sides with his - hands. Half stupefied by pain, he called to Bombay, who had formerly - suffered from this _kichyomachyoma_, 'the little irons,' who put him - in the position a man must lie in, who gets this attack. The next - spasm was less severe, but he began to wander. In twenty-four hours, - supported by two men, he staggered towards the tent to a chair; but - the spasms returning, he was assisted back into the house, where he - had a third fit of epileptic description, like hydrophobia. Again he - was haunted by crowds of devils, giants, lion-headed demons, who were - wrenching with superhuman force, and stripping the sinews and tendons - of his legs down to his ankles. With limbs racked by cramps, features - drawn and ghastly, frame fixed and rigid, eyes glazed and glassy, he - began to bark with a peculiar chopping motion of the mouth and tongue, - with lips protruding, the effect of difficulty of breathing, which so - altered his appearance that he was not recognizable, and terrified - all beholders. When the third and severest spasm had passed away, and - he could speak, he called for pen and paper, and wrote an incoherent - letter of farewell to his family. That was the crisis. I never left - him, taking all possible precautions, never letting him move without - my assistance, and always having a resting-place prepared for him; - but for some weeks he had to sleep in a half sitting-up position, - pillow-propped, and he could not lie upon his side. Although the pains - were mitigated, they did not entirely cease; this he expressed by - saying, 'Dick, the knives are sheathed!' - - "During Jack's delirium he let out all his little grievances of - fancied wrongs, of which I had not had even the remotest idea. He was - vexed that his diary (which I had edited so carefully, and put into - the Appendix of 'First Footsteps in Eastern Africa') had not been - printed _as_ he wrote it--geographical blunders and all; also because - he had not been paid for it, I having lost money over the book - myself. He asked me to send his collections to the Calcutta Museum of - Natural History; now he was hurt because I had done so. He was awfully - grieved because in the thick of the fight at Berberah, three years - before, I had said to him, 'Don't step back, or they will think we - are running.' I cannot tell how many more things I had unconsciously - done, and I crowned it by not accepting immediately his loud assertion - _that he had discovered the Sources of the Nile_; and I never should - have known that he was pondering these things in his heart, if he had - not raved them out in delirium. I only noticed that his alacrity had - vanished; that he was never contented with any arrangement; that he - left all the management to me, and that then he complained that he - had never been consulted; that he quarrelled with our followers, and - got himself insulted; and, previously to our journey, having been - unaccustomed to sickness, he neither could endure it himself, nor - feel for it in others. He took pleasure in saying unkind, unpleasant - things, and said he could not take an interest in any exploration if - he did not command it. - - "These illnesses are the effects of fever, and a mysterious - manifestation of miasma in certain latitudes; for in some tracts we - were perfectly well, in other tracts we were mortally sick, and the - changes were instantaneous. Cultivation and Civilization will probably - wear these effects out, by planting, clearing jungle, and so on. - - "I immediately sent an express back to Snay bin Amir, for the proper - treatment, and found that they powdered myrrh with yolk of egg and - flour of _mung_ for poultices. I saw that, in default of physic, - change of air was the only thing for him, and I had a hammock rigged - up for him, and by good fortune an unloaded Caravan was passing down - to the coast. We got hold of thirteen unloaded porters, who for a - large sum consented to carry us to Rubuga, else we should have been - left to die in the wilderness. Bombay had long since returned to his - former attitude, that of a respectful and most ready servant. He - had on one trip broken my elephant gun, killed my riding-ass, and - lost his bridle, and did all sorts of irrational things, but for all - that he was a most valuable servant, for his unwearied activity, his - undeviating honesty, and his kindness of heart. Said bin Salim had - long forfeited my confidence by his carelessness and extravagance, and - the disappearance of the outfit committed to him at Ujiji--in favour - of one of his friends, as I afterwards learned--rendered him unfit for - stewardship. The others praised each other openly and without reserve, - and if an evil tale ever reached my ear, it was against innocent - Bombay, its object being to ruin him in my estimation. - - [Sidenote: _They cross the "Fiery Field."_] - - As I knew we should be short of water, I prepared by packing a box - with empty bottles, which we could fill at the best springs, and by - the result of that after-wisdom which some have termed 'fool's wit,' - I commenced the down march happy as a _bourgeois_ or a trapper in the - Pays Sauvage. Before entering the 'Fiery Field' the hammock-bearers - became so exorbitant that I drew on my jackboots and mounted an - ass, and Jack had so far convalesced that he wanted to ride too. He - had still, however, harassing heartache, nausea, and other bilious - symptoms, when exposed to the burning sun; but when he got to K'hok'ho - in Ugogi, sleep and appetite came, he could carry a heavy rifle, - and do damage amongst the antelope and guineafowl. Now all began - to wax civil, even to servility, grumbling ceased, smiles mantled - every countenance, and even the most troublesome rascal was to be - seen meekly sweeping out our tents with a bunch of thorns. We made - seven marches between Hanga and Tura, where we arrived on the 28th of - October, and halted six days to procure food. My own party were 10; - Said bin Salim's, 12; the Beloch, 38; Ramji's party, 24; the porters, - 68--in all 152 souls. We plunged manfully into the 'Fiery Field,' and - after seven marches in seven days, we bivouacked at Jiwe la Mkoa, - and on the 12th of November, after two days' march, came into the - fertile red plain of Mdaduru, in the transit of Ugogi. After that, - where I had been taught to expect danger, it reduced itself to large - disappearances of cloth and beads. Gul Mahommed was our Missionary, - but he was just like the European old lady, who believes that on such - subjects all the world must think with her. I have long been suspected - of telling lies, when describing the worship of a god with four arms, - and the goddesses with two heads. The transit of Ugogi occupied - three weeks. At Kanyenye we were joined by a large down-Caravan of - Wanyamwezi, who, amongst other news, told us that our former line - through Usagára was closed through the fighting of the tribes. - - [Sidenote: _An Official Wigging._] - - "On the 6th of December we arrived at our old ground in the Ugogi - Dhun, and met another Caravan, which presently drew forth a packet of - letters and papers. This post brought me rather an amusing official - wigging. Firstly, there was a note from Captain Rigby, my friend - Hamerton's successor at Zanzibar. Secondly, the following letter:-- - - "'3, Savile Row. - - "'DEAR BURTON, - - "'Go ahead! Vogel and MacGuire dead--murdered. Write often. - - "'Yours truly, - - "'NORTON SHAW.' - - "The 'wig' was this. I had paid the Government the compliment of - sending it, through the Royal Geographical Society, an account of - political affairs in the Red Sea, saying I feared trouble at Jeddah, - which I had had from my usual private information from the interior, - being fearful that there would be troubles at Jeddah; and the only - thanks I got was a letter, stating 'that my want of discretion and - due regard for the authorities to whom I am subordinate, has been - regarded with displeasure by the Government.' They are cold and crusty - to reward a little word of wisdom from their babes and sucklings; but - what was so comically sad was this:--The official wig was dated the - 1st of July, 1857. Posts are slow in Africa, so that by the same - post I got a newspaper with an account of the massacre of nearly all - the Christians at Jeddah on the Red Sea, expressing great fears that - the Arab population of Suez also might be excited to commit similar - outrages. This took place on the 30th of June, 1858, exactly eleven - months after I had warned the Government. - - "We loaded on the 7th of December, and commenced the passage of the - Usagára Mountains by the Kiringawána line. This is the southern route, - separated from the northern by an interval of forty-three miles. It - contains settlements like Maroro and Kisanga. It is nineteen short - stages; provisions are procurable, water plentiful, and plenty of - grass, as long as you can pass the Warori tribe. Mosquitoes are - plentiful. The owners of the land have a chronic horror of the Warori, - and on sighting our peaceful Caravan they raised the war-cry, and were - only quieted on knowing that we were much more frightened than they - were. We had wild weather, we stayed at Maroro for food; at Kiperepeta - there were gangs of four hundred touters, with their muskets, waiting - the arrival of Caravans. - - [Sidenote: _Christmas Day,_ 1858.] - - "On Christmas Day, 1858, at dawn, we toiled along the Kikoboga river, - which we forded four times. Jack and I had a fat capon instead of - roast beef, and a mess of ground nuts sweetened with sugar-cane, - which did duty for plum-pudding. The contrast of what was, with what - might be, now however suggested pleasurable sensations. We might now - see Christmas Day of 1859, whereas on Christmas Day, 1857, we saw - no chance of that of 1858. Fourteen marches took us from the foot - of Usagára Mountains to Central Zungomero, traversing the districts - of Eastern Mbwiga, Marundwe, and Kirengwe. It is a road hideous and - grotesque: no animals, flocks, or poultry; the villages look like - birds' nests torn from the trees; the people slink away--they are all - armed with bows and poisoned arrows. At Zungomero, the village on the - left bank of the Mgeta, which we had occupied on the outer march, - was razed to the ground. I here offered a liberal reward to get to - Kilwa. However, I did not succeed, and there was some intrigue about - the pay afterwards, which I never understood, which was annoying to - me; but such events are common on the slave-paths in Eastern Africa. - Of the seven gangs of porters engaged on this journey, _only one_, an - unusually small portion, _left me without being fully satisfied_, and - _that one fully deserved to be disappointed_. - - "On the 14th of January, 1859, we received Mr. Apothecary Frost's - letters, drugs, and medical comforts, for which we had written to - him July, 1857. After crossing the Mgeta, we sat down patiently on - a bank, in spite of the ants, to await the arrival of a Caravan to - complete our gang, but the new medical comforts enabled us to have - ether-sherbet and ether-lemonade, and it did not hurt us. On the 17th - of January a Caravan came, which I had been longing to meet. The Arab - Chiefs Sulayman bin Rashid el Riami and Mohammed bin Gharib, who - called upon me without delay, gave me most interesting information. To - the south, from Uhehe to Ubena, was a continuous chain of highlands - pouring affluents across the road into the Rwaha river, and water - was only procurable in the beds of the nullahs and _fiumaras_. If - this chain be of any considerable length, it may represent the - water-parting between the Tanganyika and Nyassa Lakes, and thus divide - by another and a southerly lateral band the great Depression of - Central Africa. - - "The 21st of January we left Zungomero, and made Konduchi on the 3rd - of February in twelve marches. The mud was almost throat-deep near - Dut'humi, and we had a weary trudge of thick slabby mire up to the - knees. In places, after toiling under a sickly sun, we crept under - the tunnels of thick jungle-growth veiling the streams, the dank - fœtid cold of which caused a deadly sensation of faintness, which was - only relieved by a glass of ether-sherbet or a pipe of the strongest - tobacco. By degrees it was found necessary to abandon the greater part - of the remaining outfit and luggage. The 27th of January saw us pass - safely by the village where M. Maizan was murdered. - - "On the 28th there was a report that we were to be attacked at a - certain place, and Said bin Salim came to tell me that the road was - cut off, and that I must delay till an escort could be summoned from - the coast. I knew quite well that it was only an intrigue, but I - feared that real obstacles might be placed in our way by the wily - little man, and as soon as _bakshish_ was mentioned, four naked - varlets appeared in a quarter of an hour as escort. - - "On the 30th of January the men screamed with delight at the sight of - the mango tree, and all their old familiar fruits. - - "On the 2nd of February, 1859, Jack and I caught sight of the sea. We - lifted our caps, and gave 'three times three and one more.' The 3rd - of February saw us passing through the poles decorated with skulls--a - sort of negro Temple Bar--at the entrance of Konduchi; they now grin - in the London Royal College of Surgeons. - - "Our entrance was immense. The war-men danced, shot, shouted; the boys - crowded; the women lulliloo'd with all their might; and a general - procession conducted us to the hut, swept, cleaned, and garnished - for us, by the principal _Banyan_ of the Head-quarter village, and - there the crowd stared and laughed until they could stare and laugh - no more. A boat transferred most of our following to their homes, and - they kissed my hand and departed, weeping bitterly with the agony - of parting. I sent a note to the Consul at Zanzibar, asking for a - coasting craft to explore the Delta and the unknown course of the - Rufiji river. I liberally rewarded Zawáda, who had attended to Jack in - his illness. We were detained at Konduchi for six days, from the 3rd - to the 10th of February. - - [Sidenote: _Speke leaves Richard Ill, but apparently Friendly._] - - "On the 9th of February the craft arrived at Konduchi from Zanzibar, - and we rolled down the coast with a fair, fresh breeze towards - Kilwa, the Quiloa of De Gama and of Camoens. We lost all our crew by - cholera, and we were unable to visit the course of the great Rufiji - river, a counterpart of the Zambesi in the south, and a water-road - which appears destined to become the highway of nations into Eastern - Equatorial Africa. The deluge of rain and floods showed me that - the travelling season was at an end. I turned the head of the craft - northwards, and on the 4th of March, 1859, we landed once more on - the island of Zanzibar. Sick and wayworn, I entered the house in sad - memory of my old friend, which I was fated to regret still more. The - excitement of travel was succeeded by an utter depression of mind - and body; even the labour of talking was too great. The little State - was in the height of confusion, in a state of Civil war; the eldest - brother of the Sultan was preparing a hostile visit to his youngest - brother, the Sultan Sayyid Majid of Zanzibar. After a fortnight of - excitement and suspense, a gunboat was sent to the elder brother - to persuade him to return. His Highness Sayyid Majid had honoured - me with an expression of his desire that I should remain until the - expected hostilities might be brought to a close. I did so willingly, - in gratitude to a Prince to whose good will my success was mainly - indebted, but the Consulate was no longer bearable to me. I was too - conversant with local politics, too well aware of what was going on, - to be a pleasant companion to its new tenant. I was unwilling to - go, because so much remained to be done. I wanted to wait for fresh - leave of absence and additional funds, but the evident anxiety of - Consul Rigby to get rid of me, and Jack's nervous impatience to go - on, made me abandon my intentions. Said bin Salim called often at the - Consulate, but Captain Rigby agreed with me that he had been more than - sufficiently rewarded, and the same with the others. Jack also was of - the same opinion, but it suited Jack, with his secret prospects or - intentions of returning without me, to change his mind afterwards, - and he was evidently able to get Captain Rigby to do the same. There - can be little doubt that Jack's intention of returning on the second - Expedition, on the lines of the one which he had done so much to - spoil, had a great deal to do with his action on this occasion. When - H.M.S. _Furious_, carrying Lord Elgin and Mr. Laurence Oliphant, his - secretary, arrived at Aden, passage was offered to both of us. I could - not start, being too ill. But _he_ went, and the words Jack said to - me, and I to him, were as follows:--'I shall hurry up, Jack, as soon - as I can,' and the last words Jack ever spoke to me on earth were, - '_Good-bye, old fellow; you may be quite sure I shall not go up to the - Royal Geographical Society until you come to the fore and we appear - together. Make your mind quite easy about that._' - - "With grateful heart I bid adieu to the Sultan, whose kindness and - personal courtesy will long dwell in my memory, and who expressed a - hope to see me again, and offered me one of his ships of war to take - me home. However, a clipper-built barque, the _Dragon of Salem_, - Captain Macfarlane, was about to sail with the south-west monsoon for - Aden. Captain Rigby did not accompany us on board, a mark of civility - usual in the East, but Bombay's honest face turned up and seemed - peculiarly attractive. - - "On the 22nd of March, 1859, the clove shrubs and coco trees of - Zanzibar faded from my eyes, and after crossing and recrossing three - times the tedious Line, we found ourselves anchored, on the 16th of - April, near the ill-omened black walls of the Aden crater. The crisis - of my African sufferings had taken place at the Tanganyika; the fever, - however, still clung to me. - - "I left the Aden coal-hole of the East on the 20th of April, 1859, and - in due time greeted with becoming heartiness my native shores. - - "The very day after he returned to England, May 9th, 1859, Jack - called at the Royal Geographical Society and set on foot the scheme - of a new exploration. He lectured in Burlington House, and when I - reached London on May 21st I found the ground completely cut from - under my feet. Sir Roderick Murchison had given Jack the leadership - of a new Expedition; my own long-cherished plan of entering Africa - through Somali-land, landing at the Arab town Mombas, was dismissed - as unworthy of notice. Jack published two articles in _Blackwood's - Magazine_, assumed the whole credit to himself, illustrated a - wonderful account of his own adventures and discoveries, with a chart - where invention is not in it. He said he did all the astronomical - work, and had taught me the geography of the country through which we - travelled, which made me laugh. Jack, who literally owed everything - to me, habitually wrote and spoke of me to mutual friends in a most - disagreeable manner. Many people who professed to be friendly to me - said it would be more dignified to say nothing, but I knew how unwise - it is to let public sentence pass by default, and how delay may cause - everlasting evil, so I wrote the most temperate vindication of my - position."[7] - -[1] This was Richard's favourite and self-composed motto, and Chinese -Gordon quoted it in every letter he wrote him to the last day of his -life, with a word of congratulation as to its happy choice.--I. B. - -[2] The Arabs always gave Richard the most courteous and cordial -reception, treating him practically as one of themselves. They could -not be expected to think so much of Speke, because he did not know -their language or their religion, and he always treated them as an -Anglo-Indian treats a nigger. He was burning to escape from Kázeh, -and the society of an utterly idle man to one incessantly occupied is -always a drawback, and Richard, whose stronger constitution had enabled -him to bear up at first with greater success, was gradually but surely -succumbing to the awful African climate.--I. B. - -[3] "The following extract from the _Proceedings of the Royal -Geographical Society_, May 9, 1859, will best illustrate what I mean:-- - -"'Mr. Macqueen, F.R.G.S., said the question of the sources of the Nile -had cost him much trouble and research, and he was sure there was no -material error either in longitude or latitude in the position he had -ascribed to them, namely, a little to the eastward of the meridian -of 35° and a little northward of the equator. That was the principal -source of the White Nile. The mountains there were exceedingly high, -from the equator north to Kaffa Enarea. All the authorities, from -east, west, north, or south, now perfectly competent to form judgments -upon such a matter, agreed with him; and among them were the officers -commanding the Egyptian Commission. It was impossible they could _all_ -be mistaken. Dr. Krapf had been within a very short distance of it; he -was more than a hundred and eighty miles from Mombas, and he saw snow -upon the mountains. He conversed with the people who came from them, -and who told him of the snow and exceeding coldness of the temperature. -The line of perpetual congelation, it is well known, was seventeen -thousand feet above the sea. He had an account of the navigation of the -White Nile by the Egyptian Expedition. It was then given as 30° 30' N. -lat. and 31° E. long. At this point the expedition turned back for want -of a sufficient depth of water. Here the river was 1370 feet broad, -and the velocity of the current _one quarter_ of a mile per hour. The -journals also gave a specific and daily current, the depth and width of -the river, and everything, indeed, connected with it. Surely, looking -at the current of the river, the height of the Cartoom above the level -of the sea, and the distance thence up to the equator, the sources of -the Nile must be six or eight thousand feet above the level of the sea, -and still much below the line of snow, which was six or eight thousand -feet farther above them. He deeply regretted he was unable to complete -the diagram for the rest of the papers he had given to the Society, -for it was more important than any others he had previously given. -It contained the journey over Africa from sea to sea, second only to -Dr. Livingstone. But all the rivers coming down from the mountains in -question, and running south-eastward, had been clearly stated by Dr. -Krapf, who gave every particular concerning them. He should like to -know what the natives had said was to the northward of the large lake. -Did they say the rivers ran out from or into the lake? How could the -Egyptian officers be mistaken? - -"'Captain Speke replied. They were not mistaken; and if they had -pursued their journey fifty miles further, they would undoubtedly have -found themselves at the northern borders of this lake. - -"'Mr. Macqueen said that other travellers--Don Angelo, for -instance--had been within one and a half degrees of the equator, and -saw the mountain of Kimborat under the Line, and persisted in the -statement, adding that travellers had been up the river till they found -it a mere brook. He felt convinced that the large lake alluded to by -Captain Speke was not the source of the Nile; it was impossible it -could be so, for it was not at a sufficiently high altitude. - -"'The paper presented to the Society, when fully read in conjunction -with the map, will clearly show that the Bahr-el-Abiad had no -connection with Kilimanjaro, that it has no connection whatever with -any lake or river to the south of the equator, and that the swelling of -the river Nile proceeds from the tropical rains of the northern torrid -zone, as was stated emphatically to Julius Cæsar by the Chief Egyptian -Priest, Amoreis, two thousand years ago. - -"'In nearly 3° N. lat. there is a great cataract, which boats cannot -pass. It is called Gherba. About halfway (fifty miles) above, and -between this cataract and Robego, the capital of Kuenda, the river -becomes so narrow as to be crossed by a bridge formed by a tree thrown -across it. Above Gherba no stream joins the river either from the south -or south-west.'" - -[4] "When Jack returned to Kázeh, he represented Ukerewe and Mazita -to be islands, and although in sight of them, he had heard nothing -concerning their connection with the coast. This error was corrected by -Salim bin Rashid, and accepted by us. Yet I read in his 'Discovery of -the Supposed Sources of the Nile:' 'Mansur, and a native, the greatest -traveller of the place, kindly accompanied and gave me every obtainable -information. This man had traversed the island, as he called it, of -Ukerewe from north to south. But _by his rough mode of describing it, -I am rather inclined to think that instead of its being an actual -island, it is a connected tongue of land, stretching southwards from -a promontory lying at right angles to the eastern shore of the lake,_ -which being a wash, affords a passage to the mainland during the fine -season, but during the wet becomes submerged, and thus makes Ukerewe -temporarily an island.' The information, I repeat, was given, not -by the 'native,' but by Salim bin Rashid. When, however, the latter -proceeded to correct Jack's confusion between the well-known coffee -mart Kitara, and 'the island of Kitiri occupied by a tribe called -Watiri,' he gave only offence, consequently Kitiri has obtained a local -habitation in _Blackwood_ and Petermann." - -[5] "The large river Tumbiri, mentioned by Dr. Krapf as flowing towards -Egypt from the northern counterslope of Mount Kenia, rests upon the -sole authority of a single wandering native. As, moreover, the word -_T'humbiri_ or _Thumbili_ means a monkey, and the people are peculiarly -fond of satire in a small way, it is not improbable that the very name -had no foundation of fact. This is mentioned, as some geographers--for -instance, Mr. Macqueen ('Observations on the Geography of Central -Africa,' _Proceedings of the R.G.S. of London_, May 9, 1859)--have been -struck by the circumstance that the Austrian missionaries and Mr. Werne -('Expedition to discover the Source of the White Nile, in 1840-41') -gave Tubirih as the Bari name of the White Nile at the southern limit -of their exploration." - -[6] Richard long mourned the loss of his friend, whom Captain Speke, on -his second journey with Colonel Grant--whether unable to assist I know -not--left to be killed by the negroes of Mirámbo, his African enemy, in -the bush.--I. B. - -[7] Richard was a strong-willed, outspoken, and grievously injured man, -under the greatest provocation ever put forth. He behaved with dignity, -calmness, and generosity, above all praise.--I. B. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -RICHARD AND I MEET AGAIN. - - "For life, with all its yields of joy and woe - And hope and fear, - Is just our chance o' the prize of learning love-- - How love might be, hath been indeed, and is." - ----ROBERT BROWNING. - - "Dying is easy; keep thou steadfast. - The greater part, to live and to endure." - ----MRS. HAMILTON KING, _The Disciples_. - - "When Calumny's foul dart thy soul oppresses, - Think'st thou the venomed shaft could poison me? - No! the world's scorn, still more than its caresses, - Shall bind me closer, O my love, to thee. - - "Should the days darken, and severe affliction - Close whelming o'er us like a stormy sea, - Love shall transform them into benedictions - Binding me closer, O my love, to thee." - - * * * * * - - "When truth or virtue an affront endures, - The affront is mine, my friend, and should be yours; - Mine as a friend to every worthy mind, - And mine as man who feels for all mankind." - ----POPE. - - -Just as I was getting into despair, and thinking whether I should go -and be a Sister of Charity (May, 1859), as the appearance of Speke -alone in London was giving me the keenest anxiety, and as I heard that -Richard was staying on in Zanzibar, in the hopes of being allowed to -return into Africa, I was very sore.[1] - -On May 22nd, 1859, I chanced to call upon a friend. I was told she was -gone out, but would be in to tea, and was asked if I would wait. I -said, "Yes;" and in about five minutes another ring came to the door, -and another visitor was also asked to wait. The door was opened, and -I turned round, expecting to see my friend. Judge of my feelings when -I beheld Richard. For an instant we both stood dazed, and I cannot -attempt to describe the joy that followed. He had landed the day -before, and came to London, and now he had come to call on this friend -to know where I was living, where to find me. No one will wonder if I -say that we forgot all about her and tea, and that we went downstairs -and got into a cab, and took a long drive. - -I felt like one stunned; I only knew that he put me in and told the -cabman to drive. I felt like a person coming to after a fainting fit or -in a dream. It was acute pain, and for the first half-hour I found no -relief. I would have given worlds for tears or breath; neither came, -but it was absolute content, which I fancy people must feel the first -few moments after the soul is quit of the body. The first thing that -happened was, that we mutually drew each other's pictures out from our -respective pockets at the same moment, which, as we had not expected to -meet, showed how carefully they had been kept. - -After that, we met constantly, and he called upon my parents. I now put -our marriage _seriously_ before them, but without success as regards my -mother. - -I shall never forget Richard as he was then; he had had twenty-one -attacks of fever, had been partially paralyzed and partially blind; he -was a mere skeleton, with brown yellow skin hanging in bags, his eyes -protruding, and his lips drawn away from his teeth. I used to give him -my arm about the Botanical Gardens for fresh air, and sometimes convey -him almost fainting to our house, or friends' houses, who allowed and -encouraged our meeting, in a cab. - -The Government and the Royal Geographical Society looked coldly on -him; the Indian army brought him under the reduction; he was almost -penniless, and he had only a few friends to greet him. Speke was the -hero of the hour, the Stanley of 1859-1864. This was _one_ of the -martyrdoms of that uncrowned King's life, and I think but that for me -he would have died. - -He told me that all the time he had been away the greatest consolation -he had had was my fortnightly journals, in letter form, to him, -accompanied by all newspaper scraps and public and private information, -and accounts of books, such as I knew would interest him, so that when -he did get a mail, which was only in a huge batch now and then, he was -as well posted up as if he were living in London. - -[Sidenote: _We try to effect a Reconciliation between Speke and -Richard._] - -He never abused Speke, as a mean man would have done; he used to say, -"Jack is one of the bravest fellows in the world; if he has a fault it -is overweening vanity, and being so easily flattered; in good hands he -would be the best of men. Let him alone; he will be very sorry some -day, though that won't mend my case." It is interesting _now_ to mark -in their letters how they descend from "Dear Jack," and "Dear Dick," to -"Dear Burton," and "Dear Speke," until they become "Sir!" But I must -relate in Speke's favour that the injury once done to his friend, and -the glory won for himself, he was not happy with it. - -Speke and I had a mutual friend, a lady well known in Society as Kitty -Dormer (Countess Dormer)--she would be ninety-four were she now living. -She was one of the fashionable beauties of George IV.'s time, and was -engaged to my father when they were young. - -About a hundred years or more ago, a John Hanning Speke had married one -of the Arundells of Wardour, and Lord Arundell always considered the -Spekes as sort of neighbours and distant connections, so through this -lady's auspices, Speke and I met, and also exchanged many messages; and -we nearly succeeded in reconciling Richard and Speke, and would have -done so, but for the anti-influences around him. He said to me, "I am -so sorry, and I don't know how it all came about. Dick was so kind to -me; nursed me like a woman, taught me such a lot, and I used to be so -fond of him; but it would be too difficult for me to go back now." _And -upon that last sentence he always remained and acted._ - -Richard was looking so lank and thin. He was sadly altered; his youth, -health, spirits, and beauty were all gone for the time. He fully -justified his fevers, his paralysis and blindness, and any amount of -anxiety, peril, hardship, and privation in unhealthy latitudes. Never -did I feel the strength of my love as then. He returned poorer, and -dispirited by official rows and every species of annoyance; but he -was still, had he been ever so unsuccessful, and had every man's hand -against him, my earthly god and king, and I could have knelt at his -feet and worshipped him. I used to feel so proud of him; I used to like -to sit and look at him, and to think, "You are mine, and there is no -man on earth the least like you." - -At one time, when he was at his worst, I found the following in his -journal-- - - "I hear the sounds I used to hear, - The laugh of joy, the groan of pain; - The sounds of childhood sound again. - Death must be near! - - "Mine eye reviveth like mine ear; - As painted scenes pass o'er the stage, - I see my life from youth to age. - Ah, Death is near! - - "The music of some starry sphere, - A low, melodious strain of song, - Like to the wind-harp sweeps along. - Yes, Death is near! - - "A lovely sprite of smiling cheer, - Sits by my side in form of light; - Sits on my left a darker sprite. - Sure, Death is near! - - "The meed for ever deemed so dear, - Repose upon the breast of Fame; - (I did but half), while lives my name. - Come then, Death, near! - - "Where now thy sting? Where now thy fear? - Where now, fell power, the victory? - I have the mastery over thee. - Draw, Death, draw near!" - -[Sidenote: _My Appeal to my Mother._] - -I felt bitterly not having the privilege of staying with Richard and -nursing him, and he was very anxious that our marriage should take -place; so I wrote the following letter to my mother, who was still -violently opposing me, and who was absent on some visits:-- - - "October, 1859. - - "MY DEAREST MOTHER,[2] - - "I feel quite grateful to you for inviting my confidence. It is the - first time you have ever done so, and the occasion shall not be - neglected. It will be a great comfort to me to tell you all; but you - must forgive me if I say that I have one tender place too sore to be - touched, and that an unkind or slighting word might embitter all our - future lives. I know it is impossible for you, with your views for me, - both spiritual and temporal, to understand, far less sympathize with - me on the present occasion. - - "I feel nothing in common with the world I live in. I dreamt of a - Companion and a Life that would suit me exactly, and I them. Like - many other people, I suppose, I found my heart yearning, and my - tastes developing towards quite opposite things to those which fall - naturally in my way. I am rather ashamed to tell you that I fell in - love with Captain Burton at Boulogne, and would have married him at - any time between this and then, if he had asked me. The moment I saw - his brigand-daredevil look, I set him up as an idol, and determined - that he was the only man I would ever marry; but he never knew it - until three years ago, before he went to Africa. From Boulogne he went - to Mecca and Medina, and then to Harar, and then to the Crimea, and - on his return home, in 1856, you may remember he came to see us, and - I saw him again, and then he fell in love with me and asked me to be - his wife, and was perfectly amazed to find that I had cared for him - all that time. He was then just going to start for Central Africa; he - could not marry me, he could not take me, but we promised to be true - to each other, and, as you well know, we met every day. When I came - home one day in an ecstasy and told you that I had found the Man and - the Life I longed for, that I clung to them with all my soul, and that - nothing would turn me, and that all other men were his inferiors, - what did you answer me? 'That he was the _only_ man you would never - consent to my marrying; that you would rather see me in my coffin.' - Did you know that you were flying in the face of God? Did you know - it was my Destiny? Do you not realize that, because it is not _your_ - ideal, you want to dash mine from me? He has been away three years, - and I have waited for him, feeling sure that in the end you would - relent. You have faith in the hand of God in these matters! I called - on a friend who was not at home. I was asked to wait; five minutes - after the bell rang again, and another visitor was also asked to wait; - the door opened, and Captain Burton and I stood face to face. He had - disembarked the night before, had just arrived in town, and called - there to know where I was living. The year and eight months' silence, - which had distressed me so awfully, when you all said he had forgotten - me, that he had been eaten by jackals, that he never meant to return, - had been spent in the wildest part of the desert, where there was - no means of communication. He had had twenty-one fevers, temporary - blindness, and partial paralysis of the limbs; he has come back with - flying colours, but youth, health, good looks, and spirits temporarily - broken up from hardships, privations and dangers, and also many a - scar. It surprises me that you should consider mine an infatuation, - you who worship talent, and my father bravery and adventure, and here - they are both united. Look at his military services--India and the - Crimea! Look at his writings, his travels, his poetry, his languages - and dialects! Now Mezzofanti is dead he stands first in Europe; he is - the best horseman, swordsman, and pistol shot. He has been presented - with the gold medal, he is an F.R.G.S., and you must see in the - newspapers of his glory, and fame, and public thanks, where he is - called 'the Crichton of the day,' 'one of the Paladins of the Age,' - 'the most interesting figure of the nineteenth century,' 'the man - _par excellence_ of brain and pluck.' In his wonderful explorings, - he goes where none but natives have ever trod, in hourly peril of - his life, often wounded, often without food and water. One day he is - a doctor, one day a priest, another he keeps a stall in the bazar, - sometimes he is a blacksmith. I could tell you such adventures of - him, and traits of determination, which would delight you, were you - unprejudiced. It makes me quite ill to see little men boasting of - the paltry things that they have done or seen, after this man, who - has never been known to speak of himself. He is not at all the man, - speaking of his private character, that people take him to be, or what - he sometimes, for fun, pretends to be. There is no one whom you would - more respect, or attach yourself to, for he is lovable in every way; - and what fascinates me is, that every thought, word, or deed is that - of a thorough gentleman. I wish I could say the same for all our own - acquaintances or relations. There is not a particle of pettiness or - snobbery in him; he is far superior to any man I ever met; he has the - brain, pluck, and manliness of any hundred of those I have ever seen, - united to exceeding sensitiveness, gentleness, delicacy, generosity, - and good pride. He is the only being who awes me into respect, and - to whose command I bow my head; and any evil opinions you may have - ever heard of him, arise from his recklessly setting at defiance - conventional people, talking nonsense about religion and heart - and principle, which those who do not know him unfortunately take - seriously, and he amuses himself with watching their stupid faces. - Once he is married to me, he will be the favourite of our family, and - you will all be proud of him, and have implicit confidence in him. - And let me tell you another thing: you and my father are immensely - proud of your families, and we are taught to be the same; but from - the present to the future, I believe that our proudest record will - be our alliance with Richard Burton. I want to '_Live_.' I hate the - artificial existence of London; I hate the life of a vegetable in the - country; I want a wild, roving, vagabond life. I am young, strong, - and hardy, with good nerves; I like roughing it, and I always want to - do something daring and spirited; you will certainly repent it, if - you keep me tied up. I wonder that you do not see the magnitude of - the position offered to me. His immense talent and adventurous life - must command interest. A master-mind like his exercises power and - influence over all around him; but I love him because I find in him so - much depth of feeling, and a generous heart; because, knowing him to - be as brave as a lion, he is yet so gentle, of a delicate, sensitive - nature, and the soul of honour. I am fascinated by his manners because - they are easy, dignified, simple, and yet so original; there is such - a touching forgetfulness of himself and his fame. He appears to me - a something so unique and romantic. He unites the wild and daring, - with the true gentleman in every sense of the word, and a stamp of a - man of the world of the very best sort, having seen things _without_ - the artificial atmosphere _we_ live in, as well as _within_. He has - even the noble faults I love in a man, if they can be so called. He - is proud, fiery, satirical, ambitious; how could I help looking up - to him with fear and admiration? I worship ambition. Fancy achieving - a good which affects millions, making your name a national one? It - is infamous the way most men in the world live and die, and are - never missed, and, like us women, leave nothing but a tombstone. By - _ambition_ I mean men who have the will and power to change the face - of things. I wish I were a man. If I were, I would be Richard Burton; - but, being only a woman, I would be Richard Burton's wife. He has not - mere brilliancy of talent, but brains that are a rock of good sense, - and stern decision of character. I love him purely, passionately, and - respectfully; there is no void in my heart, it is at rest for ever - with him. It is part of my nature, part of myself, the basis of all my - actions, part of my religion; my whole soul is absorbed in it. I have - given my every feeling to him, and kept nothing back for myself or for - the world. I would this moment sacrifice and leave _all_ to follow his - fortunes, even if you all cast me out--if the world tabooed me, and - no compensation _could_ be given to me for _his_ loss. Whatever the - world may condemn of lawless or strong opinions, whatever he is to the - world, he is perfect to me, and I would not have him otherwise than he - is. - - "That is my side of the business, and now I will turn to your few - points. You have said that 'you do not know who he is, that you do not - meet him anywhere.' I don't like to hear you say the first, because it - makes you out illiterate, and you know how clever you are; but as to - your not meeting him, considering the particular sort of society which - you seek with a view to marrying your daughters, you are not likely to - meet him there, because it bores him, and it is quite out of his line. - In these matters he is like a noble, simple savage, and has lived too - much in the desert to comprehend the snobberies of our little circles - in London. He is a world-wide man, and his life and talents open every - door to him; he is a great man all over the East, in literary circles - in London, and in great parties where you and I would be part of the - crowd, he would be remarkable as a star, also amongst scientific men - and in the clubs. Most great houses are only too glad to get him. The - only two occasions in which he came out last season it was because I - begged him to, and he was bored to death. In public life every one - knows him. As to birth, he is just as good as we are; all his people - belong to good old families. The next subject is religion. With regard - to this he _appears_ to disbelieve, pretends to self-reliance, quizzes - good, and fears no evil. He leads a good life, has a natural worship - of God, innate honour, and does unknown good. _At present_ he is - following no form; at least, none that he _owns_ to. He says there is - nothing between Agnosticism and Catholicity. He wishes to be married - in the Catholic Church, says that I must practise my own religion, - and that our children must be Catholics, and will give such a promise - in writing. I myself do not care about people _calling_ themselves - Catholics, if they are not so in actions, and Captain Burton's life is - far more Christian, more gentlemanly, more useful, and more pleasing - to God--I am sure--than many who _call_ themselves Catholics, and - whom we know. _No._ 3 point is money, and here I am before _you_, - terribly crestfallen--- there is nothing except his pay. As captain, - that is, I believe, £600 a year in India, and £300 in England. We want - to try and get the Consulship of Damascus, where we could have a life - after both our hearts, and where the vulgarity of poverty would not - make itself apparent. If you do not disinherit me, I shall settle my - portion on him, and after on any children we may have, in which case - he would insure his life. He may have expectations or not, but we - can't rely on them. - - "Now, dearest mother, I think we should treat each other fairly. Let - him go to my father, and ask for me properly. Knowing you as I do, - your ideas and prejudices, I know that a man of different religion - and no means, would stand in a disagreeable position; so does he, and - I will _not_ have him insulted. I don't ask you to approve, nor to - like it; I don't expect it. I do entreat your blessing, and even a - _passive_, reluctant consent to anything that I may do. We shall never - marry any one else, and never give each other up, should we remain so - all our lives. Do not accuse me of deception, because I shall see him - and write to him whenever I get a chance, and if you drive me to it I - shall marry him in defiance, because he is by far my first object in - life, and the day he (if ever) gives me up I will go straight into a - convent. If you think your Catholic friends and relatives will blame - you, shut your eyes, give me no wedding, no trousseau, let me get - married how I can; but when it is _done_, acknowledge to yourself - that I neither _could_ nor _would_ be dishonourable enough to marry - any other man, that God made no law against _poor_ people becoming - attached to each other, that I am of an age when you can only advise - but not hinder me, that your leave once asked my duty ends, that your - life is three parts run, and mine is before me, and that if I choose - to live out of the 'World' that forms _your_ happiness, what is it to - you? how does it hurt you? I have got to live with him night and day, - for all my life. The man you would choose I should loathe. I see all - the disadvantages, and am willing to accept them with him. Why should - you object? I do not ask you to share it. You will see that I am so - set on it, that the whole creation is as nothing in comparison, that - nothing will keep me from it. Do not embitter my whole future life, - for God's sake. I would rather die a thousand times than go through - again what I have borne for the last five years. Do not quarrel with - me, or keep me away from you, and you shall not regret it. I shall - have a wide field for a useful, active life, if you do not crush me by - an unhappy coldness. When you take the 'World' into your confidence, - remember that the day will come when you will forgive and repent, and - you will feel quite hurt to find that the 'World' does _not_ forgive, - that it remembers all you said when you were angry, and that you have - debarred your own children from many pleasant things in this life. - When we are parted there will be endless regrets. I will not allude to - other marriages that you _have_ consented to, but you should rejoice - that I have got a man who knows how to protect me, and to take care - of me. Do think it all over in earnest, and if you love me as you say - you do--and I believe it well--do be generous and kind about this. - Parents hold so much power to bless or curse the future. Which will - you do for me? Let it be a blessing! I look upon him as my future - husband; I only wait a kind word from you, the appointment, and - Cardinal Wiseman's protection. Do write to me, dearest mother, but - write not with _your_ views, but entering into _mine_. - - "Your fondly attached child, - - "ISABEL ARUNDELL." - -[Sidenote: _My Letter to my Mother--Not a Success._] - -The only answer to this letter was an awful long and solemn sermon, -telling me "that Richard was not a Christian, and had no money." I -do not defend my letter to my mother; I should not wish that girls -should say or think that this is the way to write to one's mother, nor -would mothers in general like to receive such a letter. I print it -to show what Richard's character was, and the impression that a girl -would receive of it, what views, and what feelings she was capable of -entertaining for him. I only plead that I was fighting for my whole -future life, and my natural destiny; that I had waited for five years; -and that I saw that I had to force my mother's hand, or lose all that -made life worth living for. Richard used to say that my mother and I -were both gifted with "the noble firmness of the mule." Of course I can -see _now_ what an aggravating letter it must have been to a woman whose -heart was set on big matches for her daughters. - -Richard now brought out the "Lake Regions of Equatorial Africa" (2 -vols., 1860), and the Royal Geographical Society dedicated the whole -of Vol. XXXIII. to the same subject (Clowes and Sons, 1860). My mother -still remained obstinate, and Richard thought we should have to take -the law into our own hands. I could not bear the thoughts of going -against my mother. - -One day in April, 1860, I was walking out with two friends, and a -tightening of the heart came over me that I had known before. I went -home and said to my sister, "I am not going to see Richard for some -time." She said, "Why, you will see him to-morrow." "No, I shall not," -I said; "I don't know what is the matter." A tap came at the door, and -a note with the well-known writing was put into my hand. I knew my -fate, and with deep-drawn breath I opened it. He had left--could not -bear the pain of saying good-bye; would be absent for nine months, on a -journey to see Salt Lake City. He would then come back, and see whether -I had made up my mind to choose between him or my mother, to marry me -if I _would_; and if I had not the courage to risk it, he would go back -to India, and from thence to other explorations, and return no more. I -was to take nine months to think about it. - -I was for a long time in bed, and delirious. For six weeks I was -doctored for influenza, mumps, sore throat, fever, delirium, and -everything that I had not got, when in reality I was only heartsick, -struggling for what I wanted, a last hard struggle with the suspense of -my future before me, and nothing and nobody to help me. I felt it would -be my breaking up if circumstances continued adverse, but I determined -to struggle patiently, and suffer bravely to the end. - -At this juncture, as I was going to marry a poor man, and also to fit -myself for Expeditions, I went, for change of air, to a farmhouse, -where I learnt every imaginable thing that I might possibly want, so -that if we had _no_ servants, or if servants were sick or mutinous, we -should be perfectly independent. - -On my return I saw the murder of a Captain Burton in the paper, and -_even_ my mother pitied me, and took me to the mail office, where a -clerk, after numberless inquiries, gave us a paper. My life seemed to -hang on a thread till he answered, and then my face beamed so that the -poor man was quite startled. It _was_ a Captain Burton, murdered by his -crew. I could scarcely feel sorry--how selfish we are!--and yet he too, -doubtless, had some one to love him. - -Richard, meantime, had gone all over the United States, and made a -wonderful lot of friends; had gone to Salt Lake City to see Brigham -Young, where he stayed with the Mormons and their Prophet for six weeks -at great Salt Lake City, visiting California, where he went all over -the gold-diggings, and learnt practically to use both pick and pan. -He asked Brigham Young if he would admit him as a Mormon, but Brigham -Young shook his head, and said, "No, Captain, I think you have done -that sort of thing once before." Richard laughed, and told him he was -perfectly right. - -About this time there was a meeting at the Royal Geographical -Society--November 13. I quote from the papers-- - - "Lord Ashburton (President) in the chair.--Captain J. Grantham, R.E.; - R. Lush, Q.C.; J. A. Lockwood, and H. Cartwright, Esqs., were elected - Fellows.--The minutes of the former meeting having been confirmed, - the Chairman said that a letter would be read from Captain Burton, - by the Secretary. It would be a matter of pleasure to all present to - know that Captain Burton was in good health. Dr. Shaw then read the - following characteristic letter, which had been addressed to him by - that officer:-- - - - "'Salt Lake City, Deserat, Utah Territory, September 7. - - "MY DEAR SHAW, - - "'You'll see my whereabouts by the envelope; I reached this place - about a week ago, and am living in the odour of sanctity,--a pretty - strong one it is too,--apostles, prophets, _et hoc genus omne_. - In about another week I expect to start for Carson Valley and San - Francisco. The road is full of Indians and other scoundrels, but I've - had my hair cropped so short that my scalp is not worth having. I - hope to be in San Francisco in October, and in England somewhere in - November next. Can you put my whereabouts in some paper or other, - and thus save me the bother of writing to all my friends? Mind, I'm - travelling for my health, which has suffered in Africa, enjoying - the pure air of the prairies, and expecting to return in a state of - renovation and perfectly ready to leave a card on Muata Yanoo, or any - other tyrant of that kind. - - "'Meanwhile, ever yours, - - "R. F. BURTON.' - - "The paper read was, 'Proposed Exploration in North-Western Australia - under Mr. F. Gregory.'--Mr. Galton read letters from Captain Speke, - in command of the East African Expedition, conveying the gratifying - intelligence that, through the kind assistance of Sir George Grey, - Governor at the Cape of Good Hope, the party had been strengthened - by the accession of a guard of twelve Hottentot soldiers and £300. - Admiral Keppel had conveyed the expedition in her Majesty's steamer - _Brisk_ to Zanzibar.--A despatch from Sir George Grey on Mr. Chapman's - and Mr. Anderson's late journeys in South Africa was read.--The - President announced that subscriptions would be received at the - Royal Geographical Society, 15, Whitehall Place, in aid of Consul - Petherick's Expedition, to co-operate with that under Captains Speke - and Grant, _viâ_ Khartoum and the Upper Nile." - -Richard travelled about twenty-five thousand miles, and then he turned -his head homewards. He wrote the "City of the Saints," 1 vol., on the -Mormons, and he brought it out in 1861. It was reprinted by Messrs. -Harper of New York, and extensively reviewed, especially by the _Tour -du Monde_. - -[Sidenote: _News of Richard and Subsequent Return._] - -It was Christmas, 1860, that I went to stop with my relatives, Sir -Clifford and Lady Constable (his _first_ wife, _née_ Chichester), at -Burton Constable,--the father and mother of the present baronet. There -was a large party in the house, and we were singing; some one propped -up the music with the _Times_ which had just arrived, and the first -announcement that caught my eye was that "Captain R. F. Burton had -arrived from America." - -I was unable, except by great resolution, to continue what I was -doing. I soon retired to my room, and _sat_ up all night, packing, and -conjecturing how I should get away,--all my numerous plans tending -to a "bolt" next morning,--should I get an affectionate letter from -him. I received two; one had been opened and read by somebody else, -and one, as it afterwards turned out, had been burked at home before -forwarding. It was not an easy matter. I was in a large country-house -in Yorkshire, with about twenty-five friends and relatives, amongst -whom was one brother, and I had heaps of luggage. We were blocked up -with snow and nine miles from the station, and (_contra miglior noler -voler mal pugna_) I had heard of his arrival only early in the evening, -and twelve hours later I had managed to get a telegram ordering me to -London, under the impression that it was of the most vital importance. - -What a triumph it is to a woman's heart, when she has patiently and -courageously worked, and prayed, and suffered, and the moment is -realized that was the goal of her ambition! - -[Illustration: MINIATURE PORTRAIT] - -As soon as we met, and had had our talk, he said, "I have waited for -five years. The three first were inevitable on account of my journey -to Africa, but the last two were not. Our lives are being spoiled by -the unjust prejudices of your mother, and it is for you to consider -whether you have not already done your duty in sacrificing two of the -best years of your life out of respect to her. If _once_ you _really_ -let me go, mind, I shall never come back, because I shall know that -you have not got the strength of character which _my_ wife must have. -Now, you must make up your mind to choose between your mother and me. -If you choose me, we marry, and I stay; if not, I go back to India and -on other Explorations, and I return no more. Is your answer ready?" I -said, "Quite. I marry you this day three weeks, let who will say nay." - -When we fixed the date of our marriage, I wanted to be married on -Wednesday, the 23rd, because it was the Espousals of Our Lady and St. -Joseph, but he would not, because Wednesday, the 23rd, and Friday, the -18th, were our unlucky days; so we were married on the Vigil, Tuesday, -the 22nd of January. - -We pictured to ourselves much domestic happiness, with youth, health, -courage, and talent to win honour, name, and position. We had the same -tastes, and perfect confidence in each other. No one turns away from -real happiness without some very strong temptation or delusion. I went -straight to my father and mother, and told them what had occurred. My -father said, "I consent with all my heart, if your mother consents," -and my mother said, "_Never!_" I said, "Very well, then, mother! I -cannot sacrifice our two lives to a mere whim, and you ought not to -expect it, so I am going to marry him, whether you will or no." I asked -all my brothers and sisters, and they said they would receive him with -delight. My mother offered me a marriage with my father and brothers -present, my mother and sisters not. I felt that that was a slight upon -_him_, a slight upon his family, and a slur upon me, which I did not -deserve, and I refused it. I went to Cardinal Wiseman, and I told him -the whole case as it stood, and he asked me if my mind was absolutely -made up, and I said, "_Absolutely_." Then he said, "Leave the matter to -me." He requested Richard to call upon him, and asked him if he would -give him three promises in writing-- - -1. That I should be allowed the free practice of my religion. - -2. That if we had any children they should be brought up Catholics. - -3. That we should be married in the Catholic Church. - -[Sidenote: _A Family Council decides the Matter._] - -Which three promises Richard readily signed. He also amused the -Cardinal, as the family afterwards learnt, by saying sharply, "Practise -her religion indeed! I should rather think she _shall_. A man without -a religion may be excused, but a woman without a religion is not -the woman for me." The Cardinal then sent for me, promised me his -protection, said he would himself procure a special dispensation from -Rome, and that he would perform the ceremony himself. He then saw -my father, who told him how bitter my mother was about it; that she -was threatened with paralysis; that we had to consider her in every -possible way, that she might receive no shocks, no agitation, but that -all the rest quite consented to the marriage. A big family council -was then held, and it was agreed far better for Richard and me, and -for every one, to make all proper arrangements to be married, and to -be attended by _friends_, and for me to go away on a visit to some -friends, that they might not come to the wedding, nor participate in -it, in order not to have a quarrel with my mother; that they would -break it to her at a suitable time, and that the secret of their -knowing it, should be kept up as long as mother lived. "Mind," said my -father, "you must never bring a misunderstanding between mother and me, -nor between her and her children." - -I passed that three weeks preparing very solemnly and earnestly for -my marriage day, but yet something differently to what many expectant -brides do. I made a very solemn religious preparation, receiving the -Sacraments. Gowns, presents, and wedding pageants had no part in it, -had no place. Richard arranged with my own lawyer and my own priest -that everything should be conducted in a strictly legal and strictly -religious way, and the whole programme of the affair was prepared. A -very solemn day to me was the eve of my marriage. The following day -I was supposed to be going to pass a few weeks with a friend in the -country. - -[Sidenote: _Our Wedding._] - -At nine o'clock on Tuesday, the 22nd of January, 1861, my cab was at -the door with my box on it. I had to go and wish my father and mother -good-bye before leaving. I went downstairs with a beating heart, after -I had knelt in my own room, and said a fervent prayer that they might -bless me, and if they did, I would take it as a sign. I was so nervous, -I could scarcely stand. When I went in, mother kissed me and said, -"Good-bye, child, God bless you." I went to my father's bedside, and -knelt down and said good-bye. "God bless you, my darling," he said, -and put his hand out of the bed and laid it on my head. I was too much -overcome to speak, and one or two tears ran down my cheeks, and I -remember as I passed down I kissed the door outside. - -I then ran downstairs and quickly got into my cab, and drove to a -friend's house (Dr. and Miss Bird, now of 49, Welbeck Street), where I -changed my clothes--not wedding clothes (clothes which most brides of -to-day would probably laugh at)--a fawn-coloured dress, a black-lace -cloak, and a white bonnet--and they and I drove off to the Bavarian -Catholic Church, Warwick Street, London. When assembled we were -altogether a party of eight. The Registrar was there for legality, as -is customary. Richard was waiting on the doorstep for me, and as we -went in he took holy water, and made a very large sign of the Cross. -The church doors were wide open, and full of people, and many were -there who knew us. As the 10.30 Mass was about to begin, we were called -into the Sacristy, and we then found that the Cardinal in the night had -been seized with an acute attack of the illness which carried him off -four years later, and had deputed Dr. Hearne, his Vicar-general, to be -his proxy. - -After the ceremony was over, and the names signed, we went back to the -house of our friend Dr. Bird and his sister Alice, who have always been -our best friends, where we had our wedding breakfast. - -[Illustration: RICHARD BURTON. (PRESENTED TO HIM, WITH HIS WIFE'S -PORTRAIT, AS A WEDDING GIFT.) _By Louis Desanges._] - -During the time we were breakfasting, Dr. Bird began to chaff him about -the things that were sometimes said of him, and which were not true. -"Now, Burton, tell me; how do you feel when you have killed a man?" Dr. -Bird (being a physician) had given himself away without knowing it. -Richard looked up quizzically, and drawled out, "Oh, quite jolly! How -do you?" - -[Illustration: ISABEL BURTON AS A BRIDE. _By Louis Desanges._] - -We then went to Richard's bachelor lodgings, where he had a bedroom, -dressing-room, and sitting-room, and we had very few pounds to bless -ourselves with, but were as happy as it is given to any mortals out of -heaven to be. The fact is that the only clandestine thing about it, and -that was quite contrary to _my_ desire, was that my poor mother, with -her health and her religious scruples, was kept in the dark, but I must -thank God that, though paralysis came on two years later, it was not I -that caused it. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -I here insert the beautiful and characteristic letter which my husband -wrote to my father on the following day, in case he should wish to give -it to my mother. For the first few days of our marriage, Richard used -to be so worried at being stared at as a bridegroom, that he always -used to say that we had been married a couple of years; but that sort -of annoyance soon wore off, and then he became rather proud of being a -married man. To say that I was happy would be to say nothing; a repose -came over me that I had never known. I felt that it was for Eternity, -an immortal repose, and I was in a bewilderment of wonder at the -goodness of God, who had almost worked miracles for me. - -[Sidenote: _We are received at Home again._] - -During this time my brothers visited us, keeping us up in all -that was going on. Some weeks later, two dear old aunts, Mrs. -Strickland-Standish and Monica, Lady Gerard, who lived at Portobello -House, Mortlake, nearly opposite to where I live now, and where I -had frequently passed several weeks every year (for they made a sort -of family focus), got to hear that I was seen going into a bachelor -lodging, and bowled up to London to tell my mother. She wrote in an -agony to my father, who was visiting in the country, "that a dreadful -misfortune had happened in the family; that I been seen going into -a bachelor lodging in London, and could not be at the country house -where I was supposed to be." My father telegraphed back to her, "She -is married to Dick Burton, and thank God for it;" and he wrote to her, -enclosing the letter just inserted, and desired her to send one of my -brothers for us, who knew where to find us, and to mind and receive us -properly. We were then sent for home. My mother behaved like a true -lady and a true Christian. She kissed us both, and blessed us. I shall -never forget how shy I felt going home, but I went in very calmly, I -kissed them all round, and they received Richard in the nicest way, and -then mother embarrassed us very much by asking our pardon for flying -in the face of God, and opposing what she now knew to be His will. My -husband was very much touched. It was not long before she approved of -the marriage more than anybody, and as she grew to know him, she loved -him as much as her own sons. And this is the way we came to be married. - -In short, mother never could forgive herself, and was always alluding -to it either personally or by letter. It always was the same burthen of -song--"that she exposed me to such a risk, that my relations might have -abandoned me, that Society might not have received me, that I might -have been forbidden to put my name down for the Drawing-room, when I -had done nothing wrong;" and she said, "All through _me_, and God had -destined it, but I could not see it. I never thought you would have -the courage to take the law in your own hands;" and I used to answer -her, "Mother, if you had all cast me out, if Society had tabooed me, -if I had been forbidden to go to Court, it would not have kept me from -it--I could not have helped myself--I am quite content with my future -crust and tent, and I would not exchange places with the Queen; so do -not harass yourself." - -However, by the goodness of God, and the justness and kindness of a -few great people, none of these catastrophes _did_ happen. We used -to entreat of her not to say anything more about it, but even on her -deathbed she persisted in doing so. I shall never forget that first -night when we went home; I went up to my room and changed my things, -and ate my dinner humbly and silently. We were a very large family and -were all afraid to speak, and as Richard was so very clever, the family -stood rather in awe of him; so there was a silence and restraint upon -us; but the children were allowed to come down to dessert for a treat, -and, with the intuition that children have, they knew that he wanted -them, and that they could do what they liked with him. One was a little -_enfant terrible_, and very fond of copying our midshipmen brothers' -slang. They crowded round my mother with their little doll-tumblers -waiting for some wine. He was so constrained that he forgot to pass the -wine at dessert as it came round to _him_, when a small voice piped out -from the end of the long table, "I say, old bottle-stopper--pass the -wine!" He burst out laughing, and that broke the ice, and we all fell -to laughing and talking. Mother punished the child by giving him no -wine, but Richard looked up and said so sweetly, "Oh, _Mother_, not on -my first night _at home!_" that her heart went out to him. - -We had seven months of uninterrupted bliss. Through the kindness of -Lord John Russell, Richard obtained the Consulship of Fernando Po, in -the Bight of Biafra, West Coast of Africa, with a coast line of six or -seven hundred miles for his jurisdiction, a deadly climate, and £700 a -year. He was too glad to get his foot on the first rung of the ladder, -so, though it was called the "Foreign Office Grave," he cheerfully -accepted it. It was not quite so cheerful for me, because it was a -climate of certain death to white women, and he would not allow me to -go out in an unlimited way. - -[Sidenote: _A Delightful London Season._] - -We had a glorious season, and took up our position in Society. He -introduced me to all the people he knew, and I introduced him to all -the people that I knew. Lord Houghton (Monckton-Milnes), the father -of the present Lord Houghton, was very much attached to Richard, and -he settled the question of our position by asking his friend Lord -Palmerston to give a party, and to let me be the bride of the evening; -and when I arrived, Lord Palmerston gave me his arm, and he introduced -Richard and me to all the people we had not previously known, and my -relatives clustered around us as well. I was allowed to put my name -down for a Drawing-room. And Lady Russell, now the Dowager, presented -me at Court "on my marriage." - -[Sidenote: _Fire at Grindlay's._] - -Shortly after this, happened Grindlay's fire, where we lost all we -possessed in the world, except the few boxes we had with us. The worst -was that all his books, and his own poetry, which was beautiful, -especially one poem, called "The Curse of Vishnu," and priceless -Persian and Arabic manuscripts, that he had picked up in various -out-of-the-way places, and a room full of costumes of every nation, -were burnt. He smiled, and said in a philosophical sort of way, "Well, -it is a great bore, but I dare say that the world will be none the -worse for some of those manuscripts having been burnt" (a prophetic -speech, as I now think of it). When he went down to ask for some -compensation, he found that Grindlay was insured, but that he was -not--not, he said, that any money could repay him for the loss of the -things. As he always saw the comic side of a tragedy as well as the -pathetic, "the funniest thing was the clerk asking me if I had lost any -plate or jewellery, and on my saying, 'No,' the change in his face from -sympathy to the utter surprise that I could care so much for any other -kind of loss, was amusing." - -In 1861, when the Indian army changed hands, Richard suffered, and, -as Mr. Hitchman remarked, "his enemies may be congratulated upon -their mingled malice and meanness." He just gave the official animus -a chance. It was a common thing in times of peace for Indian officers -to be allowed to take appointments and remain on the _cadre_ of their -regiment, temporarily or otherwise. Richard, in remonstrance, would not -quote names for fear of injuring other men, but any man who knew Egypt -could score off half a dozen. His knowledge of the East, and of so many -Eastern languages, would have been of incalculable service in Egypt, -upon the Red Sea, in Marocco, Persia, in any parts of the East, and -yet he, who in any other land would have been rewarded with at least a -K.C.B. and a handsome pension, was glad to get his foot on the lowest -rung of the ladder of the Consular service, called the "Foreign Office -Grave," the Consulate of Fernando Po, and we could not think enough of, -talk enough of, or be grateful enough to Lord John Russell, who gave it -him; yet the acceptance of this miserable post was made an excuse to -strike his name off the Indian army list, and the rule, which had been -allowed to lapse in a score of cases, was revived for Richard's injury -under circumstances of discourtesy so great, that it would be hard to -believe the affront unintentional. He received no notice whatever, and -he only realized, on seeing his successor gazetted, that his military -career was actually ended, and his past life become like a blank sheet -of paper. It would have been stretching no point to have granted this -appointment, and to have been retained in the army on half-pay, but it -was refused; they swept out his whole nineteen years' service as if -they had never been, without a vestige of pay or pension. - -All his services in Sind had been forgotten, all his Explorations were -wiped out, and at the age of forty he found himself at home, with the -rank of Captain, no pay, no pension, plenty of fame, a newly married -wife, and a small Consulate in the most pestilential climate, with £700 -a year. In vain he asked to go to Fernando Po _temporarily_ till wanted -for active service. He wrote-- - - "It will be an act of injustice on the part of the Bombay Government - to solicit my removal on account of my having risked health and life - in my country's service. - - "They are about to treat me as a man who has been idling away my - time and shirking duty; whereas I can show that every hour has been - employed for my country's benefit, in study, writings, languages, and - explorations. Are my wounds and fevers, and perpetual risk of health - and life, not to speak of personal losses, to go for nothing? - - "The Bombay Government does not take into consideration one iota of - my service, but casts the whole into oblivion. I consider the Bombay - Government to be unjustly prejudiced against me on account of the - _private piques_ of a certain half-dozen individuals. Will the Bombay - Government put all its charges against me in black and white, and - thus allow me a fair opportunity of clearing myself of my supposed - delinquencies? Other men--I will merely quote Colonel Greathed and - Lieut.-Colonel Norman--are permitted to take service in England, and - yet to retain their military service in India. - - "In the time of the Court of Directors, an officer might be serving - the Foreign Office and India too, as in the case of Lieut.-Colonel - Hamerton, late Consul at Zanzibar; but since the amalgamation, the - officers of her Majesty's Indian Army hope that they may take any - appointment in any part of the world, as a small recompense for their - losses; _i.e._ supercession and inability to sell their commissions, - after having paid for steps." - -At first he wanted to try me, so he pretended he did not like my going -to Confession, and I used to say, "Well, my religion teaches me that -my first duty is to obey you," and I did not bother to go; so he at -once took off this restraint, and used to send me to Mass, and remind -me of fish-days. It astonished me, the wonderful way he knew our -doctrine, and frequently explained things to me that I did not know -myself. He always wore his medal. I was very much surprised, shortly -after we were married, at my husband giving me £5. Whilst he had been -away one of my brothers had met with a sudden death; his horse had -fallen on him and crushed him in a moment. He said, "Take this and -have Masses said with it for your poor brother." I only thought then -what generosity and what good taste it was. He was always delighted -with the society of priests--not so much foreign priests, as English -ones--especially if he got hold of a highly educated, broad theologian -of a Jesuit; but in all cases he was most courteous to _any_ of them, -and protected them and their Missions whenever he was in a position to -do so. Once he went with me to a midnight Mass, and he cried all the -time. I could not understand it, and he said he could not explain it -himself. I had no idea then that he had ever been once received into -our Church in India. He _always_ bowed his head at "Hallowed be Thy -Name," and he did that to the day of his death. - -[Sidenote: _Delightful Days at Country Houses._] - -We passed delightful days at country houses, notably at Lord Houghton's -(Fryston), where, at his house in the country, and his house in Brook -Street, and at Lord Strangford's house in Great Cumberland Place, we -met all that was worth meeting of rank and fashion, beauty and wit, and -_especially_ all the most talented people in the world. I can shut my -eyes and mentally look round his (Lord Houghton's) large round table -even _now_, which usually held twenty-five guests. I can see Buckle, -and Carlyle, and all the Kingsleys, and Swinburne, and Froude, and all -the great men that were, and many that are, for the last thirty-two -years, and remember a great deal of the conversation. But I am not here -to describe them, but to give a description of Richard Burton. I can -remember the Due d'Aumale cheek by jowl with Louis Blanc. The present -Lord Houghton, and his two sisters, Lady Fitzgerald and the Hon. Mrs. -Henniker, were babes in the nursery. I can remember the good old times -in the country, at Fryston, where breakfast was at different little -round tables, so people came down when they liked, and sat at one or -another, and he would stroll from one table to another, with a book -in his hand. Swinburne was then a boy, and had just brought out his -"Queen Mother Rosamund," and Lord Houghton brought it up to us, saying, -"I bring you this little book, because the author is coming here this -evening, so that you may not quote him as an absurdity to himself." I -can remember Vambéry telling us Hungarian tales, and I can remember -Richard cross-legged on a cushion, reciting and reading "Omar el -Khayyám" alternately in Persian and English, and chanting the call to -prayer, "Allahhu Akbar." - -My Society recollections, my happy days, are all of the pleasantest -and most interesting. The evil day came far too soon; this was a large -oasis of seven months in my life, and even if I had had no other it -would have been worth living for. We went down to Worthing to my -family, where we passed a very happy time, and he here gave me a proof -of affection which I shall never forget. He had gone to see his cousin, -Samuel Burton, at Brighton, and had promised to be back by the last -train, but he did not make his appearance. I was in a dreadful state of -mind lest anything should have happened to him. He arrived about one in -the morning, pale and worn out. He had gone to sleep in the train, and -had been carried some twenty miles away from Worthing. He could get no -kind of conveyance, being in the night; so, inquiring in what direction -Worthing lay, and settling the matter by a pocket compass, he started -across country, and between a walk and a sort of long trot, from nine -to one, he reached me, instead of waiting, as another man would have -done, till the next morning for a train back. - -[Sidenote: _Richard goes to West Africa._] - -I shall never forget when the time came to part, and I was to go to -Liverpool to see him off, for he would not allow me to accompany him -till he had seen what Fernando Po was like. It was in August, 1861, -when we went down to Liverpool, and we were very sad, because he -was not going to a Consulate where we could hope to remain together -as a _home_. It was a deadly climate, and we were always going to -be climate-dodging. I was to go out, not now, but later, and then, -perhaps, not to land, and to return and ply up and down between -Madeira and Teneriffe and London, and I, knowing he had Africa at his -back, was in a constant agitation for fear of his doing more of these -Explorations into unknown lands. There were about eighteen men (West -African merchants), and everybody took him away from me, and he had -made me promise that if I was allowed to go on board and see him off, -that I would not cry and unman him. It was blowing hard and raining; -there was one man who was inconsiderate enough to accompany and stick -to us the whole time, so that we could not exchange a word (how I hated -him!). I went down below and unpacked his things and settled his cabin, -and saw to the arrangement of his luggage. My whole life and soul was -in that good-bye, and I found myself on board the tug, which flew -faster and faster from the steamer. I saw a white handkerchief go up -to his face. I then drove to a spot where I could see the steamer till -she became a dot. - - "Fresh as the first beam - Glittering on a sail, - Which brings our friends up - From the under world; - Sad as the last, which reddens over one, - That sinks with all we love below the verge." - -Here I give Richard's description of going out, read later-- - - "A heart-wrench--and all is over. Unhappily I am not one of those - independents who can say, _Ce n'est que le premier pas qui coûte_. - - "Then comes the first nightfall on board outward-bound, the saddest - time that the veteran wanderer knows. Saadi the Persian, one of the - best travellers,--he studied books for thirty years, did thirty of - _wanderjahre_, and for thirty wrote and lived in retirement--has - thus alluded to the depressing influence of what I suppose may - philosophically be explained by an absence of Light-stimulus or - Od-force-- - - 'So yearns at eve's soft tide the heart, - Which the wide wolds and waters part - From all dear scenes to which the soul - Turns, as the lodestone seeks its pole.' - - "We cut short the day by creeping to our berths, without even a - 'nightcap,' and we do our best to forget ourselves, and everything - about us." - -[1] "Aussitôt qu'un malheur nous arrive il se recontre toujours un ami -prêt à venir nous le dire et à nous fouiller le cœur avec un poignard -en nous faisant admirer le manche."--BALZAC. This friend I had, but-- - - "There are no tricks in plain and simple Faith."--_Julius Cæsar_, iv. ii. - -I received only four lines in the well-known hand by post from -Zanzibar--no letter. - - TO ISABEL. - - "That brow which rose before my sight, - As on the palmers' holy shrine; - Those eyes--my life was in their light; - Those lips my sacramental wine; - That voice whose flow was wont to seem - The music of an exile's dream." - -I knew then it was all right. - -[2] My mother was one of the best and cleverest of women--a queenly -woman in manners and appearance (people who have been much at Courts -have told me that they always felt as if they were in Royal presence -when with her). She had a noble heart and disposition, was generous to -a fault, and was exceedingly clever. She was, at the time I write of, -still a worldly woman of strong brain, of hasty temper, bigoted, and a -Spartan with the elder half of her brood. We trembled before her, but -we adored her, and we never got over her death in 1872. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -WEST COAST OF AFRICA--RICHARD'S FIRST CONSULATE. - - -In his "Wanderings in West Africa" (2 vols., 1863), Richard describes -the whole of his jurisdiction, which was several hundred miles of -coast. The ship, after leaving Madeira and Teneriffe, goes to Bathurst -on the West Coast, to Sierra Leone, Monrovia, Grand Bassa, Cape -Palmas, Half Jack, Grand Baltam, Axim, Elmina, Cape Coast Castle, -Salt Pond, Winnebah, Accra, Addah, Quitta, Bagadah, Agwey, Whydah, -Lagos, Bonny, Fernando Po, and Old Calabar, one station beyond. He -ends up with--"Arriving in these outer places is the very abomination -of desolation. I drop, for a time, my pen, in the distinct memory of -having felt uncommonly suicidal through that first night at Fernando -Po." - -It would not suit this book to have large copyings from his works, -but I think I should give two which are especially useful--one a -description of the Sierra Leone negro, and another on the richness of -the Guinea Coast, about which I shall have something to say later on in -1881. - - - [Sidenote: _The West African Negroes._] - - "We parted with our consumptives at Madeira; we leave our Africans - at Sierra Leone. For this race there is a descending scale of - terminology: 1, European; 2, civilized man; 3, African; 4, man--the - Anglo-Americans say, 'pussum'--of colour; 5, negro; 6, darkie; 7, - nigger, which last, is actionable. Many a £5 has been paid for the - indulgence of _lèse majesté_ against the 'man and a brother;' and - not a few £50 where the case has been brought into the civil courts. - Captain Philip Beaver was justified in declaring that he would 'rather - carry a rattlesnake than a negro--who has been in London.' Not so Mr. - Hazelface, into whose soul or countenance _soggezzione_, or shame, - never entered--for was he not of the Almighty Negroes? And shall not - the most dishonest of Negroes in these days stand before Kings? The - second, our Gorilla, or Missing Link, was the son of an emancipated - slave, who afterwards distinguished himself as a Missionary and a - Minister. His--the sire's--name has appeared in many books, and - he wrote one himself, pitying his own 'poor lost father,' because, - forsooth, he died in the religion of his ancestors, an honest - Fetishist. Our excellent warm-hearted, ignorant souls at home were so - delighted with the report of this Lion of the Pulpit, that it was much - debated whether the boy Ajáí had not been providentially preserved for - the Episcopate of Western Africa. - - "These individuals are out of their _assiettes_. At home they will - devour, perforce, _Kankey_ and bad fish, washing them down with - _Mimbo_ and _Pitta_--native and palm wine, and hop-less beer--here - they abuse the best of beef, long openly for 'palaver sauce' and - 'palm-oil chop,' and find fault with their champagne. At home they - will wear breech-clouts and Nature's stockings, only. Here their - coats are superfine Saxony, with broadest of silk velvet collars. The - elongated cocoa-nut head bears jauntily a black pork-pie felt, with - bright azure ribbons, and a rainbow necktie vies in splendour with the - loudest of waistcoats from the land of Moses and Son; the pants are - tightly strapped down to show the grand formation of the knee, the - delicate slimness of the calf, the manly purchase of the heel, and the - waving line of beauty that distinguishes the shin-bone.[1] There are - portentous studs upon a glorious breadth of shirt, a small investment - of cheap, gaudy, tawdry rings sets off the chimpanzee-like fingers, - and when in the open air, lemon-coloured gloves invest the hands, - whose horny reticulated skin reminds me of the scaly feet of those - cranes which pace at ease over the burning sand, for which strong - slippers are not strong enough for us; whilst feet of the same order, - but slightly superior in point of proportional size, are tightly - packed into patent-leather boats, the latter looking as if they had - been stuffed with some inanimate substance, say the halves of a calf's - head. - - "It is hardly fair to deride a man's hideousness, but it is where - personal deformity is accompanied by conceit. Once upon a time we all - pitied an individual who by acclamation was proclaimed the ugliest man - in the B---- army, which is not saying a little. 'Poor E----!' his - friends would exclaim; 'it's no matter if a chap's plain, but _he_ - is revolting,' and they commiserated him accordingly. Once, however, - he was detected by his chums looking into a shaving-glass, and thus - soliloquizing: 'Well, E----, I declare you'd be a deuced handsome - fellow if you had but a better nose.' The discreet chum, of course, - spread the story, and from that moment our compassion departed. - - "No one, also, is more hopeless about the civilization of Africa than - the semi-civilized African returning to the 'home of his fathers.' One - feels how hard has been his own struggle to emerge from barbarism. - He acknowledges in his own case a selection of species, and he sees - no end to the centuries before there can be a nation equal even to - himself. Yet in _England_, and in _books_, he will cry up the Majesty - of African kings; he will give the people whom he thoroughly despises - a thousand grand gifts of morals and industry, and extenuate, or - rather ignore, all their faults and shortcomings. I have heard a - negro assert, with the unblushing effrontery which animates the negro - speechifying in Exeter Hall, or before some learned society, that--for - instance, at Lagos, a den of thieves--theft is unknown, and that men - leave their money with impunity in the store-house, or on the highway. - After which, he goes home, 'tongue in cheek,' despising the facility - with which an Englishman and his money are parted. - - "Our Africans left the ship without, on our part, or probably on - theirs, a single regret. Not so with the Mandengas. The honest and - manly bearing of these Moslems--so wonderful a contrast with those - caricatures in pork-pie and peg-topped broadcloth--had prepossessed me - strongly in their favour. We shook hands, and in broken Arabic bade - each other a kindly Allah-speed. - - [Sidenote: _The Black Man is raised above the White Man._] - - "The white man's position is rendered far more precarious on the coast - than it might be, _if the black man were always kept in his proper - place_. A European without stockings or waistcoat, and with ragged - slops hanging about his limbs, would not be admitted into the cuddy; - an African will. Many of the fellows come on board to make money by - picking a quarrel. And what does one think of a dusky belle, after - dropping her napkin at Government House, saying to her neighbour, - 'Please, Mr. Officer-man, pick up my towel'? Or of such a dialogue as - this? The steward has neglected to supply soup to some negro, who at - every meal has edged himself higher up towards the top of the table, - and whose conversation consists of whispering into the ears of an - adjacent negro, and of hyæna-like guffaws. - - "'I say, daddee, I want _my_ soop; all de passengers, he drink 'im - soop; _me_ no drink _my_ soop: what he mean, dis palaver?' - - "The words are uttered in a kind of scream; the steward cannot help - smiling, and the nigger resumes-- - - "'Ah, you laff! And for why you laff? I no laff; no drinkee soop!' - - "Here the dialogue ends, and the ladies look their acknowledgments - that travelling does throw us into strange society. - - "From the moment of our arrival, 'negro palaver' began. A _cause - célèbre_, which will be referred home, had just been brought to a - close. Mr. M----, a civilian official in the colony, after thrice - warning out of his compound a troublesome negro and a suspected thief, - had applied a certain _vis à tergo_, and had ejected the trespasser, - not, however, with unnecessary violence. In England the case would - have been settled by a police magistrate, and the fine, if any, - would have been half a crown. At Freetown the negro, assisted by his - friends or 'company,' betakes himself to a lawyer. The latter may be a - mulatto, possibly a pettifogger, certainly a moneyless man who lives - in a wretched climate for the pure purposes of lucre; his interest is - of course to promote litigation, and he fills his pockets by what is - called 'sharp practice.' After receiving the preliminary fee of £5, - he demands exemplary damages. The consequence was that Mr. M---- was - lightened of £50. - - [Illustration: THE MAN WHO WINS.] - - "These vindictive cases are endless; half an hour's chat will bring - out a dozen, and, as at Aden, the Sons of the White Cliff have nothing - to do but to quarrel and to recount their grievances. A purser of the - African S.S. Company, finding a West Indian negro substituting dead - for live turkeys, called him a 'tief.' The 'tief' laid an action for - £1000, and the officer was only too happy to escape with the retainer, - three guineas. The same, when a black came on board for a package, - sent him off to the quarter-deck; the fellow became insolent, when - a military man present exclaimed, 'If you gave _me_ that cheek, I'd - have you overboard!' The negro put off, took two of his friends as - witnesses, procured an affidavit that the white man had threatened - him, and laid an action for defamation of character, etc.; damages - £50--a favourite sum. Despite a counter oath, signed by two or three - English officers, one of them a colonel, to the effect that no bad - language had been used except by the plaintiff, whose insolence had - been unbearable, the defendant was compelled to make an apology, and - to pay £15 costs. Another told me that for raising a stick to an - insolent servant, he was 'actioned' for £50, and escaped by compromise - for £12. When the defendant is likely to leave the station, the _modus - operanda_ is as follows:--A writ of summons is issued. The lawyer - strongly recommends an apology for the alleged offence and a promise - to pay costs, warning the offender at the same time that judgment will - go against him if absent by default. Should the defendant prudently - 'stump up,' the thing ends; if not, a _capias_ is taken out, and - the law runs its course. A jury is chosen. The British Constitution - determines that a man must be tried by his peers. His peers at Sierra - Leone are perhaps a dozen full-blooded blacks, liberated slaves, - half-reformed fetishmen, sometimes with a sneaking fondness for the - worship of Shángo, and if not criminals in their own country, at least - pauper-clad in dish-clouts and palm oil. To see such peers certainly - 'takes pride down a peg,' as the phrase is; no use to think of that - ancestor who 'came over' with the Conqueror, or that Barony lost in - the days of the Rebellion. - - "No one raises the constitutional question, 'Are these half-reclaimed - barbarians my peers?' And if he did, justice would sternly answer - 'Yes!' The witnesses will forswear themselves--not like our - porters, for half a crown, but _gratis_, because the plaintiff is a - fellow-tribesman. The judge may be 'touched with the tar-brush,' but - be he white as milk, he must pass judgment according to verdict, and - when damages are under £200, there is no appeal. - - "Sierra Leone contains many sable families--Lumpkins, Lewis, Pratt, - Ezidio, Nicols, Macarthy, are a few of their patronymics,--against - whom it is useless for a stranger to contend and come off scot and - lot free. Besides these, there are seventeen chief and two hundred - minor tribes, whilst a hundred languages, according to M. Koelle,--one - hundred and fifty, says Bishop Vidal--are spoken in the streets of - Freetown. All are hostile to one another; all combine against the - white man. After the fashion of the Gold Coast, they have formed - themselves into independent republics, called 'companies.' These set - aside certain funds for their own advancement, and for the ruin of - their rivals. The most powerful and influential races are the Aku and - the Ibo. - - "If the reader believes that I have exaggerated the state of - things at Sierra Leone, he is mistaken; the sketch is under rather - than overdrawn. And he will presently see a confirmation of these - statements in the bad name which these liberated Africans bear upon - the whole of the western coast. - - "At breakfast we had been duly primed with good advice, viz. not - to notice impudence, and to turn our shoulders--the severest - punishment--upon all who tried their hands at annoyance. We rowed to - the Government landing, a rickety, slippery flight of wooden stairs, - which is positively dangerous at night, or when the waves dash against - the jetty. We were careful to carry no luggage; porters fight for the - job, and often let the object of emulation drop into the water. One - of our mail-bags received this _baptism de Sierra Leone_ last night. - On such occasion a push or poke is a forbidden luxury; the man might - fall down--you have certainly injured him internally--you must pay - exemplary damages." - -[Sidenote: _Richard inaugurates a Better State of Things._] - -Two stories are related about Richard. I do not vouch for them, but -they sound likely. One was, that when he arrived in Africa, he found -that the negroes were in the state above described, assuming the -upper hand, and treating the white men as an inferior race. They -were summoning them before tribunals on the most trivial pretext, -forwarding complaints home to pander to different people, which a man -who had lived in India, and had passed something like twenty-two -years in black countries, was not the least likely to stand. A day -or two after his arrival at his post, a very dandified-dressed and -full-blooded nigger walked into the Consulate, the window of which -was not far from the ground, clapped Richard on the back in the most -jovial manner, with his disagreeable "yah-yah" laugh. "How do, Consul? -Come to shake hands--how do?" holding out his black paw, as if he were -a condescending Royalty. There were some other Englishmen waiting -about for different business, looking curiously to see what was going -to be the attitude of the new Consul. He looked at the bumptious and -loud-mannered nigger, with a quiet stare of surprise, and then shouted, -"Hi, Kroo-boys, here; throw this nigger out of the window, will you?" -The Kroo-boys, his canoemen (of six oars), rushed in, delighted with -the commission, and flung him out. It was only a roll of three or four -feet--but no niggers in black coats and button-holes came to clap the -new Consul on the back after that, nor did they summon him before the -Tribunal. - -Another story told was, that the merchants on the West Coast were -sorely put to inconvenience by the Captains of ships steaming in, -discharging their cargo, and steaming off again without giving the -merchants time to read and answer to their correspondence. Commerce, -therefore, was at a very low ebb, because the merchants were a -fortnight behind the world, there being only two steamers a month -at that time. They asked Richard in a body, if there was no means -of helping them. Richard got out the contracts, and saw that they -said "that the Captain of a ship should stop at the port _eighteen -hours' daylight_ for that very purpose." The next ship that came in, -the Captain came and looked into the Consulate in a jovial way, and -said, "Now, Captain, hurry up with my papers; I want to be off; going -to clear out." Richard looked up at him with a surprised stare, and -drawled out lazily, "Oh, you can't go, for I have not finished my -letters!" "Oh, damn your letters, Sir! I'm off." "Stop a bit," said -Richard; "let us have a look at your contract?" He pulled it out of -the drawer. "The contract says that you shall stop here eighteen -hours' daylight, to give the merchants an opportunity of receiving and -answering their correspondence, otherwise commerce would be ruined, -the merchants being a fortnight behind the world." "Oh yes," he said, -"but nobody has ever enforced that; the Consuls have never bothered us -about that!" "Ha," said Richard, "more shame for them! Now, are you -going to stay?" "No, sir, not I!" "Very well, then; I am going up to -the Governor's, and I am going to shot two guns. If you go out _one -minute_ before your eighteen hours' daylight expires--mind, I shall go -up there and stay myself--I shall send the first gun right across your -bows, and the second slap into you. Mind, I am a man of my word. Good -morning!" He did not go out till half an hour after his eighteen hours' -daylight; and as long as Richard was there none of them ever did. - - "The Sierra Leone man is an inveterate thief; he drinks, he gambles, - he intrigues, he over-dresses himself, and when he has exhausted - his means, he makes Master pay for all. With a terrible partiality - for summoning and enjoying himself thoroughly in a court of law, he - enters into the spirit of the thing like an attorney's clerk; he - soon wearies of the less exciting life in the wilder settlements, - where debauchery has not yet developed itself; home sickness then - seizes him, and he deserts, after probably robbing the house. He is - the horror of Europeans; the merchants of the Gaboon river prefer - forfeiting the benefits of the African Steam Ship Company to seeing - themselves invaded by this locust tribe, whose most beautiful view - is apparently that which leads out of Sierra Leone. At Lagos and - Abeokuta, Sierra Leone has returned to his natural paganism, and - has become an inveterate slave-dealer, impudently placing himself - under native protection, and renegading the flag that saved him from - life-long servitude. Even during the Blackland's short stay, the - unruly, disorderly character of the man often enough showed itself by - fisticuffing, pulling hair, and cursing, with a mixture of English and - African ideas, that presented a really portentous _tout ensemble_. - - "With respect to the relative position of Japhet and Ham--perhaps I - had better say Ham and Japhet--at Sierra Leone, I may remark that - English ultra-philanthropy has granted at times _almost all_ the - wishes of the Ethiopian melodist-- - - 'I wish de legislator would set dis darkie free, - Oh, what a happy place den de darkie world would be! - We'd have a darkie parliament - An' darkie code of law, - An' _darkie judges on de bench_, - Darkie barristers and aw'!' - - "I own that 'darkie' must be defended, and well defended, too, from - the injustice and cruelty of the class whom he calls 'poor white - trash.' But protection should be within the limits of _Reason_. If - the white man is not to be protected against the black man, why - should the Jamaica negro be protected against the coolie? Because he - requires it? I think not. Though physically speaking and mentally - weaker than his rival, he can hold quite enough of his own--as Sierra - Leone proves--by combination, which enables cattle to resist lions. - Displays of this sentiment on the part of the whites must, of course, - be repressed. Do so freely, but not unfairly. England, however, is - still in the throes of her first repentance. Like a veteran devotee, - she is atoning for the coquetries of her hot youth. But a few years - ago she contracted to supply the Spanish colonies for thirty years - with four thousand eight hundred slaves per annum, and she waged wars - and destroyed Cities for a traffic which Cardinal Cibo, at the end - of the seventeenth century, on the part of the Sacred College, to - the Congoese missionaries, denounced as 'a pernicious and abominable - abuse.' For this, and for the 2,130,000 negroes imported into the West - Indian estates between A.D. 1680 and A.D. 1786, Britannia yet mourns, - and, Rachel-like, will not be comforted, because those niggers are - not. What the inevitable reaction shall be, _quien sabe?_ - - [Sidenote: _Method of protecting the Negro._] - - "I do not for a moment regret our philanthropy, even with its terrible - waste of life and gold. But England can do her duty to Africa, without - cant and without humbug.[2] She can contend with a world in arms, - if necessary, against the injurious traffic, but she might abstain - from violently denouncing all who do not share her opinions upon the - subject. Anti-slavery men have hitherto acted rather from sentiment - than from reason; and Mr. Buckle--alas! that we should hear from him - no more--may be right in determining that morality must not rule, - but be ruled by intellect. Let us open our eyes to the truth, and - eschewing 'zeal without knowledge,' secure to ourselves the highest - merit--perseverance in a good cause when thoroughly disenchanted - with it. We have one point in our favour. The _dies atra_ between - 1810-1820, when a man could not speak or write what he thought upon - the subject of slavery, is drawing to a close. Increased tolerance now - permits us to express our opinions, which, if in error, will wither - like the grass in an African day; if right, will derive fresh increase - from time. - - "There are several classes interested in pitting black man against - white man, and in winning the day for him, _coram publico_. An - unscrupulous missionary--it is the general policy of the English - propagandist to take violent parts in foreign politics--will for his - own ends preach resistance to time-honoured customs and privileges, - which the negro himself has conceded.[3] An unworthy lawyer will - urge a lawsuit, with a view to filling his pockets; a dishonourable - Judge or police Magistrate will make a name for philanthropy at the - expense of equity and honour; a weak-minded man will fear the official - complaints, the false-memorializings which attend an unpopular - decision, and the tomahawking that awaits him from the little army of - negrophiles at home. But the worst class of all is the mulatto, under - which I include quadroon and octaroon. He is everywhere, like wealth, - _irritamenta malorum_. The 'bar-sinister,' and the uneasy idea that he - is despised, naturally fill him with ineffable bile and bitterness. - Inferior in point of _morale_ to Europeans, and as far as regards - _physique_ to Africans, he seeks strength in making the families of - his progenitors fall out. Many such men visiting England are received, - by virtue of their woolly hair and yellow skin, into a class that - would reject a fellow-countryman of similar, nay, of far higher, - position; and there are amongst them infamous characters, who are - not found out till too late. London is fast learning to distinguish - between the Asiatic _Mir_ and the _Munshi_. The real African, - however--so enduring are the sentimentalisms of Wilberforce[4] and - Buxton--is still to be understood. - - [Sidenote: _Teaching Fair Treatment for the Negro._] - - "It is hardly fair to pull down one system without having another - ready in its stead. I therefore venture to suggest certain steps - toward regenerating--diffidently, though, on account of the amount of - change to be made in--our unhappy colony, which for years has been - steadily declining. - - "Creoles, as children of liberated Africans are called here, should - be apprenticed for seven years, with superintendents to see that they - clear the soil, plant, and build; otherwise the apprenticeship would - be merely nominal. For the encouragement of agriculture, I would - take a very heavy tax from small shopkeepers and hucksters, who, by - virtue of sitting upon a shady board, before a few yards of calico - and strings of beads, call themselves merchants. Another very heavy - tax--at least £100 per annum--upon all grog-shop licences, very few of - which should be issued in the colony. Police magistrates are perfectly - capable of settling disputes amongst these people, and of dealing out - punishment to the offenders; moreover, in all cases the fines should - go to the Crown, not to the complainant: in civil cases, however, - there might be an appeal home for the benefit of the litigious. This - measure would wipe off at one sweep inducement to engage in actions - which the presence of a judicial establishment suggests, and which - causes such heart-burning between Europeans and Africans. I would not - allow a black jury to 'sit upon' a white man, or _vice versâ_; and, in - the exception of a really deserving mulatto, I would rather see him - appointed Lord Lieutenant or Secretary of Ireland than acting Governor - or Secretary at Sierra Leone. - - "I am convinced that something of the kind will be done, when the - _real_ state of affairs in this unfortunate colony is ventilated in - England. There are men who are always ready to let bad alone, and to - hold that-- - - 'What has answer'd so long may answer still;' - - but the extension of Steam Navigation, and the increased number of - travellers and visitors, will not allow progress, for want of a little - energy, even at Sierra Leone, to be arrested. - - "It is supposed that women, being less exposed than men, can better - resist the climate of Sierra Leone. I believe the fact to be the - contrary; in many cases the German missionaries have lived, whilst - their wives have died. Here lie three Spanish Consuls, who in four - years fell victims to a climate which has slain five Captains-General, - or Governors, in five years. A deserted cemetery, without flowers or - whitewash, is always a melancholy spectacle. This was something more. - The grass and bush grew dense and dank from the remnants of mortality, - and the only tree within the low decaying walls was a poisonous - oleander. Another sense than the eye was unpleasantly affected; we - escaped from the City of the Slain, as from a slave-ship or from a - plague hospital. - - "Servants in shoals presented themselves, begging 'mas'er' to take - them down coast. In vain. The Sierra Leone man is handier than his - southern brother; he can mend a wheel, make a coffin, or cut your - hair, operations which in other places must remain wanted. Yet no - one, at least if not a perfect greenhorn on the coast, will engage - him in any capacity. In civility and respectfulness, he is far below - the Brazilian or the Cuban _emancipado_. He has learned a 'trick or - two;' even a black who has once visited Sierra Leone is considered as - spoiled for life, as if he spent a year in England. - - "An unexpected pleasure was in store for me. Lagos contains, as has - been said, some eight hundred Moslems, but not yet two thousand, as - it is reported. Though few, they have already risen to political - importance; in 1851, our bravest and most active opponents were those - wearing turbans. Among these are occasionally found 'white Arabs.' - One had lately died at Ekpe, a village on the 'Cradoo waters,' where - the ex-king Kosoko lives, and, though a Pagan, affects the Faith. - I was presently visited by the Shaykh Ali bin Mohammed El Mekkáwi. - The Reverend man was fair of face, but no Meccan; he called himself - a Máliki, as indeed are most Moslems in this part of El Islam, and - I guessed him to be a Morocco pilgrim, travelling in the odour of - sanctity. He was accompanied by the Kazi Mohammed Ghana, a tall and - sturdy Hausa negro, with his soot-black face curiously gashed and - scarred; he appeared to me an honest man and a good Moslem. The - dignitaries were accompanied by a mob of men in loose trousers, which - distinguished them from the Pagan crowd; one of them, by trade a - tailor, had learned to speak Portuguese in the Brazil. - - "Very delightful was this meeting of Moslem brethren, and we took - 'sweet counsel' together, as the Missionaries say. The Shaykh Ali - had wandered from Tripoli southwards, knew Bornu, Sokatu, Hausa, and - Adamáwá, the latter only by name; and he seemed to have suffered but - little from a long journey, of which he spoke favourably. He wished - me to return with him, and promised me safe conduct. I refused, - with a tightening of the heart, a little alleviated, however, by - the hope that Fate may spare me to march at some future day through - Central Africa homewards. And in that hope I purified my property, - by giving the _zakat_, or legal alms, to the holy man, who palpably - could not read or write, but who audibly informed his followers that - 'this bondsman' is intimately acquainted with _kull'ilm--omnis res - scibilis_." - -N.B.--Benin was a great object of interest, and I quote these few -remarks anent the Niger for geographers, and then proceed to the -_gold_, in which millions are interested.--I. B. - - "Benin was visited by Captain Thomas Wyndham in 1553, and in 1823, - Belzoni of the Pyramids left his bones near its banks. - - "After Lagos we came to the Oil Rivers, and direct connection of the - Bonny river with the true Niger is still a subject of geographical - speculation: I hope to solve the problem, despite all its difficulties. - - "It is opined that the Niger falls into the Gulf of Guinea by a great - delta, the Rio del Rey being the eastern, and the Great Rio Formoso, - or Benin,[5] being its western limits. There are twenty-five streams - which discharge themselves into this Great Bight, six of which are Oil - Rivers--a disagreeable week's trip. This remarkable hypothesis, right - in the main, whilst wrong in detail, and characterized at the time as - 'hazardous and uncertain,' was probably suggested by native testimony, - the coasts of the Gulf of Guinea being well known to French traders. - It is hard indeed to comprehend how an intelligent sailor could pass - by these shores without suspecting them to be the delta of some great - stream. Caillié, the much-abused discoverer of Timbuktu, wrote in 1828 - these remarkable words: 'If I may be permitted to hazard an opinion - as to the course of the River Dhioliba, I should say that it empties - itself by several mouths into the Gulf of Benin.' - - "It is directly connected with the twenty or thirty millions of people - in the Sudan; the centres of trade are upon the stream, yet the long - and terrible caravan march of four months still supplies articles more - cheaply than we can afford to sell them, _viâ_ the Niger. - - - GOLD IN AFRICA. - - "'Slave of the dark and dirty mine: - What vanity has brought thee here?' - ----LEYDEN. - - "'Gold! gold! gold! gold! - Bright and yellow, hard and cold; - Molten, graven, hammer'd, and roll'd; - Heavy to get and light to hold.' - ----HOOD. - - - [Sidenote: _West African Gold._] - - "I lost all patience with Cape Coast Castle. Will our grandsons - believe that in these days a colony which cannot afford £150 per - annum for a stipendiary magistrate, that men who live in a state of - poverty, nay, of semi-starvation, are so deficient in energy as to - be content with sitting down hopelessly, whilst gold is among their - sands, on their roads, in their fields, in their very walls? That - this Ophir--that this California, where every river is a Tmolus and - a Pactolus, every hillock is a gold-hill--does not contain a cradle, - a puddling-machine, a quartz-crusher, a pound of mercury? That half - the washings are wasted because quicksilver is unknown, and that pure - gold, selling in England for £3 17_s._ to £4, is here purchaseable for - £3 12_s._? I shout with Dominie Sampson, 'Prodi-gious!' - - "Baron Humboldt first announced the theory that gold is constant in - meridional ranges of the paleozoic and metamorphic formations. In this - he was followed by Sir R. Murchison, and he was followed by Professor - Sedgwick. The latter 'has no faith whatever in the above hypothesis, - though it led to a happy anticipation,' which followed erroneous - premises. He continues, 'What we seem to know is, that gold is chiefly - found among paleozoic rocks of a quartzose type,' and, moreover, that - 'some of the great physical agencies of the earth are meridional, and - these agencies _may probably_--and in a way we do not comprehend--have - influenced the deposit of metals on certain lines of bearing.' He - thinks, however, it would be a 'hypothetical misdirection' to say that - a quartzose paleozoic rock cannot be auriferous, because its strata is - not north and south, and that 'experience must settle this point.' The - supporters of the meridional theory may quote as instances East Africa - Ghauts, the Oural Mountains, the Sierra Nevada of California--which - included the diggings in British Columbia--the Australian Cordillera, - the New Zealand ranges, and the Western Ghauts of India. On the other - hand, there are two notable exceptions--the Central Indian region, - in which Sir R. Martin and others, as long as thirty years ago, - were convinced that the natives washed for gold; and, still more - remarkable, the highly productive African chain, which, for want of a - better name, we still call the Kong Mountains.[6] - - "The fact is that gold is a superficial formation, and has been - almost universally distributed over the surface of earth's - declivities. This want of depth Sir R. Murchison is fond of - illustrating by the hand with the fingers turned downwards; they - represent the golden veins, whilst the palm denotes the main deposit. - It is the contrary with other metals. Gold-placers, therefore, are - now rare, except in newly explored or exploited lands of primitive - formation, where it is common, nay, almost universal; the article, - whose utility was early recognized, soon disappeared from the older - workings. The Californian digger, provided with pick, pan, and shovel, - made $10 per diem in 1852; in 1862 he still makes $2.50, and in - 1872 he probably will make $0. The anciently auriferous countries, - especially Arabia, have been stripped of their treasure, perhaps - before the dawn of what is called true history;[7] and if they linger - in Sofala, it is by reason of the people's ignorance;[8] they never - traced the metal to its matrix. - - "Setting aside the vexed question of the identity of Ophir and Sofala, - and the fact that in early times gold was brought down from the - eastern regions of the upper Nilotic basin, Western Africa was the - first field that supplied the precious metal to Europe. The French - claim to have imported it from Elmina as early as A.D. 1382. In 1442, - Gonçales Baldeza returned from his second voyage to the regions - about Bojador, bringing with him the first gold. Presently a company - was formed for the purpose of carrying on the gold trade between - Portugal and Africa; its leading men were the navigators, Lanzarote - and Gilianez, and the great Prince Henry did not disdain to become - a shareholder. In 1471 João de Santarem and Pedro Escobar reached a - place on the Gold Coast, to which, from the abundance of gold found - there, they gave the name of Oura da Mina, the present Elmina. After - this a flood of gold poured into the lap of Europe, and at last, - cupidity having mastered terror of the Papal Bull, which assigned - to Portugal the exclusive right to the Eastern hemisphere, English, - French, and Dutch adventurers hastened to share the spoils. - - "The Portuguese, probably foreseeing competition in the Atlantic - waters, but sure of their power in the Indian seas, determined, about - the middle of the sixteenth century, to seek gold, of which those who - preceded them had heard, in Eastern Africa. The Rev. Father João dos - Santos, of the order of San Domingo, has left us, in his 'History - of Eastern Ethiopia,' a detailed account of the first disastrous - expedition. According to him, Dom Sebastian was scarcely seated on the - throne of Portugal[9] before he sent to Sofala an expedition under - command of Francis Baretto, who 'penetrated into Macoronga,'[10] - and 'Maniça,' discovered mines of gold in these kingdoms, of which, - by his prudence and valour, he made himself master. Baretto, having - successfully passed through, despite a harassing warfare, the - territories of the Quiteva or sovereign of Sofala, who fled from - his capital, Zimboe, and having contracted with the Moorish or Arab - Sultan[11] of Maniça a treaty of amity, which included the article - that the King of Chicanga should admit the strangers to trade - throughout his territories for gold dust and other merchandise, - reached at length the goal of his ambition. His proceedings are told - as follows:--[12] - - "'The Portuguese were enchanted at having, in so short a time, - concluded a treaty of such advantage to their sovereign, and so - beneficial to the realm; they, moreover, flattered themselves with - the hope of acquiring a store of gold, with which to return enriched - to their country; but when they saw what toil was requisite for - extracting this precious metal from the bowels of the earth, and the - danger incurred by those who worked in the mines, they were speedily - undeceived, and no longer regarded their fortunes as instantaneously - made. At the same time, they were induced to reflect that the labour - and risk of digging the gold from the abysses whence it is drawn, are - such as to stamp that value on it which it bears from its consequent - rarity. - - "'These people have divers methods of extracting the gold, and - separating it from the earth with which it is blended; but the most - common is to open the ground, and proceed towards the spot where, - from certain indications, ore is supposed to abound. For this - purpose they excavate vaults, sustained at intervals by pillars, and - notwithstanding they make use of every possible precaution, it often - happens that the vaults give way, and bury the subterranean sappers - beneath their ruins. When they reach the vein in which the gold is - found, mixed with the earth, they take the ore as it is and put it - into vessels full of water, and by dint of stirring about the water - the earth is dissolved, and the gold remains at the bottom.[13] - - "'They likewise take advantage of heavy rains, which, occasioning - torrents, carry before them whatever loose earth they meet in their - way, and thus lay open the spots where gold is embedded in the - ravines. This the Caffres collect, and wash with care to purify from - the grosser parts of its earthy admixture. - - "'These people also, however unpolished they may seem, yet possess a - secret, peculiar to themselves, for discovering the gold concealed in - certain stones, which they likewise have the ingenuity of extracting, - constantly observing the same practice of washing it well to separate - all earthy particles from the metal, and thus rendering it equally - lustrous with that obtained from the earth. This gold is, however, - much cheaper than the other, either owing to its being more common, or - to its being obtained with more facility and at less expense than that - exfoliated from the bowels of the earth. - - "'It is a mere matter of fact that this country is rich in gold and - silver mines, but these metals are not so easily obtained as is - imagined, for the Caffres are prohibited, under penalty of death and - the confiscation of their property, from discovering the site of the - mine, either to their neighbours, or to those who pass through their - country. When a mine is discovered, the persons finding it make wild - outcries, to collect witnesses round them, and cover the spot, above - which they place some object to denote the site; and far from being - susceptible to be prevailed upon by strangers to point out these - spots, they avoid encountering them as much as possible, for fear they - should even be suspected of such a deed. - - "'The motive of the sovereign for enacting these prohibitory laws, - and for exacting a declaration to be made to the Court of all - mines discovered, is that he may take possession of them,[14] and - by preventing the Portuguese from becoming masters of one portion, - give no room for succeeding warfare on their part to seize on the - remainder.' - - "The melancholy fate of Baretto's expedition deserves mentioning. - After passing through Zimbo,[15] where the Quiteva received him with - open arms, Baretto returned to Sofala. Being now on good terms with - the sovereigns of that place, and of Chicanga, he resolved to open - a road into the kingdom of Mongas, the dominions of the Monomotapa, - who opposed him with a large army. Baretto signally defeated the - 'Caffres,' and reached Chicona, where he found no gold mines. An - artful native, however, buried two or three lumps of silver, which, - when discovered, brought large presents to the cheat and dreams - of Potosi to the cheated.[16] Baretto, in nowise disheartened by - discovering the fraud, left two hundred men in a fort at Chicona, - whilst he and the remainder of his force retired upon Sena, on the - Zambeze. The Caffres then blockaded the fort, and having reduced the - gallant defenders to a famine, compelled them to make a sortie, in - which every man was slain. - - "The ruins of Maniça, north-west of Sofala, and west of and inland - from the East African ghauts, are described as being situated in a - valley enclosed by an amphitheatre of hills, having a circuit of about - two miles. According to Mr. M'Leod, the district is called Matouca - (the Matuka of Dr. Livingstone's map), and the gold-washing tribes - Botongos.[17] The spots containing the metal are known by the bare and - barren surface. The natives dig in any small crevice made by the rains - of the preceding winter, and there find gold dust. These pot-holes - are rarely deeper than two or three feet, at five or six they strike - the ground-rock. In the still portions of the rivers, when they are - low, the natives dive for nuggets that have been washed down from - the hills. Sometimes joining together in hundreds, they deflect the - stream, and find extensive deposits. Mr. M'Leod heard of mines four - to five hundred miles from Sofala, where the gold is found in solid - lumps, or as veins in the rocks and stones. - - "The result of Dr. Livingstone's travels is, that whilst he found - no gold in the African interior, frequent washings were met with - in the Mashinga Mountains[18] and on the Zambeze river; no silver, - however, was met with, nor could the people distinguish it from - tin, which, however, does not establish its non-existence; he heard - from a Mashanga man, for the first time, a native name for gold, - _Dalama_.[19] The limits of the auriferous region are thus laid - down: 'If we place one leg of the compasses at Tete, and extend - the other 3° 30', bringing it round from the north-east of Tete by - west, and then to the south-east, we nearly touch or include all the - known gold-producing country.' This beginning from the north-east - would include the Marave country,[20] the now 'unknown' kingdom of - Abutua[21] placed, however, south of the Zambesi, and coming round - by the south-west, Mashona, or Bazizulu, Maniça, and Sofala. Gold - from about Maniça is as large as wheat grains, whilst that found in - the rivers is in minute scales. The process of washing the latter - is laborious. 'A quantity of sand is put into a wooden bowl with - water, a half-rotatory motion is given to the dish, which causes the - coarser particles of sand to collect on one side of the bottom. These - are carefully removed with the hand, and the process of rotation is - renewed until the whole of the sand is taken away, and the gold alone - remains.'[22] Mercury is as usual unknown. Formerly one hundred and - thirty pounds of gold were submitted to the authorities at Tete for - taxation, but when the slave-trade began, the Portuguese killed the - goose with the golden eggs, and the annual amount obtained is now only - eight to ten pounds. - - "It is evident that gold is by no means half worked in Eastern Africa. - As in California, it appears to be found in clay shale, which for - large profits requires 'hydraulicking.' The South African traveller - heard that at the range Mashinga, the women pounded the soft rock in - wooden mortars, previous to washing; it is probably rotten quartz, and - the yield would be trebled by quicksilver and crushers. - - "It is highly probable that the gold formations in those East - African ghauts, which Dr. Beke is compelling to become the 'Lunar - Mountains,' are by no means limited to the vicinity of the Zambeze. - In gold-prospecting, as every geologist knows, the likeliest places - often afford little yield and sometimes none. The author of 'The Lake - Regions of Central Africa' describes a cordillera which he struck, - about a hundred miles from the eastern coast, as primitive, quartzose, - and shaly; unfortunately time and health hindered him from exploring - it. The same writer, in 'First Footsteps in East Africa' (p. 395), - indicates such formation in the small ghauts, and on the western - side of that range he is reported to have found gold. What steps he - took do not appear; he was probably disheartened by the reflection - that all his efforts would be opposed by might and main in official - circles. Possibly he feared the fate of Mr. Hargreaves, of Australia, - who obtained a reward of £5000, when one per cent. of export would - have made him master of eight millions. Local jealousies at Aden - also certainly would have defeated his plans, if permitted to be - carried out; and the Court of Directors had already regarded with a - holy terror his proposals to build a little fort, by way of base upon - the seaboard near Berberah. Leaving, however, these considerations, - we are justified by analogy of formation and bearing in believing - that at some future time gold may be one of the exports from Eastern - Intertropical Africa.[23] - - "Returning to Western Africa, we find in Leo Africanus, who is - supposed to have died about 1526, that the King of Ghana had in his - palace 'an entire lump of gold'--a monster nugget it would now be - called--not cast nor wrought by instruments, but perfectly formed by - the Divine Providence only, of thirty pounds weight, which had been - bored through and fitted for a seat before the royal throne.[24] The - author most diffuse upon the subject of gold, is Bosman, who treats, - however, solely of the Gold Coast. - - "The first region which he mentions is Dinkira, under which were - included the conquered provinces of Wásá (our Wassaw, Wossa, Wasau, - Warsaw, etc.), Encasse and Juffer, each bordering upon one another, - and the last upon Commany (Commanda). There the gold is fine, but much - alloyed with 'fetishes,' oddly shaped figures used for ornaments, - and composed sometimes of pure mountain gold, but more often mixed - with one-third, or even half, of silver and copper and filled inside - with half weight of the heavy black earth used for moulding them. The - second was Acanny, the people of which brought the produce of their - own diggings and of their neighbours of Ashantee and Akim: it was - so pure and fine, that the negroes called all the best gold 'Acanny - Sika,' or Acanny gold. The third was Akim,[25] which 'furnished as - large quantities of gold as any land that I know, and that also the - most valuable and pure of any that is carried away from this coast; - it is easily distinguished by its deep colour.' The fourth and fifth - are Ashanti and Ananse, a small province between the former empire and - Dinkira. The sixth and last is Awine, our Aowin,[26] which formerly - used to export large quantities of fine and pure gold, and they - 'being the civilized and the fairest dealers of all the negroes,' the - Dutch 'traded with them with a great deal of pleasure.' They were, - however, finally subdued by the Dinkiras. - - "According to Bosman ('Letters,' vi.) 'the illustrious metal' was - found in three sites. The first and best was 'in or between particular - hills:' the negroes sank pits there, and separated the soil adhering - to it. The second 'is in, at, and about some rivers and waterfalls, - whose violence washeth down great quantities of earth, which carry - the gold with it. The third is on the seashore, near the mouths of - rivulets, and the favourite time for washing is after violent night - rains.[27] The negro women are furnished with large and small troughs - or trays, which they first fill full of earth and sand, which they - wash with repeated fresh water till they have cleansed it from all - its earth; and if there be any gold its ponderosity forces it to the - bottom of the trough, which if they find it is thrown into the small - tray, and so they go on washing it again, which operation generally - holds them till noon; some of them not getting above the value of - sixpence; some of them pieces of six or seven shillings, though not - frequently; and often they entirely lose their labour.' - - "The gold thus dug is of two kinds, dust gold and mountain gold. The - former is 'fine as flour,' and the more esteemed because there is no - loss in melting. The latter, corresponding with our modern 'nugget,' - varies in weight from a farthing to two hundred guineas; it touches - better than gold dust, but it is a loss from the metal adhering to the - stone. - - "The natives, in Bosman's day--and to the present time--were 'very - subtle artists in the sophisticating of gold.' The first sort was the - fetish before alluded to.[28] They also cast pieces so artificially, - that whilst outside there was pure gold thick as a knife, the interior - was copper, and perhaps iron--then a new trick and the most dangerous, - because difficult to detect. The common 'false mountain gold' was - a mixture of the precious metal with silver and copper, extremely - high coloured, and unless each piece was touched, the fraud passed - undetected. Another kind was an artificially cast and tinged powder - of coral mixed with copper filings; it became tarnished, however, - in a month or two. The official tests of gold were as follows:--If - offered at night or in the evening large pieces were cut through with - a knife, and the smaller nuggets were beaten with a stone, and then - tried as above. Gold dust was cast into a copper brazier, winnowing - with the fingers, and blown upon with the breath, which causes the - false gold to fly away. These are not highly artificial tests. Bosman, - however, strongly recommends them to raw, inexpert people (especially - seafaring men), whom he bids to remember the common proverb, that - 'there is no gold without dross.' These greenhorns, it seems, tested - the metal by pouring aquafortis upon it, when ebullition or the - appearance of green proved it to be false or mixed. 'A miserable test, - indeed!' exclaims old Trunk-hose, justly remarking that an eighth or - tenth part of alloy would produce those appearances, and that such - useless and niceness, entailing the trouble of drying, and causing the - negroes to suffer, is prejudicial to trade. - - "With respect to the annual export from the Gold Coast, Bosman reckons - it in peaceful times, when trade is prosperous, to be '23 tun.' The - 7000 marks are disposed of as below.[29] Mr. Macqueen estimates - this exportation at £3,406,275. The English trade has now fallen to - £360,000 to £400,000 per annum.[30] - - "The conclusion of Bosman's sixth letter may be quoted as highly - applicable to the present day. 'I would refer to any intelligent - metallist, whether a vast deal of ore must not of necessity be lost - here, from which a great deal of gold might be separated, from want of - skill in the metallic art; and not only so, but I firmly believe that - large quantities of pure gold are left behind, for the negroes only - ignorantly dig at random, without the least knowledge of the veins - of the mines. And I doubt not but if this country belonged to the - Europeans, they would soon find it to produce much richer treasures - than the negroes obtain from it; but it is not probable that we shall - ever possess that liberty here, wherefore we must be content with - being so far masters of it as we are at present, which, if well and - prudently managed, would turn to a very great account.' - - "In several countries, as Dinkira, Tueful, Wásá,[31] and especially - Akim, the hill region lying due north of Accra, the people are still - active in digging gold. The pits, varying from two to three feet - in diameter, and from twelve to fifty feet deep, are often so near - the roads that loss of life has been the result. 'Shoring-up' being - little known, the miners are not unfrequently buried alive. The - stuff is drawn up by ropes in clay pots, or calabashes, and thus a - workman at the bottom widens the pit to a pyriform shape: tunnelling, - however, is unknown. The excavated earth is carried down to be washed. - Besides sinking these holes, they pan in the beds of rivers, and in - places collect quartz, which is roughly pounded. The yield is very - uncertain, and the Chief of the district is entitled to one-third - of the proceeds. During the busy season, when water is abundant, - the scene must resemble that described by Dr. Livingstone, near the - gold-diggings of Tete. As in California and Australia, prices rise - high, and gunpowder, rum, and cotton goods soon carry off the gold - dust. - - "During the repeated earthquakes of July, 1862, which laid waste - Accra, the strata of the Akim Hills were so much shaken and broken - up, that, according to report, all the people flocked to the diggings - and dispensed with the shafts generally sunk. There are several parts - of the Gold Coast where the precious metal is fetish, and where the - people will not dig themselves, though perhaps they would not object - to strangers risking their lives. One of the most remarkable is the - Devil's Hill, called by Bosman 'Monte da Diabo,' near Winnebah, in - the Aguna (Agouna) country. In his time, a Mr. Baggs, English agent, - was commissioned by the African Company to prospect it. He died at - Cape Coast Castle before undertaking a work which, in those days, - would have been highly dangerous. Some authorities fix the Seecom - river as the easternmost boundary where gold is found. This is so far - incorrect, that I have panned it from the sands under James Fort. - Besides which, it is notorious that on the banks of the Upper Volta, - about the latitude of the Krobo (Croboe) country, there are extensive - deposits, regarded by the people as sacred. - - "The Slave Coast is a low alluvial tract, and appears to be wholly - destitute of gold.[32] According to the Rev. Mr. Brown, however, - a small quantity has been found in the quartz of Yoruba, north of - Abeokuta; but, as in the Brazil, it is probably too much dispersed to - be worth working. And the Niger, which flows, as will presently be - seen, from the true auriferous centre, has at times been found to roll - down-stream gold.[33] - - "The soil of Fante-land and the seaboard is, as has been seen, but - slightly auriferous. - - "As we advance northwards from the Gold Coast the yield becomes - richer. In Ashanti the red and loamy soil, scattered with gravel and - grey granite, is everywhere impregnated with gold, which the slaves - extract by washing and digging. It is said that in the market-place - of Kumasi there are sixteen hundred ounces' worth of gold--a treasure - reserved for State purposes. The bracelets of rock-gold, which the - caboceers wear on State occasions, are four pounds in weight, and - often so heavy that they must rest their arms upon the heads of their - slave-boys. - - "In Gyaman, the region to the north-west of the capital, the ore is - found in large nuggets, sometimes weighing four pounds. The pits are - sunk nine feet in the red granite and grey granite, and the gold is - highly coloured. From eight to ten thousand slaves work for two months - every year in the bed of the Barra river. There, however, as on the - Gold Coast, the work is very imperfect, and in some places where - the metal is sacred to the fetish, it is not worked at all. Judging - from analogy, we might expect to find the precious metal in the - declivities inland and northwards from Cape Palmas, and in that sister - formation of the East African ghauts, the 'Sierra dol Crystal.' The - late Captain Lawlin, an American trader settled on an island at the - mouth of the Fernão Vaz, carried to his own country, about the year - 1843-44, a quantity of granular gold, which had been brought to him - by some country-people. He brought back all the necessary tools and - implements to the Gaboon river, but the natives became alarmed, and he - failed to find the spot. Finally, according to the tradition of native - travellers, the unexplored region called Rúmá,[34] and conjecturally - placed south of the inhospitable Waday, is a land of goldsmiths, - the ore being found in mountainous and well-watered districts. It - is becoming evident that Africa will some day equal half a dozen - Californias. - - "Mungo Park supplies the amplest notices of gold in the regions - visited by him north of the Kong Mountains. The principal places are - the head of the Senegal river and its various influents; Dindiko, - where the shafts are most deep, and notched, like a ladder; Seronda, - which gives two grains from every pound of alluvial matter;[35] Bambuk - and Bambarra. In Kongkadu, the 'mountain land,' where the hills are - of coarse riddy granite, composed of red feldspar, white quartz, and - black shale, containing orbicular concretions, granular gold is found - in the quartz, which is broken with hammers; the grains, however, are - flat. The diggings at present best known are those of Mandina-land. - The gold, we are told, is found not in mines or veins, but scattered - in sand and clay. They vary from a pin's head to the size of a pea, - and are remarkably pure. This is called _sana manko_, or gold-powder, - in contradistinction to _sana birro_, or gold-stones--nuggets - occasionally weighing five drachms. In December, after the harvest - home, when the gold-bearing _fiumaras_ from the hills have shrunk, the - Mansa or Shaykh appoints a day to begin _sana ku_--gold washing. - - "Each woman arms herself with a hoe, two or three calabashes, and a - few quills. On the morning before departure a bullock is slaughtered - for a feast, and prayers and charms are not forgotten. The error - made by these people is digging and washing for years in the same - spot, which proves comparatively unfruitful unless the torrent shifts - its course. They never follow the lead to the hills, but content - themselves with exploring the heads of the watercourse, which the - rapid stream denudes of sand and clay, leaving a strew of small - pebbles that wear the skin off the finger-tips. The richest yield is - from pits sunk in the height of the dry season, near some hill in - which gold has been found. As the workers dig through the several - strata of sand and clay, they send up a few calabashes by way of - experiment for the women, whose peculiar duty it is to wash the stuff, - and thus they continue till they strike the floor-rock. The most - hopeful formation is held to be a bed of reddish sand, with small dark - specks, described as 'black matter, resembling gunpowder,' and called - by the people _sana mira_, or gold-rust; it is probably titeria. In - Murray's edition of 1816, there are illustrations of the various - positions, and a long description (vol. i. p. 450, and vol. ii. p. - 75) of the style of panning. I will not trouble the reader with it, - as it in no way differs from that now practised on the Gold Coast and - Kafirlands. There is art in this apparently simple process. Some women - find gold when others cannot discover a particle; and as quicksilver - is not used, at least one-third must be wasted, or rather, I may say, - it is preserved for a better day. - - "The gold dust is stored in quills, stopped with cotton, and the - washers are fond of wearing a number of these trophies in their - hair. The average of an industrious individual's annual collection - may be two slaves. The price of these varies from nine to twelve - _mankali_,[36] each of 12_s._ 6_d._, or its equivalent in goods, viz. - eighteen gun-flints, forty-eight leaves of tobacco, twenty charges - of gunpowder, a cutlass, and a musket. Part of the gold is converted - into massive and cumbrous ornaments, necklaces, and earrings, and when - a lady of consequence is in full dress, she bears from £50 to £80. A - proportion is put by to defray expenses of travelling to and from the - coast, and the greater part is then invested in goods, or exchanged - with the Moors for salt and merchandise. - - "The gold is weighed in small balances, which the people always carry - about with them, and they make, like the Hindus, but little difference - between gold dust and wrought gold. The purchaser always uses his - own _tilikissi_, beans, probably, of the Abrus, which are sometimes - soaked in Shea butter, to increase their weight, or are imitated with - ground-down pebbles. In smelting gold, the smith uses an alkaline - salt, obtained from a ley of burnt corn-stalks. He is capable, as even - the wildest African tribes are, of drawing fine wire. When rings--the - favourite form in which the precious metal is carried coastward--are - to be made, the gold is run without any flux in a crucible of - sun-dried red clay, which is covered over with charcoal or braize. The - smith pours the fluid into a furrow traced in the ground, by way of - mould. When it has cooled, he reheats it, and hammers it into a little - square ingot or bar of the size required. After a third exposure to - fire he twists with his pincers the bar into a screw shape, lengthens - out the ends, and turns them up to form a circle. - - "It must now be abundantly evident to the reader, that the great - centre of West African gold, the source which supplies Manding to - the north and Ashanti to the south, is the equatorial range called - the Kong. What the mineral wealth must be there, it is impossible to - estimate, when nearly three millions and a half of pounds sterling - have usually been drawn from a small parallelogram, between its - southern slopes and the ocean, whilst the other three-quarters of the - land--without alluding to the equally rich declivities of the northern - versant--have remained as yet unexplored. Even in northern Liberia, - colonists have occasionally come upon a pocket of $50, and the natives - bring gold in from the banks of streams. - - "Mr. Wilson[37] remarks upon this subject, 'It is best for whites - and blacks that these mines should be worked just as they are. The - world is not suffering for the want of gold, and the comparative - small quantities that are brought to the sea-coast keep the people in - continual intercourse with civilized men, and ultimately, no doubt, - will be the means of introducing civilization and Christianity among - them.' - - "I differ from the reverend author, _toto cœlo_. For such vain hope - as that of improving Africans by European intercourse, and for all - considerations of an 'ultimately' vaguer than the sweet singer - of Israel's 'soon,' it is regrettable that active measures for - exploitation are not substituted. And if the world, including the - reverend gentleman and Lord John Russell, are not suffering for the - want of gold, there are those, myself for instance, and many a better - man, who would be happy at times to see and to feel a little more of - that 'vile yellow clay.'" - -[1] This is pure chaff--they are woefully defective in all these -points; but being ignorant they dress so as to show off what an -Englishman would improve or conceal.--I. B. - -[2] "Of late it has become the fashion for the Missionary and the -Lecturer to deny, in the presence of Exeter Hall, the African's -recognition of the European's superiority. 'The white man,' writes Mr. -Robert Campbell, a mulatto, 'who supposes himself respected in Africa -_because_ he is white, is grievously mistaken.' I distinctly assert the -reverse, and every one who has studied the natural history of man must -have the same opinion. The same egregious nonsense was once propounded -before the Ethnological Society--where with some ethnology there is no -anthropology--by another 'African.' And yet the propounder, the late -Mr. Consular Agent Hansen, whose death, by-the-by, was an honour, and -the only honour, to his life, had shaved his wool, and at the time was -wearing a wig of coal-black hair like a Cherokee's. Is imitation no -sign of deference?" - -[3] "And not only the missionary, but also the sex which, I am told, -has a Mission. I was at Florence in 1850, when our fair countrywomen -added not a little to its troubles by dividing into two factions, the -Italian and the Austrian. Some wore Rational colours, others went so -far as to refuse waltzes proposed to them by partisans of the hostile -nation." - -[4] "Such cant I hold to be in their mouths who talk of the 'sin and -crime' of slavery. As the author of 'Six Years in the West Indies' (a -brave book, considering the date of its publication, 1825) truly says, -that the spirit of Christianity tends to abolish servitude is clear, -that it admits of servitude is even still clearer. The Authorized -Version of the Bible, like the Constitution of the United States, -very prudently shirks the word 'slave,' and translates by 'servants' -the δοῡλοι [Greek: douloi], or bondsmen, whom St. Paul enjoins to be -subject to their κυρίοι [Greek: kourioi], or masters, and elsewhere -δοῡλος [Greek: doulos], a chattel, is opposed to ἐλεύθερος [Greek: -eleutheros], a freeman. How astonished St. Athanasius and St. Augustine -would have been, had the idea of an 'underground railway' been -presented to them! What fulminations they would have showered upon the -inventor of the idea!" - -[5] "I quote the above _memoriter_. If correct, the limits of the -Nigrotic delta thus given are totally incorrect. The Rio del Rey is -wholly unconnected with the Niger; even the nearer Calabar and Cross -rivers do not flow from it. The same is the case with the Benin river; -its source was placed by Mr. Beecroft in the highlands to the westward -of the Niger." - -[6] "A similar imperfect generalization is the old theory that gold -pertains not to islands. Malachi wore a collar of Irish gold, probably -from Wicklow. It has been found in Cornwall and other parts of England, -and in Scotland; and there are few Californians who do not believe that -Queen Charlotte's Island will form rich diggings. - -"Another remark has lately been made, which pretends to no more than to -discover a curious coincidence. The Oural chain lies 90° west of the -Australian diggings, and the Californian Sierra Nevada 90° west of the -Oural. But, on the other hand, the fourth quadrantal division falls -into the Atlantic between Western Africa and the Brazil; and Eastern -Africa, a highly prolific metallic region, is 20° west of the Oural, -and 120° east of California." - -[7] "I allude to the Hammæum littus of Pliny, which appears to coincide -with the modern Hazramaut. Perhaps, however, the gold of Arabia is not -wholly exhausted: it is difficult to believe that the rude appliances -of savages and barbarians can extract anything but the coarsest -particles from the dirt. - -"Some years ago an English traveller, who had seen gold dust brought -to Cairo from the coast of Western Arabia, north of Yambu, applied to -Dr. Walne, then her Majesty's Consul, for facilities of exploring the -place. The sage reply of that official was that gold appeared to be -becoming too common. Other officials, equally sage, have since made the -same remark." - -[He alludes to Lord John Russell, who, when he offered to send a -million a year home if he were made Governor of the Gold Coast, said, -"Gold was getting too common."--I. B.] - -[8] "In Eastern, as in parts of Western Africa, the natives have a -curious superstition, or, rather, a distorted idea of a physical fact. -They always return to the earth whatever nuggets are found, under the -idea that they are the seed, or mother of gold, and that, if removed, -the washing would be unprofitable. They refuse to dig deeper than -the chin, for fear of the earth 'caving in;' and quartz-crushing and -the use of quicksilver being unknown, they will not wash, unless the -gold appears to the naked eye. As late as Mohammed Ali Pasha's day an -Egyptian expedition was sent up through Fayzoghlu in search of the -precious metal, brought down by the eastern tributaries of the Nile; -it failed, because the ignorant Turks expected to pick up ounces -where they found only grains. There are many traditions still extant -in Egypt, of mysterious travellers floating down the Nile in craft -of antique build, accompanied by women of blackest colour, but with -Grecian or Abyssinian features, and adorned with rings, collars, and -bracelets of pure gold, in shape resembling those found in the tombs of -ancient Egypt." - -[9] "Dom Sebastian, grandson of Don João III., was born July 20th, -1554, and at three years of age ascended the throne of Portugal. His -subsequent romantic history is well known." - -[10] Mr. Cooley ('Geography of N'yassi,' p. 16) has confounded the -'Mucaranga' with the 'Monomoezi.' Captain Burton ('Lake Regions of -Central Equatorial Africa,' pp. 228, 289) found the Wakaranga, a people -wholly distinct from the Wanpamwezi; the former being a small tribe -living near the Tanganyika Lake, south of the Wajiji. Mr. Cooley still, -I believe, keeps his own opinion, and persists in writing these tribal -names with an initial, M or Mu, which, being an abbreviation of _mtu_, -a man, signifies only the individual." - -[11] "In the 'Periplus,' attributed to Arrian (A.D. 64-210), chap. -xvi., we are told that Rhapta, probably Kilwa (Quiloa), and the -adjacent regions were held by colonists from Muza, _i.e._ Bandar -Musa, near Aden. Gold is not mentioned amongst the exports, which are -confined to ivory, rhinoceros' horns, and tortoiseshell." - -[12] "Dos Santos, 'History of the Ethiopians,' book ii. chap. i.-iii." - -[13] "The reader will remark that at all times, and in all places, gold -has been washed or procured in the same way--a fair instance, like the -general similarity of rude stone implements from England to Australia, -of the instinctive faculty in mankind." - -[14] "The same was the practice of the Indian Rajahs. Whenever a ryot -discovered either treasure or gold _in situ_ he was most cruelly -treated, to compel him to confess and to give up what he had secreted. -As, of course, he had secreted a part of his _trouvaille_ it was a -hard struggle between his cupidity and the ruler's bastinado. About -1840, some peasants near Baroda, in Guzerat, found lumps of gold, which -they carried before his Highness the Gaikwar, and received in return a -terrible flogging. The Hindú, with that secretiveness which has ever -been his shield against the tyranny of rulers and conquerors, resolved -for the future to keep his good fortune to himself. The quality of -gold which from time to time has appeared amongst these people, made -the shrewder sort of European suspect. But the inertness, or, rather, -the terror of new things, that possessed the then rulers of the land; -'threw cold water' upon all attempts to trace the diggings, which, -accordingly, were worked by the people till the present year. This is -the simple history of 'gold mining in the Deccan.'" - -[15] "Barros, describing the ruins of Zimbo, mentions an inscription -over the gateway of a fort built with well-cut stones and no lime, -whose surface was twenty-five palms long and a little less in height. -Around this building, which, like the Ka'abah, might have been a -pagan Arab temple, are bastions--also of uncemented lime--and the -remainder of a tower, seventy feet high. The inscription was probably -in the Himyaritic character, as 'Moors well versed in Arabic' could -not decipher it. This was repeated to Mr. Lyons M. M'Leod ('Travels -in Eastern Africa,' vol. i. chap. x.) at Mozambique. Dr. Livingstone -('Travels in South Africa,' chap. xxix.) discovered Zumbo in lat. -15° 37' 22" S., long. 30° 32' E., about 8° W.N.W. of Kilimani. At -the confluence of the Loangwe and Zambeze, he found the remains of a -church, a cross, and a bell, but no date and no inscription. The people -of Rios de Sena also state that there are remains of large edifices -in the interior; unfortunately they place them at a distance of five -hundred leagues, which would lead them nearly to the equator north, and -to the Cape of Good Hope south. - -"Dr. Livingstone ('Travels in South Africa,' chap. xxx.) explains the -word Monomotapa successfully, I think, to mean the 'Lord' (_mone, -muene, mona, mana,_ or _morena_, are all dialectic varieties, -synonymous with the Kisarahili _muinyi_, which means master, sir, -_kyrios_, etc.), and 'Mtapa,' the proper name of the chief. The ancient -Portuguese assigned to the Monomotapa the extensive regions between the -Zambeze and the Limpopo rivers, 7° from north to south. The African -traveller, however, is not so successful in explaining the corrupted -term, Monomoizes, Monemuiges, and Monomaizes--for which see _Journal of -Royal Geographical Society_, vol. xxix. pp. 166 _et seq._ - -"Dr. Beke ('On the Mountains forming the Eastern Side of the Basin of -the Nile,' p. 14) defends, against Mr. Cooley and Captain Burton, M. -Malte Brun's 'Mono-emugi, ou selons un orthographie plus authentique -_Mou-mimigi_.' The defence is operated by enclosing after the latter, -in italics, another version in parenthesis, and with an interrogation, -thus (Nimougi?); and the French geographer's orthography 'being -fortunately based on the theoretic root,' is pronounced 'more -authentic than any hitherto proposed in its stead.' How often will -it be necessary to repeat, that Mono-emugi and Mou-mimigi are merely -corruptions of M'nyamwezi, a man or individual of the land Unyamwezi?" - -[16] "A French adventurer tried a similar trick upon the Imam Sayyid -Said, father of the present Prince of Zanzibar. He melted a few dollars -and ran the fluid upon bits of stone, which were duly shown to his -Highness. But the old Imam, whose cupidity was equalled only by his -cunning, took them to his friend, Colonel Hamerton, her Majesty's -Consul, who, finding the matrix to be coralline, had no difficulty in -detecting the fraud." - -[17] "Dr. Livingstone places the Botonga people west of Zumbo, and 4° -to 5° north-west of Matuka or Maniça." - -[18] "These elevations are on the western frontier of the great Marave -people; see the 'Lands of Cazembe.'" - -[19] "In Kisawahili they have but one word for gold, _zahábú_, which -is palpably derived from the Arabic. None of the people living in the -interior, or even the tribes beyond the coast-line of Zanzibar, are -acquainted with the precious metal; they would prefer to it brass or -copper. The appreciation of gold on the part of the so-called 'Kafir' -race, points to an extensive intercourse with Arabia, if not to a -considerable admixture of Arab and Asiatic blood." - -[20] "Dr. Livingstone gives six well-known washing-places, east and -north-east of Tete, viz. Mashinga, Shindúndo, Missála, Kapéta, Máno, -and Jáwa." - -[21] "Mr. Cooley ('Geography of N'yassi') questions whether there be -such a kingdom as Abutua, or Butwa. He derives it from _batúa_, plural -of _motúa_ (in Kisawahili _wátu_, plural of _m'tu_) signifying men. -The Amazulu, when they attacked Delagoa Bay, were called by the same -name; but the Portuguese throwing back the accent changed the word to -Vátur, of which Captain Owen made Fetwah. So, in 1822, the tribe that -fell upon the Bachwáná (Bechuana) were, we were told, called Batúa, but -the missionaries recognized the meaning of the word. Though it is 'now -unknown,' Dr. Livingstone has inserted it into his map." - -[22] "This is absolutely the present practice on the Gold Coast, and -perfectly agrees with Mungo Park's descriptions." - -[23] "I cannot, however, understand the final flourish of Dr. Beke's -paper, above alluded to. He declares that the discovery of gold in his -'Mountains of the Moon' will occasion a complete and rapid revolution, -and ends thus: 'We shall then, too, doubtless see in Eastern Africa, as -in California and in Australia, the formation of another new race of -mankind.' We have seen nothing of the kind in Western Africa, where for -four centuries the richest diggings have been known. In fact, they have -rather tended to drive away Europeans. Why then expect this marvel from -Eastern Africa?" - -[24] "Similarly, the king of 'Buncatoo' had a solid gold stool, which -caused his destruction at the hands of his neighbours of Ashantee." - -[25] "Akim still supplies gold, and will be alluded to later on." - -[26] "The old traveller, however, is wrong, when he says, 'I take it -(Awine) to be the first on the Gold Coast, and to be far above Axim.' -Aowin is the region to the west of the Assini river, whereas Axim is -to the east of the Ancobra river; thus the two are separated by the -territory of Apolonia. He apologizes, however, in the same page for -any possible errors. 'I cannot inform you better, because the negroes -cannot give any certain account of them (the various diggings), nor -do any of our people go so far; wherefore I must beg of you, my good -friend, to be contented.' Despite which, however, he may yet be right, -and his critic wrong." - -[27] "So, 'in Coquimbo of Chili,' says Sir Richard Hawkins, 'it raineth -seldom, but every shower of rain is a shower of gold unto them, for -with the violence of the water falling from the mountains it bringeth -from them the gold.'" - -[28] "We are also informed that the same fetishes were cut by the -negroes into small bits, worth one, two, or three farthings, and the -people could tell their value at sight. These _kakeraa_, as they were -called, formed the small change of the country, as our threepenny and -fourpenny bits do now. They were current all over the coast, and seemed -to pass backwards and forwards without any diminution. The reason for -this was, that they sold in Europe for only forty the ounce: the native -mixing them with better gold tried to palm them upon the purchasers, -but the clerks were ordered to pick them out. A similar custom down the -coast, was to cut dollars into halves and quarters, which thus easily -became florins and shillings." - -[29] Marks. -"The Dutch West Indian Company exported 1500 -The English African Company 1200 -The Zealand interlopers as much as the Dutch, viz. 1500 -The English interlopers about 1000 usually, which they have doubted 1000 -The Brandenburghers and Danes together, in time of peace 1000 -The Portuguese and French, together 800 - - Which makes 7000 - -"For several years before Bosman's time, the Dutch export had been -reduced by one-half (750 marks). Mr. Wilson, however ('Western Africa,' -ch. iv.), is evidently in error, when he makes Bosman to estimate the -'amount of gold exported from the Gold Coast at 800 marks per annum.'" - -[30] "Dr. Clarke ('Remarks,' &c.) gives 100,000 ounces. This was the -calculation of Mr. Swanzy before a Parliamentary committee in 1816. -Of course it is impossible to arrive at any clear estimate. Allowing -the African Steam Ship Company a maximum of 4000 ounces per month, we -obtain from that source 48,000 ounces. But considerable quantities are -exported in merchant ships, more especially for the American market. -Whilst, therefore, some reduce the total to 60,000 ounces, others raise -it to half a million of money." - -[31] "Wásá has been worked both by Dutch and English; they chose, -however, sickly situations, brought out useless implements, and died. -The province is divided into eastern and western, and is said to be -governed by female chiefs--Amazons?" - -[32] "Some years ago the late Consul Campbell, of Lagos, forwarded -to her Majesty's Foreign Office bits of broken pottery, in which he -detected gold. When submitted to the School of Mines, the glittering -particles proved to be mica." - -[33] "Silver is also said to be found near the Niger, but of this I -have no reliable notices." - -[34] "This may be the 'Runga' of our maps, with whose position Rúmá -corresponds. My informant wrote down the name from the mouth of a Waday -man at Lagos." - -[35] "This would be 1/3500 (avoirdupois), whereas the cascalho, or -alluvium, of the Brazil is 1/15000, and remarkably rich and pyritical -ores in Europe give 1/20000. Yet M. d'Aubrie estimates the gold in the -bed of Father Rhine at six or seven millions, of pounds sterling." - -[36] "May not this word be an old corruption of the well-known Arabic -weight, _miskál_?" - -[37] "'Western Africa,' chap. x." - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -HIS FIRST LEAVE. - - "Oh, when wilt thou return, my love? - For as the moments glide, - They leave me wishing still for thee, - My husband, by my side; - And ever at the evening hour - My hopes more fondly burn, - And still they linger on that word, - 'Oh, when wilt thou return?'" - ----_To a Husband during a Long Absence._ - - -Richard left me plenty of occupation during this awfully long absence -of sixteen months. Firstly, all kinds of official fights about India, -and then for a gunboat and other privileges for Fernando Po. I lived -with my father, mother, and family, and then I had a great deal to do -for his book, "The City of the Saints," and every letter brought its -own work and commissions, people to see and to write to, and things -to be done for him, so that I was never idle for a minute. I began -to feel, what I have always felt since, that he was the glorious, -stately ship in full sail, commanding all attention and admiration; and -sometimes, if the wind drops, she still sails gallantly, and no one -sees the humble little steam-tug hidden at the other side, with her -strong heart and faithful arms working forth, and glorying in her proud -and stately ship. - -I think a true woman, who is married to her proper mate, recognizes the -fully performed mission, whether prosperous or not, and that no one -can ever take his place _for her_, as an interpreter of that which is -betwixt her and her Creator, _to her_ as the shadow of God's protection -here on earth. - -In winter he made me go to Paris with the Napoleon ring and sketch, -mentioned in the little story called "The Last Hours of Napoleon;" -and, through want of experience and proper friends and protection, my -little mission of courtesy failed. The failure drew down upon me some -annoyances, which appeared very disagreeable and important to me at the -time; they are not worth mentioning, nor, indeed, had I been older and -more experienced, should I have thought them worth fretting about. - -The rest of the time of those dreary sixteen months was wearing to a -degree, and diversified by ten weeks of diphtheria and its results. -One day I betook myself to the Foreign Office, and I cried my heart -out to Mr. (afterwards Sir) Henry Layard. He seemed very sorry for -me, and he asked me to wait awhile whilst he went upstairs; and, when -he came back, he told me that he had got four months' leave home for -my husband, and had ordered the despatch to be sent off that very -afternoon. I could have thrown my arms round his neck and kissed him, -but I did not; he might have been rather surprised. I had to go and sit -out in the Green Park till the excitement wore off; it was more to me -than if he had given me a large fortune. - -At last the happy day came to go and meet Richard at Liverpool, and -I shall never forget the joy of our meeting. It was December, 1863, -and we had some happy weeks in England--a pleasant Christmas with my -people at Wardour, and at Lord Gerard's at Garswood, where the family -parties mustered strong, and at Fryston (Lord Houghton's), and several -other country-houses; and he brought out two books--"Wanderings in West -Africa" (2 vols., 1863), also "Abeokuta and the Cameroons" (2 vols., -1863), which he dedicated to me, with a lovely inscription and motto, -of which I am very proud. And then came round the time again to leave. -But I told him I could not possibly go on living as I was living; it -was too miserable, one's husband in a place where one was not allowed -to go, and I living with my mother like a girl--I was neither wife, nor -maid, nor widow; so he took me with him. Excepting yachting, it was my -first experience of _real_ sea-going. - -[Sidenote: _We sail for West Africa._] - -The African steamships were established in January, 1852, by the -late Mr. MacGregor Laird, who was the second pioneer of the Niger -Exploration, and an enthusiastic improver of Africa. These steamers -were seven in number, and went once a month; four of them were of -978 tons. They went out to the West Coast, Fernando Po being their -furthest station save one, and the whole round from England and back -again caused them to visit twenty-two ports, and cover ten thousand -nautical miles at eight knots an hour; but they were built for cargo, -not for passengers. There was no doctor, no bath; the conveniences -were difficult, and the stewardess only went as far as Madeira, the -first port. We sometimes had seven or eight human beings stuffed into -a cabin, which had four berths. I speak of 1861-2-3-4; it may be all -changed since then. We now started in the worst circumstances. It was -the big storm of January, 1863, one of the worst that has ever been -known. My mother, who was a very bad sailor, insisted on coming on -board to see us off. It was terribly rough, and an ironclad just shaved -us going out, as we lay to in the river. There were even wrecks in the -Mersey. Our Captain frankly said that he had an accident every January, -but he would almost rather sink than have a mark put against his name -for not going out on his right day. Mother behaved most pluckily. She -went back in the tug, and she just reached Uncle Gerard's, which was -three-quarters of an hour from Liverpool, got up to her bedroom, took -up the poker to poke the fire, which fell out of her hand--she had -the strength to crawl to the bell--and when they came up she was on -the floor in that attack of paralysis with which she had been so long -threatened, and to stave off which, we had hid my marriage from her -just two years before. - -Long before we had got past the Skerries, we were in serious trouble, -and the passengers implored the Captain to alter his course, and take -refuge in some harbour; but he explained to them that it would be -awfully dangerous to turn the ship's head round, as the going round -might sink her. I had forgotten in my ignorance to secure a berth, and -the Captain gallantly gave up his own cabin to me, till Madeira. It was -just on the break of the poop, and every wave broke over that before it -reached the saloon. The ship appeared quite unmanageable; she bucked -and plunged without stopping. There were seven feet of water in the -hold, and all hands and available passengers were called on to man the -pumps. The under berths were full of water, the bird-cages and kittens -and parcels were all floating about, most of the women were screaming, -many of the men-passengers were drunk, the lights went out, the -furniture came unshipped and rolled about at its own sweet will. The -cook was thrown on the galley fire, so there could be nothing to eat. -Fortunately the sea put the fire out. It was very difficult for men to -get along the deck. - -A rich lady gave the stewardess £5 to hold her hand all night, so -the rest of us poorer ones had to do without consolation. One most -painful scene occurred. There were seven women, missionaries' wives, -going out either with or to join their husbands. One, a poor child of -sixteen, just married, missed her husband, and she called out in the -dark for him. A naval officer who was going out to join his ship, and -was tipsy the whole way, called out, "Oh, he has tumbled overboard, -and is hanging on outside; you will never see him any more." The poor -child believed it, and fell down in an epileptic fit, to which she -remained subject as long as I ever heard of her. Her husband and mine -were working at the pumps. I crawled to my bunk in the Captain's cabin, -sick and terrified, and I thought that the terrible seas breaking -against its side were loosening the nails, and that the sea would come -in and wash me out. I was far away from any help and quite alone, and -I hung on to the door, calling, "Carpenter! carpenter!" He came to my -assistance, but a huge wave covered us; it carried him overboard and -left me--he was never seen again. We lost two men that night. - -As I lay there trembling, and terribly sea-sick, something tumbled -against my door, and rolled in and sank down on the floor. It was the -tipsy naval officer. I could not rise, I could not shut the door, I -could not lug him out, so I lay there. When Richard had finished his -work, he crawled along the decks till he got to the cabin, where the -sea had swamped through the open door pretty considerably. "Hullo! -what's that?" he said. I managed faintly to ejaculate, "The tipsy naval -officer." He picked him up by the scruff of his neck, and, regardless -of consequences, he propelled him, with a good kick behind, all down -the deck, and shut the door. He said, "The Captain says we can't live -more than two hours in such a sea as this." At first I was frightened -that I should die, but now I was only frightened that I shouldn't, and -I uttered feebly, "Oh, thank God it will be over so soon." I shall -never forget how angry he was with me, because I was not frightened, -and gave me quite a sermon. We were like that mostly three days and -nights, and then it got better, and I saw the steward passing with some -boiled mutton and caper sauce, and called out, "Oh, stop and give me -some." He cut me some slices, and I ate them like a starved dog. I got -up and dressed and went on deck, and have never been sea-sick since to -speak of. I do not speak of Richard, because he never was sea-sick in -his life; he never knew what it was; and I believe if it had not been -for spilling the ink, he would have been writing his manuscripts, even -if the ship had been going round like a squirrel's cage, as he always -did all his life, no matter what the weather, and ate and slept enough -for three. - -[Sidenote: _We land at Madeira._] - -The temperature changed by magic. There was a tropical calm at night; -the usual rough north-easterly breeze of the outside subsided into -a luxurious, sensual calm, with occasional puffs of soft, exciting -westerly zephyrs, or _viento de las mugeres_, formed by the land -wind of the night. We arrived in thirteen days at Madeira, having -been longer than usual on account of the three days' storm. We could -smell the land strong of clover hay long before we reached it. I -shall never forget my astonishment and delight when I looked out of -the port-hole one morning and found myself at Madeira. We had left a -frightful English winter, we had suffered much on the sea journey; -here was summer--luxuriant and varied foliage, warmth and splendour, -the profusion and magnificence of the tropics, a bright blue sky and -sun, a deep blue sea, mountains, hills covered with vines, white -villas covered with glorious creepers, and picturesque churches and -convents. Here we passed a most delightful six weeks. At that time, -for about £200 a year, one could have all the luxuries that one could -desire--ponies to ride, a hammock to carry you, boats to sail in, and -every comfort and luxury; and as for hospitality, there was hardly a -chance of breakfasting, lunching, or dining at home. We found here our -best and never-to-be-forgotten friend, Lady Marian Alford, with the -first Lord Brownlow, Dr. Frank, and a large party whose society we -daily enjoyed immensely. After some weeks we went on to Teneriffe in -another West African boat. - -[Sidenote: _Yellow Fever._] - -When we arrived at Santa Cruz, in Teneriffe, I did not think much of -it; it is not only far less pretty than Madeira, but there were no -comforts and luxuries. _En revanche_, it was far healthier, because -Madeira, like Davosplatz, had been quite used up by consumptives, and -was full of germs; but then we had arrived at a wrong moment, as we -found that the yellow fever was raging at Santa Cruz, and whilst we -were there it carried off three thousand people in as many weeks. There -was such a panic, that the moment a person was ill, the coffin was -brought in and put under the bed, by way of reassuring the patient, and -the moment they got into the state of coma, in which they either die or -recover, they were clapped into their coffins, but not locked down, and -the key was handed to the nearest relative, and the coffin was put into -the ground with only a small quantity of mould over it, so that when -the patient came to, and was strong enough, he or she would struggle -out and come home. - -One woman came back in her graveclothes, and tapped at her cottage -door, which, in those parts, opens into what serves as a sitting-room. -Her daughter was sitting at the table, by moonlight, weeping for her -mother's death, when the tap came; she got up and opened the door, and -saw her mother standing in her graveclothes! Believing it to be her -ghost, she fell down insensible. The mother lived for many years, and -had more children, but the daughter never recovered her reason. One -gentlemen, whom we knew, took it at nine in the morning. We went to -inquire after him, and was told he was convalescent, and at eleven, two -hours later, we saw his funeral going down the street! English people -born at Teneriffe have such an emaciated appearance that I was always -condoling with them on having had the yellow fever; and then, to my -horror, I found it was their natural appearance. Richard and I thought -it better to move, and not waiting for our baggage, things being at -the worst, and transport difficult, we set off with knapsacks to walk -across the island, twenty-one miles, to Oratava, where we heard that -not a single case had made its appearance. There was a halfway house, -a very poor little inn. We slept there. Our room was shaped like a -claret-case, white-washed, with a tiny grating near the roof for air. -There was no furniture of any kind, but they put a mattress on the -floor, and gave us a rug. We lay down in our clothes, taking off our -weapons and laying them between us. When we woke in the morning, and -got up, intending to breakfast and continue our tramp, we found that -although we had closed the door, and stuck something up against it, -so that any one coming in would knock it down and make a noise, that -some one had stolen our best knife, from between us, and we were both -remarkably light sleepers. A Spaniard cannot resist a knife, and as -everything remained exactly as we had left it, it showed that there -was some trap-door, or panel in the wall for ingress, which was not -perceptible. - -It was not comfortable, so we were not sorry to be once more upon the -road. We arrived at Oratava, and found it delightful. In our days -(1863) there were no hotels; but we were able to hire a room, the size -of a riding-school, in a private house on the Square. One side was -our bedroom, one corner our dressing-room, one our drawing-room and -dining-room, and the middle our study. - -[Sidenote: _The Peak of Teneriffe._] - -Whilst here (March, 1863) we made a delightful excursion up the Peak -of Teneriffe. We were out two days and one night. The Peak is 12,198 -feet above sea-level. We bivouacked in the snow at 9600 feet, and slept -well. Temp., 16°. Around us were no end of little spirts of steam; we -counted thirty-five on the final cone. The view from the top, as the -dawn broke, was glorious. The horses slept lower down, further ascent -being too steep, and the most distressing thing was that they could -have no water. The mules could eat snow, but they could not; and coming -into the town, they flew at everybody with water-jars on their heads. -At last they heard the trickling of the stream near the little town, -and they bolted at full gallop. We drew rein, jumped down, and loosened -their girths, and let them drink. The only peculiarity of our journey -was that it was the _first_ performed in _winter_, and therefore people -were anxious about us. - -The women of Teneriffe were the most beautiful I have ever seen--a -cross between Spanish and Irish, who were shipwrecked here in old -times. I used to stop and stare at them until they used to say, "What -are you staring at?" and I would answer, "At you, because you are so -pretty;" and they used to laugh with delight, and show the most lovely -teeth. I allude to the peasant women, whose Spanish is very pretty, -but not quite Castilian. Here I wrote my first book on Madeira and -Teneriffe; but my husband would not let me print it, because he did not -think it was up to the mark. He thought I must study and copy many more -years before I tried authorship. And he was right, both in this and not -letting me share with him the climate of West Africa. But I thought -both very hard at the time. - -[Sidenote: _I return Home._] - -The time came when he had to go back to his post, but I was not allowed -to _sleep_ at Fernando Po. I thought it dreadfully hard, and cried -and begged, but he was immovable; and he was right. So I turned back -again with a heavy heart, and had a passage back, if not quite as bad, -very nearly as bad, _viâ_ Teneriffe and Madeira. Being alone, I had -gone into the ladies' cabin--a very small hole with four berths, and -what is called by courtesy a sofa; but there were eight of us packed -in it. It was pitch dark; the porthole being closed on account of the -weather, the effluvia was disgusting. I got on a dressing-gown, and -crawled out to a stack of arms, which I fondly embraced, to keep myself -from rolling overboard, where I was found by one of the officers, who -ran off to the Captain; he found there was an empty deck cabin, which -they immediately put me into, and in a few hours, having got rid of the -noxious vapours, I quite recovered. I again passed a long and dreary -time, during which he kept me either with my parents well at work, or -at sea coming out and going back, with visits to Madeira and Teneriffe. -I had one _very_ anxious time, inasmuch as he was sent as her Majesty's -Commissioner to the King of Dahomè, in _those days_ by no means a safe -or easy thing. - - DAHOMÈ. - - "Beautiful feet are those that go - On kindly ministry to and fro-- - Down lowliest ways if God wills so. - - "Beautiful life is that whose span - Is spent in duty to God and man, - Forgetting 'self' in all that it can. - - "Beautiful calm when the course is run, - Beautiful twilight at set of sun-- - Beautiful death with a life well done." - -[Sidenote: _Richard sent as H.M.'s Commissioner to Dahomè._] - -Richard, being British Consul for Fernando Po, went to visit Agbome, -the capital of the kingdom of Dahomè. Lord Russell, hearing of this, -gave him instructions to proceed as her Majesty's Commissioner, -on a friendly mission to King Gelele, to impress upon the King the -importance the British Government attached to the cessation of the -slave-trade, and to endeavour by every possible means to induce him to -cease to continue the Dahoman customs. Now the Dahoman customs, as all -know, meant the cutting of the throats of prisoners of war, and, in old -days, making a little lake of blood on which to sail a boat. Not only -this, cruelty was the rule of every day. Throats cut, to send a message -to the king's father in the other world; women cut open alive in a -state of pregnancy to see what it was like; animals tied up in every -sort of horrible position. He writes-- - - "There is apparently in this people a physical delight in cruelty to - beasts as well as to men. The sight of suffering seems to bring them - enjoyment, without which the world is tame. Probably the wholesale - murderers and torturers of history, from Phalaris and Nero downwards, - took an animal and sensual pleasure--all the passions are sisters--in - the look of blood, and in the inspection of mortal agonies. I can see - no other explanation of the phenomena which meets my eye in Africa. - In almost all the towns on the Oil Rivers, you see dead or dying - animals fastened in some agonizing position. Poultry is most common, - because cheapest--eggs and milk are _juju_ to slaves here--they are - tied by the legs, head downwards, or lashed round the body to a - stake or a tree, where they remain till they fall in fragments. If - a man be unwell he hangs a live chicken round his throat, expecting - that its pain will abstract from his sufferings. Goats are lashed - head downwards tightly to wooden pillars, and are allowed to die a - lingering death. Even the harmless tortoise cannot escape impalement. - Blood seems to be the favourite ornament for a man's face, as - pattern-painting with some dark colour, like indigo, is the proper - decoration for a woman. At funerals, numbers of goats and poultry - are sacrificed for the benefit of the deceased, and the corpse is - sprinkled with the warm blood. The headless trunks are laid upon the - body, and if the fowls flap their wings, which they will do for some - seconds after decapitation, it is a good omen for the dead man. - - "When male prisoners of war are taken they are brought home for - sacrifice and food, whilst their infants and children are sometimes - supported by the middle, from poles planted in the canoe. The priest - decapitates the men--for ordinary executions each Chief has his own - headsman--and no one doubts that the bodies are eaten. Mr. Smith and - Dr. Hutchinson both aver that they witnessed actual cases. The former - declares that, when old Pepple, father of the present King, took - captive King Amakree, of New Calabar, he gave a large feast to the - European slave-traders on the river. All was on a grand scale. But the - reader might perhaps find some difficulty in guessing the name of the - dish placed before his Majesty at the head of the table. It was the - bloody heart of the King of Calabar, just as it had been torn from - the body. He took it in his hand and devoured it with the greatest - apparent gusto, remarking, 'This is the way I serve my enemies!' - - "Shortly after my first visit, five prisoners of war were brought in - from the eastern country. I saw in the _juju_-house their skulls, - which were suspiciously white and clean, as if boiled, and not a white - man doubted that they had been eaten. The fact is, that they cannot - afford to reject any kind of provisions." - -Richard was the bearer of presents from Her Majesty to the King--one -forty-feet circular crimson silk damask tent, with pole complete; a -richly embossed silver pipe with amber mouthpiece; two richly embossed -silver belts, with lion and crane in raised relief; two silver waiters; -one coat of mail and gauntlets. This is not the place to introduce -the subject very largely into _this_ book, as I hope to do in "The -Labours and Wisdom of Richard Burton" (two further volumes that I am -preparing). But I may say that, with regard to his Mission, the King -said that if he renounced the customs of his forefathers his people -would kill him; that the slaves represented his fortune, but if the -Queen would allow him £50,000 a year, that he would be able to do -without it. With regard to the tent, it was exceedingly handsome, but -it was too small to sit under in that climate, and the only thing he -cared for was the gingerbread lion on the top of the pole. He liked his -old red-clay and wooden-stem pipe better than the silver one; he liked -the silver waiters very much, but he thought they were too small to -use as shields; he could not get his hand into the gauntlet; the coat -of mail he hung up and made into a target; and then he explained that -the only thing he really _did_ want, and would be much obliged to her -Majesty for, was a carriage and horses, and a white woman! - -[Illustration: THE CHIEF OFFICER OF RICHARD'S BRIGADE OF AMAZONS. -_Sketched by himself._] - -He made my husband a Brigadier-General of his Amazons, and I was -madly jealous from afar; for I imagined lovely women in flowing -robes, armed, and riding thoroughbred Arabs, and above is the Amazon -as, to my great relief, I found she was (afterwards). The King gave -him a string of green beads, which was a kind of Dahoman "Garter," a -necklace of human bones for his favourite squaw, and a silver chain and -Cross with a Chameleon on it. We traced in it the presence of former -missionaries, who doubtless found that their crucifixes were thought to -be a delightful invention for the King to crucify men, and therefore -they replaced it by the chameleon. I have lost my paper on it, and am -afraid to quote Greek without it. The King sent return presents to Her -Majesty; they consisted of native pipes and tobacco for Her Majesty's -smoking, and loin-cloths for Her Majesty to change while travelling, -and an umbrella to be held over Her Majesty's head whilst drinking. -The presents arrived one day whilst I was at the Foreign Office, but as -there had been a murder at Fernando Po, and Richard had been ordered to -send home the clothes of the murdered man, on opening the box they were -supposed to be these latter articles, and were put on one side. I was -told they looked quite dirty enough to be that. - -[Illustration: CRUCIFIX.] - -[Sidenote: _Dahomè and Richard's Travels._] - -The journey occupied three months, during the whole of which time -the King made much of him, but holding his life in his hand, and -any spiteful moment might have ended it. He told me when he came -back, that he had seen enough horrid sights to turn a man's brain; -and he said, "I used to have to be perfectly calm and dignified -whilst seeing these things, or they would have had a contempt for me; -but I frequently used to send to the King to say, that if such or -such happened again, I should be obliged to leave his Court, as my -Government did not countenance such proceedings, which always had the -desired effect." On his return, he received no acknowledgment whatever -of his services, but Earl Russell wrote me a kind little note, in which -he said, "Tell Captain Burton that he has performed his Mission to my -utmost and entire satisfaction." I will renew the subject, as I said, -in my "Labours and Wisdom of Richard Burton." - -[Sidenote: _His Travels, Business, etc. on the West Coast._] - -The Bight of Biafra, on the West Coast of Africa, extends from -Fernando Po to Bathurst, about six hundred miles of coast, and that -was Richard's jurisdiction. The lawless conduct of the rum-corrupted -natives gave him a good deal of trouble. The traders and the merchants -of the coast are called "palm-oil lambs," and they used to call Richard -their "shepherd" (supercargoes and skippers are also called "palm-oil -ruffians" and "coast-lambs"). I believe he managed them very amicably, -and, in spite of business and the dangerous climate, he was supported -by all the better class of European agents and supercargoes. He pursued -his explorations with ardour. He knew the whole coast from Bathurst -(Gambia) to St. Paulo de Loanda (Angola). He marched up to Abeokuta, -he ascended the Cameroon Mountains,[1] the wonderful extinct volcano -described by Hanno the Carthagenian and Ptolemy's "Theon Ochema." He -wanted the English Government to establish a sanitarium there for the -West Coast, and a convict-station for garrotters, the last new crime -of _that_ day, and to be allowed to use them to construct roads, and -in cultivating cotton and chocolate. He told Lord Russell that he -would be responsible for them, and should never chain them or lock -them up, because, as long as they remained within a certain extent of -ring-fence, they would be well and hearty, and the moment they went -outside it, they would die without anybody looking after them. The -British Government was too tender over their darling human brutes, -the cruel, ferocious, and murderous criminals, though the climate was -considered quite good enough for Richard and other honourable and -active British subjects. He then told Earl Russell that if he would -make him Governor of the "Gold Coast," he could send home annually one -million pounds sterling; but Lord Russell answered him, "that gold was -becoming too common." - -He then visited the cannibal Mpangwe, the Fans of Du Chaillu, whose -accuracy he had always stood up for when the world had doubted him, and -now he was able to confirm it. He then went to Benin City, which was -mostly unknown to the Europeans. Belzoni was born in Padua in 1778. -During the last eight years of his life he was an African explorer; and -he died in Africa, at Benin, in 1823, and he was buried at Gwato, at -the foot of a very large tree; guns were fired, and a carpenter from -one of the ships put up a tablet to his memory. It is suspected that he -was poisoned for the sake of plunder. It was said that some native had -inherited his papers. Richard offered £20 for them, but without avail. -Belzoni's tree is of a fine spreading growth, which bears a poison -apple, and whose boughs droop nearly to the ground. It is a pretty and -romantic spot. He writes, "I made an attempt at digging, in order that -I might take home his bones and, if possible, his papers, but I was -obliged to content myself with sketching his tree, and sending home a -handful of wild-flowers to Padua. He died, some say, on the 26th of -November, and some say the 3rd of December, 1820." It is remarkable the -tender feeling that Richard had for Travellers' graves abroad; indeed, -_any_ English graves abroad, but especially Travellers or Englishmen. -The number of graves that we have sought out, and put in a state of -repair and furnished with tombstones and flowers, you would hardly -believe--Lady Hester Stanhope's in Syria, Jules Jaquemont's in Bombay, -a French traveller, and many, many others. It showed the feeling that -he had about a traveller coming home to lay his bones to rest in his -own land, and the respect he had for their resting-place. It makes me -all the more thankful that I was able to bring _him_ home to the place -he chose himself, and that our friends enabled me to put up such a -monument to him. - -He brought out, in _Fraser's Magazine_, several letters in February, -March, and April, 1863, previous to his "Wanderings." He ascended -the Elephant Mountain, and when he came home he lectured upon that -before the Geographical Society. I remember so well, when Richard -had submitted something he had written to Norton Shaw, at the Royal -Geographical Society, the latter saying, "I don't ever remember hearing -this word before, Burton! Where does it come from?" He threw back his -head and laughed. "I coined it myself of course, and who has a better -right?" Norton Shaw laughed heartily. "Well," he said, "it is a good -word, a very good word." "Oh!" said Richard, "I always coin one when I -have not got one; it is the only way." He visited the line of lagoons -between Lagos and the Volta river. He explored the Yellahlah rapids -of the Congo river, and while engaged in all this he collected 2859 -proverbs in different African tongues, as for example the Wolof tongue, -Kanuri or Bornuese, the Oji or Ashanti, the Ga or Accra, the Yoruba; -some from the Eun or Dahoman; some from the Isubú, and Dúalla, of the -Bight of Biafra; some in the Efik of the Old Calabar river, also Bight -of Biafra; some from the Fans or Mpangwe, from the Upper Gaboon river. -He held that the object of language-study was to obtain an insight into -the character and thought-modes of Mankind, and that it was not only -necessary to speak their language, but to investigate their literary -compositions. - -He thought that in the Semitic dialects, and in other Asiatic and -Indo-European tongues--as the Persian, which imitate their style--the -habit of balancing sentences naturally produces this parallelism, -and he believed that "The Thousand and One Nights" supplies as many -instances as can be found in the Hebrew poets. He thought that the -whole of Yoruba shows more or less the effects of El Islam. With -respect to the Kafirs, he says it must be noticed that they are a mixed -race of African, Arab, and perhaps Persian blood. He thought that a -collection of proverbs of this sort would make a kind of manual of -Asiatic thought. The nations of the East, he said, always delight in -the significant brevity of aphoristic eloquence; and the Proverbs of -Solomon show their antiquity and their extensive uses by the Jews. The -Arabs were equally addicted to proverbs, which passed into the Persian -and Indian languages. He therefore produced "Wit and Wisdom from West -Africa; or, a Book of Proverbial Philosophy, Idioms, Enigmas, and -Laconisms," in 1865, in 1 vol., and his "Mission to Gelele, King of -Dahomè" (2 vols., 1864), which should be _now_ a very useful book to -the French army, as his "First Footsteps in East Africa" or "Harar" -should be to the Italians. - -[1] A month ago a black missionary from the Cameroons, with his white -wife and her two sisters, paid me a most feeling visit at Mortlake, and -visited Richard in his mausoleum, where they showed deep emotion and -affection. He had stayed with them on the Cameroons nearly thirty years -ago.--I. B. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -HOME. - - -At last the time came round for a second leave, and we had a second -joyous meeting at Liverpool--this time to part no more as previously. -It was on the 28th of August, soon after his landing, 1864, that we -chose our burial-place in the Mortlake Cemetery. We had been for that -purpose to one of the big cemeteries--I think it was Kensal Green--and -we had seen with discomfort that there was so much damp, and looking -into an open grave we saw it was full of water; so he looked round -rather woeful, and instead of saying it was melancholy, as most men -would have done, and as _I thought_, he espied a tomb on which the -instruments of the Passion were represented, amongst them the cock of -St. Peter. So he said, "I don't think we had better be too near that -cock, he will always be crowing and waking us up." We were on a visit -to my aunts at Mortlake, who had bought Portobello House, close to the -station, nearly opposite to where I live now, had been settled there -for some years, and where we had had many large family reunions. We -walked into the burial-ground where numbers of my people are buried, -and he said, "We will have it here; it is like a nice little family -hotel;" and he again confirmed the idea in 1882, when we came down to -visit my mother's grave. - -Whilst Richard had been on the West Coast of Africa, Speke and Grant -had been on their Expedition, and returned and had a grand ovation. -The labours of the _first_ Expedition had rendered the road easy -for the _second_. "The line had been opened," Richard wrote, "by me -to Englishmen; they had only to tread in my steps." In the closing -days of December, 1863, Speke made a speech at Taunton, which for -vain-gloriousness and bad taste was unequalled. He referred to Richard -as "Bigg," asserted "that in 1857 he (Speke) had hit the Nile on the -head, but that now (1863) he had driven it into the Mediterranean." -It is not much to be wondered at if the following epigram on one -of Richard's visiting cards was left on the table of the Royal -Geographical Society-- - - "Two loves the Row of Savile haunt, - Who both by nature big be; - The fool is Colonel (Barren) Grant, - The rogue is General Rigby." - -[Sidenote: _Speke's Death._] - -The first great event was the British Association Meeting at Bath, -September, 1864. Laurence Oliphant conveyed to Richard that Speke had -said that "if Burton appeared on the platform at Bath" (which was, as -it were, Speke's native town) "he would kick him." I remember Richard's -answer--"Well, _that_ settles it! By God, he _shall_ kick me;" and so -to Bath we went. There was to be no speaking on Africa the first day, -but the next day was fixed for the "great discussion between Burton and -Speke." The first day we went on the platform close to Speke. He looked -at Richard, and at me, and we at him. I shall never forget his face. It -was full of sorrow, of yearning, and perplexity. Then he seemed to turn -to stone. After a while he began to fidget a great deal, and exclaimed -half aloud, "Oh, I cannot stand this any longer." He got up to go out. -The man nearest him said, "Shall you want your chair again, Sir? May -I have it? Shall you come back?" and he answered, "I hope not," and -left the Hall. The next day a large crowd was assembled for this famous -discussion. All the distinguished people were with the Council; Richard -_alone was excluded_, and stood on the platform, _we two alone_, he -with his notes in his hand. There was a delay of about twenty-five -minutes, and then the Council and speakers filed in and announced the -terrible accident out shooting that had befallen poor Speke shortly -after his leaving the Hall the day before. Richard sank into a chair, -and I saw by the workings of his face the terrible emotion he was -controlling, and the shock he had received. When called upon to speak, -in a voice that trembled, he spoke of other things and as briefly as he -could. When we got home he wept long and bitterly, and I was for many a -day trying to comfort him. - -I reprint a few lines that rushed to my mind in winter, 1864:-- - - Reprinted from _Fraser's Magazine_, February, 1869. - - "'WHO LAST WINS.' - - [Sidenote: _Some Lines I wrote on Richard and Speke._] - - "The following lines were suggested to me in the studio of the late - Edgar George Papworth, Esq., of 36, Milton Street, Dorset Square, in - the winter of 1864. - - "Captain Burton had recently returned from Africa. The annual meeting - of the British Association for the Advancement of Science had just - taken place at Bath, and poor Captain Speke's sudden death was still - fresh in our memories. We had been invited by the artist to look at - Captain Speke's bust, upon which he was then employed. Mr. Papworth - said to Captain Burton, 'I only took the cast after death, and never - knew him alive; but you who lived with him so long can surely give me - some hints.' Captain Burton, who had learnt something of sculpturing - when a boy in Italy, took the sculptor's pencil from Mr. Papworth's - hand, and with a few touches here and there made a perfect likeness - and expression. As I stood by, I was very much impressed by this - singular coincidence. - - "A moulded mask at my feet I found, - With the drawn-down mouth and deepen'd eye, - More lifeless still than the marbles round-- - Very death amid dead life's mimicry; - I raised it, and Thought fled afar from me - To the African land by the Zingian Sea. - - "'Twas a face, a shell that had nought of brain, - And th' imbedding chalk showed a yellow thread - Which struck my glance with a sudden pain, - For this seemed alive when the rest was dead; - And poor bygone raillery came to mind - Of the tragic masque and no brain behind. - - "But behind there lay in the humblest shrine - A gem of the brightest purest ray: - The gem was the human will divine; - The shrine was the homeliest human clay, - Self-glory--but hush! be the tale untold - To the pale ear thinned by yon plaster mould. - - "Shall the diamond gem lose her queenly worth, - Though pent in the dungeon of sandy stone? - Say, is gold less gold, though in vilest earth - For long years it has lurked unprized, unknown? - And the rose which blooms o'er the buried dead, - Hath its pinkness paled, hath its fragrance fled? - - "Thus the poet sang, 'Is the basil vile, - Though the beetle's foot o'er the basil crawl? - And though Arachne hath webbed her toil, - Shall disgrace attach to the princely hall? - And the pearl's clear drop from the oyster shell, - Comes it not on the royal brow to dwell?' - - "On the guarded tablet was writ by Fate, - A double self for each man ere born, - Who shall love his love and shall hate his hate, - Who shall praise his praise and shall scorn his scorn, - Enduring aye to the bitter end, - And man's other man shall be called a friend. - - "When the spirits with radiance nude arrayed - In the presence stood of the one Supreme, - Soul looked unto soul, and the glance conveyed, - A pledge of love which each _must_ redeem; - Nor may spirit enfleshed in the dust, forget - That high trysting-place, ere time was not yet. - - "When the first great Sire, so the Legends say, - The four-rivered garden in Asia trod, - And 'neath perfumed shade, in the drouth of day, - Walked and talked with the Hebrew God, - Such friendship was when it first began; - And the first of friends were the God, the man. - - "But _we_ twain were not bound by such highborn ties; - Our souls, our minds, and our thoughts were strange, - Our ways were not one, nor our sympathies, - We had severed aims, we had diverse range; - In the stern drear Present his lot was cast, - Whilst I hoped for the Future and loved the Past. - - "'Twixt man and woman use oft hath bred - The habits that feebly affection feign, - While the common board and genial bed - And Time's welding force links a length of chain; - Till, when Love was not, it has sometimes proved - This has loved and lived, that has lived and loved. - - "But 'twixt man and man it may not so hap - Each man in his own and his proper sphere; - At some point, perchance, may the lines o'erlap; - The far rest is far as the near is near-- - Save when the orbs are of friend and friend - And the circles' limits perforce must blend. - - "But the one sole point at which he and I - Could touch, was the contact of vulgar minds. - 'Twas interest's forcible feeble tie - Which binds, but with lasting bonds ne'er binds; - And our objects fated to disagree, - What way went I, and what way went he? - - "And yet we were comrades for many years, - And endured in its troth our companionship - Through a life of chances, of hopes and fears; - Nor a word of harshness e'er passed the lip, - Nor a thought unkind dwelt in either heart, - Till we chanced--by what chance did it hap?--to part. - - "Where Fever yellow-skinned, bony, gaunt, - With the long blue nails and lip livid white; - With the blood-stained orbs that could ever haunt - Our brains by day and our eyes by night; - In her grave-clothes mouldy with graveyard taint - Came around our sleeping mats--came and went: - - "Where the crocodile glared with malignant stare, - And the horse of the river, with watery mane - That flashed in the sun, from his oozy lair - Rose to gaze on the white and wondrous men; - And the lion, with muzzle bent low to earth, - Mocked the thunder-cloud with his cruel mirth: - - "Where the speckled fowls the Mimosa decked - Like blue-bells studded with opal dew; - And giraffes pard-spotted, deer-eyed, swan-necked, - Browsed down the base whence the tree dome grew, - And the sentinel-antelope, aëried high, - With his frightened bound taught his friends to fly: - - "Where the lovely Coast is all rank with death, - That basks in the sun of the Zingian shore; - Where the mountains, dank with the ocean's breath, - Bear the incense-tree and the sycamore; - Where the grim fierce desert and stony hill - Breed the fiercest beasts, and men fiercer still: - - "Where the Land of the Moon with all blessings blest - Save one--save man; and with name that sped - To the farthest edge of the misty West - Since the Tyrian sailor his sail-sheet spread, - Loves to gaze on her planet whose loving ray - Fills her dells and fells with a rival day: - - "Where the Lake unnamed in the Afric wold - Its breast to the stranger eye lay bare; - Where Isis, forced her veil to unfold-- - To forget the boast of the days that were-- - Stood in dusky charms with the crisp tire crowned - On the hallowed bourne, on the Nile's last bound:-- - - "We toiled side by side, for the hope was sweet - To engrave our names on the Rock of Time: - On the Holy Hill to implant our feet - Where enfaned sits Fame o'er the earth sublime; - And now rose the temple before our eyes-- - We had paid the price, we had plucked the prize; - - "When up stood the Shadow betwixt us twain-- - Had the dusky goddess bequeathed her ban? - And the ice of death through every vein - Of comradeship spread in briefest span; - The guerdon our toils and our pains had won - Was too great for two, was enough for one; - - "And deeper and deeper grew the gloom - When the serpent tongue had power to sting, - While o'er one of us hung the untimely doom-- - A winter's night to a day of spring, - And heart from heart parting fell away - At the fiat of Fate by her iron sway. - - "It seems as though from a foamy[1] dream - I awake, and this pallid mask behold, - And I ask--Can this be the end supreme - Of the countless things of the days of old? - This clay, is it all of what used to be - In the Afric land by the Zingian Sea?" - ----ISABEL BURTON. - -[Sidenote: _Richard's "Stone Talk."_] - -Richard at this time wrote, secretly, a little "squib" of one -hundred and twenty-one pages, called "Stone Talk," being some of the -marvellous sayings of a petral portion of Fleet Street, London, to one -Dr. Polyglot, Ph.D., by Frank Baker, D.O.N., 1865. He kept it quite -secret from me, and one day brought it out of his pocket on a railway -journey, as if he had bought it from a stall, and gave it to me to -read. I was delighted with it, kept reading him out passages from it, -with peals of laughter. Fortunately we were alone, and I kept saying -to him, "Jemmy, I wish you would not go about talking as you do; I am -sure this man has been associating with you at the club, picked up all -your ideas and written this book, and won't he just catch it!" At last, -after going on like that for a considerable time, the amused expression -of his face flashed an idea into my brain, and I said, "You wrote it -yourself, Jemmy, and _nobody else_;" and he said, "I _did_." When I -showed it to Lord Houghton, he told me that he was afraid that it -would do Richard a great deal of harm with the "powers that were," and -advised me to buy them up, which I did. He took the _nom de plume_ of -"Frank Baker" from his second name Francis and his mother's name Baker. - -It has been thrown in my teeth, since his death, that he would have -married twice before he married me, and as he was between thirty-nine -and forty at the time of our marriage, it is very natural that it -should be so. I sometimes take comfort in reading passages from "Stone -Talk" anent former loves--I do not know who they are:-- - - "So, standing 'mid the vulgar crowd, - I watched the fair, the great, the proud - That hustled in, when glad surprise - Awaited these my languid eyes. - - The pink silk hood her head was on - Did make a sweet comparison - With brow as pure, as clear, as bright, - As Boreal dawn or Polar night, - With lips whose crimson strove to hide - Gems all unknown to Oman's tide, - With eyes as myosotis blue, - With cheeks of peachy down and hue, - And locks whose semi-liquid gold - Over the ivory shoulders rolled. - Not 'low' her dress, yet cunning eye - 'Neath gauzy texture could descry - Two silvery orbs, that rose and fell, - With Midland Sea's voluptuous swell, - Intoxicating to the brain - As flowers that breathe from Persian plain - Whereon to rest one moment brief - Were worth a life of pain and grief; - And, though fast closed in iron cage-- - Venetian padlock of the age-- - The poetry of motion told - Of all by envious flounce and fold - Concealed; each step of nameless grace - Taught glowing Fancy's glance to trace - A falling waist, on whose soft round - No lacing wrinkle might be found - (Nor waspish elegance affright - Thorwaldsen's, Canova's sight), - And rising hips and migniard feet-- - Ankle for Dian's buskin meet-- - Gastrocunemius---- - - Cease, Muse! to tell - The things my mem'ry holds too well. - - I bowed before the 'Thing Divine' - As pilgrim sighting holy shrine, - And straight my 'chanted spirit soared - To dizzy regions late explored - By Mister Hume--A. B.--C. D.--all - The rout yclept spiritual. - A church of emeralds I see, - An altar-tower lit brilliantly; - A steeple, too, the pave inlaid - With richest tint of light and shade; - A 'deal of purple,' archèd pews; - And all the 'blacks' methinks are 'blues.' - Now throngs the murex-robèd crowd, - A-chanting anthems long and loud, - And children, garbed in purest white, - Kneel with wreathed heads before the light. - I, too, am there, with 'Thing Divine,' - Bending before the marble shrine, - While spirit-parson's sleepy drone - Maketh me hers and her my own. - - When sudden on my raptured sight - Falls deadly and discharming blight, - Such blight as Eurus loves to fling - O'er gladsome crop in genial spring. - Fast by the side of 'Thing Divine,' - By spirit-parson fresh made mine, - In apparition grim--I saw - The middle-aged British mother-in-law!! - - * * * * * - - The pink silk hood her head was on - Did make a _triste_ comparison - With blossomed brow and green-grey eyes, - And cheeks bespread with vinous dyes, - And mouth and nose--all, all, in fine, - Caricature of 'Thing Divine.' - - Full low the Doppelgänger's dress - Of moire and tulle, in last distress - To decorate the massive charms - Displayed to manhood's shrinking arms; - Large loom'd her waist 'spite pinching stays, - As man-o'-war in bygone days; - And, ah! her feet were broader far - Than beauty's heel in Mullingar. - Circular all from toe to head, - Pond'rous of framework, as if bred - On streaky loin and juicy steak; - And, when she walked, she seemed to shake - With elephantine tread the ground. - Sternly, grimly, she gazed around, - Terribly calm, in much flesh strong, - Upon the junior, lighter throng, - And loudly whispered, 'Who's that feller? - Come! none of this, Louise, I tell yer!' - And 'Thing Divine' averted head, - And I, heart-broken, turned and fled." - - - DIRGE. - - "I also swore to love a face - And form where beauty strove with grace, - And raven hair, black varnished blue, - A brow that robbed the cygnet's hue, - Orbs that beshamed the fawnlet's eyne, - And lips like rosebuds damp with rain. - Ah! where is she? ah! where are they-- - The charms that stole my heart away? - - "She's fatten'd like a feather bed, - Her cheeks with beefy hue are red, - Her eyes are tarnished, and her nose - Affection for high diet shows; - The voice like music wont to flow, - Is now a kind of vaccine low. - Cupid, and all ye gods above, - Is this the thing I used to love?" - -This year, 1864, Richard edited and annotated Marcy's "Prairie -Traveller" for the _Anthropological Review_. - -[Sidenote: _Gaiety._] - -Apart from the sad circumstance of Speke's death, we had a very -delightful winter. We went to Uncle Gerard's at Garswood, to Lady -Egerton of Tatton's, to Lady Stanley of Alderley's (in the present -dowager's time), when the now Dowager Lady Airlie and Lady Amberly and -all the family were then at home, where we met an immense quantity of -distinguished people, and notably Professor Jowett. Then we went to -Lady Margaret Beaumont's at Bretton Park, and to Lord Fitzwilliam's; -and all these had large house-parties. - -[Sidenote: _Winwoode Reade--We go to Ireland._] - -This year we became very intimate with Winwood Reade. We went over to -Ireland, where we spent a delightful two months. We took an Irish car, -and drove by degrees over all the most interesting and prettiest parts -of Ireland, at the rate of so many miles a day, stopping where it was -most interesting. I had an Irish maid with me, whose chief delight -was to see Richard and me clinging on to the car as it flew round the -corners, while she sat as cool and calm as possible, with her hands in -her muff. "Ye devil," Richard said to her, "I believe you were born on -a car; I will pay you out for laughing at me." Some days afterwards, -she dropped her muff. There was a great deal of snow on the ground, so -Richard said to her very kindly, "Don't get down, Kiernan; I will get -your muff for you." He stopped the car, got down, pretended to be very -busy with his boot, but in reality he was filling her muff with snow. -When he gave it back to her she gave a little screech. "Ah," he said, -with glistening eyes, "you'll laugh at me for clinging on the car like -a monkey on a scraper again." - -We were asked to numbers of country-houses on the way--to the Bellews', -Gormanstons', and Lord Drogheda's; and we had the pleasure of making -acquaintance with Lady Rachel Butler and Lord James, who were very kind -to us. Dublin was immensely hospitable, and at that time very gay. One -of our interesting events was making acquaintance with Mr. Lentaigne, -the great convict philanthropist. His mania was to reform his convicts, -and make his friends take them for service, if nobody else would. He -was the man to whom Lord Carlisle said, "Why, Lentaigne, you will wake -up some morning, and find you are the only spoon in the house." He -took us to see the prisons and the reformatories, and he implored of -me to take out with me a convict woman of about thirty-four, who had -been fifteen years in prison. I said, "Well, Mr. Lentaigne, what did -she do?" "Poor girl! the sweetest creature--she murdered her baby when -she was sixteen." "Well," I answered, "I would do anything to oblige -you, but I dare say I shall often be quite alone with her, and at -thirty-four she might like larger game." - -Richard was veritably, though born of prosaic parents, a child of -romance. He had English, Irish, Scotch, and French blood in his veins, -and, it has often been suggested (though never proved), a drop of -Oriental or gypsy blood from some far-off ancestor. His Scottish, -North England, and Border blood came out in all posts of trust and -responsibility, in steadiness and coolness in the hour of danger, in -uprightness and integrity, and the honour of a gentleman. Of Irish -blood he showed nothing excepting fight, but the two foreign strains -were strong. From Arab or gypsy he got his fluency of languages, his -wild and daring spirit, his Agnosticism, his melancholy pathos, his -mysticism, his superstition (I am superstitious enough, God knows, but -he was far more so), his divination, his magician-like foresight into -events, his insight, or reading men through like a pane of glass, his -restless wandering, his poetry. From a very strong strain of Bourbon -blood (Richard showed "race" from the top of his head to the sole of -his feet) which the Burtons inherit--that is, _my_ Burtons--he got his -fencing, knowledge of arms, his ready wit and repartee, his boyish -gaiety of character as alternately opposed to his melancholy, and, -lastly, but not least, his Catholicism as opposed to the mysticism of -the East, which is not in the least like the Agnosticism of the West. -But it was not a fixed thing like my Catholicism; it ran silently -threaded through his life, alternately with his mysticism, like the -refrain of an opera. - -He was proud of his Scottish and North England blood, he liked his Rob -Roy descent, and also his Bourbon blood, and he used to laugh heartily -when, sometimes, I was half-vexed at something and used to chaff him by -saying, "You dirty Frenchman!" - -Richard was a regular _gamin_; his keen sense of humour, his ready wit, -were always present. He adored shocking dense people and seeing their -funny faces and stolid belief, and never cared about what harm it would -do him in a worldly sense. I have frequently sat at the dinner-table -of such people, praying him by signs not to go on, but he was in a -very ecstasy of glee; he said it was so funny always to be believed -when you were chaffing, and so curious never to be believed when you -were telling the truth. He had a sort of schoolboy bravado about these -things that in his high spirits lasted him all the seventy years of his -life. - -But especially strong were the melancholy, tender, sad hours of the -man, full of sensitiveness to pathos in all he said, or did, or wrote. -The one paid too much for the other, if I may so express it. - -[Sidenote: _Richard and Sir Bernard Burke._] - -Talking of the Bourbon blood and his _gaminerie_, during this visit to -Ireland we were in Dublin, where we had the pleasure of knowing Sir -Bernard and Lady Burke, and Richard and he were talking in his study -over his genealogy and this Louis XIV. descent. He said, "I want this -to be made quite clear." Sir Bernard said, "I wonder, Captain Burton, -that _you_, who have such good Northern and Scottish blood in your -veins, and are connected with so many of the best families, should -trouble about what can only be a morganatic descent at best." I can see -him now, carelessly leaning against the bookcase with his hands in his -pockets, with his amused face on, looking at the earnest countenance of -Sir Bernard and saying, "Why! I would rather be the bastard of a King, -than the son of an honest man," and his hearty laugh at the shocked -expression and "_Oh!_ Captain Burton," which he had been waiting for. - -[Sidenote: _Bianconi._] - -One of the amusing things, and interesting as well, was going to -Gerald's Cross by rail, and when we arrived, there was only one car. -There was another gentleman and ourselves, and as we had telegraphed -for the car, it was ours. Still we did not like to leave him without -anything. So we asked him if we could give him a lift. He asked us -where we were going, and we told him. So he said, "Well, you pass -my house, so I shall be grateful." As we drove along for about half -an hour between Gerald's Cross and Cashel, he told us that he was -Bianconi, the first inventor of outside Irish cars, that his house was -called Longfield, and the whole of his most interesting history. His -house was a nice little residence in a garden with a lawn and trees in -front, and he insisted upon taking us into it, and giving us afternoon -tea, after which we drove on. - -We visited Tuam, which we _both_ thought a dreadful place; but the -name of Burton was big there, on account of the Bishop and the Dean, -Richard's grandfather and uncle, and hundreds of the poor crowded round -us for _bakshish_ (presents). Richard had still some old aunts there, -who came to dine with us, his grandfather's daughters. They had a large -tract of land here, but Richard's father had made it over to the aunts, -and I was very glad of it, as I should have been very sorry to have -had to stop there. We were delighted with the fishing population of -Lough Corrib, a cross between Spanish and Irish, who have nothing in -common with the town; they are called Claddhah, pronounced Clather. We -stopped long at the Armagh Cathedral, looking for Drelincourt tombs, -of which there are plenty belonging to Richard's people. From Drogheda -we went to see the Halls of Tara, the site of the Palace of the Kings, -the Stone of Destiny, and then to the site of the Battle of the Boyne, -afterwards to Maynooth College, where the boys cheered Richard. Then -we proceeded to Blarney and kissed the stone; near Cork to see Captain -and Mrs. Lane Fox, now General and Mrs. Pitt-Rivers; and also to -Killarney, and thought it very pretty but _very_ small. We enjoyed much -hospitality at the Castle during our stay. During all our car-driving -our little horse used to have a middle-of-the-day feed, with a pint -of whisky and water, and she came in at the end of the time in better -condition, and looking in every way better, and twice as frisky as when -she started. - -On the 17th of May the Polytechnic in London opened with an account of -Richard's travels in Mecca, and a dissolving view of Richard's picture -in uniform. It was arranged by Mr. Pepper of "Pepper's Ghost," and a -quantity of little green pamphlets with the lecture were sold at the -door. On the 22nd of May we dined with George Augustus Sala, previous -to his going to Algiers, and also with poor Blakeley of the Guns, in -his and Mrs. Blakeley's pretty little home; he died so sadly afterwards. - -Richard was now transferred to Santos, São Paulo, Brazil. - - - FAREWELL DINNER TO CAPTAIN R. F. BURTON. - - - [Sidenote: _The Anthropological Farewell Dinner._] - - "On Tuesday, April 4th, 1865, there was celebrated an event in - London of such importance to anthropological science as to deserve - an especial record in these pages. On this day the Anthropological - Society of London celebrated the election into their society of - five hundred Fellows, by giving a public dinner to Captain Richard - F. Burton, their senior vice-president. The Right Honourable Lord - Stanley, M.P., F.R.S., F.A.S.L., took the chair, and was supported - on the right by Captain Burton. [Here follows one hundred and twenty - distinguished names.] - - [Sidenote: _Lord Derby's Speech as Chairman._] - - "The noble Chairman, Lord Derby, in proposing 'The health of Captain - Burton,' said--I rise to propose a toast which will not require that - I should bespeak for it a favourable consideration on your part. I - intend to give you the health of the gentleman in whose honour we - have met to-night. (Loud cheers.) I propose the health of one--your - cheers have said it before me--of the most distinguished Explorers and - Geographers of the present day. (Cheers.) I do not know what you feel, - but as far as my limited experience in that way extends, for a man to - sit and listen to his own eulogy is by no means an unmixed pleasure, - and in Captain Burton's presence I shall say a great deal less about - what he has done than I should take the liberty of doing if he were - not here. (Cheers.) But no one can dispute this, that into a life of - less than forty-five years Captain Burton has crowded more of study, - more of hardship, and more of successful enterprise and adventure than - would have sufficed to fill up the existence of half a dozen ordinary - men. (Cheers.) If, instead of continuing his active career--as we hope - he will for many years to come--it were to end to-morrow, he would - still have done enough to entitle him to a conspicuous and permanent - place in the annals of geographical discoverers. (Cheers.) I need not - remind you, except in the briefest way, of the long course of his - adventures and their results. His first important work, the 'History - of the Races of Scinde,' will long continue to be useful to those - whose studies lie in that direction, and those who, like myself, have - travelled through that unhappy valley--through that young Egypt, which - is about as like old Egypt as a British barrack is like an Egyptian - pyramid--will recognize the fact that if there have been men who have - described that country for _utilitarian_ purposes more accurately and - minutely, no man has described it with a more graphic pen. (Cheers.) - With respect to his pilgrimage to Mecca, that, I believe, was part - only of a much larger undertaking which local disturbances in the - country prevented being carried out to the fullest extent. (Cheers.) - I do not think I am exaggerating when I say that not more than two - or three Englishmen would have been able to perform that feat. The - only two parallels to it that I recollect in one generation are, the - exploring journeys of Sir Henry Pottinger into Beloochistan, and the - journey of M. Vambéry through the deserts of Central Asia. (Cheers.) - I am speaking only by hearsay and report, but I take the fact to - be this, that the ways of Europeans and Asiatics are so totally - different--I do not mean in those important acts to which we all pay - a certain amount of attention while we do them, but in those little - trifling details of everyday life, that we do instinctively and - without paying attention to them--the difference in these respects - between the two races is so wide that the Englishman who would attempt - to travel in the disguise of an Oriental ought to be almost Oriental - in his habits if he hope to carry out that personation successfully. - And if that be true of a journey of a few days, it is far more true - of a journey extending over weeks and months, where you have to keep - your secret, not merely from the casual observer, but from your own - servants, your own friends, and your own travelling companions. To - carry through an enterprise of that kind may well be a strain on the - ingenuity of any man, and though, no doubt, danger does stimulate our - faculties, still it does not take from the merit of a feat that it is - performed under circumstances in which, in the event of detection, - death is almost certain. (Cheers.) I shall say nothing in this brief - review of that plucky though unsuccessful expedition to the Somali - country, which so nearly deprived the Anthropological Society of - one of its ablest members. But I cannot pass over so lightly the - journey into Harar--the first attempt to penetrate Eastern Africa in - that quarter. That journey really opened a wide district of country - previously unknown to the attention of civilized man. It led the - way indirectly to the Nile expeditions, which lasted from 1856 to - 1859. With respect to the labours which were gone through in those - expeditions, and the controversies which arose out of those labours, - I do not require here to say anything except to make one passing - remark. With regard to this disputed subject of the Nile, I may be - permitted to say--though those who are experienced in geographical - matters may treat me as a heretic--(a laugh)--I cannot help it if they - do, for I speak by the light only of common sense--(renewed laughter, - and cheers)--but it seems to me that there is a little delusion in - this notion of searching for what we call the source of a river. Can - you say of any river that it has a source? It has a mouth, that is - certain--(cheers);--but it has a great many sources, and to my mind - you might just as well talk of a plant as having only one root, or a - man only one hair on his head, as of a river having a single source. - Every river is fed from many sources, and it does not seem to me that - the mere accident of hitting upon that which subsequent investigation - may prove to be the largest of its many affluents is a matter about - which there need be much controversy. The real test of the value of - this kind of work is, what is the quantity of land previously unknown - which the discoverer has gone through, and which he has opened up to - the knowledge of civilized man? (Cheers.) Judged by that test, I do - not hesitate to say that the African Expedition of 1856 has been the - most important of our time; the only rival which I could assign to it - being that separate expedition which was undertaken by Dr. Livingstone - through the southern part of the continent. (Hear.) Where one man has - made his way many will follow, and I do not think it is too sanguine - an anticipation, negro chiefs and African fevers notwithstanding, - to expect that within the lifetime of the present generation we may - know as much of Africa, at least, of Africa north of the equator, and - within fifteen degrees south of it, as we know now of South America. - Well, gentlemen, no man returns from a long African travel with health - entirely unimpaired, and our friend was no exception to the rule. But - there are men to whom all effort is unpleasant, so there are men to - whom all rest, all doing nothing, is about the hardest work to which - they could be put, and Captain Burton recruited his health, as you all - know, by a journey to the Mormon country, travelling thirty thousand - miles by sea and land, and bringing back from that community--morally, - I think, the most eccentric phenomenon of our days--a very curious - and interesting, and, as far as I could judge, the most accurate - description we have yet received. (Cheers.) Now, as to the last phase - of the career which I am attempting to sketch--the embassy to Dahomè, - the discovery of the Cameroon Mountains, and the travels along the - African coast, I shall only remind you of it, because I am quite sure - that the published accounts must be fresh in all your minds. I do not - know what other people may think of these volumes, but to me they - were a kind of revelation of negro life and character, enabling me to - feel, which certainly I never felt before, that I could understand - an African and barbarian court. As to any theories arising out of - these journeys, as to any speculations which may be deduced from - them, I do not comment upon these here. This is not the place nor the - occasion to do it. All I will say about them is, that when a man with - infinite labour, with infinite research, and at the imminent risk of - his life, has gone to work to collect a series of facts, I think the - least the public can do is to allow him a fair hearing when he puts - his own interpretation upon those facts. (Loud cheers.) I will add - this, that in matters which we all feel to be intensely interesting, - and upon which we all know that our knowledge is imperfect, any man - does us a service who helps us to arrange the facts which we have at - our command, who stimulates inquiry and thought by teaching us to - doubt instead of dogmatizing. I am quite aware that this is not in - all places a popular theory. There are a great many people who, if - you give them a new idea, receive it almost as if you had offered - them personal violence. (Laughter.) It puts them out. They don't - understand it--they are not used to it. I think that state of the - public mind, which we must all acknowledge, is the very best defence - for the existence of scientific societies such as that to which many - of us belong. It is something for a man who has got a word to say, to - know that there is a society where he will get a fair and considerate - hearing; and, whether the judgment goes against him or not, at least - he will be met by argument and not by abuse. I think Captain Burton - has done good service to the State in various ways. He has extended - our knowledge of the globe on which we live, and as we happen to be - men, and not mere animals, that is a result which, though it may not - have any immediate utilitarian result, we ought to value. (Cheers.) He - has done his share in opening savage and barbarous countries to the - enterprise of civilized man, and though I am not quite so sanguine as - many good men have been as to the reclaiming of savage races, one has - only to read his and all other travellers' accounts of African life - in its primitive condition, to see that whether they gain much or - not by European intercourse, at any rate they have nothing to lose. - (Laughter.) But there is something more than that. In these days of - peace and material prosperity (and both of them are exceedingly good - things), there is another point of view in which such a career as that - of our friend is singularly useful. It does as much as a successful - campaign to keep up in the minds of the English people that spirit of - adventure and of enterprise, that looking to reputation rather than - money, to love of effort rather than to ease--the old native English - feeling which has made this country what it has become, and which, - we trust, will keep this country what it is to be--a feeling which, - no doubt, the tendency of great wealth and material prosperity is to - diminish; but a feeling which, if it were to disappear from among us, - our wealth and our material prosperity would not be worth one year's - purchase. (Cheers.) Gentlemen, I propose the health of Captain Burton, - and my best wish for him is that he may do for himself what nobody - else is likely to do for him, that by his future performance he may - efface the memory of his earlier exploits. (Loud cheers.) - - "The toast was drunk with three times three. - - [Sidenote: _Richard returns Thanks._] - - "Captain Burton, who, on rising, was greeted with loud and protracted - cheering, said--My Lord Stanley, my lords and gentlemen, it falls to - the lot of few men to experience a moment so full of gratified feeling - as this, when I rise to return thanks for the honour you have done me - on this, to me, most memorable occasion. I am proud to see my poor - labours in the cause of discovery thus publicly recognized by the - representative of England's future greatness. (Cheers.) The terms of - praise which have fallen from your lordship's lips are far above my - present deserts, yet I treasure them gratefully in my memory as coming - from one so highly honoured, not only as a nobleman, but as a man. I - am joyed when looking round me to see so many faces of friends who - have met to give me God-speed--to see around me so many of England's - first men, England's brains, in fact; men who have left their mark - upon the age; men whose memories the world will not willingly let die. - These are the proudest laurels a man can win, and I shall wear them in - my heart of hearts that I may win more of them on my return. - - "But, however gratifying this theme, I must bear in mind the occasion - which thus agreeably brings us together. We meet to commemorate the - fact that on March 14, 1865, that uncommonly lusty youth, our young - Anthropological Society, attained the respectable dimensions of five - hundred members. My lord and gentlemen, it is with no small pride - that I recall to mind how, under the auspices of my distinguished and - energetic friend Dr. James Hunt, our present president,--and long may - he remain so,--I took the chair on the occasion of its nativity. The - date was January 6, 1863. The number of those who met was eleven. Each - had his own doubts and hopes, and fears touching the viability of the - new-born. Still we knew that our cause was good; we persevered, we - succeeded. (Cheers.) - - "The fact is, we all felt the weight of the great want. As a traveller - and a writer of travels during the last fifteen years, I have found - it impossible to publish those questions of social economy and those - physiological observations, always interesting to our common humanity, - and at times so valuable. The _Memoirs of the Anthropological Society_ - now acts the good Samaritan to facts which the publisher and the - drawing-room table proudly pass by. Secondly, there was no arena for - the public discussion of opinions now deemed paradoxical, and known - to be unpopular. The rooms of the Anthropological Society, No. 4, St. - Martin's Place, now offer a refuge to destitute truth. There any man, - monogenist or polygenist, eugenestic or dysgenestic, may state the - truth as far as is in him. We may truly call these rooms - - 'Where, girt by friend or foe, - A man may say the thing he will.' - - All may always claim equally from us a ready hearing, and what as - Englishmen we prize the most, a fair field and plenty of daylight. - (Cheers.) - - "And how well we succeeded--how well our wants have been supplied by - the officers of our society, we may judge by this fact: During the - last twenty days not less than thirty members have, I am informed by - my friend Mr. Carter Blake, been added to the five hundred of last - month. I confidently look forward to the day when, on returning from - South America, I shall find a list of fifteen hundred names of our - society. We may say _vires acquirit eundo_, which you will allow me to - translate, 'We gain strength by our go,' in other words, our progress. - This will give us weight to impress our profession and opinions upon - the public. Already the learned of foreign nations have forgotten to - pity us for inability to work off the grooves of tradition and habit. - And we _must_ succeed so long as we adhere to our principles of fair - play and a hearing to every man. (Cheers.) - - "I would now request your hearing for a few words of personal - explanation, before leaving you for some years. I might confide it to - each man separately, but I prefer the greatest possible publicity. It - has come to my ears that some have charged me with want of generosity - in publishing a book which seems to reflect upon the memory of poor - Captain Speke. Without entering into details concerning a long and - melancholy misunderstanding, I would here briefly state that my object - has ever been, especially on this occasion, to distinguish between - _personal enmities_ and _scientific differences. I did not consider - myself bound to bury my opinions in Speke's grave; to me, living, - they are of importance._ I adhere to all I have stated respecting - the Nile sources; but I must change the form of their expression. My - own statement may, I believe, be considered to be moderate enough. - In a hasty moment, I appended one more, which might have been - omitted--as it shall from all future editions. I may conclude this - painful controversial subject, by stating that Mr. Arthur Kinglake, of - Weston-super-Mare, writes to me that a memorial bust of my lamented - companion is to be placed this year in the shire-hall, Taunton, with - other Somersetshire heroes, Blake and Locke. I have seen the bust in - the studio of Mr. Papworth, and it is perfect. If you all approve, it - would give me the greatest pleasure to propose a subscription for the - purpose before we leave this room. (Cheers.) - - "And now I have already trespassed long enough upon your patience. I - will not excuse myself, because I am so soon to leave you. Nor will - I say adieu, because I shall follow in mind all your careers; yours, - my Lord Stanley, to that pinnacle of greatness for which Nature and - Fate have destined you; and yours, gentlemen and friends, each of you, - to the high and noble missions to which you are called. Accompanied - by your good wishes, I go forth on mine with fresh hope, and with a - vigour derived from the wholesome stimulus which you have administered - to me this evening. My Lord Stanley, my lords and gentlemen, I thank - you from my heart. - - "[Here followed twenty-five speeches. Dr. Hunt, the President, - concluded:] He should be very sorry if they were to separate on that - occasion, when they had met to bid farewell to Captain Burton, without - drinking the health of one on whom they all looked with respect - and admiration--Mrs. Burton. (Loud cheers.) He felt it, therefore, - to be their duty to join most heartily in drinking long health and - prosperity to Mrs. Burton, and may she be long spared to take care of - her husband when far away in South America. Those who paid homage to - her paid homage also to him, whom they had met to honour, and the more - they knew of him the more they respected him. (Loud cheers.) - - "Captain Burton: I only hope in the name of Heaven that Mrs. Burton - won't hear of this. (Laughter.) - - "Dr. Hunt said that as Captain Burton refused to respond to the toast - in a proper manner, he must return thanks for Mrs. Burton. She begged - him to say that she had great difficulty in keeping her husband in - order, but that she would do what she could to take care of him, - and to make him as innocent a man as they believed him to be. (Loud - laughter.) - - "Lord Stanley then left, and the company soon afterwards separated." - - -NILE. - - -[Sidenote: _He speaks his Mind about the Nile._] - -Richard's speech alluded to the following. I take it from his private, -not his published writings:-- - - "I have five main objections to Jack's theory about the Nile:-- - - "1. There is a difference of levels in the upper and in the lower part - of the so-called lake. This point is important only when taken in - connection with the following:-- - - "2. The native report that the Mwerango river rises from the hills in - the centre of the so-called lake. - - "3. The general belief that there is a road through the so-called lake. - - "4. The fact that the southern part of the so-called lake floods the - country for thirteen miles, whereas the low and marshy northern shore - is not inundated. - - "5. The phenomena that the so-called lake swells during the dry period - of the Nile, and _vice versâ_. - - "It would of course have been far more congenial to my feelings to - have met Jack upon the platform, and to have argued out this affair, - openly, before the Association of Science. I went down fairly to - seek this contest on September 13th, 1864. The first day was devoted - to other subjects, and the second day our grand exposition of our - separate views was to come off, and the rooms of the Section E were - crowded to suffocation. - - "All the great people were with the Council, I alone was uninvited; so - I remained on the platform with my wife, notes in hand, longing for - the fray, but when they filed in twenty minutes later, the melancholy - announcement was made of his death. I had seen him between one and - three p.m., and at four p.m. he was a corpse! I was so shocked, so - pained, I could not speak, and remained so for a long while. His - death sealed my lips, but I am not bound to bury my opinions in his - grave; and when I at last dared to speak, I addressed a public already - horribly prejudiced by the partisans of Jack, who know nothing about - chivalry, and have spoken of me in terms which I never used towards my - dead friend. In short, all my achievements were ignored and forgotten. - Everybody is mentioned with honour, but the Pioneer of discovery in - these wild regions is carefully ignored. I am now about to leave - Europe for some years, and I cannot allow errors which are generally - received, to remain as they are, but I do not stand forth as an enemy - of the departed. No man better than I, can appreciate the noble - qualities of energy, courage, and perseverance which he so eminently - possessed, who knew him for so many years, who travelled with him as - a brother, till the unfortunate rivalry respecting the Nile sources - arose like a ghost between us, and was fanned to a flame by the enmity - and ambition of so-called friends. I do not wish to depreciate the - services of Jack, nor Captain Grant--they brought us back a new three - hundred and fifty geographical miles; but as to the _Nile_ sources, I - consider the problem wholly unsolved. Jack and Captain Grant seemed - to forget that the _more my_ expedition did, the better for them, as - well as for me. The result of Jack's expedition is a blank space on - the maps, covering nearly twenty-nine thousand miles and containing - possibly half a dozen waters. Had Jack and Captain Grant really - seen--which they did not--three sides of the Nyanza, they would have - left unexplored fifty thousand square geographical miles, a space - somewhat larger than England and Wales. - - "Knowing Jack as I do, I cannot understand why he sent Captain - Grant, without valid apparent reason, on July 19th, 1862, to the - head-quarters of King Kamrasi of Unyoro, right away _from_ the Lakes, - unless Jack was determined _alone_ to do the work, and to have no one - to contradict him. The _Westminster Review_ remarks of that: 'Grant - will have little to regret, and Burton will be more than revenged - should Tanganyika, and not the Nyanza, prove to be the head of the - Nile.' - - "From Alexandria Jack telegraphed in April, 1863, to the F.O. these - big words:--'Inform Sir Roderick Murchison that all is well, that we - are in latitude 14° 30' upon the Nile, and that the Nile is settled.' - The startling assertion caused a prodigious sensation at the main - meeting, May 11th, 1863. Jack was fêted in Egypt by his Highness - the Khedive and by his Majesty of Piedmont, and was presented with - a medal bearing the gratifying inscription, 'Honor est a Nilo.' At - Southampton he was received by the civic authorities and sundry - supporters, including Colonel Rigby of Zanzibar, who, for purely - private reasons, had supported Jack against _me_. On June 22nd, 1863, - Jack received an ovation in the shape of a special meeting of the - Royal Geographical Society, when the windows were broken in by the - eager crowd. By-and-by people began to cool their enthusiasm. Despite - all that Jack had done to me, I was the first to give flattering - opinions of the exploration, until the personal account Jack gave, - told me how little had been done. It was something to have passed over - three hundred and fifty untrodden miles, but it would take a great - deal more than that to settle the Nile problem. Jack tried to crush - all expressions of thought. A welcome to Jack was put forth in 1863 - by _Blackwood's Magazine_, a periodical from which, for reasons _best - known to myself_, I never expected, nor wanted to receive justice. The - author of 'The Welcome,' who sought advertisement, wrote: 'We were the - first to satisfy ourselves with Captain Speke's geographical views.' - - "In January, 1864, Jack's book appeared, 'The Discovery of the Sources - of the Nile.' It sold like wildfire at first, and then suddenly - dropped, like the stick of the firework. Then Messrs. Blackwood - brought out 'What led to the Discovery of the Sources of the Nile,' - and people were saying that 'non-discovery would be the fitting - term;' and the second stick fell from the rocket. I understood then - the danger to which I had exposed myself by _not travelling alone_, - when I perceived that a lake, seen only for twenty miles, at the - southern edge, was prolonged by mere guesswork to two hundred and - forty miles to the north--enough to stultify the whole Expedition. - Had we met at Bath, the discussion which _must_ have resulted would - have brought forth a searching scrutiny upon _both our Expeditions_, - and mine would have been found to have been a genuine article; as - it is, I am obliged to remain dumb upon many points upon which, if - Jack had been alive, I should certainly have spoken. After so long a - silence upon the subject, I am justified in drawing public attention - as to what was effected by _my_ Expedition, in which I was not only - unaided, but I may say hindered. I went into the country ignorant of - it, its language, trade, manners, and customs, preceded only by a - French naval officer, who was murdered almost directly he landed. My - friend Hamerton, the Consul at Zanzibar, was dying. Without money, or - support, or influence, lacking in the necessaries of life, I led the - most disorderly caravan that ever man could gather together, into the - heart of Eastern Africa, and discovered the Tanganyika and the Nyanza - Lakes. I brought home sufficient information to smooth the path of - all who chose to follow me. They had but to read 'The Lake Regions - of Central Africa' (2 vols., 1860), and the whole of Vol. XXXIII. of - the _Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society_ (Clowes and Sons, - 1860), to know all about it. Dr. Beke called mine emphatically 'a - memorable expedition;' but, except for a few esteemed friends, my - work has been ignored and forgotten. _My_ labours rendered the road - easy for Jack and Captain Grant. I opened the line to Englishmen, and - they had but to follow me. - - "I bring no charge against Jack of asserting what he does not believe. - In his Taunton speech he declared that, 'as the _real_ discoverer, - he had in 1857 hit the Nile on the head, and in 1863 drove it down - to the Mediterranean,' and he believed these words as firmly and as - unreasoningly as he did in his Victoria Nyanza Lake or his 'Mountains - of the Moon.' His peculiar habit of long brooding over thoughts and - memories, secreting them until some sudden impulse brought them forth, - may explain this great improbability. He could not grasp a fact; hence - his partial eclipse of the moon on the 5th and 6th of January, 1863, - which did not occur. A 'luxurious village' was a mass of dirty huts, - a 'king of kings' is a petty chief, a 'splendid port' is a display of - savagery. The French of those parts are barbarians, with little more - knowledge than their neighbours. - - "Captain Grant also has never acknowledged the vast benefits which - the second Expedition derived from mine. I therefore mean to produce - a small volume, called 'The Nile Basin,'[2] in which I shall - distinctly deny that any 'misleading, by my instructions from the - Royal Geographical Society as to the position of the White Nile,' - left me unconscious of the vast importance of ascertaining the Rusizi - river's direction. The fact is Jack was deaf and almost blind, I was - paralytic, we were both helpless, and I may add penniless; we did our - best to reach it, and we failed. - - "I must also again allude to Jack's 'Mountains of the Moon.' He - published a sketch-map in _Blackwood's Magazine_, September and - October, 1859, which showed a huge range estimated to rise six or - eight thousand feet high. At first the segment of a circle, it - gradually shaped itself into a colt's foot, and effectually cut off - all access from the Tanganyika to the Nile; then he owns in his book, - p. 263, to having built up these mountains on solely geographical - _reasonings_, deriving from the same source the Nile, the Congo, and - the Zambesi. Now, Captain Grant afterwards said that the mountains - were the work of the engraver, and that Jack was amused by them; but - if he had looked into the map-room of the Royal Geographical Society, - he would have found Jack's own map, showing the lunar horseshoe in all - its hideousness. Now, in the map done by Stanford, the Mountains of - the Moon are placed in the northern extremity of the Lake Tanganyika; - but in his _own_ map, published in his _journal_, he altered their - position, and inserted them round the western north-sides of the more - northern Lake Rusizi, which was manifestly a widening of the river; - and again he said, p. 324, 'It was a pity I did not change the course - I gave to the Maraungu river, _i.e._ making it an effluent, and not - an influent; I forgot my lesson, and omitted to do so;' and when he - inquires of the natives whether this river runs _into_ or _out_ of the - lake, he says, 'Because they all say it runs into the lake, _I_ am - quite convinced that it runs out of the lake,' which, to say the least - of it, is an extraordinary train of reasoning. - - "Mr. Macqueen, an old and scientific geographer, was told by an Arab - who had been to Unyamwezi, 'It is well known by all the people there, - that the river which goes through Egypt takes its source and origin - from the Lake Tanganyika.' Dr. Beke, an old and scientific traveller, - quotes De Barros: 'The Nile has its origin in a great lake, the - Tanganyika, and after traversing many miles northwards, it enters a - very large lake which lies under the equator.' This would, I believe, - be the Bahr el Ghazal, or the Luta Nzigé. With regard to the levels, - the Tanganyika is allowed but 1844 feet, but during our exploration - the state of our vision would, I am sure, explain a greater difference - than the fraction of a degree. At Conduci, a harbour on the East - African coast, a common wooden bath instrument boiled at 2˙14° Fahr.: - this would give a difference of about 1000 feet. The Nyanza was made - 3550 feet high by my expedition, that of Jack raised it to 3745 feet. - - "Mr. Macqueen, F.R.G.S., author of the 'Geographical Survey of - Africa,' wrote a very able review on Jack's expedition with Captain - Grant, and I shall reprint it in the 'Nile Basin' from the _Morning - Advertiser_. In it he speaks in unmeasured terms about the cruelty of - the manner in which he crushed Consul Petherick with his ill-temper, - vanity, and jealousy, having used him in his own service all he - could. Petherick wrote: 'To add insult to injury, flesh and blood - cannot bear it, and, whilst not wishing to depreciate the labours of - others, I am determined to maintain my own;' and Mrs. Petherick wrote - an account of Jack's dining with them. They had a tremendously large - ham, which they had brought from England, cooked. They were to wait - with boats, well armed and provisioned, until Jack should appear at - Gondokoro. They waited long beyond their time, they spent their money, - they lost their health, they sacrificed their own trade, and Jack, - having helped himself to what he wanted, treated them _de haut en - bas_. Mrs. Petherick writes: 'We always meant to open this ham when we - met Speke. During dinner I endeavoured to prevail on Speke to accept - our aid, but he drawlingly replied, "I do not wish to recognize the - 'succour-dodge.'"' She adds, 'The rest of the conversation I am not - well enough to repeat. I grow heartsick thinking of it after all our - toil. Never mind, his heartlessness will recoil upon him yet. I soon - left the table, and would never dine with them again.' - - "But when Jack got home, and was in the full fling of his triumph, - his unfounded charges influenced the Government, who had employed - Petherick to convey assistance and advice to Jack, whose flippant - conduct caused this man and his wife to be thrown overboard without - pity, his private fortune wasted, his character as a merchant and a - public servant blasted, being also deprived of his Consulship. Mr. - Macqueen, in his paper, said that Speke left England on a great and - noble enterprise. He was patronised and supported by the British - Government, by the Royal Geographical Society, and the good wish and - sanguine hopes of the public. He says it is incredible that any - man, but especially a man who had gone a thousand miles to see the - position of the outlet of the Nile supposed to be in that spot, should - have remained five months within eight miles of it, without hearing - or seeing something certain about the great object of his search, or - have found some means to see it. He says, 'All that he brought back - was the sacrifice and ruin of zealous associates, first Burton, then - Petherick, Grant treated as a cipher, and a mass of intelligence, if - such it can be called, so muddled and confused that we do not believe - he understands it himself. We regret the miserable termination which - the second great African exploration has had; we lament the time that - has been lost, and the money that has been spent; but the only person - to blame for its poor results is Captain Speke himself.'" - -The following five maps, brought up to 1867, are inserted with the kind -permission of the Royal Geographical Society, whose property they are. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -[1] "Träume sind Schäume." - -[2] Which he did in 1864.--I. B. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -SANTOS, SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL--RICHARD'S SECOND CONSULATE. - - "My native land's the land of Palms, - The Sabiá sings there. - In this drear land no song-birds' notes - With our sweet birds compare. - - "More radiant stars bestrew our skies, - More flowers bedeck our fields, - A fuller life teems in our woods, - More love our Home-life yields. - - "My wakeful thoughts--alone--at night - Full of sweet memories are, - Of mine own land,--the land of Palms, - Where sings the Sabiá. - - "My land has sweetest fruits and flowers, - Such sweets I find not here. - Alone--at night--in wakeful hours - More pleasures find I there, - Mine own dear land,--the land of Palms, - Where sings the Sabiá. - - "God, in His mercy, grant I may - To that dear land return, - Ere the sweet flowers and fruits decay, - Which here, alas! I mourn; - That once again, before I die, - I may the Palm-Trees see, - And hear again the Sabiá - Sing its sweet melody." - ----DANIEL FOX (_translated from the Brazilian - of the poet Antonio Gonçalves Dias_). - - -During this stay at home we had represented to Lord Russell how -miserable our lives were, being always separated by the climate of -Fernando Po, and he very kindly transferred us to Santos, in the -Brazils, where I _could_ go. So Richard agreed that I should go out -with him to Portugal for a trip; that he should go on to Rio de -Janeiro; that I should return to London to wind up our affairs, and -then join him at Santos; and we set sail in May. I now began to learn -Portuguese. We had very bad weather, and on the fourth day we arrived -at Lisbon, and went to the Braganza Hotel. - -[Sidenote: _We explore Portugal._] - -Here was a totally new experience for me. Our bedroom was a large -white-washed place; there were three holes in the wall, one at the -bedside bristling with horns, and these were cockroaches some three -inches long. The drawing-room was gorgeous with yellow satin, and the -magnificent yellow curtains were sprinkled with these crawling things; -the consequence was that I used to stand on a chair and scream. This -annoyed Richard very much. "A nice sort of traveller and companion -_you are_ going to make," he said. "I suppose you think you look very -pretty and interesting, standing on that chair and howling at those -innocent creatures." This hurt me so much that, without descending -from the chair, I stopped screaming and, made a meditation, like St. -Simon Stylites on his pillar, and it was, "that if I was going to live -in a country always in contact with these and worse things, though I -had a perfect horror of anything black and crawling, it would never -do to go on like that." So I got down, fetched a basin of water and a -slipper, and in two hours, by the watch, I had knocked ninety-seven -of them into it. It cured me. From that day I had no more fear of -vermin and reptiles, which is just as well in a country where nature -is over-luxuriant. A little while after we changed our rooms, we -were succeeded by the late Lord and Lady Lytton, and, to my infinite -delight, I heard the same screams coming from the same rooms a little -while after. "There!" I said in triumph, "you see, I am not the _only_ -woman who does not like cockroaches." - -Here he insisted on taking me to a bull-fight, because he said I ought -to see everything _once_. But there is a great difference between a -Spanish and a Portuguese bull-fight. In Portugal the bull's horns are -knobbed; he does not gore horses nor dogs--he tosses men softly, and -if I do not mind that, it is because the men go in for it willingly, -are paid for it, and are bred to it as a profession from father to son -for endless generations. The only torment the bull has to endure is the -darts thrown into the fat part of his neck. If he fights well, they are -taken out afterwards and his wounds dressed with oil, and he is turned -out loose to fight another day. If he won't fight, he is killed for -beef; so you get all the science and the play without the disgusting -cruelty. At first I crouched down with my hands over my face, but I -gradually peeped through first one finger and then another, until I saw -the whole of it; but it awed me so much that I was almost afraid to -come out of our box, for fear we should meet a bull on the stairs. - -We then went to Cintra, and to Mafra. Richard found an old mosque in -Cintra, and we saw Mr. Cooke's beautiful house.[1] For people who have -not been to Lisbon, I may say that Belem Church is, I think, quite the -most beautiful thing in the world. It is one of the noted dreams in -marble. From Lisbon we went on to Corregado, to Serçal and Caldas, to -see Alcobaço, where there is a most beautiful monastery. In the days -of rebellion and persecution, the days of Don Miguel, somewhere in the -early thirties, the monks had to clear out, and my father took one -of them, whose name was Antonio Barboza de Lima, to be our tutor and -chaplain, when we were children (and he is now buried at Mortlake); -so Richard and I took an extra interest in the details. We then went -to Batalha, where there is another beautiful monastery, to Pombal, to -Leiria, and to Coimbra. This seat of learning is one of the prettiest, -dirtiest, and slowest places imaginable, and we soon made our way to -Oporto, and went to Braga to see the Whit-Sunday _fête_, from thence -to Malozinhos. This northern part of Portugal is ever so much more -beautiful than Lisbon. The more you get into Douro, and the nearer you -are to Spain, the larger and handsomer become the people. - -However, our time was short, and, after a delightful two months' -Portuguese exploration, we had to get back to Lisbon, where we saw -another bull-fight, and Richard embarked for Brazil. I promised him -to go back by the very next steamer that sailed. As I used to keep -my word _very literally_, a few hours after his departure, a very -tiny steamer came in, much worse than the West African boats; but I -thought myself obliged to go, and we started at 9.20 in the evening, -in spite of north-easterly gales, and had a bad time of it in the -Bay of Biscay, she being only 428 tons. The route was from London to -Lisbon, Gibraltar, Mazagan, Mogador, Canary Islands, coast of Spain, -Morocco, and Portugal. On board, besides myself, having made the -same mistake, was Dona Maria Rita Tenorio y Moscoso, who afterwards -married the Portuguese Minister in London, Count Lavradio. We were in -a tremendous fog off Beachy Head, went aground somewhere near Erith -in the fog, and were very glad to land on the eighth day, having -roughed it prodigiously. I note nothing important except some very -interesting experiments at Mr. William Crookes's, both chemically and -spiritualistically. - -[Sidenote: _I rejoin him at Rio de Janeiro._] - -By end of August, _i.e._ in a month, my work was accomplished, and I -may as well now say, that whenever we were going to leave England for -any length of time, he used mostly to like to start _at once_ in light -marching order, go forward and prospect the place, and leave me behind -to settle up our affairs, pay and pack, bringing up the heavy baggage -in the rear. It saved time, as double work got done in the space; so, -having completed all, I embarked from Southampton in one of the Royal -mails. Heavy squalls and thunder and lightning began next day, and at -Lisbon the thermometer was 80° in the cabin. We passed Santa Cruz, -off Teneriffe, having a good view of the Peak. We got to St. Vincent -in ten days, quite the most wretched hole in the world--only barren -rocks, and the heat was like a dead wall. We had very charming people -on board, mostly all foreigners, except Mr. and Mrs. Wodehouse, and Mr. -Conyngham. Neptune came on board on the night of the 24th, we crossed -the Line on the 25th, and the ceremonies of "crossing the Line" were -gone through, the tubbing and shaving, the greasy pole and running in -sacks, and a hair was drawn across the field-glasses, through which you -were requested to look at the "Line." The perhaps most striking thing -to a new-comer going out, is losing the Great Bear and the Northern -Star, and all that one is accustomed to, and exchanging them for the -Southern Cross and others. - -We arrived at Pernambuco on the 27th, and there I found all the letters -that I had written to my husband since we parted, accumulated in the -post-office, consequently I did not know what he would think had become -of me. Here we had a very rough sea and boiling surf. I passed the -evening miserably, thinking about the letters; though everything was -looking very beautiful, and the band was playing tunes and everybody -waltzing, I sat by the wheel and had a good "boo-hoo" in the moonlight. -On the 30th we reached Bahía, and went ashore and lunched with Mrs. -Baines, and visited Mr. Charles Williams. The women wanted to sell me -small black babies in the market for two shillings. We sailed the same -day, and had heavy weather. I rose at five, just before we went into -the harbour at Rio. It is about the most glorious sight that a human -being can behold, at sunrise and at sunset, the mountains being of most -fantastic shapes, and the colours that of an opal. Richard said it -beats all the scenery he had ever seen in his life--even the Bosphorus. -He came on board at half-past eight in the morning, and we had a joyful -meeting, and I handed him all the letters which, by some strange -mischance, had accumulated at Pernambuco during our month's separation. - -We stayed at the Estrangeiros Hotel, where there was quiet, fresh air, -beautiful scenery, and several disadvantages, including cockroaches -and mosquitoes. We enjoyed a great deal of hospitality, both Naval -and Diplomatic, and had several excursions and picnics. All nations -have a "Flagship" and other ships in the harbour; there is a great deal -of gaiety and _esprit de corps_ amongst the Diplomatic and Consular -service. Amongst others here was Mr. Gerald Perry, our Minister, Sir -Edward and Lady Thornton, Chevalier Bunsen, the son of the great -Bunsen, with whom we used to have learned discussions very often in -the evening on "Geist" and other scientific subjects, and German -metaphysics generally. Mrs. Elliot, the wife of Admiral Elliot, the -Admiral of the Station, was a very kind friend to me, on this my first -_début_ into this kind of life. We had our first dinner-party at our -hotel, and after all the formal people had gone, Richard and the -young ones proposed a moonlight walk. We went down to the Botanical -Gardens, and tried to get in, but the gates were locked--tall iron -gates--and nothing would do but that, as we could not get in, we should -scramble over them. It was quite contrary to law, but we had a nice -walk about the gardens. There was either no watch-dog, or the guard -being unaccustomed to such daring, was not on the look-out; but there -were too many snakes about, and particularly the coral snake, of which -nobody has any idea in England, because its colours fade as soon as it -is put in spirits; so we all came back and climbed over the gate again, -and got back without any danger. - -But we had come out of hot rooms, and it was dewy and damp, so next day -I had my first fever. It consisted of sickness and vomiting, colic, -dizziness, faintness, shivering, heat and cold, delirium, thirst, -disgust of food. The treatment was calomel, castor oil, hot baths, -blankets, emetics, ice, starvation, and thirty grains of quinine. It -did not last long, but my being delirious alarmed Richard very much, -and he mesmerized me. - -In Rio one generally takes a native steamer, which is not very -comfortable, to go to Santos, one hundred and twenty miles south of -Rio. As soon as I was able to move, Captain Napier took us on board -H.M.S. _Triton_ for Santos. It was very rough. The captain had given -up his quarters to me; the stern ports were not closed, and at night a -tremendous sea came in, and swept our cots. It continued very squally, -and we anchored at Ilha Grande; next day the men practised gunnery and -small-arms, and Captain Napier made me practise with a revolver. It -was fifty-eight miles from Rio to Ilha Grande, a pretty mountainous -island, which surrounds a lovely bay, with a few huts on it. We then -proceeded seventy-eight miles further to St. Sebastian, which is a -grand copy of the Straits of Messina (Scylla and Charybdis), and spoils -your after-view of what people who have seen nothing bigger, think -so wonderful. You steam through an arm of the sea, appearing like a -gigantic river, surrounded by mountains (whose verdure casts a green -shade upon the water), dotted with houses, small towns, and gardens. -The chief town is St. Sebastian, which is very populous. The water is -calm; there is a delicious sea-breeze. When Richard went ashore they -saluted him with the usual number of guns, and Brazilian local "swells" -came off to visit us. - - -SANTOS, BRAZIL, HIS SECOND CONSULATE. - - -[Sidenote: _Arrival at Santos and São Paulo._] - -We awoke next morning, the 9th of October, 1865, off the Large. About -eleven we were at the mouth, whence one steams about nine miles up -a serpentine river, and at one o'clock anchored opposite Santos. We -saluted, and the Consular corps came off to see us. We stayed on board -that night, and we left the ship at half-past seven next day, loitering -about Santos. - -Santos was only a mangrove swamp, and in most respects exactly like -the West Coast of Africa, the road slushy and deep. Tree-ferns, -African mangrove, brown water full of tannin, patches of green light -and green dark, in rare clearings here and there houses and fields -near town, much water, and good rice. The sand runs up to the mangrove -jungle; there is good fishing, and deer in the forests. The heavy sea -sometimes washes into the gardens, spoils the flowers, and throws up -whale-bones in all directions. At the time of our arrival, the railway -from Santos to São Paulo, about eighty miles into the interior, was -only just beginning, and a large staff of Englishmen were engaged upon -it. Mr. J. J. Aubertin, now, since his freedom, poet, author, and -traveller, was then superintendent of it. Richard had been here, and -inspected the place before my arrival, although he had met me at Rio, -and he had arranged, as there were _two_ places _equally requiring the -presence of a Consul_ (São Paulo on the top of the Serra, and Santos -on the coast), that we should live at both places, riding up and down -as occasion required, thus keeping our health; and Mr. Glennie, the -Vice-Consul--who had gone to Santos as a boy, had been there over forty -years, had married there, was perfectly devoted to it, and the only -hardship he would have known would have been to live out of it--could -remain there. His one ambition of life was to be Consul of Santos, and -when we left, some years after, and his nomination was just going out -to him, he died--as Richard used to say, "so like Provy." - -We therefore, that same day, went in trollies to Mugis, where we -lunched. Richard and Captain Napier had started on foot, and soon -after Mr. Aubertin and thirteen others joined us. We were twenty-one -people. Dr. and Mrs. Hood lived at the foot of the Serra, and they -gave us a big tea-dinner. Mrs. Hood, the widow, with her now large -grown-up family, strange to say, is now my near neighbour in Mortlake. -Next day, what with mules, walking, riding, and occasional trollies, -we got at the top of the Serra. There was a huge chasm over which the -rail would have to pass on a bridge, with an almost bottomless drop. -There were only planks across it; but, as I was on in front, supposing -that was what we had got to cross, I walked right across it, about some -two hundred yards. When I got to the other side, I turned round to -speak, but nobody answered me, and facing round I saw the whole company -standing on the other side, not daring to breathe, and my husband -looking ghastly; so I turned round and was going to walk back again, -when they motioned me off by signs, and all began to file round another -way on _terra firma_. It was fortunate that I had such a good head, and -did not know my danger. - -The train line up the Serra is a very steep incline, one in nine, and -is managed by a chain with a stationary engine at the top, a train -being hooked on at each end of the rope. On one side was a mountain -wall, and the other side a bottomless abyss, but the whole thing was -quite beautiful through virgin forest. At this time it was not far -advanced enough, and we rode up on mules. At the top a locomotive was -kept to take us into São Paulo, which reminded us of Bergamo, in Italy, -where we all dined at the little French inn. The next day we took a -trip to what was then the end of the line, twelve miles beyond São -Paulo, but at this time these trips were part mules, part trollies, -part walking ones. We came back to dinner; there were speeches, and -we wished the "Tritons" good-bye. Richard went down with them to set -up his Consulate, and I remained to look for a house, and set up our -_first real home_. After twelve or thirteen days, I went down to -Santos by the diligence, by bad roads, but with a lovely panorama. The -diligence takes one as far as Cubatao, where a little steamer plies for -a couple of hours, first up a fine stream, between banks of tangled -magnificence in the vegetation line, then an arm of the sea, or rather -lagoons. The journey occupies seven carriage and two boat hours. - -The worst of Santos, besides the steaming heat enclosed within and at -the bottom of the hills, arising from the mangrove swamps, was the -sand-flies and the mosquitoes. Richard was quite impervious to all -other vermin, but the sand-flies used to make him come out all over -bumps. For the rest, he used to say that he liked to have me near -him--it was just like having "catch 'em alive" for flies, as everything -came and bit me, and I was not fit to be seen, and spared him. - -The fact is, I had fresh English blood, and it was rather a treat to -them. The nicest thing was to drive out to the Barra. Captain Richard -Hare, R.N., then came in, and we made a large party to stay there. The -Barra was our fashionable bathing-place; the sea rolled right in to the -strip of sand between it and the mangrove swamps, on the edge of which -were (at that time) a few huts, with windows and doors opening on to -the sand. In some there were no windows; they only closed by a wooden -shutter. - -After staying there for some time with Richard, I went up to São Paulo -again, because I was getting feverish; it was wet and windy, and it -took me eleven hours and a half. On going up, I engaged a very curious -little fellow in our service, who deserves a few lines. Chico was -thirty-five years of age; he was about four feet high, but perfectly -well proportioned, as black as a coal, brimming full of intelligence, -and could put his hand to anything. He had just been emancipated. -He remained with us the whole time we were in Brazil, and became my -right-hand man--more of him anon. - -At last I found an old convent, No. 72, Rua do Carmo, which opened on -the street in its front, and ran a long way back behind on an eminence, -which commanded a view of almost boundless horizon into the country, -and was exceedingly healthy. I immediately took it, cleaned it, painted -and whitewashed it, and furnished it, and engaged slaves, paying their -masters so much, and so much to them, as if they were free men. They -were all Catholics, and I made a little chapel for them. - -The slaves in Brazil, as a rule, formed, as it were, part of the -family, and in ninety-five houses out of a hundred they were kindly -treated and happy, but the remaining five out of the hundred were -brutal; but, however, in _all_ cases, the poor creatures were told, -or, if not told, were allowed to believe, that they had no souls, and -nothing to look forward to. I, on the contrary, taught them, and had -regular lecture and catechism for them, that not only had they souls, -but that, although they were condemned by class and colour and custom -to be slaves upon earth, just as it was in the Bible, that once dead, -they, and we, would stand equal before God. The priest used to come -to my little Oratory, where I had the Bishop's leave to have Mass and -the Sacraments, and we all received Communion together. They were very -happy, the house went upon oiled wheels, and I never had occasion to -dismiss a servant the whole time I was there. The differences were -chiefly amongst themselves. Richard having settled his Consulate -at Santos, and I having prepared our home in São Paulo, he came up -and joined me, and for the first time since our marriage we were -absolutely settled in a home of our own. - -[Sidenote: _Life in Brazil._] - -Up the country in Brazil, people always get one or two things in their -first few years. You either break out all over boils, so that you -cannot put a pin's point between them, and if you have a weak place, -they come there in clusters, and you can neither sit nor stand, kneel -or lie, and you are an object of misery for some months; but if you -have strength, and can pull through it, you bloom out with stronger -health than ever after that. This happened to me. I had to be slung up. -A friend gave me a barrel of porter, and it was alternately "faint" and -a "glass of porter," which revived me for a few minutes, and then more -faint and more porter, _ad infinitum_. By the time the barrel of porter -was finished, I was convalescent, and when any new ones attempted to -break out, a friend gave me two things to try--and I tell it for the -sake of those who may follow me; it was to draw a ring of caustic round -one, and a ring of laudanum round the other. The caustic ones did -not answer, but the ring of laudanum made them disappear, and I got -splendid health, which lasted at least seventeen years. Now, people who -do not get the boils are bound to get one or more of the complicated -diseases of the country, and that is just what happened to Richard. We -had no doctors up there, that I am aware of. - -On the 17th of January, 1866, we had an awful storm, worse than -any known for twenty-five years; there was an awful blackness, the -lightning was red, the wind drove in the windows, the hail was jagged -pieces of ice one inch in diameter, sharp and long, and made round -holes like a bullet, there was a network of flashes, rain from all -quarters--a regular cyclone. It drove through the room fronting north, -which was like a ship's cabin in a gale. We saw the cathedral struck, -the cross knocked off, tiles blown away; the hotel room was like a -shower-bath, with a continuous stream of rain. Several houses were -struck, some of the doors split, and the streets quite flooded; people -were frightened, and lighted candles, and brought out the Madonna. -There were sharp rattlings like earthquake; it blew a clock against -the walls away; the people all met as after a revolution in Paris. The -windows were everywhere broken, and the water looked black. It was -quite local, and did not touch the shipping. In the town four were -killed and five wounded. The next day was very hot. - -Santos is six thousand miles away from Europe, and we only got letters -once a month. - -Richard's study was the most important feature in the house. It was a -long room, running out on an eminence forty feet long, with a good -terrace at the end of it, on which we had a telescope, and every -convenience for astronomy and observations; and perhaps the other most -striking part of the house was a large room, which occupied the whole -centre of the house, and opened on the stairs. This was dining-room, -receiving-room, and everything. Directly below that was a similar -place, that was more like stables than room. It was my refuge for the -needy and homeless after dark; they were fed and housed, and turned out -in early morning. - -On the 27th of July he notes in his journal: "Dream that a bad tooth -fell out, followed by five or six big drops of blood; noted the day, -and found that my poor friend Steinhaüser had died of heart disease -quite suddenly in Switzerland that day." On the 14th of August, 1866, -the first through-train went from Santos to Jundiahy. There was a -_fête_ in consequence, and the company had the bad taste only to omit -the Consul and his wife from the invitations to all the English. On the -22nd of August Richard went to stop with the priests of the seminary -(Capuchins), which he often did, in their _chacara_, or country-house, -where he studied astronomy with Fray João, and metaphysics, physics, -and algebra, with Père Germain. Here he was engaged in writing "Vikram -and the Vampire," and he got a concession for the lead mines of -Iporanga, in São Paulo. On the 21st of December we went down to Rio for -our Christmas, which we spent at Petropolis. On the 12th of November -some one put a stone on the railway to throw the train off, and on the -19th it was said that a part of the rails was pulled up. - -In Santos and São Paulo we remained from 1865 to 1869, and I may say -that his career here was equally active and useful, both on the coast -and in the interior. We thoroughly explored our own province, São -Paulo, which is larger than France. (I do not bore you with two pages -of Brazilian names of places, because very few would know where they -were, unless they had lived there and had worked in wild places, which -is not likely.) We spent a good time at the gold mines and diamond -diggings of Minas Gerães. He canoed down the river of San Francisco, -fifteen hundred miles. He went to the Argentine Republic of the -Páta-Paranà; he went to Paraguay for the purpose of reporting the state -of the Paraguayan War to the Foreign Office. He crossed the Pampas and -the Andes to Chili and Peru, amongst the dangerous Indians, whilst on -sick leave for an illness which brought him almost to death's door. He -visited the Pacific coast to inspect the scenes of the earthquake at -Arica, returning by the Straits of Magellan, Buenos Ayres, and Rio de -Janeiro. - -Letters from Richard to _Fraser's Magazine_ appeared in three numbers, -headed, "From London to Rio de Janeiro." He likewise wrote three -books--"The Highlands of Brazil," 2 vols., which I edited and brought -out in 1869; "Vikram and the Vampire," one vol. of Hindú tales brought -out in 1870; "Paraguay," 1 vol., brought out in 1870. He interested -himself immensely in the coffee and cotton produce, Mr. Aubertin being -at that time the "father of cotton" in Brazil, but his chief interest -lay in the mining and mineral productions of the country. As I have -said, he obtained the concession for the lead mines of Iporanga, and -Sir Edward Thornton was very angry with him--took it in the sense -of Consuls trading, and reported him home. Fortunately, we had the -large mind of Lord Stanley (Lord Derby) at the head of the Foreign -Office, and he, knowing how caged and misplaced Richard was at such -a Consulate, thought he might at least be allowed that little bit of -amusement, and sent back a despatch that he did not think that being -interested in mineral production could be exactly classed under the -head of trading. - -Amongst other things, Richard discovered something remarkable. On one -of our Expeditions we were stopping at a shanty close to a river, and -seeing something glistening, he walked up the bed of the river, which -was not deep, and scooped up some of the sand and put it in a jar. On -washing it we found that it looked very like rubies. We sent it home -to Mr. Crookes, F.R.S., the great chemical savant, and he wrote back, -"If you get any more, bigger than this, throw up the Consulate and -stick to the rubies." Now, Richard told me that this was only the dust -washed down, and that the great stones must lie further up the head of -the river. The shanty belonged to an old woman with a right for a good -stretch up the river, and she would have joyfully sold it for £50. When -I implored Richard almost on my knees to buy it, he would not, saying -it would be quite wrong to defraud that poor woman out of her place, -when she did not know that rubies were there; that if she _did_ know, -she would ask him an exorbitant sum; and, what was more, that no one -could live there for three days without getting Brazilian fever, so -that we should end by being like the dog in the fable, with the bit of -cheese and the shadow in the water, and drop the reality for a shadow. - -Life in Brazil, if in Rio, was very gay; life at São Paulo was very -like a farmhouse life, with cordiality and sociability with the other -farmhouses, and some of the good Brazilian society was very charming. -The Brazilians are to the Portuguese what the Americans are to us. -The Portuguese is heavy; the Brazilian is light, active, nervous, -_spirituel_. Their parties are much enlivened by music and dance. -They have several native dances, which are danced at the balls--one -especial one, which is called the _carangueijo_, which is very active, -very amusing, and very significant. The gentlemen and ladies dance it -as furiously as the common people, as the Hungarians do the _czardas_. -The Music consists of the _modinha_, which answers to our ballad, and -is generally mournful; the _lundú_, which is mostly comic, and almost -always in the minor key; and the _recitativo_, which consists of -playing a flowing melodious accompaniment, and in a voice pitched and -attuned to that, reciting a story of love or war or anything, often -improvised at the moment. The negroes have their balls in the Plaza, -or Square, and they will dance furiously for three consecutive days -and nights to the same tune. It is amusing to watch for about an hour -out of a window. The negro girls come out _décolletée_ in pink or blue -cotton--those are the swells--the others dress like natives. - -What is so beautiful is Nature, the luxuriance of vegetable and animal -life. Everything is so large--the palms, the cacti, and all the things -which here are treasured as plants and bushes, are there fine trees. -I have seen arums of which one leaf would be six feet long and five -broad, behind which a big man could easily hide himself. The virgin -forests are unspeakably beautiful, with their wild tangle of creeper -and parasite. Orchids, of which (during the rage that lasted in England -for them) one single one would have sold for £60, here grow wild--one -only had to go out with a knife and grub them up from the trees or -rocks; we sent boxes home to our friends. The fir of the country -is the araucaria; the gum copaiba is eighty feet high. Flights of -gaudy-coloured parrots and all sorts of beautiful coloured birds are -on the trees; butterflies, some of which measure ten inches from one -wing-tip to the other, when spread, float about the air like large -sheets of paper--scarlet, peacock blue, emerald green, cream, white--in -fact, every colour; and coming in and out of your room, are little -humming-birds the size of a large bee, looking like an emerald or a -ruby flitting about, and if you have the sense not to offer to touch -them, and put a little wet sugar in a saucer, they will stay there for -days; but if you try to catch them, they break their hearts and die. -The tints of Brazil are always the tints of the opal in fine weather. -The heat is awful, like the damp heat of a conservatory; I flourished -in it. - -_En revanche_, Brazil has no history save three hundred years, which -relates its discovery and its gradual transfer from Indian natives to -the first Portuguese settlers. The Jesuits erected all the buildings -on the best sites, made roads, and cultivated; but the Indians are not -exterminated--they are only driven inwards--and about ten days from our -home our nearest Indians were the Botacudos. You may see them in the -Crystal Palace with their under-lip distended by a bit of wood. The -nearest to us were friendly ones, and they would come down to São Paulo -on rare occasions. They walk in Indian file, and when they passed our -house, or any other friendly house, they threw their arms out towards -the house--as if the whole file were pulled by a string--till they had -gone by it; and that is their mode of friendly salute. When the railway -was opened, they came down out of curiosity to see it. They looked upon -the engine as a sort of malignant beetle, but at last they got less -frightened, and all clambered upon it; but when it was time to start, -and the driver gave the preliminary whistle, they sprang off like mad, -and ran for their lives, nor could they be persuaded to mount again. - -Another drawback was the reptiles and vermin. There is a large mosquito -that fastens its prongs into your hand. I have seen a man let it -suck, and then cut half its tail off, and it has gone on sucking -and the blood running through--the mosquito being not in the least -aware of its loss. Then there is a little grey, almost invisible, -mosquito that makes no noise. In Trieste they call them _papataci_ -(papa-hold-your-tongue). There is the jigger, that gets into your -flesh, generally under your toe-nail or under the sole of your foot, -and the first time you are aware that there is anything the matter is -by your limping, and you then discover that there is a something about -the size of a pea in your foot. You send for a negress, who picks at -your foot for a few minutes with a common pin--they won't use a needle -or any other instrument, because if they did the bag would break, -and the eggs would get into your blood--and presently, with a little -hurting, she triumphantly holds it up at the end of the pin, puts on -a soothing ointment, and you are all right at once. A man thought he -should like to take a jigger home to show an English doctor, but it was -six weeks from home, and his foot was cut off before he got there. - -Another nuisance is the _carapato_. It is everywhere, but chiefly -inhabits the coffee plantations. There are three sorts, which only vary -in size and colour. It is a cross between a tick and a small crab; the -biggest would be the size of a little finger-nail. If you ride through -a coffee plantation you come out covered with them. I have more than -once taken off my riding habit and found my jacket nailed to the skin -from the outside; to pull them is to tear your flesh and produce a -festering wound. You have to get into a hot bath, in which you put one -or two bottles of _cachaça_, the spirit of the country, and that clears -off most of them; and if any obstinate ones remain, you have to light a -cigarette, and apply the hot end to their tails till they wriggle their -own head and shoulders out from under your skin. Cockroaches you don't -count, but you must always look in your sleeves, and dress, and boots, -for large horned beetles or spiders or other horrors. - -Poor W. H. Bates (the naturalist of the Royal Geographical Society), -who was a great friend of ours, was laughed at because he spoke of -spiders as big as a toy-terrier; but it is perfectly true--there _are_ -such spiders, though they are not seen in towns, only out in the -forest, and they are the size of a good-sized crab. The body is hairy, -and when they are angry they kick up and throw their hairs on you, -which are poisonous. I was going to hit one, and a native drew me back -and made me run away, for, he said, "it can spring at you, and it is -instantaneous death." Richard and I did not go so far as to believe -this, unless your blood is in a very bad state, but we did believe in -its making people ill for several days. A priest was once going to say -Mass, and he took his vestment down from the wall where it was hung -up, and put it on, when he suddenly felt something hard in the centre -of his back. He called to the servers and asked them to remove his -vestment gently, without touching his back, telling them there was -something inside. They did so, and it was one of these big spiders; -when it was removed he fainted. - -The people eat a large black ant, an inch and a half long. They bite -off the fat body, which has to them a pleasant acid, and throw the -head and legs away. Another use they make of them is to dress them up -like dolls and sell them. The _copim_, or white ants, build nests like -milestones. The people here believe in a sort of house-that-Jack-built -as regards animal feeding. They believe that toads eat ants, that -snakes eat toads, that owls eat snakes, also the geese, and that is why -they are cheap. - -Snakes are everywhere--in your garden, in your basement, in -your rafters; and there is every description of them, from the -boa-constrictor in the wilder parts, to the smallest. It is a common -thing to hear the rattlesnake in the grass, and to scamper quickly. -Those who kill them cut out the rattle and give it you for good luck. I -have one now. At night, when you walk out you go with a lantern at the -end of a stick, for the snake called _jararaquassú_ lies curled up at -night on the road, looking exactly like a heap of dust, and you would -certainly put your foot on it; it bites your ankle, and they say that -you live about ten minutes. - -These things, which sound so wonderful in England, become so common to -us who live and travel in Brazil, out of towns and off beaten tracks, -that we get quite accustomed to them, as everyday parts of our lives, -as you do to showers in April and dying flies in September; so that I -should not know now that they had ever happened if I had not written -them down at the time. No one who means to write, should ever trust to -memory, because scene after scene fades like a dissolving view and is -never caught again, whilst others rise to replace them. - -The storms were another thing to be somewhat dreaded. For our three -summer months, which are December, January, and February (whilst the -Thames is frozen over in London), we, maybe, have 115° in the shade, -and you see a semicircle of clouds beating up. As our house was on a -kind of promontory running out, not to sea, but to grassy plain, we -used to have to make "all taut" as if we were on board a ship, because -when it did come it was like a cyclone, lasting two or three hours, and -then clearing off, leaving everything bright and beautiful, the earth -and air barely refreshed; but while it lasted the thunder and lightning -were close to you. I have frequently thought that if there was one more -clap my head would split--it deafened one. The windows were generally -broken, there were balls of fire flying through the air--blue, red, -yellow; and on one occasion, on a pitch-black night, perceiving a light -from an opposite angle in my husband's room, I thought the house was -on fire. The door was locked for the night. I ran down the corridor, -unlocked the door, and, going in, found that the lightning had broken -a window and had set on fire one of my husband's large rolling atlases -on canvas, which hung from the walls. I ran back and called him, and -it made him very uncomfortable. He thought that one of these lightning -balls of fire must have done it, but there was no aerolite or anything -to show. There was no fireplace in the room, not even a box of matches. - -At nine p.m. on the 20th of October, a meteor fell with a loud sound, -and lit up the City of São Paulo. Martinico Prado and some others were -standing near it, and he fell insensible. It fell on the hill near São -Bemte; blue flame was seen in our house at the same moment. It was -intensely cold, but bright, beautiful weather. - -We bought horses--one that had something of the mustang in it, called -Hawa, which always carried me, and Penha, a smaller one from Campos for -Richard. When we drove, it was in an American buckboard, seat for two, -with huge wheels, and a little place to hold a box, with a pair of wild -mules that used to pull one's arm off. When Richard did not ride with -me, Chico used to take the second horse. - -Chico and I never had but one quarrel, and I will give it as an -illustration. When I first arrived, Richard used always to laugh at -me, because I was so miserable at the way the cruel people treat the -blacks--just in the same way that I, and so many others, feel about -the treatment of animals--and he kept saying, "Oh, wait a bit, till -you have lived with negroes a little; you philanthropic people always -have to give in." Well, about six weeks after I got Chico, I heard a -tremendous noise, and shrieks of agony proceeding from the kitchen, and -rushing in the direction I found Chico roasting my favourite cat at the -fire. I made one spring at his wool, and brought him to the ground. -Richard, who had also rushed out at the noise, saw me, and clapped his -hands, saying, "Brava! brava! I knew it would happen, but I did not -think it would be quite so soon." I could only blubber out, "Oh, Jemmy, -the little beast has roasted my cat." He then punished him himself, and -Chico was a good boy evermore. In begging for forgiveness, he told us -that their fathers and mothers always instructed them, that when Christ -was thirsty, if He asked a little dog for water, the dog would go and -fetch it for Him, but if He asked a cat for water, that it gave Him -something in a cup, which I cannot mention in polite society; and that -all the little negroes were taught to be cruel to cats, and that he -_had_ done atrocious things to cats, but he would never do so any more. - -A very amusing thing was that this little monkey used to imitate his -master in everything. If Richard bought a suit of clothes, he used -immediately to take it to the tailor and get it exactly copied in -small, and his evening suit especially. To go to a ball he was the -_exact_ copy of his master--white shirt, white tie, little dress suit, -little _gibus_, and all. We used to make him come and show himself -to us when he was dressed, to amuse us. Then, unlike his master, he -started a toilette-table with mirror, perfumes, and scents, and his -pillow was all edged with deep lace. Each of the best families had one -of these intelligent negroes; they used to give supper-parties, and -then stand up and make speeches, just like us. Mr. Aubertin's used to -talk about the railway shares, and the value of cotton, and the coffee -produce; another, belonging to a reverend gentleman, used to stand up -and speak of the "benighted state of the souls of the black man and -the brother;" but our Chico used to declaim on "the Negro's place in -Nature," as he had heard Richard do in his lectures, and talk of the -progress that they had made from the original ape (Darwinism), and how -they might eventually hope to rise into a white man. - -Portuguese studies got on very well, and the more I knew of it, the -more I enjoyed myself; but it made me quite forget the Spanish I -had learnt during my stay at Teneriffe, and whilst Richard occupied -Fernando Po. Richard had always known Portuguese from his Goanese -_Padre_ in India. You cannot speak Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian at -the same time; they are so alike, and yet so different. Portuguese -is the most Latin, and the most difficult of the lot, and has much -more literature to reward you with than Spanish; but Spanish is the -grandest and the most beautiful, albeit with less literature. Still -it once happened to me to be in company with a priest, an Italian, -and a Spaniard, and we agreed to talk for an hour in each of the four -languages. The priest took Latin, the Italian and the Spaniard each -their own, and I Portuguese, and we could understand and answer each -other, but we could not speak the other three languages. Italians come -out to Brazil and can only speak Italian, not a word of Portuguese; -they then come to a crisis, when they can speak neither; they then -convalesce in Portuguese, speak it perfectly and remain with it--they -forget their Italian. I speak of colonists. - -We had two very charming picnic-places. One was the Tropic of -Capricorn, just five miles from São Paulo; your insurances suffer -all the difference, whether you are on this side or that. A boy who -was about to pass his examination for the army, who supported a poor -widow mother, and consequently was extremely anxious about passing, -and with no interest, was destined to be plucked; so the arrogant and -ignorant examiner asked the timid, humble boy, "How far is it from the -city of São Paulo to the tropical line of Capricorn." The boy, radiant -answered, "Between four and five miles, sir." "Go down, sir, you are -plucked; it is twenty miles." It was the last question. The boy grew -red and white, and turned despairingly to go; suddenly he remembered -his mother, turned round, and said nervously, "Please, sir, of course -you ought to know better than me, but I lived there five years, sir, -and I had to walk it twice a week, to go home from school to mother's -house on the Line, from Saturday to Monday." Chorus of laughter at the -examiner, and the poor boy passed. (I have already quoted this in my -"A.E.I.") Another charming place to picnic, in the mountains, was Nossa -Senhora do O. - -We occasionally had big dinners, when all the English of Santos and -São Paulo assembled to do honour to some railway swell going home. We -had for a time some fortnightly balls, at a good-sized hall at the -corner of the Plaza, called the Concordia, and we had one curious case -of sporadic yellow fever from there. Mrs. Ralston, the young wife of -a very nice man (indeed a charming couple), came out of the ball-room -with me at five o'clock one morning. I had only to run across fifty -yards to my house; they had about twenty minutes to walk home, and -she was well wrapped up with shawls. She suddenly drooped her head -on her husband's shoulder, saying she felt very queer, and he had to -support her home. Almost directly he had laid her on her own bed, she -turned round and said, "Oh, is this death?" and died. Next morning, my -maid ran in and without any preface said, "Mrs. Ralston's dead." "Oh, -nonsense," I said; "I saw her seven hours ago;" and, thinking perhaps -it was possible she might be ill, and require some woman-neighbour, -I hastily threw on my things, and ran down to her house. The street -door opened on to the principal sitting-room, and was unlocked, and to -my horror the house was deserted and still, and something was lying -covered up on the sofa. I drew back the sheet, and there was my young -friend, dead. I knelt down and said a few prayers, and then, feeling -rather faint, I stooped to kiss her forehead before covering her up -again. The husband and child and servants had all been removed to -another house; as I stooped to kiss her a dreadful effluvia knocked -me back again, and I perceived that she was covered with large black -spots. I fled and ran home again, and told Richard. He looked very -grave, and rang the bell, and ordered the horses to the door. He -fetched me a large glass of brandy, and made me drink it, with some -bread. He said, "It does not matter; I have got to have a long ride -to-day on business, and you have got to go with me." We rode about ten -miles at a great pace, till I was in a good perspiration. When I got -back he gave me a teaspoonful of Warburg drops. He kept me employed all -day, and at night he took me to the little theatre, and then he told me -that he had done that to save my life, without which I probably should -have caught it, if I had not perspired, and partly from sympathy. - -One thing I always regret in writing, is that I could recite so many -amusing and interesting things that would immensely please a very large -portion of English people; but England is so very queer, and I am -become convinced it is not the same England that I used to know, that -I do not like to venture them. They are not in the least risky, only -amusing and adventurous, but being very honest and straightforward, -would be sure to tread upon somebody's corns; blame or sneers would be -sure to crop up from some quarter or another, and make me regret it. -Richard was very fond of quoting the following lines to me over our -writing:-- - - "They eat and drink and scheme and plod; - They go to church on Sunday, - And many are afraid of God, - And more of Mrs. Grundy." - -We had one very curious character at São Paulo. It was the Marchesa de -Santos. She was a beauty and a favourite in the time of the present -Emperor's father, and led a very brilliant and stormy life. She got -finally banished by his Empress (they say) to Santos, with a pension -for life, and she lived in a small house a few doors from me. I -used to see a great deal of her. She was quite _grande dame_, most -sympathetic, most entertaining, full of stories of Rio and the Court, -and the Imperial people, and the doings of that time. She had been -obliged to adopt up-country habits, and the last time I saw her, she -received me _en intime_ in her own kitchen, where she sat on the floor, -smoking, not a cigarette, but a pipe. She had beautiful black eyes, -full of sympathy, and intelligence, and knowledge. She was a great bit -of interest to me in that out-of-the-way place. - -The Seminary was the most palatial building in that part, and was just -beyond the town. It was inhabited by Capuchins, French and Italians -from Savoy and Piédmont. One of the monks was a tall, magnificent, and -very powerful man, an ex-cavalry officer, Count Somebody, whose name I -forget, then Fray G----. - -Before he arrived, there was a bully in the town, rather of a -free-thinking class, so he used to go and swagger up and down before -the Seminary and call out, "Come out, you miserable petticoated monks! -come out and have a free fight! For God or the devil!" When Fray G---- -arrived, he heard of this, and it so happened he had had an English -friend, when he was with his regiment, who had taught him the use of -his fists. He found that his brother monks were dreadfully distressed -at this unseemly challenge, so he said, "The next time he comes, don't -open the gate, but let the porter call me." So the next time the bully -appeared, it was so arranged that the gate was opened by Fray G---- -(the usual crowd had collected in the road to see the fun), who looked -at him laughingly and said, "Surely, brother, we will fight you for God -or the devil, if you please. Let us get well into the open, and the -public will see fair play." So saying, the friar tucked up his sleeves -and gown, and told his adversary to "come on," which he did, and he was -immediately knocked into a cocked hat. "Come, get up," said the friar. -"No lying there and whimpering; the devil won't win that way." The man -stood three rounds, at the end of which he whimpered and holloaed for -mercy, and amidst the jeers and bravos of a large crowd, the "village -cock" retired, a mass of jelly and pulp, to his own dunghill, and was -never seen more within half a mile of the Seminary. Richard rejoiced -in it, and used to say, "What is that bull-priest doing in that -_galère_?" Richard used to stay a great deal with them, for they were -the best-educated men in the province, and knew everything. He said he -could always learn something from them. - -During the time of the Paraguayan War provisions were very scarce. -If muleteers came down to the town, they and their mules were seized -for the war. They tried sending their women down with the mules, but -then the mules and provisions were seized; the consequence was that -the towns were more or less in a state of famine. Chico and I used to -sally forth, with paniers and ropes to our saddles, and forage about, -and I found that by riding about ten miles out, I came to large flocks -of geese and other poultry, and I also ascertained that as the geese -were supposed to feed upon snakes, nobody ate them; they were chiefly -kept for ornament, and so were cheap. So the first day I came back with -both our horses laden with geese, and as I passed through the town the -squawking was immense; and most of the Grundy, respectable English -tried to avoid me, which made me take an especial pleasure in riding -up to them and inquiring after their wives and families, and entering -into a conversation, which I, perhaps, should not have otherwise done. -When I got up to our house, Richard, hearing the noise, came out on to -the balcony, and seeing what was the matter, he threw back his head -and laughed, and shook his fist, and he said, "Oh, you delightful -blackguard, how like you!" I turned the geese into our poultry-yard and -fed them well, and from that, I issued forth to all the country round -about, twice a week, and brought in various stocks of other provisions. - -Mr. Aubertin, who was the Head of the railway, and whose _chacara_ -was about a quarter of an hour from us, had opportunities of getting -up drinks and having a very tidy cellar, so I used to send down a -neighbourly note--"Dear Mr. Aubertin, bring up the drink--I have got -the food; dinner seven o'clock." Thus we contrived between us, to feed -very well during the whole of the war, while provisions were scarce. -Once we managed to give a ball; it was very amusing, and it was kept -up till sunrise. We had a delightful American there, who was very -witty, and used to keep us all alive, though in after years, for some -unknown reason, he blew his brains out. I still recall some of his _bon -mots_. I once asked him whether he did not think that a gentleman of -our acquaintance was very conceited this morning. "Conceited, ma'am?" -he said. "Why, God Almighty's waistcoat would not fit him." On another -occasion, there was a rather pronounced flirtation going on, and I -asked him if he did not think it would be a case. "A case, ma'am? Why, -she nestles up to him like a chicken to a hot brick." He was constantly -saying these things that one never forgot. - -I think I may say in our own favour, that in this, as well as in all -our subsequent Consulates, we never allowed any scandal to be told to -us, or uncharitable talk, and we always forbid discussions on religion -and politics, which served us in good stead in all our career. Indeed, -in this particular place, there _was_ a little bit of scandal, and we -had seventeen calls on one Monday morning, but every one went away -without daring to deliver themselves of their intended tale. "What is -the meaning of this?" said Richard to me. I said, "It means that there -is some scandal afloat, and nobody dares tell it to us." But a few days -afterwards we saw it in the papers. One day a gentleman called upon -us, and a few minutes later a lady came, of whom he was rather fond. -After a while the lady got up and went down the street, and about five -minutes after the jealous husband arrived on the scene, and saw the -gentleman sitting there--his supposed rival. Without saying "How do you -do?" he turned on me and said, "Have you seen my wife?" "Yes," I said; -"I saw her go down the street a few minutes ago." The lover had turned -very pale. Richard looked hard at me over the top of his newspaper, -and the man had hardly got down the stairs in pursuit of his wife, -when my Irish maid poked her face through the door and said. "Well, -after that, ye'd swear a hole through a tin p-hot." Now, what on earth -would have been the use of making a row and a scandal, and setting on -the husband to ill-treat his wife? He did not say, "Has my wife been -here?"--he said, "Have you seen her?" Rousseau says, "Mensonge plein -d'honnêteté, de fidelité, de generosité, tandis que la verité n'eut été -qu'une perfidie;" and without some feeling of this kind--not a lie, -but a harmless throwing one's self into the breach to save another's -reputation, not one's own, nor from base fear--the milk of human -kindness would turn into cream of tartar. - -I do not think that a list of the aboriginal tribes of Brazil at the -time of its discovery (one hundred discovered by Cabral in 1500) would -amuse my readers, or fit in with my subject, but they were mostly -destroyed or driven inwards in three hundred and sixty-seven years. - -There is an intervening race called the Caboclas; they are the progeny -of the Indians and Portuguese settlers. They are a very handsome race, -much addicted to superstition and fortune-telling, and the only thing -I can remember was learning from them to tell fortunes by the cards, -which I afterwards perfected amongst the Mogháribehs in Syria; but it -is a practice which, though it interested my husband enormously, and I -constantly told them for him, I have long since given up as wicked. For -those who tell them ill, it is foolery; for those who tell them well, -it is better let alone. - -I am not going to give a description of Brazil, because by so doing I -should take away from the subject of the book, which is solely Richard -Burton, and if I mention incidents, or myself, it is only because I -or they are woven up with his life, and cannot well be separated from -it, each one showing how he behaved, or what he did or thought on any -particular occasion. - -The 14th of February was the opening day of the railway, as far as -Jundiahy, and this time we were invited and had a very gay time. - -Here, in São Paulo, Richard worked hard at Camoens, and we both worked -together at our translations--"Iraçema, or Honey-lips," and "Manuel -de Moraes, the Convert," and the "Uruguay," all from great Brazilian -authors; but we found, although we printed the two first, that they -were not well received in England, because they were translations, and -I could write a page or two upon the amount of literature and education -we lose by boycotting that of other countries. - -In spring of 1867 there was fighting in the streets for a couple of -nights, about the election time. - -The staple food of the people of the country, which takes the place -of what the potato would be to the Irish, is a savoury mess of small -brown beans, called _fejão;_ a very coarse flour, called _farinha_, -which looks like a dish of shaved horse-radish, is usually sprinkled -over the beans, and then it is called a _fejoada_. It is delicious, -and I should have been quite content to, and often did, dine on it. -Another favourite dish is a scone of _milho_, the full-grown Indian -corn, made hot and buttered. The only way to eat it, is to take it up -in your two hands and gnaw it up and down like a bone, which is rather -disagreeable, because it covers you with butter. A pepper-pot is also -a usual thing, and is kept up _à perpétuité;_ it comes on the table in -its native earthenware pot, and everybody takes a little bit at the end -to digest dinner, in lieu of cheese. Of course Europeans have their own -dishes besides. - -The greatest difficulty that I found was, that I was obliged to have -five relays of every meal. First of all, Richard and I sat down, and -our guests, if we had any; after we left the table, succeeded my Irish -maid, who had become Donna Maria, and an Irish brother that she had -imported, who was very like the "Mulligan" in "Perkinses' ball," and -for whom I was fortunate enough to get a good berth on the railway at -£200 a year, through the kindness of Mr. Daniel Fox and Mr. Aubertin, -and he rose to £600 in course of time, traded, but unfortunately died -after some years. After these the food was removed to some other room, -where the German servants dined, because they would not sit down with -the blacks. When they had finished the emancipated slaves sat down, -who would not sit down with the slaves; these being too near their own -kind, they obliged them to stand or to sit on the floor in the corners, -where they gave them the leavings. But do not let anybody imagine that -the slaves suffered, because when they had been about three months with -me, from having had a little rice at their old masters', they would -sometimes clamour for ducks and chickens, not being content with the -good meat and bread and everything else that they got in plenty. - -[Sidenote: _Life at Rio._] - -At Rio we met with a very funny and interesting man--a certain Dr. -Gunning, with a kind good wife. They lived in a pretty cottage -somewhere along the rail up in the forests, and we went to spend a -day or two with them. He was a tall gaunt Scotchman, with a good deal -of character, and some very curious ideas. He used to do what some -people did with horses in Trieste. He used to buy up diseased and -useless negroes, treat them well, feed them up, cure them, and then -make them work for him; so he got their labour in return for his outlay -and his kindness and trouble, and he left in his desk their papers of -manumission. Unfortunately, one day in a soft moment he told them so, -so the next night they shot him; but as his skull was a good hard one -it only gave him a wound, and after that he went on some different tack -with them. - -He had a curious way of treating snake-bites, of which many thousands -die during the year. He told us this himself. He said, "When I am -called to attend a negro for a snake-bite, I cauterize the wound, and -tie a ligature, and then I give him an awful thrashing, and," he said, -"that counteracts the torpor or sleep, produces perspiration, and -stimulates the action of the heart; and then I give him spirits or milk -in large quantities." However, we all liked him very much. One of the -nicest things at Rio was the bathing in the sea. We used to go out of a -little gate at the bottom of the garden, and walk along the beach till -we came to some circular rocks which acted as bathing-machines, where -we could undress, get into the sea and bathe, and come back. In my time -there were no bathing-machines in Brazil, only sometimes it was very -rough and very deep, and one had to be on the look-out. One day I put -my maid to sit upon my clothes, and thought I would swim out to a log -of wood, lying apparently about a hundred yards off, when to my horror -I saw it move. I swam back for my life, where I found my maid in deadly -terror; and, looking, we saw it was a shark, and a good big one too. - -One thing that made staying at Rio so very pleasant was the great -kindness of the Emperor and Empress to us. The Emperor delighted in -scientific men, and the Empress liked good Catholics, so that we were -frequently sent for--Richard alone to the Emperor, and I alone to the -Empress, or both together. Richard gave two lectures at which all the -Imperial family attended. The Imperial family consisted of the Emperor -and Empress, the Imperial Princess Isabel, heir to the throne, her -husband the Count d'Eu, and the Duke and Duchess de Saxe. These last, -however, were less known, less cordial, and less popular in Rio. I -can remember on one occasion, when we were sent for to an audience, -at which were present the Emperor and Empress, the Princess Isabel -and her husband, her Majesty's little dog came in and sat on the rug -in the centre of the circle, and sat up begging. They all burst out -laughing very heartily. The Emperor was a tall, handsome, fair man, -with blue eyes, and brimful of kindness and learning. The Empress was -not handsome, but she was the kindest and best of Empresses--very -devout, dressed very plainly, but was most imperial in her manners -and carriage. The Princess also had the manner of her rank, and was -soft and sweet. The Princess Isabel used to give balls every Monday -fortnight during the season, to which all persons entitled to go to -Court were invited. One night, at one of Princess Isabel's balls, the -Emperor walked up to Richard and said, "How is it, Captain Burton, -that you are not dancing?" "I never dance, your Majesty--that is, not -often; but the last time I did so, it was with the King of Dahomè, to -the music of cutting off heads--in pantomime, of course." The Emperor -laughed, and he said, "The best of it was, Sir, that the authorities -at home were in an awful rage with me, as her Majesty's Commissioner, -for dancing with him; but I should like to have seen _them_ refuse his -dusky Majesty, when, at a single moment of impatience or irritability, -he had only got to give a sign, to have fifty spears run into one, or -to be instantly impaled." - -It was very pretty to see the Princess and her husband go down to the -door, the street door, and receive and kiss the hands of the Emperor -and Empress. They circulated freely amongst us, and talked to us. The -Empress would draw her chair over to me or to any other lady that she -had a fancy to talk to, and sit down and chat as affably as any other -great lady without ever abating one little bit of her Imperial dignity. - -I remember one night Richard and I were giving a large dinner to nearly -all the Diplomatic corps at the hotel, after the reception at the -palace. At the latter there was a room for the Ministers to wait in, -and a room for the Consuls. We were, of course, put into the Consular -room. Presently a messenger came and took us into the Ministers' room. -This rather offended official etiquette, and _they_ said, "Oh, you -must not come here; you must go into the Consuls' room." "But," we -said, "we have just been fetched out of the Consuls' room and put in -here, so we do not know what to do." There was an immense long wait, -and several times a messenger came to let in somebody else, and we all -stood up in our places, expecting the Emperor. After a long time, when -everybody was getting very impatient, a messenger arrived, and said, -"This way." They all flocked to the door, and we hung back, thinking we -must not have audience with the Ministers. Then the messenger said, -"No, no! not for you, gentlemen, but Captain and Mrs. Burton." The poor -humble people were exalted; their Majesties had sent for us to their -private drawing-rooms, and gave us a long sitting-down audience. As we -were driving home, Richard said, "I am afraid all the other fellows -will be awfully angry;" and the fact of the matter is, that though we -waited dinner for a long time, there were a great many empty chairs -that night, which disappointed us sorely; but they were all right next -morning. - -[Sidenote: _The Barra for contrast._] - -Whenever we were sickly we used to go down to the Barra, near Santos, -which I described before as our fashionable watering-place, where -somebody generally lent us a hut. We used to sit in the water and -let it roll over us, and walk about without our shoes and stockings -(there was not a soul to see us). We took to making collections of -butterflies, reptiles, snakes, and ferns, of which there are some four -thousand specimens; the orchids we used to send home. I can recollect -on some occasions, being down there alone, and being asked to dinner -about a mile and a half along the sands from my hut, I used to put -my dress and my shoes and stockings up in a parcel, and mounting -barefooted, with waterproof on, ride the small pony lent to me; -sometimes I used to have to get down and lead him through the streams -that were rushing to the sea, to which he had a dislike; so we used to -wade through, and then I would get up and ride him on to the next one, -and when we reached the hospitable door I was conducted into a room to -put on my shoes and stockings and my dinner dress. However, we were not -_décolleté_, nor did we wear flowers or diamonds on that lonely coast. - -Whenever we went down to Rio, it always meant a great deal of gaiety -with the Diplomats and the Squadron, and receptions at the palace. It -was especially gay in Sir Edward and Lady Thornton's reign, and I think -we all look back to that time as a happy and a very pleasant and lively -one. - -One of the great charms of Rio, was our little club, numbering about -twenty-five intimates, all belonging either to the Diplomatic corps or -the Navy. We used to give each other some very nice dinner-parties, -and ours was by necessity at the hotel; we mostly dined together at -one house or the other every night. Then, besides the frequent palace -entertainments, was the Alcazar, where there was a charming French -troupe, of which the star was Mdlle. Aimée, and we used to have all -Offenbach's music and operas. - -One time we went up to Robeio and to Ubá, the end of the railway, -and I was given a treat to go on the engine and drive it, with the -engine-driver by me. - -[Sidenote: _To the Mines in Minas Gerães._] - -On the 12th of June we started on a delightful Expedition. We sailed -in a steam launch across the Bay of Rio, which is like a beautiful -broad lake studded with islands and boulder rocks and bordered by -mountains. Two hours brings you to a rickety wharf, where a little -railway, running for eleven miles through a mangrove flat, lands you -at the foot of the mountains. Here a carriage waits for you, drawn by -four mules, and you commence a zigzag ascent for two hours up these -most regal mountains, and arrive at a table-land some distance from the -summit, where the small white settlement called Petropolis lies. It -is a German town with Swiss valleys, pretty views, rides, and drives. -The Cascadinha leads down a winding path, or a steep wooded mountain, -and as you reach its depths, facing you from opposite, comes the body -of water frothing and bounding over the boulders. From the top of the -Serra there is a lovely panorama of Rio and its bay, seen as from -an inverted arch of mountains. The little settlement of Petropolis -possesses a theatre, a Catholic church, the Emperor's palace, and two -small hotels; the Court of Ministers and the Diplomats have snuggeries -here, and form a pleasant society. The climate is fine and cold when it -does not rain, and the scattered houses are like Italian _cascine_. - -Here we took coach, which is very much after the fashion of the old -diligence, and we drove to Juizdafora. These coaches are drawn by -perfectly wild mules; they stand straight on their hind legs. While -the passengers are getting in, the coachman is already mounted with -reins and whip, and two or three men hang on to each mule. When all is -ready the driver shouts "Larga!" The men fall back and the mules rush -on at full gallop, swaying the coach from side to side. After three -months, when the mules are trained and tamed down, they are pronounced -no longer fit for their work, and are sold for carriage-driving.[2] -My pleasant recollection of Juizdafora is of lying all day on the -grass under the orange trees, and picking about nine different species -overhead, just within reach of my arms. I have never tasted oranges -equal, before or since. We then started for Barbaçena, which terminated -the coach journey. After this there was no means of getting along -except on horseback. We had to discard our boxes and leave them under -the care of a trustworthy person, and to make up a pack that we could -carry behind us on our saddles, such as a change of linen, tooth-brush, -a cake of soap, and a comb. We then mounted and rode twenty miles to -Barrozo, a small village with a ranch. We rose at three next morning, -and rode twenty-four miles further, and so on, and so on, till we -reached San João d'El Rey, where we saw the Mines. We then went on to -S. José. Our next place was Cerandahy to Lagos Dourado; here we met a -party of English engineers. - -On the 24th--a great feast, St. John Baptist--they were laying the -foundation for a new railway, and we enjoyed the fun very much. We -then, after breakfasting by a brook with the engineers, rode on to an -awful place called Camapuão. Here we found the stables better than -the house, and we slept by the side of the mules and horses. At one -of these shelters that we asked to sleep at, the accommodation was -fearful, but the reception was kind and cordial. There was not much -to eat. In the middle of the night I woke, and could hear loud hoarse -whisperings through the thin partition wall; it sounded like the man -and his wife disputing. At length I heard the man say distinctly, -"Don't bother me any more; it will be quite easy to kill them both, -and I mean to do it." My hair stood on an end, as the saying is, and I -softly got up and walked on tiptoe over to Richard, touched him, and -said in a whisper, "Hush! don't speak; I have something to tell you." I -told him exactly what I had heard. He said, "You will make less noise -than I; go softly to that table and take our weapons, hand me mine, -and creep into bed with yours. We will sit and watch the door. If it -opens, I'll let fly at the door; and if a second comes in, then _you_ -fire." However, nothing came, though we lay awake till daylight, with -our pistols cocked. Next morning they brought us for our breakfast -a couple of nice roast chickens, and he said, "My wife and I had a -regular quarrel in the night; we had only these two hens, and _she_ did -not want to kill them, but we had nothing else, and I was determined -that you should have them both." So we said to him, "You shall not lose -anything by it." Nor did they, for we paid four times the value; but we -were glad when he went out of the room, that we might laugh. - -Next day we rode on to Sassuhy, to Congonhas do Campo, about twenty-two -miles. We saw the church of Congonhas and the seven stations of the -Cross. We left at midday, and riding through a difficult country, -arrived at Teixeiros. Next day was a very hard day. We started at -half-past three in the morning; at half-past ten we breakfasted under -a tree by the river. We crossed different rivers about twelve times, -wading our horses through. We passed through virgin forests, and up -and down scarped rocky mountains till dark, and arrived at Corche -d'Agua, a miserable place, where there were no beds or food. We started -again before dawn, rode about twelve miles in the dark, passed two -villages, and about nine a.m. arrived at Morro Velho, our destination, -where we were most kindly received by Mr. and Mrs. Gordon and family -(Superintendent of all the Mines), and soon had bath and breakfast, -and our animals quartered in good stables under the care of the host's -English groom. - -Here we stayed with our kind host for five and a half weeks, making -excursions, and seeing most interesting things concerning the Mines. -The Establishment consisted of the Superintendent and his family, Mr. -and Mrs. Gordon, two sons, and two daughters, and twenty-five officers -(English); under them, about three thousand negroes (slaves), who work -the mines. On Sunday we went to their church, saw their hospital and -the stables, which contained some sixty horses, and we saw an Indian -dance. - -Here there was much of interest--the muster of the slaves, and pay-day -on Saturday. We saw baptisms, and marriages, and burials. We went to -see the quicksilver washed in the amalgamation house, and Mr. William -Crookes's amalgamation; but this last did not succeed. - -We started again after we were rested, passing through interesting -mining places, sleeping the night at a friendly _fazenda_; next day -we rode on to S. José de Morra Grande, Barro, Brumado, Santa Barbara, -and Cates Atlas. There we slept. Next morning we rode to Agua, Queule, -Fonseca, Morreia, and Affeixonada; from thence to Benito Rodriguez, -then Comargo, then S. Anna, and then Marianna. Here we slept, went -to church, visited the Bishop, the Seminary, the Sisters of Charity, -hospitals, orphanage, and schools, and rode to Passagem, where we -slept. Next day we went down the Passagem mines (gold), forty-five -fathoms down, and in another place thirty-two fathoms, and saw the -stamps; and then we went and did the same at the S. Anna mines. This -day we were so near Mr. Treloar's house, that we gave away all our -provisions, saying, "By breakfast-time to-morrow we shall be in a -English house." Imagine our horror, on arriving, to find that poor Mrs. -Treloar had died the evening before, and that her poor husband was in -such a state that it was impossible for him to receive us. He thanked -God for Richard's coming, because there was no church, no clergyman, -and no burial-ground, and an English Consul performing the burial -service is valid; so the sorrowful ceremony was performed, winding up -the hill-top, where she was buried, and I was left in charge of all -his negroes. They had prepared something for us to eat, for which I -had given them five _milreis_, about ten shillings. They all squabbled -so violently over this, as to draw their knives, and to begin to stab -each other; so, with that ascendency which whites generally have -over blacks, I ordered them all to come into my presence and to put -their knives down near me, and I asked them if they were not ashamed, -when their poor mistress was being carried up the hill to her last -burial-place, to behave in so unseemly a fashion, and, ordering them -all down upon their knees, I took out my Prayer-book and read the -burial service too; and I read it over and over again, until the party -came back from the grave. - -We then started immediately for Ouro Preto. Here Richard went up the -Itacalumi, and I visited the two martyrs of Ouro Preto, the house of -Gonzaga. We then slept and dined, and had champagne, and we went to -tea at Mr. and Mrs. Spiers', who had a party. Next day we rode on -to Casa Branca, S. Vicente, to Rio das Pedras, where we joined some -American emigrants. Afterwards we had a very weary and hard ride to -Corele d'Agua, our old sleeping-place, where we took a cup of coffee -and rode to S. Antonio. We had a pelting rain, and we breakfasted at a -_troupeiro's_ ranch; thence to S. Rita, and from thence to Morro Velho, -six leagues away, arriving like wet dogs. - -[Sidenote: _We go down the Big Mine._] - -On the 24th of July we went down the big mine at Morro Velho. Now, -this was a great event; few men visitors had been down, and no woman. -I forget the positive depth of it, but am under the impression _now_ -that it was three-quarters of a mile straight down into the bowels of -the earth, including the last thirty-five fathoms to the depths. We -were dressed in miners' dresses, with the usual candle in our caps, -and we got into a basket like a caldron hanging to the end of a long -chain, and then we began to descend. It seemed an eternity, going down, -down, and down, and of all the things we ever have done, it seemed to -me that it was the one that required the most pluck, so dark, so cold, -and slimy it looked, and yet suffocating, and if anything happened, you -felt that ne'er an arm or leg would ever be found; it realized more -than any amount of sermons could do "the bottomless pit." The chain had -broken a little while before, and we had seen the poor smashed negroes -brought up, and it did break the next day, but _our time was not yet -come_. I have got the broken link of that chain now; Mr. Gordon gave -it to me, and it is my one relic of those days. After an apparently -interminable time we began to see lights below, at a great distance, as -you see a seaport town from a mountain as you come down at night, and -by-and-by we began to hear voices, and finally we touched ground, and -were heartily received by those who had previously gone down to take -care of us, including Mr. Gordon himself. They gave us a hearty cheer. -We were shown all over the mine, and all its workings, and I must say -I think Dante must have seen a similar place wherewith to make his -Inferno. - -Even Richard notes in his journal, "an awful sight." - - -RICHARD'S ACCOUNT[3] OF GOING DOWN THE MINE. - - - "A small crowd of surface workmen accompanied us to the mouth of - Walker's inclined plane, a hot and unpleasant hole leading to the - Cachoeira Mine. The negret Chico gave one glance at the deep dark - pit, wrung his hands, and fled the Tophet, crying that nothing in the - wide, wide world would make him enter such an Inferno. He had lately - been taught that he is a responsible being, with an 'immortal soul,' - and he was beginning to believe it in a rough theoretical way: this - certainly did not look like a place 'where the good niggers go.' Next - the descent:-- - - "Presently the bucket was suspended over the abyss, and we found in it - a rough wooden seat, comfortable enough. We were advised by the pitmen - not to look downwards, as the glimmer of sparks and light-points - moving about in the mighty obscure below causes giddiness and - sea-sickness. We did look down, however, and none of us suffered from - the trial. More useful advice was to keep head and hands well within - the bucket, especially when passing the up-going tub. We tipped and - tilted half over only once against a kibble-way drum, placed to fend - off the _cacamba_. We had three such collisions, which made us catch - at the chains, and describe them as 'moments of fearful suspense;' we - had been lowered in a kibble with a superfluity of chain. - - "When our eyesight had become somewhat feline we threw a glance round. - Once more the enormous timbering under a bar, or to the east of the - shaft, called it to every one's attention." - -After describing the great extent of the mine, whose vertical height -was 1134 feet, and breadth 108 feet, "unparalleled in the annals of -mining," and which suggested "a cavern, a huge stone quarry, a mammoth -cave raised from the horizontal to the perpendicular," the narrative -winds up as follows:-- - - -ON NEARING THE BOTTOM. - - - "And now, looking west, the huge palace of darkness, dim in long - perspective, wears a tremendous aspect; above, at first only, there - seemed to be a sky without an atmosphere. The walls were either - as black as the grave or reflected slender rays of light glancing - from the polished watery surface, or were broken into monstrous - projections, half revealing and half concealing the cavernous, gloomy - recesses. Despite the lamps, the night pressed upon us, as it were, - with a weight, and the only measure of distance was a spark here and - there, glimmering like a single star. Distinctly Dantesque was the - gulf between the huge mountain sides apparently threatening every - moment to fall. Everything, even the accents of a familiar voice, - seemed changed; the ear was struck by the sharp click and dull thud of - the hammer upon the boring-iron, and this upon the stone; each blow - invariably struck was to keep time with the wild chants of the borer. - The other definite sounds, curiously complicated by an echo, which - seemed to be within reach, were the slush of water on the subterranean - paths, the rattling of the gold-stone thrown into the kibbles, and the - crash of chain and bucket. - - "Through this Inferno gnomes and kobolds glided about in ghostly - fashion--half-naked figures muffled up by the mist. Here dark bodies, - gleaming with beaded heat-drops, hung in what seemed frightful - positions; there they swung like Leotard from place to place; there - they swarmed up loose ropes like the Troglodytes; there they moved - over scaffolds, which even to look up at would make a nervous - temperament dizzy. This one view amply repaid us. It was a place-- - - 'Where thoughts were many, and where words were few.' - - But the effect will remain upon the mental retina as long as our - brains do their duty. At the end of two hours we left this cathedral'd - cavern of thick-ribbed gold, and we were safely got out like ore to - grass. - - "We found the last eighty-three fathoms of tunnel steep and dark, - but dry and comfortable. It was well timbered with beams and Candeia - trunks wherever the ceiling required propping. At length we reached - another vaulted cavern, thirty-five fathoms of perpendicular depth. It - was lit up with torches, and the miners--all slaves, directed by white - overseers--streamed with perspiration, and merrily sung their wild - songs and chorus, keeping time with the strokes of hammer and drill. - The heavy gloom, the fitful glare, and the savage chant, with the - wall hanging like the stone of Cisyphus, like the sword of Damocles, - suggested a sort of material Swedenborgian hell; and accordingly the - negret Chico faltered out, when asked his opinion on our return, - 'Parece o Inferno!'" - -[Sidenote: _Below._] - -To continue my account. There were the large dark halls with vaults -and domes; they were covered with negroes, each with a candle stuck -in his black head, hammering in time to some tune to which they were -all singing. It would have been a wonderful picture for a painter. How -often all my life I have regretted not to have been an artist, instead -of musical! The negroes are healthy and well doing; they only work -eight hours a day, and have over-pay for anything extra. The mulattoes -were the most surly looking ones. After having seen everything we -ascended again, and if I may say so, I think the ascent was worse than -the going down, and nobody knows, until they have tried that sort of -darkness, what daylight and sunlight and fresh air mean. After long -mounting, you see at last one star sparkling in the distance like an -eye, which appears miles off, and that is the mouth of the shaft. - -In the evening there was a concert and a ball amongst ourselves. On the -27th Richard lectured; there were some private theatricals in which I -took a part, and forgetting the drop behind the open-air, theatre when -I backed off, I fell. I sprained my ankle so badly that my leg was all -black, and I could not move. Now, the worst of it was that we were -going to canoe down the San Francisco river, to come out at the falls -of Paulo Affonso, issuing at Bahía, and back to Rio by steamer; but it -was impossible to take a woman who could not walk. We could embark at -Sabará, a short distance from where we were, and as Richard's time was -very short, and he could not take a lame woman, he had to start without -me, and I went in the litter to see him embark in the boat _Elisa_. - -As soon as I got well, Mr. Gordon, who was an exceedingly liberal, -large-minded man, recognized that having three thousand Catholic -negroes under him, manned by twenty-five English Protestant officers, -it was quite possible that in a religious sense, things might be made -more comfortable to them, and he asked me, as an educated English -Catholic, to go the rounds of Church and Hospital, and find out if -there was anything that could improve their condition. Having been for -some time in Brazil, and seeing the wants of the negroes, I thought I -could put my finger on the right spot at once. There was one particular -ward in the hospital where incurables were put, and a black cross over -their beds told them Dante's old words, "Lasciate ogni speranza, voi -ch' entrate" ("Leave every hope (outside), all ye who enter (here)"). -I dismissed the attendant, for fear they should be afraid to answer, -walked round the wards and sat by them, and I will take one case as -a specimen of the whole. She was dying of diseases which need not be -named here. I said to her-- - -"Has your case been given over by the doctor?" - -"Alas! yes," she said; "I have only got to wait." - -"Should you like to live?" - -"Yes, of course I should." - -"Has the priest been to hear your confession? Have you sent for him?" - -"Oh no; I should not dare do that." - -"Why not? What is he for?" - -"Oh, lady, we must not _ask_, and he doesn't come to us in _this_ ward, -only to those who go to church." - -"Do you mean to tell me that none of you in this ward get the last -Sacraments?" - -"Oh no; we should be so ashamed to see his Reverence." - -"Why, you are not ashamed to see the doctor? What is the difference -between the doctor and the priest, except that one is for your body -and one is for your soul? You say you are afraid of the priest; will -you not be more ashamed of God, whose servant he is?" That seemed to -strike them; so, wishing them good-bye, I trotted off to the _Padre_. -No matter his name, but he appeared to take things very easy when I -told him. He said he "could not administer the Sacraments, because he -had not a pyx nor any of the vessels to convey them in." - -"Well," I said, "Father, I have been commissioned by the Superintendent -to examine into these things, and to report to him what _is_ done and -what _ought_ to be done, and he is going to see it carried out; so will -you oblige me by going to hear all those confessions, _now at once_, -and taking the holy ingredients in a wine-glass, and administering -Viaticum and Extreme Unction, and say a few consoling words to them, -and let us see the results? You know that you can break these glasses -into little atoms, and you can burn the remnants in one of the -furnaces, or keep them for that purpose until I send up the proper -things from Rio." - -Well, this was done, and, to cut a long story short, that woman was -back to work in a fortnight; and when Mr. Gordon saw the immense -advantage produced by relief of mind, and the consideration of their -feelings, and the action of the brain upon the body, he made it an -institution, and commissioned me to send up all the necessary things -from Rio. - -[Sidenote: _Chico and I start on a Fifteen Days' Ride alone._] - -As soon as I was well enough for a long ride, Mr. Gordon supplied -me with horses--one for me, one for Chico, and one for our small -baggage--a sail and a few poles to make a tent in the day, a -gypsy-kettle on three prongs, a bag of maize for the horses, and rice -and other things for ourselves, and taking an affectionate leave of -the whole company there, and especially my kind host and family, whom -we have always remembered with the sincerest affection, and sadness -too, for poor Mrs. Gordon died eventually from a horrible shock (her -youngest and favourite son was caught in the machinery in an instant -and ground to death--a subject too sad to dwell upon), I commenced my -long ride home--a very pleasant ride. - -I rose at dawn; we made some tea in our kettle. Replenishing our sack -of provisions at every village, and having fed, watered, and groomed -the horses, we rode until it was too hot. We put up our bit of sail -and rested during the heat, and then we rode on till nightfall; after -this we fed again, looked after the horses and picketed them. Some of -the country, and especially the forests, were lovely. Whenever we came -to a village or a ranch, we and our animals got housed; and when we -did not, which was rare, we camped out, for it was very warm. We never -met with a single scrap of danger the whole way, nor a rude word; for -defence we had only a penknife, our toasting-fork, and an old pistol -that would not go off. I had given my weapons to Richard, whose journey -was longer and more dangerous than mine. - -At one place that we stopped at, we rose at half-past three, and whilst -dressing I heard what I supposed was thrashing out grain or beating -sacks. It went on for about fifteen minutes, and I did not pay any -attention to it, till at last I heard a sob issue from the beaten mass -at the other side of the thin partition wall. I knew then what was -taking place, and turned so sick I could hardly get to the door. I ran -to the room, caught hold of the man's arms, and called for Chico and -for everybody in the place, but I was fully ten minutes before I could -arouse any one's pity or sympathy; they seemed so used to it they would -not take the trouble to get up. The man who was beating only laughed, -and beat on. I very nearly fainted. I expected the poor wretch would -have been pounded to an ointment, but to my surprise, when he gave it -a kick and told it to get up, up rose quite a fine young woman, gave -herself a shake, and walked off like a Newfoundland dog. I went after -her, and asked her if she was hurt, and she said, "Oh no, not much; -he often goes on like that!" "But then," I said, "what did he do it -for? What did _you_ do?" She said, "Another black woman and I were -quarrelling, so he thrashed us both; but as you were sound asleep you -did not hear the first." - -[Sidenote: _The Landlord of the Hotel is mystified._] - -We arrived in Rio about the fifteenth day. I had never enjoyed anything -more; but as I had been out for three months without any change of -clothes, I was a very curious object to look at, to say nothing of my -face and hands being the colour of mahogany. I had been told before -getting in that the Estrangeiros, where I had left my maid and baggage, -was full, so I waited till night, and then went straight to the next -best hotel in the town. The landlord naturally did not recognize me, -and he pointed to a little place on the other side of the street, where -sailors' wives went, and he said, "I think that will be about your -place, my good woman, not here." "Well," I said, "I think I am coming -in here all the same." So, wondering, he took me upstairs and showed -me his rooms; but I was so mighty particular, that it was not till I -got to his best rooms that I stopped and said, "This will do. Be kind -enough to send up this letter for me to the Estrangeiros." - -Presently down came my maid, who was a great swell, with my boxes. -After a bath and dressing, I rang the bell and ordered some supper. He -came up himself, as I was such an object of curiosity. When he saw me -again he said, "Did that woman come to take the apartments for you, -madam? I do beg your pardon; I am afraid I was rather rude to her." -"Well," I said, "I am that woman myself; but you need not apologize, -because I saw myself in the glass, and I don't wonder at it." He nearly -tumbled down, and when I had explained my adverse circumstances to him, -begged my pardon till I was quite tired of hearing it. I went up to -Santos for some time; and when I thought Richard could arrive, I went -down to Rio to meet him, and used to go on board every steamer that -came in from Bahía in the hopes of his being there. At this time came -out to Rio Mr. Wilfrid Blunt and his sister Alice. I went on board ship -after ship to meet Richard, but as he never came, I got at last very -anxious and miserable, and only used to make a fool of myself by crying -when I did not find him. He had been gone over four months. At last -the first steamer that I did _not_ go to meet, he arrived in, and was -quite angry to find that I was not on board to meet him. He had had a -very jolly journey, canoeing down the river to the "falls of the Paulo -Affonso," and sleeping at different ranches on the banks of the river. -It was something like fifteen hundred miles, coming out eventually at -Bahía, where he had a great friend, an old gentleman popularly known as -"Charley Williams," who gave him hospitality till he embarked, or could -catch a steamer to Rio. We then went down to Santos together. - -As Richard was canoeing down the San Francisco river, he found a lot -of stones called Pingua d'Agua; they are formed by congealed rain in -the rocks; they get fossilized, and if polished have the glitter of -diamonds. Richard met an Englishman, who told him that he had come -over with all he had in the world, £1500, and expended it in diamonds, -of which he fondly believed he had got about £30,000 worth, and was -going home with them. So Richard told him that he had just come from -the diamond mines, and that he should immensely like to see them. When -he showed them to him, Richard's face fell, and he said, "What is the -matter?" "Well," he said, "I hardly like to tell you, but I am afraid -you have been done. Some one has passed off these Pingua d'Agua upon -you for diamonds, and I am afraid you have exchanged £1500 for thirty -shillings' worth." So the man said, "Oh, you must be a fool!" "Well," -said Richard, "if it isn't that I am so sorry for you, I should say -'serve you right,' because I really do happen to know." - -[Sidenote: _Richard dangerously Ill._] - -About the 17th of April, 1868, Richard, who had been looking queer and -seedy for six weeks, but persisting all the time that he was perfectly -well, felt feverish and agueish, and went to bed. I gave him calomel -and castor oil, and then every sort of thing that I could think of. He -got worse and worse, and I was in despair, for there were no doctors; -but at last, after some days, a doctor did arrive from Rio, and I sent -for him at once, and he passed the night in the house. Of course it was -purely Brazilian treatment for a Brazilian disease, and nothing we knew -touched it. He had six cuppings, with thirty-six glasses and twelve -leeches, tartar emetic, and all sorts of other things, and there was -something to be given or rubbed every half-hour, of which a very large -ingredient was orange tea. The doctor came twice a day, and the number -of remedies was wonderful, every half-hour, and I never left him day or -night. They blistered him terribly. - -When Richard thought he was dying, he sent me for Fray João, with whom -he had been learning astronomy; but Fray João was gone on an expedition -up country for two months, and he would not have anybody else for the -Sacraments; but he accepted the Scapular, which all Catholics will -understand, and to others it is not needful to explain, and he wore -it to the day of his death. One night he gave me a terrible fright; -he asked me to give him twenty drops of chlorodyne. I objected, but -he was so imperative about it that I thought he had been ordered it; -fortunately, I only gave him fifteen. He found it too strong, and, -also fortunately, he spat it out, and asked me to mix him another of -ten, which he drank. He soon frightened me by feeling sick and faint, -and I gave him lukewarm water to make him bring it up, and sent for -the doctor, who was very frightened about him. He was insensible an -hour. He gave ether pills, applied mustard to the calves of the legs -and inside the thighs, and then Richard had a calm and good sleep all -night, and from that got a great deal better. He was able to go into -his study after a month, and took his first drive five weeks after he -was taken ill, and at the end of seven weeks I was able to take him -down to the Barra, where Mr. Ford had kindly lent us his bungalow, -where Richard could sit on the sands and let the sea roll over him, and -here he got much better. I may now tell a horrid little story, as it -illustrates Richard's power of mesmerizing. - -[Sidenote: _Mesmerizing._] - -Richard was a great mesmerizer, a thing which everybody who knew him -will understand.[4] He always preferred women, and especially of the -blue-eyed, yellow-haired type. I need not say that he began with me -as soon as we married; but I did not like it, and used to resist it, -but after a while I consented. At first it was a little difficult, -but when once he had complete control, no passes or contact were -necessary; he used simply to say, "Sleep," and I did. He could also do -this at a distance, but with more difficulty if water were between us, -and if he tried to mesmerize anybody else and I was anywhere in the -neighbourhood, I absorbed it, and they took nothing. I used to grow at -last to be afraid to be in the same room with a mesmerizer, as I used -to experience the greatest discomfort, and I knew if there was one in -the room, the same as some people know if there is a cat in the room; -but I could resist _them_, though I could not resist Richard. He used -to mesmerize me freely, but he never allowed any one else, nor did I, -to mesmerize me. Once mesmerized, he had only to say, "Talk," and I -used to tell everything I knew, only I used to implore of him to forbid -me to tell him other people's secrets, and as a matter of honour he -did, but all my own used to come out freely; only he never took a mean -advantage of what he learnt in that way, and he used laughingly to tell -everybody, "It is the only way to get a woman to tell you the truth." I -have often told him things that I would much rather keep to myself. - -In the particular instance that I am about to recount, he had -mesmerized me to consult about an expedition that he was going to take, -as he had previous to his illness meant to start, and I had said to -him, "Don't start, because you are going to have a very bad illness, -and you will want me and your home comforts;" so he now re-mesmerized -me to know what he should do, and I said to him, "Don't take the man -that you are going to take with you, because he is a scoundrel; don't -buy the things that you are going to buy for the expedition, because -you will never use them. You will go a long journey south for your -health." I then said to him, "Look! what a curious procession is -passing our door, a long procession of people in white, and headed by -Maria and Julia"[5]--who were our old cook and her daughter, aged about -seventeen--"they are all in white, with flowers on their heads. What -can it mean?" I raved all night about this procession, till Richard got -up and shut the shutters, and closed the door, which opened out on to -the sands, the night being very hot. The next day this procession made -an impression on him, and for curiosity's sake he sent up a mounted -messenger to São Paulo to know if anything had occurred, or if there -was any news. We had brought no servants with us, had left my maid and -everybody behind. - -Now, on a former occasion, about three months back, he had mesmerized -me, and I had had this very cook called to me, and I had said to her, -"Maria, go to confession and communion, then send to a lawyer and make -your will. You have got a little cottage, and you have saved £150; you -have a few boxes of clothes and things. Leave everything to Little -Peter"--her son aged six--"and don't trouble about Julia." When I came -to, she told me the extraordinary things I had been saying to her, and -how frightened she was; but she said, "I will do all that you have told -me, only I can't leave Julia without anything;" and I said to her, -"I am not conscious of having said anything; but in that case, you -had better say that whatever you leave to Julia goes to Peter at her -death." Well, this was the news that we got by the mounted messenger: -The old cook had died that day in an apoplectic fit, and before the -maid had time to call or send for the daughter, she walked in, looking -very ill, and sat upon the sofa, rocking and moaning, and she said, -"I have come from my mistress to die _here_. I feel so very ill, I -will not leave you." From all she told the maid, and the strange way -she was going on, the maid inferred that the girl was in a particular -kind of trouble, and it would be impossible to keep her there, and she -begged of her to let her fetch a carriage and conduct her back to her -mistress, where at least if she was ill she could be taken care of, -and seeing her in such a state, she was afraid to inform her that her -mother was lying dead. One of the slaves fetched a carriage, and they -put her into it, and were conducting her home, but she was so bad on -the road they had to lift her out, and take her into a little _venda_ -(a place where they sell wine), and run to fetch a priest, who was just -in time to give her the last Sacraments, when she expired. The blood -oozed from her eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and from all the pores of her -skin. She died very shortly and was buried, and the smell was so bad -in the _venda_ that the walls had to be scraped and rewhitewashed, -although she was only there a few hours. It was afterwards proved -that she and the black cook at her mistress's were both in love with -the same man, and as she had announced her intention of visiting my -house, the cook had given her a cup of coffee before she set out, and -had said, "Go! you will never come back." The body was exhumed. It -was supposed she had received in the coffee a Brazilian poison, mixed -with powdered glass, made of some herbs of which the negroes have the -secret. Little Peter would have now become practically, though not -theoretically, a Brazilian slave, and his little property would have -been absorbed; but by the will made at the Consulate, he was under the -protection of the Consul. His education was undertaken, and he was -sole inheritor of the cottage, £150, and the boxes of clothes and -other property. - -[Sidenote: _Regatta._] - -At Santos we had a regatta, a separate boat for each nation, about -nine or ten in all. The English blustered awfully, and the Americans -also--talked a great deal about "Bull's Run," and so forth. All the -other people sat very quiet, expecting to be beaten; the consequence -was the Portuguese won, and the English came in last, and we sent up -and hauled our flag down. The sea was very rough, and surrounded our -bungalow; we walked through bare-legged, and went into Santos, and then -went back again, and eventually to São Paulo, partly on an engine, and -partly walking--butterfly-catching. - -[Sidenote: _We leave Brazil--Richard goes South._] - -When we got back to São Paulo, Richard told me that he could not stand -it any longer; it had given him that illness, it was far away from the -world, it was no advancement, it led to nothing. He was quite right. I -felt very sorry, because up to the present it was the only home I had -ever really had quietly with him, and we had had it for three years; -but I soon sold up everything, and we came down to Santos, and embarked -on the 24th of July, 1868. Here he applied for leave, as the doctors -advised him not to go to England at once, but to go down south to -Buenos Ayres for a trip, and he asked me to go to England and see if I -could not induce them to give him another post. I saw Richard off down -south, and taking an affectionate leave of all kind friends, embarked -for England. - - -OUR SEPARATE JOURNEYS. - - -Richard had a splendid journey to the Argentine Republic and the rivers -Plata-Paraná and Paraguay, for the purpose of reporting the state of -the Paraguayan War to the Foreign Office. He crossed the Pampos and the -Andes to Chili and Peru amongst the bad Indians. He went to the Pacific -Coast to inspect the scene of the earthquake at Arica, returning by the -Straits of Magellan, Buenos Ayres, and Rio to London. - -During his delightful trip, which completely recovered his health, -he fell in with the Tichborne Claimant, and travelled with him for -a week, and never having seen the real man, and as he appeared very -gentlemanly, and when he gambled, lost his money and won it without -any emotion, he concluded that he was the real thing until he came -home. He acquired all the history of the ins and outs of the war, and -later produced his book on Paraguay--"Letters from the Battle-Fields of -Paraguay," which did not see the light till 1870. - -I had, as usual, all my work cut out for me. First I was to try and -work the Iporanga mines in London, whole mountains of lead and -quicksilver, also gold and copper (twenty-eight square miles). I was to -bring out his "Highlands of Brazil," the "Journey of Lacerda," and a -second edition of "Mecca," "Uruguay;" "Iracema," and "Manoel de Moraes." - -I also had a small adventure on the way home at Bahía. I went ashore -with a friend from the ship to dine with "Charley Williams," my -husband's friend. He was very fond of keeping a menagerie; besides -having his garden stocked with wild beasts, his hall contained cages -of snakes, amongst them two rattlesnakes. After we had dined in his -_chacara_, he insisted on showing me his snakes, and he quietly took -one up (out of its cage) near its head. He was used to doing this, but -whether he was agitated or what I cannot say, but the snake slipped -through his hand, and bit him on the wrist. The friend had bolted -upstairs the moment the cage was opened; Mr. Williams just had time to -dash it back into the cage and lock it, and staggered against the wall. - -Richard had always taught me how to be ready on such emergencies -travelling up the country, but the only thing in the hall was a box of -wooden lucifer-matches, so I struck them one after another, and kept -cramming them into the mark on his wrist made by the snake till I had -made a regular little hole. I tied my handkerchief tightly above it, -called out loudly for the servants, told them what had happened, and to -go and get a bottle of whisky. By degrees I got the whole bottle down -his throat, and then my friend and I and the negroes kept walking him -up and down for about three hours. We then allowed him to go to bed, -and next morning he was no worse for what had happened. I think the -bite must have been very feeble not to have done more harm--probably -the snake had only time to graze the skin; anyway, the dear old man was -so pleased, he brought me home a riding-whip of solid silver up to the -lash, which I keep now as a memento. - -We had a bad sea and, strong trade winds most of the way; the ship, -was horribly lively off Finisterre, and the hatches down. We found, -it bitterly cold in August, and on the 1st of September my family met -me at Southampton. They were then all puffing and panting and fanning -themselves on account of the "tropical weather," as they called it, and -I found it so bitterly cold, I had to have several blankets and a big -fire, showing the difference of the climates. There was great amusement -when my sisters came on board. I took them to my cabin, which was -considered the best in the ship. The Captain was showing it off, when -one of them, who had never been, at sea in her life, turned round to me -and said, "Now, Isabel, do you _really_ mean to say that you have lived -in that housemaid's closet for a month, and slept on that shelf?" The -Captain laughed. "Really, ladies," he said, "this is considered a very -swell ship, and everybody fights for that cabin." - -[Sidenote: _Lord Derby gives Richard Damascus._] - -I did my work well, carrying out everything according to Richard's -directions, and Lord Derby, then Lord Stanley, whose sound sense and -great judgment knew exactly the man to suit the post, and the post -to suit the man, gave him the long-coveted Consulship of Damascus, -and was brave enough not to heed the jealousy and spite which did its -best to prevent his being allowed to take the post. The Missionaries -raised up their heads on the one side, and the people who wanted it -for their friends, did all they could to persuade Lord Stanley that -it would displease the Moslems, because he had been to Mecca. Richard -was delighted when he got the intelligence of his transfer from Brazil -to Damascus. He heard it casually in a _café_ at Lima, where he was -congratulated, having missed most of his letters. He hastened back at -once, and he wrote and guaranteed to Lord Stanley that all would be -well with the Moslems, as it had ever been from the starting of his -career in 1842 up to the present time, 1868--a period of twenty-six -years; consequently the appointment was signed, with a thousand a year. -Richard's prospects were on the rise, and it was hinted that if he -succeeded _there_ he might eventually get Marocco, Teheran, and finish -up at Constantinople. In fact, we were on the zenith of our career. - -I had one very pleasant dinner at Mr. Froude's to meet Giffard -Palgrave, Mr. Ruskin, and Carlyle. I brought out Richard's "Highlands -of Brazil" for Christmas. I was not successful with the mines, and I -found no market for the Brazilian translations, though I published two -of them. - -[Sidenote: _His Carbine Pistol._] - -Amongst other things I must not forget-- - -[Illustration: CARBINE PISTOL.] - - - "CAPTAIN BURTON'S CARBINE-PISTOL AND PROJECTILE (PATENTED). - - - "The principle of the weapon is to avoid the use of the shoulder on - horseback. The weapon can be used either as a carbine with both - hands, the left arm extended as in archery: in this case the cartridge - contains eighty-four grains of gunpowder. Used with one hand, the - charge must be reduced to forty-five grains. The projectile serves to - blow up ammunition, to fire inflammable articles, and so forth. When - explosive projectiles are used with this weapon, a special _safety_ - bullet has been provided by Captain Burton (see section). It will - neither explode if let fall on its point, nor on being fired through - brushwood. - - - "A CAVALRY PISTOL. - - - "Sir,--Will you kindly allow me to describe in your well-read columns - the pistol which is proposed for countries where the traveller's life - must often depend upon his weapons? - - "I have lately inquired in vain, whilst inspecting stock at half the - armouries of the West End, for a single-barrel breech-loading pistol. - Of double-barrels there were plenty, but none pleased me. The system - of opening the breech is complicated by the presence of two cocks, - and it is not what a man requires when looking around at the enemy; - he must use the hands without the guidance of the eyes. Moreover, the - prices vary from £9 5_s._ to £16. This unconscionable sum is supposed - not to include any 'fixings,' even the normal hundred cartridges. - I come to the conclusion that the trade prefers the double-barrel - simply because the public has to pay double for it. The French are, - as usual of late years, well to the fore of us. M. Lefancheux, of Rue - Vivienne, has a good single-barrel, throwing a round ball of one ounce - (one-sixteenth of a pound); but the breech opening is in a manner - which I do not admire, and the price is three hundred francs. - - "In conversation with a London gunsmith, I suggested as a - holster-pistol a central-fire Albini rifle--the weapon adopted in - Belgium--with barrel cut short to about one foot, and the stock - changed to a saw-handle; this should, for the purpose of leverage, be - made long and heavy. The gunsmith adopted the idea at once, wrote to - the Albini Company, and the result was a weapon which, with certain - unimportant improvements, will, I believe, presently supplant the - popular but uncertain and dangerous revolver, whilst by a tolerably - strong wrist it can be used as a pistol. It may be fired at rest on - the left arm, or held like a carbine in both hands. With bandolier or - cartridge-case bound to his breast, the soldier will readily do with - this weapon the work of a succession of revolvers, each holding only - five to six shots. The 'Albini pistol' cannot miss fire. How many good - lives have been lost by depending upon this revolver! And the pistol - deals a one-ounce ball; not the pellets of which many a backwoodsman - has taken a cylinderful, and yet has continued 'shyuting' till he - killed his man. Finally, it is economical. My weapon, with belt, - pouch, and a hundred charges, costs £6 10_s._; but a large demand will - readily bring down the price to £5. - - "I am convinced that the Albini, or some similar system, will be the - pistol of the future, and I take the liberty of introducing it to you - immediately after its birth.[6] - - "RICHARD F. BURTON, F.R.G.S. - - "P.S.--In a forthcoming volume upon the Paraguayan War, I hope to show - that the pistol will be, _par excellence_, the future arm of cavalry." - - - FROM THE PRESS. - - - "A pistol that can kill at five hundred yards has not, we believe, - been yet introduced to the public. This boon has been left for Captain - Burton to invent, and he has invented, and, what is more, patented it. - The butt is that of an ordinary pistol; the barrel is that of a good - rifle, cut short, but leaving sufficient 'turn' to send the bullet - on its deadly errand with the proper spin. The chief object is to - send a rifle-bullet at an enemy or at game without having to use the - shoulder, especially when on horseback. And to accomplish this the - barrel is fitted with a steel handle to be grasped by the left hand, - while the arm is extended as in archery. The left arm is, in fact, - formed into a beam of your own flesh and blood, and the carbine-pistol - moves freely as on a pivot placed at the end of it, while the butt - is directed by the right hand, which takes aim and fires. The recoil - is scarcely felt by the rigid left arm; it does not affect the firer - so much as the kick to the shoulder would do. The advantage of this - arrangement in the case of ladies is obvious. The pistol can also - be used with one hand like an ordinary pistol. But in that case it - is recommended that the charge be reduced from eighty-four grains - of gunpowder to forty-five. The inventor has also provided a patent - safety bullet which will explode as a shell when it crashes against - the bones of large game, but will pass through brushwood or through - the skin of a wild animal like an ordinary ball. It will not explode - if let fall upon its apex, but if fired into a box of ammunition it - will blow up everything without fail. It is an invaluable projectile, - combining the best qualities of the bullet and shell, just the weapon - of precision which sends it to its destination, combines the best - features of the carbine and the pistol. The carbine-pistol is so light - and handy that it will become an indispensable _vade mecum_ with - people making excursions through jungles in India. No tiger could - afford to laugh at it, though in appearance it is as unpretending as a - horse-pistol." - -This year, before Richard arrived, I had the pleasure of making the -acquaintance of Sir Samuel and Lady Baker; I was very much fascinated -by the latter, and thought her very pretty. Next day I lunched with -them. I also saw a good deal of the Petherwicks, and amongst others -on his return we dined more than once with my husband's old Egyptian -friend, John Larking, at his place, "The Firs," Lea, Kent. - -At last the time came round when I got a telegram to say that the -_Douro_, Royal Mail, would be at Southampton, with Richard on board; so -I went down to Southampton, and at four o'clock in the morning, when -Richard looked over the side, I was the first person he saw, and when -the plank was thrown across, I was the first to go on board. As far as -clothes went, he was pretty nearly in the same condition that I was in, -when I arrived from the mines; but for all that, as soon as he had had -bath and breakfast, we drove to Netley Abbey, and went to the flower -show; then came up to town, and drove to a haberdasher, tailor, and -hatter, that he might be fit to dine with my people, who had a party -and an enthusiastic reception for him. - -He went straight to the Foreign Office next day to report himself, -and call on Lord Stanley and Lord Clarendon, who had succeeded to -the Foreign Office, and went a round of publishers, mappers, and -commissions. That night we had to go to the Admiralty party, and from -thence to the Foreign Office party, and the next night, at the Literary -Fund, Richard made a speech. He dined with Sir Roderick Murchison, and -he went to the Royal Geographical Society Meeting, found it slow, and -_was not satisfied with his reception_; he also went to the Levée. - -We then went down to Shrewsbury, to stay with Mr. Henry Wace, a -bachelor lawyer and a faithful friend, and drove to Uriconium, the -Pompeii of Shrewsbury, and then to Haughmond ruins, formerly a -Cistercian monastery. Amongst other pleasant things was a lunch-party -at Bernal Osborne's, and delightful dinners at Shirley Brookes'. - -[Sidenote: _Pleasant Days in Vichy and Auvergne._] - -At last we crossed to France, visited our old haunts where we met -as boy and girl. Boulogne, however, was very much changed since our -days. She was then "a girl of the period;" she was now "_vieille_ and -_dévote_." From here he sent me back, as usual, to "pay, pack, and -follow." He was going to Vichy, to take a month's course of the waters, -after which he would drop down to Brindisi and go to Damascus. - -Soon after Richard had started to Vichy, I began to get unhappy, and -wanted to join him, and I did not see why I could not have the month -there with him and make up double-quick time after; so I just started -off with Mr. J. J. Aubertin (of Brazil memory, whose many works have -made him well known, and whose charming "Wanderings and Wonderings" is -attracting the literary world now), who was also going there to join -him. It was the last _Fête Napoleon_. I never saw Paris so splendid; it -was lighter than day--from the Tuileries to the Barrière de L'Étoile -it was one mass of light. The Tuileries Gardens were hung with lamps -representing huge bunches of grapes, fastened together with festoons -and knots the whole length of the Champs Élysées. It was the last blaze -of glory; before that day year they were fighting the Germans. As soon -as I arrived at Vichy, Richard, with Swinburne, came to the station to -meet me, and we were joined by Sir Frederick Leighton, and later on, -Mrs. Sartoris. - -Vichy is a dull small place, full of sickly people with liver -complaints. Like all other places, the baths and the water-drinking -fountains are the principal rendezvous. There is the usual band, -promenade under the trees, casino, garden, and theatre. - -They were very happy days. We made excursions in the day, and in the -evenings the conversation, I need not say, was brilliant; everybody -contributed something that made him or her valuable. Swinburne recited -poetry, Mrs. Sartoris sang to us. All will remember her exquisite -contralto voice, and she sang _en intime_ without accompaniment. - -We went to the Château Bourbonnais at Bussy, and then to Ardoisière -cascade and cave, and lovely walks to Malavaux, where there is a châlet -at the foot of the mountain and a steep ascent. Here is the ruin of a -convent of Templars, who are said to have committed atrocities, who -blew up a château containing their only neighbours with gunpowder. -There were no roads this way, and they were Lords of the soil. There -is a cemetery in the distance, and close to us the Devil's Well, said -to have no bottom, and also the Blessed Virgin's Well. Whilst we -were at the top, the harvest moon arose; there was a glorious scene -of beautiful lights and shadows. Swinburne has lately celebrated -this journey in a glorious elegy, of which I quote three verses (the -_Fortnightly Review_, July, 1892)-- - - "The huddled churches clinging on the cliffs - As birds alighting might for storm's sake cling, - Moored to the rocks as tempest-harried skiffs - To perilous refuge from the loud wind's wing; - - * * * * * - - "Deep down the Valley of the Curse, undaunted - By shadow and whisper of winds with sins for wings, - And ghosts of crime wherethrough the heights live haunted - By present sense of past and monstrous things." - -The elegy ends-- - - "But not the soul whose labour knew no end-- - But not the swordsman's hand, the crested head-- - The royal heart we mourn, the faultless friend, - Burton--a name that lives till fame be dead." - -[Sidenote: _The Fell Railway._] - -From St. Armand there is a splendid view of Vichy, and also for -forty-four leagues, if it is clear enough to see around; and the -drives are lovely through the mountains and ravines. There was another -splendid view from the Montagne Vert. We went to St. Germain des -Fosses, and drove all over Clermont, where we visited the Cathedral, -all the Churches, Museums, and springs, and bought some of the -wonderful petrifactions.[7] We then made our way to Langéac, from -whence we drove thirty-six miles through a most interesting country -to Puy. The descent to Puy is very beautiful. It is a curious and -striking-looking town; mountains of rock, like huge combs, rise out of -its heart. On the top of one of these is a huge statue of the Blessed -Virgin, sixteen metres high, cast in iron from the metal cannons of -Sebastopol, and we got up into its head to look out of the eyes. -When we were in the head we were nearly five hundred feet high from -the plain. The Child's head holds three people. The Cathedral has a -miraculous black Virgin, and St. Michael has his church too. All these -great heights mean climbing five hundred feet, and then ascending -two or three hundred steps. On another cone stands an old church. -There are basaltic masses just like organ-pipes. We drove to the old -Castle and Fortress of Polignac, and to the basaltic rocks, and then -we went to see the Museum of Puy. We made our way by the train to -Lyons. The country was beautiful, with mountains, gorges, rivers, and -old ruined castles, which spoke of feudal times; but two hours before -reaching Lyons it is as bad as the black country in Lancashire. Here -Swinburne left us for Paris. Richard and I went to Fourvières to make -a pilgrimage.[8] We went to the Cathedral, and the great shrine of -Notre Dame de Fourvières. From here Lyons spreads out under your feet -like a map; on a clear day you may see Mont Blanc. We visited the -source of the Rhone and Saone, and then went on to Culoz; thence to -Aix les Bains, where we went to look at the Roman ruins. We changed -trains at S. Michel for "Fell's Company" across the Mont Cenis (the -railway not being made in those days as it is now). Mr. Bayless, the -superintendent, and his secretary met us, and took us on the engine, -and showed us everything. The scenery was splendid all day; the rise -began from S. Michel to Lanslebourg, which is four thousand four -hundred feet high. The ascent was most amusing; we whisked about in -the most frolicsome way, close to frightful gorges and over ravines. -From inside, you could sometimes hear little hysterical squeaks, -or people taken worse, as the curves were very sharp and the pace -good. Lanslebourg is a group of old broken-down châlets, and two -broken-down chapels, grouped in a corner. It has a new chapel now. A -mountain-torrent sweeps through the village, and the new railway runs -by it. Magnificent piles of mountains rose on all sides; the lower -range are pine-covered, the higher by snow and glaciers--the snow and -fresh mountain air are most exhilarating. I can remember passing this -place ten years before, in March, with a carriage and eleven mules, -and, owing to the snow, we were five days and nights travelling from -Venice to Geneva. It was then a savage country; now every available -spot is cultivated in little patches. We had a charming evening at -the inn, and dined on fresh mountain trout. The descent next day was -marvellous. How little Napoleon I. thought, when he was making a road, -that he was only the pioneer for an English railway, thereby making -their labour and expense only half of what it would have been! We went -from here to Susa and Turin, and from Turin we drove up the Collina, -and got a splendid view of the City and of Mount Rosa before going to -bed. Here I saw Richard off to Damascus; he was to catch the P. and O. -at Brindisi. My train Londonwards left a few hours after, and I did not -stop till I reached Paris. - -[Sidenote: _Geographical Disagreeables._] - -During this short time, Richard's absence permitted a few disagreeables -in the geographical line, and as he always relied upon me to answer for -him, when he was away, I did so. He said he felt like having a second -self on a spot where he could not be, when our affairs compelled us -to do double work. Therefore, in answer to a question of Sir Roderick -Murchison's, "Where is Livingstone?" I wrote-- - - - "DR. LIVINGSTONE. - - "To the Editor of the _Daily Telegraph_. - - - "Sir,--Will you spare me a little space in your columns to do a - service to Dr. Livingstone, by calling attention to Lucenda or Lunda - City, the capital of the African chief, known as the Muata (king) - Cazembe? - - "He is not the least important of the eight negro monarchs--namely, - the Muata Ya Noo, vulgarly 'Matiamoo,' in the south; in the eastern - tropic, the despots of Karagwán, of Uganda, and of Unyoro; and, in the - western regions, the sanguinary tyrants of Benin, of Dahomè, and of - Asiante or Ashantee. And the name of this somewhat obscure potentate - has, during the last few weeks, come prominently before the Royal - Geographical Society of London. - - "Not long ago Sir Roderick Murchison suggested in the _Times_ that - Dr. Livingstone, having found a discrepancy between the levels of the - 'Albert Nyanza' and the Tanganyika lakes, probably turned westward, - and attempted to trace the drainage of the latter into the Atlantic - Ocean. My husband, Captain Burton, objected to this view of his - revered Chief, after whose image--to use the words of the late Lord - Strangford--our modern geographers are, so to speak, created. The - hydrography of the West African coast is now well known, and it shows - no embouchure capable of carrying off so vast an expanse of water - as the Tanganyika. The Congo mouth may suggest itself to some, more - especially as the north-eastern branch has long been reported to issue - from a lake. But the north-eastern is the smaller arm of the two. - Moreover, Captain Burton, during his visit to the Yellalah or Rapids, - in 1863, ascertained, by questioning the many slaves driven down from - the far interior to the Angolan coast, that the Congo lake is distinct - from the Tanganyika, and is probably that which figures in old maps as - Lake Aquilonda or Achelunda. It will not be forgotten that our good - friend Paul du Chaillu made sundry stout-hearted attempts to reach - that mysterious basin, concerning which he is also of opinion that it - is wholly independent of the Nile Valley. - - "The latest intelligence touching Dr. Livingstone suggests the - possibility of his having been detained in the capital of the Cazembe, - and at once explains the non-appearance of the traveller, and the want - of communications, so heartrending to his host of friends. Why are we - whispering this to one another as a secret? The report, if we believe - in its truth, should be published throughout the length and breadth of - England, whose great heart will readily supply men and means to rescue - one of her favourite sons from a precarious and perhaps perilous - position. - - "Unhappily for himself, Dr. Livingstone, unlike Captain Burton, - has never made a friend of the Moslem. He has openly preferred to - him the untutored African--in other words, the vile and murderous - Fetisheer--and his published opinions must be known even at Zanzibar - to the religion of the State. The Maskat Arabs are, as my husband - reported long ago, all-powerful at the city of Cazembe; and if Dr. - Livingstone be detained there, it is doubtless at their instigation. - - "I should not have ventured to trouble you with this letter, but - Captain Burton is _en route_ for Damascus, and I have written to - him to supply the public with a complete account of the scene of - Dr. Livingstone's supposed captivity, which may tend to suggest the - properest measures for securing the safety of a Christian hero who has - offered up the flower of his days to the grand task of regenerating - the Dark Continent. - - "I have the honour to be, Sir, - - "Yours obediently, - - "ISABEL BURTON. - - "October 23, 1869." - -[Sidenote: _Work._] - -I worked in earnest during my few weeks in England, to be able to join -him the quicker. First, I had to go down to Stratford, to the Essex -flats, to see the tube-wells worked, as Richard was anxious to be able -to produce water, if possible, wherever we stopped in the desert. I had -many publishers and mappers to see. Not knowing exactly what Damascus -was like, I invested in a pony-carriage, and Uncle Gerard gave me a -very handsome old family chariot, which was out of fashion in England, -and must originally have cost at least three hundred guineas. Lord -Houghton made a great many jokes about our driving in our chariot drawn -by camels. I very prudently left it in England until I saw what sort of -place it was, but took out the pony-carriage. There was only one road -in the country, of seventy-two miles, so I sold it, and was actually -lucky enough to find a willing customer, who kept it as a curio. I took -lessons about taking off wheels and patent axles, and oiling them and -putting them together again, and taking my own guns and pistols also to -pieces, cleaning and putting them together again. The time passed in -buying things to stock the house with. Richard did not receive any of -my letters, just as at Pernambuco, so I had to telegraph to him. - -During this time Mr. William Crookes and I visited the Mesmeric -Hospital, where, I regret to say, I did a good deal of unintentional -mischief, by absorbing the mesmerism from the patients; and I attended -the meetings of the Royal Geographical Society, and felt very angry -with Sir Roderick Murchison, which I expressed in two letters attached -to the Nile affair, as follows:-- - - - "THE SOURCES OF THE NILE. - - [Sidenote: _The Nile._] - - "To the Editor of the _Times_. - - - "Sir,--As you daily devote a certain portion of the _Times_ to - redressing wrongs, I may hope that you will not make an exception to - the disadvantage of Captain Burton. - - "Five African explorers have pined for the honour of discovering the - sources of the Nile, and each one in his turn has believed himself - to be that fortunate person, until now that Livingstone (the one who - cared the least for that honour) has discovered waters more southerly - still. We have all been looking forward with eagerness for this - news. Judge, then, of my mortification at the meeting of the Royal - Geographical Society on Monday night, to hear all the papers read - and discussed almost without reference to Captain Burton, who is _en - route_ to Damascus. His lake (Tanganyika), which lies the nearest to - Livingstone's new discovery, was almost skipped over, and my revered - friend, Sir Roderick Murchison, spoke of 'Central, or Equatorial - Africa, in which lie those great water basins which, thanks to the - labours of Speke, Grant, and Baker, are known to feed the Nile.' - After the meeting I went up to Sir Roderick Murchison and asked him - _why_ Captain Burton had been left out, and he replied in the kindest - manner, 'that if it had been so, it was a mere oversight, which he - was sorry should have occurred,' and I heard him give the order that - it should be rectified in the report before sent to press. I see by - your columns of Wednesday, the 10th, _that it was not done_, and I - therefore ask you in kindness and courtesy to insert these few lines, - that Captain Burton may not be counted for nothing by that large - meeting on Monday night in the matter nearest his heart. - - "In 1854 and 1855 Captain Burton was employed in heading the Somali - Expedition (which ended so fatally), taking with him Captain Speke and - two others. From 1856 to 1859 he was occupied in exploring Central - Equatorial Africa, taking again Captain Speke as second in command. - He was the first to conceive the idea twenty years ago, the first to - enter and to penetrate that country, which he did under every obstacle - and difficulty, bringing back sufficient information to smooth the - path to all who chose to follow him. Lake Tanganyika was his first - discovery, Nyanza was Speke's. - - "In 1860 Captain Speke started on his own account, taking Captain - Grant as second in command, whereby we gained some three hundred and - fifty geographical miles, only hitherto known by vague report. Captain - Burton spent those three years on the West Coast, at Dahomè and Du - Chaillu's country, making ten years, off and on, in Africa. - - "Then followed Sir Samuel Baker's Lake, and now Livingstone's. - - "It is therefore _impossible_ to ignore Captain Burton's services in - the Nile question. Dr. Livingstone has undoubtedly discovered _the_ - sources,[9] and must rank the first, but no man can claim the second - honour, or the water nearest Livingstone's discovery, but Captain - Burton, and no one can deny the fact that he, so to speak, opened the - oyster for the others to get at the pearl. - - "All our friends are asking me why he was left out the other night, - and the kind-hearted ones offer me the consoling proverb that 'good - wine needs no bush,' which, after all, is nonsense to any but - connoisseurs. - - "I am, Sir, yours obediently, - - "ISABEL BURTON. - - "14, Montagu Place, Montagu Square, - - "November 12th, 1869." - -[Sidenote: _Still the Nile._] - -I then sent to the _Athenæum_ the little tracing of 1856, which I have -inserted on page 255, with the following letter:-- - - - "THE SOURCES OF THE NILE. - - - "To the Editor of the _Athenæum_. - - "November 20th, 1869. - - "I enclose you a copy of a small map which I have had for many years - in my possession, showing Captain Burton's theory respecting the - sources of the Nile as far back as 1856. In that year he left England - to command the Expedition for their discovery, which had been the - object of his thoughts and studies for many previous years--always - a disciple of Ptolemy. Captain Speke joined him, and after three - years of unheard-of difficulties and dangers, they returned, having - discovered Tanganyika. Whilst they were absent, Captain Burton, - being very ill for a short time, and experiencing a yearning to be - alone, sent Captain Speke on a twenty days' march to try and find - a lake, which his calculations, theories, and inquiries from the - Arabs, assured him ought to be there. Speke sighted a water then, and - subsequently found on his next expedition, but much farther north, a - lake which he called Victoria Nyanza. - - "I quote a note from Captain Burton's 'Nile Basin,' p. 37, which - is the pivot of the whole affair: 'I distinctly deny that any - "misleading, by my instructions from the Royal Geographical Society as - to the position of the White Nile," left me unconscious of the vast - importance of ascertaining the Rusizi river's direction. The fact is, - Captain Speke was deaf and almost blind. I was paralytic, and we were - both helpless [he might have added penniless]. We did our best to - reach it, and failed.' - - "Captain Burton always said from the first that the Nile must have - many sources, and that there were probably waters south of the - Tanganyika. In his 'Lake Regions' he speaks of a large river, Marungu, - draining the southern countries towards the Tanganyika, and entering - the lake at its southernmost point, which has now been proved by Dr. - Livingstone.[10] He was misled by Captain Speke's erroneous elevation - of the lake, and by the more than probably wrong information received - from the African chiefs, as interpreted by his negro servant Bombay. - In short, Captain Speke determined to have his own lake at all - hazards, and for a time he became master of the field. - - "I am anxious, before I sail to join Captain Burton at Damascus--and - I have not many days left--to claim Captain Burton's proper position - amongst the five explorers of the lakes, having already had a reminder - that '_les absents ont toujours tort_.' That position means, _second_ - to Livingstone as explorer, to whom he has shown the way to the Nile, - and _first_ as lake discoverer. - - "The outlines of the map I refer to were drawn for me in 1856, and - where lakes are now correctly marked on maps stood pencil notes, which - said, 'Should be water here,' 'Supposed site of a lake.' The lakes - and names were successively filled up for me in 1859 and 1864. Perhaps - you may think it interesting enough to give it a place in your paper, - and will kindly allow this letter to accompany it; or the letter by - itself if there is no room for the map. - - "ISABEL BURTON." - -Then appeared in _Punch_-- - - - "A CARD FROM THE ISLE OF AFRICA. - - - "Father Nile presents his respectful compliments to Mr. Punch, and - (with grateful remembrance of the delightful way in which that - gentleman depicted saucy Miss Britannia discovering the Father - among his rushes, a few years back) begs leave to inform Mr. Punch, - and therefore the world, that the Father, at the suggestion of the - REVEREND DOCTOR LIVINGSTONE, has removed his head-quarters - to a delightful region, about eleven degrees south of the Equator, - or Equinoxious line, where for the present he is to be found by his - friends. Carriages to set down at Cazembe, a couple of hundred miles - or so south of Burton's Lake Tanganyika. - - "N.B.--You are heartily welcome to any refreshments which you may - bring with you. Niggers about here don't need to be shot." - - - "NAME! NAME! - - - "DEAR PUNCH, - - "Over the signature 'Isabel Burton,' names belonging to the - accomplished wife of the Consul at Damascus, hath appeared (_Times_) - a wifely and spirited letter, pointing out that at the great - geographical meeting last week, recognition was not made of the - discovery, by Captain Burton, of Lake Tanganyika. - - "Sir, I am glad of anything that causes Mrs. Burton to publish - anything. Unlike some of her sex (and of mine), that lady can think as - well as write. - - "But I have two reasons for wishing that another system of - nomenclature, in regard to places, were adopted. - - "(1) I am not good at spelling, even in English, and the barbarous - names given by savages worry me much, and send me across the room to - atlases, and the like, when it is a bother to me to get off my chair. - Perhaps on cold days, like to-day, my style, in the winter, is much - more involved than in summer. This is because, to avoid going into the - cold, I go into periphrase, and circumvent hard words. - - "(2) Injustice, like that indicated by Mrs. Burton (in this case - accidental; Sir Roderick is _sans reproche_), would be impossible if - new discoveries were stamped properly. - - "Henceforth call Lake Nyanza Lake Speke-Grant; the lake above - mentioned (which I pray you to excuse me from spelling a second - time), Lake Burton; and the new aggregation of water, now believed to - be the Nile source, Lake Livingstone, and oblige - - "Your faithful friend, - - "EPICURUS ROTUNDUS. - - "Goneril Villa, Regan Park." - -[Sidenote: _I sail for Damascus._] - -At last the day came round when everything was bought and paid for, and -packed and sent off, and I was at liberty to start; and the same night -that my arrangements were complete, I left my mother's house for Dover. -It was blowing a hurricane, waves mountain high, and a black night, and -my brother and sisters, who accompanied me, decided that I must not -go on board. I have told that story in my "Inner Life of Syria." Next -morning, however, we picked up the poor passengers, who had crossed the -night before, and had come to grief. At Paris I found that two of my -nine boxes were missing; one contained all my ship comforts, and the -other £300 in gold--my little all. I had already taken my passage at -Marseilles, and I had to choose between losing my money and losing my -passage. I went to the station-master, registered my tale, omitting all -about the money, told him where to forward the baggage,[11] travelled -on, and was just in time to catch the P. and O. _Tanjore_ before she -steamed out, and I immediately, on arrival at Alexandria, took my -passage on board the first steamer for Beyrout, which was a Russian, -the _Ceres_, which passes or touches at Port Said and Jaffa, and Kaifa, -the ancient Helba of the tribe of Aser, St. Jeanne d'Acre, and then I -arrived at Beyrout. - -[1] One of the lions of Cintra. - -[2] In travelling, the mules are mostly difficult to treat, and one -never passes their noses or their heels without care. I have seen a -fine mule spring like a goat on the top of a piano case in the yard, to -avoid being saddled. I never before understood the French expression, -_Méchante comme une âne rouge_. - -[3] "The Highlands of Brazil." By Captain Richard F. Burton, F.R.G.S. - -[4] Captain Gambier tells me that he used to mesmerize him when he was -a child, and tell him to go up to some room in the dark, and fetch him -some particular article or book which he only thought of. - -[5] We were then at the Barra. - -[6] I keep two of these pistols in case any one would be willing to -order some, so as to push it.--I. B. - -[7] Faubourg St. Alyre, "la Fontaine petrifiante" (like Matlock), -issues from volcanic tufa on granite. Carbonic acid dissolves -calcareous matter. - -[8] There were three things Richard could never resist--a pilgrimage to -a holy shrine, mining, and talking with and enjoying gypsies' society. - -[9] Which turned out afterwards to be an error--it was the head waters -of the Great Zaire or Congo River that he discovered. - -[10] Dr. Livingstone died with this belief, but he had really -discovered the head-waters of the Great Zaire or Congo River (1892). - -[11] They both arrived five months later, and, strange to say, intact. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -DAMASCUS--HIS THIRD CONSULATE. - - -[Sidenote: _I find Richard has had a Cordial Reception._] - -There was no husband to meet me, and I felt very indignant, just as had -happened at Rio last year to him. (Here I met Madame de Persigny.) I at -once started for Damascus by road, in a private carriage, and drove for -seven hours, putting up at Shtorra, where I was obliged to sleep. Next -day I drove on and on, and reached Damascus at sunset; went straight -to the inn, which by courtesy was called a hotel, known as Demetri's. -It had taken me fifteen days and nights without stopping from London -to Damascus. After an hour Richard came in, and I was glad that I had -waited for nothing but necessity, as I found him looking very old and -ill. He had arrived, and had had a most cordial reception, but he had -been dispirited by not getting a single one of my letters, which all -arrived in a heap afterwards. He had gone down over and over again -to meet me, and I had not appeared, and now the steamer that I had -come in, was the only one he did not go down to meet, so that when he -came in from his walk, it was a pleasant surprise to him to find me -ensconced comfortably in his room; and I found the enclosed scribbled -on the corner of his journal, anent my non-arrival-- - - "'Twas born, thou whisperest, born in heaven, - And heavenly births may never die; - While truth is pure of leasing's leaven, - I hear and I believe then--I! - Heaven-born, thy love is born to be - An heir of immortality. - - "And yet I hear a small voice say, - But yesterday 'twas not begot; - It lives its insect-life to-day, - To-morrow death shall be its lot. - Peace, son of lies! cease, Satan, cease - To mumble timeworn lies like these!" - -A few persons who disliked the appointment, and certain missionaries -who feared that he was anti-missionary, and have since handsomely -acknowledged their mistake, took measures to work upon Lord Clarendon -on the plea that he was too fond of Mohammedans, that he had performed -a pilgrimage to Mecca, and that their fanaticism would lead to troubles -and dangers. On becoming aware that he had lived in the East, and with -Moslems, for many years after his pilgrimage, Lord Clarendon, with -that good taste and justice which always characterized him, refused to -change his appointment until that fanaticism was proved. He had the -pleasure of reporting to him a particularly friendly reception. He -wrote before he left London-- - - "I now renew in writing the verbal statement, in which I assured your - lordship that neither the authorities nor the people of Damascus will - show for me any but a friendly feeling; that, in fact, they will - receive me as did the Egyptians and the people of Zanzibar for years - after my pilgrimage to Mecca. But, as designing persons may have - attempted to complicate the situation, I once more undertake to act - with unusual prudence, and under all circumstances to hold myself, and - myself only, answerable for the consequences." - -Though he had not received his barat (_exequatur_) and firman till -October 27th, he exchanged friendly unofficial visits with his -Excellency, the _Wali_ (Governor-General) of Syria. Then he was -honoured with the visits of all the prelates of the Oriental Churches, -as well as by a great number of the most learned and influential -Moslems, and of the principal Christians. Amongst them were his -Highness the Amir Abd el Kadir, his Excellency the Bishop of the Greek -Orthodox Church, the Syrian Orthodox and the Syrian Catholic Bishops, -the Archimandrite Jebara of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Shaykh el -Ulemá (Abdullah Effendi el Hálabi), the Shaykh el Molawíyyeh of Koniah, -Ali Pasha el Aazam, and Antun Effendi Shami; Said Effendi Ustuwáneh, -President of the Criminal Court of Damascus and its dependencies; -Mohammed Effendi el Minnini, Vice-President of the Criminal Court of -Appeal; the Mufti Mahmúd Effendi Hamzeh; Shaykh Mohammed Effendi el -Hálabi, member of the Lower Court, and several others. - -All these dignitaries evinced much pleasure and satisfaction at his -being appointed H.M.'s Consul in their City. Some of them, indeed, -earnestly requested him to interest the English public in forming a -company for making railways through Syria, that being the sole means of -bringing about the civilization of the country. - -In conclusion, notwithstanding Abdullah Effendi, the Chief of the -Ulemá, being the most learned, influential, and Orthodox Moslem, and -though it is not consistent with his principles to call upon any -Christian before being visited, he did so; and, after an interview of -fifty minutes, departed with a promise to renew the visit. - -Owing to the great quantity of fountains and tanks about the house, -neuralgia had set in, and Richard had not been getting any sleep; so -the following day we cast about for a better sort of living-place, and -a quarter of an hour away, through the gardens of Damascus, higher -up than Damascus, and just under and on the north of Jebel Kaysún, -the Camomile Mountain, in what is _called_ a wild and lawless Kurdish -village, we found a house that suited us,[1] and we took it, and moved -into it next day, starting with a small quantity of furniture, but soon -made it very comfortable. After all said and done, although some of the -houses in Damascus were very grand and very romantic, they were all -damp; cold in winter; suffocating, from being closed in, in summer. If -there is an epidemic, it is like being hived. If there is an _émeute_, -you are like a mouse in a trap. If there is a fire at night, you are -safely locked within the town gates. Ours was a freer and wilder life; -you could mount your horse, and be out in the desert in ten minutes, or -in Damascus either. - -Mr. and Lady Adelaide Law arrived in Damascus, and I took her to Lady -Ellenborough and to Abd el Kadir. It was her father, Lord Londonderry, -whose diplomacy with Louis Napoleon delivered this great hero from -imprisonment in the Château d'Amboise, and he received her with -effusion. Later on came Lord Stafford (present Duke of Sutherland), Mr. -Crawley, and Mr. Barty Mitford. - -[Sidenote: _We go to Palmyra, or Tadmor in the Desert._] - -We were soon installed, and bought horses, and I began to study Arabic. -The first thing Richard determined to do was to go to Tadmor. This -journey was an awfully difficult thing in those days, though I am not -aware whether it is now. First of all, six thousand francs used to be -charged by the El Mezrab, who were the tribe who escorted for that -journey. It was the tribe of Lady Ellenborough and her Bedawin husband, -and she was more Bedawin than the Bedawi. There was no water, that is, -only two wells the whole way, and only known to them. The difficulties -and dangers were great; they travelled by night and hid by day. You -may say that camels were about ten days on the road, and horses about -eight days. The late Lady Ellenborough was the third of a small knot -of ladies, of whom I had hoped to make the fifth--Lady Mary Wortley -Montagu, Lady Hester Stanhope, Lady Ellenborough, and the Princesse de -la Tour d'Auvergne. - -[Sidenote: _We go without an Escort._] - -Lady Ellenborough was married to a Bedawin, brother to the Chief, and -second in command of the tribe of El Mezrab, a small branch of the -great Anazeh tribe. She aided the tribe in concealing the wells and -levying blackmail on Europeans who wished to visit Palmyra, which -brought in considerable sums to the tribe, whose demand was six -thousand francs a head (£240). Richard was determined to go, and we had -not the money to throw away; he asked me whether I would be willing to -risk it, and I said, what I always did, "Whither thou goest, I will -go." Lady Ellenborough was in a very anxious state when she heard this -announcement, as she knew it was the death-blow to a great source of -revenue to the tribe. She was very intimate with us, and distantly -connected by marriage with my family, and she would have favoured us, -if she could have done it without abolishing the whole system. She did -all she could to dissuade us; she wept over our loss, and she told us -that we should never come back--indeed, everybody advised us to make -our wills; finally, she offered us the escort of one of her Mezrabs, -that we might steer clear of the Bedawi raids, and be conducted quicker -to water, _if it existed_. Richard made me a sign to accept the escort, -and we did. - -From our earliest married days, one of his peculiarities (used rather, -I suspect, for training me to observe him, and to understand his wants) -would be that he would not tell me directly to do a thing, but I used -to find in a book I was reading, or some drawer that I opened every -day, or in his own room, marked by a weight, a few words of what he -wanted, conveying no direct order, and yet I knew that it was one. I -grew quite accustomed to this, and used regularly to visit the places -where I was likely to find them, and if I missed there was a sort of -"Go seek" expression on his face, that told me that I had not hunted -properly, and I knew (by another expression) when I had succeeded. -I used to call these "African spoors." We could almost talk before -outsiders in this way, without speaking a word out loud. - -On the same principle, he used to teach me to swim without my arms, and -afterwards to swim without my legs, using either one or the other, but -not both, in case of falling out of a steamer and being entangled. - -I mention this, because we always talked before people without their -perceiving it, and he told me in this way exactly what to say to her; -but we provided ourselves with seventeen camels, laden with water, in -case of accident. We had each two horses, and everything necessary for -tenting out, and were armed to the teeth. We had a very picturesque -breakfast, affectionate farewells--the _Mushir_ and the whole cavalcade -to see us out of the town. We cleared Damascus and its environs by a -three hours' march; then Richard, according to his custom, called a -halt, and we camped out and picketed, because, he said, it would be so -easy to send back for anything, if aught were missing. - -We eventually reached Da'as Agha, the Chief of Jerúd, who has a hundred -and fifty fighting men. These little villages in the middle of a desert -are sometimes very acceptable for the renewal of provisions. This Jerúd -was a large one, and was surrounded with salt and gypsum. After this -there was only one more village, Atneh, till the Great Karryatayn, -in the heart of the desert. Here we were told of some underground -curiosities, and we stopped to dig, and discovered an old catacomb. -The women only wear one garment; they are covered with coins, and bits -of stone made into necklaces and charms against the evil eye. After -this we had a long desert ride, and were caught in a dust-storm. A -dust-storm is no joke; you may lie down and perhaps make your horse -lie, and cover yourself up with rugs, but if it is a bad storm, like a -snowstorm, you may be buried. Richard advised our galloping through it, -laying the reins on the horses' necks, and letting them go where they -would, for, he said, they would know a great deal more than we should; -so, covering our faces up in our _kuffíyyehs_--for, as far as heads -and shoulders went, we dressed like natives--we gave our horses their -heads, and they went at a rattling pace, and about three hours took us -out of the storm. Richard and I were alone; all the rest lagged behind. -When the horses once got out of the storm (they seemed to understand -all about it--one was desert bred and took the lead), they relapsed -into a walk till they got cool. We then went by the compass in the -direction we meant to take, and were joined eventually by our followers. - -We now had to sleep in our clothes, revolvers and guns at our sides, -and make our men take turn to watch, in case of an attack from a -_ghazú_, or Bedawi raid, and we took off the camels' bells. A _ghazú_ -may pass you in the night, and if you are quite silent, and a foal does -not whinny, nor a dog bark, you are all right; but those are the two -things you have to dread. I ought to have said that, though we accepted -the escort, we were not hoodwinked. I kept taking stock of our Mezrab -between Damascus and our first halt, and I thought he had an uncanny -and _amused_ look; so I rode up to Richard, and told him, in a language -that was not understood, what I thought. Richard gave a grim smile, as -Ouida says, "under his moustache," and said, "Yes, I have thought all -that out too. Mohammed Agha, come here." - -Whatever Richard told Mohammed to do, he did it thoroughly. If he -wanted a culprit that had run away, he would say, "Bring me So-and-so, -Mohammed." "Eywallah! ya Sidi Beg" (Yes, by Allah, my Lord Beg); and he -would go off, saying, "If he were in hell I would have him out." Once -he brought a man kicking and struggling under his arm, and put him down -before Richard, saying, "There he is, your Excellency." - -This faithful Afghan had served him in India, and he had accidentally -found him in Damascus, and made him his chief _kawwás_. He now rode -up. Richard gave him a few orders in Afghani, which no one else -understood. He saluted and retired. When we got about three hours away -from Damascus in the open desert, the Bedawin had his mare and his -arms taken from him, and was mounted on a baggage mule. Every kindness -was shown to him, and he enjoyed every comfort that we had, but two -mounted guard over him day and night, and he was thus powerless. We -knew quite well that the Bedawin, on his thoroughbred mare, would have -curveted off in circles, pretending to look for wells, when in reality -he would have fetched the tribe down upon us, and we should have been -captured; orders would have been given to respect and treat us well, -and then we should have to be ransomed, and this would have _proved_ -the impossibility of visiting Palmyra without a Bedawi escort at six -thousand francs a head, and the Foreign Office would have smartly -reproved, and perhaps recalled, their Consul for running such a risk. -We stuck our Mezrab up for a show, to prove that we had a Bedawin -escort, whenever Bedawi raids were near, but he was not allowed to move -or to make a sign. Da'as joined us with ten of his men, and whenever -there was the smallest occasion for joy or self-congratulation, they -used to do a _Jeríd_. When I say the men are riding _Jeríd_, I mean -that they are galloping about violently, firing from horseback at full -speed, yelling, hanging over in their stirrups with their bridles in -their mouth, playing with and quivering their long feathered lances in -the air, throwing them and catching them again at full gallop, picking -things from the ground that they have thrown there, firing pistols, -throwing themselves under the horses' bellies and firing under them -at full gallop, yelling and shouting their war-cry, as Buffalo Bill's -cowboys do, only far more picturesque figures, with their many-coloured -dresses, and better mounted on their beautiful mares. The wildness of -the whole spectacle is very refreshing; but you have to be a good rider -yourself, as the horses simply go wild. - -On one occasion we saw a large body, apparently of mounted Bedawi. -We waved and whistled our stragglers in, and drew up in line; the -others did the same. We fully expected a charge. By this time I -had transformed myself into a boy (Richard's son)--found it more -convenient for riding long distances, and for running away. It -_sounds_ indecent, but all Arab clothes are so baggy and draping that -it little matters whether you are dressed as a man or woman. So he -let me ride out with two other horsemen from the ranks forward (it -would have been undignified for _him_ to do so, being in command of -the party); they did the same, and this is what it proved to be--the -Shaykh and his fighting men on the part of a distant village, and a -priest on the part of the Archbishop of Karryatayn, with invitations. -All the men embraced, my hand was kissed, and we were escorted back -in great triumph, riding _Jeríd_ as before. We rode to the village of -the Shaykh, and we sent on others with our letters to Omar Beg, the -Brigadier at that time commanding troops at Karryatayn, because they -expected a revolt of the tribes. - -We eventually arrived at Karryatayn. We were treated with great -hospitality by Omar Beg, and when we left he accompanied us a little -way with an immense cavalcade, which was very picturesque and pretty. -We saw a mirage that day in the desert, and were very tired, and had -to sleep with our arms, without undressing. We then had a somewhat -dangerous defile to pass through mountains, where we found a well. -I had invented a capital way of watering the beasts. Man can always -draw water, but nobody thinks of the horses, and in a cup or tin -pot you cannot get enough water for them. I had bags made of skins, -exactly like a huge tobacco-pouch with ropes, and whenever we came to -inaccessible water _these_ were lowered until every animal had drank -its fill. At each of these places, Jerúd, Atneh, and Karryatayn, -several who had been longing to go to Tadmor wanted to join us, secure -of protection, of food for themselves, and corn for their animals -without paying a farthing for it. We increased to a hundred and sixty -persons, and some had one and some two animals. I had one man with -me as my own servant, a Syrian Christian, who gave us a great deal -of trouble. He was very clever, and the best dancer; but the second -or third day after a hard day's ride, the horses were dead beat, and -instead of taking his horse and watering and feeding it, and putting -it in shelter as I desired, he drew his sword and cut its throat, in -hopes of being allowed to ride my second horse, so I ordered him off -to the baggage in the rear. No Moslem would have done such a thing. -I never liked him after. We could not turn the man out to die in the -desert, but the day that we got back to Damascus, my husband sent him -to prison, for that and thefts in the houses where we stayed. - -We met with another _ghazú_ before we arrived, but we imposed on them -by calling a halt, planting the flag, showing our Bedawin, and ordering -breakfast to be spread. We then improvised a _tir_ by planting a lance -in the sand at a good distance, with a pumpkin at the top, or an -orange, and showed them how far our rifles would carry, and the _ghazú_ -being mounted on mares, not camels, we were not attacked. A few of -ours curveted about, preparatory to bolting, but my husband called out -to the men to form into line, and then he shouted, "The first man who -leaves this line, I'll shoot him in the back as he rides away." That -made them settle down. - -[Sidenote: _Tadmor._] - -The first sight of Palmyra makes you think it is a regiment of cavalry -drawn out in single line on the horizon; it was the most imposing -sight I ever looked upon, though I have seen plenty of other ruins. -It is so gigantic, so extensive, so bare, so desolate, rising out of, -and partially buried in a sea of sand. There is something that almost -takes your breath away about this splendid City of the Dead. When you -are alone and gazing in silence upon her solitary grandeur, you feel -as if you were wandering in some unforgotten world, and respect and -wonder bid you hush like a child amidst the tombs of a long-closed and -forgotten churchyard. This was the Tadmor built by Solomon, as a safe -halt for the treasures of India and Persia passing through the desert -(2 Paralipomenon or Chronicles viii. 4), "And he built Tadmor in the -wilderness, and all the store cities, which he built in Hamar." Read -also 3 Kings or 1 King ix. 18. - -I shall never forget the imposing sight of Tadmor. There is nothing -so deceiving as distance in the desert. At sea you may calculate it, -but in the desert you never can. A distant ruin stands out of the sea -of sand, the atmosphere is so clear that you think you will reach -it in half an hour; you ride all day and you never seem to get any -nearer to it, just as if it receded in proportion as you advanced. We -camped outside, close to the great colonnade. We had five tents, our -free-lances ten, the rest of the party theirs, and the animals close -by. There were four sulphurous streams; we kept one to drink, and one -to bathe, and two for the animals. There is a height of rock on which -is a castle; the mountain-top was cruised all around with an infinity -of labour to form a drawbridge and moat. The ascent is exceedingly -steep. On two sides is a fine range of mountains, on the other two a -desert of sand, stretching far away like a yellow sea. The ruins and a -small oasis caused by the foundation lie at our feet. It is possible -that Tadmor once spread over all the irrigated part of the plain. -A few orchards, and the splendid ruins, and a handful of wretched -people have huts plastered like wasps' nests within them. The whole -City must have been composed of parallel streets, and similar streets -crossing them, some formed by immense columns, and stretching far over -the plains, and cornered by temples and castles. The Temple of the -Sun was carved from great blocks of rock from the mountains; has some -fine cornices, some still perfect. In one direction there is a falling -wall on the slant, as if it was arrested in falling. It has a square -court of seven hundred and forty feet each side, encompassed by a wall -seventy feet high. The central door is thirty-two feet high and sixteen -wide. The temple still has one hundred columns standing. The few people -who live there are disgusting and ophthalmic. - -The tombs are a great interest--tall square towers with a handsome -frontage. Inside are four stories. The ceilings are beautiful; the -entrances are lined with Corinthian columns and busts. There are tiers -to the very top for bodies. One contained one hundred bodies. One bore -a 102 B.C. date, one Anno Domini 2--evidently a very swell family, -and all speaking of sad ruined grandeur. The ruins are enormous and -extensive, and simply splendid. I cannot describe the sensation of -being in a great City of the Dead, and thinking over all the story of -Zenobia and her capture, especially by moonlight. The simoom blew our -tents nearly down part of the time. Richard discovered caves, and he -spent several days excavating. We found human curios, human bones, and -skulls with hair on them, which we brought home. There is a sulphurous -river, bright as crystal, and tepid with the properties of Vichy. Water -issues from a cavernous hole in the mountain, and streams through -Palmyra. A separate spring, of the same quality, bubbles up in the sand -near it. The Damascenes send for Vichy water; why don't they get it -from here? We also found some Greek statues; one of Zenobia, life size. -Some of our men were taken with _wahteb_, a disease peculiar to Syria, -and hereditary--a sort of convulsions or hysteria. They generally get a -firstborn to tread up and down the back, but I brought them to quicker -with doses of hot brandy and water. We returned by a different route -part of the way. There is a well-known river and outwork six hours' -ride away from Palmyra, called Selamíyyah, and bearing east-south-east -of the Mount of Hamah. Here begins a high rolling ground called El -Aláh, which we come to later on. We had very bad weather, and our tents -were nearly carried away at night. We had a wild-boar hunt on the way. -We fell in with fifty Bedawi; they were not strong enough to attack us, -but we had to stick to our baggage. Our usual day in the desert (in -which we lived off and on) was as follows:-- - -[Sidenote: _Camp Life--Our Travelling Day--Night Camps._] - -The usual travelling day is that those who had anything to do rose two -hours before starting, but those who had not got into their saddles -at dawn. Being, as one may say, head _sais_, or groom, I saw the -horses groomed, fed, watered, and saddled. Our dragomans[2] attended -to striking the tents and the baggage. We started at dawn, and rode -until the sun was unbearable; we then halted for one or two hours. -The animals were ungirthed, fed, and watered, and we had our food and -smoke, and perhaps a short sleep; after which we mounted, and rode till -near sunset. We then halted for the night. The tents were pitched. If -we were near an inhabited place Richard sat in state on his divan and -received the Chiefs with _narghíleh_ and sherbet; I saluted, and walked -off with the horses. I had drilled my people so well that they were -all drawn up in line; at one word of command, off with the bridles, -and on with the head-stalls; at another word the saddles off, the -perspiring backs rubbed with a handful of _raki_, to prevent galls, -and the horse-cloths thrown on. They were then led about to cool for -a quarter of an hour, then ridden down to water, if there was any, or -watered out of the skins if there were not, and their nose-bags put on -with _tibn_--straw chopped up as fine as mincemeat, the hay of this -country--then picketed in a ring, heels out, heads in, hobbled fore and -aft, and grooms in the middle. - -I would then go back to my husband, and sit on the divan at a -respectful distance and in respectful attitude, speak little, and be -invited to have a sherbet or _narghíleh_. I then saluted, and went -to see the horses groomed for the night, and get their suppers; then -I returned to my husband's tent, supper and bed, and to-morrow _da -capo_. The baggage animals, with provisions and water, are directed to -a given place so many hours in advance by the compass. One man of our -riding-party slings on the saddle-bags, containing something to eat and -drink; another hangs a water-melon or two to his saddle, another the -skins to draw water for the horses, and another or two, nose-bags with -corn. We ride on till about eleven, and dismount at the most convenient -place, and water as we go along, if there is any. The horses' girths -are slackened, their bridles changed for halters; they drink, if -possible, and their nose-bags are filled with one measure of barley. We -eat, smoke, and sleep for one hour or two; we then ride on again till -we reach our tents. - -We are supposed to find them pitched, mattresses and blankets spread, -mules and donkeys free and rolling to refresh themselves, baggage -stacked, the gypsy-pot over a good fire, and perhaps a glass of -lemonade or a cup of coffee ready for us. It does sometimes happen -that we miss our camp, that we have the ground for bed, the saddle -for pillow, and the water-melon for supper. Richard used to take -all the notes, sketches, observations, and maps, and gather all the -information. The sketches and maps were Charles Drake's business, when -with us. I acted as secretary and aide-de-camp, and had the care of -the stable and any sick or wounded men; I could also help him with the -sextant, and with some of his scientific instruments. - -A short day's riding would be eight hours, a very long one would be -thirteen, and we generally stayed at any place of interest till it was -exhausted. In this way we saw all Syria, Palestine, and the Holy Land -off the beaten tracks, and through the deserts, the Haurán and wild -places included. I do not like to say too much about it, because my two -volumes of "Inner Life of Syria," which were published in 1875, and -"Unexplored Syria," written by Richard, Charley Drake, and me (2 vols., -1872), have mostly told everything. These will be republished in the -Uniform Library. - -Camping out is the most charming thing in the world, and its scenes -will always live in my memory. It is a very picturesque life, although -hard, but one gets so used to it, as quite to dislike a house. I can -never forget some of those lovely nights in the desert, as after supper -we all sat round in circles; the mules, donkeys, camels, horses, and -mares picketed about, screaming, kicking, and holloaing; the stacked -loads, the big fires, the black tents, the Turkish soldiers, the -picturesque figures in every garb, and wild and fierce-looking men in -wonderful costumes lying here and there, singing and dancing barbarous -dances (especially the sword-dance); or stories told, or Richard -reciting the "Arabian Nights," or poor Palmer chanting Arab poetry, -or Charley Drake practising magic to astonish the Mogháribehs, though -neither of these two were with us _then_. A glorious moon lights our -tripod and kettle; the jackals howl and chatter as they sniff the -savoury bones, and if you can remain breathless, it is the prettiest -thing to see them gambol in the moonlight, jumping over one another's -backs, but if one, smelling food, runs round your tent when all are -asleep, the shadow on the white canvas is so large that it frightens -you. A distant pack coming along sounds like the war-cry of the Bedawi -booming down upon you; their yell is unearthly as it sweeps by you, -passes, and dies away in the distance. I used to love the sound, -because it told me I was in camp, by far the most delightful form of -existence when the weather is not too cruel. - -[Illustration: OUR DESERT-CAMP.] - -Madame Omar Beg's two pets were a hyæna, which received me at the -gate, and a lynx that lay upon the divan. The first put its fore-paws -on my shoulders and smelt my cheek, and did "pouf" (like a bellows -blowing in your face) to frighten me; and the other sprang at me and -mewed and lashed its tail. For sheer fright I stood stock still and -they did nothing to me, and amused Madame Omar immensely when she came -in. - -Camel-riding is very pleasant, if it is a _delúl_ with a long trot, but -a slow walk is horribly tedious, a baggage animal is bone-breaking, -and a gallop would be utter annihilation. A _shugduf_ or _takhtarawán_ -shakes you till you are sore. The nicest mount is horse or mare--mare -safer; but Richard did a very wise thing--he chose _rahwáns_. They run -an American trot, and there is no more fatigue in riding them than -sitting in an armchair. You have only to sit still and let them go, and -they cover enormous spaces in the day; so he used to arrive perfectly -fresh when we were all tired out. I possessed a couple of stallions. -I was headstrong and foolish, and I would ride them, because I hated -the _rahwáns_' paces; so I took a great deal more out of myself than I -need have done, as they generally danced for a couple of hours before -they settled down to their work. However much you may love the desert -and camp life, when you have had your fill of it, I cannot tell how -refreshing it is to see the first belt of green, like something dark -lining the horizon, and to long to reach it. When you enter by degrees -under the trees, the orchards, the gardens of Damascus, you smell the -water from afar, and you hear its gurgling long before you come to the -rills and fountains; you scent and then see the fruit--the limes, figs, -citron, water-melon; you feel a madness to jump into the water, to eat -your fill of fruit, to go to sleep under the delicious shade. - -[Sidenote: _Return Home after Desert._] - -Such is entering Damascus. You forget the bitter wind, the scorching -sun, the blistering sand; you wonder if it is true that you are going -to have a bath, to change your clothes, to sleep in a real bed, without -having to watch against Bedawi, or if your brain is hurt by the sun, or -if your blinded eyes are seeing a mirage. Your tired, drooping horse -tells you it is true; he pricks his ears, he wants to break out into a -mild trot; done up as he is, he stops to drink at every rill, and, with -a low whinny of joy, gathers a mouthful of grass at every crop. You who -have never travelled in the desert do not know what _water_ means. I -have seen forty Bedawi race to a hole in a rock where as much rainwater -had gathered as would fill a hand-basin, fling themselves off their -horses, bend and put their lips to it, and then courteously make way -for each other. You will see people in the East sitting, in what would -appear to you a placid idiotcy of delight, by a little trickling stream -not a foot wide, with a _narghíleh_, and calling it _kayf_, which -means _dolce far niente_, or "sweet do-nothing." - - -OUR HOUSE. - - - "Though old as history itself, thou art fresh as the breath of Spring, - blooming as thine own rosebud, as fragrant as thine own orange flower, - O Damascus, Pearl of the East!" - -Our house in Damascus overhung the road and opposite gardens, with -projecting lattice windows, was bounded on the right by a Mosque, on -the left by a _Hammám_ (Turkish bath), and front and back by gardens. -On the other side of the road, among the apricot orchards, I had -a capital stable for twelve horses, with a good room for _saises_ -(grooms), and a small garden with the river running through it. As soon -as you got out of our village there was a bit of desert sand, and a -background of tall yellow-coloured mountain, called Jebel Kaysún, or -the Camomile Mountain, and that was what our village smelt of. When you -entered our house, you came into a square courtyard, coarsely painted -in broad stripes of red, white, and blue. All around were orange, -lemon, and jessamine trees, a fountain playing in the middle, opposite -the _liwán_, a raised room with one side taken out of it, open on to -the court, spread with carpets and divans, and the niches filled with -plants. Here, on hot days, one receives and offers coffee, lemonade, -sherbet, chibouques, _narghílehs_, and cigarettes. On one side is a -dining-room, on the other a cool sitting-room; all the rest is for -servants and offices. Upstairs, six rooms run round two sides of the -courtyard; a long terrace occupies the other two sides, joining and -opening into the room at either end. There is a cool house-top with -plants, to spread mats and divans, to sit amongst the flowers under the -trees and by the Mosque-minaret, to look either towards our mountain, -or over Damascus and the gardens, and inhale the desert-air from the -other side of Damascus. - -[Illustration: THE BURTONS HOUSE IN SALAHÍYYAH, DAMASCUS. -_By Sir Frederick Leighton._] - -We also made a beautiful arbour in the garden opposite, which contained -chiefly roses and jessamine. By lifting up the overladen vines and -citrons, and branches of the lemon and orange trees, and supporting -them on a frame-work, so that no sun could penetrate their luxuriance; -we had a divan made under them for the cool summer evenings near the -rushing river, and many happy hours of _kayf_ we passed there. The -Mosque next door to us, seemed to be built round and clung to a huge -vine tree, which spread up and down all over it and its terrace, and -the _Muezzin's_ Minaret and my study window were cheek by jowl. The -village was charming--domes and minarets peeping out of trees, -bubbling streams, the music of the water-wheel. - -[Sidenote: _Native Life._] - -Whenever we were in Eastern life, whether in Syria or elsewhere, -we always made a point of being thoroughly English and European in -our Consulate; but, when _not_ obligatory, we used to live a great -deal _with_ the natives, and _as_ the natives, for the purpose of -experience. We wore European dress in Damascus and Beyrout, and we wore -native dress up the country or in the desert. It was as easy for me to -wear men's dress as my own, because it was all drapery, and does not -in the least show the figure. There is nothing but the face to tell -by, and if you tuck up your _kuffíyyah_ you show only half a face, or -only the eyes. Thus we would eat what they ate. If I went to stay with -a harem, I always went in my own clothes; but if I went to the bazar, -I frequently used to dress like a Moslemah with my face covered, and -sit in the shops in the bazar, and let my Arab maid do all the talking -lest I might be suspected, that I might hear all the gossip, and enter -something into their lives. And the women frequently took me into the -mosques in the same way, knowing who I was. - -We attended _every sort_ of ceremony, whether it was a circumcision, or -a wedding, or a funeral, or a dervishes' dance, or anything that was -going on, or any religious ceremony--my husband to the Cafés and the -Mosques, the evening story-tellers' haunts; I to the charm shops, where -the _khosis_ (fortune-tellers) hang out and administer love philters -or, in short, every sort of thing, and mix with all classes, religions, -and races and tongues. My husband's friendship with Mohammedans, and -his knowledge of Arabic and Persian, the language of literature, -put him in intimate relation with the Arab tribes and all the chief -authorities, and the _only man_ who could not get on with him was the -Turkish _Wali_, or Governor-General, Rashíd Pasha. - -[Sidenote: _The Arabic Library at Damascus._] - -I cannot do better than copy Spyr. R. Lambros's letter describing the -Arabic Library at Damascus, which was a rich find for Richard:-- - - "The library was founded by the Ommayads. The building is situate - near the stately Djami which bears their name. It has a great stone - vault supported upon four columns, and ornamented with mosaics. Not - so long ago it was restored with much taste under the superintendence - of the Governor of Syria, Achmet Hamdi Pasha, a favourite of the - Sultan Abdul Hamid. There is no proper catalogue of this library, nor - is it arranged. Several of the manuscripts are moth-eaten and much - injured by damp. Still there exist in it valuable papyri, as well - as manuscripts on parchment and paper. Among them, according to M. - Papadopulos, a conspicuous place is due to a history of Damascus in - nineteen large volumes. A great deal that is new is to be found in - them regarding the City and its walls, as well as about the fine - arts in Damascus. This codex is a jewel of Arabic literature, and an - inexhaustible source for the whole annals of the city. - - "The collection of old Arabic papyri is rich. There are several that - throw light on obscure periods of Arabic history and poetry, or deal - with the general history of Arabs and their literature. 'Some of these - papyri are as late as the fifteenth century, and may be considered,' - says M. Papadopulos, 'as copies of various monuments in stone.' On - papyrus rolls are to be found whole collections of poems by celebrated - Arab authors, of whom Ibn Khaldoun is the most notable. Others contain - decrees of the Emirs of Damascus. - - "M. Papadopulos mentions also a history on parchment of the Tartars, - by Abulghazi Bahadur, and a history and geography of Damascus and - Palmyra, by Abulfeda. Although M. Papadopulos gives no details - regarding these writings, one can identify the history of Abulghazi - as that which was discovered by Swedish officers in the captivity - after the battle of Pultowa, 1709, and translated into German, and - subsequently (1726) into French, and published in two volumes under - the title of 'Histoire Généalogique des Tatars.' Regarding the work - of Abulfeda one cannot, from the brief notice that M. Papadopulos - supplies, come to any certain conclusion, whether it be a portion of - the 'Annales Moslemici' or an unpublished production of the celebrated - Mohammedan prince and polyhistor. - - "Among the other treasures of the library are a treatise of - Abul-Hassan, the Arabian astronomer of the thirteenth century; a roll - of Abumazar, the astronomer (_circa_ 855), on the observatories at - Bagdad and Damascus; a medical treatise of the teacher of Avicenna, - Abu-Sahaal; a meteorological bulletin relating to Damascus, by - Abul-Chaiz; papyrus rolls containing the Pentateuch, the Psalter, and - the Gospels, in Kufic characters; papyrus rolls and others, consisting - of Plato's 'Laws,' in Arabic, the 'Organon' of Aristotle, the work - of Hippocrates, 'De Aëre, Aquis, et Locis,' and one containing some - portions of the 'Birds' of Aristophanes (in Arabic?), and presenting - variants from the received text, and the Bible, in Syriac. - - "But the great prize of the library, so far as one can judge from the - inadequate description given of it, is a Greek manuscript of the Old - and New Testament, comprising the Epistle of Barnabas and a portion of - the Shepherd of Hermas. As the discovery of it is highly interesting, - I will give an exact translation of the passage referring to it. - - "'One of the most important of the so-called uncial manuscripts, which - contain the whole of the New Testament complete, is as follows:-- - - "'The manuscript is written on well-prepared parchment, and is 12½ - inches wide and 13¾ inches tall. It consists of 380½ leaves, of which - 200 contain the Old Testament (in the Septuagint version) incomplete; - but 180 the whole of the New Testament, the Epistle of Barnabas, and - a large portion of the Shepherd of Hermas. The manuscript is divided - into four columns, and in each column there are fifty lines. This - manuscript may be regarded as similar to the Codex Sinaiticus, and - consequently is worthy of a searching inquiry and investigation. The - discovery of this gem is due to us.' - - "Every reader will see that it is really a gem. Not only is the - mere antiquity of the manuscript a point of importance, but also - the fact that it contains a portion, and a considerable portion, - of the Shepherd of Hermas, which has lately been seen in a new - light, thanks to the researches and criticisms of scholars like - Hilgenfeld and Harnack. It is well known that Hilgenfeld maintained - that he had found the Greek conclusion, still missing, of Hermas, - in a London publication of the well-known forger, Constantin - Simonides (Nutt, 1859). This supposed conclusion was, after the - appearance, simultaneously with Professor Hilgenfeld's conjecture, - of the collation of the Athos Codex by Lambros, accompanied by an - introduction by Mr. Armitage Robinson, utterly rejected by Professor - Harnack, and declared to be a pure forgery of Simonides--an opinion - in which I concur. Now comes the ancient manuscript from Damascus - as a new document. Does it contain the conclusion of the Shepherd? - Unfortunately the meagre notice supplied by M. Papadopulos neither - throws light on this point nor affords us sufficient information, nor - does it allow us to form any certain opinion on the whole question - of the importance of the Damascene Codex and its similarity to the - Sinaitic, which also contains, besides the Testament, a small portion - of the Shepherd. I hope, however, to be soon in a position to give - further intelligence on this important discovery. - - "SPYR. R. LAMBROS." - - -ENVIRONS OF DAMASCUS. - - -[Sidenote: _The Environs of Damascus._] - -The small rides and excursions round Damascus are innumerable and -beautiful; they lead through garden and orchard with bubbling water, -under the shady fig and vine, pomegranate and walnut. You emerge on -the soft yellow sand, and you throw off your superfluous strength, by -galloping as hard as you will. There is no one to check your spirits; -the breath of the desert is liberty. There is Mizzeh, a village placed -exactly on the borders of the green and yellow; one side looks into -trees and verdure, and the other side in the bare sand. After that, you -get into the desert, and to Kataná, a village three hours away, and -Hámah. Jeramánah is a Druze village. Jobar is a Moslem village with a -synagogue, dedicated to Elijah, and is a pilgrimage for Damascus Jews, -and built over a cave, where they believe the prophet used to hide -in time of persecution. A railed-off space showed where he anointed -Hazael. When the prophet was at Horeb, "the Lord said unto him, Go, -return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when thou comest, -anoint Hazael to be King over Syria" (1 Kings xix. 15). Burzeh is a -beautiful little village almost hidden under the mountain, nestling -in verdure, and partly hidden by a cliff at the mouth of the glen. -A Moslem Wely, called Makám Ibrahím (place of Abraham), assembles -thousands of pilgrims on its festival day, where they practise the -_Da'aseh_, meaning the treading--that is, the Shaykh riding over the -prostrate bodies of the Faithful without hurting them--as at Cairo. -Josephus, or rather Nicolaus of Damascus, says, "Abraham reigned at -Damascus, being a foreigner who came with an army out of the land above -Babylon, called the land of the Chaldean, but after a long time he got -up and removed from that country, also with his people, and went into -the land of Canaan, but now the land of Judea. Now, the name of Abraham -is still famous in the country of Damascus, and there is shown a -village named from him 'the habitation of Abraham,' and Burzeh is this -village." It is still disputed whether Burzeh or Jobar is the true site -of Hobah. These rides will take you from our mountain in a semicircle -all round Damascus (at the distance of about an hour and a half from -Damascus during the whole time), which is in our centre. - -The longer excursions are the Convent of Saídnaya, considered by the -Greeks to be Ptolemy's Danaba. There are also the Rock-tombs and -temples of Menin Helbon, said to be the Chalybon of the Bible, once -famed for its wine, exported to Tyre, noted by Ezekiel and Strabo, -and horrible stuff it is, if it was the same as it is now. Then there -is the village of Dhumayr, which contains a well-preserved temple, -built in A.D. 246. This is the first day's station for the Baghdad -camel-post, which Richard was responsible for. About two miles eastward -of that, and at the foot of the lowest range of Anti-Lebanon, called -Jebel el-Kaus, are the ruins of a little town and fort deserted for -centuries. The desert of Arabia stretches right away to the east and -south-east. - -These are the little and middling runs. It was very pleasant for us, -as we used to get acquainted with all the Shaykhs and people for two -or three days' ride all round Damascus, and if we felt dull--which, by -the way, we never did--we could run out and pay them a visit, such as -Shaykh Sali's camp, passing El Bassúleh to Hijáneh. Lakes are marked on -the maps a day's journey from Damascus. There are four lakes supposed -to receive the Abana and Pharphar, but they are generally dry, the -rivers evaporating or disappearing in the sand. You ride across the -Ghutah plain, the Merj, and Abbs (the plains of Damascus) into the Wady -el Ajam. It is also pleasant to ride down to the coast, seventy-two -miles, and take a steamer going to Tyre, Sidon, and other coast places. - -[Illustration: SALAHÍYYAH, DAMASCUS IN THE OASIS--THE DESERT BEYOND.] - -[Sidenote: _How our Days were passed._] - -Richard's day, as I said, was divided into reading, writing, studying, -and attending to his official work. There was one kind of duty -within the town, another without the town, to scour mountain and -desert, to ride hard, and to know everything that is going on in the -country, and _personally_, not through dragomans only. His talents -were particularly Eastern, and of a political and diplomatic kind; his -knowledge of Eastern character was as perfect as his languages. He -was as much needed out of the town as in it, and very often when they -thought he was far away, he was amongst them, and they wondered how he -knew things. I interested myself in all his pursuits, and I was a most -fortunate woman that he allowed me to be his companion, his secretary, -and his aide-de-camp. I looked after our house, servants, stables, -and animals. I did a little gardening. I helped my husband, read and -wrote, studied Arabic, received and returned visits, saw and learnt -Damascus through, till I knew it like my own pocket, looked after the -poor and sick of my village and its environs. Sometimes I galloped -over the plains, and sat in the Bedawi tents, sometime went up all the -mountains. Summer times I smoked _narghílehs_ by the waterside in a -neighbour's garden. Sometimes I went to pass two or three days with a -harem. Our lives were wild, romantic, and solemn. After sunset the only -sounds were the last call to prayer on the Minaret top, the howling of -the wild dogs, the cries of the jackals in the burial-ground outside -the village, the bubbling of the fountains, the hootings of the owls in -the garden, the soughing of the wind through the mountain gorges, and -the noise of the water-wheel in a neighbour's orchard. There was often -a free fight in the road below, to steal a mare, or to kill. We have -often gone down to take some poor wretch in, and bind up his sabre-cuts. - -[Sidenote: _Our Reception Day._] - -I used to have a large reception every Friday, and not only of the -Europeans, but the Authorities as well as the natives of every tongue, -race, and creed, who used to assemble in our Divan for _narghílehs_, -sherbet, and coffee. It used to begin at sunrise, and go on till -sunset. How I look back to those romantic days when the assembled -party, being afraid to remain in our quarters after the sun was down, -used to file down through the orchards and gardens to the safe shelter -of the Damascus gates at sunset, and the mattresses and cushions of -the divans were spread on the housetop, backed by the romantic Jebel -Kaysún, with a bit of desert sand between it and us, and on all the -other three sides a view over Damascus, and its surrounding oasis, and -the desert beyond! - -Then the supper was prepared on the roof, and there remained with us -the two most interesting and remarkable characters of Damascus, the -two who never knew what fear meant--the famous Abd el Kadir and Lady -Ellenborough, known there as the "Hon. Jane Digby el Mezrab." Abd el -Kadir was a dark, handsome, thoroughbred-looking man, with dignified -bearing and cool self-possession. He dressed in snowy white, both -turban and burnous. Not a single ornament except his jewelled arms, -which were splendid. If you saw him on horseback you would single him -out from a million; he had the seat of a gentleman and a soldier. -He was every inch a Sultan. His mind was as beautiful as his face. -He spoke the perfection of Arabic, he was a true Moslem, and he and -Richard were both Master-Sufi. All readers will know his history. He -was the fourth son of the Algerine Marabout Abd el Kadir Mahi ed Din, -and was born in 1807. You all remember his hopeless struggles for -the independence of Algeria, his capture, his imprisonment in France -from 1847 to 1852--a treacherous act, and a tarnish to the French -Government. Lord Londonderry earnestly entreated Louis Napoleon to -set him free, which he did, going to the prison himself to let him -out, and treating him with the greatest honour. He pensioned him and -sent him to Damascus, where he was surrounded by five hundred faithful -Algerines. He divided his time into prayer, study, business, and very -little sleep. He loved the English, but he was loyal to Louis Napoleon. -When the massacre in 1860 took place, he used to sleep at his own door, -lest any poor Christian wretch should knock and petition to be saved -from slaughter, and for fear his Algerines, being Moslems, should turn -a deaf ear; and he saved many, sending guards down to the convents of -women, and to his friends. - -[Sidenote: _A Most Interesting and Remarkable Woman._] - -Our other friend was the Hon. Jane Digby, of the family of Lord Digby, -married to Lord Ellenborough, and divorced. She made her home in -Damascus, and eventually married a Bedawin Shaykh (Mijwal el Mezrab), -the tribe of Mezrab being a branch of the great Anazeh. She was a most -beautiful woman, though at the time I write she was sixty-one, tall, -commanding, and queen-like. She was _grande dame au bout des doigts_, -as much as if she had just left the salons of London and Paris, refined -in manner and voice, nor did she ever utter a word you could wish -unsaid. My husband said she was out and out the cleverest woman he -ever met; there was nothing she could not do. She spoke nine languages -perfectly, and could read and write in them. She painted, sculptured, -was musical. Her letters were splendid; and if on business, there -was never a word too much, nor a word too little. She had had a most -romantic, adventurous life, and she was now, one might say, Lady Hester -Stanhope's successor. She lived half the year in a romantic house -she had built for herself in Damascus, and half her life she and her -husband lived in his Bedawi tents, she like any other Bedawin woman, -but honoured and respected as the queen of her tribe, wearing one blue -garment, her beautiful hair in two long plaits down to the ground, -milking the camels, serving her husband, preparing his food, giving him -water to wash his hands and face, sitting on the floor and washing his -feet, giving him his coffee, his sherbet, his _narghílehs_, and while -he ate she stood and waited on him, and glorying in it; and when in -Damascus they led semi-European lives. She looked splendid in Oriental -dress, and if you saw her as a Moslem woman in the bazar you would have -said she was not more than thirty-four years of age. She was my most -intimate friend, and she dictated to me the whole of her biography, -beginning 15th March, 1871, and ending July 7th. - -After I left a report came home that she was dead. I answered some -unpleasant remarks in the Press about her, throwing a halo over her -memory, in which I stated that I being the possessor of the biography, -no one had a right to say anything about her except myself. She -reappeared again, having only been detained in the desert by the -fighting of the tribes. Her relatives attacked her for having given -me the biography, and she, under pressure, denied it in print through -one of the missionaries, and then wrote and asked me to give it back -to her; but I replied that she should have had it with the greatest -pleasure, only having "given me the lie" in print, I was obliged for my -own sake to keep it, and she eventually died. I have got it now, but I -shall never publish it. - -After this episode of my being publicly attacked about her biography, -_Chambers' Journal_, September 9th, 1876, produced the following -notice:-- - - [Sidenote: _A Romantic History._] - - "Jane Elizabeth, Lady Ellenborough, if we may trust the matter-of-fact - pages of Lodge's 'Peerage,' is the only sister of the present Lord - Digby, being daughter of the late Admiral Sir Henry Digby, G.C.B., - great-grandson of the fifth Lord Digby; her mother was a daughter of - Thomas William Coke, of Holkham, the veteran M.P. for Norfolk, and - well-known agriculturist, afterwards created Earl of Leicester. She - was born in April, 1807, and when little more than seventeen, was - married to the late Lord Ellenborough (the Governor-General of India); - but the union was dissolved by Act of Parliament in 1830. - - "The rumour of her death was effectually contradicted a few months - later by a letter in her own handwriting, addressed to an English - lady, who was well acquainted with her in Damascus. This lady and her - husband had mourned old Lady Ellenborough for two or three months as - having died in the desert, and had quite given up all hope of ever - seeing her again, when one day she received from her a letter stating - that she was alive and in the best of health, and asking her to - contradict the rumour of her decease. - - 'Lady Ellenborough was fortunate in the possession of at least one - sincere friend, generously eager to defend her when attacked, and to - make out the best case possible for her. Mrs. Isabel Burton, who had - been intimately acquainted, and in the habit of daily intercourse - with this extraordinary woman, during a residence of some years in - Damascus, while her husband, Captain Burton, was the English Consul - at that city, appears to have contracted a warm attachment for her, - and speaks of her, in spite of all her faults, in terms of the highest - praise. To Mrs. Burton Lady Ellenborough confided the task of writing - her biography, and dictated it to her day by day until the task was - accomplished. In a letter to the _Pall Mall Gazette_, written in - March, 1873, when under the belief that Lady Ellenborough was dead, - Mrs. Burton says, in allusion to this biography, 'She did not spare - herself, dictating the bad with the same frankness as the good. I was - pledged not to publish this until after her death and that of certain - near relatives.' - - "Mrs. Burton subsequently adds, 'I cannot meddle with the past - without infringing on the biography confided to me; but I can say a - few words concerning her life, dating from her arrival in the East, - as told me by herself and by those now living there; and I can add - my testimony as to what I saw, which I believe will interest every - one in England, from the highest downwards, and be a gratification - to those more nearly concerned. About sixteen years ago, tired of - Europe, Lady Ellenborough conceived the idea of visiting the East, and - of imitating Lady Hester Stanhope and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, not - to mention a French lady, Mdme. de la Tour d'Auvergne, who has built - herself a temple on the top of Mount Olivet, and lives there still. - Lady Ellenborough arrived at Beyrout and went to Damascus, where she - arranged to go to Baghdad across the Desert. A Bedouin escort for this - journey was necessary; and as the Mezrab tribe occupied the ground, - the duty of commanding the escort devolved upon Shaykh Mijwal, a - younger brother of Shaykh Mohammed, chief of this tribe, which is a - branch of the great Anezeh tribe. On the journey the young Shaykh fell - in love with this beautiful woman, who possessed all the qualities - that could fire the Arab imagination. Even two years ago she was - more attractive than half the young girls of our time. It ended by - his proposing to divorce his Moslem wives and to marry her; to pass - half the year in Damascus--which to him was like what London or Paris - would be to us--for her pleasure, and half in the Desert to lead his - natural life. The romantic picture of becoming a Queen of the Desert - and of the Bedouin tribes exactly suited her wild fancies, and was at - once accepted; and she was married, in spite of all opposition made - by her friends and the British Consulate. She was married according - to Mohammedan law, changed her name to that of the Honourable Mrs. - Digby El Mezrab, and was horrified when she found that she had lost - her nationality by her marriage, and had become a Turkish subject. For - fifteen years she lived as she died,[3] the faithful and affectionate - wife of the Shaykh, to whom she was devotedly attached. Half the year - was passed in a very pretty house, which she built at Damascus just - without the gates of the City; and the other six months were passed, - according to his nature, in the Desert in the Bedouin tents of the - tribe. - - "'In spite of this hard life, necessitated by accommodating herself to - his habits--for they were never apart--she never lost anything of the - English lady, nor the softness of a woman. She was always a perfect - lady in sentiment, voice, manners, and speech. She never said or did - anything could wish otherwise. She kept all her husband's respect, and - was the Mother and the Queen of his tribe. In Damascus we were only - nineteen Europeans, but we all flocked around her with affection and - friendship. The natives did the same. As to strangers, she received - only those who brought a letter of introduction from a friend or - relative; but this did not hinder every ill-conditioned passer-by from - boasting of his intimacy with the House of Mezrab, and recounting the - untruths which he invented, _pour se faire valoir_, or to sell his - book or newspaper at a better profit. She understood friendship in - its best and fullest sense, and for those who enjoyed her confidence - it was a treat to pass the hours with her. She spoke French, Italian, - German, Slav, Spanish, Arabic, Turkish, and Greek, as she spoke her - native tongue. She had all the tastes of a country life, and occupied - herself alternately with painting, sculpture, music, or with her - garden-flowers, or poultry, or with her thoroughbred Arab mares, or - in carrying out some improvement. She was thoroughly a connoisseur - in each of her amusements or occupations. To the last she was fresh - and young; beautiful, brave, refined, and delicate. She hated all - that was false. Her heart was noble; she was charitable to the poor. - She regularly attended the Protestant church, and often twice on - Sundays. She fulfilled all the duties of a good Christian lady and an - Englishwoman. She is dead. All those who knew her in her latter days - will weep for her. She had but one fault (and who knows if it was - hers?), washed out by fifteen years of goodness and repentance. Let - us hide it, and shame those who seek to drag up the adventures of her - wild youth to tarnish so good a memory. _Requiescat in pace._' - - "But Lady Ellenborough was _not_ dead. It will, of course, be obvious - that, along with Lord Brougham, she has been privileged to read the - obituary notice of her own career; and she is probably destined to see - many more summers and winters in her Arab home. - - "It is evident, from the tenor of the last few sentences of the - foregoing letter, that the 'one fault' to which the writer alludes was - the elopement of Lady Ellenborough with Prince Schwartzenberg, and - that Mrs. Burton entirely disbelieves in the half-dozen or more of - apocryphal husbands intervening between Lord Ellenborough and the Arab - sheikh. At any rate, the eccentric lady is entitled to the benefit - of the doubt; and public curiosity respecting this extraordinary - woman must remain unsatisfied until the period shall arrive when her - friend and confidante, Mrs. Burton, will be at liberty to publish the - autobiography committed to her charge. - - "It would be possible, without difficulty, to draw at once a - parallel and a contrast between the eccentric Lady Ellenborough and - the scarcely less eccentric niece of the younger Pitt, Lady Hester - Stanhope, whom I have named above, and who, more than half a century - ago, exchanged English life, habits, and sentiments, and possibly also - to some extent her faith as well, for those of the wild and romantic - East." - -The others, besides Richard and myself, on the house roof were -frequently Charles Tyrwhitt-Drake, an indefatigable worker in the -Palestine Exploration; and E. H. Palmer, afterwards professor of Arabic -at Cambridge, and in 1882 murdered by the Bedawi in Arabia. We were -six, and I need not say how romantic those evenings were, what a halo -my memory throws around them, what conversation, what real adventures, -real life, real wit, real spirituality we enjoyed; and we often stayed -there till the moon was on the wane. The two Englishmen were living -with us, and Abd el Kadir, with an escort of his Algerines, who were -picketed in our court, would see the lady home on his road to his own -palace. Now I am the only survivor of those happy meetings. - -[Illustration: THE BURTONS' HOUSE-ROOF AT DAMASCUS AND THE ADJOINING -MOSQUE-MINARET.] - - -RICHARD AND CHILDREN. - - -[Sidenote: _Richard's Love for Children._] - -Richard's love for children was quite extraordinary. If there was a -child in the room, even a baby in arms, no one could get a word out of -him; but you would find him on the floor, romping with them, and they -were never afraid of him. I do not think there could possibly be a -better illustration than the very admirable and striking account given -by Salih, who was one of the missionaries in Damascus:-- - - - "_Burton at Damascus._ - - - "My first sight of Captain Burton revealed not only the man in his - complex character, but supplied the key to the perplexing vicissitudes - of his extraordinary career. - - "On his arrival in Damascus, Burton called at my house. My study - adjoined the drawing-room, into which he was shown by a native - servant. I heard him command the Arab to fetch me in harsh, peremptory - tones, which were meant to be obeyed. The servant, not thinking that I - was in the study, went to seek me elsewhere. I advanced, in noiseless - Damascus slippers, to the drawing-room door, and I came upon a scene - never to be forgotten. - - "At one side of the room stood my curly-headed, rosy-cheeked little - boy of five, on the other side stood Burton. The two were staring at - each other. Neither was aware of my presence. Burton had twisted - his face into the most fiendish-like aspect. His eyes rolled, exposing - the whites in an alarming manner. The features were drawn to one side, - so as to make the gashes on his jaw and brow appear more ghastly. The - two cheeks were blown out, and Burton, raising a pocket-handkerchief - to his left cheek, struck his right with the flat of his right hand, - thus producing an explosion, and making the pocket-handkerchief fly to - the left as if he had shot it through his two cheeks. - - "The explosion was followed by a suppressed howl, something between - the bark of a hyæna and a jackal. All the time Burton glared on the - little fellow with the fiery eyes of a basilisk, and the child stood - riveted to the floor as if spell-bound and fascinated, like a creature - about to be devoured. Suddenly a very wonderful thing happened. The - little boy, with a wild shout of delight, sprang into the monster's - arms, and the black beard was instantly mingled with the fair - curls, and Burton was planting kisses all over the flaxen pate. The - whole pantomime was gone through as quick as lightning, and Burton, - disentangling himself, caught sight of my Arab returning without me, - and, instead of waiting for an explanation, hurled at him a volley - of exasperating epithets, culled from the rich stores of spicy and - stinging words which garnish Arabic literature. Burton had revealed - himself to me fully before he saw me. The child's clear, keen instinct - did not mislead it. The big, rough monster had a big child's heart - behind the hideous grimaces. The child's unerring instinct was drawn - by affinity to the child's heart in the man." - -During our time a very interesting episode occurred at Damascus--a sad -one, too. Lord and Lady Langdale had a daughter who was married to -Count Téleki. It was not a very happy marriage. She made a journey to -Syria and Palestine with her mother, a very nice cousin, and a young -friend of his, for diversion. Like many travellers, unused to sun, hard -riding, bad water, exposure, and fatigue, she got the usual fever and -dysentery, and was brought down in a dying state to Damascus. She was -of Agnostic principles, but in her last few hours she desired to be -baptized a Catholic. I did all I could for her in the way of nursing, -and Richard as far as his power went. When she died, her desk was found -to contain a letter which had been written years before, when she had -been very much excited by reading Buckle's "History of Civilization," -and she wrote, "Should I die at Damascus, I should like to be buried by -Buckle." It so happened that there was place for two next to Buckle, -and she was buried there--a most impressive and touching funeral. Her -coffin was covered with the Union Jack; Richard and all his dragomans -and _kawwáses_, in full uniform, were present; and some time after, -appeared the following note in a newspaper:-- - - - BUCKLE'S GRAVE. - - - "The London correspondent of the _Manchester Guardian_ says, 'A - traveller just arrived in London from Damascus gives some rather - interesting details about the present condition and surroundings - of Buckle's grave. Though it was left for so long after his death, - without a stone even to mark it, that it had the altar-tomb of white - marble and black basalt that was at length erected, and was now - enclosed in a high wall with a padlocked gate. Next to Buckle's tomb - are the tombs of two rather remarkable women. The first is that of - the Countess Téleki (a daughter, I believe, of Lord Langdale), who - especially desired that her grave should be next to Buckle's; and the - next tomb is that of Lady Ellenborough, erected by her brother, Lord - Digby, with an Arabic inscription from the Korán, placed on it by her - later husband, the Arab sheikh, in singular proximity to the cross - which forms part of the monument. On Buckle's tomb also, on which, - however, there is no cross, there is an Arabic inscription, suggested - by the famous Emir Abd el Kadir.'" - - -SYRIA. - - -[Sidenote: _Richard's Notes on our Wilder Travels._] - -Each year in January we rode out with the Meccan Caravan, or Haj, as -far as Ramsah, the third station, and one year returned to Damascus -_viâ_ Izra (the Edhra of the Handbook) and the celebrated Haurán valley -plain, inspecting the chief settlements and making acquaintance with -the principal Shaykhs. Richard writes-- - - "I had business at Hums (Emesa), generally written Homs, and Hamáh - (Hamath Epiphaneia), on the northern borders of the consular district - of Damascus. From there I examined and sent home native facsimiles of - the four unique basaltic stones, whose characters, raised in cameo, - apparently represent a system of local hieroglyphics peculiar to this - part of Syria, and form the connecting link between picture-writing - and the true syllabarium. A friend was kind enough to give me some - valuable papers, amongst them two maps noting the most important of - the three hundred and sixty villages, which he had traced himself by - aid of native information. These stud the plain known as El'Aláh; the - same number of villages are allotted to the Lejá. This plain is a - high rolling ground beginning at Selamíyyah, the well-known ruin and - outwork of Palmyra, six hours' ride from, and bearing east-south-east - of the Mound of Hamáh. It extends five days' journey to the north, and - from east to west two or three days'. Some call it the 'Great Syrian - Desert;' but the Seleucidæ here kept their immense studs of elephants - and horses. The whole is virgin ground, as are also the eastern slopes - of the Jebel Kalbíyyah, on the left bank of the Orontes, and of the - country extending from the parallel of Hums to that of Selamíyyah. In - the first five hours we had examined five ruins; and the basaltic - buildings are exactly those of the Giant Cities of Bashan. We returned - to Damascus by Jebel el Hulah; saw the fine crusading castle called - Husn el Akrád, the plain of the Nahr el Kabír, the Eleutherus river. - Our hardships were considerable; the country was under water, and the - rushing torrents and deep ditches caused long detours. We had heavy - and continuous rains, furious blasts, snow and sleet like Norway. - One of the followers sickened and died, and we were all frostbitten. - In all my trips and peregrinations, I had business to do as well as - pleasure. - - "Throughout Syria, when the basaltic soil runs to any depth, the - earth is loose and treacherous, fatiguing to traverse in summer, - and impassable in winter. In some places the water is sulphurous or - brackish, but in most places without any unpleasant taste; it is - strongly diuretic." - - -UNEXPLORED SYRIA. - - -Taken from Richard's journals of excursions to the Libanus with -Charley Drake and me, and once with Drake alone, the Tulúl el Safá, -the Anti-Libanus, the Northern Libanus, and the 'Aláh. We collected -eighty-one original Greek inscriptions in the Haurán mountain, and in -the 'Aláh, a collection of Alpine plants from the Libanus, shells, and -geological specimens. Charley Drake did the plans and sketches and -maps, Richard and I the writing. - -Richard wrote-- - - [Sidenote: _The Tulúl el Safá._] - - "The fact was we had long been tantalized by the sight of the - forbidden Tulúl el Safá, or Hillocks of the Safá Pyramids, looking at - the distance like baby finger-tops, dotting the eastern horizon within - sight of our housetop, and, thinning out northwards, prolonged the - lumpy blue wall of the Jebel Durúz Haurán, which appears to reflect - the opposite line of the Anti-Libanus. Many also were the vague and - marvellous reports which had reached our ears concerning a cave called - by the few who knew it Umm Nírán, the mother of fires. The difficulty - and danger of visiting these places arose in my time simply from the - relations of the _Wali's_ government with the hill tribes of Bedawin, - who, mixed up with the Druzes, infest the Trachonic countries. The - hill tribes proper are Agaylát, the Hasan, the Shurafát, the Azámát, - and the Masá'id. The Safá is tenanted by the Shitayá, the Ghiyás, - and the Anjad, whilst the Lejá belongs to the Sulút, as clients of - the Druzes. These are nine hordes intermarried, who combine together - in the warfare of the tribes. They are the liege descendants of the - refractory robbers of the Trachonitis, who, to revenge the death of - their Captain Naub, rose up against the garrison of three thousand - Idumæans stationed in their country by Herod, son of Antipater. Their - prowess as plunderers is still famous. - - "To the scandal of every honest man, they are allowed to scour the - plains, carry off the flocks, and harry the flocks and herds of the - peasantry. They served as ready implements of revenge against all - those disaffected to or disliked by the petty autocrat [Rashíd Pasha] - who then disgraced the land by his rule. They are small and slightly - made, with oval face, bright brown eyes, and restless roving look - of the civilized pickpocket. The features high and well formed, the - skin a clear olive yellow. They wear long love-locks of raven-wings' - tint, well buttered. Their dress scanty and irregular. The action, - like the eyes, is wild and startled; the voice is a sort of bark. When - attacked, they put the women, children, and cattle in the rear, form - a rude line, carefully guard against being out-flanked, and advance - file-firing with great regularity. They attack strangers, and they - have no sense of hospitality, and for this reason it was not really - safe to ride alone three hours beyond the Eastern gate of Damascus. - The Subá'a, therefore, made the plain of Damascus a battle-field, and - the Wuld Ali levied black-mail in Cœle-Syria. - - "Dust was thrown in the eyes of the civilized world whilst the _Wali_ - employed hordes of banditti to plunder its own hapless subjects, - whilst the satellites had the audacity to publish, 'Le désert est - cultivé, les Bedouins sont soumis, et le brigandage anéanti.' So it - came to pass that all the broken-down Gassanian convents had never - to our knowledge been visited by any European traveller. Mr. Porter - was told that a hundred horsemen would not attempt a journey to El - Diyúrá. We received no damage, and nighted in the old temple of Ba'al, - called Harrán el'Awámid. However, the Ghiyás found us out, advanced in - a steady line, treated us to a shower of bullets, severely wounding - in the leg our gallant companion and friend, Bedr Beg. As we were - well mounted and armed, and the riding ground good, we could have - brought down as many of them as we pleased, for we were all armed with - six-shooters, and eight shot rifles, but, as we wanted to avoid a - blood-feud, we did not return fire. After Rashíd Pasha was gone, the - mystery of their attacking us was cleared up. - - "These convents are in an excellent state of preservation. What we - have to complain of is that the spirit of clique too often succeeds - in ignoring the real explorer, the true inventor, the most learned - writer, and the best artist. The honour is denied to the right - man. Party is successful against principle. The Pharisee, with his - aggressive, vigorous, narrow-minded nature, with his hard thin - character, all angles and stings, with his starch inflexible opinions - upon religion, politics, science, literature, and art, with his broad - assurance that _his_ ways are the only right ways, rules with a rod - of iron the large herd of humanity, headed by Messrs. Feeblemind and - Ready-to-halt. We find in our national life, when the Battle of the - Creeds, or rather of 'Non-Credo' _versus_ 'Credo,' has been offered - and accepted; when every railway station is hung with texts and - strewed with tracts for the benefit of that British-public-cherished - idol the working-class; when the South Kensington Museum offers - professional instruction in science and art for women before they - become mothers, suggesting that creation by law may be as reasonable - as creation by miracle; when Secularism draws the sword against - Denominationalism; briefly, when those who 'believe' and those who do - not, can hardly keep hands off one another in a _mêlée_, it suggests a - foretaste of the mystical Armageddon." - -Richard and Charley Drake sketched and fixed the positions of some -fifty ruins which are fated to disappear from the face of the earth. -They took squeezes of from twenty to twenty-five Greek inscriptions, -of which six or seven have dates, and explored the Harrah, or -'Hot-Country,' the pure white blank in the best maps, and took -hydrographic charts, as they found that the guide-books and the maps -teemed with mistakes. - - "I thought," he said, "when I came here that Syria and Palestine would - be so worn out that my occupation as an explorer was clean gone, but - I soon found that although certain lines had been well trodden, that - scarcely ever a traveller, and _no tourists_, have ever ridden ten - miles off the usual ways. No one knows how many patches of unvisited - and unvisitable country lie within a couple of days' ride of great - cities and towns, such as Aleppo and Damascus, Hums, and Hamáh. - - "Where the maps show a virgin white patch in the heart of Jaydur, the - classical Ituræa, students suppose that the land has been examined, - and has been found to contain nothing of interest. The reverse is - absolutely the case. Finally, as will presently appear, there are - valid reasons for that same, for the unexplored spots are either too - difficult or too dangerous for the multitude to undertake. To visit - carefully _even_ the _beaten_ tracks in the Holy Land occupies six - months, and none _except a resident_ can afford leisure or secure - health for more, and the reason that these places have escaped - European inspection is, that they do not afford provisions, or forage, - or water; they are deadly with malarious fever, they are infested by - the Bedawi. They do not often detain you for ransom, nor mutilate you; - but they will spear you. They will not kill you in cold blood; that is - only done for a _Thar_, which is the blood-feud between tribes. Still, - under these mitigated circumstances, travellers may know that their - escorts will turn tail, and will hardly care to expose themselves, - their attendants, and baggage to a charge of Bedawin cavalry. Indeed, - the running away of the escort is the traveller's safeguard. If the - tribe could seize all, it knows that dead men are dumb, but it knows - that the fugitives have recognized them, and that before evening the - tale will be known through all the land. - - "There is no reverence in this ancient place for antiquity. Syria - would _willingly_ change from ancient and Oriental to modern and - European. The ruins of the 'Aláh are pulled to pieces to build houses - for Hamáh. The classical buildings of Saccæa are torn down and made - into rude hovels for the Druzes, who fled from the Anti-Libanus and - Hermon. Syria, north of Palestine, is an old country, geographically - and technologically and other ways, but it is absolutely new. A land - of the past, it has a future as promising as that of Mexico or the - Argentine Republic. The first railway that spans it will restore the - poor old lethargic region to rich and vigorous life. 'Lazare, veni - foras!'--it will raise this Lazarus of Eastern provinces, this Niobe - of nations, from a neglected grave. _There is literally no limit that - can be laid down to the mother-wit, the ambition, the intellectual - capabilities of its sons. They are the most gifted race that I have - as yet ever seen, and when the curse shall have left the country--not - the bane of superstition, but the bane and plague-spot of bad rule--it - will again rise to a position not unworthy of the days when it gave to - the world a poetry and a system of religion still unforgotten by our - highest civilization._ - - "My object was to become acquainted with the Haurán and its Druzes, - to see the Umm-Nírán Cave, called the 'fire cave,' of which one hears - such extraordinary legends, and the Tulúl el Safá, which is the - volcanic region, east of the Damascus swamps. - - "The South Pacific Coast, and Mediterranean Palestine, are two - pendants in the world, only the East is on a much smaller scale. The - lakes and rivers, plains and valleys, cities and settlements, storms - and earthquakes, in fact, all the geographical, physical, and the - meteorological, as well as the social features of the two regions, - show a remarkable general likeness with a difference of proportion. - - "The world is weary of the past. In these regions there is hardly a - mile without a ruin, hardly a ruin that is not interesting, and in - some places, mile after mile and square mile after square mile of ruin - show a luxuriance of ruin. There is not a large ruin in the country - which does not prove, upon examination, to be the composition of ruins - more ancient still. The mere surface of the antiquarian mine has - only been scratched; it will be long years before the country can be - considered explored, before even Jerusalem can be called 'recovered,' - and the task must be undertaken by Societies, not by _individuals_. - - "Of history, of picturesque legend, of theology and mythology, of art - and literature, as of archaeology, of palæography, of palæogeography, - of numismatology, and all the other 'ologies and 'ographies, they have - absolutely no visible end. If the New World be bald and tame, the - Syrian old world is, to those _who know it well_, perhaps a little too - fiery and exciting, paling with its fierce tints and angry flush the - fair vision which a country has a right to contemplate in the days to - be. There is a disease here called 'Holy Land on the Brain,' which - makes patients babble of hanging gardens and parterres of flowers. - The 'green sickness' attacks tourists from Europe and North America, - especially where the sun is scarce. It attacks the Protestant with - greater violence than the Catholic (the Catholic from long meditation - is prepared for it). The Protestant fit is excited and emotional, - spasmodic and hysterical, ending in a long rhapsody about himself, - his childhood, and his mother. It spares the Levantine, as 'yellow - Jack' does the negro. His brain is too well packed with the wretched - intrigues and petty interest of material life to have any room for - excitement at 'the first glimpse of Emmanuel's Land.' The sufferer - will perhaps hire a house at Siloam, and pass his evenings in howling - from the roof, at the torpid little town of Jebus, 'Woe! woe to thee, - Jerusalem!' Men fall to shaking hands with one another, and exchange - congratulations for the all-sufficient reason that the view before - them 'embraces the plain of Esdraelon.' - - "_A long and happy life should be still before it. The ruined heaps - show us what has been; the appliances of civilization, provided - with railways and tramways, will offer the happiest blending of - the ancient and the modern worlds. It will become another Egypt, - with the advantages of a superior climate, and far nobler races - of men._ Time was when I dreamt of the Libanus as my future _pied - à terre_. When weary with warfare and wander, one could repose in - peace and comfortable ease. I thought of pitching a tent for life - on Mount Lebanon, whose _raki_ and tobacco are of the best, whose - _Vino d'oro_ is _compared_ with the best, whose winter climate is - like an English summer, whose views are lovely, a place at the same - time near and far from society--it was _riant_ in the extreme;[4] - but in the state of Syria in _my_ time, the physical mountain had no - shade, the moral mountain no privacy, the village life would have - been dreary and monotonous, broken only by a storm, an earthquake, a - murder, a massacre. Such is the rule of the _Wali_ in this unfortunate - time, when drought and famine, despotism and misrule, maddens its - unfortunate inhabitants. - - "We now determined the forms and bearings of the Cedar Block, the true - apex of the Libanus. We then went to the unknown and dangerous region - called Tulúl el Safá, the Hillocks of the Safá district, a mass of - volcanic cones lying east of the Damascus swamps called lakes. Then - we explored the northern Anti-Libanus, a region which is innocent of - tourists and traveller, and appears a blank of mountains upon the best - maps. Of my fellow-traveller Charley Drake I can only say that every - one knows his public worth. At the end of my time here came three - tedious months of battling unsupported, against all that falsehood and - treachery could devise; the presence of this true-hearted Englishman, - staunch to the backbone, inflexible in the cause of right, and equally - disdainful of threats and promises, was our greatest comfort: I can - only speak of him with enthusiasm. Our journey to the northern slopes - of Lebanon, and the 'Aláh or the highland of Syria, is an absolute - gain to geography, as the road lay through a region marked on our maps - 'Great Syrian Desert,' and the basaltic remains in the extensive and - once populous plain lying north-east and south-east of Hamah have been - visited, sketched, and portrayed for the first time. We found lignite, - true coal, bituminous schists and limestone, the finest bitumen or - asphalt, mineral springs of all sorts, and ores of all kinds, and - plants and rhubarb. And then the duty of a Consular officer in Syria - is to scour the country, and see matters with his own eyes, and - personally to investigate the cases which are brought before him at - head-quarters, where everything except the truth appears. - - "After our visit to Ba'albak and the northern Libanus, we 'did' the - southern parts of the mountain, the home of the Druzes as opposed - to that of the Maronites; then we ascended Hermon, then we had our - gallop to the Waters of Merom, that hideous expanse of fetid mire and - putrefying papyrus. We paid a visit to the only Bedawin Amir in this - region, the Amir Hasan el Fa'úr of the Benú Fadl tribe, and then we - visited most of the romantic and hospitable Druze villages which cling - to the southern and eastern folds of Hermon." - -[Sidenote: _Our Home in the Anti-Lebanon._] - -We used to spend all the summers in the Anti-Lebanon. Bludán is a -little Christian village, Greek orthodox, which clings to the Eastern -flank of the mountain overlooking the Zebedáni valley, which is well -known to travellers, because it leads from Damascus to Ba'albak. In it -we found the _official_ sources of the Barada, the river of Damascus, -but its _real_ source is a pool just behind our quarters, fed in winter -by the torrent of Jebel el Shakíf. The Bludán block is a few miles -north of the site of Abila, the highest summit of Anti-Lebanon, and -is fronted on the west by Jebel el Shakíf, or "Mountain of Cliffs," -with gaps and gorges. Bludán lies twenty-seven miles to the north-west -across country, away from Damascus. - -Ours was a large claret-case-shaped house of stone; the centre was a -large barn-like limestone hall with a deep covered verandah; a wild -waste of garden extends all round the house, a bare ridge of mountain -behind; a beautiful stream with two small waterfalls rushes through -the garden. It is five thousand feet high--an eagle's nest, commanding -an unrivalled view. The air was perfect, only hot at three p.m. for -an hour or two, and blankets at night. There was stabling for eight -horses; no windows, only wooden shutters to close at night. We see five -or six ranges of mountains, one backing the other, of which the last -looks down upon the Haurán. We can see Jebel Sannin, which does not -measure nine thousand feet above sea-level, monarch of the Lebanon, and -on the left, Hermon, king of the Anti-Lebanon. The Greek villages cling -like wasps' nests to our mountain, and Zebedáni, on the plain beneath, -contains thirty-five thousand Mohammedans. - -[Illustration: THE BURTONS' HOUSE AT BLUDÁN, IN ANTI-LEBANON. -_By Charles Tyrwhitt-Drake._] - -[Sidenote: _Our Day._] - -The utter solitude, the wildness of the life, the absence of _luxe_, -and no society, the being thoroughly alone with Nature and one's -own thoughts, was all too refreshing; we led half-Eastern lives and -half-farmhouse life. We made our own bread, we bought butter and -milk from the Bedawi, we bought sheep or kids from passing flocks. We -woke at dawn, and after a cup of tea, we used to take the dogs, and -have long walks over the mountains with our guns. - -The game were bears (very scarce), gazelles, wolves, wild boars, and -a small leopard called _nimr_, but for these we had to go far, and -watch in silence before dawn. But Richard had opinions about sport; -he only wanted to kill a beast that would kill us if we did not kill -it, and the smaller game, partridges, quails, woodcocks, hares, and -wild duck, we never shot unless we were hungry, and we would not have -the gazelles hunted. He had the greatest contempt for the Hurlingham -matches, and the battue slaughters in English parks, where, instead -of honestly walking for your game, and bringing it home to eat, the -young men of to-day have a gentle stroll to eat _pâté de foie gras_, -drink champagne, and the keeper hands them a gun with a pheasant almost -tied to the end of it to blow to pieces. And what Richard thought -about sport I heartily agreed with. The hot part of the day was spent -in reading, writing, and studying Arabic. He sent home from Bludán, -during 1870, "Vikram and the Vampire" (Hindú tales), "Paraguay," and -"Proverbia Communia Syriaca" (Royal Asiatic Society, 1871)--three works -he had been long preparing. - -His three literary necessities were Shakespeare, the Bible, and Euclid, -and they were bound up together, with three large clasps, like a -breviary, and went everywhere. _His_ method of language-learning he -has described in his autobiography. He taught me this way. He made me -learn ten new words a day by heart. "When a native speaks, then say -the words after him to get his accent. Don't be English--that is, shy -or self-conscious--if you know five words, air them wherever you can; -next day you will know ten, and so on till you can speak. Don't be like -the Irishman who would not go into the water until he could swim. Then -take a very easy childish book, in the colloquial language of the day, -and translate it word for word underneath the original, and you will be -surprised how soon you find yourself unconsciously talking." - -At twelve we had our first meal; in the afternoon native Shaykhs, or -English from Beyrout or Damascus, came to visit us, or rare tourists -would crawl up to see what sort of people we were, and how we lived. -They all used to say, "Well, it is glorious, but the thing is to get -here." We set up a _tir_ (shooting-place) in the garden, and used to -practise pistol or rifle shooting, or fence, or put on the _cavesson_, -and lunge the horses if they had had no exercise. When the sun became -cooler, all the poor within sixteen miles round would come to be -doctored; the hungry, the thirsty, the ragged, the sick and sorry, -filled our garden, and Richard used to settle grievances, and they all -got money or clothing, food or medicine, and sympathy. Before dinner -we used to assemble in the garden to eat a few mouthfuls of _leban_ -salad and drink a liqueur glass of _raki_, which was quite necessary to -give us sufficient appetite. Divans were then spread on the housetop, -and we used to watch the moon lighting up Hermon, whilst we smoked the -after-dinner _narghíleh_. The horses were picketed out all these summer -nights, and the _saises_ slept with them. The last thing was to have -night prayers, and then to go the rounds to see that everything was -right, turn out the dogs on guard, and then to bed. - -The mails came once a fortnight, and Richard would ride into Damascus -and see that all was well. Sometimes we used to give a picnic to -some of our Moslem neighbours, and we would gallop out in the plain, -and stay in the black tents of the Arabs. I used to have to ride -down to the Moslem village Zebedáni every Sunday for church. The -path was steep, and covered with rolling stones, so that the horses -used mostly to slide down, and it occupied about an hour and a half. -The most curious part was that the Shaykhs and chief Moslems always -accompanied me to Mass. The thing that astonished the Shaykhs the most, -was the small acolytes being able to read and sing in Latin, and they -constantly exclaimed, "Máshálláh!" - -We were much grieved about this time to hear the sad news of poor Lord -Clarendon's death. Few amongst us that have not some happy recollection -of that kind, true heart. He belonged to a breed of gentlemen that with -one or two exceptions may be said to have died out. R.I.P. At this -juncture Mr. E. H. Palmer and Charley Drake had come back from Sinai -and the Tih Desert, and came to stay with us. - -[Sidenote: _With Drake and Palmer in the Lebanon._] - -We wandered about for a long time together. On a long day we might -easily zigzag forty or fifty miles, and thirty or thirty-six on a short -day. We never rode straight to a place, and always rode two horses, as -there is so much to be seen on both sides of a direct way. - -Ba'albak is far more beautiful, though much smaller than Tadmor, and -can be seen without any danger. Tadmor is more romantic, picturesque, -more startling, and there is the attraction of the danger, and being in -the absolute desert. Londoners and Parisians would consider Ba'albak -in the desert, but we from Damascus do not. This was the holy place of -the old Phœnicians, and I do not know a finer sight, from a distant -height, when Ba'albak is lit up by the setting sun. The fertile plain -of the Buká'a, with its black Turcoman tents and camels, lies in the -distance. There is a big stone still lying there, which would weigh -eleven thousand tons. The Hajar el Hablah, or pregnant stone, is a huge -unfinished block. Our measurements were seventy feet long, fourteen -feet two inches high, and thirteen feet eleven inches broad. The -extraordinary sight makes you exclaim, "Something must have frightened -them before they had time to carry it off." - -Riding about, you come to the Turcomans' tents, who have wandered about -Syria since the days of the Crusaders, and have preserved, like their -neighbours the _Nuwar_ (gypsies), their ancestral language and customs. -We then went to live for a short while with the Maronites, two hundred -thousand people, under the rule of their Patriarch, and we camped for -some time under the cedars of Lebanon. There are only nine of these -large and ancient trees left; the four largest are in the form of a -cross, and three smaller. There are 555 trees (newer than these nine), -all told, and they are 7368 feet above sea-level. While stopping with -his "Beatitude the Maronite Primate of Antioch, and of all the East," -whom his flock calls "our Patriarch, our Pope, and our Sultan," we saw -for once the simplicity and sincerity of the Apostolic ages. - -B'sherri, Jezzín, and Sadád produce a manly, independent race of -Christians, fond of horses and arms, with whom I am not ashamed to own -community of faith. In all my life I have never seen worse riding than -the Kasrawán; it consists of nothing but _débris_ of rock, fields, -valleys, and mountains, all of the largest jagged stones. Our horses -had to do the work of goats, and jump from one bit of rock to another, -and it lasted over twelve hours at once. We lost our camp, but after -seeing our exhausted horses groomed, fed, watered, and tethered in -a warm spot, we were glad to eat a water-melon, and sleep on our -saddle-cloths in the open. The next day was just as bad until we -reached Affka, but the scenery was glorious. We had three days of this -awful riding, which the Syrians call "Darb el Jehannum," the "road of -hell." We visited Mr. Palgrave's old quarters, a monastery of fifty or -sixty Jesuits, where Mr. Palgrave was a Jesuit for seventeen years. -Here we all got fever. - -[Sidenote: _Religious Disturbances._] - -Upon the 26th of August, Richard received at night, by a mounted -messenger, the two following letters from Mr. Wright, Chief Missionary -at Damascus (No. 2), and from Mr. Nasif Meshaka, Chief Dragoman of the -British Consulate (No. 1). I give them as they were written:-- - - - No. 1. - - - "DEAR SIR, - - "The Christians in Damascus are in great alarm; most of them have left - for Saídnayah, and others are about to leave for elsewhere. Their - alarm was occasioned from the following facts: signs of crosses were - made in the streets in the same way which preceded the massacre of - 1860. On the 23rd instant a certain Mohammed Rashíd, a Government - inspector (_teftish_), being in disguise, caught a young Jew, twelve - years old, in the service of Solomon Donemberg, a British-protected - subject, making signs of crosses in a cabinet of a mosque at Suk - el Jedíd. Yesterday another young Jew, in the service of Marco, a - French Jew, was caught also. Both of these two boys were taken to the - Government; being under age, they were at once released by order of - Mejlis Tamiz Hukúk. It is believed that the Moslems are the authors - of these signs, either directly or indirectly, to stop the Government - from taking the Redíf (militia), which is managed in a very oppressive - manner, that is, leaving many families without males to support them. - Such kinds of Redíf prefer rather to be hanged than seeing their - harims without support or any one to maintain them in their absence. A - certain Nicolas Ghartous, a Protestant from Ain Shára, reported to me - yesterday that while waiting on Mr. Anhouri, near the barracks of the - Christian quarter, being dressed like a Druze, three soldiers of the - same barracks came to him and said, 'Yakík el 'ijl,' a technical term - used by the Druzes, meaning, 'Are you ready for another outbreak?' - Ghartous replied, 'We are at your disposal.' The soldiers replied, - 'Prepare yourself, and we will reap our enemies from here to the Báb - Sharki' (the Christian quarter), and thus they departed. Hatem Ghanem, - a Catholic member in the Haurán, came here to recover some money due - to him by Atta Zello of the Meydán Aghas. While claiming the money - he was beaten, and his religion and Cross were cursed by his debtor, - who was put in prison at the request of the Catholic Patriarchate. - Twenty to thirty Redífs of the Meydán ran away to the Lejá'a, to take - refuge there. The Redífs will be collected next Saturday, the 27th - instant, some say at the Castle of Damascus, others at Khabboon and - Mezzeh. The report is current that on that day there will be no work - in town, and that there will be an outbreak. Although Ibraham Pasha, - the new Governor, arrived on the 23rd instant, he will not undertake - his duties till the return of the _Wali_. The Governor, as well as - some Frenchmen, through M. Roustan, who is now at Jerusalem, intend to - propose to the _Wali_ to leave Holo Pasha to continue occupying his - present function under the present circumstances. The _Mushir_ left - on the 19th instant. The _Wali_ is absent. The _Muffetish_, whom you - know his inefficiency, is the Acting Governor-General. Consuls are - absent (that is, the French and English). The presence of the high - functionaries, and especially the Consuls, is a great comfort to the - Christians in general." - - - No. 2. - - - "DEAR SIR, - - "I have just got in from Rasheiya, and before I sat down several - Christians and one Moslem came in to ask if I knew what was coming. - They seemed to be very much afraid; but, except that people don't act - logically, I see no reason for fear. The fear, however, _does_ seem - _very_ great. I know nothing. Any English of us here should be ready - at the worst to fight our corner. Many thanks for your prompt action - in our affairs. It is something to have - - 'One firm, strong man in a blatant land, - Who can act and who dare not lie.' - - "W. W." - -It appeared that one of those eruptions of ill-feeling, which are -periodically an epidemic in Damascus, resulting from so many religions, -tongues, and races, was about to simmer into full boil between Moslem -and Christian. The outsiders are fond of stirring up both, for they -reap all the benefit. It appeared that a slaughter-day was fixed for -the 27th of August, 1870; all the Chief Authorities, by an accidental -combination of affairs, were absent as well as the Consuls. Wednesday -is the Moslem's unlucky day, and also, I believe, the 23rd; it is -thought it will be the day of the end of the world. There would be -nobody to interfere, and nobody to be made responsible. It was the -night of the 26th when he got these letters. Richard ordered the horses -to be saddled, the weapons to be cleaned. In ten minutes he told me -what his plans and arrangements were. He said, "We have never before -been in a Damascus riot, but if it takes place it will be like the -famous affair of 1860. I shall not take you into Damascus, because _I_ -intend to protect Damascus, and you must protect Bludán and Zebedáni. -I shall take half the men, and I shall leave you half. You shall go -down into the plain with me to-night, and we shall shake hands like -two brothers and part; tears or any display of affection will tell the -secret to our men." - -So it was done, and at six o'clock the next morning he walked into -the _mejlis_ (council chamber). He was on good terms with them all, -so he told them frankly what was going on, and said, "Which of you is -to be hanged if this is not prevented? It will cost you Syria, and -unless you take measures at once, I shall telegraph to Constantinople." -This had the desired effect. "What," they asked, "would you have us -to do?" He said, "I want you to post a guard of soldiers in every -street; order a patrol all night. I will go the rounds with Holo -Pasha. Let the soldiers be harangued in the barracks, and told that -on the slightest sign of mutiny the offenders will be sent to the -Danube (their Cayenne). Issue an order that no Jew or Christian shall -leave the house till all is quiet." All these measures were taken by -ten o'clock a.m., and continued for three days. Not a drop of blood -was shed, and the frightened Christians who had fled to the mountains -began to come back. There is no doubt that my husband saved Damascus -from a very unpleasant episode. Mr. L. Wright, Mr. Scott, and the other -missionaries, his own dragomans, and a few staunch souls who remained -quietly with him, appreciated his conduct, and he received many thanks -from those on the spot. The diligence was so much in request (nearly -all the Christians and Europeans had tried to leave) that a friend of -mine could not get a seat for three weeks; yet these people, so soon as -they sighted the Mediterranean, were brave and blatant. "Oh! _we_ were -not at all frightened; there was _no_ danger whatever!" Mr. Eldridge, -who had lived for ten years safely on the coast, and had never ventured -up to Damascus in his life, a civilian whose dislike to the smell of -powder was notorious, wrote me a pleasantly chaffing letter, hoping I -had recovered my fever and fright, and giving Richard instructions how -to behave in time of danger. When Richard had gone I climbed back to -our eyrie, which commanded the country, and collected every available -weapon and all the ammunition. The house was square, looking every way. -I put a certain number of men on each side with a gun each, a revolver, -and bowie-knife. I put two on the roof with a pair of elephant guns -carrying four-ounce balls, and took the terrace myself. I planted -the Union Jack on the flag-staff at the top of the house, turned our -bull-terriers into the garden, locked up a little Syrian maid, Khamoor -(the Moon), who was very pretty (Richard used to say her eyes were of -the owlified largeness of the book of beauty), in the safest room, -and my English maid, who was as brave as a man, was to supply us with -provisions. I knew that I could rely upon our own men, so I filled all -the empty soda-water bottles full of gunpowder, and laid fusees ready -to stick in and light, and throw amongst the crowd. I then rode down -to the American mission--the only other people near--to tell them if -there was the slightest movement to come up and shelter with me; and -then into the village of Bludán, to tell the Christians there to come -and camp in our garden; and lastly to Zebedáni, where there were a few -Christians living amongst the thirty-five thousand Moslems, and I sent -them up at once, because there would be no time for _them_ to reach me -if danger came suddenly. The others were close by. I then rode down to -the Moslem Shaykhs, and asked them what _they_ thought. They told me -there _would_ be a fight. "One half of our village will fight _with_ -you and yours, the other half will destroy the Christians here and at -Bludán. They will hesitate to attack _your_ house, but if matters are -so bad as that, they shall pass over our dead bodies, and those of all -our house, before they reach _you_." And every night they came up and -picketed round the garden till my husband came back. - -This lasted three days, and all subsided without accident. At this -time also there was a tremendous row between a Moslem and a Christian -woman; he tore the woman's ear down, smashed her black and blue, -bruised her, and took all her gold ornaments from her. The case of -Hassan Beg, on whose account my husband was reported, by the British -Syrian School missionaries, to be recalled _on account of my conduct_, -happened a whole year before my husband's recall. After this, when we -rode desert-wards, the tribes used in the evening to dance especially -for Richard. The men formed a squad like soldiers; they plant the right -foot in time to tom-tom music, with a heavy tread, and an exclamation -like that used by our street-menders when the crowbar comes down with a -thud upon the stones. When they are numerous it sounds like the advance -of an army, and they would burst out into song, of which the literal -translation would be-- - - "Máshálláh! Máshálláh! At last we have seen a man! - Behold our Consul in our Shaykh! - Who dare to say 'Good morning' to us (save Allah) when he rules? - Look at him, look at the Sitt! - They ride the Arab horses! - They fly before the wind! - They fire the big guns! - They fight with the sword! - Let us follow them all over the earth!" - (Chorus) "Let us follow, let us follow," etc., etc. - -[Sidenote: _Holo Pasher gives us a Panther._] - -We were very fond of animals, and especially of wild ones. Holo -Pasha had given us a panther cub trapped in the desert to show his -appreciation of what Richard had done. We brought him up like a cat. -He grew to be a splendid beast, and never did any of us harm, but he -frightened the other animals a little sometimes. We kept him very -well fed, in order that he might never attack them. Our cat was very -frightened of him, and the only animals that he was frightened of -were the bull-dogs. He used to sleep by our bedside. He had bold bad -black eyes, that seemed to say, "Be afraid of me." He used to hunt me -round the garden, playing hide-and-seek with me as a cat does a mouse. -When he bit too hard, I used to box his ears, when he was instantly -good. But he grew up and was large. There was a certain baker that the -bull-terriers used to bite, and the panther, who also saw in him what -we did not, worried him. At last the peasantry, who were frightened of -him, gave him poison in meat. He withered away, and nothing we could do -did him any good, and one day, when I went to look round the stables, -he put his paw up to me. I sat down on the ground, and took him in -my arms like a child. He put his head on my shoulder, and his paws -round my waist, and he died in about half an hour. Richard and I were -terribly grieved. - -There are charming rides across the Anti-Lebanon through a mountain -defile to Ain el Bardi, where we found black tents and flocks feeding -by the water. There is very much to be seen in the plain of El Buká'a, -beginning at Mejdel. Anjar is a little village on a hillock standing -alone; on its top is a small gem of a temple built by Herod Agrippa in -honour of Augustus, with a very graceful broken column; below it are -the ruins of Herod's Palace, and a twenty minutes' further ride in the -plain lie the ruins of Chalcis. From the temple above named we could -see the greater part of the Buká'a, walled in at either side by the -Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon, and dotted with seventy-two villages. -Anjar is bisected by the Litani river, falsely called the Leontes. -Having feasted our eyes, we rode on to the square ruins of Chalcis in -the plain, and to Neby Za'úr to see the tomb, and we carried off skulls -and bones. We crossed the plain, ascended the Lebanon, and when near -its summit turned to our left across a mountain called Jebel Barúk, in -the territory of El Akkúb. - -[Sidenote: _The Druzes--Their Stronghold._] - -A favourite ride was into the Druze country, beginning at Barúk, a -stronghold in a wild glen. They are a fine, tall, strong, and manly -race, who can ride and fight and shoot, and are fit to be our allies. -There is no cant about them; they are honest and plain-spoken, and do -not know intriguing, lying, stealing, or spying. A Druze house has -huge black rafters in the ceiling, and straight tall columns down the -middle; there is a private room for council. The women have one blue -garment, and one white veil showing one eye. They are chaste, and good -wives and mothers. They have clean, comfortable homes, and give a warm -welcome, and we rested here for some time. People often say, "What is -the real religion of the Druzes?" No one ever knew who was not a Druze; -they conform to the national religion, the Moslem. In speaking to you -or me, they would appear to have a particular leaning to our respective -faiths. They have a secret creed of their own, which, although women -are admitted to the council chamber, is as mysterious as Freemasonry. -Some Moslems pretend that they worship Eblis, and some Christians say -the bull-calf El Ijl. - -On our road we came to another stronghold, like an ancient convent, -where lives Melhem Beg Ahmad, a Druze chief, a dare-devil-fine-old-man, -who, when he mounts, takes his bridle in his teeth, puts his musket to -his shoulder, and charges down a mountain that an English horse would -have to be led down. He lives in great style; he threw his cap in the -air, drank to our health a thousand times, and his sons waited on us -at dinner. Muktára hangs on a declivity in a splendid ravine in wild -mountains in the territory of Esh Shuf. The house we were going to is -like a large Italian _cascine_, nestled amidst olive groves, that are, -so to speak, the plumage of the heights. It is the Syrian palace of the -Jumblatts, the focus and centre of the Lebanon Druzes. Here reside this -princely family, headed then by a Chieftainess, the "Sitt Jumblatt." - -Long before we sighted Muktára, wild horsemen, in the rich Druze dress, -came careering down, jeriding on beautiful horses, with guns and -lances, the sons and retainers of the house heading them. They were -splendidly mounted, and one of the sons had a black mare, so simply -perfect I infringed the tenth commandment. We descended into a deep -defile, and rose up again on the opposite side, the whole of which was -lined with horsemen and footmen to salute us, and the women trilled out -their joy-cry. Ascending the other side was literally like going up -stairs cut in the rock; it was a regular fastness. We rode our horses -up the flight of stairs into the court. We received the most cordial -and gracious hospitality from the _Sitt_, who had all the well-bred -ease of a European _grande dame_. Water and scented soap was brought -in carved brass ewers and basins to wash our hands, incense was waved -before us, we were sprinkled with rose-water, whilst an embroidered -gold canopy was held over us. Coffee, sherbet, and sweets were served. -The next morning the palace was filled with grey-bearded and turbaned -scribes, with their long brass inkstands, and the _Sitt_ explained -to Richard that her affairs were entirely neglected at Beyrout, and -asked him to do something for her. He explained that it was a great -embarrassment to him, as he was subordinate to Mr. Eldridge, but that, -whatever she chose to write, he would make a point of going himself to -present her wishes to Mr. Eldridge. Richard notes in his journal that -day among others, "Eldridge does nothing, and is very proud of what he -does. Consular office awfully careless; sick of dyspepsia; nothing to -do body and mind." - -We sat down to a midday meal equivalent to a dinner, and then went to -the _Jeríd_ ground, where the sons and their fighting men displayed -their grace and skill. The stables are solid, and like tunnels with -light let in, containing sixty horses, all showing blood, and some -quite thoroughbred. At nightfall there was a big dinner, to which all -the retainers flocked in; there was dancing and war-songs between the -Druzes of the Lebanon and the Druzes of the Haurán, ranged on either -side of the banqueting hall; they performed a pantomime, they sang, and -recited tales of love and war far into the night. - -An amusing thing was, that after the _Sitt_ had dined with us, I found -her shortly after sitting cross-legged on the floor of the kitchen, -devouring a second dinner. I said, "Ya Sitti, I thought you had eaten -your dinner with us; what are you doing?" She laughed, and said, "My -dear child, you don't suppose for an instant that I got a bit into -my mouth with those knives and forks; I was only doing pantomime for -the honour of the house. Now I am getting my _real_ dinner with my -fingers!" We were accompanied out with the same honours as those with -which we were ushered in. How sorry we were to leave! Our friendship -always lasted. We used to begin, "My dearest sister," and she used to -say all those sweet things which only Easterns can say, such as--"My -eyes sought for you many days till my head ached; when will you come to -repose them, that I may not see your empty place?" - -We went on to Deir el Khammar to the palace of Bayt el Din (B'teddin), -where Franco Pasha (the best governor the Lebanon has ever known) -lived, and was restoring this ruined castle of the late terrible Amir -Beshir Sheháb, from whence the view is splendid. He had about five -hundred soldiers, and was doing enormous good. He had a band, a school, -was planting pine trees and wheat, teaching carpet-making, tailoring, -shoemaking, making roads, teaching religion and loyalty to God, to the -Sultan, with liberality and civilization. He produced an electric shock -upon us by the invisible band playing "God save the Queen." We sprang -to our feet, and in that wild place it made me cry. In this region we -met the only real _prince_ in Syria, the Emir Mulhem Rustam. We had an -immense quantity of deputations of Druze Shaykhs; those of the Haurán -were something like bears, with huge white turbans, green coat, massive -swords, some in red, and all exceedingly wild-looking. We then went to -Ali Beg of Jumblatt, at Baderhan. We passed innumerable Druze villages, -until we came to Jezzín, one of the three manly Christian villages. -Usuf Beg, their Chief, was a delightful Shaykh. - -Sometimes these breakfasts on the march were very amusing, where there -were a mixture of races and religion. You would see forty intrigues -round a dish of rice. At Rasheya there was no water; here we were on -Druze ground again. From this we went to the top of Mount Hermon, -_i.e._ it has three tops, and we put a _kakú_ of stones on the highest -for a remembrance. The view is immense. We found a cave and saw a -hare. When we got to the bottom, there was hardly a shoe or a rag left -amongst us. Here we met some very charming Druze chiefs, and went with -them to Hasbeya, because Richard was convinced that the sources of -the Jordan were not as they are given in books; and he was perfectly -right. There is a slanting rock with some figs growing out of it, and -oleanders growing in luxurious clumps in the sand all around, and out -of this rock rushes a stream, which we traced to the Jordan. Near is a -mine of bitumen. - -From thence to Kefayr, another Druze village, after which we rode to -Banias. Of course, there are loads of things to see all the way--caves -or temples, or what not; but, then, all those can be got in books. The -sources are supposed to be here, at Banias, and are made much of; and -all visitors go to the fountain of Jordan, the cave of Pan, the temple -of Herod and Augustus, with the three niches. The water trickles from -beneath under the stones, separating into eight or nine streams, but -they are not the real source. - -We had a large escort to-day. Ali Beg Ahmadi and his cavalry, Shaykh -Ahmad, and many others, came to escort us, and we had a delicious -gallop over the plain of Ghyam, which is part of the Ard el Húleh, -through which runs the Jordan, and another portion of the same is -called the Abbs. We came to Arab tents, and drank milk with the Bedawi; -we found many of them down with fever, and stopped to doctor them with -Warburg's drops. We had to ride all day, and at last through marshy, -rushy places under a burning sun, without a breath of air. - -[Sidenote: _We camp at the Waters of Merom._] - -This valley of the Jordan, if drained and planted, would be immensely -rich, but it teemed now with luxurious rankness, fever, and death. We -pitched our tents under a large tree, divided from the lake by papyrus -swamps; a most unwholesome spot, where we were punished by every sort -of insect and crawling thing in creation; and we all got headache and -sore throat at once. - -The Bahret el Huleh, or the Waters of Merom in Josh. xi. 5-7, anciently -called Lake Semachonitis, is a small blue triangular lake, the first -and highest of the three basins of the Jordan. We had all our escort -with us; we had scarcely any food; there was none for the horses. -We had to turn them all loose to forage for themselves, except the -stallions, and they had to be led. It was a hideous expanse of fœtid -mire and putrefying papyrus. We had a frightful night, a stifling -heat, a very blizzard of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, and we -were camped under the only tree in the plain. It was black dark; the -ground was bad-smelling black mud; we passed the dark hours in holding -our tent-pole against the wind, and digging trenches outside to let -the water off. There were no dry clothes to be had, and the various -vermin would not let one rest. We were like that for three days; so we -piled up the trunks and sat at the top of them, and read "Lothair," by -Disraeli, which we had brought with us. The description of the great -houses of England read so funnily sitting in this black mud in the -centre of desolation, surrounded by feverish swamps. - -In spite of the difficulties of moving in such weather, Richard and I -were agreed that if we stayed there any longer, we should all perhaps -get in such a state as not to be able to move at all; so we saddled our -horses, and ordering our followers and escort to strike tents, pack, -load, and follow, we mounted and waded our horses through the water, -scrambled over stones and slippery rocks, and in and out mud and slush -for two hours, often sinking deep, till we reached the mountain roots -and began to ascend. - -After some hours' climbing we arrived at the seventy-two tents of the -Shaykh Hadi Abd Allah; he instantly gave us hospitality, barley for our -horses and food for ourselves. They were all yellow and sickly, and, -even at this height, dying like sheep of fever from the miasma arising -out of the plain that we had been in for three days. They had lost -many children, and double sorrow when sons. One boy was dying as we -entered. Our tents came up to us late that day with all our belongings. -Our animals and people were fed. We stayed with the tribe long enough -to doctor them all round, and to leave remedies and directions; and I -baptized the incurables and the dying children. - -Then came down the Amir Hasan el Fá'ur of the Benú Fadl, or Fazli -tribe. He heard of our being in the neighbourhood, and took us off to -his camp on the summit of a mountain called Jebel Haush, a day's ride -away, where we found his three hundred tents. The whole tribe turned -out to meet us, mounted and couching their lances, and jeríded the -whole way back. The reception tent was fifty feet long, and each divan -was twenty-five feet long. The retainers cleared a space for our camp, -corn was brought, horses picketed; an excellent dinner on a large scale -in the big tent was cooked, lambs and kids roasted whole, stuffed with -pistachios and rice, bowls of _leban_, unleavened bread, honey, and -camels'-milk butter, bowls of clear sparkling water. I love to think -now of those dark, fierce men, in their gaudy flowing costumes, lying -about in different attitudes, the moon lighting up the scene; the lurid -glare of the fire on their faces, the divans and pipes, _narghílehs_ -and coffee, their wild and mournful songs, their war-dances, their -story-telling; and on that particular night, and on all these sort of -nights, my husband would recite to them one or another tale out of the -"Arabian Nights"--those tales which he has now translated literally for -the London world; and I have seen the gravest and most reverend Shaykhs -rolling on the ground and screaming with delight, in spite of their -Oriental gravity, and they seemed as if they could never let my husband -go again. - -[Sidenote: _Richard is stung by a Scorpion._] - -I can remember that night, when he and I went to our tent and lay -down on our respective rugs, he called me over, for he was stung by a -scorpion, but when I struck a match there was nothing but a speck of -blood, as though from a black ant; so we lay down again, and he called -out, "Quick, quick! I _know_ it is a scorpion." I ran over and struck -another light, and plunged my hand into the shirt by the throat, and -the scorpion caught my finger. I drew it out and shook it off, and -killed it; but it did not sting me, being, I supposed, exhausted. I -rubbed some strong smelling-salts into the wounds, and, seeing he was -pale, ran off to the provision-basket and got a bottle of _raki_, and -made him drink it, to keep the poison from the heart, and he woke in -the morning quite well. - -I now discovered that though they were treating us with this splendid -hospitality, that behind the scenes they were also dying in their tents -of fever, although they were in the purest air; so here we again stayed -to doctor, and nurse, and baptize, and leave directions and remedies. - -We then went on to most of the romantic and hospitable Druze villages -which cling to the southern and eastern folds of Hermon--Mejdel Esh -Shems to Birket er Ram, or Lake Phiala,[5] a little round lake which -we found interesting enough to come back to afterwards. Mejdel is on -a declivity of a mountain defile--their favourite position--a Druze -stronghold, very fighting and turbulent, where we were received and -treated like relations. Then we got to Beyt-Jenn, where we had a mixed -Druze and Christian place. We came in for a very interesting Druze -wedding at Arneh, at the foot of Hermon, just above which rise the -sources of the Awaj, which waters El Kunayterah. We then went to a -Druze village called Rimeh, to look for a stone with an inscription, -which we found in a stable, and then to the Bukkásim, which is the -Druze frontier. Here our Druze cavalcade took an affecting leave of us. -As we rode away I could see them for three-quarters of an hour standing -on a high rock to watch us out of sight, one or two of them with their -faces buried in their mares' necks. - - -THE WULD ALI. - - -Our escort of free-lances one day, as we were riding to some of -our usual environs, soon perceived that we were making for the -desert, towards the direction where the dreaded Mohammed Dúkhi was -known to camp, and they began the well-known dodges of making their -horses curvet and prance and wheel in circles as if they had become -unmanageable, and every round became so much larger that they gradually -dropped out of sight. Presently some cast a shoe, or another had broken -a girth, and stopped to rectify it. The fact is, Richard had been -determined to make friends with the Wuld Ali tribe, of which Mohammed -Dúkhi is the Chief, and rules five thousand lances. At last we found -ourselves alone, so we rode on all that day, slept by our horses at -night in a ruined _khan_, and got in sight of the Wuld Ali encampment -late next day. Richard said to me, "Now mind, when they see us two -horsemen, they will come galloping across the sand in a body with their -lances couched; if we were to turn and run, they would spear us; but if -we sit our horses, facing them like statues on parade, just as the Life -Guards sit in their sentry-boxes at the Horse Guards at home, they will -take us in with great applause, and our horses will stand it, because -they are used to desert manners." - -I said "All right," as I always did when he gave me an order, and I -was glad he put me up to it, for, sure enough, when they saw our two -dusky figures galloping from a distance across the sand towards them, -the whole tribe charged with their lances couched, and we reined in and -stood stock still, facing the charge; but as soon as they got within -a few yards, they seemed by instinct to recognize the man they were -charging. They lowered their lances, opened their ranks to enclose us, -and with one cry of "Ak-hu Sebbah!" (Brother of the Lion), jumped off -their horses, kissed our hands, galloped in with us jeriding, and held -our stirrups to alight. I need not say that we were treated with all -the true hospitality of real Bedawi life, and we remained several days -with them. My husband's object was to make peace between the Wuld Ali -and the Mezrabs. We visited the lakes which are near them, and they -were all dried up except a bit of water in the sand about the size of -a small duck-pond. "What, then," said Richard, "becomes of the Bárada -and the Awaj, the so-called ancient Abana and Pharphar?" They have been -partly drawn off, and partly evaporated before reaching their basements -at 'Utaybah and Hijánah, where we then were. - -The Arabic of Damascus, _especially_ the Christian Arabic, Richard -found so grating to the ears after the pure speech of the Bedawi--and -that of the Nejd and El Hejaz. - -Richard writes an account of a trip-- - - - [Sidenote: _Explorations of Unknown Tracts._] - - "A little later on Charley Drake and I again started to revisit the - Tulúl el Safá,[6] and our first eight days was over the old ground. - This trip added considerably to our scanty geographical knowledge of - these regions off the tracks. In one week we collected some hundred - and twenty inscriptions, and three lengthy copies of Greek hexameters - and pentameters from the Burj, a mortuary tower at Shakkah, a ruin - long since identified as the Saccæa of Ptolemy. We went to the top - of Tell Shayhán, whose height is 3750 feet, which showed us that the - Lejá, the Argob of the Hebrews and the western Trachon of the Greeks - and Romans, is the gift of Tell Shayhán.[7] It is a lava bed, a stone - torrent poured out by the lateral crater over the ruddy yellow clay - and the limestone floor of the Haurán valley, high raised by the ruins - of repeated eruptions, broken up by the action of blow-holes, and - cracked and crevassed by contraction when cooling, by earthquakes, and - the weathering of ages. 'The features are remarkable. It is composed - of black basalt, which must have issued from the pores of the earth - in a liquid state, and flowed out until the plain was almost covered. - Before cooling its surface was agitated by some powerful agency, - and it was afterwards shattered and rent by internal convulsions - and vibrations' (Porter). Two whole days were spent at Kanawát, the - ancient Canatha, a city of Og. - - "There are now hundreds of Druzes, and we may remark for the first - time 'the beauty of Bashan,' the well-wooded and watered country. We - then went along the Jebel Kulayb and visited the noble remains of - Sí'a, where we met with three Palmyrene inscriptions, showing that - the Palmyra of Ptolemy extended to the south-west far beyond the - limits assigned to it. We then got to Sahwat el Balát, where lives my - influential friend, Shaykh Ali el Hináwí, a Druze Akkál of the highest - rank; and here they gathered to meet me and palaver. We crossed the - immense rough and rugged lava beds which gloom the land. Jebel el - Kulayb was bright with vetch, red poppy, yellow poppy, mistletoe with - ruddy berries, hawthorn boughs, and the vivid green of the maple and - the sumach, the dark foliage of the ilex oak scrub, and the wild - white honeysuckle. There was cultivation; the busy Druze peasantry - at work, the women in white and blue. The aneroid showed 5785 feet, - the hygrometer stood at 0°, the air was colder than on the heights of - Hermon in June, and the western horizon was obscured by the thickest - of wool packs. Here we made two important observations. The apparently - confused scatter of volcanic cratered hill and hillock fell into an - organized trend of 356° to 176°, or nearly north-south. The same will - be noticed in the Safá, and in its out-layers the Tulúl el Safá, which - lie hard upon a meridian; thus the third or easternmost great range, - separating the Mediterranean from the Euphrates desert, does not run - parallel with its neighbours, the Anti-Libanus and Libanus, which are - disposed, roughly speaking, north-east 38°, and south-west 218°. - - "The second point of importance is that El Kulayb is not the apex - of the Jebel Durúz Haurán, though it appears to be so. To the east - appeared a broken range, whose several heights, beginning from the - north, were named to us. Tell Ijaynah, bearing 38°, back by the Umm - Haurán hill, bearing 94°; the Tell of Akriba (Wetz Stein), bearing - 112° 30'; Tell Ruban, bearing 119°; and Tell Jafnah, bearing 127° - 30'. We believed that Tell Ijaynah was 6080 English feet high, and - we thought that Jebel Durúz must be greatly changed since it was - described by travellers and tourists. - - "Here the land, until the last hundred and fifty years, was wholly - in the hands of the Bedawi, especially of the Wuld Ali, and the nine - hill tribes already named. At last the Druzes, whom poverty and - oppression drove away from their original home, the Wady Taym and the - slopes of Libanus and Hermon, settled here. In Rashíd Pasha's reign - seventeen mountain villages have been repeopled, and in 1886 some - eight hundred families fled to this safe retreat; nor can we wonder at - the exodus, because of half the settlements of the Jaydur district, - the ancient Ituræa, eleven out of twenty-four have been within twelve - months ruined by the usurer and the tax-gatherer, and at one time a - hundred and twenty Druze families went in one flight from their native - mountains to the Haurán. - - "They found here a cool, healthy, but harsh climate, a sufficiency - of water, ready-made houses, ruins of cut stone, land awaiting - cultivation, pasture for their flocks and herds, and, above all - things, a rude independence under the patriarchal rule of their own - chiefs. In short, the only peaceful, prosperous districts of Syria are - those where home rule exists, and there is scarcely any interference - by the authorities. It is a short-sighted and miserable management - which drives an industrious peasantry from its hearths and homes to - distant settlements where defence is more easy than offence. - - "This system keeps the population of the whole province to a million - and a half, which in the days of Strabo and Josephus supported its - ten millions and more. The European politician is not sorry to see - the brave and sturdy Druze thrown out as a line of forts to keep the - Arab wolf from the doors of the Damascene, but the antiquary sighs - for the statues and architectural ornaments broken up, the inscribed - stones used for building rude domiciles, the most valuable remnants - of antiquity white-washed as lintels, or plastered over in the - unclean interiors. The next generation of travellers will see no more - 'mansions of Bashan.' - - "At Shakkah (Saccæa) there are still extensive ruins and fine - specimens of Hauránic architecture, especially the house of Shaykh - Hasan Brahím with its coped windows and its sunken court Here we were - received by the Druze Chief, Kabalán el Kala'áni, who behaved very - badly to us, and when we tried to go, refused to let us unless we paid - him forty napoleons for ten horsemen. We laughed in his face, told him - to stop us if he dared, and sent for our horses. However, as we were - going into a fighting country, I sent back all the people who would - have been in the way. - - "The Druzes had been quarrelling amongst themselves; fifteen men had - been killed, and many wounded. We had to doctor three; one had a - shoulder-blade pierced clean through. We were joined _nolens volens_ - by ten free-lances, and escorted as far as Bir Kasam, their particular - boundary. Finally, it appears that our visit to the 'Aláh district, - lying east of Hamáh, has brought to light the existence of an - architecture which, though identical with that of the Haurán, cannot - in any way be connected with that of Og. Although only separated by - seventy miles from the southern basaltic region, the northern has - also its true Bashan architecture, its cyclopean walls, its private - houses, low, massive, and simple in style, with stone roofs and doors, - and huge gates, conspicuous for simplicity, massiveness, and rude - strength. Moab has the same, only limestone is used instead of basalt. - - "Dumá Ruzaymah is occupied by three great houses, and the Junaynah - hamlet is the last inhabited village of this side towards the desert. - We now got to the Wady Jahjah, thence to El Harrah, 'the Hot or Burnt - Land,' and to the Krá'a, which we crossed in fifty-five minutes, and - got into or entered the Naká, _and were surprised to see a messenger - mounted on a dromedary, going at a great pace, and evidently shunning - us_. We had descended 3780 feet; the passage occupied two hours. - - "We then ascended into the Hazir, and from the top we had our first - fair view of the Safá,[8] a volcanic block, with its seven main - summits. They stood conspicuously out of the Harrah, or 'Hot Country.' - In the far distance glittered the sunlit horizon of the Euphrates - Desert, a mysterious tract, never yet crossed by European foot. We - eventually arrived at the stony, black Wa'ar, a distorted and devilish - land, and we then got to a waterless part, where our horses were - already thirsty, and into the Ghadir, where we had been promised - water, and it was bone dry. After long riding, we came to a ruined - village, El Hubbayríyyah, where we found yellow water forming a green - slime. It was again the _kattas_ which led me to the water, as in - Somali-land. Here we spent an enjoyable fifty minutes at the water, - refreshing ourselves and beasts; it lies 3290 feet above sea-level. We - presently fell into the Saut on return; it was good travelling, and we - saw old footmarks of sheep, goats, and shod horses. - - "The only sign, as we turned out of the Saut and swept down from the - Lohf, that human foot had ever trod this inhospitable wild, was here - and there a goat-fold, with a place for the shepherd on a commanding - spot, or more probably a Bedawin sentinel or scout (you often see - a solitary tribesman perched on a hilltop). The road was simply a - goat-track, over the domes of cast-iron ovens, in endless succession. - It was a truly maniac ride. _At the Rajm el Shalshal we again saw - traces of our friend on the dromedary._ That day at 4.20 p.m. we were - surprised by our advanced party springing suddenly from the mares, and - hearing the welcome words, 'Umm Nirán!' (the mother of fire). Late as - it was, we rejoiced, because a night march over such a country would - have been awful. The cave is as dry as the land of Scinde, and in the - summer sunshine the hand could not rest upon the heated surface, but - after rain there is a drainage from the fronting basin into the cave. - We crawled into it and entered a second tunnel, and after two hundred - feet we came to the water, a ditch-like channel, four feet wide. The - line then bent to the right from north-north-east to the north-east. - Here, by plunging our heads below water and raising them further on, - we found an oval-shaped chamber, still traversed by the water. We - could not, however, reach the end, as shortly the rock ceiling and the - water met. The supply was sweet, the atmosphere close and damp, the - roof an arid fiery waste of blackest lava. The basalt ceiling of the - cave sweated and dripped, which could not have been caused only by - simple evaporation. The water began by a few inches till it reached - mid-thigh. The length was a total of three hundred and forty feet; the - altitude was 2745 feet. - - "A water scorpion was the only living thing in the cave. This curious - tunnel reservoir is evidently natural. There are legends about a - clansman going in with black hair, and coming out after the third day - with white hair, and one of our lads declared he had taken an hour to - reach the water; but we, on all fours, took three minutes. We set out - again next day for the great red cinder-heap, known as Umm el Ma'azah, - where we halted for observation, and then fell into the trodden way - which leads from the Ghutah section of the Damascus plain to the - Rubbah valley. - - "We had long and weary desert rides, seeing everything to the Bir - Kasam. Bedawi never commit the imprudence of lingering near the well - after they have watered their beasts, because that is the way to draw - a _ghazú_, or raid, down upon you. - - [Sidenote: _I prevent Rashíd Pasha's Intentions taking effect._] - - "Now I have every reason to be thankful that I did not bring my wife - on this journey, as she was not very well. In this country fever and - dysentery seize upon you with short notice, and pass away again, and - she, though in no danger, was not in a state for hard riding at the - time. At Bir Kásam, a Druze greybeard, on a _rahwán_, rode up to the - well, and took the opportunity of making me a sign: pretending to - question him, as to the name of a mountain on the horizon, I led him - away, and he cautiously pulled out of his pocket a medicine bottle, - which he handed to me, from my wife. I then knew there was something - up, and I thanked him, giving him some money, and asked him if he had - anything to say. He said, 'If I may advise you, get rid of all your - party. They want to go to Damascus or Dhumayr; announce that you are - going to neither, and they will probably forsake you, as this is not - a safe spot. I shall ride on, till out of sight, and then turn round - and ride back to Damascus, by slow degrees, sleeping and eating on the - road. You and your friend ride into Jebel Dákwah; but first read the - directions about the medicine.' - - "I uncorked the bottle, saw my wife's warning in writing, and - carefully put them in my pocket not to leave a 'spoor.' I then paid - him still more handsomely, and told him to go back to my wife, and - tell her it was 'all right,' and not to fear. As evening fell, they - asked us what our intentions were. We said we were not going either - to Damascus or Dhumayr, and, as our messenger had prophesied, they - all disappeared in the night, to our great relief. As soon as the - last man had disappeared, we went into the Dákwah Mountain (hid our - horses in a cave), from the cone of which you command a view of the - whole country, and after a few hours we saw a hundred horsemen and two - hundred dromedary riders beating the country, looking for some one in - the plains. At last they turned in another direction, towards some - distant villages, and when we were consoled by not seeing a living - thing, we descended from our perch, galloped twenty miles to Dhumayr, - where we were well received by faithful Druzes, whose Chief was Rashíd - el Bóstají. We were just in time. The Governor-General had mustered - his bravos; they missed us at Umm Nirán, at the Bir Kasam, and again - upon the _direct_ road to Dhumayr, having been put out by our _détour_ - to Dákwah. They were just a few hours too late everywhere; so, to - revenge themselves, they plundered, in the sight of six hundred - Turkish soldiers, the village of Suwáydah, belonging to my dragoman - Azar, whose life they threatened, and also Abbadáh and Haraán el - Awáníd. So we rode into Damascus, escaping by peculiar good fortune a - hundred horsemen and two hundred dromedary riders, sent on purpose to - murder _me_. I was never more flattered in my life, than to think that - it would take three hundred men to kill _me_. The felon act, however, - failed." - - -RASHÍD PASHA'S INTRIGUE WITH THE DRUZES--MY ACCOUNT FROM -DAMASCUS. - -"I wish each man's forehead were a magic lantern of his inner self." - - -[Sidenote: _Rashíd's Intrigue about the Druzes._] - -About this time the Druzes wrote and asked Richard to come to the -Haurán. He wished to copy Greek inscriptions and explore volcanoes. -He was not aware that the _Wali_ had a political move in the Haurán, -which he did not wish him to see. Mr. Eldridge knew it, and encouraged -him to go, as his leave would be short. Richard knew that if he went -to one man's house, he must go to everybody, therefore he asked them -all to meet him at the house of the principal Shaykh. When the _Wali_ -was told by Richard that he was going, his face fell, but he suddenly -changed, and said, "Go soon, or there will be no water." Mr. Eldridge, -who never left Beyrout, and had at that time never seen Damascus, had -talked a great deal about going there; so Richard wrote and asked him -to go with him, but to that there was no answer. It was providential -that I was weak with fever and dysentery, and could not ride, so that -I was left at home. As soon as he was gone the _Wali_ wrote to me, -and accused my husband "of having made a political meeting with the -Druze Chiefs in the Haurán, thereby doing great harm to the Turkish -Government." Knowing that Richard had done nothing of the kind, I told -him so, but I saw there was a new intrigue on. The _Wali_ had only let -my husband go in order to be able to accuse him of meddling, and by Mr. -Eldridge's not answering I suspected he knew it too. An old Druze from -the Haurán came to our house, said he had seen my husband, and began to -praise him. I said, "Why, what is he doing?" He replied, "Máshálláh! we -never saw a Consul like him. He can do in one day what the _Wali-Pasha_ -could not do in five years. We had a quarrel with the Bedawi, and we -carried off all their goats and sheep, and the Government was going to -attack us. Our Chiefs, when they saw the Consul (Allah be praised!), -told him the difficulty, and asked him what we ought to do. He told us -we ought to give back the goats and sheep to the Bedawi, and to make -up our quarrel, and submit to the Government, for that the war will -do us great harm. The Shaykhs have consented, and now we shall be at -peace. Máshálláh! there is nobody like him!" I now began to wonder if -the _Wali_ had intended a little campaign against the Druzes, and if -my husband had spoilt it by counselling submission. If he had intended -to reduce the Druzes of the Eastern Mountains, and if a campaign took -place in Jebel Durúz Haurán, the inhabitants would have been joined by -the fighting men of the Lebanon, Anti-Lebanon, and Hermon. The country -is eminently fitted for defence, and the Druzes, though badly armed, -are brave, and animated by the memories of past victories. In short, -the same disgraceful defeat of the Turkish Government would have taken -place as that which occurred in 1874, and which caused the _Wali_, -Mustafa Beg, and nine high officials to be dismissed. - -The _Wali_ then employed somebody--who I need not name--to inform him -what day my husband was coming back. On being questioned about it, my -suspicions were aroused; I immediately gave the wrong date (it was -God's own blessing that I had for once been unable to go with him). I -got the faithful old Druze to start at once, with a pretended bottle -of medicine. I wrote, in a cipher that my husband and I composed and -understood together, the whole history of the case, and I tied it -round the cork of the bottle, covering it with leather and a bit of -oil-skin, and sent my messenger straight out to meet him. It was just -in time. He noticed with his keen desert instincts the fresh spoor of -one solitary dromedary; the rider was bound like them from Shakkah -to the north-east (where the Bedawi encamped), not for exploration, -but with a message. He divined the ill-omened foot-prints which he -saw twice in different localities, and so soon as the medicine bottle -reached him, with what Ouida would call "a quiet low laugh under his -moustache," he altered his course, and from a concealed shelter in the -rocks was able to watch the progress of a hundred horsemen and two -hundred _Redifs_--dromedary riders, two in each saddle--beating the -country and looking for some one. Now, these were not _real_ Bedawi, -but the jackals who call themselves Bedawi, who surround the Cities, -and are to be hired like bravos for any dirty work. They went off on a -false scent, and he arrived home all right. Now, the day of his arrival -I had been obliged, more or less officially, to attend a ceremony, -where the _Wali_ and Authorities and the Consuls would be present with -their wives. I was determined to go, and to put on a perfectly calm -exterior, though I felt very heart-sick, and a well-known Greek in the -_Wali's_ pay said to me, with a meaning, unpleasant smile, "I fancy -there will be important news for you in a short while." I felt very -faint inside, but I said coolly, "Oh, will there? Well, I suppose I -shall get it when it comes." Almost immediately afterwards, Richard's -Afghan walked in, and saluting said, "The Consul has returned and wants -you." The faces of the _Wali_ and his Greek were a study. I saluted -them all, went out, jumped on my horse, and rode back. Had the _Redifs_ -fallen in with Richard, the verdict would have been, "Fallen a prey to -his wild and wandering habits in the desert." The _Wali_ then forged -a letter from Richard to the Druzes, and forwarded it through Mr. -Eldridge to the Foreign Office. Here it is:-- - - - REAL COPY (TRANSLATED) TO THE SHAYKHS OF THE RENOWNED DRUZE - MOUNTAIN. - - - "After the usual compliments we want to inform you that this time the - wish to visit you has moved us, and to take the direction of your - country. - - "For which reason we will leave Damascus on the Wednesday, and sleep - at Hijaneh; the second day at Lahtah, and the third at Kanawát. - - "We therefore hope that you will meet us in the above-mentioned place, - that we may see you." - - This is a simple general _return visit_ to the visits of the Druzes, - not to waste time in going to each man's house, nor to make jealousies - by singling out some and neglecting others. - - - FALSE COPY (TRANSLATED) AND SENT TO ENGLAND. - - - "Traduction d'une lettre addressée par le Consul Britannique, en date - du 22 Mai, 1871 (3 Jui), aux Cheikhs Druzes Haurán. - - "'Après les compliments d'usage, _je m'empresse_ de vous informer - que, animé du désir _de m'entretenir avec vous_, je quitterai Damas - mercredi _pour vous rejoindre_, et que j'arriverai ce jour même à - Hedjan, et le lendemain à Lahita, et le troisième à Finvate. Je - nourris l'espoir que vous ne manquerez pas _tous_ de venir me - recontrer, au dit village de Finvate, _afin de prendre part à cette - entrevue_." - - This _adds_ all the words that are dashed, to give it a semblance of a - secret political meaning. - -Richard and I and Charley Drake made another pleasant journey exploring -the Anti-Libanus. Everybody thinks, even professional geographers, if -you speak of the Anti-Libanus, that you are going over trodden ground, -filling up details upon the broad outlines traced by other people; but -it is very far from being the case. Now the best maps only show a long -conventional caterpillar, flanked by acidulated drops, and seamed with -a cobweb of drainage. They never name a valley north-east of Zebedáni, -nor a summit, except Jebel el Halímah, which is not its name. The -northern half of the Anti-Lebanon is arid and barren, the southern is -very fertile, and it is far superior to the Lebanon. Weird, savage, -like parts of Moab, the colouring is richer, forms more picturesque, -contrasts of shape and hue are sharper, and the growth is more like -thin forest. "That ravines of singular wildness and grandeur furrow -the whole mountain side, looking in many places like huge rents," is -true of Anti-Lebanon, but not of Lebanon. The views are superior; it is -richer and more remarkable. - -Some of our followers will not forget some of our day's work, for we -ascend successively every height, taking angles, laying down altitudes, -and building up _kakús_ to serve for a theodolite survey. Charley Drake -mapped and sketched whilst we wrote. - -The Convent of Nabi Baruh is ruinous in the extreme, but it gave us the -idea of being the most ancient which we had seen throughout Syria and -Palestine. The reception in these wild places is always the same, if -they are not Christians, who--why, it is impossible to say--generally -receive one badly, except of course the Maronites in their stronghold, -and more especially the splendid Christians of Jezzín, Sadád, and -B'sherri, who are marked exceptions to the generality of Christians, -and who are equal, if not better than the rest. - -[Sidenote: _The Manner in which we are received in Villages._] - -All the Chiefs and notables meet the stranger at a distance beyond the -houses. As the two parties meet, he reins in his horse and touches -hands, snatching away his with a jerk if they attempt to kiss it, -reproachfully ejaculating "Astaghfir 'Ullah!" (I beg pardon of Allah, -_i.e._ God forbid that such a thing should happen). If you permit it -they kiss your hand, and ridicule you in their minds as a fool, who -delights in such homage as a priest, whose right it is. Guided by the -Shaykhs, each in a strict precedence as at a London dinner-party, he -rides leisurely, not hastening the pace, lest he cause his host to run; -he dismounts at the door, and the Chiefs and notables rush to hold his -horse, his stirrup, and his back under the shoulders. He must be sure -to ride into the courtyard, no matter how broken be the gate threshold, -nor how slippery the pavement, or up the steps, or they will suspect -him of not knowing how to ride. He is led to the _salamlik_, but he -will not enter till the women who have been sprinkling the floor have -made themselves scarce. He sits down, doubling his legs a little if he -cannot cross them, whilst the others form a semicircle upon humbler -rugs before him. Each salaams, and is salaamed to, as he takes his -place, squatting ceremoniously on his shins, till his visitor says, -"Khuz ráhatak" (Take your ease), suggesting a more pleasant posture. -If he fails to do this they will watch an opportunity to change seat, -but if disposed to be impertinent they will stretch out their shanks -and require a reproof. Water pipes, sherbet, lemonade, and coffee are -brought, after which the Shaykh will retire and beg you to repose. - -A breakfast is served about noon of cheese, soured milk, grape syrup, -raw green onions, boiled rice, wheaten scones, and eggs fried in -clarified butter. It is vulgar for the stranger to produce his own -wine and cold meat from the saddle-bags. At sunset meat is served. A -whole kid is a prime sign of honour. During meals one of the family -stands up, holding a metal pot full of drinking water. Pipes and coffee -conclude. The correct thing is to compel the Shaykh and the Chiefs to -eat with you; the followers and retainers will eat afterwards, the -trays being removed to another part. At night there will be a _samrah_, -or palaver, in which the state of the country in general, and the -village in particular, is discussed, grievances are quoted, the usurer -and creditor complained of, the Government and Governor abused. Local -legends are told, and the traveller can gain any amount of information -if he can speak the language. They press him to stay next day, and his -excuses are received with a respectful and regretful unwillingness. - -Before leaving next morning he will find out privately what he has cost -them, he will find out that his animals have been well fed, and he -will manage to slip it and something more into the hands of one of the -women or children. Before the departure the women of the family will -offer excuses for their poor fare, saying, "La tawák-hizná" (Don't be -offended with us), and he will hasten with many "Astaghfir 'Ullahs" -to express his supreme satisfaction. He mounts as ceremoniously as he -dismounted, preceded by his escort, but every now and then he reins in, -dismissing them--"Arja'ú ya Masháikh" (Return, O Shaykhs). They persist -in walking to the last house, and often much farther; they again try -to kiss his hand, which he pulls away as before, and the visit ends. -The visited then retire and debate what has caused the visit, and what -will be the best way to utilize it. - -We divided and visited every section of the northernmost line of -Anti-Libanus from the Halímat el Kabú, 8257 feet above sea-level. We -enjoyed an extensive and picturesque view far superior to anything -seen in the Libanus, especially southwards. From here we might write a -chapter on what we could see. The weather being clear, we could even -see the long-balled chine of the Cedar Block of the Libanus, and its -large spots of snow, which glowed like amethysts in evening light. -We could see the apex of the Libanus, which falls into the Jurd of -Tripoli. We could see the Jebel el Huleh, which defines the haunts of -the mysterious Nusayri; the glance falls upon the Orontes Lake, upon -the rich cultivation of Hums and Hamáh, one of the gardens of Syria -upon the ridge of Salámiyyah, that outpost of ancient Tadmor, and -upon the unknown Steppe el Huleh, and the Bedawi-haunted tracts which -sweep up to the Jebel el Abyaz, whilst the castle of Aleppo bounds the -septentrional horizon. The end of this day was a remarkable one. "It -was the only occasion," said Richard, "during my travels in Syria and -Palestine that I felt thoroughly tired. My _rahwán_, though a Kurd nag, -trembled with weakness, and my wife jogged along sobbing in her saddle, -and if it had not been for the advice of Charley Drake we should have -spent the night on the mountain-side; but we did arrive. Habíb had -built a glowing fire, beds were spread, tea was brewed, and presently a -whole roast kid appeared, and restored us all in the best of humours; -and our horses, after plenty to eat and drink, and being well rubbed -down, lay down. We had had fifteen hours very hard work, not counting -the before and after the march." - -We next determined to prospect the third part of the east-west section -of Anti-Libanus, including the Ba'albak crest, and then to ride up -the Cœle-Syrian valley so as to fill in the bearings of the western -wady mouths. We had forage for our beasts, water the whole way, and -we were excited by the account of inscriptions and ruins. The Wady el -Biyáras was splendid in scenery, and though our road was horrible, we -congratulated each other in not missing it, and we descended into the -Wady Atnayn. - -[Sidenote: _Remarks on the Journey._] - -It is very curious to observe the goats and sheep; they don't mix much, -though in the same flock. The goats prefer difficult and venturesome -places, the sheep browse in the lower lands. The goat is curious and -impudent--he goes out of the way to stare and sneeze at you; the sheep -is staid and respectable, like the "good young man." Here Richard did -nothing but quote a piece of poetry which amused him intensely-- - - "In Teneriffe, for a time brief, - I wandered all around, - Where shady bowers and lively flowers - Spontaneously abound. - - "Where posies rare perfume the air - In festoons o'er your head, - Brave sheep and cows in pastures browse - Without remorse or dread."[9] - -[Sidenote: _Kurdish Dogs._] - -Some of the goatherds are rather bullying. The Kurdish dog is shaggy, -with cropped ears, large head, brindle coat, rough hair, bushy tail, as -big as a St. Bernard, and looks like a bear; but if he is a soldier's -dog, he is always civil. I took one from a Bedawi tent as a pup; he -was christened "Kasrawán," which soon became "Cuss." From his earliest -puppyhood he played watchman, and led our horses by the halter. As -he grew up he would hardly allow a native to pass along the road at -night. He wrangled with and made love to our English bull-terriers, he -appeared to be sorely oppressed with the seriousness of life, and could -never get fighting enough. A Fellah threw him some meat with a needle -in it, a favourite style of revenge of one who has been once bitten, -and does not care to be bitten again; we were obliged to put him out of -his misery, and he was honourably buried in the garden of Bludán. - -We carried out all our prospected journey, gathering information, -inscriptions, and ruins everywhere, till we reached Yabrud, where the -Shaykhs gave us a picnic, to show us the Arz el Jauzah. - -There is a temple known as Kasr Namrúd; the water flows through a -conduit of masonry, and is said to pass into a large underground -cistern below, round the ample stone troughs and scattered fragments -of columns. All through Syria Nimrod represents the Devil, and 'Antar -the Julius Cæsar of Western Europe. The picnic, under the shade of -this venerable building, passed off happily enough. The _kabábs_ of -kid, secured instantly after sudden death, were excellent; the sour -milk and the goat's cheese were perfection; and the Zahlah wine had -only one fault--there was only half a bottle, and we could have drank -a demijohn. We were very much struck by the similarity of plan which -connects the heathen temple with the Christian church. It was late in -the afternoon when we shook hands with our good host. It is pleasant to -think upon happy partings--we never saw them again. - -On our way home we passed ruins, arched caves, and sarcophagi, whilst -a wall displays a large rude crucifix. We were received later at -Talfíta with all honours by the Shaykh el Balad Mahfúz, whose pauper -homes had been destroyed and the rest threatened by the villainous -usurers under British protection, and next day we rode into Damascus. -During this excursion, we had seen in a range of mountains, supposed -to be impracticable, four temples, of which three had been hitherto -unvisited; we had prepared for the map of Syria the names of five -great mountains; we had traced out the principal gorges, all before -absolutely unknown to geography; we had determined the disputed -altitudes of the Anti-Libanus, and we proved that it is much more -worthy of inspection than the much-vaunted Libanus. - - -ANOTHER TRIP, DESCRIBED BY CHARLEY DRAKE.[10] - - - [Sidenote: _Excursions to Unknown Tracts._] - - "It is curious to see even what discrepancies there are in the heights - of the Lebanon, which have been visited by scientific men. It shows - that it must have been guess-work. There is one height which the - goatherds know by the name of Tizmarún; but the aneroids, uncorrected - for temperature, gave a reading of barely nine thousand feet, and this - is the highest, though not generally acknowledged so. - - "We wonder whether England will ever look upon Syria as anything else - than a land for tourists to amuse themselves in; whether she will - ever see that a _pied à terre_ there, would secure her not only an - uninterrupted passage to India, but wealth incalculable in mineral and - agricultural produce; that both may yet be drawn from this fertile - land, whose soil needs no manure, and whose mountains teem with ores. - - "The prettiest scenery we had seen in the Lebanon was at the head - of a large _wady_, called El Nakrah; wild deep gorges, overhung by - fantastic rocks, and in some places thickly wooded, are alternated by - open grassy Alps, contrasting well with the deep rich purple of the - basalt, and the yellow sandstone which was never far from it. When we - got to the head of the Wady Mimnah overlooking the entrance to Hamath, - the comparatively level tract that stretches from Tripoli to Hums, - and divides the Lebanon from the Jebel Nusayri, we got to Akkar, to - Kala'at el Husn and to Hums, crossing the river Orontes. When we were - in the 'Aláh, all the Arabs agreed that it contained three hundred and - sixty-five ruins, and that if a man travelled for a year, he might - never sleep twice in the same village; and we quite believed it. The - number of Bedawi who infest this region, the want of water, the loose - basaltic soil, so tiring to horses, and want of reliable information, - is, doubtless, the reason why this district has never been explored. - - "The Pasha of Hamáh worried us with a large escort, which meant - piastres. The troop would have made the fortune of any theatre as a - gang of bandits in a burlesque. There were horses of all sizes and - colours--some had bridles, some had none--half-starved beasts, not - able to keep up with ours; pistols that would not go off, swords that - would not come out of the scabbards; but one of them, a short-bodied, - long-legged fellow, was mounted, without stirrups, on a year-old colt, - his only arm a lance sixteen feet long. He looked like a monkey, armed - with a broomstick, riding a small dog. On the road we found several - ruined, deserted, fortified camps. The Circassians are come into this - part of the country, and have taken a village from the Nusayri, and - ousted the rightful owners, and we think there will be mischief later - on. We reached the edge of the plain, in which stands Salamíyyeh, - whose chief, Amir Ismail, is a patriarchal old gentleman. Holo Pasha - sent us a large escort without our asking him; but when we explained - to them our intention of striking across the desert to Shakún, they - declined to go, which delighted us. Going along, we found the Haddidín - Arabs encamped all along the desert. - - "It is a curious thing to say, but there are sheep and goats where - there is apparently nothing to eat, yet they are always fat. The soil - is rich, but very tiring to horses, because it gives way beneath - their weight, letting them sink in to the hock. At Shakún we found a - quarantine for travellers from Baghdad. We were now on the ordinary - travelling road from Hamáh to Aleppo. In these deserts the Haddidín - go to the wells, which are a great depth, a hundred to a hundred - and fifty feet. A horse is attached to the end of a rope, and trots - away, bringing the leathern bucket to the surface. If the well be not - very deep, they sometimes harness two women in it. El Háthir is in a - marsh which has been dry for two years, and abounds in a large and - troublesome horse-fly, whose bite is so severe that the horses were - streaming with blood. - - "We passed through a salt-pan which becomes a lake in the winter - months, and is a source of considerable revenue to the Government. - Soldiers are placed here to prevent contraband trade in salt. - - "The refraction induces mirage. It seems impossible that one is not - looking upon a pellucid and unruffled lake, in which both the houses - of Jabúl and the outlines of an insular Tell are clearly reflected by - the mirage. - - "Akrabeh must have been a place of importance from the extent of - ground over which the ruins are spread. The resemblance borne by the - mounds on which the castles are built in Hums, Hamáh, and Aleppo is - very striking; they are quite identical, Aleppo being the largest. - At Hamáh particularly we find monuments of greatest possible value. - History is silent about the construction of these three sister - castles, but we thought that the five blocks of basalt at Hamáh, - covered with hieroglyphics in excellent preservation, may be the - opening page of a new chapter in history." - -Richard took copies and Charley Drake took squeezes of them. - -At Aleppo, in the south wall of the Jam'ia el Kahan, is a block of -basalt with an inscription similar to those of Hamáh. Though much -defaced, Charley Drake made out nineteen characters identical with -the above-mentioned, and a doorstep bore the same. Charley Drake -thought that the key to these characters must be looked for in _beth_ -(house), _kaf_ (hand), _gimel_ (camel), _ain_ (eye), etc., of the -Semitic alphabet. Hands, flowers, and teeth, and other unmistakable -signs occur. If Richard was right, the well-known Moabite Stone would -be modern in comparison, and we shall see these remarkable monuments -deposited in the Louvre or the St. Petersburg Museum; and, as Charley -Drake said, "there will be the usual gnashing and weeping of teeth -after it is too late." But for my own part, in 1892, I begin to doubt -that England is sufficiently interested in anything, except money, to -have the energy to gnash its teeth at all. - - "The ironwork of the gates of the castle of Aleppo is very good. The - upper gate bears the name of Melek el Dhaher and the date 645 A.H. - Having been officially informed that the mosques of Aleppo might not - be visited by any Christian, we thought that something interesting - might be found; but we managed to see them, and we did not find much, - and the Shaykhs were only anxious to give all the information they - could. We crossed the Nahr el Kowwáyyik, which does not run thirty - miles to the south of Aleppo, as said in maps, but loses itself at a - distance of two and a half hours from the City. On our road a row was - going on between the Kurdish shepherds and the Fellahín of this place. - The shepherds bring sheep down from Mesopotamia and Diarbekr by easy - stages, and sell them at Aleppo and Damascus. The Fellahín envy and - dislike these itinerant pastors. We rode seven and a half miles from - Aleppo, arriving at Serákib. - - "If you listen, the Fellahín are always talking about money, and - prices, and transactions. The Bedawi only delights in listening to or - telling stories of travelling and adventure, or smokes his pipe in - placid enjoyment, while another of them sings an endless romance to - the stirring tones of a one-stringed fiddle. We rode on to Mo'arrat - el No'aman, where we visited some very interesting ruins in Jebel - el Zowi. We then went to Jirjinnáz, as we found we could make it a - head-quarter, and visit all the ruined cities within reach and then - move on to Temányeh. The natural features and ruins of the 'Aláh are - nearly all alike--a rolling plateau varying from thirteen hundred feet - at the north-eastern, to sixteen hundred feet at the south-western - above sea-level. - - "From Damascus to Aleppo, one only meets with a few favoured villages - whose supply of water is just sufficient to irrigate a patch of land - and a few trees. The first ruin in the 'Aláh was Abu Mekkeh, and it - was exactly like the uninhabited cities of the Haurán and the Lej. - The ruins of Surr 'Aman are a mere collection of rude shelters - piled up with old materials. The ruins of Tarútín el Tujjar are the - most important in the 'Aláh. The village of Harráken was repeopled - by Fellahín four years ago. Happily they have not the organ of - destructiveness, as have their brethren in Palestine, and what was - broken was accidental, and not wilful damage, like in the Haurán. At - Burj el Abiadh ruins of considerable extent surround the white tower - after which it is named. At Kufayr we found a ruined tower two stories - high. The tower and ruins at El Fárajeh are of the usual type, but - more solid. Nearly all the ruins bear crosses, Greek or Latin. At El - Ikhwayn there is good water, but at Temányeh the villagers have to - go a mile distant, to a hill with a well at the top. We then went - to Atshán, passing the mounds and pillars which mark the site of - S'kayk el Rubyíet. We next visited El Ma'an, which has the largest - guard-house in the 'Aláh, built by Justinian. Of the ruins of Duwaylíb - little has been left; the stones have been carried off for building - purposes. We got water for our thirsty horses at the shallow well of - Arúneh, beside which and around were encamped the Bedawi Mowáyleh. We - rode through the ruins of Kefr-Ráa, and then descended into the valley - of Orontes to Hamáh. - - "There is a pyramidal-roofed tomb at El Barah. The roofs of these - curious sepulchral monuments are built of massive stones, open - inside up to the apex. One rock-hewn cave contains six loculi, five - and a quarter feet long, by three and a quarter feet deep, and two - and a quarter feet wide, with semicircular arches above them. On - one of the rounded pillars we remarked that two crosses had been - obliterated. A round-about road took us to Kefr Omar, where we saw - a ruined monumental column built with circular stones upon a square - base. We then went to Hass, where there was every kind of style of - tomb--a square tower supporting a pyramidal roof, and all kinds of - other shapes. The number of ruined villages in this district is - surprising. During the day's ride you could count from six to eight - with not a mile between them. Near Mo'arrat el No'aman is a castle - similar to that near Salamíyyeh. At Danah there are very extensive - ruins, and one building called the 'Church' resembles that near Hass. - The stones used in these buildings are commonly six feet long, by two - wide, and two deep. Here the Shaykh told us that twenty years ago a - tomb had been opened, and a small gold image, a sword, a dagger, and - some glass and pottery vessels had been found. There were one or two - tombs in imitation of rock-hewn sepulchres. We felt certain that the - ruined cities of Jebel el Zowi would amply repay any one with time - and opportunity to make excavations. We then went to examine the - Hums Lake, whose position, considering the rapid fall of the Orontes - Valley, had always been a puzzle. - - "We eventually came to a dam of masonry five hundred yards in length, - and twenty feet high in the centre, built across the northern end - of the lake. A small square tower stands at the west of it, and the - water leaks through it in several places, but the dam looks as if it - would last many centuries. The lake is now four or five feet lower - than in winter, yet the surface of the water is about twelve feet - higher than the river at the base of the dam, and many feet higher - than the housetops of Saddi. Were the barrage ever to give way the - destruction to life and property down the valley of the Orontes would - be terrible. The ruins of Wajh el Haja afforded little of interest. - We passed through many villages till we came to Tell Nebi Mand, a - conspicuous mound. The native Moslems think that this prophet was - related to the patriarch Joseph, but the Shaykh assured Richard that - the tomb was that of Benjamin. The place marks the site of the ancient - Laodicea and Libanum. At the south-east end of the lake is a large - building standing at the water's edge, called Kasr Sitt Belkis ('Queen - Belkis' Castle'), and near (_i.e._ about two miles distance) is an old - entrenched camp some four hundred yards square, called Tell S'finet - Núh, or 'the Mound of Noah's Ark.' It was probably a Roman post of - observation to guard the entrance of the Buká'a. From Tell Nebi Mand - we rode back to Damascus." - - -"FAIS CE QUE DOIS, ADVIENNE QUE POURRA." - - - "Caused by the moon's veering orb, what tumult and strife I see! - Wherever I view the earth, iniquity rife I see. - Daughters of turbulent mind, awaking their mother's ire, - And sons who of froward mood wish ill of their sire, I see. - Sherbets of sugar and rose the world to the fool supplies; - But nought save his heart's blood the food of the wise I see. - Galled by the pack-saddle's weight, the Arab's proud steed grows old; - Yet always the ass's neck encircled with gold I see. - Master, go forth and do good; - The counsel of Háfiz prize; - Far better than treasured pearl - This counsel so wise-- - I see." - ----_Ode composed when Persia was invaded by Taimur._ - -Unofficially speaking of official things, we had rather a lively time, -in an unpleasant sense, during these summer months. I always say "we," -because I enter so much into my husband's pursuits, and am so very -proud of being allowed to help him, that I sometimes forget that I am -only as the bellows-blower to the organist. However, I do not think -that anybody will owe me a grudge for it. - - -No. 1. - - -[Sidenote: _Troubles from a Self-appointed Zealot._] - -The first shadow upon our happy life was in 1870-71. An amateur -missionary, residing at Beyrout, came up to Damascus, visited the -prisons, and distributed tracts to the Mohammedans. It was the -intention of the Governor to collect these prints, and to make a -bonfire of them in the market-place. Damascus was in a bad temper for -such proselytizing. It was an excitable year, and it was necessary to -put a stop to proceedings which, though well meant, could not fail to -endanger the safety of the Christian population. The tract-distributor -was a kind, humane, sincere, and charitable man, and we were both -very sorry that he had to be cautioned. He had an enthusiasm in his -religious views which made him dangerous outside a Christian town. At -Beyrout he was well known, but at Damascus he was not, and the people -would have resented his standing on bales in the street haranguing the -Turks against Mohammed. I believe this gentleman would have gloried in -martyrdom; but some of us, not so good as he is, did not aspire to it. -His _entourage_, also, was not so humble or so kind as himself. - -Richard was obliged to give the caution, to do his duty to his large -district, thereby incurring at Beyrout most un-Christian hatreds, -unscrupulously gratified. Richard, with the high, chivalrous sense of -honour which guided all his actions, redoubled his unceasing endeavours -to promote the interest and business of these persons, amidst the -hailstorm of petty spites and insults--which justice and greatness -of mind on his part they themselves were obliged _eventually_ to -acknowledge, however reluctantly. We were decidedly destined to stumble -upon unfortunate circumstances. Since that, a gentleman told off to -convert the Jews in one of Richard's jurisdictions, insisted on getting -a ladder and a hammer, and demolishing a large statue of St. Joseph in -a public place of a Catholic country, because he said it was "a graven -image." Why are the English so careless in their choice? and why have -other foreign Consuls no _désagrémens_ on this head? - -Richard writes-- - - -No. 2. - - - "The Druzes applied early in 1870 for an English school. They - are our allies, and we were on friendly terms with them. As two - missionaries wished to travel amongst them, I gave them the necessary - introductions. They were cordially received and hospitably entertained - by the Shaykhs, but on their road home they were treacherously - followed by two _mauvais sujets_ and attacked; they were thrown off - their horses, their lives were threatened, and their property was - plundered. - - "Such a breach of hospitality and violation of good faith required - prompt notice: firstly, to secure safety to future travellers; and, - secondly, to maintain the good feelings which have ever subsisted - between the Druzes and the English. To pass over such an act of - treachery would be courting their contempt. I at once demanded that - the offenders might be punished by the Druze chiefs themselves, and - twenty napoleons, the worth of the stolen goods, were claimed by me - for the missionaries. The Druzes went down to Beyrout to try to pit - Consulate-General against Consulate, and refused to pay the claim. I - then applied for their punishment to the Turkish authorities, knowing - that the Druzes would at once accede to my first demand--a proceeding - approved of by her Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople. After three - months the Shaykh el Akkál, head religious chief, brought down the - offenders, who were recognized by the missionaries. They confessed - their guilt, and the Shaykh, who was staying as a guest in our house, - assured me [Richard] that I was perfectly right in acting as I had - done, and that every Druze was heartily ashamed of the conduct of - these two men." - - -No. 3. - - - - [Sidenote: _Usurers very troublesome._] - - "In June, 1870, I prepared a despatch for our Ambassador at - Constantinople, on the system of defrauding the poor and of 'running' - villages by the Damascus Jewish money-lenders. - - "I will now try to explain how these matters stood. - - "In former days, when not a few Europeans were open to certain - arrangements which made them take the highest interest in the business - transactions of their clients, a radically bad system, happily now - almost extinct, was introduced into Syria. The European subject, or - _protégé_, instead of engaging in honest commerce, was thus encouraged - to seek inordinate and usurious profits by sales of the Government - and by loans to the villagers. In such cases he, of course, relied - entirely upon the protection of a foreign Power, on account of the - sums to be expended in feeing native functionaries before repayment - could be expected. Thus the Consuls became, as it were, _huissiers_, - or bailiffs, whose principal duties were to collect the bad debts of - those who had foreign passports. - - "Damascus contained a total of forty-eight adult males protected by - H.B.M.'s Consulate, and of these there were a triumvirate of Shylocks. - Most of them are Jews who were admitted to, or whose fathers acquired, - a foreign nationality, given with the benevolent object of saving them - from Moslem cruelty and oppression in days gone by. These _protégés_ - have extended what was granted for the preservation of their lives, - liberties, and property, to transactions which rest entirely for - success upon British protection. The case of No. 1, whom we will call - Judas, is a fair example. He has few dealings in the city, the licit - field of action. But since the death of his highly respectable father, - in 1854, he had been allowing bills signed by the ignorant peasantry - of the province to accumulate at simple and compound interest, till - the liabilities of the villagers have become greater than the value - of the whole village. A----, for instance, on the eastern skirt of - Mount Hermon, owed him 106,000 piastres, which were originally - 42,000. He claims 5000 purses from the B---- family, upon a total - debt of 242,000½ piastres, in 1857. We have not yet passed through a - single settlement where his debtors did not complain loudly of his - proceedings; and to A--- may be added C----, ----, and D---- el X----, - a stronghold of the Druzes. Some villages have been partly depopulated - by his vexations, and the injury done to the Druzes by thus driving - them from the Anti-Lebanon to the Haurán, may presently be severely - visited upon the Ottoman authorities. - - "The British _protégé_ is compelled every year, in his quality of - _shúbasi_ (farmer of revenue), to summon the village Shaykhs and - peasantry, to imprison them, and to leave them lying in jail till - he can squeeze from them as much as possible, and to injure them by - quartering _hawali_, or policemen, who plunder whatever they can. - He long occupied the whole attention, though it had other and more - important duties, of the Village Commission (_Kumision Mahasibat el - Kura_), established in A.H. 1280 (1863). For about a year a special - commission (_Kumision Makhsus_) had at that time, 1870, been sitting - on his case, whose intricacies, complicated by his unwillingness to - settle anything, wearied out all the members. At different times he - quarrelled with every person in the Court--from the _defterdar_, who - is its President, to the Consular Dragomans, who composed it. Even - felony was freely imputed to him by various persons. He was accused - of bribing the Government _khatibs_ (secretaries) to introduce into - documents sentences of doubtful import, upon which he can found claims - for increased and exorbitant interest, of adding lines to receipts - and other instruments after they have been signed, and of using false - seals, made at home by his own servants. One of the latter publicly - denounced him, but was, as usual, paid to keep silence. He is reported - again and again to have refused, in order that the peasants might - remain upon his books, the ready moneys offered to him for the final - settlement of village liabilities. His good management had baffled all - efforts at detection, whilst every one was morally certain that the - charges were founded on fact. He corrupts, or attempts to corrupt, all - those with whom he has dealings. - - "I wanted to inform them that British protection extends to preserving - their persons and property from all injustice and violence, but that - it would not assist them to recover debts from the Ottoman Government, - or from the villages of the province, and that it would not abet them - in imprisoning or in distraining the latter. To such general rule, - of course, exceptions would be admissible, at the discretion of the - officer in charge of H.B.M.'s Consulate; in cases, for instance, when - just and honest claims might be rejected, or their payment unduly - delayed. The sole inconvenience which would arise to such creditors - from their altered positions would be the necessity of feeing the - Serai more heavily; and even they openly communicated with the local - authorities, reserving the Consulate as a forlorn hope. The change - might possibly have directed their attention to a more legitimate - commercial career. Such a measure would have been exceedingly popular - throughout the country, and would have relieved us from the suspicion - of interested motives--a suspicion which must exist where honesty - and honour, in an English understanding of these words, are almost - unknown; and from the odium which attaches to the official instruments - of oppression. Finally, the corruption of Damascus rendered me the - more jealous of the good name of the Consulate, and the more desirous - of personal immunity from certain reports which, at different times, - have been spread about _others_ in office. I therefore posted on the - door of H.M.'s Consulate, Damascus, the following notice:-- - - "'Her Britannic Majesty's Consul hereby warns British subjects and - _protégés_ that he will not assist them to recover debts from the - Government or from the people of Syria, unless the debts are such as - between British subjects could be recovered through H.M.'s Consular - Courts. Before purchasing the claims, public or private, of an Ottoman - subject--and especially where Government paper is in question--the - _protégé_ should, if official interference be likely to be required, - at once report the whole transaction to this Consulate. British - subjects and protected persons are hereby duly warned that protection - extends to life, liberty, and property, in cases where these are - threatened by violence or by injustice; but that it will not interfere - in speculations which, if undertaken by Syrian subjects of the Porte, - could not be expected to prove remunerative. British subjects and - protected persons must not expect the official interference of the - Consulate in cases where they prefer (as of late has often happened - at Damascus) to urge their claims upon the local authorities without - referring to this Consulate, and altogether ignoring the jurisdiction - of H.B.M.'s Consul. Finally, H.B.M.'s Consul feels himself bound to - protest strongly against the system adopted by British subjects and - protected persons at Damascus, who habitually induce the Ottoman - authorities to imprison peasants and pauper debtors, either for simple - debt, or upon charges which have not been previously produced for - examination at this Consulate. The prisons will be visited once a - week. An official application will be made for the delivery of all - such persons. - - "'(Signed) R. F. BURTON, - - "'H.B.M.'s Consul, Damascus. - - "'Damascus, June 20th, 1870.'" - -[Sidenote: _A Jehád threatened._] - -I have already related how, on August 26th, Richard received a letter -from the Rev. W. Wright, and likewise one from the Chief Consular -Dragoman, Mr. Nasif Meshaka, which induced him to ride at once to -Damascus (from Bludán, the summer quarter); how he found that half the -Christians had fled, and everything was ripe for a new massacre; how he -sought the authorities, and informed them of their danger; induced them -to have night patrols, to put guards in the streets, to prevent Jews -or Christians leaving their houses, and to take all measures needful -to convince the conspirators that they would not find every one -sleeping as they did in 1860. The _Wali_ and all the Chief responsible -Authorities were absent. The excitement subsided under the measures -recommended by him, and in three days all was quiet, and the Christians -returned to their homes. - -I affirm that, living in safety upon the sea-coast, no man can be a -judge of the other side of the Lebanon, nor, if he does not know some -Eastern language, can he be a judge of Orientals and their proceedings. -Certain Jewish usurers had been accused of exciting these massacres, -because their lives were perfectly safe, and they profited of the -horrors to buy up property at a nominal price. It was brought to -Richard's notice that two Jewish boys, servants to British-protected -subjects, were giving the well-understood signal by drawing crosses on -the walls. Its meaning to him was clear. He promptly investigated it, -and took away the British protection of the masters temporarily, merely -reproving the boys, who had acted under orders. He did not take upon -himself to punish them. Certain ill-advised Israelitish money-lenders -fancied it was a good opportunity to overthrow him, and with him his -plan of seeing fair proceedings on the part of the British _protégés_; -so they reported to Sir Moses Montefiore and Sir Francis Goldsmid that -he had tortured the boys. His proceedings were once, more proved just. -The correspondence on the subject was marvellously interesting, but -being official I cannot use it. - - [Sidenote: _Jews._] - - "The Jews," he writes, "from all times held a certain position in - Syria, on account of their being the financiers of the country; and - even in pre-Egyptian days Haim Farhi was able to degrade and ruin - Abdullah Pasha, of St. Jean d'Acre. In the time of Ibrahim Pasha, - about forty-four years ago,[11] when the first Consuls went there, - a few were taken under British protection, and this increased their - influence. Then came the well-known history of the murder of Padre - Tomaso. After this had blown over, all the richest people of the - community tried to become British-protected subjects, or _protégés_ - of some foreign Consulate. In the time of Mr. Consul (Richard) Wood, - (1840), they were humble enough. In the massacre of 1860 they enriched - themselves greatly, and men possessing £3000 rose suddenly to £30,000. - Then they had at their backs in England Sir Moses Montefiore, Sir F. - Goldsmid, and the Rothschilds[12] and others, who doubtless do not - know the true state of the Jewish usurers in this part of the world. - The British Consul became the Jews' bailiff, and when we went to Syria - we found them rough-riding all the land. I speak only of the few - money-lenders. When I arrived in 1869, Shylock No. 1 came to me, and - patting me patronizingly on the back, told me he had three hundred - cases for me, relative to collecting £60,000 of debts. I replied, 'I - think, sir, you had better hire and pay a Consul for yourself alone; - I was not sent here as a bailiff, to tap the peasant on the shoulder - in such cases as yours.' He then threatened me with the British - Government. I replied, 'It is by far the best thing you can do; I have - no power to alter a plain line of duty.' Shylock then tried my wife's - influence, but she replied that she was never allowed to interfere in - business matters. Then Sir Francis Goldsmid, to our great surprise, - wrote to Head-quarters--a rather unusual measure--as follows: 'I hear - that the lady to whom Captain Burton is married is believed to be a - bigoted Roman Catholic, and to be likely to influence him against the - Jews.' In spite of 'woman's rights' she was not allowed the privilege - of answering Sir Francis Goldsmid officially; but I hope to convince - him, even after years, that he was misinformed." - -I think that religion certainly is, and ought to be, the first -and highest sentiment of our hearts, and I consider it my highest -prerogative to be a staunch and loyal Catholic. But I also claim to -be free from prejudice, and to be untrammelled in my sentiments about -other religions. Our great Master and His Apostles showed no bigotry, -and it is to them that I look for my rule of life, not to the clique I -was born in. Many amongst us Old Catholics, who live amongst our own -people, and are educated men and women, go forth into the world and are -quite unbiased against other faiths; we take to our hearts friends, -without inquiring into their religion or politics. And if sometimes we -sigh because they are not of our way of thinking, it is not from any -bigotry or party feeling; it is because we love them, and we wish that -we could give them some of our happiness and security. I appeal to my -enemies--if I have any--to say whether I have any prejudice against -race or creed.[13] At all events, I have an honest admiration and -respect for the Jewish religion. They were the chosen people of God. -They are more akin to us than any other faith. - -Jesus Christ was a Jew, the Apostles were Jews. He came not to -destroy the Law, but to change the prescriptions necessary for the -times. The Great Reformer was the connecting link between us. He made -Christianity, or Judaism, for the multitude, a Syro-Arabian creed. He -parted the creation into two divisions--those who accepted the new -school, and those who clung to the old. We are of the former, and the -Jews of the latter fold. It would be madness to despise those who once -ruled the ancient world, and who will rule again--do we not see signs -of their return to power every day? It would be more than folly not -to honour the old tribes of the chosen people of God. In Syria only -the Jews, Druzes, and Bedawi can boast of their origin. In the Syrian -world we know, only the Jews and Catholics can boast of antiquity of -religion. An Eastern Jew cannot but be proud of his religion and his -descent. As I turn over my old Damascus journal, my heart warms to -think that some of our dearest native friends at Damascus were of the -Jewish religion. We were on good terms with them all, and received -sincere hospitality from them. At Trieste, again, the enlightened and -hospitable Hebrews were our best friends. It is the Jews who lead -society here, the charities and the fashion; they are the life of the -town. When I call to mind how many Jews I know, and like, and have -exchanged hospitality with, here and in the East, I do not know how to -speak strongly enough on the subject. - -But now let us turn to the dark side of the picture. Even those who -are the proudest of their Semitic origin speak contemptuously of their -usurers. And, let me ask, do we pet and admire our own money-lenders? -Let a Damascus Jew once become a usurer, back him up with political -influence, and see what he will become. He forgets race and creed; that -touching, dignified, graceful humility changes into fawning servility, -or to brutal insolence and cruelty, where he is not afraid. He thirsts -only for money. The villanies practised by the usurers, especially the -Shylocks in Damascus, excite every right-minded person to indignation; -and if I had no other esteem for my husband, I should owe it to him -for the brave manner in which he made a stand against these wrongs at -every risk. He knew that no other Consul had ever dared--nor would ever -dare--to oppose it; but he said simply, "I must do right; I cannot sit -still and see what I see, and not speak the truth. I must protect the -poor, and save the British good name, _advienne que pourra_, though -perhaps in so doing I shall fall myself." And he did--but not for this. - -He is not what is _called_ a religious man, but he acts like one; and -if he did nothing to win respect and admiration, that alone should -give people an insight into his character, whilst I, like Job's wife, -incessantly said, "Leave all this alone, as your predecessor did, as -your Consul-General does, and as your successor will do, and keep your -place, and look forward to a better." If the usurers had been Catholics -instead of Jews, I should like them to have lost their "protection," -to have been banished from Damascus, and _excommunicated_ as long as -they plied their trade. More I cannot say. Nay, I prefer the Jew to -the Christian usurer. The former will take my flesh and blood, but the -Christian will want my bones too. - -Richard writes-- - - "One man alone had ruined and sucked dry forty-one villages. He used - to go to a distressed village and offer them money, keep all the - papers, and allow them nothing to show; adding interest and compound - interest, which the poor wretches could not understand. Then he gave - them no receipts for money received, so as to be paid over and over - again. The uneducated peasants had nothing to show against the clever - Jew at the Diwán, till body and soul, wives and children, village, - flocks, and land, became his property and slaves for the sake of the - small sum originally borrowed. These men, who a few years ago were not - worth much, are now rolling in wealth. We found villages in ruins, - and houses empty, because the men were cast into jail, the children - starving, and women weeping at our feet; because these things were - done in the name of England, by the powerful arm of the British - Consulate." - -[Sidenote: _Usurers try to remove Richard._] - -My husband once actually found an old man of ninety, who had endured -all the horrors of the Damascus jail during the whole of a biting -winter, for owing one of these men a napoleon (sixteen shillings). He -set him free, and ever after visited the prisons once a week, to see -whether the British-protected subjects had immured pauper Christians -and Moslems on their own responsibility. One of the usurers told him -to beware, for that he knew a Royal Highness of England, and that -he could have any Consular officer recalled at his pleasure; and my -husband replied that he and his clique could know very little of -English Royalty if they thought that it would protect such traffic as -theirs. The result of this was that they put their heads together, and -certain letters were sent to the Chief Rabbi of London, Sir Francis -Goldsmid, and Sir Moses Montefiore. They sent telegrams and petitions, -purporting to be from "all the Jews in Damascus." We believe, however, -that "all the Jews in Damascus" knew nothing whatever about the step. -Richard said, "They are mostly a body of respectable men--hard-working, -inoffensive, and of commercial integrity, with a fair sprinkling of -pious, charitable, and innocent people." These despatches, backed by -letters from the influential persons who received them, were duly -forwarded to the Foreign Office. The correspondence was sent in -full to Richard to answer, which he did at great length, and to the -satisfaction of his Chiefs, who found that he could not have acted -otherwise. - -Richard wrote: "I am ready to defend their lives, liberty, and -property, but I _will not_ assist them in ruining villages, and -in imprisoning destitute debtors upon trumped-up charges. I would -willingly deserve the praise of every section of the Jewish community -of Damascus, but in certain cases it is incompatible with my sense of -justice and my conscience." They bragged so much in the bazars about -getting Richard recalled, that a number of sympathizing letters were -showered upon us. - -I quote the following _verbatim_:-- - - [Sidenote: _Letters of Indignation and Sympathy._] - - DEAR MRS. BURTON, - - "We desire to express to you the great satisfaction which Captain - Burton's presence as British Consul in Damascus has given us, both - in our individual capacities and in our character of missionaries to - Syria. - - "Since his arrival here we have had every opportunity of judging of - Captain Burton's official conduct, and we beg to express our approval - of it. - - "The first public act that came under our notice was the removing - of dishonest officials, and the replacing them by honest ones. This - proceeding gave unmixed pleasure to every one to whom the credit of - the English name was a matter of concern. His subsequent conduct - has restored the _prestige_ of the English Consulate, and we no - longer hear it said that English officials, removed from the checks - of English public opinion, are as corrupt in Turkey as the Turks - themselves. As missionaries we frankly admit that we had been led to - view Captain Burton's appointment with alarm; but we now congratulate - ourselves on having abstained, either directly or indirectly, - endeavouring to oppose his coming. - - "Carefully following our own habitual policy of asking no consular - interference between the Turkish Government and its subjects, we stand - upon our right as Englishmen to preach and teach so long as we violate - no law of the land, and we claim for our converts the liberty of - conscience secured to them by treaty. In the maintenance of this one - right we have been firmly upheld by Captain Burton. - - "A few months ago, when our schools were illegally and arbitrarily - closed by the Turkish officials, he came to our aid, and the injustice - was at once put a stop to. His visit to the several village schools - under our charge proved to the native mind the Consul's interest in - the moral education of the country, which it is the object of those - schools to promote, and impressed upon the minds of local magistrates - the propriety of letting them alone. - - "Within the last few days we had occasion to apply to Captain Burton - regarding our cemetery, which had been broken open, and it was an - agreeable surprise to us when, after two days, a police-officer came - to assure us that the damage had been repaid by the Pasha's orders, - and search was being made for the depredator. - - "Above all, in view of any possible massacre of Christians in this - city--the all but inevitable consequence of a war between Turkey and - any Christian Power--we regard as an element of safety the presence - among us of a firm, strong man like Captain Burton, as representing - the English interests. - - "When, not long ago, a panic seized the city, and a massacre seemed - imminent, Captain Burton immediately came down from his summer - quarters, and by his presence largely contributed to restore - tranquillity. All the other important Consuls fled from Damascus, and - thus increased the panic. - - "We earnestly hope that Captain Burton will not suffer himself to be - annoyed by the enmity he is sure to provoke for all who wish to make - the English name a cover for wrongs and injustice, or think that a - British subject or _protégé_ should be supported, whatever be the - nature of his case. - - "With kindest respects, we are, dear Mrs. Burton, yours very truly, - - "(Signed) JAMES ORR SCOTT, M.A., Irish Presbyterian Mission. - - "WM. WRIGHT, B.A., Missionary of the Irish Presbyterian - Church. - - "P.S.--By-the-by, on one occasion one of the most important Jews of - Damascus, when conversing with me [Wm. Wright] and the Rev. John - Crawford, American missionary, said that Captain Burton was unfit for - the British Consulate in Damascus; and the reason he gave was that, - being an upright man, he transacted his business by fair means instead - of by foul. - - "Damascus, November 28th, 1870." - - * * * * * - - "MY DEAR ISABEL, - - "I was calling at a native house yesterday, where I found assembled - some leading people of Damascus. The conversation turned upon Captain - Burton and the present British Consulate. One word led to another; and - I heard, to my surprise and consternation, that men famed for their - _various pecuniary_ transactions are boasting about everywhere 'that, - upon _their_ representations, _the Consul is to be recalled_,' and - all Damascus is grieved and indignant at them. For my part I cannot, - will not, believe that her Majesty's Government would set aside a man - of Captain Burton's standing, and well-known justice and capacity - in public affairs, for the sake of these Jews, who are desolating - the villages and ruining those who have the misfortune to fall into - their clutches. He is also so thoroughly adapted for this Babel of - tongues, nations, and religions, and is so rapidly raising our English - Consulate from the low estimation in which it had fallen in the eyes - of all men, to the position it ought to and would occupy under the - rule of an incorruptible, firm, and impartial character like Captain - Burton's. - - "At the risk of vexing you, I must tell you what I now hear commonly - reported in the bazar, for several merchants and others have asked - me if it was true. [Here follows the history of the complaints.] Our - present Consul is too much a friend to the oppressed, and examines - too much everything _himself_, to suit their money transactions. The - Consulate for an age has not been so respectable as now; and should - you really go, I should think any future Consul would shrink to do - his duty, for fear of his conduct being misrepresented at home. You - must write me a line to tell me the truth, if you may do so without - indiscretion; and people are wanting to write to the Foreign Office - and the _Times_, so provoked are they at the lies and duplicity. The - day I was with you and you refused to see Judas and the other Jew, who - seemed to dodge you about like a house cat, and looking so ill at ease - and in a fright, did you then suspect or know anything about all this? - - "With regard to the Arab tribes, they too have an admiration for - Captain Burton's dauntless character and straightforward dealing, so - different from others. You know that Shaykh Mohammed el Dhúky and - Farés el Mézyad openly say so in the desert. - - "I had intended to scribble but two lines, and I have been led on till - my note has become a long letter. So, good-bye; and I truly hope all - these machinations will end in the discomfiture of their inventors. - - "Your affectionate cousin, - - "JANE DIGBY EL MEZRAB. - - "Damascus, November 28th, 1870." - - * * * * * - - "MONSIEUR LE CONSUL, - - "C'est avec le plus plaisir nous venons vous exprimer notre - satisfaction et les sentiments de notre amour envers votre amiable - personne, ayant toujours devant les yeux les belles qualités et les - grands mérites dont vous êtes orné. - - "Il y a plus d'un an que nous avons eu l'honneur de vous connaître, - et nous sommes en même de pouvoir apprécier votre bonne disposition - pour le soutien de la cause chrétienne sans distinction de religion; - et, par conséquent, nous sommes extrêmement reconnaissants au bienfait - philanthropique de Gouvernement de S.M. Britannique, qui a daigné - nous envoyer à Damas un représentant si digne et si mérité comme vous - l'êtes, Monsieur le Consul. - - "C'est avec regret que nous avons appris que des gens malicieux de - Damas se sont plaints contre vous pour des causes qui vous sont - très-honorables. - - "Nous venons vous exprimer notre indignation pour leur conduite - inexplicable at méprisable en vous témoignant notre reconnaissance - pour le grand zèle et l'activité incessante que vous déployez toujours - pour le bien et pour le repos de tous les Chrétiens en général. - - "Nous espérons que vous continuerez pour l'avenir comme pour le passé - à nous accorder les mêmes bienfaits. - - "C'est avec ce même espoir que nous vous prions, Monsieur le Consul, - d'agréer nos sentiments de haute considération. - - "(Signé) EROTEOS, Patriarche Grec d'Antioche. - - "A M. le Captaine Burton, Consul de S. M. Britannique à Damas. - - "Damas, le 15 Décembre, 1870." - - * * * * * - - "MONSIEUR LE CONSUL, - - "Nous avons entendu avec beaucoup d'inquiet que certains gens - malicieux à Damas se sont plaignés de vous pour des causes qui vous - sont très-honorables. - - "Nous désirons vous exprimer combien leur conduite est méprisable et - inexcusable à nos yeux. - - "Nous vous avons connu maintenant plus qu'un an; nous vous avons - trouvé toujours prêt à assister la cause chrétienne, sans égard pour - les differences de la religion et à nous appuyer quand nous aurions - été peut-être traités durement. - - "Dans les circumstances actuelles de cette année nous aurions beaucoup - d'inquiétude s'il y avait une chance même que vous nous quittiez. Nous - espérons que vos bons offices seront continués pour nous dans l'avenir - comme dans le passé. Nous vous prions de vous servir de notre regard - pour vous comme Consul et ami aussi publiquement que possible. - - "Daignez agréer, etc., etc. - - "(Signé) L'EVÊQUE MACARIOS, Le Vicaire du Patriarcat à Damas. - (L.S.) - - "GREGOIR JACOB, Archev. Syrien Catholique de Damas. (L.S.) - - "Le Vicaire du Patriarcat Maronite à Damas. (L.S.) - - "Le Vicaire du Patriarcat Armenian Catholique à Damas. (L.S.). - - "A Monsieur R. F. Burton, Consul de S. M. Britannique à Damas. - - "Damas, le 13 Décembre, 1870." - -[Sidenote: _Jews._] - -To conclude: the effect of their conduct in Damascus will fall -upon their own heads, and upon their children. Do not purposely -misunderstand me, O Israel! Remember, I do not speak of you -disparagingly as a nation, or as a faith. As such I love and admire -you; but I pick out your usurers from among you, as the goats from -the sheep. You are ancient in birth and religion; you are sometimes -handsome, always clever, and in many things you far outstrip us -Christians in the race of life. Your sins and your faults are, and -have been, equally remarkable from all time. Many of you, in Damascus -especially, are as foolish and stiff-necked as in the days of old. When -the time comes, and it will come, the trampled worm will turn. The -Moslem will rise not really against the Christian--he will only be the -excuse--but against you. Your quarter will be the one to be burnt down; -your people to be exterminated, and all your innocent tribe will suffer -for the few guilty. - -A Druze of the Haurán once said to me, "I have the greatest temptation -to burn down A----'s house. I should be sent to Istambul in chains, but -what of that? I should free my village and my people." I begged of him -not to think of such a crime. A sinister smile passed over his face, -and he muttered low in his beard, "No, not yet! not yet! Not till the -next time. And then not much of the Yahúd will be left when we have -done with them." I quote this as a specimen of the ill-feeling bred -over the interior of Syria by their over-greed of gain. And I only -hope that the powerful Israelite Committees and Societies of London -and Paris will--and they can if they will--curb the cupidity of their -countrymen in Syria. - -[Sidenote: _Omar Bey's Fine Mare--Horse-breeding._] - -We were present at a very grand review, where a splendid mare, -ridden by Omar Bey, was the centre of attraction, and the newspapers -afterwards noticed her in the following manner:-- - - -Cutting from the _Boomerang_. - - - "Lady Burton mentions a very fine mare which Omar Bey, a Turkish - brigadier-general at Damascus, bought from some Arabs after a free - fight in the desert. She was so handsome that at a grand review, the - only one held while Sir Richard Burton was Consul at Damascus, neither - Lady Burton nor her husband could look at anything else. Omar Bey - was subsequently ordered to leave the district, and sold the mare - for £80, being all she would fetch at the time. It does seem a pity - that, in a great horse-breeding country like Australia, there are not - men to be found patriotic enough to secure specimens of these famous - breeds of antiquity. We have plenty of breeders willing and anxious - to secure and continue the breed of the English thoroughbred, but - although we are possessed of some of the finest areas in the world - for horse-breeding, and in a climate analogous in many respects to - Mesopotamia, the original home of the horse, we have unfortunately - no one among all those who have amassed wealth who will, either for - pleasure or profit, take in hand the formation of a pure Arabian stud. - There can be no question that in this country, where feed is not a - matter of consideration, the Arabian would grow to a very much larger - size." - -[Sidenote: _The Holy Land._] - -We at last determined to thoroughly do Palestine and the Holy Land, -and we went down in an awfully rough sea, in a very tiny and dirty -little Egyptian steamer, as far as Jaffa. There were great doubts as to -whether we could land, but at last boats were put out, and we got in -on the top of a truly alarming surf, shooting through a narrow hole in -the rocks just wide enough to admit the boat. The plain of Sharon was -looking beautiful--meadows of grass land, wild flowers, cultivation, -and orange groves all along our forty mile-ride. - -I shall not say much about this pilgrimage, because it is too well -known, except that we remained long enough to see and learn everything -by heart about every place where our Saviour and His followers ever -were in Syria, not only with the Bible and "Tancred," but learning all -the legends, and the folklore handed from father to son. I have given a -very long account of this in my "Inner Life of Syria" (2 vols., 1875), -so that I don't want to repeat it again. - -With Richard it was a constant matter for thought whether the sites and -the tombs were the correct ones; and the sword of Godfrey de Bouillon -and the Crusaders' arms, also those of the Knight Templars, were -always of immense interest to him. We visited all the Patriarchs, and -principally Monseigneur Valerga, a man of brilliant education, with -the _savoir faire_ of the diplomat or courtier, blended with religion. -We went through all the ceremonies of _all the numerous religions_ -during the Holy Week, the Mohammedan as well as the fourteen Christian -sects, and Jewish, of which not the least touching thing is the wailing -of the Jews outside the wall of the Temple on Fridays, and the Greek -fire on Holy Saturday. A Jewish friend took us in for the Passover. We -visited all the country of St. John, Bethlehem, Hebron, where Abraham, -Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Rebecca, and Leah are buried; to Mar Saba, where -is the Convent of Penitent Monks, in a most wonderful ravine. From -there we got down to the Dead Sea, and swam in it, and saw fish. It -receives daily seven million tons of water, and has no outlet; but -its evaporation forms the desert of salt, called the Ghor, all round -its southern shore, which fact Richard compares with Tanganyika. From -there we went into Moab; we visited Moses' Tomb on the return journey. -At Bethábara we bathed, and brought home bottles of the water of the -Jordan; thence we went to Jericho, but we took care to visit every -spot where tradition and folklore says our Saviour touched at, _off -the tracks_ besides. We encamped on the supposed sites of Sodom and -Gomorrah, and so on to Bethel, and Hai, the most ancient site in -Palestine, the camping-ground of Abraham, where he and Lot parted -and divided their flocks; and we gradually made our way to Nablus, -which is the boundary between the Damascus and Jerusalem Consular -jurisdictions. We ascended Mount Ebal and Mount Gerízim, and stayed -with the Samaritans, who then numbered a hundred and thirty-five. We -then went to Samaria, and through the plain of Esdraelon; and we camped -at ancient Engannin, where Christ cured the ten lepers. From thence to -Scythopolis into the Ghor, and to as many sites of the towns of the -Decapolis as we could realize. We went to Naim, and Endor, and Tabor, -and Nazareth--at Nazareth we were stoned (a little political manœuvre); -thence to Cana. About Nazareth Richard wrote in his private journal-- - - "I rode down the country by the vile Kunayterah road to Tiberias, - where the Jews protected by our Government were complaining that the - _Wali_ had taken from them and had sold to the Greek Bishop Nifon, at - Nazareth, a cemetery and synagogue, which for the last four hundred - years had belonged to their faith, and to visit a few men who held - British passports, which ought to have been annually changed, but had - through carelessness not been renewed since 1850. For these acts, I - was destined to the same honour as my Master, namely, being stoned out - of Nazareth; and because I did good to the Jews, they also betrayed me - to the Authorities, and asked for my recall." - -We went up the Mountain of Precipitation to Hattín, and ascended to -Tiberias, the second and the middle sea which feeds the Jordan, and we -visited the site of the eight towns so much frequented by our Saviour. -From thence we went to Sáfed, which is a very fanatical Jewish Holy -City, from which we could see the Jaulán and the Haurán stretching -right away into the Arabian desert of the ancient kingdom of Báshan; -and from here we again made our way to the plain of Huleh, which we -remember of old, and the Waters of Merom, where we camped before under -difficulties, and so nearly got a bad fever. This time it was black -from a recent prairie fire. The best amusement on these occasions is -to laugh at one another's miserable, unrecognizable faces, all swollen -with bites and stings, like the face one sees in a spoon. After a lot -of other places, we got back to Birket er Ram or Lake Phiala, which I -remember saying a while ago we determined to revisit. Richard found -something that excited his attention about it, so we emptied the water -out of all our goat-skins, blew them up with air, strapped them to -our camp-table, made a raft, and used the tent-poles for oars. It is -supposed to have no bottom, is six hundred yards broad, and about nine -hundred wide. We sounded with the lead, and the deepest part proved to -be seventeen feet and a half. It has a weed bottom and leeches below, -no shells; but the air began to whistle out of the skins, and Richard -and Charley Drake only just got back in time to save themselves a swim. - -Whilst at Jerusalem and its environs Richard did two very graceful -things. He saw a monk conducting a party of Catholics, who wanted to -say prayers in the Sepulchre itself at three o'clock on Good Friday. -It was invaded by the usual class of tourists. The monk shrunk back -with his people, and the particular time for these prayers was slipping -away. Richard stepped forward, and, touching his cap, said, "What is -the matter, Father?" He said, "The Sepulchre is full of tourists, who -are not Catholics. We have no right to turn them out, and we don't -like to push in and begin our devotions." Richard said, "Leave that to -me." He went in and explained to them, and they came out. Richard then -passed the monk and his party in, and he stood guard himself outside -the whole time they performed their devotion, and would not let any one -pass. These little acts used to win him the heart of everybody. - -Another day we were riding in rather a desert place about a mile from a -small village; we met a solitary priest and his acolyte. I was about to -ride up to speak to him, when he gave me the sign--I mean the sign the -priest gives you when he is secretly carrying the Blessed Sacrament. I -told it to Richard, who ordered his men to draw up in two lines for the -priest to pass through and salute. He jumped down from his own horse, -and offered it to the priest, asking to accompany him. The priest -declined it, but he blessed him as he passed. I always thought of this -afterwards in Austria, when I saw the large picture in the Palace at -Innsbrück, of Rudolph the Second of Hapsburg doing the same thing. - -At Jerusalem we explored the Mágharat el Kotn; these are enormous -quarries, also called the Royal Caverns. The entrance looks like a -hole in the wall outside the town, not far from the Gate of Damascus. -Creeping in, you find yourself in endless caves and galleries -unexplored. We used to use magnesium fusees, and take plenty of ropes -to have a clue. - -[1] "We were living at the foot of the eastern spur of the -Anti-Libanus, upon whose south-eastern slopes lies the large northern -suburb of Damascus, El Salahíyyah ('of the Saints'), facetiously -changed on account of its Kurdish population into El Talahíyyah ('of -the Sinners'). Our friend Bedr Beg was its Chief."--R. F. B. - -[2] If any one wants dragomans, let them give preference above all to -Melhem Wardi, of Beyrout, and consult his brother Antun. - -[3] This was written at the time when the report of Lady Ellenborough's -death was generally believed to be true. - -[4] Ah, what a beautiful life it would have been!--I. B. - -[5] The cave near Affka forms the Orontes, the Jura sends forth the -Bárada of Damascus, and Lake Phiala Josephus makes the highest water of -the Jordan. - -[6] I was not well, and was left at home.--I. B. - -[7] This answers something to the Karst above Trieste. - -[8] "This is a term used at Damascus to the northern offsets; these are -the southern." - -[9] Lines by a West African poet. - -[10] Most of these descriptive scientific journeys are more for -geographers and antiquaries. - -[11] Now sixty-four years in 1893. - -[12] Now, in 1893, the Sassoons, the Oppenheims, and Bischofheims. - -[13] Although a staunch Catholic, I was an ardent disciple of Mr. -Disraeli--I do not mean Mr. Disraeli as Prime Minister of England, but -the author of "Tancred." I read the book as a young girl in my father's -house, and it inspired me with all the ideas, and the yearning for -a wild Oriental life, which I have since been able to carry out. I -passed two years of my early life, when emerging from the school-room, -in my father's garden, and the beautiful woods around us, alone with -"Tancred." My family were pained and anxious about me--thought me odd; -wished I would play the piano, do worsted work, write notes, read the -circulating library--in short, what is generally called improving one's -mind; and I was pained because I could not. My uncle used to pat my -head, and "hope for better things." I did not know it then, I do now: -I was working out the problem of my future life, my after mission. It -lived in my saddle-pocket throughout my Eastern life. I almost know -it by heart, so that when I came to Bethany, to the Lebanon, and to -Mukhtár--when I found myself in a Bedawi camp, or amongst the Maronite -and Druze strongholds, or in the society of Fakredeens--nothing -surprised me. I felt as if I had lived that life for years. I felt that -I went to the tomb of my Redeemer in the proper spirit, and I found -what I sought. The presence of God was actually felt, though invisible. -The author possesses by descent a knowledge that we Northerners lack (a -high privilege reserved to his Semitic blood).--I. B. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -RELIGION. - - "Men don't believe in a devil now, as their fathers used to do; - They've forced the door of the broadest creed to let his Majesty through. - There isn't a print of his cloven foot, or a fiery dart from his bow, - To be found in earth or air to-day, for the world has voted it so. - - "But who is mixing the fatal draught that palsies heart and brain, - And loads the bier of each passing year with ten hundred thousand slain? - Who blights the bloom of the land to-day with the fiery breath of hell? - If the devil isn't, and never was, won't somebody rise and tell? - - "Who dogs the steps of the toiling saint, and digs the pits for his feet? - Who sows the tares on the fields of time, wherever God sows His wheat? - The devil is voted not to be, and of course the thing is true; - But who is doing the kind of work that the devil alone should do? - - "We are told that he does not go about as a roaring lion now; - But whom shall we hold responsible for the everlasting row - To be heard in home, in Church and State, to the earth's remotest bound, - If the devil, by a unanimous vote, is nowhere to be found? - - "Won't somebody step to the front forthwith, and make his bow and show - How the frauds and crimes of a single day spring up? We want to know. - The devil was fairly voted out, and of course the devil's gone; - But simple people would like to know who carries his business on." - ----ALFRED J. HOUGH, _in the Jamestown (N.Y.) Journal_. - - -It must not be supposed that Richard was the least insincere, because -he tried religions all round. He wanted to get at the highest, the -nearest to God, the nearest to other worlds, and in that respect he -was like Cardinal Newman. He always spoke the truth, and if he changed -every other day, he would have said so. Every time he was disappointed -with a religion he fell back on mysticism. It was the soul wandering -through space, like the dove out of the ark, and seeking a place -whereupon to rest. In each religion he found something good, and much -that disappointed him; then he took the good out of that religion, -and went away. He was sincere with the Mohammedans, and found more -in that religion than in _most_. He hoped much from spiritualism, -and studied it well; but he could make nothing of it as a religion. -It never seemed to bring him any nearer; but he believed in it as in -the light of a future frontier of science. _His_ Agnosticism, which -in his case is a misapplied word, was of a much higher cast; it was -the mysticism of the East. It was the tired soul or brain that said, -"Oh, my God, I have studied all things, and I am still no nearer the -point of closer connection with Thee, whom my soul longs for and aims -at. I know nothing; I can touch nothing. Faith is a gift from Thee; -give it to me!" He became impressed with one fact here in Syria, as -he had done at Baroda in his youth, and that is that Catholicism is -the highest order of Spiritualism, having no connection with jugglery, -or table-turning, or spirit-rapping; that we cannot call it up at our -pleasure, nor pay for it; but that, when something _does_ happen, it -is absolutely _real_, only we are not allowed to speak of it, except -amongst ourselves, and then with bated breath. Richard, however, -had opportunity enough of seeing all this for himself in Syria, in -Damascus, where some very extraordinary things were going on, that -were, without a doubt, genuine. - - "Demand of lilies wherefore they are white, - Extort her crimson secret from the rose." - ----WILLIAM WATSON. - - "Brave as a lion, gentle as a maid, - He never evil word to any said; - Never for self, but always strong for right, - He was a very perfect gentle knight." - -[Sidenote: _Shádilis--Sufis becoming Catholics._] - -During the time we were at Damascus, there was a "mystery" going on -in the lower quarter, called the Maydán--the tail of Damascus, which -runs out towards the desert--amongst a certain sect of the Mohammedans, -called the Shádilis, or Sházlis. They used to assemble at nights -together at the house of one of them for Moslem prayer and reading and -discussion, when they became conscious of a presence amongst them that -was not theirs. They used to hear things and see things which they did -not understand, and this went on for two or three months before they -came to an understanding. I let my husband tell the story in his own -words, and you will all understand later on how it found its way into -my "Inner Life of Syria." - -Fray Emanuel Förner, who figures largely in this history, was a -friend Richard used to study with. He confided his troubles relative -to these people to us. He asked us whether, as Richard had more -influence with the Moslems than any one else, he could be induced to -protect them. Richard felt that it was going beyond the boundary of -his Consular prerogative to interfere in a matter which concerned the -national religion; he therefore answered him that his position obliged -him to abstain from interfering in so interesting a matter, although -he could do so in cases where the _Protestant_ schools or missions -formally claimed protection against the violation of the treaties and -concessions of the Hatti-Sheríf. He added that the Spanish Consul was -the proper person for him to apply to, being _his_ Consul, and that it -was his duty likewise to restrict me from any active part which might -compromise the Consulate. - -But this interested him enormously. He thought he saw his way in it to -the highest kind of religion, and he followed it up _unofficially_. -Disguised as a Sházli, and unknown to any mortal except me, he used to -mix with them, and pass much of his time in the Maydán of Damascus with -them; and _he saw what he saw_; and when, as in reading this account -you will see, Fray Förner was the guide who was pointed out to them by -that spiritual Presence, Richard stuck to him, and with him used to -study the Sházlis and their history. This gave him an enormous interest -in Damascus, but it was his ruin; and the curious Spiritualism, _if you -like to term it so_, that was developing there was almost like a "new -advent," and though he did not then _mean_ it, he ended by sacrificing -his worldly career entirely to it. - -It was not for a whole year after the event of my disagreement with -the Shaykh's son at Zebedáni (which missionaries of the British Syrian -schools have since reported as the cause of my husband's recall, after -which the same Shaykh had become one of my most faithful followers, but -which had nothing to do with my husband's misfortunes), that twelve -of the most favoured of these Sházlis had been seized, transported in -chains, and partially martyred. Fray Förner died curiously, and Richard -came and told me all this, with a great deal more than I had known, or -than _has_, or _ever will be_ published, about the Sházlis, and he was -filled with remorse that he had not taken up their case and protected -them. - -He had written up their case. He said, "If I should write to Lord -Granville, and tell him that there are at least twenty-five thousand of -secret Christians longing for baptism, and if I were to say, as I know -I can, that I can arrange it with the Moslems to _give them to me_, and -not to touch them because they are _mine_; supposing I were to buy a -tract of land and give it to them, and build a village, and that I took -no taxes from them in repayment, they could settle there unmolested, -and supposing that I should request the Patriarch Valerga of Jerusalem -to come and baptize them, would _you_ be afraid to stand godmother for -them with _me_ on guard?" and I replied that "I would be only too proud -to do it." It was then settled that these letters should be written and -sent. - -Lord Granville communicated with the Patriarch Valerga, who at once -sent _openly_ and _clumsily_ to the Turkish _Authorities_ at Damascus -to know the truth, thereby _starting an evil_; and, _even so_, four -hundred were found who were willing for martyrdom, but the Patriarch -was evidently in _no_ hurry for martyrdom. The affair, instead of being -confided to Richard, was hopelessly mismanaged, and his recall followed -within the month; and Richard said, "This is suffering persecution -for justice' sake; _no more of this, till I am clear of a just and -enlightened Government_." It broke his career, it shattered his life, -it embittered him on religion; he got neither Teheran, nor Marocco, -nor Constantinople. I may be wrong, but I have always imagined that -he thought that Christ would stand by him, and see him through his -troubles, but he did not like to speak of it. Richard never asked a -single word at the Foreign Office--he was too proud; and he let me do -it in a Blue Book of our own. My friends in the Foreign Office, of -whom I had about thirteen, gave me _each_ a _different_ reason for -the recall; but when I got an audience with Lord Granville, I got the -true one. Syria and Christianity lost one of England's greatest men, -who was ruined, and her descent in prosperity and happiness commenced; -and I never heard that the Government, or the Foreign Office, or the -Service, or the British name in the East, was any better for it. I -humbly venture to think the contrary. He wrote himself the history of -the "Revival of Christianity in Syria." - -When I brought out my "Inner Life of Syria," Richard brought me the -following account, blushing like a schoolboy, and asked me if I would -insert it in my own name--if I would mind, as I could not be godmother -to the Sházlis, being godmother to _it_. - - - "THE CHRISTIAN REVIVAL IN SYRIA. - - - "'Men are four. He who knows not, and knows not he knows not, he - is a fool--shun him; he who knows not, and knows he knows not, he - is simple--teach him; he who knows, and knows not he knows, he is - asleep--wake him; he who knows, and knows he knows, he is wise--follow - him.'--_Arab Proverb_. - - "'What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what - ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. And fear - not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; - but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in - hell.'--MATT. x. 27, 28. - - "'Have pity on me, have pity on me, at least you my friends, because - the hand of the Lord hath touched me.'--JOB xix. 21. - - - "Christianity was born and grew in Syria. She gave the light of the - Gospel to the world. The grace of God has returned to Syria. Shall she - struggle single-handed with Moslem cruelty and oppression, unaided by - the Christian Powers who owe to her the Light of Faith? - - "The heading of these pages will not a little surprise many, but - not all of my readers, who will be divided into two classes--those - familiar with old prophecies, and those who are not. The first - will expect, the others will not expect, to hear that Christianity - has revived spontaneously, unaided by Missionaries, Catechists, or - Consuls, in this fanatical Moslem land, especially in Damascus, the - 'Gate of the Holy City,' the ancient capital of the Caliphs, where, - even at present, Christian representatives of Great Powers are not - allowed to fly their flags. But the movement has taken place; it - grows every year; its consequences are difficult to see, impossible - to calculate. The conversion of the Mohammedans has begun at last, - without England's sending out, as is her custom, shiploads of Bibles, - or spending one fraction upon it; and in this great work, so glorious - to Christianity, England, if old traditions are about to be verified, - is to have a large share. She must now decide whether the Revival of - Christianity, in the land which gave it birth, shall spread its goodly - growth far and wide, or whether it shall be cut down by the hand of - the destroyer. - - "The first step in this movement, taken as far back as 1868, was - heralded by signs and tokens and graces, which partake of the miracle - and of the revelation. And here, at the beginning, I may remind my - readers, especially Protestant readers, that the Lord has a mighty - arm--'_brachium Domini non est abbreviatum_'--and that in this same - City of Damascus, the terrible persecutor, Saul of Tarsus, became - St. Paul, not by reading, nor by conversations with Christians, - but by the direct interposition of Jesus Christ. The visions and - revelations which I am about to record rest upon the same solid basis - as Christianity itself--that is to say, upon the unanimous testimony - borne to them by sincere and devout men, who have no purpose to serve, - and who have risked their all in this world without any possible - object but to testify to mankind the truths revealed to them. We need - not delay to consider whether the graces and tokens which have been - vouchsafed are natural, preternatural, or supernatural; objective or - subjective. Suffice it for us that they have been submitted to crucial - tests, and that even this philosophic and incredulous age cannot deny - that they have taken place. - - "About four years ago a small body of Moslems who inhabit the Maydán, - or southern suburb of Damascus, had been initiated into the Shádili - Order of Moslems by one Abd el Karim Matar, of Darayya, whose touching - end will presently be recounted. This man, a mere peasant, left - his wife, his family, and his relations in his native village, in - order to become Shaykh of the Dervishes, and he hired a house in the - Sukhkháneh quarter of the Maydán. It is bisected by the long street - through which the annual Hajj Caravan passes out _en route_ to Mecca, - and its inhabitants, with those of the Shaghur quarter, are held to be - the most bigoted and fanatical of their kind. Through the influence of - the Shádilis, however, not a Christian life was lost in their quarter - during the dreadful massacre of 1860; many, indeed, were hidden by the - people in their houses, and were sent privily away without the walls - after the three days of bloodshed had passed. Our Lord, who promises - to remember even the cup of cold water given in His name, did not, as - will presently appear, forget these acts of mercy to the terrified - Christians. - - "I am going to assume that all my readers are not perfectly _au - courant_ of the many subdivisions of the influential and widespread - religion--El Islam. - - "The Order of Shádili Dervishes was founded by Abd el Husayn Shádili, - who died at Mecca in A.H. 656 (A.D. 1258). They are not, therefore, - one of the twelve originally instituted, and for that reason they are - rarely noticed by writers upon Eastern Spiritualism (for instance, - 'The Dervishes,' by John P. Brown. London: Trübner, 1868). They - obtained fame, however, by introducing to the world coffee, so called - from the Abyssinian province of Kafa. The use of coffee in Yemen, - its origin and first introduction into that country, are due to the - learned Ali Shádili Abu Omar, one of the disciples of the learned - doctor Nasr Ood Deen, who is regarded as one of the Chiefs, and whose - worth attests the high degree of spirituality to which they had - attained ('First Footsteps in East Africa,' p. 78. London: 1856). - - "The Shádili are Sufis or Mystics, esoterics from El Islam, who have - attempted to spiritualize its material portions. This order, like all - others, admits of two main divisions, the Sharai or orthodox, and the - Ghayr-Sharai, who have greatly departed from the doctrines of El Islam. - - "The vital tenets of the heterodox are-- - - "1. God alone exists. He is in all things and all things are in - Him--evidently mere pantheism. - - "2. All things visible and invisible are an emanation from Him, and - are not really distinct from Him--this is the Eastern origin of the - classical European '_divinæ particula auræ_.' - - "3. Heaven and hell and all the dogmas of positive faiths are - allegories, whose esoteric meaning is known only to the Sufi. - - "4. Religions are a matter of indifference; that, however, is the best - which serves as a means of reaching true knowledge, such as El Islam, - whose philosophy is Tasawwuf (Sufi-ism). - - "5. There is no real distinction between good and evil, for all things - are one, and God fixes the will of man, whose actions therefore are - not free. - - "6. The soul existed before the body, and is confined in it as a bird - in a cage. Death therefore is desirable to the Sufi, whose spirit - returns to the Deity whence it emanated. Evidently the 'Anupadishesha - Nirvana' of the Hindu, absolute individual annihilation. - - "7. The principal duty of the Sufi is meditation on the unity which - advances him progressively to spiritual perfection, and which enables - him to 'die in God.' - - "8. Without 'Fayz Ullah' (Grace of God) this spiritual unity cannot be - attained; but God favours those who fervently desire such unification. - - "The general belief in these tenets has given the Shádili Order a - doubtful name amongst the multitude, who consider it to profess, like - the 'Babis' of Persia, opinions of a subversive and anti-Islamitic - nature. The orthodox portion, however, is not blamed, and at Damascus - one of its members is a conscientiously religious Moslem, the Sayyid - Abd el Kadir of Algerian fame, whose name is still so well known in - Europe, and who is beloved and respected by all. The Syrian Shádilis - are distinguished by white robes and white skull-caps and turbans, of - which they allow the inner flap to protrude a little from the folds - behind the ears. - - "Abd el Karim Matar and his Shádili acolytes used to meet for private - worship at his house in the Maydán suburb, and they spent nights and - days in praying for enlightenment before the throne of Grace. Their - numbers varied from sixty to seventy, and even more. Presently, after - persevering in this new path, some of them began to be agitated - by doubts and disbelief; the religion did not satisfy them, they - anxiously sought for a better. They became uncertain, disquieted, - undetermined, yet unable, for fear of being betrayed, to declare even - one to another the thought which tormented them. Two years had been - spent in this anxious, unhappy state, each thinking himself the only - one thus subject to the tortures of conscience. - - "At length they were assured by a vision that it was the religion of - Christ which they were seeking. Yet such was their dread of treachery - that none could trust his secret with his neighbour till they had - sounded one another, and had found that the same idea was uppermost - in every mind. Presently about forty of them, headed by Abd el Karim - Matar, met for their usual night-prayers; after prolonged devotional - acts, all fell asleep, and our Lord was pleased to appear to all of - them separately. They awoke simultaneously, and one, taking courage, - recounted his vision to the others, when each responded, 'I also saw - Him!' Christ had so consoled, comforted, and exhorted them to follow - His faith, and they were so filled with a joy they had never known, - that they were hardly dissuaded from running about the streets to - proclaim that Christ is God; but they were admonished that they would - only be slaughtered, and rob the City of all hope of entering the same - fold. - - "They wanted a guide, director, and friend who could assist their - tottering steps in the new way which they were now treading, and they - heartily prayed that God would be pleased mercifully to provide them - with the object of their desire. One night, after again meeting, - as before, for acts of devotion, sleep overcame them, and they saw - themselves in a Christian church, where an old man with a long white - beard, dressed in a coarse brown serge garment, and holding a lighted - taper, glided before them, and smiling benignantly never ceased to - cry, 'Let those who want the truth follow me.' - - "On awaking each told his dream to the other, and they agreed to - occupy themselves in seeking the person who had appeared to them. - They searched in vain through the City and its environs for a - period of three months, during which they continued to pray. One - day it so happened that one of the new converts, H--- K----, now - at J----, entered by chance the monastery of the R.R. Fathers of - the Terra Santa, near Bab Tuma, the north-eastern gate of Damascus. - This is an establishment of Spanish Franciscans, who enjoy French - protection by virtue of a Papal Bull and of immemorial usage. What - was his astonishment to see in the Superior, Fray Emanuel Förner, the - personage who had appeared to him in his dream. This saintly man, - Latin Curé and Franciscan of the Terra Santa, approached and asked the - Moslem what he was seeking. The Neophyte replied by simply telling - his tale and that of his comrades, and then ran speedily to inform - the others, who flocked next day to the monastery. The poor padre was - greatly perplexed. He reflected that visions do not happen every day. - He feared some political intrigue, of which Damascus is a focus; he - doubted their sincerity, and he dreaded to endanger the City, and to - cause for the sake of the forty another massacre like that of 1860. - On the other hand, he still more dreaded to lose forty sincere souls - by refusing to them baptism. However, concealing his agitation, he - received them with touching kindness; he gave them books which taught - them all the Christian doctrine, and he instructed them how to meet in - prayer for mutual comfort and support. Lastly, he distributed to each - a crucifix, the symbol of their new faith. This event took place in - the early spring of 1870. Fray Emanuel remained for about four months - in this state of dilemma, praying to know the will of God, and he - was admonished as to what he should do. Having performed his task on - earth, he fell asleep quietly one day about three months afterwards. - Some said the death was caused by climate, but many of his most - intimate friends, living a few hours from the convent, did not hear - of it till late in November, 1870, and then they had cause to suspect - treachery. - - "The converts, now numbering some two hundred and fifty, held regular - prayer-meetings in one another's houses, and these could not fail to - attract the notice of the neighbouring Moslems. Later still a crucifix - or two was seen, and suspicions ripened into certainties. The local - authorities were at once informed of what had happened. The Ulemá, or - learned men, who in El Islam represent the Christian priesthood, were - in consternation. They held several sessions at the house of Shakyh - Dabyan, a noted fanatic living in the Maydán suburb. At length a - general meeting took place in the town-house of the Algerine Amir Abd - el Kadir, who has ever been held one of the 'Defenders of the Faith' - at Damascus. - - "The assembly consisted of the following Ulemá:-- - - "1. Shaykh Riza Effendi el Ghazzi. - - "2. Abdullah el Hálabi. - - "3. Shaykh el Tantáwi. - - "4. Shaykh el Kháni. - - "5. Shaykh Abdu Razzak (el Baytar) and his brother. - - "6. Shaykh Mohammed el Baytar. - - "7. Shaykh Salím Samára. - - "8. Shaykh Abd el Gháni el Maydáni. - - "9. Shaykh Ali ibn Sa'ati. - - "10. Said Effendi Ustuwáneh (the Naib el Kazi, or assistant judge in - the Criminal Court of the Department at Damascus), and other intimates - of the Amir. - - "Riza Effendi, now dead, was a determined persecutor of the Nazarene, - and Abdullah el Hálabi, also deceased, had pronounced in 1860 the - Fatwa or religious decree for the massacre of the Christian Community, - and had been temporarily banished instead of being hanged as high - as Haman. These specimens will suffice. Still let us be just to - the President of this assembly, Abd el Kadir. He was carrying out - a religious duty in sitting in judgment upon renegades from his - faith, and he was acting in accordance with his conscience; but - during the massacre of 1860 he not only extended his protection to - the Christians, but he slept across his own threshold on a mat, lest - any terrified and supplicating wretch might be turned adrift by his - Algerine followers. - - "The assembly, after a long discussion, pronounced the sentence of - death upon the converts. The only exceptions were the Amir Abd el - Kadir and the Shaykh Abd el Gháni el Maydáni, who declared 'that a - live man is always better than a dead man.' The Shaykhs Tantáwi and El - Kháni declared 'that to kill such perverts was an act more acceptable - to Allah than the Friday prayer.' - - "If there be one idea more strongly fixed than any other in Moslem - brain it is this--the renegade from El Islam shall surely die. His - death must be compassed by any means, fair or foul: perjury and - assassination are good deeds when devoted to such an end. The Firman - of February 12th, 1856, guaranteed, it is true, life and liberty - to _all_ converts; it was, in fact, a perfect system of religious - toleration on paper. But it was never intended to be carried out, and - the local Turkish authorities throughout the Empire have, doubtless - acting under superior instruction, ignored it as much as possible. - - "The usual practice in the Turkish dominions when a convert is to be - convicted, opens with a preliminary imprisonment, either on pretence - of 'counselling' him, or upon some false charge. The criminal tribunal - then meets; witnesses are suborned; the defence is not listened to; - a _mázbatah_, or sentence, is drawn out, and the victim is either - drafted off with the Nizam (regular troops), or sent to the galleys, - or transported to some distant spot. The assembly, however, not daring - to carry out the sentence of death, determined that the perverts must - be exiled, and that their houses and their goods must be destroyed - or confiscated. A secret _Majlis_ was convened without the knowledge - of the Christian members of the tribunal, and this illegal junto - despatched, during the night, a squadron of cavalry and a regiment of - infantry, supported by a strong force of police, to occupy the streets - of the Maydán. Some fifty Shádilis were known to have met for prayer - at the house of one Abu Abbas. At four o'clock Turkish time (10 p.m.) - they rose to return home. Many of them passed amongst the soldiery - without being alarmed, and whilst so doing fourteen were separately - arrested and carried to the _karakuns_ (guard-houses) known as El - Ka'ah, and the Sinnaníyyeh. Here they were searched by the soldiery - and made to give up their crucifixes. They were then transferred, - some to the so-called great prison in the Serai, or Government house, - others to the _karakun_ jail in the Government square, and others to - the debtors' jail, then at the Maristán, or Mad-house, now transferred - to Sidr Amud, near Bab el Baríd. - - "I hasten to record the names of the fourteen chosen for the honour - of martyrdom. All were sincere and inoffensive men, whose only crime - was that of being Christians and martyrs; the rulers, however, had - resolved upon crushing a movement which, unless arrested by violence, - would spread far and wide throughout the land. - - "1. Abu Abbas (the man in whose house the prayer-meeting was held). - - "2. Sáid Isháni. - - "3. Abu Abduh Bustati. - - "4. Abd el Ghani Nassás and his son. - - "5. Mohammed Nassás. - - "6. Ghanaym Dabbás. - - "7. Salih el Zoh. - - "8. Abdullah Mubayyad. - - "9. Ramazan el Sahhár. - - "10. Salih Kachkul. - - "11. Mohammad Nammúreh. - - "12. Bekr Audaj. - - "13. Mohammad el Dib. - - "14. Marjan min el Kisweh. - - [Sidenote: _They are tried and condemned._] - - "After some days they were brought to the great secret _Majlis_ - (tribunal), at which presided in person his Excellency the _Wali_, - or Governor-General, of Syria, Mohammed Rashíd Pasha. This officer, - a _protégé_ of the late Aali Pasha, Grand Vizier at Constantinople, - has been allowed to rule the province of Syria for the unusual term - of more than five years, and the violence and rapacity displayed by - him and his creatures have doubtless added an impulse to the Revival - of Christianity--it was evil working for good. With a smattering - of Parisian education, utterly without religion, but determined to - crush conversion because it would add to that European influence - which he has ever laboured to oppose, Rashíd Pasha never conceals his - conviction that treaties and firmans upon such a subject as Moslem - conversion are so much waste paper, and he threatens all who change - their faith with death, either by law or by secret murder--a threat - which, as the cold cruelty of his nature suggests, is not spoken in - vain. And he uses persecution with the more readiness as it tends to - conciliate the pious of his own creed, who are greatly scandalized by - his openly neglecting the duties of his religion, such as prayer and - fasting, and by other practices which may not be mentioned here. - - "The Governor-General opened the sessions by thus addressing the - accused-- - - "Are you Shádili? - - "Answer: We once were, we now are not. - - "Gov.-Gen.: Why do you meet in secret, and what is done at those - meetings? - - "Answer: We read, we converse, we pray, and we pass our time like - other Damascus people. - - "Gov.-Gen.: Why do you visit the Convent of the Faranj (Franks or - Europeans)? - - "Abu Abbas: Is it not written in our law that when a Moslem passes - before a Christian church or convent, and finds himself hurried by the - hour for prayer, he is permitted to enter and even pray there? - - "Gov.-Gen.: You are Giaours (infidels)! - - "Abu Abbas (addressing one of the Ulemá): What says our law of one who - calls a faithful man Giaour? - - "Answer: That he is himself a Giaour. - - "The Governor-General was confounded by this decision, which is - strictly correct. He remanded the fourteen to their respective - prisons. Here they spent three months awaiting in vain the efforts - of some intercessor. But they had been secretly tried, or their - number might have attracted public attention; the affair was kept in - darkness, and even two years afterwards not a few of the Europeans - resident at Damascus had ever heard of it. The report reached the - Consular corps in a very modified form--persecution had been made to - assume the semblance of political punishment. The Russian Consul, M. - Macceef, succeeded in procuring their temporary release, but this - active and intelligent officer was unable to do more. The British - Consul could hardly enter into a matter which was not brought - officially before his notice. The Consul of France and the Spanish - Vice-Consul took scant notice of the Shádili movement, perhaps being - unwilling to engage in open warfare with the Governor-General, - possibly deeming the matter one of the usual tricks to escape - recruitment or to obtain a foreign passport. The Neophytes, however, - found an advocate in Fray Emanuel Förner, before mentioned. This - venerable man addressed (March 29, 1870) a touching appeal to the - General of his Order, and his letter appeared in the _Correspondance - de Rome_ (June 11, 1870). The Franco-Prussian War, however, absorbed - all thoughts in Europe, and the publication fell still-born from the - Press. - - "Fray Emanuel relates in his letter that one day, when visiting the - Neophytes before their imprisonment--he modestly passes over the - important part which he had taken in receiving them--he asked them if - they could answer for their constancy. The reply was: 'We believe not - simply through your teachings of the Word, and through our reading the - religious books which you gave us, but because the Lord Jesus Christ - has vouchsafed to visit us and to enlighten us Himself, whilst the - Blessed Virgin has done likewise!' adding, 'How could we without such - a miracle have so easily become Christians?' The good priest would - not express his doubts, for fear of 'offending one of these little - ones.' He felt an ardent desire to inquire into the visions and the - revelations to which they alluded. But he did not neglect to take - the necessary precautions. Assembling his brethren, and presiding - himself, he began with the unfortunate Salih, and he examined and - cross-questioned the converts separately. He found them unanimous in - declaring that on the first night when they witnessed an apparition, - they had prayed for many hours, and that slumber had overcome them, - when the Saviour Jesus Christ appeared to them one by one. Being - dazzled by the light, they were very much afraid; but one of them, - taking courage, said, 'Lord, may I speak?' He answered, 'Speak.' They - asked, 'Who art Thou, Lord?' The apparition replied, 'I am the Truth - Whom thou seekest. I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God.' Awakening - agitated and frightened, they looked one at the other, and one took - courage and spoke, the rest responding simply, 'I also saw Him.' - Christ had once more so consoled, comforted, and exhorted them to - follow His path, and they were filled with such ineffable joy, love, - faith, and gratitude, that, but for His admonishing them (as He used - to admonish the disciples), they could hardly restrain themselves from - rushing into the streets and from openly preaching the Gospel to the - Infidel City. On another occasion the Blessed Virgin stood before them - with the Child Jesus in her arms, and, pointing to Him, said three - times in a clear and distinct voice, 'My Son Jesus Christ, Whom you - see, is the Truth.' There are many other wonderful revelations whose - truth I can vouch for, but I feel a delicacy of thrusting them before - unbelievers. Indeed, I have kept back half of what I know, and I am - only giving the necessary matter. - - [Sidenote: _And persecuted._] - - "Of the fourteen Christian converts remanded to prison, two were - suffered to escape. The relations of Mohammad Dib and Marjan bribed - the authorities and succeeded in proving an alibi. Abd el Karim Matar, - the Chief of the Shádilis, who had been placed in confinement under - the suspicion of being a Christian, fell ill, and his relations, by - giving bribes and by offering bail, carried him off to his native - village, Darayya. There, as he was now bedridden, the family gathered - around him, crying, 'Istash'had!' That is to say, 'Renew the faith - (by bearing witness to Allah and his prophet Mohammad).' The invalid - refused, turning his face towards the wall whilst his cruel relations - struck and maltreated him. The cry was incessantly repeated and so was - the refusal. At last such violence was used that the unfortunate Abd - el Karim expired, the protomartyr of the Revival. - - "On the night of Ramazan 1, A.H. 1286 (December, A.D. 1869), the - 'twelve' (a curious coincidence that it was the number of the first - Apostles in this very land) who remained in prison were secretly - sent ironed, _viâ_ Beyrout, to the dungeons of Chanak Kalessi (the - Dardanelles fortress). Thence they were shipped off in a craft so - cranky and dangerous that they were wrecked twice, at Rhodes and at - Malta. At last they were landed at Tripoli in Barbary, and they were - finally exiled to the distant interior settlement of Murzuk. Their - wives and children, then numbering sixty-two, and now fifty-three, - were left at Damascus to starve in the streets, but for the assistance - of their fellow-converts and of the Terra Santa Convent. It is a - touching fact that if one of these poor converts has anything, he - will quickly go and sell it, and use the profit in common, that all - the brethren may have a little to eat. The Porte is inexorable; even - H.I.M. of Austria was, it is reported, unable to procure the return of - the exiles. Yet probably the 'Commander of the Faithful,' Sultan Abdul - Aziz, will ere long expect Austria, as well as England and the rest of - Western Europe, to fight his battles. - - "I call upon the world that worships Christ to punish this high-handed - violation of treaty, this wicked banishment of innocent men. Catholic - and Protestant are in this case both equally interested. The question - at once concerns not only the twelve unfortunate exiles and their - starving families. It involves the grand principle of religious - toleration, which interests even the atheist and the infidel - throughout the Turkish Empire, throughout the Eastern world. - - "Upon the answer depends whether Christianity shall be allowed free - growth and absolute development. Let England demand of the Porte the - removal of this Governor-General. Deliver us from this modern Herod! - Let Abdul Aziz call off his dog from worrying the followers of Christ - for the sake of the bones thrown to him by Aali Pasha, his Grand - Vizier. Send us an honest man, unlike Rashíd Pasha, who will not dare - to rend asunder the most solemn ties that can bind nations, who will - have the courage to do his duty. - - "Amongst the Shádili converts was a private soldier of the Nizam or - Regulars, aged twenty-three, and bearing the highest character. About - five months after the movement commenced, the soldier Ahmed el Sahhár - being in barracks retired to a corner for prayer and meditation, when - suddenly our Saviour stood before him, and said, 'Dost thou believe - in Jesus Christ, the Son of God? I am He.' The youth at once replied, - like the man blind from his birth, 'Lord, I believe.' Jesus said to - him, 'Thou shalt not always be a soldier; thou shalt return free to - thy home;' upon which Ahmed inquired, 'How can I set myself free?' - Jesus again said, 'I will deliver thee,' and with these words the - beatific vision disappeared. - - "The young soldier had fallen into a state of ecstasy. Presently he - arose and passed through the barracks, exclaiming, 'Jesus Christ is my - God! Jesus Christ is my God!' His comrades were scandalized. A crowd - rushed up; some covered his mouth with their hands; others filled it - with dirt, and all dealt out freely blows and blasphemies. At last it - was decided that Ahmed had become possessed of a devil, and, whilst he - preserved perfect tranquillity, heavy chains were bound upon his neck, - his arms, and his legs. At that moment Jesus Christ again appeared to - him, and said, 'Break that chain!' He said, 'How can I break it, it - being of iron?' and again the voice spoke louder, 'Break that chain!' - He tore it asunder as though it had v been of wax. A heavier chain was - brought, and the same miracle happened once more. This was reported to - the officers, and by them to their Bey or commandant; the latter sent - for the private, and, after heaping reproaches, abuse, and threats - upon him, ordered him to be imprisoned without food or water, and to - be carefully fettered. Still for a third and a fourth time the bonds - fell off, and supernatural graces and strength were renewed to the - prisoner, who made no attempt to move or to escape from his gaolers. - - "The soldiers fled in fear, and the commandant no longer dared to - molest the convert. The case was represented to Constantinople, - and orders were sent that Ahmed must appear at the capital. He was - despatched accordingly under an escort, and with his wrists in a block - of wood acting as handcuffs. Reaching Diurat, a village three hours - from Damascus, he saw at night the door of his room fly open, and the - Blessed Virgin entering, broke with her own hands the block of wood - and his other bonds. By her orders he walked back alone to Damascus - and reported himself to his regiment. It was determined this time to - forward him with a party of soldiers, but without chains or 'wood.' - - "Arrived at Constantinople, the accused was brought before a - court-martial; a medical man was consulted as to his sanity, and the - prisoner was not a little surprised to find himself set at liberty, - and free to go where he pleased. Thus the promise of Jesus Christ was - fulfilled. The neophyte took the name of 'Isa,' which is Jesus, and - returned to Damascus, where his history became generally known. The - Turks pointed him out as the 'soldier who broke four chains.' Some - term him the 'Majnún,' the madman, though there is nothing about him - to indicate the slightest insanity; but most of the people held him in - the highest respect, calling him Shaykh Ahmed, and thus raising him to - the rank of 'Santon,' or saintly man. - - "The terrible example of the Shádili families has not arrested the - movement--persecution never does. The blood of the martyrs is still - the seed of the Church. But the converts now conduct their proceedings - with more secrecy. They abstain from public gatherings, although - they occasionally visit Fray Dominic d'Avila, Padre Guardiano, - or Superior of the Terra Santa. The society has now assumed a - socialistic character, with private meetings for prayers, and with - the other precautions of a secret order. The number of converts - has greatly increased. At the end of 1869 the males in the City of - Damascus amounted to 500; in 1870 it had risen to 4100; and in 1871 - it represents 4900, of whom some 700 have been secretly baptized. - Moreover, I have been assured by the converts with whom I associate - and converse frequently, some of them being men highly connected - and better educated than their persecutors, that a small tribe of - freebooters living in and about the Druze mountain (Jebel Druze - Haurán), having been troubled and threatened by the local Government, - has split into two parties--Moslem and Christian, the latter known by - crosses hoisted upon their tent roofs. The converts described to me - the Bukâa (Cœlesyria) as a field in which the gospel has lately borne - fruit, and this was unexpectedly confirmed. The peasantry of B----, a - little village on the eastern slope of the Lebanon, and near Shtora, - the central station of the French road, lately became the property of - a certain M. A---- T----. He owned two-thirds of the village, but by - working the authorities he managed to get into his hands the whole of - the houses and fields, the crops and cattle--in fact, all the village - property. The wretches, after being nearly starved for months, lately - came up to Damascus, and begged to be received as Christians. In early - July it was whispered that the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Mgr. - Valerga, is expected to meet, at his summer residence in Beyrout, - Mgr. Franchi, the Papal Envoy; that both these prelates will visit - Damascus, and that then these poor souls will ask for baptism. - - [Sidenote: _The Protestant Converts._] - - "Protestantism has also had its triumphs. About ten months ago a - certain Hanifi Moslem, named Abd el Razzak, having some misgivings - about his faith, left his native city Baghdad in order to visit - the Bab or head of the Babi sect, who lies in the galleys of S. - Jean d'Acre--what a place for such a purpose! The interview not - being satisfactory, he travelled to Damascus, where he came under - Protestant influence. Thence he was removed to Shtora on the French - road, and finally to Suk el Gharb in the Maronite mountains. There - he was enabled to study, and he was publicly baptized under the name - of Abdallah. The Turkish authorities had no power over him; but the - second case did not end so well. - - "A certain Hajj Hassan, a coachman in the service of a Christian - family at Beyrout, M. Joachim Najjar, began about 1869 to attend the - Protestant service, and for two months before his incarceration he - professed himself a Christian, although he had not been baptized. He - is described by all who know him as a simple and sincere man, gifted - with great strength of will. He was waylaid, beaten, and finally cast - with exceeding harshness into prison at Beyrout by the Governor, - Rauf Pasha, who replied to all representations that he was unable to - release him; he acted, in fact, under superior authority. The convert - was not allowed to see his family, and on Thursday, June 29, he was - sent in charge of a policeman to the Capital: this, too, despite the - remonstrances of the Consuls-General for the United States and Prussia. - - "The superintendent of the British Syrian school, where the convert - has a child, took the precaution of despatching to head-quarters one - of the employés, the Rev. Mr. Waldmeier, so that energetic action - began even before the arrival of Hajj Hassan. Rashíd Pasha commenced - by treating with contempt her Majesty's Consul's strong appeals to - his justice; he openly ignored the Treaty, blaming me for not having - quoted the actual article, and he declined to permit the interference - of strangers in the case of a subject of H.I.M. the Sultan. He - maintained that he had a right to send for the Neophyte in order that - the latter might be 'counselled;' and for that purpose he placed - him under arrest in the house of the most bigoted Moslem in Syria, - the chief of police, Mir Alai (Colonel) Mustafa Bey. He complained - strongly of the conduct of Protestant missionaries in Syria, accusing - them of secretly proselytizing, though he admitted in the same - sentence that the convert Hassan had openly attended a Christian - church for some time. On the next day he ungraciously refused my - request that the Presbyterian missionaries (Rev. Messrs. Wright, - Crawford, and Scott) might be allowed access to the Neophyte. About - midday on Friday, June 30, Rashíd Pasha sent for Hajj Hassan, who had - been duly disciplined by the police, and locking the door, he began - to ask whether the convert was not in fear of being strangled--words - which, in his mouth, had a peculiar significancy. He then proceeded to - offer a price for apostasy, which rose to thirty thousand piastres. - This was stoutly refused by the Neophyte, who was returned to arrest. - Presently the Governor-General heard that I had telegraphed for - permission to proceed to Constantinople to represent to my Ambassador - the state of things in Syria within my district, and Hajj Hassan was - ordered to return under the charge of a policeman to Beyrout. The new - Christian, however, was warned that he must quit that port together - with his family within twenty days, under pain of being sent to - Constantinople handcuffed, or, as the native phrase is, 'in wood.' - - "The case of Hajj Hassan came to a lame and impotent conclusion. He - had been delivered out of the Moslem stronghold, Damascus, to the - safe side of the Lebanon. The Protestant Christians of Beyrout, with - their schools, missions, and Consuls-General to back them up, should - have kept him at Beyrout, and Rashíd Pasha should have been compelled - either to eat his own words or to carry out his threat. In the latter - case the convert should have been accompanied to Constantinople by a - delegate from the Missions, and the Sublime Porte should have been - compelled to decide whether she would or would not abide by her - Treaties and Firmans. The plea that exile was necessary to defend the - convert from his own co-religionists, that banishment was for his own - benefit, is simply absurd. Either the Porte can or she cannot protect - her Christian converts. In the latter case they must be protected for - her. Never probably has there been so good an opportunity for testing - Turkey's profession of liberalism, and the Turks are too feeble and - too cunning to let another present itself. - - "In their first fright the Beyrout European Christians withdrew their - protection from Hajj Hassan. On the diligence arriving at the 'Pines,' - a forest about an hour before reaching Beyrout from Damascus, the - convert was ordered to dismount, and his wife and five children (one - at the breast) were turned adrift from the house which had protected - them for some days, at nine o'clock at night, to wander whither they - could. Hajj Hassan was subsequently removed from Beyrout to Abeigh, - an Anglo-American (U.S.) Mission station in the Lebanon, probably by - the exertions of Dr. Thomson, author of 'The Land and the Book,' who - distinguishes himself in Beyrout by daring to have an opinion and to - express it, though unfortunately he stood alone and unsupported. On - July 20th, Hajj Hassan was to be shipped off by night to Alexandria, - where he was expected to 'find good employ.' Suddenly his passport was - refused by the local authorities, and he was hidden in the house of - a Consular Dragoman. The Porte had sent a secret despatch, ordering - him to be transported to Crete, Cyprus, or one of the islands in - the Archipelago, where his fate may easily be divined. At length a - telegram arrived from Constantinople, and the result was that, after - a fortnight's detention by sickness, Hajj Hassan was sent off by the - French mail of Friday, August 11th. Verily, the Beyroutines are a - feeble folk. They allowed themselves to be shamefully defeated by - Rashíd Pasha when he was grossly in the wrong. - - "When the depositions of Hajj Hassan were taken at the Consulate, - Damascus, he declared that a Moslem friend of his, named Hammud ibn - Osman Bey, originally from Latakia (Laodicea), but domiciled at - Beyrout, had suddenly disappeared, and had not been heard of for - twelve days. Presently it became known that Hammud, about two years - ago, when in the employ of Mr. Grierson, then Vice-Consul of Latakia, - was drawn for the Army, but had not been called upon to serve. He was - in the habit of hearing the missionaries preach, and on more than one - occasion he declared that he would profess Christianity--a course from - which his friends dissuaded him. - - "Hammud determined, in the beginning of 1871, to visit Beyrout, and - Mr. Grierson gave him letters of introduction to the missionaries and - to the superintendent of the British Syrian schools, requesting that - he might be taken into the service of some European family. Here he - again openly committed himself by declaring that he was a Christian. - His former master, knowing that the eyes of the police were upon him, - made immediate arrangements for his leaving by the steamer to Latakia, - where he had been recruited, giving him at the same time a note for - the colonel commanding the regiment. Hammud, however, on the evening - before his journey, imprudently walked out in the direction of the - barracks: he was seized and put in irons--probably to be 'counselled.' - - "Mr. Grierson, when informed of this arrest, at once addressed Toufan - Bey. This officer is a Pole commanding one of the regiments of the - 'Cossacks of the Sultan,' the other being quartered at Adrianople. - Visiting the Military Pasha of Beyrout, he begged that as Hammud's - passage had been taken for Latakia, where his name had been drawn, the - convert might be allowed to proceed there. The two officers sent for - the man and gave the required directions respecting him. But Hammud - was already in the enemies' hands; and the normal charge of desertion - was of course trumped up against him. He was sent with a number of - other conscripts to the capital, with tied hands, and carrying the - rations of his fellow-soldiers; and presently a report was spread that - he had been put to death. - - "Hajj Hassan on returning to Beyrout informed Mr. Johnson, - Consul-General for the United States, that during his arrest at - Damascus the soldiers had threatened to 'serve him as they had served - Hammudeh.' He went at once to Rauf Pasha, who replied that the man - had been arrested and sent to head-quarters because he had been - conscripted two years before at Latakia and had deserted. This was - directly opposed to the statement made by Mr. Grierson, namely, that - the man had never been called upon to serve. Mr. Johnson could do no - more, as Hammud had made himself amenable to the law of the land, - and he seems not to have taken any steps to decide whether it was a - _bonâ-fide_ desertion. He inquired, however, what the punishment would - be, and was told that it would depend upon circumstances. - - "Several people at Beyrout wrote to me at Damascus, begging of me to - institute a search for the missing man. Shortly afterwards letters - were despatched from Beyrout, stating that Hammud had been found in - the barracks alive and well, and contented with his condition as a - soldier. What process he has been through to effect such a wonderful - change we are not informed, nor where he has been hidden during its - operation. The 'counselling' has probably compelled the convert by - brute force to conceal his convictions. - - [Sidenote: _The Shádilis._] - - "Another story in the mouths of men is that a young man, the son of - a _kázi_ or judge, had lately suffered martyrdom at Damascus for the - crime of becoming a Christian. This may possibly be a certain Said el - Hamawi, who disappeared three or four years ago. Said was a man of - education, and a Shaykh, who acted _khatíb_ (or scribe and chaplain) - to one of the regiments. He was convicted of having professed - Christianity, and was sent for confinement to the Capital. When let - out of prison he repeated his offence, and he has never been heard of - since. - - "On the morning of the Saturday (July 1) which witnessed the unjust - sentence of exile pronounced upon Hajj Hassan, a certain Arif Effendi - ibn Abd el Ghani el Nablusi was found hanging in a retired room of - the Great Amáwi Mosque at Damascus, where he had been imprisoned. No - inquest was held upon the body, which may or may not have shown signs - of violence; it was hastily buried. Some three years before this time, - Arif Effendi, a man of high family, and of excellent education, had - become a Greek Christian at Athens, under the name of Eustathius. - Presently he reappeared in Syria as a convert, a criminal whom every - good--that is to say, bigoted--Moslem deems worthy of instant and - violent death. He came to the Capital, and he introduced himself - as a Christian to the Irish-American Presbyterian missionaries; to - Monseigneur Yakub, the Syrian Catholic Bishop, and to others; nor - did he conceal from them his personal fears. He expected momentary - destruction, and presently he found it, being accused, truthfully or - not I am unable to say, of stealing fourteen silver lamp-chains, and - a silver padlock. The wildest rumours flew about the City. The few - declared that the man had hanged himself. The Nablusi family asserted - that, repenting his apostasy, he had allowed himself to be hanged, - and the vulgar were taught to think that he was hanged by order of - Sayyidna Yahya, our Lord John (the Baptist), whose head is supposed - to be buried in the Great Mosque. It was currently reported that the - renegade had been sent to the Algerine Amir, the Sayyid Abd el Kadir, - who, finding him guilty of theft, had ordered him to receive forty - stripes and to be arrested in the Mosque, at the same time positively - refusing to sanction his execution as his accusers demanded. This - proceeding, though irregular, is not contrary to Moslem law; the Ulemá - claim and are allowed such jurisdiction in matters concerning the - Mosque. - - "I, suspecting foul play, applied on the 3rd of July for information - upon this subject to the _Wali_, who rudely refused to 'justify - himself.' Eight days afterwards the Governor-General thought proper to - lay the case before the Tribunal. The result may easily be imagined. - That honourable body cast the blame of the illegal imprisonment - upon the Amir Abd el Kadir, whom they hate because he saved so many - Christian lives in 1860. They delivered a verdict that the convert - had been found hanged by his own hand, they antedated a medical - certificate that the body bore no marks of violence, and they asserted - contrary to fact and truth that the deceased was decently washed and - buried, whereas he was thrust into a hole like a dog. - - "And now I will answer the question prominent in every reader's mind: - 'These men are Turks; are we bound to protect them?' - - "I simply reply we are. - - [Sidenote: _Richard quotes Mr. Gladstone._] - - "It is obviously our national duty to take serious action in arresting - such displays of Moslem fanaticism as those that have lately taken - place in Syria. Mr. Gladstone cannot forget his own words: 'We would - be sorry not to treat Turkey with the respect due to a Power which - is responsible for the government of an extended territory, but - with reference to many of her provinces and their general concerns, - circumstances place her in such a position that we are entitled and, - indeed, in many cases, bound to entertain questions affecting her - internal relations to her people, such as it would be impertinent to - entertain in respect to most foreign countries.... All that we can - expect is that when she has contracted legal or moral engagements - she should fulfil them, and that when she is under no engagements - she should lend a willing ear to counsels which may be in themselves - judicious, and which aim solely at the promotion of her interests.... - As regards the justice of the case, we must remember that as far as - regards the stipulations of the Hatti-i-Humaioun, we are not only - entitled to advise Turkey in her own interest, in her regard to - humanity, in her sense of justice, in her desire to be a civilized - European Power, to fulfil those engagements, but we are also entitled - to say to her that the fulfilment of those stipulations is a matter - of moral faith, an obligation to which she is absolutely bound, and - the disregard of which will entail upon her disgrace in the eyes of - Europe.... We are entitled to require from Turkey the execution of her - literal engagements' (Debate on Crete and Servia. Mr. Gregory's motion - for correspondence and Consular Reports on the Cretan Insurrection, - etc., as reported in the _Evening Mail_ of Feb. 15-18, 1867). - - "These memorable words deserve quotation the more, as throughout the - nearer East, especially among the Christian communities, England - still suffers under the imputation of not allowing the interests - of Christendom to weigh against her politics and her sympathy with - the integrity of the Turkish Empire. Even if we care little for the - propagation of Christianity, or for the regeneration of Asia, we are - bound to see that treaties do not become waste paper. - - "The first step to be taken in North Syria, and to be taken without - delay, would be to procure the recall and the pardon of the twelve - unfortunates who were banished in 1870 to Tripoli of Barbary, and - to Murzuk in Inner Africa. This will be a delicate proceeding; - imprudently carried out, it will inevitably cost the lives of men - whose only offence has been that of becoming Christians, and it will - only serve to sink their families into still deeper misery. But there - should be no difficulty of success. Our Consul-General at Tripoli - could easily defend the lives if not the liberties of the Neophytes. - Her Majesty's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at - Constantinople should be directed firmly to demand that an officer of - high rank be sent from Head-quarters, and that he should be made duly - responsible for landing the exiles in safety at Beyrout. Thence they - should be transferred to Damascus; their pretended offences should be - submitted to a regular tribunal, whose action would be watched by me - or my successor, and when publicly proved to be innocent these men - should be restored to the bosoms of their families, whilst the police - should be especially charged with their safety. - - "This step taken, the next will naturally be to urge the instant - recall of the unjust _Wali_, or Governor-General, of Syria, Mohammed - Rashíd Pasha, together with those members of the Secret Tribunal, more - especially the Mufattish Effendi, Mahommad Izzat, who made themselves - his instruments in carrying out illegal and tyrannical measures - against a body of twelve innocent men. And when the head and front of - the evil shall have been removed and the limbs formally impeached, - a consummation devoutly to be desired, unless due prudence be - exercised much evil may be the result. Rashíd Pasha has filled every - important post with his familiars and creatures; he will doubtless - leave directions after his departure for all manner of troubles to be - excited, especially between Christians and Moslems, Greeks and Latins, - in order to stifle the outcry which will rise from the length and - breadth of the land. The remedy will be a High Commissioner, and a - Firman from Constantinople couched in the strongest terms, and holding - all Governors and Judges (_muftis_ and _kázis_) personally responsible - for any disorderly proceedings. And should they not be able to keep - the peace, should any threat of repeating the horrors of 1860 be - heard, the nations of Europe must prepare to keep it for them. - - "Thus will the unhappy province--a land once flowing with milk and - honey, now steeped to the lips in poverty and crime--recover from - the misery and the semi-starvation under which it has groaned during - the last five years. Thus also Christianity may again raise her - head in her birthplace and in the land of her early increase. Thus - shall England become to Syria, and through Syria to Western Asia, - the blessing which Syria in the days of the early Church was to - England, to Europe, and to the civilized world. Let her discharge her - obligations before her God. - - "RICHARD FRANCIS BURTON." - - * * * * * - -[Sidenote: _Letters approving his Conduct._] - -I saw at the Mission in Damascus, and obtained leave to copy, the -following testimonial addressed to Richard, and his reply.--I. B. - - "Damascus, July 12, 1871. - - "To Captain Burton, H.B.M.'s Consul at Damascus. - - "Sir,--We beg to tender to you our heartiest thanks for your prompt - decisive action in the case of Hassan the converted Moslem, and also - to congratulate you on the result of your determination and firmness. - - "For some time past we had heard that a Moslem converted to - Protestantism at Beyrout had become subject to considerable - persecution. A convert more obscure than himself has been put out - of the way and has not since been heard of, and Hassan had been - subjected to a series of arrests and imprisonments, and had several - times narrowly escaped assassination. The chief Consulates, however, - had become publicly interested in him, so that his safety from - legal execution seemed ensured; and as he was always accompanied by - some one to protect him from assassins, he seemed for the time to - be safe. But on the 29th of June we were surprised to find that he - was being transported to Damascus, having been arrested and bound - in chains. The English colony in Beyrout became alarmed, as they - declared that none so transported to Damascus ever returned again. - Two agents of the Mission were despatched from Beyrout, one preceding - the prisoner to give us information as to what had taken place, and - the other accompanying the prisoner to watch what became of him. On - receiving intelligence of the convert's transportation to this City, - the missionaries of the three Missions at Damascus resolved to lay - the case before you, but on doing so found that you had with your - usual energy already taken up the case, and categorically demanded - the release of the prisoners. And though the authorities ignored the - Firman granting civil and religious liberty to the people of this - Empire, and denied your right to interfere on behalf of the prisoner, - the unflinching stand you took by the concessions of the Hatti-Sheríf - secured the release of the prisoner: you have thus vindicated the - cause of humanity, for on the day on which the prisoner escaped - through your intervention, the Moslem authorities strangled in the - Great Mosque of Damascus a Moslem convert to Christianity. The man - had made application to the Irish American Mission for protection, - and declared that he lived in daily fear of strangulation. He was - imprisoned in the Great Mosque, and strangled as they say by St. John - the Baptist, and then carried away by one man and thrown into a hole - like a dog. - - "This accident proves that your uncompromising firmness with - the authorities was an act of pure mercy, and that the worst - apprehensions of the Beyrout missionaries were not unfounded. But - more important still, you have asserted the binding character of the - spiritual privileges of the Christian subjects of the Porte, contained - in the Firman of 1856, and which, according to Fuad Pasha's letters to - Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, comprises 'absolutely all proselytes.' - - "We are sure, Sir, that your conduct in this affair will receive the - unqualified approbation of the best public opinion in Christendom, and - we have no doubt it will receive, as it merits, the warm approval of - your own Government. - - "We who were near and anxious spectators of the proceedings in this - affair cannot too warmly express our sense of the satisfaction with - which we witnessed the fearless, firm, and efficient manner in which - you conducted this important case until the convert was permitted to - leave this city. - - "(Signed) E. B. FRANKEL, Missionary of the London Jews' - Society. - - "JAMES ORR SCOTT, M.A., Missionary of the Irish Presbyterian - Church. - - "FANNY JAMES, Lady Superintendent of the British Syrian - Schools, Damascus. - - "WILLIAM WRIGHT, A.B., Missionary of the Irish Presbyterian - Church, Damascus. - - "JOHN CRAWFORD, Missionary of the United Presbyterian Church - of North America at Damascus. - - "ELLEN WILSON, Lady Superintendent of the British Syrian - Schools, Zableh." - -[Sidenote: _Richard's Answer and Remarks._] - -Captain Burton's reply to the Rev. E. B. Frankel, Rev. J. Orr Scott, -Miss James, Rev. W. Wright, Rev. John Crawford, Miss Wilson. - - "Beludan, July 19, 1871. - - "I have the pleasure to return my warmest thanks for your letter this - day received, in which you have formed so flattering an estimate - of my services as H.M.'s Consul for Damascus. Nor must I forget to - express my gratitude to you for the cordial support and approval of - my proceedings connected with your Missions which you have always - extended to me. This friendly feeling has greatly helped to lighten - the difficulties of the task that lay before me in 1869. You all know, - and none can better know, what was to be done when I assumed charge - of this Consulate; you are acquainted with the several measures taken - by me, honourably I hope to our national name, and you are familiar - with the obstacles thrown in my way, and with the manner in which I - met them. My task will encounter difficulties for some time. Still the - prospect does not deter me. I shall continue to maintain the honest - independence of H.M.'s Consulate, to defend our rights as foreigners - in Syria, and to claim all our privileges to the letter of the law. - Should I meet--and there is no fear of its being otherwise--the - approval of my Chiefs, who know that an official life of twenty-nine - years in the four quarters of the world is a title to some confidence, - I feel assured that we may look forward to happier times at Damascus, - when peace and security shall take the place of anxiety and depression. - - "Meanwhile I recommend to your prudent consideration the present state - of affairs in Syria. A movement which I cannot but characterize as - a Revival of Christianity, seems to have resulted from the peculiar - action of the authorities, and from the spirit of inquiry awakened - in the hearts of the people. It numbers its converts by thousands, - including men of high rank, and it is progressing even amongst the - soldiery. - - "I need hardly observe that it is the duty of one and all of us to - labour in the grand cause of religious toleration, and to be watchful - lest local and personal interpretations are allowed to misrepresent - the absolute rights of all converts to life and liberty. And I trust - that you will find me, at the end as in the beginning, always ready - to serve your interests, to protect your Missions and Schools, and to - lend my most energetic aid to your converts. - - "I am, with truth and regard, yours faithfully, - - "(Signed) RICHARD BURTON, - - "H.M.'s Consul, Damascus." - -This was the time that Richard was nearest making a public declaration -of Catholicity, but it was his "recall." I cannot tell it better than -in his own words:-- - - "I took the part, and espoused the cause of these forty martyrs, and - wrote home offering to be security for them if the Latin Patriarch - Valerga might be sent down to baptize them. I promised to stand guard, - and my wife would be godmother to them all. I asked her if she were - afraid, and she said, 'Afraid! No, indeed, only too proud.' Lord - Granville wrote to inquire into the matter, and the reply was, 'that - Valerga would not come, that the matter was very much exaggerated, - that there were only four hundred.' I have copies of the letter now. - Then my seven enemies clubbed together, and represented most falsely - that my life was in danger, that I was very unpopular with the - Moslems, which only meant the corrupt Rashíd Pasha." - -Lord Granville, like many another easy-going, pleasant diplomat (to -please God knows who), ruined the life of the best man under his rule -with the stroke of his pen. That _did_ put the whole of Syria in a -blaze of revolt and indignation, and it required the utmost prudence -not to put a match to it. It is a pitiful tale, and was a revolting -sight to see seven jackals trying to rend an insulted and martyred lion. - -One fine day a bombshell fell in the midst of our happy life. It was -not _only_ the insult of the whole thing, it was the ungentlemanly way -in which it was carried out from Beyrout. This was our position and the -way it was done:-- - -We were surrounded by hundreds who seemed to be dependent upon us; by -villages which, under our care, consular or maternal, seemed to be -thriving, prosperous, peaceful, and secure; by friends we had made -everywhere. Our lives, plans, and interests were arranged for years; -we were settled down and established as securely, we thought, as -any of you in your own houses at home. Our _entourage_ was a large -one--dragomans, _kawwáses_, servants; our stud, various pets, and -flowers; our home, and our "household gods;" our poor for thirty miles -around us. And so surrounded, our only wish was to stay, perhaps for -life, and do our duty both to God and our neighbour; and we were -succeeding, as I mean to prove. You, through whose evil working the -blow struck us on this day, examine your hearts, and ask yourselves why -you did this thing, because God, who protects those who serve Him, will -allow this cruel deed to follow you, and recoil upon you some day, when -you least expect it. It was useless to mislead the Authorities and the -public at home, by laying the blame upon the Moslems. Richard always -has been a very good friend to the Moslems, and the Moslems have always -liked him; but in this instance, local and individual weakness, spite -and jealousy, overthrew him. - -The horses were saddled at the door, in the Anti-Lebanon, and we -were going for a ride, when a ragged messenger on foot stopped to -drink at the spring, and advanced towards me with a note. I saw it -was for Richard, and took it into the house for him. It was from the -Vice-Consul of Beyrout, informing him that, by the orders of his -Consul-General, he had arrived the previous day (15th of August), and -had taken charge of the Damascus Consulate. The Vice-Consul was in no -way to blame.[1] - -Richard's journal says-- - - "_August_ 16_th._--All ready to start--rode in. - - "_August_ 18_th._--Left Damascus for ever; started at three a.m. in - the dark, with a big lantern; all my men crying; alone in _coupé_ of - diligence, thanks to the pigs. Excitement of seeing all for the last - time. All seemed sorry; a few groans. The sight of Bludán mountains in - the distance at sunrise, where I have left my wife. _Ever again?_ Felt - soft. Dismissal ignominious, at the age of fifty, without a month's - notice, or wages, or character. - - "The Turkish Government has boasted that it would choose its own time, - when Moslems may become Christians if they wish. The time has now - come." - -[Sidenote: _He leaves._] - -Richard and Charley Tyrwhitt-Drake were in the saddle in five minutes, -and galloped into town without drawing rein. He would not let me -accompany him. A mounted messenger returned on the 19th with these few -written words, "Don't be frightened; I am recalled. Pay, pack, and -follow at convenience." I was not frightened, but I do not like to -remember what I thought or felt. - -[Sidenote: _I take a Night Ride across Country._] - -I could not rest on the night of the 19th; I thought I heard some -one call me three successive times. I jumped up in the middle of a -dark night, saddled my horse, and, though everybody said I was mad, -and wanted to put me to bed, I rode a journey of nine hours across -country, by the compass, as if I were riding for a doctor, over rocks -and through swamps, making for the diligence halfway house. Three or -four of my people were frightened, and followed me. At last I came in -sight of Shtora, the diligence-station. The half-hour had expired; the -travellers had eaten and taken their places, and it was just about to -start; but God was good to me. Just as the coachman was about to raise -his whip, he turned his head to the part of the country from whence I -was coming, hot, torn, and covered with dust and mud from head to foot; -but he knew me. I held up both my arms, as they do to stop a train. He -saw the signal, waited, and took me in, and told the ostler to lead my -dead-beat horse to the stables.[2] - -I reached Beyrout twenty-four hours before the steamer sailed. When -Richard had once received his recall, he never looked behind him, nor -packed up anything, but went straight away. It is his rule to be ready -in ten minutes to go anywhere. He was now a private individual in -misfortune. I passed him in the diligence, walking alone in the town, -and looking so sad and serious. Not even a _kawwás_ was sent to attend -on him, to see him out with a show of honour and respect. It was a real -emblem of the sick lion. But _I_ was there (thank God) in my place, and -he was so surprised and glad when he saw me! I was well rewarded for my -hard ride, for when he saw me his whole face was illuminated, and he -said, "Thank you, _bon sang ne peut mentir_." We had twenty-four hours -to take counsel and comfort together. - -Everybody called upon us, and everybody regretted. The French -Consul-General made us almost take up our abode with him for those -twenty-four hours--our own Consul-General cut us. At four o'clock I -went on board with my husband, and on return I found his faithful -servant Habíb, who had also followed him, and arrived just ten minutes -too late--only in time to see him steam out; he had flung himself down -on the quay in a passionate flood of tears. - -Any Consul, in any part of the Eastern world, with one drop of -gentlemanly feeling, would have gone to meet his comrade in distress, -and sent a couple of _kawwáses_ to walk before and behind him. Mr. -Eldridge's action was as big a thing as if he had posted handbills all -over Beyrout to announce to the world that no notice was to be taken of -him. The disgrace was to himself, not to Richard.[3] - -The only notice Richard took of _this_ tragedy in his life is one -sentence in his journal: "After all my service, ignominiously -dismissed, at fifty years of age"--and at whose instance, do you think? -(1) A Pasha so corrupt that his own Government was obliged to recall -him a month later, threaten him with chains, and throw him into a -fortress, and his brains were blown out a short while after by a man -he had oppressed. (2) His own Consul-General, whose memory is only -known to his once immediate acquaintances by the careful registering -of his barometers, and the amount of beer which helped that arduous -task, and who exactly suited the Foreign Office by confining himself -to so narrow a circle. He was fearfully jealous of his superior -subordinate, and asked for his removal through Mr. Kennedy, who was -not commissioned for that business. Mr. Eldridge said afterwards, "If -Burton had only have walked in _my_ way, he would have lived and died -here." Thirdly, an aggressive schoolmistress, who altered, or _allowed -to be altered_, some words in a letter he wrote her, changing "mining" -into "missionary," to be shown at Exeter Hall. Fourthly, fifthly, and -sixthly, three unscrupulous Jewish usurers. Seventhly, an elastic Greek -Bishop, who began a crusade against the Protestants of Nazareth, and -prevented them from cultivating their land, and who had snatched away a -synagogue and cemetery from British-protected Jews. - -[Sidenote: _We were stoned at Nazareth._] - -When we were in camp there, he caused his people, who were about a -hundred and fifty against six, to pick a quarrel with our people, and -they stoned us. "Stoning" in the East means a hailstorm the size of -melons, which positively seems to darken the air. As an old soldier -accustomed to fire, Richard stood perfectly calm, collected, and -self-contained, though the stones hit him right and left, and almost -broke his sword-arm; he never lost his temper, and never fired, but -was simply marking the ringleaders to take them. I ran out to give -him his two six-shot revolvers, but when I got within stones' reach, -he made a sign to me not to embarrass his movements; so I kept near -enough to drag him out if he were wounded, putting his revolvers in -my belt. When three of his servants were badly hurt, and one lay for -dead on the ground, he drew a pistol from a man's belt, and fired a -shot in the air. That was my signal. I flew round to the other camps, -and called all the English and Americans with their guns. When they -saw a reinforcement of ten armed English and Americans running down -upon them, the cowardly crew turned and fled. This was followed by a -_procès-verbal_ between Richard and the Bishop, which Richard won. - -I was left to pack, pay, and follow; so I took the night diligence -back, and had, in spite of the August weather, a cold, hard seven hours -over the Lebanon, for I had brought nothing with me; my clothes were -dry and stiff, and I was very tired. On the road I passed our honorary -dragoman, Hanna Misk. I called out to him, but I had no official -position now, so he turned his head the other way, and passed me by. I -sent a peasant after him, but he shook his head and rode on. "There," -I said, "goes the man who has lived with us, travelled with us, and -shared everything we had, and for whose rights concerning a village my -husband has always contended, because his claims were just." The law -of "Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi!" extends, I suppose, everywhere; but -probably the king's widow always feels it.[4] I wonder how old one has -to grow before learning the common rules of life, instead of allowing -every shock the world gives one to disturb one, as if one were newly -born? It is innate in cool natures, and never learnt by the others, -who take useless "headers" against the dead wall of circumstances, -until they grow old and cold and selfish. Disraeli told us that "no -affections and a great brain form the men that command the world; that -no affections and a little brain make petty villains;" but a great -brain and a great heart he has no description for. Here he stops short; -but I can tell him those are the men for whom there is no place. The -nineteenth century will have none of them. - -Richard was a general favourite, but he was too powerful to suit the -Turkish _Wali_, or Governor-General, who for once found a man he could -not corrupt. To give some idea of _how_ incorruptible, he was once -offered £10,000 on the table, which the man in question brought with -him, to give an opinion which would have swayed a public transaction, -which would have been no very great harm, but yet it would not have -been quite "square" for such a man as Richard, and a promise of £10,000 -when the thing was done--"for," said the man, "I can get plenty of -money when I like, and this will pay me well." My husband let him -finish, and then he said, "If you were a gentleman of my own standing, -and an Englishman, I would just pitch you out of the window; but as -you are not, you may pick up your £10,000 and you may walk down the -stairs. But don't come here again, because if the thing is right, I -shall do it without your paying me; and if it is not, there is not -enough money in the world to buy me." He then called me, and he told me -about it, and said, "This man's harem will be offering you diamonds; -mind you don't take them." "There is not the slightest chance," I said; -"I don't want them." Now, it is a perfect fact that, although I am a -woman, jewellery is no temptation to me; I therefore take no credit to -myself that I have refused enough to enable me to wear as many as any -woman in London; but when they brought me horses, it was quite another -sensation, and I had to screw up my courage hard--and bolt. - -It is perfectly true that Richard is the only man not born a Moslem and -an Oriental who, having performed the Hajj to Mecca and Medinah, could -live with the Moslems in perfect friendship after. They considered -him a _personâ grata_--something more civilized than the common run -of Franks; they called him Haji Abdullah, and treated him as one of -themselves. During Richard's time in Syria he raised the English name, -which was going down rapidly, to its old prestige in the time of Sir -Richard Wood and Lord Strathnairn, and the old days of Lord Stratford -de Redcliffe. He explored all the unknown parts of Syria, Palestine, -Holy Land, Haurán, the 'Aláh and Nejd; he stood between the poor -peasantry and the usurers; he advanced and protected the just claims -of British subjects. When a massacre appeared imminent he kept the -peace. The fanatical persecution of the Christians was stopped; he -stood between them and his friends the Mohammedans; he said, "They are -mine, and you must not touch them;" he saved innumerable villages from -slavery. In fact, he was just the man whom Rashíd Pasha, the corrupt -Turkish Governor-General, could not stand; he was an avenging angel -in his way. His own Consul-General was jealous of him. The Beyrout -missionaries, or _rather_ the British Syrian schools missionaries--for -we were friends with several Beyrout missionaries, notably Dr. Thomson -and Dr. Bliss--poisoned Exeter Hall against him, although they got -more help from him than from any one, simply because neither he nor I -were, what I believe the technical term is, "practical Protestants." -The three foremost Jews set Sir Moses Montefiore and the illustrious -Jewish families of London against him, because he could not stand by -and see the poor plundered twice and thrice over, never getting a -receipt for their money, never being allowed a paper to show what they -had paid, till (when England is paying millions to suppress Slave-trade -in various parts of the world) she was unconsciously abetting it, and -aiding it, and protecting it, all over the Syrian villages, by the -power of complaisant Consuls. The Greek Bishop abetted our being stoned -at Nazareth, because he had advanced and protected the Protestant -missionaries' just claim in his jurisdiction. These seven hornets were -sufficient to kill and break the heart of St. Michael the archangel. -They say three hornets kill a man, and six will kill a horse. - -[Sidenote: _General Information._[5]] - -I am now going to suppose that _all_ my readers are not familiar -with Syria and its Cities, its native and foreign officials, or its -various Religions and Races. As a wanderer in that land, now free -and independent of all employments and Governments, an impartial -looker-on and a student of its politics, religions, and peculiar mode -of Government, I will diverge for a moment from my subject to explain a -few facts. - -On arriving in Syria, one lands at Beyrout, a pretty town of no -very great importance to the world. It is the concentration of -all that Syria knows of comfort, luxury, and pleasure. Christian -and semi-civilized, it has its soldiers and policemen, its ships -and sailors under the windows, its semi-European mode of living -and manners, and its free communication with Europe by telegraphs -and regular mails. Steamers anchor in the open roadstead (there -is no harbour, pier, or landing-place, save a few broken unclean -steps leading to a small, dirty custom-house quay), an occasional -merchant-ship appears, and at times some wandering man-of-war. It is -ruled by a Governor subject to the _Wali_, who rules Syria, being in -fact Viceroy to the Sultan. This great official lives at Damascus, -and visits Beyrout for sea-bathing and to make holiday. It is also -the residence of the Consuls-General, who represent foreign Powers -and European influence, and are very great people in their way; and -also of a large European society of the middle classes. Beyrout is -backed by the high range of the Lebanon, which is inhabited by Druzes -and Maronites, and ruled by a separate Governor, Franco Pasha, an -able officer, independent of the _Wali_. After crossing the Lebanon -and descending into the plain of the Bukâa (Cœle-Syria) Civilization, -Christianity, and all free communication with the outer world, are left -behind; as are comforts, luxuries, and Society, whilst the traveller -is completely at the mercy of Beyrout as to how much or how little -he may receive of the necessary help such as man should give to his -fellow-man. For safety he is self-dependent on his own personal courage -and his knowledge of the East, and woe betide the hapless one who has -no friend at Beyrout, or whose Consul-General may be a little sick, or -selfish, or ill-tempered, or otherwise ill-disposed. He steps forth -into the solemnity of Orientalism, which increases upon him during -the sometimes dreary and barren seventy-two miles journey, and he -finds himself in the heart of Oriental life in the City of Damascus. -This Orientalism is the great charm of "the Pearl of the East." She -is still pure and innocent of anything like Europeanism. However much -the wanderer may dislike it at first, the life so grows upon him that, -after a time, to quit it would be a wrench. But this is what makes -the demi-semi-fashionable of Beyrout hate Damascus, with a spice of -fear, knowing nothing of her attractions; whilst she, on her side, -lazily despises the effeminate and, to her, luxurious and feeble -Beyroutine. Damascus, I have said, is the heart and capital of Syria, -the residence of the _Wali_ and his _entourage_, who rule Syria, who -fear the strong and who oppress the weak, who persecute Christians, who -starve the people, and who fill their own pockets. If his Excellency -died to-morrow the voice of Syria would go up to heaven in one loud cry -of execration, embodying the popular curse upon a departed tyrant's -soul, "May the Lord have no mercy upon your resting-place!" Here also -are the head-quarters of the Army and Police, the chief _Majlises_ or -Tribunals, which represent our Courts of Law; business institutions -and transactions have also their place in Damascus, and, being a "Holy -City," I need not say that it is the religious _chef lieu_. - -Syria has always been cursed with races, tribes, and faiths enough -to split up the country, and to cause all manner of confusion. For -instance, the Moslem is the national religion. There are the Moslem -Sunnites, or orthodox of four schools, viz. the Hanifi, Shafí, Hanbeli, -Maliki; the Shí'ah heresy, locally called Metáwali (of these most -are Kurds); the Nusayri (also Shiites), but their faith is little -understood. The Nowar, or Gypsies, are self-styled Mohammedans. Besides -these there are Shádilis or Sházlis (Dervishes and Sufis), Persian -"Babis," Chaldean Yezidis, Ismailiyehs (Shí'ahs) from different parts -of the East, and Wáhhabis, who keep themselves in the background. The -Bedawi, who are as the sands of the desert they inhabit, are also -Moslems. - -After the Moslems, but conforming with them, come the Druzes, who are -divided into Akkal and Juhhal; which simply means "the wise men" and -"the foolish (young) men," as the former lead a more rigid life than -the latter. Their belief is more or less a mystery; for policy's sake -they affect the national religion, and they will lean towards the faith -of whatever person they may happen to address. - -The Jews are divided into Sephardim, Askenazim, Samaritan, and Karaite. - -Then we come to the Christians, who number fourteen sects--Maronite -(Catholic), Greek Catholic, Greek Schismatic (styled "orthodox"), -Armenian Catholic, Armenian Schismatic (styled "orthodox"), Syrian -Catholic; Jacobite, which is Syrian "orthodox" or non-Catholic, Latin -Catholics (like the French, etc.), a few Protestants (from the missions -and schools of England, Chaldea, Prussia, and the United States, and -their converts), Copts, Abyssinians, Chaldean Catholic and Chaldean -Schismatics (styled "orthodox"). The Catholic rites have each a liturgy -different from the Latin Catholic Mass, and said in their own language; -they communicate under both kinds, but there is no heresy in their -belief. A French Catholic satisfies his obligations of hearing Mass on -Sunday with them, but of course he cannot receive their communion under -both forms. - -Nineteen Europeans reside at Damascus. This is the residence of the -Consuls, whose districts extend to Baghdad on the east, and to Nablus -on the south, and who have all the real work to do. Some suppose that -they are subject to the Consulates-General at Beyrout, but this, though -the Turks desire it, is highly unadvisable, as Damascus work requires -prompt and decided action and no loss of time; moreover, any order -which might apply to Beyrout would be totally inapplicable at Damascus; -finally, in nine cases out of ten it would proceed from the advice of -a dragoman interested in the case, his superior not knowing Arabic, or -perhaps never having seen Damascus. - -Upon the English Consul devolves the responsibility of the post for -Baghdad, and the protection of commerce, of travellers, and of some -half-dozen English residents. There are, besides the Consular corps, -four missions each with its school, three European religious houses -(Lazarists, Franciscans, and Sisters of Charity), an English engineer, -a French sanitary officer under his own Government, and, lastly, the -_employés_ of the French Road Company. - -Whoever lives in Damascus must have good health and nerves, must be -charmed with Oriental life, and must not care for society, comforts, or -luxuries, but be totally occupied with some serious pursuit. Should he -be a Consul--an old soldier is best--he must be accustomed to command -a strong hand. The natives must be impressed by him, and know that, -if attacked, he can fight. He must be able to ride hard and to rough -it in mountain or desert, in order to attend to his own work, instead -of sending a dragoman or a _kawwás_, who probably would not really -go, or if he did might be bribed. He must have the honour and dignity -of England truly at heart, and he should be a gentleman to understand -fully what this means; not a man risen from the ranks, and liable to be -"bullied or bribed." He should speak Arabic, Persian, and Turkish, as -well as English, French, and Italian, so as not to take the hearsay of -his dragomans. He must be able to converse freely with Arabs, Turks, -Bedawi, Druzes, Kurds, Jews, Maronites, Afghans, and Persians, and -understand their religious prejudices. He must have his reliable men -everywhere, and know everything that goes on throughout the length -and breadth of the country. He should have a thorough knowledge of -Eastern character. He must keep a hospitable house. He should be cool, -firm, and incorruptible. He must not be afraid to do his duty, however -unpleasant and risky, and having done it, if his Chiefs do not back -him up, _i.e._ his Consul-General, his Ambassador, and the Secretary -of State for Foreign Affairs, the Turkish local authorities know he -has done his duty at his own risk; they admire and they fear the -individual, but they despise his Government whilst they fawn and cringe -to it. Thus the interests of England, and English pride, are trampled -in the dust. Such a man is Richard, and such a man is like a loadstone -to the natives. Were he in no authority the country would flock to -him and obey him of their own accord from his own personal influence -amongst them. - -But this is exactly the man who does not suit the present _Wali_ and -his creatures, upon whose misrepresentations and falsehoods the Porte -has demanded his recall; it is no secret, for all Syria is ringing with -it, and the _Wali_ has it proclaimed in the bazars. I may add that -all Syria is looking on with anxiety and distress lest he _should_ be -removed. No other class of man could hold his own against the present -local Turkish authorities, and they would treat him like a kind of -upper servant. If the Porte knew its own interests, it would ask to -keep Richard, and discharge its own faithless _employé_. That troubles -will follow his removal, I may safely prophesy; and that his successor -will be insulted in the streets, and compelled by terror and sickness -to run away from his post, is very possible. That is what we may come -to. Let the name of England nevermore be mentioned--let her sons be -incorporated with the Turkish subjects, whilst Prussians and the French -keep their proper position and their national dignity. - -_P. S.--A month later Mohammed Rashíd Pasha_ was _recalled, and Richard -was in England._ - -_This, then, was the moment to press for the immediate return of the -twelve unfortunates exiled to Murzuk, and to impress upon the Ottoman -Authorities, who, since the death of Russia's friend, Aali Pasha, -the Grand Vizier of pernicious fame, appear ready to reform a host -of abuses, that the friendship of England can be secured only by -scrupulous fidelity to treaties, especially to those which concern -religious toleration._ - - -AN ACCOUNT OF RICHARD BURTON BY SALIH (NOM DE PLUME OF AN ENGLISH -MISSIONARY AT DAMASCUS). - - - [Sidenote: _Salih's Description of Richard._] - - "Burton was sound at heart. The more I saw him alone the better I - liked him. At Damascus he was truly 'a brave, strong man in a blatant - land.' When you got down through the crusts, you found a fearless and - honest friend. - - "But Burton was given to pantomime. He was always saying things to - frighten old women of both sexes, and to make servant-maids stare. - He took great delight in shocking goody people, and in effecting his - purpose he gave free rein to his imagination. People who knew Burton - partially, from meeting him at public dinners or in clubs, have - generally a number of gruesome stories to retail about his cruelty and - immorality. They often say truly that Burton told the horrible stories - against himself. I have no doubt he did, just as he represented - himself in the guise of a monster to my little boy. At the same time - I am certain that Burton was incapable of either monstrous cruelty or - gross immorality. I go farther, and I state it as my firm conviction - that Burton was constitutionally and habitually both humane and moral. - I knew Burton well, in sickness, in trouble, in disappointment, in his - home, in the saddle, under fire, and in the presence of almost every - condition of savage life, and I have noticed that acts of cruelty and - immorality always drove him into a white heat of passion. A young - English lady had been treated rudely at Damascus by a Persian, and - when Burton failed in securing official redress, I was in dread for - months that he would with his own hand kill the ruffian if he met him. - The scoundrel, however, met his fate at other hands. Shielding the - weak from cruelty and protecting the poor from oppression, constituted - Captain Burton's chief work at Damascus. - - "Noticing the difference between Burton's real character and that for - which he got credit in many quarters, I often asked him how certain - specific stories had originated. It was interesting to learn how - the legends had grown. Some of them had been told of old Castilian - Hidalgos and 'British sea-dogs' before Burton's grandfather was born. - Others were founded on facts, but they had received so many artistic - touches at camp-fires and in mess-rooms that incidents innocent in - themselves had grown to monstrous dimensions. From observation and - much inquiry I have long come to the conclusion that the wild stories - in circulation about Burton were bogeys, partly borrowed and partly - invented--mere adaptations and travellers' yarns to shock and stun and - create a little boisterous fun. - - "The impatience with which Burton treated my servant revealed a - characteristic that had much to do with his career. 'Genius is - patience,' said Sir Isaac Newton. If this definition be correct, - Burton must have lacked genius. 'The Prime Minister's secret is - patience,' said Pitt. If Pitt be right, Burton had no chance of - ever finding his way to the Premiership, for he never learned the - secret. I think Burton was not without genius. He was certainly a very - clever man, but he could not put up with stupidity in others. I am - afraid he sometimes delighted to stick pins in Government officials - who mistook the region of the world in which he was located, or who - failed to apprehend the facts communicated in his last despatch. I - am afraid he never got sufficiently into diplomatic training as to - overlook the weakness of his immediate superiors, and hence the higher - rounds of the diplomatic ladder were not to be trodden by his feet. - He was shuttle-cocked about from one pestiferous region to another - till at last the Foreign Office, in a lucid moment, sent the Oriental - enthusiast to Damascus. - - "Burton's quarrel with missionaries was also an open sore. I do not - know the full merits of the original strife, but I believe it was a - somewhat mixed affair. Certain benevolent gentlemen have always had a - tendency to do proxy beneficence as cheaply as possible. In picking - up missionaries they have sometimes been guided more by the price - than the quality. Burton, it seems, came upon some of these job-lots, - and found them jobbing, as was to be expected, and, with his usual - impatience, 'went for them.' Then a great uproar ensued, in which the - original cause was lost sight of, and Burton received the stamp of an - anti-missionary Consul. The Consular dog had got a bad name, and that - was enough for some. - - "When it became known that Burton was destined for Damascus, there - was a kind of panic among the missionaries of Syria, and active steps - were taken to prevent the appointment being carried out. The Damascus - missionaries held aloof from the organized opposition. The moral - character of some of Burton's immediate Christian predecessors had - not been of a sort to reflect much credit on Christian missionaries, - or even on British subjects; and from the missionary point of view it - seemed that a moral Consul who made no religious professions might, - on the whole, prove as satisfactory as an immoral one who read the - service to English travellers on Sundays. Besides, it was known to be - the constant aim of the Damascus missionaries to steer clear of all - diplomatic interference, and to keep the Consular finger out of their - pie. They gave Burton a cordial welcome as their Consul, but they - also gave him clearly to understand that any action of his, friendly - or unfriendly, bearing on their work, would be regarded by them as an - impertinent and unfriendly act. - - "Burton appreciated their kindness, and frankly accepted their - conditions, and missionaries and Consul maintained the most cordial - relations, and it was understood that the whole missionary body at - Damascus deeply regretted Burton's recall. One fact regarding this - agreement may be noticed. The restless and energetic Burton maintained - the compact in the spirit, but broke it in the letter. He visited all - the mission schools in the most gracious manner, examined the children - thoroughly, and afterwards made some valuable suggestions to the - missionaries as to the perfecting of their educational organizations. - He ever after spoke of the teachers and the schools with great - cordiality and unstinted praise. - - "The other missionaries of Syria, with solitary exceptions, maintained - their attitude of hostility to Burton, and never lost an opportunity - of speaking against him, and some of them not only embellished old - stories to his discredit, but invented new ones, _furor ministrat - arma_, to prove his deep-seated hostility to the missionary cause. - Many influential travellers pass yearly through Syria, deeply - interested in the splendid educational and religious efforts that - are being made to elevate that land. Everywhere they heard of the - anti-Christian Consul, and the constant drip made a deep impression. - Almost the only honest and praiseworthy efforts being made to lift - the Holy Land out of the slough of Oriental degradation stood to the - credit of the missionaries, and it was intolerable that their efforts - should be thwarted by a British Consul. - - "Burton might, by patience and well-doing, have worn down and outlived - the hostility of these missionaries, but he had the misfortune to come - into sharp conflict with the Jews, and he had thus on his flank an - active, persistent, and powerful enemy. - - "It would be interesting to narrate how a number of Russian and other - Jews at Damascus became British subjects, but the by-paths and crooked - ways would be too long and intricate for our space. Burton found - himself the official head and protector of a colony of British Jews. - Some of these were men of great wealth and affluence, and it was well - known that the official virtue of helping them was seldom left to be - its own reward. - - "Burton, though always posing as an Oriental, thought fit to hew - Oriental prejudice against the grain. He might have seen his beautiful - wife flashing in brilliants, roped in pearls, and riding the best - blood Arab of the desert; but he threw away all these tokens of - appreciation in obedience to an occidental prepossession in favour of - common honesty. - - "Burton found that his Jews were living by usury. Some of them were - known to charge as little as thirty per cent., but rates ran up to - sixty, or more. 'His mouth is full of water[6] and he cannot bark' is - a common Arab proverb, but Burton had nothing in his mouth, and he - barked ferociously. His official duty was to urge the recognition of - British claims, and insist on their being paid. That was the form that - 'law and order' took at Damascus. What did it matter if the people - were starving! At the word of the Consul a band of Bashi-Bazouks - would swoop down on the defaulting villagers, eat their food, lie in - their beds, insult their wives and daughters, until the usurer was - satisfied. Should the villagers be unable to pay, they were not only - evicted, but driven like cattle to prison, there to rot till they had - paid the uttermost farthing. Burton did not like the business. He - grew fierce, declared in the strongest language at his command that - he would not be 'Bumbailiff' in such transactions. I am inclined to - think that in this case, as in most others, Burton's impatience led - him into doing the right thing in the wrong way. He was indignant, - his blood was up, and on being asked gently what was the use of a - Consul at Damascus if he did not enforce British claims, he lost the - composure befitting the diplomatic service. - - "The storm broke. The _Alliance Israelite_ took up the case of '_poor - Israel_.' Noble, and humane, and generous Jews in England ranged - themselves on the side of 'their persecuted brethren.' Some of them - would have been more fierce than Burton had they known the truth. - Correspondence followed, and the archives of the Foreign Office now - contain Burton's splendid vindications, which may some day see the - light." - - - "THE RECALL OF CAPTAIN BURTON. - - - [Sidenote: _Letters showing the State of Syria after his Recall._] - - "To the Editor of the _Civil Service Gazette_. - - "Sir,--I have just seen some letters from Damascus, from which I - learnt a few facts that may interest you with reference to the recall - of Captain Burton. - - "The Consulate was left in charge of Mr. Jago, who, however, was so - alarmed at certain demonstrations of dissatisfaction on the part of - the natives that he prudently took advantage of an opportune fever, - and left the town and the Consulate to take care of itself. The - English Government is, therefore, entirely unrepresented in Damascus. - - "The Kurds who inhabit the suburb of Damascus, called the Salahíyyeh, - say that now Captain Burton has gone, there is no one who can protect - them from the extortions of the Governor-General, and have notified - their intention of leaving _en masse_. As they are about ten thousand - fighting men, they will not improve the pacific aspect of the country - when they are let loose over it, feeling that they have no protector - but their sword. - - "The Mohammedans, whose 'fanatical aversion to Captain Burton' is the - ostensible pretext for his recall, have been holding mass meetings, - and even praying publicly in the mosques that God will send him back - to them. Letters are flowing in every day from village sheikhs and - Bedawin chiefs, asking that he may return to Damascus, as there is no - one else to whom they can appeal for help or succour. - - "So strong is the feeling, that Mrs. Burton was obliged to slip away - secretly, as the people wished to retain her as a hostage in order to - make sure that Captain Burton would go back to them. - - "In addition to these facts, which I can vouch for, I can tell you - that, from my own experience of the country, I feel sure that Captain - Burton's absence will be a source of great inconvenience (to put it - mildly) to intending travellers this next winter. If you have any - friends who propose visiting Syria, you cannot do better than advise - them not to do so, as there will assuredly be troubles before long. - - "I cannot pretend to enter into the real reasons for this blunder on - the part of the Foreign Office (though they are not hard to guess), - but of one thing I feel assured, and that is that the mistake would - never have been made had Lord Stratford de Redcliffe been still at - Constantinople. - - "I am, Sir, yours truly, - - "E. H. PALMER. - - "St. John's College, Cambridge." - - - "THREATENED TROUBLES IN SYRIA. - - - "To the Editor of the _Standard_. - - "Sir,--Forewarned will not be forearmed in this case, for the mischief - is half done already by the actions of her Majesty's Government. - - "I came to Syria in February last with a special mission from the - Palestine Exploration Fund. I have since been travelling over the - length and breadth of the land, and this, with several years' previous - acquaintance with the East, enables me to see more of the real state - of the country than falls to the lot of the ordinary tourist. - - "In the early spring I found Syria in an abnormal state of excitement, - arising from many causes. That excitement has gone on increasing, - chiefly for five reasons: 1. The injustice and rapacity of the - Governor-General (_Wali_), Mohammed Rashíd Pasha, who now misgoverns - Syria. 2. The agitation kept up by Egypt, with whom Syria and its - Governor sympathize only too strongly, and with whom they will act - the moment opportunity offers. 3. The ruin of the peasantry, crushed - by exorbitant taxes, starved by a bad season, and devoured by Jewish - money-lenders. 4. The way in which the _Wali_ pits sect against sect - for his own political ends; and in this land, where party feeling runs - so high, nothing is easier. And, 5. The strong Christian movement, - none the less strong for being under the surface--this has already - been noticed in some English papers. - - "There was but _one_ man in Syria who both saw and protested against - the many and glaring acts of injustice done by the _Wali_, and this - was her Britannic Majesty's Consul at Damascus, Captain R. F. Burton, - whom her Majesty's Foreign Office have thought fit to remove, giving - ear to the tale raised two years ago, by certain missionaries and - others, that Moslem fanaticism was working against him. Knowing the - people and the country as well as I do, I hesitate not one moment to - say that this is a deliberate lie (and I am ready to prove it such) - invented by Captain Burton's enemies. Few men, if any, would have got - on as well as he has with all classes here, Mohammedans and Metaweli, - Greek Catholics and Syrians, Protestants and Latins. He visited and - was visited by the religious sheikhs, and especially by the Emir Abd - el Kadir of Algerian fame. This prince is looked upon as the leader - of Mohammedan religion here. These facts are sufficient to show how - false is the plea of Captain Burton's not being able to deal with - Mohammedans on account of their fanaticism. Only to-day I have heard - numbers of Moslems deplore his removal, which pleased only the _Wali_ - and his creatures, and a few Jews engaged in nefarious usury. I dwell - upon these points, as I feel convinced that unless his successor be a - man of _his_ stamp--which will be hard to find--he will sink to that - state of subserviency to the _Wali_ to which the Consuls of other - nations at Damascus have sunk. They are weak and timid, and completely - under the _Wali_. The English Consul was the only man of independence, - but now that Syria is becoming of vital importance to us on account - of the Euphrates Valley Railroad, our name and _prestige_ must go, - through her Majesty's Government recalling, at the instigation of a - Turkish Pasha, the only man fit to represent Great Britain in Syria. - The _Wali_, having succeeded by his vile intrigues in displacing one - of the most efficient of her Majesty's Consular officers, will feel - that there is no one to check his malpractices; the peasantry, sooner - or later, must rise; the great Christian movement will be crushed, - not without bloodshed, for the converts now number many thousands of - resolute men of all classes, and we must be prepared for the worst. I - venture to predict that before many months have passed, the troubles - of Syria will have drawn upon her the eyes of Europe, and when blood - has been shed England will see the error she has committed in throwing - her influence here to the dogs, and obeying the wishes of Rashíd Pasha, - - "I am, Sir, etc., - - "CHAS. F. TYRWHITT-DRAKE. - - "Damascus." - - - "THE DAMASCUS CONSULATE. - - - "The following letter, to which we have alluded in a leading article, - on the subject of Captain Burton's recall, has been addressed to the - Editor of the _Times_, by a well-known Syrian traveller:-- - - "Sir,--In a letter I addressed to you, dated August 17th, on the - state that Syria, especially in the Damascus district, was likely to - fall into in consequence of the recall, from his post as Consul at - Damascus, of the only man who had the courage to resist and check the - malpractices of the notoriously corrupt and cruel Governor-General - Mohammed Rashíd Pasha, I predicted that troubles would quickly ensue. - On the 18th of August--the day that Captain Burton left Damascus--a - raid was made into the Christian quarter by Mustafa Bey, Mir Alai - of Zabtiyeh (Chief of Police), a most fanatical Mahomedan, with two - hundred men, for the purpose of arresting certain Moslems suspected - of a leaning to Christianity, and who had been decoyed from their own - quarter by a police spy, Mahmud Bey Adham, a man who had by some means - become possessed of their secret. Happily, these suspects were able - to take refuge in the house of an English consular dragoman just as - they were being arrested, and though the _gérant_ of her Majesty's - Consulate ordered them to be given up, yet the matter became so public - that the _Wali_ feared to proceed to extreme measures, and released - them after a day's imprisonment. The affair, however, will not stop - here, though it may lie dormant awhile. - - "On August 23, three days after Captain Burton's leaving Beyrout, the - Protestant missionaries were prevented by the _Kaimakam_ (Governor) - from making some small additions to their school at Rasheyya. The - Rev. Messrs. Wright and Scott requested the _gérant_ of her Majesty's - Consulate to procure them an order from the Government to enable them - to go on. A so-called order was immediately procured, but, of course, - it was utterly useless; a second produced no better effect. - - "This is but the commencement, yet it serves to show the way in which - English missionaries will be hindered, and how English influence is - to be crushed. It would be, to any one unacquainted with Syria, an - incredible matter if I were to say how our national _prestige_ has - fallen since the last ten days. I have some twenty letters from Moslem - sheikhs of towns and villages, religious sheikhs and men of influence, - as well as from Druzes and Christians, which I have been asked to - forward to Captain Burton, as the writers think that their urgent - entreaties may favour his return. - - "The Government organ, _El Hadikat el Akhbar_, has written a most - shameful article on Captain Burton's recall, stating that he was not - only on bad terms with the authorities, but also with his colleagues - and all British-protected Jews, and other lies equally base. A few - Jews, whom he refused to help in scandalous and illegal transactions, - of course detest him, and have been secretly aiding the _Wali_ against - him. A most fulsome article, too, appeared in another paper, _El - Suriva_ (The Syria), from the pen of the _Wali_ himself in praise of - the gentleman now in charge of her Majesty's Consulate here. - - "I fear to take up too much of your valuable space by dilating on the - subject, but I am every day more convinced that there will be great - trouble in this unhappy land of misrule. - - "I am, Sir, etc., - - "CHAS. F. TYRWHITT-DRAKE. - - "Damascus, September." - - - "REVIVAL OF CHRISTIANITY IN SYRIA. - - - "To the Editor of the _Tablet_. - - "Sir,--I have just seen the account published in the _Tablet_ of the - 16th and 23rd of September, of the revival of Christianity in Syria. I - can only say that you have an exceedingly well-informed correspondent, - but one who seems hardly aware what enormous proportions this movement - is assuming in the districts of Hums, Hamáh, and even Aleppo. The - number of these diverts from Islam is almost impossible to calculate, - but I believe that in the whole, of Syria twenty to twenty-five - thousand is a moderate computation. - - "Now that Rashíd Pasha, of infamous memory, is removed from Syria, - can nothing be done to bring back the twelve Sházlis banished to - Africa? Will neither England nor any other Christian Power say one - word in their favour? Is the policy of maintaining the unity of - Turkey to be so strictly adhered to, that not even a harsh word is - to be said to her though she deliberately breaks her treaties and - solemn obligations: when, after promising religious freedom to all - her subjects, she invariably persecutes those who dare to leave the - religion of Mohammed, not perhaps directly, but by some subterfuge, as - bringing against the so-called 'renegades' a charge of evasion from - conscription, or desertion from the army. - - "Hoping that your advocacy may do something to bring about the return - of these twelve martyrs, whose wives and families would have been - starved here long ago had it not been for the liberality of their - co-sectarians, - - "I remain, Sir, etc., - - "CHAS. F. TYRWHITT-DRAKE. - - "Damascus, November 13." - -Richard wrote at the end of his time in Syria, just before his recall-- - - "My time here is marked and rendered bitter by contact with tyranny - and an oppression which even this land of doleful antecedents cannot - remember. The politics of the unworthy _Wali_, Rashíd Pasha, are - alternately French and Russian, and, like all Orientals educated in - Europe, he hates Europeans. I have been brought into collision with - him, by his utterly ignoring the just claims and rights of British - subjects and _protégés_, and he was supported by those whose duty it - was to oppose him, so I had to battle alone with hands bound." - -Later on, after his recall, he writes-- - - "But they, his powerful protectors, failed, and truth from my poor - pen and tongue prevailed, and Rashíd was recalled in disgrace and - degradation, and threatened with irons and fetters. Every measure - which I had ventured to recommend during my time was ordered to - be carried out. The reform was so thorough and complete that her - Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople was directed officially to - compliment the Porte upon its newly initiated line of progress. But - Pashas soon fall into bad ways, and it is always the case of 'new - broom.' The irony of events is extraordinary. Damascus is the civil, - military, and ecclesiastical Capital of the country, the head-quarters - of the Government and the High Courts of Appeal, the residence of the - chief dignitaries, where the Consul-General ought to live, and the - Vice-Consul for the shipping duties at Beyrout. But Beyrout is safe; - Damascus is not always so. Persia has observed this long ago, and have - a Consul-General. Russia, Prussia, France, and Italy do not speak to - the Capital through Vice-Consuls, but Consuls; yet, to gratify the - F.O.'s most _un_distinguished servant Mr. Eldridge, as soon as I was - gone, a Vice-Consul was appointed for the Capital--a creature of his - own. Therefore, to the detriment of British interest, to the injury - of English residents, missionaries, and school-teachers, we took rank - after Spain, Portugal, and Greece, because their representatives are - often _rayyàhs_, or subjects of the Porte, and take precedence of the - British Vice-Consul. Yet the English public is now surprised to hear - from my successor that English travellers have been made prisoners at - Kerak." - -[Sidenote: _The Interval I remained as a Hostage._] - -I must now return, and finish my own Eastern career, more for the -sake of showing the goodness of the Syrian heart, than for any other -interest. I am bound, though late, to bear testimony to them. - -After seeing Richard off, I had a cold eight hours' drive over the -Lebanon, arrived at the _khan_ at Shtora, found my horse in excellent -condition, and slept for a few hours. Early in the morning I rode to -see Miss Wilson, who kindly insisted on my remaining a day with her. -Mr. Tyrwhitt-Drake, a _kawwás_, and servants and horses, met me here, -and escorted me back to Bludán; but we lost our way in the mountains, -and had an eleven hours' hard scramble. I was ill, tired, and harassed, -and was thankful to find my friend Mrs. Rattray, who came over to keep -me company. She was as much troubled as I was myself. I do not care who -says to the contrary, but the world _in general_ is a good place; for, -although a _few_ bad people make everything and everybody as miserable -as they can--permitted, I infer, by an all-wise Providence, like -mosquitoes, snakes, and scorpions, to prevent our becoming too attached -to this life, and ceasing to work for the other, where they cannot -enter--the general rule is good, and whoever is in trouble, as I have -said, will always meet with kindness, comfort, and sympathy, from some -quarter or other. - -I had every right to expect, in a land where official position is -everything, where love and respect accompanies power and Government -influence, where women are of but small account, that I should be, -morally speaking, trampled underfoot. I do not know how to describe -with sufficient gratitude, affection, and pleasure the treatment I -met with throughout Syria. The news spread like wild-fire. All the -surrounding villages poured in. The house and the garden were always -full of people--my poor, of course, but others too. Moslems flung -themselves on the ground, shedding bitter tears, and tearing their -beards, with a passionate grief for the man "whose life" they were -reported to wish to take. The incessant demonstrations of sorrow were -most harassing, the poor crying out, "Who will take care of us now?" -The Moslems: "What have we done that your _Díwan_ (Government) has -done this thing to us? They sent us a man who made us so happy and -prosperous, and protected us, and we were so thankful; and why now -have they taken him from us? What have we done? Were we not good and -thankful, and quiet? What can we do? Send some of us to go over to your -land, and kneel at the feet of your Queen." This went on for days, -and I received, from nearly all the country round, little deputations -of Shaykhs, bearing letters of affection, or condolence, or grief, or -praise. These sad days filled me with one gnawing thought--"How shall -I tear the East out of my heart by the roots, and adapt myself to the -bustling, struggling, everyday life of Europe?" - -I broke up our establishment, packed up my husband's books, and sent -them to England, settled all our affairs, had all that was to accompany -me transferred to Damascus, and parted with the mountain servants. Two -pets--the donkey that had lost a foot, and a dog that was too ill to -recover--had to be shot and buried in the garden. - -[Sidenote: _I leave the Anti-Lebanon--Wind up at Damascus._] - -When all these sad preparations were finished, I bade adieu to the -Anti-Lebanon with a heavy heart, and for the last time, choking with -emotion, I rode down the mountain, and through the plain of Zebedáni, -with a very large train of followers. I found it hard to leave the spot -where I had hoped to leave my mortal coil. - -I had a sorrowful ride into Damascus, and I met the _Wali_ driving -in State, with all his suite. He looked radiant, and saluted me. I -did not return his salute, and he told his Staff that he was afraid I -would shoot him. Somebody did that a little later on. He looked less -radiant when the news of his own recall reached him a few days later, -with a special telegram, that if he delayed more than twenty-four -hours, he was to be sent in chains. He fought hard to stay, and I do -not wonder, for he had a splendid position, and had bought lands and -built a palace, which he never lived in; and he had to give up all his -ill-gotten goods, lands, and palace, squeezed out of the peasantry. - -At Damascus I had to go through the same sad scenes, upon a much larger -scale than I had gone through at Bludán. All our kind friends, native -and European, came to stay about me to the last. - -I saw that Richard's few enemies were very anxious for me to go, and -that all the rest were equally anxious to detain me as a kind of pledge -for his return. I reflected that it would be right that I should coolly -and quietly perform every single work I had to undertake--to sell -everything, to pay all debts, and arrange every liability of any kind -incurred by my husband, to pack and despatch to England our personal -effects, to make innumerable friendly adieux, to make a provision -or find a happy home for every single being--man or beast--that had -been dependent upon us. This was rendered slow and difficult, as the -Government left us _pro tem._, without a farthing. A servant generally -gets a month's notice with wages and a character, but without any -defence we were annihilated as if by dynamite. At last I made our case -known to Uncle Gerard, who telegraphed to the Imperial Ottoman Bank, -"to let his niece have any money that she wanted." Before I left I -went and dressed our little chapel with all the pious things in my -possession. - -On the day of the sale I could not bear to stay near the house, so -I went up to Arba'in, or "the Forty Martyrs," above our house, on -Jebel Kaysún, about fifteen hundred feet high, and I gazed on my dear -Salahíyyeh below, in its sea of green, and my pearl-like Damascus, and -the desert sand, and watched the sunset on the mountains for the last -time. I also met some Mogháribehs, who came up to pray there, and who -prognosticated all sorts of good fortune to me. - -In one sense I was glad, because I was a kind of hostage, giving -the lie to his enemies. If there had been anything wrong, I should -assuredly have paid the forfeit. I had no anxiety, for though I had -magnificent offers--two from Moslems to shoot certain official enemies, -as they passed in their carriage, from behind a rock, and another -from a Jew to put some poison in their coffee--I slept in perfect -security, amongst my Moslem and Kurdish friends, with my windows and -doors open, in that Kurdish village, Salahíyyeh. Between us and the -City was a quarter of an hour's ride through orchards that were wild -and lawless--at least, in my time, no one would come there from sunset -to sunrise, and timid people, not even in the day, without a guard. -We had the house on a three years' lease, and my bedroom window and -the _Muezzin's_ Minaret were on a level, and almost joined, so that we -could talk to each other. I used to join him in the "call to prayer," -and he used to try not to laugh. I never missed a pin; I never had -anything but blessings. All my work took me some time, but I resolved, -whatever the wrench would cost me, I would set out the moment it was -finished. My husband being gone, I had no business, no place there; I -knew it would be better taste to leave. - -We all began to perceive that the demonstrations were beginning to be -of an excitable nature; the Moslems assembling in cliques at night, a -hundred here and a hundred there, to discuss the strange matter. They -were having prayers in the mosques for Richard, and making promises -of each giving so much to the poor if they obtained their wish. They -continually poured up to Salahíyyeh with tears and letters, begging -him to return, and I felt that my presence and distress only excited -them the more. I left more quickly because I was informed that my -presence was exciting the people, who lived in hopes of his return, and -his non-appearance was causing an irritability that might break out -into open mutiny and cause another massacre. They were beginning with -the usual signs of meeting in clusters in the streets, in discussing -the affair in the mosques, in the bazaars, in the _cafés_, and putting -up public prayers for his return. - -As half the City wanted to accompany me on the road, and I was afraid -that a demonstration might result, I thought I should be wise to slip -away quietly. My two best friends, Abd el Kadir and the Hon. Jane -Digby el Mezrab (Lady Ellenborough), were with me till the last, and, -accompanied by Charley Drake and our two most faithful dragomans, who -had never deserted me and put themselves and all they possessed at my -disposal, Hanna Asar and Mr. Awadys, I left Damascus an hour before -dawn, sending word to all my friends that parting was too painful to me. - - "Linger not out the hours of separation's day - Till for sheer grief my soul to ruin fall a prey."[7] - -[Sidenote: _I get Fever._] - -I felt life's interest die out of me as I jogged along for weary miles, -wishing mental good-byes to every stick and stone. I had been sickening -for some days with fever. I had determined not to be ill at Damascus, -and so detained. Pluck kept me up, but having braved the fatal 13th, -and set out upon it, I was not destined to reach Beyrout. - -When I reached that part of the Lebanon looking down upon the sea, -near Khan el Karáyyeh, my fever had increased to such an extent that -I became delirious, and had to be set down on the roadside, where I -moaned with pain and could not proceed. Half an hour from the road was -the village of my little Syrian maid. I was carried to her father's -house, and lay there for ten days very ill, and was nursed by her and -by my English maid. Many kind friends, English and native, came to see -me from Beyrout and from the villages round about. - -Mr. Tyrwhitt-Drake took our house, part of the furniture, the faithful -Habíb, and the _sais_, my two horses, which I could not bear to sell -into stranger hands, the dogs, and the Persian cat, "Tuss," who, -however, ran away the day after I left, and has never been seen or -heard of since. All the other servants and animals were well provided -for in other ways. I was offered £15 for my white donkey, but I could -not bear to sell him, so I left him also with Mr. Tyrwhitt-Drake, -and he eventually found a good home with our successor, Mr. Green -(afterwards Sir W. Kirby Green), and died. The bull-terriers also -died natural deaths with Mr. Drake. It was a great relief to know -that the former would never become a market donkey, nor the latter -pariahs, nor be beaten, stoned, and ill-used. I was obliged to sell -Richard's _rahwán_, and I sent it to the purchaser, the Vice-Consul who -succeeded, from the village where I was ill. He came to pay me a visit. -Although the poor horse had only been there one night, this gentleman -told me he had no trouble in finding the house, for as soon as the -_rahwán_ got near the turn leading off the diligence road, he started -off at full gallop, and never stopped till he reached the door, nor -would he go anywhere else. - -I went down to Beyrout as soon as I was well enough to move, and, -assisted by Mr. Watkins of the Imperial Ottoman Bank, Mr. Drake, and -Mr. Zal Zal, embarked in the Russian ship _Ceres_, the same that had -brought me formerly from Alexandria to Beyrout. As we were about to -steam out, an English Vice-Consul in the Levant gaily waved his hand to -me, and said laughingly, "Good-bye, Mrs. Burton. I have been sixteen -years in the service, and I know twenty scoundrels in it who are never -molested; but I never saw a Consul 'recalled' except for something -disgraceful, and certainly never for an Eastern Pasha. You'll find it's -all right; they would hardly do such a thing to such a man as Burton." -We were a fortnight at sea, detained by fogs and two collisions. - -[Sidenote: _Eventually reach Home._] - -On reaching London I found Richard in one room in a very small hotel. -He had made no defence--had treated the whole thing _de haut en bas_, -so I applied myself for three months to putting his case clearly before -the Foreign Office in his own name. I went to the Foreign Office, where -I had thirteen friends, and knew most of its Masters, and I asked them -to tell me frankly what was the reason of his recall. - -Firstly, I was told it had been represented that he was in danger from -the Mohammedans. That was _too easily_ disproved by fifty-eight letters -from every creed, nation, and tongue of the thirty-six in Syria, from -Bedawi tribes, Druzes, Moslems of all categories, from the Ulemá, from -Abd el Kadir; and, like proverbs, this homely correspondence sprung -from the heart illustrated the native character better than books, -and was a fair specimen of local Oriental scholarship. What the Press -and the Public thought about it in various nations was the same--in -forty-eight articles chiefly from the English Press and the Levant, and -five leaders. All that England has ever done to _him_ of neglect and -slight has never touched him in any man's mind. He was the brightest -gem in his country's crown, and his country did not deserve him. I went -the rounds of my friends repeatedly in the Foreign Office, and insisted -on having a reason for the recall. - -When the Mohammedan question was disposed of, it was found that it -was because "Burton had written a letter to convoke the Druzes to -a political meeting in the Haurán." I asked if I might have a copy -of that letter, and, having kept the _original_ copy, I was able to -put them side by side in the report, showing it was forged by Rashíd -Pasha. He was then accused of opposing missionary work, because he had -written advising a schoolmistress, in the kindest spirit, to try and -prevent her husband entering into _mining_ speculations: as there was -so much cheating going on, he was afraid he would drop several thousand -pounds. "Mining," was _somehow_ changed to "missionary;" but that fact -was disposed of by the regretful and indignant letters at his recall -from all the _other_ missionaries. He was accused of being influenced -against the Jews because he protected the poor villagers from paying -their debts twice and thrice over to the usurers, who took their money -and refused receipts, leaving nothing to show. Amongst the letters one -Jew wrote home that Captain Burton "was influenced by his Catholic wife -against the Jews." I am proud to say that I have never in my life tried -to influence my husband to do anything wrong, and I am prouder still to -say that if I _had_ tried I should not have succeeded, and should have -only lost his respect. The Jews have never had a better friend than -me. I distinctly divide the usurers from the Jews, just as I divide -the good, honest, loyal half of the Irish Catholic nation from the -Fenians and the moonlighters, who are mostly Irish living in England -and America, and who go over for the purpose of fomenting disturbance. -I have suppressed many a thing that civilized and idealized Jews would -be ashamed to have known of their lower and fanatical brethren in the -East and elsewhere. He was accused by the Greek bishop of firing into -"harmless Greeks at play," because he fired a shot in the air to call -assistance when we were being stoned to death. - -[Sidenote: _He gets an Amende._] - -Mr. Eldridge, who was quite a Russian at heart, went on the plan of -never compromising himself by writing an official order to Richard; -he never wrote him anything but private notes. Richard said he could -not use private notes in official life as proofs. I thought this very -wrong. I saw a _plan_ in this mode of action, so I used to keep them -in a portfolio till wanted, so that when I put the case together I was -able to state the facts very correctly. I have got several packets of -that Blue Book now, if anybody wants to see one. It ended by Richard -getting the _nearest thing_ to an apology that one could expect out -of a Government office, and an offer of several small posts, which he -indignantly refused. In his journal I find he was offered Pará, but -would not take it--"Too small a berth for me after Damascus." - -[Sidenote: _We become Penniless._] - -Shortly after, Mr. L---- offered him, that if he would go to Iceland -to inspect some sulphur mines, he would pay his passage there and -back, and his expenses, and if he found he could conscientiously give -a good report of the sulphur mines, that he would give him £2000. -He went, and as we were at a very low ebb, and as Mr. L---- did not -pay for _me_, I was left with my father and mother, which was a very -fortunate circumstance, because my mother died shortly after. I may -put in a parenthesis that, though Richard was able conscientiously -to give a _splendid_ report of the mines, Mr. L---- did not pay him -the £2000. The trip resulted in a book called "Ultima Thule: a Summer -in Iceland"[8] (2 vols.), which was not published till 1875, and his -"Zanzibar City, Island, and Coast" (2 vols., 1872); and he wrote a -lecture for the Society of Antiquaries, a "History of Stones and Bones -from the Haurán," and "Human Remains and other Articles from Iceland." -We had ten months of great poverty and official neglect (but great -kindness from Society), during which we were reduced to our last £15, -and after that we had nothing to do but to sit on our boxes in the -street, for we had _nothing_, not a _prospect_ of anything; but we let -nobody know that. He remarked one day when we were out on business-- - - "Lunch, one shilling, - Soup not filling." - -And I noticed afterwards, in his journal, that he had longed for -some oysters, and looked at them long; but he says, "They were three -shillings a dozen--awful, forbidden luxury!" - -At last my uncle, Lord Gerard, asked us up to Garswood, and we debated -if we had a right to accept it or not. I begged him to do so, as -I thought it might bring us good luck. We were alone in a railway -compartment, when one of the £15 rolled out of my purse, and slid -between the boards of the carriage and the door, reducing us to £14. I -sat on the floor and cried, and he sat down by me with his arm round my -waist, trying to comfort me. Uncle Gerard kept us one month, paid our -fare up and down, and, without knowing that we wanted anything, gave -me £25, and from that time one little help or another came to keep us -alive without our asking for anything. We sold some of our writings, -and it was discovered that some back pay was due to Richard. - -[Sidenote: _Small Jottings._] - -During this ten months at home, we saw a great deal of Winwood Reade, -whom all know by his travels in Africa, his many literary works, of -which the cleverest, but the most harmful, was the "Martyrdom of -Man," of which he presented Richard with a copy, which was carefully -treasured till about six months before Richard's death. He told us the -following account of a ghost story:-- - -There was a place in Africa or in India (I forget at this distance -of time), where there was a haunted bungalow, and Winwood Reade was -longing to see a ghost, as he was very sceptical about the existence of -such things. In this particular bungalow there was a room on the ground -floor, with folding doors of glass that opened to the ground, leading -out into the compound. Every night at twelve o'clock these glass doors -(being locked) slowly opened outwards, and the ghosts of three surgeons -who had died of cholera appeared in their winding-sheets. Winwood -Reade engaged the bungalow for the night, it being quite empty, but he -could not induce anybody, for love or money, to go with him. At last -he tempted a black boy, by large promises of money, to pass one night -there, and the boy said _if he might sleep on the roof_ he would, but -nothing would induce him to go inside the house. So they started forth, -and Winwood took with him a good novel, his gun, his watch, and plenty -of brandy and water, and towards eleven o'clock made himself very -comfortable on some cushions in a corner of the room in full view of -the window. As his watch pointed to twelve, the doors slowly opened, -he seized his gun, and in a moment the three white figures appeared. I -said, breathless with excitement, "And what did you do, Winwood?" He -smiled and hesitated, and said, "To tell the honest truth, I dropped my -gun and fainted, and when I came to I got out of the house as quick as -I could, called the boy, went away, and never went back." He was such a -brave man he could afford to own this. - -Richard writes at this time in his journal, "I called on some old -friends, and as I came out of the house I heard the servants whisper, -'Why, Captain Burton looks like an old gypsy.'" This was after his -recall. - -We had one very pleasant evening at Lady Marian Alford's. She had been -building her house at Prince's Gate, and Miss Hosmer had sculptured -her fountain; it was the opening night. Lady Marian wanted to prepare -a little surprise for her friends, so she made Richard dress as a -Bedawin Shaykh, and Khamoor (my Arab girl) and me as Moslem women of -Damascus. I was supposed to have brought this Shaykh over to introduce -him into a little English society. He spoke Arabic to Khamoor and -me, and broken English with a few words of French to the rest of -the party. It was a delightful little party, and we enjoyed it very -much, and--though they all knew him--nobody recognized Richard, which -was very amusing; but presently the Prince of Wales and the Duke of -Edinburgh were announced, and Lady Marian had to go out to prepare them -for this little joke, which amused them immensely, and so it gradually -had to ooze out. There was a delightful supper, three tables each of -eight. Khamoor in her Eastern dress came in with coffee on a tray on -her head, and presented it kneeling to the Prince and the Duke, and -to the others standing. Everything that Lady Marian Alford did was so -graceful. - -I see that Richard notices in his journal a correspondence between -himself and the Rev. Herbert Vaughan, D.D. (our present Cardinal), -which I imagine was about the Sházlis. And he also notices that his -name is again left out of Sir Roderick Murchison's address, and asks, -"Why? Old Murchison hates me." - -Again speaking of Sir R. Murchison, Richard writes, "He was anxious to -pay due honour to our modern travellers, to Livingstone and Gordon, -Speke and Grant. He has done me the honour of not honouring me." Later -on: "Received a card from him to go and see him." - -We also went to Ashridge, Lord Brownlow's, on a visit to Lady -Marian Alford, which visit we enjoyed immensely, where we met Lord -Beaconsfield and numbers of other delightful people. - -He also notices in his journal: "Had the satisfaction of hearing of -Rashíd Pasha's disgrace and removal. Wonder if he wishes he had not -crossed swords with me." - -This year was the Tichborne trial, and Richard was subpœnaed by him, -but his evidence did more good to the family. Amongst other things -the Claimant said to Richard, "That he had met me in Rio de Janeiro, -and that I had recognized him as a long-lost cousin; but, on fixing -the dates, it was proved that I had sailed from Rio for London a week -before the Claimant arrived there." We had one very lively meeting at -the Royal Geographical Society. He writes-- - - "Rassam stood up about a native message to Livingstone. Colonel Rigby - contradicted, and said there were no Abyssinians in Zanzibar. They - began to contradict me, so I made it very lively, for I was angry, - and proved my point, showing that my opponents had spoken falsely. My - wife laughed, because I moved from one side of the table to the other - unconsciously, with the stick that points to the maps in my hand, and - she said that the audience on the benches looked as if a tiger was - going to spring in amongst them, or that I was going to use the stick - like a spear upon my adversary, who stood up from the benches.[9] - To make the scene more lively, my wife's brothers and sisters were - struggling in the corner to hold down their father, an old man, who - had never been used to public speaking, and who slowly rose up in - speechless indignation at hearing me accused of making a misstatement, - and was going to address a long oration to the public about his - son-in-law Richard Burton. As he was slow and very prolix he would - never have sat down again, and God only knows what he _would_ have - said; they held on to his coat-tails, and were preparing, in event of - failure, some to dive under the benches, and some to bolt out of the - nearest door." - -We went a great deal into Society those ten months, and we saw much of -the two best literary houses of the day, where one always met _la haute -Bohème_, the most interesting Society in London, mixed with the best of -everything, and those were Lord Houghton's and Lord Strangford's. - -About this time we went to visit Mr. ----, our then publisher, at -his country-house, where he showed us all that was comfortable and -luxurious, with ten horses in the stable--everything else to match. He -gave us a large literary dinner, at which Lord Houghton, with his quiet -chuckle, called out across the table, "I say, Burton, don't you feel as -if we were drinking out of poor authors' skulls?" Upon which Richard -laughed, and tapped his own head for an answer. - -Richard was very anxious that Alexandretta should be the chief port -in Syria, into whose lap the railway would pour the wealth of the -province, for it is the only good port the country possesses on the -eastern coast of the Mediterranean. Alexandretta, if freed from its -stagnant marshes, would be magnificent; the railway should go to -Damascus, Jerusalem, and Aleppo. - -With regard to Sir Roderick Murchison, his journal again contained the -following, speaking of one of his books:-- - - "Since these pages went to print Sir R. I. Murchison has passed away, - full of years and of honours. I had not the melancholy satisfaction - of seeing for the last time our revered Chief, one of whose latest - actions was to oppose my reading a paper about the so-called Victoria - Nyanza before the Royal Geographical Society; whilst another was to - erase my name from the list of the Nile explorers when revising his - own biography. But peace be to his manes! I respect the silence of a - newly made grave." - -We went, for the first time in our lives, and the last, to a great -banquet at the Mansion House, which amused us very much. Whenever we -wanted to make any remarks at dinner-time we made them in Arabic, -thinking that probably no one would understand us. Curiously, the -people who sat next to us turned round, and said in Arabic, "Yes, -you are perfectly right; we were just thinking the same thing;" and -Richard said, "We spoke Arabic thinking nobody would understand us;" -and they said, "It is most probable that out of all this huge crowd we -are the only four people who happen to speak Arabic, and happen to sit -together." - -Another very interesting visit we paid was to the Surrey County Lunatic -Asylum, Wandsworth Common, where the doctor, who was a friend of my -husband's, invited us to spend the day and dine with him, and he showed -us over everything; but I know that I, for one, felt awfully glad when -we left it; some of the faces that I saw there I can see now if I shut -my eyes and think. - -In 1872, we were on a visit at Knowsley, the Earl of Derby's, and we -planted there a cedar of Lebanon, which we had brought; and we went -over the alkali works at St. Helen's, very interesting to Richard, who -did not know so much of the "Black Country" as we did. We then went to -Uncle Gerard's, where we met the Muriettas (now Marchesa de Santurce), -and many other pleasant people. Here we went down some coal-pits (265 -fathoms) for further information, and we planted more cedars of Lebanon -and a bit of Abraham's oak, which we brought from Mamre, some distance -from Hebron. - -That year my mother got very ill, and we all assembled in town to be -with her. She had been paralyzed for nine years, and, nevertheless, had -been strong, active, and cheerful, and enabled in some fashion to enjoy -life. Her strong brain kept her alive. - -At this time the public, answering an appeal of mine in the _Tablet_, -describing the poverty and destitution of the Syrian Inland Churches, -sent me wherewith to furnish six of them, which has never been -forgotten out there. - -In 1872, poor General Beatson died at New Swindon. Richard sent -thirty-two species of plants from the summit of the Libanus to the -British Museum; and this year he got the news from Syria that he had -gained his cause about the stoning at Nazareth. The Greek Bishop had -brought an action against him before the Tribunal, and Richard won it -with honour. - -He wrote and lectured on the "Stones and Bones of the Haurán," March, -1872, and "Human Remains in Iceland" in late 1872. - -I attended the Tichborne trial, and saw Sir John Coleridge examine -my cousin, Katty Radcliffe. Richard whispered to me, "The next thing -plaintiff will do, will be to call himself Lord Aberdeen." I came home -from there, and found the other brother, Father Coleridge, S.J., giving -my mother Communion. At this time, too, we attended all the learned -societies, where Richard generally made speeches. We also went down to -the Duke and Duchess of Somerset's, where we met Lady Ulrica Thynne, -the Brinsley Sheridans, and afterwards, at their house, brilliant and -fascinating Mrs. Norton. - -Charles Reade, the well-known author, who was a great friend of ours, -gave us a delightful dinner and pleasant evening, asking a great many -actors and actresses to meet us. Sir Frederick Leighton began to paint -Richard on the 26th of April, and it was very amusing. Richard was so -anxious that he should paint his necktie and his pin, and kept saying -to him every now and then, "Don't make me ugly, don't, there's a good -fellow;" and Sir Frederick kept chaffing him about his vanity, and -appealing to me to know if he was not making him pretty enough. That is -the picture that Sir Frederick has now, and is going to leave to the -nation; and both Richard and I always retained the pleasantest memory -of the many happy hours we passed in his studio. Richard was examined -on the Consular Committee, and made them all laugh. He complained that -the salary of Santos had been very inadequate to his position; he had -been obliged to use his own little capital to supplement. He was asked -how his predecessor (a baronet) had managed, and he answered, "By -living in one room over a shop, and washing his own stockings." Richard -attended the Levée on May 13th. - -We went to a Foreign Office party, where Musurus Pasha explained to -Richard why he was obliged to go against him, by the order of the -Turkish Government about Syria, and Richard said to him, "Well, Pasha, -I did not know that you had; but I can tell you that, though I never -practically wish evil to my enemies, they all come to grief, and you -are bound to have a bit of bad luck on my account." The next day -Musurus Pasha fell down and broke his arm. It is an absolute fact that -everybody who did my husband an injury had some bad luck. - -Richard tried to get Teheran, which was one of the places that he -longed for and was vacant, and we knew that three names were sent up -to her Majesty for approval; but we also knew, _sub rosa_, that Mr. -(afterwards Sir Ronald) Thompson, a personal friend in their youth of -Mr. and Mrs. (afterwards Lord and Lady) Hammond, of the Foreign Office, -was to get it. - -I brought out "Unexplored Syria" (2 vols.), in which Richard and I and -Charley Drake collaborated, on the 21st of June, 1872, while Richard -was in Iceland. - -[Sidenote: _Death of my Mother._] - -Richard sailed on the 4th of June from Leith for Iceland. The 5th of -June was one of my most unhappy days. I got up early, and passed the -day with my mother. She received Communion at a quarter to one; at 9.30 -p.m. she asked to see everybody. We said prayers to her, but did not -think her in any danger. At eleven some instinct made me refuse to go -home to my lodging. We were summoned suddenly. I ran in and took her -in my arms; she turned her head round upon my shoulder, looked at me, -breathed a little sigh, and died like a child at a quarter to twelve -p.m. All the week she lay in state, the room dressed like a chapel, -with flowers and candles, and we, her children, passed all day by her, -and had all our religious services in her room. (Richard notes in his -journal, "Poor mother died about midnight, June 5th.") - -On the 12th of June, attended by all the people she liked best, we -buried her at Mortlake. - -[Sidenote: _Richard accepts Trieste._] - -At last, Lord Granville wrote to me, and asked me if I thought Richard -would accept Trieste, Charles Lever having died; and he also advised -me to urge him to take it, because they were not likely to have -anything better vacant for some time. And I was able to send Richard's -acceptance of Trieste to Lord Granville on July 15th. We knew that -after a post of £1000 a year, with work that was really diplomatic, and -with a promise ahead of Marocco, Teheran, and Constantinople before -him, that a commercial town on £600 a year, and £100 office allowance, -meant that his career was practically broken; but Richard and I could -not afford to starve, and he said he would stick on as long as there -was ever a hope of getting Marocco. - -Finally we were taken into some sort of favour again. Lord Granville -_had not understood_ Richard's letter about wanting to have the Sházlis -baptized, and feared that it might result in a _Jehád_, or religious -war, if the baptisms had taken place. Richard told him "he knew it -_would not_." He knew he could carry it through; he was not a man to -risk such a matter. His plan was to buy a tract of land, to give these -people the means of building themselves cottages, choose their own -Shaykh, their own Priest, and make for themselves a little Church. -The village _was to belong to him_, and he would have put it under the -protection of his friends amongst the Mohammedans. He would have taken -no taxes from them, and no presents or provisions, as other people do, -and the consequence is they would have been now a flourishing colony. -_That was the real cause of the recall_; and, as I have said before, -Richard said, "That is suffering persecution for justice' sake with -a vengeance; but we won't have anything more to do with this subject -until I am free from an enlightened and just-minded Government in -March, 1891." - -On the 26th of August I was going a round of country-house visits -in Richard's absence, and arriving at ten o'clock at night at Uncle -Gerard's, met the sad news that our youngest and favourite brother, -the flower of our flock, Jack Arundell, commanding the _Bittern_, had -died of rheumatic fever between the West Coast of Africa and Ascension, -where he is buried--that is to say, he did not die of rheumatic -fever, but it was a question of sleep saving him. A very slight dose -of opiate had been administered to him to ensure this boon. He had -never mentioned the peculiarity in our family of being very sensitive -to opiates; he went to sleep and never woke again, to the grief and -distress of all on board. He was only thirty-one years of age, was -bright and good-looking; he was a dashing officer, with his heart in -his profession, and a fine career was before him. He had not had time -to hear of our mother's death before he joined her. It was a terrible -blow to us. - -Richard arrived on the 8th of June in Iceland, embarked for return on -1st of August, and arrived in England from Iceland at eleven at night -on the 14th of September. - -On the 5th of October, 1872, the day was fixed for Richard to have a -tumour cut out of his shoulder or back. He had got it from a blow from -a single-stick, when he was off guard and his back was turned. It was -an unfair blow, only the man did it in fun; anyway, he said so. He had -had it for a long time, and it had frequently opened and discharged of -itself, but now it was getting troublesome. Dr. Bird, of 49, Welbeck -Street, performed the operation. It was two inches in diameter, and -from first to last occupied about twelve minutes. I assisted Dr. Bird. -He sat astride on a chair, smoking a cigar and talking all the time, -and in the afternoon he insisted on going down to Brighton. He did not -wish me to go with him, but I accompanied him to the station. I always -liked to wait on him, so I got him his ticket, had his baggage put in, -and took him a place in a _coupé_ whilst he went off to buy his book -and paper, and then I called the guard. I said, "Guard, my husband is -going down to Brighton. I wish you would just look after him, he is -not very well;" and I gave him half a crown. Presently an old man of -eighty hobbled by on crutches, "Is that him, ma'am?" "No," I said. Next -a consumptive boy came by, "Is this him, ma'am?" "No," I said; "not -yet." Many passed, and of all those who he thought looked as though -they wanted taking care of, he asked the same question, and he got the -same answer. Presently Richard came swaggering along, as if the whole -station belonged to him--all fencers know the peculiar walk a soldier -has who is given much to fencing and broadsword--and I whispered to the -guard, "There he is," and I stood by the carriage till the train went, -and I heard him whisper to a comrade, "She would never ask me to take -care of such a chap as that, unless he was a raving lunatic. I'll take -devilish good care I don't go near him; he would probably pitch me out -of the carriage." - -After this we had a large family party at Wardour Castle, which we -enjoyed immensely. - -A Greek priest from Syria came to see us, and we took him to a -spiritualistic _séance_. He was dreadfully frightened, and said his -prayers out loud all the time. - -On his way up to Iceland he went to see Holyrood in Edinburgh, and, -visiting Queen Mary's room, exclaimed, "No wonder she sighed for -France." He went to the Levée held there by Lord Airlie (the present -Earl's father). - -[Sidenote: _The Old Story of shooting People, and a Newer One._] - -Before I finish with Syria, there is a question I want to set at rest -on behalf of both Richard and myself. During my husband's life, from -his journey to Mecca in 1853, till his death in 1890, a period of -thirty-seven years, a story was current about him, which he had no -idea of, and when he did hear it, treated it as a good joke--that when -he was on the road to Mecca he killed two Mohammedans, who suspected -him of being a Frank and a Christian. He told me it was absolutely -false; and, if any one knew what a horror he had of any one taking the -life of _anything_, they would not doubt it for a moment. He would -not allow even an animal to be killed, saying that "we had no right -to destroy life." One of his greatest remorses was shooting a monkey -in his younger days; "it cried like a child," he said, "and I can -never forget it." This story did happen to two Englishmen, who were -travelling in the desert about this time; and who, in consequence of -their unfortunate necessity, never appeared before the public, nor gave -an account of their travels. - -Now, I mention this incident in connection with Syria (instead of -Mecca), because, after my husband died, his mantle in this respect -descended upon my shoulders. Mrs. Mentor Mott had assured me on -leaving Syria "that I did not leave a single enemy behind me," but -it issued from the British Syrian schools long afterwards, that the -cause of my husband's recall was that I had shot two men, and wounded -a third, because they did not stand up and salute me, and that I was -afterwards abandoned and neglected; though it never reached my ears -till five days after Richard's death, and that through a missionary's -letter to the _Newcastle Daily Chronicle_, owing, I suppose, to my -being a Catholic. He waited twenty years, till my husband could not -contradict it, and then did not lose a single instant in publishing -this utter fabrication. The fact is, these missionaries get to know -a little Syrian Christian Arabic--some more, some less--and perhaps -unintentionally they get hold of some wonderful stories, and make -mistakes and mischief. This is the true story. - -[Sidenote: _The Truth._] - -It was in a time of great excitement between Moslems and Christians. -I was riding through a village of about thirty-five thousand Moslems. -There was a feud between two local Shaykhs, the two principal men -of the village. The Consulate favoured one and not the other, who -were bullies. I rode through this village alone, having sent the men -in attendance on me to do a commission. The son of the _un_friendly -Shaykh, a youth of twenty-two, wanted to commence the row by attacking -me--spat at me, and tried to pull me off my horse. This in the East -means volumes, my position there being that of a very great personage. -If I had been cowardly, fainted, and screamed, there would not have -been a Christian left alive by the evening in that village. In fact, -as it was, all the villagers were upon their knees in deprecation of -the outrage, but were afraid to interfere with the village bully; -so I reined in my horse, and slashed him across the face with my -hunting-whip, and he howled and roared as if he were about five years -old. The noise brought my men up sharply, whom he had not seen, having -thought I was alone; seeing what was going on, they flung themselves -upon him, and I think he was very sorry for himself when they had done -with him. There was a general scuffle, in which somebody's pistol went -off in his belt, because they have the bad habit of keeping the trigger -down on the hammer, instead of at half-cock; but the ball fortunately -went into a wall, and nobody was hurt. - -When I got home, a strong body of people from the village came up to -tell me that the youth, to revenge his beating, had collected all -the most riotous people of the village and was coming up at night to -burn our house (Sir Richard Wood's house in the Anti-Lebanon, by the -way, which he lent to Richard). I had not enough people about me for -defence, my husband having ridden a little distance in the desert -and taken most of our men; so I sent a mounted messenger over to the -_Wali_, and the next morning at dawn I was horrified at my husband's -confidential Afghan, in full _kawwás_ uniform, armed to the teeth, -coming to tell me that my horse was saddled at the door, and that I -must get up and ride down to the plain; he would explain as we went. I -found the plain covered with troops, who saluted me as I rode down, and -then the Colonel rode up to me, and told me that the _Wali_ had ordered -him to burn and sack the village. I told him that if he did such a -thing my husband and I would leave the country at once; that these -things were quite contrary to our English ideas. He said, "Then I put -myself at your orders." I told him that since he was so kind as to let -me have what I wanted, he was to assemble the principal Moslems of the -village, and to bind them over by an oath not to touch the Christians, -who were chiefly very poor, Greek Orthodox by religion, and Fellahín of -the Anti-Lebanon, and he should take the youth and put him in prison -for a while--say, a month. - -This was carried out, and at my request he drew off the troops, and -there was great rejoicing in the village. For this conduct, for -which the writer to the _Newcastle Daily Chronicle_ has induced -many people to believe that my husband was recalled, I received a -complimentary letter from the Consul-General, Mr. Eldridge, who did -not like me because I hated his way with Richard, and the thanks of -the Governor-General, the Wali Rashíd Pasha, for having saved them a -great deal of trouble, both then and in the expected riot which Richard -prevented. Richard was also very pleased with me. I should be ashamed -to mention these things, but I do not mean to die and to leave any -attack upon my husband not cleared up, nor any on myself, if I happen -to hear of them. - -When the youth was let out of prison, he became my most devoted -servant. The year after we left, his mother, who was very fond of me, -did some trifling thing which he had forbidden her; they say it was -selling eggs in the market. His father was absent, and, be the offence -what it may, we received a letter to tell us that he called his mother -into the courtyard, assembled the household, and with his own hands -he strangled her, and buried her in the courtyard under the stones. I -never heard whether his father said anything when he came home, but I -did hear that while she was dying, she extended her arms to our house, -and that she called piteously, "Ah, Ya Sitti! ah, Ya Sitti! if thou -wert here this abomination never could have been done." - -It is monstrous for any missionary of the British Syrian schools or -otherwise, to pretend that my husband was recalled, because I defended -myself against the man who attacked me. The real cause was very -different; it was his one endeavour to do what England professes to -admire (theoretically, anyway), what Richard did in practice, namely, -sacrifice himself for Christianity's sake! - -[Sidenote: _Difficulty of English Officials doing their Duty._] - -And here I must be allowed a by-word. People in small official life -are always subject to these trials, and, knowing this, how careful -a Minister at home should be in listening to complaints! The lower -an officer's grade, the lower the people he has to contend with. -The Consul deals with all classes; when he rises to be Minister or -Ambassador, he is above the mob, which cannot touch him. The enemies of -the Consul will crawl in the dust to the Minister. Meantime the junior -official has to run the gauntlet of the mud pelted at him, and if his -Chief at home listens to it, a weak man dare not do his duty for fear -of losing his post; the strong man does his duty, but he knows he has -no chance of rising. Only the bad man succeeds. - -He arrives at a new place, and all the bad people make a dead set at -him to take up and protect their evil doings and to join them against -their local enemies. If he does it he is upheld by them, but loses -caste with the decent classes; if he does not, they form a cabal, and -even pay people to write home complaint after complaint against him, -till the Minister for Foreign Affairs, who knows nothing of these -matters, says, "There must be something wrong about this man, or I -should not get bad reports of him right and left. It is evident he -won't do for the place." He recalls his good, honest, brave servant, -who was doing his Master credit, and he puts him on a shelf to pine in -useless inactivity, and breaks his spirit, and sends out another, who -naturally says, "I am duly warned what to do. I will take care not to -do what my unfortunate predecessor did, but the reverse." He has learnt -that the "decent people" only looked on, or if one or two did take his -part, they were not believed, or not listened to. He does as the others -bid him--"wins golden opinions"--and the Minister at home thinks it is -all as it should be. Who shall blame the man? He has, perhaps, a wife -and children to support, and he yearns for promotion. If he sees but -one road to his Chief's favour, that of "hearing no complaints of him," -what shall he do? What consolation has he when he is driven out of the -world by penury, and has to earn his pittance in some out-of-the-way -settlement? How easy are the sacrifices of an independent man, who can -afford to bide his time! - -I have seen many cases of this kind during thirty years of Consular -life, and personally I was always acting the part of Job's wife, but -unsuccessfully. Richard had no chance of rising to his proper position; -he was much too good. The "light of God" was upon him. The Home -Authorities heard all the complaints; _he_ did not report to them the -good he did, but _I_ will cry it from the house-tops until all hear it. -He gained respect and influence over all classes. All the good and the -poor loved and trusted him; the bad feared him. He had pre-eminently -the Divine gift of pity. He had some talisman for attracting the -people; and when they got a written order from him, they would kiss it -and put it on their heads as if it were a Sultan's Firman. He was more -than equal to his position if he had been only commonly backed up at -home. - -With so many races, creeds, and tongues, all at variance, in an -Oriental intriguing focus, it is impossible to please everybody. You -cannot well walk down the street without treading upon somebody's toes. -It is difficult for a man who does his duty in a hotbed of corruption -to be universally popular, and there are _some_ whose _disapproval_ -is a _proof of integrity_. One must have a straight line of duty. If -a person wants you to do something wrong, and you act uprightly and -refuse, they are sure to write to some great personage at home, to ask -them to complain at head-quarters. They never mention what _they asked -you to do_--what bribe they offered--but invent something against you. -If they are listened to, they can always keep you in hot water, as -_cela encourage les autres_. - - "To R. F. B. - - "Ever remember, 'tis Pretension rules - Half men, three-thirds of women--to wit, the fools. - In yonder coterie see, my friend, yon pair - Of vapid witlings waging wordy war, - While female senates hear, in trembling awe, - This thing and that thing laying down the law. - Murmured applause shall fill each greedy ear, - Of 'Charming man!' 'Delightful, clever dear!' - And Lady Betty lends her sweetest smile - T' inflame their ardour and their toils beguile. - Yet those same lips no word of worth afford - To thy true heart, strong brain, quick pen, sharp sword. - Pine not, brave soul! he whom such trifles vex, - Unfit to serve, much less can rule the sex. - Ask not the remedy--go, win a name, - Famous or infamous, 'tis much the same; - For silly girls and shallow youths make game - Of God-like nature, all unknown to fame; - But souls select, instinctive, recognize - Congenial spirits unmarked to vulgar eyes. - You asked what caused this egotistic strain-- - The fit is on me; let me here explain. - Fools, seeing in youth a hero's value spurned, - Ignored a heart and soul that fondly yearned - And burned for honours honourably earned; - His teens long passed, exiled in distant land, - A noble heart held out the long-sought hand, - Taught him to labour, strengthened him to wait - The turn of fortune's tide that makes us great. - Nor years' long lapse, nor change, nor fate can raze - From Mem'ry's page those words of kindly praise. - If one man's name on our heart's page be penned, - 'Tis his--no need to name our true best friend."[10] - ----ISABEL BURTON. - -Some of us are left in the world to fight our battle. There are strong -souls who can resist all attacks; nothing overthrows them, nothing can -even hurt them. The devil makes war upon the world, but especially upon -them. Nevertheless, it is as hard for a brave spirit to hold its own, -and see its fancied treasures falling away from it in the hour of need, -as for a gallant and successful general, on the eve of victory, in the -turn of the battle, to be deserted by his troops, and left, in spite of -his own qualities, to disgrace and death. - -[Sidenote: _Conclusion of his Damascus Career._] - -Richard's character presented a singularity in the Levant, wondered -at by all, condemned by many, approved of or not by those who would -suffer or rejoice under his rule. He was a perfectly honest man--I -do not allude only to money. His enemies rejoiced at it, his friends -trembled for him, whilst indifferents were only astounded at his folly. -An attempt was made to console him with the hazy promise of a future, -which seemed, however, rather to consist in the good opinion of good -men than in anything tangible or useful. For him, truth to a principle -meant self-annihilation. He had always done the noble thing, and now, -because he did those noble things, he was virtually regarded as unfit -for the very employment for which God and Nature and his own life had -peculiarly fitted him. - -My old friend Charles Reade told us that "in less than two hundred -years the first stone of _honesty in biography_" will have to be laid, -and then he proceeds to relate how _his_ "hero and martyr" has been -treated by the world; how he had earned the gold medal of the Humane -Society twice, and the silver twelve times; how he has never received -either, but is a blind and destitute old man, living in a chimney -corner, deserted and forgotten by the world, and shunned by those he -has saved; how his only public honour is being permitted to cross a -certain bridge without paying the common toll, from whose waters -beneath he has saved so many lives at the risk of his own. He describes -his hero as one of Nature's gentlemen, fit company for an Emperor, a -man without his fellow, who adorns our country. He was earning thirty -shillings a week when charity towards his fellow-creatures induced him -to throw away his sight for the public good, and the parish allows him -three and sixpence a week. He tells us that he better deserves every -order and decoration the State can bestow than does any gentleman or -nobleman whose bosom is a constellation; "yet," he says proudly, "not a -cross or ribbon has ever ascended from the vulgar level. Why? because," -he adds, "this world, in the distribution of glory, is a heathen in -spite of Christ, a fool in spite of Voltaire." I quote Charles Reade's -story to show that nowadays England does not confer honour on merit in -any class of life. The higher and lower orders share the same fate. -Honours follow a certain red-tape routine, not noble deeds, and often -mock their wearer; whilst many a noble brow looks up to heaven with -patient, uncomplaining dignity, adorned only by God and Nature, and by -a life of chivalrous actions. The English public are, however, seldom -wrong _when once they know the truth_, and perhaps the best and truest -honour is their good verdict. - - * * * * * - -Whilst here, we saw the Oriental papers every fortnight, and all the -accounts we read of our old home were of "Arab raids, of insults to -Europeans, of miserable, starving people, of sects killing one another -in open day, of policemen firing recklessly into a crowd to wing a -flying prisoner, and a general fusilade in the streets; of sacked -villages, and plundered travellers." We read of Salahíyyeh spoken of -as a "suburb of Damascus, which enjoys an unenviable reputation;" of -innocent Salahíyyeh men being shot down by mistake for criminals, -"because the people of Salahíyyeh are such confirmed ruffians, that -they are sure to be either just going to do mischief or just returning -from it." That is the place where for two or more years we slept with -open doors and windows, and I freely walked about alone throughout -the twenty-four hours, even when my husband was absent, and left with -Moslem servants. - - * * * * * - -Having lifted any possible cloud which may have hung over the real -history of Richard's removal from his Eastern post--the only suitable -one he ever held--it is unnecessary for me to enter into any further -explanation of the causes of the base detractions from which he has -suffered. His case is not altogether a new one in the human history, -and the true explanation--the only real explanation--of it, which -can face the light of day, has been admirably expressed in the lines -written by the most brilliant statesman the Foreign Office ever -sent to the East--the "great Eltchi," whom I and all lovers of the -Orient speak of with admiration, respect, and pride--Lord Stratford -de Redcliffe--and which are applicable to Richard in every sense, -except that, so far from ever "spurning the gaping crowd," he always -sacrificed himself for the poor, the ignorant, and the oppressed. - - "Nay, shines there one with brilliant parts endowed, - Whose inborn vigour spurns the gaping crowd? - For him the trench is dug, the toils are laid, - For him dull malice whets the secret blade. - One fears a master fatal to his ease, - Or worse, a rival born his age to please; - This dreads a champion for the cause he hates, - That fain would crush what shames his broad estates. - Leagued by their instincts, each to each is sworn; - High on their shields the simpering fool is borne."[11] - -[1] Lord Granville, a courteous and easy-going peer, complaisant to the -great and unmindful of the little officials, soon found an excuse to -recall him. When he did recall him, he did so without the trial usually -allowed to accused people to prove their guilt or innocence, or to -defend themselves, and from that date began the ruin of Damascus and -the visible and speedy decline of Syria.--I. B. - -[2] Men who know the ground will know what that ride means over -slippery boulders and black swamps in the dark.--I. B. - -[3] All Consuls, especially men who live in the East, will understand -me.--I. B. - -[4] I have had to endure the same since I have been a real widow.--I. B. - -[5] I wrote this on the spot, end of 1871.--I. B. - -[6] Meaning bribes.--I. B. - -[7] Charles T. Pickering, "The Last Singers of Bukhára." - -[8] It is a valuable book, chiefly for its philosophical transactions, -antiquarian proceedings, and philological miscellanies, and the mineral -resources of the island.--I. B. - -[9] I never saw Richard so angry in my life; his lips puffed out with -rage.--I. B. - -[10] The just departed Earl of Derby. - -[11] From Lord Stratford de Redcliffe's "Shadows of the Past." - - -END OF VOL. I. - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life of Captain Sir Richard F. -Burton, by Isabel Burton - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF SIR RICHARD F. BURTON *** - -***** This file should be named 54578-0.txt or 54578-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/5/7/54578/ - -Produced by Clare Graham and Marc D'Hooghe at Free -Literature (online soon in an extended version, also linking -to free sources for education worldwide ... MOOC's, -educational materials,...) 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