Part 1 (1/2)

The Life of Sir Richard Burton

by Thoht

Preface

Fifteen years have elapsed since the death of Sir Richard Burton and twelve since the appearance of the biography of Lady Burton A deeply pathetic interest attaches itself to that book Lady Burton was stricken doith an incurable disease Death with its icy breath hung over her as her pen flew along the paper, and the questions constantly on her lips were ”Shall I live to coreat and noble a man my husband was, and to refute the calumnies that his enemies have so industriously circulated?” She did complete it in a sense, for the work duly appeared; but no one recognised s Indeed, it is little better than a huge scrap-book filled with newspaper cuttings and citations from Sir Richard's and other books, hurriedly selected and even ives the impressions of Lady Burton alone, for those of Sir Richard's friends are ignored--so we see Burton fro to say, it does not contain a single original anecdote [1]--though perhaps,anecdotes could be told of Burton than of any other lishman It will be my duty to rectify Lady Burton's mistakes and mis-statements and to fill up the vast hiatuses that she has left

Although it will be necessary to subject her to criticism, I shall endeavour at the same time to keep constantly in mind the queenliness and beauty of her character, her almost unexampled devotion to her husband, and her anxiety that everyone should think well of him Her faults were all of the head Of the heart she had absolutely none

As the Richard Burton whom I have to pourtray differs considerably from Lady Burton's ”Earthly God,” [2] I have been very careful to give chapter and verse for all my statements The work has been written on the same lines as my Life of Edward FitzGerald; that is to say, without any aih I have regarded it as no concern of ainst Sir Richard Burton, I do think that when the reader rises froe he will feel that he has been in the coreatest, noblest and lishso, really loved his fellow-men, and who, despite his inability to put hiht steadily on the side of righteousness We are aware that there are in his books a few observations which call for veheainst theoodness of the man, to which all who knew him intimately have testified In not a few respects Sir Richard Burton's character resembled Edward FitzGerald's Burton, indeed, hailed the adapter of Omar Khayyam as a ”fellow Sufi”

Lady Burton, too, comes extremely well out of the fire of criticisious views, he may smile at her weaknesses, he nise that at botto, noble-minded woman; and he will, we think, find hi it

The ae

Thus we are telling for the first time the history of Burton's friendshi+ps with Mr F F Arbuthnot, Mr John Payne, and others; and we are giving for the first time, too, a complete and accurate history of the translation of The Arabian Nights, The Scented Garden, and other works Hundreds of new facts are recorded respecting these and other absorbing topics, while the citations from the unpublished letters of Burton and Lady Burton will, we are sure, receive a welcoive about fifty entirely new anecdotes-- We also tell the touching story of Burton's brother Edward In our accounts of Burton's travels will be found a nuiven in Burton's works

The new material has been derived from many sources--but from ten in particular

(1) From two hundred unpublished letters of Sir Richard Burton and Lady Burton

(2) From intervieith Mrs E J Burton [3] and Mr F Burton (Burton's cousins), Mr John Payne, Mrs Arbuthnot, Mr Watts-Dunton, Mr W F Kirby, Mr A G Ellis, Dr Codrington, Professor James F Blumhardt, Mr Henry R Tedder (librarian and secretary of The Athenaeum, Burton's club), Mrs Baddeley (mother of Burton's friend, St Clair Baddeley), Madame Nicastro (sister of the late Mr Albert Letchford, illustrator of The Arabian Nights), Dr

Grenfell Baker (Burton'sthe last three years of his life), and entlee Burton (to who this work), Lady Bancroft, Mr D

MacRitchie, Mr E S Mostyn Pryce (representative of Miss Stisted), Gunley Hall, Staffordshi+re, M Charles Carrington, of Paris, who sentan account of Burton's unfinished translation of Apuleius's Golden ass, the MS of which is in his possession, the Very Rev J P Canon McCarthy, of Ilkeston, for particulars of ”The Shrine of our Lady of Dale,” Mr Segrave (son of Burton's ”dear Louisa”), Mrs Agg (Burton's cousin), and Mr P P Cautley (Burton's colleague at Trieste) Nor must I omit reference to a kind letter received fro sister [4]

(4) From the Burton collections in the Free Libraries of Caton

(5) From unpublished manuscripts written by Burton's friends

(6) Froisters of Elstree By examination of these and other documents I have been able to correct many mistakes

(7) From the manuscripts of F F Arbuthnot and the Oriental scholar, Edward Rehatsek These are now in the possession of the Royal Asiatic Society

(8) From Mr Arbuthnot's typewritten and unpublished Life of Balzac now in ht on the Burton and Arbuthnot friendshi+p

(9) Froical Table of the Burtons of Shap, very kindly sent me by Mr E S Mostyn Pryce

(10) Fro many journeys

One of these journeys (June 1905) took ratified to find that, owing to the watchfulness of the Arundell family, it is kept in perfect repair [5]

Let me first speak of the unpublished letters These were lent me by Mr

John Payne (40 letters), Mr W F Kirby (50 letters), Major St George Burton, Mrs E J Burton, Mrs Agg, Mr Mostyn Pryce, Dr Tuckey, Mr

D MacRitchie, and Mr A G Ellis Many of the letters reveal Burton in quite a new light His patriotise were known of all men, but the womanly tenderness of his nature and his intense love for his friends will come toof the death of Drake, [6] is particularly affecting