Project Gutenberg's The Life of Sir Richard Burton, by Thomas Wright

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Title: The Life of Sir Richard Burton

Author: Thomas Wright

Release Date: August, 2003 [Etext #4315]
Posting Date: February 19, 2010

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF SIR RICHARD BURTON ***

Produced by JC Byers and Laura Shaffer

THE LIFE OF SIR RICHARD BURTON

By Thomas Wright

Author of "The Life of Edward Fitzgerald," etc.

2 Volumes in 1

This Work is
Dedicated to
Sir Richard Burton's Kinsman
And Friend,
Major St. George Richard Burton,
The Black Watch.

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
down with 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 complete my task? Shall I live to tell
the world how great 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 more clearly than herself its numerous shortcomings. 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 more hurriedly pieced together. It gives the
impressions of Lady Burton alone, for those of Sir Richard's friends are
ignored--so we see Burton from only one point of view. Amazing to say,
it does not contain a single original anecdote [1]--though perhaps,
more amusing anecdotes could be told of Burton than of any other modern
Englishman. 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 h