have preserved him from the ready knives of the
faithful if detected in the Kaaba. The very idea was pollution to a
Moslem. "Nothing," says Burton, "is more simple than the interior of
this sacred building. The pavement is composed of slabs of fine and
various coloured marbles. The upper part of the walls, together with the
ceiling, are covered with handsome red damask, flowered over with gold.
The flat roof is upheld by three cross beams, supported in the centre
by three columns. Between the columns ran bars of metal supporting many
lamps said to be of gold." The total expense was eight dollars, and when
they got away, the boy Mohammed said, "Wallah, Effendi! thou has escaped
well! some men have left their skins behind."

The fifty-five other wonders of the city having been visited, Burton
sent on Nur with his heavy boxed to Jeddah, the port of Mecca, and he
himself followed soon after with Mohammed. At Jeddah he saw its one
sight, the tomb of Eve, and then bade adieu to Mohammed, who returned to
Mecca. Having boarded the "Dwarka," an English ship, he descended to his
cabin and after a while emerged with all his colouring washed off and in
the dress of an English gentleman. Mirza Abdullah of Bushire, "Father
of Moustaches," was once more Richard Francis Burton. This extraordinary
exploit made Burton's name a household word throughout the world, and
turned it into a synonym for daring; while his book, the Pigrimage
to Al-Madinah and Meccah, which appeared the following year, was read
everywhere with wonder and delight. Had he been worldly-wise he would
have proceeded straight to England, where, the lion of the hour, he
might have obtained a reward more substantial than mere praise. But he
did not show himself until the commotion caused by his exploit had been
half-forgotten, and we shall find him making a similar mistake some
years later, after his return from Tanganyika. [134]

It seems that Burton was known in the army as "Ruffian Dick"--not by way
of disparagement, but because of this demonic ferocity as a fighter, and
because he had "fought in single combat more enemies than perhaps any
other man of his time." One evening soon after his return from Mecca,
a party of officers, including a friend of Burton's named Hawkins, 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 pecu