y-eight at
supper. The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh were there. We
let them into the joke, and they much enjoyed it, but all the rest were
quite taken in half the evening. Even Lord Lyons and many of our old
friends. The house was perfect and the fountain part [250] quite like
Damascus. After supper we made Turkish coffee and narghilihis, and
Khamoor handed them to the Princes on her knees, the tray on her head in
Eastern fashion. They were delighted and spoke to her very kindly. They
talked for long to Richard, and afterwards to me, and asked when we were
going back to Syria before Lord Granville's brother." This letter, like
most of Mrs. Burton's letters to Miss Stisted, is signed "Z," short for
"Zoo."

In February (1872) Mrs. Burton's mother, who had for years been
paralysed, grew rapidly worse. Says Mrs. Burton, writing to Miss Stisted
(29th February), "My time is divided between her and Richard's concerns.
She did rally a little and I took advantage of it to go one to one
dinner and to the Thanksgiving Day [251] which we saw to perfection,
and enjoyed enormously; and last night to a very large gathering at Lady
Margaret Beaumont's... Everybody was there and it gave me an opportunity
of saying 'How d'ye do?' to the world after my return from Syria... I
am working tooth and nail at the Bird's [252] case, and have got our
ambassador (Elliott) to see me at twelve next Saturday." At this time
everyone was talking about Livingstone, the story of the meeting of
him and Stanley being still fresh in men's minds. It was thought that
another expedition ought to be sent out with Burton to lead, and a
grand luncheon was got up for the express purpose of bring Burton and
a certain great personage together. When the soup was being served, the
great personage, turning to Burton, said: "You are the man to go out
to Livingstone. Come, consent, and I will contribute L500 to the
expedition."

Mrs. Burton, who sat next to her husband, looked up with beaming
eyes, and her heart beat with joy. The object of the luncheon had been
achieved, and Fortune was again bestowing her smiles; but as ill luck
would have it, Burton happened just then to be in one of his contrary
moods. He went on spooning up his soup, and, without troubling to turn
his head, said, "I'll save your Royal Highness that expense."

Poor Mrs. Burton almost fainted. The Livingstone expedition was
subsequently undertaken by Cameron.

67. The Tichborne