out real offence. Burton, who had no aptitude
for the task; who, moreover, had other aims, constantly disagreed with
Payne upon this point.

Thus, writing 12th May 1883, he says: "You are drawing it very mild. Has
there been any unpleasantness about plain speaking? Poor Abu Nuwas [365]
is (as it were) castrated. I should say 'Be bold or audace,' &c., only
you know better than I do how far you can go and cannot go. I should
simply translate every word."

"What I meant by literalism," he says, 1st October 1883, "is literally
translating each noun (in the long lists which so often occur) in its
turn, so that the student can use the translation."

This formed no part of Mr. Payne's scheme, in fact was directly opposed
to the spirit of his work, which was to make the translation, while
quite faithful to the original, a monument of noble English prose and
verse.

"I hold the Nights," continues Burton, the best of class books, and when
a man knows it, he can get on with Arabs everywhere. He thus comments
on Payne's Vol. iv., some of the tales of which, translate them as you
will, cannot be other than shocking. "Unfortunately it is these offences
(which come so naturally in Greece and Persia, and which belong strictly
to their fervid age) that give the book much of its ethnological value.
I don't know if I ever mentioned to you a paper (unpublished) of mine
showing the geographical limits of the evil. [366] I shall publish it
some day and surprise the world. [367] I don't live in England, and I
don't care an asterisk for Public Opinion. [368] I would rather tread
on Mrs. Grundy's pet corn than not, she may howl on her *** *** to her
heart's content." On August 24th (1883) Burton says, "Please keep up in
Vol. v. this literality in which you began. My test is that every Arab
word should have its equivalent English. ...Pity we can't manage to end
every volume with a tidbit! Would it be dishonest to transfer a tale
from one night or nights to another or others? I fancy not, as this is
done in various editions. A glorious ending for Vol. iv. Would have been
The Three Wishes or the Night of Power [369] and The Cabinet with Five
Shelves." [370]

107. The Search for Palmer, October 1882.

Burton was now to make what proved to be his last expedition. All the
year Egypt had been ablaze with the rebellion of Arabi Pasha. Alexandria
was bombarded by the English on July 11th, Arabi suffered defeat at
Tell-el-Kebir three month