at a moment
when the outcry was raised against his Arabian Nights; consequently,
when he fires off with "There is no more immoral work than the Old
Testament," the argument must be regarded as simply one of Tu quoque.
Instead of attacking the Bible writers as he did, he should, to have
been consistent, have excused them, as he excused the characters in The
Arabian Nights, with: "Theirs is a coarseness of language, not of idea,
&c., &c.... Such throughout the East is the language of every man, woman
and child," [498] and so on. The suggestion, for example, that Ezekiel
and Hosea are demoralizing because of certain expressions is too absurd
for refutation. The bloodshed of the Bible horrified him; but he refused
to believe that the "enormities" inflicted by the Jews on neighbouring
nations were sanctioned by the Almighty. [499] "The murderous vow of
Jephthah," David's inhuman treatment of the Moabites, and other events
of the same category goaded him to fury.

If he attacks Christianity, nevertheless, his diatribe is not against
its great Founder, but against the abuses that crept into the church
even in the lifetime of His earliest followers; and again, not so much
against Christianity in general as against Roman Catholicism. Still,
even after making every allowance, his article is mainly a glorification
of the crescent at the expense of the cross.

Chapter XXX. 21st November 1885-5th June 1886 K. C. M. G.

Bibliography:

74. Six Months at Abbazia. 1888. 75. Lady Burton's Edition of the
Arabian Nights. 1888.

141. In Morocco, 21st November 1885.

On October 28th the Burtons went down to Hatfield, where there was a
large party, but Lord Salisbury devoted himself chiefly to Burton. After
they had discussed the Eastern Question, Lord Salisbury said to Burton
"Now go to your room, where you will be quiet, and draw up a complete
programme for Egypt."

Burton retired, but in two or three minutes returned with a paper which
he handed to Lord Salisbury.

"You've soon done it," said his Lordship, and on unfolding the paper he
found the single word "Annex."

"If I were to write for a month," commented Burton, on noticing Lord
Salisbury's disappointment, "I could not say more."

However, being further pressed, he elaborated his very simple programme.
[500] The policy he advocated was a wise and humane one; and had it
been instantly adopted, untold trouble for us and much oppression of
the miserable