I have closed my
eyes and listened to him, fancying, thus--that some wonderful learned
angel had descended from Heaven unto Earth."

Among the friends of the Burtons was the Princess of Thurn and Taxis,
who with her husband became one of Letchford's best patrons. The
princess won Sir Richard's heart by her intelligence, her beauty and
grace; and "his conversation was never so brilliant, and his witticisms
were never so sparkling as in her presence." One day another princess--a
foolish, vain woman--after making a number of insipid remarks, shook
hands with Sir Richard, lifting high her arm and elbow in the
fashion which was then just coming into vogue, but which has now lost
acceptance. [605] Sir Richard, while giving her his right hand, quietly
with his left put down her arm and elbow. The princess turned scarlet,
but she never after practised "the high shake." Miss Letchford sums up
Lady Burton as "a most beautiful and charming woman, with many lovely
ideas, but many foolish ones." Unfortunately she was guided entirely
by her confessor, a man of small mental calibre. One of the confessor's
ideas was to convert Sir Richard by dropping small charms into his
pockets. Sir Richard got quite used to finding these little images
about him; but they invariably made their way out of the window into the
garden. One of Lady Burton's little failings was the fear lest anybody
should come to the house in order to steal, and the servants had special
commands to admit none who did not look "a perfect gentleman or lady,"
with the result that one day they slammed the door in the face of the
Archduke Louis Salvator, simply because he did not happen to have a card
with him. After that Lady Burton's orders were less strict.

Mr. Letchford's paintings include views of the neighbourhood, a portrait
of Burton which was exhibited in the Stanley Gallery, and a full-length
portrait of Burton fencing, [606] but he is best known by his series of
illustrations to The Arabian Nights.

164. To Dr. Tuckey.

On April 24th we find Burton writing to thank Dr. Charles Tuckey for
the gift of a copy of his Psycho-Therapeutics. "An old pupil of Dr.
Elliotson," [607] he says, "I am always interested in these researches,
and welcome the appearance of any addition to our scanty knowledge of
an illimitable field. Suggestion (what a miserable name!) perfectly
explains the stigmata of St. Francis and others without preter-natural
assistance, and the cur