THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
PRESENTED BY
Charles P.. Corning
St. Mary's-in-tlie Mountains
Littleton, N. H.
THE LIFE OF
COLONEL FRED BURNABY
COLONEL FRED BURNABY
OF THE ROYAL HORSE GUARDS (BLUES).
From Photo by Thomas Fall. By permission of Mrs. Aubrey Le Blond (formerly Mrs.
Fred Burnaby).
0[lo
h %'
THE LIFE OF """'
COLONEL FRED BURNABY
BY
THOMAS WRIGHT
Author of " The Life of Edward Fitz Gerald," " The Life of Sir Richard Burton,
" The Life of Walter Pater," etc., etc.
WITH FIFTY-NINE PLATES.
LONDON
EVERETT & CO.
42 ESSEX STREET, STRAND
1908
Printed by William J. McKenzie,
at the Devonshire Press, Torquay.
PA
mult
■ **0
This Work
is dedicated, by kind permission,
to
Mrs. Aubrey Le Blond,
formerly Mrs. Fred Barnaby.
PREFACE.
It has generally been assumed that the age of Romance,
in so far as England is concerned, disappeared with the
last of the Plantagenets, and that Henry the Seventh's
Coronation Service was at once its farewell and requiem ;
but a more romantic career than that of Frederick Gus-
tavus Burnaby, though it was passed in the reign of
Victoria, can scarcely be conceived. He was a Coeur-
de-Lion in physique, strength, courage, and magnanim-
ity ; and though he lived in what he himself regarded as
a tame and pusillanimous era, when Englishmen were
inclined to surrender without protest to the first bully
who presented himself the benefits which had come down
to them from their clearer-eyed and more heroic fathers,
he managed to crowd into a life of only forty-two years
as many exciting incidents, accompanied by hair-breadth
escapes, as would have satisfied even a Knight Templar.
Moreover, the stirring events of that life follow one
another with the rapidity of a swiftly moving panorama ;
brave deed succeeding brave deed, until lastly there comes
the most thrilling scene of all — the terrible passage at
arms on the field of Abou Klea — and the hero dead.
' He was the only man whom I have ever met," says
his old Harrow friend, Mr. H. H. Finch, " who was totally
devoid of fear."
To Burnaby stagnation was insufferable. For years
he was one of the most popular men in England. He
united in his person precisely those qualities which
Englishmen most admire. Of a fertile invention,
he never hesitated to take the initiative. He was
perspicacious, determined, resourceful, tenacious, amaz-
ingly daring. His audacity again and again catches the
viii LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
breath. He had decided opinions, and he expressed
them with a soldier's emphasis. Thanks to his keen
sense of the ridiculous, he met the onslaughts of his
political opponents with a good humour that blunted
every shaft. In a certain sense he belonged to the rank
and file ; for he never had opportunities of commanding
great bodies of men, either in the field or from the senate.
If England could breed a million men like him — with a
Titan's frame and strength, a Creighton's hunger for
knowledge, and a Roland's passion for adventure —
what would not England, with all her present lustihood,
yet become ! We need not ask ourselves whether Burnaby
was a great man. His was certainly an amazing person-
ality. It has been observed that there was no great
man, in the ordinary sense of the term, in Nelson's fleet —
save Nelson — and yet what work those rare old sea dogs
did for England. Whether on the way to Khiva or
among the Devil Worshippers of Armenia ; whether
bearding Mr. Chamberlain in his iron den or picking off
Arabs at El Teb, he was always the same cheery, deter-
mined, courageous, rash, and deadly-earnest Burnaby.
" He was one of the very best and kindest officers," says
Sir John Willoughby " whom it has been my privilege
to serve." The fox-hunting parson and the squire's
daughter have not of late years been smothered with
eulogy ; but at any rate they bred Burnabys, or men
of the Burnaby type, and for them England has had
work to do which they, and perhaps only they, were
really capable of doing.
Although no polished writer, Burnaby produced bright,
humorous and important books, and for many genera-
tions to come Englishmen will read with pleasure the
account of the most famous of his rides, that in which he
penetrated, amid dangers that might well have deterred
a Bayard, the mysterious region of Khiva. " His Ride to
Khiva," says Lord Roberts,* "excited my admiration at
the time, and I regretted that such an enterprising officer
* In a letter written in January 1908 to Colonel Burnaby 's brother.
PREFACE ix
should have been cut off so early in life." Equal in inter-
est is On Horseback through Asia Minor. There is no
more picturesque couple in history or fiction than Burn-
aby and his devoted henchman, George Radford.
This work has been written with the entire sympathy
and the most kind assistance of Colonel Burnaby's
family. Mrs. Le Blond (formerly Mrs. Fred Burnaby),
Mr. Harry Burnaby (Burnaby's only son), the Rev.
Evelyn Burnaby, M.A. (Burnaby's only brother), and
Mrs. Baillie (his only surviving sister), have all helped
in various ways. Letters and other documents have
been placed ungrudgingly at my disposal ; moreover —
boon, indeed, to biographer — I have been allowed an
absolutely free hand. I recall with pleasure an interview
with Mrs. Le Blond,and I have to thank her for a number
of letters containing important clues. The Rev. Evelyn
Burnaby has been indefatigable in his enquiries on my
behalf, and I owe to him many an illuminating fact,
many a piquant anecdote.
Mrs. Duncan Baillie placed in my hands a number
of her brother's letters ; and Don Carlos, Duke of Madrid
— one of Burnaby's closest friends — kindly replied to
various queries.
If Burnaby added to our Geographical Knowledge,
he also deserves our gratitude on account of his efforts
in behalf of aeronautics. He was the one strong man
who stood up and struggled for aeronautics at a period
when the balloon was regarded as a toy, and the whole
subject was treated with levity, not only by the general
public, but also by men in authority. His purse and his
brain were alike at the service of his beloved science.
People at the present day have not the faintest idea
of the tremendous battle the aerostat had to fight in the
sixties, seventies, and even the eighties ; but the efforts
of Burnaby and the little band associated with him
will not be forgotten when England has her fleets in the
firmament, as well as on the high seas.
My account of Burnaby's connection with ballooning
a2
x LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
has been compiled partly from his book A Ride Across the
Channel, and partly from Mr. J. W. Prowse's articles
in the Daily Telegraph ; but my mainstay under this head
has been my kinsman and almost life-long friend, Mr.
Thomas Wright, the distinguished aeronaut, who for
many years was intimately connected with Burnaby ;
while his elder daughter has often lightened my labours
by services performed very cheerfully, though at no little
inconvenience to herself.
If Burnaby was a Colossus in stature, a Milo in strength,
a soldier and an aeronaut, he was also a remarkable
linguist, being able to speak fluently no fewer than seven
languages, including Spanish, Arabic, Russian, and Turk-
ish.
The story of that ding-dong fight — Burnaby's attack
on Birmingham— with its humours and its sequel, will
also, I think, deeply interest the public. Llad he lived
only a few years longer he and Mr. Chamberlain would
have found themselves in the same camp ; and the shafts
forged for the breasts of each other would have been dis-
charged, shoulder brushing shoulder, at the common
enemy.
For the story of Burnaby's political career I am in-
debted to Mr. J. Percival Hughes, of the Central Conserv-
ative Office, Westminster, who was Burnaby's secretary,
Sir Benjamin Stone, Sir James Sawyer, Mr. Joseph Row-
lands, and Mr. Robert Buckley. Sir Benjamin Stone
kindly placed at my disposal the documents relating
to the early days of the Primrose League, of which
Burnaby was one of the founders. No one previously
had had access to these papers, consequently the story
of the founding of the Primrose League is now told
in its entirety for the first time.
Still, the salient fact in Burnaby's story is that he
died for England ; and if a man dies for his country it
does not behove his compatriots to attempt to belittle
him just because he happened not to be politically at one
with them. The whole of the Liberal party — to their
PREFACE xi
honour — took this view at the time of Burnaby's death.
All Englishmen now cherish Burnaby's memory, as
they cherish the memory of Gordon and other unselfish
heroes. To think of such men is to be moved to the very
centre, to be lifted above ourselves, to recall with pride
that we too are of their stock and nationality. It must
strike even the most cursory reader in respect to the fights
of El Teb and Abou Klea — that they were more like
Homeric battles than incidents in modern warfare.
Herbert Stewart, Burnaby and others stand out scarcely
less conspicuously than the most illustrious heroes
before Troy Town ; which shows that personality counts
for nearly as much in the days of the machine-gun when
you fight for England as it did in the old time, when
" shields jostled shields, and lances lances crossed," all
for the sake of a wanton.
England's indebtedness to Burnaby as a soldier is
brought out very forcibly in a letter written to me by
Mr. Thomas Gibson Bowles — Burnaby's bosom friend —
whom I had the pleasure of meeting in London, and who
has since rendered me much valuable help. It is
headed Khartoum under date 26th January, 1908,
and it runs as follows :
Dear Sir,
It is a strange and sad coincidence that your letter
should have followed me to find me in Khartoum —
the Khartoum for which, and for Gordon, my dear friend
gave his life twenty-three years ago. At the time it seemed
to have been given uselessly and his blood to have been
poured with no effect on the unslakable desert. Yet it
was not so. For the misdeeds of those who sent out
Gordon and refused him the aid he asked for in any one
of the ways he asked for it, the blunders of those who con-
ceived and carried out the expedition that failed at Abou
Klea, the sacrifice of the precious lives there lost —
these it was that bred in England that stern silent deter-
mination that led to the other and better effort that suc-
ceeded, and all too tardily carried out Gordon's injunction
xii LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
to " smash the Mahdi." And if to the spirits of Burnaby
and Herbert Stewart and the unnamed who fell with them,
it be given to see Khartoum now — Khartoum peaceful,
prosperous, and growing under the Union Jack, they
would say " It was not in vain we gave our lives, it was
for this."
Yet the sadness of Khartoum is great to me — for Gor-
don was a friend of mine too, and when he fell a light
went out such as had never before been, nor ever after
will be, lit in modern England. The whole splendid
blaze of English history shines not so bright and pure.
With no king, statesman, soldier or prophet, can he be
matched who outmatches them all together ; and though
what he did was and is but one tenth known, and his
name even but one half remembered and fading, yet some
portion of his truly Divine spirit lives in the men of his
generation, consciously and unconsciously inspired by
him, lives and, please God, will spread and grow till it
shall make England what she should be — the light of the
world in its dark places. For that he gave his life and,
however it seem, that too was not given in vain.
Sincerelv vours,
Thos. Gibson Bowles.
My account of the battle of Abou Klea has been built
up from letters and other documents supplied me by
Lord Dundonald, Colonel Marling, V.C., Trooper George
Murray, and other soldiers who were near Burnaby when
he fell; while Mr. Bennet Burleigh* and Mr. Melton
Prior, one of whose pictures we are able to reproduce,
have also kindly furnished particulars of interest. ' I
shall never forget Burnaby's charming personality,
coolness and kindness," says Mr. Prior, " and the mar-
vellous courage he exhibited when he dashed out from
the square at Abou Klea to save the lives of two men,
and lost his own in doing so. Those two men, if now alive,
ought to be able to testify (on their knees) to his sacrificing
*I have, of course, made use of Mr. Burleigh's account of the battle
which appeared in the Daily Telegraph for January 22nd, 1885.
PREFACE xiii
pluck and daring. I am not a writer like Bennet Bur-
leigh, but I feel what I write."
To Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Binning I am indebted
for a most moving narrative (written for me at the re-
quest of the Rev. Evelyn Burnaby), for a plan of the
battle, and also for a number of letters, including the
following :
Mellerstain,
Kelso, N.B.
Dear Mr. Burnaby,
I send you my MS. in the hope of its being found
serviceable. I will send an old photo of '85 in a few days,
as you have so flatteringly asked me to, and shall be
very pleased that it should appear in a book which will
be widely read, and I am sure appreciated.
May I make this one stipulation ? i.e., that it may be
taken verbatim as written, with all faults of grammar and
diction, as I have attempted to write the true unvarnished
history and account of a memorable fight from a point of
vantage which probably few had, as I was out till the
last moment rallying the rear face of the square, and
the accounts of newspaper men who were not actually
on the field, as also those of Sir C. Wilson and Count
Gleichen must, from their positions in the field, have
been written to a great extent from hearsay. The im-
plication that the men of the Heavies gave way or allowed
the square to be broken is one which should certainly be
set at rest once for ever.
Believe me,
Yours very sincerely,
Binning.
I have to thank Sir Francis Burnand for the section
(No. 52) entitled " Concerning Absalom "; Mr. John Payne
for writing specially for this book a fine sonnet on Burn-
aby ; Mr. H.W. Lucy (Toby M.P. of Punch) for permission
to use the particulars of the balloon ascent recorded in
Chapter VI. ; the Rev. G. E. Britten, Vicar of Somerby,
for various information and the loan of photographs ; Mr.
xiv LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
Stephen Solly, for the account of the visit to the Vienna
Exhibition ; Sir Redvers Buller, for replies to queries
respecting the Nile Expedition ; and Mr. Henry Storey,
for particulars of the battles of El Teb, at both of which
he was present. I am indebted for miscellaneous inform-
ation to the Earl of Erroll, Mr. Thomas Davie, of Somer-
by, who lent me some of Burnaby's letters ; the Head-
master of Harrow, the Rev. R. Nutt, Miss Rose, Miss
Hornsby, the Rev. Paul Wyatt, and Mr. Robert Haskins,
of Bedford. I have to thank the Editors of Punch, the
Illustrated London News, The Graphic, The Strand Maga-
zine, for use of illustrations ; and Mr. H. Pilter, proprietor
of the Birmingham Dart, for the use of a very interesting
series of political cartoons, which appeared in that period-
ical. The good-natured satire of The Bart has for many
years been the amusement of the Midlands, and the
clever cartoons of Mr. Mountfort, who I am glad to say
is still living, and Mr. G. F. Sershall, are prized by collec-
tors. Lastly, I owe particular thanks to the Proprietors
of The Owl, for permission to use cartoons from that
paper, and to the courtesy of Mr. C. J. Moore Martin,
who kindly replied to my questions concerning them.
The following is, I believe, a complete list of those
who have helped me, and I wish to express to each my
hearty thanks :
Mrs. Duncan Baillie, (formerly Miss Annie Burnaby), Mr. Duncan
Baillie, Mr. Charles Bayley, Lieutenant Colonel Lord Binning, Mr. A. C.
Bishop, Mr. J. Blaiberg, Mr. T. Gibson Bowles, Rev. G. E. Britten,
Mr. Robert J. Buckley, Sir Redvers Buller, Rev. Evelyn Burnaby, Sir
Francis Burnand, Mr. Frank Chater, Rev. Arthur Cross, Mr. Thomas
Davie, Mr. William Davis, The Earl of Erroll, Mr. William Field, Mr.
H. N. Field, Rev. J. E. Gilbert, Mr. Charles Godfry, Mr. R. Haskins,
Mr. T. W. E. Higgins, Miss Hornsby, Mr. J. Percival Hughes, Mrs.
Le Blond (formerly Mrs. Fred Burnaby), Mr. Charles Litchfield, Mr.
Henry W. Lucy, Mr. Gilbert Mackenzie, Colonel Percival Marling, Mr.
J. C. Moss, Mr. George Murray, Mr. Henry W. Nutt, Rev. R. Nutt, Mr.
George Rose Norton, Mr. Herbert Page, Mr. Walter Pepys, Rev. J. T. W.
Petley, Rev. John Pickford, Mr. H. Pilter, Mr. B. Redstone, Field
Marshall Lord Roberts, Rev. F. Roberts, Mr. Frederick Rolls, Miss
Emma Rose, Mr. Joseph Rowlands, Sir James Sawyer, Sir John
Willoughby, Mr. K L. Shepherd, Mr. A. Shaken, Miss K. Simkin,
Mr. Stephen Solly, Sir Benjamin Stone, Mr. H. Storey, Mr. Stephen
Webber, Mr. Walter Wisdom, Rev. Canon Wright, Mr. Thomas Wright
(the aeronaut). Miss Bessie Wright, and the Rev. Paul Wyatt.
PREFACE xv
I have been indebted to the following works :
Baker Pasha, War in Bulgaria, 2 vols., 1879.
Bnrnaby (Colonel Fred), His Works. See Appendix I.
Burnaby (Rev. Evelyn), Memories of Famous Trials,
Land's End to John 0' Groat's House.
Coxwell (Henry), My Life and Balloon Experiences, 1887.
Gordon, Life of General. W. P. Nimmo.
Gordon, Colonel, in Central Africa, 1874-1879. Edited
by G. Birkbeck Hill.
Graphic, The, 31st January, 1885.
Mann (R.K.), The Life, Adventures and Political Opin-
ions of Frederick Gustavus Burnaby, 1882.
Nevill, Lady Dorothy, The Reminiscences of, 1906.
Nevill, Lady Dorothy, Leaves from the Note-Books of,
1908.
Ware (J. Redding) and Mann (R.K.), The Life and Times
of Colonel Fred Burnaby.
Wolff, Sir Henry Drummond, Rambling Recollections,
1908.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
3rd March, 1842 — 30th September, 1859
EARLY DAYS AT BEDFORD
PAGE
i . Childhood at Bedford ...... l
2. Bedford in the Forties ------ 5
3. St. Peter's Church : Letters, Bedford Grammar School (1849) 7
4. "A respectable middle-aged man " - - - - 16
5. Tinwell (May, 1852), and Harrow (Jan., 1855) - - - 19
6. Oswestry : The Goose ------ 22
7. Dresden : He joins the Blues - - - - 25
CHAPTER II
30th September, 1859 — 31st December, 1867
BALLOONING
8. A Balloon Ascent from Cremorne, 21st July, 1864 - - 29
9. A Descent at Bedford, July 1864 - - - 33
10. Feats of Strength - 34
11. A Shooting Fracas, about 1865 - - - - _ 39
12. The Rev. Gustavus removes to Somerby, 2nd June, 1866 - 39
13. An Accident in the Air, 1S67 ----- 42
14. Schwalback : The militant Pole - - - - - 45
CHAPTER III
1 st January, 1868— November, 1870
IN SPAIN AND MOROCCO
15. Mr. T. Gibson Bowles : Vanity Fair, 7th November, 1868 - 47
16. At Pau, 16th December, 1868 ----- 48
17. In Seville, nth January, 1869 - - - - 50
18. Burnaby as a Troubadour, 1 8th February, 1869 - 51
19. At a Tentadero ------- ^2
20. The Moorish Dancing Girls, 17th March, 1869 - - 56
B
xviii LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
CHAPTER IV
December, 1870 — November, 1874
IN RUSSIA AND ITALY : ADVENTURES IN THE CARLIST WAR
PAGE
21. In Russia, December 1870 ----- 59
22. With the Prince of Wales to Vienna, May 1872 - 61
23. Death of the Rev. Gustavus Burnaby, 15th July, 1872 - - 63
24. George Radford : Illness at Naples - - - 64
25. In the Carlist War : Autumn, 1874 - - - - 68
CHAPTER V
1st November, 1874 — February, 1875
IN THE SOUDAN WITH GORDON
26. A scientific Balloon Ascent, 3rd November, 1874 : Mr. Thomas
Wright ------- 75
27. The Journey to Sobat, November, 1874— 5th February, 1875 - 81
28. Gordon, 7th February, 1875 ----- 85
CHAPTER VI
February, 1875 — -February, 1876
A RIDE TO KHIVA
29. To Kasala, 30th November, 1875 - - - - 87
30. Across the Desert to Khiva - - 95
31. Khiva and its Khan ------ 100
CHAPTER VII
February, 1876 — November, 1876
BALLOON ASCENTS FROM THE CRYSTAL PALACE
32. An Ascent with Captain Colvile and Mr. H. W. Lucy, 25th
August, 1875 - - - - - - 109
33. Ascents with Mr. Wright and others - - - - in
CHAPTER VIII
November, 1876 — Spring, 1877
TRAVELS IN ASIA MINOR
34. Burnaby and Radford set out on their travels - - - 115
35. Mohammed - - - - - - I23
36. Among the Devil Worshippers ----- 126
37. Burnaby prescribes for a Persian lady - - - 128
CHAPTER IX
Spring, 1877 — February, 1878
BURNABY AND RADFORD AT THE SEAT OF THE WAR IN TURKEY
38. Burnaby and Radford proceed to the seat of the War,
November, 1877 ------ 133
39. At the Battle of Task-kesan, 31st December, 1877 - 135
40. Death of Radford, February 1878 - - 142
CONTENTS xix
CHAPTER X
February, 1878 — 31st December, 1881
MARRIAGE, AND THE BIRMINGHAM ELECTION
PAGE
41. Candidate for Birmingham : Mr. J. B. Stone, 1878 - - 147
42. Burnaby and Gladstone, 29th October, 1878 - 153
43. Marriage, 25th June, 1879 .... - 158
44. Comedy at Wolverhampton ... - 163
45. A Merry Mill at Leicester - - - 164
46. The Birmingham election, 31st March, 1880 - 167
CHAPTER XI
10th December, 1881 — 4th March, 1882
THE POWELL AND THE BRINE AND SIMMONS ATTEMPTS TO
CROSS THE CHANNEL BY BALLOON.
47. Tragic Balloon Accident, Death of Mr. Walter Powell, M.P.,
10th December, 1881 ..... 174
48. The Brine and Simmons' Balloon Misadventure, 4th March,
1882 -------- 177
CHAPTER XII
4th March, 1882— 5th June, 1882
ACROSS THE CHANNEL BY BALLOON
49. Burnaby crosses the Channel, 23rd March, 1882 - - 179
50. The Proposed Ascent from Bedford, 5th June, 1882 - - 193
CHAPTER XIII
5th June, 1882 — December, 1883
TRAVELS IN SPAIN AND TUNIS \ BURNING SPEECHES
51. In Spain with Mr. Henri Deutsch, March, 1883 - - 197
52. Concerning Absalom, August, 1883 - - - 200
53. Speeches at Birmingham, October 2nd, and Wednesbury,
October 17th ------- 204
54. His last visit to Spain, October, 1883 ... - 205
55. Speeches at Bristol, Preston, Bradford and Birmingham,
November 13th — December 20th ... - 205
CHAPTER XIV
December, 1883 — 10th January, 1884
THE FOUNDING OF THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE
56. The Primrose League ------ 209
57. Anecdotes (The Man in Peascod Street : Others like Her :
Life worth Living) - - - - - -213
xx LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
CHAPTER XV
ioth January, 1884 — 29th March, 1884
THE TWO BATTLES OF EL TEB
PAGE
58. First Battle of El Teb, 5th February, 1884 - - 215
59. Storey's Miraculous Escape - 218
60. Second Battle of El Teb, 28th February, 1884 - - - 221
61. Anecdotes (Harry Burnaby : The Prayer Burnaby never
Prayed) - - - - - - - 228
CHAPTER XVI
30th March, 1884— ioth November, 1884
THE BIRMINGHAM RIOTS
62. " The El Teb Speeches," 15th April, 1884 - - - 229
63. Burnaby and the Sweep - 233
64. The Banquet in the Assembly Rooms : Mr. Rowlands, 14th
October, 1884 - - - - - - 236
65. The Great Riots : Mr. Buckley clears the Platform, October
18S4 -------- 239
66. The Yellow Jug - - - - - - - 244
67. Brompton and Somerby ------ 248
68. The Blues proud of him - - - 252
69. He plans a journey to Timbuctoo .... 256
CHAPTER XVII
ioth November, 1884 — 17th January, 1885
DAL ON THE NILE
70. " Very Unhappy " . - 260
71. His last Letter, 28th December, 1885 ... - 266
CHAPTER XVIII
17th January, 1885
THE BATTLE OF ABOU KLEA
72. The night before the Battle - - - - - 271
73. Chats with Mr. Bennet Burleigh, Mr. Melton Prior, and Lord
Binning _„_.--- 272
74. Death of Burnaby ...... 289
CHAPTER XIX
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL LORD BINNING'S NARRATIVE \
THE BATTLE OF ABOU KLEA
[Written specially for this work]
75. The Bravest Man in England dying - 298
76. Other Reminiscences ------ 304
CONTENTS xxi
CHAPTER XX
CONCLUSION
PAGE
77. Reception of the News in England - - - 307
78. A Retrospect ------- 308
79. Burnaby's friends and acquaintances - - - - 308
1.
APPENDICES
Bibliography of Burnaby ----- iii
2. Bibliography of Mrs. Fred Burnaby (Mrs. Aubrey Le Blond) - iv
3. Burnaby's Promotions ------ iv
4. A Note respecting Burnaby's mother - - - iv
5. Administrations from 1868 v
6. Vicars of Somerby from 1759 - v
7. Rectors of St. Peter's, Bedford, from 1835 - - - vi
8. Memorials to Burnaby ------ vi
LIST OF PLATES
i. COLONEL FRED BURNABY - - Frontispiece
2. REV. GUSTAVUS BURNABY, MRS. BURNABY,
AND ST. PETER'S, BEDFORD - - Page 3
3. ST. PETER'S RECTORY, BEDFORD 9
4. SOMERBY HALL ------ 13
5. SOMERBY CHURCH 17
6. BEDFORD GRAMMAR SCHOOL AND INTERIOR
OF SOMERBY CHURCH ... 23
7. MRS. MANNERS-SUTTON ----- 37
8. THE ASCENT WITH M. GODARD 43
9. MRS. EVELYN BURNABY, DON CARLOS (DUKE
OF MADRID) AND MRS. PAGE - - - 65
10. STOPPED BY THE CARLISTS 71
11. MR. THOMAS WRIGHT, THE AERONAUT - - 77
12. MAP : THE JOURNEY TO SOBAT 83
13. MAP : A RIDE TO KHIVA 97
14. "VANITY FAIR" CARTOON - - - - 103
15. AN ASCENT WITH MR. LUCY - - - 107
16. THE DESCENT ------ u3
17. MAP : JOURNEY THROUGH ASIA MINOR - 119
18. MAP : THE RETREAT FROM KAMARLI - - 139
19. GEORGE RADFORD AND HENRY STOREY - 145
20. SIR BENJAMIN STONE - - 149
21. ERDINGTON GRANGE - - - - - 151
22. MRS. FRED BURNABY - - - - - 155
23. THE BIRMINGHAM ELECTION (CARTOON) - 159
24. DON QUIXOTE (CARTOON) - - - 161
25. THE TORY PLATFORM AND THE NEW PRO-
FESSOR OF LANGUAGE (CARTOONS) - - 165
26. A VALENTINE (CARTOON)- - - - - 169
27. JUST BEFORE THE BATTLE - - - - 171
28. MAP : BALLOON VOYAGE ACROSS THE CHANNEL 1S3
29. FRED'S NEXT ATTEMPT (CARTOON) - - - 189
30. BURNABY AT EL TEB - - - - - 219
31. WELL DONE FRED (CARTOON) - - - 225
32. CARTOON FROM "PUNCH" - - - - 231
33. OPENING THE CAMPAIGN (CARTOON) - - 23;
34. BEARDING THE LION (CARTOON) - - - 241
35. A COUNCIL OF WAR (CARTOON) - - - 245
36. SIR JAMES SAWYER AND MR. ROBERT BUCKLEY 249
xxiv LIST OF PLATES (Continued)
37 MR. PERCIVAL HUGHES - - - 253
38. MR. HARRY BURNABY - - - - - 257
39. THE SQUARE AT ABOU KLEA - - - 269
40. BURNABY AT ABOU KLEA (FROM " THE GRAPHIC ") 273
41. BURNABY AT ABOU KLEA (FROM "THE ILLUS-
TRATED LONDON NEWS ") - - - - 275
42. COLONEL MARLING AND MR. JOSEPH ROW-
LANDS ------- 277
43. LIEUT-COLONEL LORD BINNING AND CORPORAL
MACINTOSH 279
44. THE BATTLE OF GUBAT - - - - 281
45. THE DART MOURNS 283
46. THE DAVID AND JONATHAN WINDOW AND THE
BURNABY VAULT 287
47. THE REV. EVELYN BURNABY, M.A. - - 291
48. TROOPER GEORGE MURRAY - - 295
FREDERICK GUSTAVUS BURNABY
By JOHN PAYNE
He was of those with heart and hand who reared
Our England to her high imperial place
And her therein maintained, despite the base
Curst crew that fain upon the rocks had steered,—
Her constant son who none and nothing feared
Nor at life's hand asked any greater grace
Than leave to look far danger in the face
And pluck rebated peril by the beard.
As first, so last, the Fates to him were kind,
Vouchsafing him the true man's most desire,
Occasion for the land he loved so well,
Fighting, to fall and on the desert wind
Pass, borne of Battle's chariots of fire,
To where, death-shrined, the high-souled heroes dwell.
THE LIFE OF
COLONEL FRED BURNABY
CHAPTER I.
3rd March 1842 — 30th September 1859.
Early Days at Bedford.
Frederick Gustavus Burnaby, the distinguished sol-
dier, traveller and aeronaut, the modern Hercules,
" the bravest of the brave," was born
1— Childhood at the old Rectory, situated on the
at Bedford, north side of St. Peter's Green, Bedford,
on 3rd March, 1842, his father being
the Rev. Gustavus Andrew Burnaby, Rector of the
adjoining St. Peter's Church* ; his mother Harriet,
one of the three beautiful daughters^ of Henry Villebois,
the Squire of Marham, Norfolk. The Burnabys were of
aristocratic lineage, and Frederick claimed as an ancestor
no less distinguished a person than King Edward I., who,
indeed, was ever his great hero and model. Both Long-
shanks and his putative descendant were physically
magnificent men ; but the former, with all his inches,
was well distanced by Burnaby's six feet four in stock-
ings.
'-;: The Rev. Gustavus and Mrs. Burnaby were married at St. Mary's,
Bryanston Square, 27th November, 1833.
+ The others were Lady Sykes and Maria Vicountess Glentworth,
who died in 1904, in her 101st year. Mr. Burnaby was for a time Canon
of Middleham, in Yorkshire.
2 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
Besides being Rector of St. Peter's, Bedford, the elder
Burnaby was Lord of the Manor of Somerby* in Leicester-
shire, which he had purchased from Lord Paulet in 1844,
and patron of the livings of Somerby and the adjacent
Burrough-on-the-Hill. He had acquired his rights at
Burrough through his mother, who was daughter and
heiress of the Rev. William Brown, Rector of that
parish and patron of the living ; and who for many years
resided at Somerby Hall. The Rev. Gustavus Burnaby
had four children, namely, Mary Jemima (May),| Ann
Glentworth (Annie), % Frederick, the subject of this work,
and Evelyn.§ A fox-hunting parson of the old school,
and a man of haughty and proud bearing, the Rev.
Gustavus enjoyed, nevertheless, the respect, the love,
and even the reverence of the members of his congrega-
tion. Though hasty and masterful, he was at the same
time generous, magnanimous and well-intentioned. He
kept up considerable state, and used to drive to the race-
course on the Ampthill Road and elsewhere in his carriage
with coachman in livery and footman hanging to loop-
strap behind. With an unimpeachable cellar and a
baronial table, he bore throughout the county a reputa-
tion for hospitality, and Her Majesty's judges, when on
circuit, and the Duke and Duchess of Bedford and other
notables, when they visited the town on important
occasions, used to stay with him, while he was often a
guest at Woburn Abbey and at Mentmore, the seat of
Lord Rothschild. Among his friends he numbered
Mr. Robert Arkwright, Mr. Maniac, Mr. Littledale,
* Previous to his acceptance of the living of St. Peter's (7th Feb-
ruary, 1835) he for a time resided at The Grove, Somerby, a house
owned by Major and the Honorable Mrs. Candy, parents of the
Duchess of Newcastle. Occasionally Mr. Burnaby officiated at Somerby.
Thus on 8th March, 1835, he baptised a child there, and his name appears
again in the register under date 21st July, 1848.
f Born at Somerby, 8th December, 1834; baptised at Somerby 1st
January, 1835. She became Mrs. Manners-Sutton.
% Born at Bedford, 20th March, 1837 ; baptised at St. Peter's, Bedford,
21st April, 1839. She became Mrs. Duncan Baillie.
§ Born at Bedford, 7th January, 1848. He became Rector of Burrough,
1873-1883.
Rev GUSTAVUS BURNABY
Mrs. BURNABY
ST. PETER'S CHURCH, BEDFORD, IX 1850, AND COUNT
DE VISMES' HOUSE.
Lent by Mr. Herbert Page, Bt i
EARLY DAYS AT BEDFORD 5
Mr. Harry Thornton, Lady Wensleydale, Mr. James
Wyatt, and Mr. George Hurst,* most of whom were
supporters of the Oakley Hunt ; and to these should
perhaps be added the Rev. James Donne, Vicar of St.
Paul's, Bedford, and the Rev. William Monkhouse, of
Goldington. He boasted an excellent library, and a
garden and paddock with charming vistas formed by
magnificent walnut and other ornamental trees, a fine
rosery and a spacious aviary well-stocked with foreign
birds. His dependants found him affable and indulgent,
and this is, perhaps, the more to his credit, as several of
them were staunch dissenters. He was particularly
partial to his gardener, a good old fellow, who spent the
week-days at the Rectory and Sundays in his native
village, Ravensden, three miles from Bedford, where
he donned a black coat and acted as local preacher —
among his congregation being another of Mr. Burnaby's
servants — the laundress.
" Who preached yesterday ? " the Rector asked the
laundress one Monday morning.
" The gardener, sir," she replied.
" Where did he take his text from ? "
" Abbacca."
" Then," said the Rector, " I suppose he told you not
to smoke ? "
By and by he came upon the old man, who was dig-
ging.
" Where was your text on Sunday taken from,
Simons ? " he enquired.
" Abbacca, sir," replied the old man, leaning on his
spade ; and then, as the Rector looked puzzled, he added,
" One of the small prophets."
" You mean Habakkuk," observed the Rector.
" Well," said the old man, " some on 'em do call him
Habakkuk, but I favours Abbacca."
Always masterful, the Rev. Gustavus was never quite
so overbearing as at election times. Just before one of
* Who was five times mayor of Bedford, and lived to be nearly ioo.
6 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
the borough contests* he went and plumped himself
down on the counter of Mr. Haskins the jeweller, whose
shop was on the opposite side of St. Peter's Green, and
said authoritatively, " You'll vote for Stuart, Haskins ? "
" I'm sure I shant," replied Haskins.
" Then I shall withdraw my custom," followed
Burnaby.
" Then you'll starve the children," said Haskins.
After the election the Rev. Gustavus looked in again.
" Give me your fist, Haskins," he said. " I'm glad you
stuck to your principles."
The new baby, destined to become the subject of these
pages, was a bouncing one ; indeed, a second infant
Hercules. It scaled eleven pounds, being correspond-
ingly vigorous, while its father was correspondingly
proud. It was baptised on 27th March, 1842, the god-
fathers being Mr. Frederick R. O. Villebois (Mrs. Burn-
aby's uncle, Master of the Craven) and Mr. Henry Ville-
bois (Mrs. Burnaby's brother, Master of the V.W.H.),
to whom A Ride to Khiva came to be dedicated.
Bedford in those days was only a small town, with a
population of barely 11,000. Exteriorly, the parish
church of St. Paul exhibited very much
2 — Bedford in its present appearance, though it was
the Forties, partly hidden by unsightly tenements,
including a number of dilapidated build-
ings, called Butcher's Row. On the east side of the
High Street, occupying part of the space between
Lurke Street and Mill Street, extended a long blank
wall overshadowed by magnificent cedars, which bounded
the pleasure gardens of a Miss Langley, while from the
Goldington Road to what is now Grove Place, swept the
beautiful grounds of Mr. George Peter Livius, the site of
whose housef is now occupied by Windsor Terrace.
* The hustings were usually held on St. Peter's Green, and candidates
were nominated there.
f Demolished 1856.
EARLY DAYS AT BEDFORD 7
St. Cuthbert's Church was still unfinished, Bunyan Meet-
ing had just arisen on the site of its three-gabled pre-
decessor. In place of the present river embankment
spread a dismal and fetid swamp ; while southwards
St. Mary's and St. John's lifted their crumbling heads
above dingy tenement and depressing thoroughfare.
Railways there were none, and he who had not a chariot
of his own was bound to hire or content himself with a
comfortless seat in the crawling and creaking carrier's
van. The town had one postman — a dwarf named
Nichols, and one post office — kept by " a crotchety
old man named Bithrey," who sat, like an ogre, behind
a little wooden door which you had to tap before handing
in your letter and a penny.
St. Peter's Church— or to give its full name, the Church
of St. Peter de Merton — has since Burnaby's early days
been altered and enlarged almost beyond
recognition. It was then quite a tiny 3— St. Peter's
building — the nave, indeed, being scarcely Church,
larger than the present chancel ; and there
were no aisles. The Rectory grounds adjoined the church-
yard on the east ; while on the west stood a quaintly-
gabled Elizabethan homestead, occupied by Mr. Burn-
aby's friend, Viscount de Vismes* ; and a more idyllic
picture than that formed by the church and these two
antique houses, with their rich warm tints, embowered
in luxuriant foliage, can scarcely be conceived. At St.
Peter's there were services in the morning and afternoon
only ; and the latter was the fashionable service. " If
you want to see the latest modes, my dear," Frivol would
lisp to Frivol, " Go to St. Peter's in the afternoon."
The rector's right hand and aide-de-camp in matters
ecclesiastical, was Mr. Robert Rose, the organist, who
really did wonders, considering the rough-hewn material
placed in his charge ; for the extraordinary idea per-
meated the parish that the finer the girl the better singer
* He died 2nd Sept., 1874. There is an elaborate tomb to the memory
of him and the Countess in the churchyard.
8 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
she would make— thus one honest fellow introduced his
buxom daughter with " I've brought you another of my
gals, Mr. Rose, and she is a whopper."
On entering the church you reverently took your place
in your pew — and all the pews were white with mahog-
any tops — carrying your hat with you, or dropping it into
the font, according to fancy ; and you could depend on a
good sermon, though the Dissenters — who, to do them
justice, prayed earnestly for the enlightenment of in-
fidels, housebreakers and fox-hunting parsons — insisted
that it was invariably composed by Mrs. Burnaby —
a rumour which the unruffled and chivalrous rector
never troubled to refute. Little Fred, however, stand-
ing on a seat of the great square pew under the pulpit,
was at first more interested in watching the verger with
his white wand poking the heads of fidgety boys, than in
listening to his father's oratory ; though later, owing to a
marvellous memory, he obtained an even phenomenal
knowledge of the Bible.
At Christmas time he liked to help when the ladies
were " sticking the church," as it was queerly called — in
other words, decorating it — and beautifully decorated it
was — owing in large measure to the taste of the organist's
wife and daughter. When all was done to satisfaction the
brooms, dust-pans, hand brushes and dusters, which were
kept under the altar, were fetched out, and the church re-
ceived its great annual cleaning. At morning service
on the important day how cheerily rang out from the
gallery the lusty, though metallic voices of the Sunday
School children ! — the boys on one side of the organ,
the girls on the other — while the choir — the pick of the
town for bulk and limb — outdid even themselves ;
a condition of things which may, or may not, be attribut-
able to the fact that it was Mr. Burnaby's custom to
have the whole of the school and the choir to dinner
at the Rectory. Dinner over — and more luscious beef
or more delectable plum pudding never smoked on table —
the youngsters used to drift into the adjoining field
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EARLY DAYS AT BEDFORD 11
to play football and indulge in sack and other races
supposed to be appropriate to the day, Fred — lissom
as a hare — always joining in, and establishing records.
Not were the aged forgotten. Writing so recently as last
Christmas, one of the old Sunday scholars says : " And
dear Mr. and Mrs. Burnaby, I knew them so well, and I
think I see them now at this festive season trying their
utmost, by means of seasonable gifts, to bring happiness
to the homes of the poor. How daring Fred was !
I remember how we used to wander together over the
vapoury meadows, and how he used to jump the wide
backwater at Newnham, so as to save a long walk over
the wooden bridge. We other boys stood aghast at
his daring, but he just managed to land on the opposite
side. Fred was of so sanguine a temper. He never
knew what fear was." Another scholar recalled the
Rector's outdoor habit, when he met young folks, of
extending, archiepiscopally, two straight fingers, and
enquiring amiably " Do, do ? "
At first Mr. Burnaby thought of making a clergyman
of his son, and Fred was quite agreeable until one day —
31st July, 1851— when he stood in St. Peter's church-
yard while his father, who showed himself deeply sym-
pathetic during the service, was burying John Francis,
the parish clerk. After the words " In the midst of life
we are in death," little Fred, touched to the quick by his
father's emotion and the sobs of the mourners, pulled his
father's surplice, and said, with tears trickling down his
cheeks, " Papa, I won't be a parson."
To the north of the Rectory, and on the grounds,
stood a ruined farmhouse where he and his companions
used to play. Hard by was a pond into which in summer
time they frequently tumbled, " coming out green all
over " ; and which in winter proved an ideal place for
slides. After a heavy fall of snow the boys would roll
from the field a huge snowball which, by the time it
reached High Street, would be as much as seven feet in
diameter. Fred early took to dumb-bells, practising
12 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
not only in the fields but in his father's drawing-room ;
and on one occasion he went too near the marble mantel-
piece and smashed it to atoms.
Not far from the Rectory stood, as we stated, the
residence of Mr. Livius, and both house and grounds had
the reputation of being haunted, owing partly to the
stories that circulated respecting Mr. Livius and his friend
the Rev. N. S. Godfrey,* who were spiritualists, and
partly owing to Mr. Livius's habit of hanging among the
trees a number of Eolian harps, which made weird sounds
" as of spirits in pain," all the night long ; and to Bed-
ford children — though not to little Fred, who, fearing
neither man nor spectre, used in bravado to pass at night
by the dreaded wall alone, — the grounds were a perpetual
terror. Mr. Burnaby's children were in charge of Mrs.
Page, the housekeeper, a faithful and devoted creature,
who, however, required all her wits to keep them within
bounds. She used to say of Fred in particular that he
had a most " contradictorious spirit," and more than
once she had to chase him in his night shirt across St.
Peter's Green amid an amused throng of onlookers ;
while he was aided and abetted in his devilry by his
father's great dog Berry who, when the Rectory gates
were opened for the carriage, used to come out with a
bound and startle everybody near. One or another
of the children was in trouble most days, but perhaps
the gravest instance was when Annie swallowed some
berries of the deadly nightshade and was carried in,
as it was supposed, dying. She recovered, however,
to turn her attention to much additional naughtiness.
It is not surprising that, Mrs. Page, overwrought
by the lawlessness of her charges, sometimes lost her head.
The worst, however, she at any time did in her flurry,
* Mr. Godfrey who was Rector of Biddenham was suspended for three
years owing to his spiritualistic practices. He wrote Table Moving Tested
and proved to be the Result of Satanic Agency (1853) which was replied to by
John Pritchard in a pamphlet entitled A Few Sober Words of Table Talk
about Tabic Spirits and the Rev. N. S. Godfrey's Incantations. Mr. Godfrey
subsequently became Vicar of St. Bartholomew's, Southsea.
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EARLY DAYS AT BEDFORD 15
was to give Evelyn a dose of embrocation instead of his
usual medicine ; but she was more than once heard to
wish wickedly that she was in heaven.
At the age of nine, Fred was sent to Bedford Grammar
School — the old building situated in St. Paul's Square,
with figure of Sir William Harpur in niche over the
portal. The Headmaster at the time was the Rev. Dr.
Brereton. Naturally Fred had a fight there, his oppo-
nent being a bigger boy ; and, just as naturally, when he
came off conqueror, his father rewarded him with a
shilling. Another amusement was throwing up farth-
ings and shooting at them. With his companions
Charlie (now Colonel) Roberts, Vitruvius Wyatt (now
Vicar of St. Leonard's, Bedford), Lizzie Hornsby, Emma
Rose and Alexander De Vismes, son of the Count,
he used to go boating and picnicing, sometimes to
Cardington, and sometimes in the opposite direction,
their favourite resorts being " Paradise " (Cauldwell
House),* the residence of Mr. John Howard, and Honey
Hill ; and as they rowed they would sing nigger and
other songs — timing themselves to the dipping of the
oars. In after years, too, Fred recalled the comical
scenes at the Wool Fair on St. Peter's Green and the
dissipations of Bedford Fair,| the stalls of which extended
from the Green to St. Paul's Church ; and how he used
to lay out his pence in a thin ginger-bread called parlia-
ment, and baked warden pears sold by one Wiffin, a man
with a stentorian voice.
The family often paid visits to Somerby, $ and stayed
at the Hall which had become the residence of Mr.
* Now the residence of Mr. Henry Burridge.
t October 12th.
J Somerby and Burrough boast of two distinguished personages who
were connected with both villages, namely William Cheselden, surgeon and
anatomist (1688— 1752), born at Burrough, and Sir. Benjamin Ward Richard-
son, born at Somerby. Dr. Cheselden's sister Deborah married Rev.
Gustavus Brown, Rector of Burrough, and so became an ancestress of Fred
Burnaby. Cheselden was a friend of Pope who commemorates him in his
Imitations of Horace. There may still be seen in the grounds of Somerby
Hall a beautiful leaden watertank, brought from Burrough, with the initials
G. and D.B. (Gustavus and Deborah Brown) and the date 1724.
c 2
16 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
Burnaby's mother. Somerby, a compact,
*~~ bl^ddi'" bright and pleasant village, is situated
Aged Man. some thirteen miles from Leicester, four
from Oakham and six from Melton
Mowbray — the nearest station being John o'Gaunt,*
three miles distant. Somerby Hall is a spacious
stuccoed building with a front facing the garden.
The lawn, which had a rosery surmounted by a great glass
ball, commands views of three churches — those of
Somerby, Pickwell and Cold Overton ; and on its border
stands an enormous beech with four stems, which Mrs.
Burnaby used to point to and say : " My four children "
(May, Annie, Fred and Evelyn). At some distance stand
two limes, the lower branches of which, as they hid the
view, Mrs. Burnaby wished cut away. For long the
Rev. Gustavus refused consent, but at last he humoured
her, and the trees have ever since been known as
" Discord " and " Concord."
Fred revelled in field sports, especially hunting ; and
some doggerel lines entitled The County Hunt, composed
by him when he and his father were staying at Somerby,
have been preserved. They commence with the vow
made by the huntsman of the Quorn, after a day's ill
luck, that " the morrow success should bring." When
the morrow arrived, he set off with " five couple of
hounds at his side," and reached Little Dalby village in
company with " Gilmore Lloyd and Sir Henry Edwards."
The horn rings merrily, the hounds are in full career —
and the excited question goes the round : " Is it a hare
or a fox ? ' It turns out to be neither, but only a man
carrying aniseed, who straightway rushed from the
canine kind. While this was taking place —
A middle-aged man in a lordly field
Stood giving directions to all —
A respectable middle-aged man was he
Owner of Somerby Hall.
Shortly a man rushed into the field,
Rushing o'er dale and lea.
The gentlemen cried " stop, you're spoiling my hedge."
" I can't, or they'll run into me ! "
* Name given at the suggestion of General Burnaby (Fred's cousin) after
John of Gaunt, the great earl of Lancaster and Leicester.
SOMERBY CHURCH.
From a photo by Messrs. John Burton & Sons, Leicester.
EARLY DAYS AT BEDFORD 19
The middle-aged man, giving directions to all, was, it
need hardly be said, Burnaby's father ; and to be " giving
directions to all " was characteristic enough of the auto-
cratic gentleman. The verses continue —
The man was caught, and then for sport
A lady in a habit
Said to the master of the hunt
" Let's run a little rabbit."
The suggestion was followed, and so ends what was
probably Master Burnaby's first attempt at verse ;
though it was not his last, for he often amused himself
with writing doggerel. No doubt this effusion was read
with applause at the Hall ; and we may be equally sure
the allusion to the middle-aged man giving directions to
all, was duly appreciated by the middle-aged man him-
self, and handsomely acknowledged.
Fred obtained some assistance in his education from
the Rev. William Young Nutt,* a hard-working clergy-
man, who was for thirty-five years curate of Burrough,
and subsequently rector of Cold Overton. As it was Mr.
Nutt's custom to make his pupils read the lessons in
church, while he stood by ready to give a nip in case of a
blunder, they all became approved elocutionists ; and
perhaps Fred owed some of the impression which he
many years afterwards made as a speaker on the people
of Birmingham, to the good gentleman's very vigilant
finger and thumb.
Burnaby left Bedford Grammar School in May, 1852,
and proceeded to a private school at Tinwell, near Stam-
ford, kept by the Rev. Charles Arnold,
son of the Rev. Thomas Kerchever Arnold, 1852) and
of Hennfs Latin Book fame; and there his Hai855)(Jan*
principal companions were Denzil Baring,
the late Lord Rowton, Edward Carr Glyn, now Bishop of
Peterborough, Lord Sunderland (afterwards in turn Lord
Blandford and Duke of Marlborough), and H. N. Finch.
His favourite sport at Tinwell was performing on the
* One of his sons, Henry, resides at Flitwick (Beds.), another, the Rev.
R. Nutt, at Ryde, a third Alfred, is architect to the King, at Windsor.
20 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
cross-bar of a gymnastic apparatus fixed some twenty
feet from the ground. On being informed that it would
not be safe to drop from it, he promptly resolved to make
the trial ; and with the words " Get away boys, I'm
coming," he jumped to the ground, with the result of a
broken leg, which confined him to his bed for three
months, though he never once shed a tear or made the
least complaint.
In the following year there were wedding festivities
at the old Bedford home — the occasion being the union of
Burnaby's elder sister with Mr. John Henry Manners-
Sutton, of Kelham, Notts. Owing to the father's posi-
tion, and the fact that the bride was the loveliest woman
of her time — though beauty was almost her least charm —
all Bedford and the country round flocked to the wedding,
at which four dukes were present.*
In January 1855, Burnaby — then a tall thin boy,
with a foreign-looking pallid face — passed to Harrow,
and he was placed, along with his friend Finch in "Middle-
mist's House," afterwards known as " Crookshank's."
In Greek and Latin he never distinguished himself,
indeed, for the study of these languages he always
showed contempt ; and in one of his speeches, when he
became a politician, he alleged that our public schools
are kept up far more in the interests of the masters
than of the boys — so much time being devoted to Greek
and Latin, not because of the utility of these languages,
but because the masters themselves happen to be ac-
quainted with them. I At French, however, he soon
became proficient. Among the letters he wrote from
Harrow was the following :
My dear Papa,
I hope you are quite well. You will be very glad to
hear I have got my remove, and got it quite easily, as
seven fellows below me got it. Give my love to dear
* Burnaby's other sister, Annie, became, in 1862, wife of Mr. Duncan
Baillie.
f Speech at Wednesbury, 17th October, 1883.
EARLY DAYS AT BEDFORD 21
mamma. I think my eyes are better. Finch gave me
a dinner yesterday at Fuller's. At least it was a kind of
early tea on a pheasant and some other things. There
were three of us there, and between us we finished him
well. He was rather a large pheasant. Give my love to
May and Annie. And now with best love, I remain,
Your ever affectionate son,
Frederick G. Burnaby.
There was at Harrow in those days a system of bully-
ing, of which Burnaby, with his manly notions, founded
chiefly on the commandment " Thou shalt not hit a boy
under your own size," strongly disapproved. On 18th
March, 1854, that is nine months before he entered the
school, there had appeared in Punch an article apparently
from the pen of Douglas Jerrold, entitled " Bullying at
Public Schools," which mentions both Harrow and Rugby
as schools where bullying of a particularly offensive
kind had taken place ; and after a stern denunciation
of the practice, it concludes with : " We only wish the
parent of some child who may have been brutally
ill-used by a bigger and stronger boy would try the effect
of the Act for the Punishment of Aggravated Assaults,
for there is, at all events, some power in the law, if there
is no redress to be had at the hands of the masters."
Burnaby may have read or heard of this article ;
but in any case he sent to Punch a communication
entitled " The Toad under the Harrow," in which he
complained particularly of the Harrow system of fagging.
Although the communication was ignored by the editor,
the course which Burnaby had taken reached, somehow,
the ears of the headmaster, who sent for the boy and
reprimanded him. However, the incident must have
had a healthy effect, for Mr. Walter Pepys,* recalling
the period of Burnaby's latter days at Harrow, has
been able to write to me : " The school life was decidedly
rough, or would at least now be considered so, but
there was a fine manly spirit with it, and in most houses
*He was in Burnaby's house.
22 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
the quiet and weak were not molested. Many of the
boys of that period rose to distinction, as, for example,
J. A. Symonds, G. O. Trevelyan, Montagu Corry, F. H.
Jeune, H. Chaplin, W. S. Church, Kenelm Digby, Edward
Stanhope, A. M. Chaunell, and H. T. Thompson."
Another incident of Burnaby's Harrow life was a battle
royal between him and a lad two years his senior, Henry
Edwards* ; and although one of the masters tried to
stop the fight, his efforts, owing to the fact that the scene
was the duly prescribed " Milling Ground,"! were abor-
tive, and it was fought to a finish. Then, too, while at
Harrow, Burnaby showed his adventurous spirit by taking
ud a boat — a one pair skiff — from Windsor to Oxford,
and thence by the canal to Severn and Shrewsbury
and back again — a distance of six hundred miles ;
thus performing a journey which, seeing that it occupied
over three weeks, was, for a boy of thirteen, a really
remarkable feat.
By this time it was decided that Burnaby should enter
the army, and in 1857 he was removed from Harrow
and sent to Oswestry, where he studied
6— The Goose, under the Rev. Stephen Donne, J brother
1857. of the Rev. James Donne, Vicar of St.
Paul's, Bedford. Here he displayed a
prodigious appetite. On one occasion when on a walking
tour in Wales he entered an inn, with only half-a-crown
in his pocket, and enquired what he could have for dinner
and the charge.
The landlord replied : " Goose and apple-tart, half-a-
crown."
The goose, a respectable one, with the usual savoury
etceteras, and the apple-tart, made by no niggard hand,
were brought forward ; but when the landlord looked in
half an hour later he found that Burnaby had eaten
the whole of the goose and the apple tart as well.
♦Afterwards Sir H. C. Edwards.
I Just under the old school.
J Archdeacon Donne, Vicar of Wakefield, is his son.
THE OLD GRAMMAR SCHOOL, BEDFORD.
Lent by Mr. Hubert Page, Bedford.
SOMERBY CHURCH (INTERIOR).
Showing East Window (to the Memory of Burnaby's parents)
Photo by Rev. G. E. Britten.
EARLY DAYS AT BEDFORD 25
For a moment he stood stock-still, in a stupor.
When, however, Burnaby coolly tendered the half-
crown and complimented him on his cookery, he mechan-
ically put out his hand for the well-merited coin ; and re-
marked : " Next time you come into these parts, please
give my friend Jones, of the Red Lion, a turn."
On October 12th, 1857, he wrote to his father :
Oswestry.
My dear Father,
Many thanks for the post office order, which I received
on Saturday. I expect I shall be able to go up in Decem-
ber, for the other day I met a captain in the army at
dinner, and he said they want officers so bad now that
they wink at the age, and that a cousin of his got in a
little while ago at 16. I had a letter from Colonel Yorke
the other day, saying he would let me know when
the next examination is to be. He is the Secretary to
the Council of Education. Give my love to dear Mother
and Annie, and hoping that Evelyn is not quite annihilated
at the idea of going to school. Believe me, your very
affectionate son,
F. Burnaby.
From Oswestry he was sent to Dresden, in order to
study languages under Professor Hughes ; and the
following letter, which is undated, appears
to have been written soon after his arrival 7 ~ Dresden.
He joins
there. the Blues.
4, Marian Strasse, Dresden.
My dear Governor,
Many thanks for your kind letter, which I received
quite safe. I called on Paget to-day. He was very kind,
but said that he had received no letter from my uncle,
so I suppose it was lost. I have, however, written to my
uncle to ask him for another. I like Dresden very much.
The old professor is a capital fellow. I am getting on
very well with the cornet, and German is becoming easier
every day. Write and tell me how much Benham makes.
26 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
It is awfully hot, but we live almost the whole day
in the Elbe, so it is very comfortable. They have
got capital bathing places here — large rafts with houses
on them and capital places to spring from so and so feet
from the water. The scenery is lovely. Give my best
love to Mamma and Annie,* and with best love to all
friends,
Believe me ever your very affectionate son,
F. BURNABY.
In Germany he became proficient in French, German
and Italian ; and on his return to England, as he was
still minded to become a soldier, he sat for his examina-
tion, which he passed with great credit, and some months
later (30th September, 1859) he was gazetted cornet in the
Royal Horse Guards (Blues).
In the meantime there had been revolutionary changes
at St. Peter's, the Rev. Gustavus having engaged a zeal-
ous and musical curate, the Rev. John Boyle, who tho-
roughly stirred up the parish. Among Mr. Boyle's
various innovations was the introduction of a choral
service, a change which was regarded with profound
suspicion ; and which saddled its author with the charge
of being a Jesuit in disguise ; but whether his irreverent
hand interfered with other sacred and hoary institutions,
such as keeping the hand brushes and dustpans under the
altar, we are not informed. He was certainly equal to it.
One Sunday morning in church, when Mr. Rose was
playing the hymn tune before the singing, there came
out in the midst of it some full clear notes of remarkable
power, and such as the organ had never before given forth.
There was a marked sensation in the church, and the
sensation became even more acute when, as the hymn
was being sung, the same notes were repeated in every
verse. The pretended new stop, however, presently
walked out of the organ, and stood revealed as Fred
Burnaby who, home on leave, had entered the tuning
place with his cornet just before the hymn was given out ;
* His sister, Ann Glentworth (afterwards Mrs. Duncan Baillie),
EARLY DAYS AT BEDFORD 27
and the effect was so fine — Fred being a first-rate player —
that he was begged to repeat the performance the follow-
ing Sunday ; and for years afterwards, on special occa-
sions, the cornet accompanied the organ.
Of Fred's stoicism under suffering we have furnished
an example, and we may give another. Once when on a
visit of leave to Bedford, he was practising with a pistol
when it exploded in his hand. Instead, however, of
making any remark, he coolly walked down the High
Street to Dr. Hurst's,* had the wound stitched up, and
returned to the Rectory to lunch, without making any
reference whatever to the matter. He was a student,
however, as well as a youth of action, but if he turned
to his father's bookshelves it was invariably to take
down some volume of history or biography, and the
picturesque and stirring pages of Plutarch and Gibbon,
not only thrilled him to the very centre, but provoked in
him an ardent longing to emulate the courageous deeds
of the various heroes.
Owing to the fact, already mentioned, that several
of the judges when on circuit used to be entertained
at St. Peter's Rectory, the Rev. Gustavus often attended
the Quarter Sessions, not infrequently taking with him
his younger son, Evelyn, who evinced a keen pleasure
both in listening to the trials and in reading the news-
paper reports afterwards. One day Evelyn did some-
thing that caused his father unusual pleasure, and the
old gentleman said to him, " My boy, name something
that you would like. No matter what it is, I will give it
you if possible."
" Father," said Evelyn, " buy me a Newgate calen-
dar."
As a curious instance of the permanence of character,
it may be mentioned that only last year the Rev. Evelyn
Burnaby published a work entitled, Memories of Famous
Trials. After being educated at Eton, where he was a
♦Brother of the late Mr. George Hurst. Dr. Hurst's house occupied
what is now the High Street entrance to the Arcade.
D
28 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
contemporary of Mr. A. J. Balfour, Lord Randolph
Churchill, Lord Rosebery, and Ernest Vivian, now Lord
Swansea, his life-long friend, Evelyn proceeded to Oxford,
where he graduated with honours.
CHAPTER II.
30TH SEPTEMBER 1859 — 31ST DECEMBER 1867.
Ballooning.
As Burnaby's early years in the army did not syn-
chronize with a piping time of war, they were unmarked
by any stirring event. He devoted him-
~~ from "re- self sedulously to his duties and studies,
mome, 21st an(j to developing by means of dumb-bell
U y ' and other exercises, his phenomenal
strength. Among his hobbies was fishing, and he became,
as the result of persistent practice on the lawn at Bed-
ford, an adept at casting the net.
In the summer of 1864 he turned his mind to aero-
nautics, and henceforward that science was one of his
leading enthusiasms.
Public attention had recently been drawn anew to the
balloon, owing largely to the achievements of Mr. Henry
Coxwell and Mr. James Glaisher, who on 5th September,
1862, ascended to a distance of seven miles, the highest
on record ; and the incidents of their courageous voyage,
which, by reason of the severity of the cold, almost cost
them their lives, were still fresh in the public mind.
These gentlemen also distinguished themselves in the
spring of 1863 ; while on October 4th of the same year
a voyage was made by a French aeronaut, M. Nadar,
and twelve other persons in a balloon containing the
enormous volume of 215,000 feet of gas, and supporting
in place of the ordinary car a two-storeyed wicker-work
cottage. Enormous, however, as was Mr. Nadar's
balloon, it was to be dwarfed by a truly gargantuan
aerostat constructed by another Frenchman, M. Jean
(29)
30 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
Godard, who had made ascents in the interests of his
country during the Italian campaign of 1859. M.
Godard' s balloon — The Eagle — had a cubic capacity of
500,000 feet, being doubtless the largest pear-shaped
aerostat ever constructed. M. Godard announced that
his balloon would make an ascent at Cremorne Gardens,
Chelsea, then one of the most popular of London's
pleasure resorts ; and the information that it was to be
inflated, not with coal gas, but with hot air, after the
fashion of the very early balloons made by the brothers
Montgolfier, excited enormous interest ; though, as
such an ascent would necessarily be accompanied by
extreme danger, fear was entertained lest Government
might interfere. M. Godard was confident enough,
but the general public had made up their minds that the
balloon would catch fire and explode in the air.
The day before the date fixed for the ascent Burnaby
and some of his brother subalterns paid a visit to the
gardens, where they found Mr. E. T. Smith, the manager,
the keen, bright-eyed M. Godard, and a captain of the
Blues engaged in earnest conversation ; and it trans-
pired that they had been discussing the probability
of government intervention.
" This is Godard, Fred," whispered the captain,
" the man who is going up in the fire balloon to-morrow."
" Very good fun, I should think," followed Burnaby,
who at that time knew practically nothing about balloon-
ing.
" Fun, indeed," said the captain, " fun with the chance
of being burnt as well as smashed. You would not think
it fun if you went up with him."
This speech ruffled Burnaby, and without taking time
to reflect, he said, " I should be delighted to ascend if
Monsieur Godard would take me."
This being mentioned to the aeronaut he at once
acquiesced, though he subsequently observed pathetic-
ally to a friend that Burnaby was " a devil of a weight."
Burnaby on his part agreed to pay the customary fee,
BALLOONING 81
and to help during the voyage with the stoking. The
following afternoon he again found his way to the gardens
which were crowded with visitors. The weather was
perfect, Godard and his assistants hurried hither and
thither making preliminary arrangements, and Mr. J. W.
Prowse, of the Daily Telegraph, who was to be one of the
voyagers, and Mr. Coxwell and Mr. Glaisher were stroll-
ing round the enclosure. The top of the uninflated
balloon, which was of calico, was suspended forty feet
from the grass by a rope which extended between two
masts, each a hundred feet in height, and the rest of the
monster lay upon the ground, except where a gangway
made of hoops led from the outside to the enormous
wooden car at its centre. In the car was a mysterious
iron furnace, from which shot up into the balloon an enor-
mous funnel, while there were bewildering air holes,
and a whole host of other perplexing accessories ; and
Burnaby noticed that the car was attached to the balloon
by cords stitched to the sides — there being no net.
While Godard and his assistants were carrying trusses of
straw through the gangway and ramming them into the
furnace, a hundred men stood round the balloon, each
holding to a piece of the covering ; and Burnaby's
friends spent the waiting moments chatting with Cox-
well and Glaisher, both of whom regarded the absence
of netting as a serious defect. Presentlv Godard set
light to the straw in the furnace. The fire roared up
through the funnel, and in a few minutes the gigantic
envelope began to distend. As it rose the rope keeping
its top from the flames was gradually tightened. In
half an hour it was ready to start, but the prospect of a
ride in so uncanny a conveyance was far less agreeable
than it had previously appeared. The flames from the
straw roared at least twenty feet into the balloon through
the funnel. Sparks flew about in all directions, alighting
even on the calico and on the trusses of straw which
were attached to the sides of the car. It was an awe-
striking spectacle, and one which in regard to the car
32 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
and its occupants would not have been out of place in
Dante's Hell. While Burnaby was cursing under his
breath the folly that had induced him to volunteer
Godard approached and said " I am very sorry, but I
can't take you." Burnaby felt as though a load had been
suddenly lifted from his brain. " Thank heavens ! '
he said to himself, and then addressing his friends he
drawled, ' ' Very sorry — great nuisance ! but Godard says
he can't take me, as I'm too heavy."
"Too heavy! nonsense," said the captain, 'and
after all my friends have come here to see you go up.
You must keep your word, or they will say you funk."
And the insinuation was a correct one, though unpalat-
able enough to Burnaby.
In the meantime Mr. Prowse and a friend of Godard's,
M. Gustave Faucheux, had taken their places by the side
of the aeronaut and his assistants. The balloon, now
fully inflated, presented an imposing and beautiful
appearance, ornamented as it was with a great blue
border, tri-colour pennons and representations of the
French eagle ; and encircled at about a third of its height
by a bat-like and eldritch arrangement which looked like
an enormous parachute.
Godard was now in the act of ordering the men to let
go the cords, and the balloon began to rise. At that
moment, fired by a sudden resolution, Burnaby, unseen
by Godard, who was on the other side of the furnace,
vaulted into the car ; whereupon the balloon, which had
been rising splendidly, descended with a bump. The
additional sixteen stone had been too much for it.
Godard, who could not understand what was the matter,
seized fresh trusses of straw, and pushing them into the
furnace, filled it to its summit. The flames roared
louder than ever, sparks flew in showers, and up went,
amid cheer after cheer from the spectators, this terrible
roaring fiery furnace — an object of such weight that
" had it fallen it would have more than sufficed to smash
in the dome of St. Paul's, if not to bring great part of the
BALLOONING 33
entire edifice to the ground."* It took an easterly,
and then a south-easterly course. Every part of the
huge city came in turn within ken of the occupants of the
car, and the panorama, if not worth the risk of the jour-
ney, was, in Mr. Prowse's words, " a very magnificent
spectacle." The sounds from the streets, which re-
sembled the clamour of a sea, mingled during the whole
of the journey with the noise of the furnace ; for at no
time did the balloon ascend much above half a mile.
The heat from the flames was painful to all, though Burn-
aby, owing to his great bulk and length of leg seems to
have felt it most. Three times the balloon passed over
the Thames, and when it approached Greenwich marshes
Godard decided to descend— and a perilous descent it
proved, for the fire was still roaring merrily, and the
sparks flew at will. The car bumped the ground, and
rose again time after time, but at last, by the aid of
" a hundred sensible Englishmen," who caught hold of
and tugged at the ropes, the monster was secured, and
the adventure terminated. Burnaby returned in safety
to his barracks, where he received the congratulations
of his friends ; and Mr. Prowse hurried to the office of the
Daily Telegraph, which next morning published his
graphic account of the adventure. " The Eagle " made
one more successful voyage. When, however, it was
being inflated for a third ascent, it caught fire and was
consumed to ashes, though happily without injury to
anyone.
Henceforward Burnaby's interest in aeronautics in-
creased daily, he studied the subject in all its depart-
ments, and, after joining the Aeronautical
Society, he made several excursions in gas 9— A Descent at
balloons with Mr. Coxwell. In the com- juiy i864.
pany of his " lean friend " — indeed the
leanest man he had ever met, and little more than a
skeleton — Lieutenant Westcar, who had a balloon of his
own, he once ascended from Windsor, where the Blues
* Daily News.
34 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
were garrisoned, and after about two hours the travellers
found themselves some two thousand feet above Bedford.
Old Mr. Burnaby was in his garden at the time cutting
roses, and chatting with his organist. Chancing to look
up, and seeing a balloon above him, he said, " I should
not be surprised if my boy were in that car," and he
ordered the servants to sit up in case his son should
arrive late and require supper. On second thoughts
he decided to sit up himself ; and about midnight the
door flew open and Fred, accompanied by Westcar
(colossus and skeleton), burst in with : " Hullo, governor.
Here we are ! Started from the Cavalry Barracks and
came down at Riseley."*
Burnaby' s personal appearance as he sauntered down
the street, or sat on horse-back on parade, never failed
to attract attention. Not only was he
Strength, six feet four in height and 46 inches round
Extraordinary i\ie chest, but his face was finely cut and
Wasfers.
handsome. Admittedly it was not an
English face. There was something of the foreigner in it,
and one of his friends described his appearance as that
of an Italian baritone.
A regular attendant at the fencing school, he became
one of the most expert men of his time with the foils.
He could run along a bar like Blondin ; hold with arm
outstretched a billiard cue with the butt in the air and the
point between his first and second fingers ; and vault,
using only the left hand, over a billiard table. Owing to
his passion for, and skill at boxing, his military friends
called him Heenan. He outdid every competitor with the
dumb-bells, and there is, we believe, still preserved in one
of his clubs, a glass case containing a huge dumb-bell, and
a written challenge to any man to hold it at arm's length
for the space of sixty seconds. Burnaby, and Burnaby
alone, could perform this feat. He used to toy with a
dumb-bell weighing a hundred weight and a half, which
* Eight miles from Bedford.
BALLOONING 35
only one other man — Mr. Lawrence Levy,* could lift,
and to rear straight above his head another dumb-bell
weighing one hundred and twenty pounds. " There were
no two men living," observed Mr. T. Gibson Bowles to the
author, " whose heads he could not have knocked to-
gether." He was the strongest man of his time. The
anecdote of Burnaby and the ponies has often been
told. There are several versions of it, but the following
has found most acceptance : Once when Burnaby was at
Windsor, a horsedealer who had come into possession
of a couple of very small ponies, took them thither by
command to exhibit them to the Queen. Before going
to the castle he showed them to the officers of the Blues,
to whom occurred the idea of having a joke at Burnaby's
expense, so they drove the ponies upstairs to his room,
which was on the first flight — and the door being only
ajar, the animals trotted in unannounced. Burnaby,
who could always appreciate a jest was sufficiently
amused, but then came a difficulty. The ponies had
gone upstairs quietly enough, but neither force nor en-
treaty could induce them to descend. The hour ap-
proached at which they were to be presented to the
Queen, and their owner was desperate. Burnaby, how-
ever, soon settled the matter. Taking up a pony under
each arm, as if they were cats, he walked downstairs
with them and set them in the courtyard.
On one occasion he took a thick kitchen poker and
with his hands bent it double. Then he curled it round
a companion's neck, making a collar of it, from which
the man tried in vain to release himself. Burnaby
however quietly untwisted it, and with as much ease as
if he were untying a neckerchief. Among those who
witnessed with amusement these remarkable feats —
* Mr. Levy in an article in the Birmingham Gazette of 17th February,
1908, says, in reference to a meeting with Burnaby, " He was somewhat
dubious as I pitted some of my feats against those he told me he prac-
tised. I was built in the unheroic mould of 5ft. 4 Jin., he was 6ft. 4m. At
the Fisheries Exhibition, Col. Burnaby's heavy dumb-bell, weighing some
170 lbs., was on view and I — let it be said with all due modesty — was the
only athlete who ever put it up except the Colonel."
D 2
36 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
though Burnaby himself made light of them — were the
Prince and Princess of Wales — our present King and
Queen.
Notwithstanding his enormous strength, Burnaby
was not infrequently prostrated by illness and racked
with pain, and he used to say that he had had every com-
plaint in the pharmacopoeia. From liver trouble and
dyspepsia he was scarcely ever free, and he often com-
plained that the vulture of Prometheus had fastened
upon his viscera, and refused to be driven from its prey ;
but though he systematically combated this vulture by
means of early rising, active exercise, and the austerity
of an anchorite, it must be admitted that he sometimes
heedlessly encouraged it. Thus he made many extra-
ordinary wagers. One was that he would reduce himself
four stone in as many months ; and by means of Turkish
baths and a quantity of Cockle's pills, a commodity in
which he had unshakable faith, he attained his end ;
but on winning the wager he walked straight to the Old
University Club, where in the company of his father he
indulged in a meal such as even he had never before
enjoyed.
" It is only after a long fast," he said, " that you can
really appreciate a good dinner." The result was a swift
and almost incredible addition to his weight ; but whether
this Gargantuan feast following immediately a prolonged
fast was beneficial to that liver, of whose vagaries he so
often complained, is perhaps open to doubt.
Another of his bets was that he would run, row, ride,
hop, and walk five successive quarters of a mile within one
quarter of an hour ; and a boat and a horse having been
stationed in readiness on the banks of the Thames, he set
himself to the feat, which he performed in less than
thirteen minutes.
An excellent rider, he gave his horses such Bible names
as Beelzebub, Ahasuerus and Belial ; while a favourite
Pomeranian dog answered to the name of Nimshi.
Shortly after the balloon voyage to Bedford, Mr. Westcar
ml
Mrs. MANNERS-SUTTON.
burnaby's ELDER SISTER.
Said to have been the most beautiful woman of her time.
BALLOONING 39
invited Burnaby to a country house, where he had
hired the shooting. The guns were no
sooner out, than it became evident that li— A Shooting
there were very few birds ; and both West- Fracas.
car and Burnaby took the owner of the
land — a big, burly fellow named Hooker — severely to
task.
' Perhaps," said Mr. Hooker, .sarcastically, " you
think I've been over the ground before."
Burnaby having replied with a sarcasm, Mr. Hooker,
who confused him with someone else, made a serious
charge against him, whereupon Burnaby gave his accuser
a thrashing.
The latter retaliated bv bringing against Burnabv an
action, which was tried in the Court of Exchequer at
Westminster, before Mr. Baron Martin. Mr. (afterwards
Baron) Huddleston appeared for Burnaby, his attorney
being a gentleman of the name of Home ; while Serjeant
Ballantine acted for the plaintiff. The case, which was
decided against Burnaby, created unusual excitement in
court, owing chiefly to the violence of the language used
on both sides. From the judge himself, even, escaped
some indefensible remarks, which had to be withdrawn ;
and Evelyn Burnaby could not resist the temptation
to send him a stinging valentine. Indeed, to quote the
report of the Blues' riding-master, who was present on
the occasion, "it was hawful 'ot in that court. There
was Eenan* and Orne, Uddleston and Ooker| all a fight-
ing like hanything."
For long the Rev. Gustavus Burnaby had nursed the
hope of being able to present himself to both the Leices-
tershire livings of Somerby and Burrough, 12— The Rev.
but the Pluralities Bill introduced by his Gustavus
Leicestershire neighbour, Mr. Frewin, of SomTrby^Vnd
Cold Overton (M.P. for Brighton), who by June, 1866.
the by was a man of enormous size,f had made that
* Burnaby.
■j" He weighed 20 stone. He had a special mahogany bedstead made for
himself.
40 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
impossible ; and, as a result, his attitude towards Mr. Fre-
win was one of hostility. However, feeling his years
increasing, and prompted by the desire to spend the
remainder of them at Somerby Hall, he in 1866, after
having officiated at St. Peter's for thirty-one years,
exchanged livings with the Rev. S. Rolleston, of Somerby.
The Rev. Gustavus, it seems, was far too much of an
autocrat to please the people of that parish. To one
encroachment on their rights, or supposed rights, after
another the people grumblingly submitted, but when
the old gentleman proposed to Avail in the village pond,
the parish, backed by Mr. Frewin, not only broke into
open rebellion, but boldly dared him to make the at-
tempt ; and henceforth there were continual broils.
A little later certain sanitary improvements were pro-
posed in the village, and a public meeting was held,
among those present being the Sanitary Inspector and
the Rev. Gustavus. There was much discursive talk
on the occasion about " nuisances," and various persons
expressed their opinions and aired their grievances.
At last a purple-faced farmer got up, and addressing the
Sanitary Inspector said, after mopping his forehead with
a huge bandana, " I'll tell ye what it is, mister, the big-
gest nuisance in this here parish is our old parson."
The meeting roared, the Rev. Gustavus, who like the
rest of his family, had a keen sense of the ridiculous,
joining in the laughter ; nor was he seriously perturbed
when somebody tarred on his entrance gates
" Nuisance Hall."
Unlike his father, Fred, who was often at Somerby
on leave, was really popular in the neighbourhood.
His arrival indeed was always the signal for excitement
and joviality. At one time or another he must have
boxed with almost every inhabitant. Among those
who faced him and showed excellent though futile
fight, was the local policeman, and it is recalled that after
a particularly good bout on Burrough Hill,* Fred pre-
sented his opponent with a sovereign.
* A Roman encampment a mile and a half from Somerby.
BALLOONING 41
To the irrefutable delinquencies of the Rev. Gustavus
the inhabitants of Burrough most unkindly added one
of which he was certainly innocent. There is a story to the
effect that he removed one of the Somerby bells to Bur-
rough ; and the Burrough people, as receivers, are sup-
posed to have been as culpable as the reverend gentle-
man. Consequently when Burrough man bites thumb
at Somerby man, the latter never neglects to include
among other disparaging insinuations, " Who stole the
Somerby bell ? " Indeed, if you go to Burrough belfry
and ask the ringers which is the Somerbv bell, thev will
point it out and say, " This one." It matters not that
the Rev. G. E. Britten, the present Vicar of Somerby,
has carefully investigated the tradition, and has explained
in a lucid and amusing paper* how the error arose,
the bell of Burrough will to the end of time be pointed
to in proof of the authenticity of the story ; and to the
end of time, too, there will be bad blood between Somerby
men and Burrough men, while the memory of a perfectly
innocent, if exasperating, old gentleman will be saddled
with a misdeed which he never committed, and which
was never committed by anyone.
As years passed by Mr. Burnaby jogged along after a
fashion with his parishioners, but he always regretted
having left Bedford ; he became as melancholy as the
padge-owl that hooted in his park ; and he could never
quite forgive Mr. Frewin. One day Mr. Frewin was
thrown out of his carriage. " Fortunately," com-
mented Mr. Burnaby, ' ' he fell on his head, and therefore
was not hurt." There is, however, another version of
this anecdote, according to which the reverend gentle-
man did not say " Fortunately," but " Unfortunately,"
which was even more caustic. A memorial of one of
Fred's visits to Somerby is still standing in the village —
in the shape of a row of cottages, with a stone carved
" F.G.B., 1862," which his father bought and presented
to him in order to secure him a vote.|
* A Stolen Church Bell. Printed in the Grantham Journal, i6th, April, 1904.
■\ In anticipation of his 21st birthday which would fall on 3rd, March, 1S63.
42 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
Aeronautics still occupied most of Fred's spare time.
Hitherto balloons had been absolutely at the mercy of
the winds, but he believed that it would
—An Accident ke possible to guide them ; and it was
in * \i g Ail1
1867. to the discovery of this secret that his
studies were chiefly directed. While he
was thus employed, his attention was drawn to an
advertisement which stated that a French aeronaut
had at last invented a controllable aerostat, in which
he intended to make an ascent from Cremorne. Burnaby
at once went to see the machine, which turned out to be,
not an ordinary pear-shaped balloon, but an object some-
thing like a gigantic barrel pointed at both ends, while
it was provided with wheels and screw-fans which,
according to the Frenchman, made it controllable.
Though Burnaby had little faith in the invention, he was
prepared to add to his experiences, especially as the ex-
periment seemed likely to prove a dangerous one ; so he
expressed his intention of accompanying the Frenchman
on the journey. On the day fixed upon, the aerostat
was filled, but Burnaby noticed a serious defect in it,
namely, that the neck, owing to its distance above the
car, would be out of reach during the voyage. However,
he took his seat with the Frenchman and his assistant ;
and, amid the cheers of an expectant crowd, the aero-
nauts commenced turning the wheels. The fans revolved
at a tremendous pace, the aeronauts perspired, the
spectators laughed, but nothing happened. At last
Burnaby, who had lost all patience, seizing an oppor-
tunity when the Frenchman was looking another way,
caught up a bag of ballast and dropped it over the side
of the car. The aerostat at once rose, and the French-
man, believing the movement to be the result of his
machinery, called on his crew to make even more strenu-
ous exertions. The course lay over the Thames, but
Burnaby could see that there was no directing at all —
that they were, indeed, as much at the mercy of the wind
as if their air-ship had been of the ordinary pear-shape.
ASCENT OF LIEUTENANT BURNABY, M. GODARD, Mr.
J W. PROWSE, (of the Daily Telegraph), and others in the
enormous hot-air balloon, The Eagle, 21st Jul}-, 1864.
BALLOONING 45
However, novelty was something but when they were
at a height of some 3,000 feet, the Frenchman, happening
to look up, suddenly became alarmed. The balloon
was fully distended, but the neck, which should have
been left open for the escape of gas, was tied securely with
a silk pocket handkerchief. Seeing that, as we said be-
fore, there was no possibility of getting to that neck,
it was clear to probation that, owing to the continual
expansion of the gas, the balloon must burst. It was a
critical and exciting situation. They were 3,000 feet
above London — a minute or two more, thought Burnaby,
and we shall be found lying smashed beyond recognition
in one of those fatal streets. The three men gazed at one
another without being able to speak. They were absol-
utely helpless. How long that terrible silence lasted they
knew not. It might have been a few seconds. It
seemed hours. At last there came a cracking noise,
" which," says Burnaby, " reminded me of the sound
in a ball room when an awkward man treads on a lady's
dress." It was then seen that the balloon had split
well nigh from neck to top. The gas rushed out through
the rent, the balloon fell with frightful rapidity, and the
three men gave themselves up for dead. By a miracle,
however, the pressure of the descending bag of silk
on the atmosphere, caused the loAver part of the balloon
to be forced into the upper portion of the netting, thus
forming an object like a pent house, which acted as a
gigantic parachute. This lessened the velocity of the
fall, and a little later the aeronauts dropped into a grass
field, about three miles from the place where the accident
had happened.
Burnaby's reckless deeds led many of his acquaint-
ances, and especially Westcar, to believe that his chances
of reaching even middle life, wrere slight.
Once at a dinner party at the horse guards, ^ s«h»rtbacth
Burnaby, Westcar, Glaisher and Coxwell, p0ie.
being present, the conversation ran on the
probabilities of their various lives.
46 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
" You and Captain Burnaby," said Coxwell, addressing
Westcar, " will make history in aeronautics long after
my time."
"It is not unlikely," said Westcar, " that you may
outlive both of us."
Coxwell, who was twenty-three years Burnaby's
senior, shook his head, but to use his own expression,
uttered long afterwards, he " saw both of those noble
fellows out."
In July, 1867, Burnaby was prostrated with gastric
catarrh ; and in the hope of benefitting by the waters
of Schwalbach,* he made a journey thither in the com-
pany of Evelyn. A steady improvement in his health
having after a time taken place, the brothers departed
for Nice, where Fred, who had a premonition that he
was destined to be mixed up with the Eastern Question,
set himself to the study of Russian. In the company
of his instructor, Mr. Hoffman, he took long walks
talking Russian all the way, and by the time his health
was completely restored he had — such were his linguistic
gifts — thoroughly mastered the language. . While the
brothers were in the town, Evelyn, somehow, became
embroiled with a Polish prince, who took an early oppor-
tunity of expressing to Fred his desire to fight a duel.
" My dear sir," said Fred, glancing with half shut eye
down at the bellicose gentleman, " I don't see how it can
be managed, for as my brother is studying for the Church
his hands are, so to speak, tied ; but," he added, with
a characteristic twinkle in that same eye, " rather than
you should be disappointed, I'll fight for him."
The Pole, who was perfectly conversant with Fred's
achievements both as a swordsman and a shot, raised
what Fred called " some absurd difficulty," and nothing
further was heard of the matter.
* Near Wiesbaden.
CHAPTER III.
1st january 1868 november 1870.
In Spain and Morocco,
bibliography.
1. Letters to Vanity Fair, the first number of which
appeared 7th November 1868. Burnaby's first
letter is dated 19th December 1868. All his letters
are entitled Out of Bounds, and signed Convalescent.
2. Letters to the Morning Post in 1869 and subsequently.
For some years one of Burnaby's principal friends
had been Mr. Thomas Gibson Bowles — indeed they were
almost like brothers; and towards the
15— Mr. Thomas i «..„,»„■■■■ t» % t-. i j
Gibson Bowles, end of 1868 Mr. Bowles, Burnaby and
Zanity F4at' an°ther gentleman with literary tastes —
Mr. Charles Waring — decided to establish
a Society newspaper. Burnaby, whose intimate con-
nection with Bedford had saturated him with the Pil-
grim's Progress, suggested as its title, Vanity Fair.
The first number appeared on 7th November, 1868,
and from its inception the venture — " a sin of my youth "
— as Mr. Bowles penitently calls it, seems to have pros-
pered— in the sense that the public were ready to pur-
chase it. Among the earliest contributors was Captain
Cockburn, of the 2nd Life Guards — " Cocky," as he was
called- — a fine classical scholar and a writer of sinewy
and flexible English ; and Burnaby, who still suffered
from ill-health, volunteered to visit Spain and send home
a series of letters from that country. Although Vanity
Fair had, and has always had, a staff of exceptionally
(47) F.
48 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
gifted writers, its weekly picture has, nevertheless,
from the very first, overshadowed its piquant letter-press.
It is almost needless to observe that the cartoons of
Vanity Fair are world-famous, and that a public man
who finds himself caricatured in this way, considers
himself honoured. But a different condition of things
once prevailed, and during the paper's early career,
there ensued endless trouble, owing both to picture and
print. " These boys," observed Mr. Bowles, to the
writer — alluding to Cockburn, Burnaby, and others —
" were continually getting me into hot water." The
paper, indeeed, was a source of perpetual anxiety to all
concerned. Burnaby discontinued connection with it
after two or three years, in obedience to the command
of the Duke of Cambridge ; and ultimately — in 1887 —
Mr. Bowles himself was glad to shift the burden on to the
shoulders of another.
We said that Burnaby's reason for wishing to visit
Spain was in order to build up his health, but there was
another reason. The flight of Queen
16— At Pau, 16th lsabel had been followed by the formation
of a provisional government, and the
country was on the eve of a revolution.
" In Spain," he argued, " there will be no lack of excite-
ment, and I shall have every opportunity of studying
my profession." As part of his luggage, he carried with
him a sack of fat bacon, which, together with the climate
of Seville, would, he asseverated, completely restore him
to health.
His first stopping place was the French town of Pau,
and his first letter — signed, like all that followed, " Con-
valescent " — is dated 19th December 1868. A night
or two after his arrival he was alarmed by the cry of
" Fire ! " but on dashing into the street he saw, to his
surprise, the people running, not to the fire, as they do in
England, but helter-skelter from it, and in all directions.
Having arrived before the burning house, he found it
guarded by soldiers. As soon as he presented himself,
IN SPAIN AND MOROCCO 49
however, an officer approached him and said II faut
travailler, monsieur ; and straightway he was pressed
into one of three lines of workers who were passing as
many rows of buckets from some water supply to the
hand pumps ; and although in evening dress he com-
plied with the order. But the experience was not an
agreeable one, for the next man, as often as not, spilt half
the water over him, instead of handing it on properly ;
and he was not long in grasping the townsfolk's reason
for running from the fire instead of to it. At a moment,
however, when the soldiers were not looking he set down
his bucket and slipped away, leaving the hand engines
squirting with absolute ineffectiveness against the fire ;
which, as he afterwards learnt, burnt itself out.
Wherever he went, Burnaby made it his business to get
sight of everything worth seeing. Thus at Pau he visited
the establishment maintained by the French Government
for the purpose of improving the breed of horses, and he
paid a high tribute to the hygienic arrangements of the
building and the general excellence of the system.
He saw much in the neighbourhood to amuse him ;
but nothing appealed so strongly to his sense of the
ridiculous as the local hunt. Having from his child-
hood followed the hounds in the finest hunting centre
in England — the Melton Mowbray district, and being
on terms of intimacy with the hardest riders of the time,
he was prepared to make large allowance for Pau, but it
never occurred to him that things would be quite so
absurd as they proved. The field was cosmopolitan,
but chiefly French, English and American in an astound-
ing variety of get-ups, while Burnaby himself could pro-
cure nothing better than a ridiculous short-legged horse,
named Hercule, with the result that his own very long
legs almost touched the ground. He was informed,
as matter for congratulation, that there were no obstacles
in the way, moreover that the fox, besides being a bagged
one, was to have " his natural fragrance enhanced by a
liberal douche of aniseed." So strong, indeed, was the
50 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
aniseed that, according to Burnaby any average-nosed
mortal could have dispensed with the hounds altogether.
For ten whole minutes Hercule did his best with the
enormous weight on his back, but subsequently he slack-
ened, and finally stood stock-still in the middle of a
ploughed field. However, after reasonable breathing
time he was induced to move on again, and, with the
help of a short cut, enabled his rider to be in at the death.
The whole affair lasted just twenty minutes, and one
of the French chasseurs, after declaring that the sport had
been exceptionally magnifique, volunteered the informa-
tion that Pau was the Melton Mowbray of France.
From Pau, Burnaby crossed to the frontier town of
St. Sebastian, whose fortifications he found mounted
with antique guns, which bade fair to be
17— In Seville, more damaging to their owners than to the
1869. enemy ; and thence, in order to avoid the
rigours of a Pvreneean winter, he hurried
southward. He found Madrid in a political ferment —
Carlists, Royalists and Republicans all vituperating
one another in the day time, but sitting side by side,
nevertheless, in perfect amity at night while they wit-
nessed the popular can-can, which was the principal at-
traction at most of the theatres. Cock-fights were held
regularly on Sunday mornings. " A first class bull-
fight " Burnaby did not see, owing to the fact that the
bulls are " not game in cold weather," but he attended
several drums and balls. The loveliness of " the clusters
of choice exotics " — that is to say, the Spanish ladies —
at these gatherings quite took him by surprise ; he marked
" the coquetry which gives dancing its sweetness and
bitterness all over the world, "and he expressed his
opinion that many travellers have left Spain without
forming the slightest idea of the wealth of beauty con-
cealed within its boundaries. From Madrid he proceeded
to Seville, where he also figured in the ball rooms,
and the bronzed and dark-eyed Andalusian beauties
were proud to have as partner the tall and handsome
IN SPAIN AND MOROCCO 51
Juan Ingles (John Bull), who was the source of joy and
gaiety in everyone who came into contact with him.
Nothing amused him more than the custom of the men,
as well as the women, of carrying to the theatre longish
bags of dulces — sweetmeats made of cream, crushed fruit
and powdered sugar ; and on one occasion he handed
a bag time after time to a pretty girl, just to see how
many she would eat. She put ten between her lips,
and then reluctantly confessed herself vanquished.
In a letter to his father of February 16th, he says
after referring to the hospitality of his friends, " I have
just been calling on the daughter of the 18_Burnaby as a
Marquis Sancha Scha, and they have Troubadour,
been arranging theatricals in which I am ^isS^''
to play the part of an enraptured lover.
They have given me a book of thirty pages to learn by
heart, bad enough in one's own language, but the devil
in a strange one. What did vou think of the last two
letters in Vanity Fair ? They give more idea of Spanish
life and customs than you will see in any books published
on Spain, which in fact are written by travellers who
know nothing of the country, its habits or language.
We had a curious performance last Sunday at the theatre
— ' The Passion of our Lord.' There was immense ap-
plause when it was finished, and the actor who represented
our Saviour, having been unfastened from the Cross,
came to the footlights and bowed to the audience.
There was a good deal of crying amongst the women in the
gallery while our Saviour was being scourged, as it was
done in such a natural manner that they took it in earnest."
The acting altogether, it seems, quite exceeded the
expectations of the audience, for when in the final scene,
" Judas very successfully hanged himself, the applause
was so deafening that he had to reappear and hang him-
self over again."
The letter concludes : " You have no idea of this clim-
ate ; it is too lovely. Nice is no more to be compared to
it than London is to Bedford."
52 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
In another letter (written to his brother Evelyn, 18th
February 1869), we hear more about the enraptured
lover.
" I am going," says Burnaby, " to act the lover to a
bright-eyed Spanish girl this evening in some private
theatricals. You would laugh if you could see my get-
up — an enormous cloak and broad brim crowned hat.
One of the necessary things in the role is to sing an amor-
ous ditty below the window, but as I have no more voice
than an old crow, it has been settled that I am to go
through the pantomime with a guitar, and another
(a concealed) Lothario, is to pipe a strain to the fair lady.
What a pity it is I was not born a ' Mario ' ; it is humiliat-
ing, to say the least, making love under false pretences,
even though one does have the post of honour in the
play.
Vanity Fair has a capital caricature of Bright this
week.* I begin to think my share in that speculation
looks promising. My cold is all right, but my old liver
will not leave me in peace. Love to all, and wishing that
Madame Rachel could renovate your gullet and my liver
as easily as she makes antiquities beautiful for ever."
In a letter of 7th March, Burnaby continues his account
of the incidents of Passion Week. He says " We are
to have the Veil of the Temple Scene to-
19— At a morrow in the Cathedral, that is a large
Tentadero. white veil is hung over the altar ; and dur-
ing the mass, fireworks are let off, and the
veil is split from top to hottom in order to represent
the rending of the veil of the Temple, but you will see it
all described in the Morning Post and Vanity Fair.'''
In the next letter, which is undated, he gives some
account of his studies. He says " I get up at 8.30, to
have a Spanish lesson from 9.15 to 10.45, breakfast at 11,
and then go to the barber's, walk about till 12.30, when
I return and study Russian till 1.30, when I have another
Spanish master, who comes till 2.30. After which I
* Vanity Fair, 13th February, 1S69.
IN SPAIN AND MOROCCO 53
pay visits till 4, write letters at the club or read papers
from 4 till 5, and then go out for a stroll. I dine at 6.
At 7.30 I return to the club and talk and chafT till 9.30,
when I go to some reunion or other till 12. We have
an immense procession to-day in favour of freedom of
worship and abolition of the army. These Radicals
would abolish everything if they could. I am busy
learning another language, not a verbal one, but a more
expressive one. You have heard, of course, that the
Spanish seiioritas are celebrated for the way they manage
their fans. A very pretty little Andalusian is teaching
me the language of the fan, and as there are some 200
signs with it, it is not so easv as one would think.
A little later Burnaby made one at a tentadero, or bull-
fight rehearsal, a dangerous amusement which was taken
part in by some twenty Andalusian horsemen. After
a ten mile ride — Burnaby's mount being ' ' a low horse " —
(his usual luck) — they came to a grassy expanse where
eighty bulls were grazing. The object of the company
was to test the individual courage of the members of the
herd. A specimen having been selected, one of the
horsemen approached, and precisely at the moment
when the creature's hoofs were in the air, struck it above
the tail, causing it to roll over. When it rose the same
process was repeated again and again ; until at last the
bull turned upon and charged at his tormentor. Then
another horseman, a picador, approached on a poor hack
which had been blindfolded, and he received the bull's
charge upon his spear. As the bull, instead of retiring
after this result, returned and made another attack,
he was honoured by being termed a muy guapo, that is to
say, an animal fit for the arena. If on the contrary
he had turned tail, he would have been greeted with
abuse, and condemned to pass the rest of an ignoble
life in agricultural pursuits. The same experiment was
repeated with other bulls.
Although Burnaby's companions were, as he subse-
quently discovered, all men of aristocratic birth, the
54 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
luncheon that followed was of a curiously unceremonious
character. They helped themselves to meat at the point
of their knives, putting it to their lips in great lumps ;
and drank wine from a goatskin provided with a wooden
tap, everyone in turn applying his mouth. Then the
bull-baiting was renewed. At five o'clock, or thereabouts
the sport came to an end, and the party prepared for
a brobdingnagian debauch. But having already tested
the wine, which he found heady, Burnaby could see that,
as a temperate man, he would, if he stayed to the feast,
be regarded only as a marplot and a bore. So he cour-
teously thanked his friends, bade them adieu, and rode
back on his " low horse " to Seville.
At the inns and other places where he put up, he had
to endure considerable discomfort ; but he was at all
times a cheery traveller, and rarely complained about
his hosts, no matter what part of the world he happened
to be exploring. He entered with spirit into the fun
of the great Seville fair ; and obtained enjoyment from
booth, cattle sale and dance ; but above all from the
bright eyes of the beautiful and voluptuous Andalusian
girls who were seductively attired in ?naja, a hat perched
coquettishly on the side of the head, a short black velvet
jacket, a white faja or sash-like belt, which supported a
red skirt reaching to the ankles, the whole culminating
in the tiniest shoes with bewitching red bows and silver
clasps. In Spain married ladies hardly ever dance, and
a pretty little senora, who had been married only three
months, put on a puritanical air, and affected to be
rather shocked at what was going on. " Pacific dances,"
she said to Burnaby, " such as quadrilles I can under-
stand, but valses never."
" To the pure," observed Burnaby, " all things are
pure, even the valse"; upon which she menaced him
with her fan, and called him a naughty, wicked, un-
believing libertad-de-cultos- wishing heretic, who ought
to know better.
At Cadiz he was invited to a shooting party. When
IN SPAIN AND MOROCCO 55
all things had been made ready and the company were
seated, the keeper brought a number of bushes, with
which he hedged in the sportsmen, and then he carried
some cages containing tame partridges to a spot twenty
yards distant.
" Are the partridges about to be let loose ? " enquired
Burnaby.
The reply came, with a laugh, " Oh no ! you do not
understand. At this time of the year the male birds are
very brave and amorous ; so we catch some hens and
train them to call, and we shall soon see their novios
answering the invitation and strutting up to their sweet-
hearts."
At that moment two gallant little cavaliers flew up,
and settled near the cages. This was the signal for a
general volley, and the victims fell.
" Why did you not shoot ? ' enquired the person
who had volunteered the information.
" Why," replied Burnaby, veiling to the best of his
ability, the contempt which he felt for the sport, " I
thought five guns enough for two birds, particularly as
they were sitting."
" Ah yes," followed the man, who quite missed the
sting of Burnaby's speech, " we always shoot when they
are sitting if possible."
On March 15th (1869) Burnaby, writing to his father,
says : "I came here (to Cadiz) last Saturday, and am
going the day after to-morrow over to Africa for a few
days. It is pleasant here, but not more than 110 degrees
of heat, which is not half enough for me. Most of the
houses are riddled with shot holes, the effects of the late
riots. There will probably be another riot before long,
as the Government are aware that the people have
enormous quantities of arms stored away ready to use on
the first favourable opportunity. I have been rather
idle in writing to the papers lately, as what with keeping
up my Russian and moving from place to place, one has
little time for that sort of correspondence."
E 2
56 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
The proposed journey to Tangiers was made on March
16th, by means of a local ferry boat ; and Burnaby
had scarcely arrived in the town before
20 -The Moorish \ie formed the acquaintance of a young
Girls? Frenchman, who undertook to show every-
thing worth seeing. Burnaby observed
that he had a particular desire to see an exhibition of
Moorish dancing girls. Few travellers, he tells us,
had, up to that time at any rate, " seen the real thing,"
dragomen and guides being in the habit of putting off
their employers with a spurious article — namely a collec-
tion of Jewish girls made up in Moorish fashion. ' They
go through a Hebrew jig, which the innocent traveller
imagines to be the genuine thing. But it is as different
from it as an ordinary valse from the true habanera."
Having disguised himself and Burnaby as Arabs — and
Burnaby's oriental features looked extremely well in a
burnous — the Frenchman made his way into the native
quarter of the town, and succeeded in engaging the ser-
vices of four dancing girls, whom he managed to smuggle
into the room which he and Burnaby had hired. The
dance was as novel as it was fascinating. While two of
the dark-eyed damsels tum-tummed on a kind of harp,
the dancers threw themselves into graceful poses and
performed evolutions that baffled description. In the
midst of the performance, however, a thundering beating
was heard at the door, and the master of the house
rushed in, exclaiming, in tones of abject fear, that the
Pasha had discovered that there were Moorish girls with
uncovered faces dancing before infidels, and that he had
sent a guard of soldiers to search the house. If the dam-
sels proved to be Moorish, they were to be imprisoned.
The girls, seized with panic, fled to the top of the house,
whence they hoped to escape over the neighbouring flat
roofs. The Frenchman drew a sword cane. Burnaby,
who was weaponless, snatched up a bed-post, and a lively
scuffle ensued. Eventually the soldiers were worsted,
and they made their way out, cursing the infidels with
IN SPAIN AND MOROCCO 57
loud and savage curses, and cursing also the infidels' an-
cestors for at least two generations back. As the sol-
diers were running off some Jews came up and beat them
without mercy, whereupon the soldiers ran faster than
ever to the Pasha, who no doubt, gave them another
beating for returning without the girls. So ended an
adventure which was precisely to Burnaby's taste, and
which might have been taken bodily out of The Arabian
Nights.
In a letter written from Tangiers to his sister Annie,
Burnaby, after expressing the hope that " the dear old
governor," who had been unwell, had " got right again,"
says, " I came here last Tuesday. It is a wild and un-
civilized place with inhabitants almost naked, and savage
to the last degree. But you will read in Vanity Fair an
account of the goings on. I find I can make myself
understood among the Arabs by a sort of mixture of
French, English, Spanish and Russian, and it is rather
amusing inventing a language to speak to them in.
I have bought you some Spanish slippers, which I
hope you will like. I had some good fun the other day
at Gibraltar in the hotel. A Belgian officer wished to
make love to the wife of a Spaniard, who was quite deaf,
and he asked me to interpret his compliments for him,
and so he began in French to me. I translated it into
Spanish to the Spaniard's little daughter, and the child
bawled the compliments into the mother's ear. The
lady smiled very contentedly at the Belgian, who was
scowled at by the Spanish husband, while the other
people staying in the hotel were greatly amused."
His next letter was written from Madrid. After ex-
pressing his fondness for the city, he says " All the
embassy people are very civil, and got me directly into
the principal club. They play rouge et noir here, and
also monte, in fact these fellows are always gambling.
The picture gallery is very interesting. It is by way of
being the first in the world. All the best of Murillo's
pictures are here I have great fun, now I
58 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
can thoroughly speak the language, talking to the
Spaniards about bull -fighting. ' Ah,' they say, ' a bull-
fight is the finest sight in the world.' So I say to them,
' Oh, but you should see a man-fight* which we have in
England, that is something like a fight ' ; and then they
always say, ' How cruel and barbarous you English
are ! ' If you see any more letters in the Morning
Post signed An Idler in Spain, you will know who is the
author. There may be one some day this week. I am
quite a regular Spaniard, as from one week's end to
another, I never speak English. There is sure to be a
civil war in Spain, which will probably break out the end
of March, and which will cost an immense amount of
bloodshed, as the parties are very evenly divided."
In due time Burnaby found his way back to England,
taking with him the promised slippers for his sister
and various presents for his friends, including a beautiful
copy of Don Quixote for Mr. Bowles.
* Burnaby was present at the great fight between Tom Sayers and
Heenan and at other similar events.
CHAPTER IV.
december 1870 november 1874.
In Russia and Italy. Adventures in the Carlist
War.
bibliography.
3. Letters to the Times. Written from Spain, August —
October 1874.
Towards the end of 1870 the Rev. Gustavus Burnaby's
health began to decline ; but by December he was con-
valescent, and Fred, who had for long
21— In Russia wished to visit Russia, thought he might
Dec. 1870. safely set out. On reaching Moscow he
wrote as follows to his sister Annie :
December 1870.
I left St. Petersburg yesterday at 12 mid-day, and
arrived here at 10 this morning. The weather was some-
thing awful — 22 degrees below zero, with a cutting wind,
and I got my ear frost-bitten going to the station ; but
once inside the railway train everything was all right,
as the carriages are admirably warmed with double win-
dows to prevent the cold from getting in, and a stove in
every compartment. Do write me a line to say how the
dear old governor is, and please cut out and send me here
any letters which may appear in the Morning Post.
A little later he wrote as follows to his father :
Moscow,
Thursday, December 29th, 1870.
(59)
, r.q-in-the toOUiitaiB*
qt Mary s *■» H
Littleton, »•■ *-
60 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
Dear old Governor,
I hope this letter will find you better and yourself
again. I like Moscow much better than St. Petersburg,
but notwithstanding the brightness of the climate, it
does not agree with me, and I shall not stay here long
as my liver is like a Strasburg goose's in size, but in the
course of three weeks I shall leave for Kief and Odessa,
and then work round by steamer to Constantinople
and Spain ; I do not know if my letters reach the Morn-
ing) P(ost), but I flatter myself that the last two or three
have been very good works of composition. The friends
of the Berosdines called on me yesterday, and I went
in the evening to their house. Madame de Berosdine
comes to Moscow herself next week, and then I will
write to you all about them. What a bore my liver is !
I put some mustard and cayenne mixed together next
my skin last night, and I am raw to-day in consequence.
However, I am getting very near twenty-seven, so I
suppose it is time to expect some ailments or (other),
particularly after twelve years racketing about in Lon-
don. At all events I must congratulate myself that I
am as well as I am, as poor Adderly, Baring and Westcar*
my contemporaries are already gone to their account.
Ask Evelyn to write to me and tell me all the news. By
the way you have had your Xmas day, and ours has not
arrived yet. The Russian Calendar is twelve days later
than the one England and all civilized countries go by.
Some years ago there was an attempt made by the late
Czar to change to the modern system of computation,
but the people were so ignorant that they would not have
it on any account, as they declared that putting on the
calendar twelve days would shorten their life by that
amount of time, and make them twelve days older.
Good-by, dear old Governor, love to all,
Your affectionate son, Fred.
♦Officers in the Blues. Burnaby's other early friends in the regiment
were Captains Peach, Carew, Hentopp, Harry Womwell, Sir Ernest
Paget, and Sir Charles Rushout.
IN RUSSIA AND ITALY 61
From Moscow he took train to Odessa, although he
knew that the town was suffering from a severe epidemic
of cholera. The more dangerous, however, any place
seemed to be the more attraction for him, it was sure to
have ; but while he was there, courting trouble which
did not choose to come, a telegram arrived informing
him that his father was worse, and he at once turned
homewards, though he chose, characteristically, the most
dangerous route, namely, that through Paris, which
was then in the hands of the Commune. He carried a
travelling bag, and the regulation cavalry sword, but on
approaching Paris he hid the sword in one of the legs of
his trousers, for though he knew that weapons of all
kinds were forbidden there, he was determined not to be
without it. On his arrival, however, he was at once
arrested by an officer of the Commune, who, struck by the
peculiar stiffness of his leg, charged him with concealing
a weapon. The charge was not denied, but, curiously
enough, nothing more was said ; and Burnaby, the regu-
lation sword and the hand-bag ultimately arrived safely
at Somerby, where he had the pleasure of learning that
his father was in better health.
With the Colonel of the Blues, Lord Strathnairn,
Burnaby was on terms of cordial friendship, and he was a
frequent visitor both at his lordship's 22_ w-th ,,
town house, 2, Berkeley Square, and his Prince of
country seat, Newsell Hall, near Royston. yienna^Lord
Another guest at Berkeley Square was Strathnairn,
General Sir Owen Bryne, and it was their ay' 1872,
custom after obtaining at midnight an early copy of the
Times, specially set aside at the office for them, to discuss
the Eastern question together. At Newsell, when there
was hunting, Burnaby, owing to his great weight, was al-
ways given the best mount from the stalls ; but he in-
finitely preferred the delights of Lord Strathnairn's little
place in Scotland — Ardroulin Cottage,* which he ever
associated with deer-stalking, shooting and fishing.
* Ardgour, Ayr.
62 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
At the end of April 1872, he accompanied the Prince
of Wales (now King Edward VII. ), in the capacity of
equerry and A.D.C., to the Vienna Exhibition ; and Lord
Straithnairn, who was to represent Great Britain at the
Exhibition, travelled in the same train. In the course
of the journey the luggage cases which contained Lord
Straithnairn's jewels and decorations, valued at £2,000,
were lost, and his lordship was greatly excited and dis-
tressed. The Prince promptly wrote and telegraphed
to various officials along the line, but without satisfactory
reply. Then a goods train caught fire on the route,
and the Prince and Burnaby passed through the smoking
debris. When they arrived at Vienna on the 28th,
nothing had been heard of the jewels. The prince and
Burnaby went to the Emperor's palace, and Lord Strath-
nairn to an hotel. Besides being a thorough English
gentleman and a good soldier, Lord Strathnairn was also
a very devout man. It was his practice to shut himself
alone in his chamber and to kneel and pray both before
and after every meal. At such times his valet, Stephen
Solly, had to give three knocks at the door and wait for
the " Come in." On April 29th a message arrived from
the prince, through Burnaby, that the cases containing
the jewels and the decorations were found, but that they
could not arrive in time for the opening of the exhibition.
Solly knocked at the door, and, obtaining no answer,
entered the room. His lordship was on his knees at the
couch, his face buried in his hands. Finding himself
disturbed, he turned quickly round, and, addressing
Solly, said " D you, sir. What do you want ?
Have I not frequently told you not to disturb me at my
devotions ! "
The Prince, Captain Burnaby, Sir Owen Bryne and
Lord Strathnairn were present at the opening of the
exhibition on May 1st, but his lordship was entirely
without decoration, for the cases did not arrive till four
days later. Solly, who was blamed for their loss,
was peremptorily dismissed ; but Lord Strathnairn,
IN RUSSIA AND ITALY 63
being under the necessity of returning home a few days
later, sent again for him. When Solly re-entered the
room, his lordship exclaimed passionately, " Go down
on your knees, sir, and beg my pardon ! I will take you
to London."
" The fact was," comments Solly in telling the story,
" I had to take him, for he was nearly eighty-four and
could not manage without me."
After a round of balls, dinner parties, military parades
and operas, the Prince and Burnaby also returned to
England.
On reaching London, Burnaby hurried to Upper
Berkeley Street, in order to see his father, who, while
staying there, had again been taken ill.
Deeply moved at the thought of losing a ReY.Gustavus
beloved parent — for it soon became evident Burnaby, 15th
that the illness would prove fatal — Burn-
aby could scarcely ever be prevailed upon to quit the sick
room ; but in this world the comic always trenches
on the tragic, and it intruded even upon the last hours
of the dying gentleman. Mr. Burnaby was deeply at-
tached to his medical adviser, Dr. Henry Bullock,
and when informed that his end was near, he said, " I
wish I could take you with me, Bullock."
' It is very kind of you to say so," observed the doctor,
— " most kind."
Whereupon Fred, with a tear on his cheek and a smile
on his lips, said, "All the same, father, I don't think
Bullock really wants to go. Besides, what would a doc-
tor do there ? "
Mr. Burnaby died on 15th July, 1872, aged 70, and
with him passed away a fine old English gentleman-
imperious and aggressive, but good-natured, manly and
magnanimous. Whatever his faults, he was of the stuff
that makes the English a respected and an imperial race.
After her husband's death Mrs. Burnaby took up her
residence at 36, Beaufort Gardens, London, and Fred,
whose grief at the death of his father had been, to use Mr.
64 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
Bowles's expression, " terrible," never allowed a day to
pass without visiting her.
In the following year Burnaby, who had provided
himself with a servant in the person of George Radford,
a huge trooper in the Royal Horse Guards,
24— George entered upon the resolve to try to make a
1873. ' journey to Khiva, which was then threat-
ened by the Russians, under General
Kaufmann, and he nursed the hope of being able to be
with the Khivans at the time of the attack. In pursu-
ance of this resolution, he set out, accompanied by Rad-
ford, for Brindisi ; but they had scarcely reached Naples
when he was taken ill with typhoid fever. While he lay
delirious, the landlord of his hotel wanted to turn him
out ; but the Duke of Connaught, who happened to be in
Naples at the time, having been informed of what was
happening, hurried— true to the tradition of our sym-
pathetic Royal Family — to visit him, and prevented the
outrage. Moreover, as soon as it was safe to do so,
he had Burnaby removed to more comfortable quarters,
thus, no doubt, saving his life.
On hearing of her son's illness, Mrs. Burnaby, though
over seventy years of age, straightway went out to nurse
him, taking with her, as she supposed, a trusty servant.
But one trouble followed hard on another, for the girl,
who soon after their arrival gave Burnaby wrong
medicines, causing him to become worse than ever,
began to exhibit symptoms of delirium tremens. With
a sick son and a raving maid, many a younger
woman would have broken down even at home, but
Mrs. Burnaby found herself quite equal to the
exigency ; and, having sent the girl packing back
to England, she bravely set herself the task of nursing
her son single-handed.
Thanks to her devotion and Radford's faithfulness,
Burnaby was, by and by, able to leave his bed, but to use
his own expression, " with a sylph-like waist and taper
X •-
V
vv
Mrs EVELYN BURNABY.
Mrs. PAGE.
DON CARLOS,
DUKE OF MADRID.
IN RUSSIA AND ITALY 67
form " — having been reduced from eighteen stone to
nine.
As the Khiva journey had now been abandoned, he
and Mrs. Burnaby, accompanied by Radford, took
steamer for Seville.
Some months previous* his brother Evelyn had mar-
ried a lady of exceptional beauty and personal charm —
Miss Winifred Crake — who won the affections of every
member of the family ; and, while Fred was in Seville
and still in feeble health, there reached him the news
of this lady's death after childbirth.f His recollection
of the beautiful character of the poor lady, together with
his sympathy for his brother, threw him into a paroxysm
of grief, and, after sobbing long and bitterly, he wrote
and sent to Evelyn the most tender of brotherly letters.
" It is very hard to believe she is really dead," it conclu-
ded, " but Providence works so strangely."
Then, turning to his mother, he said " You must go
home."
" I can't leave you in this state," she said.
" Yes, yes, you must," he followed, " Evelyn wants
you more than I do."
So Mrs. Burnaby at once returned to England, and
Fred remained in Seville, where, thanks to a perfect clim-
ate and Radford's tender care, he gradually recovered
his health, and lost his haggard and emaciated looks.
Spain was at this period in a more disturbed state than
ever. King Amadeus, who for three years had occupied
the throne, having abdicated, a republic had been de-
clared ; and its establishment was the signal for renewed
efforts on the part of the Carlists who, commanded by
Don Carlos in person, moved aggressively from their
northern fastnesses, and threatened, by their enthusiasm
for the cause, to carry all before them. Burnaby
straightway determined, contrary to the advice of his
Seville friends, to try to pass through the Carlist lines,
* May 1871.
fDean Hole wrote a poem on the subject. Mrs. Burnaby was only 22.
68 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
and he disclosed his plans to a Spanish Colonel, his
companion in a railway train.
" You will have a difficult task," said the Colonel,
" but there is at Vittoria a rascal in league with the
Carlists, who could help you. He keeps horses and
carriages. I ought to have had him shot once or twice,
but I let him off, so he owes me a good turn, and I
will speak a word to him for you."
On reaching Vittoria, where there were numerous
evidences of war in the way of ruined railway lines and
blackened dwellings, Burnaby sought out the job-master,
by whose aid and that of a pair of rustics he reached
Beasain, where he took a place in the San Sebastian
diligence. But the travellers had not been half an hour
on the road before the vehicle was stopped by a party of
Carlists — stalwart and swarthy, though unsoldierly-
looking men, who sprang from a thicket, and presented
bayonets. When Burnaby mentioned his business, how-
ever, and offered to unpack his luggage, the officer in
charge, who turned out to be a Castilian of high rank,
not only declared himself satisfied with the explana-
tion, but politely offered cigarettes and wine ; and, after
half an hour's hobnobbing with his new friends, Burnaby
proceeded unmolested on his way. Several times he was
stopped by other bands of troops, but by giving the name
of the first officer, and repeating assurances, he was
allowed to continue his journey, and in due time, after
passing through San Sebastian, where deserted trains,
ruined bridges and smoking villages gave additional
evidences of war, he reached Irun on the French frontier,
whence he returned to England.
For a year or so he contented himself at home,
but in the autumn of 1874 he arranged to go out to Don
25— With Don Carlos's headquarters as military corres-
Carlos, 8th pondent of the Times ; and Radford re-
Aug. 1874. qUes^e(j to accompany him.
" But your wife and children ! " ob-
served Burnaby. " You may be shot."
IN RUSSIA AND ITALY 69
" Must die some day," replied Radford. " I might be
run over by an omnibus at home. I nursed you through
your fever at Naples, and I may be of further use to you.
Let me go."
So Burnaby consented, and they started on August
8th. Having crossed France, they made their way
through Bayonne, where they obtained Carlist passports,
to Biarritz, in order to call on some of Don Carlos's
adherents.
" Don't be a fool and go," said one. " You will die
of starvation and be eaten by fleas," said another.
" Oh, do tell his Majesty how much we all love him
and the cause," cried a dark-eyed, raven-locked girl of
eighteen, and then she added " But why go there ? "
Since Burnaby had passed through the Carlist lines
in the course of his previous journey, there had been
much fighting. Thus on February 23rd, 1874, the Re-
publicans had been defeated with a loss of 2,000 men,
but on May 1st they had relieved Bilbao, which had been
besieged by Don Carlos, who then retired to his fastness
at Durango — fifteen miles distant.
Don Carlos, who was extremely desirous of obtaining
the good will of the British Press gave Burnaby a warm
welcome, and the friendship which cemented itself
between them was severed only by death.* In Burn-
aby's eyes, Don Carlos was well nigh perfection. Like
Burnaby, he was of magnificent physique ; he firmly
believed in his star, and had no doubt whatever that he
would some day sit on the throne of his forefathers.
He had first come among his people mounted on a
richly caparisoned Arab charger, and wearing a gold-
tasselled white boina, accompanied by only twenty-five
followers ; and the pomp attending his appearance, the
disproportion between the means apparently at his
disposal and the success that had rewarded his efforts,
* In a letter to the Rev. Evelyn Burnaby, dated, 5th Feb., 1908, Don
Carlos mentions "how very fond" he was of Burnaby, whom he also
honoured " as a good soldier and a perfect gentleman."
70 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
not only dazzled the imagination of his fellow country-
men, but struck them as something supernatural. He
went in and out among his men as if he were one of them,
shook hands with them, and shared with them their
horrible Spanish soup ; and they on their part regarded
him with idolatry, and were willing to follow him even
to death. As the Biarritz girl had prophesied, Burnaby
had plenty of hardships to undergo. There were fleas
everywhere ; but he could always get a little sleep by
discarding a bed in favour of a plank. For the Carlist
troops he had nothing but praise. " As for their march-
ing," he said, " I have never seen their superiors."
Devout as well as brave, they attended church every
morning ; and a chaplain, riding at the head of each bat-
talion, read out prayers and the litany at stated times.
No halt was made, but the officers and men bared their
heads. Burnaby's letters to the Times gave a vivid ac-
count of his experiences, but perhaps his best descrip-
tion is that of the scenes on a gala day at Alio, the Carlist
headquarters, when balconies and pillars were festooned
with coloured shawls, and the soldiers danced national
dances with the Basque women among flowers and
corpses.
Besides being under fire at the battles of Alio, Dicastillo,
Viana and Maneru, Burnaby and Radford were present
at the siege of Tolosa and the capture of Estella, where
the Republican losses amounted to 4,000. Burnaby
and Don Carlos became inseparables, and English war
correspondents accompanying the enemy often saw,
by aid of telescopes, the gigantic Spaniard and the gigantic
Englishman stalking together on the ramparts of Fort
San Marcial. Burnaby was often in jeopardy. Once
when he was calmly watching a fight, a body of the enemy
turned an angle of a building and delivered from within
a hundred yards a murderous volley, which brought down
several men near him. Burnaby, however, coolly re-
mained standing and chatting on the spot ; nor did he
depart until the attack had been repulsed. The fighting,
CAPTAIN BURNABY STOPPED BY THE CARLISTS, 1S73.
(From Tin G rapine .
IN RUSSIA AND ITALY 73
however, eventually degenerated into guerilla warfare,
directed by officers whose truculence proclaimed them
fiends rather than men, and the whole land groaned
under savagerv and reeked with blood. Nevertheless
on occasion these lurid scenes mingled with others that
were purely pantomimic. After the Republicans had
shelled Fort San Marcial and the fort had replied with no
casualties for weeks, Mr. Irving Montagu, one of the Eng-
lish war correspondents, asked an officer to give an ex-
planation. He replied with gravity, " We can never
forget that our good enemies opposite are our relations
and friends ; nor can they, nor can any Spaniards, cease to
remember that etiquette which is due to those we love,
and which should ever be extended towards them,
even in time of war. Hence it is that, by common con-
sent, we sight our guns, so that in both cases the shot falls
short."
The guerilla warfare, with its accompaniment of inces-
sant assassination, at last thoroughly disgusted Burnaby,
while the playing at soldiers was as little to his taste,
and but for his admiration of Don Carlos personally he
would have criticised the later campaign with severity.
He and Radford left Spain in September, Mr. O'Shea,
of the Standard, accompanying them ; but in crossing
the Pyrenees a thrilling incident occurred. At one place
which it was necessary to pass there were two paths wind-
ing round a rock, and fifty feet below the lower tinkled
a shallow stream. Burnaby and Mr. O'Shea took the
upper path, but they had not gone far when Burnaby
heard a sound of falling rocks. Looking down he saw
Radford, whose foot was fast in his stirrup, lying on his
back, and the horse with only its fore feet on the path and
its body half over the precipice, while the ground crumbled
away beneath the exertions of both man and horse to free
themselves. But just as Burnaby, his heart in his
mouth, was flying down, with drawn knife to cut Rad-
ford's stirrup leather and free his foot, Radford, by a
frantic effort, managed to disentangle himself from the
74 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
stirrup, and the next moment the struggling horse dis-
appeared over the edge of the precipice. A dull thud
reached Burnaby's ears as the poor brute struck against
the rocks below, but, amazing to say, it was not only not
killed, but hardly the worse for the tumble. Had Rad-
ford fallen too, however, death would have been certain,
for he would have been crushed by the weight of the
horse, which could not possibly have avoided rolling
over him. When the travellers reached England, Rad-
ford used to show with pride a horse that had fallen the
height of Knightsbridge barracks, without the slightest
injury.
CHAPTER V.
NOVEMBER 1874 FEBRUARY 1875.
In the Soudan with Gordon.
bibliography :
4 Letters to the Times, 4th January 1875 to 7th Febru-
ary 1875. Four letters written from the Soudan —
January 4th, 13th, February 5th, 7th.
Of Burnaby's interest in aeronautics we have several
times spoken, but since those early years he had made
26— A Scientific many ascents, chiefly with a view to scien-
B M^Ttomas*' tmc discovery. He kept a common-place
Wright, 3rd book, which he filled with notes concerning
'' ' ballooning ; he received newspaper cuttings
on the subject from all parts of the world ; and he
nursed the hope of being able, in the company of his
friend, Lord Manners, of the Grenadier Guards, to cross
the German ocean in a balloon. In those days the fav-
ourite place for ascents was the Crystal Palace, and Burn-
aby, having requested of the management the loan of a
balloon, was referred to their aeronaut, Mr. Thomas
Wright, who henceforward figures prominently in his
career. Mr. Wright's own life has been plentifully
spiced with romance. Born at Bedford in 1832, and
apprenticed at Olney, he for a time followed the sea ;
but after a voyage to the Baltic he, while still a lad,
cut himself adrift in London, where by courage, industrv
and perseverance, he steadily made headway. Early
in 1857 he sailed for America in the Saranac, which on
nearing New York collided in a dense fog with the Great
(75)
f2
76 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
Western. A terrible disaster, however, which would have
resulted in the loss of 800 lives, was mercifully averted,
and the passengers of both vessels eventually reached
land in safety. After romantic experiences in America,
Mr. Wright returned to England and settled at Poplar,
where he established a flourishing photographic business.
Among his customers was the aeronaut, Mr. John Youens,
and a few days after forming each other's acquaintance,
they arranged to make an ascent together. ' When,"
says Mr. Wright, recalling the eventful day, " I found
that we were 4,000 feet high and still rising, I could only
ejaculate, " Oh lor! Oh dear! I wish I hadn't come ! "
and he inwardly resolved that should he again reach
solid earth, and alive — a contingencv which at the time
seemed more than doubtful — his first ascent should be
his last. This resolve, however, was certainly not per-
sisted in, for he lived to make 500 ascents and to become,
in succession to Mr. Henry Coxwell, the first aeronaut
of his day, while a whole host of men whose names
are written boldly in the annals of ballooning — including
Colonel Burnaby, Sir Henry Colvile, Colonel Templer,
Captain Josselin Bagot, Major Baden-Powell, Mr. Per-
cival Spencer, the unfortunate Mr. Walter Powell, M.P.,
and the equally unfortunate Captain Dale — have num-
bered themselves among his " pupils." At the time
referred to, Mr. Wright had four very fine, air-worthy
balloons,* all made under his own supervision and
varnished by his own handf ; and he suggested that the
one capable of containing 30,000 feet of gas would meet
Captain Burnaby's requirements.
Burnaby replied as follows :
Hyde Park Barracks,
S.W.
September 27th (1874).
Sir, I think the 30,000 feet of gas balloon would be too
small for the journey, I propose making, as the weight
* These were made of unbleached cambric.
•j- Careful varnishing is of the utmost consequence.
Mr. THOMAS WRIGHT,
THE AERONAUT.
IN THE SOUDAN WITH GORDON 79
of myself and friend would be 27 stone or 378 lbs., which
would leave but a slight margin for ballast, of which we
should require a large supply, the more particularly owing
to the power the sea would have in condensing the gas.
To make the journey to Germany with anything like
certainty, one would require a balloon holding at least
50,000 feet of gas, and the more the better. If you should
know of anyone who has a balloon of that dimension,
and who would hire it for the occasion alluded to, I
should be much obliged by your letting me know. I
hope we may meet some day, as you tell me you are a
native of Bedford, where I was born.
Yours very truly,
Fred Burnaby.
In reply, Mr. Wright said he could lend a balloon, The
Duke of Edinburgh, which would, he believed, answer
Burnaby' s purpose, and a few days later he called by
request at Knightsbridge Barracks, and made the final
arrangements.
In the course of the conversation Burnaby asked Mr.
Wright many questions concerning aeronautics, and the
latter detailed some of his experiences. " In my early
days," he said, " I once took up a gentleman connected
with the Foreign Office, and in descending brought down
the balloon with such a bump that my companion flew
out into a field, though happily without injury, while I
myself shot up again in the balloon, and was soon out of
sight. My companion, on arriving home, wired to the
Crystal Palace enquiring where Mr. Wright had come
down ; and I need scarcely say that the manager who
saw us go up together thought it a strange question to ask.
" But," commented Mr. Wright, " I don't do it in that
way now," with a very distinct emphasis on the last word.
" Indeed on a calm day I could bring a balloon to earth,
and there would be no necessity for my companion to
spill a drop of wine, if he were holding a glass in his hand."
On November 1st Burnaby, who had for the time being
80 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
given up his idea of attempting to cross the sea, wrote to
Mr. Wright as follows :
Sunday,
(1st November 1874).
Can you have the balloon ready and rilled at the Crystal
Palace on Tuesday morning next, the 3rd of November,
at 10 o'clock ? Failing Tuesday, it will be necessary to
postpone the ascent till next Spring, as Lord Manners
will be out of town, and I also. Send answer by bearer,
or if you are not in, telegraph to the Knightsbridge
Barracks. You will have to communicate, in the event
of compliance, with the Manager of the Crystal Palace
immediately — so do not waste any time. The weather
will make no difference, as fine or foul we should start at
10 o'clock.
Yours very truly,
Fred Burnaby.
The object of the ascent, which was duly made on
3rd November, was to test a machine which Burnaby
had invented for ascertaining the course of the winds
when the earth and a balloon are separated by clouds —
a scheme, so to speak, for studding with guide-posts
the highways* of the air. On these occasions, although
the balloon may be sailing at the rate of 40 miles an hour,
nevertheless it appears to be anchored in space and
utterly motionless. The invention consisted of two
small silk parachutes, attached to each other by a wind-
ing reel of cord some thirty yards long. On rising above
the clouds, Burnaby dropped the parachutes — first one
and then the other over the side of the car. The travel-
lers were then able by means of their compass and a
watch, and " by marking on their chart the reverse
parts to those on which the two parachutes descended,"
to obtain the true line of their course. The invention
worked admirably, and the travellers finally descended
* As the wind blows far more frequently in some directions than others,
the air like the land may be said to have its highways. See Burnaby's
reference in Chapter 6 to " the usual journey across Essex."
IN THE SOUDAN WITH GORDON 81
at Southminster, Essex, about half a mile from the
German Ocean.
The eyes of the world were just then turned towards
Egypt and to Colonel Gordon, who had been appointed
by the Khedive head of an expedition for
the suppression of the Nilotic slave trade 27— Thte J£Uu n5y
and Governor of the Soudan ; and the Dec. 1874.
Times requested Burnaby, who leaped
at the opportunity, to join Gordon and act as their
correspondent. With his usual promptitude, he made
straight for Suez, whence he took steamer to Suakim.
" We were a cheery party on board," he wrote home,
the Earl of Ranfurly, Earl of Mayo, Lord Coke Russell,
Sir William Gordon Gumming and myself. They are
going to shoot in Abyssinia.*
On arriving at the glittering white town of Suakim,
he added to his letter, " I have secured an Arab servant —
a Nubian. He cannot speak a word of English, but I
can now get on perfectly with the Arabic, and in fact am
the interpreter of the party."
Next morning he joined a caravan made up of a num-
ber of Arabs and twenty camels bound for Berber on the
Nile. The attire of the Arabs, he tells us, was scanty,
but the lack of clothing was made up by the magnificence
of their headgear. The hair of each of the attendants
was piled to a height of seven inches and beplastered
with " cosmetics in the shape of liquid fat," and other
vanities.
" Very beautiful ! " Burnaby remarked to the Sheik
of the party who accompanied them a few miles out of the
town.
The Arab was delighted with the observation, but
seemed disappointed afterwards, when Burnaby re-
marked that probably it was worn as a protection from
the sun.
" Can the child of the sun fear his father ? " was the
slightly contemptuous answer; and the Sheik, having
♦Letter from Suakim, Dec. 29th.
82 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
turned on his heel, strode back to Suakim ; pensively
scratching his head with a long silver skewer, which he
wore as a hairpin.
Their route was marked bv the hu^e skeletons and car-
cases of camels, and the vultures which had been gorging
on them hardly troubled to hop ten yards from their
repast as the travellers approached.
When nearing Berber, the party met a slave caravan,
which consisted of some handsomely-dressed Arab
merchants, behind whom marched in bands of four and
five, a number of boys and girls, whose ages varied
from ten to sixteen years, the cavalcade being closed with
men carrying koorbatches, or long whips, and Nubians
armed with spears. A skirmish ensued and the slaves
were captured, though they soon after made their escape.
However, on reaching Berber, Burnaby's party informed
the Governor of their experiences, with the result that
he sent out soldiers, who overtook the fugitives and
brought them back. " We went to see the slaves in the
afternoon," said Burnaby, " and if anyone disbelieving
the cruelties of the slave trade had been there to judge
for himself he would have been speedily undeceived.
Twenty boys, with eighteen women and girls, many
marked with the lash of that fearful instrument, the koor-
batch, which had been relentlessly applied by the mer-
chants when the poor worn-out victims flagged in their
endeavours to toil over the heavy sand, were living wit-
nesses to the brutalities which had been enacted. The
slaves, it appears, were to have been sold at Jiddah, and
would have fetched — the boys some £10 a piece, the
better looking girls considerably more." — " Whether,"
continues Burnaby, " the slaves will be finally much bene-
fited is another question ; for the women will be given as
wives to the Egyptian soldiers ; and the boys enlisted
in the army, such being the fate that invariably awaits
all persons taken from traders in human flesh."
In Berber, Burnabv found a wonderful charm —
and he carried away in his mind the picture of saffron
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ft SE*
Si
BURNABY'S JOURNEY TO SOBAT, Nov., 1874
,, EL TEB, Jan.,' 1884
„ ABU KLEA, Jan., 1885
IN THE SOUDAN WITH GORDON 85
plain under violet sky ; while the gatherings of the
natives by moonlight— the men seated in groups drink-
ing merissa, and the ringed and radiated girls, lithe as
leopardesses, singing love songs to the monotonous
notes of the tom-tom, reminded him of evenings in his
beloved Spain, and the twanging of the ribboned guitar.
From this land Of music, merriment, odoriferous gums,
and great pouched pelicans, he proceeded by river
slowly southward, passing the mysterious and oraculous
Meroe, " where the shadow both way falls " — with its
pyramids that Herodotus gazed upon, its euphorbias
with uncouth arms, and its sands, that the sandals of
Candace and the Queen of Sheba must often have pressed.
On January 20th he reached Khartoum, which had con-
siderably declined in importance, owing to the suppres-
sion of the slave trade ; consequently the Germans
and other Europeans who had lent out money to the
slavers at 400 per cent., considered themselves hardly
dealt with.
The country Burnaby threaded on his way from Khar-
toum to the Sobat river, proved magnificent in the ex-
treme. Under noble trees fed herds of gazelles and oriel
deer ; along the banks swarmed hippopotami and
crocodiles. Monkevs chattered and swung themselves
from branch to branch, and the inhabitants of the Fash-
oda country, who were absolutely naked, though both
the men and the women dyed their hair yellow, were as
amusing as the monkeys.
Arrived at Sobat, Burnaby found it peopled by an
ebony race of splendid physique — most of the men
being six feet high — and ruled by a native
governor of Gordon's appointment. The 28— Gordon, 7th
slave trade having been all but abolished, Feb., 1875.
these people lived in quiet and content.
Two attributes of civilisation — religion and money —
were quite unknown. With the future, they did not
trouble themselves ; while, instead of money, they used
Doura corn. A man who had enough Doura to last
80 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
himself and his family for a week, was regarded as a sort of
Rothschild. Everyone talked of Gordon, whose kind-
ness made him universally popular. " You can always
get more out of a man by kindness," he used to say,
" than by any other method." One day while Burnaby
was standing by the river side, the steamer Khedive, from
Lardo, came in sight. The garrison drew up in its best
style, a salute was given by the bugler, and then Gordon
stepped on shore, in company with Lieutenant Watson,
an officer in the Engineers. The meeting with his great
idol was a proud moment in Burnaby's life, and the more
intimate he became with Gordon, the more he admired
him. After inspecting the garrison Gordon returned
on board, and there beneath an awning on deck he
administered justice — censuring or praising, ordering
reward or punishment as the case required. Some
thieves were condemned to receive each a hundred lashes
with a knotted cord ; and a little later they were heard
" lamenting their fate — calling upon Allah, their fathers,
mothers, and all their departed relations to intercede
for them, and not let the blows be quite so hard, but
just a little, little softer, Bismillah, and in the name of
Allah and his blessed prophet."
After witnessing a native dance, in which, while the
women sang and drums sounded, the men made panther-
like bounds in the air, Burnaby, who had grown ' ' a huge
beard," returned to Khartoum,* and Gordon steamed
back to Lardo.
* February 1875.
CHAPTER VI.
FEBRUARY 1875 FEBRUARY 1876.
A Ride to Khiva.*
On reaching Khartoum Burnaby became the guest
of a German gentleman ; and he describes himself as
seated chatting with an Italian, an Arab
29— To Kasala, an(j another Englishman, while a graceful
1875. "' girl, with large dark eyes, pearl white
teeth, olive complexion and oriental dress,
handed round small cups of coffee. In the midst of
the conversation Burnaby's eye fell upon a paragraph
in a newspaper, which stated that the Government at St.
Petersburg had given an order that no foreigner was to be
allowed to travel in Russian Asia, and that an English-
man who had recently attempted a journey in that
direction had been turned back by the authorities.
Burnaby, being of a " contradictorious ' spirit, who
moreover, some years previous had planned a journey to
Khiva, at once said to himself, half aloud : " Why not
go to Central Asia ? " and then " Well, I shall try it."
" You'll never get there," said the other Englishman ;
" they will stop you."
" They may if they like," followed Burnaby, " but I
don't think they will."
Since Burnaby's former attempt to reach Khiva,
the Russians had considerably extended their boundaries.
Samarcand had been annexed, Bokhara was within their
grasp, and their troops were quartered within a few
* This chapter is founded on Burnaby's A Ride to Khiva, Vambery's
Travels in Central Asia, the letters of Colonel Fred Burnaby and the
Rev. Evelyn Burnaby, and scattered notes made by Colonel Burnaby.
Two editions of A Ride to Khiva are now on sale, one with illustrations in
" The Favourite Library " at 3/6, and a popular edition at 6d., both pub-
lished by Messrs. Cassell.
(87) G
88 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
miles of Khiva itself. " If," asked Burnaby, " the
Russians object to foreigners visiting Central Asia, what
is their reason ? Are the generals in those parts treat-
ing the conquered tribes with cruelty, and do they live
in dread lest the outside world should hear of it. If no
absolute cruelty is being shown to the people, are they
being badly governed ? Are bribery and corruption
rife ? Or are the authorities afraid of letting Europe
know that instead of the tone of morality amid the con-
quered being raised, the latter are bringing the Russians
down to the Oriental level ; that, in short, the unspeak-
able vices of the East are indulged in by some of the
conquerors." Elsewhere he shows that even if the Rus-
sians did not actually encourage libertinage, they did
nothing to prevent it ; that the Bokharan slave mart
never lacked human merchandise, and that troops of
youths and girls were in the habit of wandering from
the heart of Asia all through the Oxus country for the
purpose of performing the lascivious Scythian dances
in the native camps, and of otherwise administering to
the shameless sensuality of their Tartar hirers.*
That the ultimate aim of Russia was the conquest of
India, he was in the habit of insisting upon both in season
and out of season. Burnaby has been called an extreme
Russophobe, and if by that is meant a hater of the des-
potism and chicanery of the Czar's government, and an
opponent of its ambitious schemes, he deserves the name.
Indeed, he gloried in it. He admired the sterling
virtues of the Russian people, however, and was ever
ready to admit the wonderful possibilities of the race
under proper government.
Having resolved to go to Khiva, the next step was to
make the necessary preparations. He carefully studied
the principal books on Central Asia, and the more he
pondered his proposed undertaking, the more difficult
* It must be remembered that this occurred over 30 years ago. The con-
dition of things is now far different. See also the Shores of Lake Aral (by
Major Wood), a book to which Burnaby was indebted and from which he
quotes.
A RIDE TO KHIVA 89
it seemed. Besides the opposition of Russian officialism,
he had to armour himself against the terrible cold and
the merciless winds of the Kirghiz Desert.
On arriving in England he discussed the matter with
some Russian acquaintances, who expressed their belief
that the St. Petersburg authorities would not hinder him ;
and then he approached the Russian ambassador in
London, who showed himself friendly, but declined to
give his opinion as to whether an Englishman would
be allowed to travel in Tartary. Having provided him-
self with letters to General Milutin, the Russian Minister
of War, and General KaurTmann, the Commander-in-
Chief of the Forces in the Government of Turkestan,
Burnaby became hopeful ; but some observations volun-
teered b}^ the distinguished traveller, Mr. MacGahan,
whom he met at the house of a common friend, made evi-
dent the greatness of his difficulties. " You will get on
very well as far as Kasala," concluded Mr. MacGahan,
' but then you will have to pull yourself together and
make your rush."
His thoughts were so much on his new project that he
could scarcely be induced to let them approach anything
else. After much persuasion, however, he consented to
accompany his brother Evefyn, who had two bench
tickets, to the Old Bailey, in order to hear the trial of
Wainwright, the Whitechapel murderer ; and it will be
remembered that there is a reference to Wainwright's
execution in A Ride to Khiva.
Burnaby started from London on 30th November,
1875, reluctantly leaving behind him his faithful servant,
Radford, and in due time reached St. Petersburg. Here
he had an interesting conversation with a Russian officer
who said, " You English are always thinking that we
want India ; but you are apt to forget one equally im-
portant point, which is, that some day the natives of
that country may wish to govern themselves. You
are doing everything you possibly can to teach the
inhabitants their own strength. You establish schools ;
90 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
you educate the people ; they read your newspapers.
But the day will come when some agitators will set
these thinking masses in motion ; and then what force
have you to oppose them ? If ever there was a nation
determined to commit suicide, it is England. She holds
India, as she herself allows, by the force of arms, and
yet she is doing everything in her power to induce the
conquered country to throw off the yoke."
Later, Burnaby met some old friends who had settled
in the city. " Get to Khiva ! " said one. " You might
as well try to get in the moon. The Russians will not
openly stop you, but they will put the screw upon the
English Foreign Office, and force the latter to do so."
Burnaby next called upon Mr. Schuyler the United
States Secretary of Legation at St. Petersburg, a gentle-
man who had visited Kasala and Bokhara — being the
only diplomatist the Russians had ever permitted to
travel in their Eastern possessions ;* and then he wrote
to General Milutin, asking permission to go to India via
Khiva, Merve and Cabal. The reply came that the
commandants in Russian Asia had received orders to aid
him in his journey through the territory under their
control ; but Burnaby could judge by the tenor of the
letter, which contained hints of the dangers to be faced,
that the general little relished giving this permission.
Having made his final preparations for the journey by
purchasing extra clothing and providing himself with a
money-belt, Burnaby took train for Sizeran. At every
stopping place he and his fellow travellers did their best
to keep out the cold with glasses of scalding tea drawn
from huge samovars, or brass urns. Of this welcome
liquor there was abundance everywhere, and things
would not have been so very bad had the peasantry
been more cleanly in their habits, but in Russia, in those
days at any rate, superstition and dirt were twin bre-
thren.
* See A Ride to Khiva and Schuyler's Turkestan. Burnaby quotes from
Schuyler.
A RIDE TO KHIVA 91
On stepping out of the railway terminus at Sizeran,
Burnaby and a fellow traveller hired a troika, or three-
horse sleigh, and as the journey promised to be a bitterly
cold one, he put on three pairs of the thickest stockings
and drew over them a pair of fur-lined low shoes inserted
into leather goloshes, and over them again a pair of
enormous cloth boots, which reached to the thigh.
He enveloped his body with flannel, a thick wadded waist-
coat and a coat, and a huge shuba or fur pelisse reaching
to the heels, while a fur cap with ends that tied under the
throat defended his head. Of huge proportions even in
ordinary dress, Burnaby was now a giant indeed. To
guard themselves against wolves both he and his com-
panion carried revolvers ; and then, in a sleigh drawn
by three horses abreast, the middle one being in a huge
wooden head collar, bright with various colours, they
started off at a brisk pace, while the sleigh-bells jingled
merrilv.
The cold was frightful, and by the time they reached
one of their stopping-places — a cottage situated in a
straggling village — their provisions were frozen hard.
It took ten minutes to thaw the bread, but when Burn-
aby found himself fingering a large glass of steaming
amber-coloured tea, with a thin slice of lemon floating on
the top, he began to understand the advantages of having
been thoroughlv uncomfortable. "It is onlv after
having experienced a certain amount of misery," he
soliloquised, " that you can thoroughly appreciate what
real enjoyment is." The foulness of the air in the un-
ventilated room in which he had to pass the night,
and the uproar caused by pedlars and other folk in the
adjoining department, were trying enough, but he
managed to obtain a little sleep. At sunrise next morn-
ing he started off again, but was from time to time hin-
dered by snowdrifts, some of which were ten feet in
height. Arrived at Orenberg, he called on a Tartar
gentleman, who volunteered information respecting the
road, but told him that the severity of the winter would
92 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
make success impossible. " The Syr Darya and the
Amou Darya," he said, " are frozen up, and you will have
to cover on horseback five hundred versts of snow-
covered steppes, so I advise you to give up the idea al-
together. If you are unwilling to do so, you had better
go home and come back in summer." Nothing, however,
could turn Burnaby from his plan.
The next business was to hire a servant, and after
considerable trouble he secured a Tartar, who required
twenty-five roubles a month.
" Perhaps, One of Noble Birth," said the fellow, " you
would not object to give me two months' wages* on
account. I have an aged mother, and should like to
leave a little money to support her during my absence."
Filial affection being, in Burnaby' s opinion, a com-
mendable trait, he cheerfully complied with the request.
Next morning as the man did not put in an appearance,
Burnaby made enquiries.
" Perhaps," observed the head waiter, " you gave him
some money."
" Yes," said Burnaby, " for his bedridden mother."
The waiter laughed till the tears came. " His bed-
ridden mother, indeed ! You will not see him again,
until he has spent the money. He has gone to kootit
(to drink and the rest)."
And so it proved, for late in the day the specious rogue
was caught in a tavern in the company of two shameless
women ; but Burnaby recovered half his money, and
considered himself fortunate to get even that.
Eventually a valuable, if salacious servant, was secured
in the person of a Tartar dwarf named Nazar, and Burn-
aby lost no time in setting off. The sleigh had not pro-
ceeded many miles, however, before they lost their way,
and they were obliged to spend a weary and what
seemed an interminable night in the snow. Next morning,
* A rouble is equivalent to 3s. 3d., therefore two months' wages would be
£8 as. 6d.
A RIDE TO KHIVA 93
however, after being dug out by a jolly farmer and his
labourers, they were able to enter Ursk.
Here there was a difficulty in obtaining fresh horses,
but Nazar took the matter philosophically. "It is
comfortable and warm," he observed, looking at the
stove. " We will sleep here, little father ; eat, till we
fill our clothes, and continue our journey to-morrow."
It presently transpired, however, that Nazar, in spite
of his being a married man, had lost his heart "to an
Ursk siren " with blue eyes. Consequently when Burn-
aby declared his intention of setting off within an hour,
Nazar looked sad, forlorn, and injured.
After leaving Karabootak, Burnaby, instead of putting
on his thick gloves, took his seat in the sleigh, with each
hand folded in the sleeve of its fellow. On the way he
had the misfortune to fall asleep, and his hands slipped
from their warm covering on to the sides of the sleigh.
He woke with a feeling of intense pain and found, to his
consternation, that they were frost-bitten. Nazar's efforts
to restore the circulation bv rubbing them with snow,
proved futile. The next station was seven miles off,
and the devoted little Tartar drove for dear life. The
perspiration stood on Burnaby's forehead, his body burnt
like fire. It seemed as though the seven miles would never
be traversed, but at last they reached the welcome sta-
tion, and three Cossacks, instantly grasping the situation,
drew off Burnaby's coat and plunged his arms to the
shoulder in a tub of ice and water. But he felt no sensa-
tion.
" Brother," said one of the Cossacks, shaking his head,
" it is a bad job, you will lose your hands."
" They will certainly drop off," remarked another,
" unless we can get back the circulation."
They next procured some naphtha, and having re-
moved Burnaby's arms from water, they proceeded to
rub them with the spirit. They rubbed till the skin
peeled off, and at last Burnaby noticed a faint sensation
like tickling at the elbow joints.
94 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
" Does it hurt ? " asked one of the Cossacks.
" A little," replied Burnaby.
"Capital," said the Cossack. "Rub it hard as you
can, brothers," and after continuing till the arm was
almost flayed, they suddenly thrust it again into the ice
and water. Then the pain was acute.
"Good," said the Cossacks. "The more it hurts
the better chance you have of saving your hands." And
after a short time thev let Burnabv take his hands out
of the tub.
" You are fortunate, little father," said the elder of the
Cossacks. " If it had not been for the spirit your hands
would have dropped off."
Rough, kind-hearted fellows were these poor soldiers ;
and when Burnaby forced on the elder of them a present
for himself and his comrades, the old soldier simply
added, " Are we not all brothers when in misfortune ?
Would you not have helped me if I had been in a like
predicament ? "
On arriving at Kasala Burnaby visited a Kirghiz
settlement on the outskirts of the town, and its inhabit-
ants were as much interested in him as he was in them.
Having heard that the Kirghis women were beautiful,
he took particular notice of them, but he came to the
conclusion that whatever good looks they had, were
spoilt by the breadth of face and the size of the mouth.
The Kirghis, it seems, unlike most other oriental
races, have the privilege of seeing the girls they wish to
marry, and there is a good deal of haggling respecting the
price.
" She has sheep's eyes and is lovely," the match-
making mother would say, pointing to her daughter.
" Yes," would perhaps be the reply, " she certainly has
sheep's eyes, but she is not moon-faced, and as for her
hips — well she has no hips whatever ! Let us say two
hundred roubles."
And so the bidding would go on.
A RIDE TO KHIVA 95
Bumaby was anxious to leave Kasala as soon as possi-
ble, for he was in daily dread of being stopped by orders
from St. Petersburg or London.
That the journey would be a terribly cold one he was
well aware, for the thermometer had already sunk to
forty degrees below zero, thus recording
seventy-two degrees of frost ; and cases 30— Across the
of men being frozen to death were fre- Khiva,
quently reported. He left Kasala with
his little Tartar servant, a Turkoman camel driver, a
guide, three camels, and two horses. The guide rode
one horse, Burnaby the other, while Nazar bestraddled
a huge corn sack balanced by a bundle of firewood,
which had been placed on the tallest camel.
" Please God," observed Nazar, looking down from
the camel's back, " we shall not be frozen to death."
To which Burnaby replied devoutly " Inshallah."
For provisions they carried two large iron buckets
of frozen stchi or cabbage soup and minced meat, and
twenty-eight pounds of meat in the joint, not forgetting
a hatchet for chopping it up.
The Syr Darya being frozen, they passed it without
difficulty, and all would have gone smoothly but for the
camel driver, who was careless and smashed the boxes,
etc., and who, when remonstrated with, merely ob-
served " It is the will of God."
Burnaby soon found out that the best way to stop
these breakages was to give the fellow a hiding, and
after doing so he observed, ' ' Brother, it was the will of
God. You must not complain ; it was your destiny to
break my property and mine to beat you. We neither
of us could help it, praise be to Allah."
Most of the travelling was done during the night, as
camels feed only in the daytime, and the little caravan
covered about thirty-seven miles every twenty-four
hours. The travellers usually halted at sunset, when
they would put up a kibitha or circular tent, made of
G2
96 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
rods and cloth, raised as a protection against the pitilessly
bleak east winds ; and they generally started again at
midnight. The cold made them ravenous ; indeed
it was no uncommon event for the camel-driver to eat
a four-pound loaf at a sitting. Occasionally he would
bury his head in the stchi pot, and suck up the half tepid
liquor, much to the indignation of Nazar, who would re-
mark angrily that this method of eating was not fair ;
at the same time offering a spoon. But the Turkoman
used gratefully to decline it, with the observation that
the soup tasted better with one's head in the pot. Some-
times he relieved the tedium of the way by singing a song
descriptive of his love for mutton, but he had his virtues
too, for he was ever ready to give information concern-
ing Turkoman manners and customs. He told Burnaby
that Turkoman marriages are not always arranged by
purchase. If the girl is pretty, a more original method
is popular. All the eligible young men of the tribe
assemble on horseback, and the girl being allowed her
choice of mounts, gallops away from the suitors, who
follow her. She avoids those whom she dislikes, and
seeks to throw herself in the way of the one in favour.
The moment she is caught she becomes the wife of the
captor. Further ceremonies are dispensed with, and
the happy husband leads her to his tent.
" What do you pay in your country for a wife ? "
enquired the guide.
" We pay nothing," replied Burnaby; " we ask the
girl, and if she says ' yes,' and her parents do not refuse,
we marry her."
" But if the girl does not like you, if she hits 3011 on
the head with her whip, or gallops away when you ride
up to her side, what do you do in that case ? '
" Why, we do not marry her."
This puzzled the guide very much, and he became
lost in meditation.
As they proceeded the cold became more frightful
ORB-
fiBUftG
OOCENTCH.
CAPTAIN BURNABY'S RIDE TO KHIVA,
November, 1875.
A RIDE TO KHIVA 99
than ever ; the icy winds cut like razors, and it was peri-
lous to remove their gloves, even for a moment.
At a place called Karakol Burnaby's guide was in-
sulted by a Khivan traveller, and a light ensued in which
each seriously damaged the other's clothes. Up to this
point Burnaby did not interfere, but on noticing that
the Khivans were beginning nervously to finger their
knives, he promptly drew a pistol, causing them to fall
back, with the result that the two opponents were left to
settle their difference by themselves. When they were
tired of fighting, each sat on his haunches and aspersed
the reputations of his enemy's female relations ; but
presently Burnaby walked up to them, and after saying
A man (peace), he took hold of their wrists and forcibly
made them shake hands. Salam aaleikom (peace be
with you) at last, said the guide.
Aaleikom salam (with you be peace), was the answer,
and, their quarrel composed, the combatants separated.
On arriving at Kalenderhana, Burnaby learnt that he
could not enter the town of Khiva without first having
obtained the Khan's permission ; and that a letter should
be written to that sovereign and sent on in advance.
As Burnaby did not know the Tartar language, and as he
was uncertain whether it would be wise to employ Arabic,
he availed himself of the services of a moullah,
who enjoyed the reputation of being able to " write
things so soft and sweet that they were like sounds of
sheep bleating in the distance." The country from
Kalenderhana onwards, proved to be excellently cultiv-
ated, and after a short march Burnaby reached the world-
renowned Amou Darya, the mighty Oxus of Tamerlane
and Alexander, which, even from his youthful days at
Bedford, when he had pored over Gibbon and Plutarch,
it had been his ambition to visit. As they crossed the
river, for it was frozen, they met numbers of arbas or two-
wheeled carts and Khivans in long red robes and black
lambskin hats, who bestrode sleek and handsome horses,
ambling under housings studded with jewels. Every man
100 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
as he passed gave the salutation Salam aaleikon ; and
every member of Burnaby's train replied politely
Aaleikon salam. After passing through a country of gar-
dens and orchards, they reached the town of Oogentch,
where they found the bazaar stalls loaded with grapes,
dried fruits and melons. When Burnaby entered a
barber's shop to be shaved, the street fronting it suddenly
became completely blocked up by a curious crowd.
The people behind, who were not able to see as well as
they wished, called out to those who hid the performance
from view and made them sit down, so that everyone
might be able to enjoy the spectacle — for they had never
before seen an Englishman in the hands of a barber.
The razor being blunt, it tore out the hairs it was unable
to cut, and this made Burnaby wince. The people were
delighted. They were not prepared for this feature in the
entertainment, and they roared with laughter.
As Burnaby neared Khiva he passed through a ceme-
tery full of fantastic tombs made of dried clay, orna-
mented with flags ; and next morning he encountered
on the road the messenger whom he had despatched
with his letter to the Khan. The man was accompanied
by two Khivan nobles, one of whom made a courteous
salute, and declared that his Majesty the Khan had sent
him forward to bid Burnaby welcome, and to conduct
him into the city. Thus he had accomplished his end.
The impossible had happened, as it generally does with
the resolute.
Although Khiva was so near, it was almost entirelv
hidden by foliage, but presently some richly painted
minarets and high domes could be seen
31— Khiva and above the tree tops. On each side of the
its Khan. way Burnaby noticed walled orchards
and avenues of mulberry trees, the
beauty of which put him into ecstasies. Nor was he
singular in his praise of this neighbourhood. To Vam-
bery, who visited the city in 1863, the environs of Khiva
seemed a poet's dream. A more lovely spot, even after
A RIDE TO KHIVA 101
he had visited the most seductive pleasure resorts of
Europe, he had never seen, and he thought that if the
Persian poets had tuned their lyres there, they would
have found a more worthy theme than in the " horrid
wastes " of their native land. Burnaby describes the
city as oblong in form and surrounded by two walls,
protected by sixteen useless guns. The outer wall,
which was of brick and clay, might have been fifty feet
high, but it was sadly out of repair ; and four wooden
gates barred approach from the principal points of the
compass. The space between the walls, which had been
transformed into a cattle market, displayed the usual
accompaniment of such places in oriental cities — namely,
a gallows. He judged the population of the town to be
35,000, and he tells us that the streets were broad and
clean, the better houses being of polished bricks and
coloured tiles ; and that the schools, nine in number,
were constructed with huge coloured domes, and orna-
mented with arabesques. As at Oogentch, the people
gathered inquisitively round him, but they were beaten
off by the whips of his escort. When he arrived at his
conductor's house he was regaled with grapes, melons,
and other fruit. His manner of eating with a knife and
fork, however, astonished the Khivans, and one of them
tried to imitate the proceeding, with the result that he
ran the fork into his cheek, amid the loud laughter of the
others.
On the following afternoon he went to pay his respects
to the Khan, whose palace was a large building covered
with bright coloured tiles. The Khan, whose guard
consisted of forty men armed with scimiters, was reclin-
ing against some cushions and seated on a Persian rug,
while a circular hearth filled with burning charcoal
glowed at his feet. He was five feet ten in height, and
strongly built, with a broad massive face, coal black
beard and moustache, and an enormous mouth with white
teeth. A jewelled sword lay by his side. He looked
twenty-eight, and he had a genial smile.
102 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
Over a cup of tea, and by aid of various interpreters,
a curious conversation then ensued. The Khan wanted
to know whether Englishmen and Germans were of the
same nation ; and in order to explain, Burnaby unfolded
a map of the countries between England and India.
The Khan, putting his hand on India, observed that
India was large, but not so large as Russia, which re-
quired nearly two hands to cover it ; but Burnaby ex-
plained that extent of territory does not make up the
strength of a nation, and that India contained three times
as many inhabitants as the whole Russian Empire.
The Crimean war was discussed, and the Khan said he
had been told that England feared Russia ; but Burnaby
declared the statement to be false, that the English
had beaten the Russians, and could do so again —
pointing out, however, at the same time, that the Eng-
lish, being a peaceful nation, never wished to interfere
with a neighbour, so long as that neighbour did not inter-
fere with them.
"The Russians will advance," said the Khan, 'to
Bokhara, and so on to Merve and Herat. You will have
to fight some dav whether vour Government likes it or
not " — and then he aired his salient grievance, that of
being obliged to pay tribute to Russia.
Burnaby could not sufficiently admire the Khan's
gardens with their vines, apple, pear and cherry trees,
and cool walks to protect the ladies of the harem from
the burning sun. He visited the town jail, where he
found only two prisoners, who, for having assaulted a
woman, were condemned to sit with their necks in chains,
and their feet in stocks ; and also the principal school,
where a number of little folk were squalling round a
moullah and learning the Koran. In short Burnaby
gives a very attractive picture of Khiva and its mild
ruler, who was a remarkable contrast to the callous and
truculent Khan, his immediate predecessor, from whose
lips, according to Vambery,* fell almost daily on the ears
* Vambery visited Khiva in 1863. See his Travels in Central Asia.
" FRED."
By special permission or the Editor of Vanity Fail
A RIDE TO KHIVA 105
of some poor trembling wretch or other, the fatal words
Alib barin [away with him (to torture and death) ] ; and
it is only fair to assume that the Russian advance —
though Burnaby would never say a good word for the
Russians — had something to do with the improved condi-
tion of things.
Burnaby then arranged to proceed to Bokhara, whence
he hoped to reach Persia, but in the midst of his prepara-
tions two strangers arrived from the Russian Com-
mandant at Petro-Alexandrovsk bearing a message for
him. Its contents were to the effect that a telegram
awaited him at the fort, and that he was required to go
there to receive it. Little as he relished the order — for order
it virtuallv was — nothing remained but to obev : so hav-
ing made some purchases at the bazaar, and said farewell
to the amiable Khan, who presented him with a handsome
robe, Burnaby turned his face to Petro-Alexandrovsk.
There he discovered that the telegram had come from
H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge, the Field Marshal
Commander-in-Chief, who required his immediate re-
turn to European Russia. The document had been await-
ing him several days, so had he gone first to Petro-
Alexandrovsk, he would never have seen Khiva. As
there was no help for it, Burnaby at once began prepara-
tions for returning home the way he had come, namely,
by the terrible Khivan desert, with the cold at from
30° to 40° below zero. When, however, the Russian
commandant joked him on his being prevented from
carrying out his plan in its entirety, he replied " Any-
how I have seen Khiva " — and so he had — having per-
formed one of the most remarkable journeys ever made
by an Englishman.
A day or two later Burnaby and his little caravan
commenced their journey back over the frightful, icy
desert. On the hardships of that journey, as they re-
sembled what he had already endured, we shall not dwell.
After passing Kasala, he was the means of doing a small
service to a pretty Kirghiz widow ; and through the
106 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
medium of Nazar, he entered into conversation with her
and tried to pay her some compliments. Nazar' s ideas
of poetry, however, were limited to songs about the
beauty of a sheep and the delights of roast mutton,
so Burnaby doubted not that when he observed with
emotion that she was the most beautiful of her sex,
Nazar translated it, " Thou art lovelier than a sheep with
a fat tail."
At Sizeran Burnaby parted from his little Tartar,
and after an uneventful journey across Europe, he event-
ually reached London, where, as his fame had preceded
him, he found himself the hero of the hour.
He at once set to work on the story of his travels,
which was sent to the Press with the title of A Ride to
Khiva* and issued by the publishing house of Cassell
in the autumn of 1876. It was received with a chorus of
approval. He had performed a daring adventure ;
he had written a book that met with acceptance ; he
was intoxicated with happiness.
Within a few months it was in its eleventh edition ;
and certainly it deserved all its success ; for a more
concise, cheery and brightly written book of travel,
has rarely left the Press.
Naturally Burnaby's portrait appeared everywhere,
and he became the subject of a capital cartoonf in Vanity
Fair, which we are permitted to reproduce. Of this pic-
ture he said facetiously in a letter, " I don't like it. It
makes me as ugly as I really am. The artist reminds me of
a Chinaman who sketched old K. The admiral complained
that the likeness was not flattering. The Chinaman
replied, ' How can handsome face make when handsome
face no have got ! ' I am like K ; I wish for a little
more flattery."
* From which we have quoted.
f The whitened chin in it was characteristic of him. He always powder-
ed his chin after shaving, in order to make it comport with his pallid face.
AN ASCENT WITH Mr. LUCY,
25th August, 1876.
The figures are Mr. Wright (extreme left), Burnaby seated on car,
Mr. Lucy in the car, Captain Colvile standing on car.
From the Strand Magazine.
CHAPTER VII.
february 1876 november 1876.
Balloon Ascents from the Crystal Palace.
Burnaby had not been home many weeks before the
insipid delights of English Society began to pall upon
32— Ascent with him. He found life scarcely worth living
Capt. Colvile m a countrv where a man goes to bed
and
Mr. H.W.Lucy regularly under cover, dines at stated
25th Aug., 1867. nours, and has his morning and evening-
newspapers ; so he looked round to see how he could add
a zest to it, and then having turned to his old delight,
aeronautics, he arranged to make an ascent from the
Crystal Palace with two friends — Mr. H. W. Lucy* and
Captain (afterwards Sir) Henry Colvile, t in a balloon
belonging to Mr. Wright. On the appointed day Mr.
Wright having made all necessary preparations, Mr. Lucy
slipped into the car and sat down at the bottom " with
his head thrust through the cording like a chicken in a
wicker basket," and the others followed him. " Burn-
aby," observes Mr. Lucy, " had every qualification for an
aeronaut except moderate size. No one except those
who have made an aerial journey with him, can imagine
the curiously complete way in which his legs pervaded
the car." As, however, Burnaby thought well to increase
the danger of this voyage by sitting, not in the car,
as it careered through space, but on the edge, his long
legs were less troublesome to his friends than they would
otherwise have been. A south west wind carried the
balloon at a rate of forty miles an hour, and when the
*Toby M.P. of Punch.
f Killed in a motor accident 1907.
(l°9) W
110 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
voyagers were well on their journey, Burnaby revealed
the secret wish of his heart, namely, that they could get
a good north breeze which would whisk them to France.
" This westerly wind," he said, " will take us into the
German Ocean. But it will change again, and we shall
have the usual journey across Essex."
By and by they saw something shining below like
molten silver.
" The sea ! " cried Burnaby.
But it was only the mouth of the Thames, and, as he
had prophesied, the balloon presently took its course
over Essex.
Then casting down their gaze, a curious sight presented
itself. They were travelling in bright sunshine, and
below them extended a broad sea of fleecy cloud, on
which was pictured the shadow of the balloon, with the
heads of the occupants as clearly traced as if it had
been a colossal photograph.
" It would be worth a much more perilous journey,"
said Mr. Lucy, " to see this curious picture."
" But it's confoundedly hot," observed Captain Col-
vile.
" Yes," said Burnaby, taking off his gigantic coat,
and hanging it on the anchor as if he had been in a
mess-room, ' ' still there is one comfort in being above the
clouds, namely, that a man can sit in public in his shirt
sleeves."
The north wind that Burnaby had so earnestly desired
did not choose to oblige him, consequently when the
cloud had been cleared and fields and villages came in
view, he gave the gas pipe a turn in order to descend.
Suddenly the earth began to rise, the fields assumed
larger dimensions, and animals, which looked like mice,
proved to be cattle. He then threw out the anchor, and
the balloon rose about a hundred feet. But it is one
thing to throw out an anchor and another to make it
bite. This particular anchor amused itself by dancing
about on the hard earth, grubbing up grass, passing
BALLOON ASCENTS 111
through hedges, and skilfully avoiding anything that
offered a firm clutch. There was now an element of
danger, and in consequence Burnaby's spirits straightway
mounted high. Presently they neared a wood, and into
it went the balloon, crashing against a tree, tearing a
large strip out of the silk, and impregnating the air
with the smell of the escaping gas. But the anchor,
though it had a thousand opportunities, still refused to
grip. It carefully avoided every eligible tree, while it
grubbed fiercely at every weed and feeble flower stalk.
The wind hurried the balloon from tree to tree, making-
fresh gashes in the canvas, and threatening to leave not
a ras' behind. Finallv it descended into an elm ; and
Burnaby and Mr. Lucy, having dropped to the ground,
Captain Colvile loosened the folds of the balloon, and
lowered both envelope and car into their arms.
At midnight Captain Colvile met Burnaby again
at the Queen's Ball at Buckingham Palace.
" That was a capital anchor," observed Burnaby,
" I am going to buy it from Wright and keep it for future
balloon journeys."
A little later Burnaby, with a view to various scientific
experiments, decided to make another aerial voyage,
and in the middle of September he wrote
.. „. . , , „ „ r 33— Ascents
to Mr. Wright as follows : with Mr.
Regents Park Barracks, N.W., Wri«ht and
others
Saturday, September 16th (1876).
In the event of your having a balloon ascent from the
Crystal Palace on Tuesday next, I should like to take your
place in the balloon and go alone with my friend. Of
course no one would be told of this, and it would have
to be a private matter between you and myself. I sup-
pose that in the event of our making some sort of an
arrangement like this, I should not have to pay for the
gas, as this would be found by the company for your
ascent. I should like your largest balloon, so as to make
a long ascent, and would pay for any damage done it, as
well as a certain sum to you for the hire. WTiat time
112 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
would the balloon be likely to go up, as the earlier
the better, and what would be your terms for the hire ?
Send me an answer by telegraph, as to-morrow is Sunday
and there is no post.
Yours truly,
Fred Burnaby.
As the agreement with Mr. Wright indicates, the
voyage was made on September 19th (1876). It was a
thoroughly successful one, and on arriving home Burnaby
ordered another balloon — holding 50,000 feet of gas —
in order to carry out additional scientific experiments.
Subsequently he and Mr. Wright made several ascents
together, and after one of them Burnaby gave his com-
panion an aneroid* and a copy of A Ride to Khiva, with
the following words in autograph : " Mr. Wright, from
the author, in remembrance of some pleasant journeys
in the air, July 11th, 1877, St. John's Wood Barracks,
London."
Burnaby's enthusiasm for aeronautics was shared by
several of his more intimate friends ; and one of them,
Captain Colvile, even went so far — a few years later —
as to spend his honeymoon in one of Mr. Wright's
balloons.*}"
*Now in the possession of Miss Wright.
•"-This was on 25th April, 1879. Captain Colvile and his wife drove
from the church to the Crystal Palace where the balloon was waiting for
them. The trip, according to Captain Colvile, was a delightful one and
they descended at Waterbeach, in Cambridgeshire.
BURNABY DROPPING FROM THE TREE.
From the Strand Magazine.
CHAPTER VIII.
november 1876 spring 1877.
Travels in Asia Minor.*
bibliography :
5. The Practical Instruction of Staff Officers, 1876.
6. A Ride to Khiva 1876 (Reviewed in Saturday Review
25th November 1876). Eleventh edition 1877.
(Cassell.)
7. On Horseback through Asia Minor 1877. Seventh
edition with Memoir of Radford and a new preface
dealing with the Eastern question 1878. (Sampson
Low.)
While Burnaby and Mr. Wright were thus busying
themselves, all England was roused owing to the Bul-
34— Burnaby and garian massacres, and in newspaper and on
Radford set platform the Turks were held up to execra-
Travels, tion. Burnaby insisted, however, that the
Nov. 1876. cry against them was something of an elec-
tion dodge. He deplored, as did every other feeling man,
the shocking butchery in Bulgaria ; but he pointed out
that the trouble was owing in part to reprisals made by
the Turks on account of cruelty inflicted on their people
by the Russians and other Christians, and in part to the
barbarity of the Turkish mercenaries. He considered
the genuine Turk one of the finest fellows in the world,
and he denied that the Anatolian Christians were op-
pressed. He determined, however, to go to Asia Minor
and examine the condition of affairs with his own eyes.
* This chapter is founded on Burnaby 's On Horseback through Asia Minor
and Burnaby 's letters (lent to the Author by Mrs. Baillie).
("5)
116 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
Burnaby, having first applied to the Turkish Ambassa-
dor, asking whether any special permission was required,
received reply that an Englishman could travel where
he liked in the Turkish Dominions ; and he contrasted
these words with the grudging acquiescence of the St.
Petersburg authorities when he was about to visit Tar-
tary.
Having crossed to Calais, Burnaby, accompanied by
Radford, made for Marseilles, whence he took steamer
for Constantinople. Here, after hiring a servant named
Osman, a fine-looking fellow in a fez and light blue
trousers fastened at the waist with a crimson sash, he
questioned both Turk and Christian concerning the condi-
tion of the country in which he was about to travel.
An Armenian assured him that if he tried to get as far as
Van, he would in all probability be robbed or murdered
by the Kurds — a statement that made Van peculiarly
attractive to him, and he straightway resolved that
whatever other place he might avoid, Van should cer-
tainly see his face.
Having cheapened some horses he gave them, consonant
with his custom, scriptural names, — calling one a vicious
black brute Obadiah ; and after making other preparations,
he turned his face towards the Bosphorus. A crowd
collected to see him start — the Giaour, who madly pro-
posed making his way from Scutari to Batoum by land
instead of by water. When all was ready he gave
Osman a travelling sword, an action that had the result
of intensifving the excitement.
" Osman has got a sword," said one.
" He is buckling it on," said another.
But Osman's air of importance increased ten-fold
when Burnaby desired him to sling a sporting rifle on
his shoulder. There was a faint approach to a cheer
from a little boy in the crowd ; but this was instantly
suppressed, and in the midst of all the excitement Burn-
aby, Radford and the horses proceeded, not without dig-
nity, down the street of Para.
TRAVELS IN ASIA MINOR 117
Among the passengers on board the steamer which
carried them over the Bosphorus were some Turkish
ladies, whose faces could be clearly seen through the
diaphanous texture which served them as veils. They
were not prepossessing, and they sadly wanted expression
— a defect which Burnaby observed in almost every
Turkish woman whose countenance he scrutinized ;
but, as he observes, considering that only one woman
out of every thousand can read or write, this is not sur-
prising.
He was roused from his reverie by a violent explosion,
caused as it was afterwards discovered, by Obadiah,
who had kicked over a box of cartridges.
Radford explained just how it happened. " Lor sir,"
he said, " it was that black 'orse Obadiah, as was the
bottom of all the mischief. He is that artful. He stood
quiet enough till we started, and the paddles began to
turn ; he then started kicking, and frightened the grey.
That 'ere Turk," pointing to Osman, " was a praying by
the side of the paddle-boxes, and not taking any account
of the hanimals, drat him ! Obadiah upset his packsaddle
and stamped on the cartridge-box ; and when some of
them went off, Hosman left off praying and began to
swear."
As Radford said, whenever there was any work to be
done, the artful Osman fell to prayer — and to aggravate
the offence he, as often as not, would take Radford's
coat to kneel on.
The Pasha of Ismid enquired of Burnaby why England
hated the Turks.
" Partly," replied Burnaby, " on account of the
tigerish excesses of your Bashi-Bazooks ; but mainly
because you repudiated your debt."
The Pasha attributed all the trouble to the machina-
tions of Russia. " Russia," he said, " will not let us be
quiet. She compels us to keep up a large army. Her
agents bring about massacres of the Christians, and set
the world against us " — and Burnaby, who at almost
118 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
every step on his journey heard the same tale, became
every day more and more convinced of its truth.
The one topic at every halting place was the anticipated
war. On the road Osman gave some account of his
family life. He had a good wife. He admitted that her
eyes were not quite straight, but he hastened to add that
this little imperfection was more than balanced by her
skill as a cook.
" She makes soup," he observed, " which is even more
filling than my brother's " — pointing to Radford.
At one village a Turkish farmer honoured Burnaby
by the loan of the family yorgan or quilt — which, though
ancient and beautiful, turned out to be a paradise for
fleas ; but Burnaby, who slept not a wink all night,
subsequently discovered that Armenian yorgans contain
about twice as many fleas as the Turkish. Having
passed Istanos, the place where Alexander the Great
cut the Gordian knot, the travellers came to Angora,
where they learnt that there was a deal of immorality
among the fair sex, though nothing to what existed in
Yusgat, a town little further on, where could be seen
the lascivious dance of the Turkish gipsy woman, which
was strictly prohibited in other places. If the women
were immoral, however, the men were hospitable, and
Burnaby was glad to give the Turk his due wherever
found. Moreover at Angora, exceptional harmony ex-
isted between Turk and Christian. " Englishmen who
abuse the Turkish nation," observed Burnaby, " should
travel a little in Anatolia."
Having crossed the Kizil Irmak river in a barge, for
there was no bridge, the travellers came to an encamp-
ment of Kurds, a people who have a simple and original
way of avoiding the payment of taxes. When they ex-
pect a visit from the collector, they pack up their chattels
and migrate to the mountains, where they bid him de-
fiance, and where they remain until their spies have
announced the enemy's departure.
Burnaby next came to a Turkoman village, that is to
TRAVELS IN ASIA MINOR 121
say, to a few holes in the side of a hill. He entered one
of these queer dwellings with the intention of dining
with the family, but the fleas having put him to flight,
he finished his meal in the open. At every turning he
heard tales of Russian atrocities on the borderland.
Burnaby next entered the disreputable town of Yusgat —
the Lampsacus of Anatolia. No Englishman had visited
it for twenty years, and the Turkish population, who
were friendly to England on account of the Crimean war,
turned out in mass to welcome the stranger. Even
Osman had some of the glory reflected upon him, for he
was kissed effusively by a number of dirty Turks.
" How do you like the Turks ? " enquired Burnaby
of the chief engineer of the district- — a Pole.
" The Turks and the Armenians get on very well
together," was the reply, " and the law is carried out
fairly for all classes."
On the outskirts of the town Burnaby and the Pole
passed some good looking gipsy women with brown com-
plexions, dark eyes, and long black hair.
" These are the dancers," said the Pole. ' Let us go
and talk to one of the old women, and choose the girls
who are to perform."
" How many do you require ? " asked the old woman.
" Three," replied the Pole.
" Well," said she, " three you shall have. The most
beautiful and gazelle-like of our tribe. I will come my-
self, and I too will dance, if only to show the Frank
Effendi what our dance is like."
It was as much as Burnaby could do to keep his coun-
tenance, for the old woman was very fat ; and some of the
girls, catching his eye, went off into fits of laughter.
" Ah ! you may laugh, children," she said, indignantly,
" but none of you can dance so well as I can " ; and
straightening her aged limbs, she showed what she could
do, while the girls applauded her, and beat time with their
hands.
" Very good," said the Pole, as she sank down on a
H 2
122 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
divan, " Very good. You dance like a stag. You shall
come too."
" Thank heavens," he remarked in French, " she did
not throw herself on to my lap, for this is the custom
of these wild dancers ; if she had done so, there would not
have been much left of me."
On the following evening, according to appointment,
the dancers arrived at the Pole's house.
First entered some male gipsies carrying lutes and an
instrument like a bagpipe, which emitted a wild and dis-
cordant blast ; and then came the dancers accompanied
by the fat woman. The girls were in blue jackets,
purple waistcoats lashed with gold embroidery, and very
loose yellow trousers. Their eyebrows were made to
meet by charcoal lines, their teeth and finger nails were
dyed red, and their hair hung in long tresses below their
waists. The principal dancer's hair was decorated
with gold spangles, and all carried castanets. The lutes
having struck up, and the bagpipes having resumed
screaming, the dance began.
The girls whirled round each other till their long black
tresses stood out at right angles from their bodies. The
perspiration poured down their cheeks. The old lady, who
was seated on a divan, then uncrossed her legs, beating
her brass ankle-rings the one against the other, thus
adding yet another noise to the din. The girls snapped
their castanets, and then whirled their bodies round each
other with such velocity that it was impossible to dis-
tinguish the one from the other. All of a sudden, the
music stopped, and the panting dancers threw them-
selves down on the laps of the musicians.
When asked by the Pole what he thought of it, Burn-
aby, among other criticisms, observed that the Lord
Chamberlain would not allow such performances in
England.
" The Lord Chamberlain, who is he ? " inquired an
Armenian present.
" He is an official who looks after public morals."
TRAVELS IN ASIA MINOR 123
" And do you mean to say that he would object to this
sort of dance ? "
" Yes."
" But this is nothing," said the Pole. " When there
is a marriage festival in a harem, the women arrange their
costumes so that one article of attire falls off after
another during the dance. The performers are finally
left in very much the same garb as our first parents after
the fall. We shall be spared that spectacle, for my wife
is here." Finally the old woman, who had been given a
glass of raki, delivered herself of a pas seul ; and then
the troope made their departure.
Burnaby also witnessed the national game of djerrid,
and took part in a hunt. At Tokat he met some Cir-
cassians, who corroborated the various accusations
made against the Russians, and declared that they had
transformed Circassia into a hell.
For some time Burnaby had received hints that
Osman, when not engaged in prayer, was either robbing
him or planning a theft ; and at last, after
catching the rascal red-handed, he dis- „ ,
, °, . i , • ! . , 35— Mohammed,
missed him, and hired another servant,
a nimble redif-soldier named Mohammed.
At Sivas Burnaby enquired of an Armenian whether the
Turks ever tortured the Christians there.
" No," was the reply, " the law is, or rather the judges
are, much too merciful " ; and once more he was told that
whatever trouble arose was caused by the Russian agents,
who were perpetually fomenting quarrels between Turk
and Christian, and sowing fresh seeds of disaffection
among the Armenian subjects of the Porte. ' But for
Russian intrigues," said the Pasha of Sivas to Burnaby,
" we Turks should be very good friends with the Chris-
tians." " The Turks are not cruel," observed an
American gentleman to Burnaby, " but they are pig-
headed. They will not advance with the times."
Soon after passing Sivas Burnaby 's party, which
included some Zaptiehs, who had been sent to act as
124 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
guides for him, were nearly buried in a snow drift,
and a rebellion broke out among them. By drawing his
revolver, however, Burnaby brought his factious com-
panions to their senses, and in due time the whole party
struggled through the snow and reached the next village
— on the whole, the filthiest within their experience.
When under shelter Burnaby, who had supped and was
beginning to doze, overheard a conversation between the
Zaptiehs and Mohammed.
" Only think," said a Zaptieh, " of our being threat-
ened by the infidel."
" He would have carried out his threat," said Moham-
med. " My Effendi is not like the Christians about here.
He is an Inglis ! "
" So the Inglis giaours are different from the Armenian
giaours ? " observed the Zaptieh.
" Very different," replied Mohammed, " the Armen-
ians talk, but the Inglis strike."
Burnaby's curiosity was unbounded, and everywhere
he enquired into the manners and customs of the people.
He found that most of the Christians were usurers,
that they lent to the Turks at an exorbitant rate of
interest, and that in some instances old Turkish families
had been entirely ruined by Armenian money-lenders.
At Erzingan Burnaby called on a rich and lecherous
Turk, who was in the hands of an Italian physician.
" What is the matter with him ? " enquired Burnaby.
" Drink, my good sir," replied the doctor. "He is
forty, I am over ninety, but please God, as the Turks say,
I shall outlive him. If the upper classes of Moham-
medans were sober, they would live for ever in this
delightful climate. But what with their women, and
what with their wine, they shorten their existence by at
least thirty years."
" What are you talking about ? " enquired the sick
man.
"I was saying, Bey Effendi ! " replied the doctor,
TRAVELS IN ASIA MINOR 125
" how very popular you are in the neighbourhood, and
how much everyone loves you."
Arrived at Erzeroum — supposed to have been the
home of our first parents — Burnaby was informed by
an Armenian, the Pasha's interpreter, that the Russian
consul at Erzeroum had just received a telegram, which
ran as follows :
" Two months ago an Englishman, a certain Captain
Burnaby, left Constantinople with the object of travel-
ling in Asia Minor. He is a desperate enemy (mm ennemi
acharne) of Russia. We have lost all traces of him since
his departure from Stamboul. We believe that,the real
object of his journey is to pass the frontier, and enter
Russia. Do your best, sir, to discover the whereabouts
of this aforesaid Captain. Find means to inform him
that in the event of his entering our territory, he will be
immediately expelled."
Burnaby also heard that the Russians had hung up his
photograph at all the frontier stations, so as to enable
their officers to recoonise him should he attempt to enter
Russian territory.
As he had no desire to cross the frontier, this informa-
tion did not disturb him ; but he was of opinion that the
real reason of the Russians for not wishing him to travel
through the Caucasus was lest he should obtain fresh
proofs of their enormities.
From Erzeroum he wrote to his mother a long letter,
from which we may quote a few paragraphs :
" Erzeroum. The Garden of Eden,
11th Februarv, 1877.
" It has been a hard journey. Over 13,000 miles, and
all on horseback, through deep mud at first, and in some
places up to the horses' girths. I stayed at Angora three
days. Then on the track again ; over mountains and
crags, passing over ground that abounds with mineral
wealth, and, alas ! left idly in the earth, till I reached
Yusgat."
" ' Why do you not introduce your family to me ? '
126 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
I enquired one day of my host (an Armenian gentle-
man).
*' ' I keep my wife and daughter for myself, and not for
my guests,' " was the reply.
" All through this part of the world the same custom
exists. Poor Armenian women ! They are indeed to be
pitied. They receive no education whatever. What
they do not know themselves, it is impossible to teach
their children ; the result is that the whole population,
Christian as well as Mussulman, is steeped in the deepest
slough of ignorance."
As the travellers proceeded on their journey Burnaby
fell ill, and the necessity of walking through great tracts
of snow aggravated his complaint. He had no sooner
begun to recover than Mohammed was taken with severe
rheumatism, which was relieved by a mustard plaster.
A Kurd who watched the operation observed, " It is a
wonder. The plaster is cold, but Mohammed says he is
on fire. I should like a plaster too," and turning to Rad-
ford he held out his hand for one.
" Plasters are for sick people, not for men in a good
state of health," observed Burnaby.
" But I am not well," said the Kurd.
As however the man had nothing to show beyond an
old frostbite, the request was ignored.
The news of Burnaby's skill as a medicine man spread
far and wide, and people came wheedling to him for
mustard plasters to cure every imaginable
36— Among the complaint — not excluding the toothache.
Worshippers. After passing the mighty Mount Ararat,
the travellers arrived at a village of
Yezeeds or Devil- Worshippers — a people whose principal
temple is adorned with a figure of a serpent kept black
with charcoal. The idea of the sect who, by the by, do
not admit devil-worship, though there is incontrovertible
evidence that they practise it, is that there are two
spirits — one of good, the other of evil — that it is a waste
TRAVELS IN ASIA MINOR 127
of time to worship the spirit of good, who will not hurt
them ; the correct course to pursue being to try to
propitiate the spirit of evil. They are visited periodically
by priests who, clad in white and swaying a wand sur-
mounted by a sacred brass peacock, perform certain rites
which they keep rigorously secret. Should a priest arrive
in the village, the first act of the inhabitants is to offer
their wives and daughters for his inspection. The family
of the woman or girl selected considers that a very high
honour has been conferred upon it. Burnaby learnt
that there are different laws as to the subsequent treat-
ment of these privileged women. In one of the sects
(and there are two) they are forbidden afterwards to ap-
proach a man ; but in the other an unmarried woman
thus honoured is permitted to marry, while a married
woman is allowed to return to her husband ; and it is the
duty of the village to make her rich presents, and to
maintain her and her husband during the rest of their
lives. In short they secure an " old age pension," and
are envied accordingly.
As this account differed in detail from what is related
by Mr. Layard, the Assyriologist, Burnaby resolved to
question some of the Yezeeds, but an unfortunate occur-
rence prevented him from obtaining the desired informa-
tion. By chance in conversation he mentioned the
word Shaitan (devil). " If," says he, " a bombshell had
exploded in the room where I was sitting, there could
not have been greater consternation than that which
was evinced by the members of my host's family.
Springing to their feet, they fled from the building — an
old woman nearly upsetting Radford's cooking pot
in her haste to escape into the open air."
Burnaby was very sorry, and at first thought of apolo-
gising, but in the fear lest by so doing he might make
matters worse, he changed his mind, and proceeded on
his journey.
The next stopping place was Kelise Kandi, a Persian
village, where Burnaby became the guest of the chief
128 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
proprietor, who had been informed of the
prescribes story of the mustard plaster.
for a Persian « You are a great hakim (doctor),"
observed the Persian.
" I am not a hakim," Burnaby remarked hastily.
" Do not say that," followed the Persian. " Do not
deny the talents that Allah has given you. Your arrival
has cast a gleam of sunshine on our threshold."
" What do you want me to do ? " enquired Burnaby.
" My wife is poorly," said the Persian. " I ask you to
cure her."
" Well, I must see her," followed Burnaby.
" Impossible," said the Persian, " she is in the harem.
I cannot take vou there. Give me a mustard plaster for
her."
" I can't prescribe for her without seeing her," said
Burnaby.
After prolonged hesitation, the Persian consented
to allow the " hakim '" to look at his wife's tongue,
and he led the way to the harem. The lady, enveloped
from head to foot in a sheet of gauze-like material,
was reclining on cushions. Her feet, which she had just
taken from two dainty white slippers, were very small and
stockingless, and she nervously tapped the ground with
her heel.
" She is alarmed," said the Persian. "Be not
alarmed," he added, turning to his wife. "It is the
hakim, who has come to make you well."
These remarks did not tranquilize the lady. Her heel
tapped the ground more quickly than before, the whole
of her body shook like an aspen-leaf.
However, when Burnaby asked to see her tongue,
she removed the folds of her veil, and allowed a very
red tip to escape from her lips.
" Well, what do you think of it ? " enquired the Per-
sian, who was taking the greatest interest in these pro-
ceedings.
TRAVELS IN ASIA MINOR 129
Burnaby, who had nothing but praise for the tongue,
then asked to see her eyes.
" Why her eyes ? "
" Because she may have jaundice. I must see if her
eye is yellow."
" Perhaps she had better expose the whole face,"
said the Persian.
" Perhaps she had," remarked Burnaby.
The lady then unwound the folds of muslin from around
her head, and revealed pretty, regular features, while a
pair of large black eyes, which looked through Burnaby
as he gazed on them, were twinkling more with humour
than fear.
" What is the matter with you ? " enquired Burnaby.
She blushed. Her husband then remarked that she
fancied strange dishes at her meals, was in fact delicate ;
and on learning further that the couple had been
married only a few months, Burnaby diagnosed the case
without difficulty.
" I have no medicine for your complaint," he re-
marked.
" No medicine ! ' said the Persian indignantly.
" Mohammed has shown me the bottles and the little
boxes. Besides that you have the wet paper."
" A mustard plaster would be useless," said Burnaby.
" But she must have something," said the husband ;
so to satisfy him Burnaby gave him three grains of quin-
ine, to be taken in three doses, one grain in each dose.
" Will it do her much good ? " inquired the Persian.
" That depends upon Allah," replied Burnaby.
At the next village Burnaby found his reputation as a
hakim still more inconvenient. To judge by the number
of persons who begged for medicine, the whole population
was unwell. Everyone put out a tongue and offered
a pulse ; and they even pestered Radford — hindering him
in his cooking — the belief having seized them that since
the master was so great a hakim, the servant must neces-
sarily have some medical skill .
130 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
On reaching Khoi Burnaby became the guest of the
Turkish consul, who complained of being dull. "My
wife died six months ago," he said, " and I have not been
able to find another."
" Why do you not take a Kurdish girl ? " enquired
a listener. " They make model wives. If their hus-
bands have money they do not ask for any ; if the hus-
bands have no money the wives never bother their heads
about the matter. In addition to this, they do not care
about fine clothes. A long piece of calico and a pair of
slippers content them as well as all the silks and satins
in Erzeroum bazaar."
But there was a difficulty, it seems, for his previous
wife was a Kurd, and in compliance with her suggestion
he had engaged her father and mother as servants.
" I have found them," continued the consul, " hard-
working people. When my poor wife died, I allowed
them to remain with me. If I marry again, my new lady
will probably wish her own relations to come here, and
I shall be obliged to get rid of my present servants."
From Khoi Burnaby wrote, 28th February, 1877,
to his sister Annie a long letter, which concludes :
*' I have got very thin. Radford is reduced to a walking
skeleton. From here I shall go to Batoum,
that is if there is anvthing left of me to travel, as I am
rapidly getting into that condition of body which would
be required should I wish to crawl into a gas pipe."
At a place called Toprak Kileh, he was taken with
rheumatic fever, aggravated by the foulness of the atmos-
phere in his sleeping room, which he shared with a few
cows and a multitude of fleas. On his recovery he pro-
ceeded to Kars, passing on his way through several
Circassian villages. The beauty of the Circassian girls
being famous the world over, he took particular notice of
their faces. Several were seductive, but he found, to his
surprise, that their complexions were not fair but olive.
" The mischief they play," he says, -" is chiefly attribut-
able to their large, flashing eyes and their small pearly
TRAVELS IN ASIA MINOR 131
teeth." At Kars he found 20,000 troops quartered,
but the streets were filthy and the hospitals crowded
with typhoid fever patients. At Ardahan he sold his
horses ; and on reaching Livana he hired a cayek and
proceeded by the Tschoroch river to Batoum — greatly
to the terror and discomfort of Mohammed, who was an
indifferent sailor. " My brother," he said, pointing to
Radford, " is brave on the water ; I am brave on land ;
we are both brave," and seizing his fellow servant's
hand, he shook it heartily.
Burnaby and Radford having boarded the steamer
which was to carry them away, Mohammed followed
them ; but when the moment for parting arrived, the
poor fellow's countenance revealed the struggle that was
going on in his mind, and some big tears rolled down his
cheeks.
" My heart is very full," he said, " for am I not losing
my lord, as well as my brother ? " and seizing Radford's
hand, he wrung it heartily.
" That Mohammed was not such a bad chap after all,
sir," commented Radford when the vessel had got under
weigh.
The voyage to Constantinople was an uneventful one,
and eight days later Burnaby arrived in London, bringing
his friends handsome Turkish slippers embroidered on
green velvet with gold, and gold-mounted walking
sticks.
At the earliest possible moment he settled himself to
write, in baby hand, an account of his adventures, and
it duly appeared in two volumes with the title On Horse-
back through Asia Minor ;* nor has a more entertaining
Odyssey ever left the Press.
I spoke of his writing as a baby hand, and indeed it did
not differ at 34, or even at 42, from what it had been at
7 or 8. It was always the same ; and his style as a writer,
to use Mr. Bowles's expression, " was that of an open-
eyed ingenuous baby " — a baby with a man's appreciation
* Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Our quotations are from this work.
132 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
of humour. This is its distinctive note. His good
nature, his courage, and his keen enjoyment of the in-
congruities of life — of life's little jokes — stand revealed
on every page he wrote.
" The book is out," he wrote to his sister Annie. " Some
of the critiques are good, others will probably be un-
favourable. However an author has to run the gauntlet
and he learns more through being blamed than through
being praised. It is a good thing to realise to oneself the
saying of the old Greek philosopher — Know thyself.
Sharp criticisms are useful in that way. The book is
selling well. 3,500 copies in the first edition I
was asked to stay with but have declined all
invitations. It is a bore being lionized."
CHAPTER IX.
Spring 1877 — February 1878.
burnaby and radford at the seat of war in
Turkey.
Russia declared war against Turkey on 24th April,
1877, and straightway poured battalion after battalion
38-Bumaby and uPon ^ Plains of Roumania. For a time
Radford the progress of the invaders was rapid, while
PT°uXdy!° the Turkish leaders looked on supinely
Nov. 1877. or retreated faultily ; and then occurred
the resolute defence of Plevna by Osman Pasha. Many
Englishmen were in favour of supporting Turkey, and
none was more active in the agitation than Captain
Burnaby, who insisted that the humiliation of Russia
was vital to the salvation of India. Though the British
Government decided not to interfere in the war, Burnaby,
whose annual winter leave of absence was approaching,
determined to go out to see the fighting ; and he attained
his end by obtaining an honorary post as " travelling
agent to the Stafford House Committee," a body of noble-
men and others who sent out surgeons and dressers
to the seat of the war. But he revolved a much bolder
scheme, for it was his determination, if possible, to cross
the Balkans and pass through the Russian lines to Plevna.
Late in October, and accompanied by Radford, he set
out for Constantinople, and on November 28th he joined
at Adrianople his friend, Valentine Baker, who held
command in the Turkish army.
On being informed of Burnaby's project, Baker pointed
out that the Russian lines had been drawn so closely
round Plevna, that it would be all but impossible to pierce
(133)
134 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
them ; and he urged his friend to abandon the idea.
Finally Burnaby consented to abide by the decision
of the Turkish generalissimo, Mehemet Ali ; but in the
meantime he attended, as the following letter to the Staf-
ford House Committee (December 3rd) shows, to his hon-
orary duties :
" I arrived," he says, " at Adrianople last week,
and visited the hospital. You will be glad to know that
every attention is being paid to the wounded. The
wards are clean, lofty and well-ventilated. The food is
of good quality, and there was an expression of pleasure
which passed over the poor sufferers' countenances as the
English surgeons walked around the wards and enquired
after each man's ailment. I arrived in Sofia and visited
the Stafford House wards. The wounded men have
every attention paid to them ; they are as well looked
after as they would be in any London hospital."
The main body of the Turkish army was at Kamarli, a
fortified position to the north east of Sofia, whence its
leader, Shakir Pasha, had hoped to lead a force to relieve
Plevna. At Kamarli Burnaby met Mehemet Ali, to
whom he explained his project.
" You are an English officer — full of energy and
courage," replied Mehemet Ali, " and I should be the
last man to dissuade you from any enterprise in which
you might usefully show those qualities ; but there are
plans which are so hazardous that it becomes folly to
attempt them " ; and he urgently advised Burnaby
to give up all thought of proceeding further with the
enterprise. It would indeed have been a terribly danger-
ous exploit for any man, but in the case of Burnaby,
the Englishman whom, above all others, the Russians
hated, it would have been simply to throw his life away.
Only a few hours after this conversation the news came
that Osman Pasha had been forced to capitulate with
42,000 men and 77 guns ; and that consequently 120,000
more Russians would be free to march against the al-
ready outnumbered army of Shakir Pasha. A further
SEAT OF THE WAR IN TURKEY 135
misfortune to the Turks was the recall of Mehemet Ali, who
was succeeded by the incapable, and ill-starred Suleiman
Pasha. Nothing remained but for Shakir Pasha's force
of 14,000 men to retreat ; and the duty of covering this
retreat, that is to say of holding in check some, 50,000
Russians led bv Gourko and others, fell UDon Baker,
whose total force consisted of only 2,400 men.
It was in vain that Baker begged for reinforcements.
Shakir Pasha resolutely refused them. " Not a man
can be spared," was the reply. " You
. , A , ..„ i ./ « ., 39— The Battle of
must hold on, and till death, tor the Tashkesan
safetv of the whole arrav depends upon 31st Dec->
„ j v r 1877>
you.
Baker's army — that resolute little army to which was
confided this tremendous task — had taken possession of
three hills which looked down on the village of Tashke-
san. Baker conducted operations from the central hill,
and by his side stood Burnaby and Radford, the former
armed with a long and formidable staff, with which he
belaboured the shoulders of any Turk who showed him-
self refractory. From his eminence Burnaby* could see
the enemy advancing steadily across the plain — the
infantry in long lines, the cavalry like interminable black
dots speckling the snow-covered ground. The dots
came nearer and nearer. The Russians had seventeen
guns to Baker's seven. The firing became hot and fast,
and at a distance of about 500 yards, " the whole of the
Russian Guard broke out into one unanimous cheer of
' Hurrah ! ' " and came on with a rush.
As the cheer died away the Turks appeared to be sur-
rounded, but when things were looking their blackest,
Baker, suddenly turning to his trumpeter, shouted :
" Sound the Turkish cry — the appeal to God ! ' Then,
as if with one voice, there burst from the lips of the 2,400
the shout Allah il allah !
It was a sensation," says Burnaby, " worth feeling ;
it was a moment worth ten of the best vears of a man's
* See " In Memoriam " 7th Ed. of On Horseback through Asia Minor.
136 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
life ; and a thrill passed through my heart at the time —
that curious sort of thrill — the sensation which you ex-
perience when you read of something noble and heroic,
or see a gallant action performed. It was grand to hear
these 2,400 Mahometans, many of them raw levies at
the time, cheering back in defiance of those thirty
picked battalions, the choicest troops of the Czar."
Presently Baker's aide-de-camp rode up to him with
the announcement " All is lost ! Shakir Pasha has re-
tired ; he has abandoned you. We shall all be cap-
tured."
"It is not so hopeless as you think," said Baker.
" Anyhow, we shall die in our places, rather than sur-
render to the enemy."
He then ordered an officer on his staff to take a couple
of guns to a position a little to the left, and annoy the
masses of infantry advancing in that direction. This
was done, and the artillery fire, ably directed by the
officer, did enormous execution in the enemy's ranks,
and checked for a time his advance. Another officer was
ordered to lead two squadrons of horse down hill in the
direction of some Russian cavalry which were gradually
advancing towards the right. The movement was
skilfully executed, and the gallant manner in which this
officer led his men against a force ten times their number,
elicited hearty cheers from the Turkish infantry.
But the enemy, though held in check for a moment,
was not baffled. On he came in never-ending streams
of skirmishers, which, as they reached the Turkish posi-
tion, formed into seas of desperate soldiery. An ex-
clamation from Baker, who was eagerly scanning the
left of the Turkish position with his field glass, called
Burnaby's attention in that direction. " We could see
our men retiring," he says, " but in good order. They
had been forced back by sheer weight of numbers. It
now became necessary to withdraw our right and centre
from our rapidly increasing foe, and to take up a fresh
defensive line half a mile to the rear. Four guns were
SEAT OF THE WAR IN TURKEY 137
playing with unmistakable effect from the road below
vis on the advancing foe. The Russians then concen-
trated a very heavy cross fire on this point. The Turkish
gunners became unsteady. They limbered up one piece,
and commenced retiring. If the others had followed,
the day would probably have been lost. General Baker
saw this at a glance, and sticking his spurs into his horse,
he galloped down the slippery height — his animal now
up to the haunches in the snow, then sliding down the
steepest of declivities— the loose stones and pebbles fly-
ing like hail in the faces of those who attempted to follow
him. He rode up to the retreating artillery men, made
them return with the cannon to the original position,
and remained there for more than an hour, in the most
exposed part of the field — his presence so encouraging the
gunners that they redoubled their exertions, and fired
so fast and accurately that for a time they completely
paralysed the Russians' movements. It was noon,
below were wounded men and corpses, and horses without
riders galloping to and fro. Shakir Pasha's troops could
be seen in the distance, in full retreat across the plain ;
and if the Russians had succeeded in breaking through
Baker's line, every man of this force must have been
lost.
At this moment Burnaby was riding with Mr. Francis
Francis, of the Times. As they were ascending the height
leading to the second position Burnaby's breastplate
broke, the saddle turned, and he found himself in the
snow ; while owing to a sprained ankle, he was unable
to put his foot to the ground. The Russians were not
more than a quarter of a mile distant, and their bullets
spattered on the surrounding rocks ; but Mr. Francis
did not hesitate a moment. Springing from his horse,
he coolly unwound a long sash from his waistcoat,
mended the breastplate with it, and then helped Burnaby
to mount.
The Russian officers, seeing the Turkish foe escaping
from their grasp, again cheered on their men to the attack
12
138 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
— though with thinned ranks, for they had already
sustained a loss of over 2,000. The afternoon wore on,
Baker sat on his grey horse gazing at his watch. Would
that day ever finish ? Would that sun ever go down ?
All this time a life and death struggle was going on
between the two forces. It was the last position the
Turks could hold. Every moment gained was so much
time lost to the enemy. The Russian general knew this :
he collected his men for a final effort. His forces gallant-
ly advanced to the attack ; their cheers were met by
counter cheers. Baker was in the foremost and most
exposed place, standing in a hail of rifle bullets and shell
fire, encouraging his men. The Russians came up the
hill at the double, but broke with the Turkish fire;
and the Turks, as their foes retreated, charged with the
bayonet, and drove them into the valley below. The
battle was over. The Turkish losses were 800, the Rus-
sian about 3,000. For this brilliant feat Baker was
thanked by the Sultan, and promoted to the rank of
ferik or Lieutenant-General.
Owing to Radford's activity, Christmas day was not
allowed to pass by unhonoured. With some trouble
he collected the materials for, and made a plum pudding,
which, with a turkey procured from Sophia, was eaten
by Burnaby, Baker and the other Englishmen in camp.
From Tashkesen the army fell back to Matchka, where
on January 6th another battle was fought, and Burnaby
and Radford helped the English doctors, Gill and Heath,
to dress the wounded. Then followed the terrible re-
treat over the cruel Rhodope mountains — through
Otlukoi, Bazardjik, Philippolis and Stanamaki to Gum-
ardjini. The sufferings not only of the rank and file,
but also of the officers, in this God-forsaken wild, were
beyond description terrible. The unceasing frost fell
upon them like pitiless knives, hunger gnawed their
entrails. One day Radford, having had no sleep
for more than forty hours — being all that time on the
march through deep snow — fell asleep on his horse seven
SEAT OF THE WAR IN TURKEY 141
times, each time losing his balance and falling to the
ground. Often the faithful fellow would bring a piece of
biscuit, his own ration for the day, and try to persuade
Burnaby that he had already eaten, while perhaps food
had not passed his lips for twenty-four hours.
On one occasion Burnaby saved Baker's life by rushing
into his tent with great armfuls of snow and extinguishing
a yorghan which had caught fire. So frightful was the
cold that sometimes forty men would be frozen to death
in one night. The sole consolation of the famished and
weary soldiery was the knowledge that the end of their
dreadful sufferings was steadily approaching. When
the van gained a summit near Gumardjini, the sun burst
forth in yellow glory, and from throat after throat rang
the hoarse cry of "The sea! The sea." The sight was,
indeed, not less welcome to them than had been, centur-
ies before, a similar sight to Xenophon and his Ten Thou-
sand. Cold and famine having done their worst, to them
succeeded poison. By whom administered was never
known, but after a dinner at Gumardjina in the Greek
Archbishop's house, Baker and Burnaby were seized by
excruciating pains, traceable only to the presence of
arsenic. Thanks, however, to the skill of the English
doctors, they recovered, and a few hours later reached the
little port of Kara-aghatch, whence they were conveyed
by a transport to Constantinople.
In a letter home, dated 17th February 1878, Burnaby
writes, " Things here look very unsettled. I hope that
there will be another stand made by the Turks, and that
the Russians will not be allowed to enter the city. How-
ever, as the enemy is slowly creeping on, and the Turks
are doing nothing to stop them, the Muscovite will
probably be here before long. And so England does not
mean to fight for Constantinople after all. What a
wretched lot of shopkeepers we are ! The country would
seem to have lost all its backbone."
If the Turks did not stop the Russians, however,
an English minister — Lord Beaconsfield — did. In
142 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
Burnaby's words, " The Russian troops could look from a
distance of three or four miles at the gilded minarets, at
the pinnacles of the houses of Constantinople. They saw
their coveted prey within their reach, and yet they
were stopped by the indomitable pluck and resolution,
and energy of that great man, our Prime Minister."*
Burnaby's period of leave having all but expired,
he and Radford at once set out for England, but Radford,
who during the terrible retreat had con-
Radford, tracted typhus fever, was already marked
22li87fieb'' ^or death. Everything that human skill
could devise was brought to bear, but in
vain ; and to use the words of his afflicted master, " forty-
eight hours after reaching England's shores, one of the
noblest souls that ever tenanted a human frame soared
away towards that unknown bourn, from which no one
can ever return, "f
After Radford's death Burnaby hastened to London,
and he asked his brother Evelyn to accompany him
to the funeral. As the train moved out of Charing Cross
Station, Evelyn, who was of a nervous temperament,
was startled by hearing his brother say coolly, " I hope,
Evelyn, you are not nervous, but Radford died of the
plague. It is very courageous of you, seeing that I am
wearing the clothes in which I nursed him." Evelyn
was furious, but calmed down on being told that a bath at
Dover with carbolic acid would lessen the chances of
infection. On arriving at Dover Burnaby said " I am
sure I shall break down at the funeral. What is a good
medicine to keep one's nerves quiet ? '
A chemist, on being consulted, advised and supplied a
bottle of bromide. The coffin was conveyed from the
barracks to the cemetery on a gun carriage, the route
being lined by thousands of people ; and Burnaby, who
sat well back so as not to be seen, applied his lips assidu-
ously to the bottle. But in spite of his antidote he
♦Speech at Town Hall, Birmingham, 30th Mar., 1880.
•fHe died in Burnaby's arms at the Royal Artillery Barracks, Dover.
SEAT OF THE WAR IN TURKEY 143
sobbed nearly all the way ; and he quite broke down
when the volleys were fired over the grave. " In Rad-
ford," he said, " I have lost a sincere friend. There
are not many men who would give their life for a friend,
but Radford would have readily given his for his mas-
ter."
Over the grave Burnaby erected a stone bearing the
following inscription : " George Radford, Private in the
Royal Horse Guards. Died at Dover, February 22nd,
1878, aged 42, of typhus fever, contracted during the Re-
treat of Sulieman Pasha's Army across the Balkans in
Turkey. George Radford was a brave soldier, a faith-
ful servant, and as true as steel. This stone is erected to
his memory by the man whom he served so well."
To Radford's widow Burnaby was persistently kind.
He set her up in business, got two of the children into
schools, and found a place in a good family for the eldest
girl.
In June 1878, some three months after peace had been
proclaimed, a congress of the Great Powers, held at Ber-
lin, sanctioned the cession to Russia of a part of Bessara-
bia and the towns of Batoum, Kars and Ardahan.
Roumania, Servia and Montenegro were created indepen-
dent kingdoms, and the administration of Cyprus was
transferred to England, who also assumed a kind of pro-
tectorate over Asiatic Turkey. Burnaby never ceased
to regret that England had not from the first acted differ-
ently. " Had she, standing firm," he said, " informed
Russia that the invasion of Turkey would mean war with
England, no war would have taken place." Still, events
having followed the course they did, he considered that
Lord Beaconsfield had, at the congress, done tolerably
for England. " If we are wise," he remarked, " we shall
insist : (1) that our protectorate of Asia Minor shall be
real, and not merely nominal ; (2) that a well organized
gendarmerie under British officers shall take the place
of the inefficient Zaptiehs ; (3) that all the military com-
mands in Asia Minor shall be held by Englishmen. This
144 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
done we can laugh at Russia, and unless it is done Russian
intrigue in Asia Minor will soon cause more trouble."
He also recommended a firm policy in Afghanistan.
" Russian agents," he said, " have held out to the Afghans
the loot of the opulent cities of British India ; let us
hold out to them the loot of Moscow and St. Peters-
burg."*
* See Preface to 7th Edition of On Horseback through Asia Minor.
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CHAPTER X.
february 1878 10th december 1881.
Marriage and the Birmingham Election,
bibliography i
8. Letters to the Times on Free Trade, 15th January,
1879, and subsequently.
9. Letters to the Birmingham Daily Gazette (in 1880 and
after) and the Birmingham Post.
The Conservatives had ruled the country for five years,
a General Election impended, and Burnaby believed it his
„ „ duty to try his utmost to give them a new
41- Candidate J „ J „. s , . ,.
for lease of power. His travels m distant
Birmingham, countries had convinced him that one of
Mr. J. B.Stone. _.'.,, t
England s most pressing needs was a
vigorous foreign policy, and that the appropriation of the
reins of office by so timid and vacillating a minister as
Mr. Gladstone would be nothing short of a national
calamity. Having, with characteristic daring, conceived
the idea of attacking the biggest stronghold of his
antagonists, namely, the town of Birmingham, he com-
municated his desire to Sir William Hart-Dyke, the Con-
servative whip, who at once consulted Mr. (now Sir)
J. Benjamin Stone,* one of the most influential of the
Birmingham Conservatives. '* Birmingham," said Sir
William, " is a place that appreciates distinctive charac-
ter, and I think Captain Burnaby's personality would
appeal to Birmingham people, owing to the celebrity he
* It is the custom to associate Sir Benjamin Stone with photography,
but it is, nevertheless, as a scientist and an archaeologist that he will be
chiefly remembered.
(M7)
148 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
obtained in going out in such difficult circumstances to
Khiva."
In the end Sir William suggested that Mr. Stone and
Mr. R. W. Hanbury, the member for Tamworth, should
call on Captain Burnaby and discuss the matter with
him.
On being shown into his room at the Horse Guards
the deputation, who found him sitting, in his shirt sleeves,
on a bedside, explained their errand, and after a few
minutes' conversation they promised to submit his name
to the committee of the Birmingham Conservative Club
as that of a candidate for the representation of the town
in the Conservative interest. A little later Burnaby was
invited to dine with the club ; and in preparation for the
event he composed a long speech, learnt it by heart,
and repeated it, almost verbatim, to Mr. T. Gibson
Bowles one evening in St. James's Street. Mr. Bowles's
encomiums delighted him, and in his success he seemed
to be separated by whole years from the state in which he
had found himself when he entered the house. A few
days afterwards when on a visit to Mr. Stone, at Erding-
ton Grange, near Birmingham, he repeated the feat ;
and his speech having given satisfaction, the Birmingham
Conservatives formally adopted him as their candidate*
— a colleague for him being found in the person of the
Hon. A. C. G. Calthorpe.| For some weeks he had
suffered both in health and spirits, for, like his father,
he was sometimes afflicted with the melancholy of the
padge-owl, but all his atrabilious humours vanished at
the thought of the approaching hurly-burly. He saw
everything in a golden mist, and he entered upon the con-
flict with the rapture, the hilarious joy he used to feel
when, as a school boy, he looked forward to the dissipa-
tions of Bedford Fair. Henceforward he was a frequent
guest at Erdington Grange, where he composed, or
*Name submitted to the Birmingham Conservative Club, 5th June,
187s. He was adopted as candidate after July 23rd.
f Now Lord Calthorpe.
SIR J. BENJAMIN STONE
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MARRIAGE, 6c BIRMINGHAM ELECTION 153
burnished, most of his speeches, which he invariably,
before delivering them in public, recited to Mr. Stone,
and with scarcely a single deviation from the manuscript,
although, when reported they, as a rule, rilled five col-
umns of a newspaper. Mr. Stone accompanied Captain
Burnaby to most of his meetings, and he, Mr. Joseph
Rowlands,* Mr. J. Satchell Hopkins,! Mr. W. H. Green-
ing, J and Mr. W. Barton, all of whom fought doughtily
for the cause, figure frequently in the cartoons of The
Dart\\ and The Oivl.§
" Why do you not try at some place less difficult than
Birmingham ? " enquired one of Burnaby's friends. " If
you were to tackle some county constitu-
ency— some peddling borough- — you would, 42— Burnaby
with your reputation, get in easily." and GIadstone-
' I never fly at small game," replied
Burnaby ; " besides if I were to win Birmingham, I
should be offered a place in the cabinet." To others who
lamented the hopelessness of the fight, he said, " I have
a better chance than you suppose. The labouring classes
are beginning to find out that, after all, the landed classes
are their natural allies ; and with the help of the Conserva-
tive working man I shall yet carry Birmingham."
Burnaby's early speeches were mainly condemnatory
of Mr. Gladstone's predilection for Russia ; and a
damaging statement which he made against Mr. Glad-
stone on 29th October, 1878, led the latter to enquire
upon what foundation Burnaby rested his allegations.
So Burnaby hurried to the Reading Room at the Junior
Carlton Club, and raised round himself a barricade
formed of the immense files of the Times. After a while,
* Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Birmingham Con-
servative Association.
t President of the Birmingham Conservative Association.
% A prominent advocate of Bible Teaching in the Schools,
|| Drawn by G. F. Sershall and E. C. Mountfort. The latter is still
living.
§ They were by George H. Bernasconi, who we believe, is dead. His
son draws in his father's style. The Owl was started in 1879, so it is now
in its 30th year.
154 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
looking over the top of his fortress and addressing Mr.
Rose Norton, he said, " Mr. Gladstone has written to me
denving that he ever said the Turks should be driven bag
and baggage out of Europe, and I am hunting for the
speech."
" Mr. Gladstone did not say that," observed Mr. Nor-
ton. " The nearest approach to such a statement occurs
in a pamphlet of his, entitled Bulgarian Horrors.'"
Burnaby procured the pamphlet, and after reading it,
replied to Mr. Gladstone candidly admitting his error ;
and Mr. Gladstone wrote again to thank Burnaby
for a letter exhibiting all the frankness of a soldier.
Shortly afterwards the Prince of Wales (the present King)
marched with the Blues, as their Colonel in Chief, from
Trinity Church, Windsor, to the Barracks, where there
was a parade ; and Burnaby having noticed Mr. Glad-
stone among the spectators, invited him to stay and lunch
with the prince and the officers.
Among the more sturdy of the Birmingham Conserva-
tive organizations was the Sparkbrook Club, of which
Burnaby was president : Mr. Robert J. Buckley, the
musical critic, now so well known as the biographer of
Sir Edward Elgar, being one of the most active mem-
bers of the committee.
When Burnaby visited the Sparkbrook Club Room,
he had to stoop low in the doorway to save his head,
and it is recalled that when he had signed the book he
said, addressing the secretary, " D d bad hand, eh ! '
" No," was the reply, " but a small hand for so large
a man."
" How thoroughly," observed Mr. Buckley, " Burnaby
enjoyed the quite hopeless fight against such powerful
Liberals as Bright, Chamberlain and Muntz ! How
good humoured were his remarks concerning his oppo-
nents ! ' Muntz,' he said, ' always tops the poll, but
that is only natural seeing that he has the least ability.
We may not be able to get in first, but we'll give them a
run.' " Once when he was speaking in the Town Hall
Mrs. FRED BURNABY
By permission of Mrs. Aubrey Le Blond
(formerly Mrs. Fred Burnaby).
MARRIAGE, & BIRMINGHAM ELECTION 157
the vast crowds outside amused themselves by singing,
hooting and groaning.
" Poor chaps," said Burnaby, " they brag of their
freedom while they want to intimidate persons who
dare to hold opposite opinions. They're singing ' Britons
never shall be slaves,' while they're led by the nose by
the caucus which consists of the myrmidons of Chamber-
lain, who has so perfectly succeeded in hood-winking the
Birmingham people."
At a subsequent meeting held in the town a number
of his enemies made so deafening a noise that his
voice was quite drowned. He was equal to the
occasion, however, for he at once sat down in front
of the audience, took out a tobacco pouch and pipe,
and having struck a match on his foot, smoked quite
at his ease, while his opponents, most of whom were in
the pit, imitated the roaring of a menagerie.
" I shall make my speech," remarked Burnaby during
a lull, " if I sit here for a week " ; and he did make it.
Among the posters which appeared on every local
hoarding, was one representing a soldier receiving the
lash, supposed to represent the kind of treatment
meted to the populace become soldiers by aristocratic
officers like Burnaby. At one of the meetings this poster
was exhibited.
" What about this ? " shouted the man who displayed
it.
There was an uproar at once. " Put him out ! "
shouted the Conservatives.
" No, no," said Burnaby with a strong voice dominat-
ing the confusion, and waving his hands in sign of silence.
" The gentleman has asked a question, and deserves a
fair reply. He wishes to know what the picture repre-
sents. I understand it is intended to pourtray me as
giving a good hiding to Chamberlain."
Of course everybody laughed, and Burnaby went on
to point out the difference between Gladstone and Dis-
raeli in dealing with the Russians. " Gladstone," he said,
158 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
" made a fine speech and did nothing, Disraeli said noth-
ing but sent a fleet to Besika Bay."
Naturally the Liberals did not receive these attacks
without retaliation ; and Mr. Chamberlain, in particular,
who called Burnaby Captain Bobadil, replied with many
a caustic remark. " We have all heard," he once re-
marked, " of Burnaby's ride into Khiva, but that will
seem nothing when compared with his run out of Bir-
mingham."
Though these early speeches of Burnaby had all been
repeated from memory, it must not be supposed that he
followed his manuscript slavishly. The numerous inter-
ruptions provoked many an impromptu and racy digres-
sion, and his nimble wit and other natural gifts gave
him all the force of an extempore speaker. The antagon-
ism of his audiences, indeed, helped rather than hindered
him. He was always self-collected on the platform,
he discontinued his habit, for which he was taken to task
by the Owl,* of interspersing his speeches with slang,
and his delivery improved rapidly ; but it was not until
three years later that he developed the entirely new kind
of political oratory, which held his hearers spell-bound
and pulverised all opposition.
In the meantime he had proposed marriage to a young
Irish heiress, Miss Elizabeth Hawkins- Whitshed, only
daughter of Sir St. Vincent Bentinck
43— Marriage, Hawkins- Whitshed, Bart., of Killon-
1879. ' carrick, County Wicklow, a lady whose
piquant beauty, charm of manner and in-
tellectual gifts, had from his first acquaintance with her,
held him in chains ; and the marriage took place at
St. Peter's Church, Onslow Gardens. Among the wed-
ding presents was a gift from the Prince of Wales. At
the end of August the bride and bridegroom paid a visit
to Mr. and Mrs. Stone, and on the last day of that month
they were feted in the Lower Grounds, Aston — the Mar-
quis of Hertford, Lord Norton, the Hon. A. G. C. and
* See Cartoon, 29th July, 1880.
THE BIRMINGHAM ELECTION.
From The Dart, 29th Nov., 1879.
Don Quixote (Captain Burnaby) : Gave Bright a jacketing. " Eh, my trusty ? Was
I right ? "
Sancho Panza (Mr. J. B. Stone): " My lord, my lord, you'll come to grief if you
measure lances with Sir John de Bright ."
Drawn by G. F. Sersliall.
MARRIAGE, & BIRMINGHAM ELECTION 163
Mrs. Calthorpe, Mr. Saul Isaac, M.P., Mr. S. S. Lloyd,
M.P., the Hon. C. L. and Mrs. Adderley, Mr. and Mrs.
Stone, Colonel and Mrs. Ratcliffe, and many other well-
known persons being present.
A few days after this event Major* and Mrs. Burnaby
set out for Algiers, but between Paris and Marseilles they
were snow-bound, and Mrs. Burnaby fell ill. On reaching
Algiers she was discovered to be in the early stage of
consumption, and, in obedience to doctors' orders,
Burnaby took her to Switzerland — the sea journey being
made in the company of his old friend, Captain Colvile,
who was also travelling with a newly-wedded wife.
Mrs. Burnaby soon benefited from the Alpine air, and she
has since spent much of her life in Switzerland.
Leaving Mrs. Burnaby at a sanitorium, Burnaby re-
turned to England, and after delivering at Birmingham
a speech in which he advocated a system of
Protection as the only means of enabling M— Comedy at
J -ii ffolyer-
Great Britain to compete with other hampton.
States, he turned aside to help the Conserv-
atives of Wolverhampton. The meeting was held in the
Agricultural Hall ; but as his intonation differed from
that to which many of his hearers were accustomed,
they fell foul of him, and greeted his references to India
and Candahar with interrupting ejaculations of " h'yar, h'
yar ! lawidaw."
Having fixed his eye on a couple of the funny ones,
Burnaby called out, " Pass those two men up to the front
h'yah, will you."
Sport having been scented, the two unfortunates were
immediately hustled forward, looking very uncomfort-
able. Burnaby leaned over the platform, and having
obtained a firm grip of each by the collar, he lifted them
up, held them out straight, and carried them so suspended
to the back of the platform. Depositing one in a chair,
he said, " You sit there, little man! " and then carrying
♦Major, nth September, 1879; Lieutenant-Colonel, 1880; Colonel,
1884.
164 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
the other, still, at the end of his extended arm, three
yards further he dropped him into another chair with,
" and you sit there, little man."
The effect was electric, the cheering loud and. long.
Burnaby on that occasion outdid himself as a speaker ;
there had never been a more successful political meeting
in the town, and the result was the return of the first
Conservative member for Wolverhampton.
Burnaby also assisted his cousin, General Burnaby,
and Lord John Manners, who were contesting North
Leicestershire ; and he spoke at Leicester
45— A Merry where, in his huge great coat which he
Leicester, wore out of doors even in mild weather,
he was a familiar figure. On one occa-
sion when he rose to address a meeting held in the
Temperance Hall, the rear of which had been monopol-
ised by a party of roughs, the place suddenly became a
pandemonium ; and neither he nor any of his friends
could obtain a hearing. Presently his eye flashed, his
cheek flushed, and, amid a partial lull in the boohing
and jeering, he drew up his burly frame to its full height,
and boldly announced that unless the noise immediately
ceased, he would himself throw the disturbers out of the
room. As the threat was met with derisive laughter
and even challenges, he buttoned his coat, and despite
the entreaties of his friends, he quitted the platform,
stalked down the hall, and demanded to be shown the
ringleader. Then singling out his man he ploughed his
way through the crowd and felled him with a terrific blow.
This was no sooner done than the friends of the fallen
man rushed at Burnaby, who, revelling in the melee,
struck out right and left — and every man who came with-
in reach of his terrible fist fell sprawling — so that in a
minute or two there was a clear space of six or seven
feet around him. By this time, however, the damaged
members of the gang had thought it prudent to retire
from the hall, and Burnaby ploughed his way back to the
platform amid a storm of cheers. The rest of the meeting
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MARRIAGE, & BIRMINGHAM ELECTION 167
was of an uneventful nature ; but when all was over
Burnaby, on descending the steps of the hall, found a
number of roughs waiting for him. On the appearance,
however, of his colossal form, their valour forsook them,
and he sauntered in his huge great coat, head and shoul-
ders above the tallest of them, down the street and to-
wards his hotel.
After one of the Birmingham meetings, as he was leav-
ing the Aston Grounds, someone threw a potato and hit
him, but though he looked round, he said nothing.
A crowd of ruffians, however, having followed him to his
cab, where they incommoded him by shouting, swearing,
flinging insults and boohing, he stretched out his left arm,
and" with the words " Get away ! " he turned smartly
round and tumbled four or five of them into a writhing
confused heap. As he took his seat he said, looking down
at the tangle of arms and legs, " I hope I haven't broken
any of the beggars."
When Parliament was dissolved Burnaby was in
France, and the Birmingham Conservatives sent for him
post haste. He arrived on March 15th, 46— The
to be met on the New Street platform by Bi^icntf0hna;m
the leaders of the party ; and from that 31st March,
day forward he and Mr. Calthorpe gave 1880'
themselves no rest. At one of the meetings there was
continual interruption, and at last Burnaby shouted out,
" You are the friends of Russia ; you are the friends of
despots ; you are not Englishmen, you are simply
tools in the hands of a despotic caucus." At another
meeting, at which he appeared in a vivid green tie, as
an insinuating compliment to the Irish voters, there
was more rioting, and the Conservatives, on the principle
that it is better to turn out wrong person rather than no
person, seized a dirty, though, nevertheless, quite inno
cent scarecrow of a man and hustled him from the room.
Burnaby, however, having expressed his regret that it
had been necessary to expel " the gentleman with a black
face," his opponents were mollified, and he was allowed
168 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
to expend whatever energy he pleased on Russia and the
caucus. When his enemies retaliated by charging him,
once more, with being an advocate of flogging in the army
— he met the slander by a letter addressed to the Bir-
mingham Daily Gazette (29th March 1880) : " Infamous
falsehoods," he said, " are being circulated by members
of the Liberal Association. They state that I have
advocated the use of the cat on the private soldier.
This is a gross misrepresentation. I have said that if
the strongest opponent of the lash was a soldier, and his
insubordinate disposition caused him to commit a breach
of discipline in the face of the enemy, and he had to choose
between twenty-five lashes or death, he would prefer
the whip to undergoing the extreme penalty."
Once when asked at a meeting whether he had not
advocated, and even ordered the lash, he said from the
platform, " Damned lie, that's my answer." On another
occasion he replied to a heckler, " Anything about politics
is in order, but to questions regarding my personal
character I shall not repty. If it won't stand alone,
it must fall. I shall never run to its support " — surely a
fine and dignified retort, and worthy of any hero in
Plutarch or Sallust. For long the Radical party hated
Burnaby, with a blind, rancorous and furious hatred. A
town of factories and factory folk, of smoke, blacks and
sweat, of wheels innumerable and the noise of wheels,
had no sympathy — -no fellow feeling — with the essenced
aristocrat, the carpet knight, the heartless martinet,
the bloody lash-advocate, as they had been taught to
regard him. " Indeed," says one of Burnaby 's friends,
' there was no lie too stupid, no fabrication too gross,
for his political opponents." But little by little his
splendid personality told on them, they abandoned, one
by one, their cherished chimeras, and at last they got
really to like him. Nomination day* passed by without
* Burnaby was nominated by Mr. J. B. Stone, J. P., Mr. John Lowe, J. P.,
Mr S. S. Lloyd, Mr. G. C. Adkins, Mr. S. Hurst, Mr. J. D. Gillispie, Mr.
(afterwards Sir) James Sawyer, Mr. John Flynn.
THE BIRMINGHAM ELECTION.
From The Dart, 14th Feb., 1880.
A Valentine to the Hon. A. C. G. Calthorpe.
Nurse Stone : " There's a good little boy. Hell soon begin to talk ! Ducky !
Papa Burnabv : " And then won't he crow ! Give him a ridey pidey ! there !
Drawn by G. F. Sershall.
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MARRIAGE, & BIRMINGHAM ELECTION 173
incident, for the Liberals were assured of victory, owing
to their confidence that the order of their leaders, 'l Vote
as you are told," would be strictly obeyed. Some wards
were bidden to poll for Bright and Muntz, others for
Muntz and Chamberlain, and others for Bright and Cham-
berlain. This they religiously did ; and the result of the
poll, which took place on March 31st, was as follows :
Muntz, P. H. (L.) 22,969
Bright, John (L.) 22,079
Chamberlain, J. (L.) 19,544
Burnaby, Major (C.) 15,735
Calthorpe, Hon. A. C. G. (C.) 14,308
Burnaby was defeated, but he had shown splendid
fight, and his party was soon to reap the benefits that re-
sulted from his exertions. Sir James Sawyer, who suc-
ceeded Mr. J. Satchell Hopkins as President of the Bir-
mingham Conservative Association, writes : " Captain
Burnaby's service to Birmingham was great. Although
unsuccessful in his own strenuous effort to give local re-
presentation in Parliament to the Conservative party, his
work led to the success of Mr. Henry Matthews (now
Lord Llandaff), who was returned for East Birmingham
in 1886, and at once appointed Home Secretary."
On 10th May, 1880, Mrs. Burnaby presented her hus-
band with a son, who received the names Harry
Arthur Gustavus St. Vincent.* " I have a son," said
Burnaby incidentally to Mr. Wright, " and he bids fair
to be as big as his father."
* Harry, after Mr. Harry Villebois, one of his godfathers ; Arthur,
after Mrs. Burnaby's cousin, the Duke of Portland, another god-father ;
Gustavus, after his grandfather Burnaby ; St. Vincent after Mrs.
Burnaby's father. About this time Burnaby removed from 29, Emperor's
Gate, to 18, Charles Street.
K 2
CHAPTER XI.
10th december 1881— 4th march 1882.
The Powell and the Brine and Simmons' Attempts
to Cross the Channel.
Burnaby was not so absorbed in politics as to forget his
old love, ballooning. For years one aeronaut after
„ _ .,_, another had tried to cross the English
47 — Terrible
Death of Mr. Channel by balloon, but only to meet with
Walter Powell, faimre. One of the most notable of the
10th Dec, 1881.
attempts was that made by M. Durouf
and his wife, who ascended at Calais, 31st August, 1874,
late in the evening. After drifting about all night they
dropped into the German ocean whence after great priva-
tions, they were rescued by a fishing smack. Among
the sympathisers of the unfortunate couple who, owing
to the destruction of their balloon, found themselves in
difficult straits, was Captain Burnaby, who raised con-
tributions for them ; and when, later, they made an
ascent from the Crystal Palace in a balloon kindly lent
by Mr. Coxwell, he helped still further to swell their
pockets by becoming one of the voyagers. Besides mak-
ing occasional ascents at this time himself, he was pre-
sent at all the principal ascents made by others. He took
a keen interest in the balloon race which occurred on
4th September, 1880, when eight aerostats competed —
the winner being The Owl, which carried Mr. Wright,
Commander Cheyne, Mr. Pullan, and an American gentle-
man ; and also in the International Contest, on October
21st of the same year, between England, represented by
Mr. Wright in the Eclipse, and France, represented by
(174)
ATTEMPTS TO CROSS THE CHANNEL 175
M. de Fonvielle, in the Academie ef Aerostation Met&r-
ologique de France. The Frenchman descended in the
mud off Hayling island, and Mr. Wright, who was pro-
claimed winner, at a spot on dry land a mile distant.
After the race one of Burnaby's friends wrote to Mr.
Wright : " I knew you could do the job well, and I told
the general that the Frenchman would never follow you
about, and if he only went on long enough that you would
drown him, and you devilish near did as far as I can make
out. How sick those French coves must have been!
How about Lord Coxwell, he must be down a peg I should
think ? "
As we look back on those times, the old rivalries be-
tween Mr. WTright and Mr. Coxwell, and French and Eng-
lish are sufficiently amusing ; but one fact must not be
lost sight of in connection with this contest — namely,
that the Frenchman's ambition evidently was not only
to beat Mr. Wright, but to cross the channel, and thus
accomplish what the Duroufs had failed to do in 1874.
He approached as near to the sea as he dared, and on
finding that the wind would not allow him to carry out
his idea, he descended, with the result of a damaged
balloon. This ambition to cross the channel, which
fired so many contemporary aeronauts, was a little later
to have a far more tragic result.
Among those who were bitten with the craze was Mr.
Walter Powell, M.P. for Malmesbury, who asked Mr.
Wright* to lend him a balloon for the purpose of crossing
the Channel on July 12th, 1881. In reply Mr.
Wright begged him to abandon the idea, at any rate
until he had had more experience with balloons ; but the
advice was only thrown away, and Mr. Powell deter-
mined to make the attempt on the first opportunity.
Later he ascended once or twice with Mr. Wright and he
also made a number of ascents that summer in a balloon
of his own. But his infatuation for aeronautics was
destined to be his doom, as it has been the doom of so
* The letter is dated ioth July, 1881.
176 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
many far more experienced aeronauts. It had been
arranged that on the tenth of December — which turned
out to be a cloudy day with threatenings of snow — he
should make an ascent from Bath in the Saladin, in the
company of Captain Templer and Mr. Agg-Gardner.
The balloon sailed straight for Exeter and on reaching
Eype near Bridport the voyagers attempted to descend.
Captain Templer and Mr. Agg-Gardner were thrown out of
the car — the latter sustaining a fracture of the leg ; and
the balloon, with Mr. Powell in it, rose suddenty to a
great height, and was carried out to sea. And so in the
words of an old boat builder, the only witness of the acci-
dent, " Walter Powell," who was last seen waving his
hands to his friends, " drifted amid the snow clouds
into the thick night, with Death above, Death below,
Death all around — and nobody able to help."
The following account of the disaster was sent by
Captain Templer to Mr. Wright, as the leading authority
on aeronautics.
Mountfield,
Bridport,
December 21st, 1881.
Dear Wright,
Everything was done that possibly could have been,
and there is no blame to either of us. It was blowing
about 35 miles an hour. The car went right over, pitch-
ing me out as I was holding on the valve. I had a good
place, and was dragged about 60 yards. A squall struck
her, and the valve rope cut its way through the flesh of
my hands. I called Powell to come out, but he ( I think he
imagined he could get her in under the cliff on the beach)
did not come out but stood up. I then fancy he had an
idea of crossing over (to France) for he waved one hand.
When he had been gone six minutes I fancied the balloon
was not going up, and I got nervous and went off to see
if I could do anything ; you know the rest. I am waiting
here as a reliable man.
ATTEMPTS TO CROSS THE CHANNEL 177
Mr. Good* fancies he saw the balloon drop in the bay.
I have dragged the spot, and am still searching. I shall
be in London on Tuesday, and will let you know where to
see me. I should have come down at Symondsbury,
but Powell, who had worked the balloon, parted with a
big bag of ballast to get over a house. I opened the valve
immediately and never eased it again."
Not only was poor Powell never seen again, no vestige
of his balloon was ever found.
This terrible accident, far from causing aeronauts to
abandon the idea of crossing the channel, only made
them the more desirous to accomplish the 48— The Brine
feat. Among these ambitious ones was ^fig0^
Colonel Brine, R.E., who requested Mr. the Channel,
Wright both to lend a balloon and to ac- *th Mar" 1882-
pany him on the proposed trip. Mr. Wright for various
reasons declined, but he introduced Colonel Brine to
another aeronaut, Mr. Joseph Simmons, who showed
himself agreeable. Colonel Brine and Mr. Simmons
made their ascent at Canterbury on March 4th, 1882,
at 11.30, and an hour later the balloon passed over
Dover, whence it was watched by an interested crowd.
For a time the wind continued to drive them in the direc-
tion of France, but when they were some ten miles from
land it suddenly changed, and the aeronauts found them-
selves making straight for the German ocean. Believing
that the only safe way was to descend into the sea
and take their chance of being picked up, they put on
their cork jackets and opened the valve. The gas rushed
out, and they fell with rapidity into the water.
" We are dead men ! " said Colonel Brine.
" No," said Simmons, " the car will float us both."
In the meantime the anxiety on the sea front was in-
tense, for by means of glasses the balloon had been seen
to drop into the water. After a time, to the relief and
joy of the spectators, a steamer, which proved to be the
Foam from Calais, was observed approaching the
* No doubt the boat builder.
178 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
unfortunate aeronauts. It reached the car. But had it
reached it in time ? An hour later the Foam steamed
along side the Admiralty Pier, with the aeronauts and
their collapsed balloon on board, and the car hanging over
the vessel's side. A tumultuous cheer rent the air ; and
the aeronauts stepped on shore little the worse for their
adventure. Still it had been a frightfully narrow escape, *
for when rescued they were above their knees in water.
Burnaby, who had been paying a visit to Tunis, hap-
pened a few hours after this event to be crossing the
Channel, on his way home, in the Calais-Dover boat ;
and the daring of the two aeronauts monopolised the
passengers' conversation. On arriving in London, he
sought out Mr. Simmons, who declared that his failure
was owing to the change of wind, which had suddenly
shifted from north to south-west. Burnaby, however,
embraced the theory that at different altitudes a breeze
can be found blowing in a different direction from the
current of air to be met with near earth or sea ; and he
asseverated that had the baffled aeronauts been provided
with sufficient ballast to enable them to ascend to a high
altitude, they would have met with a favourable breeze.
* Mr. Simmons died in 18S9 from injuries sustained in a balloon acci-
dent at Ulting, near Maldon, Essex, 26th August, 1889.
CHAPTER XII.
4th march 1882 — 5th June 1882.
Across the Channel by Balloon.
bibliography :
10. A Ride Across the Channel and other Adventures in
the Air 1882.
11. The Life, Adventures and Political Opinions of
Frederick Gustavus Burnaby, by R. K. Mann.
(Revised by Burnaby 1882).
On leaving Mr. Simmons, Burnaby determined to
attempt to cross the Channel himself— ascending from
Dover or Folkestone — and he at once
49— Crossing the wrote to Mr. Wright, requesting the loan
23rdMa°n,6l882. of a balloon for the purpose. Mr. Wright
replied immediately, and with enthusiasm.
" I have," he said, " a balloon that will just suit you.
Unlike Simmons' s, which was small, old and leaky, it is
nearly new, and it holds 36,000 feet of gas." He further
added, though this was scarcely a recommendation,
that " poor Powell had once made an ascent in it " ; and
in a postcript, he expressed his desire to accompany
Colonel Burnaby in the trip. But even had Burnaby
been a lighter man, it is questionable whether he would
have accepted the offer of Mr. Wright's company,
for he was unwilling (and naturally) to share with another
whatever glory might be obtained from the adventure ;
and he asserted that a balloon containing 36,000 feet of
gas could not carry two men as many hours as the voyage
was likely to take. " I should be delighted," he said to
079)
180 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
Mr. Wright, " to make an ascent with you for any
inland excursion, but for the voyage across the Channel
I shall want every available pound of ballast, and must
go alone "—a piece of characteristic humour, which Mr.
Wright, himself a humorist, thoroughly appreciated.
Mr. Wright's reasons for wishing to accompany Colonel
Burnaby were three — first an affection for his balloon,
similar to that of a captain for his ship ; secondly, a love
of daring ; and thirdly, the belief that his practical experi-
ence, which was much greater than Burnaby 's, would be
more likely to make the voyage a success ; while Burnaby's
opinion that the balloon would not carry the two men a
sufficient number of hours, he did not share. However,
nothing could induce Burnaby to modify his plans,
and on March 17th he wrote to Mr. Wright as follows :
Friday, March 17th, (1882),
18, Charles Street.
Dear Mr. Wright,
I have received enclosed* from Dover, but would pre-
fer Folkestone. As to the journey ; as I told you before,
I must go alone. From Bedford I could let you accom-
pany me, but not across the Channel. Wire back if you
will be at Folkestone or Dover on Monday next with the
balloon, as I can be there on Monday evening.
Yours very truly,
Fred Burnaby.
Dover having been decided on, Mr. Wright at once des-
patched his balloon, the Eclipse, to that town. Burnaby
had counted on being able to ascend on March 22nd at
sunrise, but, owing to the inability of the authorities
at the gas works to oblige him, there occurred a delay of
twenty-four hours, which was the more exasperating
as the wind blew that morning straight on Calais. How-
ever, as nothing further could be done, Burnaby and Mr.
Wright, accompanied by Henry Storeyf — Radford's
* No doubt a letter from the Dover Gasworks.
t Storey joined the Royal Horse Guards, gth May, 1877, and he left in
1898, after serving 23 years. For a time Burnaby was served by a German
named Luie.
ACROSS THE CHANNEL BY BALLOON 181
successor — strolled about the town and visited the ceme-
tery in order to see Radford's grave.
By this time the newspapers had announced the
proposed ascent, all England was expectant, and Burn-
aby lived in hourly dread lest he should be ordered back
to town by a telegram from the Commander-in-Chief.
The manager of the Daily Telegraph wired that he had a
correspondent* eager to accompany him ; but Burnaby,
though grateful to that newspaper for the cordiality
it had over and over again manifested towards him,
could not bring himself to divide the glory.
Mr. Wright did everything in his power to make the
voyage a successful one. For example, on March 21st,
in order to save valuable time, he laid out the silk on the
ground, and having procured tarpaulins, placed them
under and over the netting. " I had not thought of this,"
comments Burnaby, " and felt indeed fortunate that I
had so experienced an aeronaut to inflate the balloon
for me."
" You will be careful in packing her up," said Mr.
Wright, " if you come down safely ; and should she burst,
remember to let go this cord — and he pointed to the neck-
line— not that she is likely to burst, still I should like a
little piece of paper, just to say you are responsible for
the balloon — something to show, in case you should not
return."
With a witticism relative to the gruesome hint con-
veyed in the request, Burnaby picked up a piece of paper,
which turned out to be a billhead of the Dover Gas Light
Company, and he wrote on it —
March 23rd, 1882.
I agree to be responsible to Mr. Wright for all damage
or loss incurred by him through any accident happening
to his balloon, in which I ascend to-day.
Fred Burnaby, Royal Horse Guards. "f
" I am afraid," said Burnaby jocosely to Mr. Wright,
*No doubt, Mr. Bennet Burleigh.
t This is now in the possession of the author.
182 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
" you think a good deal more of the safety of your
balloon than you do of me."
" If, sir," replied Mr. Wright, " I had not the greatest
confidence in your experience as an aeronaut, I would not
trust you with it. I am granting to you what I refused to
Colonel Brine."
The wind howled all night, and Burnaby felt, as he
listened, that there would be little chance of an ascent
next day. However he rose at 4.30, to be greeted by
Storey with the gratifying information, " The wind is in
the right direction, sir ; all the weathercocks point to the
north." Having pelted Mr. Wright's window with small
stones, he hastened to the gasworks, noticing with gratifi-
cation as he strode along that the pennon on the flag
staff of the castle pointed straight to Boulogne. Mr.
Wright promptly withdrew the tarpaulins, which were
caked with ice ; and then, having removed his boots,
he walked over the envelope to see whether it had
sustained any damage. The balloon having begun to fill
(and it was a handsome red aerostat striped with yellow)
a considerable crowd had appeared- — all the influential
people of Dover being present. The balloon having
assumed its full pear shape, the moment for starting
seemed to have arrived. But Mr. Wright, who wished
her to go up as symmetrically as possible, pleaded for
" Just one puff more."
Seated in the car, with his elbows on the rim, dressed
in a striped coat and a close skull cap, Burnaby, whose
sole luggage consisted of a few sandwiches and a bottle of
Apollinaris (for unlike Brine and Simmons he car-
ried neither buoy nor cork-jacket), waited impatiently
five minutes longer.
At last Mr. Wright was satisfied. " And now, good
luck to you," he said, " but — once more — in case of
accident, don't forget the neckline."
The start was not a good one, and it was only by throw-
ing over a bag of ballast just in time that Burnaby was
able to clear the gasworks chimney. The heat presently
THE BRINE AND SIMMONS' BALLOON VOYAGE
(faint dashes), 4th March, 1882.
BURNABY'S BALLOON VOYAGE
(heavy dashes), 23rd March, 1882.
ACROSS THE CHANNEL BY BALLOON 185
became oppressive ; and in order to protect his nape from
the sun, he made a puggaree of his handkerchief. Below
him moved a Dover and Calais boat. " Still as possible,"
he says, " it glided above the waves ; and, a bad sailor,
I could not help congratulating myself that I was not
experiencing that up-and-down and rocking movement
so extremely disagreeable in the Channel." Flashes of
light, which came irregularly from Dover castle, showed
him that the military there were signalling with a
heliograph, and he regretted his ignorance of the code.
By 11.15 England had entirely disappeared and Boulogne
came in view, but at the same time the sky became over-
cast, causing the gas in the balloon to condense, with the
result of a rapid descent. The warning was conveyed
to Burnaby by a cracking sensation in his ears, and in twTo
minutes he dropped a third of a mile. The rapidity of
the descent was also proved by the fact that some scraps
of paper which he threw out, had the appearance of
flying up instead of down, and presently he found himself
disagreeably close to the water. He flung over a bag of
ballast, but without effect, and it was not until three
more bags had followed it, that he began to rise. A still
more serious condition of things was the fact that the
balloon, which had so far drifted straight from Dover,
to Boulogne, now moved almost at right angles to that
line and down mid-channel.
A dead calm followed. Below on the water he could
see the balloon's shadow. The sea gulls cried round him.
" Unless there is a change," he soliloquised, " I shall soon
be food for the fishes." Presently two smacks came
within sight, and their crews made signs for him to de-
scend. But his only reply was to drop a Times newspaper
upon them. " I shall be able to remain up more than
three hours," said he to himself ; and then, being sharp
set, he took out a sandwich— and, with his lunch in one
hand and a barometer in the other, he waited for a change
of wind. A ripple in the waves having led him to believe
that there was a current of air below, he let out some gas —
186 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
only to discover that the ripple had been caused, not by
the wind, but by a shoal of fishes. He was now within
500 feet of the water, and the crews of the smacks again
shouted to him ; but although becalmed in mid-channel
within five hours of darkness and in a balloon which could
not remain in the air more than three hours, he still re-
fused the assistance of the friendly fellows. He was
determined, if possible, to succeed where Brine, Simmons
and so many others had failed. Nevertheless, at no
great distance from the spot over which he hung, had
perished only a few weeks previously the ill-fated Mr.
Powell ; and he knew that should the calm continue,
or should a wind sweep down the channel instead of
across it, his fate would be the same. The temptation to
give in had been severe. Twenty times he said to himself,
" How easy it would be to descend. I need not even
get a wetting." But he successfully combated his
weakness.
The fishermen waited about a quarter of an hour,
and then, as he showed no signs of descending, they
waved their hands and moved away. He still possessed
five bags of ballast, and besides these, there was, of course
the car, which he intended as a last resource, (after seat-
ing himself on the hoop of the balloon) to cut away.
Then, despite the danger from the escaping gas, and with
the naughty schoolboy sort of feeling, that he was too
far from England for Mr. Wright to know, he lighted a
cigar. We have already mentioned his theory in respect
to varying currents of air at varying heights ; and
he now resolved to put his theory to the test. So he flung
over two of the bags of ballast. Straightway the balloon
rose seven thousand odd feet, still there was no move-
ment forwards. Only three bags remained — two small
ones and a big one filled with stones. He threw out the
small bags, and presently attained an attitude of 10,000
feet, where he passed, as he had anticipated, into a
stream of air driving in a southerly direction. His
theory had proved correct, and in a few minutes he was
ACROSS THE CHANNEL BY BALLOON 187
sailing cheerily over Dieppe, which he sketched in his
pocket book.
All danger past, he grew sportive, and on passing
over a man ploughing with two oxen and a horse, he
dropped a little fine sand. The man started, evidently
at a loss to know whence the dust had fallen. Presently
he looked straight above him, and then he threw himself
on his back, gazing into the clouds, with his hands
stretched out in astonishment and his legs in the air.
The descent was made in a masterly manner, and nothing
could exceeed the kindness and courtesy of the French
peasants, who flocked from all sides to Burnaby's assist-
ance.
In the meantime people at home had become extremely
anxious on his account. The editors of newspapers
waited impatiently for telegrams, and when the Rev.
Evelyn Burnaby called at the office of the Morning Post
early in the morning, he found the editor, Sir A. Borthwick
(now Lord Glenesk) with two articles in front of him —
one to be used in case of Burnaby's success, the other in
case of his death. At his first opportunity Burnaby des-
patched to Mr. Wright a telegram that was not wanting
in humour — a message of the kind that would have been
acceptable to Sancho Panza's wife, who always wanted
to know first of all whether the ass was safe. It ran
" Your balloon uninjured. Wind changed mid-channel.
Afterwards for a time becalmed over sea. Eventually
found southerly current at high altitude. Descended
Chateau de Montigny, Envermeu, Normandy. Voyage
difficult, but very amusing."
No telegram was sent to anyone else. Nevertheless
on the same afternoon two telegrams — purporting to have
been received, one from Colonel Burnaby and one from
a friend of his — reached the Press. Mr. Wright, who was
naturally indignant that the contents of a private tele-
gram to him should have been divulged to a third person,
and not only so, but before he himself had seen it, com-
plained to the Secretary of the Submarine Telegraph
188 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
Company ; and Colonel Burnaby was also annoyed.
The excuse made by the Company was that they had
complied with a request which had been made to them
for the news because the question of the Colonel's safety
was one of public interest.
Other letters followed, and not only was the whole of
the correspondence sent to the Press, but the matter was
brought before Parliament. The Postmaster General,
though he expressed his opinion that the contents of the
telegram referred to ought not to have been divulged,
observed that the Post Office had no power in the matter,
as the various Telegraph Acts, which ensured the secrecy
of British inland telegrams, did not apply to telegrams
transmitted through foreign companies. As, however,
the desire of Colonel Burnaby and Mr. Wright was merely
to serve the public by drawing general attention to a
scandalous state of affairs, they attained their end.
Next morning as Evelyn Burnaby was walking down
St. James's Street he met his brother, heavity wrapped up
as usual, but looking as blithe as a lark— the sense that
he had once more achieved something really difficult
having imparted fresh life to him ; but while they break-
fasted together he said, " I have had the nearest squeak,
Evelyn, I ever had."
It was Burnaby's boast that he never punned, but that
evening, when he was one of the guests at a dinner given
by the Fishmongers' Company in their hall, near London
Bridge, he fell sadly.
" You ought not to be here," observed another guest,
" Your place is with the fowls of the air, not with the
fish of the sea."
" I don't mind," he replied, shamelessly, " where they
put me, as long as they don't make game of me."
It had been arranged that Mr. Wright should call at
18, Charles Street the next day — Saturday — in order to
look over the account of the voyage which Burnaby had
written for publication by Messrs. Sampson Low & Co.
On the way there Mr. Wright met Mr. Bennet Burleigh,
■£
BIRMINGHAM^0
PARLIAMENT
-
£5ESS8J
FRED'S NEXT ATTEMPT.
From The Dart, 31st March, 1S82.
He is trying to sail from Birmingham to Parliament. The Rev. R. W. Dale
(with full beard), Mr. F. Schnadhorst, and Mr. Joseph Chamberlain are blowing
him back. Mr. Schnadhorst was the Liberal Agent He was largely instru-
mental in introducing the Caucus System.
Drawn by E. C. Mountfort.
ACROSS THE CHANNEL BY BALLOON 191
subsequently the famous war correspondent of the
Daily Telegraph, but then a young man just entering on
his career.
Mr. Burleigh, who knew Mr. Wright very well, asked
where he was going.
" To call on Colonel Burnaby," was the reply.
" Well," said Mr. Burleigh, " I should be very glad to
see him, too. Indeed that's what I came here for. Will
you introduce me ? "
So they entered the house together, and Mr. Wright was
conducted up to Burnaby's study.
" I have a friend downstairs," said Mr. Wright, " do
you mind seeing him too ? "
On learning who the friend was, Burnaby said, " Not
now. I've promised my publisher that I will not give
information to anyone : but I'll see him after you and I
have had our little talk."
Business done, Mr. Wright introduced Mr. Burleigh,
and on the Monday morning (March 27th), though Burn-
aby told Mr. Burleigh nothing whatever about his journey,
a detailed and accurate account of it appeared in the
columns of The Daily Telegraph. How Mr. Burleigh
obtained the information, we prefer not to say, except
that certainly Mr. Wright did not give it him. The
feat, was, however, but one of the many accomplished
by a smart and gifted journalist, who subsequently did
far greater things. Mr. Burleigh some time later met
Burnaby at the house of Mr. Levi Lawson, now Lord
Burnham, and as a result of this meeting, there ensued
between them a warm friendship, which was cemented
by their fellow interest in ballooning and other sub-
jects.
On the Saturday night Burnaby left London for Wind-
sor where, the report of his exploit having preceded him,
he received the heartiest of welcomes from his brother
officers and the men.
On the Sunday the Guards, as usual, attended service
at the Garrison Church, Windsor. Canon Robins occupied
192 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
the pulpit, and in the course of a most eloquent ser-
mon, he roguishly remarked, with a side glance at the
officers' pew, where Colonel Burnaby was conspicuous,
*' Ah, my friends, how often in the course of our weary
pilgrimage we cast our eyes longingly at the far distant
shore, and long for a favouring breeze to spring up and
carry us to the haven whither we would be."
A little later, when Burnaby was on duty at Windsor
Castle, the Duke of Cambridge reprimanded him for
quitting England without obtaining leave of absence
from headquarters ; but he added nothing more terrible
than the remark that " valuable lives ought not to be
risked in such freaks."
Of course there was endless chaff at Burnaby's expense,
although nobody could have enjoyed that chaff quite so
much as the object of it. His political enemies gloated
over the supposition that his luck in being able to accom-
plish his end was chequered by the humiliation he had to
endure at the instance of the War Office. They called
him Captain Cockle Apollinaris Burnaby, because he had
paid a tribute to Cockle's Pills in his Ride to Khiva,
and had taken a bottle of Apollinaris with him in the
balloon, and they appended to the popular song " Up
in a Balloon Boys," the lines :
But Burnaby, oh Burnaby,
When you go again ;
You'd better take your journey by
A steamboat and a train.
Even the dead poets could not leave him alone, for accord-
ing to Judy, Dr. Watts was inspired to write of him :
How doth the lengthy Burnabee
Improve his afternoon,
By riding gaily o'er the sea
Adrift in a balloon.
In Punch,* Burnaby's face resolved itself into the bag
of a balloon, carrying a car freighted with Apollinaris
water and Cockle's pills, while the letterpress likened him
* ist April, 1882.
ACROSS THE CHANNEL BY BALLOON 193
to Horatius Cockles, and insisted that he ought to be
member for Airshire.
A few days previous the elephant Jumbo had been
despatched, not without maudlin English sighs, to Amer-
ica ; and the Daily Neivs, in a good humoured article,
linked the events as follows : " Jumbo is afloat on the
water, and Colonel Burnaby is, or was, afloat in the
air. Colonel Burnaby is himself a sort of human and
attractive Jumbo Colonel Burnaby has many
gallant and sturdy characteristics. He has done bold
things. He has made daring ventures, and he has accom-
plished much success. He is a man of one side of whose
character at least England has reason to be proud.
Indeed, if he would keep out of politics he
might be viewed by his countrymen with unmingled
admiration."
Burnaby's account of his journey appeared on April
5th, 1882, with the title of A Ride Across the Channel ;
and the first copy that came to his hand he sent to Mr.
Wright, with the following words in autograph :
" To Mr. Wright, the celebrated aeronaut, without
whose valuable services in filling the balloon I should not
have been able to accomplish my ride across the channel.
Fred Burnaby, April 5th, 1882.
18, Charles Street, Grosvenor Square.
Burnaby next proposed to make an ascent with Mr.
Wright from Bedford on the approaching Whit-Monday
(June 5th) but, as the following letter will „ m, „
\ ' . , , L i • 50— The Proposed
show, he was not able to carry out his m- Ascent from
tention. BJdfofd' ?«£?"
Monday, 1882.
18, Charles Street, Grosvenor Square,
May 10th, '82.
Dear Mr. Wright,
Alas, it has been officially intimated to me that the
Commander-in-Chief does not approve of my ascending
in balloon. Hence to my regret, I shall be unable to
keep my promise to you as long as I am on full pay.
When my term of full pay service has expired, I will
L 2
194 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
redeem ray promise, and will make several ascents with
you.
Yours very sincerely,
Fred Burnaby.
Although Burnaby was obliged to abandon his idea
of accompanying Mr. Wright— and, a native of Bedford,
it was a keen disappointment to him— he expressed the
hope of being able to witness the ascent ; but apparently
he received another communication from headquarters,
for on May 13th, he wrote as follows :
18, Charles Street,
Grosvenor Square,
May 13th, '82.
Dear Mr. Wright,
I much regret that I have a previous engagement for
Whit-Monday, which will absolutely prevent my being
present at Bedford on that day, much as I should have
liked to attend.
Wishing you success, and regretting that I shall be
unable to accompany you in the air.
Believe me,
Yours very truly,
Fred Burnaby.
Pray remember me to my old Bedford friends and old
schoolfellows who may witness your ascent.
Mr. Wright conveyed his balloon to Bedford, and in the
presence of an enormous crowd, which behaved riotously
and broke into the ring, he attended to the preliminaries ;
but, being billed to ascend next day at Dudley, instead
of entering the car himself he sent up a substitute — his
assistant, Mr. Lewis Hammett, who was accompanied
by the Rev. William Beckett, of Bedford, and Mr. Freder-
ick Smith, of Olney.
Although thwarted in his plans, Burnaby's interest
in aeronautics suffered no diminution ; and a little later
he wrote for the Fortnightly Review,* an article containing
his views on " The Possibilities of Ballooning." After
* It appeared in May, 1884.
ACROSS THE CHANNEL BY BALLOON 195
giving a succinct account of the history of the pear-
shaped aerostat from 21st November, 1773, when
De Roziers and the Marquis d'Arlandes made their
memorable ascent down to the time of Coxwell and
Wright, not forgetting the achievements of Charles,*
Lunardi,f and Green— he points out the great value
of captive balloons in time of war, and expresses his satis-
tion that owing to the exertions of Captain Templer
and Major Elsdale, the Woolwich authorities had at last
determined to establish a balloon corps.
In reference to the oft-repeated assertion that it would
be possible to reach the North Pole in a balloon, he men-
tioned that he had received numerous letters from
people who declared that they could guide an aerostat.
" I should be very glad," he observes, "to make the
gentlemen referred to a present of £100, if they will
select two places, twenty miles apart, go in a free aerostat
from one spot to the other, and return without anchoring
the balloon or recharging it with gas."
" What we require," he continues, "is a machine
which, itself heavier than the atmosphere, will be able
to strike a blow on the air in excess of its own weight.
Machinery worked by steam is much too heavy for this
purpose ; electricity some day, perhaps, will be available.
Inventors should never forget that a bird is heavier
than the air, and that the bird flies because its strength
enables it to overcome the difference between its weight
and that of the atmosphere it displaces. To put the case
in a nutshell, aerial navigation is a mere question of
lightness and force."
So far as the solution of the problem — how to navigate
the air — is concerned, the ordinary pear-shaped balloon
had, in Burnaby's opinion, done more harm than good,
and he looked for the barrel, tube or cigar-shaped aero-
stat to be propelled by machinery. Such were the views
* Charles ascended in a silk aerostat inflated with hydrogen, ist Dec,
I783-
t The first ascent made in England was by Lunardi in Sept., 1784.
196 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
of one who knew more about ballooning, and did more
for ballooning, than any other man of his day,* but in
private conversation he expressed himself still more
strongly. He foresaw, indeed, the achievements of the
modern airship.
* Mr. Wright laid claim to being a practical man, and a practical man
only.
CHAPTER XIII.
5th june 1882 december 1883.
Travels in Spain and Tunis ; Burning Speeches.
In 1882, when the troubles in the Soudan, fruit of the
Mahdi's activity, commenced, Burnaby fully expected
to be put on active service ; consequently
5 with MrfSenri when the command of the detachment of
Deutsch, the Blues ordered out was given to
Mar., 1883. Lieutenant_c0lonel Hume, he was deeply
disappointed. Nor did a difference which he had with
General Owen Williams about this time tend to soothe
his mind. General Williams, exasperated on account
of certain military opinions expressed by Burnaby,
had commenced proceedings against him; but, as the
result of a conference between the friends of the litigants,
the dispute was settled, each party agreeing to pay his
own costs.
Burnaby spent the summer of 1882 partly in London
and partly at Somerby Hall ; and on October 20th he
entertained the Prince and Princess of Wales and other
persons of distinction to welcome back to their old quar-
ters Lieutenant-Colonel Hume and his men. He was
also a guest at a banquet given in the Holborn Town
Hall, at which some five hundred Blues were present,
and he responded to the toast of " The Officers of the
Horse Guards," making a rousing speech chiefly by way
of tribute to the men who had " charged at Kassassin."
During the early part of 1883 he was confined to his house
by illness, and on his recovery he paid a visit to Spain,
in the company of his friend, the late Mr. Henri Deutsch.
While at Madrid they lunched with the King and Queen
(197)
198 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
(Alphonso XII. and Christina) ; and the letter home
written just after the incident, has been preserved. " We
arrived here," it runs, " the day before yesterday, having
travelled through from Paris in thirty-eight hours. The
same day we arrived we received a letter from Count
S , the Chamberlain of the King, appointing the follow-
ing day at six p.m. for an audience of his Majesty. We
went there at that hour in evening dress, and were the first
to be shown into the Sovereign's presence. He was very
amiable, and introduced me to the Queen, who speaks
English well, and showed me his child, a little girl of about
two years old. He then said, ' I am afraid I cannot keep
the other people waiting. Come and lunch with us to-
morrow at 12.30. Only the family, you know. I want so
much to have a long talk with you.' " Of course we accep-
ted. After dinner that evening we went to Senor C 's
box at the opera. The house was full of all the beauty of
Madrid, and the King and Queen were in the Ptoyal box,
and nodded several times to us during the opera. I met
many old friends in the house, and enjoyed myself very
much. To-day we went to the Palace. I sat on the
left-hand of the Queen, who was very agreeable. Then
there was a Spanish General, whom I had known some
twelve years ago, and in addition the English governesses,
or companions, of the Princesses. Nothing could exceed
the kindness of the family. The King reminded me
of his visits to me when he was in exile in London,
and of how he had then partaken of my hospitality.
After luncheon the King lit a cigar and we smoked, the
ladies talking to us all the while. He is a young man
of about twenty-five years of age, dark and good-looking,
tall, with large eyes, and a very intelligent face."
On taking leave of their Majesties, Burnaby presented
the Queen with a copy of a work written by Mrs. Burnaby
— The High Alps in Winter — and by the end of the
month he was back again in England.
In May he took part in a political gathering at Birming-
ham, and at the banquet that followed he replied to the
TRAVELS IN SPAIN AND TUNIS 199
toast of the " Two Houses of Parliament." He glorified
the House of Lords, which in years gone by had " fought
for the liberties of the people of England against tyran-
nical sovereigns," and he deplored the neglect of business
in the House of Commons, which he attributed to " the
intense verbosity of Mr. Gladstone and his slavish follow-
ing." At a luncheon served in the Masonic Hall,* he was
greeted with an ovation — " the entire company standing
and cheering him lustily " ; and he spoke at a public
meeting held afterwards in the Town Hall, his speech
being eulogistic of Lord Salisbury and Mr. Gibson (the
guests of the occasion), and of the Conservative policy,
and condemnatory of Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Bright, and
their " Pharisaic following."
The exertions made at these and other meetings told,
however, on his health ; and bronchitis and inflammation
of the lungs brought him so low that Mrs. Burnaby was
sent for from Switzerland in order to nurse him. On his
recovery they planned a joint tour in Spain, but Mrs.
Burnaby's health again breaking down, the idea was
abandoned ; and she, having, by medical advice, returned
to Switzerland, Burnaby, accompanied only by his
servant Storey, sailed for Gibraltar,! where he was wel-
comed by Sir John Adie, the governor, who " took him
for a ghost." He had scarcely landed when news came
of the death of General Burnaby, and a number of news-
paper men having mistaken one cousin for the other,
wrote some flattering obituary notices, which were read
with both surprise and relish by the " corpse." From
Gibraltar, Burnaby and his servant took steamer to Cadiz,
and thence he travelled bv train to his favourite Seville,
where he renewed acquaintance with old friends and old
scenes. At his next stopping place, Huelva, he was
present at the dinner given on the occasion of the opening
of the newly finished English Hotel, " The Colon "—
his name being the first in the visitors' book. From
♦March 29th.
f On 30th May, 1883.
200 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
Huelva he and Storey proceeded, via Madrid, to Alhama
de Aragon, where he took the vapour baths, and ascended
a mountain on foot, in order to see whether his heart
was really affected, as the doctors had averred.
Shortly after his return to England, he " conceived
the kindly notion " of giving a farewell dinner on the
occasion of the departure of his friend, Mr.
52— Concerning Henry Lucy, for Japan, and Mr. (now Sir)
Absalom.* Francis Burnand was one of the guests.
" We were a considerable party," says
Sir Francis, " for a merely private dinner. My im-
pression is that there were not fewer than twenty present,
and that for this special occasion Fred Burnaby had
engaged a large room upstairs at the Junior Carlton,
which was one of his clubs. Even at this distance of
time, just sixteen years, I recall the exceptionally social
character of that evening, and the incident I am going to
relate stands out vividly in my memory.
In the course of conversation, over the coffee and cigars,
I was describing how, when mounted on a strapping big
hunter, over whose movements I had hardly any control,
I was carried through an orchard and had to extend my-
self at full length along the neck of the beast in order
to avoid being caught up and held in the branches, as
Absalom was, by the hair of his head — ' Thank good-
ness,' I added, ' there was no ill-conditioned Joab handy
with his spear to be reckoned with.' "
" It's very curious," observed Burnaby smiling, "how
everybody makes that mistake about Absalom. Absalom
was never caught by his hair."
" My dear fellow," I remonstrated.
" Oh yes, I know," said Burnaby, quietly, " if you ask
everyone here, I should be much astonished if the whole
lot were not in favour of your version of the story and
dead against mine."
'' What is your's ? " asked one of the guests, for
several were becoming interested in the discussion.
* Written specially for this book by Sir Francis Burnand.
TRAVELS IN SPAIN AND TUNIS 201
" Mine is simply as it is given in the Old Testament,"
was Burnaby's answer.
" Well," asked another of the company, " and does
not that record how Absalom was caught up and en-
tangled by the hair of his head in the branch of a tree ? "
" Not a bit of it ? " answered Burnaby, with his
pleasant yet always somewhat Mephistophelian smile.*
Hereupon many joined in. Gradually all at table
had a word to say on the subject, in corroboration of my
view of it. Some sporting men of the company were
ready to wager heavy bets. I remember the guest of the
evening, H. W. Lucy, being in favour of the " caught
by the hair " version, though somewhat shaken by his
recollection of Burnaby's scholarly knowledge of the Old
Testament.
Then Burnaby reduced the matter to pro and contra.
" I'll back myself for a fiver with anybody," he said,
" but I don't like doing it as I know that my version is
the correct one."
The majority took his bet. I fancy that Henry Lucy
and I were the only men, except Henri Deutsch, out
of it.
How to settle it ?
" There's sure to be a Bible in the library," observed
a member of the club.
Burnaby rang. The butler expecting orders for some
particular wine, or for some special beverage (punch per-
haps) appeared.
Burnaby asked him, " Is there a Bible here ? '
Never was steward of club more taken aback. Had
he heard correctly ?
" A Bible ? " he repeated, doubtful of his having heard
aright. Bucellus, Burgundy, Brandy, any liquor be-
ginning with " B " ! But— Bible ! ! !
" Yes," repeated Burnaby, plucking up, for even he
had been afraid of his own question. ' Is there a Bible
in the library ? "
* See the Vanity Fair cartoon in this volume.
M
202 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
The butler hesitated. " I don't think, sir — at least
I'm not sure," he began. Then he made a suggestion.
" If you want to look at a Bible sir," said the butler —
the host nodded affirmatively — " well, sir, if you don't
mind I can bring you one up — from below," — here there
was an audible smile — " I mean, sir, from the servants'
hall."
" Thank you very much," said Burnaby. " Let us
have it as quickly as you can. Thanks."
The butler retired. We were all much interested. He
had given us a text for conversation. Presently he re-
appeared with the Bible ; a big family Bible. He pre-
sented it to Burnaby ; then withdrew, wondering.
Burnaby opened the book.
" The very Bible we want," he exclaimed. "It is one
of the old ones, with pictures."
We wanted to know why he was so pleased about the
illustrations.
" Because," he replied, " the illustration will show
you how your mistake originated, and the text will prove
my case. Now," he continued, as he carefully opened the
book and gradually arrived at the chapter, " you all
say that Absalom was caught by his hair in a branch of a
tree, and so was suspended, eh ? "
" Yes," was the answer unanimously.
" And I said," continued Burnaby, " that Absalom
was caught not by his hair at all, but in a forked branch of
the tree, and I will add that your mistake arose from the
illustration which so represents him."
" But," I interrupted, " the weight of his hair which
caught in the tree, and was subsequently cut off, is
given."
" Quite right," our host replied, " but that occurs
in a verse later on in the same chapter."
By this time he had found the place, likewise the illus-
tration— II. Samuel xviii., 9 : And Absalom rode wpon a
mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great
oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken
TRAVELS IN SPAIN AND TUNIS 203
up between the heaven and the earth ; and the mule that was
under him went away.
" Nothing about his being caught by the hair ?"
asked Lucy.
" No," replied Burnaby, " I have given you the verse
just as it is. I will pass the book and you can judge for
yourself. But first I will read you the marginal note.
It says : Some suppose that Absalom was caught by the
hair ; but it seems more probable that his head and neck were
caught in the forks of a strong bough, as he was nearly dead
when Joab found him.
" Then at verse 14," continued Burnaby, " Joab finds
him and thrusts three darts through his heart while he was
yet alive.''''
The Bible was passed round, and the passage closely
scrutinised.
" And," said Burnaby, " look at the picture."
We did so. Yes, that had been the origin of our im-
pression. It represented Absalom hanging by his hair,
which had become coiled about the huge branch of a
tree.
" But," observed one of the losers, " where is the refer-
ence to the weight of Absalom's hair ? That ought to be
in the same chapter ? "
" No," said Burnaby, " I was wrong in my recollec-
tion of its proper place in the text. Now I remember.
I think it is to be found in a rather earlier chapter."
The Bible was handed back to our host, who, within
another minute, had put his finger on the quotation re-
quired. It was found in chapter xiv. of II. Samuel, v. 25 :
there was none to be so much praised as Absalom
for his beauty.
V. 26 : And when he polled his head .... because the
hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it .... he
weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the
king's weight.
Everyone was at once ready to pay up, but Burnaby
204 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
refused their tenders. " My dear chaps," he explained,
" I was betting on an absolute certainty."
On August 22nd Burnaby was present at the Crystal
Palace on the occasion of the Foresters' Fete, and wit-
53— Speeches at nessed the ascent of Mr. Wright's balloon
Birmingham j<]ie Gem and a new aerostat of great
and . °.
Wednesbury, capacity which had not at that time received
Oct. 1883. a name . an(j by October he had so far
recovered his health as to be able to take part again at
political gatherings, his first appearance being at a Bir-
mingham meeting presided over by Earl Percy.
After thanking his audience for the enthusiastic recep-
tion accorded to him, and acknowledging the sympathy
expressed both by them and his Radical opponents dur-
ing his illness, he commenced his speech by a slashing
attack on Mr. Chamberlain, who had charged the land-
lord class with being one that toiled not and that did not
spin. He said that he had been making an enquiry
as to the incomes of the seven leading members of the
late Conservative ministry and of the seven leading
members of the Liberal ministry ; with the result of
discovering that the seven Conservatives received in all
£325,000 a year, and the seven Liberals £400,000 a year, a
fact which he bade his opponents ponder. He then
compared the position which England occupied among
the nations in Lord Beaconsfield's time with that under
his Radical successors ; and he pointed to one part of the
world after another in order to illustrate his charge
against the weakness of Mr. Gladstone's foreign policy.
The home policy of his opponents pleased him no
better. " The Radicals," he said, " throw out a bait to
the have-nots to enrich themselves at the expense of
those who have. This bait, if swallowed by the working
classes, would ruin them. Were capital taken from our
shores, factories would be taken from our shores, and,
like the leaders and demagogues of the first French
revolution, those men who had taught their fellow coun-
trymen to spoil, would, after sowing the wind, reap the
TRAVELS IN SPAIN AND TUNIS 205
whirlwind, and be the next victims of their dissatisfied
and enraged dupes."
Towards the end of the year, Burnaby, who had just
lost his mother, removed from Charles Street and took
up his residence at 36, Beaufort Gardens, which had been
Mrs. Burnaby's home subsequent to the death of her hus-
band and here, when in England, he spent the rest of
his life.
By the time of his removal, Burnaby's oratorical
exertions and the vitiated atmosphere of crowded halls
had once more told upon his health, and he
again hurried off to his old sanatorium, — * yisit to
Seville. After paying a visit to the Tinto Sp ™ffo0ct'
Copper Mines, in which he had shares,
and exploring the Solomon country* generally, he crossed
to Algiers, where he inspected some regiments of French
troops, which displeased him because " there was neither
order nor discipline among them " ; and from Algiers he
wandered into Tunis, in order to visit the ruins of ancient
Carthage and the scenes of Flaubert's Salammbo.
His first appearance before the public on his return
was at Bristol, f where he spoke on the subjects of Ireland
and India. In the course of his speech — 55— Burning
one of the most vigorous he ever delivered Speec ^ a*
— he said, " We hold India by the sword ; where, Nov. and
do not let us mince words — we hold Ireland Dec* 1883,
in a similar manner, and the sooner this fact is recognised
by the two great parties in the State, the less chance there
will be of having to engage in a civil war. As was said
by a speaker at an Orange meeting in Ireland a few days
since, ' You say that our ancestors took your land away
from you two hundred years ago ; anyhow we have got
the land and we mean to stick to it.' England holds Ire-
land and holds India, and judging from what I know of
♦The Romans called it Tartesia. Near the Rio Tinto are Cerro Salomon
Peak of Soloman) and the town of Salamea la Reale (Royal Solomon).
Solomon is supposed to have derived part of his wealth from the district.
fi3th Nov. 1883.
206 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
the tenacity of my fellow countrymen, they will not be
prepared to surrender these possessions through the
sentimental arguments of Mr. Gladstone, whose father
made £60,000 out of slavery, none of which has been re-
turned as ' conscience money.'
Politicians, indeed, did not fight with gloved hands
in those days. Personalities were rife ; and when Bur-
naby was thus handling Gladstone's name, there was
rankling in his breast the remark of a Radical politician,
who declared that the late Lord Beaconsfield* never
spoke the truth except by mistake.
Burnaby's speech was received everywhere by his party
with commendation, and he was called for in all direc-
tions. At Preston, where he addressed three thousand
persons — the staple of his speech was a denunciation of
the Ilbert Bill, which would allow Englishmen to be tried
by Hindoos.
' In times back," he said, " the Anglo-Saxon race
was actuated by the grandest sentiment that can influ-
ence a people — by patriotism — the abnegation of self
for the country's cause — the patriotism which stimulated
Nelson, Wellington, and the heroes of Balaclava. Things
have changed of late. A lover of his country is called a
Jingo ; the sentimentalist who helps to ruin it is termed
a grand old man. Legislators have been found un-
mindful of the terrible lessons taught us by the Indian
mutiny. They have been prepared to hand over English
men and women to the tender mercies of a race alien
to us in religion, alien to us in customs ; to men who have
no idea of the sanctity of an oath, to whom perjury
is a convenient method of settling family litigation. Do
not imagine that by saying this I am wishing to insult the
Indian subjects of the Queen — but their ways are not our
ways ; indeed, if they had been, an English Company
would never have conquered the 240,000,000 inhabitants
who people Hindostan."
After referring to the immorality of the Hindoo
* Lord Beaconsfield died 19th April 1881.
TRAVELS IN SPAIN AND TUNIS 207
religion, Burnaby continued " The Ilbert Bill proposes
to enable a native of India, provided he has the neces-
sary qualifications, to try British subjects, perhaps in
the most distant places of Hindostan, where there is no
Press, no public opinion, and where an English woman's
honour may be at the mercy of a sensual polygamist."
He ridiculed the Radical argument that one man is as
good as another. " Is the criminal," he asked, " as good
as the honest and industrious working man ? Never
forget that the Anglo-Saxon race is a dominant race,
a race dominant throughout the world. It has annexed
vast territories ; and while giving to the natives of India
the benefits of civilisation and Christianity (which they
do not appreciate), Englishmen have taken very good
care to enrich themselves. Lord Stair, when told by a
French diplomatist that if he (the Frenchman) were not
a Frenchman he would like to be an Englishman, re-
plied, ' If I were not an Englishman, why, then, I should
like to be one.'
" Have you forgotten the Black Hole of Calcutta ?
A thrill of horror ran through England when the news of
that dreadful tragedy became public. Have you for-
gotten the Indian Mutiny? Should the Ilbert Bill,
even in its present emasculated form, become law,
it will not be long before still direr history will be made.
The Radicals have remarked that India is a Free Trade
country. Why is this so ? Because British bayonets
rule it, not because of any initiative on the part of the
native population. Withdraw English troops to-morrow,
and heavy duties would at once be placed on Lancashire
goods. Are Englishmen," he enquired, " going to allow
their own flesh and blood who have settled in India
to be tried unjustly, sentenced, and finally expelled,
to suit the cant and sentimentality of a set of hobby-
ridden legislators ? "
On December 6th, Burnaby addressed a huge meeting
at St. George's Hall, Bradford, where his subject was the
Egyptian policy of the Government. " It will be of no
208 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
use," he said, " to send Egyptian soldiers against the
Mahdi. Send English officers and English troops, and
then there will be no fear as to the result." Unfortunate-
ly the Government did not take his advice.
CHAPTER XIV.
december 1883 10th january 1884.
The Founding of the Primrose League.
Although Burnaby had been defeated at Birmingham,
the Conservative party, as we have already intimated,
derived great benefit from the contest —
a contest which, for one thing, was the
56— The Prim- means of bringing about that important
rose League, event in the history of modern Conservatism
— the founding of the Primrose League.
Owing to the enormous expense which this election had
entailed, a number of the younger and more militant
Conservatives were led to ask themselves whether some
organization could not be formed with a view to obtaining
voluntary workers and to assisting the party in other
ways ; and the matter was earnestly discussed one Sun-
day at a gathering held at Lady Dorothy NevilPs London
house, amongst those present being Lord Randolph
Churchill, Sir Henry Drummond Wolfe, and Sir Algernon
Borthwick (now Lord Glenesk). Lord Randolph's idea
was the formation of a secret society, " with officers and
organization on the lines of the Buffaloes," and the
scheme which he drew up seemed to find favour. Mr.
J. B. Stone and Colonel Burnaby, however, pointed out
serious defects in it ; and on 26th November, 1883, the
former wrote to Lord Randolph as follows :
November 26th, 1883.
Dear Lord Randolph,
I have given much consideration to the proposal
to found a Primrose League. I am now more firmly con-
vinced than ever that it would be a worthless effort to
try to found a Patriotic Secret Society, having merely a
(209) M 2
210 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
general programme of principles without embracing
a positive line of action. I believe, however, the change
into a Tory Patriotic League (as resolved) may, with a
very carefully prepared scheme, be made of enormous use
to the Conservative party, and a most valuable weapon
in the hands of a young party. It cannot be a wholly
Secret Society inasmuch as no penalty could be used suffi-
ciently strong to maintain secrecy. The first excluded
or discontented member would make public the whole
programme and proceedings. The severest penalty
which could be enforced would be expulsion or some
trifling social " Ban," and therefore I think it would be
wise to abandon at once the idea of the scheme being
wholly secret, and substitute the proposal to frame a rule
that all Council or other meetings should be private,
and no proceeding reported to the Press. At the same
time it might be arranged to hold public meetings,
and to take other public action under the auspices or
direction of the League, but all such proceedings if
originating in the smaller councils, should be under
the superior control of a higher Court.
The " declaration " subscribed to by joining members
should be something more than the approval of the
principles of the League ; it should include an undertak-
ing to promote its objects on all seasonable occasions,
publicly and privately, to give voluntary aid at the time
of elections, and particularly to promise to vote without
canvassing for those candidates supporting the principles
set forth by the League. Rules should be framed to
provide for the election of members, for expulsion, etc.,
and also for the formation of higher, middle, and lower
councils, appointment of officers, their designation, and
so forth. Further, the question of funds must be con-
sidered. I would suggest that payment should not of
necessity be required to become a member, but that
each divisional court should raise its own funds in its
own way, and control its expenditure. A further rule
might regulate the wearing of badges.
FOUNDING OF PRIMROSE LEAGUE 211
You will see that such a programme would meet many
of the difficulties arising out of the provisions of the new
Corrupt Practices Act, it would promote voluntary activ-
ity, and generally, if the League grew to any considerable
extent, it would become of great value to the Conserva-
tive Party.
Pray excuse so long a letter,
I am, dear Lord Randolph,
Yours truly,
J. B. Stone.
Fortunately, for the Conservative Party, Mr. Stone's
recommendations were warmly welcomed, and the sug-
gestion of Sir Drummond Wolfe that the Society, which
had been named (after Lord Beaconsfield's favourite
flower), The Primrose League, should be formed " on a sort
of masonic basis, with different grades, such as associates,
councillors, and the like," was also promptly adopted.
In the meantime Birmingham Conservatives had come
to the conclusion that it was advisable to obtain for the
next election contest a statesman of the first rank,
possessor of a strong personality, to run with Burnaby ;
and Mr. Joseph Rowlands, who had ascertained that
Lord Randolph Churchill would probably be willing
to come forward, was officially authorised to approach
his lordship on the subject. Before giving a definite
reply, Lord Randolph consulted Mr. Stone, by means of
a letter dated December 11th, 1883, which runs as follows :
2, Connaught Place,
December 11th, 1883.
Dear Mr. Stone,
It may interest you to know that the Committee (of
the Primrose League) met on Saturday, and having voted
me into the chair by four to three, directed me to com-
municate to Lord Salisbury the history of its formation,
and to ask for an interview with him. This was agreed
to
I have been asked whether I will stand for Birmingham
in conjunction with Colonel Burnaby. What is your
212 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
opinion of this ? I should not be unwilling to have a tilt
at the stronghold if you thought well of it. Let me have
a few lines at your leisure.
Yours very truly,
Randolph S. Churchill.
In his reply, Mr. Stone pointed out the difficulties
to be encountered, but nevertheless expressed his opinion
that the attack should be made. Consequently Lord
Randolph replied to Mr. Rowlands in the affirmative ;
and a little later Colonel Burnaby and Lord Randolph
held a consultation together, Mr. Rowlands and other
prominent Conservatives being present, and came to an
understanding upon the policy to be followed in regard
to the constituency.*
Some other correspondence ensued between Mr. Stone
and Lord Randolph on the subject of the Primrose
League ; later he and Col. Burnaby met Lord Randolph
and discussed the scheme in his Lordship's town house,
2, Connaught Place ; and by the spring considerable pro-
gress had been made with it. Two small rooms in Essex
Street, Strand, were hired for offices, and on Primrose
Day, 1884, the members of the first habitation (that for
the Strand district) met and banqueted jjtogether.
Then the scheme went forward by leaps and bounds.
The secretaries could, with difficulty, keep pace with the
enormous influx of members, and the rooms in Essex
Street were exchanged for more important accommoda-
tion in Victoria Street. The first ruling council consisted
of Lord Randolph Churchill, Sir Henry Drummond
Wolfe, Mr. (now Sir) Benjamin Stone, Colonel Burnaby,
Mr. (now Sir) John Gorst, Sir A Slade, Mr. (afterwards
Sir) William Hardman, Mr. Percy Mitford, Mr. (now Sir
Frederick) Dixon-Hartland, Sir Henry Hoare, Mr. J.
Satchell Hopkins, Mr. H. H. Wainwright, Mr. (now Sir)
Frederick Seager Hunt, Mr. J. Batison, and Mr. Hopkin-
son. The first Grand Councillor was Lord Abergavenny.
*The announcement that Colonel Burnaby and Lord Randolph had
been selected as candidates for Birmingham at the following General
Election appeared in the Birmingham Daily Post for 26th Jan., 1884.
FOUNDING OF PRIMROSE LEAGUE 213
Owing to his duties, Burnaby passed most of his life
in London and at Windsor, and many anecdotes — all of
them infinitely to his credit — could be
told concerning his connection with both 57_Anecdote8>
places. As he loved courage, whether dis-
played by elephant or ant, so he abhorred
all dastardly conduct, and nothing enraged him more than
to see a woman ill-treated. One day as the Rev. Robert
Nutt* was going up from Windsor to London by an early
morning train, Burnaby jumped into the same compart-
ment rather out of breath, and with the usual humorous
twinkle in his eye he remarked, " I've just pitched over
a gateway some fellow who was beating a woman."
On returning to Windsor in the evening Mr. Nutt learnt
that a man in Peascod Street, who that morning had ill-
treated his wife, had been pulled from her by an officer
who collared him and tossed him over the closed gates
of the Star and Garter Inn, in the narrow entry called
Death Alley.
Another day Burnaby, when walking through a Wind-
sor street, was splashed by a scavenger who, on being
remonstrated with, observed insultingly, " You can go
and wash yourself if you like." In an instant Burnaby
seized the man by collar and corduroys, and tossed him
into his scavenging cart ; and as the fellow rose swearing
and gesticulating, with filth dropping from every projec-
tion and protuberance, Burnaby said, with his smile
Mephistophelian, "You needn't go and wash unless
you like ! "
It will be remembered that when Burnaby was ill at
Naples his life was endangered owing to the mistakes
of a drunken maid servant. One day some years after
this event as he and his brother were walking late at
night down Piccadilly, they happened to meet the un-
happy woman, and noticed how ill and miserable she
looked.
*Son of Col. Fred's old tutor, the Rev. W. Y. Nutt, curate of
Burrough.
214 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
Burnaby, who recognised her in a moment, at once
shook hands with her and gave her a couple of sovereigns.
The sad spectacle had touched him to the quick, and as
they walked away, he said hoarsely, " She's no worse,
Evelyn, than a thousand and one others."
Once he had occasion to reprove a soldier for not wear-
ing his cap properly. A few weeks later the man, who
in the meantime had left the regiment, met Burnaby in
the street and tried to avoid him ; but Burnaby went
straight up to him and, with the customary twinkle in
his eye, said, " You can wear your cap, Jones, any way
you please now, but I can't permit you to cut old friends."
In June 1882, the Rev. Evelyn Burnaby took a little
place at Penbury, near Tunbridge Wells, and Mr Edward
Fleming, son of the Rev. Canon Fleming, stayed with
him, making his appearance every evening after leaving
his work on the Stock Exchange. Colonel Burnaby,
having been invited to spend a weekend at Penbury,
was met at Tunbridge Wells Station by his brother and
Mr. Fleming. That night after dinner Mr. Fleming, who
had just joined the Middlesex Yeomanry Cavalry, ad-
mitted being puzzled by some of the drill as explained
in the books.
" Don't bother your head with drill books, my boy,"
said Burnaby ; and then collecting four chairs, he
speedily made the difficulties disappear, and the drill as
plain as A. B.C.
Evelyn drove his brother back, through the beech
copses, to Tunbridge Wells Station. The sun was sink-
ing in crimson and amber, contour of hedge and tree
assumed a Murillo indefiniteness, the earth gave out her
essences. Burnaby was powerfully moved. " Life,"
he sighed, ' ' would be worth living in such scenery as this
if — one's liver would only leave one in peace."
CHAPTER XV.
10th January 1884— 29th march 1884.
The Two Battles of El Teb.
In the meantime events had been thickening in the
Soudan. Hicks Pasha's army was totally annihilated
by the forces of the Mahdi on 5th November
_ of EMTeb 1883, and Khartoum and other towns
4th Feb. in the vicinity of the Nile were threatened
by the Soudanese hordes. Just as Burn-
aby had received his winter's leave of absence, a telegram
arrived from General Baker's wife, begging him to join
her husband at Suakim. To receive a request of that
kind was with Burnaby to consent to it with avidity,
and he left London, accompanied by his soldier servant,
Henry Storey, on 10th January, 1884, proceeding via
the St. Gothard's Tunnel and Milan to Brindisi, whence
he steamed to Suez. At every turning he found proofs
of the shocking mis-management of the campaign by the
Government and the Anglo-Egyptian military authorities
at Cairo. He says, " There was a troopship going to
Suakim, and some black soldiers were at Suez ; but, as I
was informed, the men had not been paid, and the vessel
would not leave until they had received their money-
There was no arrangement on board the boat for feeding
these men, and each black had to provision himself
for the five days' journey down the Red Sea — most of
them bringing bags of biscuits, oranges, etc. They
were accompanied in many instances by their wives and
children. Yet, all the time General Baker was in the
direst straits for troops, and he had been promised that
(215)
216 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
they should be sent him. " And now," continued Burn-
aby, " we had arrived at January 20th, and instead of
filling the steamers with men, the Minister was sending a
number of women and children, at a moment when every
available berth was required for soldiers ; when Sinkat
was almost at its last gasp, and when it was believed that
Tokar was in a similar condition. At last our troops
were paid. They had been taken on board, some of them
in leg irons to prevent them from running away. A stout,
middle-aged Egyptian, a major in rank, commanded the
troops ; he was accompanied by his wife, an Abyssinian
slave, whom he had purchased, and two children. The
black and the Egyptian officers on board frequently
quarrelled ; and the rank and file not only quarrelled, but
fought ; nor was the disturbance quieted until a young
black officer who owned three wives jumped below with
a koorbag, or rhinoceros hide whip, and administered
blows right and left." Such was the material sent to
assist General Baker. But that was not the worst.
While they were yet in sight of the quivering incandes-
cence which resolved itself into Suakim, the Egyptians —
officers as well as men — proved themselves arrant
cowards. The very mention of the name Arab made
them tremble. Baker's camp was three quarters of a
mile from the port, and after twenty minutes' walk
in a burning sun, Burnaby found himself at the door of
Baker's tent, and shaking hands with his old friend.
" Three thousand friendly Arabs," said Baker, " are
marching to Sinkat, where Tewfik Bey is still defending
himself with a few hundred soldiers. These, I trust,
will rescue Tewfik. My own task is to proceed by sea
to Trinkitat* and relieve Tokar by an expedition from
Trinkitat harbour." Unhappily, however, both expedi-
tions, owing to circumstances quite beyond Baker's
control, were doomed to frightful failure.
The friendly Arabs had scarcely started when they
learnt that the English Government had proclaimed its
* Fifty miles to the south east of Suakim.
TWO BATTLES OF EL TEB 217
intention of withdrawing from the Soudan. " If we help
Tewfik," our allies asked themselves, " and so offend
the Mahdi and Osman Digna, who will save us from their
fury when the English are gone ? " Consequently,
instead of relieving Sinkat, they left to their fate its
courageous defenders, who were massacred to a man.
On January 31st Burnaby and Baker (Colonel Hay and
Major Harvey accompanying them), embarked for Trink-
itat, with a force of 4,500 Eyptian soldiers, and on their
arrival they selected for their camp a suitable site, which
they at once strengthened by throwing up earthworks.
It was wonderful to see the energy with which the
Egyptians worked. Every fresh spadeful of earth, they
supposed, would make Fort Baker, as they named the
camp, so much the stronger, and afford additional pro-
tection to themselves from the enemy's bullets. Four
days later Baker and his men, the latter with craven
hearts, advanced to the relief of Tokar. But their fear
of the Arabs was not the only trouble ; many of them
had never before fired a rifle, and therefore scarcely dared
handle their own weapon. Baker and Burnaby, how-
ever, in the brief time at their disposal, did their best to
teach these new levies how to shoot, and urged them
not to be afraid of the Arabs, to whom they themselves,
owing to the superiority of their weapons, ought to be a
mortal terror. It was now the morning of February 4th.
Baker ordered an advance in the form of three squares —
the largest composed of Egyptian troops with the
Krupps and Gatlings in the front ; the two smaller,
composed of Turks and blacks in the rear — the whole
line of advance and the flanks being enveloped by a thin
skirt of Egyptian cavalry. After some unskilful skir-
mishing, a remarkable scene ensued. Three Arab horse-
men, having shown themselves over the brow of a hill,
the cavalry, instead of facing them, turned tail and
galloped madly away. One of the Arabs rode deliber-
ately into a squadron, and cut down first the officer in
command, who made no attempt to defend himself,
N
218 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
although he had his sword drawn, and then two more
men who, like their officer, made no defence ; and he
would doubtless, have demolished, single-handed, the
whole of the cavalry had not a pistol bullet stopped
his work of destruction. Then burst a tremendous fire
from the large square, and a number of the cavalry
dropped, killed by their own friends of the infantry.
This completed the confusion, the whole of the cavalry
then galloped full speed from the field of battle ; and the
rout of the cavalry was instantly followed by the breaking
up of the squares. In vain Baker, Burnaby and Harvey
tried to rally their men. The sight was one never to be
forgotten, some four thousand men rushing pell-mell
for their lives from a few hundred Arabs, who speared
them as if they were sheep. Baker and Burnaby, finding
the Arabs between themselves and the Egyptians, hewed
their way through their foes. On all sides could be seen
Egyptians on their knees praying for mercy, while the
handful of Englishmen were selling their lives dearly.
Here an Egyptian, who had thrown away his rifle and
had run two or three hundred yards, could be observed
undressing himself in order to run more easily ; there a
Turk galloping as fast as his horse could go and firing his
carbine, regardless whether he hit friend or foe : and
though the English officers still tried to rally the Egyp-
tians, and even shot some of the more cowardly, nothing
would induce the others to stand.
Among those who escaped, as by a miracle, was Burn-
aby's servant. When the squares broke up, Storey,
who was on a saddleless and bridleless
59— Storey's horse, made a dash for his life, but he pre-
Escape. sently found himself surrounded by Arabs
and camels. Fortunately his horse was a
kicker, and after letting fly with the whole of its energy,
it carried Storey, who was hanging to its neck, right
through the masses of Arabs. A few hundred yards
further on, it jumped a bush, and in so doing threw its
rider. Storey, however, managed to grip the collar chain,
From The Grapliic.
COLONEL BURNABY AT EL TEB.
28th February, 1884.
TWO BATTLES OF EL TEB 221
and as the terrified horse would not let him mount he
ran by its side still holding to the chain ; and hotly pur-
sued by the howling enemy — horse and man racing their
breathless race with death. When some three miles
had been covered they overtook Colonel Burnaby, who
stopped the horse and asked Storey why he had not
mounted."
1 The wind was out of my body, sir," he replied,
" and the horse would not stand."
Burnaby gave a leg-up, and the man managed to re-
main on his horse till he was beyond the pursuit of the
foe.
Trinkitat regained, it was discovered that 2,300 men
and ninety officers had been killed ; and such was the
cowardice of the Egyptians that, having reached the sea,
they ran into the water up to their necks, afraid of an
enemy not within three miles of them. With their
reduced force, their stores, horses, etc., Baker and Burn-
aby embarked next morning for Suakim ; and thus ter-
minated one of the most shameful and amazing incidents
in the history of modern warfare.
Burnaby laid all the blame for the misfortune on Mr.
Gladstone and the Cairo officials who, but for that Minis-
ter's announcement that the Soudan was to
be surrendered, would have sent on bet- Battle of El
ter fighting material ; and his feelings were Teb, 28th
more bitter than ever against the Liberal
Government. Almost the first news that reached the
defeated army on its arrival at Suakim, was that the
chief command had been taken from Baker and con-
ferred on Admiral Hewett — the former being thus pun-
ished for the shortcomings of his superiors. Hewett,
though scarcely an ideal man for the post, did his best —
one of his first acts being to reorganise the black troops
and to officer them with men of their own colour in place
of the dastardly Egyptians. But in the meantime the
Government, lashed to action by an exasperated public —
for England was at last thoroughly roused— had sent out
222 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
under General Graham, another expedition, and the first
contingent, the 10th Hussars, under Colonel Wood,
arrived just after the El Teb disaster. Their first act
was to take over the horses belonging to the Egyptian
cavalry, who, instead of grumbling at this proceeding,
surrendered them joyfully — and the word went round —
" How kind these English are ; they take our horses,
groom them, and are, absolutely, going to fight our battles
for us."
On General Graham's arrival at Suakim, Baker and
Burnaby, having requested employment, were placed in
the Intelligence Department, and they returned to
Trinkitat, where most of the English troops had already
landed. From the new camp near that town the English
could plainly see Fort Baker, which had been occupied
by the Arabs, and on the parapet of which waved a red
flag. Bodies of the enemy could be discerned in the
distance, but when Major Harvey and Burnaby rode on
with some mounted infantry to make a reconnaissance,
the Arabs fell back. The question was whether or not
there were any of them behind the earthworks.
" I will have that flag," said Harvey, " Arabs or no
Arabs."
" Unless I get it ! " said Burnaby.
And setting spurs to their horses, they raced at full
speed for the prize ; but Burnaby's seventeen stone
being no match against the lighter man, he was beaten
by at least three lengths. The fort proved to be deserted,
and a little later it was occupied by General Graham.
" How useful," observed Burnaby, " a captive balloon
would be now ! It would enable us to locate with pre-
cision the position of the enemy."*
\. In the former expedition the Egyptians had trembled
with fear ; the only fear of their English successors was
lest the Arabs should not stand and fight. On the morn-
ing, of February 28th, General Graham prepared to attack
* See also his remarks in Fortnightly Review (May 1884) where he says
that an aeronaut 700 feet above Fort Baker could easily have given all
the information required respecting the enemy's entrenchments.
TWO BATTLES OF EL TEB 223
the enemy. Having sent forward a thin stream of cav-
alry and mounted infantry, he himself, with the main
army, formed into one large square, followed at a distance
of about a mile. Burnaby, who rode with the mounted
infantry, could see as he passed the site of the previous
battle great flocks of vultures, who were still busy
gorging themselves on the corpses. The cavalry were
ordered not to fire on meeting the enemy but to fall
back slowly. Presently signs of the Arabs were
manifest, and it was found that they had secured them-
selves behind some excellent entrenchments and a low
parapet, mounted with the Krupp guns, which had been
taken from the Egyptians. Burnaby, who could
see only about forty men in the forts, rode back and
told Graham how matters stood ; but Baker, who was
riding with Graham, observed : " Yes, but you may de-
pend upon it the Arabs are in very large force there for
I have just seen through my glasses a thousand heads
rise for an instant, as it were from the ground, and
then disappear."
Graham, having determined to turn the enemy's
position, instead of attacking it in front, the pipes were
ordered to play, and the whole force advanced briskly
and with enthusiasm. At a distance of a thousand yards
the Arabs opened fire, and Graham's men began to fall,
among those hit being General Baker, who received,
to use Mr. Melton Prior's expression, " a beastly shrapnel
bullet weighing three ounces " in his collarbone. He
dismounted, in compliance with the importunity of his
friends, in order to have the wound dressed — but in five
minutes he was again in the saddle. Acting under orders,
the whole British force then lay flat on the ground ;
and the Arabs must have been amazed indeed, to see
an enemy, not running away, but coolly lying down,
and not returning a single shot in reply to their projectiles.
Then belched the Gardners and Gatlings their streams
of iron, and the guns of the enemy having been silenced,
the bugler sounded the advance. Instantly the British
224 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
soldiers sprang to their feet, but they had scarcely begun
their march forward with fixed bayonets when, with wild
cries and brandished weapons the Arab myriads poured
down upon them in cataracts — bearing both on front and
flank. Again and again, flock after flock, were mown
down like corn, but the more there were slain the more,
it seemed, there were pouring behind them. " Burnaby,
in his shirt sleeves and without coat or waistcoat, picked
off the enemy much as a crack shot would kill big game.*
' It was marvellous," he said afterwards, " to see how
they came on, heedless of death, shouting and brandish-
ing their weapons." To right and left they fell. Even
the wounded leaped again to their feet and rushed
forward. A few got within ten paces of the square.
At last the Arabs were checked, and they suddenly fell
back towards their parapet. Again and again Burnaby,
in spite of the warnings of Mr. Bennet Burleigh, who was
on horseback and could clearly see the danger, moved out
of the face of the square to fire over the parapet ; then, too,
when the British forces made a rush on the fort, Burnaby,
with his double-barrelled shot gun, was the first to reach
it. While ascending the parapet he was surrounded by
five or six Arabs, who attacked him altogether, but
having fired off both the barrels of his gun, he defended
himself with the butt end of it. An Arab spear pierced
his left arm, and he might have been overcome had not a
Gordon Highlander dashed to his assistance with a
bayonet. Storey, too, had another narrow escape,
his horse's skull having been smashed by an Arab shell. f
Eventually, however, the enemy took to flight, leaving
on the battlefield some 2,000 dead. The day being
over and the battle won, the wounded received orders to
return to Suakim. Baker, who suffered tortures from
his wound, Burnaby with his disabled arm, and a few
men of the 10th Hussars, rode straight to Trinkitat,
*Mr. Melton Prior.
f In the fall Storey was pinned to the ground by the animal's body, but
a Cairo mounted policeman released him, and he sustained no particular
hurt.
>
WELL DONE, FRED '
From The Dart, 7th March, 1S84.
After the Battle of El Teb.
Draun by E. C. Mountfort.
TWO BATTLES OF EL TEB 227
passing on their way the old Egyptian battlefield ;
and when Burnaby, gazing on the frightful sight of mutil-
ated and foul-smelling corpses, thought of the dead brave
Arabs, he vented in uncontrolled language, his bit-
ter feelings against the author of all the trouble.
" Many an Arab widow and many an Arab mother,"
he said, " must have cursed to the pit the author of all
those disasters in the Soudan— the Prime Minister of Eng-
land. If only the English Government had acted prompt-
ly five months earlier, all this bloodshed would have been
spared." On arriving at Trinkitat, he proceeded, via
Suez, to Cairo, where he was received by the Khedive,
who presented him with the Soudan medal and the Khe-
dive star.
" Colonel Fred Burnaby," commented an English
paper,* " is, I see, on his way home Meanwhile,
it may be well if Members of Parliament of a discontented
turn of mind, and their representatives in the Press,
would abstain from disparaging the action of Colonel
Burnaby in volunteering his services at a crisis. From
certain comments, it would seem that it is disgraceful
for an English officer to give his assistance in an emer-
gency to his countrymen when he finds himself in a posi-
tion to do so. We may be sure the people of England will
value the services of Col. Burnaby at their right
value."
After nursing his wound for a few days at Cairo, he
hastened home, reaching it on March 29th, arm in a sling,
but otherwise not a tittle the worse for his adventure.
As a relic of the fight he brought with him the " beastly
shrapnel bullet weighing three ounces," but, after
having it mounted on a stand with mortar for matches,
he returned it to the man who had most right to it — his
friend Baker.
In England Burnaby received a warm welcome, both
from his relations and friends and the public — among
• Judy I think.
228 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
those who congratulated him being Mr.
and Mrs. Benjamin Stone. Little Harry
61— Anecdotes. , . *
Burnaby was very troubled on account ol
the injury to his father's arm, and wanted
to know just how it happened. On being told, he said,
with emphasis, " when me get a big man, me get a big
sword, and kill the man who hurt my father."
Harry Burnaby has improved in his grammar, and
added many inches to his stature since that day — for he
is almost as tall as was his valiant father ; but that he
will ever come across the particular Arab against whom
he vowed vengeance is now problematical.
" There is one prayer in the Litany," observed Burn-
aby to Mrs. Stone, " which I never repeat."
" And what is that ? " she enquired.
" From sudden death Good Lord deliver
us."
CHAPTER XVI.
30th march 1884 — 10th November 1884.
The Birmingham Riots.
bibliography.
12. Possibilities of Ballooning, Fortnightly Review, vol.
35, N.S. May 1884.
13. Our Radicals. Written in 1884. Published in
2 vols., 1886.
A few days after Burnaby's return, it was arranged
that he and Lord Randolph should visit Birmingham
and speak from the same platform. The
62— The El Teb news which they had from time to time
Speeches, 15th , „ . , . , e
April, 1884. received from their supporters, was oi a
most satisfactory nature, and Burnaby
became convinced that at the next election* they would
both be returned. On his way to Birmingham — and he
was now a popular hero as well as a Conservative candi-
date— his train halted for a few minutes at Leamington,
where he was met by a number of Conservative gentle-
men, headed by the Mayor ; and, having alighted from
his carriage, he gave a brief speech. " Every British
soldier," he said, " in a foreign land in a time of war does
his best — in a word, his duty. I have done neither more
nor less than any other officer or soldier in the Soudan."
At Birmingham he received a tremendous ovation.
* A little later, as the result of the Redistribution of Seats Bill, Birming-
ham was divided into seven constituencies, but, at the time we speak of, it
was supposed that Burnaby and Lord Randolph would contest the town
on the old lines.
(229) N 2
230 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
The Town Hall, in which the meeting took place,*
was crowded to the doors, and great numbers were unable
to gain admittance. Burnaby, whose arm was still in a
sling, made a vigorous onslaught upon the Government,
his principal grievance being its slothfulness in effecting
an advance on Khartoum, where Gordon remained be-
sieged by the troops of the Mahdi ; and then he gave
a circumstantial account of the first battle of El Teb —
speaking with marvellous force, and not omitting to
accentuate the causes which led to the defeat of the
Khedive's forces. At the conclusion he promised to
continue his narrative on the following night, and as he
left the Hall he received another ovation from his sup-
porters, who escorted him amid vociferous cheering
to the Grand Hotel. Next evening the Town Hall was
again crowded ; and Lord Randolph having given his in-
augural address as newly-elected President of the Midland
Conservative Club, Burnaby fulfilled his promise of the
preceding night.
His account of the second battle of El Teb, and the
intrepidity of both the English troops and their Arab
opponents, the tremor of his voice and the evident
sincerity of every word uttered, moved his hearers to their
centre ; and he thus concluded what was perhaps the
most telling of all his speeches. "A few days after the
second battle, we learnt that the Government had deter-
mined to scuttle out of Suakim, leaving that brave and
gallant man, General Gordon, surrounded by his oppo-
nents-— that man who, putting his faith in Mr. Gladstone
and his colleagues, went with his life in his hands to Khar-
toum to negotiate with the Mahdi, but who, when he
asked for a small detachment of cavalry, was refused ;
whose provisions must day by day be getting more and
more scanty, who must be daily getting further and fur-
ther away from civilisation, and more and more sur-
rounded by his opponents ; that brave man, whom all
England loves ; who worked for years past conscientiously,
•April 15th.
ABSENT FRIENDS; OR, HOW I DEFENDED BURNABY!
Lord Randolph Churchill (gallantly): ' You shall only reach him
-Punch, 29th March, 1884.
through me
By special permission of the Proprietors of Fundi.
THE BIRMINGHAM RIOTS 233
straightforwardly, not so much for thrones or honours,
but for the English people. And he is to be abandoned
at Khartoum ! Gordon may die in order to let Mr. Glad-
stone's Government live ! Allow me, my friends, here,
Radicals as well as Conservatives, to make an appeal to
you— for you all, Radicals as well as Conservatives,
you all love Gordon — let me ask you— all of you," he
cried vehemently, " Englishmen, Scotchmen, and Irish-
men, to unite together to force this cowardly Govern-
ment of time-servers to rescue General Gordon. It
would not be so difficult to do it. Even during the sum-
mer months preparations might be made. The dis-
tinguished General* who so ably conducted the expedi-
tion on the Red River would, I feel convinced, if it were
offered him, at once accept the command of such an ex-
pedition ; and however much the hatred of war may be
in the hearts of Radicals and Liberals, as well as Conserva-
tives, I feel that there is not one man, not one woman,
not one child in England who, if the case were put
straightforwardly before them, would not at once say,
' Spare no money, but rescue General Gordon.' "
Burnaby had spoken what he felt, and his success was
owing less to the genius in him than to the workings of a
natural law. He let himself go ; and as many another
in similar circumstances has done, he " spake," to
borrow an expression from Stendhal, " a language that
was foreign to him."
When he sat down a small, mean-looking man, who
was close to the platform rose and said,
"They paid me to interrupt, but since "^gJiiKa
you spoke of the war I wish I hadn't.
I apologise."
Burnaby put out his hand. The man said, " I'm not
a gentleman, sir, I'm a sweep."
" I don't care a damf what you are by trade," said
Burnaby, " the trade doesn't make the gentleman."
* Lord Wolseley.
tA dam is an Eastern coin. The Duke of Wellington introduced the
word from India.
234 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
" But I only sweep chimneys," said the man.
" Do you sweep them well ? " asked Burnaby.
" I hope so."
"Then you do your duty and no man can do more,
and the man that does his duty is a gentleman."
Burnaby never set up for wisdom, but his spirit and
manly feeling inspired him with apposite answer and
trenchant retort. At his intense moments — and they
were many — he invariably showed himself at his best.
"When he first entered Birmingham," says a corres-
pondent, " a Tory in the town was a thing unspeakable,
leprous, accursed. The rancour of the Radicals and
the impotence of the Conservatives at the time
was beyond belief ; but the charm of his personality
acted so powerfully on even the most envenomed of
his adversaries, that in time he would assuredly have
been returned." His long talks of the hellish sights
which he had seen in the Soudan, how the dead bodies
lay putrifying, of the fiendish cruelties of the Mahdi's
officers — were unique in connection with an election ;
and he wrought up his audiences to fever pitch. Men
had never before heard anything like it, and they were
profoundly impressed.
" What a pity," said the Radical lambs, " that he's
a d d Tory.""
Again and again the public called for him ; and on
7th May (1884) he addressed a huge meeting of Conserva-
tives in the Temperance Hall at Leicester, where he
attacked the Government with more incisiveness and
passion than ever. He declared that their policy during
the preceding four years reminded him of Rabelais'
coat, his famous coat — nothing before, nothing behind,
and sleeves of the same pattern. He prophesied a speedy
return to power of the Tory party, and declared that
its policy should be peace — peace with honour, not a
peace which humilitates our nation. He considered
a dishonourable peace worse than war, seeing that it in-
creases bloodshed in the future. " I have nothing," he
THE BIRMINGHAM RIOTS 235
said, " but scorn for those sheep-like adherents of Mr.
Gladstone, who ' baa ' with him in whatever key he
chooses to pitch his voice." He held the source of Lord
Beaconsfield's power to have been his habit of keeping
himself in touch with the people. He defended the House
of Lords. " The House of Lords," he said, " has great
responsibilities ; so long as it does not shirk them it will
live an ornament to our legislature ; when it is afraid
to act independently, from that date its days are num-
bered." He quoted Lord Randolph Churchill, and de-
clared that England was living under a " one man
tyranny." " Can anyone suppose," he asked, " that the
' one-man tyranny ' in the person of Mr. Gladstone repre-
sents the people ? If it were put to the vote to-morrow
throughout Great Britain — ' Is Gordon to die or Mr.
Gladstone's administration to live ? ' -have you any
doubt as to what would be the result of the poll ? There
is an idea prevalent among some classes that England
has arrived at the summit of her grandeur, that she is
on the decline, that we ought to give up our foreign
possessions, and, retiring within the limits of our little
island, content ourselves with our insular situation.
Those who talk like this are unworthy of the name they
bear." Then he dealt with the advance of the Russians
towards India, and declared that the Czar would do as he
liked as long as he knew Mr. Gladstone was in office.
" No nation," he said, " has had such a wretched history
as ours during the last four years. Treachery, deceit,
false promises, betrayals, misleading statements, sur-
renders, such base and contemptible conduct never
stained any former administration."
Returning to Gordon, he said " Like Caiaphas, the
Government urges the doctrine of expediency. It will
cost blood and money to rescue Gordon ; it is expedient
that one man should die. Ask yourselves this question :
1 Is Mr. Gladstone's Government to live or Gordon to
die ? ' Then unite, and with one cry to Heaven, let
the voice of Great Britain be heard, and hurl from office
236 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
the most contemptible and cowardly Government Eng-
land has ever seen."
So terminated one of the most trenchant political
utterances that Burnaby ever made, and practically it
was his last. These speeches, streaming with molten
fury from the lips of a hero and king among men tho-
roughly roused a lethargic nation, but those whose ears
tingled as they listened to them, and those in whose veins
the hot blood raced, as they read the reports of them in
the newspapers, little knew the strain all these labours
of war and peace had been upon the dashing soldier
and fervid speaker. But if he suffered tortures from
both heart and lung, still he was supremely happy, for
he felt that if he had fought well, he had likewise spoken
well.
Then uprose the outcry that at El Teb he had used a
shot gun instead of a regulation rifle ; and in every later
caricature of him, there figures this same shot gun.
" Surely," observed Mr. Melton Prior, " to make all that
fuss was the height of absurdity. The object in war
(as any sensible man understands it) is to kill or disarm
your enemy, and it appears to me that it cannot matter
whether you use a powder mine, a torpedo, a hundred ton
gun, or a double-barrelled shot gun, so long as you attain
the object in view — particularly when face to face with a
savage, Avhere it is a case of kill or be killed."
When Burnaby next visited Birmingham his presence
was the signal for unprecedented rioting. He arrived
65— TheBanquet in the town on October 14th, being accom-
in the Exchange ied b Lord Carnarvon, Sir Stafford
Assembly Room. l J
Mr. Rowlands, and Lady Northcote, Lord Randolph
14th Oct., 1884. Churchill, Sir Edward Clarke, and others,
and was present at the banquet given on that day in the
Exchange Assembly Room.* The guests were still
seated when news reached Mr. Rowlands that the Liber-
als, who had issued the circular, " Churchill leaves the
Exchange Rooms at 10.30; meet him and greet him,"
* Close to New Street Station.
tlMt^ >^~--
M f s~ .'/. //*/—
C Cll*-- r "
OPENING THE CAMPAIGN.
Lord Randolph Churchill and Colonel Burnaby preparing for the General
Election.
Nurse Birmingham (loq.) : " Oh dear ! but what will Mr. Schnadhorst say ? ''
The Dart, nth April, 1884.
Cartoon by E. C- Mount/ort.
THE BIRMINGHAM RIOTS 239
intended mobbing the party on their way out ; but when
he communicated it to Burnaby, the latter only said,
with his Mephistophelian smile, " Then we shall have
some fun." As he spoke there arose from without
a tremendous and ear-racking howl — the united effort
of thousands of throats — to be succeeded by other howls
— and as wave after wave of sound surged into the room,
the ladies present turned pale.
' I can take you and Lord Randolph to your hotel by
a private passage," said Mr. Rowlands.
" No, I am going this way," said Burnaby, cheerily,
and pointing to the main entrance ; with which, overcoat
flying and evening dress showing, he walked straight
into the seething mob.
He was at once surrounded, and he could be seen
first in Corporation Street and later in Bull Street, head
and shoulders above the human sea, jostled now this way,
now that, but always advancing in the direction he wished
to go. Lord Randolph and Mr. Rowlands, who took the
private cut, arrived at the Grand Hotel unmolested ;
and shortly afterwards the Colonel appeared in the dis-
tance, escorted b)^ his mob, who, wonderful to say —
instead of howling and hissing (though certainly someone
flung an onion which missed its mark) were cheering him
to the skies, and nothing would satisfy them but a rousing
speech, which he readily gave them from the front of the
Hotel.
Next day a mass meeting was held in Aston Lower
Grounds, and it was also arranged to hold an overflow
meeting in the much smaller Assembly 65— The Aston
Room hard by.* The speakers included park Riots. Mr.
Burnaby and Lord Randolph (the big dare- the Platform,
devil and the little dare-devil, as Birming- 15th 0ct-' 1884-
ham now thought proper to call them), Sir Stafford
Northcote, Sir Edward Clarke, and Mr. Darling, Q.C.,f
famous for his biting epigrams directed against Mr.
•At the Holte Hotel.
fNow Mr. Justice Darling.
240 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
Chamberlain, and it was arranged that each having
delivered his address in the larger room, shonld pass to
the smaller and speak there. Among those in the
Assembly Room was a large party of the Sparkbrook
Club, Mr. Robert J. Buckley being among them. He and
his friends had not waited long before news arrived that
there was a frightful tumult in the larger room, that
walls were being scaled, panels of doors kicked in, and
missiles hurled by a truculent and infuriated crowd.
The Sparkbrook Club — fighters all, and lovers of fight —
at once rushed out, and having hastily formed themselves
into a solid column, they made a dash towards the great
hall, with the intention of assisting their friends. The
enemy withstood them, and friend and foe became
inextricably mingled. What exactly happened in the
sweltering hurly-burly is not clear, but somehow Mr.
Buckley found himself inside the Great Hall and on the
platform just as the audience were rushing it. For a
moment its occupants, who included besides Colonel
Burnaby, Sir Stafford and Lady Northcote, were in doubt
what to do ; but at that juncture Mr. Buckley snatched
at a cane-bottomed chair, and having seized it by one leg
he charged like a maniac at the storming party just as it
was scaling the position close to where Lady Northcote
was sitting, and hurled it back in confusion. Then as
the chair broke, becoming a flail, and consequently diffi-
cult to manage, he snatched at Burnaby's walking stick
and resumed his attack on the skulls and hands of the
assaulting party. But next moment he was down, the
platform was stormed, and with oaths, loud and strident
cries, and play of fists, the human torrent swept over
him. In the meantime the speakers and the stewards
had quitted the platform — followed by a shower of mis-
siles— Burnaby, whose sense of the ridiculous and deep-
set appreciation of the incongruous had been touched by
Buckley's escapade, nearly choking with laughter.
Mr. Stone then courageously thrust his way as near as
possible to the edge of the platform, with a view to
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announcing that the meeting was dissolved, but the up-
roar was so deafening that even those near him could
not hear a syllable ; nor was Mr. Rowlands more suc-
cessful, and finally, finding gesticulations hopeless, both
gentlemen joined the retreating party — with whole skins,
but pathetically damaged silk hats. Rising from the
floor, and fortunately unhurt, Mr. Buckley ploughed his
way through the seething crowd until he reached the
Assembly Room, at the door of which stood Sir Stafford
Northcote, Lady Northcote, Lord Randolph, and Sir
Edward Clarke ; and there the Goliath Burnaby ex-
plained to the slim, boyish figure of Lord Randolph,
how his chair and his stick had been used — his deep guf-
faw mingling with Lord Randolph's jay-like laugh.
" You shall have that stick," said Burnaby, addressing
Mr. Buckley in a comic voice, " and a silver plate with
the inscription ' For valour.' "
On October 18th, Burnaby was expected to meet and
address his sturdy Sparkbrook friends ; but, being pre-
vented from fulfilling his engagement, he wrote to Mr.
Buckley as follows :
14th October (1884).
Dear Buckley,
Will you tell my good friends of the Sparkbrook Club
that I deeply regret my inability to preside over the
smoking concert next Saturday ? It is with real regret
that I am compelled to come to this decision, but the
simple fact is that I can't manage it anyhow, except at
serious disadvantage. Do your best to impress the men
with a due sense of my disappointment, and promise
on my behalf that on the very first opportunity I will
spend an evening at the club, even if I have to travel from
London on purpose. I wish you had come to my room
after the row. I quite expected you. When I think of
your sudden appearance at the back, and your still more
sudden bound to the front, I nearly die with laughing :
the chair in ribbons, and next your snapping up my inno-
cent stick and belabouring the scaling party ; the whole
244 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
scene strikes me as one of the most comic I ever beheld,
or ever shall. Not that I am unconscious of the sober
merit of the dash, in point of pluck and courage. Per-
haps I laugh because the thing was so contrary to my
impression of you, sitting at the piano while folks
warbled sentimental songs. I think the country will now
estimate at its true worth the Brummagem brag of Free
Speech and the rest. All humbug, and blackguardly
humbug at that. How tragic to see an estimable Eng-
lish gentleman like Sir Stafford speaking mildly and
courteously to a crowd of howling ruffians. It makes
me sick to think of it. Then there was Lady Northcote,
and that sterling Englishman Stone, whose character
is an honour to his town. And the men who treated them
so brutally are the myrmidons of Chamberlain ; these
roaring, screaming, slaves of a caucus imported from the
States.
Never mind. The thing must do us good. The true
nature of Birmingham Liberalism, its tyranny and in-
tolerance, are made manifest. Mind, I don't for one
moment attribute the riot to the instigation of Chamber-
lain. I simply don't believe it— his underlings no doubt
but acting without Chamberlain's knowledge. He would
not have approved I am sure. For I have met him in
private, and I think him quite straight, besides being a
capital entertainer. In short, Joey is as agreeable as a
man as he is damnable as a politician, in his beliefs I mean.
Be sure to impress the club with my disappointment.
I mean it : but what is deferred is not lost.
Yours faithfully,
Fred Burnaby.
A few days afterwards there was a meeting in one of the
outlying districts of Birmingham, convened for the pur-
pose of forwarding the Town Council
66— The Yellow election of Mr. R. C. Jarvis ; and Burnaby
Ju£# had promised to be present. Just before
the commencement, Mr. Buckley came
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THE BIRMINGHAM RIOTS 247
across Burnaby in a small public house, which was used
in some semi-official way by Mr. Jarvis's committee.
Standing on the moist red brick floor of the little place,
his head almost brushing the ceiling, Burnaby declared
that he was as dry as a lime-kiln.*
Champagne was proffered, but he waved it away.
" No, no," he said, " Give me beer, good honest beer,
and plenty of it. Bring me a quart at least."
Soon came a big, common, yellow jug ; and Burnaby,
taking it by spout and handle, tilted it over his mouth,
drank the whole, and as it seemed, at one draught, and
returned the jug with a deep sigh of content. ' It's an
awful thing," he said with emotion, " to be ten feet long,
and dry all the way down."
He then handed to Mr. Buckley the promised stick.
"Keepsake," he said. "You know. Perhaps I shall
never return to Birmingham."
" I understood you were to remain in England," said
Mr. Buckley.
" Don't you be surprised if I turn up in Egypt," said
Burnaby, " but — not a syllable ! "
At the meeting a curious coincidence occurred. An
old lady named Davis asked Mr. Jarvis to inform Bur-
naby that she wished to present him with a walking
stick.
" I look on this new stick," said Burnaby to Mr.
Buckley, " as a token of the direct approval of Providence
towards my giving you mine."
Upon which Mr. Jarvis said, " Then the inference
follows that Providence must have been pleased with the
use to which Mr. Buckley put the first stick. "f
' In any case there was no danger of knocking ouc their
brains," said Burnaby.
After the meeting Burnaby and Mr. Buckley returned
* During his last twelve months, Burnaby, owing to his complaint,
suffered severely from thirst.
f Mr. Jarvis who got into the Town Council and became an Alderman,
died in 1907.
248 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
to the little tavern, and Burnaby, standing up as before,
took another gargantuan drink out of the yellow jug.
" Is it good ? " asked the old taverner, anxiously.
" Nectar ! " said Burnaby, smacking his lips.
" I beg your pardon, sir," said the old man, doubt-
fully.
" Drink for the very gods ! " said Burnaby.
" By , you shall have another jug ! " cried the de-
lighted old man.
Then came Burnaby's cab, and he shook hands all
round. " He sprang in," says Mr. Buckley. " I went
to him ; he put out his hand. Quite distinctly I remember
its softness and grip, while he repeated in a whisper,
words similar to those he had used an hour or two be-
fore. " Don't be surprised if I turn up in Egvpt after
all."
The cab rattled away.
Burnaby had given Birmingham of his best, and Bir-
mingham, as the Rabelaisian scene in the little tavern
bears witness, had not been ungrateful ; and so he van-
ished from her precincts for ever.
He passed the summer of 1884 partly at Somerby
and partly at 36, Beaufort Gardens, but he was ever
of a roving disposition, and it was not often
67— Brompton he had a meal at home. His household
and Somerby . , , „ ,. , C1
Nov. 1884. consisted only ot a policeman named My
and his wife, who now and then called in
occasional help. His health still gave anxiety to his
friends. No longer able to practise Spartan habits,
he used to lie late and, as his sight also gave him un-
easiness, if he read from the papers it was always with
blue glasses. When he wished to go out Mrs. Sly would
stand on a chair and help him into his thick and heavily
lined and furred great coat. On his return he would
drop — " shaking the house as he did so " — into a low-
built easy chair, the springs of which had been so flat-
tened with his weight, that the under bands were but a
few inches from the ground ; and the afternoon would be
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THE BIRMINGHAM RIOTS 251
spent in writing, dictating to his secretary, Mr. Percival
Hughes, or calling on or being visited by his friends,
Mr. Labouchere, Lord Winchelsea, Sir Eyre Massey
Shaw, Sir Robert Peel, and Mr. Toole, the actor (Toole
used to say that the merriest hour he could remember
was one spent in a hansom with Burnaby) ; while he also
renewed acquaintance with Don Carlos, Duke of Madrid,
who was visiting London. His principal lady friends in
London society — Les trois grandes dames, as he called
them, were Lady Molesworth, Lady Waldegrave, and
the Marchioness of Ely, with the last of whom he kept
up a regular correspondence. When he begged Lady Ely
to intercede with the Queen for the re-instation of Colonel
Baker in the British Army, her ladyship was able to
reply that the difficulty lay not with her Majesty,
who was willing, but with Colonel Baker, who had re-
fused.
When Burnaby wished to write he first made himself
comfortable in his low, easy chair, by drawing up his long
legs till his knees touched his chin ; and his pen, running
its course over paper supported by a huge blotting book,
did the rest. At his side always stood an inhaler, which he
used almost hourly to ease his breathing. Owing to his
inability to take sufficient exercise he rapidly increased
in weight ; the sluggishness of his circulation made him
feel the cold ; still he had a distinct mercy, his arm being
once more out of its sling. The cataracts of warm tea
which he daily poured down his throat in order to quench
his raging thirst, had the effect of making him drowsy.
" He gave me orders," says Mrs. Sly, " in case of his
sleeping too long, to go and wake him ; but it was no
use knocking at the door, for he would be in a dead sleep,
and I had to go in and shake him."
Among those who were captivated by the charm of
Burnaby's manner, the brightness of his talk, the blend-
ing in him " of strength and sweetness, of chivalrous
daring and romantic gentleness," the bias of his character
and the grandeur of his soul, was Mr. Justin McCarthy.
252 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
Towards the end of 1884 they sat together at a dinner
given in the Mansion House, and both were called upon
for speeches. McCarthy was dissatisfied with his own
speech, owing to his impression he had not been heard by
half the audience, while he had no doubt that Burnaby's
magnificent voice had penetrated to the utmost corners.
When, however, he came to compare notes with Bur-
naby, he found that the latter was just as dissatisfied.
" I certainly was not heard," said Burnaby. " The
acoustics — or say those pillars (and he pointed to them)
must take the blame," and he was so serious that a
listener might have taken him for an aspiring orator
whose career Fate had blighted at its very birth.
As we have already several times intimated, Burnaby
never had a superior in personal courage. He was, as
many of his friends have testified, absolute-
68— The Blues ]y devoid of fear. We have also had occa-
him. sion to remark on his indifference to his
personal appearance. " He was the most
slovenly rascal who ever lived," says his devoted friend,
Mr. Gibson Bowles. " When in uniform he looked like
a sack of corn on a horse. To mention only one fact,
instead of ordering his boots from a fashionable army
bootmaker, like the other officers, at three guineas a pair,
he got them made in the regiment at fourteen shill-
ings."
Nevertheless on occasion he could give himself spruce-
ness, and at public functions when, as Colonel of the Blues,
he carried the silver stick in front of the Queen, his great
stature and fine bearing, set off by a magnificent uniform,
both comported with and strikingly augmented the pomp
of the occasion. Mr. Buckley says of him, " His mien
and general port were magnificent, he was well propor-
tioned even for his great height, and straight as a reed.
Even his remarkable complexion, so un-English, ascribed
by him to Edward I., from whom he claimed descent,
and whose looks and stature he had — this too fixed
attention on him."
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Still the fact remains that as a rule Burnaby's appear-
ance lacked smartness.
' Evelyn," says Mr. Bowles, " was more like a soldier
than Fred." Yet Fred was a real soldier every inch of
him, nay a great soldier ; and it was his ambition to make
the Blues real soldiers too — an efficient fighting force.
He introduced among them new studies, such as survey-
ing. He tried to interest his fellow officers in balloon-
ing and other pursuits which he was convinced would
be of value in any new war ; but their hearts —
though there were honourable exceptions — were en-
tirely with dress, playing cards, betting and horse-
racing. They thought of nothing else. When he remon-
strated with them, they replied sullenly: "We don't
come here to soldier." They insisted, in short, that the
whole duty of man is to wax his moustache, powder
his chin, lay odds and clear fences. The want of sym-
pathy between him and most of his colleagues was so
pronounced that once when Mr. Bowles dined at Knights-
bridge Barracks, not one of the officers would speak to
Burnaby, except on matters of business.
But how different now ! The old race has given place
to entirely new blood. The present Blues are not a whit
less smart looking than their predecessors, but they
recognise that Burnaby was right, and that it is a soldier's
business, as it should be his pleasure, to make himself
first of all a soldier, and not only so, but a capable, and
even a splendid soldier. Mention but Burnaby's name
among them, and the heart beats, the eye flashes. " I
dined last year with the Blues," remarked Mr. Bowles
to the writer, " and the name of Burnaby was never
off their tongues."
Burnaby enjoyed his life at the Carlton, but though
inundated with invitations, he showed no partiality for
London Society. One hot July afternoon when he and
Evelyn were walking down Piccadilly, they passed a big
house with an awning — an indication that some fashion-
able function was in progress. Powdered footmen
256 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
were running hither and thither, and there were cries for
the Duchess of So and So's and Lady So and So's carriage.
Fred coolly remarked, " I believe I was invited to that
entertainment, but fancy spending a grand day like this
listening to the twaddle of every day talk ! "
Though Fred Burnaby was so much taller than Evelyn
the latter was often taken for his brother. Even Lord
Randolph Churchill, who knew both so well, once fell into
the error. It was during his visit to the States. He
expressed his conviction at the Opera that Fred was in
one of the boxes, and a friend having differed from him,
he backed his opinion by a bet of five pounds — which to
his sorrow — though not on mercenary grounds — he lost
— the supposed Fred turning out to be Evelyn.
Although become plethoric in body, Burnaby con-
tinued to be mentally as active as ever. In a letter to
his publishers, Messrs. Sampson Low,
69— He plans a Marston & Co., dated 6th June, 1884,
Visit to
Timbuctoo. ne says, " I am still suffering from my left
lung, which is congested ; and later on
mean to make one more big travel through Morocco
to Timbuctoo, when I will write you a book, such a
book — Khiva nothing to it — that will make your future."
" This journey to Timbuctoo," observes Mr. Marston,
" was not a pleasant joke, it was a serious project of his,
and it would, in all probability, have been undertaken
had his life been spared." Notwithstanding his jovial-
ity, Burnaby had a keen eye to business, and he was
a splendid hand at striking a bargain. " How well do we
remember," observes Mr. Marston, " his splendid and
gigantic figure as he used to stroll into our office when
he had some grand literary project in view, his hearty
grip of the hand, his twinkling eye, and loud ringing
laugh. There was a sort of magnetism about him
which made us all jolly in his presence. «He by no means
underestimated the value of his literary work. He
seemed to take more pride in overcoming a publisher
than in winning a battle. However unpromising his
Mr. HARRY ARTHUR GUSTAVUS ST. VINCENT BURNABY.
Colonel Fred Burnaby's only son.
THE BIRMINGHAM RIOTS 259
project might, at first sight, appear, he managed to cast
over it such a rose-coloured glamour that he soon made
it assume a more attractive aspect, and in this way he
carried his point. It must be admitted that in the result
he was generally not very far wrong, for he made his in-
fluence to be felt for the good of his new book wherever he
went. On one occasion when a slight inelegancy of
style was pointed out to him, he wrote " You are prob-
ably right. . . I write as I talk, and do not pretend
to have any style. I have let two or three people look
at the proofs. They are not connected with the Press,
but are average mortals — I call them my Foolometers.
They like the book. I think they represent the majority
of the reading public. You will make a success."
In October and November 1884, Burnaby's portrait
was painted twice, each of the artists being a lady.
Both ladies noticed that he was in poor health and low
spirits, though he made vapid attempts at cheerfulness.
However his old pleasantry did not quite forsake him,
for when one of the ladies asked him to close his eyes
so that she might take their measure with her compasses,
he observed, " I never close my eyes, madam, in the face
of danger."
o2
CHAPTER XVII.
10th november 1884 17th january 1885.
Dal on the Nile.
By this time the attacks made by Burnaby and others
upon the Government had once more forced it to action,
and an expedition was organized with the
70 — Yery object of carrying aid to Gordon. Lord
Unhappy. Wolseley, who was appointed to lead it,
often spoke eulogistically of Burnaby,
and would gladly have had his services, but the war
authorities were of another mind. It has been said that
cautious officialdom dreaded Burnaby's headstrong
bravery ; but surely the bitter attacks he had made
on the Government were sufficient to account for its
coldness towards him. However, Government willing,
Government unwilling, Burnaby was resolved to get to
the seat of war, and if possible to be one of the rescuers
of his pattern hero, General Gordon. Having secretly
made all the necessary preparations for his project,
he applied for his usual winter's leave of absence, but
the authorities, who had a premonition that somehow or
other he intended to outwit them, allowed him one of only
three months. As a feint he gave out that he was about
to make for South Africa, whereupon the deluded authori-
ties promptly wired to Cape Town forbidding his being
allowed to take part in the operations in progress there.
His plans matured, he first ran down to Somerby, where he
feasted the whole parish. During the dinner an old farmer
said to him, " I suppose you're agoing to the Soudan,
Colonel ? "
(260)
DAL ON THE NILE 261
Burnaby parried the question with some apposite wit-
ticism.
"Be advised," said the old man, "and don't go;
for if an Arab could hit a haystack he couldn't very
well miss you."
From Somerby Burnaby proceeded to Bedford, and
after calling on Miss Rose and other old friends, to whom
he hinted darkly that he was unlikely to see them again ;
he visited the Rectory garden and paddock, where the
old house and St. Peter's Church peeped at him through
their foliage, just as they had done in his boyhood. He
was not a sentimentalist ; but he felt as he gazed at this
haunting picture that he was looking at it for the last
time.
On arriving in London he placed his papers, including
the manuscript of an unfinished novel, to which he had
given the name of Our Radicals, with his secretary, Mr.
Percival Hughes.
Little Harry Burnaby had been staying with his
grandmother. Lady Whitshed, and while Burnaby and
Mr. Hughes were chatting, he was brought by a footman
to say good-bye to his father. After embracing the child,
Burnaby turned to the footman and said, " Good-bye,
Robert, I shan't come back ! "
There was a great sadness upon Burnaby when he
conversed for the last time with his old and devoted
friend, Mr. T. Gibson Bowles, for bodily disorders, regi-
mental and other troubles, had blackened his outlook
and robbed him of all peace of mind. The melancholy
of the padge-owl once more sat heavily upon him.
" I am very unhappy," he said, " and I can't imagine
why you care about life. I do not mean to come back."
But at Victoria Station, when parting from Mr.
Hughes, he was in quite a different mood. They had
been speaking about the unfinished Our Radicals, and
his last words as he stepped into the train, were, " I shall
publish that novel when I return, but it will want a good
deal of writing."
262 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
Accompanied by his servant Buchanan,* he made his
way first to Maloja in the Engadine, in order to bid adieu
to Mrs. Burnaby, and some days later he arrived at
Alexandria, where he stayed not a moment longer
than necessity demanded, for he was in perpetual fear
lest a telegram should arrive to stop him. Eventually
he overtook Lord Wolseley, who, on his own responsibil-
ity, placed him first in the Intelligence Department,
and afterwards on his own staff. Soldiers who met him
in the company of Lord Arthur Somerset and Sir John
Willoughby marked his healthy look and smart bearing.
Egypt, indeed, had given him new life and vigour.
Ardent sun, desert air, the proximity of danger had
scattered all his moody thoughts. He was once more
his old self, cheery as a lark, full of quip and crank,
revelling in life and activity. He was working for
England, and he was riotously happy.
On December 4th he wrote as follows to Mrs. Burnaby :
" Wady Haifa,
4th December, 1884.
" I have been appointed inspecting staff officer of the
line between Tanjour and Magrakeh on the Nile, about
sixty miles from this. I have to superintend the moving
of the Nile boats in that district ; and as the water is
very shallow, most of them wall have to be carried on
land. It will be very hard work, but at the same time
interesting employment. I leave this to-morrow to take
up my new duties."
On arriving by rail at Sarras,f Burnaby hastened
to Captain Brocklehurst's Remount Camp, and applied
to Warrant Officer Joseph Pritchard for camels, saying
that he was very anxious to get to the front.
" I can give you a camel, sir," said Mr. Pritchard,
" but I have no riding saddle."
"Oh, a pack saddlej will do," said Burnaby. "Any-
thing at all."
* Storey had left his service.
•j" Then the head of the railway from Wady Haifa.
J A pack saddle consists of two cross pieces of wood front and back,
tied together with side bars of wood — a very rough affair.
DAL ON THE NILE 263
Mr. Pritchard procured a pack-saddle, which he made
as comfortable as possible with blankets; and without
waiting for food Burnaby mounted, and, accompanied
by Buchanan, who had also been provided with a camel,
rode off as fast as possible. On reaching Dal he wrote
to Mrs. Burnaby as follows :
" Dal,
11th December.
" I left Wady Haifa about five days ago, went by train
(three hours) to Sarras, and then rode on camels here.
The camels were bad, and broke down several times.*
We journeyed through the desert with not a blade of
grass to be seen — nothing but white sand, high rocks,
and black crags. Since I have been here I have been very
busy. The Nile here is like a small pond in many places,
and when the wind is not favourable the boats have to
be carried for two and a half miles across the desert on
men's shoulders. Each boat weighs eleven hundred-
weight, and her stores three and a half tons, so this will
give you an idea of the labour. I passed eleven boats
through the cataract the first dav, seventeen the next,
thirty-four yesterday, and hope to do forty more to-day.
Our work is to spur on all the officers and men, and see
that they work to their uttermost. This I think they do,
and it will be very difficult for me to get more out of
them. It does not do to overspur a willing horse.
I sleep on the ground in a waterproof bag, and have as
aide-de-camp Captain Gascoigne, late of my regiment,
He has just gone for an eight hours' ride down the Nile
to report to me on the boats coming up. A strong
north-wind is blowing to-day, which helps us much with
the boats. I do hope it will continue, as some four
hundred and fifty more have to pass through the catar-
acts very shortly."
Among those who conversed with Burnaby at Dal
was Mr. J. M. Cook, of Ludgate Circus. " If," said
* See Lord Binning's narrative (chapter 19).
264 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
Burnaby to him, " the British Government had not
sent an expedition to Khartoum, I and my friend, Cap-
tain Gascoigne, would have gone out alone with the in-
tention of cutting our way through to Gordon."
When Mr. Cook and Burnaby parted on December 12th
the latter said, " Remember, you are under promise to
take me back to my duties at Windsor before May the
first." Then, turning to Mr. Cook junior, he said,
" whether your father can indulge himself or not, you are
to spend part of your summer holiday with me at
Somerby."
His next letter to Mrs. Burnaby, dated 15th December
(1884), runs as follows :
" Dal, on the Nile,
15th December, 1884.
" I am up before daylight, getting boats and soldiers
across the cataracts. There was a deadlock here before
I arrived, but I have put things straight again, and the
boats are going on to Dongola without delay.
" There is a strange mixture of people here — Arab camel-
drivers, black Dongolese porters, still blacker Kroomen,
Red Indians, Canadian boatmen, Greek interpreters ;
men from Aden, Egyptian soldiery, Scotch, Irish, and
English Tommy Atkins — a very Babel of tongues and
accents. The nights are cold, but on the whole I feel
well. Sir Redvers Buller arrived this morning and ex-
pressed himself very pleased with the work done.
Buchanan, my servant, is well, and very useful."
On December 24th he wrote :
" Dal, on the Nile,
December 24th, 1884.
" Great excitement is prevailing at the present moment,
as my basin, in which a black was washing my shirts,
slipped out of his hands, and is sailing gaily down the
Nile. Buchanan is in despair, as it cannot be replaced.
The excitement increases. A black on board a boat close
at hand has j umped into the river. The stream is danger-
ous here, there being so many rocks and eddies. He is
DAL ON THE NILE 265
pursuing the basin ; he has come up to it, and landed it
safely.
" It is extremely cold about two a.m. till the sun gets up,
and then it is very warm in the middle of the day. I
came back this morning after a three days' excursion
to the Isle of Say, where I have been arranging with the
Sheiks for the purchase of Indian corn and wood for fuel.
I bought an Arab bedstead there for two dollars. For
food, I live the same as the soldiers — preserved beef,
preserved vegetables, and lime-juice, with occasionally a
drop of rum, which is very acceptable.
"A piece of bacon was served out to each man, and a
pound of flour as well this morning, as it is Christmas to-
morrow. Bacon is a great luxury here. I am going to
dine with Lieut-Colonel Alleyne, of the Royal Artillery,
to-morrow. He has a plum-pudding he brought with
him from England, and I can assure you we are all looking
forward to the consumption of that pudding very much
like boys at school. I must have lost quite two stone the
last month, and am all the better for it. A soldier
stole some stores a few days ago. He has been tried
b}<- court-martial, and given five years' penal servitude.
In old days he would have escaped with a flogging, but
now that it is abolished the man has to suffer five years
instead. Poor fellow ! I expect he does not bless
the sentimentalists who did away with flowering in the
army. Taking everything into consideration, the men
are behaving wonderfully well. They have very, very
hard work, and this so-called Nile pic-nic is as severe
a strain as well could be put on them, physically speaking.
Yet you never hear a grumble, and they deserve the
greatest praise. It is a responsible post which Lord
Wolseley has given me here, with forty miles of the most
difficult part of the river, and I am very grateful to him
for letting me have it ; but I must say I shall be better
pleased if he sends for me when the troops advance upon
Khartoum. Of course, someone must be left to look
after the line of communication, and each man hopes
266 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
he may not be the unfortunate individual. Anyhow,
if I am left behind I shall not outwardly grumble, al-
though I shall inwardly swear, as Lord Wolseley has been
so very kind."
Two days later he wrote :
" Dal,
26th December.
" Every morning I am up at six, and am out of doors
all day, either on a camel or on my legs, superintending
the transport of boats and boat stores up the cataracts.
I have not seen a newspaper for the last month, and
we all live in blissful ignorance of the outer world. I
had my Christmas dinner last night with Colonel Alleyne.
Party : Lord Charles Beresford, Captain Gascoigne, and
self. Dinner : Preserved pea soup, some ration beef,
and a plum-pudding, sent out from England, which was
done great justice to, the dinner being washed down by
libations of whisky and brandy, mixed with Nile water.
As someone observed, the Nile tastes strongly of whisky
after six p.m. One, joking about the expedition and its
difficulties, remarked that there had been no such expedi-
tion since Hannibal tried to cross the Alps in a boat.
I expect to have got the last boat load of soldiers through
here by the second of next month, and then there will be
very little for me to do, and I hope to be sent on."
The next letter, a treasure indeed, for it is the last,
was written in pencil at Dal in the quiet and solitude of
the night. On the envelope, which was
71— His Last addressed to Mrs. Fred Burnaby, Hotel
Dec, 1884. Belvedere, Davos Platz, Switzerland, was
written " On active service. No stamps.
Pay at other end. F. Burnaby, Col." The letter itself,
which is on yellow paper, ruled with faint blue lines,
runs :
" Dal, on the Nile,
Dec. 28th, 1884, 8 p.m.
" My darling Lizzie,
"Have just received orders to move on to Korti, a
DAL ON THE NILE 267
place between Debbah and Merani, where Colonel
Stewart was killed — about 230 miles from this. I start
to-morrow morning. Have received no letters from you
or anyone since the 17th of last month. They will
doubtless all turn up in time. Camels travel slowly,
so I shall not reach Korti for ten days. Am very well.
Cold and cough disappeared — thanks to the Arab bed-
stead, which keeps my middle-aged bones off the ground.
Buchanan very well and very useful. Lord Charles
Beresford left this for Korti, the day before yesterday.
I hope to catch him up. Weather very cold at night
and early morning, but warm though with a cold wind in
the middle of the day.
" P. S.— Excuse scrawl. A man arrived with some jam
yesterday. Three shillings a pot he charged. 7|d. for
the same article in the Brompton Road. I bought
twelve pots. Dreadful extravagance, but jam is a great
luxury here.
Believe me, my darling wife,
Your veiy affectionate husband,
Fred."
On January 8th he reached Korti, where he learnt, to
his joy, that a few days previous an Arab messenger
had brought in a slip of paper, some two inches square,
containing the following cheery message, " Khartoum
all right. December 14th. C. G. Gordon." The mes-
senger had added that Gordon looked well, while his
men, who knew that Lord Wolseley was advancing to
their aid, were in excellent spirits. Next morning Sir
Redvers Buller, as Chief of the staff, placed Burnaby in
charge of a convoy of grain, which was to be taken to
Gadkul, and instructed him to join General Stewart's
column if possible. He overtook the column at Gadkul
very early in the morning of January 13th, and while
handing over the convoy to Mr. Pritchard (the official
from whom he had obtained his camel at Sarras), he en-
quired, " Am I in time for the fighting ? "
268 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
" Oh yes," was the reply, " we shall not march out
till four."
The advance commenced at the time expected, and
on the evening of the 15th a halt was made near a high
hill.
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ToAbouKlea
THE SQUARE AT ABOU KLEA.
From a sketch bv Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Binning.
CHAPTER XVIII.
17th january 1885.
The Battle of Abou Klea.
Next morning the column started again before day-
break, but owing to the difficulty of carrying forage,
only a few of the officers, including Sir
72_ Jh/ Nilht Herbert Stewart, Lord Airlie, and Frank
before the „. n -,■■**■,
Battle. Khodes, were mounted. Burnaby was on a
grey polo pony named Moses, which had
been lent him by Lieutenant Percival Marling.* Lord
Charles Beresford rode a mule, his blue- jackets were on
camels, but the rest were on foot. Would they reach
Khartoum in time to save Gordon ? That was the great
question. They halted some four hundred yards from
the foot of the bleak and rugged ridge which forms part
of the caravan route to Abou Klea ; and then General
Stewart and his staff, including Colonel Burnaby, went
forward to reconnoitre. On topping the ridge they could
see, by aid of their glasses, the army of the enemy
so disposed as to dispute the further advance of the
column ; and, having returned to his men, the General
gave the order for a zerebaf to be formed, while pickets
were placed on the hills. The soldiers slept in the
zereba in their great coats with bayonets fixed ; for during
the whole of the night could be heard the distant sound
of the tom-tom, while the bullets of the enemy hissed
overhead, or dropped into the square, mortally wounding
several men, including Lord St. Vincent of the 16th
* Afterwards V.C., C.B., and Colonel commanding 18th (Victoria Mary
Princess of Wales's Own) Hussars.
t An enclosure the sides of which are formed of prickly brushwood,
biscuit boxes, saddles, &c.
(271)
272 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
Lancers. Twice during the night the pickets were driven
in and the men called to arms.
Burnaby, who wore a big pilot jacket lined with
astrakhan, had been appointed by General Stewart
73— Chats with to the command of the left flank and rear
Mr. Bennet Bur- 0f ^g square, and he virtually discharged
leigh, Mr. Melton ,,.„,.,. , „, f.
Prior and Lord the duties 01 a brigadier general, lo Mr.
Binning. Bennet Burleigh, who was by his side dur-
ing the earlier part of the night, he expressed his satisfac-
tion at having arrived in time for the approaching
battle. " I have got to that stage of life," he observed,
" when the two things that interest me most are war and
politics ; and I am equally exhilarated and happy whe-
ther holding up to odium an unworthy politician or fight-
ing against my country's foes. I shall take up politics
again on my return, for, next to war and fighting, there
is more fire and go in that than in anything else. Be-
sides, wars are going out of fashion. Politics give me a
course and stir my blood."
They talked together by the hour, joking and laughing
— Burnaby championing the Tory cause, Burleigh, the
Social Democratic ; indeed, General Stewart, more than
once, asked them to be silent.
" Do you think," said Captain Hippesley,* to Burnaby,
" the enemy will come on and attack our entrench-
ment ? "
c' No such luck," replied Burnaby. " We shall have
to go forward and attack them " — and then, his mind
running on the intolerable thirst from which the column
had suffered, and the immense hordes of the enemy, he
added, " At home it is wine and women, but out here,
from what I can see, it's men and water, "f
A little later, however, he felt convinced that the enemy
would make an attack, and having quitted his compan-
ions, he joined General Stewart, with whom he visited
the various corps in the zereba, as well as the small posts
* Of the Royal Scots Greys.
f Heard by George Murray, of the Scots Greys, who was passing.
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THE DART IN MOURNING.
23rd January, 1885.
Drawn by E. ('. Mountfort.
THE BATTLE OF ABOU KLEA 285
which had been made with the aid of biscuit boxes.
Addressing Corporal J. R. Payne as a senior non-com-
missioned officer,* he said, "Are your men awake?
Is their ammunition ready ? " And on receiving a satis-
factory reply, he passed to another company, to whom
he said " Don't fire, men, until you see the whites of
their eyes."
A little later Mr. Burleigh learnt that Burnaby had
been appointed by General Wolseley second in com-
mand— that is next to General Stewart — and that on
reaching Metamneh, he was to be named governor
of the town. Early in the morning Burnaby rode up to
Lord Cochrane (now Lord Dundonald), whose men —
a squadron of the heavy camel corps, made up of the 1st
and 2nd Life Guards — occupied a slight hollow, and asked
whether he might put his mount among them. While
Lord Cochrane and Burnaby were sitting together on
some rising ground, and looking in the direction of the
enemy, a bullet whistled between them and towards some
men who were lying behind, one of whom was named
Murray.f After remarking that it was a close shave.
Lord Cochrane asked the men for the bullet, but
Murray replied, " I think, sir, I have the best right to it,
as it has gone through my pocket " ; so he kept it.
Shortly afterwards someone said, " They seem to be
hitting a good many of our men " ; on which Colonel
Burnaby observed, " You can't make omelets without
breaking eggs."
A few minutes later while he was chatting with another
officer and Mr. Melton Prior, the bullets of the enemy
again came unpleasantly near. " The rascals are firing
at us from those hills on the right," said the officer as a
bullet whistled between him and Burnaby. " We'd
better separate a little."
*J. R. Payne was Corporal in charge of 18 men No. 3 section C (or
Rifle) company.
t Probably the Thomas Murray mentioned later as writing to Burnaby's
friends.
286 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
With a smile, Burnaby observed, " We may as well be
killed here now, as elsewhere later on."
About 7 in the morning General Stewart ordered an
advance, and gave instructions to drive the enemy
from the wells. The column left the zereba at 7.30, and
about 9 the bugle sounded the halt. A square was formed
with the Guards in front, the Mounted Infantry on the
left, the Sussex Regiment on the right, and the Naval
Brigade and the Heavy Cavalry in the rear, while in the
centre were the camels carrying ammunition and litters
for the wounded, and the Gardner guns. A movement
forward was then made, amid a fusillade from the hills,
but although the enemy had excellent weapons, namely,
Remingtons, taken from Hicks Pasha's slaughtered
army, they were bad marksmen, most of the bullets
going too high.
Reports then came in that the enemy's scouts were seen
coming round the hills above the left flank ; and the
19th Hussars were sent forward to drive them back.
" Where's your double-barrelled shot gun ? " enquired
Mr. Burleigh of Burnaby.
" Oh," was the reply. " As the sentimentalists and
their friends at home made such an outcry on account
of my using it at El Teb, I have handed it over to my
servant."
" That was a mistake," said Mr. Burleigh, " I should
have seen them d -d first. These cruel devils of
dervishes give no quarter. It is not even the sword of
Mahomet, but defilement and butchery in the name
of the Mahdi. So it's their lives or ours."
"It is too late now," said Burnaby. " I must take
my chance."
In the meantime, owing to the fact that many of the
camels had been wounded, the rear of the square was un-
able to keep pace with the front, consequently a gap was
left — a condition of affairs which the officers tried in vain
to remedy, and while the British were in this predicament,
the Arab forces poured over the mountains like swarms of
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THE BATTLE OF ABOU KLEA 289
bees. Nearer and nearer they approached, and with
banners waving, tom-toms beating, and the tremendous
shout of " Allah Akhbah," they poured towards the gap
in the square, sweeping over the undulating ground that
lay in their path like a vast wave of black surf. There
must have been fifteen thousand of them : enormous
Sheikhs in patched jibbehs, Dervishes, ferocious thick-
necked Baggara from the Nuba plains, tremendous black
woolly-haired warriors, with iron rings on wrist and neck,
two edged swords and shields of crocodile hide, Emirs on
horseback ; in short, representatives apparently of every
tribe and nation in the Soudan. The British tried their
utmost to close the gap, the skirmishers fell back, while
the rifles in the square kept up a continuous fire, and the
shrapnel guns* belched forth their deadly streams.
General Stewart moved about the left flank, Colonel
Burnaby was near the gap, and Lord Cochrane and Lieut-
enant-Colonel Lord Binning, were distant from him only
a few yards. The rifles of the Guards and the Mounted
Infantry mowed down the black masses of the enemy
like corn, but those in the rear leaped over the piles of
dead, many of them reaching the square, so there was
much hand to hand fighting. To add to the terrible con-
fusion, in the midst of the struggle part of the British
ammunition caught fire, so there was at once a crackling
of boxes and a continuous explosion of cartridges behind
our soldiers, and a furious enemy in front ; but even
this was not all, for the Gardner guns jammed, and the
soldiers' bayonets, being too long, became softened by
the continuous firing, and consequently lost their
effectiveness.
Colonel Burnaby, who still rode the pony, Moses,
had restrained his own command as long as possible.
" Don't fire yet," he shouted, " you'll hit
74 —Death of our men | " meaning the skirmishers, who
Burnaby 17th . » '
Jan., 1885. were still pouring in ; and the toe was
within 150 yards when the first volley was
* There were two batteries of Artillery in the square — one English one
Egyptian.
290 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
fired from those near the gap. The left flank of the square
then fell back a few feet, and there was some confusion.
Colonel Burnaby, instead of falling back with the others,
stood his ground, and then seeing some skirmishers being
struck down by the Arabs he dashed to their rescue,
doing deadly execution with his revolver and a huge
sword. As he rode forward a Sheikh charged him on
horseback, only, however, to fall by an English bullet.
But behind the Sheikh were spearmen, and one of them,
suddenly dashing at Burnaby, thrust a spear blade into
his throat. Checking his pony, and pulling it backward,
Burnaby leant forward in his saddle and parried the rapid
and ferocious thrusts, but the length of the Moslem's
weapon — eight feet — put it out of his power to retaliate
effectually. Still he fenced smartly, and there was a
smile on his features as he drove off the man's awkward
points. At this moment another Arab ran his spear
into the Colonel's right shoulder, but he had scarce-
ly done so before he was bayoneted by a young soldier
named Laporte. In the confusion Burnaby received
another throat wound from the first Arab, causing him
to fall from his saddle, and half a dozen Arabs closed on
him. In spite of the wounds he leapt to his feet, sword
in hand, and slashed at his foes, while Sir William Gordon
Cumming, and young Corporal Mackintosh, of the Blues,
who was instantly cut down by an Arab, rushed courage-
ously to his assistance. Half a dozen Arabs were now
about Burnaby ; he struck at them ' ' with the wild strokes
of a proud brave man dying hard, but he was quickly
overborne,"* and he fell bleeding, helpless and dying
into the arms of his servant Buchanan, who had just
reached the spot. Private Wood, of the Grenadier
Guards, ran out, raised his head, and offered him some
water.
" No, my man," said Burnaby, pushing back the
bottle. " Look after yourself."
* Mr. Bennet Burleigh.
THE REV. EVELYN BURNABY, M.A.
Colonel Burnaby's only brother.
THE BATTLE OF ABOU KLEA 293
" Oh, Colonel, I fear I can say no more than God bless
you," said Wood.
In that fearful melee fell also Captain Darley,* Lieut-
enants Wolfef and De Lisle % and Majors Atherton|| and
Carmichael,§ all of whom had found themselves like
Burnaby outside the square — brave men every one.
These events took place in even less time than it has
taken to describe them ; and then the whole thing
was blotted out by the masses of the enemy, the scene
becoming, to use Lord Dundonald's words, a veritable
pandemonium — every man fighting for dear life. In the
confusion a few of the Arabs, including a colossus on
horseback, broke into the square, but they were in-
stantly despatched. General Stewart, whose horse
was killed under him, had a narrow escape. Death and
havoc reigned. The strained tension of the situation
lasted some ten minutes, when, at last, the Arabs, find-
ing all their efforts in vain, began to turn and ride off
the field. With cheer upon cheer the English hailed
their victory, dearly won as it had been, and volley
after volley was sent into the flying foe.
Terribly wounded as Burnaby was, he still lived,
though life was fast ebbing away ; among the sounds that
last reached his ears were the cries of victory. At that
moment Lord Binning ran up and knelt at his side.
Burnaby opened his eyes, gently pressed his comrade's
hand, and was gone.
And there he lay on this fatal field — a huge Soudanese
spear0 with a blade sixteen inches long and four wide,
covered with blood, crossing his body — probably the
weapon that gave him his death wound. Poor Moses
was found hard by stabbed in a dozen places.
There were also slain at Abou Klea, Major Gough, of the
* 4th Dragoon Guards.
t Scots Greys.
J Naval Brigade.
||5th Dragoon Guards.
§5th Lancers.
0 It is now in the possession of Colonel Marling
p2
294 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
Royal Dragoons, Lieutenant Law, 4th Dragoon Guards,
and Lieutenant Pigott, of the Naval Brigade, while
Major Dickson and Lord Airlie were wounded.
Burnaby was buried about seven o'clock on the morn-
ing after the battle in a grave on some rising ground
twenty yards north of the spot where he fell, and close
beside the other officers and men killed in the battle,
the burial service being read by Lord Charles Beresford.
The spot was marked by a low stone wall and a large
mound of stones.* The immense hordes of dead Arabs
were, by necessity, left unburied. Round the arms of
the corpses were found leathern bands supporting a little
case containing a prayer in Arabic, composed by the
Mahdi, who had declared that it would convert the
British bullets into water. For long after the fight a
great canopy of smoke hung over the battlefield, and
vultures pounced upon the dead camels immediately
they were deserted.
A small detachment having been left with the wounded,
the British forces pressed on, and four days later they
encountered the Arabs again at Abu Kru or Gubat near
Metammeh, where Sir Herbert Stewart received a wound
which a few days laterf proved fatal ; and the chief
command fell to Colonel Sir Charles Wilson. Among
others who fell at Gubat were Mr. Cameron, the corres-
pondent of The Standard and Mr. St. Leger Herbert,
correspondent of The Morning Post, who are said to have
been killed by the same bullet. They were borne to their
grave by Mr. Burleigh, of the Daily Telegraph, Mr. F.
Villiers, of the Graphic, Mr. Melton Prior, of the Illus-
trated London News, Mr. H. H. S. Pearse, of the Daily
News, Mr. Charles Williams, of the Daily Chronicle, and
other sympathisers.
An attempt was made by Sir Charles Wilson to reach
Khartoum by steamer, but on receiving the sad intellig-
ence that Khartoum had fallen into the hands of the
♦Letter from Thomas Murray (Sergeant Gds. Camel Regiment) to
Burnaby 's relatives.
f He died on Feb. 16th.
TROOPER GEORGE MURRAY,
Royal Scots Greys.
THE BATTLE OF ABOU KLEA 297
Mahdi, and that Gordon was dead,* he relinquished the
attempt, and returned with his wearied and ragged sol-
diers to the base at Korti, where the glowing praise
which they heard from the lips of Lord Wolseley more
than recompensed them for their sufferings.
" You have certainly done your best," he said, " and
though you cannot get into Khartoum this year, you will
next."
As everyone knows, however, it took longer than Lord
Wolseley anticipated. It was not until December 1899,
that British troops, under Kitchener, after defeating the
Mahdi'sf successor, at the battle of Omdurman, finally
reached Khartoum, and put a period to the wasteful and
inhuman rule of Khalifa and Dervish.
* He was slain on Jan. 26th.
I The Mahdi died 22nd June, 1885. He was succeeded by the Khalifa
Abdullah.
CHAPTER XIX.
An Independent Account of the Battle of Abou
Klea.
[Written specially for this work by Lieutenant- Colonel
Lord Binning.]
On the 13th January, 1885, the Camel Corps had
reached Gadkul Wells, some 96 miles from our starting
point at Korti : and it was here that Colonel
75- The Bravest Burnaby overtook us.
Man in Eng- J
land dying. Before starting he had met with an
accident which might have proved serious.
He had gone to Captain, now Colonel, Brocklehurst's
remount camp to select camels for his journey, and it was
characteristic of him that he insisted on mounting a wild
half-broken animal against which he was warned, as
dangerous to ride. The brute proceeded to kick himself
clean out of the saddle, throwing Burnaby from a great
height to the ground. It was a wonder he was not killed ;
as it was he was severely shaken, and it was some time
before he recovered sufficiently to proceed.
The column resumed its march on the 14th, and on
that day our scouts reported signs of the enemy in front.
So when on the evening of the 15th we halted near a high
hill, Jebel el Sergain, it had become pretty certain that
we were in for some fighting.
We bivouacked for a few hours to wait for the moon to
rise, and it was here that the Colonel sent for me. I
found him at his evening meal, and in high spirits at the
prospect of fighting. Bennet Burleigh and Williams,
of the Chronicle, were with him, and to them he was de-
tailing the steps he intended to take to maintain order
(298)
LORD BINNING'S NARRATIVE 299
and discipline in Metammeh when we arrived there,
it being understood that he was to be appointed governor
of the place. After some conversation and speculation
as to the force we were likely to encounter, the Colonel
turned laughingly to me and said, " I want you to give
the men a message. Tell them I shall be disappointed
if each of them does not account for at least six of the
enemy to-morrow." The fight, however, was not des-
tined to be next day. I delivered the message, and the
men were delighted.
Starting again before daylight on the 16th, the enemy's
position was located about noon some four miles to our
front. Sir Herbert Stewart, finding they were in great
force, decided to postpone the attack till next day.
Meanwhile we constructed a rough zereba for camels
and baggage, and before sunset a long low wall had been
quickly thrown up, behind which we got what sleep we
could.
The night was bitterly cold, and very dark ; small
bodies of the enemy's riflemen crept up to the hills on
our right flank, and along the nullahs to our front,
and kept up an intermittent fire all night ; and though
the casualties were not many it was harassing to the
men. Moreover the noise of the tom-toms, borne down
the breeze, seemed occasionally, to overstrained nerves,
surprisingly close, and on more than one occasion the
whole force, right down the line, stood simultaneously
to their posts, with ba\^onets fixed and eyes peering into
the darkness.
It was during one of these alarms that from the direc-
tion of the enemy we heard the tramp of a horse's feet
on the gravel advancing towards us, and, curiously
enough, straight to our detachment. The end of a cigar
glowed in the darkness, and with an instinctive knowledge
of his man, one of my troopers exclaimed, " It must be
the Colonel." He was right, it was Burnaby returning
from a solitary visit of observation to the enemy's lines.
I got over the wall and went up to him, and explained
300 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
the state of affairs, and how annoying it was that my
men could not go to sleep. He laughed his cheery laugh.
" Ah ! never mind," he said, " boys will be boys." Some-
what shamefacedly the word was passed down the line,
and there were no more alarms that night. These were
the last words I was ever to hear him speak.
It wras a relief when morning came at last — the dawn
of Abou Klea, which was to be Burnaby's last fight ;
and breakfastless the column fell in to advance in the
square at 7 a.m. As a matter of fact we did not move
off until an hour and a half later, and even then early
casualties began to come thick, Majors Gough and Dick-
son, and Lieutenants Beech and Lyall being hit before
the advance began.
It looked about now as if the tribesmen intended to
come on ; their main body advanced towards us down
the centre of the valley, and then halted about a mile off.
The war-drums were sounding and banners flying,
whilst thousands of spear heads glittered in the morning
sun.
As they remained halted Sir Herbert Stewart deter-
mined to attack, and taking ground to the right along the
gravelly ridges, so as to avoid the broken ground and
nullahs in front, the square, approximately 1200 strong,
moved off in the following formation. The guards led
the way with Mounted Infantry and Heavy Camel Corps
on left face, the remainder of the Heavy Camel Corps and
Naval Brigade in the rear face, and the Sussex regiment
on the right. Undoubtedly an initial mistake, which
was to cost us dear later on, was made in crowding too
many camels laden with ammunition, water and cacolets*
for the wounded into so small a square, offering as they
did a conspicious mark for the enemy's sharp-shooters.
It was not long before almost every camel was hit, and the
poor brutes labouring slowly along hampered our move-
ments considerably, and gave the rear face of the square
in which we were marching infinite trouble to keep closed
* Litters.
LORD BINNINGS NARRATIVE 301
up. The sun was now very hot overhead, and the advance
tedious. The Kordofan hunters, hidden on the heights
on our right, kept up a pretty accurate fire, though we
never saw a man. The surgeons were kept busy, and
during the frequent halts to pick up the wounded,
the square was ordered to lie down and fire volleys in the
direction of the invisible foe.
Away in the distance the hills to our left were black
with Arabs, apparently waiting the issue of the struggle.
But in the meantime the main fighting body of the enemy
had apparently retired before us, and was taking cover
in the nullahs and scrubby ground below us. Suddenly
about a quarter of a mile from us, and on our left front,
two large bodies of the enemy appeared, banners flying,
and drums beating, apparently moving slowly off in the
direction of Berber. The square, which had been halted,
received immediate orders to advance on to a favourable
ridge and fire volleys on the retreating masses. The
order was eagerly obeyed, and three sides of the square
at once advanced. Meanwhile many of the wounded
camels had taken the opportunity to lie down, and, in
spite of our efforts to urge them forward, our further
advance was blocked, and a gap of some sixty to eighty
yards speedily established between the rear face and the
remainder of the square.
It was at this moment that almost at our feet a force
of Dervishes, estimated at between three and four
thousand strong, sprang up as if from the bowels of the
earth, and headed by their Emirs and Baggara horsemen,
charged the left face of the square.
Swiftly and with almost appalling silence, they came on,
and then suddenly espying the weak spot in our defence,
they wheeled like a flock of pigeons and made for the
gap on our left rear. At the same moment the two
bodies we had already seen wheeled about and joined in
the charge. Our men, though completely taken by sur-
prise, fell back steadily in an endeavour to close the
rear face. I could see Burnaby on his pony riding to
302 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
and fro, and urging our men to fall back quickly, but
our riflemen, who were out skirmishing, masked our fire,
and it was not until the last of them had managed to crawl
in on their hands and knees, to avoid the bullets of our
own men, that an effective fire could be brought to bear.
It was then too late, for in those few moments the
mischief had been done, and the Dervishes were into
the square stabbing right and left, and it was at that
corner that our greatest loss took place.
I hope I may be pardoned for having thus gone into
the details of a fight which though, in the nature of events
has been long forgotten by the British public, will
never be forgotten by those who were there, but I have
done so because an idea existed, and still exists in some
quarters, that the square was broken by the Arab rush.
The square was not broken, because as I have shown,
and I had every opportunity of judging at the time of the
onslaught, there was no square to break, and nothing but
the steadiness and magnificent physique of the picked
men of the British army could have saved a complete
disaster — it was a soldier's fight.
It is not easy, nor is it necessary, to describe the next
few minutes ; probably every man who was there had
some different impression as to what actually took place,
for in the melee which ensued, the square, driven in by
sheer force of numbers, barely held its ground.
Friend and foe were inextricably mixed, men were
carried off their feet in the rush, and every man was fight-
ing for his own hand and his life.
For a moment through the smoke I caught a glimpse
of Burnaby, his arm outstretched, his four-barrelled
Lancaster pistol in his hand. It was only a momentary
glimpse, and I did not see him again until all was over.
For a few moments the issue hung in the balance, but the
splendid discipline of the Guards and Mounted Infantry
came to the assistance of their hard-pressed comrades
of the Heavy Camel Corps. Wheeling up, they poured a
terrific hail of bullets into the charging masses. While at
LORD BINNING'S NARRATIVE 303
the same time the rear ranks facing about helped to clear
the interior of the square of the enemy. Beneath
the iron storm the Dervish hosts staggered, faltered,
and finally gave way.
As the tide turned in our favour a tremendous cheer
went up from our men, and the Dervishes slowly and
sullenly retired, even then unwilling to admit defeat.
I made my way as best I could to the spot where last
I had seen the Colonel, foreboding in my heart. But I
was not the first to find him. A young private, in the
Bays, a mere lad, was already beside him, endeavouring
to support his head on his knee. The lad's genuine grief,
with tears running down his cheeks, was as touching as
were his simple words : " Oh ! sir ; here is the bravest
man in England dying, and no one to help him." It was
too true, a glance showed that he was past help. A spear
had inflicted a terrible wound on the right side of his neck
and throat, and his skull had been cleft by a blow
from a two-handed sword — probably as he fell forward
on his pony's neck. Either wound would have proved
mortal. The marvel was that he was still alive. As
I took his hand, a feeble pressure, and a faint look of
recognition in his eyes, told me he still breathed, but life
was ebbing fast, and it was only a matter of a few mo-
ments before he was gone. Amid the slain Arabs he lay
there, a veritable Colossus, and alone of the dead his face
wore the composed and placid smile of one who had been
suddenly called away in the midst of a congenial and
favourite occupation ; as undoubtedly was the case.
He was killed some thirty yards from the square, and
no friendly form lay near him, save one, for under a pile
of dead fanatics, we found the body, scarce recognisable,
of Corporal Mackintosh, of my detachment, who had
perished in a gallant attempt to save his Colonel.
We covered up the latter with a Union Jack, possibly
the same flag he had hoped to see float over Metammeh,
and that afternoon he was buried on the scene of his
304 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
last fight, beside the other fallen officers of the Heavy
Camel Corps.
A cairn of stones was subsequently erected over his
grave, and I believe remains to this day undisturbed.
It has been announced that Burnaby met his death
by being taken unawares outside the Square. This we
shall never know, but personally I am strongly of opinion
that this was not so.
Throughout his career his reckless daring had never
conformed to the most ordinary dictates of prudence,
and I cannot imagine him withdrawing into a square like
other men, even in the face of certain and imminent
death. This was not his first experience of a dervish
rush, and I am convinced that he remained outside by
choice, the fighting lust strong in him, only too eager to
match his strength against the oncoming hordes, and
even though he paid for his venture with his life, we may
be certain that his end was the one he would have chosen.
It is not too much to say that in our little force
Burnaby's death caused a feeling nearly akin to constern-
ation. In my own detachment many of the men sat
down and cried. We knew that in the event of anything
happening to Sir Herbert Stewart, he carried in his pocket
orders to take over the command, and when three days
later at Abu Kru that gallant officer received his mortal
wound, the thought uppermost in the minds of many of
the men in the tiny square, fighting their desperate way
to the Nile, must have been — " If only Burnaby were
with us to-day ! "
It would be affectation to pretend that amongst the
senior officers in his regiment, Burnaby was altogether
popular. It is no disparagement to his
76— Other memory to say so. In the nature of
Reminiscences, things it could not be otherwise. Living
his Bohemian life entirely aloof, absolutely
regardless of conventionalities, either in the matter of
dress, or choice of friends, he neither participated in their
pursuits nor affected the same society — but amongst us
LORD BINNING'S NARRATIVE 305
juniors his kindly disposition, and invariable readiness
to help a youngster, made him uniformly popular, and
by the men it is not too much to say that he was absol-
utely worshipped. His colossal strength, and the tales
of his prowess and recklessness, whether ballooning or
fighting in distant lands, appealed vividly to the imagina-
tion of the big troopers, not less than the unvarying up-
rightness and fairness of his rule as commanding officer ;
and I am convinced that the imagination could not con-
ceive of any enterprise, however desperate, in which the
Blues would not have followed their Colonel as one
man.
Burnaby was the first to introduce into the cavalry
the system of silent drill by signal, now of course for a
long time universally adopted, and I well remember
one occasion on the Fox Hills when Sir Archibald Alison
was present being anxious to see the new system.
After drilling the regiment for some time, Burnaby
fell out all the officers and proceeded to perform a number
of evolutions at a smart gallop, which were carried out
in excellent order ; indeed I am not at all sure that the
regiment did not drill better without us !
One little incident I recollect, which immensely
amused the men at the time. We were engaged in
a football match on the green inside Windsor Cavalry
Barracks, and the verandahs were crowded with onlook-
ers, as the Colonel, dressed for London in frock coat and
tall hat, with a cigar in his mouth, came out of the officers'
quarters and proceeded slowly across a corner of the
ground, apparently oblivious of the fact that a match
was in progress at the time. At this moment our full
back, a gigantic Yorkshire-man named Bates, who must
have weighed nearer fifteen than fourteen stone, charging
impetuously for the ball, dashed full into Burnaby. The
impact was terrific, but while the Tyke, hurled backwards
by the shock, as though he had collided with a mountain,
lay gasping on the ground, neither Burnaby's hat nor the
angle of his cigar was in the smallest degree disturbed,
306 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
in fact he scarcely seemed to realise that a collision had
taken place. When he did so he removed his cigar
from his mouth, and with his pleasant smile said, " Dear
me, I do hope I am not interfering with the game." The
shout of delight which went up from the verandahs
was a thing to remember.
I have been asked to express an opinion as to Colonel
Burnaby's qualities as a cavalry soldier. This is a
delicate and rather difficult question to answer. As a
cavalry leader, he was undoubtedly handicapped by his
great weight ; at the same time it was surprising how
quickly he managed to get about on his big horses.
A great friend of his, a literary man, wrote of him in
an obituary notice, " That he was more fitted by nature
to be the inspired leader of Turkoman hordes than the
colonel of a crack regiment of Household Cavalry."
There may be some truth in this — at the same time
Burnaby was a magnificent drill, and an excellent judge
of men, with a lightning grasp of a situation, and the
promptitude to act upon it. He was absolutely fearless
of responsibility, and with his reckless courage and the
power of inspiring not only the confidence, but the devo-
tion of those who served under him, it is impossible
to say how far he might not have gone as a cavalry
leader.
I give my opinion for what it is worth. One thing
I do know, which is that by his death I lost a good friend,
and the empire one of the most notable soldiers of our
time.
CHAPTER XX.
Conclusion.
Throughout England the news of Burnaby's death
was received with profound regret. The whole nation
was moved. The Queen expressed her
77— Reception sympathy with Mrs. Burnaby by telegram,
°f England. m the Prince and Princess of Wales wrote
most kind and sympathetic letters to the
Rev. Evelyn Burnaby, who also received resolutions of
condolence from the corporations of Bedford, Birming-
ham, Leicester, Wolverhampton, and many other towns,
as well as from the Balloon Society.
The Blues were thrilled by the tragic news, and they
recognised, as they had never recognised before, the true
worth of the greatest of their colonels.
" We all looked upon him as a gallant soldier," says
the Earl of Erroll,* " and were proud of the way in which
he died." The people of Bedford decided, at a meeting
convened by the Mayor, Mr. Joshua Hawkins, to place
to his memory a memorial window in St. Peter's Church,
and to build a Volunteer Drill Hall. At Birmingham his
memory was honoured by the erection in St. Philip 'sf
churchyard of an obelisk, with four panels exihibiting a
bust of Burnaby, and the words : " Khiva 1875,"
" Abou Klea 1885." The whole British Press, Liberal
as well as Conservative, paid a tribute to the dead hero.
Punch, in some feeling lines commencing, ' Brave
Burnaby down!" called him "a latter-day Paladin,"
" who death had so often affronted before," and declared
his story to be as romantic as Roland's. Mr. Chamber-
lain, speaking on January 29th at Birmingham, said,
* Who served sixteen years in tne regiment with Burnaby.
f The cathedral church.
(307)
308 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
" We all share the deep regret which is felt in Birmingham
at the death at the moment of victory of Colonel Burn-
aby, who was lately our Conservative opponent. In the
presence of such a calamity political controversies are
hushed, and we have only to deplore the loss of as brave
a soldier as ever wore the British uniform." A Liberal
audience signified its approval of this eulogy by loud
cheers. Nor were Colonel Burnaby's foreign friends less
sympathetic — Don Carlos, Duke of Madrid, " received
the news of his death with profound regret." Spain
and Italy mourned with England.
Burnaby had died at the early age of 42, yet how
very many incidents he had crowded into that short
adventurous life led in the barrack, in the
78- A Retrospect, aerostat, on the platform, in foreign lands,
amid seething mobs and trampling armies.
One recalls those schooldays at Bedford, Harrow, Oswes-
try, and Dresden, his strenuous early career in the
Blues, his ascent m that moving hell, the Montgolfier
balloon of M. Godard, his travels and adventures in Spain,
his Rides to Khiva and through Asia Minor, the part he
took in the masterly retreat over the Rodolphe Moun-
tains, his doughty championship of Conservatism at
Birmingham, his balloon voyage across the channel,
the battles of El Teb, and finally that last awful field
where he found a soldier's grave.
Twenty -three years after his death we may look round
and enquire which of his relatives, friends and intimate
acquaintances are still living. One thinks
friend* and first of Mrs. Fred Burnaby (now Mrs.
intimate Aubrey Le Blond), who is well known as
CCS* an author. To The High Alps in Winter,
we have already referred. Since Colonel Burnaby's
death she has written many other works,* and con-
tributed to most of the leading magazines. Her whole
*Hi?h Life and Towers of Silence 1886, My Home in the Alps 1892, Hints on
Snow Photography 1895, Cities and Sights of Spain, 1899 (two editions) True
Tales of Mountain Adventure, 1903 (four editions), Adventures on the Roof of the
World, 1904 (two editions), The Story of an Alpine Winter 1908. She is
illustrator of The Art of Garden Design in Italy by H. Inigo Triggs.
CONCLUSION 309
soul is in matters Alpine. Her own adventures have
been strange and various, but in several of her books —
and she has a vivid pen — she has dealt with the experi-
ences of other climbers ; and in my dreams, after reading
them, I have spent hours mewed up in icy caves, I have
tumbled down bottomless precipices, I have been saved
by a hair's breath, I have walked on long ridges of ice
that looked like razor edges, I have been licked up by
avalanches, I have discovered my remains — that is to say,
a bone and a few buttons — fifty years after my death,
I have babbled of ice, snow, glacier, crevasse and berg-
schrund — whatever that might be. It is not to be sup-
posed, however, that my experiences will deter anyone
from reading Mrs. Le Blond's books. All who have
visited Switzerland, all who want to visit it, and all who
love to hear of exciting adventures, will seek after them
and read them — nightmare or no nightmare.
Colonel Burnaby's son, Harry Arthur Gustavus St.
Vincent, now resides at Brighton, and he is a member of
the Carlton Club. Mrs. Manners-Sutton is dead, but the
Rev. Evelyn Burnaby* and Mrs. Duncan Baillie still
survive. Sir Henry Colvile met his death in a motor
accident on 25th November, 1907. Mr. T. Gibson
Bowles, Lord Manners, Lord Dundonald, Lord Binning,
Don Carlos (Duke of Madrid), Mr. Labouchere, the Earl
of Erroll, Sir Benjamin and Lady Stone, Sir John
Willoughby, and Mr. Joseph Rowlands are still with us,
but Mr. J. Satchell Hopkins, Mr. W. Barton and Mr. W.
H. Greening are gone.
Burnaby's friendship with Mr. Bowles was one of those
great friendships of which the history of the ages offers
so few examples. Often and often Burnaby referred to
the strength of the link that connected them ; and
to Mr. Bowles's remarkable talents he paid many a glow-
ing tribute. Mr. Bowles's present feelings towards
Burnaby may be gauged by the letter given in our
* Mr. Burnaby is a great lover of dogs, and his valuable Dandies are
his constant companions.
310 LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
preface. In Somerby Church is a memorial window to
Burnaby's memory, placed there by his widow — the
subject being David and Jonathan ; and if you ask
a villager about it he pulls a forelock and says, "It is
understood that the Colonel had a very dear friend ;
perhaps you could tell me who it was ? "
Mr. Robert Buckley no longer hits on the head with
chair leg or stick people with whom he has the misfortune
to be politically at variance (indeed, we believe, he has
for long taken no active part in politics), but as musical
critic of the Birmingham Gazette, he still wields a weapon
which, though smaller than either of those used in the
riots, is far more effective, namely, his pen,* while he
preserves with jealous care Colonel Burnaby's gift.
Mr. Thomas Wright, the aeronaut, lives in retirement
at Forest Gate, if retirement can be called a life of inces-
sant activity. He still takes a lively interest in aeronaut-
ics, and as recently as August 29th last year, he made an
ascent with his friend, Mr. Percival Spencer, at Barking.
Mr. Davie, an old retainer of the Burnaby family., resides
at Somerby ; Henry Storeyj" — Burnaby's soldier servant
— at Croxteth, near Liverpool.
Our labour is almost ended, and yet to write upon such
a man as Burnaby is not a labour at all, but rather a
pleasant holiday spent in rare and stimulating company,
and in a different period ; for Burnaby's atmosphere
was that of a larger, broader, and more boisterous age.
Friends of Burnaby, indeed — and especially those of the
younger generation— look back upon him as in their child-
hood they looked upon such heroes as Perseus and Her-
cules. England has reason to be proud of him ; any
* In 1893 he travelled 4,000 miles in Ireland and wrote for the Birming-
ham Gazette 63 articles, which subsequently appeared in book form under
the ■*itle of Ireland as it is, a work which drew encomiums from Lord
Salisbury, Mr. Balfour, and Mr. Chamberlain ; while Mr. Gladstone
called it " good literature." Mr. Buckley has also written a collection of
stories published under the title of The Master Spy and a monograph on
Sir Edward Elgar.
f He left the Royal Horse Guards in 1898 after serving 21 years.
Honours : — Egyptian Medal and Star, the Long Service Medal, King's
Coronation Medal, Metropolitan Police Special Duty, 4 medals in all.
CONCLUSION 311
man who has ever grasped his hand, or even merely heard
his voice, may be pardoned for recalling the moment
with self-gratulation, and I may fitly close the story of his
life with a glowing encomium, written on the day when all
the land was stirred by the news of his death. ' Queen
Victoria " — and the words are taken from the Daily
Telegraph of 22nd January 1885 — " had no more loyal
subject, the army no finer officer, the country no truer
patriot than Frederick Gustavus Burnaby. His name
shall live in the annals of this Empire and in the memories
of his compatriots as long as valour, devotion to duty,
and faithfulness unto death, shall remain the watch-
words of Englishmen."
THE END.
Q2
APPENDICES
APPENDIX I iii
APPENDIX I.
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BURNABY.
1. Letters to Vanity Fair, signed Convalescent, 1868
and 1869.
2. Letters to the Morning Post in 1869, and subse-
quently.
3. Letters to The Times 1874. Written from Spain.
4. Letters to The Times 1875. Written from the
Soudan.
5. The Practical Instruction of Staff Officers in Foreign
Armies (W. Mitchell & Co., 39, Charing Cross),
1876.
6. A Ride to Khiva : Travels and Adventures in Central
Asia (Cassell) 1876.
7. On Horseback through Asia Minor (Sampson Low
and Co., 1877), 7th Ed., with portrait and
Memoir of Radford, 1878.
8. Letters to the Times, 15th January, 1879, and
subsequently.
9. Letters to the Birmingham Daily Gazette (in 1880
and subsequently), and the Birmingham Post.
10. A Ride Across the Channel and other Adventures -
in the Air, 1882. Sampson Low & Co.
11. The Life Adventures and Political Opinions of
Frederick Gustavus Burnaby, by R. K. Mann
(Revised by Burnaby).
12. Possibilities of Ballooning. Fortnightly Review,
May 1884.
13. Our Radicals, 2 vols., 1886. Edited by Mr. Percival
Hughes.
iv LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
APPENDIX II.
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MRS. FRED BURNABY (MRS. AUBREY
LE BLOND).
The High Alps in Winter. 1883.
High Life and Towers of Silence. 1886.
My Home in the Alps. 1892.
Hints on Snow Photography. 1895.
Cities and Sights of Spain. 1899. Two editions.
True Tales of Mountain Adventure. 1903. 4th Ed. 1906.
Adventures on the Roof of the World. 1904. Two
editions.
The Story of an Alpine Winter. A novel.
Illustration of The Art of Garden Design in Italy, by H.
Inigo Triggs. Contributor to many magazines.
1906.
APPENDIX III.
burnaby's promotions.
1859 Sept. 30 Cornet in the Royal Horse Guards
(Blues)
1861 Sept. 27 Lieutenant
1866 July 17 Captain
1879 Sept. 11 Major
1880 Lieutenant-Colonel
1884 Colonel
APPENDIX IV.
MRS. BURNABY (FRED'S MOTHER).
Some years ago at the sale of Berechurch Hill, Essex,
the property of the Smythe family, the Rev. Paul Wyatt,
of Austin Canons, Bedford, purchased an old Sheraton
looking glass, and on examining one of the drawers he
APPENDIX V v
found at the bottom (outside) the following inscrip-
tion : Frederick Villebois,* Charlotte Smyth, Maria
Villebois, Harriet Villebois, Emma Blake, Emily Ville-
bois, Henry Villebois.
(Emma, Emily, Chariot te).f
In infancy their hopes and fears
Were to each other known,
And friendship in their riper years
Entwined their hearts in one.
APPENDIX V.
ADMINISTRATIONS
FROM 27TH FEBRUARY 1868, TO ILLUSTRATE BURNABY's
POLITICAL CAREER.
1868 Feb. 27 Disraeli
1868 Dec. 9 Gladstone
1874 Feb. 21 Disraeli, created Earl Beaconsfield in
1876
1880 Apl. 28 Gladstone
APPENDIX VI.
VICARS OF SOMERBY FROM 1759.
William Brown
1759-1814
Thomas Hanbury
1814-1855
S. Rolleston (he was curate of Somerby from
1851 to 1855)
1855-1866
Gustavus A. Burnaby
1866-1872
E. Pemberton
1873-1874
T. C. Britten
1874-1881
S. T. Mosse
1882-1887
W. MacManus
1887-1895
H. Webb-Smith
1895
George Edmund Britten
1898
* Mrs. Burnaby's brother.
•f These words are enclosed in a line.
vi LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
APPENDIX VII.
RECTORS OF ST. PETER'S, BEDFORD, FROM 1835.
1835 Gustavus Andrew Burnaby.
1866 Septimus Rolleston.
1871 William Hart-Smith.
1899 Charles Wells.
1904 John Ernest Gilbert.
APPENDIX VIII.
MEMORIALS TO BURNABY.
1. The Obelisk at Birmingham.
In the graveyard of St. Philip's Church, Birmingham,
is an obelisk to Burnaby's memory. At the base are
four panels containing respeetively a bust of Burnaby,
his name, " Khiva 1875 " and " Abou Klea 1885."
2. The Memorial to Colonel Burnaby at Harrow School.
In Memory of
Fk. Gustavus Burnaby,
Colonel, Royal Horse Guards,
Born March 3rd, 1842,
Killed in action at Abou Klea, Soudan,
January 17th, 1885.
3. Tivo Stained Glass Windows in Somerby Church.
(1) Subject : David and Jonathan.
Inscription : To the glory of God and in Memory of
Frederick Gustavus Burnaby Colonel commanding the
Royal Horse Guards, Blue, who fell at the battle of
Abou Klea, January 17th, 1885.
(2) Subject : Our Lord (centre light) with St. Stephen
(left) and St. Paul (right).
Inscription : Erected by friends in memory of Colonel
Fred Burnaby.
APPENDIX VIII vii
4. Stained Glass Window in St. Peter's Church, Bedford.
5. Two Tablets in Holy Trinity Church, Windsor.
(1) Erected by the late Rector, the Rev. Arthur Robins.
It consists of a stone cross let into the chancel wall
and fixed upon pieces of rock, bearing the following
inscription :
Sacred to the memory of
Frederick Gustavus Burnaby,
Colonel of the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards (Blues).
He was killed whilst courageously fighting in the little
square at Abou Klea, in the Soudan, on the 17th
January, 1885, in the 43rd year of his age.
(2) A marble tablet placed on the wall by the officers
of the Blues.
In memory of
Colonel Frederick Gustavus Burnaby,
Commanding officer of the Royal Horse Guards,
Who was hilled in the battle of Abu Klea, in the Soudan,
17th January, 1885, and of the following officers and men
of the Royal Horse Guards :
{Here follow their names)
This tablet ivas erected by Field Marshall H.R.H. the
Prince of Wales, K.G., Colonel-in- Chief of the Household
Cavalry, Field Marshall Lord Strathnairn, G.C.B.,
Colonel of the Royal Horse Guards, Colonel Milne-Home,
and the officers of the Royal Horse Guards, ivith many
others who had formerly served in the Regiment.
INDEX
Absalom, 200.
Anecdotes.
Abbacca, 5.
You'll Vote for Stuart, 6.
I won't be a parson, 1 1 .
The Goose, 22.
Sensation in Church, 26.
Burnaby and the Ponies, 35.
The biggest nuisance, 40.
Mr. Frewin falls on his head, 41.
The Dancing Girls, 57.
Doctors in heaven, 63.
His hands frost bitten, 93.
The plaster, 126.
He prescribes for a Persian
lady, 128.
Will sit for a week, 157.
The Poster, 157.
The Funny Ones, 163.
Pitches a man over a gateway,
213.
The Scavenger, 213.
One's Liver, 214.
Harry Burnaby, 228.
I'm a sweep, 233.
The football match, 305.
Aston Park Riots, 239.
Baker Pasha, 133 ; at El Teb,
216.
Beaconsfield (Lord), 141.
Bedford, 1. 6, 7, 11, 15, 19; a
descent at, 33 ; a tribute to, 51 ;
Mr. Wright's ascent at, 193 ;
Good - bye to Bedford, 261 ;
honours the memory of Burna-
by. 307.
Binning (Lieut-Col. Lord), his
plan of the square, 269 ; his
portrait, 279 ; in the square,
289 ; with the dying Burnaby,
293 ; his graphic account of the
Battle, 298 ; his reminiscences
of Burnaby, 304.
Birmingham. Election, The, 167 ;
Burnaby's Speeches at, 204 ;
the Burnaby Obelisk, 307.
Borthwick (Sir A), 187.
Bowles (Mr. T. G.), 47, 58, 131,
255, 261, 309.
Boyle (Rev. John), 26.
Brine (Colonel), 177, 182.
Bristol, Burnaby at, 205.
Britten (Rev. G. E.), 41.
Bright (Mr. John), 154, 173.
Bryne (General Sir Owen), 61, 62.
Buckley (Mr. Robert J.), 154 ;
clears the platform, 239 ; por-
trait, 249 ; Burnaby's letter to
him, 243 ; Burnaby's present to,
247 ; on Burnaby, 252 ; his
works, 310.
Buller (Sir Redvers), 267.
Burleigh (Mr. Bennet), 181 ; calls
on Burnaby, 188 ; at El Teb,
224 ; at Abou Klea, 286 ; at
Gubat, 294.
Burnaby (Annie), 2, 20, 132, 309.
Burnaby (Rev. Evelyn), 2. 27,
and the Pole, 46 ; loses his
wife, 67 ; with Fred in St.
James's Street, 188 ; at Tun-
bridge Wells, 214, 255, 256 ; his
dogs, 309.
Burnaby (Rev. Gustavus), 1 : Re-
moves to Somerby, 39 ; Death,
63.
Burnaby (Mrs. Gustavus), 1, 63;
appendix, IV.
Burnaby (Fred). His birthplace,
1 ; his boyhood, 11 ; Writes
doggerel, 16 ; at Tinwell, 19 ; at
Harrow, 20 ; Writes to Punch,
2r ; at Oswestry, 22 ; the Goose,
22 ; at Dresden, 25 ; ascends at
Cremorne, 29 ; feats of strength,
34 ; accident in the air, 42 ; at
Pau, 48 ; in Seville, 50 ; as a
Troubadour, 51 ; in Morocco,
56 ; in Russia, 59 ; at Naples,
64 ; in Seville. 67 ; with the Car-
lists, 68 ; ascends in Mr.
Wright's balloon, 80 ; hisjourney
to Sobat, 81 ; his journey to
Khiva, 87 ; ascends with Mr.
Lucy, 109 ; ascends with Mr.
Wright, in ; journey through
viii
INDEX
IX
Burnaby — Cont.
Asia Minor, 115; adventures in
Turkey, 133 ; at Radford's
funeral. 142 ; candidate for Bir-
mingham, 146 ; crosses the
Channel by balloon, 179 ; his
telegram to Mr. Wright, 1S7 ;
proposes to ascend at Bedford,
193 ; with Mr. Deutsch in Spain,
197 ; speeches at Birmingham,
204 ; at El Teb, 216 ; at Wady
Haifa, 262 ; at Dal, 264 ; his
last letter, 266 ; at Abou Klea,
271 ; killed, 289 ; Bibliography
appendix, i. ; memorials to, ap-
pendix, viii.
Burnaby (Mrs. Fred), 158; her
book, The High Alps in Winter,
198 ; Burnaby's letters to her,
262 to 266 ; her works, 308 ; and
appendix, ii.
Burnaby (Harry), 173, 228, 261.
Burnaby (May), 2, 20, 309.
Burnand (Sir Francis), 200.
Calthorpe (Lord), 148.
Carlos (Don), 67, 69, 308.
Chamberlain (Mr. Joseph), 154,
159, 204, 244, 307/
Churchill (Lord Randolph) , 209 ;
his letter to Mr. J. B. Stone,
2ii ; at Birmingham, 236; in
America, 256.
Cockle's Pills, 192.
" Cocky," 47.
Colvile (Sir Henry), 109, 309.
Cook (Mr. J. M ), 263.
County Hunt, The, 16.
Coxwell (Mr. Henry), 29, 175.
Daily Chronicle, 296.
Daily News, 33, 193, 296.
Daily Telegraph, 35, 181, 191, 296,
Dart, The, 153; Cartoons from, 159,
163. 169, 171, 189, 225, 237, 241,
245. 283.
Devil Worshippers, 126.
Dundonald (Lord), 285, 293,
jog.
Durouf (Monsieur), 174.
El Teb, 1st battle, 215.
El Teb, 2nd battle. 221.
Frf.win (Mr.), 39, 41.
Garden of Eden, 125.
Gipsy Dance, A, 122.
Gladstone (Mr. W. G.), 153, 235.
Glaisher (Mr. James), 29.
Godard (M. Jean), 30.
Godfrey (Rev. N. S.) 12.
Gordon, 85, 230.
Graham (General) 222.
Greening (Mr. W. H.), 153, 165,
309-
Graphic, 273.
Hughes (Mr. J. Percival), 253,
261.
Ilbert Bill, 206.
Illustrated London News, 275, 294.
Judy, on Burnaby, 192.
Leicester, Burnaby at, 164,
234
Letters (Burnaby's) : to his sister
Annie, 130 ; Birmingham Daily
Gazette, 147, 168 ; Birmingham
Post, 147 ; Mr. Buckley, 243 ;
Mrs. Burnaby, 262 to 267 ; his
brother Evelyn, 67 ; his father,
20, 25, 26, 59, 60 , Morning Post
59; his mother, 125; his rela-
tions, 81, 141, 197 ; Messrs.
Sampson Low & Co., 256;
Stafford House Committee, 134 ;
Times, 59, 81 ; Vanity Fair, 48,
56, 147: Mr. Wright, 76, 80,
in, 180, 193, 194.
Levy (Mr. Lawrence), 35.
Livius (Mr. G. P.), 6.
Lucy (Mr. W. H), rog, 200.
Mahiii, The, 230, 294.
Marling (Lieut. Percival), 271,
293
Mohammed, 123.
Morning Post, 59, Go, 187, 294.
Murray (George), of the Scots
Greys, Preface xii., 272, por-
trait 295.
Murray (Thomas), .'85, 294.
LIFE OF COLONEL BURNABY
Nadar (Monsieur), 29
Nutt (Mr. Alfred), 19.
Nutt (Rev. Robert), 19, 213.
Nutt (Mr. Henry), 19.
Nutt (Rev. W. Y.), 19, 213.
Old Age Pensions, 127.
Osman, 116.
Owl, The, 153, 158 ; Cartoons from,
158.
Page (Mrs.), 12.
Payne (Corporal J. R.), 285.
Payne (Mr. John), Sonnet to
Burnaby, xxiv.
Powell (Mr. Walter), 17-1, 175,
death of, 176.
Preston, Burnaby at, 206,
Primrose League, Founding of,
209.
Prince of Wales (King Edward
VII.), 36, 6i, 158, appendix via
Prior (Mr. Melton), 223, 224, 236,
285.
Pritchard (Mr. Joseph), 262, 267.
Prowse(Mr. J. W.), 31.
Punch on Burnaby, 192, 231, 307.
Radford (George), 64, 70, 73,
his marvellous escape 74, with
Burnaby in Asia Minor 115,
dies 142, visit to his grave 181.
Rose (Mr. Robert), 7, 26.
Rose (Miss Emma) 8, 15.
Rowlands (Mr. Joseph), 236, 239,
245. 3°9-
Sampson Low & Co., 131, 188,
256.
Sawyer (Sir James), 249
Schnadhorst (Mr. F.), 189.
Schwalbach, 45.
Simmons (Mr. Joseph), 177.
Somerby, 2, 15; who stole the
bell? 41; Burnaby's last days
at, 248.
Sparkbrook Club, 154.
Stone (Sir Benjamin), 147, 158 ;
his letter respecting the Prim-
rose League, 209, 309.
Stone (Lady), 158. 309.
Sly (Mrs.), 248, 251.
Spencer (Mr. Percival), 76, 310.
Standard, 73, 294.
Storey (Henry), 180; his miracu-
lous escape at El Teb, 218, 310.
Strathnairn (Lord), 61, 62.
Tashkesen, Battle of, 135.
Telegram trouble, 187.
Templer (Captain), 76, 176, 195.
Times, The, Letters to, 59, 7°. *37-
Tinwell, 19.
Vanity Fair, 47, 106.
Westcar, (Lieutenant), 33, 45.
Whitshed (Lady), 261.
Wolfe (Sir H. D.), 209, 212.
Wolverhampton, Burnaby at, 163.
Wolseley (Lord), 297.
Wright (Mr. Thomas), the aero-
naut ; Burnaby writes to him,
75 ; his first ascent, 76 ; lends
Burnaby his balloons, 79, 109 ;
his anchor, in ; ascends with
Burnaby, in, 173; wins race
in the Owl, 174 ; his race with
M. de Fonvielle, 175 ; ascends
with Mr. Walter Powell, 175 ;
Captain Templer's letter to
him, 176 ; with Burnaby at
Dover, 180, 186 ; looks over
Burnaby's book, 188 ; ascends
at Bedford 193, 196 ; nis bal~
loon The Gem, 204 ; in retire-
ment, 310.
Yellow Jug, 284.
Wm. J. McKcnzic, The Devonshire Press, Torquay
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