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

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

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  I don’t know if I ever mentioned to you a paper (unpublished) of mine showing the geographical limits of the evil.[FN#366] I shall publish it some day and surprise the world.[FN#367] I don’t live in England, and I don’t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

107.  The Search for Palmer, October 1882.

Burton was now to make what proved to be his last expedition.  All the year Egypt had been ablaze with the rebellion of Arabi Pasha.  Alexandria was bombarded by the English on July 11th, Arabi suffered defeat at Tell-el-Kebir three months later.  On the commencement of the rebellion the British Government sent out Burton’s old friend Professor Palmer to the Sinaitic peninsula with a view to winning the tribes in that part of the British side, and so preventing the destruction of the Suez Canal.  The expedition was atrociously planned, and the fatal mistake was also made of providing it with (pounds)3,000 in gold.  Palmer landed at Jaffa at the end of June, and then set out via Gaza across the “Short Desert,” for Suez, where he was joined by Captain Gill and Lieutenant Charrington.  In fancy one hears him as he enters on his perilous journey asking himself that question, which was so absurdly frequent in his lips, “I wonder what will happen?”

It is customary for travellers, before entering the Arabian wastes, to hire a Ghafir, that is, a guide and protector.  Palmer, instead of securing a powerful chief, as the case required, selected a man of small account named Matr Nassar, and this petty shaykh and his nephew were the expedition’s only defence.