peke he discovered the lake regions of Central Africa.
The bitter Speke controversy which followed, dividing geographers for a
time into two contending factions, deprived Burton of the glory which he
merited and drew upon him much unfriendly criticism.

He had the true ardor of the discoverer. In 'First Footsteps in Eastern
Africa' he shows his unhesitating bravery again, when penetrating the
mysterious, almost mythical walled city of Harar. After many dangers and
exhausting experiences he sees the goal at last. "The spectacle,
materially speaking, was a disappointment," he says. "Nothing
conspicuous appeared but two gray minarets of rude shape. Many would
grudge exposing their lives to win so paltry a prize. But of all that
have attempted, none ever succeeded in entering that pile of stones."

Richard Burton carefully worded his varied experiences, and has left
about fifty valuable and interesting volumes. Among the best known are
'Sindh,' 'The Lake Regions of Central Africa,' 'Two Trips to Gorilla
Land,' and 'Ultima Thule.' With his knowledge of thirty-five languages
and dialects he gained an intimate acquaintance with the people among
whom he lived, and was enabled to furnish the world much novel
information in his strong, straightforward style.

Perhaps his most noteworthy literary achievement was his fine
translation of the 'Arabian Nights,' which appeared in 1885. Of this his
wife wrote:--

"This grand Arabian work I consider my husband's Magnum Opus....
We were our own printers and our own publishers, and we made,
between September 1885 and November 1888, sixteen thousand
guineas--six thousand of which went for publishing and ten
thousand into our own pockets, and it came just in time to give
my husband the comforts and luxuries and freedom that gilded the
five last years of his life. When he died there were four
florins left, which I put into the poor-box."

This capable soldier and author was very inadequately recompensed. As a
soldier, his bravery and long service brought him only the rank of
Captain. In the civil service he was given only second-class consulates.
The French Geographical Society, and also the Royal Geographical Society
of England, each awarded him a gold medal, but the latter employed him
upon only one expedition. At the age of sixty-five he was knighted. He
had no other honors. This lack of recognition was undoubtedly a
mortification, although toward the e