Miss Stisted asserts that the true cause of Burton's recall was Isabel
his wife, who had espoused with more zeal than discretion the cause of
the Shazli converts to Christianity. She adds: "And while her husband,
continually absent exploring or attending to the duties of his Consulate,
knew nothing, or next to nothing, about her dangerous proceedings, she
impressed upon the people that she acted with his full permission and
approval."[1] It was (according to Miss Stisted) Isabel's "imprudence
and passion for proselytizing" which so enraged the Moslems and the
Turkish authorities against Burton that they clamoured for his recall.
Thus it is argued that "the true cause of the terrible crash in 1871"
was Isabel, and Isabel alone.
This, in brief, is the sum and substance of Stisted's indictment of Lady
Burton on this point. She makes her accusation without adducing a scrap
or shred of evidence in support of it, and she makes it in the teeth
of the most positive evidence on the other side. Let us examine her
charges in the light of facts.
Fortunately, in searching for the true reasons of Burton's recall from
Damascus, I am not dependent, like Miss Stisted, on a mere opinion of my
own, nor am I dependent on the testimony of Lady Burton, which, though
correct in every detail, might be refused acceptance, on the plea that
it was biassed. The true reasons are to be found in an official Blue
Book,[2] which contains a review of the whole case.
Pages:
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153