His Highness was so much impressed that
he equipped an expedition in a few days, and sent Burton to explore
the land. His report of the possibilities of the Mines of Midian was
so promising that the Khedive engaged him to come back the following
winter, and himself applied to the English Foreign Office for the loan
of Burton's services. Burton accordingly went again to Midian, and
discovered the region of gold and silver and precious stones. He
sketched the whole country, planned an expedition, and brought back
various metals for analysis. The Khedive was delighted with the prospect
of wealth untold, and he made contracts with Burton which, had they been
carried out, would have placed him and his wife in luxury for their
lives. It used to be a joke with the Burtons at this time that they
would die "Duke and Duchess of Midian." Unfortunately Ismail Khedive
abdicated just when the third expedition was about to come off, and the
new Khedive, Tewfik, did not consider himself bound by any act of his
father. The English Government would not stir in the matter, and so
Burton not only lost his chance of realizing a large fortune, but also
the money which he and his wife had got together for paying expenses in
connexion with the expedition, and which they thought would surely have
been refunded. The only gain was that Burton wrote some interesting
books on the Land of Midian, its history, and its inhabitants.
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