I did not know my public, I did not know England." Here I
think she was wrong in confusing England with a few anonymous letter-
writers and scurrilous persons; for however opinions may differ upon
the act itself, its wisdom or unwisdom, all right-thinking people
honoured her for the sacrifice which she had made. They would have
honoured her even more if they had known that she had done it for the
sake of her husband's name!
Her latest and most malevolent accuser, Miss Stisted, has also urged
against her that by this act she conveyed a "wrong impression concerning
the character of the book," and so cast a slur upon her husband's memory.
A wrong impression! The ignorance and animus of this attack are obvious.
The character of the manuscript was well known: it was the translation of
a notorious book.
The story of Burton's inquiries in this unpleasant field was known too,
if not to the many at least to the few, and his enemies had not scrupled
to place the worst construction on his motives. His wife knew this but
too well, and she fought the prejudice with sleepless vigilance all the
years of her married life, and by this last act of hers did her best to
bury it in oblivion. Surely it is cruelly unjust to say that it was she
who cast the slur!
And now to refer to another matter. Miss Stisted animadverts on Lady
Burton's having sold the library edition of _The Arabian Nights_ in 1894
"with merely a few excisions absolutely indispensable.
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