Sir Richard Francis Burton - Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah: Volume 1

The Project Gutenberg Etext of Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimageto Al-Madinah and Meccahby Sir Richard Francis Burton(#17 in our series by Sir Richard Francis Burton)

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Title: Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah

Author: Sir Richard Francis Burton

Release Date: November, 2003 [Etext #4657]
[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
[This file was first posted on February 23, 2002]

Edition: 10

Language: English

The Project Gutenberg Etext of Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah
by Sir Richard Francis Burton
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG ETEXT OF A PILGRIMAGE TO AL-MADINAH ***

This etext was produced by William Thierens and Robert Sinton.

PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF A PILGRIMAGE TO AL-MADINAH & MECCAH

K.C.M.G., F.R.G.S., &c., &c., &c.

"Our notions of Mecca must be drawn from the Arabians; as no unbelieveris permitted to enter the city, our travellers are silent."-Gibbon,chap. 50.

[p.xii] [Arabic text]

Dark and the Desert and Destriers me ken,
And the Glaive and the Joust, and Paper and Pen.

Al-Mutanabbi

[p.xv]

AFTER my beloved husband had passed away from amongst us, after thefuneral had taken place, and I had settled in England, I began to thinkin what way I could render him the most honour. A material Monument tohis memory has already been erected by his countrymen in the shape of ahandsome contribution to the beautiful Mausoleum-tent in stone andmarble to contain his remains; but I also hoped to erect a lessmaterial, but more imperishable, Monument to his name, by making thisunique hero better known to his countrymen by his Works, which havehitherto not been sufficiently known, not extensively enough published,and issued perhaps at a prohibitive price. Viewing the long list ofWorks written by him between 1842 and 1890, many of which are stillunpublished, I was almost disheartened by the magnitude of the work,until the Publishers, Messrs. Tylston and Edwards, fully appreciatingthe interest with which the British Public had followed my husband'sadventurous career and fearless enterprise, arranged to produce thisuniform Memorial Edition at their own expense.

[p.xvi]Mr. Leonard Smithers, a man of great literary talent and ofindefatigable energy, who admired and collaborated with my husband inthe traduction of Latin Classics for two years before he died, has alsokindly volunteered to be my working assistant and to join with me inthe editing.

My part is to give up all my copyrights, and to search out such papers,annotations, and latest notes and corrections, as will form the mostcomplete work; also to write all the Prefaces, and to give everyassistance in my power as Editress.

The Memorial Edition commences with the present "Pilgrimage toAl-Madinah and Meccah," which will be followed at intervals by othersof my husband's works. Since this "Memorial Edition" was arranged, andthe Prospectus issued, I have parted with the Copyright of my husband'sfamous translation of the "Arabian Nights" to the Publishers, and theyare arranging to bring out that work at an early date, and as nearly aspossible uniform in appearance with the Memorial Edition.

The ornamentations on the binding are, a figure of my husband in hisArab costume, his monogram in Arabic, and, on the back of the book, thetent which is his tomb.

Both the publishers and myself have to thank Mr. Smithers for theinfinite trouble he has taken in collating the first, second, third andfourth editions of the Pilgrimage' with Sir Richard's own originalannotated copies. All the lengthy notes and appendices of the firstedition have been retained, and these are supplemented by the notes andappendices in the later editions, as well as by the author's MS. notes.He has adopted Sir Richard's latest and

[p.xvii]most correct orthography of Arabic words, and has passed thesheets through the press. Following my husband's plan in "The ThousandNights and a Night," he has put the accents on Arabic words only thefirst time of their appearance, to show how they ought to be; thinkingit unnecessary to preserve throughout, what is an eyesore to the readerand a distress to the printer. So it is with Arabic books,-the accentsare only put for the early student; afterwards, they are left to thepractical knowledge of the reader. All the original colouredillustrations of the first edition, and also the wood engravings of thelater issues, are reproduced for the first time in one uniform edition.The map and plans are fac-similies of those in the latest (fourth)edition. In fact, everything has been done to make this book worthy ofits author and of the public's appreciation.

For those who may not know the import of "A Pilgrimage to Al-Madinahand Meccah," in 1853, they will not take it amiss when I say that thereare Holy Shrines of the Moslem world in the far-away Desert, where nowhite man, European, or Christian, could enter (save as a Moslem), oreven approach, without certain death. They are more jealously guardedthan the "Holy Grail," and this Work narrates how this Pilgrimage wasaccomplished. My husband had lived as a Dervish in Sind, which greatlyhelped him; and he studied every separate thing until he was master ofit, even apprenticing himself to a blacksmith to learn how to makehorse-shoes and to shoe his own horses. It meant living with his lifein his hand, amongst the strangest and wildest companions, adoptingtheir unfamiliar manners, living for nine months in the hottest andmost unhealthy climate, upon

[p.xviii]repulsive food; it meant complete and absolute isolation fromeverything that makes life tolerable, from all civilisation, from allhis natural habits; the brain at high tension, but the mind neverwavering from the role he had adopted; but he liked it, he was happy init, he felt at home in it, and in this Book he tells you how he did it,and what he saw.