ABSTRACT
Inasmuch as Wilfrid Scawen Blunt kept no journal during the 'sixties, his recollection as set down may have been influenced and perhaps distorted somewhat by the intervening careers of both men. After 1889 Blunt was very active in society during London seasons and very happy playing the role of Arab sheikh during the winters at Sheykh Obeyd. Many of his criticisms of Burton are objective; and yet it is impossible not to see in the character sketch prejudices which offer clues to Blunt's own temperament. Animosity towards all that is imperialistic, coarse, vulgar, and unsympathetic; an antipathy towards strenuous physical exertion; and a note of selfishness in the pride which thrives on the depreciation of others: these are some of the traits of Blunt's character. But his criticism of Burton also reveals two sympathies which are much more important to an understanding of his thought and work: that for the Arabs and that for the affections connected with love.
