BURNABY. 35 for inflicting repeated defeats upon a savage horde by which our small expedition was vastly outnumbered. Burnaby himself was in a peculiar sense a representative officer, though he cannot be said to have given a personal example of military discipline and obedience to authority, since he was constantly engaged in some enterprise of exploration, adventure, or hard fighting to which he had not been officially appointed; he was, largely in consequence of this irregular habit of claiming a kind of roving commission, so well known in various parts of the world for dauntless and sometimes eccentric bravery and for his often demonstrative personality, that his name seemed to give a more significant emphasis to the list of the slain. Lieutenant-colonel Burnaby had, so to speak, held a prominent place in society, and had repeatedly attracted public attention since he was a schoolboy at Harrow, one of the biggest boys for his age, who ever learned and fought and played there. He was sent to Harrow from a grammar-school at Bedford, his father, the Rev.

Gustavus Andrew Burnaby, being vicar of St. Peter's and Canon of Middleham, and residing at Sowerby Hall, Leicestershire, where young Burnaby was born. At Harrow Burnaby was distinguished, not only for his height and strength, but for his physical energy and athleticism. He did not finish his education at the famous school, however, but was sent under private tuition to Germany, where he devoted himself to the study of modern languages, so successfully that his acquirements were of great service in his subsequent wanderings. It was said at the time of his famous ride to Khiva and his expedition to Asia Minor that he had a writing as well as a speaking acquaintance with nine languages, including Arabic and Russian, with his knowledge of which he challenged anyone in England to compete. In 1858, at the age of sixteen, he returned to England and passed his examination for military service, and the next year was gazetted as cornet in the Horse Guards (Blue). Two years afterwards he was made lieutenant, got his company in 1876, was major in 1879, lieutenant-colonel in 1880, and obtained his regiment in 1881.

His personal appearance, whether he was on horseback on