26 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN 



from the sting of scorpions. I remember meeting a 

 celebrated naturalist in Algiers, who provided me 

 with a sponge bag and a pair of collecting tongs, 

 asking me to put into the bag every manner of 

 insect or creature I could find. I brousfht him 

 some curious collections ; one of these comprised 

 scorpions, centipedes, a frog, two toads and a 

 mouse. These he turned into a basin to see if 

 there was a specimen amongst them worth keeping, 

 but the mouse and the frog did not appear a bit the 

 worse, yet it is certain they must have been either 

 bitten or stung. The only animal I obtained for 

 Anderson of any value was a lizard. We were in the 

 verandah of the hotel at Hammam Rhirha, Algiers, 

 when I cauorht a small lizard. On Anderson ex- 

 amining it, he pronounced it to be a specimen of great 

 value, and it is still referred to in natural history 

 as Anderson's Lizard. Among the guests in the 

 hotel at the time were the late Sir Richard and 

 Lady Burton. Sir Richard was then in poor health, 

 but I was never more impressed with the personality 

 of a man than when I met him. Indomitable re- 

 solution and consistency were stamped on every 

 feature. I regard both these characteristics as the 

 most important attribute in the mind of man. 

 No person ever rose to distinction without them. 

 There never was a great leader of men who was 

 not consistent. Sir Richard Burton was one of the 



