“A NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT”
The 11th Edition of the Encyclopaedia
Britannica and Romania
“The new edition was a notable achievement of cooperative labor and its success was largely due to
Horace Hooper who proclaimed: I'm determined that
the eleventh edition must be the greatest book ever
published. I mean that from an editorial and scholarly
point of view. And I'm willing to pour as much money
into it as I can lay my hands on.”
Harvey Einbinder,
The Myth of the Britannica (p. 48)
The first edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica: A
Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and General Information – to give it its full name – was published in Edinburgh, Scotland, in three volumes of 2391 pages between
1768 and 1771. At that time Edinburgh was very much the
Athens of the English-speaking world, and the University of
Edinburgh with its world renowned faculty was by general
agreement the most serious and purposeful institution of
tertiary education in the British Empire. Born into and influenced by such an environment, not surprisingly the nascent
encyclopedia quickly established a reputation for scholarly
excellence and gained widespread approval in learned circles, so quickly that a second edition in 10 volumes and
8595 pages soon followed between 1777 and 1784. A firmly
established reputation for accuracy and inclusion continued
unabated for the balance of the 19th century. 1 A 3rd edition of
1
The determination of the Encyclopaedia Britannica to maintain its reputation for accuracy, timeliness and inclusion apparently continues unbroken.
In the summer of 2000 the present writer was under contract with the Encyclopaedia Britannica to expand and revise entries on Romania and
Moldova. In preparation for this assignment, the encyclopedia sent out
among other editorial requirements a one-page sheet entitled “Fact-
19
18 volumes and 14,579 pages appeared in 1788-97; the 4th,
5th, 6th and 7th editions, however, were essentially revisions
of the preceding edition with additional entries and updating, supplementary volumes. The 8th edition was a complete revision, appearing with an index in 1852-60 in 22
volumes and 17,957 pages. The 9th edition, sometimes known
as “the scholars encyclopedia” because of the breadth and
erudition of its articles, appeared in 24 volumes plus the
index in 1875-99 with more than 70 Americans among its
1210 contributors. The 10th edition (1902-03) was simply the
9th edition with 11 supplementary volumes. The emerging
American presence in the encyclopedia was emphatically
institutionalized in 1901 when two American publishers,
Walter M. Jackson and Horace E. Hooper, purchased full
rights to the Encyclopaedia Britannica and all of its assets
from its Scottish publishers.
Hardly had the last supplementary volume of the 10th edition appeared than work on an 11th edition was begun. The
two editorial offices, London and New York, which had been
established for the 10th edition, were continued for the new
edition. The former and much the larger and more productive
office was under the direction of Hugh Chisholm, who was as
well the over-all editor-in-chief. Charles C. Whinery, closely
monitored by Franklin Hooper, Horace Hooper's brother, was
in charge of the New York office.
From the outset it was decided that the 11th edition would
not be a matter of adding supplementary volumes onto the 9th
edition, as had been the case with the 10th edition, but it would
be a wholly new and up-to-date encyclopedia. The Times
(London), which had sponsored the 10th edition in return for
considerable advertising income and one guinea for each set
Checking” which emphasized inter alia. “…Britannica articles must be
considered a matter of record when they are introduced; as such they must
be as comprehensive, well-balanced, accurate, and up-to-date as they can
possibly be. …Britannica is held as one of the most – if not the most –
authoritative general reference works available and both authors and editors
must dedicate themselves to upholding the highest standards.”
20
sold, withdrew from the relationship and was succeeded by
the Cambridge University Press at ten shillings per set sold or
less than half what The Times had received. 2
In a number of ways the 11th edition differed significantly
from its predecessors. There was first the matter of size. With a
total of some forty-four million words the 11th edition exceeded
the thirty million words of the 9th edition by nearly 50%; and
even when the eleven volumes of the supplement which converted the 9th edition into the 10th were added, the 11th edition
was still appreciably larger. 3 In part this bulk was made manageable because of the decision of the owners to print the new
edition on the much thinner, lighter India paper which allowed
between 960 and 1100 pages per volume; 4 and even the doublevolume format in which many sets were issued with approximately 2000 pages per book was not unmanageable. The manageability of an encyclopedia on India paper was increased even
further in 1915 when the 11th edition was printed in a reduced
format which replicated the original in all respects but the size
of the page which was reduced to approximately one-fourth of
the original with a concomitant reduction in the height and
width of the bound volume. 5
Unlike the 9th edition which was published volume by
volume over the fourteen years between 1875 and 1889, the
28 volumes of text and one index volume of the 11th edition
were all published in less than a year, half in December 1910
and half in June 1911. The chief editor, Hugh Chisholm, observed: “Individual volumes, the contents of which are arbitrarily determined by the alphabetical order of headings, may
indeed be abreast of the learning and accomplishments of
2
Harvey Einbinder, The Myth of the Britannica (New York: Grove Press,
Inc., 1964), pp. 44-50.
3
Herman Kogan, The Great E B: The Story of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1958), pp. 70-1; Einbinder, op.
cit., pp. 47-8.
4
Kogan, p. 170.
5
James Bryce, “Prefatory Note to the 'Handy Volume' Issue”, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition (Handy Volume printing), (New York: The
Encyclopaedia Britannica Company, 1915), vol. 1, p. viii.
21
their day, but each time a later volume appears the circumstances have altered, and there is every chance that some integral portion of what had previously been published may be
stultified.” 6 Thus, by publishing all of the volumes simultaneously the encyclopedia as a whole had a unity of concept,
design and presentation not otherwise available. It represented
the best and most advanced thinking on each subject at one
given date. No article was contradicted, nullified or “stultified” by some subsequent article simply because the heading
of the first article came first in alphabetical order.
Another fundamental change took place in the concept of
the individual entries. Because individual entries in the 10th edition were organized by broad topics, the entries tended to be
long, inclusive essays on their subject, frequently appealing to
the scholar but frustrating to the layman in search of specific
information. To remedy this defect the essay-like entries were
broken down into smaller, more specific articles. Whereas the
9th edition had some 17,000 headings for entries, the 11th edition
more than doubled this number to some 40,000 headings. 7 As
yet a further remedy of this defect, the index was considerable
expanded to 876 pages which now included some 526,000 volume and page references. Thus the reader in pursuit of specific
information was given additional tools to assist him.
Other editorial changes included more and longer bibliographies and overall a much greater emphasis on history and
related disciplines than had been the case with earlier editions.
In the words of its editor, the 11th edition should be seen “…as
a work of reference no less than as a work for reading and
study, its preparation has been dominated throughout by the
historical point of view.” In addition, there was a marked
diminution in the use of statistics which the editor felt were
6
Hugh Chisholm, “Editorial Introduction,” Encyclopaedia Britannica,
11th edition (New York: The Encyclopaedia Britannica Company, 1910),
vol. 1, p. xii.
7
Ibid., p. xiv; figures extrapolated from those given in the unascribed
“Prefatory Note,” Encyclopaedia Britannica, 13th edition (New York: The
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1926), vol. 32, p. v.
22
frequently misleading and all too often highlighted atypical
periods, especially in economic subjects. The new edition did
not shun controversy in matters of doctrine and belief: “In
order to give the fullest expression to this objective treatment
of questions which in their essence are dogmatic, contributors
of all shades of opinion have co-operated in the work of the
Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.” 8
Contributors, indeed, were at the very heart of the 11th edition's claims to excellence. There were approximately 1500 contributors: 168 were fellows of the Royal Society, 56 were presidents or secretaries of learned societies, 47 were on the staff of
the British Museum. In keeping with the expanding American
presence among the contributors, 123 were Americans.9
Finally, the 11 edition won praise for its expository
prose. The Athenaeum found much to applaud in the new
encyclopedia's “simple, direct and perspicuous English,” and
the American Historical Review as well noted the “literary
charm and readableness” of the new edition. 10 Nearly a century later in 1998, the anonymous author of the article on the
“Encyclopaedia Britannica” wistfully recalled: “The rich, leisurely prose of the 11th edition marked the pinnacle of literary
style in the Britannica.” 11
The First World War, which broke out some three years
after the last volumes of the 11th edition rolled off the press,
convulsed the world for the following 52 months and dated
many of the articles of the 11th edition while at the same time
considerable expanding mankind's knowledge and experience.
As a result the editors and owners decided to issue three supplementary volumes. These appeared in 1922; and perhaps on
the model of the 10th edition, they were combined with the
original 29 volumes of the 11th edition to become the 12th edition. Four years later in 1926, the three supplementary volumes were revised and up-dated in three completely new sup8
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 13th edition, pp. xix, xxi.
Ibid., p. 52.
10
Both quotations from Kogan, op. cit., p. 171.
11
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th edition, 1998, op. cit., vol. 4, p. 488.
9
23
plementary volumes which were in turn combined with the
11th edition to become the 13th edition. In 1929 the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica was completely revised, and a wholly
new 14th edition was published. The 14th edition falls outside
the purview of this article which will treat the 11th, 12th and
13th editions as all of one family, as indeed they fundamentally were, differing only in the three supplementary volumes
which, together with the original 11th edition, defined the 12th
and 13th editions.
It is not the size of the 11th edition of the Encyclopaedia
Britannica, its erudition, its literary excellence or its userfriendly format, however, which gives this edition its particular
importance and interest to students of Romania and Romanian
culture. This importance and interest lie in the conjunction of
three factors. The first factor is the period during which the
11th edition and the 12th and 13th related, subsequent editions
were in current use, 1910-1929. The second factor is the extraordinary events that took place in Romania or influenced
Romanian history during this tumultuous period; and third,
the role which the peoples and governments of the Englishspeaking world played in these events.
Among the most important events concerning Romania in
the period 1910-1929 were: the Balkan Wars of 1912-13,
which added the southern Dobrogea or Quadrilateral to the
national territory of Romania; the First World War, which for
Romania lasted from August 1916 to November 1918 and
which, following a military rout that left Bucharest and over
half of pre-war Romania occupied by the Central Powers, in
the end resulted in the reunification of Romania with Bessarabia, Bucovina and the occupation of much of what had
been Hungarian Transylvania; the unification of Transylvania
with Romania and the Hungarian campaign of 1919 with the
subsequent occupation of Budapest; the Paris Peace Conference (1919-1920) and the Treaties of Saint Germain, Neuilly
and Trianon which established the post-war borders of Austria, Bulgaria and Hungary and confirmed Romania in possession of Bucovina, the Dobrogea and Transylvania; and the
24
early years of Greater Romania with the English born and
bred granddaughter of Victoria, the ambitious, charming,
gregarious, hospitable, peripatetic and highly visible Queen
Marie, whose personality and presence did much to bring
Romania to the attention of Europe and North America.
The third factor is the English-speaking world itself,
Great Britain with the British Empire as an ally of Romania
from 1916 to 1918 played a major role in Romanian life from
sabotaging the Prahova oil wells and refineries in the fall of
1916 to supplying arms and military equipment throughout
the conflict. The United States was less active in Romanian
affairs but did send medical volunteers and was represented
first in Bucharest and later in Iaşi by the active and outspoken
Minister Charles J. Vopicka. Both the United States in the
person of President Woodrow Wilson and Great Britain in the
person of Prime Minister Lloyd George with their respective
delegations played central roles in the staffing and results of
the Paris Peace Conference with its far reaching implications
for twentieth century Romania. In the immediate post-war
period, Romania remained a subject of interest to the Englishspeaking world because of her war debts and reparations, and
as a diplomatic cornerstone of the Little Entente and the
emerging league in the Balkans. The major role Titulescu and
through him Romania would shortly play in Geneva at the
League of Nations, and no less the considerable investment,
trade and tourism between Romania and the English-speaking
world also played major roles. It can be reasonably advanced
that the years of the 11th edition, between 1910 and 1929,
mark a period when the English-speaking world, its statesmen
and peoples had a greater impact on and importance to Romania than any prior or subsequent time.
If one accepts this premise concerning the intensity of relations of Romania with the English-speaking world in the 1910s
and 1920s, then the 11th edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica
assumes a central importance as the most authoritative and inclusive reference work of first recourse in English. One can then
safely assume further that the 11th edition provided the first
25
scholarly introduction to Romania and Romanian subjects for a
host of military officers, diplomats, politicians, academics, authors, journalists, editors, financiers and business men for whom
Romania had suddenly become a subject of interest, possibly in
many cases for the first time in their lives. Because of this presumed centrality of the 11th edition at a critical period for Romania, to this edition can be ascribed an unusual importance as
a source of information on Romania. This article will examine
and describe the Romanian related articles in the 11th edition and
its subsequent, supplementary volumes and attempt to evaluate
them for their coverage and accuracy.
The main article on Romania appears under “Rumania”
in volume 23 of the encyclopedia and runs in two column
pages from page 825 to page 849, in all some 25 pages, 48
columns including a half page map of Romania as it then
existed, the Regat or Old Kingdom. 12 The article is divided
into five sections. The first is a general survey of the country;
the second is the history from the earliest mention of Romanians to the Unification of 1859; the third is a history from Unification to 1910; the fourth is a sketch of the Romanian language; and the fifth is a survey of Romanian literature.
The general survey which begins the “Rumania” article
provides vital statistics concerning the country and its people.
The author or authors are designated with an “X” which presumably represents one or more of the editorial staff in the
London office. The article appears to draw on previous editions of the encyclopedia for such relatively unchanging topics as climate and geology. The information on more transitory subjects such as population and economics apparently is
drawn from current reference books and most likely the Romanian legation in London. In the 12th edition, for example,
Hugh Chisholm, the editor, noted the cooperation that he had
received from various governments. 13 As Chisholm had also
12
Throughout the 11th, 12th and 13th editions the name of the country is
spelled “Rumania;” the people are called “Rumans.”
13
Hugh Chisholm, “Editorial Preface,” Encyclopaedia Britannica, 12 edition
(New York: The Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 1922), vol. 1, p. xiii.
26
been an editor at the London office of the 11th edition, it may
be safely assumed he drew on these obvious sources for reference in the l1th edition as well. In any event, the reference
material appears to be timely; for the subsections on minerals
and education quote statistics from 1909; and the population
is given in a 1910 estimate as 6,850,000. 14
The survey section is divided into 24 subsections. It begins with a brief, untitled introduction giving population, surface area and frontiers and then proceeds to: “Physical Features,” “Geology,” “Climate,” “Fauna,” “Minerals,” “Agriculture,” “Forests,” “Land Tenure,” “Fisheries,” “Manufactures
and Commerce,” “Finance,” “Banks and Currency,” “Chief
Towns,” “Communications,” “Population,” “National Characteristics,” “Constitution,” “Law and Justice,” “Defense,” “Religion,” “Education,” “Antiquities” and “Bibliography.”
Generally the anonymous “X” marshaled and presented
the information in a balanced, straightforward, uncontroversial fashion, bringing to the reader many interesting, easily
overlooked facts such as his reference to the fortifications
designed in 1882 by the Belgian engineer General Brialmont
that “make Bucharest the largest fortified camp in the world,
except Paris.” The author showed sensitivity to differing opinions as, for example, to the enduring question whether Romania is in the Balkans or not. In the text he located Romania “to
the north-east of the Balkan Peninsula” but added a reference
to M.A. Sturdza's 1904 lecture at the Rumanian Geographical
Society which “showed that Rumania should not be included
in the Balkan Peninsula, where it is placed by many writers
and cartographers.” “X” was sensitive as well to questions of
minorities, noting that “the naturalization of Jews and Moslems is hedged about with many technical difficulties, and
requires a separate vote of the legislature in every individual
case.” The assertion, however, that the 1866 constituent as14
The latest works cited in the survey's bibliography are: L. Colescu,
Progrès économiques… realisés sous le règne de Sa Majeste le Roi Carol I
(Bucharest, 1907); and G.D. Creanga, Grundbesitzverteilung and Bauernfrage in Rumaenien (Leipzig, 1907).
27
sembly which chose Charles of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen to
be Romania's prince was elected by universal suffrage is quite
open to challenge. 15
“X” was on even less certain ground when dealing with
cultural subjects. He states that “The attempt to create a national style of architecture, based on Greek and Byzantine
models, began under Stephen the Great of Moldovia (14571504), lasting until the 17th century when it was arrested. …”
This is apparently a reference to the Moldovan school of architecture whose influences, especially in ecclesiastical architecture, certainly extended beyond the 17th century. Perhaps
even more alarming is his ignorance of or indifference to the
Brâncoveanu school, an entire design system, primarily developed in Wallachia, which left an imperishable stamp on
Romanian art, especially architecture. This omission is even
harder to comprehend in that “X” was writing at a time when
the Brâncoveanu design system for a number of years had
been undergoing a major revival at the hands of such architects as Ion Mincu and was already enshrined in the Romanian consciousness as the National Style. Also unsettling was
the observation by “X” that “Painting and sculpture, like
modern Romanian architecture, are still in their infancy,” 16 an
observation that hardly takes into consideration Grigorescu,
Andreescu or Aman.
The section, “National Characteristics,” would be an unlikely anachronism in any serious, modern reference work, but
at the hands of “X” begins perspicaciously enough on the eve of
the First World War by observing of the Romanians: “Proud of
their race and country, they acquired with their independence,
an ardent sense of nationality; and they look forward to the day
which will reunite them to their kinsmen in Transylvania and
Bessarabia.” 17 The author goes on, however, to paint a somewhat jaundiced picture of the Romanian countryside. He notes
that: “The peasants retain their distinctive dress, long discarded,
15
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, vol. 23, pp. 825-30.
Ibid., p. 831.
17
Ibid., p. 829.
16
28
except on festivals and at court by the wealthier classes.” He
continues complaining that “despite the presence of a doctor in
each commune, disease is everywhere rife” and “many pagan
beliefs linger on in the country, where vampires, witches and the
evil eye are dreaded by all.” His observation that “a Rumanian
funeral is a scene of much barbaric display” would doubtless be
challenged by a modern cultural anthropologist. Altogether
questionable is the statement that “Veal is the one kind of meat
generally consumed,” an assertion which completely ignores the
manifold role of pork in the traditional Romanian diet. It is altogether improbable of impoverished rural areas that “in some
districts pork is only eaten on St. Hilary's day (the 20th of December, OS.).” It would appear more likely that “X” is assuming that the traditional, pre-Christmas date for slaughtering pigs
is the only time pork is available. Thus he appears to be ignoring completely the Romanian Orthodox pre-Christmas fasting
strictly observed in rural areas which enjoins meat, and he
passes over in silence the many forms, such as bacon, sausage,
ham or slănină, in which pork can be preserved for later consumption. It is altogether unlikely that peasants so poor as to
have been able to afford pork only once a year would otherwise
have been feasting on fatted calf as the author implies. Similarly, the generalizations that “Wine and plum-spirit, or the
more powerful brandy distilled from grain are drunk in great
quantities by the townfolk, more sparingly by countrymen; Rumans generally being more sober than the western Europeans”
are questionable on at least two counts and ignore not only the
considerable role that țuică and dram shops played in fueling
the then recently concluded Peasants Revolt of 1907 but also the
widespread concern in Romania thereafter about rural alcoholism as reflected in legislative debates and social discussions.
The second section of the Romanian article, dealing with
history, is divided into 5 parts: “Introduction,” “Walachia,”
“Moldavia,” “The Danubian Principalities: 1774-1859,” and
“Rumania.” The first four parts trace the history of the Romanians from their beginnings to the unification of the Principalities in 1859 and are written by “A.J.E.” and “X.” “X” is
29
again in all probability an assistant in the London editorial
office. The initials “A.J.E.” do not appear in volume 23 in the
list of contributors where they would be expected, but they do
appear in the list of all the contributors to the 11th edition next
to the name Arthur John Evans. 18 The name of Sir Arthur J.
Evans (1851-1941) is indissolubly linked with his archaeological excavations in Knossos and elsewhere on Crete and
his reconstructions of Minoan and Mycenean civilizations on
that island. Thus at first he would seem to be an unlikely authority to be writing on the early history of the Romanians.
This conclusion would ignore, however, an earlier period in
his life when his interests and travels took him further north in
the Balkan Peninsula. 19
After a brief introduction to the confusing developments
between the close of the classical period and the emergence of
an identifiable Romanian people in the medieval period, the
authors begin their presentation with the 13th century because
only “With the 13th century, at latest, begins the authentic political history of the Vlachs in Rumania, but it is not the history of
a united people.” The article then proceeds to a straightforward
and largely unexceptionable presentation, first of Wallachian
history, then Moldavian, concluding with the subsection, “The
Danubian Principalities; 1774-1859.” It is in this subsection that
an alternative spelling for the country's name is introduced in a
discussion of the 1857 Wallachian and Moldavian representa18
Ibid., “Initials Used in Volume 23 To Identify Individual Contributors,
with the Headings of the Articles in this Volume so Signed,” pp. v-xiii; and
vol. 29 of the 11th edition (Volume 32 of the 12th and 13th editions), “Contributors to the Encyclopaedia Britannica.”
19
See, for example, Evans' work published in 1877, Through Bosnia and
Herzegovina on Foot During the Insurrection August and September 1875 and
his long, learned letter to The Times, October 1, 1903, in which he discusses
the Eastern Question, the ethnic composition of Macedonia and the nature of
the Vlach communities in that area of the Balkans. For many years Evans was
closely associated with the British School in Athens, a preeminent, residential
institution for British classicists, Byzantinologists and archaeologists to conduct advanced research in their disciplines. Doubtless this association provided
Evans many opportunities to consider the pre-modern history of the Romanians, and the initials “A.J.E.” clearly refer to this scholar.
30
tive councils which unanimously voted for unification as a single state “under the name of Romania (Rumania),” although that
alternative spelling does not appear elsewhere in this article or
the 11th, 12th or 13th editions of the encyclopedia. 20
Vlad Ţepeş, Dracula, figures significantly in the account
of 16th century Wallachia:
“In 1453 Constantinople fell; in 1454 Hunyadi died;
and a year later the sultan invaded Walachia to set
up Vlad IV (1455-62), the son of a former voivode.
The father of this Vlad had himself been notorious
for his ferocity, but his son, during his Turkish sojourn, had improved on his father's example. He was
known in Walachia as Dracul, or the Devil, and has
left a name in history as Vlad the Impaler. The stories of his ferocious savagery exceed belief.” 21
The English-reading public had already been introduced
to what the 11th edition subsequently calls “this monster” by
Bram Stocker (1847-1912) in the ahistorical, indeed antihistorical, Gothic horror story of immediate and enduring
popularity, Dracula, first published in 1897.
The authors offer an interesting theory to explain in large
part the diplomatic, political and military confusions and rivalries which color the history of Wallachia in the 15th and
16th centuries.
“The prevalent laxity of marriage, the frequency of
divorce, and the fact that illegitimate children could
succeed as well as those born in lawful wedlock, by
multiplying the candidates for the voivodeship and
preventing any regular system of succession, contributed much to the internal confusion of the country.”
20
21
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, vol. 23, pp. 831, 838.
Ibid., p. 832.
31
With the same strong hint of Victorian judgementalism,
the authors return to this theme in their approving discussion
of Jacob Basilicus of Moldavia because “In Moldavia he appeared as a moral reformer, endeavouring to put down the
prevalent vices of bigamy and divorce.” 22
The fifth section, “Rumania,” is attributed to “H.Tr.; X.”
“X” is doubtless as above; “H.Tr.” is Lieutenant-Colonel Sir
Henry Trotter, K.C.M.G., C.B. (1841-1919). During a long
and colorful career of imperial service for queen and country
he was made a Companion of Bath in 1880 and Knight Commander of St. Michael and St. George in 1906. His career
included diplomatic and consular assignments in Bucharest
concurrently with service as the British delegate on the European Commission of the Danube. 23
22
Ibid., pp. 832, 835.
The facts of Sir Henry Trotter's life are taken from his entries in Who Was
Who, 1916-1928 (London: A. & C. Black, Ltd., 1929), vol. II, p. 1055, and
the Dictionary of Indian Biography, by Charles Edward Buckland (18471941), (New York: Haskell House, 1968, reprint of 1906 edition). Of less
relevance to Trotter's entry on Romania in the 11th edition but too colorful to
be ignored is the earlier period of his life as detailed in Who Was Who, 19161928: „Educ. Cheltenham College: E.I. Military Coll. Addiscombe. Lieut. RE.
(late Bengal), 1860; retired as Lieut-Col. 1890; served 1866-75 on great
Trigonometrical Survey of India; accompanied Sir Douglas Forsyth's mission
to Yarkand and Kashgar, 1873-74, as geographer; employed on special service in China, 1876; was awarded, 1878, the Victoria medal of Royal Geog.
Soc. for explorations in Turkestan; appointed additional military attache at
Constantinople during Turko-Russian War, 1877-78; accompanied the Turkish armies throughout the campaign in Asia (siege and relief of Kars, battles
of Yeshek Ilias, and Deveh Boyoum, etc.), Turkish war medal; Consul for
Kurdistan, 1872-82; superintended International relief operation at Scio after
the great earthquake of 1881; military attache, Constantinople, 1882-89,
during which time he was frequently employed on special missions; ConsulGeneral in Syria, 1890-94; has frequently acted as H.M. Charge d'Affaires at
Bucharest; British Delegate on the European Commission of the Danube, and
H.B.M. Consul-Gen. for Roumania 1894-1906; Jubilee medal 1897. Publications: various papers contributed to the Royal Geog. Soc. Recreations: shooting, was the first European to shoot the Ovis Poli. or wild sheep of the Pamirs,
5 May 1874.” Such a biography could well have served as the prototype for
the imperial misadventures of Harry Paget Flashman, the loveable, rascally
anti-hero in George MacDonald Fraser's several novels on the subject.
23
32