Ion Keith-Falconer - Arab Interests

Arab Interests

Keith-Falconer taught himself Hebrew at Harrow and then moved on to other Semitic languages. At Cambridge he studied for a Semitic languages tripos, studying Hebrew, Arabic and Syriac. He required a deep knowledge of the Hebrew Bible. He passed.

Keith-Falconer continued his study of Arabic in Germany, as much to perfect speaking German as deepen his knowledge of Arabia. He stayed at Leipzig for five months of 1881. That year he met General Gordon, who on 25 April 1881 wrote to him from Southampton:

My dear Mr Keith-Falconer

I only wish I could put you into something that would give you the work you need, viz. secular and religious work, running side by side. This is the proper work for man and I think you could find it. Would you like to go to Stamboul (Istanbul) as extra unpaid attaché to Lord Dufferin; if so, why not try it, or else as private secretary to Saint Petersburg? If not, will you then come to me in Syria to the Hermitage? Believe me with kind regards, yours faithfully C. G. Gordon.

In October, Keith-Falconer left for Assiout, 350 km from Cairo, on the Nile. It was the most distant point of the Egyptian railway. His first impressions were poor. On 20 November he wrote:

The dust - I shall never forget it. I tried to read Dozy's Islamisme but in a short time the book and I got so filthy with the dust, that I became irritable and uncomfortable and could not read... There are a number of Greeks in Egypt and they dislike anything like manual labour, preferring to keep shops, and especially restaurants and hotels. Dr Hogg (his host] is a first-rate Arabist. He preaches in Arabic perfectly fluently. He teaches his students in Arabic, including the Sol-Fa class. (The Arabs have wretched ears, and Dr Hogg tells me that it was only by means of the Sol-Fa that he could get anything like music out of them.)

On 30 November he wrote:

I am disappointed with Egypt, both as to scenery and climate. It is a vile place for catching cold. Buildings seem constructed with a view to as many draughts as possible... The are no bells. This is the greatest drawback of all. You have to go outside your door and clap your hands, and when you have repeated this performance five or six times, the Arab may begin to have a suspicion that somebody wants him; and when you at last get him, it will be very wonderful if he does what you want.

He went back to Europe.