As you know, 1867 was a very memorable year. If you read Intriguing Transformations of the Alien Mind, you already know a little about the main event, the public reveal of the bjoite aliens. After visiting Earth for thousands of years, they chose to end the secrecy and doubt. Their landing craft touched down in London, the visitors shook hands with Queen Victoria, and the First Ambassador soon took up residence.
One of the greatest explorers, linguists, and adventurers of the age, Captain Richard Francis Burton, was at that time posted in Santos, Brazil, where he served as the British Consul. For Burton, 1867 was a downturn. He had very little to do and was not at all pleased about having been shafted to a remote corner of the empire, where British interests were hazy and he had next to no visibility or influence. For his superiors, this virtual exile eliminated any of the past problems with Burton, who did not get along well with the men who ran the Foreign Office.
Captain Richard Francis Burton
For the first time in their marriage, Burton and his wife Isabel had endless time to themselves. Soon, Burton became bored and despondent. In most biographies, this period and his subsequent aimless travels in Latin America are given telegraphic treatment. He drank too much and was difficult to be around. He wrote little, and there is no documentation for much of that sad episode.
Recent findings allow us to shed light on Burton’s prolonged ‘lost weekend’ and what happened in his two brief encounters with the bjoite. Maybe the aliens saved Captain Burton’s life by urging him to write a book about them, but you will likely agree that he paid a high price for this. As you probably know, Burton’s book appeared very shortly before their spectacular appearance in London, but he did not make it clear that he had actually spoken to them and was fulfilling their request in writing it.
We also share some observations from the boyhood of Burton protégé Augusto Verjeiro, the only human known to have visited the bjoite home planet. Verjeiro, of course, became famous when he returned from that world into the Europe of the early 1970s. We are still trying to substantiate some of his claims regarding his experience.
If you appreciate Burton’s legendary courage and curiosity, and maybe enjoyed his travelogues and translations, A Gateway to the Ash Dragon’s Walled Garden helps you understand the man and that time in history better. The story is now available at www.amazon.com/dp/B016962JFC for reading on your Kindle or the free Kindle app on your tablet or laptop. Your feedback and questions are most welcome!
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