Isabel Burton 
Inner Life of Syria, Palestine, and the Holy Land, 1875 
From My Private Journal

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. Writing for my own sex, my greatest ambition was to have offered this first attempt to the noblest and most beloved of our sex, our Nation’s Idol, Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales. I visited Vienna in May, 1873, partly — I may say chiefly — with the object of obtaining the desired permission, but Her Royal Highness was not there.<br><br>At last a bright idea dawned upon me. I would embody my petition in a letter, and send it through the Embassy, and then — I was ashamed of pushing myself forward (a good old English feeling, I believe) — my petition and I disappeared together in the wild, struggling, unsympathizing crowd.