Of Course His Family Saw But Little Of Him Under
These Circumstances, But When He Had Got A Chapter Of Marco Into Shape,
Or Struck Out Some New Discovery Of Interest, He Would Carry It To His
Wife To Read.
She always took great interest in his work, and he had great
faith in her literary instinct as a sound as well as sympathetic critic.
The first fruits of Yule's Polo studies took the form of a review of
Pauthier's edition of Marco Polo, contributed to the Quarterly Review
in 1868.
In 1870 the great work itself appeared, and received prompt generous
recognition by the grant of the very beautiful gold medal of the
Geographical Society of Italy,[59] followed in 1872 by the award of the
Founder's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society, while the Geographical
and Asiatic Societies of Paris, the Geographical Societies of Italy and
Berlin, the Academy of Bologna, and other learned bodies, enrolled him as
an Honorary Member.
Reverting to 1869, we may note that Yule, when passing through Paris early
in the spring, became acquainted, through his friend M. Charles Maunoir,
with the admirable work of exploration lately performed by Lieut. Francis
Garnier of the French Navy. It was a time of much political excitement in
France, the eve of the famous Plebiscite, and the importance of
Garnier's work was not then recognised by his countrymen. Yule saw its
value, and on arrival in London went straight to Sir Roderick Murchison,
laid the facts before him, and suggested that no other traveller of the
year had so good a claim to one of the two gold medals of the R.G.S. as
this French naval Lieutenant. Sir Roderick was propitious, and accordingly
in May the Patron's medal was assigned to Garnier, who was touchingly
grateful to Yule; whilst the French Minister of Marine marked his
appreciation of Yule's good offices by presenting him with the magnificent
volumes commemorating the expedition.[60]
Yule was in Paris in 1871, immediately after the suppression of the
Commune, and his letters gave interesting accounts of the extraordinary
state of affairs then prevailing. In August, he served as President of the
Geographical Section of the British Association at its Edinburgh meeting.
On his return to Palermo, he devoted himself specially to the geography of
the Oxus region, and the result appeared next year in his introduction and
notes to Wood's Journey. Soon after his return to Palermo, he became
greatly interested in the plans, about which he was consulted, of an
English church, the gift to the English community of two of its oldest
members, Messrs Ingham and Whitaker. Yule's share in the enterprise
gradually expanded, until he became a sort of volunteer clerk of the
works, to the great benefit of his health, as this occupation during the
next three years, whilst adding to his interests, also kept him longer in
the open air than would otherwise have been the case. It was a real
misfortune to Yule (and one of which he was himself at times conscious)
that he had no taste for any out-of-door pursuits, neither for any form of
natural science, nor for gardening, nor for any kind of sport nor games.
Nor did he willingly ride.[61] He was always restless away from his books.
There can be no doubt that want of sufficient air and exercise, reacting
on an impaired liver, had much to do with Yule's unsatisfactory state of
health and frequent extreme depression.
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