Gass. Book. a THE LIFE OF GEORGE BORROW '< iJ'r/f 'owxrw- //„, THE LIFE OF GEORGE BORROW COMPILED FROM UNPUBLISHED OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS, HIS WORKS, CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. BY HERBERT JENKINS WITH A FRONTISPIECE IN PHOTOGRAVURE, AND TWELVE OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS, NEW YORK JOHN MURRAY, LONDON 1912 f Seized. Borrow Warned in Time. Nearly Assassinated. Across the Guadaramas. In the Midst of the Carlists. "A Contest of Fiends." Lopez Imprisoned. Borrow Rescues Lopez. Madrid. Ordered Home. Fever and Delirium. Borrow Returns to England. Meetings at Earl Street. " Report on Past and Future Operations." A Tribute to Borrow .... 268 CHAPTER XVIII DECEMBER 1 838 — MAY 1 839 Borrow Again Proceeds to Spain. Seville. Official Activity. "The Manchegan Prophetess." Madrid. The Delinquent Antonio. Sidi Habismilk. Another Rebuke from Earl Street. Operations Near Madrid. Victoriano Imprisoned. The Colporteur System. A Great Success. Spanish Official Methods. Borrow " Exceedingly Superstitious." The Return to Seville. A Perilous Journey. The Testa- ments Seized. Subterfuge. A Glimpse of Borrow. " The Mysterious Unknown." An Adventure with Gypsies. Colonel Napier Astonished. A Most Extraordinary Character ....... CONTENTS xxi CHAPTER XIX MAY — DECEMBER 1 839 PAQB Strange Missionaries. "The Masanielo of Seville." Borrow Takes a House. The Demand for Bibles. Mrs Clarke of Oulton Hall. Her Arrival in Seville. The Dismissal of Antonio. An Instinctive Missionary. An Expedition to Tangier. Hayim Ben Attar. Difficulties with the Vice- Consul. Ordered to Return to England. Borrow's Manage. Lord Palmerston's Circular. Approaching a Crisis. Tourist Indiscretion. Summoned Before the Gefe Politico. "Terrible Orders from Madrid." The Alcalde del Barrio. Borrow Again Arrested. His Imprisonment. The Courtesy of Criminals. Borrow Liberated . . . 298 CHAPTER XX ECEMBER 1839 — MAY 184O Glimpse of Borrow at Seville. "El Brujo" (the Wizard). " His Wife and Daughter." With the Gypsies to Madrid. An Official Complaint. The Reply. Borrow's Romance. Mary Clarke of Oulton Hall. A Mysterious Engagement. Mrs Borrow's Felicitations. Literary Work. The Bible Society Anxious. " No News from Mr Borrow." Reasons for Delay. " I Embark Next Month." Desire for Martyrdom. Departure from Spain. Arrival in London. Marriage. No Further Opening at Earl Street. George Borrow and the Bible Society. An Honourable Associa- tion. Borrow's Loyalty. A Character Study . . 316 CHAPTER XXI MAY 184O— MARCH 1841 Oulton Cottage. The Octagonal Summer-House. Hayim Ben Attar Brings Lights. Life at Oulton Cottage. The Harveys. Personal Recollections of Borrow. Literary Activity. The Zincali. Richard Ford. "A Great Sensa- tion." Borrow and the Gypsies. Their Attraction for Him. Other Romany Ryes. Authorities. " My Only Study is Man." American Editions of The Zincali . 330 xxii CONTENTS CHAPTER XXII APRIL 1 84 1 — MARCH 1 844 TAGE Borrow's Letters to the Bible Society. Friendship with Ford. The Bible in Spain. Ford's Advice. "A Queer Book." Restlessness. The " Reader's Report." Ford's Influence. Horse-Breaking. The Feud of the Dogs. Borrow's Strange Note. Borrow Urges Greater Expedition. "A Rum Mixture." " Borrow is Such a Trump." Ford's Advice. The Bible in Spain Appears. A Chorus of Approval. Fame. Sir Robert Peel's Tribute. Gil Bias With a Touch of Bunyan. Borrow Lionised. Death of Allan Cunningham. The Old Restlessness. Melancholy. Lessons in Singing as a Cure for Indiges- tion. Homesick. Sitting for His Portrait. The Painter's Ruse. Death of John Murray the Second. Seeking Employment. Anxious to Fight the Irish. Money- Making. Women's Views of Borrow . . . 342 CHAPTER XXIII MARCH 1844 — 1848 The Journey to the East. The Meeting of Vidocq in Paris. Borrow's Foible. The First of Lavengro. "My Life." Ford's Visit to Oulton. Ford's Hand-Book. Borrow's Review. An Unfortunate Incident. Ford's Generosity. Samuel Morton Peto and His Railway. "Bardolph and Peto." Mr Gladstone's Letter. An Undesirable Passage in The Bible in Spain. Borrow's Desire to Become a Magistrate. Disappointment. The Bowring Dispute. The Fourth Century Greek Testament. The Old Rest- lessness. Friendship with the Hakes. Borrow at Home. His Love of Animals. Borrow as a Guest. His Strange Outbursts. Mr John Murray's Recollections . . 361 CONTENTS xxiii CHAPTER XXIV LAVENGRO PAGE Slow Progress. Repeated Delays. A Despairing Printer. Borrow's Desire for Excellence. "I Must Throw It Up." Encouraging Letters. Lavengro Appears. Cause of the Delay. The Critics Disappointed. A Conspiracy. Borrow's Anger. His Attitude Towards Success. His Finer Qualities. His Literary Criticism. An Autobiography? Borrow's Methods. The Failure of Lavengro. The Cause. People Puzzled. Borrow's Style. Its Perfections and Imperfections ....... 387 CHAPTER XXV SEPTEMBER 1 849 — FEBRUARY 1 854 Borrow's Mother Removes to Oulton. Borrow's Sentiment About the Old House. FitzGerald. A Courageous Act. An Accomplished Swimmer. The Cornish Borrows. An Invitation. Borrow Visits His Kinsmen. The Old Home. Borrow's Emotion. Some Anecdotes. " Our Distin- guished Visitor." An Impression of Borrow. Tours in Cornwall. The Green Umbrella. The Rev. J. R. P. Berkeley's Recollections. "That Is a Man." The Pro- jected Book on Cornwall. London and Melancholia. "What Are My Prospects?" The Return Home . . 402 CHAPTER XXVI MARCH 1854 — MAY 1 856 A Summer Holiday. Wales Selected. Llangollen. Bangor. Snowdon Ascended. Borrow and "Old Hen." Ellen Thomas. Borrow's " Funny Welsh." Lost on Cader Idris. The Welsh Holiday and Success. Mrs George Borrow's Conspiracies. The Isle of Man. Carvel Books and Runic Inscriptions. The Manx People. A Projected Book. "A Missionary Out of Work." Anna Gurney. Borrow Flies from Her. Ale. A Universal Specific . 414 xxiv CONTENTS CHAPTER XXVII THE ROMANY RYE — 1854-1859 PAGE Borrow as a Correspondent. Edward FitzGerald. The Romany Rye. A Publisher's Opinion. Borrow Annoyed. John Murray's Ultimatum. Borrow's Rebuke. A Convinc- ing Picture. The Appendix. Disapproval of the Critics. A Remarkable Review. The Autobiographical Value of The Romany Rye. Elwin's First Interview with Borrow The Effect of the Appendix. Borrow's Disappointment. Literary Projects. The Second Visit to Wales. Death of Old Mrs Borrow. Her Son's Grief. Tour in Scotland. Ireland. A Natural Genius. East Anglian Suspicion . 426 CHAPTER XXVIII JULY 1859 — JANUARY 1 869 The Sleeping Bard. Its Success. Borrow Reviews His Own Book. The Borrows Come to Live in London. Borrow's Egoism. His Charity. Miss Cobbe's Strictures. Borrow's Dislike of Dr Martineau. A Fantastic Fate. The Indulgence Due to Genius. Dr Hake's Impartiality. The Latham Episode. Coome End. "Are You Alone?" Mr Watts - Dunton. His Guile. Ambrose Gwinet. "Your Friend Knows Everything." The Bald- Faced Stag. Borrow as a Companion. Wild Wales. Its Reception. No Gypsies. The Spectator Criticism. Henrietta Marries. Ireland. Scotland. Mrs Borrow's Health. Her Sudden Illness. Her Death .... . 443 CONTENTS xxv CHAPTER XXIX JANUARY 1869 — l88l. PAGE Borrow's Loneliness. Charles Godfrey Leland. An Impression. Romano Lavo-Lil. A Spent Force. Adverse Criticism. The " Calm Colossus." The Return to Oulton. Edward FitzGerald Again. Borrow's Vigour. Old Memories at Norwich. A Lonely Old Age. Borrow's Anger on Being Asked His Age. Makes His Will. He Dies Untended. Burial. Conclusion ...... 458 List of Borrow's Works ..... 479 Index ........ 481 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS George Borrow, from the original in the possession of John Murray, Esq. . . Frontispiece in Photogravure Trethinnick, the Home of the Borrows of Cornwall ..... To face page 4 The Birthplace of George Borrow, East Dereham ...... 8 William Taylor of Norwich „ 34 George Borrow (1821), from a hitherto un- published painting by John Borrow, now in the possession of W. F. T. Jarrold, Esq. ...... 36 Sir Richard Phillips, from the painting by James Saxon in the National Portrait Gallery ...... 42 Mumber Lane (Mumper's Dingle) „ 64 George Villiers, Fourth Earl of Claren- don (British Minister at Madrid, 1833- 1839), from the engraving after Sir Francis Grant in the National Portrait Gallery . „ 170 Oulton Cottage 330 Richard Ford, from the painting by Antonio Chatelain ..... „ 336 xxviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS John Murray the Second, the " Glorious John" of Lavengro, from a portrait by H. W. Pickersgill, R.A., in the possession of Mr Murray .... To face page 338 John Murray the Third, from a photograph by Maull and Fox .... „ 358 The Rev. Andrew Brandram, from an old silhouette in the possession of the British and Foreign Bible Society . . „ 45° THE LIFE OF GEORGE BORROW CHAPTER I 1678 — MAY 1 8 16 (~\N 28th July 1783 was held the annual fair at ^^ Menheniot, and for miles round the country folk flocked into the little Cornish village to join in the festivities. Among the throng was a strong contingent of young men from Liskeard, a town three miles distant, between whom and the youth of Menheniot an ancient feud existed. In days when the bruisers of England were national heroes, and a fight was a fitting incident of a day's revelry, the very presence of their rivals was a sufficient challenge to the chivalry of Menheniot, and a contest became inevitable. Some unrecorded incident was accepted by both parties as a sufficient cause for battle, and the two factions were soon fighting furiously midst collapsing stalls and tumbled merchandise. Women shrieked and fainted, men shouted and struck out grimly, whilst the stall-holders, in a frenzy of grief and despair, wrung their hands helplessly as they saw their goods being trampled to ruin beneath the feet of the contestants. Slowly the men of Liskeard were borne back by their more numerous opponents. They wavered, and just as defeat seemed inevitable, there arrived upon the scene a young man who, on seeing his townsmen in danger of being beaten, placed himself at their head and charged down upon the enemy, forcing them back by the im- petuosity of his attack. 1 A 2 VILLAGE FIGHT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES [1783 The new arrival was a man of fine physique, above the medium height and a magnificent fighter, who, later in life, was to achieve something of which a Mendoza or a Belcher might have been proud. He fought strongly and silently, inspiring his fellow townsmen by his example. The new leader had entirely turned the tide of battle, but just as the defeat of the men of Menjieniot seemed certain, a diversion was created by the arrival of the local constables. Now that their own villagers were on the verge of disaster, there was no longer any reason why they should remain in the background. They made a determined effort to arrest the leader of the Liskeard contingent, and were promptly knocked down by him. At that moment Mr Edmund Hambley, a much- respected maltster and the headborough of Liskeard, was attracted to the spot. Seeing in the person of the outrageous leader of the battle one of his own appren- tices, he stepped forward and threatened him with arrest. Goaded to desperation by the scornful attitude of the young man, the master-maltster laid hands upon him, and instantly shared the fate of the constables. With great courage and determination the headborough rose to his feet and again attempted to enforce his authority, but with no better result. When he picked himself up for a second time, it was to pass from the scene of his humilia- tion and, incidentally, out of the life of the young man who had defied his authority. The young apprentice was Thomas Borrow (born December 1758), eighth and posthumous child of John Borrow and of Mary his wife, of Trethinnick (the House on the Hill), in the neighbouring parish of St Cleer, two and a half miles north of Liskeard. At the age of fifteen, Thomas had begun to work upon his father's farm. At nineteen he was apprenticed to Edmund Hambley, maltster, of Liskeard, who five years later, in his official capacity as Constable of the Hundred of Liskeard, was to I.] THE BORROWS OF TRETHINNICK 3 be publicly defied and twice knocked down by his insubordinate apprentice A trifling affair in itself, this village fracas was to have a lasting effect upon the career of Thomas Borrow. He was given to understand by his kinsmen that he need not look to them for sympathy or assistance in his wrongdoing. The Borrows of Trethinnick could trace back further than the parish registers record (1678). They were godly and law-abiding people, who had stood for the king and lost blood and harvests in his cause. If a son of the house disgrace himself, the responsibility must be his, not theirs. In the opinion of his family, Thomas Borrow had, by his vigorous conduct towards the headborough, who was also his master, placed himself outside the radius of their sympathy. At this period Trethinnick, a farm of some fifty acres in extent, was in the hands of Henry, Thomas' eldest brother, who since his mother's death, ten years before, had assumed the responsibility of launching his youngest brother upon the world. Fearful of the result of his assault on the headborough, Thomas Borrow left St Cleer with great suddenness, and for five months disappeared entirely. On 29th December he presented himself as a recruit before Captain Morshead, 1 in command of a detachment of the Coldstream Guards, at that time stationed in the duchy. Thomas Borrow was no stranger to military training. For five years he had been in the Yeomanry Militia, which involved a short annual training. In the regimental records he is credited with five years " former service." He remained for eight years with the Coldstream Guards, most of the time being passed in London barracks. He had no money with which to purchase a commission, and his rise was slow and deliberate. At the end of nine 1 Afterwards General Morshead and friend of the Duke of York. Captain Morshead, himself a Cornishman, is credited with doing everything in his power to dissuade Thomas Borrow from enlisting, but without result. 4 VILLAGE FIGHT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES [1793 months he was promoted to the rank of corporal, and five years later he became a sergeant. In 1792 he was trans- ferred as Sergeant-Major to the First, or West Norfolk Regiment of Militia, whose headquarters were at East Dereham in Norfolk. It was just previous to this transfer that Sergeant Borrow had his famous encounter in Hyde Park with Big Ben Bryan, the champion of England ; he " whose skin was brown and dusky as that of a toad." It was a combat in which " even Wellington or Napoleon would have been heartily glad to cry for quarter ere the lapse of five minutes, and even the Blacksmith Tartar would, perhaps, have shrunk from the opponent with whom, after having had a dispute with him," Sergeant Borrow "engaged in single combat for one hour, at the end of which time the champions shook hands and retired, each having experi- enced quite enough of the other's prowess." l At East Dereham Thomas Borrow met Ann 2 Perfre- ment, 3 a strikingly handsome girl of twenty, whose dark eyes first flashed upon him from over the footlights. It was, and still is, the custom for small touring companies to engage their supernumeraries in the towns in which they were playing. The pretty daughter of Farmer Perfrement, whose farm lay about one and a half miles out of East Dereham, was one of those who took occasion to earn a few shillings for pin - money. The Perfrements were of Huguenot stock. On the revocation of the Edict of 1 Lavengro, page 2. References to Borrow's works throughout this volume are to the Standard Edition, published by John Murray. 2 Ann, the third of eight children born to Samuel Perfrement and Mary his wife, 23rd January 1772. 3 Locally, the name is pronounced "/"arfrement." This is quite in accordance with the Norfolk dialect, which changes "e" into "a." Thus "Ernest" becomes "Arnest" ; "Earlham," "Arlham"; " Erp- ingham," "Arpingham," and so on. In Norfolk there are grave peculiarities of pronunciation, which have caused many a stranger to wish that he had never enquired his way, so puzzling are the replies hurled at him in an incomprehensible vernacular. i.] WANDERING WITH THE REGIMENT 5 Nantes, their ancestors had fled from their native town of Caen and taken refuge in East Anglia, there to enjoy the liberty of conscience denied them in their beloved Nor- mandy. Thomas Borrow made the acquaintance of the young probationer, and promptly settled any aspirations that she may have had towards the stage by marrying her. The wedding took place on i ith February 1793 at East Dereham church, best known as the resting-place of the poet Cowper, Ann being twenty-one and Thomas thirty- four years of age. For the next seven years Thomas and Ann Borrow moved about with the West Norfolk Militia, which now marched off into Essex, a few months later doubling back again into Norfolk. Then it dived into Kent and for a time hovered about the Cinque Ports, Thomas Borrow in the meantime being promoted to the rank of quarter-master (27th May 1795). It was not until he had completed fourteen years of service that he received a commission. On 27th February 1798 he became Adjutant in the same regiment, a promotion that carried with it a captain's rank. Whilst at Sandgate Mrs Borrow became acquainted with John Murray, the son of the founder of the publishing house from which, forty-four years later, were to be published the books of her second son, then unborn. The widow of John Murray the First had married in 1795 Lieutenant Henry Paget of the West Norfolk Militia. Years later (27th March 1843) George Borrow wrote to John Murray, Junr., third of the line : " I am at present in Norwich with my mother, who has been ill, but is now, thank God, recovering fast. She begs leave to send her kind remembrances to Mr Murray. She knew him at Sandgate in Kent forty-six years ago, when he came to see his mother, Mrs P[aget]. She was also acquainted with his sister, Miss Jane Murray, 1 who used to ride on horseback with her on the Downs. She says Captain [sic] Paget once cooked a dinner for Mrs P. and 1 Married the Rev. Wni. Holland, rector of Walmer and afterwards rector of Brasted, Kent. 6 VILLAGE FIGHT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES [1803 herself, and sat down to table with his cook's apron on. Is not this funny? Does it not 'beat the Union,' as the Yankees say ? " The first child of the marriage was born in 1800, it is not known exactly when or where. This was John, " the brother some three years older than myself," whose beauty in infancy was so great "that people, especially those of the poorer classes, would follow the nurse who carried him about in order to look at and bless his lovely face," * with its rosy cheeks and smiling, blue-eyed innocence. On one occasion even, an attempt was made to snatch him from the arms of his nurse as she was about to enter a coach. The parents became a prey to anxiety ; for the child seems to have possessed many endearing qualities as well as good looks. He was quick and clever, and when the time came for instruction, "he mastered his letters in a few hours, and in a day or two could decipher the names of people on the doors of houses and over the shop windows." 2 His cleverness increased as he grew up, and later he seems to have become, in the mind of Captain Borrow at least, a standard by which to measure the shortcomings of his younger son George, whom he never was able to understand. For the next three years, 1800-3, the regiment con- tinued to hover about the home counties. The Peace of Amiens released many of the untried warriors, who had enlisted " until the peace," their adjutant having to find new recruits to fill up the gaps. War broke out again the following year (18th May 1803), an d tne Great Terror assumed a phase so critical as to subdue almost entirely all thought of party strife. On 5th July Ann Borrow gave birth to a second son, in the house of her father. At the time Captain Borrow was hunting for recruits in other parts of Norfolk, in order to send them to Colchester, where the regiment was stationed. In due course the 1 Lavengro, page 5. - Lavcngro, page 5. I.] A PROPHETS CHILD 7 child was christened George Henry 1 at the church of East Dereham, and, within a few weeks of his birth, he received his first experience of the vicissitudes of a soldier's life, by accompanying his father, mother, and brother to Colchester to rejoin the regiment. The whole infancy of George Borrow was spent in the same trailing restlessness. Napoleon was alive and at large, and the West Norfolks seemed doomed eternally to march and countermarch in the threatened area, Sussex, Kent, Essex. No efforts appear to have been made to steal the younger brother, although " people were in the habit of standing still to look at me, ay, more than at my brother." 2 Unlike John in about everything that one child could be unlike another, George was a gloomy, introspective creature who considerably puzzled his parents. He compares himself to " a deep, dark lagoon, shaded by black pines, cypresses and yews," 3 beside which he once paused to contemplate " a beautiful stream . . . sparkling in the sunshine, and . . . tumbling merrily into cascades," 4 which he likened to his brother. Slow of comprehension, almost dull-witted, shy of society, sometimes bursting into tears when spoken to, George became " a lover of nooks and retired corners," 5 where he would sit for hours at a time a prey to " a peculiar heaviness . . . and at times ... a strange sensation of fear, which occasionally amounted to horror," 6 for which there was no apparent cause. In time he grew to be as much disliked as his brother was admired. On one occasion an old Jew pedlar, attracted by the latent intelli- gence in the smouldering eyes of the silent child, who ignored his questions and continued tracing in the dust with his fingers curious lines, pronounced him " a prophet's 1 George in honour of the King, it is said, and Henry after his father's eldest brother. 2 Lavengro, page 6. 3 Lavengro, page 6. 4 Lavengro, page 6. 6 Lavengro, page 7. G Lavengro, page 7. 8 VILLAGE FIGHT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES [1809 child." This carried to the mother's heart a quiet comfort, and reawakened in her hope for the future of her second son. The early childhood of George Borrow was spent in stirring times. Without, there was the menace of Napoleon's invasion ; within, every effort was being made to meet and repel it. Dumouriez was preparing his great scheme of defence ; Captain Thomas Borrow was doing his utmost to collect and drill men to help in carrying it into effect. Sometimes the family were in lodgings ; but more frequently in barracks, for reasons of economy. Once, at least, they lived under canvas. The strange and puzzling child continued to impress his parents in a manner well-calculated to alarm them. One day, with a cry of delight, he seized a viper that, " like a line of golden light," was moving across the lane in which he was playing. Whilst making no effort to harm the child, who held and regarded it with awe and admira- tion, the reptile showed its displeasure towards John, his brother, by hissing and raising its head as if to strike. This happened when George was between two and three years of age. At about the same period he ate largely of some poisonous berries, which resulted in " strong convul- sions," lasting for several hours. He seems to have been a source of constant anxiety to his parents, who were utterly unable to understand the strange and gloomy child who had been vouchsafed to them by the inscrutable decree of providence. In the middle of the year 1809 the regiment returned from Essex to Norfolk, marching first to Norwich and thence to other towns in the county. Captain Borrow and his family took up their quarters once more at Dereham. George was now six years old, acutely observant of the things that interested him, but reluctant to proceed with studies which, in his eyes, seemed to have nothing to recommend them. Books possessed no attraction for him, although he knew his alphabet and could even read i] "PRETTY, QUIET M 9 imperfectly. The acquirement of book-learning he found a dull and dolorous business, to which he was driven only by the threats or entreaties of his parents, who showed some concern lest he should become an " arrant dunce." The intelligence that the old Jew pedlar had discovered still lay dormant, as if unwilling to manifest itself. The boy loved best " to look upon the heavens, and to bask in the rays of the sun, or to sit beneath hedgerows and listen to the chirping of the birds, indulging the while in musing and meditation." x Meanwhile John was earning golden opinions for the astonishing progress he continued to make at school, unconsciously throwing into bolder relief the apparent dullness of his younger brother. George, however, was as active mentally as the elder. The one was study- ing men, the other books. George was absorbing impres- sions of the things around him : of the quaint old Norfolk town, its " clean but narrow streets branching out from thy modest market-place, with thine old-fashioned houses, with here and there a roof of venerable thatch " ; of that exquisite old gentlewoman Lady Fenn, 2 as she passed to and from her mansion upon some errand of bounty or of mercy, " leaning on her gold-headed cane, whilst the sleek old footman walked at a respectful distance behind." 3 On Sundays, from the black leather-covered seat in the church- pew, he would contemplate with large-eyed wonder the rector and James Philo his clerk, "as they read their respective portions of the venerable liturgy," sometimes being lulled to sleep by the monotonous drone of their voices. On fine Sundays there was the evening walk " with my mother and brother — a quiet, sober walk, during which I would not break into a run, even to chase a butterfly, or yet more a honey-bee, being fully convinced of the dread 1 Lavengro, page 16. 2 The widow of Sir John Fenn, editor of the Pctston Tetters. 3 Lavengro, page 15. 10 VILLAGE FIGHT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES [1809 importance of the day which God had hallowed. And how glad I was when I had got over the Sabbath day without having done anything to profane it. And how soundly I slept on the Sabbath night after the toil of being very good throughout the day." 1 During these early years there was being photographed upon the brain of George Borrow a series of impressions which, to the end of his life, remained as vivid as at the moment they were absorbed. What appeared to those around him as dull-witted stupidity was, in reality, mental surfeit. His mind was occupied with other things than books, things that it eagerly took cognisance of, strove to understand and was never to forget. 2 Hitherto he had taken " no pleasure in books . . . and bade fair to be as arrant a dunce as ever brought the blush of shame into the cheeks of anxious and affectionate parents." 3 His mind was not ready for them. When the time came there was no question of dullness : he proved an eager and earnest student. One day an intimate friend of Mrs Borrow's, who was also godmother to John, brought with her a present of a book for each of the two boys, a history of England for the elder and for the younger Robinson Crusoe. Instantly George became absorbed. " The true chord had now been touched. . . . Weeks succeeded weeks, months followed months, and the wondrous volume was my only study and principal source of amusement. For hours together I would sit poring over a page till I had become acquainted with the import of every line. My progress, slow enough at first, 1 Lavengro, pages 398-9. 2 " Many years have not passed over my head, yet during those which I can call to remembrance, how many things have I seen flourish, pass away, and become forgotten, except by myself, who, in spite of all my endeavours, never can forget anything." — Lavengro, page 166. 3 Lavengro, page 16. i.] LIFE AT NORMAN CROSS 11 became by degrees more rapid, till at last, under a ' shoulder of mutton sail,' I found myself cantering before a steady breeze over an ocean of enchantment, so well pleased with my voyage that I cared not how long it might be ere it reached its termination. And it was in this manner that I first took to the paths of knowledge." 1 In the spring of 1810 the regiment was ordered to Norman Cross, in Huntingdonshire, situated at the junction of the Peterborough and Great North Roads. At this spot the Government had caused to be erected in 1796 an extensive prison, covering forty acres of ground, in which to confine some of the prisoners made during the Napoleonic wars. There were sixteen large buildings roofed with red tiles. Each group of four was surrounded by a palisade, whilst another palisade " lofty and of prodigious strength " surrounded the whole. At the time when the West Norfolk Militia arrived there were some six thousand prisoners, who, with their guards, constituted a considerable-sized township. From time to time fresh batches of captives arrived amid a storm of cheers and cries of " Vive L'Empereur ! " These were the only incidents in the day's monotony, save when some prisoner strove to evade the hospitality of King George, and was shot for his ingratitude. Captain Borrow rejoined his regiment at Norman Cross, leaving his family to follow a few days later. At the time the country round Peterborough was under water owing to the recent heavy rains, and at one portion of the journey the whole party had to embark in a species of punt, which was towed by horses " up to the knees in water, and, on coming to blind pools and 'greedy depths,' were not unfrequently swimming." 2 But they were all old cam- paigners and accepted such adventures as incidents of a soldier's life. At Norman Cross George made the acquaintance of an old snake-catcher and herbalist, a circumstance which, 1 Lave?igro t pages 19-20. " Lavengro, page 22. 12 VILLAGE FIGHT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES [1810 insignificant in itself, was to exercise a considerable influence over his whole life. Frequently this curious pair were to be seen tramping the countryside together ; a tall, quaint figure with fur cap and gaiters carrying a leathern bag of wriggling venom, and an eager child with eyes that now burned with interest and intelligence — and the talk of the two was the lore of the viper. When the snake-catcher passed out of the life of his young disciple, he left behind him as a present a tame and fangless viper, which George often carried with him on his walks. It was this well-meaning and inoffensive viper that turned aside the wrath of Gypsy Smith, 1 and awakened in his heart a superstitious awe and veneration for the child, the Sap-engro, who might be a goblin, but who certainly would make a most admirable " clergyman and God Almighty," who read from a book that contained the kind of prayers particularly to his taste — perhaps the greatest encomium ever bestowed upon the immortal Robinson Crusoe. Thus it came about that George Borrow was proclaimed brother to the gypsy's son Ambrose, 2 who as Jasper Petulengro figures so largely in Lavengro and The Romany Rye, and is credited with 1 The gypsies "have a double nomenclature, each tribe or family having a public and private name, one by which they are known to the Gentiles, and another to themselves alone. . . . There are only two names of trades which have been adopted by English gypsies as proper names, Cooper and Smith : these names are expressed in the English gypsy dialect by Vardo-mescro and Petulengro (Romano Lavo- Lil, page 185). Thus the Smiths are known among themselves as the Petulengros. Petul, a horse shoe, and engro a "masculine affix used in the formation of figurative names." Thus Boshomengro (a fiddler) comes from Bosh = a fiddle, Cooromengro (a soldier, a pugilist) from Coor = to fight. 2 The Rev. Wentworth Webster heard narrated at a provincial Bible Society's meeting that when Borrow first called at Earl Street 'he said that he had been stolen by gypsies in his boyhood, had passed several years with them, but had been recognised at a fair in Norfolk and brought home to his family by his uncle." There is, how- ever, nothing to confirm this story. i.] HOW TO ENSURE SUCCESS 13 that exquisitely phrased pagan glorification of mere existence : " Life is sweet, brother. . . . There's night and day, brother, both sweet things ; sun, moon and stars, brother, all sweet things ; there's likewise the wind on the heath. Life is very sweet, brother ; who would wish to die?" 1 The Borrows were nomads, permitted by God and the king to tarry not over long in any one place. In the following July (1811) the West Norfolks proceeded to Colchester via Norfolk, after fifteen months of prison duty and straw-plait destroying. 2 Captain Borrow betook himself to East Dereham again to seek for likely recruits. In the meantime George made his first acquaintance with that universal specific for success in life, for correctness of conduct, for soundness of prin- ciples — Lilly's Latin Grammar, which to learn by heart was to acquire a virtue that defied evil. The good old pedagogue who advocated Lilly's Latin Grammar as a remedy for all ills, would have traced George Borrow's eventual success in life entirely to the fact that within three years of the date that the solemn exhortation was pronounced the boy had learned Lilly by heart, although without in the least degree comprehending him. Early in 1812 the regiment turned its head north, and by slow degrees, with occasional counter marchings, continued to progress towards Edinburgh, which was reached thirteen months later (6th April 18 13). "With drums beating, colours flying, and a long train of baggage- waggons behind," 3 the West Norfolk Militia wound its way up the hill to the Castle, the adjutant's family in 1 Lavengro, page 164. 2 The prisoners occupied much of their time in straw-plait making ; but the quality of their work was so much superior to that of the English that it was forbidden, and consequently destroyed when found. 3 Lavengro, page 45. 14 VILLAGE FIGHT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES [1813 a chaise forming part of the procession. There in barracks the regiment might rest itself after long and weary marches, and the two young sons of the adjutant be permitted to continue their studies at the High School, without the probability that the morrow would see them on the road to somewhere else. Whilst at Edinburgh George met with his first experi- ence of racial feeling, which, under uncongenial conditions, develops into race-hatred. He discovered that one English boy, when faced by a throng of young Scots patriots, had best be silent as to the virtues of his own race. He joined in and enjoyed the fights between the " Auld and the New Toon," and incidentally acquired a Scots accent that somewhat alarmed his loyal father, who had named him after the Hanoverian Georges. Proving himself a good fighter, he earned the praise of his Scots acquaintances, and a general invitation to assist them in their " bickers " with " thae New Toon black- guards." He loved to climb and clamber over the rocks, peeping into " all manner of strange crypts, crannies, and recesses, where owls nestled and the weasel brought forth her young." He would go out on all-day excursions, enjoying the thrills of clambering up to what appeared to be inaccessible ledges, until eventually he became an expert cragsman. One day he came upon David Haggart x sitting on the extreme verge of a precipice, " thinking of Willie Wallace." For fifteen months the regiment remained at Edin- burgh. In the spring of 1814 the waning star of Napoleon had, to all appearances, set, and he was on his way to 1 David Haggart, born 24th June 1801, was an instinctive criminal, who, at Leith Races, in 1813, enlisted, whilst drunk, as a drummer in the West Norfolks. Eventually he obtained his discharge and continued on his career of crime and prison-breaking, among other things murdering a policeman and a gaoler, until, on 18th July 1821, he was hanged at Edinburgh. i] MUSTERED OUT 15 his miniature kingdom, the Isle of Elba (28th April). Europe commenced to disband its huge armies, Great Britain among the rest. On 21st June the West Norfolks received orders to proceed to Norwich by ship via Leith and Great Yarmouth. The Government, relieved of all apprehension of an invasion, had time to think of the personal comfort of the country's defenders. With marked consideration, the orders provided that those who wished might march instead of embarking on the sea. Accord- ingly Captain Borrow and his family chose the land route. Arrived at Norwich, the regiment was formally disbanded amid great festivity. The officers, at the Maid's Head, the queen of East Anglian inns, and the men in the spacious market-place, drank to the king's health and peace. The regiment was formally mustered out on 19th July. The Borrows took up their quarters at the Crown and Angel in St Stephen's Street, a thoroughfare that connects the main roads from Ipswich and Newmarket with the city. George, now eleven years old, had an opportunity of continuing his education at the Norwich Grammar School, whilst his brother proceeded to study drawing and painting with a "little dark man with . . . brown coat . . . and top-boots, whose name will one day be considered the chief ornament of the old town," x and whose works are to " rank among the proudest pictures of England," — the Norwich painter, "Old Crome." 2 Whilst the two boys were thus occupied, Louis XVIII. was endeavouring to reorder his kingdom, and on a little island in the Mediterranean, Napoleon was preparing a bombshell that was to shatter the peace of Europe and 1 Lavengro, page 138. 2 John Crome (1 768-1 821), landscape painter. Apprenticed 1783 as sign-painter ; introduced into Norwich the art of graining ; founded the Norwich School of Painting ; first exhibited at the Royal Academy 1806. 16 VILLAGE FIGHT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES [1815 send Captain Borrow hurrying hither and thither in search of the men who, a few months before, had left the colours, convinced that a generation of peace was before them. On 1st March Napoleon was at Cannes ; eighteen days later Louis XVI II. fled from Paris. Everywhere there were feverish preparations for war. John Borrow threw aside pencil and brush and was gazetted ensign in his father's regiment (29th May). Europe united against the unexpected and astonishing danger. By the time Captain Borrow had finished his task, however, the crisis was past, Waterloo had been won and Napoleon was on his way to St Helena. By a happy inspiration it was decided to send the West Norfolks to Ireland, where "disturbances were apprehended" and private stills flourished. On 31st August the regiment, some eight hundred strong, sailed in two vessels from Harwich for Cork, the passage occupying eight days. The ship that carried the Borrows was old and crazy, constantly missing stays and shipping seas, until it seemed that only by a miracle she escaped " from being dashed upon the foreland." After a few days' rest at Cork, the " city of contradic- tions," where wealth and filth jostled one another in the public highways and " boisterous shouts of laughter were heard on every side," the regiment marched off in two divisions for Clonmel in Tipperary. Walking beside his father, who was in command of the second division, and holding on to his stirrup-leather, George found a new country opening out before him. On one occasion, as they were passing through a village of low huts, " that seemed to be inhabited solely by women and children," he went up to an old beldam who sat spinning at the door of one of the hovels and asked for some water. She " appeared to consider for a moment, then tottering into her hut, presently reappeared with a small pipkin of milk, which she offered . . . with a l] WITH THE WEST NORFOLKS IN IRELAND 17 trembling hand." When the lad tendered payment she declined the money, and patted his face, murmuring some unintelligible words. Obviously there was nothing in the boy's nature now that appeared strange to simple-minded folk. Probably the intercourse with other boys at Edin- burgh and Norwich had been beneficial in its effect. Keenly interested in everything around him, George fell to speculating as to whether he could learn Irish and speak to the people in their own tongue. At Clonmel the Borrows lodged with an Orangeman, who had run out of his house as the Adjutant rode by at the head of his men, and proceeded to welcome him with flowery volubility. On the advice of his host Captain Borrow sent George to a Protestant school, where he met the Irish boy Murtagh, who figures so largely in Lavengro and The Romany Rye. Murtagh settled any doubts that Borrow may ^have had as to his ability to acquire Erse, by teaching it to him in exchange for a pack of cards. On 23rd December 18 15 Ensign John Thomas Borrow was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, he being then in his sixteenth year. In the following January, after only a few months' stay, the West Norfolks were moved on to Templemore. It was here that George learned to ride, and that without a saddle, and had awakened in him that " passion for the equine race " that never left him. 1 The nine months spent in Ireland left an indelible mark upon Borrow's imagination. In later life he repeatedly referred to his knowledge of the country, its people, and their language. In overcoming the difficulties 1 Borrow was always a magnificent horseman. " Vaya ! how you ride ! It is dangerous to be in your way !" said the Archbishop of Toledo to him years later. In The Bible in Spain he wrote that he had "been accustomed from . . . childhood to ride without a saddle." The Rev. Wentworth Webster states that in Madrid "he used to ride with a Russian skin for a saddle and without stirrups" B 18 VILLAGE FIGHT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES [1816 of Erse, he had opened up for himself a larger prospect than was to be enjoyed by a traveller whose first word of greeting or enquiry is uttered in a hated tongue. On nth May 1816 the West Norfolk Militia was back again at Norwich. Peace was now finally restored to Europe, and every nation was far too impoverished, both as regards men and money, to nourish any schemes of aggression. Napoleon was safe at St Helena, under the eye of that instinctive gaoler, Sir Hudson Lowe. The army had completed its work and was being disbanded with all possible speed. The turn of the West Norfolk Militia came on 17th June, when they were formally mustered out for the second time within two years. Three years later their Adjutant was retired upon full-pay — eight shillings a day. CHAPTER II MAY l8l6 — MARCH 1 824 T?OR the first time since his marriage, Captain Borrow ■*■ found himself at liberty to settle down and educate his sons. He had spent much of his life in Norfolk, and he decided to remain there and make Norwich his home. It was a quiet and beautiful old-world city : healthy, picturesque, ancient, and, above all, possessed of a Grammar School, where George could try and gather together the stray threads of education that he had acquired at various times and in various dialects. It was an ideal city for a warrior to take his rest in ; but probably what counted most with Captain Borrow was the Grammar School — more than the Norman Cathedral, the grim old Castle that stands guardian-like upon its mound, the fact of its being a garrison town, or even the traditions that surrounded the place. He had two sons who must be appropriately sent out into the world, and Norwich offered facilities for educat- ing both. He accordingly took a small house in Willow Lane, to which access was obtained by a covered passage then called King's, but now Borrow's Court. During the most nomadic portion of his life, when, with discouraging rapidity, he was moving from place to place, Captain Borrow never for one moment seems to have forgotten his obligations as a father. Whenever he had been quartered in a town for a few months, he had sought out a school to which to send John and George, notably at Huddersfield and Sheffield. Had he known it, these 19 20 NORWICH DAYS [1816 precautions were unnecessary ; for he had two sons who were of what may be called the self- educating type: John, by virtue of the quickness of his parts; George, on account of the strangeness of his interests and his thirst for a knowledge of men and the tongues in which they communicate to each other their ideas. It would be impossible for an unconventional linguist, such as George Borrow was by instinct, to remain uneducated, and it was equally impossible to educate him. Quite unaware of the trend of his younger son's genius, Captain Borrow obtained for him a free-scholarship at the Grammar School, then under the headmastership of the Rev. Edward Valpy, B.D., whose principal claims to fame are his severity, his having flogged the conqueror of the " Flaming Tinman," and his destruction of the School Records of Admission, which dated back to the Sixteenth Century. Among Borrow's contemporaries at the Grammar School were " Rajah " Brooke of Sarawak (for whose achievements he in after life expressed a profound admiration), Sir Archdale Wilson of Delhi, Colonel Charles Stoddart, Dr James Martineau, and Thomas Borrow Burcham, the London Magistrate. Borrow was now thirteen, and, it would appear, as determined as ever to evade as much as possible academic learning. He was " far from an industrious boy, fond of idling, and discovered no symptoms by his progress either in Latin or Greek of that philology, so prominent a feature of his last work {Lavengro)." x Borrow was an idler merely because his work was uncongenial to him. " Mere idleness is the most disagreeable state of existence, and both mind and body are continually making efforts to escape from it," he wrote in later years concerning this period. He wanted an object in life, an occupation that would prove not wholly uncongenial. That he should dislike the routine of school 1 Letter from "A School-fellow of Lavengro" in The Britannia, 26th April 1851. II.] A YOUNG POLYGLOT GENTLEMAN 21 life was not unnatural ; for he had lived quite free from those conventional restraints to which other boys of his age had always been accustomed. Occupation of some sort he must have, if only to keep at a distance that insistent melancholy that seems to have been for ever hovering about him, and the tempter whispered " Languages." 1 One day chance led him to a bookstall whereon lay a polyglot dictionary, " which pretended to be an easy guide to the acquirement of French, Italian, Low Dutch, and English." He took the two first, and when he had gleaned from the old volume all it had to teach him, he longed for a master. Him he found in the person of an old French emigre priest, 2 a study in snuff-colour and drab with a frill of dubious whiteness, who attended to the accents of a number of boarding-school young ladies. The progress of his pupil so much pleased the old priest that " after six months' tuition, the master would sometimes, on his occasional absences to teach in the country, request his so forward pupil to attend for him his home scholars." 3 It was M. D'Eterville who uttered the second recorded prophecy concerning George Borrow : " Vous serez un jour un grand philologue, mon cher," he remarked, and heard that his pupil nourished aspirations towards other things than mere philology. In the study of French, Spanish, and Italian, Borrow 1 " It is probable, that had I been launched about this time into some agreeable career, that of arms, for example, for which, being the son of a soldier, I had, as was natural, a sort of penchant, I might have thought nothing more of the acquisition of tongues of any kind ; but, having nothing to do, I followed the only course suited to my genius which appeared open to me." — Lavengro, page 89. 2 The Rev. Thomas D'Eterville, M.A., "Poor Old Detterville," as the Grammar School boys called him, of Caen University, who arrived at Norwich in 1793. He acquired a small fortune by teaching languages. There were rumours that he was engaged in the contra- band trade, an occupation more likely to bring fortune than teaching languages. 3 Letter from "A School-fellow of Lavengro" in The Britannia, 26th April 185 1. 22 NORWICH DAYS [1818 spent many hours that other boys would have devoted to pleasure ; yet he was by no means a student only. He found time to fish and to shoot, using a con- demned, honey - combed musket that bore the date of 1746. His fishing was done in the river Yare, which flowed through the estate of John Joseph Gurney, the Quaker -banker of Earlham Hall, two miles out of Norwich. It was here that he was reproached by the voice, "clear and sonorous as a bell," of the banker himself, not for trespassing, but " for pulling all those fish out of the water, and leaving them to gasp in the sun." At Harford Bridge, some two miles along the Ipswich Road, lived "the terrible Thurtell," a patron and companion of "the bruisers of England," who taught Borrow to box, and who ultimately ended his own inglorious career by being hanged (9th January 1824) for the murder of Mr Weare, and incidentally figuring in De Quincey's " On Murder Considered As One of the Fine Arts." It was through "the king of flash-men" that Borrow saw his first prize-fight at Eaton, near Norwich. The passion for horses that came suddenly to Borrow with his first ride upon the cob in Ireland had con- tinued to grow. He had an opportunity of gratifying it at the Norwich Horse Fair, held each Easter under the shadow of the Castle, and famous throughout the country. 1 It was here, in 18 18, that Borrow encountered again Ambrose Petulengro, an event that was to exercise a considerable influence upon his life. Mr Petulengro had become the head of his tribe, his father and mother having been transported for passing bad money. He was now a man, with a wife, a child, and also a mother-in-law, who took a violent dislike to the 1 It was here, in 1827, that he saw the world's greatest trotter, Marshland Shales, and in common with other lovers of horses lifted his hat to salute " the wondrous horse, the fast trotter, the best in mother England." In Lavengro Borrow antedated this event by some nine years. ii.] THE INFLUENCE OF MR PETULENGRO 23 tall, fair-haired gorgio. Borrow's life was much broadened by his intercourse with Mr Petulengro. He was often at the gypsy encampment on Mousehold, a heath just outside Norwich, where, under the tuition of his host, he learned the Romany tongue with such rapidity as to astonish his instructor and earn for him among the gypsies the name of " Lav-engro," word-fellow or word- master. He also boxed with the godlike Tawno Chikno, who in turn pronounced him worthy to bear the name " Cooro-mengro," fist-fellow or fist-master. He frequently accompanied Mr Petulengro to neighbouring fairs and markets, riding one of the gypsy's horses. At other times the two would roam over the gorse-covered Mousehold, discoursing largely about things Romany. The departure of Mr Petulengro and his retinue from Norwich threw Borrow back once more upon his linguistic studies, his fishing, his shooting, and his smouldering dis- content at the constraints of school life. It was probably an endeavour on Borrow's part to make himself more like his gypsy friends that prompted him to stain his face with walnut juice, drawing from the Rev. Edward Valpy the question : " Borrow, are you suffering from jaundice, or is it only dirt ? " The gypsies were not the only vagabonds of Borrow's acquaintance at this period. There were the Italian peripatetic vendors of weather- glasses, who had their headquarters at Norwich. In after years he met again more than one of these merchants. They were always glad to see him and revive old memories of the Norwich days. About this time he saved a boy from drowning in the Yare. 1 It may be this act with which he generously credits his brother John when he says — " I have known him dash from a steep bank into a stream in his full dress, and pull out a man who was drowning ; 1 Manuscript autobiographical notes supplied by Borrow to Mr John Longe, 1862. 24 NORWICH DAYS [1818 yet there were twenty others bathing in the water, who might have saved him by putting out a hand, without in- convenience to themselves, which, however, they did not do, but stared with stupid surprise at the drowning one's struggles." x From the first Borrow had shown a strong distaste for the humdrum routine of school life. In a thousand ways he was different from his fellows. He had been accustomed to meet strange and, to him, deeply interesting people. Now he was bidden adopt a course of life against which his whole nature rebelled. It was impossible. He missed the atmosphere of vagabondage that had inspired and stimulated his early boyhood. The crisis came at last. There was only one way to avoid the awkward and distasteful destiny that was being forced upon him. He entered into a conspiracy with three school-fellows, all younger than himself, to make a dash for a life that should offer wider opportunities to their adventurous natures. The plan was to tramp to Great Yarmouth and there excavate on the seashore caves for their habitation. From these headquarters they would make foraging expeditions, and live on what they could extract from the surrounding country, either by force or by the terror that they inspired. One morning the four started on their twenty-mile trudge to the sea ; but, when only a few miles out, one of their number became fearful and turned back. Encouraged by their leader, the others continued on their way. The father of the other two boys appears to have got wind of the project and posted after them in a chaise. He came up with them at Acle, about eleven miles from Norwich. When they were first seen, Borrow was striving to hearten his fellow buccaneers, who were tired and dispirited after their long walk. The three were unceremoniously bundled into the chaise 1 Lavengro, page 134. il] AN ADVENTURE 25 and returned to their homes and, subsequently, to the wrath of the Rev. Edward Valpy. 1 The names of the three confederates were John Dalrymple (whose heart failed him) and Theodosius and Francis Purland, sons of a Norwich chemist. The Purlands are credited with robbing " the paternal till," while Dalrymple confined himself to the less compromising duty of "gathering horse-pistols and potatoes." If the boys robbed their father's till, why did they beg? In the ballad entitled The Wandering Children and the Benevolent Gentleman, Borrow depicts the " eldest child " as begging for charity for these hungry children, who have had " no breakfast, save the haws." This does not seem to suggest that the boys were in the possession of money. Again, it was the father of one of their schoolfellows who was responsible for their capture, according to Dr Knapp, by asking them to dinner whilst he despatched a messenger to the Rev. Edward Valpy. The story of Borrow's being " horsed " on Dr Martineau's back is apocryphal. Martineau himself denied it. 2 There is no record of how Captain Borrow received the news of his younger son's breach of discipline. It probably reminded him that the boy was now fifteen and it was time to think about his future. The old soldier was puzzled. Not only had his second son shown a great partiality for acquiring Continental tongues, but 1 This account is taken from a letter by "A Schoolfellow of Lavengro" in The Britannia, 26th April 185 1. 2 In a letter to Borrow, dated 15th October 1862, John Longe, J.P., of Spixworth Park, Norwich, in acknowledging some biographi- cal particulars that Borrow had sent him for inclusion in Burton's Antiquities of the Royal School of Norwich, wrote : — "You have omitted an important and characteristic anecdote of your early days (fifteen years of age). When at school you, with Theodosius and Francis W. Purland, absented yourself from home and school and took up your abode in a certain ' Robber's Cave ' at Acle, where you resided three days, and once more returned to your homes." 26 NORWICH DAYS [1819 he had learned Irish, and Captain Borrow seemed to think that by learning the language of Papists and rebels, his son had sullied the family honour. To his father's way of thinking, this accomplishment seemed to bar him from most things that were at one and the same time honourable and desirable. The boy's own inclinations pointed to the army ; but Captain Borrow had apparently seen too much of the army in war time, and the slowness of promotion, to think of it as offering a career suitable to his son, now that there was every prospect of a prolonged peace. He thought of the church as an alternative ; but here again that fatal facility the boy had shown in learning Erse seemed to stand out as a barrier. " I have observed the poor lad attentively and really I do not see what to make of him," Captain Borrow is said to have remarked. What could be expected of a lad who would forsake Greek for Irish, or Latin for the barbarous tongue of homeless vagabonds? Certainly not a good churchman. At length it became obvious to the distressed parents that there was only one choice left them — the law. About this period Borrow fell ill of some nameless and unclassified disease, which defied the wisdom of physicians, who shook their heads gravely by his bedside. An old woman, however, cured him by a decoction prepared from a bitter root. The convalescence was slow and laborious ; for the boy's nerves were shattered, and that deep, haunting melancholy, which he first called the " Fear " and afterwards the " Horrors," descended upon him. On the 30th of March 18 19 Borrow was articled for five years to Simpson & Rackham, solicitors, of Tuck's Court, St Giles, Norwich. 1 He consequently left home to take 1 According to the original manuscript of Lavengro, it appears that Roger Kerrison, a Norwich friend of Borrow's, strongly advised the law as " an excellent profession ... for those who never intend to follow it." — Life of George Borrow, by Dr Knapp, i., 66. II.] BLACKSTONE V. AB GWILYM 27 up his abode at the house of the senior partner in the Upper Close. 1 Mr William Simpson was a man of considerable importance in the city ; for besides being Treasurer of the County, he was Chamberlain and Town Clerk, whilst his wife was famed for her hospitality, in particular her expensive dinners. With that unerring instinct of contrariety that never seemed to forsake him, Borrow proceeded to learn, not law but Welsh. When the eyes of authority were on him he transcribed Blackstone, but when they were turned away he read and translated the poems of Ab Gwilym. He performed his tasks " as well as could be expected in one who was occupied by so many and busy thoughts of his own." At the end of Tuck's Court was a house at which was employed a Welsh groom, a queer fellow who soon attracted the notice of Simpson & Rackham's clerks, young gentlemen who were bent on " mis-spending the time which was not legally their own." 2 They would 1 The Rev. Wm. Drake of Mundesley, in a letter which appeared in The Eastern Daily Press, 22nd September 1892 : — " . . . I was at the Norwich Grammar School nine years, from 1820 to 1829, and during that time (probably in 1824 and 1825) George Borrow was lodging in the Upper Close. . . . The house was a low old-fashioned building with a garden in front of it, and the fact of Borrow's residence there is fixed in my memory because I had spent the first five or six years of my own life in the same house, from 181 1 to 1816 or 1817. My father occupied it in virtue of his being a minor canon in Norwich Cathedral. I remember Borrow very distinctly, because he was fond of chatting with the boys, who used to gather round the railings of his garden, and occasionally he would ask one or two of them to have tea with him. I have a faint recollection that he gave us some of our first notions of chess, but I am not sure of this. I . . . remember him a tall, spare, dark- complexioned man, usually dressed in black. In person he was not unlike another Norwich man, who obtained in those days a very different notoriety from that which now belongs to Borrow's name. I mean John Thurtell, who murdered Mr Weare." 2 Wild Wales, page 3. 28 NORWICH DAYS [1820 make audible remarks about the unfortunate and in- offensive Welsh groom, calling out after him "Taffy" — in short, rendering the poor fellow's life a misery with their jibes, until at last, almost distracted, he had come to the determination either to give his master notice or to hang himself, that he might get away from that " nest of parcupines." Barrow saw in the predicament of the Welsh groom the hand of providence. He made a compact with him, that in exchange for lessons in Welsh, he, Borrow, should persuade his fellow clerks to cease their annoyance. From that time, each Sunday afternoon, the Welsh groom would go to Captain Borrow's house to instruct his son in Welsh pronunciation ; for in book Welsh Borrow was stronger than his preceptor. Borrow had learned the language of the bards "chiefly by going through Owen Pugh's version of ' Paradise Lost ' twice " with the original by his side. After which " there was very little in Welsh poetry that I could not make out with a little pondering." : This had occupied some three years. The studies with the groom lasted for about twelve months, until he left Norwich with his family. 2 Captain Borrow's thoughts were frequently occupied with the future of his younger son, a problem that had by no means been determined by signing the articles that bound him to Simpson & Rackham. The boy was frank and honest and did not scruple to give expression to ideas of his own, and it was these ideas that alarmed his father. Once at the house of Mr Simpson, and before the assembled guests, he told an archdeacon, worth .£7000 a year, that the classics were much overvalued, and com- 1 Wild Wales, page 157. 2 Forty years later Borrow wrote of these days : — " ' How much more happy, innocent, and holy I was in the days of my boyhood when I translated Iolo's ode than I am at the present time !' Then covering my face with my hands I wept like a child." — Wild Wales, page 448. ii.] THE GOATS AND THE SHEEF 29 pared Ab Gwilym with Ovid, to the detriment of the Roman. To Captain Borrow the possession of ideas upon any subject by one so young was in itself a thing to be deplored ; but to venture an opinion contrary to that commonly held by men of weight and substance was an unforgivable act of insubordination. The boy had been sent to Tuck's Court to learn law, and instead he persisted in acquiring languages, and such languages ! Welsh, Danish, Arabic, Armenian, Saxon ; for these were the tongues with which he occupied himself. None but a perfect mother such as Mrs Borrow could have found excuses for a son who pursued such studies, and her husband pointed out to her, it is " in the nature of women invariably to take the part of the second born." In one of those curiously self-revelatory passages with which his writings abound, Borrow tells how he continued to act as door-keeper long after it had ceased to be part of his duty. As a student of men and a collector of strange characters, it was in keeping with his genius to do so, although he himself was unable to explain why he took pleasure in the task. No one was admitted to the presence of the senior partner who did not first pass the searching scrutiny of his articled clerk. Those who pleased him were admitted to Mr Simpson's private room ; to those who did not he proved himself an almost insuper- able obstacle. Unfortunately Borrow's standards were those of the physiognomist rather than the lawyer ; he inverted the whole fabric of professional desirability by admitting the goats and refusing the sheep. He turned away a knight, or a baronet, and admitted a poet, until at last the distressed old gentleman in black, with the philanthropical head, his master, was forced to expostu- late and adjure his clerk to judge, not by faces but by clothes, which in reality make the man. Borrow bowed to the ruling of " the prince of English solicitors," revised his standards and continued to act as keeper of the door. 30 NORWICH DAYS [1820 Mr Simpson seems to have earned Borrow's thorough regard, no small achievement considering in how much he differed from his illustrious articled-clerk in everything, not excepting humour, of which the delightful, old-world gentleman seems to have had a generous share. He was doubtless puzzled to classify the strange being by whose instrumentality a stream of undesirable people was admitted to his presence, whilst distinguished clients were sternly and rigorously turned away. He probably smiled at the story of the old yeoman and his wife who, in return for some civility shown to them by Borrow, presented him with an old volume of Danish ballads, which inspired him to learn the language, aided by a Danish Bible. 1 He was not only "the first solicitor in East Anglia," but "the prince of all English solicitors — for he was a gentleman ! " 2 In another place Borrow refers to him as " my old master . . . who would have died sooner than broken his word. God bless him ! " 3 And yet again as " my ancient master, the gentleman solicitor of East Anglia." 4 Borrow was always handsome in everything he did. If he hated a man he hated him, his kith and kin and all 1 There is no doubt that Borrow became possessed of a copy of Kicempe Viser, first collected by Anders Vedel, which may or may not have been given to him, with a handshake from the old farmer and a kiss from his wife, in recognition of the attention he had shown the pair in his official capacity. He refers to the volume repeatedly in Lavengro, and narrates how it was presented by some shipwrecked Danish mariners to the old couple in acknowledgment of their humanity and hospitality. It is, however, most likely that he was in error when he stated that "in less than a month" he was able "to read the book." — Lavengro, pages 140-4. 2 Wild Wales, page 2. 3 Wild Wales, page 374. 4 Wild Wales, page 9. There is an interesting letter written to Borrow by the old lawyer's son on the appearance of Lavengro, in which he says : " With tearful eyes, yet smiling lips, I have read and re-read your faithful portrait of my dear old father. I cannot mistake him — the creaking shoes, the florid face, the polished pate — all serve as marks of recognition to his youngest son ! " II.] THE CORPORATION LIBRARY 31 who bore his name. His friendship was similarly sweep- ing, and his regard for William Simpson prompted him to write subsequently of the law as " a profession which abounds with honourable men, and in which I believe there are fewer scamps than in any other. The most honourable men I have ever known have been lawyers ; they were men whose word was their bond, and who would have preferred ruin to breaking it." 1 Fortunately for Borrow there was at the Norwich Guildhall a valuable library consisting of a large number of ancient folios written in many languages. "Amidst the dust and cobwebs of the Corporation Library " he studied earnestly and, with a fine disregard for a librarian's feelings, annotated some of the volumes, his marginalia existing to this day. One of his favourite works was the Danica Literatura Antiquissima of Olaus Wormius, 1636, which inspired him with the idea of adopting the name Olaus, his subsequent contributions to The New Magazine being signed George Olaus Borrow. Whilst Borrow was striving to learn languages and avoid the law, 2 the question of his brother's career was seriously occupying the mind of their father. Borrow loved and admired his brother. There is sincerity in all he writes concerning John, and there is something of nobility about the way in which he tells of his father's preference for him. " Who," he asks, " cannot excuse the honest pride of the old man — the stout old man ? " 3 The Peace had closed to John Borrow the army as a profession, and he had devoted himself assiduously to his art. Under Crome the elder he had made considerable 1 Wild Wales, page 374. 2 During the five years that he was articled to Simpson & Rack- ham, Borrow, according to Dr Knapp, studied Welsh, Danish, German, Hebrew, Arabic, Gaelic, and Armenian. He already had a knowledge of Latin, Greek, Irish, French, Italian, and Spanish. 3 Lavenqro, page 135. 32 NORWICH DAYS [1820 progress, and had exhibited a number of pictures at the yearly exhibitions of the Norwich Society of Artists. He continued to study with Crome until the artist's death (22nd April 1 821), when a new master had to besought. With his father's blessing and £150 he proceeded to London, where he remained for more than a year studying with B. R. Haydon. 1 Later he went to Paris to copy Old Masters. About this time Borrow had an opportunity of seeing many of "the bruisers of England." In his veins flowed the blood of the man who had met Big Ben Bryan and survived the encounter undefeated. " Let no one sneer at the bruisers of England," Borrow wrote — " What were the gladiators of Rome, or the bull-fighters of Spain, in its palmiest days, compared to England's bruisers ? " 2 he asks. On 17th July 1820 Edward Painter of Norwich was to meet Thomas Oliver of London for a purse of a hundred guineas. On the Saturday previous (the 15th) the Norwich hotels began to fill with bruisers and their patrons, and men went their ways anxiously polite to the stranger, lest he turn out to be some champion whom it were dangerous to affront. Thomas Cribb, the champion of England, had come to see the fight, " Teucer Belcher, . . . savage Shelton, . . . the terrible Randall, . . . Bull- dog Hudson, . . . fearless Scroggins, . . . Black Rich- mond, . . . Tom of Bedford," and a host of lesser lights of the " Fancy." On the Monday, upwards of 20,000 men swept out of the old city towards North Walsham, less than twenty miles distant, among them George Borrow, striding along among the varied stream of men and vehicles (some 2000 in number) to see the great fight, which was to end in the victory of the local man and a terrible storm, as if heaven were thundering its anger against a brutal spectacle. The sportsmen were left to find their way to 1 Benjamin Robert Haydon (1786- 1846), the historical painter. - Lavengro, page 166. ii] « GODLESS BILLY " TAYLOR 33 shelter, Borrow and Mr Petulengro, whom he had encountered just after the fight, with them, talking of dukkeripens (fortunes). Some time during the year 1820, a Jew named Levy (the Mousha of Lavengro), Borrow's instructor in Hebrew, introduced him to William Taylor, 1 one of the most extraordinary men that Norwich ever produced. In the long-limbed young lawyer's clerk, whose hair was rapidly becoming grey, Taylor showed great interest, and, as an act of friendship, undertook to teach him German. He was gratified by the young man's astonishing progress, and much interested in his remarkable personality. As a result Borrow became a frequent visitor at 21 King Street, Norwich, where Taylor lived and many strange men assembled. It is doubtful if William Taylor ever found another pupil so apt, or a disciple so enthusiastic among all the "harum-scarum young men" 2 that he was so fond of taking up and introducing " into the best society the place afforded." 3 He was much impressed by Borrow's extra- ordinary memory and power of concentration. Speaking one day of the different degrees of intelligence in men he said : — " I cannot give you a better example to explain my meaning than my two pupils (there was another named Cooke, who was said to be ' a genius in his way ' ) ; what I tell Borrow once he ever remembers ; whilst to the fellow Cooke I have to repeat the same thing twenty times, often without effect ; and it is not from want of memory either, but he will never be a linguist." 4 1 William Taylor (1765- 1836) was an admirer of German literature and a defender of the French Revolution. He is credited with having first inspired his friend Southey with a liking for poetry. He travelled much abroad, met Goethe, attended the National Assembly debates in 1790, translated from the German and contributed to a number of English periodicals. 2 Harriet Martineau's Autobiography, 1877. 3 Harriet Martineau's Autobiography, 1877. 4 Letter from "A School-fellow of Lavengro" in The Britannia, 26th April 185 1. C 34 NORWICH DAYS [1821 To a correspondent Taylor wrote : — " A Norwich young man is construing with me Schiller's Wilhelm Tell, with the view of translating it for the press. His name is George Henry Borrow, and he has learnt German with extraordinary rapidity ; indeed, he has the gift of tongues, and, though not yet eighteen, understands twelve languages — English, Welsh, Erse, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, German, Danish, French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese ; he would like to get into the Office for Foreign Affairs, but does not know how." * This was in 1821 ; two years later Borrow is said to have " translated with fidelity and elegance from twenty different languages." 2 In spite of his later achieve- ments in learning languages, it seems scarcely credible that he acquired eight separate languages in two years, although it must be remembered that with him the learning of a language was to be able to read it after a rather laborious fashion. Taylor, however, uses the words " facility and elegance." In the autobiographical notes that Borrow supplied to Mr John Longe in 1862 there appears the following passage : — " At the expiration of his clerkship he knew little of the law, but he was well versed in languages, being not only a good Greek and Latin scholar, but acquainted with French, Italian, Spanish, all the Celtic and Gothic dialects, and likewise with the peculiar language of the English Romany dials or gypsies." At William Taylor's table Borrow met "the most intellectual and talented men of Norwich, as also those of note who visited the city." 3 Taylor was much interested in young men, into whose minds he did not hesitate to instil his own ideas, ideas that not only earned for him the name of " Godless Billy," but outraged his respectable 1 Memoir of Wm. Taylor, by J. W. Robberds. 2 Memoir of Wm. Taylor, by J. W. Robberds. 3 Letter from "A School-fellow of Lavengro" in The Britannia, 26th April 1 85 1. WILLIAM TAYLOR OF NORWICH. [ To ]ace page 34. ii.] AN ENEMY OF HUMBUG 35 fellow-citizens as much as did his intemperate habits. " His face was terribly bloated from drink, and he had a look as if his intellect was almost as much decayed as his body," wrote a contemporary. 1 " Matters grew worse in his old age," says Harriet Martineau, " when his habits of in- temperance kept him out of the sight of ladies, and he got round him a set of ignorant and conceited young men, who thought they could set the whole world right by their destructive propensities. One of his chief favourites was George Borrow." 2 Borrow has given the following con- vincing picture of Taylor : " Methought I was in a small, comfortable room wain- scotted with oak ; I was seated on one side of a fireplace, close by a table on which were wine and fruit ; on the other side of the fire sat a man in a plain suit of brown, with the hair combed back from the somewhat high fore- head ; he had a pipe in his mouth, which for some time he smoked gravely and placidly, without saying a word ; at length, after drawing at the pipe for some time rather vigorously, he removed it from his mouth, and emitting an accumulated cloud of smoke, he exclaimed in a slow and measured tone : ' As I was telling you just now, my good chap, I have always been an enemy of humbug.'" 3 William Taylor appears to have flattered " the harum- scarum young men " with whom he surrounded himself by talking to them as if they were his intellectual equals. He encouraged them to form their own opinions, in itself a thing scarcely likely to make him popular with either parents or guardians, least of all with discipline-loving Captain Borrow, who declined even to return the salute of his son's friend on the public highway. Borrow now began to look to the future and speculate as to what his present life would lead to. His cogitations 1 The Rev. Whitwell Elvvin, in a letter, 17th February 1887. 2 Harriet Martineau's Autobiography, 1877. 3 Lavengro, page 355. 36 NORWICH DAYS [1821 seem to have ended, almost invariably, in a gloomy mist of pessimism and despair — in other words, an attack of the " Horrors." If Mr Petulengro were encamped upon Mousehold, the antidote lay near to hand in his friend's pagan optimism ; if, on the other hand, the tents of Egypt were pitched on other soil, there was no remedy, unless perhaps a prize-fight supplied the necessary stimulus to divert his thoughts from their melancholy trend. Borrow met at the house of his tutor and friend, in July 1821, Dr Bowring 1 (afterwards Sir John) at a dinner given in his honour. Bowring had recently published Specimen of Russian Poets, in recognition of which the Czar (Alexander I.) had presented him with a diamond ring. He had a considerable reputation as a linguist, which naturally attracted Borrow to him. Dr Bowring was told of Borrow's accomplishments, and during the evening took a seat beside him. Borrow confessed to being " a little frightened at first " of the distinguished man, whom he described as having " a thin weaselly figure, a sallow com- plexion, a certain obliquity of vision, and a large pair of spectacles." It would be dangerous to accept entirely the account that Borrow gives of the meeting, 2 because when that was written he had come to hate and despise the man whom he had begun by regarding with such awe. Bowring 1 John Bowring, F.R.S. (1792-1872), began life in trade, went to the Peninsula for Milford & Co., army contractors, in 181 1, set up for himself as a merchant, travelled and acquired a number of languages. He was ambitious, energetic and shrewd. He became editor of The Westminster Review in 1824, and LL.D., Gronigen, in 1829. He was sent by the Government upon a commercial mission to Belgium, 1833 ; to Egypt ; Syria and Turkey, 1837-8 ; M.P. for Clyde burghs, 1835-7, and for Bolton, 1841 ; was instrumental in obtaining the issue of the florin as a first step toward a decimal system of currency; Consul of Canton, 1847; plenipotentiary to China; governor, commander-in-chief, and vice-admiral of Hong Kong, 1854; knighted 1854 ; established diplomatic and commercial relations with Siam, 1855. He published a number of volumes of translations from various languages. He died full of years and honours in 1872. '- The Romany Rye, page 368, et sea. GEORGE BORROW (1821) (From a hitherto unpublished painting by John Borrow, now in the possession of W. F. T. Jarrold, Esq.). [ To face page 30. il] AN EMBARRASSING QUESTION 37 appears to have ventilated his views with some freedom, and to have had a rather serious passage of arms with another guest whom he had rudely contradicted. It is very probable that Borrow's dislike of Bowring prompted him to exaggerate his account of what happened at Taylor's house that evening. Whilst Borrow was industriously occupied in collecting vagabonds and imbibing the dangerous beliefs of William Taylor, there sat in an easy-chair in the small front- parlour of the little house in Willow Lane, in a faded regi- mental coat, a prematurely old man, whose frame still showed signs of the magnificent physique of his vigorous manhood. " Sometimes in prayer, sometimes in meditation, and sometimes in reading the Scriptures," with his dog beside him, Captain Thomas Borrow, now sixty-five, was prepar- ing for the end that he felt to be approaching. He frequently meditated upon what was to become of his younger son George, who held his father in such awe as to feel ill at ease when alone with him. One day the inevitable interrogation took place. " What do you propose to do ? " and the equally inevitable reply followed, " I really do not know what I shall do." In the course of a somewhat lengthy cross-examination, Captain Borrow discovered that his son knew the Armenian tongue, for which he very cunningly strove to enlist his father's interest by telling him that in Armenia was Mount Ararat, whereon the ark rested. Captain Borrow also discovered that his son could not only shoe a horse, but also make the shoes ; but, what was most important, he found that George had learned " very little " law. When asked if he thought he could support himself by Armenian or his " other acquire- ments," the younger man was not very hopeful, and horrified the old soldier by suggesting that if all else failed there was always suicide. The dying man was thus left to yearn for the return of his elder son, in whom all his hopes lay centred. John 38 NORWICH DAYS [1824 appears to have been by no means dutiful to his parents in the matter of letters. For six months he left them unacquainted even with his address in Paris, where he was still copying Old Masters in the Louvre. After their talk the father and younger son seem to have come to a better understanding. George would frequently read aloud from the Bible, whilst Captain Borrow would tell about his early life. His son " had no idea that he knew and had seen so much ; my respect for him increased, and I looked upon him almost with admiration. His anecdotes were in general highly curious ; some of them related to people in the highest stations, and to men whose names are closely connected with some of the brightest glories of our native land." x At last John arrived, apparently a little disillusioned with the world ; but the coming of his favourite son produced no change for the better in Captain Borrow's health. He was content and happy that God had granted his wish. There remained nothing now to do but "to bless my little family and go." George learned " that it is possible to feel deeply and yet make no out- ward sign." The end came on the morning of 28th February 1824. It was by a strange chance that the old man should die in the arms of his younger son, who had run down on hearing his mother's anguished screams. Borrow has given a dramatic account of his father's last moments : — " At the dead hour of night, it might be about two, I was awakened from sleep by a cry which sounded from the room immediately below that in which I slept. I knew the cry, it was the cry of my mother, and I also knew its import ; yet I made no effort to rise, for I was for the moment paralysed. Again the cry sounded, yet still I lay motionless — the stupidity of horror was upon me. A third time, and it was then that, by a violent effort bursting the spell which appeared to bind me, I sprang from the bed and rushed downstairs. My mother was running wildly 1 Lavcngro, pages 177-8. ii.] DEATH OF CAPTAIN BORROW 39 about the room ; she had awoke and found my father senseless in the bed by her side. I essayed to raise him, and after a few efforts supported him in the bed in a sitting posture. My brother now rushed in, and snatching a light that was burning, he held it to my father's face. ' The surgeon, the surgeon ! ' he cried ; then dropping the light, he ran out of the room followed by my mother ; I remained alone, supporting the senseless form of my father ; the light had been extinguished by the fall, and an almost total darkness reigned in the room. The form pressed heavily against my bosom — at last methought it moved. Yes, I was right, there was a heaving of the breast, and then a gasping. Were those words which I heard ? Yes, they were words, low and indistinct at first, and then audible. The mind of the dying man was reverting to former scenes. I heard him mention names which I had often heard him mention before. It was an awful moment ; I felt stupified, but I still contrived to support my dying father. There was a pause, again my father spoke : I heard him speak of Minden, and of Meredith, the old Minden sergeant, and then he uttered another name, which at one period of his life was much on his lips, the name of — but this is a solemn moment ! There was a deep gasp : I shook, and thought all was over ; but I was mistaken — my father moved and revived for a moment ; he supported himself in bed without my assistance. I make no doubt that for a moment he was perfectly sensible, and it was then that, clasping his hands, he uttered another name clearly, distinctly — it was the name of Christ. With that name upon his lips, the brave old soldier sank back upon my bosom, and, with his hands still clasped, yielded up his soul." 1 1 Lavengro, pages 179-80. Captain Borrow was in his sixty-sixth year at his death ; b. December 1758, d. 28th February 1824. He was buried in St Giles churchyard, Norwich, on 4th March 1824. CHAPTER III APRIL 1824 — MAY 1825 /^\N 2nd April 1824, George Borrow was cast upon the ^-^ world of London by the death of his father, " with an exterior shy and cold, under which lurk much curiosity, especially with regard to what is wild and extraordinary, a considerable quantity of energy and industry, and an unconquerable love of independence." 1 It had become necessary for him to earn his own livelihood. Captain Borrow's pension had ceased with his death, and the old soldier's savings of a lifetime were barely sufficient to produce an income of a hundred pounds a year for his widow. The provision made in the will for his younger son during his minority would operate only for about four months, as he would be of age in the following July.' 2 The clerkship with Simpson & Rackham would expire at the end of March. Borrow had outlined his ambitions in a letter written on 20th January 1824, when he was ill and wretched, to Roger Kerrison, then in London: " If ever my health mends [this has reference to a very unpleasant complaint he had contracted], and possibly it may by the time my clerkship is expired, I 1 The Romany Rye, page 302. 2 In his will Captain Borrow bequeathed to George his watch and "the small Portrait," and to John "the large Portrait" of himself, his mother to hold and enjoy them during her lifetime. Should Mrs Borrow die or marry again, elaborate provision was made for the proper distribution of the property between the two sons. 40 in.] THE GREEN BOX 41 intend to live in London, write plays, poetry, etc., abuse religion and get myself prosecuted," for he was tired of the "dull and gloomy town." It was therefore with a feeling of relief that, on the evening of 1st April, he took his seat on the top of the London coach, his hopes centred in a small green box that he carried with him. It contained his stock-in-trade as an author : his beloved manuscripts, "closely written over in a singular hand." Among the bundles of papers were : (i.) The Ancient Songs of Denmark, heroic and romantic, translated by himself, with notes philological, critical and historical. (ii.) The Songs of Ab Gwilym, the Welsh Bard, also translated by himself, with notes critical, philological and historical. 1 (iii.) A romance in the German style. In addition to his manuscripts, Borrow had some twenty or thirty pounds, his testimonials, and a letter from William Taylor to Sir Richard Phillips, the publisher, to whose New Magazine he had already contributed a num- ber of translations of poems. He had also printed in The Monthly Magazine and The New Monthly Magazine trans- lations of verse from the German, Swedish, Dutch, Danish and Spanish, and an essay on Danish ballad writing. On the morning of 2nd April there arrived at 16 Milman Street, Bedford Row, London, W.C., " A lad who twenty tongues can talk, And sixty miles a day can walk ; Drink at a draught a pint of rum, And then be neither sick nor dumb ; Can tune a song and make a verse, And deeds of Northern kings rehearse ; 1 In particular Borrow believed in Ab Gwilym " the greatest poetical genius that has appeared in Europe since the revival of literature" {Wild Wales, page 6). "The great poet of Nature, the contemporary of Chaucer, but worth half-a-dozen of the accomplished word-master, the ingenious versifier of Norman and Italian Tales." (Wild Wales, page xxviii.). 42 THE ROAD TO AUTHORSHIP [1824 Who never will forsake his friend While he his bony fist can bend ; And, though averse to broil and strife, Will fight a Dutchman with a knife ; O that is just the lad for me, And such is honest six-foot-three." 1 It was through the Kerrisons that Borrow went to 1 6 Milman Street, where Roger was lodging. His apart- ments seem to have been dismal enough, consisting of " a small room, up two pair of stairs, in which I was to sit, and another, still smaller, above it, in which I was to sleep." After the first feeling of loneliness had passed, dispelled largely by a bright fire and break- fast, he sallied forth, the contents of the green box under his arm, to present his letter of introduction to Sir Richard Phillips, 2 in whom centred his hopes of employment. On arriving at the publisher's house in Tavistock Square, he was immediately shown into Sir Richard's study, where he found " a tall, stout man, about sixty, dressed in a loose morning gown," and with him his confidential clerk Bartlett (the Taggart of Lavengrd). Sir Richard was at first enthusiastic and cordial, but when he learned from William Taylor's letter that Borrow had come up to earn his livelihood by authorship, his manner underwent a marked change. The bluff, hearty expression gave place to " a sinister glance," and Borrow found that within that loose morning gown there was a second Sir Richard. He learned two things — first, that Sir Richard Phillips had retired from publishing and had reserved only The 1 Lines to Six- Foot-Three. Romantic Ballads. Norwich 1826. 2 Sir Richard Phillips (1767-1840) before becoming a publisher was a schoolmaster, hosier, stationer, bookseller, and vendor of patent medicines at Leicester, where he also founded a newspaper. In 1795 he came to London, was sheriff in 1807, and received his knighthood a year later. SIR RICHARD PHILLIPS (From the painting by James Saxon in the National Portrait Gallery). [To face page 42 in.] A VEGETARIAN PUBLISHER 43 Monthly Magazine ; x secondly, that literature was a drug upon the market. With airy self-assertiveness, the ex- publisher dismissed the contents of the green box that Borrow had brought with him, which had already aroused considerable suspicion in the mind of the maid who had admitted him to the publisher's presence. When he had thoroughly dashed the young author's hopes of employment, Sir Richard informed him of a new publication he had in preparation, The Universal Review [The Oxford Review of Lavengro\ which was to support the son of the house and the wife he had married. With a promise that he should become a contributor to the new review, an earnest exhortation to write a story in the style of The Dairyman's Daughter, and an invitation to dinner for the following Sunday, the first interview between George Borrow and Sir Richard Phillips ended, and Borrow left the great man's presence to begin his exploration of London, first leaving his manuscripts at Milman Street. During the rest of the day he walked "scarcely less than thirty miles about the big city." It was late when he returned to his lodgings, thoroughly tired, but with a copy of The Dairyman's Daughter, for " a well-written tale in the style " of which Sir Richard Phillips " could afford as much as ten pounds." The day had been one of the most eventful in Borrow's life. On the following Sunday Borrow dined at Tavistock Square, and met Lady Phillips, young Phillips and his 1 It has been urged against Borrow's accuracy that Sir Richard Phillips had retired to Brighton in 1823, vide The Dictionary of National Biography. In the January number (1824) of The Monthly Magazine appeared the following paragraph : " The Editor [Sir Richard Phillips], having retired from his commercial engagements and removed from his late house of business in New Bridge Street, communications should be addressed to the appointed Publishers [Messrs Whittakers] ; but personal interviews of Correspondents and interested persons may be obtained at his private residence in Tavistock Square." This proves conclusively that Sir Richard was to be seen in London in the early part of 1824. 44 THE ROAD TO AUTHORSHIP [1824 bride. He learned that Sir Richard was a vegetarian of twenty years' standing and a total abstainer, although meat and wine were not banished from his table. When publisher and potential author were left alone, the son having soon followed the ladies into the drawing-room, Borrow heard of Sir Richard's amiable intentions towards him. He was to compile six volumes of the lives and trials of criminals [the Newgate Lives and Trials of Lavengro\ each to contain not less than a thousand pages. 1 For this work he was to receive the munificent sum of fifty pounds, which was to cover all expenses incurred in the purchase of books, papers and manuscripts necessary to the compilation of the work. This was only one of the employments that the fertile brain of the publisher had schemed for him. He was also to make himself useful in connection with the forthcoming Universal Review. " Generally useful, sir — doing whatever is required of you " ; for it was not Sir Richard's custom to allow young writers to select their own subjects. With impressive manner and ponderous diction, Sir Richard Phillips unfolded his philanthropic designs regard- ing the young writer to whom his words meant a career. He did not end with the appointment of Borrow as general utility writer upon The Universal Review ; but proceeded to astonish him with the announcement that to him, George Borrow, understanding German in a manner that aroused the " strong admiration" of William Taylor, was to be entrusted the translating into that tongue of Sir Richard Phillips' book of Philosophy. 2 If translations of Goethe into English were a drug, Sir Richard Phillips' Proximate Causes was to prove that neither he nor his book would be a drug in Germany. For this work the remuneration was 1 Celebrated Trials and Remarkable Cases of Criminal Juris- prudence from the Earliest Records to the Year 1825, 6 vols., with plates. London, 1825. 2 Proximate Causes of the Material Phenomena of the Universe. By Sir Richard Phillips. London, 1821. in.] IN SEARCH OF CRIMINAL BIOGRAPHY 45 to be determined by the success of the translation, an arrangement sufficiently vague to ensure eventual dis- agreement. When Sir Richard had finished his account of what were his intentions towards his guest, he gave him to understand that the interview was at an end, at the same time intimating how seldom it was that he dealt so generously with a young writer. Borrow then rose from the table and passed out of the house, leaving his host to muse, as was his custom on Sunday afternoons, " on the magnificence of nature and the moral dignity of man." For the next few weeks Borrow was occupied in searching in out-of-the-way corners for criminal biography. If he flagged, a visit from his philosopher-publisher spurred him on to fresh effort. He received a copy of Proximate Causes, with an injunction that he should review it in The Universal Review, as well as translate it into German. He was taken to and introduced to the working editor 1 of the new publication, which was only ostensibly under the control of young Phillips. In the provision that he should purchase at his own expense all the necessary materials for Celebrated Trials, Borrow found a serious tax upon his resources ; but a harder thing to bear with patience and good-humour were the frequent visits he received from Sir Richard himself, who showed the keenest possible interest in the progress of the compilation. He had already caused a preliminary announcement to be made 2 to the effect that : " A Selection of the most remarkable Trials and 1 Dr Knapp identified the editor as "William GifFord, editor of The Quarterly Review from 1809 to September 1824." {Life of George Borrow, i. 93.) The late Sir Leslie Stephen, however, cast very serious doubt upon this identification, himself concluding that the editor of The Universal Review was John Carey (1756-1826), whose name was actually associated with an edition of Quintilian published in 1822. Carey was a known contributor to two of Sir Richard Phillips' magazines. 2 The Monthly Magazine, July 1824. 46 THE ROAD TO AUTHORSHIP [1824 Criminal Causes is printing, in five volumes. 1 It will include all famous cases, from that of Lord Cobham, in the reign of Henry the Fifth, to that of John Thurtell : and those connected with foreign as well as English juris- prudence. Mr Borrow, the editor, has availed himself of all the resources of the English, German, French, and Italian languages; and his work, including from 150 to 200 2 of the most interesting cases on record, will appear in October next." 3 Sir Richard's visits to Milman Street were always accompanied by numerous suggestions as to criminals whose claims to be included in this literary chamber of horrors were in his, Sir Richard's, opinion unquestionable. The English character of the compilation was soon sacrificed in order to admit notable malefactors of other nationalities, and the drain upon the editor's small capital became greater than ever. The leisure that he allowed himself, Borrow spent in exploring the city, or in the company of Francis Arden (Ardrey in Lavengro), whom he had met by chance in the coffee-room of a hotel. The two appear to have been excellent friends, perhaps because of the dissimilarity of their natures. " He was an Irishman," Borrow explains, " I an Englishman ; he fiery, enthusiastic and opened- hearted ; I neither fiery, enthusiastic, nor open-hearted ; he fond of pleasure and dissipation, I of study and reflection." 4 They went to the play together, to dog-fights, gaming- houses, in short saw the sights of London. The arrival of Francis Arden at 16 Milman Street was a signal for books and manuscripts to be thrown aside in favour either of some expedition or an hour or two's conversation. Borrow, however, soon tired of the pleasures of London, and devoted himself almost entirely to work. Although 1 It appeared in six volumes. '-' The work when completed contained accounts of over 400 trials. 3 It appeared on 19th March following. 4 Lavengro, page 210. in.] A VISIT FROM JOHN 47 he saw less of Francis Arden in consequence, they continued to be excellent friends. After being some four weeks in London, Borrow received a surprise visit (29th April) from his brother, whom he found waiting for him one morning when he came down to breakfast. John told him of his mother's anxiety at receiving only one letter from him since his departure, of her fits of crying, of the grief of Captain Rorrow's dog at the loss of his master. He also explained the reason for his being in London. He had been invited to paint the portrait of Robert Hawkes, an ex - mayor of Norwich, for a fee of a hundred guineas. Lacking confidence in his own ability, he had declined the honour and sug- gested that Benjamin Haydon should be approached. At the request of a deputation of his fellow citizens, which had waited upon him, he had undertaken to enter into negotiations with Haydon. He even undertook to come up to London at his own expense, that he might see his old master and complete the bargain. Borrow subsequently accompanied his brother when calling upon Haydon, and was enabled to give a thumbnail - sketch of the painter of the Heroic at work that has been pronounced to be photographic in its faithfulness. John returned to Norwich about a fortnight later accompanied by Haydon, who was to become the guest of his sitter, 1 and George was left to the compilation of Celebrated Trials. Sir Richard Phillips appears to have been a man as prolific of suggestion as he was destitute of tact. He regarded his authors as the instruments of his own genius. Their business it was to carry out his ideas in a manner entirely congenial to his colossal 1 The picture was duly painted in the Heroic manner, the artist lending to the ex-mayor, for some reason or other, his own unheroi- cally short legs. Haydon received his fee of a hundred guineas, and the picture now hangs in St Andrew's Hall, Norwich. 48 THE ROAD TO AUTHORSHIP [1824 conceit. His latest author he exposed " to incredible mortification and ceaseless trouble from this same rage for interference." The result of all this was an attack of the " Horrors." Towards the end of May, Roger Kerrison received from Borrow a note saying that he believed himself to be dying, and imploring him to "come to me immediately." The direct outcome of this note was, not the death of Borrow, but the departure from Milman Street of Roger Kerri- son, lest he should become involved in a tragedy connected with Borrow's oft-repeated threat of suicide. Kerrison became " very uneasy and uncomfortable on his account, so that I have found it utterly im- possible to live any longer in the same lodgings with him." a Looked at dispassionately it seems nothing short of an act of cowardice on Kerrison's part to leave alone a man such as Borrow, who might at any moment be assailed by one of those periods of gloom from which suicide seemed the only outlet. On the other hand, from an anecdote told by C. G. Leland (" Hans Breitmann "), there seems to be some excuse for Kerrison's wish to live alone. "I knew at that time [about 1870]," he writes, 2 " a Mr Kerrison, who had been as a young man, probably in the Twenties, on intimate terms with Borrow. He told me that one night Borrow acted very wildly, whooping and vociferating so as to cause the police to follow him, and after a long run led them to the edge of the Thames, ' and there they thought they had him.' But he plunged boldly into the water and swam in his clothes to the opposite shore, and so escaped." A serious misfortune now befell Borrow in the pre- mature death of The Universal Review, which expired with the sixth number (March 1824 — January 1825). It is not known what was the rate of pay to young and 1 Letter from Roger Kerrison to John Borrow, 28th May 1824. 2 Memoirs, C. G. Lelaiid, 1893. in.] " GLORIOUS JOHN " 49 impecunious reviewers ; 1 certainly not large, if it may be judged by the amount agreed upon for Celebrated Trials. Still, its end meant that Borrow was now dependent upon what he received for his compilation, and what he merited by his translation into German of Proximate Causes. There appears to have been some difficulty about payment for Borrow's contributions to the now defunct review, which considerably widened the breach that the Trials had created. Sir Richard became more exacting and more than ever critical. 2 The end could not be far off. Borrow had come to London determined to be an author, and by no juggling with facts could his present drudgery be considered as authorship. Occasionally his mind reverted to the manuscripts in the green box, his faith in which continued undiminished. He made further efforts to get his translations published, but everywhere the answer was the same, in effect, " A drug, sir, a drug ! " At last he determined to approach John Murray (the Second), " Glorious John, who lived at the western end of the town " ; but he called many times without being suc- cessful in seeing him. Another seventeen years were to elapse before he was to meet and be published by John Murray. Yet another dispute arose between Borrow and Sir Richard Phillips. Neither appeared to have realised the supreme folly of entrusting to a young Englishman the translation into German of an English work. A novel would have presented almost insurmountable difficulties ; but a work of philosophy ! The whole project was absurd. The diction of philosophy in all languages is individual, just as it is in other branches of science, and a very 1 Borrow himself gave the sum as " eighteen-pence a page." The books themselves apparently did not become the property of the reviewer. — The Romany Rye, page 324. 2 Borrow says that he demanded lives of people who had never lived, and cancelled others that Borrow had prepared with great care, because he considered them as "drugs." — Lavengro, pages 245-6. D 50 THE ROAD TO AUTHORSHIP [1825 thorough knowledge of, and deep reading in both languages are necessary to qualify a man to translate from a foreign tongue into his own. To expect an inexperienced youth to reverse the order seems to suggest that Sir Richard Phillips must have been a publisher whose enthusiasm was greater than his judgment One day when calling at Tavistock Square, Borrow found Sir Richard in a fury of rage. He had submitted the first chapter of the translation of Proximate Causes to some Germans, who found it utterly unintelligible. This was only to be expected, as Borrow confesses that, when he found himself unable to comprehend what was the meaning of the English text, he had translated it literally into German ! The result of the interview was that Borrow, after what appears to be a tactless, not to say impertinent, rejoinder, l relapsed into silence and finally left the house, ordered back to his compilation by Sir Richard, as soon as he became sufficiently calm to appear coherent, and Borrow walked away musing on the "difference in clever men." The discovery of the inadequacy of the German trans- lation apparently urged Borrow to hasten on with Celebrated Trials. The Universal Review was dead, the German version of Proximate Causes' 1 had passed out of his hands. It was desirable, therefore, that the remaining undertaking should be completed as soon as possible, that the two might part. The last of the manu- script was delivered, the proofs passed for press, and on 19th March the work appeared, the six volumes, running 1 "'Sir,' said he, 'you know nothing of German ; I have shown your translation of the first chapter of my Philosophy to several Germans : it is utterly unintelligible to them.' ' Did they see the Philosophy?' I replied. 'They did, sir, but they did not profess to understand English.' 'No more do I,' I replied, 'if the Philosophy be English.'" — Lavengro, page 254. 2 A German edition of the work appeared in Stuttgart in 1826. in.] A MASTER OF IRONY 51 to between three and four thousand pages, containing accounts of some four hundred trials, including that of Borrow's old friend Thurtell for the murder of Mr Weare. Borrow's name did not appear. He was "the editor," and as such was referred to in the preface contributed by Sir Richard himself. Among other things he tells of how, in some cases, " the Editor has compressed into a score of pages the substance of an entire volume." Sir Richard was a philosopher as well as a preface-writing publisher, and it was only natural that he should speculate as to the effect upon his editor's mind of months spent in reading and editing such records of vice. " It may be expected," he writes, " that the Editor should convey to his readers the intellectual impressions which the execution of his task has produced on his mind. He confesses that they are mourn- ful." Sir Richard was either a master of irony, or a man of singular obtuseness. One effect of this delving into criminal records had been to raise in Borrow's mind strange doubts about virtue and crime. When a boy, he had written an essay in which he strove to prove that crime and virtue were mere terms, and that we were the creatures of necessity or circumstance. These broodings in turn reawakened the theory that everything is a lie, and that nothing really exists except in our imaginations. The world was " a maze of doubt." These indications of an overtaxed brain increased, and eventually forced Borrow to leave London. His work was thoroughly uncongenial. He disliked reviewing ; he had failed in his endeavours to render Proximate Causes into intelligible German ; and it had taken him some time to overcome his dislike of the sordid stories of crime and criminals that he had to read and edit. He became gloomy and depressed, and prone to compare the real conditions of authorship with those that his imagination had conjured up. The most important result of his labours in connec- 52 THE ROAD TO AUTHORSHIP [1825 tion with Celebrated Trials was that upon his literary style. There is a tremendous significance in the following passage. It tells of the transition of the actual vagabond into the literary vagabond, with power to express in words what proved so congenial to Borrow's vagabond temperament : " Of all my occupations at this period I am free to confess I liked that of compiling the Newgate Lives and Trials [Celebrated Trials] the best; that is, after I had surmounted a kind of prejudice which I originally entertained. The trials were entertaining enough ; but the lives — how full were they of wild and racy adventures, and in what racy, genuine language were they told. What struck me most with respect to these lives was the art which the writers, whoever they were, possessed of telling a plain story. It is no easy thing to tell a story plainly and distinctly by mouth; but to tell one on paper is difficult indeed, so many snares lie in the way. People are afraid to put down what is common on paper, they seek to embellish their narratives, as they think, by philosophic speculations and reflections ; they are anxious to shine, and people who are anxious to shine can never tell a plain story. ' So I went with them to a music booth, where they made me almost drunk with gin, and began to talk their flash language, which I did not understand,' 1 says, or is made to say, Henry Simms, executed at Tyburn some seventy years before the time of which I am speaking. I have always looked upon this sentence as a masterpiece of the narrative style, it is so concise and yet so clear." * 2 By the time the work was published and Borrow had been paid his fee, all relations between editor and publisher had ceased, and there was "a poor author, or rather philologist, upon the streets of London, possessed of many tongues," which he found " of no use in the world." 3 A month after the appearance of Celebrated Trials (18th April), and a little more than a year after his arrival in London, Borrow published a translation of Klinger's 1 This sentence is quoted in The Gypsies of Spain as a heading to he section "On Robber Language," page 335. 2 Lavengro, pages 216-7. 3 Lavengro, page 271. in.] A BOOK TO BE BURNED 53 Faustus} He himself gives no particulars as to whether it was commissioned or no. It may even have been " the Romance in the German style " from the Green Box. It is known that he received payment for it by a bill at five or six months, 2 but there is no mention of the amount. It would appear that the translation had long been projected, for in The Monthly Magazine, July 1824, there appeared, in conjunction with the announcement of Celebrated Trials, the following paragraph : " The editor of the preceding has ready for the press, a Life of Faustus, his Death and Descent into Hell, which will also appear the next winter." Faustus did not meet with a very cordial reception. The Literary Gazette (16th July 1825) characterised it as " another work to which no respectable publisher ought to have allowed his name to be put. The political allusion and metaphysics, which may have made it popular among a low class in Germany, do not sufficiently season its lewd scenes and coarse descriptions for British palates. We have occasionally publications for the fireside, — these are only fit for the fire." Borrow had apparently been in some doubt about certain passages, for in a note headed " The Translator to the Public," he defends the work as moral in its general teaching : " The publication of the present volume may at first sight appear to require some brief explanation from the 1 Faustus : His Life, Death and Descent into Hell. Translated from the German. London: W. Simpkin and R. Marshall, 1825, pages xxii., 251. Coloured Plate. 2 A letter from Borrow to the publishers, which Dr Knapp quotes, and dates 15th September 1825, but without giving his reasons, was written from Norwich, and runs : Dear Sir, — As your bill will become payable in a few days> I am willing to take thirty copies of Faustus instead of the money. The book has been burnt in both the libraries here, and, as it has been talked about, I may, perhaps, be able to dispose of some in the course of a year or so. — Yours, G. Borrow. 54 THE ROAD TO AUTHORSHIP [1825 Translator, inasmuch as the character of the incidents may justify such an expectation on the part of the reader. It is, therefore, necessary to state that, although scenes of vice and crime are here exhibited, it is merely in the hope that they may serve as beacons, to guide the ignorant and unwary from the shoals on which they might otherwise be wrecked. The work, when considered as a whole, is strictly moral." It must be confessed that Faustus does not err on the side of restraint. Many of its scenes might appear " lewd . . . and coarse " to anyone who for a moment allowed his mind to wander from the morality of " its general teaching." The attacks upon the lax morals of the priesthood must have proved particularly congenial to the translator. The more Borrow read his translations of Ab Gwilym, the more convinced he became of their merit and the profit they would bring to him who published them. The booksellers, however, with singular unanimity, declined the risk of introducing to the English public either Welsh or Danish ballads ; and their translator became so shabby in consequence, that he refrained from calling upon his friend Arden, for whom he had always cherished a very real friendship. He began to lose heart. His energy left him and with it went hope. He was forced to review his situation. Authorship had obviously failed, and he found himself with no reasonable prospect of employment. There is no episode in Borrow's life that has so exercised the minds of commentators and critics as his account of the book he terms in Lavengro, The Life and Adventures of Joseph Sell, the Great Traveller. Some dismiss the whole story as apocryphal ; others see in it a grain of truth distorted into something of vital import- ance ; whilst there are a number of earnest Borrovians that accept the whole story as it is written. Dr Knapp has said that Joseph Sell "was not a book at all, and the author of it never said that it was." This was obviously an error, for the bookseller is credited with saying, " I think I shall venture on sending your in.] THE MYSTERY OF JOSEPH SELL 55 book to the press," 1 referring to it as a "book" four times in nine lines. Again, in another place, Borrow describes how he rescued himself " from peculiarly- miserable circumstances by writing a book, an original book, within a week, even as Johnson is said to have written his Rasselas and Beckford his Vathek. 2 This removes all question of the Life and Adventures of Joseph Sell being included in a collection of short stories. The title would not be the same, the date is most probably wrongly given, as in the case of Marshland Shales ; but the general accuracy of the account as written seems to be highly probable. Many efforts have been made to trace the story ; but so far unsuccessfully. It must be remembered that Borrow loved to stretch the long arm of coincidence ; but he loved more than anything else a dramatic situation. He was always on the look out for effective " curtains." In favour of the story having been actually written, is the knowledge that Borrow invented little or nothing. Collateral evidence has shown how little he deviated from actual happenings, although he did not hesitate to revise dates or colour events. The strongest evidence, however, lies in the atmosphere of truth that pervades Chapters LV. — LVII. of Lavengro. They are convincing. At one time or another during his career, it would appear that Borrow wrote against time from grim necessity ; otherwise he must have been a master of invention, which every- thing that is known about him clearly shows that he was not. Joseph Sell has disappeared, a most careful search of the Registers at Stationers' Hall can show no trace of that work, or any book that seems to suggest it, and the con- temporary literary papers render no assistance. According to Borrow's own account, one morning on getting up he found that he had only half a crown in the 1 Lavengro, page 310. 2 The Romany Rye, Appendix, page 303. 56 THE ROAD TO AUTHORSHIP [1825 world. It was this circumstance, coupled with the timely notice that he saw affixed to a bookseller's window to the effect that " A Novel or Tale is much wanted," that determined him to endeavour to emulate Dr Johnson and William Beckford. He had tired of " the Great City," and his thoughts turned instinctively to the woods and the fields, where he could be free to meditate and muse in solitude. When he returned to Milman Street after seeing the bookseller's advertisement, he found that his resources had been still further reduced to eighteen-pence. He was too proud to write home for assistance, he had broken with Sir Richard Phillips, and he had no reasonable expectation of obtaining employment of any description ; for his accomplishments found no place in the catalogue of every- day wants. He was a proper man with his hands, and knew some score or more languages. No matter how he regarded the situation, the facts were obvious. Between him and actual starvation there was the inconsiderable sum of eighteen-pence and the bookseller's advertisement. The gravity of the situation banished the cloud of despond- ency that threatened to settle upon him, and also the doubts that presented themselves as to whether he possessed the requisite ability to produce what the book- seller required. The all-important question was, could he exist sufficiently long on eighteen-pence to complete a story? Sir Richard Phillips had told him to live on bread and water. He now did so. For a week he wrote ceaselessly at the Life and Adventures of Joseph Sell, the Great Traveller. He wrote with the feverish energy of a man who sees the shadow of actual starvation cast across his manuscript. When the tale was finished there remained the work of revision, and after that, worst of all, fears lest the bookseller were already suited. Fortune, however, was kind to him, and he was success- ful in extracting for his story the sum of twenty pounds. in.] A NEW THEORY 57 Borrow had not mixed among gypsies for nothing. He, a starving and unknown author, succeeded in extracting from a bookseller twenty pounds for a story, twice the amount offered by Sir Richard Phillips for a novel on the lines of The Dairyman's Daughter. It was an achievement. The first argument against the story, as related by Borrow, is that he was not without resources at the time. Why should he be so impoverished a few weeks after receiving payment for Celebrated Trials ? 1 Above all, why did he not realise upon Simpkin & Marshall's bill for Faustus ? He would have experienced no difficulty in discounting a bill accepted by such a firm. It seems hardly conceivable that he should preserve this piece of paper when he had only eighteen-pence in the world. Everything seems to point to the fact that in May 1825 Borrow was not in want of money, and if he were not, why did he almost kill himself by writing the Life and Adventures of foseph Sell? Again, at that period he had met with no adventures such as might be included in the life of a " Great Traveller," and Borrow was not an inventive writer. Later he possessed plenty of material ; for there can be no question that he roamed about the world for a considerable portion of those seven mysterious years of his life that came to be known as the " Veiled Period." His accuracy as to actual occurrences has been so em- phasised that this particular aigument holds considerable significance. The strongest evidence against foseph Sell having been written in 1825, however, lies in the fact that Green- wich Fair was held on 23rd May, and not 12th May, as given by Dr Knapp. By his error Dr Knapp makes Borrow leave London a day before the Fair took place that 1 Probably it was only a portion of the whole amount of ^50 that Borrow drew after the completion of the work. One thing is assured, that Sir Richard Phillips was too astute a man to pay the whole amount before the completion of the work. 58 THE ROAD TO AUTHORSHIP [1825 he describes. Borrow must have left London on the day following Greenwich Fair (24th May). If he left later, then those things which tend to confirm his story of the life in the Dingle do not fit in, as will be seen. He certainly could not have left before Greenwich Fair was held. In one of his brother John's letters, written at the end of 1829, there is a significant passage, " Let me know how you sold your manuscript." 1 What manuscript is it that is referred to ? There is no record of George having sold a manuscript in the autumn of 1829. The passage can scarcely have reference to some article or translation ; it seems to suggest something of importance, an event in George's life that his brother is anxious to know more about. If this be Joseph Sell, then it explains where Borrow got the money from to go up to London at the end of 1829, when he entered into relations with Dr Bowring. It is merely a theory, it must be confessed ; but there is certain evidence that seems to support it. In the first place, Borrow was a chronicler before all else. He pos- sessed an amazing memory and a great gift for turning his experiences into literary material. If he coloured facts, he appears to have done so unconsciously, to judge from those portions of The Bible in Spain that were covered by letters to the Bible Society. Not only are the facts the same, but, with very slight changes, the words in which he relates them. He never hesitated to change a date if it served his purpose, much as an artist will change the posi- tion of a tree in a landscape to suit the exigencies of composition. His five volumes of autobiography bristle with coincidences so amazing that, if they were actually true, he must have been the most remarkable genius on record for attracting to himself strange adventures. He met the sailor son of the old Apple-Woman returning from his enforced exile; Murtagh tells him of how the postilion frightened the Pope at Rome by his denunciation, a story 1 Dr Knapp's Life of George Borrow, i., page 141. in.] CURIOUS COINCIDENCES 59 Borrow had already heard from the postilion himself; the Hungarian at Horncastle narrates how an Armenian once silenced a Moldavian, the same Moldavian whom Borrow had encountered in London ; the postilion meets the man in black again. There are scores of such coincidences, which must be accepted as dramatic embellishments. CHAPTER IV MAY — SEPTEMBER 1 825 T?OURTEEN months in London had shown Borrow -*■ how hard was the road of authorship. He confessed that he was not " formed by nature to be a pallid indoor student." "The peculiar atmosphere of the big city" did not agree with him, and this fact, together with the anxiety and hard work of the past twelve months, caused him to flag, and his first thought was how to recover his health. He was disillusioned as to the busy world, and the oppor- tunities it offered to a young man fired with ambition to make a stir in it. He determined to leave London, which he did towards the end of May, 1 first despatching his trunk "containing a few clothes and books to the old town [Norwich]." He struck out in a south-westerly direction, musing on his achievements as an author, and finding that in having preserved his independence and health, he had " abundant cause to be grateful." Throughout his life Borrow was hypnotised by inde- pendence. Like many other proud natures, he carried his theory of independence to such an extreme as to become a slave to it and render himself unsociable, sometimes churlish. It was this virtue carried to excess that drove Borrow from London. He must tell men what was in his mind, and his one patron, Sir Richard Phillips, he had mortally offended in this manner. 1 Dr Knapp gives the date as the 22nd ; but Mr John Sampson makes the date the 24th, which seems more likely to be correct. GO iv.] THE EVIL EYE 61 Finding that he was unequal to much fatigue, after a few hours' walking he hailed a passing coach, which took him as far as Amesbury in Wiltshire. From here he walked to Stonehenge and on to Salisbury, " inspecting the curi- osities of the place," and endeavouring by sleep and good food to make up the wastage of the last few months. The weather was fine and his health and spirits rapidly improved as he tramped on, his " daily journeys varying from twenty to twenty - five miles." He encountered the mysterious stranger who " touched " against the evil eye. F. H. Groome asserts, on the authority of W. B. Donne, that this was in reality William Beckford. Borrow must have met him at some other time and place, as he had already left Fonthill in 1825. It is, however, interesting to recall that Borrow himself " touched " against the evil eye. Mr Watts - Dunton has said : " There was nothing that Borrow strove against with more energy than the curious impulse, which he seems to have shared with Dr Johnson, to touch the objects along his path in order to save himself from the evil chance. He never conquered the superstition. In walking through Richmond Park he would step out of his way constantly to touch a tree, and he was offended if the friend he was with seemed to observe it." x The chance meeting with Jack Slingsby (in fear of his life from the Flaming Tinman, and bound by oath not to continue on the same beat) gave Borrow the idea of buying out Slingsby, beat, plant, pony and all. " A tinker is his own master, a scholar is not," z he remarks, and then proceeds to draw tears and moans from the dispirited Slingsby and his family by a description of the joys of tinkering, "the happiest life under heaven . . . pitching your tent under the pleasant hedge-row, listening to the song of the feathered tribes, collecting all the leaky kettles in the neighbourhood, soldering and joining, 1 The Atkenceum, 25th March 1899. 2 Lavengro, page 362. 62 FAREWELL TO LONDON [1825 earning your honest bread by the wholesome sweat of your brow." l By the expenditure of five pounds ten shillings, plus the cost of a smock-frock and some provisions, George Borrow, linguist, editor and translator, became a travelling tinker. With his dauntless little pony, Ambrol, he set out, a tinkering Ulysses, indifferent to what direction he took, allowing the pony to go whither he felt inclined. At first he experienced some apprehension at passing the night with only a tent or the stars as a roof. Rain fell to mar the opening day of the adventure, but the pony, with unerring instinct, led his new master to one of Slingsby's usual camping grounds. In the morning Borrow fell to examining what it was beyond the pony and cart that his five pounds ten shillings had purchased. He found a tent, a straw mattress and a blanket, " quite clean and nearly new." There were also a frying-pan, a kettle, a teapot (broken in three pieces) and some cups and saucers. The stock-in-trade " consisted of various tools, an iron ladle, a chafing-pan, and small bellows, sundry pans and kettles, the latter being of tin, with the exception of one which was of copper, all in a state of considerable dilapidation." The pans and kettles were to be sold after being mended, for which purpose there was " a block of tin, sheet-tin, and solder." But most precious of all his possessions was " a small anvil and bellows of the kind which are used in forges, and two hammers such as smiths use, one great, and the other small." 2 Borrow had learned the blacksmith's art when in Ireland, and the anvil, bellows and smith's hammers were to prove extremely useful. A few days after pitching his tent, Borrow received from his old enemy Mrs Heme, Mr Petulengro's mother-in-law, a poisoned cake, which came very near to ending his career. He then encountered the Welsh preacher ( " the worthiest creature I ever knew " ) and his wife, who were largely 1 Lavcngro, page 362. '* Lavcngro, page 374. IV.] MUMBER LANE 63 instrumental in saving him from Mrs Heme's poison. Having remained with his new friends for nine days, he accompanied them as far as the Welsh border, where he confessed himself the translator of Ab Gwilym, giving as an excuse for not accompanying them further that it was " neither fit nor proper that I cross into Wales at this time, and in this manner. When I go into Wales, I should wish to go in a new suit of superfine black, with hat and beaver, mounted on a powerful steed, black and glossy, like that which bore Greduv to the fight of Catraeth. I should wish, moreover," he continued, " to see the Welshmen assembled on the border ready to welcome me with pipe and fiddle, and much whooping and shouting, and to attend me to Wrexham, or even as far as Machynllaith, where I should wish to be invited to a dinner at which all the bards should be present, and to be seated at the right hand of the president, who, when the cloth was removed, should arise, and amidst cries of silence, exclaim — ' Brethren and Welshmen, allow me to propose the health of my most respectable friend the translator of the odes of the great Ab Gwilym, the pride and glory of Wales.'" l He returned with Mr Petulengro, who directed him to Mumber Lane (Mumper's Dingle), near Willenhall, in Staffordshire, " the little dingle by the side of the great north road." Here Borrow encamped and shod little Ambrol, who kicked him over as a reminder of his clumsiness. He had refused an invitation from Mr Petulengro to become a Romany ^ even with the apologies of Spain in his pocket. The prison afforded him unique opportunities for the study of criminal vagabonds. An entirely new phase of life presented itself to him, and. but for this arrest and his subsequent decision to involve the authorities in difficulties, The Bible in Spain would have lacked some of its most picturesque pages. It would have been strange if he had not encountered some old friend or acquaintance in the prison of the Spanish capital. At the Carcel de la Corte he found the notorious and immense Gitana, Aurora, who had fallen into the hands of the Busn/ for defrauding a rather foolish widow. " A great many people came to see me," Borrow wrote to his mother, " amongst others, General Quiroga, the Military Governor, who assured me that all he possessed was at my service. The Gypsies likewise came, but were refused admittance." His dinner was taken to him from an inn, and Sir George Villiers sent his butler each day to make enquiries. There was, however, one very unpleasant feature of his prison life, the verminous con- dition of the whole building. In spite of having fresh linen taken to him each day, he suffered very much from what the polished Spaniard prefers to call miseria. Sir George Villiers took active and immediate steps, not only to secure Borrow's release, but to obtain an unqualified apology. Referring to the letter he had received from the Civil Governor (30th April), he expressed himself as convinced that " a gentleman of Borrow's character and education was incapable of the conduct alleged," and had accordingly requested Mr Sothern to enquire into the matter and then to call upon the Civil Governor to explain in what manner he xv.] A GRAVE SITUATION 237 had been misinformed. As the Civil Governor refused to receive Mr Sothern, Sir George adds that he need trouble him no further, as the affair had been placed before Her Catholic Majesty's Government ; but during his five years of office at the Court of Madrid, he proceeded, " no circumstance has occurred likely to be more pre- judicial to the relations between the two Countries than the insult and imprisonment to which a respectable Englishman has now been subjected upon the unsupported evidence of a Police Officer," acting under the orders of the Civil Governor. On 3rd May Sir George Villiers' wrote again to Count Ofalia, reminding him that he had not received the letter from him that he had expected. In the course of a lengthy recapitulation of the occurrences of the past ten days, Sir George reminded Count Ofalia that, as a result of their interview on 30th April about the ill- usage of Borrow, the Count had written on 1st May to him a private letter stating that measures had been taken to release Borrow on parole, he to appear when necessary, and that if Sir George would abstain from making a written remonstrance, Count Ofalia would see that both he and Borrow received the ample satisfaction to which they were entitled. Borrow had been taken by two Guards " like a Malefactor, to the Common Prison, where he would have been confined with Criminals of every description if he had not had money to pay for a Cell to Himself." The British Minister complained that every step that he had taken for Borrow's protection was followed by fresh insult, and he further intimated that Borrow refused to leave the prison until his character had been publicly cleared. The Spanish Government now found itself in a quandary. The British Minister was pressing for satisfac- tion, and he was too powerful and too important to the needs of Spain to be offended. The prisoner himself refused to be liberated, because he had been illegally 238 IMPRISONMENT— A DIPLOMATIC CRISIS [1838 arrested, inasmuch as he, a foreigner, had been committed to prison without first being conducted before the Captain- General of Madrid, as the law provided. Furthermore, Borrow advised the authorities that if they chose to eject him from the prison he would resist with all his bodily strength. In this determination he was confirmed by the British Minister. A Cabinet Council was held, at which Senor Entrena was present. The Premier explained the serious situation in which the ministry found itself, owing to the attitude assumed by the British Minister, and he remarked that the Civil Governor must respect the privileges of foreigners. Senor Entrena suggested that he should be relieved of his duties ; but the majority of the Cabinet seems to have been favourable to him. The Affaire Borrow is said to have come up for debate even during a secret session of the Chamber. When Count Ofalia had called at the British Embassy (4th May) he was informed by Sir George Villiers that the affair had passed beyond the radius of a subordinate authority of the Government, and that he "considered that great want of respect had been shown to me, as Her Majesty's Minister, and that an unjustifiable outrage had been committed upon a British Subject," 1 and that the least reparation that he was disposed to accept was a written declaration that an injustice had been done, and the dismissal of the Police Officer. 2 The value of a British subject's freedom was brought home to the Spanish Government with astonishing swift- ness and decision. The Civil Governor wrote to Sir George Villiers (3rd May), apparently at the instance of the distraught premier, discoursing sagely upon the Civil and Canon Laws of Spain, and adding that the 25 copies of the Gitano St Luke were seized, " not as being 1 Dispatch from Sir George Villiers to Viscount Palmerston, 5th May. 2 Ibid. xv.] THE AFFAIRE BORROW 239 confiscated, but as a deposit to be restored in due time." He concluded by hoping that he had convinced the British Minister of his good faith. In his reply, Sir George considered that the Civil Governor had been led to view the matter in a light that would not " bear the test of impartial examination." The result of this interchange of letters was twofold. Sir George dropped the correspondence with "that Func- tionary [who] displays so complete a disregard for fact," ] and as Count Ofalia evaded the real question at issue, holding out " slender hopes of the matter ending in the reparation which I considered to be peremptorily called for," 2 he advised Borrow to claim protection from the Captain-General, the only authority competent to exercise any jurisdiction over him. The Captain-General Quiroga, jealous of his authority, entered warmly into the dispute and ordered the Civil Governor to hand over the case to him. There was now a danger of the Affaire Borrow being made a party question, in which case it would have been extremely difficult to settle. The intervention of the Captain-General rendered all the more obvious the illegality of the Civil Governor's action, and increased the embarrassment of Count Ofalia, who called on Sir George to ask him to have Borrow's memorial to the Captain-General withdrawn. He refused, and said the only way now to finish the affair was that " His Excellency should in an official Note declare to me that Mr Borrow left the prison, where he had been improperly placed, with unstained honour, — that the Police Agent, upon whose testimony he had been arrested, should be dismissed, — that all expenses imposed upon Mr Borrow by his detention should be repaid him by the Government, — that Mr Borrow's not having availed himself of the ' Fuero Militar ' should not be converted 1 Despatch from Sir George Villiers to Viscount Palmerston, 1 2th May 1838. - Ibid. 240 IMPRISONMENT— A DIPLOMATIC CRISIS [1838 into a precedent, or in any way be considered to prejudice that important right, and that Count Ofalia should add with reference to maintaining the friendly relations between Great Britain and Spain, that he hoped I would accept this satisfaction as sufficient." * Borrow states that Sir George Villiers went to the length of informing Count Ofalia that unless full satisfac- tion were accorded Borrow, he would demand his passports and instruct the commanders of the British war vessels to desist from furnishing further assistance to Spain. 2 There is, however, no record of this in the official papers sent by Sir George to the Foreign Office. What actually occurred was that, on 8th May, the British Minister, determined to brook no further delay, wrote a grave official remonstrance, in which he stated that, " if the desire had existed to bring it to a close," the case of Borrow could have been settled. " Having up to the present moment," he proceeds, "trusted that in Your Excellency's hands, this affair would be treated with all that considera- tion required by its nature and the consequences that may follow upon it. ... I have forborne from denouncing the whole extent of the illegality which has marked the proceedings of the case " (viz., the Civil Governor's having usurped the right of the Captain-General of the Province in causing Borrow's arrest). In conclusion, Sir George states that he considers the " case of most pressing importance, for it may com- promise the relations now existing between Great Britain and Spain. It is one that requires a complete satisfaction, for the honor of England and the future position of Englishmen in the Country are concerned ; and the satisfaction, in order to be complete, required to be promptly given." " This disagreeable business," Sir George writes in another of his despatches, " is rendered yet more so by the impossibility of defending with success all 1 Despatch from Sir George Villiers to Viscount Palmerston. 2 Letter to Rev. A. Brandram, 17th May 183s. xv.] AN OBJECT OF SUSPICION 241 Mr Borrow's proceedings. . . . His imprudent zeal likewise in announcing publicly that the Bible Society had a depot of Bibles in Madrid, and that he was the Agent for their sale, irritated the Ecclesiastical Authorities, whose attention has of late been called to the proceedings of a Mr Graydon, — another agent of the Bible Society, who has created great excitement at Malaga (and I believe in other places) by publishing in the Newspapers that the Catholic Religion was not the religion of God, and that he had been sent from England to convert Spaniards to Protestantism. I have upon more than one occasion cautioned Mr Graydon, but in vain, to be more prudent. The Methodist Society of England is likewise endeavouring to establish a School at Cadiz, and by that means to make conversions. " Under all these circumstances it is not perhaps surprising that the Archbishop of Toledo and the Heads of the Church should be alarmed that an attempt at Protestant Propagandism is about to be made, or that the Government should wish to avert the evils of religious schism in addition to all those which already weigh upon the Country ; and to these different causes it must, in some degree, be attributed that Mr Borrow has been an object of suspicion and treated with such extreme rigor. Still, however, they do not justify the course pursued by the Civil Governor towards him, or by the Government towards myself, and I trust Your Lordship will consider that in the steps I have taken upon the matter, I have done no more than what the National honor, and the security of Englishmen in this Country, rendered obligatory upon me." 1 Whilst Borrow was in the Carcel de la Corte, a grave complication had arisen in connection with the misguided Lieutenant Graydon. Borrow gives a strikingly dramatic account 2 of Count Ofalia's call at the British Embassy. He is represented as arriving with a copy of one of Gray- don's bills, which he threw down upon a table calling upon Sir George Villiers to read it and, as a gentleman and the representative of a great and enlightened nation, tell him if 1 Despatch from Sir George Villiers to Viscount Palmerston, 5th May 1838. - In a letter to the Rev. A. Brandram, 17th May 1838. Q 242 IMPRISONMENT— A DIPLOMATIC CRISIS [1838 he could any longer defend Borrow and say that he had been ill or unfairly treated. According to the Foreign Office documents, Count Ofalia wrote to Sir George Villiers on 5 th May, enclosing a copy of an advertisement inserted by Lieutenant Gray don in the Bolctin Oficialde Malaga, which, translated, runs as follows : — " The Individual in question most earnestly calls the greatest attention of each member of the great Spanish Family to this divine Book, in order that tlirougJi it he may learn the chief cause, if not the sole one, of all his terrible afflictions and of his only remedy, as it is so clearly manifested in the Holy Scripture. ... A detestable system of superstition and fanaticism, only greedy for money, and not so either of the temporal or eternal felicity of man, has prevailed in Spain (as also in other Nations) during several Centuries, by the absolute exclusion of the true knowledge of the Great God and last Judge of Mankind : and thus it has been plunged into the most frightful calamities. There was a time in which precisely the same was read in the then very little Kingdom of England, but at length Her Sons recognising their imperative Duty towards God and their Neighbour, as also their unquestion- able rights, and that since the world exists it has never been possible to gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles, they destroyed the system and at the price of their blood chose the Bible. Oh that the unprejudiced and enlightened inhabitants not only of Malaga and of so many other Cities, but of all Spain, would follow so good an example." 1 The result of Graydon's advertisement was that " the people flocked in crowds to purchase it [the Bible], so much so that 200 copies, all that were in Mr Graydon's possession at the time, were sold in the course of the day. The Bishop sent the Fiscal to stop the sale of the work, but before the necessary measures were taken they were all disposed of." 2 In consequence Graydon "was detained 1 The Official Translation among the Foreign Office Papers at the Record Office. 2 Mr William Mark's (the British Consul at Malaga) Official account of the occurrence, i6th May 1838. xv.] GRAYDON'S CONDUCT INDEFENSIBLE 243 and under my [the Consul's] responsibility allowed to remain at large." 1 A jury of nine all pronounced the article to contain " matter subject to legal process " ; 2 but a second jury of twelve at the subsequent public trial " unanimously absolved " Graydon. Sir George Villiers acknowledged the letter from Count Ofalia (9th May) saying that he had written to Graydon warning him to be more cautious in future. He stated that from personal knowledge he could vouch for the purity of Lieutenant Graydon's intentions ; but he regretted that he should have announced his object in so imprudent a manner as to give offence to the ministers of the Catholic religion of Spain. In a despatch to Lord Palmerston he states that he has not thought it in the interests of the Bible Society to defend this conduct of Graydon, "whose zeal appears so little tempered by discretion," 3 as he had written to Count Ofalia. " Had I done so," he proceeds, " and thereby tended to confirm some of the idle reports that are current, that England had a national object to serve in the propagation of Protestantism in Spain, it is not improbable that a legislative Enactment might have been introduced by some Member of the Cortes, which would be offensive to England, and render it yet more difficult than it is the task the Bible Society seems desirous to undertake in this Country." i Sir George concludes by saying that he gave to " these Agents the best advice and assistance in my power, but if by their acts they infringe the laws of the Country," it will be impossible to defend them. Sir George thought so seriously of the Affaire Borrow^ as endangering the future liberty of Englishmen in Spain, that he went so far as to send a message to the Queen Regent, " by a means which I always have at my dis- 1 Mr William Mark's (the British Consul at Malaga) Official account of the occurrence, 16th May 1838. - Ibid. 3 Despatch to Viscount Palmerston, 12th May 1838. 4 Ibid. 2-44 IMPRISONMENT— A DIPLOMATIC CRISIS [1838 posal," 1 in which he told her that he thought the affair " might end in a manner most injurious to the continuance of friendly relations between the two Countries." 2 He received a gracious assurance that he should have satisfac- tion. Later there reached him " a second message from the Queen Regent expressing Her Majesty's hope that Count Ofalia's Note [of nth May] would be satisfactory to me, and stating that Her Ministers had so fully proved their incompetency by giving any just cause of complaint to the Minister of Her only real Friend and Ally, The Queen of England, that she should have dismissed them, were it not that the state of affairs in the Northern Provinces at this moment might be prejudiced by a change of Government, which Her Majesty said she knew no one more than myself would regret, but at the same time if I was not satisfied I had only to state what I required and it should be immedi- ately complied with. My answer was confined to a grate- ful acknowledgement of Her Majesty's condescension and kindness. Count Ofalia has informed me that as President of the Council He had enjoined all his Colleagues never to take any step directly or indirectly concerning an Englishman without a previous communication with Him as to its propriety, and I therefore venture to hope that the case of Mr Borrow will not be unattended with ultimate advantage to British subjects in Spain." 3 The " Note " referred to by the Queen Regent in her message was Count Ofalia's acquiescence in Sir George Villiers' demands, with the exception of the dismissal of the Police Officer. His communication runs : — u ii//j May 1838. " SIR, — The affair of Mr Borrow is already decided by the Judge of First Instance and his decision has been approved by the Superior or Territorial Court of the Province. As I stated to you in my note of the fourth last, the foundation of the arrest of Mr Borrow, who was 1 Despatch to Viscount Palmerston, 12th May 1838. a Ibid. 3 Sir George Villiers' Despatch to Viscount Palmerston, 12th May 1838. xv.] COUNT OFALIA YIELDS 245 detained (and not committed), was an official communica- tion from the Agent of Police, Don Pedro Martin de Eugenio, in which he averred that on intimating to Mr Borrow the written order of the Civil Governor relative to the seizure of a book which he had published and exposed for sale without complying with the forms prescribed by the Civil and Ecclesiastical Laws of Spain, he (Mr Borrow) had thrown on the floor the order of the Superior Authority of the Province and used offensive expressions with regard to the said Authority. " The judicial proceedings have had for their object the ascertainment of the fact. Mr Borrow has denied the truth of the statement and the Agent of Police, who it appears entered the lodgings of Mr Borrow without being accompanied by any one, has been unable to confirm by evidence what he alleged in his official report, or to pro- duce the testimony of any one in support of it. " This being the case the judge has declared and the Territorial Court approved the superceding of the cause, putting Mr Borrow immediately at complete liberty, with the express declaration that the arrest he has suffered in no wise affects his honor and good fame, and that the ' celador of Public Security,' Don Pedro Martin de Eugenio, be admonished for the future to proceed in the discharge of his duty with proper respect and circumspection accord- ing to the condition and character of the persons whom he has to address. " In accordance with the judicial decision and anxious to give satisfaction to Mr Borrow, correcting at the same time the fault of the Agent of Police in having presented himself without being accompanied by any person in order to effect the seizure in the lodging of Mr Borrow, Her Majesty has thought proper to command that the aforesaid Don Pedro Martin de Eugenio be suspended from his office for the space of Four Months, an order which I shall communicate to the Minister of the Interior, and that Mr Borrow be indemnified for the expenses which may have been incurred by his lodging in the apartment of the Alcaide (chief gaoler or Governor) for the days of his detention, although even before the expiration of 24 hours after his arrest he was permitted to return to his house under his word of honor during the judicial pro- ceedings, as I stated to you in my note already cited. I flatter myself that in this determination you as well as 246 IMPRISONMENT— A DIPLOMATIC CRISIS [1838 your Government will see a fresh proof of the desire which animates that of H.M. the Queen Regent to maintain and draw closer the relation of friendship and alliance existing between the two countries. And with respect to the claim advanced by Mr Borrow, and of which you also make mention in Your Note of the Sth inst, I ought to declare to you that when the Judge of First Instance received official information of the said claim the business was already concluded in his tribunal, and consequently there was nothing to be done. Without, for this reason, there being understood any innovation with respect to the matter of privilege {fuero) according as it is now established." l Borrow was liberated with unsullied honour on 12th May, after twelve days' imprisonment. He refused the compensation that Sir George Villiers had made a condition, and later wrote to the Bible Society asking that there might be deducted from the amount due to him the expenses of the twelve days. He states also that he refused to acquiesce in the dismissal of the Agent of Police, by which he doubtless means his suspension, giving as a reason that there might be a wife and family likely to suffer. In any case the man was only carrying out his instructions. Borrow's reason for refusing the payment of his expenses was that he was unwilling to afford them, the Spanish Government, an opportunity of saying that after they had imprisoned an Englishman unjustly, and without cause, he condescended to receive money at their hands. 2 The greatest loss to Borrow, consequent upon his imprisonment, no government could make good. His faithful Basque, Francisco, had contracted typhus, or gaol fever, that was raging at the time, and died within a few days of his master's release. " A more affectionate creature never breathed," Borrow wrote to Mr Brandram. 1 The Official Translation among the Foreign Office Papers at the Record Office. 2 The Bible in Spain, page 578. xv.] THE RETURN OF ANTONIO 247 The poor fellow, who, " to the strength of a giant joined the disposition of a lamb . . . was beloved even in the patio of the prison, where he used to pitch the bar and wrestle with the murderers and felons, always coming off victor." 1 The next day Antonio presented himself at Borrow's lodging, and without invitation or comment assumed the duties he had relinquished in order that he might enjoy the excitements of change. " Who should serve you now but myself?" he asked when questioned as to the meaning of his presence, " N'est pas que le sieur Francois est mort ! " 2 John Hasfeldt's comment on his friend's imprisonment was characteristic. In September 1838 he wrote : — " The very last I heard of you is that you have had the great good fortune to be stopping in the carcel de corte at Madrid, which pleasing intelligence I found in the Preussiche Staats-Zeituug this last spring. If you were fatter no doubt the monks would have got up an Auto de Fe on your behalf, and you might easily have become a nineteenth-century martyr. Then your strange life would have been hawked about the streets of London for one penny, though you never obtained a fat living to eat and drink and take your ease after all the hardships you have endured." 1 The Gypsies of Spain, page 24 1 . 2 The Bible in Spain, page 579. CHAPTER XVI MAY — JULY 1838 TDORROW was now to enter upon that lengthy dispute -*~^ with the Bible Society that almost brought about an open breach, and eventually proved the indirect cause that led to the severance of their relations. Graydon's mistake lay in not contenting himself with printing and distributing the Scriptures, of which he succeeded in getting rid of an enormous quantity. He had advertised his association with the Bible Society and proclaimed Borrow as a colleague, and the authorities at Madrid were not greatly to blame for being unable to distinguish between the two men. Whereas Graydon and Rule, who was also extremely obnoxious to the Spanish Clergy, were safe at Gibraltar or generally within easy reach of it, Borrow was in the very midst of the enemy. He was not unnaturally furiously angry at the situation that he con- ceived to have been brought about by these evangelists in the south. He referred to Graydon as the Evil Genius of the Society's Cause in Spain. It may be felt that Borrow was a prejudiced witness, he had every reason for being so ; but a despatch from Sir George Villiers to the Consul at Malaga shows clearly how the British Minister viewed Lieutenant Graydon's indiscretion : " You will communicate Count Ofalia's note to Mr Graydon," he writes, "and tell him from me that, feeling as I do a lively interest in the success of his mission, I xvi.] "MR GRAYDON MUST LEAVE SPAIN " 249 cannot but regret that he should have published his opinions upon the Catholic religion and clergy in a form which should render inevitable the interference of ecclesi- astical authority. I have no doubt that Mr Graydon, in the pursuit of the meritorious task he has undertaken, is ready to endure persecution, but he should bear in mind that it will not lead him to success in this country, where prejudices are so inveterate, and at this moment, when party spirit disfigures even the best intentions. Unless Mr Graydon proceeds with the utmost circumspection it will be impossible for me, with the prospect of good result, to defend his conduct with the Government, for no foreigner has a right, however laudable may be his object, to seek the attainment of that object by infringing the laws of the country in which he resides." l In writing to Mr Brandram, Borrow pointed out that although he had travelled extensively in Spain and had established many depots for the sale of the Scriptures, not one word of complaint had been transmitted to the Government. He had been imprisoned ; but he had the authority of Count Ofalia for saying that it was not on account of his own, but rather of the action of others. Furthermore the Premier had advised him to endeavour to make friends among the clergy, and for the present at least make no further effort to promote the actual sale of the New Testament in Madrid. On the day following his release from prison (13th May) Borrow, after being sent for by the British Minister, wrote to Mr Brandram as follows : — " Sir George has commanded me ... to write to the following effect : — Mr Graydon must leave Spain, or the Bible Society must publicly disavow that his proceed- ings receive their encouragement, unless they wish to see the Sacred book, which it is their object to distribute, brought into universal odium and contempt. He has lately been to Malaga, and has there played precisely the same part which he acted last year at Valencia, with the addition that in printed writings he has insulted the Spanish 1 History of the British and Foreign Bible Society. By W. Canton. 250 STRAINED RELATIONS [1838 Government in the most inexcusable manner. A formal complaint of his conduct has been sent up from Malaga, and a copy of one of his writings. Sir George blushed when he saw it, and informed Count Ofalia that any steps which might be taken towards punishing the author would receive no impediment from him. I shall not make any observation on this matter farther than stating that I have never had any other opinion of Mr Graydon than that he is insane — insane as the person who for the sake of warming his own hands would set a street on fire. Sir George said to-day that he (Graydon) was the cause of my harmless shop being closed at Madrid and also of my imprisonment. The Society will of course com- municate with Sir George on the subject, I wash my hands of it." On 23rd May Borrow wrote again to Mr Brandram : " In the name of the Most Highest take steps for pre- venting that miserable creature Graydon from ruining us all." Borrow's use of the term " insane " with regard to Graydon was fully justified. The Rev. W. H. Rule wrote to him on 14th May : " Our worthy brother Graydon is, I suppose, in Granada. I overtook him in Cartagena, endured the process of osculation, saw him without rhime or reason wrangle with and publicly insult our Consul there. Had his company in the steamer to Almeria, much to my discomfort. Never was a man fuller of love and impudence, compounded in the most provoking manner. In Malaga, just as we were to part, he broke out into a strain highly disagreeable, and I therefore thought it a convenient occasion to tell him that I should have no more to do with him. I left him dancing and raving like an energumen." This letter Borrow indiscreetly sent to Mr Brandram, much to Mr Rule's regret, who wrote to Mr Brandram, saying that whilst he had nothing to retract, he would not have written for the eyes of the Bible Society's Committee what he had written to Borrow. To Mr Rule Lieut. Graydon was " a good man, or at least a well-meaning [one], who has not the balance of judgment and temper xvi.] THE ADVERTISEMENT 251 necessary for the situation he occupies." He was given to "the promulgation of Millenianism," and to calling the Bible " the true book of the Constitution." Marin had confirmed all the rumours current about Graydon. In order to remove from his shoulders "the burden of obloquy," Borrow's first act on leaving prison was to publish in the Correo Nacional an advertisement disclaiming, in the name of the Bible Society, any writings which may have been circulated tending to lower the authorities, civil and ecclesiastical, in the eyes of the people. He denied that it was the Society's intention or wish to make proselytes from the Roman Catholic form of worship, and that it was at all times prepared to extend the hand of brotherhood to the Spanish clergy. This notice was signed " George Borrow, Sole authorised Agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society in Spain." El Gazeta Oficial, in commenting on the situation, saw in the anti-Catholic tracts circulated by Graydon "part of the monstrous plan, whose existence can no longer be called in question, concocted by the enemies of all public order, for the purpose of inaugurating on our unhappy soil a social revolution, just as the political one is drawing to a close." The Government was urged to allow no longer these attacks upon the religion of the country. Rather illogically the article concludes by paying a tribute to the Bible Society, " considered not under the religious but the social aspect." After praising its prudence for " accommo- dating itself to the civil and ecclesiastical laws of each country, and by adopting the editions there current," it concludes with the sophisticated argument that, " if the great object be the propagation of evangelic maxims, the notes are no obstacle, and by preserving them we fulfil our religious principle of not permitting to private reason the interpretation of the Sacred Word." The General Committee expressed themselves, some- what enigmatically, it must be confessed, as in no way 252 STRAINED RELATIONS [1838 surprised at this article, being from past experience learned enough in the ways of Rome to anticipate her. " That advertisement," Borrow wrote six months later in his Report that was subsequently withdrawn, " gave infinite satisfaction to the liberal clergy. I was compli- mented for it by the Primate of Spain, who said I had redeemed my credit and that of the Society, and it is with some feeling of pride that I state that it choked and pre- vented the publication of a series of terrible essays against the Bible Society, which were intended for the Official Gazette, and which were written by the Licentiate Albert Lister, the editor of that journal, the friend of Blanco White, and the most talented man in Spain. These essays still exist in the editorial drawer, and were com- municated to me by the head manager of the royal printing office, my respected friend and countryman Mr Charles Wood, whose evidence in this matter and in many others I can command at pleasure. In lieu of which essays came out a mild and conciliatory article by the same writer, which, taking into consideration the country in which it was written, and its peculiar circumstances, was an encouragement to the Bible Society to proceed, although with secrecy and caution ; yet this article, sadly misunder- stood in England, gave rise to communications from home highly mortifying to myself and ruinous to the Bible cause." Borrow had written from prison to Mr Brandram J telling him that it had " pleased God to confer upon me the highest of mortal honors, the privilege of bearing- chains for His sake." After describing how it had always been his practice, before taking any step, to consult with Sir George Villiers and receive his approval, and that the present situation had not been brought about by any rash- ness on his, Borrow's, part, he proceeds to convey the following curious piece of information that must have caused some surprise at Earl Street : — " I will now state a fact, which speaks volumes as to the state of affairs at Madrid. My arch - enemy, the Archbishop of Toledo, the primate of Spain, wishes to 1 On [nth] May 1838. xvi.] THE ARCHBISHOP S KISS 253 give me the kiss of brotherly Peace. He has caused a message to be conveyed to me in my dungeon, assuring me that he has had no share in causing my imprisonment, which he says was the work of the Civil Governor, who was incited to the step by the Jesuits. He adds that he is determined to seek out my persecutors amongst the clergy, and to have them punished, and that when I leave prison he shall be happy to co-operate with me in the dissemination of the Gospel ! ! I cannot write much now, for I am not well, having been bled and blistered. I must, however, devote a few lines to another subject, but not one of rejoicing or Christian exultation. Marin arrived just after my arrest, and visited me in prison, and there favoured me with a scene of despair, abject despair, which nearly turned my brain. I despised the creature, God forgive me, but I pitied him ; for he was without money and expected every moment to be seized like myself and incarcerated, and he is by no means anxious to be invested with the honors of martyrdom." That the Primate of Spain should have sent to Borrow such a message is surprising ; but what is still more so is that six days later Borrow wrote telling Mr Brandram that he had asked a bishop to arrange an interview between him and the Archbishop of Toledo, and Sir George Villiers, who was present, begged the same privilege. 1 On 23rd May Borrow wrote again to Mr Brandram : " I have just had an interview with the Arch- bishop. It was satisfactory to a degree I had not dared to hope for." In his next letter (25th May) he writes : " I have had, as you are aware, an interview with the Archbishop of Toledo. I have not time to state partic- ulars, but he said amongst other things, ' Be prudent, the Government are disposed to arrange matters amicably, and I am disposed to co-operate with them.' At parting he shook me most kindly by the hand saying that he liked me. Sir George intends to visit him in a few days. He is an old, venerable - looking man, between seventy and eighty. When I saw him he was dressed with the utmost 1 Letter to Rev. A. Brandram, 17th May 1838. 254 STRAINED RELATIONS [1838 simplicity, with the exception of a most splendid amethyst ring, the lustre of which was truly dazzling." There is only one conclusion to be drawn from this archiepiscopal condescension, if the interview were not indeed sought by Borrow, that it was a political move to pacify the wounded feelings of an outraged Englishman at a time when the goodwill of England was as necessary to the kingdom of Spain as the sun itself. The upshot of the Malaga Incident was that "the Spanish Government resolved to put an end to Bible transactions in Spain, and forthwith gave orders for the seizure of all the Bibles and Testaments in the country, wherever they might be deposited or exposed for sale. They notified Sir George Villiers of the decision, expressly stating that the resolution was taken in consequence of the ' Ocurrido en Malaga! " 2 The letter in which Sir George Villiers was informed of the Government's decision runs as follows : — Madrid, 19//Z May 1838. Sir, I have the honor to inform You that in conse- quence of what has taken place at Malaga and other places, respecting the publication and sale of the Bible translated by Padre Scio, which are not complete (since they do not contain all the Books which the Catholic Church recognises as Canonical) nor even being complete could they be printed unless furnished with the Notes of the said Padre Scio, according to the existing regula- tions ; Her Majesty has thought proper to prevent this publication and sale, but without insulting or molesting those British Subjects who for some time past have been introducing them into the Kingdom and selling them at the lowest prices, thinking they were conferring a benefit when in reality they were doing an injury. I have also to state to You that in order to carry this Royal determination into effect, orders have been issued to prohibit its being printed in Spain, in the vulgar tongue, unless it should be the entire Bible as recognised by the Catholic Church with corresponding Notes, pre- 1 Letter from Borrow to Rev. A. Brandram, 25th May 1838. xvi.] BORROW UNDISMAYED 255 venting its admittance at the Frontiers, as is the case with books printed in Spanish abroad ; that the Bibles exposed for public sale be seized and given to their owners in a packet marked and sealed, upon the condition of its being sent out of the country through the Custom Houses on the Frontier or at the Ports. I avail myself, etc., etc. The Count of Ofalia. 1 Borrow and Graydon were advised of this inhibition, and both ordered their establishments for the sale of books to be closed, thus showing that they were " Gentle- men who are animated with due respect for the Laws of Spain." 2 At Valladolid, Santiago, Orviedo, Pontevedra, Seville, Salamanca, and Malaga the decree was at once enforced. On learning that the books at his depots had all been seized, Borrow became apprehensive for the safety of his Madrid stock of New Testaments, some three thousand in number. He accordingly had them removed, under cover of darkness, to the houses of his friends. Borrow was not the man to accept defeat, and he wrote to Mr Brandram with great cheerfulness : " This, however, gives me little uneasiness, for, with the blessing of God, I shall be able to repair all, always provided I am allowed to follow my own plans, and to avail myself of the advantages which have lately been opened — especially to cultivate the kind feeling lately manifested towards me by the principal Spanish clergy. 3 Later he wrote : " Another bitter cup has been filled for my swallowing. The Bible Society and myself have been accused of blasphemy, sedition, etc. A collection of tracts has been seized in Murcia, in which the Catholic religion and its 1 The Official Translation among the Foreign Office Papers at the Record Office. - Sir George Villiers to Count Ofalia, 25th May 1838. 3 Letter to Mr A. Brandram, 25th May 1838. 256 STRAINED RELATIONS [1838 dogmas are handled with the most abusive severity ; l these books have been sworn to as having been left by the Committee of the Bible Society whilst in that town, and Count Ofalia has been called upon to sign an order for my arrest and banishment from Spain. Sir George, however, advises me to remain quiet and not to be alarmed, as he will answer for my innocence." 2 Borrow strove to galvanise the General Committee into action. The Spanish newspapers were inflamed against the Society as a sectarian, not a Christian institu- tion. " Zeal is a precious thing," he told Mr Brandram, " when accompanied with one grain of common sense." The theme of his letters was the removal of Graydon. " Do not be cast down," he writes ; " all will go well if the stumbling block [Graydon] be removed." Borrow's state of mind may well be imagined, and if by his impulsive letters he unwittingly harmed his own cause at Earl Street, he did so as a man whose liberty, perhaps his life even, was being jeopardised, although not deliber- ately, by another whom the reforming spirit seemed likely to carry to any excess. It must be admitted that for the time being Borrow had forgotten the idiom of Earl Street. The president (a bishop) of the body of ecclesiastics that was engaged in examining the Society's Spanish Bible, communicated with Borrow, through Mr Charles Wood, the suggestion that " the Committee of the Bible Society should in the present exigency draw up an exposi- tion of their views respecting Spain, stating what they are prepared to do and what they are not prepared to do ; above all, whether in seeking to circulate the Gospel in this 1 At the time of writing Borrow had not seen any of these tracts himself; but Sir George Villiers, who had, expressed the opinion that "one or two of them were outrages not only to common sense but to decency." — Borrow to the Rev. A. Brandram, 25th June 1838. 2 Letter to Rev. A. Brandram, 14th June 1838. xvi.] ANOTHER BIBLICAL TOUR 257 Country they harbour any projects hostile to the Govern- ment or the established religion ; moreover, whether the late distribution of tracts was done by their connivance or authority, and whether they are disposed to sanction in future the publication in Spain of such a class of writings." x Borrow was of the opinion that this should be done, although he would not take upon himself to advise the Committee upon such a point, he merely remarked that " the Prelate in question is a most learned and respectable man, and one of the warmest of our friends." 2 The Society very naturally declined to commit itself to any such under- taking. It would not have been quite logical or conceiv- able that a Protestant body should give a guarantee that it harboured no projects hostile to Rome. Undeterred by the official edict against the circulation in Spain of the Scriptures, Borrow wrote to Mr Brandram (14th June) : "I should wish to make another Biblical tour this summer, until the storm be blown over. Should I under- take such an expedition, I should avoid the towns and devote myself entirely to the peasantry. I have sometimes thought of visiting the villages of the Alpujarra Mountains in Andalusia, where the people live quite secluded from the world ; what do you think of my project ? " All this time Borrow had heard nothing from Earl Street as to the effect being produced there by his letters. On 15th or 16th June he received a long letter from Mr Brandram enclosing the Resolutions of the General Committee with regard to the crisis. They proved con- clusively that the officials failed entirely to appreciate the state of affairs in Spain, and the critical situation of their paid and accredited agent, George Borrow. Their pride had probably been wounded by Borrow's impetuous requests, that might easily have appeared to them in the light of commands. It may have struck some that the 1 Letter from Borrow to Rev. A. Brandram, 14th June 1S38. s Ibid. R 258 STRAINED RELATIONS [1838 Spanish affairs of the Society were being administered from Madrid, and that they themselves were being told, not what it was expedient to do, but what they must do. Another factor in the situation was the Committee's friendliness for their impulsive, unsalaried servant Lieut. Graydon, who was certainly a picturesque, almost melo- dramatic figure. In any case the letter from Mr Brandram that accompanied the Resolutions was couched in a strain of fair play to Graydon that became a thinly disguised partizanship. At the meeting of the Committee held on 28th May the following Resolutions had been adopted : — First. — " That Mr Borrow be requested to inform Sir George Villiers that this Committee have written to Mr Graydon through their Secretary, desiring him to leave Spain on account of his personal safety." Second. — " That Mr Borrow be informed that in the absence of specific documents, this Committee cannot offer any opinion on the proceedings of Mr Graydon, and that therefore he be desired to obtain, either in original or copy, the objectionable papers alleged to have been issued by Mr Graydon and to transmit them hither." TJiird. — " That Mr Borrow be requested not to repeat the Advertisement contained in the Correo National of the 17th inst, and that he be cautioned how he commits the Society by advertisements of a similar character. And further, that he be desired to state to Sir George Villiers that the advertisement in question was inserted by him on the spur of the moment, and without any opportunity of obtaining instructions from this Committee." In justice to the Committee, it must be said that they did not appreciate the delicacy of the situation, being only Christians and not diplomatists. Perhaps they were unaware that the whole of Spain was under martial law, or if they were, the true significance of the fact failed to strike them. Mr Brandram's letter accompanying these Resolutions is little more than an amplification of the Committee's decision : " I have, I assure you," he writes, " endeavoured to place myself in your situation and enter into your feelings XVI.] A REBUKE FROM EARL STREET 259 strongly excited by the irreparable mischief which you suppose Mr G. to have done to our cause so dear to you. Under the influence of these feelings you have written with, what appears to us, unmitigated severity of his conduct. But now, let me entreat you to enter into our feelings a little, and to consider what we owe to Mr Graydon. If we have at times thought him imprudent, we have seen enough in him to make us both admire and love him. He has ever approved himself as an upright, faithful, conscientious, indefatigable agent ; one who has shrunk from no trials and no dangers ; one who has gone through in our service many and extraordinary hardships. What have we against him at present? He has issued certain documents of a very offensive character, as is alleged. We have not seen them, neither does it appear that you have, but that you speak from the recollections of Mr Sothern." 1 1 The quotations from Lieut. Graydon's tracts were not sent by Borrow to Mr Brandram until some weeks later. They ran : — A True History of the Dolorous Virgin to whom the Rebellious and Fanatical Don Carlos Has Committed His Cause and the Ignorance which It Displays. Extracts. Page 17. You will readily see in all those grandiose epithets showered upon Mary, the work of the enemy of God, which tending essentially towards idolatry has managed, under the cloak of Christianity, to introduce idolatry, and endeavours to divert to a creature, and even to the image of that creature, the adoration which is due to God alone. Without doubt it is with this very object that on all sides we see erected statues of Mary, adorned with a crown, and bearing in her arms a child of tender years, as though to accustom the populace intimately to the idea of Mary's superiority over Jesus. Page 30. This, then, is our conclusion. In recognising and sanctioning this cult, the Church of Rome constitutes itself an idolatrous Church, and every member of it who is incapable of detecting the truth behind the monstrous accumulation of impieties with which they veil it, is proclaimed by the Church as condemned to perdition. The guiding light of this Church, which they are not ashamed to smother or to procure the smothering of, by which never- theless they hold their authority, to be plain, the word of God, should at least teach them, if they set any value on the Spirit of Christ, that their Papal Bulls would be better directed to the cleansing of the Roman Church from all its iniquities than to the promulgation of such unjust prohibitions. Yet in struggling against better things, this Church is protecting and hallowing in all directions an innumerable collection of superstitions and false cults, and it is clear that by this means it is abased and labelled as one of the principal agents of Anti-Christ." 260 STRAINED RELATIONS [1838 The letter goes on to say that if it can be shown that Lieut. Graydon is acting in the same manner as he did in Valencia, for which he was admonished, " he will assuredly be recalled on this ground. You wonder perhaps that we for a moment doubt the fact of his reiterated imprudence ; but audi alteram partem must be our rule — and besides, on reviewing the Valencia proceedings, we draw a wide distinction. Had he been as free, as you suppose him to be, of the trammels of office in our service, many would say and think that he was prefectly at liberty to act and speak as he did of the Authorities, if he chose to take the consequences. Really in such a country it is no marvel if his Spirit has been stirred within him ! Will you allow me to remind you of the strong things in your own letter to the Valencia ecclesiastic, the well pointed and oft repeated Vae ! " Mr Brandram points out that strong language is frequently the sword of the Reformer, and that there are times when it has the highest sanction ; but "the judgment of all [the members of the Committee] will be that an Agent of the Bible Society is a Reformer, not by bis preaching or denouncing, but by the distribu- tion of the Bible. If Mr G's. conduct is no worse than it was in Valencia," the letter continues, rather inconsistently, in the light of the assurance in the early part that recall would be the punishment for another such lapse into indiscretion, "you must not expect anything beyond a qualified disavowal of it, and that simply as unbecoming an Agent of such a Society as ours. " After what I have written, you will hardly feel surprised that our Committee could not quite approve of your Advertisement. We have ever regarded Mr Graydon as much our Agent as yourself. In three of our printed reports in succession we make no difference in speaking of you both. We are anxious to do nothing to weaken your hands at so important a crisis, and we conceive that the terms we have employed in our Resolution are the mildest we could have used. Do not insert the Advertisement a second time. Let it pass ; let it be forgotten. If necessary we shall give the public intimation that Mr G. was, but is not our xvi.] NO SYMPATHY WITH BORROW 261 agent any longer. Remember, we entreat you, the very delicate position that such a manifesto places us in, as well as the effect which it may have on Mr Graydon's personal safety. We give you full credit for believing it was your duty, under the peculiar circumstances of the case, to take so decided and bold a step, and that you thought yourself fully justified by the distinction of salaried and unsalaried Agent, in speaking of yourself as the alone accredited Agent of the Society. Possibly when you reflect a little upon the matter you may view it in another light. There are besides some sentiments in the Advertisement which we cannot perhaps fully accord with. ... If to our poor friend there has befallen the saddest of all calamities to which you allude, should we not speak of him with all tenderness. If he be insane I believe much of it is to be attributed to that entire devotion with which he has devoted himself to our work. No complaint can be urged against the Committee for refusing to condemn one of their agents unheard, and without documentary evidence ; but it was strange that they should pass resolutions that contained no word of sympathy with Borrow for his sufferings in a typhus- infested prison. It is even more strange that the covering letter should refer to Graydon's sufferings and hardships and the danger to his person, without apparently realising that Borrow had actually suffered what the Committee feared that Graydon might suffer. There is no doubt that Borrow's impulsive letters had greatly offended everybody at Earl Street, where Lieut. Graydon appears to have been extremely popular ; and the few words of sympathy with Borrow that might have saved much acrimonious correspondence were neither resolved nor written. The other side of the picture is shown in a vigorous passage from Borrow's Report, which was afterwards withdrawn : " A helpless widow [the mother of Don Pascual Marin] was insulted, her liberty of conscience invaded, and her only son incited to rebellion against her. A lunatic [Lieut. Graydon] was employed as the repartidor, or 262 STRAINED RELATIONS [1838 distributor, of the Blessed Bible, who, having his head crammed with what he understood not, ran through the streets of Valencia crying aloud that Christ was nigh at hand and would appear in a short time, whilst advertisements to much the same effect were busily circulated, in which the name, the noble name, of the Bible Society was prostituted ; whilst the Bible, exposed for sale in the apartment of a public house, served for little more than a decoy to the idle and curious, who were there treated with incoherent railings against the Church of Rome and Babylon in a dialect which it was well for the deliverer that only a few of the audience understood. But I fly from these details, and will now repeat the consequences of the above proceedings to myself; for I, I, and only I, as every respectable person in Madrid can vouch, have paid the penalty for them all, though as innocent as the babe who has not yet seen the light." If the General Committee at a period of anxiety and annoyance failed to pay tribute to Borrow's many qualities, the official historian of the Society makes good the omission when he describes him as " A strange, impul- sive, more or less inflammable creature as he must have occasionally seemed to the Secretaries and Editorial Superintendent, he had proved himself a man of excep- tional ability, energy, tact, prudence — above all, a man whose heart was in his work." 1 Borrow's acknowledgment of the Resolutions was dated 16th June. It ran : — " I have received your communication of the 30th ult. containing the resolutions of the Committee, to which I shall of course attend. " Of your letter in general, permit me to state that I reverence the spirit in which it is written, and am perfectly disposed to admit the correctness of the views which it exhibits ; but it appears to me that in one or two instances I have been misunderstood in the letters which I have addressed [to you] on the subject of Graydon. 1 The History of the British and Foreign Bible Society, by W. Canton. xvi.] A JUSTIFICATION 263 " I bear this unfortunate gentleman no ill will, God forbid, and it will give me pain if he were reprimanded publicly or privately ; moreover, I can see no utility likely to accrue from such a proceeding. All that I have stated hitherto is the damage which he has done in Spain to the cause and myself, by the — what shall I call it ? — imprudence of his conduct ; and the idea which I have endeavoured to inculcate is the absolute necessity of his leaving Spain instantly. " Take now in good part what I am about to say, and O ! do not misunderstand me ! I owe a great deal to the Bible Society, and the Bible Society owes nothing to me. I am well aware and am always disposed to admit that it can find thousands more zealous, more active, and in every respect more adapted to transact its affairs and watch over its interests ; yet, with this consciousness of my own inutility, I must be permitted to state that, linked to a man like Graydon, I can no longer consent to be, and that if the Society expect such a thing, I must take the liberty of retiring, perhaps to the wilds of Tartary or the Zingani camps of Siberia. " My name at present is become public property, no very enviable distinction in these unhappy times, and neither wished nor sought by myself. I have of late been subjected to circumstances which have rendered me obnoxious to the hatred of those who never forgive, the Bloody Church of Rome, which I have [no] doubt will sooner or later find means to accomplish my ruin ; for no one is better aware than myself of its fearful resources, whether in England or Spain, in Italy or in any other part. I should not be now in this situation had I been permitted to act alone. How much more would have been accomplished, it does not become me to guess. " I had as many or more difficulties to surmount in Russia than I originally had here, yet all that the Society expected or desired was effected, without stir or noise, and that in the teeth of an imperial Ukase which forbade the work which I was employed to superintend. " Concerning my late affair, I must here state that I was sent to prison on a charge which was subsequently acknowledged not only to be false but ridiculous ; I was accused of uttering words disrespectful towards the Geft Politico of Madrid ; my accuser was an officer of the police, who entered my apartment one morning before I 264 STRAINED RELATIONS [1838 was dressed, and commenced searching my papers and flinging my books into disorder. Happily, however, the people of the house, who were listening at the door, heard all that passed, and declared on oath that so far from mentioning the Gefe Politico, I merely told the officer that he, the officer, was an insolent fellow, and that I would cause him to be punished. He subsequently confessed that he was an instrument of the Vicar General, and that he merely came to my apartment in order to obtain a pretence for making a complaint. He has been dismissed from his situation and the Queen [Regent] has expressed her sorrow at my imprisonment. If there be any doubt entertained on the matter, pray let Sir George Villiers be written to ! " I should be happy to hear what success attends our efforts in China. I hope a prudent conduct has been adopted ; for think not that a strange and loud language will find favour in the eyes of the Chinese ; and above all, I hope that we have not got into war with the Augustines and their followers, who, if properly managed, may be of incalculable service in propagating the Scriptures. . . . P.S. — The Documents, or some of them, shall be sent as soon as possible." Nine days later (25th June) Borrow wrote : " I now await your orders. I wish to know whether I am at liberty to pursue the course which may seem to me best under existing circumstances, and which at present appears to be to mount my horses, which are neighing in the stable, and once more betake myself to the plains and mountains of dusty Spain, and to dispose of my Testaments to the muleteers and peasants. By doing so I shall employ myself usefully, and at the same time avoid giving offence. Better days will soon arrive, which will enable me to return to Madrid and reopen my shop, till then, however, I should wish to pursue my labours in com- parative obscurity." Replying to Borrow's letter of 16th June, Mr Brandram wrote (29th June) : " I trust we shall not easily forget your services in St Petersburg, but suffer me to remind you that when you came to the point of distribution your xvi.] A DISCREDITABLE REPROACH 265 success ended." 1 This altogether unworthy remark was neither creditable to the writer nor to the distinguished Society on whose behalf he wrote. Borrow had done all that a man was capable of to distribute the books. His reply was dignified and effective. " It was unkind and unjust to taunt me with having been unsuccessful in distributing the Scriptures. Allow me to state that no other person under the same circumstances would have distributed the tenth part ; yet had I been utterly unsuccessful, it would have been wrong to check me with being so, after all I have undergone, and with how little of that are you acquainted." 2 In response, Mr Brandram wrote (28th July) : " You have considered that I have taunted you with want of success in St Petersburg. I thought that the way in which I introduced that subject would have prevented any such unpleasant and fanciful impression." That was all ! It became evident to all at Earl Street that a conference between Borrow, the Officials and the General Committee was imperative if the air were to be cleared of the rancour that seemed to increase with each interchange of letters. 3 Unless something were done, a breach seemed inevitable, a thing the Society did not appear to desire. When Borrow first became aware that he was wanted at Earl Street for the purpose of a personal conference, he in all probability conceived it to be tantamount to a 1 This letter reached Borrow when his "foot was in the stirrup," as he phrased it, ready to set out for the Sagra of Toledo. He felt that it could only have originated with " the enemy of mankind for the purpose of perplexing my already harrassed and agitated mind" ; but he continues, " merely exclaiming ' Satan, I defy thee,' I hurried to the Sagra. . . . But it is hard to wrestle with the great enemy." General Report, withdrawn. 2 Letter to Rev. A. Brandram, 14th July 1838. 3 Mr Brandram informed Borrow that the General Committee wished him to visit England if he could do so without injury to the cause (29th June). 266 STRAINED RELATIONS [1838 recall, and he was averse from leaving the field to the enemy. " In the name of the Highest," he wrote, 1 " I entreat you all to banish such a preposterous idea ; a journey home (provided you intend that I should return to Spain) could lead to no result but expense and the loss of precious time. I have nothing to explain to you which you are not already perfectly well acquainted with by my late letters. I was fully aware at the time I was writing them that I should afford you little satisfaction, for the plain unvarnished truth is seldom agreeable ; but I now repeat, and these are perhaps among the last words which I shall ever be per- mitted to pen, that I cannot approve, and I am sure no Christian can, of the system which has lately been pursued in the large sea-port cities of Spain, and which the Bible Society has been supposed to sanction, notwithstanding the most unreflecting person could easily foresee that such a line of conduct could produce nothing in the end but obloquy and misfortune." Borrow saw that his departure from Spain would be construed by his enemies as flight, and that their joy would be great in consequence. The Spanish authorities were determined if possible to rid the country of missionaries. The Gazeta Oficial of Madrid drew attention to the fact that in Valencia there had been distributed thousands of pamphlets " against the religion we profess." Sir George Villiers enquired into the matter and found that there was no evidence that the pamphlets had been written, printed, or published in England ; and when writing to Count Ofalia on the subject he informed him that the Bible Society distributed, not tracts or controversial writings, but the Scriptures. The next move on the part of the authorities was to produce sworn testimony from three people (all living in the same house, by the way) that they had purchased copies of "the New Testament and other Biblical transla- 1 Letter to Rev. A. Brandram, 14th July 1838. xvi.] COUNT OFALIA'S ADVICE 267 tions at the Despacho on 5th May.*' Borrow was in prison at the time, and his assistant denied the sale. Documents were also produced proving that the imprint on the title- page of the Scio New Testament was false, as at the time it was printed no such printer as Andreas Borrego (who by the way was the Government printer and at one time a candidate for cabinet rank) lived in Madrid. In drawing the British Minister's attention to these matters, Count Ofalia wrote (31st May) : "It would be opportune if you would be pleased to advise Mr Borrow that, convinced of the inutility of his efforts for propagating here the translation in the vulgar tongue of Sacred Writings without the forms required by law, he would do much better in making use of his talents in some other class of scientifical or literary Works during his residence in Spain, giving up Biblical Enterprises, which may be useful in other countries, but which in this Kingdom are prejudicial for very obvious reasons." CHAPTER XVII JULY — NOVEMBER 1838 T)ORROW'S spirit chafed under this spell of enforced -*-' idleness. His horses were neighing in the stable and " Sefior Antonio was neighing in the house," as Maria Diaz expressed it ; and for himself, Borrow required something more actively stimulating than pen and ink encounters with Mr Brandram. He therefore determined to defy the prohibition and make an excursion into the rural districts of New Castile, offering his Testaments for sale as he went, and sending on supplies ahead. His first objective was Villa Seca, a village situated on the banks of the Tagus about nine leagues from Madrid. He was aware of the danger he ran in thus disregard- ing the official decree. " I will not conceal from you ; " he writes to Mr Brandram on 14th July, "that I am playing a daring game, and it is very possible that when I least expect it I may be seized, tied to the tail of a mule, and dragged either to the prison of Toledo or Madrid. Yet such a prospect does not discourage me in the least, but rather urges me on to persevere ; for I assure you, and in this assertion there lurks not the slightest desire to magnify myself and produce an effect, that I am eager to lay down my life in this cause, and whether a Carlist's bullet or a gaol-fever bring my career to an end, I am perfectly indifferent." He was not averse from martyrdom ; but he objected to being precipitated into it by another man's folly. In 268 xvil] THE SPANIARDS OF DON QUIXOTE 269 his interview with Count Ofalia, he had been solemnly warned that if a second time he came within the clutches of the authorities he might not escape so easily, and had replied that it was " a pleasant thing to be persecuted for the Gospel's sake." In his decision to make Villa Seca his temporary head- quarters, Borrow had been influenced by the fact that it was the home of Maria Diaz, his friend and landlady. Her husband was there working on the land, Maria herself living in Madrid that her children might be properly educated. Borrow left Madrid on ioth July, and on his arrival at Villa Seca he was cordially welcomed by Juan Lopez, the husband of Maria Diaz, who continued to use her maiden name, in accordance with Spanish custom. Lopez subsequently proved of the greatest possible assist- ance in the work of distribution, shaming both Borrow and Antonio by his energy and powers of endurance. The inhabitants of Villa Seca and the surrounding villages of Bargas, Coveja, Villa Luenga, Mocejon, Yuncler eagerly bought up " the book of life," and each day the three men rode forth in heat so great that " the very arrieros frequently fall dead from their mules, smitten by a sun-stroke." l It was in Villa Seca that Borrow found " all that gravity of deportment and chivalry of disposition which Cervantes is said to have sneered away " ;' 2 and there were to be heard " those grandiose expressions which, when met with in the romances of chivalry, are scoffed at as ridiculous exaggerations." 3 Borrow so charmed the people of the district with the elaborate formality of his manner, that he became convinced that any attempt to arrest or do him harm would have met with a violent resistance, even to the length of the drawing of knives in his defence. In less than a week some two hundred Testaments had been disposed of, and a fresh supply had to be obtained 1 The Bible in Spain, page 602. 2 Ibid., page 606. 3 Ibid., page 606. 270 A RECKLESS MISSIONARY [1838 from Madrid. Borrow's methods had now changed. He had, of necessity, to make as little stir as possible in order to avoid an unenviable notoriety. He carefully eschewed advertisements and hand-bills, and limited himself almost entirely to the simple statement that he brought to the people " the words and life of the Saviour and His Saints at a price adapted to their humble means." 1 It is interesting to note in connection with this period of Borrow's activities in Spain, that in 1908 one of the sons of Maria Diaz and Juan Lopez was sought out at Villa Seca by a representative of the Bible Society, and interrogated as to whether he remembered Borrow. Eduardo Lopez (then seventy-four years of age) stated that he was a child of eight 2 when Borrow lived at the house of his mother ; yet he remembers that " El ingles " was tall and robust, with fair hair turning grey. Eduardo and his young brother regarded Borrow with both fear and respect ; for, their father being absent, he used to punish them for misdemeanours by setting them on the table and making them remain perfectly quiet for a considerable time. The old man remembered that Borrow had two horses whom he called " la Jaca " and " el Mondragon," and that he used to take to the house of Maria Diaz " his trunk full of books which were beautifully bound." He remembered Borrow's Greek servant, " Antonio Guchino " (the Antonio Buchini of The Bible in Spain), who spoke very bad Spanish. The most interesting of Eduardo Lopez' recollections of Borrow was that he " often recited a chant which nobody understood," and of which the old man could remember only the following fragment : — " Sed un la in la en la la Sino Mokhamente de resu la." 1 Letter to Rev. A. Brandram, 17th July 1838. 8 This would have been impossible. If his age were seventy-four, he would of necessity have been four years old in 1838. xvii.] A FREE HAND 271 It has been suggested, 1 and with every show of probability, that "this is the Moslem kalimah or creed which he had heard sung from the minarets " : " La illaha ilia allah Wa Muhammad rasoul allah." Borrow recognised that he must not stay very long in any one place, and accordingly it was his intention, as soon as he had supplied the immediate wants of the Sagra (the plain) of Toledo, " to cross the country to Aranjuez, and endeavour to supply with the Word the villages on the frontier of La Mancha." 2 As he was on the point of setting out, however, he received two letters from Mr Brandram, which decided him to return immediately to Madrid instead of pursuing his intended route. Borrow was informed that if, after consulting with Sir George Villiers, it was thought desirable that he should leave Madrid, he was given a free hand to do so. Furthermore, the President of the Bible Society (Lord Bexley), with whom Mr Brandram had consulted, was of the opinion that Borrow should return home to confer with the Committee. It was clear from the correspondence that nothing short of an interview could remove the very obvious feeling of irritation that existed between Borrow and the Society. In his reply (23rd July), Borrow showed a dignity and calmness of demeanour that had been lacking from his previous letters ; and it most likely produced a far more favourable effect at Earl Street than the impassioned protests of the past two months: — " My answer will be very brief," he wrote, " as I am afraid of giving way to my feelings ; I hope, however, that it will be to the purpose. "It is broadly hinted in yours of the 7th that I have made false statements in asserting that the Government, in consequence of what has lately taken place, had come 1 By Mr A. G. Jayne in " Footprints of George Borrow," in The Bible in the World, July 1908. 8 Letter to Rev. A. Brandram, 17th July 1838. 272 A RECKLESS MISSIONARY [1838 to the resolution of seizing the Bible depots in various parts of this country. [Borrow had written to Mr Brandram on 25th June, " The Society are already aware of the results of the visit of our friend to Malaga ; all their Bibles and Testaments having been seized through- out Spain, with the exception of my stock in Madrid."] "In reply I beg leave to inform you that by the first courier you will receive from the British Legation at Madrid the official notice from Count Ofalia to Sir George Villiers of the seizures already made, and the motives which induced the Government to have recourse to such a measure. " The following seizures have already been made, though some have not as yet been officially announced : — The Society's books at Orviedo, Pontevedra, Salamanca, Santiago, Seville, and Valladolid. "It appears from your letters that the depots in the South of Spain have escaped. I am glad of it, although it be at my own expense. I see the hand of the Lord throughout the late transactions. He is chastening me ; it is His pleasure that the guilty escape and the innocent be punished. The Government gave orders to seize the Bible depots throughout the country on account of the late scenes at Malaga and Valencia — I have never been there, yet only my depots are meddled with, as it appears ! The Lord's will be done, blessed be the name of the Lord ! " I will write again to-morrow, I shall have then arranged my thoughts, and determined on the conduct which it becomes a Christian to pursue under these circumstances. Permit me, in conclusion, to ask you : " Have you not to a certain extent been partial in this matter? Have you not, in the apprehension of being compelled to blame the conduct of one who has caused me unutterable anxiety, misery and persecution, and who has been the bane of the Bible cause in Spain, refused to receive the information which it was in your power to command ? I called on the Committee and yourself from the first to apply to Sir George Villiers ; no one is so well versed as to what has lately been going as himself; but no. It was God's will that I, who have risked all and lost almost all in the cause, be taunted, suspected, and the sweat of agony and tears which I have poured out be estimated at the value of the water of the ditch or the moisture which exudes from rotten dung ; but I murmur xvil] "I WILL NOT LEAVE SPAIN" 273 not, and hope I shall at all times be willing to bow to the dispensations of the Almighty. " Sir George Villiers has returned to England for a short period ; you have therefore the opportunity of consulting him. / will not leave Spain until the whole affair has been thoroughly sifted. I shall then perhaps appear and bid you an eternal farewell. 1 Four hundred Testaments have been disposed of in the Sagra of Toledo. " P.S. — I am just returned from the Embassy, where I have had a long interview with that admirable person Lord Wm. Hervey [Charge d'Affaires during Sir George Villiers' absence]. He has requested me to write him a letter on the point in question, which with the official documents he intends to send to the Secretary of State in order to be laid before the Bible Society. He has put into my hands the last communication from Ofalia ; 2 it relates to the seizure of my depots at Malaga, Ponte- vedra, etc. I have not opened it, but send it for your approval." It is pleasant to record that the Sub-Committee expressed itself as unable to see in Mr Brandram's letter 1 This letter, in which there was a hint of desperation, disturbed the officials at Earl Street a great deal. Mr Brandram wrote (28th July) that he was convinced that the Committee would " still feel that if you are to continue to act with them they must see you, and I will only add that it is utterly foreign to their wishes that you should expose yourself i?i the daring manner you are now doing. I lose not a post in conveying this impression to you." 2 The Translation of this communication runs : — " Madrid, 7th July 1838 — I have the honour to inform your Excellency that according to official advices received in the first Secretary of State's Office, it appears that in Malaga, Murcia, Valladolid, and Santiago, copies of the New Testament of Padre Scio, without notes, have been exposed for sale, which have been deposited with the political chiefs of the said provinces, or in the hands of such persons as the chiefs have entrusted with them in Deposit ; it being necessary further to observe that the parties giving them up have uniformly stated that they belonged to Mr Borrow, and that they were commissioned by him to sell and dispose of them. "Under these circumstances, Her Majesty's Government have deemed it expedient that I should address your Excellency, in order S 274 A RECKLESS MISSIONARY [1838 what Borrow saw. There was no intention to convey the impression that he had made false statements, and regret was expressed that he had thought it necessary to apply to the Embassy for confirmation of what he had written. All this Mr Brandram conveyed in a letter dated 6th August. He continues : " I am now in full possession of all that Mr Graydon has done, and find it utterly impossible to account for that very strong feeling that you have imbibed against him." On 20th July Mr Brandram had written that, after consulting with two or three members of the Committee, they all confirmed a wish already expressed that their Agent should not continue to expose himself to such dangers. If, however, he still saw the way open before him, " as so pleasantly represented in your letter . . . you need not think of returning. . . . Do allow me to suggest to you," he continues, "to drop allusion to Mr Graydon in your letters. His conduct is not regarded here as you regard it. I could fancy, but perhaps it is all fancy, that you have him in your eye when you tell us that you have eschewed handbills and advertisements. Time has been when you have used them plentifully. . . . Sir George Villiers is in England — but I do not know that we shall seek an interview with him — We are afraid of being hampered with the trammels of office." The Committee, however, did not endorse Mr Brandram's view as to Borrow continuing in Spain, and further, they did " not see it right," the secretary wrote that the above may be intimated to the beforementioned Mr Borrow, so that he may take care that the copies in question, as well as those which have been seized in this City, and which are packed up in cases or parcels marked and sealed, may be sent out of the Kingdom of Spain, agreeably to the Royal order with which your Excellency is already acquainted, and through the medium of the respective authorities who will be able to vouch for their Exportation. To this Mr Borrow will submit in the required form, and with the understanding that he formally binds himself thereto, they will remain in the meantime in the respective depots." xvii.] A FURTHER ENTERPRISE 275 (6th August), "after the confidential communication in which you have been in with the Government, that you should be acting now in such open defiance of it, and putting yourself in such extreme jeopardy." Later Borrow made reference to the remark about the handbills. " It would have been as well," he wrote, " if my respected and revered friend, the writer, had made himself acquainted with the character of my advertise- ments before he made that observation. There is no harm in an advertisement, if truth, decency and the fear of God are observed, and I believe my own will be scarcely found deficient in any of these three requisites. It is not the use of a serviceable instrument, but its abuse that merits reproof, and I cannot conceive that advertising was abused by me when I informed the people of Madrid that the New Testament was to be purchased at a cheap price in the Calle del Principe." l Elsewhere he referred to these same advertisements as " mild yet expressive." In spite of the strained state of his relations with the Bible Society, Borrow had no intention of remaining in Madrid brooding over his wrongs. Encouraged by the success that had attended his efforts in the Sagra of Toledo, and indifferent to the fact that his renewed activity was known at Toledo, where it was causing some alarm, he determined to proceed to Aranjuez, and, on his arrival there, to be guided by events as to his future move- ments. Accordingly about 28th July he set out attended by Antonio and Lopez, who had accompanied him from Villa Seca to Madrid, proceeding in the direction of La Mancha, and selling at every village through which they passed from twenty to forty Testaments. At Aranjuez they remained three days, visiting every house in the town and disposing of about eighty books. It was no unusual thing to see groups of the poorer people gathered round one of their number who was reading aloud from a recently purchased Testament. 1 General Report, withdrawn. 276 A RECKLESS MISSIONARY [1838 Feeling that his enemies were preparing to strike, Borrow determined to push on to the frontier town of Ocana, beyond which the clergy had only a nominal juris- diction on account of its being in the hands of the Carlists. Lopez was sent on with between two and three hundred Testaments, and Borrow, accompanied by Antonio, followed later by a shorter route through the hills. As they approached the town, a man, a Jew, stepped out from the porch of an empty house and barred their way, telling them that Lopez had been arrested at Ocana that morning as he was selling Testaments in the streets, and that the author- ities were now waiting for Borrow himself. Seeing that no good could be done by plunging into the midst of his enemies, who had their instructions from the corregidor of Toledo, Borrow decided to return to Aranjuez. This he did, on the way narrowly escaping assassination at the hands of three robbers. The next morning he was rejoined by Lopez, who had been released. He had sold 27 Testaments, and 200 had been confiscated and forwarded to Toledo. The whole party then returned to Madrid. The unfortunate affair at Ocana by no means dis- couraged Borrow. It was his intention "with God's leave " to " fight it out to the last." He saw that his only chance of distributing his store of Testaments lay in visiting the smaller villages before the order to confiscate his books arrived from Toledo. His enemies were " numerous and watchful " ; but Borrow was as cunning as a gypsy and as far-seeing as a Jew. Thinking that his notoriety had not yet crossed the Guadarrama mountains and penetrated into Old Castile, he decided to anticipate it. Lopez was sent ahead with a donkey bearing a cargo of Testaments, his instructions being to meet Borrow and Antonio at La Granja. Failing to find Lopez at the appointed place, Borrow pushed on to Segovia, where he received news that some men were selling books at Abades, to which place he proceeded with three more donkeys xvn.] "A CONTEST OF FIENDS" 277 laden with books that had been consigned to a friend at Segovia. At Abades Lopez was discovered busily occupied in selling Testaments. Hearing that an order was about to be sent from Segovia to Abades for the confiscation of his Testaments, Borrow immediately left the town, donkeys, Testaments and all, and for safety's sake passed the night in the fields. The next day they proceeded to the village of Labajos. A few days after their arrival the Carlist leader Balmaceda, at the head of his robber cavalry, streamed down from the pine woods of Soria into the southern part of Old Castile, Borrow " was present at all the horrors which ensued — the sack of Arrevalo, and the forcible entry into Marrin Munoz and San Cyprian. Amidst these terrible scenes we continued our labours undaunted." * Fie witnessed what " was not the war of men or even cannibals ... it seemed a contest of fiends from the infernal pit." Antonio became seized with uncontrollable fear and ran away to Madrid. Lopez soon afterwards disap- peared, and, left alone, Borrow suffered great anxiety as to the fate of the brave fellow. Hearing that he was in prison at Vilallos, about three leagues distant, and in spite of the fact that Balmaceda's cavalry division was in the neighbourhood, Borrow mounted his horse and set off next day (22nd Aug.) alone. He found on his arrival at Vilallos, that Lopez had been removed from the prison to a private house. Disregarding an order from the corregidor of Avila that only the books should be con- fiscated and that the vendor should be set at liberty, the Alcalde, at the instigation of the priest, refused to liberate Lopez. It had been hinted to the unfortunate man that on the arrival of the Carlists he was to be denounced as a liberal, which would mean death. " Taking these circum- stances into consideration," Borrow wrote, 2 " I deemed it 1 Borrow's letter to the Rev. A. Brandram, 1st Sept. 1838. - To Lord William Hervey, Charge d' Affaires at Madrid (23rd Aug. 1838). 278 A RECKLESS MISSIONARY [1838 my duty as a Christian and a gentleman to rescue my unfortunate servant from such lawless hands, and in consequence, defying opposition, I bore him off, though perfectly unarmed, through a crowd of at least one hundred peasants. On leaving the place I shouted ' Viva Isabella Segunda.' " In this affair Borrow had, not only the approval of Lord William Hervey, but of Count Ofalia also. In all probability the Bible Society has never had, and never will have again, an agent such as Borrow, who on occasion could throw aside the cloak of humility and grasp a two- edged sword with which to discomfit his enemies, and who solemnly chanted the creed of Islam whilst engaged as a Christian missionary. There was something magnificent in his Christianity ; it savoured of the Crusades in its pre-Reformation virility. Martyrdom he would accept if absolutely necessary ; but he preferred that if martyrs there must be they should be selected from the ranks of the enemy, whilst he, George Borrow, represented the strong arm of the Lord. After the Vilallos affair, Borrow returned to Madrid, crossing the Guadarramas alone and with two horses. " I nearly perished there," he wrote to Mr Brandram (ist Sept.), " having lost my way in the darkness and tumbled down a precipice." The perilous journey north had resulted in the sale of 900 Testaments, all within the space of three weeks and amidst scenes of battle and bloodshed. On his return to Madrid, Borrow found awaiting him the Resolution of the General Committee (6th Aug.), recalling him " without further delay." " I will set out for England as soon as possible," he wrote in reply ; x " but I must be allowed time. I am almost dead with fatigue, suffering and anxiety; and it is necessary that I should place the Society's property in safe and sure custody." 1 To Rev. G. Browne, one of the Secretaries of the Bible Society, 29th Aug. 1838. xvii.] CONFERENCES AT EARL STREET 279 On 1st September he wrote to Mr Brandram that he should " probably be in England within three weeks." Shortly after this he was attacked with fever, and confined to his bed for ten days, during which he was frequently delirious. When the fever departed, he was left very weak and subject to a profound melancholy. " I bore up against my illness as long as I could," he wrote, 1 " but it became too powerful for me. By good fortune I obtained a decent physician, a Dr Hacayo, who had studied medicine in England, and aided by him and the strength of my constitution I got the better of my attack, which, however, was a dreadfully severe one. I hope my next letter will be from Bordeaux. I cannot write more at present, for I am very feeble." The actual date that Borrow left Madrid is not known. He himself gave it as 31st August, 2 which is obviously inaccurate, as on 19th September he wrote to Mr Brandram : " I am now better, and hope in a few days to be able to proceed to Saragossa, which is the only road open." He travelled leisurely by way of the Pyrenees, through France to Paris, where he spent a fortnight. Of Paris he was very fond; "for, leaving all prejudices aside, it is a magnificent city, well supplied with sumptuous build- ings and public squares, unequalled by any town in Europe." 3 Having bought a few rare books he proceeded to Boulogne, " and thence by steamboat to London," 4 where in all probability he arrived towards the end of October. He had " long talks on Spanish affairs " 5 with his friends at Earl Street, where personal interviews seem to have brought about a much better feeling. The General Committee requested Borrow to put into writing his views as to the best means to be adopted for the future distribution of the Scriptures in Spain. He 1 To Rev. A. Brandram, 19th September 1838. 2 The Bible in Spain, page 621. 3 Letter to Dr Usoz, 22nd Feb. 1839. 4 Ibid. 6 Ibid. 280 A RECKLESS MISSIONARY [1838 accordingly wrote a statement, 1 a fine, vigorous piece of narrative, putting his case so clearly and convincingly as to leave little to be said for the unfortunate Graydon. He expressed himself as " eager to be carefully and categorically questioned." This Report appears subse- quently to have been withdrawn, probably on the advice of Borrow's friends, who saw that its uncompromising blunt- ness of expression would make it unacceptable to the General Committee. It was certainly presented to and considered by the Sub-Committee. Another document was drawn up entitled, " Report of Mr Geo. Borrow on Past and Future Operations in Spain." This reached Earl Street on 28th November. In it Borrow states that as the inhabitants of the cities had not shown themselves well- disposed towards the Scriptures, it would be better to labour in future among the peasantry. It was his firm conviction, he wrote, " that every village in Spain will purchase New Testaments, from twenty to sixty, according to its circumstances. During the last two months of his sojourn in Spain he visited about forty villages, and in only two instances was his sale less than thirty copies in each. ... If it be objected to the plan which he has presumed to suggest that it is impossible to convey to the rural districts of Spain the book of life without much difficulty and danger, he begs leave to observe that it does not become a real Christian to be daunted by either when it pleases his Maker to select him as an instrument ; and that, moreover, if it be not written that a man is to perish by wild beasts or reptiles he is safe in the den even of the Cockatrice as in the most retired chamber of the King's Palace ; and that if, on the contrary, he be doomed to perish by them, his destiny will overtake him notwith- standing all the precautions which he, like a blind worm, may essay for his security." In conclusion Borrow calls attention, without suggesting intimate alliance and co-operation, to the society of the 1 The Report has here been largely drawn upon and has been referred to as " Original Report, withdrawn. " xvii.] A TRIBUTE TO BORROW 281 liberal-minded Spanish ecclesiastics, which has been formed for the purpose of printing and circulating the Scriptures in Spanish without commentary or- notes. This had reference to a movement that was on foot in Madrid, supported by the Primate and the Bishops of Vigo and Joen, to challenge the Government in regard to its attempt to prevent the free circulation of the Scriptures. It was held that nowhere among the laws of Spain is it forbidden to circulate the Scriptures either with or without annotations. The only prohibition being in the various Papal Bulls. Charles Wood was chosen as " the ostensible manager of the concern " ; but had it not been for the trouble in the South, Borrow would have been the person selected. It would have been in every way deplorable had Borrow severed his connection with the Bible Society as a result of the Graydon episode. Borrow had been impulsive and indignant in his letters to Earl Street, Mr Brandram, on the other hand, had been " a little partial," and on one or two occasions must have written hastily in response to Borrow's letters. There is no object in administering blame or directing reproaches when the principals in a quarrel have made up their differences ; but there can be no question that the failure of the Officials and Committee of the Bible Society to appreciate the situation in Spain retarded their work in that country very considerably. This fact is now generally recognised. Mr Canton has admirably summed up the situation when he says: " Borrow had his faults, but insincerity and lack of zeal in the cause he had espoused were not among them. Both Sir George Villiers and his successor [during Sir George's visit to England], Lord William Hervey, were satisfied with the propriety of his conduct. Count Ofalia himself recognised his good faith — ' cuia buena fe me es conocida? To see his plans thwarted, his work arrested, the objects of the Society jeopardised, and his own person endangered by the indiscretion of others, formed, if not a justification, at least a sufficient excuse for the expression of strong 282 A RECKLESS MISSIONARY [1838 feeling. On the other hand, it was difficult for those at home to ascertain the actual facts of the case, to under- stand the nicety of the situation, and to arrive at an impartial judgment. Mr Brandram, who in any case would have been displeased with Borrow's unrestrained speech, appears to have suspected that his statements were not free from exaggeration, and that his discretion was not wholly beyond reproach. Happily the tension caused by this painful episode was relieved by Lieut. Graydon's withdrawal to France in June." x 1 History of the British and Foreign Bible Society. CHAPTER XVIII DECEMBER 1838 — MAY 1839 /^"\N 14th December 1838 it was resolved by the General ^^ Committee of the Bible Society that Borrow should proceed once more to Spain to dispose of such copies of the Scriptures as remained on hand at Madrid and other depots established by him in various parts of the country. He left London on the 21st, and sailed from Falmouth two days later, reaching Cadiz on the 31st, after a stormy passage, and on 2nd January he arrived at Seville, " rather indisposed with an old complaint," probably "the Horrors." In such stirring times, to be absent from the country, even for so short a period as two months, meant that on his return the traveller found a new Spain. Borrow learned that the Duke of Frias had succeeded Count Ofalia in September. The Duke had advised the British Ambassador in November that the Spanish authorities were possessed of a quantity of Borrow's Bibles (? New Testaments) that had been seized and taken to Toledo, and that if arrangements were not made for them to be taken out of Spain they would be destroyed. Sir George Villiers had replied that Mr Borrow, who was then out of the country, had been advised of the Duke's notification, and as soon as word was received from him, the Duke should be communicated with. Then the Duke of Frias in turn passed out of office and was succeeded by another, and so, politically, change followed change. 283 284 SPANISH OFFICIAL METHODS [1839 The Government, however, had no intention of putting itself in the wrong a second time. Great Britain's friend- ship was of far too great importance to the country to be jeopardised for the mere gratification of imprisoning George Borrow. An order had been sent out to all the authorities that an embargo was to be placed upon the books themselves ; but those distributing them were not to be arrested or in any way harmed. At Seville he found evidences of the activity of the Government in the news that of the hundred New Testa- ments that he had left with his correspondent there, seventy-six had been seized during the previous summer. Hearing that the books were in the hands of the Ecclesiastical Governor, Borrow astonished that " fierce, persecuting Papist by calling to make enquiries concerning them." The old man treated his visitor to a stream of impassioned invective against the Bible Society and its agent, expressing his surprise that he had ever been per- mitted to leave the prison in Madrid. Seeing that nothing was to be gained, although he had an absolute right to the books, provided he sent them out of the country, Borrow decided not to press the matter. On the night of 12th Jan. 1839, he left Seville with the Mail Courier and his escort bound for Madrid, where he arrived on the 16th without accident or incident, although the next Courier traversing the route was stopped by banditti. It was during this journey, whilst resting for four hours at Manzanares, a large village in La Mancha, that he encountered the blind girl who had been taught Latin by a Jesuit priest, and whom he named "the Manchegan Prophetess." 1 In telling Mr Brandram of the incident, Borrow tactlessly remarked, " what wonderful people are the Jesuits ; when shall we hear of an English 1 On the publication of The Bible in Spain the Prophetess became famous. Thirty-six years later Dr Knapp found her still soliciting alms, and she acknowledged that she owed her celebrity to the Ingles rubio, the blonde Englishman. xviii.] A STRANGE DREAM 285 rector instructing a beggar girl in the language of Cicero ? " Mr Brandram clearly showed that he liked neither the remark, which he took as personal, nor the use of the term " prophetess." On reaching Madrid a singular incident befell Borrow. On entering the arch of the posada called La Reyna, he found himself encircled by a pair of arms, and, on turning round, found that they belonged to the delinquent Antonio, who stood before his late master " haggard and ill-dressed, and his eyes seemed starting from their sockets." The poor fellow, who was entirely destitute, had, on the previous night, dreamed that he saw Borrow arrive on a black horse, and, in consequence, had spent the whole day in loitering about outside the posada. Borrow was very glad to engage him again, in spite of his recent cowardice and desertion. Borrow once more took up his abode with the estimable Maria Diaz, and one of his first cares was to call on Lord Clarendon (Sir George Villiers had succeeded his uncle as fourth earl), by whom he was kindly received. A week later, there arrived from Lopez at Villa Seca his "largest and most useful horse," the famous Sidi Habismilk (My Lord the Sustainer of the Kingdom), " an Arabian of high caste . . . the best, I believe, that ever issued from the desert," 1 Lopez wrote, regretting that he was unable to accompany " The Sustainer of the Kingdom " in person, being occupied with agricultural pursuits, but he sent a relative named Victoriano to assist in the work of distributing the Gospel. Borrow's plan was to make Madrid his headquarters, with Antonio in charge of the supplies, and visit all the villages and hamlets in the vicinity that had not yet been supplied with Testaments. He then proposed to turn eastward to a distance of about thirty leagues. " I have been very passionate in prayer," he writes, 2 "during the last two or three days ; and I entertain some 1 The Bible in Spain, page 627. '-' To Rev. A. Brandram, 25th Jan. 1839. 286 SPANISH OFFICIAL METHODS [1839 hope that the Lord has condescended to answer me, as I appear to see my way with considerable clearness. It may, of course, prove a delusion, and the prospects which seem to present themselves may be mere palaces of clouds, which a breath of wind is sufficient to tumble into ruin ; therefore bearing this possibility in mind it behoves me to beg that I may be always enabled to bow meekly to the dispensations of the Almighty, whether they be of favour or severity." Mr Brandram's comment on this portion of Borrow's letter is rather suggestive of deliberate fault-finding. " May your ' passionate ' prayers be answered," he writes. 1 " You see I remark your unusual word — very significant it is, but one rather fitted for the select circle where ' passion ' is understood in its own full sense — and not in the restricted meaning attached to it ordinarily. Perhaps you will not often meet with a better set of men than those who assembled in Earl Street, but they may not always be open to the force of language, and so unwonted a phrase may raise odd feelings in their minds. Do not be in a passion, will you, for the freedom of my remarks. You will perhaps suppose remarks were made in Committee. This does not happen to be the case, though I fully anticipated it. Mr Browne, Mr Jowett and myself had first privately devoured your letter, and we made our remarks. We could relish such a phrase." Sometimes there was a suggestion of spite in Mr Brandram's letters. He was obviously unfriendly towards Borrow during the latter portion of his agency. It was clear that the period of Borrow's further association with the Bible Society was to be limited. If he replied at all to this rather unfair criticism, he must have done so privately to Mr Brandram, as there is no record of his having referred to it in any subsequent letters among the Society's archives. All unconscious that he had so early offended, Borrow set out upon his first journey to distribute Testaments among the villages around Madrid. Dressed in the 1 On 6th Feb. 1839. xviil] VICTORIANO IMPRISONED 287 manner of the peasants, on his head a montera, a species of leathern helmet, with jacket and trousers of the same material, and mounted on Sidi Habismilk, he looked so unlike the conventional missionary that the housewife may be excused who mistook him for a pedlar selling soap. In some villages where the people were without money, they received Testaments in return for refreshing the missionaries. " Is this right ? " Borrow enquires of Mr Brandram. The village priests frequently proved of con- siderable assistance ; for when they pronounced the books good, as they sometimes did, the sale became extremely brisk. After an absence of eight days, Borrow returned to Madrid. Shortly afterwards, when on the eve of starting out upon another expedition to Guadalajara and the villages of Alcarria, he received a letter from Victoriano saying that he was in prison at Fuente la Higuera, a village about eight leagues distant. Acting with his customary energy and decision, Borrow obtained from an influential friend letters to the Civil Governor and principal authorities of Guadalajara. He then despatched Antonio to the rescue, with the result that Victoriano was released, with the assurance that those responsible for his detention should be severely punished. Whilst Victoriano was in prison, Borrow and Antonio had been very successful in selling Testaments and Bibles in Madrid, disposing of upwards of a hundred copies, but entirely to the poor, who " receive the Scrip- tures with gladness," although the hearts of the rich were hard. The work in and about Madrid continued until the middle of March, when Borrow decided to make an excursion as far as Talavera. The first halt was made at the village of Naval Carnero. Soon after his arrival orders came from Madrid warning the alcaldes of every village in New Castile to be on the look out for the tall, white-haired heretic, of whom an exact description was given, who to-day was in one place and to-morrow twenty leagues distant. No violence was to be offered either to 288 SPANISH OFFICIAL METHODS [1839 him or to his assistants ; but he and they were to be baulked in their purpose by every legitimate means. Foiled in the rural districts, Borrow instantly deter- mined to change his plan of campaign. He saw that he was less likely to attract notice in the densely-populated capital than in the provinces. He therefore galloped back to Madrid, leaving Victoriano to follow more leisurely. He rejoiced at the alarm of the clergy. " Glory to God ! " he exclaims, " they are becoming thoroughly alarmed, and with much reason." x The " reason " lay in the great demand for Testaments and Bibles. A new binding- order had to be given for the balance of the 500 Bibles that had arrived in sheets, or such as had been left of them by the rats, who had done considerable damage in the Madrid storehouse. It was at this juncture that Borrow's extensive acquaintance with the lower orders proved useful. Selecting eight of the most intelligent from among them, including five women, he supplied them with Testaments and instructions to vend the books in all the parishes of Madrid, with the result that in the course of about a fortnight 600 copies were disposed of in the streets and alleys. A house to house canvass was instituted with remarkable results, for manservant and maidservant bought eagerly of the books. Antonio excelled himself and made some amends for his flight from Labajos, when, like a torrent, the Carlist cavalry descended upon it. Dark Madrid was becoming illuminated with a flood of Scriptural light. In two of its churches the New Testa- ment was expounded every Sunday evening. Bibles were particularly in demand, a hundred being sold in about three weeks. The demand exceeded the supply. " The Marques de Santa Coloma," Borrow wrote, " has a large family, but every individual of it, old or young, is now in possession of a Bible and likewise of a Testament." 2 1 Letter to Mr W. Hitchin of the Bible Society, 9th March 1839. 2 Letter to Rev. A. Brandram, 26th March 1839. Xviii.] A MIDNIGHT VISITANT 289 Borrow appears to have enlisted the aid of other distributors than the eight colporteurs. One of his most zealous agents was an ecclesiastic, who always carried with him beneath his gown a copy of the Bible, which he offered to the first person he encountered whom he thought likely to become a purchaser. Yet another assistant was found in a rich old gentleman of Navarre, who sent copies to his own province. One night after having retired to bed, Borrow received a visit from a curious, hobgoblin-like person, who gave him grave, official warning that unless he present himself before the corregidor on the morrow at eleven A.M., he must be prepared to take the consequences. The hour chosen for this intimation was midnight. On the next day at the appointed time Borrow presented himself before the corregidor, who announced that he wished to ask a question. The question related to a box of Testaments that Borrow had sent to Naval Carnero, which had been seized and subsequently claimed on Borrow's behalf by Antonio. In Spain they have the dramatic instinct If it strike the majestic mind of a corregidor at midnight that he would like to see a citizen or a stranger on the morrow about some trifling affair, time or place are not permitted to interfere with the conveyance of the intimation to the citizen or stranger to present himself before the gravely austere official, who will carry out the interrogation with a solemnity becoming a capital charge. By the middle of April barely a thousand Testaments remained ; these Borrow determined to distribute in Seville. Sending Antonio, the Testaments and two horses with the convoy, Borrow decided to risk travelling with the Mail Courier. For one thing, he disliked the slowness of a convoy, and for another the insults and irritations that travellers had to put up with from the escort, both officers and men. His original plan had been to pro- ceed by Estremadura ; but a band of Carlist robbers had recently made its appearance, murdering or holding at T 290 SPANISH OFFICIAL METHODS [1839 ransom every person who fell into its clutches. Borrow wrote : — " I therefore deem it wise to avoid, if possible, the alterna- tive of being shot or having to pay one thousand pounds for being set at liberty. ... It is moreover wicked to tempt Providence systematically. I have already thrust myself into more danger than was, perhaps, strictly necessary, and as I have been permitted hitherto to escape, it is better to be content with what it has pleased the Lord to do for me up to the present moment, than to run the risk of offending Him by a blind confidence in His forbear- ance, which may be over-taxed. As it is, however, at all times best to be frank, I am willing to confess that I am what the world calls exceedingly superstitious ; perhaps the real cause of my change of resolution was a dream, in which I imagined myself on a desolate road in the hands of several robbers, who were hacking me with their long, ugly knives." 1 In the same letter, which was so to incur Mr Brandram's disapproval, Borrow tells of the excellent results of his latest plan for disposing of Bibles and Testaments, three hundred and fifty of the former having been sold since he reached Spain. He goes on to explain and expound the difficulties that have been met and overcome, and hopes that his friends at Earl Street will be patient, as it may not be in his power to send " for a long time any flattering accounts of operations commenced there." In conclusion, he assures Mr Brandram that from the Church of Rome he has learned one thing, " Ever to expect evil, and ever to hope for good." Nothing could have been more unfortunate than the effect produced upon Mr Brandram's mind by this letter. " I scarcely know what to say," he writes. " You are in a very peculiar country ; you are doubtless a man of very peculiar temperament, and we must not apply common rules in judging either of yourself or your affairs. What, e.g., shall we say to your confession of a certain super- stitiousness? It is very frank of you to tell us what you 1 Letter to Rev. A. Brandram, ioth April 1839. xvin.] A LAPSE 291 need not have told ; but it sounded very odd when read aloud in a large Committee. Strangers that know you not would carry away strange ideas. ... In bespeaking our patience, there is an implied contrast between your own mode of proceeding and that adopted by others — a contrast this a little to the disadvantage of others, and savouring a little of the praise of a personage called number one. . . . Perhaps my vanity is offended, and I feel as if I were not esteemed a person of sufficient discern- ment to know enough of the real state of Spain. . . . " Bear with me now in my criticisms on your second letter [that of 2nd May]. You narrate your perilous journey to Seville, and say at the beginning of the description : ' My usual wonderful good fortune accom- panying us.' This is a mode of speaking to which we are not well accustomed ; it savours, some of our friends would say, a little of the profane. Those who know you will not impute this to you. But you must remember that our Committee Room is public to a great extent, and I cannot omit expressions as I go reading on. Pious sentiments may be thrust into letters ad nauseam, and it is not for that I plead ; but is there not a via media ? " We are odd people, it may be, in England ; we are not fond of prophets or ' prophetesses ' [a reference to her of La Mancha about whom Borrow had previously been rebuked]. I have not turned back to your former description of the lady whom you have a second time introduced to our notice. Perhaps my wounded pride had not been made whole after the infliction you before gave it by contrasting the teacher of the prophetess with English rectors." Borrow replied to this letter from Seville on 28th June, and there are indications that before doing so he took time to deliberate upon it. " Think not, I pray you," he wrote, " that any observa- tion of yours respecting style, or any peculiarities of expression which I am in the habit of exhibiting in my correspondence, can possibly awaken in me any feeling but that of gratitude, knowing so well as I do the person who offers them, and the motives by which he is influenced. I have reflected on those passages which you were pleased to point out as objectionable, and have nothing to reply further than that I have erred, that I am 292 SPANISH OFFICIAL METHODS [1839 sorry, and will endeavour to mend, and that, moreover, I have already prayed for assistance to do so. Allow me, however, to offer a word, not in excuse but in explanation of the expression ' wonderful good fortune ' which appeared in a former letter of mine. It is clearly objectionable, and, as you very properly observe, savours of pagan times. But I am sorry to say that I am much in the habit of repeating other people's sayings without weighing their propriety. The saying was not mine ; but I heard it in conversation and thoughtlessly repeated it. A few miles from Seville I was telling the Courier of the many perilous journeys which I had accomplished in Spain in safety, and for which I thank the Lord. His reply was, ' La mucha suerte de Usted tambien nos ha acompanado en este viage.' " Thus ended another unfortunate misunderstanding between secretary and agent. Borrow had taken considerable risk in making the journey to Seville with the Courier. The whole of La Mancha was overrun with the Carlist-banditti, who, "whenever it pleases them, stop the Courier, burn the vehicle and letters, murder the paltry escort which attends, and carry away any chance passenger to the mountains, where an enormous ransom is demanded, which if not paid brings on the dilemma of four shots through the head, as the Spaniards say." The Courier's previous journey over the same route had ended in the murder of the escort and the burning of the coach, the Courier himself escaping through the good offices of one of the bandits, who had formerly been his postilion. Borrow was shown the blood-soaked turf and the skull of one of the soldiers. At Manzanares, Borrow invited to breakfast with him the Prophetess who was so unpopular at Earl Street. Continuing the journey, he reached Seville without mishap, and a few days later Antonio arrived with the horses. It was found that the two cases of Testaments that had been forwarded from Madrid had been stopped at the Seville Customs House, xviii.] A QUESTION OF EXPEDIENCY 293 and Borrow had recourse to subterfuge in order to get them and save his journey from being in vain. " For a few dollars," he tells Mr Brandram (2nd May), " I procured a fiador or person who engaged that the chests should be carried down the river and embarked at San Lucar for a foreign land. Yesterday I hired a boat and sent them down, but on the way I landed in a secure place all the Testaments which I intend for this part of the country." The fiador had kept to the letter of his undertaking, and the chests were duly delivered at San Lucar ; but a considerable portion of their contents, some two hundred Testaments, had been abstracted, and these had to be smuggled into Seville under the cloaks of master and servant. The officials appear to have treated Borrow with the greatest possible courtesy and consideration, and they told him that his " intentions were known and honored." Borrow had great hopes of achieving something for the Gospel's sake in Seville ; but the operation would be a delicate one. To Mr Brandram he wrote : — " Consider my situation here. I am in a city by nature very Levitical, as it contains within it the most magnificent and splendidly endowed cathedral of any in Spain. I am surrounded by priests and friars, who know and hate me, and who, if I commit the slightest act of indiscretion, will halloo their myrmidons against me. The press is closed to me, the libraries are barred against me, I have no one to assist me but my hired servant, no pious English families to comfort or encourage me, the British subjects here being ranker papists and a hundred times more bigoted than the Spanish themselves, the Consul, a renegade Quaker. Yet notwithstanding, with God's assistance, I will do much, though silently, burrowing like the mole in darkness beneath the ground. Those who have triumphed in Madrid, and in the two Castiles, where the difficulties were seven times greater, are not to be dismayed by priestly frowns at Seville." l On arriving at Seville Borrow had put up at the Posada de la Reyna, in the Calle Gimios, and here on 4th May (he 1 Letter to the Rev. A. Brandram, 2nd May 1839. 294 SPANISH OFFICIAL METHODS [1839 had arrived about 24th April) he encountered Lieut- Colonel Elers Napier. Borrow liked nothing so well as appearing in the role of a mysterious stranger. He loved mystery as much as a dramatic moment His admiration of Baron Taylor was largely based upon the innumerable conjectures as to who it was that surrounded his puzzling personality with such an air of mystery. That May morning Colonel Napier, who was also staying at the Posada de la Reyna, was wandering about the galleries overlooking the patio. He writes : — " whilst occupied in moralising over the dripping water spouts, I observed a tall, gentlemanly-looking man dressed in a semarra \2amarra, a sheepskin jacket with the wool out- side] leaning over the balustrades and apparently engaged in a similar manner with myself. . . . From the stranger's complexion, which was fair, but with brilliant black eyes, I concluded he was not a Spaniard ; in short, there was something so remarkable in his appearance that it was difficult to say to what nation he might belong. He was tall, with a commanding appearance ; yet, though appar- ently in the flower of manhood, his hair was so deeply tinged with the winter of either age or sorrow as to be nearly snow white." 1 Colonel Napier was thoroughly mystified. The stranger answered his French in " the purest Parisian Accent " ; yet he proved capable of speaking fluent English, of giving orders to his Greek servant in Romaic, of con- versing " in good Castillian with ' mine host,' " and of exchanging salutations in German with another resident at the fonda. Later the Colonel had the gratification of startling the Unknown by replying to some remark of his in Hindi ; but only momentarily, for he showed himself " delighted on finding I was an Indian, and entered freely, and with depth and acuteness, on the affairs of the East, most of which part of the world he had visited." 2 1 Excursions Along the Shores of the Mediterranean, by Lt.-Col. E. Napier, 46th Regt. Colburn, 1842, 2 vols. 2 Ibid. xviii.] THE BEAUTIFUL GYPSY 295 No one could give any information about " the mysterious Unknown," who or what he was, or why he was travelling. It was known that the police entertained suspicions that he was a Russian spy, and kept him under strict observation. Whatever else he was, Colonel Napier found him " a very agreeable companion." 1 On the following morning (a Sunday) Colonel Napier and his Unknown set out on horseback on an excursion to the ruins of Italica. As they sat on a ruined wall of the Convent of San Isidoro, contemplating the scene of ruin and desolation around, " the ' Unknown ' began to feel the vein of poetry creeping through his inward soul, and gave vent to it by reciting with great emphasis and effect " some lines that the scene called up to his mind. " I had been too much taken up with the scene," Colonel Napier continues, " the verses, and the strange being who was repeating them with so much feeling, to notice the approach of a slight female figure, beautiful in the extreme, but whose tattered garments, raven hair, swarthy com- plexion and flashing eyes proclaimed to be of the wander- ing tribe of Gitanos, From an intuitive sense of politeness, she stood with crossed arms and a slight smile on her dark and handsome countenance until my companion had ceased, and then addressed us in the usual whining tone of supplication — ' Caballeritos, una limosnita ! Dios se la pagard a ustedes I ' — ' Gentlemen, a little charity ; God will repay it to you ! ' The gypsy girl was so pretty and her voice so sweet, that I involuntarily put my hand in my pocket. " ' Stop ! ' said the Unknown. ' Do you remember what I told you about the Eastern origin of these people ? You shall see I am correct.' — ' Come here, my pretty child,' said he in Moultanee, ' and tell me where are the rest of your tribe.' " The girl looked astounded, replied in the same tongue, but in broken language ; when, taking him by the arm, she said in Spanish, ' Come, cabellero — come to one who will be able to answer you ' ; and she led the way down 1 Excursions Along the Shores of the Mediterranean, by Lt.-Col. E. Napier, 46th Regt. Colburn, 1842, 2 vols. 296 SPANISH OFFICIAL METHODS [1839 amongst the ruins, towards one of the dens formerly occupied by the wild beasts, and disclosed to us a set of beings scarcely less savage. The sombre walls of the gloomy abode were illumined by a fire the smoke from which escaped through a deep fissure in the mossy roof; whilst the flickering flames threw a blood-red glare on the bronzed features of a group of children, of two men, and a decrepit old hag, who appeared busily engaged in some culinary preparations. " On our entrance, the scowling glance of the males of the party, and a quick motion of the hand towards the folds of the ' faja ' [a sash in which the Spaniard carries a formidable clasp-knife] caused in me, at least, anything but a comfortable sensation ; but their hostile intentions, if ever entertained, were immediately removed by a wave of the hand from our conductress, who, leading my com- panion towards the sibyl, whispered something in her ear. The old crone appeared incredulous. The ' Unknown ' uttered one word ; but that word had the effect of magic ; she prostrated herself at his feet, and in an instant, from an object of suspicion he became one of worship to the whole family, to whom, on taking leave, he made a handsome present, and departed with their united bless- ings, to the astonishment of myself and what looked very like terror in our Spanish guide. " I was, as the phrase goes, dying with curiosity, and as soon as we mounted our horses, exclaimed — ' Where, in the name of goodness, did you pick up your acquaintance with the language of those extraordinary people ? ' " ' Some years ago, in Moultan,' he replied. "'And by what means do you possess such apparent influence over them ? ' But the ' Unknown ' had already said more than he perhaps wished on the subject. He drily replied that he had more than once owed his life to gypsies, and had reason to know them well ; but this was said in a tone which precluded all further queries on my part. The subject was never again broached, and we returned in silence to the fonda. . . . This is a most extra- ordinary character, and the more I see of him the more am I puzzled. He appears acquainted with everybody and everything, but apparently unknown to every one himself. Though his figure bespeaks youth — and by his own account his age does not exceed thirty [he would be thirty-six in the following July] — yet the snows of eighty xviil] "A SECOND MELMOTH* 297 winters could not have whitened his locks more completely than they are. But in his dark and searching eye there is an almost supernatural penetration and lustre, which, were I inclined to superstition, might induce me to set down its possessor as a second Melmoth." i 1 A reference to Charles Robert Maturin's Melmoth the Wanderer, 4 vols., 1820. This book was republished in 3 vols, in 1892, an almost unparalleled instance of the reissue of a practically forgotten book' in a form closely resembling that of the original. Melmoth the Wanderer was referred to in the most enthusiastic terms by Balzac, Thackeray and Baudelaire among others. CHAPTER XIX MAY — DECEMBER 1 839 T30RR0W confesses that he was at a loss to know how -*-* to commence operations in Seville. He was entirely friendless, even the British Consul being unapproachable on account of his religious beliefs. However, he soon gathered round him some of those curious characters who seemed always to gravitate towards him, no matter where he might be, or with what occupied. Surely the Scriptures never had such a curious assortment of missionaries as Borrow employed ? At Seville there was the gigantic Greek, Dionysius of Cephalonia ; the " aged professor of music, who, with much stiffness and ceremoniousness, united much that was excellent and admirable"; 1 the Greek bricklayer, Johannes Chysostom, a native of Morea, who might at any time become " the Masaniello of Seville." With these assistants Borrow set to work to throw the light of the Gospel into the dark corners of the city. Soon after arriving at Seville, he decided to adopt a new plan of living. " On account of the extreme dearness of every article at the posada" he wrote to Mr Brandram on 12th June, " where, moreover, I had a suspicion that I was being watched [this may have reference to the police suspicion that he was a Russian spy], I removed with my servant and horses to an empty house in a solitary part of the 1 The Bible in Spain, page 663. xix] BORROW TAKES A HOUSE 299 town. . . . Here I live in the greatest privacy, admit- ting no person but two or three in whom I had the greatest confidence, who entertain the same views as myself, and who assist me in the circulation of the Gospel." The house stood in a solitary situation, occupying one side of the Plazuela de la Pila Seca (the Little Square of the Empty Trough). It was a two-storied building and much too large for Borrow's requirements. Having bought the necessary articles of furniture, he retired behind the shutters of his Andalusian mansion with Antonio and the two horses. He lived in the utmost seclusion, spending a large portion of his time in study or in dreamy meditation. " The people here complain sadly of the heat," he writes to Mr Brandram (28th June 1839), "but as for myself, I luxuriate in it, like the butterflies which hover about the maeetas, or flowerpots, in the court." In the cool of the evening he would mount Sidi Habismilk and ride along the Dehesa until the topmost towers of the city were out of sight, then, turning the noble Arab, he would let him return at his best speed, which was that of the whirlwind. Throughout his work in Spain Borrow had been seriously handicapped by being unable to satisfy the demand for Bibles that met him everywhere he went. In a letter (June) from Maria Diaz, who was acting as his agent in Madrid, 1 the same story is told. " The binder has brought me eight Bibles," she writes, " which he has contrived to make up out of the sheets gnawn by the rats, and which would have been necessary even had they amounted to eight thousand (y era necesario se puvieran vuelto 8000), because the people are 1 Maria Diaz had written on 24th May : "Calzado has been here to see if I would sell him the lamps that belong to the shop [the Despacho\ He is willing to give four dollars for them, and he says they cost five, so if you want me to sell them to him, you must let me know. It seems he is going to set up a beer-shop." It is not on record whether or no the lamps from the Bible Society's Despacho eventually illuminated a beer-shop. 300 A STRANGE MENAGE [1839 innumerable who come to seek more. Don Santiago has been here with some friends, who insisted upon having a part of them. The Aragonese Gentleman has likewise been, he who came before your departure, and bespoke twenty-four ; he now wants twenty-five. I begged them to take Testaments, but they would not." 1 The Greek bricklayer proved a most useful agent. His great influence with his poor acquaintances resulted in the sale of many Testaments. More could have been done had it not been necessary to proceed with extreme caution, lest the authorities should take action and seize the small stock of books that remained. When he took and furnished the large house in the little square, there had been in Borrow's mind another reason than a desire for solitude and freedom from prying eyes. Throughout his labours in Spain he had kept up a correspondence with Mrs Clarke of Oulton, who, on 15th March, had written informing him of her intention to take up her abode for a short time at Seville. For some time previously Mrs Clarke had been having trouble about her estate. Her mother (September 1835) and father (February 1836) were both dead, and her brother Breame had inherited the estate and she the mortgage together with the Cottage on Oulton Broad. Breame Skepper died (May 1837), leaving a wife and six children. In his will he had appointed Trustees, who demanded the sale of the Estate and division of the money, which was opposed by Mrs Clarke as executrix and mortgagee. Later it was agreed between the parties that the Estate should be sold for £1 1,000 to a Mr Joseph Cator Webb, and an agreement to that effect was signed. Anticipating that the Estate would increase in value, and apparently regretting their bargain, the Trustees delayed carrying out their undertaking, and Mr Webb filed a bill in Chancery to force them to do so. Mrs Clarke's legal advisers thought it better that she should disappear for a 1 Letter from Borrow to the Rev. A. Brandram, 28th June 1839. xix.] THE ARRIVAL OF MRS CLARKE 301 time. Hence her letter to Borrow, in replying to which (29th March), he expresses pleasure at the news of his friend's determination " to settle in Seville for a short time — which, I assure you, I consider to be the most agreeable retreat you can select ... for there the growls of your enemies will scarcely reach you." He goes on to tell her that he laughed outright at the advice of her counsellor not to take a house and furnish it. " Houses in Spain are let by the day : and in a palace here you will find less furniture than in your cottage at Oulton. Were you to furnish a Spanish house in the style of cold, wintry England, you would be unable to breathe. A few chairs, tables, and mattresses are all that is required, with of course a good stock of bed-linen. . . . " Bring with you, therefore, your clothes, plenty of bed-linen, etc., half-a-dozen blankets, two dozen knives and forks, a mirror or two, twelve silver table spoons, and a large one for soup, tea things and urn (for the Spaniards never drink tea), a few books, but not many, — and you will have occasion for nothing more, or, if you have, you can purchase it here as cheap as in England." Borrow's ideas of domestic comfort were those of the old campaigner. For all that, he showed himself very thorough in the directions he gave as to how and where Mrs Clarke should book her passage and obtain " a pass- port for yourself and Hen." (Henrietta her daughter, now nearly twenty years of age), and the warning he gave that no attempt should be made to go ashore at Lisbon, " a very dangerous place." On 7th June Mrs Clarke and her daughter Henrietta sailed from London on board the steam-packet Royal Tar bound for Cadiz, where they arrived on the 16th, and, on the day following, entered into possession of their temporary home where Borrow was already installed, safe for the time from Mr Webb's Chancery bill. It was no doubt to Mrs and Miss Clarke that Borrow referred when he wrote to Mr Brandram x saying that "two or three ladies of my 1 28th June. 302 A STRANGE MENAGE [1839 acquaintance occasionally dispose of some [Testaments] amongst their friends, but they say that they experience some difficulty, the cry for Bibles being great." Borrow continued to reside at 7 Plazuela de la Pila Seca, and Mrs Clarke and Henrietta soon learned some- thing of the vicissitudes and excitements of a missionary's life. On Sunday, 8th July, as Borrow "happened to be reading the Liturgy," he received a visit from "various alguacils, headed by the Alcalde del Barrio, or headborough, who made a small seizure of Testaments and Gypsy Gospels which happened to be lying about." l This circumstance convinced Borrow of the good effect of his labours in and around Seville. The time had now arrived, however, when the whole of the smuggled Testaments had been disposed of, and there was no object in remaining longer in Seville, or in Spain for that matter. There were books at San Lucar that might without official opposition be shipped out of the country, and Borrow therefore determined to see what could be done towards distributing them among the Spanish residents on the Coast of Barbary. This done, he hoped to return to Spain and dispose of the 900 odd Testaments lying at Madrid. On 18th July he wrote to Mr Brandram : — " I should wish to be permitted on my return from my present expedition to circulate some in La Mancha. . . . The state of that province is truly horrible ; it appears peopled partly with spectres and partly with demons. There is famine, and such famine ; there is assassination and such unnatural assassination [another of Borrow's phrases that must have struck the Committee as odd]. There you see soldiers and robbers, ghastly lepers and horrible and uncouth maimed and blind, exhibiting their terrible nakedness in the sun. I was prevented last year in carrying the Gospel amongst them. May I be more successful this." Antonio had been dismissed, his master being "com- 1 Letter to Rev. A. Brandram, 18th July 1839. xix.] AN INSTINCTIVE MISSIONARY 303 pelled to send [him] back to Madrid ... on account of his many irregularities," and in consequence it was alone, on the night of 31st July, that Borrow set out upon his expedition. From Seville he took the steamer to Bonanza, from whence he drove to San Lucar, where he picked up a chest of New Testaments and a small box of St Luke's Gospel in Gitano, with a pass for them to Cadiz. It proved expensive, this claiming of his own property, for at every step there was some fee to be paid or gratuity to be given. The last payment was made to the Spanish Consul at Gibraltar, who claimed and received a dollar for certifying the arrival of books he had not seen. Borrow was instinctively a missionary, even a great missionary. At the Customs House of San Lucar some questions were asked about the books contained in the cases, and he seized the occasion to hold an informal missionary meeting, with the officials clustered round him listening to his discourse. One of the cases had to be opened for inspection, and the upshot of it was that, to the very officials whose duty it was to see that the books were not distributed in Spain, Borrow sold a number of copies, not only of the Spanish Testament, but of the Gypsy St Luke. Such was the power of his personality and the force of his eloquence. From San Lucar Borrow returned to Bonanza and again took the boat, which landed him at Cadiz, where he was hospitably entertained by Mr Brackenbury, the British Consul, who gave him a letter of introduction to Mr Drummond Hay, the Consul-General at Tangier. On 4th August he proceeded to Gibraltar. It was not until the 8th, however, that he was able to cross to Tangier, where he was kindly received by Mr Hay, who found for him a very comfortable lodging. Taking the Consul's advice, Borrow proceeded with extreme caution. For the first fortnight of his stay he made no effort to distribute his Testaments, contenting himself with studying the town and its inhabitants, [1839 304 A STRANGE MENAGE occasionally speaking to the Christians in the place (principally Spanish and Genoese sailors and their families) about religious matters, but always with the greatest caution lest the two or three friars, who resided at what was known as the Spanish Convent, should become alarmed. Again Borrow obtained the services of a curious assistant, a Jewish lad named Hayim Ben Attar, who carried the Testaments to the people's houses and offered them for sale, and this with considerable success. On 4th September Borrow wrote to Mr Brandram : — " The blessed book is now in the hands of most of the Christians of Tangier, from the lowest to the highest, from the fisherman to the consul. One dozen and a half were carried to Tetuan on speculation, a town about six leagues from hence ; they will be offered to the Christians who reside there. Other two dozen are on their way to distant Mogadore. One individual, a tavern keeper, has purchased Testaments to the number of thirty, which he says he has no doubt he can dispose of to the foreign sailors who stop occasionally at his house. You will be surprised to hear that several amongst the Jews have purchased copies of the New Testament with the intention, as they state, of improving themselves in Spanish, but I believe from curiosity." During his stay in Tangier, Borrow had some trouble with the British Vice-Consul, who seems to have made himself extremely offensive with his persistent offers of service. His face was " purple and blue " and in whose blood-shot eyes there was an expression " much like that of a departed tunny fish or salmon," and he became so great an annoyance that Borrow made a complaint to Mr Drummond Hay. This is one of the few instances of Borrow's experiencing difficulty with an)' British official, for, as a rule, he was extremely popular. In this particular instance, however, the Vice-Consul was so obviously seeking to make profit out of his official position, that there was no other means open to Borrow than to make a formal complaint. xix.] BACK IN SPAIN 305 In the case of Mr Drummond Hay, he obtained the friendship of a "true British gentleman." At first the Consul had been reserved and distant, and apparently by no means inclined to render Borrow any service in the furtherance of his mission ; but a few days sufficed to bring him under the influence of Borrow's personal magnetism, and he ended by assuring him that he would be happy to receive the Society's commands, and would render all possible assistance, officially or otherwise, to the distribution of the Scriptures "in Fez or Morocco." Borrow was thoroughly satisfied with the result of his five weeks' stay in Tangier. He reached Cadiz on his way to Seville on 21st Sept., after undergoing a four days' quarantine at Tarifa, when he wrote to Mr Brandram (29th Sept.) : " I am very glad that I went to Tangier, for many reasons. In the first place, I was permitted to circulate many copies of God's Word both among the Jews and the Christians, by the latter of whom it was particularly wanted, their ignorance of the most vital points of religion being truly horrible. In the second place, I acquired a vast stock of information concerning Africa and the state of its interior. One of my principal Associates was a black slave whose country was only three days' journey from Timbuctoo, which place he had frequently visited. The Soos men also told me many of the secrets of the land of wonders from which they come, and the Rabbis from Fez and Morocco were no less communicative." Borrow had started upon his expedition to the Barbary Coast without any definite instructions from Earl Street. On 29th July the Sub-Committee had resolved that as his mission to Spain was " nearly attained by the disposal of the larger part of the Spanish Scriptures which he went out to distribute," the General Committee be recommended to request him to take measures for selling or placing in safe custody all copies remaining on hand and returning to England " without loss of time." This was adopted on 5th Aug. ; but before it received the u 306 A STRANGE MENAGE [1839 formal sanction of the General Committee Mr Browne had written (29th July) to Borrow acquainting him with the feeling of the Sub-Committee, thinking that he ought to have early intimation of what was taking place. This letter Borrow found awaiting him at Cadiz on his return from Tangier. He replied immediately (21st Sept.) : " Had I been aware of that resolution before my departure for Tangier I certainly should not have gone ; my expedition, however, was the result of much reflection. I wished to carry the Gospel to the Christians of the Barbary shore, who were much in want of it ; and I had one hundred and thirty Testaments at San Lucar, which I could only make available by exportation. The success which it has pleased the Lord to yield me in my humble efforts at distribution in Barbary will, I believe, prove the best criterion as to the fitness of the enterprise. " I stated in my last communication to Mr Brandram the plan which I conceived to be the best for circulating that portion of the edition of the New Testament which remains unsold at Madrid, and I scarcely needed a stimulant in the execution of my duty. At present, however, I know not what to do ; I am sorrowful, dis- appointed and unstrung. " I wish to return to England as soon as possible ; but I have books and papers at Madrid which are of much importance to me and which I cannot abandon, this perhaps alone prevents me embarking in the next packet. I have, moreover, brought with me from Tangier the Jewish youth [Hayim Ben Attar], who so powerfully assisted me in that place in the work of distribution. I had hoped to have made him of service in Spain, he is virtuous and clever. . . . " I am almost tempted to ask whether some strange, some unaccountable delusion does not exist : what should induce me to stay in Spain, as you appear to suppose I intend ? I may, however, have misunderstood you. I wish to receive a fresh communication as soon as possible, either from yourself or Mr Brandram ; in the meantime I shall go to Seville, to which place and to the usual number pray direct." It would appear that the Bible Society had become xix.] LORD PALMERSTON INTERVENES 307 aware of Borrow's minage at Seville, and concluded that he meant to take up his abode in Spain more or less permanently. Borrow's next plan was to order a chest of Testaments to be sent to La Mancha, where he had friends, then to mount his horse and proceed there in person. With the assistance of his Jewish body-servant he hoped to circu- late many copies before the authorities became aware of his presence. Later he would proceed to Madrid, put his affairs in order, and make for France by way of Saragossa (where he hoped to accomplish some good), and then — home. In September a circular signed by Lord Palmerston was received by all the British Consuls in Spain, strictly forbidding them " to afford the slightest countenance to religious agents. 1 What was the cause of this last blow ? " 2 Borrow rather unfortunately enquired of Mr Brandram. The Consul at Cadiz, Mr Brackenbury, explained it, according to Borrow, as due to " an ill- advised application made to his Lordship to interfere with the Spanish Government on behalf of a certain individual 3 [Lieut. Graydon] whose line of conduct needs no comment." 4 After pointing out that once the same consuls had received from a British Ambassador instruc- 1 Letter from Borrow to Rev. A. Brandram, 29th Sept. 1839. 2 Ibid. 3 Mr John M. Brackenbury, in writing to Mr Brandram, made it quite clear that he had no doubt that the " inhibition was assuredly accelerated, if not absolutely occasioned, by the indiscretion of some of those who entered Spain for the avowed object of circulating the Scriptures, and of others who, not being Agents of the British and Foreign Bible Society, were nevertheless considered to be connected with it, as they distributed your editions of the Old and New Testa- ments. Our objects were defeated and your interests injured, there- fore, when the Spanish Government required the departure from this country of those who, by other acts and deeds wholly distinct from the distribution of Bibles and Testaments, had been infracting the Laws, Civil and Ecclesiastical." 4 Letter to Rev. A. Brandram, 29th Sept. 1S39. 308 A STRANGE MENAGE [1839 tions to further, in their official capacity, the work of the Bible Society, he concludes with the following remark, as ill- advised as it is droll : " When dead flies fall into the ointment of the apothecary they cause it to send forth an unpleasant savour." * It must have been obvious to both Borrow and Mr Brandram that matters were rapidly approaching a crisis. Mr Brandram seems to have been almost openly hostile, and draws Borrow's attention to the fact that after all his distributions have been small. Borrow replies by saying that the fault did not rest with him. Had he been able to offer Bibles instead of Testaments for sale, the circula- tion would have been ten times greater. He expresses it as his belief that had he received 20,000 Bibles he could have sold them all in Madrid during the Spring of 1839. " When the Bible Society has no further occasion for my poor labours," he wrote* 2 somewhat pathetically, " I hope it will do me justice to the world. I have been its faithful and zealous servant. I shall on a future occasion take the liberty of addressing you as a friend respecting my prospects. I have the materials of a curious book of travels in Spain ; I have enough metrical translations from all languages, especially the Celtic and Sclavonic, to fill a dozen volumes ; and I have formed a vocabulary of the Spanish Gypsy tongue, and also a collection of the songs and poetry of the Gitanos, with introductory essays. Perhaps some of these literary labours might be turned to account. I wish to obtain honourably and respectably the means of visiting China or particular parts of Africa." It is clear from this that Borrow saw how unlikely it was that his association with the Bible Society would be prolonged beyond the present commission. For one thing Spain was, to all intents and purposes, closed to the unannotated Scriptures. Something might be done 1 Letter to Rev. A. Brandram, 29th Sept. 1839. 2 Ibid. xix.] A FRENZY OF HATE 309 in the matter of surreptitious distribution ; but that had its clearly defined limitations, as the authorities were very much alive to the danger of the light that Borrow sought to cast over the gloom of ignorance and superstition. At Earl Street it was clearly recognised that Borrow's work in Spain was concluded. On 1st November the Sub-Committee resolved that it could "not recommend to the General Committee to engage the further services of Mr Borrow until he shall have returned to this country from his Mission in Spain." Again, on ioth January following, it recommends the General Committee to recall him " without further delay." Although he had been officially recalled, nothing was further from Borrow's intentions than to retire meekly from the field. He intended to retreat with drums sounding and colours flying, fighting something more than a rearguard action. This man's energy and resource were terrible — to the authorities ! Seville he felt was still a fruitful ground, and sending to Madrid for further supplies of Testaments, he commenced operations. " Everything was accomplished with the utmost secrecy, and the blessed books obtained considerable circulation." l Agents were sent into the country and he went also himself, " in my accustomed manner," until all the copies that had arrived from the capital were put into circulation. He then rested for a while, being in need of quiet, as he was indisposed. By this action Borrow was incurring no little risk. The Canons of the Cathedral watched him closely. Their hatred amounted " almost to a frenzy," and Borrow states that scarcely a day passed without some accusation or other "being made to the Civil Governor, all of which were false. People whom he had never seen were persuaded to perjure themselves by swearing that he had sold or given them books. The same system was carried on 1 Letter to Rev. A. Brandram, 25th Nov. 1839. 310 A STRANGE MENAGE [1839 whilst he was in Africa, because the authorities refused to believe that he was out of Spain. There now occurred another regrettable incident, and Borrow once more suffered for the indiscretion of those whom he neither knew nor controlled. To Mr Brandram he wrote : " Some English people now came to Seville and distributed tracts in a very unguarded manner, knowing nothing of the country or the inhabitants. They were even so unwise as to give tracts instead of money on visiting public buildings, etc. [!]. These persons came to me and requested my cooperation and advice, and likewise introductions to people spiritually disposed amongst the Spaniards, to all which requests I returned a decided negative. But I foresaw all. In a day or two I was summoned before the Civil Governor, or, as he was once called, the Corregidor, of Seville, who, I must say, treated me with the utmost politeness and indeed respect ; but at the same time he informed me that he had (to use his own expression) terrible orders from Madrid concerning me if I should be discovered in the act of distributing the Scriptures or any writings of a religious tendency ; he then taxed me with having circulated both lately, especially tracts ; whereupon I told him that I had never distributed a tract since I had been in Spain nor had any intention of doing so. We had much conversation and parted in kindness." x For a few days nothing happened ; then, determined to set out on an expedition to La Mancha (the delay had been due to the insecure state of the roads), Borrow sent his passport (24th Nov.) for signature to the Alcalde del Barrio. " This fellow," Borrow informs Mr Brandram, " is the greatest ruffian in Seville, and I have on various occasions been insulted by him ; he pretends to be a liberal, but he is of no principle at all, and as I reside within his district he has been employed by the Canons of the Cathedral to vex and harrass me on every possible occasion." In the following letter, addressed to the British Charge" d' Affaires (the Hon. G. S. S. Jerningham), Borrow gives a 1 Letter to Rev. A. Brandram, 25th Nov. 1839. xix.] THE ALCALDE DEL BARRIO 311 full account of what transpired between him and the Alcalde of Seville : — Sir,— I beg leave to lay before you the following statement of certain facts which lately occurred at Seville, from which you will perceive that the person of a British Subject has been atrociously outraged, the rights and privileges of a foreigner in Spain violated, and the sanctuary of a private house invaded without the slightest reason or shadow of authority by a person in the employ of the Spanish Government. For some months past I have been a resident at Seville in a house situated in a square called the " Plazuela de la Pila Seca." In this house I possess apartments, the remainder being occupied by an English Lady and her daughter, the former of whom is the widow of an officer of the highest respectability who died in the naval service of Great Britain. On the twenty-fourth of last November, I sent a servant, a Native of Spain, to the Office of the " Ayuntamiento" of Seville for the purpose of demanding my passport, it being my intention to set out the next day for Cordoba. The " Ayuntamiento " returned for answer that it was necessary that the ticket of residence {Billete de residencid) which I had received on sending in the Passport should be signed by the Alcalde of the district in which I resided, to which intimation I instantly attended. I will here take the liberty of observing that on several occasions during my residence at Seville, I have experienced gross insults from this Alcalde, and that more than once when I have had occasion to leave the Town, he has refused to sign the necessary document for the recovery of the passport ; he now again refused to do so, and used coarse language to the Messenger ; whereupon I sent the latter back with money to pay any fees, lawful or unlawful, which might be demanded, as I wished to avoid noise and the necessity of applying to the Consul, Mr Williams ; but the fellow became only more outrageous. I then went myself to demand an explanation, and was saluted with no inconsiderable quantity of abuse. I told him that if he proceeded in this manner I would make a complaint to the Authorities through the British Consul. He then said if I did not instantly depart he would drag me off to prison and cause me to be knocked down if I made the slightest 312 A STRANGE MENAGE [1839 resistance. I dared him repeatedly to do both, and said that he was a disgrace to the Government which employed him, and to human nature. He called me a vile foreigner. We were now in the street and a mob had collected, whereupon I cried : " Viva Inglaterra y viva la Constitucion." The populace remained quiet, notwith- standing the exhortations of the Alcaide that they would knock down " the foreigner," for he himself quailed before me as I looked him in the face, defying him. At length he exclaimed, with the usual obscene Spanish oath, " I will make you lower your head " (Yo te hare abajar la cabeza), and ran to a neighbouring guard-house and requested the assistance of the Nationals in conducting me to prison. I followed him and delivered myself up at the first summons, and walked to the prison without uttering a word ; not so the Alcalde, who continued his abuse until we arrived at the gate, repeatedly threatening to have me knocked down if I moved to the right or left. I was asked my name by the Authorities of the prison, which I refused to give unless in the presence of the Consul of my Nation, and indeed to answer any questions. I was then ordered to the Patio, or Courtyard, where are kept the lowest thieves and assassins of Seville, who, having no money, cannot pay for better accommodation, and by whom I should have been stripped naked in a moment as a matter of course, as they are all in a state of raging hunger and utter destitution. I asked for a private cell, which I was told I might have if I could pay for it. I stated my willingness to pay anything which might be demanded, and was conducted to an upper ward consisting of several cells and a corridor ; here I found six or seven Prisoners, who received me very civilly, and instantly procured me paper and ink for the purpose of writing to the Consul. In less than an hour Mr Williams arrived and I told him my story, whereupon he instantly departed in order to demand redress of the Authorities. The next morning the Alcalde, without any authority from the Political [Civil] Governor of Seville, and unaccom- panied by the English Consul, as the law requires in such cases, and solely attended by a common Escribano, went to the house in which I was accustomed to reside and demanded admission. The door was opened by my Moorish Servant, Hayim Ben-Attar, whom he commanded instantly to show the way to my apartments. On the Servant's XIX.] SEARCHING BORROWS ROOMS 313 demanding by what authority he came, he said, " Cease chattering " (Deje cuentos), " I shall give no account to you ; show me the way ; if not, I will take you to prison as I did your master : I come to search for prohibited books." The Moor, who being in a strange land was somewhat intimi- dated, complied and led him to the rooms occupied by me, when the Alcalde flung about my books and papers, finding nothing which could in the slightest degree justify his search, the few books being all either in Hebrew or Arabic character (they consisted of the Mitchna and some commentaries on the Coran) ; he at last took up a large knife which lay on a chair and which I myself purchased some months previous at Santa Cruz in La Mancha as a curiosity — the place being famous for those knives — and expressed his determination to take it away as a prohibited article. The Escribano, however, cautioned him against doing so, and he flung it down. He now became very vociferous and attempted to force his way into some apart- ments occupied by the Ladies, my friends ; but soon desisted and at last went away, after using some threatening words to my Moorish Servant. Late at night of the second day of my imprisonment, I was set at liberty by virtue of an order of the Captain General, given on applica- tion of the British Consul, after having been for thirty hours imprisoned amongst the worst felons of Andalusia, though to do them justice I must say that I experienced from them nothing but kindness and hospitality. The above, Sir, is the correct statement of the affair which has now brought me to Madrid. What could have induced the Alcalde in question to practise such atrocious behaviour towards me I am at a loss to conjecture, unless he were instigated by certain enemies which I possess in Seville. However this may be, I now call upon you, as the Representative of the Government of which I am a Subject, to demand of the Minister of the Spanish Crown full and ample satisfaction for the various outrages detailed above. In conclusion, I must be permitted to add that I will submit to no compromise, but will never cease to claim justice until the culprit has received condign punishment. I am, etc., etc., etc. George Borrow. Madrid (no date). Recorded 6th December [1839]." x 1 From the Public Record Office. 314 A STRANGE MENAGE [1839 Thus it happened that on 19th December Mr Brandram received the following letter : — Prison of Seville, 25/// Nov. 1839. I write these lines, as you see, from the common prison of Seville, to which I was led yesterday, or rather dragged, neither for murder nor robbery nor debt, but simply for having endeavoured to obtain a passport for Cordoba, to which place I was going with my Jewish servant Hayim Ben-Attar. When questioned by the Vice-Consul as to his authority for searching Borrow's house, the Alcalde produced a paper purporting to be the deposition of an old woman to whom Borrow was alleged to have sold a Testament some ten days previously. The document Borrow pronounced a forgery and the statement untrue. Borrow's fellow-prisoners treated him with unbounded kindness and hospitality, and he was forced to confess that he had " never found himself amongst more quiet and well- behaved men." Nothing shows more clearly the power of Borrow's personality over rogues and vagabonds than the two periods spent in Spanish prisons — at Madrid and at Seville. Mr Brandram must have shuddered when he read Borrow's letter telling him by what manner of men he was surrounded. " What is their history ? " he writes apropos of his fellow-prisoners. " The handsome black-haired man, who is now looking over my shoulder, is the celebrated thief, Pelacio, the most expert housebreaker and dexterous swindler in Spain — in a word, the modern Guzman D'alfarache. The brawny man who sits by the brasero of charcoal is Salvador, the highwayman of Ronda, who has committed a hundred murders. A fashionably dressed man, short and slight in person, is walking about the room : he wears immense whiskers and mustachios ; he is one of that most singular race the Jews of Spain ; he is imprisoned for counterfeiting money. He is an atheist ; but, like a true Jew, the name which he most hates is that of Christ. Yet he is so quiet and civil, and they are all so quiet and civil, xix.] THE COURTESY OF CRIMINALS 315 and it is that which most horrifies me, for quietness and civility in them seems so unnatural." 1 Such were the men who fraternised with an agent of a religious society and showed him not only civility but hospitality and kindness. It is open to question if they would have shown the same to any other unfortunate missionary. In all probability they recognised a fellow- vagabond, who was at much at issue with the social conventions of communities as they were with the laws of property. On this occasion the period of Borrow's imprisonment was brief. He was released late at night on 25th Nov., within thirty hours of his arrest, and he immediately set to work to think out a plan by which he could once more discomfit the Spanish authorities for this indignity to a British subject. He would proceed to Madrid without delay and put his case before the British Minister, at the same time he would " make preparations for leaving Spain as soon as possible." 1 Letter to Rev. A. Rrandram, 25th Nov. 1839. I CHAPTER XX DECEMBER I 839 — MAY I 840 T was probably about this time (1839) that " The Marques de Santa Coloma met Borrow again at Seville. He had great difficulty in rinding him out ; though he was aware of the street in which he resided, no one knew him by name. At last, by dint of inquiry and description, some one exclaimed,' Oh ! you mean el Brujo' (the wizard), and he was directed to the house. He was admitted with great caution, and conducted through a lot of passages and stairs, till at last he was ushered into a handsomely furnished apartment in the ' mirador] where Borrow was living with his wife and daughter. ... It is evident . . . that, to his Spanish friends at least, he thus called Mrs Clarke and her daughter Henrietta his wife and daughter : and the Marques de Santa Coloma evidently believed that the young lady was Borrow's own daughter, and not his step-daughter merely (!). At the time the roads from Seville to Madrid were very unsafe. Santa Coloma wished Borrow to join his party, who were going well armed. Borrow said he would be safe with his Gypsies. Both arrived without accident in Madrid ; the Marques's party first. Borrow, on his arrival, told Santa Coloma that his Gypsy chief had led him by by-paths and mountains ; that they had not slept in a village, nor seen a town the whole way." 1 It must be confessed that Mr Webster was none too reliable a witness, and it seems highly improbable that Borrow would wish to pass Mrs Clarke off as his wife 1 Rev. Wentworth Webster in The Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society. xx.] AN OFFICIAL PROTEST 317 before their marriage. The fact of their occupying the same house may have seemed to their Spanish friends compromis- ing, as it unquestionably was ; but had he spoken of Mrs Clarke as his wife, it would have left her not a vestige of reputation. On arriving at Madrid Borrow found that Lord Claren- don's successor, Mr Arthur Aston, had not yet arrived, he therefore presented his complaint to the Charge d' Affaires y the Hon. G. S. S. Jerningham, who had succeeded Mr Sothern as private secretary. Mr Sothern had not yet left Madrid to take up his new post as First Secretary at Lisbon, and therefore presented Borrow to Mr Jerningham, by whom he was received with great kindness. He assured Mr Jerningham that for some time past he had given up distributing the Scriptures in Spain, and he merely claimed the privileges of a British subject and the protection of his Government. The First Secretary took up the case immediately, forwarding Borrow's letter to Don Perez de Castro with a request for " proper steps to be taken, should Mr Borrow's complaint ... be considered by His Excellency as properly founded." Borrow himself was doubtful as to whether he would obtain justice, " for I have against me," he wrote to Mr Brandram (24th December), " the Canons of Seville ; and all the arts of villany which they are so accustomed to practise will of course be used against me for the purpose of screening the ruffian who is their instrument. ... I have been, my dear Sir, fighting with wild beasts." The rather quaint reply to Borrow's charges was not forthcoming until he had left Spain and was living at Oulton. It runs : x Madrid, nth May 1840. Sir, Under date of 20th December last, Mr Perez de Castro informed Mr Jerningham that in order to answer 1 The phrasing of the official translation has everywhere been followed. 318 DEPARTURE FROM SPAIN [1840 satisfactorily his note of 8th December re complaint made by Borrow, he required a faithful report to be made. These have been stated by the Municipality of Seville to the Civil Governor of that City, and are as follows : — " When Borrow meant to undertake his journey to Cadiz towards the end of last year, he applied to the section of public security for his Passport, for which purpose he ought to deliver his paper of residence which was given to him when he arrived at Seville. That paper he had not presented in its proper time to the Alcalde of his district, on which account this person had not been acquainted as he ought with his residence in the district, and as his Passport could not be issued in consequence of this document not being in order, Borrow addressed, through the medium of a Servant, to the house of the said district Alcalde that the defect might be remedied. That function- ary refused to do so, founded on the reasons already stated ; and for the purpose of overcoming his resistance he was offered a gratification, the Servant with that intent presenting half a dollar. The Alcalde, justly indignant, left his house to make the necessary complaint respecting their indecorous action when he met Borrow, who, sur- prised at the refusal of the Alcalde, expressed to him his astonishment, addressing insulting expressions not only against his person but against the authorities of Spain, who, he said, he was sure were to be bought at a very small price — crying on after this, Long live the Constitution, Death to the Religion, and Long live England. These and other insults gave rise to the Alcalde proceeding to his arrest and the assistance of the armed force of Veterans, and not of the National Militia, as Borrow supposed, making a detailed report to the Constitutional Alcalde, who forwarded it original to the Captain General of the Province as Judge Protector of Foreigners, leaving him under detention at his disposition. He did the same with another report transmitted by the said functionary, in which reference to a Lady who lived at the Gate of Xerez ; he denounced Borrow as a seducer of youth in matters of Religion by facilitating to them the perusal of prohibited books, of which a copy, that was in the hands of the Ecclesiastical Governor, was likewise transmitted to the Captain General. These antecedents were sufficient to have authorised a summary to have been formed against Borrow, but the repeated supplications of the British Vice- xx.] A BELATED EXPLANATION 319 Consul, Mr Williams, who among other things stated that Borrow laboured under fits of madness, had the effect of causing the above Constitutional Alcalde to forgive him the fault committed and recommend to the Captain General that the matter should be dropped, which was acceded to, and he was put at liberty. The above facts, official proofs of which exist in the Captain General's Office, clearly disprove the statement of Borrow, who ungrateful for the generous hospitality which he has received, and for the consideration displayed towards him on account of his infirmity, and out of deference to the request of the British Vice-Consul, makes an unfounded complaint against the very authorities who have used attentions towards him which he is certainly not deserving ; it being worthy of remark, in order to prove the bad faith of his procedure, that in his own expose, although he disfigures facts at pleasure, using a language little decorous, he confesses part of his faults, such as the offering of money to pay, as he says, ' the legal or extra-legal dues that might be exacted, and his having twice challenged the Alcalde! " I should consider myself wanting towards your en- lightened sense of justice if, after the reasons given, I stopped to prove the just and prudent conduct of Seville authorities. " Hope he will therefore be completely satisfied, especially after the want of exactitude on Borrow's part. From Evaristo Perez de Castro." To Mr Aston. 1 And so the matter ended. The Spanish authorities knew that they no longer had a Sir George Villiers to deal with, and had recourse to that trump card of weak and vacillat- ing diplomatists — delay. Whatever Borrow's offence, the method of his arrest and imprisonment was in itself unlawful. It was Borrow's intention on his return to England to endeavour to obtain an interview with some members 1 The Official Translation among the Foreign Office Papers at the Record Office. 320 DEPARTURE FROM SPAIN [1840 of the House of Lords, in order to acquaint them with the manner in which Protestants were persecuted in Spain. They were debarred from the exercise of their religion from being married by Protestant rites, and the common privileges of burial were denied them. He was anxious for Protestant England, lest it should fall a victim to Popery. This fear of Rome was a very real one to Borrow. He marvelled at people's blindness to the danger that was threatening them, and he even went so far as to entreat his friends at Earl Street " to drop all petty dissensions and to comport themselves like brothers " against their common enemy the Pope. Unfortunately Borrow had shown to a number of friends one of his letters to Mr Brandram dealing with the Seville imprisonment, and had even allowed several copies of it to be taken " in order that an incorrect account of the affair might not get abroad." The result was an article in a London newspaper containing remarks to the disparage- ment of other workers for the Gospel in Spain. Borrow disavowed all knowledge of these observations. " I am not ashamed of the Methodists of Cadiz" he assures Mr Brandram, " their conduct in many respects does them honor, nor do I accuse any one of fanaticism amongst our dear and worthy friends ; but I cannot answer for the tittle-tattle of Madrid. Far be it from me to reflect upon any one, I am but too well aware of my own multitudinous imperfections and follies." 1 There is nothing more mysterious in Borrow's life than his years of friendship with Mrs Clarke. He was never a woman's man, but Mary Clarke seems to have awakened in him a very sincere regard. The menage at Seville was a curious one, and both Borrow and Mrs Clarke should have seen that it was calculated to make people talk. There may have been a tacit understanding between them. Everything connected with their relations and courtship is very mysterious. Dr Knapp is scarcely just to Borrow or 1 28th Dec. 1839. xx.] A MYSTERIOUS ENGAGEMENT 321 gracious to the woman he married, when he implies that it was merely a business arrangement on both sides. Mrs Clarke's affairs required a man's hand to administer them, and Borrow was prepared to give the man's hand in exchange for an income. The engagement could scarcely have taken place in the middle of November 1839, as Dr Knapp states, for on the day of his arrest at Seville (24th Nov.) Borrow wrote : — My dear Mrs Clarke, — Do not be alarmed, but I am at present in the prison, to which place the Alcalde del Barrio conducted me when I asked him to sign the Passport. If Phelipe is not already gone to the Consul, let Henrietta go now and show him this letter. When I asked the fellow his motives for not signing the Passport, he said if I did not go away he would carry me to prison. I dared him to do so, as I had done nothing ; whereupon he led me here. — Yours truly, George Borrow. This is obviously not the letter of a man recently engaged to the woman who is to become his wife. On the other hand, Borrow may have been writing merely for the Consul's eye. On hearing the news of the engagement old Mrs Borrow wrote : — " I am not surprised, my dear Mrs Clarke, at what you tell me, though I knew nothing of it. It put me in mind of the Revd. Flethers ; you know they took time to consider. So far all is well. I shall now resign him to your care, and may you love and cherish him as much as I have done. I hope and trust that each will try to make the other happy. You will always have my prayers and best wishes. Give my kind love to dear George and tell him he is never out of my thoughts. I have much to say, but I cannot write. I shall be glad to see you all safe and well. Give my love to Henrietta ; tell her / can sing ' Gaily the Troubadour' ; I only want the 'guitar.' 1 God bless you all." 1 Henrietta played "remarkably well on the guitar — not the trumpery German thing so-called — but the real Spanish guitar." — Wild Wales, page 6. X 322 DEPARTURE FROM SPAIN [1840 There is no doubt that a very strong friendship had existed between Mrs Clarke and Borrow during the whole time that he had been associated with the Bible Society. She it was who had been indirectly responsible for his introduction to Earl Street. It is idle to speculate what it was that led Mrs Clarke to select Seville as the place to which to fly from her enemies. There is, however, a marked significance in old Mrs Borrow's words, " I am not surprised, my dear Mrs Clarke, at what you tell me." Whatever his mother may have seen, there appears to have been no thought of marriage in Borrow's mind when, on 29th September 1839, he wrote to Mr Brandram telling him of his wish to visit " China or particular parts of Africa." Borrow paid many tributes to his wife, not only in his letters, but in print, every one of which she seems thoroughly to have merited. " Of my wife," he writes, 1 " I will merely say that she is a perfect paragon of wives — can make puddings and sweets and treacle posset, and is the best woman of business in East Anglia." On another occasion he praises her for more general qualities, when he compares her to the good wife of the Triad, the perfect woman endowed with all the feminine virtues. His wife and " old Hen." (Henrietta) were his " two loved ones," and he subsequently shows in a score of ways how much they had become part of his life. After his return to Seville, early in January, Borrow proceeded to get his " papers into some order." There seems no doubt that this meant preparing The Zincali for publication. In the excitement and enthusiasm of author- ship, and the pleasant company of Mrs and Miss Clarke, he seems to have been divinely unconscious that he was under orders to proceed home. Week after week passed without news of their Agent in Spain reaching Earl Street, and the Officials and Committee of the Bible Society became troubled to account for his non-appearance. The 1 Wild Wales, page 6. xx.] THE BIBLE SOCIETY ANXIOUS 323 last letter from him had been received on 13th January. Early in March Mr Jackson wrote to Mr Brackenbury asking for news of him. A letter to Mr Williams at Seville was enclosed, which Mr Brackenbury had discre- tionary powers to withhold if he were able to supply the information himself. Two letters that Borrow had addressed to the Society it appears had gone astray, and as " one steamer . . . arrived after another and yet no news from Mr Borrow," some apprehension began to manifest itself lest misfortune had befallen him. On the other hand, Borrow had heard nothing from the Society for five months, the long silence making him " very, very unhappy." In reply to Mr Brandram's letter Borrow wrote : — " I did not return to England immediately after my departure from Madrid for several reasons. First, there was my affair with the Alcalde still pending ; second, I wished to get my papers into some order ; third, I wished to effect a little more in the cause, though not in the way of dis- tribution, as I have no books : moreover the house in which I resided was paid for and I was unwilling altogether to lose the money ; I likewise dreaded an English winter, for I have lately been subjected to attacks, whether of gout or rheumatism I know not, which I believe were brought on by sitting, standing and sleeping in damp places during my wanderings in Spain. The Alcalde has lately been turned out of his situation, but I believe more on account of his being a Carlist than for his behaviour to me ; that, however, is of little consequence, as I have long forgotten the affair." 1 There was no longer any reason for delay ; the English winter was over, he had one book nearly ready for publi- cation and two others in a state of forwardness. " I embark on the third of next month [April]," he continued, "and you will probably see me by the 16th. I wish very much to spend the remaining years of my life in the northern parts of China, as I think I have a call for those regions, and shall endeavour by every honourable means to effect my purpose." 2 1 Letter to Rev. A. Brandram, 18th March 1840. 2 Ibid. 324 DEPARTURE FROM SPAIN [1840 These words would seem to imply that his marriage with Mrs Clarke was by no means decided upon at the date he wrote, although during the previous month he had been in correspondence with Mr Brackenbury regarding Protestants in Spain being debarred from marrying. It is inconceivable that Mrs Clarke and her daughter con- templated living in the North of China ; and equally unlikely that Mrs Clarke would marry a potential " absentee landlord," or one who frankly confessed " I hope yet to die in the cause of my Redeemer." Sidi Habismilk had at first presented a grave problem ; but Mr Brackenbury, who secured the passages on the steamer, arranged also for the Arab to be slung aboard the Steam-Packet. On 3rd April the whole party, including Hayim Ben Attar and Sidi Habismilk, boarded the Royal Adelaide bound for London. Borrow never forgave Spain for its treatment of him, although some of the happiest years of his life had been spent there. " The Spaniards are a stupid, ungrateful set of ruffians," he afterwards wrote, " and are utterly incapable of appreciating generosity or forbearance." He piled up invective upon the unfortunate country. It was " the chosen land of the two fiends — assassination and murder," where avarice and envy were the prevailing passions. It was the " country of error" ; yet at the same time "the land of extraordinary characters." As he saw its shores sinking beneath the horizon, he was mercifully denied the knowledge that never again was he to be so happily occupied as during the five years he had spent upon its soil distributing the Scriptures, and using a British Minister as a two-edged sword. The party arrived in London on 16th April and put up at the Spread Eagle in Gracechurch Street. On 23rd April, at St Peter's Church in Cornhill, the wedding took place. There were present as witnesses only Henrietta Clarke and John Pilgrim, the Norwich solicitor. In the Register the names appear as : — xx.] MARRIAGE 325 " George Henry Borrow — of full age — bachelor — gentleman — of the City of Norwich — son of Thomas Borrow — Captain in the Army. " Mary Clarke — of full age — widow — of Spread Eagle Inn, Gracechurch Street — daughter of Edmund Skepper — Esquire." On 2nd May an announcement of the marriage appeared in The Norfolk Chronicle. A few days later the party left for Oulton Cottage, and Borrow became a landed proprietor on a small scale in his much-loved East Anglia. On 2 ist April Mr Brandram had written to Borrow the following letter : — My dear Friend, — Your later communications have been referred to our Sub-Committee for General Purposes. After what you said 3'esterday in the Com- mittee, I am hardly aware that anything can arise out of them. The door seems shut. The Sub-Committee meet on Friday. Will you wish to make any communications to them as to any ulterior views that may have occurred to yourself? I do not myself at present see any sphere open to which your services in connection with our Society can be transferred. . . . With best wishes — Believe me — Yours truly, A. Brandram. On 24th April, the day after Borrow's wedding, the Sub- Committee duly met and " Resolved that, upon mature consideration, it does not appear to this Sub-Committee that there is, at present, any opening for employing Mr Borrow beneficially as an Agent of the Society . . . and that it be recommended to the General Committee that the salary of Mr Borrow be paid up to the 10th June next." The Bible Society's valediction, which appeared in the Thirty-Sixth Annual Report, read : — " G. Borrow, Esq., one of the gentlemen referred to in former Reports as having so zealously exerted themselves on behalf of Spain, has just returned home, hopeless of 326 DEPARTURE FROM SPAIN [1840 further attempts at present to distribute the Scriptures in that country. Mr B. has succeeded, by almost incredible pains, and at no small cost and hazard, in selling during his last visit a few hundred copies of the Bible, and most that remained of the edition of the New Testament printed in Madrid." Thus ended George Borrow's activities on behalf of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and incidentally the seven happiest and most active years of his life. On the whole the association had been honourable to all concerned. There had been moments of irritation and mistakes on both sides. It would be foolish to accuse the Society of deliberately planting obstacles in the path of its own agent ; but the unfortunate championing of Lieutenant Graydon was the result of a very grave error of judgment. Borrow had no personal friends among the Committee, to whom the impetuous zeal of Graydon was more picturesque than the grave and deliberate caution of Borrow. The Officials and Committee alike saw in Graydon the ideal Reformer, rushing precipitately towards martyrdom, exposing Anti- Christ as he ran. Had Borrow been content to allow others to plead his cause, the history of his relations with the Bible Society would, in all probability, have been different. He felt himself a grievously injured man, who had suffered from what he considered to be the insane antics of another, and he was determined that Earl Street should know it. On the other hand, Mr Brandram does not appear to have understood Borrow. He made no attempt to humour him, to praise him for what he had done and the way in which he had done it. Praise was meat and drink to Borrow ; it compensated him for what he had endured and encouraged him to further effort. He hungered for it, and when it did not come he grew dis- couraged and thought that those who employed him were not conscious of what he was suffering. Hence the long accounts of what he had undergone for the Gospel's sake. xx.] AN HONOURABLE ASSOCIATION 327 During his six years in Spain he had" distributed nearly 5000 copies of the New Testament and 500 Bibles, also some hundreds of the Basque and Gypsy Gospel of St Luke. These figures seem insignificant beside those of Lieut. Graydon, who, on one occasion, sold as many as 1082 volumes in fourteen days, and in two years printed 13,000 Testaments and 3000 Bibles, distributing the larger part of them. During the year 1837 he circulated alto- gether between five and six thousand books. But there was no comparison between the work of the two men. Graydon had kept to the towns and cities on the south coast ; Borrow's methods were different. He circulated his books largely among villages and hamlets, where the population was sparse and the opportunities of distribution small. He had gone out into the highways, risking his life at every turn, penetrating into bandit-infested provinces in the throes of civil war, suffering incredible hardships and fatigues and never sparing himself. Both men were earnest and eager ; but the Bible Society favoured the wrong man — at least for its purposes. But for Lieut. Graydon, Borrow would in all probability have gone to China, and what a book he would have written, at least what letters, about the sealed East ! Borrow, however, had nothing to complain of. He had found occupation when he badly needed it, which indirectly was to bring him fame. He had been well paid for his services (during the seven years of his employment he drew some £2300 in salary and expenses), his ,£200 a year and expenses (in Spain) comparing very favourably with Mr Brandram's £300 a year. He was loyal to the Bible Society, both in word and thought. He honourably kept to himself the story of the Graydon dispute. He spoke of the Society with enthu- siasm, exclaiming, " Oh ! the blood glows in his veins ! oh ! the marrow awakes in his old bones when he thinks of what he accomplished in Spain in the cause of religion and civilisation with the colours of that society in his 328 DEPARTURE FROM SPAIN [1840 hat." * In spite of the misunderstandings and the rebukes he could write fourteen years later that he " bade it adieu with feelings of love and admiration." 2 He "had done with Spain for ever, after doing for her all that lay in the power of a lone man, who had never in this world anything to depend upon, but God and his own slight strength." 3 In the preface to The Bible in Spain he pays a handsome tribute to both Rule and Graydon, thus showing that although he was a good hater, he could be magnanimous. It has been stated that, during a portion of his association with the Bible Society, Borrow acted as a foreign correspondent for The Morning Herald. Dr Knapp has very satisfactorily disproved the statement, which the Rev. Wentworth Webster received from the Marques de Santa Coloma. Either the Marques or Mr Webster is responsible for the statement that Borrow was wrecked, instead of nearly wrecked, off Cape Finisterre. As the Marques was a passenger on the boat, the mistake must be ascribed to Mr Webster. The further statement that Borrow was imprisoned at Pamplona by Quesada is scarcely more credible than that about the wreck. His imprisonment could not very well have taken place, as stated, in 1837-9, because General Quesada was killed in 1836. Mention is made of this foreign correspondent rumour only because it has been printed and reprinted. It may be that Borrow was imprisoned at Pamplona during the " Veiled Period " ; there is certainly one imprisonment (according to his own statement) un- accounted for. It is curious how the fact first became impressed upon the Marques' mind, unless he had heard it from Borrow. It is quite likely that he confused the date. It would be interesting to identify the two men whom Borrow describes in Lavengro as being at the offices of the Bible Society in Earl Street, when he sought to 1 The Romany Rye, page 312. - Ibid., page 313. 3 Wild Wales, page 289. xx.] TWO WORTHIES 329 exchange for a Bible the old Apple-woman's copy of Moll Flanders. " One was dressed in brown," he writes, " and the other was dressed in black ; both were tall men — he who was dressed in brown was thin, and had a particu- larly ill-natured countenance ; the man dressed in black was bulky, his features were noble, but they were those of a lion." * Again, in The Romany Rye, he makes the man in black say with reference to the Bible Society : — " There is one fellow amongst them for whom we enter- tain a particular aversion : a big, burly parson, with the face of a lion, the voice of a buffalo, and a fist like a sledge-hammer." 2 Who these two worthies were it is impossible to say with any degree of certainty. Caroline Fox describes Andrew Brandram no further than that he " appeared before us once more with his shaggy eyebrows." 3 Mr Brandram was not thin and his countenance was not ill-natured. 1 Lavengro, page 261. 2 The Romcmy Rye, page 22. 3 The Journals of Caroline Fox. CHAPTER XXI MAY 184O — MARCH I 84 1 T7ARLY in May, Borrow, his wife and step-daughter -*^ / left London to take up their residence at Oulton, in Suffolk. After years of wandering and vagabondage he was to settle down as a landed proprietor. His income, or rather his wife's, amounted to ^450 per annum, and he must have saved a considerable sum out of the £2300 he had drawn from the Bible Society, as his mother appears to have regarded the amounts he had sent to her as held in trust. He was therefore able to instal himself, Sidi Habismilk and the Jew of Fez upon his wife's small estate, with every prospect of enjoying a period of comfort and rest after his many years of wandering and adventure. Oulton Cottage was ideally situated on the margin of the Broad. It was a one-storied building, with a dormer- attic above, hanging " over a lonely lake covered with wild fowl, and girt with dark firs, through which the wind sighs sadly. 1 A regular Patmos, an ultima Thule ; placed in an angle of the most unvisited, out-of-the-way portion of England." 2 A few yards from the water's edge stood the famous octagonal Summer-house that Borrow made his study. Here he kept his books, a veritable " polyglot gentleman's " library, consisting of such literary " tools " as a Lav-engro might be expected to possess. There were 1 The Letters of Richard Ford, 1797- 1858. — Edited, R. E. Prothero, M.V.O., 1905. 2 Ibid. 330 xxi.] THE OCTAGONAL SUMMER-HOUSE 331 also books of travel and adventure, some chairs, a lounge and a table ; whilst behind the door hung the sword and regimental coat of the sleeping warrior to whom his younger son had been an affliction of the spirit, because his mind pursued paths that appeared so strangely perilous. Here in this Summer-house Borrow wrote his books. Here when " sickness was in the land, and the face of nature was overcast — heavy rain-clouds swam in the heavens — the blast howled amid the pines which nearly surround the lonely dwelling, and the waters of the lake which lies before it, so quiet in general and tranquil, were fearfully agitated," Borrow shouted, " ' Bring lights hither, O Hayim Ben Attar, son of the miracle ! ' And the Jew of Fez brought in the lights," 1 and his master commenced writing a book that was to make him famous.. When tired of writing, he would sometimes sing " strange words in a stentorian voice, while passers-by on the lake would stop to listen with astonishment and curiosity to the singular sounds." 2 Life at Oulton Cottage was delightfully simple. Borrow was a good host. " I am rather hospitable than otherwise," 3 he wrote, and thoroughly disliked anything in the nature of meanness. There was always a bottle of wine of a rare vintage for the honoured guest. Some- times the host himself would hasten away to the little Summer-house by the side of the Broad to muse, his eyes fixed upon the military coat and sword, or to scribble upon scraps of paper that, later, were to be transcribed by Mrs Borrow. Borrow would spend his evenings with his wife and Henrietta, generally in reading until bedtime. In the Norwich days Borrow had formed an acquaint- ance with another articled-clerk named Harvey (probably 1 The Gypsies of Spain, page xiv. 2 Elizabeth] H[arveyJ in The Eastern Daily Press, ist Oct. 1892. 3 The Gypsies of Spain, page 238. 332 LIFE AT OULTON COTTAGE [1840 one of his colleagues at Tuck's Court). They had kindred tastes, in particular a love of the open air and vigorous exercise. After settling at Oulton, the Borrows and the Harveys (then living at Bury St Edmunds) became very intimate, and frequently visited each other. Elizabeth Harvey, the daughter of Borrow's contemporary, has given an extremely interesting account of the home life of the Borrows. She has described how sometimes Borrow would sing one of his Romany songs, " shake his fist at me and look quite wild. Then he would ask : ' Aren't you afraid of me ? ' ' No, not at all,' I would say. Then he would look just as gentle and kind, and say, ' God bless you, I would not hurt a hair of your head.' " x Miss Harvey has also given us many glimpses into Borrow's character. " He was very fond of ghost stories," she writes, " and believed in the supernatural." 2 He enjoyed music of a lively description, one of his favourite compositions being the well-known " Redowa " polka, which he would frequently ask to have played to him again. As an eater Borrow was very moderate, he " took very little breakfast but ate a very great quantity of dinner, and then had only a draught of cold water before going to bed. . . . He was very temperate and would eat what was set before him, often not thinking of what he was doing, and he never refused what was offered him." 3 On one occasion when he was dining with the Harveys, young Harvey, seeing Borrow engrossed in telling of his travels, handed him dish after dish in rapid succession, from all of which he helped himself, entirely unconscious of what he was doing. Finally his plate was full to overflowing, per- ceiving which he became very angry, and it was some time before he could be appeased. A practical joke made no appeal to him. 4 Elizabeth Harvey also tells how, when a cousin of hers 1 Elizabeth] H[arvey] in The Eastern Daily Press, 1st Oct. 1892. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. xxl] LIFE AT OULTON COTTAGE 333 was staying at Cromer, the landlady went to her one day and said, " O, Miss, there's such a curious gentleman been. I don't know what to think of him, 1 asked him what he would like for dinner, and he said, ' Give me a piece of flesh.' " " What sort of gentleman was it ? " enquired the cousin, and on hearing the description recognised George Borrow, and explained that the strange visitor merely wanted a rump - steak, a favourite dish with him. As he did not shoot or hunt, he obtained exercise either by riding or walking. At times " he suffered from sleeplessness, when he would get up and walk to Norwich (25 miles) and return the next night recovered " ; x yet Borrow has said that "he always had the health of an elephant." He was proud of the Church and took great pleasure in showing to his friends the brasses it contained, including one bearing an effigy of Sir John Fastolf, whom he con- sidered to be the original of Falstaff. He was also " very fond of his trees. He quite fretted if by some mischance he lost one." 2 His methods with the country people round Oulton were calculated to earn for him a reputation for queerness. " Curiosity is the leading feature of my character " 3 he confessed, and the East Anglian looks upon curiosity in others with marked suspicion. It was impossible for Borrow to walk far without getting into conversation with someone or other. He delighted in getting people to tell their histories and experiences; "when they used some word peculiar to Norfolk (or Suffolk) country men, he would say ' Why, that's a Danish word.' By and bye the man would use another peculiar expression, ' Why, that's Saxon'; a little further on another, ' Why, that's French.' And he would add, ' Why, what a wonderful man you are to speak so many languages.' One man got very angry, 1 E[lizabeth] H[arvey] in The Eastern Daily Press, 1st Oct. 1892. 2 Ibid. 3 The Bible in Spain, page 41. 334 LIFE AT OULTON COTTAGE [1840 but Mr Borrow was quite unconscious that he had given any offence." l He took pleasure in puzzling people about languages. Elizabeth Harvey tells 2 how he once put a book before her telling her to read it, and on her saying she could not, he replied, " You ought ; it's your own language." The volume was written in Saxon. Yet for all this he hated to hear foreign words introduced into conversation. When he heard such adulterations of the English language he would exclaim jocosely, " What's that, trying to come over me with strange languages ? " 3 Borrow's first thoughts on settling down were of literature. He had material for several books, as he had informed Mr Brandram. Putting aside, at least for the present, the translations of the ballads and songs, he devoted himself to preparing for the press a book upon the Spanish Gypsies. During the five years spent in Spain he had gathered together much material. He had made notes in queer places under strange and curious conditions, " in moments snatched from more important pursuits — chiefly in ventas and posadds " 4 — whilst engaged in distributing the Gospel. It was a book of facts that he meant to write, not theories, and if he sometimes fostered error, it was because at the moment it was his conception of truth. Very little remained to do to the manuscript. Mrs. Borrow had performed her share of the work in making a fair copy for the printer. Borrow's subsequent remark that the manuscript "was written by a country amanuensis and probably contains many ridiculous errata," was scarcely gracious to the wife, who seems to have com- 1 Elizabeth] H[arvey] in The Eastern Daily Press, ist Oct. 1892. 2 In The Eastern Daily Press, ist Oct. 1892. She also tells how "at the Exhibition in 185 1, whither we went with his step-daughter, he spoke to the different foreigners in their own languages, until his daughter saw some of them whispering together and looking as if they thought he was ' uncanny,' and she became alarmed, and drew him away." 3 ibid. 4 The Gypsies of Spain, page vii. xxi.] BORROW MEETS JOHN MURRAY 335 prehended so well the first principle of wifely duty to an illustrious and, it must be admitted, autocratic genius — viz., self-extinction. " No man could endure a clever wife," Borrow once confided to the unsympathetic ear of Frances Power Cobbe ; but he had married one nevertheless. No woman whose cleverness had not reached the point of inspiration could have lived in intimate association with so capricious and masterful a man as George Borrow. John Hasfeldt, in sending his congratulations, had seemed to suggest that Borrow was one of those abstruse works of nature that require close and constant study. " When your wife thoroughly knows you," he wrote, " she will smooth the wrinkles on your brow and you will be so cheerful and happy that your grey hair will turn black again." " In November 1840 a tall athletic gentleman in black called upon Mr Murray, offering a manuscript for perusal and publication." 1 Fifteen years before, the same " tall athletic gentleman " had called a dozen times at 50a Albe- marle Street with translations of Northern and Welsh ballads, but " never could see Glorious John." Borrow had determined to make another attempt to see John Murray, and this time he was successful. He submitted the manuscript of The Zincali, which Murray sent to Richard Ford 2 that he might pronounce upon it and its possibilities. " I have made acquaintance," Ford wrote to H. U. Addington, 14th Jan. 1841, "with an extraordinary fellow, George Borrow, who went out to Spain to convert the gypsies. He is about to publish his failure, and a curious book it will be. It was submitted to my perusal by the hesitating Murray." 3 On Ford's advice the book 1 A Publisher and His Friends. Samuel Smiles. 2 Richard Ford, 1796- 1858. Critic and author. Spent several years in touring about Spain on horseback. Published in 1845, Hand-Book for Travellers in Spain. Contributed to the Edinburgh, Quarterly, and Westminster Reviews from 1837. 3 The Letters of Richard Ford, 1797-1858. Ed. R. E. Prothero, M.V.O., 1905. 336 LIFE AT OULTON COTTAGE [1841 was accepted for publication, it being arranged that author and publisher should share the profits equally between them. On 17th April 1841 there appeared in two volumes The Zincali; 1 or, An Account of the Gypsies in Spain. With an original Collection of their Songs and Poetry, and a copious Dictionary of their Language. By George Borrow, late Agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society in Spain. It was dedicated to the Earl of Clarendon, G.C.B. (Sir George Villiers), in " remembrance of the many obligations under which your Lordship has placed me, by your energetic and effectual interference in time of need." The first edition of 750 copies sufficed to meet the demand of two years. Ford, however, wrote to Murray : " The book has created a great sensation far and wide. I was sure it would, and I hope you think that when I read the MS. my opinion and advice were sound." 2 The Zincali had been begun at Badajos with the Romany songs or rhymes copied down as recited by his gypsy friends. To these he had subsequently added, being assisted by a French courier, Juan Antonio Bailly, who translated the songs into Spanish. These trans- lations were originally intended to be published in a separate work, as was the Vocabulary, which forms part of The Zincali. Had Borrow sought to make two separate works of the " Songs " and " Vocabulary," there is very considerable doubt if they would have fared any better than the everlasting Ab Gwilym ; but either with inspiration, or acting on some one's wise counsel, he determined to subordinate them to an account of the Spanish Gypsies. As a piece of bookmaking The Zincali is by no means notable. Borrow himself refers to it (page 354) as "this 1 Dr. Knapp points out that the title is inaccurate, there being no such word as "Zincali." It should be "ZincaleV 2 The Letters of Richard Ford, 1 797-1 858. Ed. R. E. Prothero, M.V.O., 1905. RICHARD FORD (From the painting by Antonio Chatelain). [To lace page 330. xxi.] BORROW AND THE GYPSIES 337 strange wandering book of mine." In construction it savours rather of the method by which it was originally inspired ; but for all that it is fascinating reading, saturated with the atmosphere of vagabondage and the gypsy encampment. It was not necessarily a book for the scholar and the philologist, many of whom scorned it on account of its rather obvious carelessnesses and inac- curacies. Borrow was not a writer of academic books. He lacked the instinct for research which alone insures accuracy. It was particularly appropriate that Borrow's first book should be about the Gypsies, who had always exercised so strange an attraction for him that he could not remember the time " when the very name of Gypsy did not awaken within me feelings hard to be described." 1 His was not merely an interest in their strange language, their tradi- tions, their folk-lore ; it was something nearer and closer to the people themselves. They excited his curiosity, he envied their mode of life, admired their clannishness, delighted in their primitive customs. Their persistence in warring against the gentile appealed strongly to his instinctive hatred of " gentility nonsense " ; and perhaps more than anything else, he envied them the stars and the sun and the wind on the heath. " Romany matters have always had a peculiar interest for me," 2 he affirms over and over again in different words, and he never lost an opportunity of joining a party of gypsies round their camp-fire. His knowledge of the Romany people was not acquired from books. Apparently he had read very few of the many works dealing with the mysterious race he had singled out for his particular attention. With characteristic assurance he makes the 1 The Gypsies of Spain, page i. As the current edition of The Zincali has been retitled The Gypsies of Spain, reference is made to it throughout this work under that title and to the latest edition. 2 The Gypsies of Spain, page 32. Y 338 LIFE AT OULTON COTTAGE [1841 sweeping assertion that " all the books which have been published concerning them [the Gypsies] have been written by those who have introduced themselves into their society for a few hours, and from what they have seen or heard consider themselves competent to give the world an idea of the manners and customs of the mysterious Romany." 1 His attitude towards the race is curious. He recog- nised the Gypsies as liars, rogues, cheats, vagabonds, in short as the incarnation of all the vices ; yet their fascination for him in no way diminished. He could mix with them, as with other vagabonds, and not become harmed by their broad views upon personal property, or their hundred and one tricks and dishonesties. He was a changed man when in their company, losing all that constraint that marked his intercourse with people of his own class. He had laboured hard to bring the light of the Gospel into their lives. He made them translate for him the Scriptures into their tongue ; but it was the novelty of the situation, aided by the glass of Malaga wine he gave them, not the beauty of the Gospel of St Luke, that aroused their interest and enthusiasm. To this, Borrow's own eyes were open. " They listened with admiration," he says ; " but, alas ! not of the truths, the eternal truths, I was telling them, but to find that their broken jargon could be written and read." 2 On one occasion, having refused to one of his congrega- tion the loan of two barias (ounces of gold), he proceeded to read to the whole assembly instead the Lord's Prayer and the Apostle's Creed in Romany. Happening to glance up, he found not a gypsy in the room, but squinted, " the Gypsy fellow, the contriver of the jest, squinted worst of all. Such are Gypsies." 3 It was indeed the novelty that appealed to them. 1 The Gypsies of Spain, page 8i. a Ibid., page 186. 8 Ibid., page 283. JOHN MURRAY THE SECOND. The ' ' Glorious John " of Lavengro. (From a portrait by H. W. Pickersgill, R.A., in the possession of Mr Murray). [Tojur, pagi 888. xxi.] "THE WHITE-HEADED ROMANY RYE'" 339 They greeted with a shout of exultation the reading aloud a translation that they themselves had dictated ; but they remained unmoved by the Christian teaching it contained. For all these discouragements Borrow per- sisted, and perhaps none of his efforts in Spain produced less result than this " attempt to enlighten the minds of the Gitanos on the subject of religion." * If the Gypsies were all that is evil, judged by conven- tional standards, they at least loyally stood by each other in the face of a common foe. Borrow knew Ambrose Petulengro to be a liar, a thief, in fact most things that it is desirable a man should not be ; yet he was equally sure that under no circumstances would he forsake a friend to whom he stood pledged. There seems to be little doubt that Borrow's fame with the Gypsies spread throughout England and the Continent. " Everybody as ever see'd the white-headed Romany Rye never forgot him." Borrow was by no means the first Romany Rye. From Andrew Boorde (i5th-i6th Century) down the centuries they are to be found, even to our day, in the persons of Mr Theodore Watts-Dunton and Mr John Sampson ; but Borrow was the first to bring the cult of Gypsyism into popularity. Before he wrote, the general view of Gypsies was that they were uncomfortable people who robbed the clothes-lines and hen-roosts, told fortunes and incidentally intimidated the housewife if unprotected by man or dog. Borrow changed all this. The suspicion remained, so strongly in fact that he himself was looked at askance for consorting with such vagabonds ; but with the suspicion was more than a spice of interest, and the Gypsies became epitomised and immortalised in the person of Jasper Petulengro. Borrow's Gypsyism was as unscientific as his " philology." Their language, their origin he commented on without first acquainting himself with the literature that had gathered round their name. Francis Hindes 1 The Gypsies of Spain, page 274. 340 LIFE AT OULTON COTTAGE [1841 Groome, " that perfect scholar-gypsy and gypsy-scholar," wrote : — "The meagreness of his knowledge of the Anglo-Gypsy dialect came out in his Word Book of the Romany (1874) ; there must have been over a dozen Englishmen who have known it far better than he. For his Spanish-Gypsy vocabulary in The Zincali he certainly drew largely either on Richard Bright's Travels through Lozver Hungary or on Bright's Spanish authority, whatever that may have been. His knowlege of the strange history of the Gypsies was very elementary, of their manners almost more so, and of their folk-lore practically nil. And yet I would put George Borrow above every other writer on the Gypsies. In Lavengro and, to a less degree, in its sequel, The Romany Rye, he communicates a subtle insight into Gypsydom that is totally wanting in the works — mainly philological — of Pott, Liebich, Paspati, Miklosich, and their confreres." l Groome was by no means partial to Borrow, as a matter of fact he openly taxed him 2 with drawing upon Bright's Travels in Hungary (Edinburgh 18 19) for the Spanish-Romany Vocabulary, and was strong in his denunciation of him as a poseur. Borrow scorned book-learning. Writing to John Murray, Junr. (21st Jan. 1843), about Tlie Bible in Spain, he says, " I was conscious that there was vitality in the book and knew that it must sell. I read nothing and drew entirely from my own well. I have long been tired of books ; I have had enough of them," 3 he wrote later, and this, taken in conjunction with another sentence, viz., " My favourite, I might say my only study, is man," 4 explains not only Borrow's Gypsyism, but also his casual philology. Languages he mostly learned that he might know men. In youth he read — he had to do something during the long office hours, and he read 1 Introduction to Lavengro. The Little Library, Methuen, 2 vols., 1, xxiii.-xxiv. C. G. Leland expressed himself to the same effect. 2 Academy, 13th July 1874. 3 Wild Wales, page 186. 4 The Bible in Spain, page 64. xxi.] PHILOLOGY AND HORSES 341 Danish and Welsh literature ; but he did not trouble himself much with the literary wealth of other countries, beyond dipping into it. He had a brain of his own, and preferred to form theories from the knowledge he had acquired first hand, a most excellent thing for a man of the nature of George Borrow, but scarcely calculated to advance learning. He hated anything academic. " I cannot help thinking," he wrote, " that it was fortunate for myself, who am, to a certain extent, a philologist, that with me the pursuit of languages has been always modified by the love of horses. ... I might, otherwise, have become a mere philologist ; one of those beings who toil night and day in culling useless words for some opus magnum which Murray will never publish and nobody ever read — beings without enthusiasm, who, having never mounted a generous steed, cannot detect a good point in Pegasus himself." l This quotation clearly explains Borrow's attitude towards philology. As he told the imigri priest, he hoped to become something more than a philologist. There was nothing in the sale of The Zincali to encourage Borrow to proceed with the other books he had partially prepared. Nearly seven weeks after publication, scarcely three hundred copies had been sold. In the spring of the following year (18th March) John Murray wrote : " The sale of the book has not amounted to much since the first publication ; but in recompense for this the Yankees have printed two editions, one for twenty pence complete" As Borrow did not benefit from the sale of American editions, the news was not quite so comforting as it would have been had it referred to the English issue. 1 Lavengro y page 81. CHAPTER XXII APRIL 1 84 1 — MARCH 1 844 P\URING his wanderings in Portugal and Spain -■— * Borrow had carried out his intention of keeping a journal, from which on several occasions he sent transcrip- tions to Earl Street instead of recapitulating in his letters the adventures that befell him. Many of his letters went astray, which is not strange considering the state of the country. The letters and reports that Borrow wrote to the Bible Society, which still exist, may be roughly divided as follows : — From his introduction until the end of the Russian expedition . . 17.50 Used for The Bible in Spain . . 30.00 Others written during the Spanish and Portuguese periods and not used for The Bible in Spain . . 5 2 -5° 100.00 Thirty per cent, of the whole number of the letters was all that Borrow used for The Bible in Spain. In addition he had his Journal, and from these two sources he obtained all the material he required for the book that was to electrify the religious reading-public and make famous its writer. Between Borrow and Ford a warm friendship had sprung up, and many letters passed between them. Ford, who was busily engaged upon his Hand-Book, sought 342 XXII.] RICHARD FORD'S CRITICISMS 343 Borrow's advice upon a number of points, in particular about Gypsy matters. There was something of the same atmosphere in his letters as in those of John Hasfeldt : a frank, affectionate interest in Borrow and what affected him that it was impossible to resent. " How I wish you had given us more about yourself," he wrote to Borrow apropos of The Zincali, " instead of the extracts from those blunder-headed old Spaniards, who knew nothing about Gypsies ! I shall give you ... a hint to publish your whole adventures for the last twenty years." But Hayim Ben-Attar, son of the miracle, had already brought lights, and The Bible in Spain had been begun. Ford's counsel was invariably sound and sane. He advised El Gitano, as he sometimes called Borrow, " to avoid Spanish historians and poetry like Prussic acid ; to stick to himself, his biography and queer adventures," x to all of which Borrow promised obedience. Ford wrote to Borrow (Feb. 1841) suggesting that The Bible in Spain should be what it actually was. " I am delighted to hear," he wrote, " that you meditate giving us your travels in Spain. The more odd personal adventures the better, and still more so if dramatic ; that is, giving the exact conversations." In June 1841 Borrow received from Earl Street the originals of his letters to the Bible Society, and when he was eventually called upon to return them he retained a number, either through carelessness or by design. It was evidently understood that there should be no reference to any con- tentious matters. Borrow set to work with the aid of his " Country Amanuensis " to transcribe such portions of the correspondence as he required. The work proceeded slowly. " I still scribble occasionally for want of something better to do," he informs John Murray, Junr. (23rd Aug. 1 841), and continues: "... A queer book will be this same Bible in Spain, containing all my queer adventures 1 Ford to John Murray. The Letters of Richard Ford, 1797-1S58. Ed. R. E. Prothero, M.V.O., 1905. 344 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN APPEARS [1842 in that queer country whilst engaged in distributing the Gospel, but neither learning, nor disquisitions, fine writing, or poetry. A book with such a title and of this description can scarcely fail of success." Through a dreary summer and autumn he wrote on, complaining that there was " scarcely a gleam of sunshine." Remote from the world " with not the least idea of what is going on save in my immediate neighbourhood," he wrote merely to kill time. Such an existence was, to the last degree, uncongenial to a man who for years had been accustomed to sunshine and a life full of incident and adventure. He grew restless and ill-content. He had been as free as the wind, with occupation for brain and body. He was now, like Achilles, brooding in his tent, and over his mind there fell a shadow of unrest. As early as July 1841 he had thought of settling in Berlin and devoting himself to study. Hasfeldt suggested Denmark, the land of the Sagas. Later in the same year Africa had presented itself to Borrow as a possible retreat, but Ford advised him against it as " the land from which few travellers return," and told him that he had much better go to Seville. Still later Constantinople was considered and then the coast of Barbary. Into his letters there crept a note of querulous complaint. John Hasfeldt besought him to remember how much he had travelled and he would find that he had wandered enough, and then he would accustom himself to rest. The manuscript of The Bible in Spain was completed early in January (1842) and despatched to John Murray, who sent it to Richard Ford. From the "reader's report" it is to be gathered that in addition to the manuscript Borrow sent also the letters that he had borrowed from the Bible Society. Ford refers to the story of the man stung to death by vipers 1 "in the letter of the 16th 1 Ford to John Murray. The Letters of Richard Ford, 1797- 1858. Ed. R. E. Prothero, M.V.O., 1905. xxii.] SAGE COUNSEL 345 August 1837," and advises that "Mr Borrow should introduce it into his narrative." He further recommends him " to go carefully over the whole of his Letters, as it is very probable that other points of interest which they contain may have been omitted in the narrative. Some of the most interesting letters relate to journies not given in the MS." The work when it reached Ford was apparently in a very rough state. In addition to many mistakes in spelling and grammar, a number of words were left blank. In a vast number of instances short sentences were run together. Mrs Borrow does not appear to have been a very successful amanuensis at this period. Perhaps the most interesting indication of how much the manu- script, as first submitted, differed from the published work is shown by one of Ford's criticisms : — " In the narrative there are at present two breaks —one from about March 1836 to June 1837 [Chapters XIII.-XX.], — and the other from November 1S37 to July 1839 [Chapters XXXVI.-XLIX.] This represents a third of the book as finally printed. Ford objected to the sudden ending ; but Borrow made no alteration in this respect. There were a number of other suggestions of lesser importance in this admirable piece of technical criticism. Ford disliked Borrow's striving to create an air of mystery as " taking an unwarrantable liberty with the reader " ; he suggested a map and a short biographical sketch of the author, and especially the nature of his connection with the Bible Society. Finally he gives it as his opinion that it is neither necessary nor advisable to insert any of his letters to the Bible Society, either in the body of the book or as an Appendix. " The Dialogues are amongst the best parts of the book," Ford wrote ; " but in several of them the tone of the speakers, of those especially who are in humble life, is too correct and elevated, and therefore out of 346 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN APPEARS [1842 character. This takes away from their effect. I think it would be very advisable that Mr Borrow should go over them with reference to this point, simplifying a few of the turns of expression and introducing a few contractions — dotits, carets, etc. This would improve them greatly." This criticism applies to all Borrow's books, in particular to the passages dealing with the Gypsies, who, in spite of their love of high-sounding words, which they frequently misuse, do not speak with the academic precision of Borrow's works any more than do peers or princes or even pedagogues. Borrow met Ford's criticism with the assurance that " the lower classes in Spain are generally elevated in their style and scarcely ever descend to vulgarity." Borrow's first impulse appears to have been to dis- regard the suggestion that the two breaks should be filled in. On 13th Jan. he wrote to John Murray, Junr. : " I have received the MS. and likewise your kind letter. . . . Pray thank the Gentleman who perused the MS. in my name for his suggestions, which I will attend to. [By this it is clear that Borrow was not told that Ford was ' the Gentleman.'] I find that the MS. was full of trifling mistakes, the fault of my amanuensis ; but I am going- through it, and within three days shall have made all the necessary corrections." No man, of however sanguine a temperament, could seriously contemplate the mere transcription of some eighty thousand words, in addition to the correction of twice that amount of manuscript, within three days. Nine days later Borrow wrote again to John Murray, Junr. " We are losing time ; I have corrected seven hundred consecutive pages of MS., and the remaining two hundred will be ready in a fortnight." That he had taken so long was due to the fact that the greater part of the preceding week had been occupied with other and more exciting matters than correcting manuscript. " During the last week," he continues, " I have been chiefly engaged in horse-breaking. A most magnificent xxil] THE FEUD OF THE DOGS 347 animal has found his way to this neighbourhood — a half- bred Arabian — he is at present in the hands of a low- horse-dealer ; he can be bought for eight pounds, but no person will have him ; it is said that he kills everybody who mounts him. I have been charming him, and have so far succeeded that at present he does not fling me more than once in five minutes. What a contemptible trade is the Author's compared to that of the jockey." It was not until towards the end of February that the corrected manuscript of the first volume of The Bible in Spain reached Albemarle Street. Later and better counsels had apparently prevailed, and Borrow had become reconciled to filling up the breaks. Borrow had other occupations than preparing his manuscript for the printer's hands. He was ill and over- wrought, and small things became magnified out of all proportion to their actual importance. There had been a dispute between Borrow's dog and that of the rector of Oulton, the Rev. E. P. Denniss, and as the place was small, the dogs met frequently and renewed their feud. Finally the masters of the animals became involved, and an interchange of frigid notes ensued. It appears that Borrow threatened to appeal to the Law and to the Bishop of the Diocese, and further seems to have suggested that in the interests of peace, the rector might do away with his own dog. The tone of the correspondence may be gathered from the following notes : — 1 " Mr Denniss begs to acknowledge Mr Borrow's note, and is sorry to hear that his dog and Mr Borrow's have again fallen out. Mr Denniss learns from his servant that Mr D's dog was no more in fault than Mr B's, which latter is of a very quarrelsome and savage disposition, as Mr Denniss can himself testify, as well as many other people. Mr Denniss regrets that these two animals cannot agree when they meet, but he must decline acced- ing to Mr Borrow's somewhat arbitrary demand, conceiv- ing he has as much right to retain a favourite, and in reality very harmless, animal, as Mr Borrow has to keep 1 Dr Knapp's Life of George Borrow. 348 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN APPEARS [1842 a dog which has once bitten Mr Denniss himself, and oftentimes attacked him and his family. Mr Borrow is at perfect liberty to take any measure he may deem advis- able, either before the magistrates or the Bishop of the Diocese, as Mr Denniss is quite prepared to meet them." "Oulton Rectory, 22nd April 1842." Borrow's reply (in the rough draft found among his papers after his death) ran : " Mr Borrow has received Mr Denniss' answer to his note. With respect to Mr Denniss' recrimination on the quarrelsome disposition of his harmless house-dog, Mr Borrow declines to say anything further. No one knows better than Mr Denniss the value of his own assertions. . . . Circumstances over which Mr Borrow has at present no control will occasionally bring him and his family under the same roof with Mr Denniss ; that roof, however, is the roof of the House of God, and the prayers of the Church of England are wholesome from whatever mouth they may proceed." Borrow's most partisan admirer could not excuse the outrage to all decency contained in the last paragraph of his note, if indeed it were ever sent, in any other way than to plead the writer's ill-health. It had been arranged that The Bible in Spain should make its appearance in May. In July Borrow wrote show- ing some impatience and urging greater expedition. " What are your intentions with respect to the Bible in Spain ? " he enquires of John Murray. " I am a frank man, and frankness never offends me. Has anybody put you out of conceit with the book ? . . . Tell me frankly and I will drink your health in Romany. Or would the appearance of the Bible on the first of October interfere with the avatar, first or second, of some very wonderful lion or Divinity, to whom George Borrow, who is neither, must of course give place? Be frank with me, my dear Sir, and I will drink your health in Romany and Madeira." He goes on to offer to release John Murray from his " share in the agreement " and complete the book himself, xxii.] "THIS WILD MISSIONARY" 349 remitting to the printer " the necessary money for the purchase of paper." To Ford, who had acted as a sort of godfather to The Bible in Spain, it was " a rum, very rum, mixture of gypsyism, Judaism, and missionary adventure," as he informed John Murray. He read it " with great delight," and its publisher may " depend upon it that the book will sell, which, after all, is the rub." He liked the sincerity, the style, the effect of incident piling on incident. It reminded him of Gil Bias with a touch of Bunyan. Borrow is " such a trump ... as full of meat as an egg, and a fresh-laid one." All this he tells John Murray, and concludes with the assur- ance, " Borrow will lay you golden eggs, and hatch them after the ways of Egypt ; put salt on his tail and secure him in your coop, and beware how any poacher coaxes him with 'raisins' or reasons out of the Albemarle preserve." 1 Ford was never tired of applying new adjectives to Borrow and his work. He was " an extraordinary fellow," " this wild missionary," " a queer chap." Borrow, on the other hand, cherished a sincere regard for the man who had shown such enthusiasm for his work. To John Murray, Junr., he wrote (4th April 1843) : " Pray remember me to Ford, who is no humbug and is one of the few beings that I care something about." Throughout his correspondence with Borrow, Richard Ford showed a judgment and an appreciation of what the public would be likely to welcome that stamped him as a publishers' " reader " by instinct. Such advice as he gave to Borrow in the following letter set up a standard of what a book, such as Borrow had it in his power to write, actually should be. It unquestionably influenced Borrow : — \oth June 1842. " My advice again and again is to avoid all fine writing, all descriptions of mere scenery and trivial 1 The Letters of Richard Ford, 1797-1858. Edited, R. E. Prothero, M.V.O., 1905. 350 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN APPEARS [1842 events. What the world wants are racy, real, genuine scenes, and the more out of the way the better. Poetry is utterly to be avoided. If Apollo were to come down from Heaven, John Murray would not take his best manuscript as a gift. " Stick to yourself, to what you have seen, and the people you have mixed with. The more you give us of odd Jewish people the better. . . . Avoid words, stick to deeds. Never think of how you express yourself; for good matter must tell, and no fine writing will make bad matter good. Don't be afraid that what you may not think good will not be thought so by others. It often happens just the reverse. . . . New facts seen in new and strange countries will please everybody ; but old scenery, even Cintra, will not. We know all about that, and want something that we do not know. . . . The grand thing is to be bold and to avoid the common track of the silver paper, silver fork, blue-stocking. Give us adventure, wild adventure, journals, thirty language book, sorcery, Jews, Gentiles, rambles, and the interior of Spanish prisons — the way you get in, the way you get out. No author has yet given us a Spanish prison. Enter into the iniquities, the fees, the slang, etc. It will be a little a la Thurtell, but you see the people like to have it so. Avoid rant and cant. Dialogues always tell ; they are dramatic and give an air of reality." The Bible in Spain was published ioth December, and one of the first copies that reached him was inscribed by the author to " Ann Borrow. With her son's best love, 13th Deer. 1842." From the critics there was praise and scarcely anything but praise. It was received as a work bearing the unmis- takable stamp of genius. Lockhart himself reviewed it in The Quarterly Review, confessing the shame he felt at not having reviewed The Zincali. " Very good — very clever — very neatly done. Only one fault to find — too laudatory," was Borrow's comment upon this notice. And through the clamour and din of it all, old Mrs Borrow wrote to her daughter-in-law telling her of the call of an old friend, whom she had not seen for twenty- eight years, and who had come to talk with her of the xxil] "MURRAY IS IN HIGH BONE" 351 fame of her son, " the most remarkable man that Dereham ever produced. Capt. Girling is a man of few words, but when he do speak it is to some purpose." Ford wrote also (he was always writing impulsive, boyish letters) telling how Borrow's name would " fill the trump of fame," and that " Murray is in high bone " about the book. Hasfeldt wrote, too, saying that he saw his " friend ' tall George,' wandering over the mountains until I ached in every joint with the vividness of his descriptions." In all this chorus of praise there was the complaint of the Dublin Review that " Borrow was a missionary sent out by a gang of conspirators against Christianity." Borrow's comment upon this notice was that " It is easier to call names and misquote passages in a dirty Review than to write The Bible in Spain." A second edition of The Bible in Spain was issued in January, to which the author contributed a preface, " very funny, but wild," he assured John Murray, Junr., and he promised "yet another preface for the third edition, should one be called for." The third edition appeared in March, the fourth in June, and the fifth in July. When the Fourth Edition was nearing completion Borrow wrote to Murray : " Would it be as well to write a preface to this fourth edition with a tirade or two against the Pope, and allusions to the Great North Road ? " To which Murray replied, " With due submission to you as author, I would sug- gest that you should not abuse the Pope in the new preface." In the flush of his success Borrow could afford to laugh at the few cavilling critics. " Let them call me a nonentity if they will," he wrote to John Murray, Junr. (13th March). " I believe that some of those, who say I am a phantom, would alter their tone provided they were to ask me to a good dinner ; bottles emptied and fowls devoured are not exactly the feats of a phantom. No ! I partake more of the nature of a Brownie or Robin Goodfellow, goblins, 'tis true, but full of merriment and fun, and fond of good eating and drinkincr." 352 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN APPEARS [1843 America echoed back the praise and bought the book in thousands. Publishers issued editions in Philadelphia and New York ; but Borrow did not participate in the profits, as there was then no copyright protection for English books in the United States of America. The Athenceum reported (27th May 1843) that 30,000 copies had been sold in America. " I really never heard of anything so infamous," wrote Borrow to his wife. The only thing that America gave him was praise and (in common with other countries) a place in its biographical dictionaries and encyclopaedias. The Bible in Spain was translated into French and German and subsequently (abridged) into Russian. What appeared to please Borrow most was Sir Robert Peel's reference to him in the House of Commons, although he regretted the scanty report of the speech given in the newspapers. Replying to Dr Bowring's (at that time Borrow's friend) motion " for copies of the correspondence of the British Government with the Porte on the subject of the Bishop of Jerusalem," Sir Robert remarked : "If Mr Borrow had been deterred by trifling obstacles, the circulation of the Bible in Spain would never have been advanced to the extent which it had happily attained. If he had not .persevered he would not have been the agent of so much enlightment." l There were many things that contributed to the instantaneous success of The Bible in Spain. Apart from the vivid picture that it gave of the indomitable courage and iron determination of a man commanding success, its literary qualities, and enthralling interest, its greatest commercial asset lay in its appeal to the Religious Public. 1 Times, 12th April 1843, Hansard's summary reads: "It might have been said, to Mr Borrow with respect to Spain, that it would be impossible to distribute the Bible in that country in consequence of the danger of offending the prejudices which prevail there ; yet he, a private individual, by showing some zeal in what he believed to be right, succeeded in triumphing over many obstacles." xxil] A GREAT SUCCESS 353 Never, perhaps, had they been invited to read such a book, because never had the Bible been distributed by so amazing a missionary as George Borrow. Gil Bias with a touch of Bunyan, as Ford delightfully phrased it, and not too much Bunyan. Thieves, murderers, gypsies, bandits, prisons, wars — all knit together by the missionary work of a man who was persona grata with every lawless ruffian he encountered, and yet a sower of the seed. The Religious Public did not pause to ponder over the strange- ness of the situation. They had fallen among thieves, and with breathless eagerness were prepared to enjoy to the full the novel experience. Here was a religious book full of the most exquisite material thrills without a suggestion of a spiritual moral. Criminals were encountered, their deeds rehearsed and the customary sermon upon the evils arising from wickedness absent. It was a stimulating drink to unaccustomed palates. The Bible in Spain sold in its thousands. The accuracy of the book has never been questioned ; if it had, Borrow's letters to the Bible Society would immediately settle any doubt that might arise. If there be one incident in the work that appears invented, it is the story of Benedict Moll, the treasure-hunter ; yet even that is authentic. In the following letter, dated 22nd June 1839, Rey Romero, the bookseller of Santiago, refers to the unfortunate Benedict Moll : — " The German of the Treasure" he writes, " came here last year bearing letters from the Government for the purpose of discovering it. But, a few days after his arrival, they threw him into prison ; from thence he wrote me, making himself known as the one you intro- duced to me ; wherefore my son went to see him in prison. He told my son that you also had been arrested, but I could not credit it. A short time after, they took him off to Coruiia ; then they brought him back here again, and I do not know what has become of him since." l 1 This is obviously the letter that Borrow paraphrases at the end of Chapter XLII. of The Bible in Spain. Z 354 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN APPEARS [1843 Borrow now became the lion of the hour. He was feted and feasted in London, and everybody wanted to meet the wonderful white-haired author of The Bible in Spain. One day he is breakfasting with the Prussian Ambassador, " with princes and members of Parliament, I was the star of the morning," he writes to his wife. " I thought to myself ' what a difference ! ' " Later he was present at a grand soiree, " and the people came in throngs to be introduced to me. To-night," he continues, " I am going to the Bishop of Norwich, to-morrow to another place, and so on." x Borrow had been much touched by the news of the death of Allan Cunningham (1785-1842). " Only think, poor Allan Cunningham dead ! " he wrote to John Murray, Junr. (25th Nov. 1842). " A young man — only fifty-eight — strong and tall as a giant; might have lived to a hundred and one, but he bothered himself about the affairs of this world far too much. That statue shop was his bane ; took to book making likewise, in a word too fond of Mammon — awful death — no preparation — came literally upon him like a thief in the dark. Am thinking of writing a short life of him ; old friend — twenty years' standing, knew a good deal about him ; Traditional Tales his best work. . . . " Pray send Dr Bowring a copy of Bible. Lives No. 1, Queen Square, Westminster, another old friend. Send one to Ford — capital fellow. Respects to Mr M. God bless you. Feel quite melancholy, Ever yours." In these Jinglelike periods Borrow pays tribute to the man who praised his Romantic Ballads and contributed a prefatory poem. He returned to the subject ten days later in another letter to John Murray, Junr. " I can't get poor Allan out of my head," he wrote. " When I come up I intend to go and see his wife. What a woman ! " Fame did not dispel from Borrow's mind the old 1 In the Appendix to The Romany Rye Borrow wrote, " Having the proper pride of a gentleman and a scholar, he did not, in the year '43, choose to permit himself to be exhibited and made a zany of in London." Page 355. xxil] A WAVE OF PESSIMISM 355 restlessness, the desire for action. He was still unwell, worried at the sight of " Popery . . . springing up in every direction . . . There's no peace in this world." 1 A cold contracted by his wife distressed him to the point of complaining that "there is little but trouble in this world ; I am nearly tired of it." 2 Exercise failed to benefit him. He was suffering from languor and nervousness. And through it all that Spartan woman who had committed the gravest of matrimonial errors, that of marrying a genius, soothed and comforted the sick lion, tired even of victory. Small things troubled him and honours awakened in him no enthusiasm. The Times in reviewing The Bible in Spain had inferred that he was not a member of the Church of England, 3 and the statement " must be con- tradicted." The Royal Institution was prepared to confer an honour upon him, and he could not make up his mind whether or not to accept it. " What would the Institute expect me to write ? " he enquires of John Murray, Junr., 25th Feb. 1843. "(I have exhausted Spain and the Gypsies.) Would an essay on the Welsh language and literature suit, with an account of the Celtic tongues ? Or would something about the ancient North and its literature be more acceptable ? . . . Had it been the Royal Academy, I should have consented at once, a"nd do hereby empower you to accept in my name any offer which may be made from that quarter. I should very much like to become an Academician, the thing would just suit me, more especially as ' they do not want clever men, but safe men.' Now I am safe enough, ask the Bible Society, whose secrets I have kept so much 1 Letters to John Murray, 27th Jan. and 13th March, 1843. 2 Letters to John Murray, 27th Jan. and 13th March, 1843. 3 Borrow wrote later on that he was "a sincere member of the old- fashioned Church of England, in which he believes there is more religion, and consequently less cant, than in any other Church in the world" {The Romany Rye, page 346). On another occasion he gave the following reason for his adherence to it : " Because I believe it is the best religion to get to heaven by" {Wild Wales, page 520). 356 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN APPEARS [1843 to their satisfaction, that they have just accepted at my hands an English Gypsy Gospel gratis" l He declined an invitation to join the Ethnological Society. " Who are they ? " he enquires in the same letter. " At present I am in great demand. A Bishop has just requested me to visit him. The worst of these Bishops is that they are all skinflints, saving for their families ; their cuisine is bad and their Port-wine execrable, and as for their cigars . . . ." Borrow strove to quiet his spirit by touring about Norfolk, " putting up at dead of night in country towns and small villages." He returned to Oulton at the end of a fortnight, having tired himself and knocked up his horse. Even the news that a new edition of The Bible in Spain was required could not awaken in him any enthusiasm. He was glad the book had sold, as he knew it would, and he would like a rough estimate of the profits. A few days later he writes to John Murray, Junr., with reference to a new edition of The Zincali, saying that he finds " that there is far more connection between the first and second volumes than he had imagined," and begging that the reprint may be the same as the first. " It would take nearly a month to refashion the book," he continues, " and I believe a month's mental labour at the present time would do me up." The weather in particular affected him. For years he had been accustomed to sun-warmed Spain, and the gloom and greyness of England depressed him. " Strange weather this," he had written to John Murray (31st Dec. 1842) — "very unwholesome I believe both for man and beast. Several people dead and great mortality amongst the cattle. Am intolerably well myself, but get but little rest — disagreeable dreams — digestion not quite so good as I could wish — been on the water system — won't do — have left it off, and am now taking lessons in singing." 1 No trace can be found among the Bible Society Records of any such translation. xxii.] A NEW CURE FOR INDIGESTION 357 Many men have earned the reputation of madness for less eccentric actions than taking lessons in singing as a cure for indigestion, after the failure of the water cure. Although he was receiving complimentary letters from all quarters and from people he had never even heard of, he seemed acutely unhappy. " I did wrong," he writes to his wife from London (29th May 1843), "not to bring you when I came, for without you I cannot get on at all. Left to myself, a gloom comes upon me which I cannot describe. I will endeavour to be home on Thursday, as I wish so much to be with you, without whom there is no joy for me nor rest. You tell me to ask for situations, etc. I am not at all suited for them. My place seems to be in our own dear cottage, where, with your help, I hope to prepare for a better world. ... I dare say I shall be home on Thursday, perhaps earlier, if I am unwell ; for the poor bird when in trouble has no one to fly to but his mate." And a few days later : " I wish I had not left home. Take care of yourself. Kiss poor Hen." During his stay in London, Borrow sat to Henry Wyndham Phillips, R.A., for his portrait. 1 On 21st June John Murray wrote : " I have seen your portrait. Phillips is going to saw off a bit of the panel, which will give you your proper and characteristic height. Next year you will doubtless cut a great figure in the Exhibition. It is the best thing young Phillips has done." The painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1844 as "George Borrow, Esq., author of The Bible in Spain" and is now in the possession of Mr John Murray. There is a story told in connection with the painting of this portrait. Borrow was a bad sitter, and visibly chafed at remaining indoors doing nothing. To overcome this restlessness the painter had recourse to a clever strata- gem. He enquired of his sitter if Persian were really a fine language, as he had heard ; Borrow assured him that it 1 This portrait has sometimes been ascribed to Thomas Phillips, R.A., in error. 358 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN APPEARS [1843 was, and at Phillips' request, started declaiming at the top of his voice, his eyes flashing with enthusiasm. When he ceased, the wily painter mentioned other tongues, Turkish, Armenian, etc., in each instance with the same result, and the painting of the portrait became an easy matter. On 23rd June John Murray (the Second) died, at the age of sixty-five, and was succeeded by his son. " Poor old Murray ! " Ford wrote to Borrow, " We shall never see his like again. He . . . was a fine fellow in every respect." In another letter he refers to him as " that Prince of Bibliophiles, poor, dear, old Murray." Borrow's own relations with John Murray had always been most cordial. On one occasion, when writing to his son, he says : " I shall be most happy to see you and still more your father, whose jokes do one good. I wish all the world were as gay as he." Then without a break, he goes on to deplore the fact that " a gentleman drowned himself last week on my property. I wish he had gone somewhere else." Such was George Borrow. For some time past Borrow's thoughts had been directed towards obtaining a Government post abroad. The sentence, " You tell me to ask for situations, etc.," in a letter to his wife had reference to this ambition. He had previously (21st June 1841) written to Lord Clarendon suggesting for himself a consulship ; but the reply had not been encouraging. It was " quite hopeless to expect a consulship from Lord Palmerston, the applicants were too many and the appointments too few." Borrow recognised the stagnation of his present life. " I wish the Government would give me some command in Ireland which would call forth my energies," he wrote to John Murray (25th Oct. 1843). " If there be an outbreak there I shall apply to them at once, for my heart is with them in the present matter : I hope they will be firm, and they have nothing to fear; I am sure that the English nation will back them, for the insolence and ingratitude of the Irish, and the cowardice of their humbug chief, have caused universal disgust." Later he wrote, also to John JOHN MURRAY THE THIRD (From a photograph by Maull and Fox). [ To face page 35S xxii.] SHARING THE PROFITS 359 Murray, with reference to that " trumpery fellow O'Connell. ... I wish I were acquainted with Sir. Robert Peel. I could give him many a useful hint with respect to Ireland and the Irish. I know both tolerably well. Whenever there's a row I intend to go over with Sidi Habismilk and put myself at the head of a body of volunteers." He had previously written " the old Duke [Wellington] will at last give salt eel to that cowardly, bawling vagabond O'Connell." Borrow detested O'Connell as a " Dublin bully ... a humbug, without courage or one particle of manly feeling." Again (17th June) he had written: " Horrible news from Ireland. I wish sincerely the black- guards would break out at once ; they will never be quiet until they have got a sound licking, and the sooner the better." The finer side of Borrow's character was shown in his eagerness to obtain employment. There is a touch of pathos in the sight of this knight, armed and ready to fight anything for anybody, wasting his strength and his talents in feuds with his neighbours. In the profits on the old and the preparation of new editions of The Bible in Spain, Borrow took a keen interest. The money he was making enabled him to assist his wife in disembarrassing her estate. " I begin to take considerable pleasure in making money," he wrote to his publisher, " which I hope is a good sign ; for what is life unless we take pleasure in something?" Again he enquires, " Why does not the public call for another edition of them [T/ie Gypsies of Spain]. You see what an un- conscionable rascal I am becoming." During his lifetime Borrow received from the firm of Murray, £3437, 19s., most of which was on account of The Bible in Spain and, consequently, was paid to him during the first years of his association with Albemarle Street. Caroline Fox gives an interesting picture of Borrow at this period as he appeared to her : — "25M Oct. 1843. " Catherine Gurney gave us a note to George Borrow, so on him we called, — a tall, ungainly, uncouth man, with 360 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN APPEARS [1843 great physical strength, a quick penetrating eye, a confident manner, and a disagreeable tone and pronunciation. He was sitting on one side of the fire, and his old mother on the other. His spirits always sink in wet weather, and to- day was very rainy, but he was courteous and not displeased to be a little lionised, for his delicacy is not of the most susceptible. He talked about Spain and the Spaniards ; the lowest classes of whom, he says, are the only ones worth investigating, the upper and middle class being (with exceptions, of course) mean, selfish, and proud beyond description. They care little for Roman Catholi- cism, and bear faint allegiance to the Pope. They generally lead profligate lives, until they lose all energy and then become slavishly superstitious. He said a curious thing of the Esquimaux, namely, that their language is a most complex and highly artificial one, calculated to express the most delicate metaphysical subtleties, yet they have no literature, nor are there any traces of their ever having had one — a most curious anomaly ; hence he simply argues that you can ill judge of a people by their language." l One of the strangest things about Borrow's personality was that it almost invariably struck women unfavourably. That he himself was not indifferent to women is shown by the impression made upon him by the black eyes of one of the Misses Mills of Saxham Hall, where he was taken to dinner by Dr Hake, who states that " long afterwards, his inquiries after the black eyes were unfailing." 2 He was also very kind and considerate to women. " He was very polite and gentlemanly in ladies' society, and we all liked him," wrote one woman friend 3 who frequently accompanied him on his walks. She has described him as walking along " singing to himself or quite silent, quite forgetting me until he came to a high hill, when he would turn round, seize my hand, and drag me up. Then he would sit down and enjoy the prospect." 4 1 Memories of Old Friends ( 1 835-1 87 1 ). London 1 882. 2 Memories of Eighty Years, page 164. 3 EQizabeth] H[arvey] in The Eastern D lily Press, 1st Oct. 1892. 4 Elizabeth] Hfarvey] in The Eastern Daily Express, rst Oct. 1892. CHAPTER XXIII MARCH 1844 — 1848 TN March 1844 Borrow, unable longer to control the -*- Wanderlust within him, gave up the struggle, and determined to make a journey to the East. He was in London on the 20th, as Lady Eastlake (then Miss Elizabeth Rigby) testifies in her Journal. " Borrow came in the evening," she writes : " now a fine man, but a most dis- agreeable one ; a kind of character that would be most dangerous in rebellious times — one that would suffer or persecute to the utmost. His face is expressive of wrong- headed determination." 1 He left London towards the end of April for Paris, from which he wrote to John Murray, 1st May : — " Vidocq wishes very much to have a copy of my Gypsies of Spain, and likewise one of the Romany Gospels. On the other side you will find an order on the Bible Society for the latter, and perhaps you will be so kind as to let one of your people go to Earl Street to procure it. You would oblige me by forwarding it to your agent in Paris, the address is Monsr. Vidocq, Galerie Vivienne, No. 13. . . . V. is a strange fellow, and amongst other things dabbles in literature. He is meditating a work upon Les Bohemiens, about whom I see he knows nothing at all. I have no doubt that the Zincali, were it to fall into his hands, would be preciously gutted, and the best part of the contents pirated. By the way, could you not 1 Journals and Correspondence of Lady Eastlake, ed. by C. E. Smith, 1895. 361 362 THE OLD RESTLESSNESS [1844 persuade some of the French publishers to cause it to be translated, in which event there would be no fear. Such a work would be sure to sell. I wish Vidocq to have a copy of the book, but I confess I have my suspicions ; he is so extraordinarily civil." From Paris he proceeded to Vienna, and thence into Hungary and Transylvania, where he remained for some months. He is known to have been " in the steppe of Debreczin," 1 to Koloszvar, through Nagy-Szeben, or Hermannstadt, on his journey through Roumania to Bucharest. He visited Wallachia " for the express purpose of discoursing with the Gypsies, many of whom I found wandering about." 2 So little is known of Borrcw's Eastern Journey that the following account, given by an American, has a peculiar interest : — " My companions, as we rode along, related some marvellous stories of a certain English traveller who had been here [near Grosswardein] and of his influence over the Gypsies. One of them said that he was walking out with him one day, when they met a poor gypsy woman. The Englishman addressed her in Hungarian, and she answered in the usual disdainful way. He changed his language, however, and spoke a word or two in an unknown tongue. The woman's face lighted up in an instant, and she replied in the most passionate, eager way, and after some conversation dragged him away almost with her. After this the English gentleman visited a number of their most private gatherings and was received everywhere as one of them. He did more good among them, all said, than all the laws over them, or the benevolent efforts for them, of the last half century. They described his appearance — his tall, lank, muscular form, and mentioned that he had been much in Spain, and I saw that it must be that most ubiquitous of travellers, Mr Borrow." 3 This was the fame most congenial to Borrow's strange 1 The Romany Rye, page 344. 2 Dr Knapp's Life of George Borrow, ii. 44. 3 Hungary in 185 1. By Charles L. Brace. xxiii.] BORROWS CONCEPTION OF FAME 363 nature. Dinners, receptions, and the like caused him to despise those who found pleasure in such "crazy admiration for what they called gentility." It was his foible, as much as "gentility nonsense" was theirs, to find pleasure in the role of the mysterious stranger, who by a word could change a disdainful gypsy into a fawning, awe-stricken slave. Fame to satisfy George Borrow must carry with it something of the greatness of Olympus. A glimpse of Borrow during his Eastern tour is obtained from Mrs Borrow's letters to John Murray. After telling him that she possesses a privilege which many wives do not (viz.), permission to open her Husband's letters during his absence, she proceeds : — " The accounts from him are, I am thankful to say, very satisfactory. It is extraordinary with what marks of kindness even Catholics of distinction treat him when they know who he is, but it is clearly his gift of tongues which causes him to meet with so many adventures, several of which he has recorded of a most singular nature." l At Vienna Borrow had arranged to wait until he should receive a letter from his wife, " being very anxious to know of his family," as Mrs Borrow informed John Murray (24th July). " Thus far," she continues, " thanks be to God, he has prospered in his journey. Many and wonderful are the adventures he has met with, which I hope at no distant period may be related to his friends. Doctor Bowring was very kind in sending me flattering tidings of my Husband." Borrow was at Constantinople on 17th Sept. when he drew on his letter of credit. Leland tells an anecdote about Borrow at Constantinople ; but it must be re- membered that it was written when he regarded Borrow with anything but friendly feelings : — " Sir Patrick Colquhoun told me that once when he was at Constantinople, Mr Borrow came there, and gave 1 Mrs Borrow to John Murray, 4th June 1844. 364 THE OLD RESTLESSNESS [1844 it out that he was a marvellous Oriental scholar. But there was great scepticism on this subject at the Legation, and one day at the table d'hdte, where the great writer and divers young diplomatists dined, two who were seated on either side of Borrow began to talk Arabic, speaking to him, the result being that he was obliged to confess that he not only did not understand what they were saying, but did not even know what the language was. Then he was tried in Modern Greek, with the same result." l The story is obviously untrue. Had Borrow been ignorant of Arabic he would not have risked writing to Dr Bowring (nth Sept. 1831 ; see ante, page 85) express- ing his enthusiasm for that language. Arabic had, appar- ently, formed one of the subjects of his preliminary examination at Earl Street. With regard to Modem Greek he confessed in a letter to Mr Brandram (12th June 1839), "though I speak it very ill, I can make myself understood." Having obtained a Turkish passport, and after being- presented to Abdul Medjid, the Sultan, Borrow proceeded to Salonika and, crossing Thessaly to Albania, visited Janina and Prevesa. He passed over to Corfu, and saw Venice and Rome, returning to England by way of Marseilles, Paris and Havre. He arrived in London on 1 6th November, after nearly seven months' absence, to find his " home particularly dear to me . . . after my long wanderings." It is curious that he should have left no record of this expedition ; but if he made notes he evidently destroyed them, as, with the exception of a few letters, nothing was found among his papers relating to the Eastern tour. There is evidence that he was occupied with his pen during this journey, in the existence at the British Museum of his Vocabulary of the Gypsy Language as spoken in Hungary and Transylvania, compiled during an ititer- course of some months with the Gypsies in those parts in the 1 Memoirs, C. G. Leland, 1893. xxiii.] THE GENIUS OF THE MOSQUE 365 year 1844, by George Borrow. In all probability he pre- pared his Bohemian Grammar at the same time. 1 From the time that he became acquainted with Borrow, Richard Ford had constituted himself the genius of La Mezqiuta (the Mosque), as he states the little octagonal Summer-house was called. He was for ever urging in impulsive, polyglot letters that the curtain to be lifted. " Publish your wJiole adventures for the last twenty years," he had written.' 2 Ford saw that a man of Borrow's nature must have had astonishing adventures, and with his pen would be able to tell them in an astonishing manner. As early as the summer of 1841 Borrow appears to have contemplated writing his Autobiography. On the eve of the appearance of The Bible in Spain (17th Dec.) he wrote to John Murray : " I hope our book will be successful ; if so, I shall put another on the stocks. Capital subject : early life ; studies and adventures ; some account of my father, William Taylor, Whiter, Big Ben, etc. etc." The first draft of notes for Lavengro, an Autobiography, as the book was originally advertised in the announce- ment, is extremely interesting. It runs : — "Reasons for studying languages: French, Italian, D'Eterville. Southern tongues. Dante. Walks. The Quaker's Home, Mousehold. Petulengro. The Gypsies. The Office. Welsh. Lhuyd. German. Levy. Billy Taylor. Danish. Kcempe Viser. Billy Taylor. Dinner. Bowring. Hebrew. The Jew. Philosophy. Radicalism. Ranters. Thurtell. Boxers. Petulengres." 3 1 Both these MSS. were acquired by the Trustees of the British Museum in 1892 by purchase. The Gypsy Vocabulary runs to fifty- four Folios and the Bohemian Grammar to seventeen Folios. 2 24th April 1 84 1. 3 Dr Knapp's Life of George Borrow, ii. page 5. 366 THE OLD RESTLESSNESS [1843 Lavengro was planned in 1842 and the greater part written before the end of the following year, although the work was not actually completed until 1846. There are numerous references in Borrow's letters of this period to the book on which he was then engaged, and he invariably refers to it as his Life. On 21st January 1843 he writes to John Murray, Junr. : " I meditate shortly a return to Barbary in quest of the Witch Hamlet, and my adventures in the land of wonders will serve capitally to fill the thin volume of My Life, a Drama, By G. B." Again and again Borrow refers to My Life. Hasfeldt and Ford also wrote of it as the " wonderful life " and " the Biography? In his letters to John Murray, Borrow not only refers to the book as his Life, but from time to time gives crumbs of information concerning its progress. The Secretary of the Bible Society has just lent him his letters from Russia, " which will be of great assistance in the Life, as I shall work them up as I did those relating to Spain. The first volume," he continues, "will be devoted to England entirely, and my pursuits and adventures in early life." He recognises that he must be careful of the reputation that he has earned. His new book is to be original, as would be seen when it at last appears ; but he confesses that occasionally he feels " tremendously lazy." On another occasion (27th March 1843) he writes to John Murray, Junr. : " I hope by the end of next year that I shall have part of my life ready for the press in 3 vols." Six months later (2nd Oct. 1843) he writes to John Murray : — " I wish I had another Bible ready ; but slow and sure is my maxim. The book which I am at present about will consist, if I live to finish it of a series of Rembrandt pictures interspersed here and there with a Claude. I shall tell the world of my parentage, my early thoughts and habits ; how I became a sap-engro, or viper-catcher ; my wanderings with the regiment in England, Scotland and Ireland. . . . Then a great deal about Norwich, Billy Taylor, Thurtell, etc. ; how I took to study and became a xxm.] FORD VISITS BORROW 367 lav-engro. What do you think of this as a bill of fare for the first Vol. ? The second will consist of my adventures in London as an author in the year '23 {sic), adventures on the Big North Road in '24 {sic), Constantinople, etc. The third — but I shall tell you no more of my secrets." In a letter to John Murray (25th Oct. 1843), the title is referred to as Lavengro : A Biography. It is to be " full of grave fun and solemn laughter like the Bible." On 6th December he again writes : — " I do not wish for my next book to be advertised yet ; I have a particular reason. The Americans are up to everything which affords a prospect of gain, and I should not wonder that, provided I were to announce my title, and the book did not appear forthwith, they would write one for me and send forth their trash into the world under my name. For my own part I am in no hurry," he pro- ceeds. " I am writing to please myself, and am quite sure that if I can contrive to please myself, I shall please the public also. Had I written a book less popular than the Bible, I should be less cautious ; but I know how much is expected from me, and also know what a roar of exultation would be raised by my enemies (and I have plenty) were I to produce anything that was not first rate." Time after time he insists upon his determination to publish nothing that is not " as good as the last." " I shall go on with my Life," he writes to Ford (9th Feb. 1844), " but slowly and lazily. What I write, however, is good. I feel it is good, strange and wild as it is." l From 24th-27th Jan. 1 844 that " most astonishing fellow " Richard Ford visited Borrow at Oulton, urging again in person, most likely, the lifting of the veil that obscured those seven mysterious years. Ford has himself described this visit to Borrow in a letter written from Oulton Hall. " I am here on a visit to El Gitano ; " he writes, " two ' rum ' coves, in a queer country. ... we defy the elements, and chat over las cosas de Espana, and he tells me portions 1 As late even as 13th March 1851, Dr Hake wrote to Mrs Borrow : " He [Borrow] had better carry on his biography in three more volumes. 368 THE OLD RESTLESSNESS [1844 of his life, more strange even than his book. We scamper by day over the country in a sort of gig, which reminds me of Mr Weare on his trip with Mr THURTELL [Borrow's old preceptor] ; ' Sidi Habismilk ' is in the stable and a Zamarra [sheepskin coat] now before me, writing as I am in a sort of summer-house called La Mezquita, in which El Gitano concocts his lucubrations, and paints his pictures, for his object is to colour up and poetise his adventures." By this last sentence Ford showed how thoroughly he understood Borrow's literary methods. A fortnight later Borrow writes to Ford : — " You can't think how I miss you and our chats by the fireside. The wine, now I am alone, has lost its flavour, and the cigars make me ill. I am frequently in my valley of the shadows, and had I not my summer jaunt [the Eastern Tour] to look forward to, I am afraid it would be all up with your friend and Batushka." The Eastern Tour considerably interfered with the writing of Lavengro. There was a seven months' break ; but Borrow settled down to work on it again, still deter- mined to take his time and produce a book that should be better than The Bible in Spain. Ford's Hand-Book for Travellers in Spain and Readers at Home appeared in 1845, a work that had cost its author upwards of sixteen years of labour. In a letter to Borrow he characterised it as "a rum book and has queer stuff in it, although much expurgated for the sake of Spain." Ford was very anxious that Borrow should keep the promise that he had given two years previously to review the Hand-Book when it appeared. " You will do it magnificently. ' Thou art the man,' " Ford had written with the greatest enthusiasm. On 2nd June an article of thirty-seven folio pages was despatched by Borrow to John Murray for The Quarterly Review, with the following from Mrs Borrow : — " With regard to the article, it must not be received as a specimen of what Mr Borrow would have produced xxiii.] BORROW AS REVIEWER 369 had he been well, but he considered his promise to Mr Ford sacred — and it is only to be wished that it had been written under more favourable circumstances." Borrow was ill at the time, having been " very unwell for the last month," as Mrs Borrow explains, " and particularly so lately. Shivering fits have been succeeded by burning fever, till his strength was much reduced ; and he at present remains in a low, and weak state, and what is worse, we are by no means sure that the disease is subdued." Ford saw in Borrow " a crack reviewer." "... You have," he assured him in 1843, " on ly to write a long letter, having read the book carefully and thought over the subject." Ford also wrote to Borrow (26th Oct. 1843): " I have written several letters to Murray recommending them to bag you forthwith, unless they are demented." There was no doubt in his, Ford's, mind as to the accept- ance of Borrow's article. " If insanity does not rule the Q. R. camp, they will embrace the offer with open arms in their present Erebus state of dullness," he tells Borrow, then, with a burst of confidence continues, " But, barring politics, I confi- dentially tell you that the Ed[z'nburg/i] Rev. does business in a more liberal and more business-like manner than the Q\_uarterly>\ Rev. I am always dunning this into Murray's head. More flies are caught with honey than vinegar. Soft sawder, especially if plenty of gold goes into the composition, cements a party and keeps earnest pens together. I grieve, for my heart is entirely with the Q. R., its views and objects." The article turned out to be, not a review of the Hand- Book, but a bitter attack on Spain and her rulers. The second part was to some extent germane to the subject, but it appears to have been more concerned with Borrow's view of Spain and things Spanish than with Ford's book. Lockhart saw that it would not do. In a letter to John Murray he explains very clearly and very justly the objections to using the article as it stood. "I am very sorry," he writes (13th June), "after Borrow has so kindly exerted himself during illness, that 2 A 370 THE OLD RESTLESSNESS [1845 I must return his paper. I read the MS. with much pleasure ; but clever and brilliant as he is sure always to be, it was very evident that he had not done such an article as Ford's merits required ; and I therefore intended to adopt Mr Borrow's lively diatribe, but interweave with his matter and add to it, such observations and extracts as might, I thought, complete the paper in a review sense. " But it appears that Mr B. won't allow anybody to tamper with his paper ; therefore here it is. It will be highly ornamental as it stands to any Magazine, and I have no doubt either Blackwood or Fraser or Colburn will be [only] too happy to insert it next month, if applied to now. " Mr Borrow would not have liked that, when his Bible in Spain came out, we should have printed a brilliant essay by Ford on some point of Spanish interest, but including hardly anything calculated to make the public feel that a new author of high consequence had made his appearance among us — one bearing the name, not of Richard Ford, but of George Borrow." Lockhart was right and Borrow was wrong. There is no room for equivocation. Borrow should have sunk his pride in favour of his friendship for Ford, who had, even if occasionally a little tedious in his epistolary enthusiasm, always been a loyal friend ; but Borrow was ill and excuses must be made for him. Lockhart wrote also to Ford describing Borrow's paper as "just another capital chapter of his Bible in Spain" which he had read with delight, but there was " hardly a word of review, and no extract giving the least notion of the peculiar merits and style especially, of the Hand-Book." " He is unwell," continued Lockhart, " I should be very sorry to bother him more at present; and, moreover, from the little he has said of your style, I am forced to infer that a review of your book by him would never be what I could feel authorised to publish in the Q. R." The letter concludes with a word of condolence that the Hand-Book will have to be committed to other hands. Ford realised the difficulty of the situation in which xxiii.] THE EMBODIMENT OF EVIL 371 he was placed, and strove to wriggle out of it by telling Borrow that his wife had said all along that " ' Borrow can't write anything dull enough for your set ; I wonder how I ever married one of them,' — I hope and trust you will not cancel the paper, for we can't afford to lose a scrap of your queer sparkle and ' thousand bright daughters circumvolving.' I have recommended its insertion in Blackwood, Fraser, or some of those clever Magazines, who will be overjoyed to get such a hand as yours, and I will bet any man £5 that your paper will be the most popular of all they print." It is evident that Ford was genuinely distressed, and in his anxiety to be loyal to his friend rather overdid it. His letter has an air of patronage that the writer certainly never intended. The outstanding feature is its absolute selflessness. Ford never seems to think of himself, or that Borrow might have made a concession to their friendship. Happy Ford ! The unfortunate episode estranged Borrow from Ford. Letters between them became less and less frequent and finally ceased altogether, although Borrow did not forget to send to his old friend a copy of Lavengro when it appeared. Worries seemed to rain down upon Borrow's head about this time. Samuel Morton Peto (afterwards Sir Samuel) had decided to enrich Lowestoft by improving the harbour and building a railway to Reedham, about half-way between Yarmouth and Norwich. He was authorised by Parliament and duly constructed his line, which not even Borrow's anger could prevent from passing through the Oulton Estate, between the Hall and the Cottage. Borrow could not fight an Act of Parliament, which forced him to cross a railway bridge on his way to church ; but he never forgave the man who had contrived it, or his millions. His first thought had been to fly before the invader. All quiet would be gone from the place. " Sell and be off," advised Ford ; " I hope you will make the railway pay dear 372 THE OLD RESTLESSNESS [1845 for its whistle," quietly observed John Murray. At first Borrow was inclined to take Ford's advice and settle abroad ; but subsequently relinquished the idea. He was not, however, the man quietly to sit down before what he conceived to be an unjustifiable outrage to his right to be quiet. He never forgave railways, although forced sometimes to make use of them. Samuel Morton Peto became to him the embodiment of evil, and as " Mr Flamson flaming in his coach with a million " he is immortalised in The Romany Rye. It is said that Sir Samuel boasted that he had made more than the price he had paid for Borrow's land out of the gravel he had taken from off it. On one occasion, after he had bought Somerleyton Hall, happening to meet Borrow, he remarked that he never called upon him, and Borrow remembering the boast replied, " I call on you ! Do you think I don't read my Shakespeare ? Do you think I don't know all about those highwaymen Bardolph and Peto ? " x The neighbourhood of Oulton appears to have been infested with thieves, and poachers found admirable " cover " in the surrounding plantations, or small woods. On several occasions Borrow himself had been attacked at night on the highway between Lowestoft and Oulton. Once he had even been shot at and nearly overpowered. John Murray (the Second) on hearing of one of these assaults had written (1841) artfully enquiring, "Were your wood thieves Gypsies, and have the C ale's got notice of your publication [T/ie Zlncali]?" Borrow had written to John Murray, Junr. (10th May 1842):— " I have been dreadfully unwell since I last heard from you — a regular nervous attack. At present I have a bad cough, caught by getting up at night in pursuit of poachers and thieves. A horrible neighbourhood this — not a magistrate dares do his duty." On 18th September 1 Mr A. Egmont Hake in Athenceum, 13th Aug. 1881. xxiii.] MR GLADSTONE'S CRITICISM 373 1843 he again wrote to John Murray: "One of the Magistrates in this district is just dead. Present my compliments to Mr Gladstone and tell him that the The Bible in Spain would have no objection to become ' a great unpaid ! ' " Gladstone is said greatly to have admired The Bible in Spain, even to the extent of writing to John Murray counselling him to have amended a passage that he considered ill-advised. Gladstone's letter was sent on to Borrow, and he acknowledges its receipt (6th November 1843) in the following terms : — " Many thanks for the perusal of Mr Gladstone's letter. I esteem it a high honour that so distinguished a man should take sufficient interest in a work of mine as to suggest any thing in emendation. I can have no possible objection to modify the passage alluded to. It contains some strong language, particularly the sentence about the scarlet Lady, which it would be perhaps as well to omit." The offending passage was that in which Borrow says, when describing the interior of the Mosque at Tangier : " I looked around for the abominable thing, and found it not ; no scarlet strumpet with a crown of false gold sat nursing an ugly changeling in a niche." In later editions the words " no scarlet strumpet," etc., were changed to "the besetting sin of the pseudo-Christian Church did not stare me in the face in every corner." The amendment was little likely to please a Church- man of Gladstone's calibre, or procure for the writer the magistracy he coveted, even if it had been made less grudgingly. " We must not make any further alterations here," Borrow wrote to Murray a few days later, " otherwise the whole soliloquy, which is full of vigor and poetry, and moreover of truth, would be entirely spoiled. As it is, I cannot help feeling that [it] is considerably damaged." There seems very little doubt that this passage was referred to in the letter that John Murray encloses in his 374 THE OLD RESTLESSNESS [1847 of ioth July 1843 1 with this reference: "(The writer of the enclosed note is a worthy canon of St Paul's, and has evidently seen only the 1st edition)." Borrow replied : — " Pray present my best respects to the Canon of St Paul's and tell him from me that he is a burro, which meaneth Jackass, and that I wish he would mind his own business, which he might easily do by attending a little more to the accommodation of the public in his ugly Cathedral." Borrow appears to have set his mind on becoming a magistrate. He had written to Lockhart (November 1843) enquiring how he had best proceed to obtain such an appointment. Lockhart was not able to give him any very definite information, his knowledge of such things, as he confessed, " being Scotch." For the time being the matter was allowed to drop, to be revived in 1847 by a direct application from Borrow to Lord Clarendon to support his application with the Lord Chancellor. His claims were based upon (1) his being a large landed-proprietor in the district (Mrs Borrow had become the owner of the Oulton Hall Estate during the previous year) ; (2) the fact that the neighbourhood was over-run with thieves and undesirable characters ; (3) that there was no magis- trate residing in the district. Lord Clarendon promised his good offices, but suggested that as all such appoint- ments were made through the Lord-Lieutenant of the County, the Earl of Stradbroke had better be acquainted with what was taking place. This was done through the Hon. Wm. Rufus Rous, Lord Stradbroke's brother, whose interest was obtained by some of Borrow's friends. After a delay of two months, Lord Stradbroke wrote to Lord Clarendon that he was quite satisfied with " the number and efficiency of the Magistrates" and also 1 There is something inexplicable about these dates. On 6th November Borrow agrees to alter a passage that in the 14th of the previous July he refers to as already amended. xxiii.] A GYPSY RIOT 375 with the way in which the Petty Sessions were attended. He could hear of no complaint, and when' the time came to increase the number of J.P.'s, he would be pleased to add Borrow's name to the list, provided he were advised to do so by " those gentlemen residing in the neighbour- hood, who, living on terms of intimacy with them [the Magistrates], will be able to maintain that union of good feeling which . . . exists in all our benches of Petty Sessions." Borrow would have made a good magistrate, provided the offender were not a gypsy. He would have caused the wrong-doer fear the instrument of the law rather than the law itself, and some of his sentences might possibly have been as summary as those of Judge Lynch. " It was a fine thing," writes a contemporary, "to see the great man tackle a tramp. Then he scented the battle from afar, bearing down on the enemy with a quivering nostril. If the nomad happened to be a gypsy he was courteously addressed. But were he a mere native tatterdemalion, inclined to be truculent, Borrow's coat was off in a moment, and the challenge to decide there and then who was the better man flung forth. I have never seen such challenges accepted, for Borrow was robust and towering." 1 It is not strange that Borrow's application failed ; for he never refused leave to the gypsies to camp upon his land, and would sometimes join them beside their camp- fires. Once he took a guest with him after dinner to where the gypsies were encamped. They received Borrow with every mark of repect. Presently he " began to intone to them a song, written by him in Romany, which recounted all their tricks and evil deeds. The gypsies soon became excited ; then they began to kick their property about, such as barrels and tin cans ; then the men began to fight and the women to part them ; 1 Vestiges of Borrow : Some Personal Reminiscences, The Globe, 2 1 st July 1896. 376 THE OLD RESTLESSNESS [1847 an uproar of shouts and recriminations set in, and the quarrel became so serious that it was thought prudent to quit the scene." 1 " In nothing can the character of a people be read with greater certainty and exactness than in its songs," 2 Borrow had written. 3 These disappointments tended to embitter Borrow, who saw in them only a conspiracy against him. There is little doubt that Lord Stradbroke's enquiries had revealed some curious gossip concerning the Master of Oulton Hall, possibly the dispute with his rector over the inability of their respective dogs to live in harmony ; perhaps even the would-be magistrate's predilection for the society of gypsies, and his profound admiration for " the Fancy " had reached the Lord-Lieutenant's ears. The unfortunate and somewhat mysterious dispute with Dr Bowring was another anxiety that Borrow had to face. He had once remarked, " It's very odd, Bowring, that you and I have never had a quarrel." 4 In the summer of 1842 he and Bowring seem to have been on excellent terms. Borrow wrote asking for the return of the papers and manuscripts that had remained in Bowring's hands since 1829, when the Songs of Scandinavia was projected, as Borrow hoped to bring out during the ensuing year a volume entitled Songs of Denmark. The cordiality of the letter may best be judged by the fact that 1 Mr A. Egmont Hake in Athencvum, 13th Aug. 1881. 2 The Gypsies of Spain, page 287. :i " His sympathies were confined to the gypsies. Where he came they followed. Where he settled, there they pitched their greasy and horribly smelling camps. It pleased him to be called their King. He was their Bard also, and wrote songs for them in that language of theirs which he professed to consider not only the first, but the finest of the human modes of speech. He liked to stretch himself large and loose-limbed before the wood fires of their encampment and watch their graceful movements among the tents " ( Vestiges of Borrow : Some Personal Reminiscences, Globe, 21st July 1896). 4 This was said in the presence of Mr F. G. Bowring, son of Dr Bowring. xxiii.] THE CANTON CONSULSHIP 377 in it he announces his intention of having a copy of the forthcoming Bible in Spain sent " to my oldest, I may say my only friend." In 1847 Bowring wrote to Borrow enquiring as to the Russian route through Kiakhta, and asking if he could put him in the way of obtaining the information for the use of a Parliamentary Committee then enquiring into England's commercial relations with China. Borrow's reply is apparently no longer in existence ; but it drew from Bowring another letter raising a question as to whether " ' two hundred merchants are allowed to visit Pekin every three years.' Are you certain this is in practice now ? Have you ever been to Kiakhta ? " It would appear from Bowring's " if summoned, your expenses must be paid by the public," that Borrow had suggested giving evidence before the Committee, hence Bowring's question as to whether Borrow could speak from personal knowledge of Kiakhta. Borrow's claim against Bowring is that after promising to use all his influence to get him appointed Consul at Canton, he obtained the post for himself, passing off as his own the Manchu-Tartar New Testament that Borrow had edited in St Petersburg. There is absolutely no other evidence than that contained in Borrow's Appendix to The Romany Rye. There is very little doubt that Bowring was a man who had no hesitation in seizing everything that presented itself and turning it, as far as possible, to his own uses. In this he was doing what most successful men have done and will continue to do. He had been kind to Borrow, and had helped him as far as lay in his power. He no doubt obtained all the informa- tion he could from Borrow, as he would have done from anyone else ; but he never withheld his help. It has been suggested that he really did mention Borrow as a candidate for the Consulship and later, when in financial straits and finding that Borrow had no chance of obtaining it, accepted Lord Palmerston's offer of the post for himself. 378 THE OLD RESTLESSNESS [1847 It is, however, idle to speculate what actually happened. What resulted was that Bowring as the " Old Radical " took premier place in the Appendix-inferno that closed The Romany Rye} Fate seemed to conspire to cause Borrow chagrin. Early in 1847 it came to his knowledge that there were in existence some valuable Codices in certain churches and convents in the Levant. In particular there was said to be an original of the Greek New Testament, supposed to date from the fourth century, which had been presented to the convent on Mount Sinai by the Emperor Justinian. Borrow received information of the existence of the treasure, and also a hint that with a little address, some of these priceless manuscripts might be secured to the British Nation. It was even suggested that application might be made to the Government by the Trustees of the British Museum. 2 Borrow's reply to this was an intima- tion that if requested to do so he would willingly under- take the mission. Nothing, however, came of the project, and the remainder of the manuscript of the Greek Testament (part of it had been acquired in 1843 by Tischendorf) was presented by the monks to Alexander 1 1. and it is now in the Imperial Library at St Petersburg. The information as to the existence of the manuscripts, it is alleged, was given to the Museum Trustees by the Hon. Robert Curzon, who had travelled much in Egypt and the Holy Land. It was certainly no fault of his that the mission was not sent out, and Borrow's subsequent antagonism to him and his family is difficult to understand and impossible to explain. Borrow had achieved literary success : before the year 1 Mr F. J. Bowring writes : " I was myself present at Borrow's last call, when he came to take tea as usual, and not a word of the kind [as given in the Appendix], was delivered." 2 There is no record of any correspondence with Borrow among the Museum Archives. Dr F. G. Kenyon, C.B., to whom I am indebted for this information, suggests that the communications may have been verbal. xxiii.] IMPRESSIONS OF BORROW 379 1847 The Zincali was in its Fourth Edition (nearly 10,000 copies having been printed) and The Bible in Spain had reached its Eighth Edition (nearly 20,000 copies having been printed). He was an unqualified success ; yet he had been far happier when distributing Testaments in Spain. The greyness and inaction of domestic life, even when relieved by occasional excursions with Sidi Habismilk and the Son of the Miracle, were irksome to his tempera- ment, ever eager for occupation and change of scene. He was like a war-horse champing his bit during times of peace. " Why did you send me down six copies [of The Zincali]}" he bursts out in a letter to John Murray (29th Jan. 1846). " Whom should I send them to ? Do you think I have six friends in the world ? Two I have presented to my wife and daughter (in law). I shall return three to you by the first opportunity." In 1847, through the Harveys, he became acquainted with Dr Thomas Gordon Hake, who was in practice at Brighton 1832-37 and at Bury St Edmunds 1839-53, an d who was also a poet. The two families visited each other, and Dr Hake has left behind him some interesting stories about, and valuable impressions of, Borrow. Dr Hake shows clearly that he did not allow his friendship to influence his judgment when in his Memoirs he described Borrow as " one of those whose mental powers are strong, and whose bodily frame is yet stronger — a conjunction of forces often detrimental to a literary career, in an age of intellectual predominance. His temper was good and bad ; his pride was humility ; his humility was pride ; his vanity in being negative, was one of the most positive kind. He was reticent and candid, measured in speech, with an emphasis that made trifles significant." l This rather laboured series of paradoxes quite fails to give a convincing impression of the man. A much 1 Memoirs of Eighty Years. By Dr Gordon Hake, 1892. 380 THE OLD RESTLESSNESS [1847 better idea of Borrow is to be found in a letter (1847) by a fellow-guest at a breakfast given by the Prussian Ambassador. He writes that there was present " the amusing author of The Bible in Spain, a man who is remarkable for his extraordinary powers as a linguist, and for the originality of his character, not to speak of the wonderful adventures he narrates, and the ease and facility with which he tells them. He kept us laughing a good part of breakfast time by the oddity of his remarks, as well as the positiveness of his assertions, often rather startling, and like his books partaking of the marvellous." * Abandoning paradox, Dr Hake is more successful in his description of Borrow's person. " His figure was tall," he tells us, " and his bearing very noble ; he had a finely moulded head, and thick white hair — white from his youth ; his brown eyes were soft, yet piercing ; his nose somewhat of the ' Semitic ' type, which gave his face the cast of the young Memnon. His mouth had a generous curve ; and his features, for beauty and true power, were such as can have no parallel in our portrait gallery." 2 When not occupied in writing, Borrow would walk about the estate with his animals, between whom and their master a perfect understanding existed. Sidi Habismilk would come to a whistle and would follow him 1 Annals of the Harford Family. Privately printed, 1909. Mr Theodore Watts-Dunton, in the Athenceum, 25th March 1899, has been successful in giving a convincing picture of Borrow : "As to his countenance," he writes, "'noble' is the only word that can be used to describe it. The silvery whiteness of the thick crop of hair seemed to add in a remarkable way to the beauty of the hairless face, but also it gave a strangeness to it, and this strangeness was intensified by a certain incongruity between the features (perfect Roman-Greek in type), and the Scandinavian complexion, luminous and sometimes rosy as an English girl's. An increased intensity was lent by the fair skin to the dark lustre of the eyes. What struck the observer, therefore, was not the beauty but the strangeness of the man's appearance." 2 Memoirs of Eighty Years. By Dr Gordon Hake, 1892. xxni.] BORROWS LOVE OF ANIMALS 381 about, and his two clogs and cat would do the same. When he went for a walk the dogs and cat would set out with him ; but the cat would turn back after accompany- ing him for about a quarter of a mile. 1 The two young undergraduates who drove in a gig from Cambridge to Oulton to pay their respects to Borrow {circa 1846) described him as employed " in training some young horses to follow him about like dogs and come at the call of his whistle. As my two friends 2 were talking with him, Borrow sounded his whistle in a paddock near the house, which, if I remember rightly, was surrounded by a low wall. Immediately two beautiful horses came bounding over the fence and trotted up to their master. One put his nose into Borrow's outstretched hand and the other kept snuffing at his pockets in expecta- tion of the usual bribe for confidence and good behaviour." Borrow's love of animals was almost feminine. The screams of a hare pursued by greyhounds would spoil his appetite for dinner, and he confessed himself as " silly enough to feel disgust and horror at the squeals of a rat in the fangs of a terrier." 3 When a favourite cat was so ill that it crawled away to die in solitude, Borrow went in search of it and, discovering the poor creature in the garden-hedge, carried it back into the house, laid it in a comfortable place and watched over it until it died. His care of the much persecuted " Church of England cat " at Llangollen 4 is another instance of his tender-heartedness with regard to animals. Borrow had ample evidence that he was still a celebrity. " He was much courted ... by his neighbours and by visitors to the sea-side," Dr Hake relates ; but unfortun- ately he allowed himself to become a prey to moods at rather inappropriate moments. As a lion, Borrow 1 Elizabeth] H[arvey] in The Eastern Daily Press, 1st Oct. 1892. 2 The story is narrated by Dr Augustus Jessopp in the Aihen&um, 8th July 1893. 3 Wild Wales, page 487. 4 Wild Wales, page 36 et sea. 382 THE OLD RESTLESSNESS [1847 accompanied Dr Hake to some in the great houses of the neighbourhood. On one occasion they went to dine at Hardwick Hall, the residence of Sir Thomas and Lady Cullum. The last-named subsequently became a firm friend of Borrow's during many years. " The party consisted of Lord Bristol ; Lady Augusta Seymour, his daughter ; Lord and Lady Arthur Hervey ; Sir Fitzroy Kelly ; Mr Thackeray, and ourselves. At that date, Thackeray had made money by lectures on The Satirists, and was in good swing ; but he never could realise the independent feelings of those who happen to be born to fortune — a thing which a man of genius should be able to do with ease. He told Lady Cullum, which she repeated to me, that no one could conceive how it mortified him to be making a provision for his daughters by delivering lectures ; and I thought she rather sympa- thised with him in this degradation. He approached Borrow, who, however, received him very dryly. As a last attempt to get up a conversation with him, he said, ' Have you read my Snob Papers in Punch ?'" "'In Punch?' asked Borrow. ' It is a periodical I never look at ! ' " It was a very fine dinner. The plates at dessert were of gold ; they once belonged to the Emperor of the French, and were marked with his " N " and his Eagle. " Thackeray, as if under the impression that the party was invited to look at him, thought it necessary to make a figure, and absorb attention during the dessert, by telling stories and more than half acting them ; the aristocratic party listening, but appearing little amused. Borrow knew better how to behave in good company, and kept quiet ; though, doubtless he felt his mane." 1 There were other moments when Borrow caused acute embarrassment by his rudeness. Once his hostess, a simple unpretending woman desirous only of pleasing her distinguished guest, said, " Oh, Mr Borrow, I have read your books with so much pleasure ! " " Pray, what books do you mean, madam ? Do you mean my account books ? " was the ungracious retort. He then rose from 1 Memoirs of Eighty Years. By Dr Gordon Hake, 1892. xxiil] UNCOMPROMISING BLUNTNESS 383 the table, fretting and fuming and walked up and down the dining-room among the servants " during the whole of the dinner, and afterwards wandered about the rooms and passage, till the carriage could be ordered for our return home." 1 The reason for this unpardonable behaviour appears to have been ill-judged loyalty to a friend. His host was a well-known Suffolk banker who, having advanced a large sum of money to a friend of Borrow's, the heir to a considerable estate, who was in temporary difficulties, then "struck the docket" in order to secure payment. Borrow confided to another friend that he yearned " to cane the banker." His loyalty to his friend excuses his wrath ; it was his judgment that was at fault. He should undoubtedly have caned the banker, in pre- ference to going to his house as a guest and revenging his friend upon the gentle and amiable woman who could not be held responsible for her husband's business transgressions. Unfortunate remarks seemed to have a habit of bursting from Borrow's lips. When Dr Bowring intro- duced to him his son, Mr F. J. Bowring, and with pardonable pride added that he had just become a Fellow of Trinity, Borrow remarked, " Ah ! Fellows of Trinity always marry their bed-makers." Agnes Strick- land was another victim. Being desirous of meeting him and, in spite of Borrow's unwillingness, achieving her object, she expressed in rapturous terms her admiration of his works, and concluded by asking permission to send him a copy of The Queens of England, to which he ungra- ciously replied, " For God's sake, don't, madam ; I should not know where to put them or what to do with them." " What a damned fool that woman is ! " he remarked to W. B. Donne, who was standing by. 2 There is a world of meaning in a paragraph from one of John Murray's (the Second) letters (21st June 1843) to 1 Memoirs of Eighty Years. By Dr Gordon Hake, 1892. 2 Memoirs of Eighty Years. By Dr Gordon Hake, 1892. 384 THE OLD RESTLESSNESS [1848 Borrow in which he enquires, " Did you receive a note from Mme. Simpkinson which I forwarded ten days ago? I have not seen her since your abrupt departure from her house." It is rather regrettable that the one side of Borrow's character has to be so emphasised. He could be just and gracious, even to the point of sternly rebuking one who represented his own religious convictions and supporting a dissenter. After a Bible Society's meeting at Mutford Bridge (the nearest village to Oulton Hall), the speakers repaired to the Hall to supper. One of the guests, an independent minister, became involved in a heated argu- ment with a Church of England clergyman, who reproached him for holding Calvinistic views. The nonconformist replied that the clergy of the Established Church were equally liable to attack on the same ground, because the Articles of their Church were Calvinistic, and to these they had all sworn assent. The reply was that the words were not necessarily to be taken in their literal sense. At this Borrow interposed, attacking the clergyman in a most vigorous fashion for his sophistry, and finally reducing him to silence. The Independent minister afterwards confessed that he had never heard " one man give another such a dressing down as on that occasion." 1 Borrow was capable of very deep feeling, which is no- where better shown than in his retort to Richard Latham whom he met at Dr Hake's table. Well warmed by the generous wine, Latham stated that he should never do anything so low as dine with his publisher. " You do not dine with John Murray, I presume?" he added. " Indeed I do," Borrow responded with deep emotion. " He is a most kind friend. When I have had sickness in the house he has been unfailing in his goodness towards me. There is no man I more value." 2 Borrow was a frequent visitor to the Hakes at Bury St 1 George Borrow hi East Anglia. W. A. Dutt. 2 Memoirs of Eighty Years. By Dr Gordon Hake, 1892. xxiii.] ON DINING WITH PUBLISHERS 385 Edmunds. W. B. Donne gives a glimpse to him in a letter to Bernard Barton (12th Sept. 1848). " We have had a great man here — and I have been walking with him and aiding him to eat salmon and mutton and drink port — George Borrow — and what is more we fell in with some gypsies and I heard his speech of Egypt, which sounded wondrously like a medley of broken Spanish and dog Latin. Borrow's face lighted by the red turf fire of the tent was worth looking at. He is ashy -white now — but twenty years ago, when his hair was like a raven's wing, he must have been hard to dis- criminate from a born Bohemian. Borrow is best on the tramp: if you can walk 4J m il es P er hour, as I can with ease and do by choice, and can walk 15 of them at a stretch — which I can compass also — then he will talk Iliads of adventures even better than his printed ones. He cannot abide those Amateur Pedestrians who saunter, and in his chair he is given to groan and be contradictory. But on Newmarket-heath, in Rougham Woods he is at home, and specially when he meets with a thorough vagabond like your present correspondent." x The present Mr John Murray recollects Borrow very clearly as " tall, broad, muscular, with very heavy shoulders " and of course the white hair. " He was," continues Mr Murray, " a figure which no one who has seen it is likely to forget. I never remember to have seen him dressed in anything but black broad cloth, and white cotton socks were generally distinctly visible above his low shoes. I think that with Borrow the desire to attract attention to himself, to inspire a feeling of awe and mystery, must have been a ruling passion." Borrow was frequently the guest of his publisher at Albemarle Street, in times well within the memory of Mr Murray, who relates how on one occasion " Borrow was at a dinner-party in company with Whewell 2 [who by the way it has been said was the original of the 1 William Bodham Donne and His Friends. By Catherine B. Johnson. 2 William Whewell (1794- 1866), Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, 1841-66 ; Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, 2 B 386 THE OLD RESTLESSNESS [1848 Flaming Tinman, although there is very little to support the statement except the fact that Dr Whewell was a proper man with his hands] — both of them powerful men, and both of them, if report be true, having more than a superficial knowledge of the art of self-defence. A controversy- began, and waxed so warm that Mrs Whewell, believing a personal encounter to be imminent, fainted, and had to be carried out of the room. Once when Borrow was dining with my father he disappeared into a small back room after dinner, and could not be found. At last he was discovered by a lady member of the family, stretched on a sofa and groaning. On being spoken to and asked to join the other guests, he suddenly said : " Go away ! go away ! I am not fit company for respectable people." There was no apparent cause for this strange conduct, unless it were due to one of those unaccountable fits to which men of genius (and this description will be allowed him by many) are often subject. " On another occasion, when dining with my father at Wimbledon, he was regaled with a 'haggis,' a dish which was new to him, and of which he partook to an extent which would have astonished many a hardy Scotsman. One summer's day, several years later, he again came to dinner, and having come on foot, entered the house by a garden door, his first words — without any previous greet- ings — were : ' Is there a haggis to-day ? ' " l 1843-56; secured in 1847 the election of the Prince Consort as Chancellor ; enlarged the buildings of Trinity College and founded professorship and scholarships for international law. Published and edited many works on natural and mathematical science, philosophy, theology and sermons. 1 Mr John Murray in Good Words. CHAPTER XXIV LAVENGRO — 1 843— 1 85 I Tp\URING all these years Lavengro had been making *-^ progress towards completion, irregular and spas- modic it would appear ; but still each year brought it nearer to the printer. " I cannot get out of my old habits," Borrow wrote to Dawson Turner (15th January 1844), " I find I am writing the work ... in precisely the same manner as The Bible in Spain, viz., on blank sheets of old account books, backs of letters, etc. In slovenliness of manuscript I almost rival Mahomet, who, it is said, wrote his Cora,7i on mutton spade bones." " His [Borrow's] bio- graphy will be passing strange if he tells the whole truth," Ford writes to a friend (27th February 1 843). " He is now writing it by my advice." " I go on . . , scribbling away, though with a palpitating heart," Borrow informs John Murray (5th February 1844), "and have already plenty of scenes and dialogues connected with my life, quite equal to anything in The Bible in Spain. The great difficulty, however, is to blend them all into a symmetrical whole." On 17th September 1846 he writes again to his publisher : " I have of late been very lazy, and am become more addicted to sleep than usual, am seriously afraid of apoplexy. To rouse myself, I rode a little time ago to Newmarket. I felt all the better for it for a few days. I have at present a first rate trotting horse who affords me plenty of exercise. On my return from Newmarket, I rode him nineteen miles before breakfast." 387 388 THE STORY OF LAVENGRO [1849 Another cause of delay was the " shadows " that were constantly descending upon him. His determination to give only the best of which he was capable, is almost tragic in the light of later events. To his wife, he wrote from London (February 1847): "Saw M[urray] who is in a hurry for me to begin [the printing]. I will not be hurried though for anyone." In the Quarterly Review, July 1848, under the heading of Mr Murray's List of New Works in Preparation, there appeared the first announcement of " Lavengro, an Auto- biography, by George Borrow, Author of The Bible in Spain, etc., 4 vols, post 8vo." This was repeated in October. During the next two months the book was advertised as Life ; A Drama, in The Athenceum and The Quarterly Review, and the first title-page (1849) was s0 printed. On 7th October John Murray wrote asking Borrow to send the manuscript to the printer. This was accordingly done, and about two-thirds of it composed. Then Borrow appears to have fallen ill. On 5th January 1849 John Murray wrote to Mrs Borrow: " I trust Mr Borrow is now restored to health and tranquillity of mind, and that he will soon be able to resume his pen. I desire this on his own account and for the sake of poor Woodfall [the printer], who is of course inconvenienced by having his press arrested after the commencement of the printing." Writing on 27th November 1849, John Murray refers to the work having been " first sent to press — now nearly eighteen months." This is clearly a mistake, as on 7th October 1848, thirteen and a half months previously, he asks Borrow to send the manuscript to the printer that he may begin the composition. John Murray was getting anxious and urges Borrow to complete the work, which a year ago had been offered to the booksellers at the annual trade-dinner. " I know that you are fastidious, and that you desire to produce a work of distinguished excellence. I see the xxiv.] "I MUST THROW IT UP" 389 result of this labour in the sheets as they come from the press, and I think when it does appear it will make a sensation," wrote the tactful publisher. " Think not, my dear friend," replied Borrow, "that I am idle. I am finishing up the concluding part. I should be sorry to hurry the work towards the last. I dare say it will be ready by the middle of February." The correspondence grew more and more tense. Mrs Borrow wrote to the printer urging him to send to her husband, who has been overworked to the point of complaint, " one of your kind encouraging notes." Later Borrow went to Yarmouth, where sea-bathing produced a good effect upon his health ; but still the manuscript was not sent to the despairing printer. " I do not, God knows ! wish you to overtask yourself," wrote the unhappy Woodfall ; " but after what you last said, I thought I might fully calculate on your taking up, without further delay, the fragmentary portions of your 1st and 2nd volumes and let us get them out of hand." Letters continued to pass to and fro, but the balance of manuscript was not forthcoming until November 1850, when Mrs Borrow herself took it to London. Another trade-dinner was at hand, and John Murray had written to Mrs Borrow, " If I cannot show the book then — I must throw it up." To Mrs Borrow this meant tragedy. The poor woman was distracted, and from time to time she begs for encouraging letters. In response to one of these appeals, John Murray wrote with rare insight into Borrow's character, and knowledge of what is most likely to please him : " There are passages in your book equal to De Foe." The preface when eventually submitted to John Murray disturbed him somewhat. " It is quaint," he writes to Mrs Borrow, " but so is everything that Mr Borrow writes." He goes on to suggest that the latter portion looks too much as if it had been got up in the interests of " Papal aggression," and he calls attention to 390 THE STORY OF LAVENGRO [1851 the oft-repeated " Damnation cry." There appears to have been some modification, a few "Damnation Cries" omitted, the last sheet passed for press, and on 7th February 1 85 1 Lavengro was published in an edition of three thousand copies, which lasted for twenty-one years. The appearance of Lavengro was indeed sensational : but not quite in the way its publisher had anticipated. Almost without exception the verdict was unfavourable. The book was attacked vigorously. The keynote of the critics was disappointment. Some reviews were purely critical, others personal and abusive, but nearly all were disapproving. " Great is our disappointment " said the AtkencBum. "We are disappointed," echoed Blackwood. Among the few friendly notices was that of Dr Hake, in which he prophesied that " Lavengro 's roots will strike deep into the soil of English letters." Even Ford wrote (8th March) : " I frankly own that I am somewhat disappointed with the very little you have told us about yourself. I was in hopes to have a full, true, and particular account of your marvellously varied and interesting biography. I do hope that some day you will give it to us." In this chorus of dispraise Borrow saw a conspiracy. "If ever a book experienced infamous and undeserved treatment," he wrote, 1 " it was that book. I was attacked in every form that envy and malice could suggest." In The Romany Rye he has done full justice to the subject, exhibiting the critics " with blood and foam streaming from their jaws." In the original draft of the Advertisement to the same work he expresses himself as "proud of a book which has had the honour of being rancorously abused and execrated by every unmanly scoundrel, every sycophantic lacquey, and every political and religious renegade in Britain." A few years previously, Borrow had written to John Murray, " I have always 1 To John Murray ; the letter is in Mrs Borrow's hand but drafted by Borrow himself, 29th Jan. 1855. xxiv.] WHY BORROW CHANGED HIS MIND 391 found that the way to please the public is to please myself. If you wish to please the public leave the matter [the revision of The Zincali] to me." 1 From this it is evident that Borrow was unprepared for anything but commendation from critics and readers. Dr Bowring had some time previously requested the editor of The Edinburgh Review to allow him to review Lavengro ; but no notice ever appeared. In all probability he realised the impossibility of writing about a book in which he and his family appeared in such an unpleasant light. It is unlikely that he asked for the book in order to prevent a review appearing in The Edinburgh, as has been suggested. In the Preface, Lavengro is described as " a dream " ; yet there can be not a vestage of doubt that Borrow's original intention had been to acknowledge it as an autobiography. " This work is a kind of biography in the Robinson Crusoe style," he had written in 1844. This he contradicted in the Appendix to The Romany Rye ; yet in his manuscript autobiography 2 (13th Oct. 1862) he says: " In 185 1 he published Lavengro, a work in which he gives an account of his early life." Why had Borrow changed his mind ? When Lavengro was begun, as a result of Ford's persistent appeals, Borrow was on the crest of the wave of success. He saw himself the literary hero of the hour. The Bible in Spain was selling in its thousands. The press had proclaimed it a masterpiece. He had seen himself a great man. The writer of a great book, however, does not occupy a position so kinglike in its loneliness as does a gentleman gypsy, round whom flock the gitanos to kiss his hand and garments as if he were a god or a hero. The literary and social worlds that The Bible in Spain opened to Borrow were not to be awed by his mystery, or disciplined into abject hero-worship by one of those steady penetrating gazes, which cowed jockeys and alguacils. They 1 16th April 1845. 2 See post. 392 THE STORY OF LAVENGRO [1851 claimed intellectual kinship and equality, the very things that Borrow had no intention of conceding them. He would have tolerated their " gentility nonsense " if they would have acknowledged his paramountcy. He found that to be a social or a literary lion was to be a tame lion, and he was too big for that. His conception of genius was that it had its moods, and mediocrity must suffer them. Borrow would rush precipitately from the house where he was a guest ; he would be unpardonably rude to some inoffensive and well-meaning woman who thought to please him by admiring his books ; he would magnify a fight between their respective dogs into a deadly feud between himself and the rector of his parish : thus he made enemies by the dozen and, incidentally, earned for himself an extremely unenviable reputation. A hero with a lovable nature is twice a hero, because he is possessed of those qualities that commend themselves to the greater number. Wellington could never be a serious rival in a nation's heart to dear, weak, sensitive, noble Nelson, who lived for praise and frankly owned to it. Borrow's lovable qualities were never permitted to show themselves in public, they were kept for the dingle, the fireside, or the inn-parlour. That he had a sweeter side to his nature there can be no doubt, and those who saw it were his wife, his step-daughter, and his friends, in particular those who, like Mr Watts-Dunton and Mr A. Egmont Hake, have striven for years to emphasise the more attractive part of his strange nature. Borrow's attitude towards literature in itself was not calculated to gain friends for him. He was uncompromis- ingly and caustically severe upon some of the literary idols of his day, men who have survived that terrible handicap, contemporary recognition and appreciation. He was not a deep reader, hardly a reader at all in the accepted meaning of the word. He frankly confessed that books were to him of secondary importance to man as a xxiv.] THE GREATNESS OF SCOTT 393 subject for study. In his criticisms of literature, he was apt to confuse the man with his works. His hatred of Scott is notorious ; it was not the artist he so cordially disliked, but the politician ; he admitted that Scott "wrote splendid novels about the Stuarts." 1 He hailed him as " greater than Homer " ; 2 but the House of Stuart he held in utter detestation, and when writing or speaking of Scott he forgot to make a rather necessary distinction. He wrote : " He admires his talents both as a prose writer and a poet ; as a poet especially. 3 ... As a prose writer he admires him less, it is true, but his admiration for him in that capacity is very high, and he only laments that he prostituted his talents to the cause of the Stuarts and gentility ... in conclusion, he will say, in order to show the opinion which he entertains of the power of Scott as a writer, that he did for the spectre of the wretched Pretender what all the kings of Europe could not do for his body — placed it on the throne of these realms." i In later years Borrow paid a graceful tribute to Scott's memory. When at Kelso, in spite of the rain and mist, he " trudged away to Dryburgh to pay my respects to the tomb of Walter Scott, a man with whose principles I have no sympathy, but for whose genius I have always entertained the most intense admiration." 5 It was just the same with Byron, " for whose writings I really entertained considerable admiration, though I had no particular esteem for the man himself." 6 With Wordsworth it was different, and it was his cordial dislike of his poetry that prompted Borrow to 1 The Romany Rye, page 338. 2 Life of Frances Power Cable, by herself. 3 Borrow goes on to an anti-climax when he states that he "believes him [Scott] to have been by far the greatest [poet], with perhaps the exception of Mickiewicz, who only wrote for unfortunate Poland, that Europe has given birth to during the last hundred years." 4 The Romany Rye, pages 344-5. 5 Romano Lavo-Lil, page 274. 6 The Romany Rye, page 134. 394 THE STORY OF LAVENGRO [1851 introduce into The Romany Rye that ineffectual episode of the man who was sent to sleep by reading him. Tennyson he dismissed as a writer of " duncie books." For Dickens he had an enthusiastic admiration as " a second Fielding, a young writer who . . . has evinced such talent, such humour, variety and profound knowledge of character, that he charms his readers, at least those who have the capacity to comprehend him." 1 He was delighted with The Pickwick Papers and Oliver Twist. His reading was anything but thorough, in fact he occasionally showed a remarkable ignorance of contem- porary writers. Mr A. Egmont Hake tells how : " His conversation would sometimes turn on modern literature, with which his acquaintance was very slight. He seemed to avoid reading the products of modern thought lest his own strong opinions should undergo dilution. We were once talking of Keats whose fame had been constantly increasing, but of whose poetry Borrow's knowledge was of a shadowy kind, when suddenly he put a stop to the conversation by ludicrously asking, in his strong voice, ' Have they not been trying to resuscitate him ? ' " 2 By the time that Lavengro appeared, Borrow was estranged from his generation. The years that intervened between the success of The Bible in Spain and the publication of Lavengro had been spent by him in war ; he had come to hate his contemporaries with a wholesome, vigorous hatred. He would give them his book ; but they should have it as a stray cur has a bone — thrown at them. Above all, they should not for a moment be allowed to think that it contained an intimate account of the life of the supreme hater who had written it. When there had been sympathy between them, Borrow was pre- pared to allow his public to peer into the sacred recesses of his early life. Now that there was none, he denied that 1 Letter from Borrow to Dr Usoz, 22nd Feb. 1839. 2 Macmzl/an's Magazine, vol. 45. xxiv.] DISCOURAGED 395 Lavengro was more than " a dream," forgetting that he had so often written of it as an autobiography had even seen it advertised as such, and insisted that it was fiction. When Lavengro was published Borrow was an unhappy and disappointed man. He had found what many other travellers have found when they come home, that in the wilds he had left his taste and toleration for conventional life and ideas. The life in the Peninsula had been thoroughly congenial to a man of Borrow's temperament : hardships, dangers, imprisonments, — they were his common food. He who had defied the whole power of Spain, found himself powerless to prevent his Rector from keeping a dog, or a railway line from being cut through his own estate and his peace of mind disturbed by the rumble of trains and the shriek of locomotive-whistles. He had beaten the Flaming Tinman and Count Ofalia, but Samuel Morton Peto had vanquished and put him to flight by virtue of an Act of Parliament, in all probability without being conscious of having achieved a signal victory. Borrow's life had been built up upon a wrong hypothesis : he strove to adapt, not himself to the Universe ; but the Universe to himself. It is easy to see that a man with this attitude of mind would regard as sheer vindictiveness the adverse criticism of a book that he had written with such care, and so earnest an endeavour to maintain if not improve upon the standard created in a former work. It never for a moment struck him that the men who had once hailed him " great," should now admonish him as a result of the honest exercise of their critical faculties. No ; there was a conspiracy against him, and he tortured himself into a pitiable state of wrath and melancholy. A later genera- tion has been less harsh in its judgment. The controversial parts of Lavengro have become less controversial and the magnificent parts have become more magnificent, and it has taken its place as a star of the second magnitude. The question of what is actual autobiography and what 396 THE STORY OF LA VENGRO [1851 is so coloured as to become practically fiction, must always be a matter of opinion. The early portion seems con- vincing, even the first meeting with the gypsies in the lane at Norman Cross. It has been asked by an eminent gypsy scholar how Borrow knew the meaning of the word " sap," or why he addressed the gypsy woman as " my mother." When the Gypsy refers to the " Sap there," the child replies, " what, the snake ? " The employment of the other phrase is obviously an inadvertent use of knowledge he gained later. In writing to Mrs George Borrow (24th March 185 1) to tell her that W. B. Donne had been unable to obtain Lavengro for The Edinburgh Review as it had been bespoken a year previously by Dr Bowring, Dr Hake adds that Donne had written " putting the editor in possession of his view of Lavengro, as regards verisimilitude, vouching for the Daguerreotype-like fidelity of the picture in the first volume, etc., etc., in order to prevent him from being taken in by a spiteful article." This passage is very significant as being written by one of Borrow's most intimate friends, with the sure knowledge that its contents would reach him. It leaves no room for doubt that, although Borrow denied publicly the autobiographical nature of Lavengro, in his own circle it was freely admitted and referred to as a life. "What is an autobiography?" Borrow once asked Mr Theodore Watts-Dunton (who had called his attention to "several bold coincidences in Lavengro"). "Is it the mere record of the incidents of a man's life? or is it a picture of the man himself — his character, his soul ? " x Mr Watts-Dunton confirms Borrow's letters when he says " That he [Borrow] sat down to write his own life in Lavengro I know. He had no idea then of departing from the strict line of fact." At times Borrow seemed to find his pictures flat, and 1 " Notes upon George Borrow " prefaced to an edition of Lavengro. Ward, Lock & Co. xxiv.] SPIRITUAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY 397 heightened the colour in places, as a painter might heighten the tone of a drapery, a roof or some other object, not because the individual spot required it, but rather because the general effect he was aiming at rendered it necessary. He did this just as an actor rouges his face, darkens his eyebrows and round his eyes, that he may appear to his audience a living man and not an animated corpse. Borrow was drawing himself, striving to be as faithful to the original as Boswell to Johnson. Incidents ! what were they ? the straw with which the bricks of personality are made. A comparison of Lavengro with Borrow's letters to the Bible Society is instructive ; it is the same Borrow that appears in both, with the sole difference that in the Letters he is less mysterious, less in the limelight than in Lavengro. Mr Watts-Dunton, with inspiration, has asked " whether or not Lavengro and The Romany Rye form a spiritual autobiography ; and if they do, whether that autobiography does or does not surpass every other for absolute truth of spiritual representation." Borrow certainly did colour his narrative in places. Who could write the story of his early life with absolute accuracy? without dwelling on and elaborating certain episodes, perhaps even adjusting them somewhat ? That would not necessarily prove them untrue. There are, unquestionably, inconsistencies in Lavengro and The Romany Rye — they are admitted, they have been pointed out. There are many inaccuracies, it must be confessed ; but because a man makes a mistake in the date of his birth or even the year, it does not prove that he was not born at all. Borrow was for ever making the most inaccurate statements about his age. In the main Lavengro would appear to be auto- biographical up to the period of Borrow's coming to London. After this he begins to indulge somewhat in the dramatic. The meeting with the pickpocket as a 398 THE STORY OF LA VENGRO [1851 thimble-rigger at Greenwich might pass muster were it not for the rencontre with the apple -woman's son near Salisbury. The Dingle episode may be accepted, for Mr John Sampson has verified even the famous thunder- storm by means of the local press. Isopel Berners is not so easy to settle ; yet the picture of her is so convincing, and Borrow was unable to do more than colour his narrative, that she too must have existed. The failure of Lavengro is easily accounted for. Borrow wrote of vagabonds and vagabondage ; it did not mitigate his offence in the eyes of the critics or the public that he wrote well about them. His crime lay in his subject. To Borrow, a man must be ready and able to knock another man down if necessity arise. When nearing sixty he lamented his childless state and said very mournfully : " I shall soon not be able to knock a man down, and I have no son to do it for me." 1 He glorified "the bruisers of England," in the face of horrified public opinion. England had become ashamed of its bruisers long before Lavengro was written, and this flaunting in its face of creatures that it considered too low to be mentioned, gave mortal offence. That in Lavengro was the best descriptions of a fight in the language, only made the matter worse. Borrow's was an age of gentility and refinement, and he outraged it, first by glorifying vagabondage, secondly by decrying and sneering at gentility. " Qui n' a pas l'esprit de son age, De son age a tout le malheur." And Borrow proved Voltaire's words. It is not difficult to understand that an age in which prize-fighting is anathema should not tolerate a book glorifying the ring ; but it is strange that Borrow's simple paganism and nature-worship should not have aroused sympathetic recognition. Poetry is ageless, and such 1 Mr W. Elvin in the Athenceum, 6th Aug. 1881. xxiv.] A PUZZLING BOOK 399 passages as the description of the sunrise over Stonehenge should have found some, at least, to welcome them, even when found in juxtaposition with bruisers and gypsies. Borrow loved to mystify, but in Lavengro he had overreached himself. " Are you really in existence ? " wrote one correspondent who was unknown to Borrow, " for I also have occasionally doubted whether things exist, as you describe your own feelings in former days." John Murray wrote (8th Nov. 185 1) : — " I was reminded of you the other day by an enquiry after Lavengro and its author, made by the Right Honour- able John Wilson Croker. 1 Knowing how fastidious and severe a critic he is, I was particularly glad to find him expressing a favourable opinion of it ; and thinking well of it his curiosity was piqued about you. Like all the rest of the world, he is mystified by it. He knew not whether to regard it as truth or fiction. How can you remedy this defect ? I call it a defect, because it really impedes your popularity. People say of a chapter or of a character: 'This is very wonderful, if true ; but if fiction it is pointless.' — Will your new volumes explain this and dissolve the mystery? If so, pray make haste and get on with them. I hope you have employed the summer in giving them the finishing touches." " There are," says a distinguished critic, 2 " passages in Lavengro which are unsurpassed in the prose literature of England — unsurpassed, I mean, for mere perfection of style — for blending of strength and graphic power with limpidity and music of flow." Borrow's own generation would have laughed at such a value being put upon anything in Lavengro. Another thing against the book's success was its style. 1 John Wilson Croker (1780-1857) : Politician and Essayist ; friend of Canning and Peel. At one time Temporary Chief Secretary for Ireland and later Secretary of the Admiralty. Supposed to have been the original of Rigby in Disraeli's Coningsby. 2 Mr Theodore Watts-Dunton, "Notes upon George Borrow" prefaced to an edition of Lavengro. Ward, Lock & Co. 400 THE STORY OF LA VENGRO [1851 It lacked what has been described as " the poetic ecstacy or sentimental verdure " of the age. Trope, imagery, mawkishness, were all absent, for Borrow had gone back to his masters, at whose head stood the glorious Defoe. Borrow's style was as individual as the man himself. By a curious contradiction, the tendency is to overlook literary lapses in the very man towards whom so little latitude was allowed in other directions. Many Borrovians have groaned in anguish over his misuse of that wretched word " Individual." A distinguished man of letters 1 has written : — " I would as lief read a chapter of The Bible in Spain as I would Gil Bias ; nay, I positively would give the preference to Sefior Giorgio." Another critic, and a severe one, has written : — " It is not as philologist, or traveller, or ' wild missionary, or folk-lorist, or antiquary, that Borrow lives and will live. It is as the master of splendid, strong, simple English, the prose Morland of a vanished road-side life, the realist who, Defoe-like, could make fiction seem truer than fact. To have written the finest fight in the whole world's literature, the fight with the Flaming Tinman, is surely something of an achievement." 2 It is Borrow's personality that looms out from his pages. His mastery over the imagination of his reader, his subtle instinct of how to throw his own magnetism over everything he relates, although he may be standing- aside as regards the actual events with which he is dealing, is worthy of Defoe himself. It is this magnetism that carries his readers safely over the difficult places, where, but for the author's grip upon them, they would give up in despair ; it is this magnetism that prompts them to pass by only with a slight shudder, such references as " the feathered tribe," " fast in the arms of Morpheus," and, above all, those terrible puns that crop up from time to 1 The Rt. Hon. Augustine Birrell in Obiter Dicta, 2nd Series, 1887. 2 Francis Hindes Groome in Bookman, May 1899. xxiv.] TRUTH V. FICTION 401 time. There is always the strong, masterful man behind the words who, like a great general, can turn a reverse to his own advantage. In his style perhaps, after all, lay the secret of Borrow's unsuccess. He was writing for another generation ; speaking in a voice too strong to be heard other than as a strange noise by those near to him. It may be urged that The Bible in Spain disproves these conclusions ; but The Bible in Spain was a peculiar book. It was a chronicle of Christian enterprise served up with sauce picaresque. It pleased and astonished everyone, especi- ally those who had grown a little weary of godly missioners. It had the advantage of being spontaneous, having been largely written on the spot, whereas Lavengro and The Romany Rye were worked on and laboured at for years. Above all, it had the inestimable virtue of being known to be True. To the imaginative intellectual, Truth or Fiction are matters of small importance, he judges by Art ; but to the general public of limited intellectual capacity, Truth is appreciated out of all pro- portion to its artistic importance. If Borrow had published The Bible in Spain after the failure of Lavengro, it would in all probability have been as successful as it was appearing before. 2 C CHAPTER XXV SEPTEMBER 1 849 — FEBRUARY 1 854 /^\NE of the finest traits in Borrow's character was his ^-^ devotion to his mother. He was always thoughtful for her comfort, even when fighting that almost hopeless battle in Russia, and later in the midst of bandits and bloody patriots in Spain. She was now, in 1849, an old woman, too feeble to live alone, and it was decided to transfer her to Oulton. An addition to the Hall was con- structed for her accommodation, and she was to be given an attendant-companion in the person of the daughter of a local farmer. For thirty-three years she had lived in the little house in Willow Lane ; yet it was not she, but Borrow, who felt the parting from old associations. " I wish," she writes to her daughter-in-law on 16th September 1849, " my dear George would not have such fancies about the old house ; it is a mercy it has not fallen on my head before this." The old lady was anxious to get away. It would not be safe, she thought, for her to be shut up alone, as the old woman who had looked after her could, for some reason or other, do so no longer. She urges her daughter-in-law to represent this to Borrow. " There is a low, noisy set close to me," she continues. " I shall not die one day sooner, or live one day longer. If I stop here and die on a sudden, half the things might be lost or stolen, therefore it seems as if the Lord would provide me a safer home. I have made up my mind to 402 xxv.] REMOVAL TO GREAT YARMOUTH 403 the change and only pray that I may be able to get through the trouble." It would appear that the move, which took place at the end of September, was brought about by the old lady's appeals and insistence, and that Borrow himself was not anxious for it. He felt a sentimental attachment to the old place, which for so many years had been a home to him. In 1853 Borrow removed to Great Yarmouth. During the summer of that year, Dr Hake had peremptorily ordered Mrs George Borrow not to spend the ensuing winter and spring at Oulton, and the move was made in August. The change was found to be beneficial to Mrs Borrow and agreeable to all, and for the next seven years (Aug. 1853 -June i860) Borrow's headquarters were to be at Great Yarmouth, where he and his family occupied various lodgings. Shortly before leaving Oulton, Borrow had received the following interesting letter from FitzGerald : — Boulge, Woodbridge, 22nd July 1853. My DEAR Sir, — I take the liberty of sending you a book [Six Dramas from Calderon], of which the title-page and advertisement will sufficiently explain the import. I am afraid that I shall in general be set down at once as an impudent fellow in making so free with a Great Man ; but, as usual, I shall feel least fear before a man like yourself, who both do fine things in your own language and are deep read in those of others. I mean, that whether you like or not what I send you, you will do so from knowledge and in the candour which knowledge brings. I had even a mind to ask you to look at these plays before they were printed, relying on our common friend Donne for a mediator ; but I know how wearisome all MS. inspection is ; and, after all, the whole affair was not worth giving you such a trouble. You must pardon all this, and believe me, — Yours very faithfully, Edward FitzGerald. 404 THE VISIT TO CORNWALL [1852 Soon after his arrival by the sea, Borrow performed an act of bravery of which The Bury Post (17th Sept. 1852) gave the following account, most likely written by Dr Hake : — " Intrepidity. — Yarmouth jetty presented an extra- ordinary and thrilling spectacle on Thursday, the 8th inst, about one o'clock. The sea raged frantically, and a ship's boat, endeavouring to land for water, was upset, and the men were engulfed in a wave some thirty feet high, and struggling with it in vain. The moment was an awful one, when George Borrow, the well-known author of Lavengro, and The Bible in Spain, dashed into the surf and saved one life, and through his instrumentality the others were saved. We ourselves have known this brave and gifted man for years, and, daring as was this deed we have known him more than once to risk his life for others. We are happy to add that he has sustained no material injury." Borrow was a splendid swimmer. 1 In the course of one of his country walks with Robert Cooke (John Murray's partner), with whom he was on very friendly terms, " he suggested a bathe in the river along which they were walking. Mr Cooke told me that Borrow, having stripped, took a header into the water and disappeared. More than a minute had elapsed, and as there were no signs of his whereabouts, Mr Cooke was becoming alarmed, lest he had struck his head or been entangled in the weeds, when Borrow suddenly reappeared a consider- able distance off, under the opposite bank of the stream, and called out ' What do you think of that ? '" 2 Elizabeth Harvey, in telling the same story, says that on coming up he exclaimed : " There, if that had been written in one of my books, they would have said it was a lie, wouldn't they?" 3 The paragraph about Borrow's courage was printed in various newspapers throughout the country, amongst 1 " Swimming is a noble exercise, but it certainly does not tend to mortify either the flesh or the spirit." — The Bible in Spain, page 688. 2 Mr John Murray in Good Words. 8 In The Eastern Daily Press, 1st October 1892. xxv.] BORROW AND HIS CORNISH KINSMEN 405 others in the Plymouth Mail under the heading of " Gallant Conduct of Mr G. Borrow," and was read by Borrow's Cornish kinsmen, who for years had heard nothing of Thomas Borrow. Apparently quite convinced that George was his son, they deputed Robert Taylor, a farmer of Penquite Farm (who had married Anne Borrow, grand- daughter of Henry Borrow), to write to Borrow and invite him to visit Trethinnick. The letter was dated ioth October and directed to " George Borrow, Yarmouth." Borrow replied as follows : — Yarmouth, xqth Octr., 1853. My DEAR Sir, — I beg leave to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the ioth inst. in which you inform me of the kind desire of my Cornish relatives to see me at Trethinnock (sic). Please to inform them that I shall be proud and happy to avail myself of their kindness and to make the acquaintance of " one and all " x of them. My engagements will prevent my visiting them at present, but I will appear amongst them on the first opportunity. I am delighted to learn that there are still some living at Trethinnock who remember my honoured father, who had as true a Cornish heart as ever beat. I am at present at Yarmouth, to which place I have brought my wife for the benefit of her health ; but my residence is Oulton Hall, Lowestoft, Suffolk. With kind greetings to my Cornish kindred, in which my wife and my mother join, — I remain, my dear Sir, ever sincerely yours, — George Borrow. Borrow was not free to visit his kinsfolk until the following Christmas. First advising Robert Taylor of his intention, and receiving his approval and instructions for the journey, Borrow set out from Great Yarmouth on 23rd December. He spent the night at Plymouth. Next morning on finding the Liskeard coach full, he decided to walk. Leaving his carpet-bag to be sent on by the mail, and' throwing over his arm the cloak that had seen many years of service, he set out upon his eighteen-mile tramp. 1 Borrow's reference is to the county motto, " One and All." 406 THE VISIT TO CORNWALL [1853 He arrived at Liskeard in the afternoon, and was met by his cousin Henry Borrow and Robert Taylor, as well as by several local celebrities. After tea Borrow, accompanied by Robert Taylor, rode to Penquite, four miles away. " Ride by night to Penquite," Borrow records in his Journal. " House of stone and slate on side of a hill. Mrs Taylor. Hospitable reception. Christmas Eve. Log on fire." He found alive of his own generation, Henry, William, Thomas, Elizabeth (who lived to be 94 years of age) and Nicholas, the children of Henry Borrow, Captain Borrow's eldest brother. Also Anne, daughter of Henry, who married Robert Taylor, and their daughter, likewise named Anne, and William Henry, son of Nicholas. In the Cornish " Note Books " there appears under the date of 3rd January the following entry : " Rain and snow. Rode with Mr Taylor to dine at Trethinnick. House dilapidated. A family party. Hospitable people." On first entering his father's old home tears had sprung to Borrow's eyes, and he was much affected. There was present at the dinner the vicar of St Cleer, the Rev. J. R. P. Berkeley, " a pleasant Irish clergyman" who, years later, was able to give to Dr Knapp an account of what took place. He noticed the " vast difference in appearance and manners between the simple yet shrewd Cornish farmers and the betravelled gentleman their kinsman " ; yet for all this there were shades of resemblance — in a look, some turn of thought or tone of voice. " George Borrow was not at his best that evening," Mr Berkeley relates of the dinner at Trethinnick : " his feelings were too much excited. He was think- ing of the time when his father's footsteps and his father's voice re-echoed in the room in which we were sitting. His eyes wandered from point to point, and at times, if I was not mistaken, a tear could be seen trembling in them. At length he could no longer control his feelings. He left the hall suddenly, and in a few moments, but for God's xxv.] BORROW IN CORNWALL 407 providential care, the career of George Borrow would have been ended. There was within a few feet of the house a low wall with a drop of some feet into a paved yard. He walked rapidly out, and, it being nearly dark, he stepped one side of the gate and fell over the wall. He did not mention the accident, although he bruised himself a good deal, and it was some days before I heard of it. His words to me that evening, when bidding me good-bye, were : ' Well, we have shared the old-fashioned hospitality of old-fashioned people in an old-fashioned house.'" 1 Borrow created something of a sensation in the neigh- bourhood. As a celebrity his autograph was much sought after ; but he would gratify nobody. His hosts experienced many little surprises from their guest's strange ways. He would plunge into a moorland pool to fetch a bird that had fallen to his gun, or, round the family fireside, he would shout his ballads of the North, at one time alarming his audience by seizing a carving-knife and brandishing it about in the air to emphasize the passionate nature of his song. When a card-party proved too dull he slipped off and found his way into some slums, " picking up all the disreputable characters he could find, working off his knowledge of 'cant' on them, and getting out of them what he could." 2 On one occasion when dining at the house of a local celebrity he was suddenly missed from table during dessert. " A search revealed him in a remote room surrounded by the children of the house, whom he was amusing by his stories and catechising in the subject of their studies and pursuits. He excused his absence by saying that he had been fascinated by the intelligence of the children, and had forgotten about the dinner." 3 His hatred of gentility led him into some actions that can only be characterised as childish. Even in Cornwall 1 The Life of George Borrow, by Dr Knapp, ii., 79-80. 2 George Borrow, by R. A. J. Walling. 3 George Borrow, by R. A. J. Walling. 408 THE VISIT TO CORNWALL [1854 he was on the look-out for his fetish. On one occasion when dining with the ex-Mayor of Liskeard, he pulled out of his pocket and used instead of a handkerchief, a dirty old grease-stained rag with which he was wont to clean his gun. 1 This was done as a protest against something or other that seemed to him to suggest mock refinement. When at Wolsdon as the guest of the Pollards there arrived " a lady and gentleman of the name of Hambly," according to the Note Books. In spite of this brief reference, Borrow immediately recognised a hated name. " Never was one of the name good," he informed Mi- Berkeley. He may even have been informed that they were descendants of the Headborough whom his father had knocked down. He showed his detestation for the name by being as rude as he could to those who bore it. Borrow was as incapable of dissimulating his dislikes as he was of controlling his moods. Even during his short stay at Penquite he was on one occasion, at least, plunged into a deep melancholy, sitting before a huge fire entirely oblivious to the presence of others in the room. Mrs Berkeley, who, with the vicar himself, was a caller, thinking to produce some good effect upon the gloomy man, sat down at the piano and played some old Irish and Scottish airs. After a time Borrow began to listen, then he raised his head, and finally " he suddenly sprang to his feet, clapped his hands several times, danced about the room, and struck up some joyous melody. From that moment he was a different man." He told them " tales and side-splitting anecdotes," he joined the party at supper, and when the vicar and his wife rose to take their leave he pressed Mrs Berkeley's hands, and told her that her music had been as David's harp to his soul. To the young man he met during this visit who informed him that he had left the Army as it was no place for a gentleman, Borrow replied that it was no 1 George Borrow, by R. A. J. Walling. xxv.] "OUR DISTINGUISHED VISITOR" 409 place for a man who was not a gentleman, and that he was quite right in leaving it. To speak against the Army to Borrow was to speak against his honoured father. How Borrow struck his Cornish kinsfolk is shown in a letter written by his hostess to a friend. " I must tell you," she writes, " a bit about our distinguished visitor." She gives one of the most valuable portraits of Borrow that exists. He was to her : " A fine tall man of about six feet three, well-propor- tioned and not stout ; able to walk five miles an hour successively ; rather florid face without any hirsute appendages ; hair white and soft ; eyes and eyebrows dark ; good nose and very nice mouth ; well-shaped hands — altogether a person you would notice in a crowd. His character is not so easy to portray. The more I see of him the less I know of him. He is very enthusi- astic and eccentric, very proud and unyielding. He says very little of himself, and one cannot ask him if inclined to. . . . He is a marvel in himself. There is no one here to draw him out. He has an astonishing memory as to dates when great events have taken place, no matter in what part of the world. He seems to know everything." l Borrow was gratified at the welcome he received, and was much pleased with the neighbourhood and its people. " My relations are most excellent people," he wrote to his wife, "but I could not understand more than half they said." He was puzzled to know why the head of a family, which was reputed to be worth seventy thousand pounds, should live in a house which could not boast of a single grate — " nothing but open chimneys." He remained at Penquite for upwards of a fortnight, at one time galloping over snowy hills and dales with Anne Taylor, Junr., " as gallant a girl as ever rode," at another, alert as ever for fragments of folk-lore or philology, jotting down the story of a pisky-child from the dictation of his cousin Elizabeth. 1 The Life of George Borrozv, by Dr Knapp. 410 THE VISIT TO CORNWALL [1854 On 9th January Borrow left Penquite on a tour to Truro, Penzance, Mousehole, and Land's End, armed with the inevitable umbrella, grasped in the centre by the right hand, " green, manifold and bulging," that so puzzled Mr Watts-Dunton and caused him on one occasion to ask Dr Hake, " Is he a genuine Child of the Open Air ? " It was one of the first things to which Borrow's pedestrian friends had to accustom themselves. With this " damning thing . . . gigantic and green," Borrow set out upon his excursion, now examining some Celtic barrow, now enquir- ing his way or the name of a landmark, occasionally singing in that tremendous voice of his, " Look out, look out, Swayne Vonved ! " At Mousehole he called upon a relative, H. D. Burney (who was, it would seem, in charge of the Coast Guard Station), to whom he had a letter of introduction from Robert Taylor. Mr Burney entertained him with stories, showed him places and things of interest in the neigh- bourhood, and accompanied him on his visit to St Michael's Mount. Borrow returned to Penquite on the 25th with a considerable store of Cornish legends and Cornish words, and the knowledge that "you can only see Cornwall or know anything about it by walking through it." The next excursion was to the North Coast, Pentire Point, Tintagel, King Arthur's Castle, etc. On the 1st of February he left Penquite, and slept the night at Trethinnick. The next morning he set out on horseback accompanied by Nicholas Borrow. To the vicar of St Cleer and his family, Borrow was a very welcome visitor. Mr Berkeley's eldest son, a boy of ten years of age, on being introduced to the dis- tinguished caller, gazed at him for some moments and then without a word left the room and, going straight to his mother in another apartment cried, " Well, mother, that is a man." Borrow was delighted when he heard of the child's enthusiasm. Mr Berkeley gives a picture of xxv.] THE OLD PRIZE-FIGHTER'S RECEIPT 411 his distinguished visitor far more prepossessing than many that exist. He was particularly struck, as was everybody, by the beauty of Borrow's hands, and their owner's vanity over them as the legacy of his Huguenot ancestors. Mr Berkeley found Borrow's " countenance pleasing, betokening calm firmness, self-confidence and a mind under control, though capable of passion." He could on occasion prove a delightful talker, and he gave to the vicar's family a new maxim to implant upon their Christianity, the old prize-fighter's receipt for a quiet life : " Learn to box, and keep a civil tongue in your head." He would often drop in at the vicarage in the evening, when he would " sit in the centre of a group before the fire with his hands on his knees — his favourite position — pouring forth tales of the scenes he had witnessed in his wanderings. . . . Then he would suddenly spring from his seat and walk to and fro the room in silence ; anon he would clap his hands and sing a Gypsy song, or perchance would chant forth a translation of some Viking poem ; after which he would sit down again and chat about his father, whose memory he revered as he did his mother's ; l and finally he would recount some tale of suffering or sorrow with deep pathos — his voice being capable of expressing triumphant joy or the profoundest sadness." It was Borrow's intention to write a book about his visit to Cornwall, and he even announced it at the end of The Romany Rye. He was delighted with the Duchy, and evidently gave his relatives to understand that it was his intention to use the contents of his Note Books as the nucleus of a book. " He will undoubtedly write a description of his visit," Mrs Taylor wrote to her friend. " I walked through the whole of Cornwall and saw every- thing," Borrow wrote to his wife after his return to London. " I kept a Journal of every day I was there, and it fills two pocket books." 1 This is rather awkwardly phrased, as Mrs Borrow was alive at that date. 412 THE VISIT TO CORNWALL [1854 Borrow left Cornwall the second week in February and was in London on the ioth, where he was to break his journey home in order to obtain some data at the British Museum for the Appendix of The Romany Rye} On 13th February he writes to his wife : — " For three days I have been working hard at the Museum, I am at present at Mr Webster's, but not in the three guinea lodgings. I am in rooms above, for which I pay thirty shillings a week. I live as economically as I can ; but when I am in London I am obliged to be at certain expense. I must be civil to certain friends who invite me out and show me every kindness. Please send me a five pound note by return of post." His wife appears to have been anxious for his return home, and on the 17th he writes to her : — " It is hardly worth while making me more melancholy than I am. ' Come home, come home ! ' is the cry. And what are my prospects when I get home ? though it is true that they are not much brighter here. I have nothing to look forward to. Honourable employments are being given to this and that trumpery fellow ; while I, who am an honourable man, must be excluded from everything." Of literature he expressed himself as tired, there was little or nothing to be got out of it, save by writing humbug, which he refused to do. " My spirits are very low," he continues, " and your letters make them worse. I shall probably return by the end of next week ; but I shall want more money. I am sorry to spend money for it is our only friend, and God knows I use as little as possible, but I can't travel without it." 2 A few days later 1 The first reference to the famous Appendix is contained in a letter to John Murray (1 ith Nov. 1853) in which Borrow writes: l> In answer to your inquiries about the fourth volume of Lavengro, I beg leave to say that I am occasionally occupied upon it. I shall probably add some notes." 2 The Life of George Borrow, by Dr Knapp. xxv.] "OUR ONLY FRIEND" 413 there is another letter with farther reference to money, and protests that he is spending as little as possible. " Perhaps you had better send another note," he writes, " and I will bring it home unchanged, if I do not want any part of it. I have lived very economically as far as I am concerned personally ; I have bought nothing, and have been working hard at the Museum." x These constant references to money seem to suggest either some difference between Borrow and his wife, or that he felt he was spending too much upon himself, and was anticipating her thoughts by assuring her of how economically he was living. He had an unquestioned right to spend, for he had added considerable sums to the exchequer from the profits of his first two books. Borrow returned to Yarmouth on 25th February. The Romany Rye was now rapidly nearing completion ; but there was no encouragement to publish a new book. He worked at The Romany Rye, not because he saw profit in it, not because he was anxious to give another book to an uneager public ; but because of the sting in its tail, because of the thunderbolt Appendix in which he paid off old scores against the critics and his personal enemies. The Romany Rye was to him a work of hate ; it was a bomb disguised as a book, which he intended to throw into the camp of his foes. He was tired of literature, by which he meant that he was tired of producing his best for a public that neither wanted nor understood it. He forgot that the works of a great writer are sometimes printed in his own that they may be read in another generation. 1 The Life of George Borrow, by Dr Knapp. CHAPTER XXVI MARCH 1854 — MAY 1 856 r\URING the months that followed Borrow's return •**-* to Great Yarmouth, the question of the coming summer holiday was discussed. From the first Borrow himself had been for Wales. He was eager to pursue his Celtic researches further north. " I should not wonder if he went into Wales before he returns," Mrs Robert Taylor had written to her friend during Borrow's stay in Cornwall. His wife and Henrietta had " a hankering after what is fashionable," and suggested Harrogate or Leamington. To which Borrow replied that there was nothing he " so much hated as fashionable life." He, however, gave way, the two women followed suit, as he had intended they should, and Wales was decided upon. For Borrow the literature of Wales had always exercised a great attraction. Her bards were as no other bards. Ab Gwilym was to him the superior of Chaucer, and Huw Morris " the greatest songster of the seventeenth century." It was, he confessed, a desire to put to practical use his knowledge of the Welsh tongue, " such as it was," that first gave him the idea of going to Wales. The party left Great Yarmouth on 27th July 1854, spending one night at Peterborough and three at Chester. They reached Llangollen, which was to be their head- quarters, on 1st August. On 9th August Mrs George Borrow wrote to the old lady at Oulton, " We all much enjoy this wonderful and beautiful country. We are in a 414 xxvi] THE FIRST WELSH HOLIDAY 415 lovely quiet spot. Dear George goes out exploring the mountains, and when he finds remarkable views takes us of an evening to see them." Borrow wanted to see Wales and get to know the people, and, above all, to speak with them in their own language, and on 27th August he started upon a walk- ing tour to Bangor, where he was to meet his wife and Henrietta, who were to proceed thither by rail. It was during this excursion that he encountered the delightful Papist-Orange fiddler, whose fortunes and fingers fluctuated between " Croppies Get Up " and " Croppies Lie Down." From Bangor Borrow explored the surrounding places of interest. He ascended Snowdon arm-in-arm with Henrietta, singing " at the stretch of my voice a celebrated Welsh stanza," the boy-guide following wonderingly behind. In spite of the fatigues of the climb, " the gallant girl " reached the summit and heard her stepfather declaim two stanzas of poetry in Welsh, to the grinning astonishment of a small group of English tourists and the great interest of a Welshman, who asked Borrow if he were a Breton. There is no question that Borrow was genuinely attached to Henrietta. " I generally call her daughter," he writes, " and with good reason, seeing that she has always shown herself a daughter to me — that she has all kinds of good qualities, and several accomplishments, knowing something of conchology, more of botany, drawing capitally in the Dutch style," 1 not to speak of her ability to play on the Spanish guitar. She was " the dear girl," or " the gallant girl," between whom and her stepfather existed a true spirit of comradeship. In 1844 she wrote to him, " And then that funny look' 2 would come into your 1 Wild Wales, page 6. 2 There appears to have been a slight cast in his (Borrovv's) left eye. The Queen of the Nokkums remarked that, like Will Faa, he had " a skellying look with the left eye " (Roma?io Lavo-Lil, page 267). Mr F. H. Bowring, who frequently met him, states that he "had a slight cast in the eye." 416 THE WELSH HOLIDAY [1854 eyes and you would call me 'poor old Hen.' " He seemed incapable of laughing, and one intimate friend states that she " never saw him even smiling, but there was a twinkle in his eyes which told you that he was enjoying himself just the same." 1 About this time Mrs George Borrow wrote to old Mrs Borrow at Oulton Hall, saying that all was well with her son. " He is very regular in his morning and evening devotions, so that we all have abundant cause for thankfulness. . . . As regards your dear son and his peace and comfort, you have reason to praise and bless God on his account. . . . He is fully occupied. He keeps a daily Journal of all that goes on, so that he can make a most amusing book in a month, whenever he wishes to do so." The first sentence is very puzzling, and would seem to suggest that Borrow's moods were somehow or other associated with outbursts against religion. " Be sure you burn this, or do not leave it about," the old lady is admonished. On the day following the ascent of Snowdon, Mrs Borrow and Henrietta returned to Llangollen by train, leaving Borrow free to pursue his wanderings. He eventu- ally arrived at Llangollen on 6th September, by way of Carnarvon, Festiniog and Bala. After remaining another twenty days at Llangollen, he despatched his wife and stepdaughter home by rail. He then bought a small leather satchel, with a strap to sling it over his shoulder, packed in it " a white linen shirt, a pair of worsted stockings, a razor and a prayer-book." Having had his boots resoled and his umbrella repaired, he left Llangollen for South Wales, upon an excursion which was to occupy three weeks. During the course of this expedition he was taken for many things, from a pork-jobber to Father Toban himself, as whom he pronounced " the best Latin blessing I could remember" over two or three dozen Irish 1 Elizabeth] H[arvey] in The Eastern Daily Press, 1st Oct. 1892. xxvi.] THE DESCENDANTS OF A POET 417 reapers to their entire satisfaction. Eventually he arrived at Chepstow, having learned a great deal about wild Wales. One of the excursions that Borrow made from Bangor was to Llanfair in search of Ty Gronwy, the birthplace of Gronwy Owen. He found in the long, low house an old woman and five children, descendants of the poet, who stared at him wonderingly. To each he " gave a trifle." Asking whether they could read, he was told that the eldest could read anything, whether Welsh or English. In Wild Wales he gives an account of the interview. " ' Can you write ? ' said I to the child [the eldest], a little stubby girl of about eight, with a broad flat red face and grey eyes, dressed in a chintz gown, a little bonnet on her head, and looking the image of notableness. " The little maiden, who had never taken her eyes off of me for a moment during the whole time I had been in the room, at first made no answer; being, however, bid by her grandmother to speak, she at length answered in a soft voice, ' Medraf, I can.' " ' Then write your name in this book,' said I, taking out a pocket-book and a pencil, ' and write likewise that you are related to Gronwy Owen — and be sure you write in Welsh.' " The little maiden very demurely took the book and pencil, and placing the former on the table wrote as follows : — " ' Ellen Jones yn perthyn o bell i gronow owen.' l " That is, ' Ellen Jones belonging, from afar off to Gronwy Owen.' " 2 Ellen Jones is now Ellen Thomas, and she well remembers Borrow coming along the lane, where she was playing with some other children, and asking for the house of Gronwy Owen. Later, when she entered the 1 Ellen Jones actually wrote — Ellen Jones yn pithyn pell i gronow owen 2 Wild Wales, pages 227-8. 2 V 418 THE WELSH HOLIDAY [1854 house, she found him talking to her grandmother, who was a little deaf, as described in Wild Wales. Mrs Thomas' recollection of Borrow is that he had the appearance of possessing great strength. He had " bright eyes and shabby dress, more like a merchant than a gentleman, or like a man come to buy cattle [others made the same mistake]. But, dear me ! he did speak funny Welsh," she remarked to a student of Borrow who sought her out, "he could not pronounce the '11' [pronouncing the word " pell " as if it rhymed with tell, whereas it should be pronounced something like " pelth "], and his voice was very high ; but perhaps that was because my grandmother was deaf." He had plenty of words, but bad pronuncia- tion. William Thomas x laughed many a time at him coming talking his funny Welsh to him, and said he was glad he knew a few words of Spanish to answer him with. Borrow was, apparently, unconscious of any imperfec- tion in his pronunciation of the " 11." He has written : " ' Had you much difficulty in acquiring the sound of the "11"?' I think I hear the reader inquire. None whatever : the double 1 of the Welsh is by no means the terrible guttural which English people generally suppose it to be." 2 Mrs Thomas is now sixty-seven years of age (she was eleven and not eight at the time of Borrow's visit) and still preserves carefully wrapped up the book from which she read to the white-haired stranger. The episode was not thought much of at the time, except by the child, whom it much excited. 3 1 This was the mason of whom Borrow enquired the way, and who " stood for a moment or two, as if transfixed, a trowel motionless in one of his hands, and a brick in the other," who on recovering himself replied in "tolerable Spanish." — Wild Wales, page 225. 2 Wild Wales, page 5. 3 These particulars have been courteously supplied by Mr George Porter of Denbigh, who interviewed Mrs Thomas on 27th Dec. 1910. Borrow's accuracy in Wild Wales was photograph. The Norwich jeweller Rossi mentioned in Wild Wales (page 159 et seq.) was a xxvi.] AN ADVENTURE ON CADER IDRIS 419 It was in all probability during this, his first tour in Wales, that Borrow was lost on Cader Idris, and spent the whole of one night in wandering over the mountain vainly seeking a path. The next morning he arrived at the inn utterly exhausted. It was quite in keeping with Borrow's nature to suppress from his book all mention of this unpleasant adventure. 1 The Welsh holiday was unquestionably a success. Borrow's mind had been diverted from critics and his lost popularity. He had forgotten that in official quarters he had been overlooked. He was in the land of Ab Gwilym and Gronwy Owen. " There never was such a place for poets," he wrote ; " you meet a poet, or the birthplace of a poet, everywhere." 2 He was delighted with the simplicity of the people, and in no way offended by their persistent suspicion of all things Saxon. At least they knew their own poets ; and he could not help comparing the Welsh labouring man who knew Huw Morris, with his Suffolk brother who had never heard of Beowulf or Chaucer. He discoursed with many people about their bards, surprising them by his intimate knowledge of the poets and the poetry of Wales. He found enthusiasm " never scoffed at by the noble simple-minded genuine Welsh, whatever treatment it may receive from the coarse-hearted, sensual, selfish Saxon." 3 Sometimes he was reminded " of the substantial yoemen of Cornwall, particularly ... of my friends at Penquite." 4 Wherever he went he experienced nothing but kindness and hospitality, and it delighted him to be taken for a Cumro, as was frequently the case. friend of Borrow's with whom he frequently spent an evening conversing in Italian, "being anxious to perfect himself in that language." I quote from a letter from his son Mr Theodore Rossi. " There was an entire absence of pretence about him and we liked him very much — he always seemed desirous of learning." 1 This story is told by Mr F. J. Bowring, son of Sir John Bowring. He heard it from Mrs Roberts, the landlady of the inn. - Wild Wales, page 274. 3 Wild Wales, page 130. 4 Wild Wales, page 130. 420 THE WELSH HOLIDAY [1855 What Borrow writes about his Welsh is rather contradictory. Sometimes he represents himself as taken for a Welshman, at others as a foreigner speaking Welsh. " Oh, what a blessing it is to be able to speak Welsh ! " x he exclaims. He acknowledged that he could read Welsh with far more ease than he could speak it. There is absolutely no posing or endeavour to depict himself a perfect Welsh scholar, whose accent could not be distin- guished from that of a native. The literary results of the Welsh holiday were four Note Books written in pencil, from which Wild Wales was subsequently written. Borrow was in Wales for nearly sixteen weeks (ist Aug. — 16th November), of which about a third was devoted to expedi- tions on foot. In the annual consultations about holidays, Borrow's was always the dominating voice. For the year 1855 the Isle of Man was chosen, because it attracted him as a land of legend and quaint customs and speech. Accord- ingly during the early days of September Mrs Borrow and Henrietta were comfortably settled at Douglas, and Borrow began to make excursions to various parts of the island. He explored every corner of it, conversing with the people in Manx, collecting ballads and old, smoke- stained carvel 2, (or carol) books, of which he was successful in securing two examples. He discovered that the island possessed a veritable literature in these carvels, which were circulated in manuscript form among the neighbours of the writers. The old runic inscriptions that he found on the tomb- 1 Wild Wales, page 1 50. 2 These carvels were written by such young people as thought themselves "endowed with the poetic gift, to compose carols some time before Christmas, and to recite them in the parish churches. Those pieces which were approved of by the clergy were subse- quently chanted by their authors through their immediate neigh- bourhoods." (Introduction to Bayr Jairgey, Borrow's projected book on the Isle of Man.) xxvi.] THE ISLE OF MAN 421 stones exercised a great fascination over Borrow. He would spend hours, or even days (on one occasion as much as a week), in deciphering one of them. Thirty years later he was remembered as " an accurate, pains- taking man." His evenings were frequently occupied in translating into English the Manx poem Illiam Dhoo, or " Brown William." He discovered among the Manx traditions much about Finn Ma Coul, or M'Coyle, who appears in The Romany Rye as a notability of Ireland. He ascended Snaefell, sought out the daughter of George Killey, the Manx poet, and had much talk with her, she taking him for a Manxman. The people of the island he liked. " In the whole world," he wrote in his ' Note Books,' " there is not a more honest, kindly race than the genuine Manx. Towards strangers they exert unbounded hospitality without the slightest idea of receiving any compensation, and they are, whether men or women, at any time willing to go two or three miles over mountain and bog to put strangers into the right road." During his stay in the Isle of Man, news reached Borrow of the death of a kinsman, William, son of Samuel Borrow, his cousin, a cooper at Devonport. William Borrow had gone to America, where he had " won a prize for a new and wonderful application of steam." His death is said to have occurred as the result of " mental fatigue." In this Borrow saw cause for grave complaint against the wretched English Aristocracy that forced talent out of the country by denying it employment or honour, which were all for their "connections and lick- spittles." The holiday in the Isle of Man had resulted in two quarto note books, aggregating ninety-six pages, closely written in pencil. Again Borrow planned to write a book, just as he had done on the occasion of the Cornish visit. Nothing, however, came of it. Among his papers 422 THE WELSH HOLIDAY [1855 was found the following draft of a suggested title- page :— BAYR JAIRGEY AND GLION DOO THE RED PATH AND THE BLACK VALLEY WANDERINGS IN QUEST OF MANX LITERATURE A curious feature of Mrs Borrow's correspondence is her friendly conspiracies, sometimes with John Murray, sometimes with Wood fall, the printer, asking them to send encouraging letters that shall hearten Borrow to greater efforts. On 26th November 1850 John Murray wrote to her : " I have determined on engraving [by W. Holl] Phillips' portrait 1 ... as a frontispiece to it \Lavengro\ I trust that this will not be disagreeable to you and the author — in fact I do it in confident expectation that it will meet with your assent ; I do not ask Mr Borrow's leave, remember." It must be borne in mind that Mrs Borrow had been in London a few days previously, in order to deliver to John Murray the manuscript of Lavcngro. Mrs Borrow's reply to this letter is significant. " With regard to the engraving," she writes (28th November), "7 like the idea of it, and when Mr Borrow remarked that he did not wish it (as we expected he would) I reminded him that his leave was not asked." Again, on 30th October 1852, Mrs Borrow wrote to Robert Cooke asking that either he or John Murray would write to Borrow enquiring as to his health, and progress with The Romany Rye, and how long it would be before the manuscript were ready for the printer. " Of course," she adds, " all this is in perfect confidence to Mr Murray and yourself, as you both of you know my truly excellent Husband well enough to be aware how much he every now and then requires an impetus to cause the 1 Painted by H. W. Phillips in 1843. xxvi.] THE WORLD'S GREATEST 423 large wheel to move round at a quicker pace. . . . Oblige me by committing this to the flames, and write to him just as you would have done, without hearing a word from me." On yet another occasion when she and Borrow were both in London, she writes to Cooke asking that either he " or Mr Murray will give my Husband a look, if it be only for a few minutes .... He seems rather low. Do not let this note remain on your table," she concludes, " or mention it." If Borrow were a problem to his wife and to his publisher, he presented equal difficulties to the country folk about Oulton. To one he was " a missionary out of work," to another " a man who kep' 'isself to 'isself " ; but to none was he the tired lion weary of the chase. " His great delight . . . was to plunge into the darkening mere at eventide, his great head and heavy shoulders ruddy in the rays of the sun. Here he hissed and roared and spluttered, sometimes frightening the eel-catcher sailing home in the half-light, and remembering suddenly school legends of river-sprites and monsters of the deep." 1 In the spring following his return from the Isle of Man, Borrow made numerous excursions on foot through East Anglia. He seemed too restless to remain long in one place. During a tramp from Yarmouth to Ely by way of Cromer, Holt, Lynn and Wisbech, he called upon Anna Gurney. 2 His reason for doing so was that she was one of the three celebrities of the world he desired to see. The other two were Daniel O'Connell 3 and Lamplighter (the sire of Phosphorus), Lord Berners' winner of the Derby. Two of the world's notabilities had slipped 1 Vestiges of Borrow : Some Personal Reminiscences. The Globe, 2 1st July 1896. 2 The Anglo-Saxon scholar (1795-1857), who though paralysed during the whole of her life visited Rome, Athens and other places. She was the first woman elected a member of the British Association. 3 To judge from Sorrow's opinion of O'Connell previously quoted, " notoriety" would have been a more appropriate word in his case. 424 THE WELSH HOLIDAY [1855 through his fingers by reason of their deaths ; but he was determined that Anna Gurney, who lived at North Repps, should not evade him. He gave her notice of his intention to call, and found her ready to receive him. " When, according to his account, 1 he had been but a very short time in her presence, she wheeled her chair round and reached her hand to one of her bookshelves and took down an Arabic grammar, and put it into his hand, asking for explanation of some difficult point, which he tried to decipher ; but meanwhile she talked to him continuously ; when, said he, ' I could not study the Arabic grammar and listen to her at the same time, so I threw down the book and ran out of the room.' " It is said that Borrow ran until he reached Old Tucker's Inn at Cromer, where he ate "five excellent sausages" and found calm. He then went on to Sheringham and related the incident to the Upchers. These lonely walking tours soothed Borrows restless mind. He had constant change of scene, and his thoughts were diverted by the adventures of the roadside. He encountered many and interesting people, on one occasion an old man who remembered the fight between Painter and Oliver ; at another time he saw a carter beating his horse which had fallen down. " Give him a pint of ale, and I will pay for it," counselled Borrow. After the second pint the beast got up and proceeded, " pulling merrily . . . with the other horses." Ale was Borrow's sovereign remedy for the world's ills and wrongs. It was by ale that he had been cured when the " Horrors " were upon him in the dingle. " Oh, genial and gladdening is the power of good ale, the true and proper drink of Englishmen," he exclaims after having heartened Jack Slingsby and his family. " He is not deserving of the name of Englishman," he continues, " who 1 Given to the Rev. A. W. Upcher and related by him in The Athenceum, 22nd July 1893. xxvi.] ALE 425 speaketh against ale, that is good ale." J To John Murray (the Third) he wrote in his letter of sympathy on the death of his father : " Pray keep up your spirits, and that you may be able to do so, take long walks and drink plenty of Scotch ale with your dinner . . . God bless you." He liked ale " with plenty of malt in it, and as little hop as well may be — ale at least two years old."' 2 The period of its maturity changed with his mood. In another place he gives nine or ten months as the ideal age. 3 He was all for an Act of Parliament to force people to brew good ale. He not only drank good ale himself; but prescribed it as a universal elixir for man and beast. Hearing from Elizabeth Harvey " of a lady who was attached to a gentleman," Borrow demanded bluntly, " Well, did he make her an offer ? " " No," was the response. " Ah," Borrow replied with conviction, " if she had given him some good ale he would." 4 He loved best old Burton, which, with '37 port, were his favourites ; yet he would drink whatever ale the road- side-inn provided, as if to discipline his stomach. It has been said that he habitually drank " swipes," a thin cheap ale, because that was the drink of his gypsy friends ; but Borrow's friendship certainly did not often involve him in anything so distasteful. 1 Lavengro, page 361. 2 The Romany Rye, page 309. 3 Wild Wales, page 285. i The Eastern Daily Press, 1st Oct. 1892. CHAPTER XXVII THE ROMANY RYE. 1854—1859 T30RROW was not a great correspondent, and he left ■■-' behind him very few letters from distinguished men of his time. Among those few were several from Edward FitzGerald, whose character contrasted so strangely with that of the tempestuous Borrow. In 1856 FitzGerald wrote : — 31 Great Portland Street, London, 17 th October 1856. My DEAR Sir, — It is / who send you the new Turkish Dictionary [Redhouse's Turkish & English Dictionary] which ought to go by this Post ; my reasons being that I bought it really only for the purpose of doing that little good to the spirited Publisher of the book (who thought when he began it that the [Crimean] War was to last), and I send it to you because I should be glad of your opinion, if you can give it. I am afraid that you will hardly condescend to use it, for you abide in the old Meninsky ; but if you will use it, I shall be very glad. I don't think / ever shall ; and so what is to be done with it now it is bought ? I don't know what Kerrich told you of my being too lazy to go over to Yarmouth to see you a year ago. No such thing as that. I simply had doubts as to whether you would not rather remain unlookt for. I know I enjoyed my evening with you a month ago. I wanted to ask you to read some of the Northern Ballads too ; but you shut the book. I must tell you. I am come up here on my way to Chichester to be married ! to Miss Barton (of Quaker memory) and our united ages amount to 96 ! — a dangerous xxvii.] "OUR TIME SEEMS COMING" 427 experiment on both sides. She at least brings a fine head and heart to the bargain — worthy of a better market. But it is to be, and I dare say you will honestly wish we may do well. Keep the book as long as you will. It is useless to me. I shall be to be heard of through Geldeston Hall, Beccles. With compliments to Mrs Borrow, believe me, Yours truly, Edward FitzGerald. P.S. — Donne is well, and wants to know about you. A few months later FitzGerald wrote again : Albert House, Gorleston, 6th July 1857. Dear Borrow, — Will you send me [The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam] by bearer. I only want to look at him, for that Frenchman 1 has been misquoting him in a way that will make [Professor] E. Cowell [of Cambridge] answerable for another's blunder, which must not be. You shall have 'Omar back directly, or whenever you want him, and I should really like to make you a copy (taking my time) of the best Quatrains. I am now looking over the Calcutta MS. which has 500 ! — very many quite as good as those in the MS. you have ; but very many in both MSS. are well omitted. I have been for a fortnight to Geldeston where Kerrich is not very well. I shall look for you one day in my Yarmouth rounds, and you know how entirely disengaged and glad to see you I am here. I have two fresh Nieces with me — and I find I gave you the worst wine of two samples Diver sent me. I wish you would send word by bearer you are better — this one word written will be enough you see. My old Parson Crabbe is bowing down under epileptic fits, or something like, and I believe his brave old white head will soon sink into the village Church- sward. Why, our time seems coming. Make way, Gentlemen ! — Yours very truly, Edward FitzGerald. 1 Garcin de Tassy. Note sur les Ruba'i'yat de 'Omar Khaiyam, which appeared in the Journal Asiatique. 428 THE ROMANY RYE [1854 What effect the sweet gentleness of FitzGerald's nature had upon that of Borrow is not known, for the replies have not been preserved. FitzGerald was a man capable of soothing the angriest and most discontented mind, and it is a misfortune that he saw so little of Borrow. In the early part of the following year (24th Jan. 1857) FitzGerald wrote to Professor E. B. Cowell of Cambridge : — " I was with Borrow a week ago at Donne's, and also at Yarmouth three months ago : he is well, but not yet agreed with Murray. He read me a long Translation he had made from the Turkish : which I could not admire, and his Taste becomes stranger than ever." x From Wales Mrs George Borrow had written (Sept. 1854) to old Mrs Borrow : " He [Borrow] will, I expect at Christmas, publish his other work [The Romany Rye] together with his poetry in all the European languages." 2 In November (1854) the manuscript of The Romany Rye was delivered to John Murray, who appears to have taken his time in reading it ; for it was not until 23rd December that he expressed his views in the following letter. Even when the letter was written it was allowed to remain in John Murray's desk for five weeks, not being sent until 27th January : — My dear Borrow, — I have read with care the MS. of The Romany Rye and have pondered anxiously over it ; and in what I am about to write I think I may fairly claim the privilege of a friend deeply interested in you personally, as well as in your reputation as author, and by no means insensible to the abilities displayed in your various works. It is my firm conviction then, that you will incur the certainty of failure and run the risque of injuring your literary fame by publishing the MS. as it 1 Letters and Literary Remains of Edward FitzGerald, 1889. 2 Songs of Europe, or Me Meal Translations from All the European Languages, With Brief Prefatory Retnarhs on Each Language and its Literature. 2 vols. (Advertised as " Ready for the Press " at the end of The Romany Rye. See page 438.) xxvii.] JOHN MURRAY'S ADVICE 429 stands. Very large omissions seem to me — and in this, Elwin, 1 no mean judge, concurs — absolutely indispensable. That Lavengro would have profited by curtailment, I stated before its publication. The result has verified my anticipations, and in the present instance I feel compelled to make it the condition of publication. You can well imagine that it is not my interest to shorten a book from two volumes to one unless there were really good cause. Lavengro clearly has not been successful. Let us not then risque the chance of another failure, but try to avoid the rock upon which we then split. You have so great store of interesting matter in your mind and in your notes, that I cannot but feel it to be a pity that you should harp always upon one string, as it were. It seems to me that you have dwelt too long on English ground in this new work, and have resuscitated some characters of the former book (such as F. Ardry) whom your readers would have been better pleased to have left behind. Why should you not introduce us rather to those novel scenes of Moscovite and Hungarian life respecting which I have heard you drop so many stimulating allusions. Do not, I pray, take offence at what I have written. It is difficult and even painful for me to assume the office of critic, and this is one of the reasons why this note has lingered so long in my desk. Fortunately, in the advice I am tendering I am supported by others of better literary judgment than myself, and who have also deep regard for you. I will specify below some of the passages which I would point out for omission. — With best remembrances, I remain, my dear Borrow, Your faithful publisher and sincere friend, John Murray. Suggestions for Omission. The Hungarian in No. 6. The Jockey Story, terribly spun out, No. y. Visit to the Church, too long. Interview with the Irishman, Do. Learning Chinese, too much repetition in this part of a very interesting chapter. 1 Rev. Whitwell Elwin, editor of The Quarterly Review. See post, p. 431. 430 THE ROMANY RYE [1855 The Postilion and Highwayman. Throughout the MS. condensation is indispensable. Many of the narratives are carried to a tedious length by details and repetition. The dialogue with Ursula, the song, etc., border on the indelicate. I like much Horncastle Fair, the Chinese scholar, except objection noted above. Grooming of the horse. January 27, 1855. On 29th January, Mrs Borrow wrote to John Murray a letter that was inspired by Borrow himself. Dr Knapp discovered the original draft, some of which was in Borrow's own hand. It runs : — DEAR Mr MURRAY, — We have received your letters. In the first place I beg leave to say something on a very principal point. You talk about conditions of publishing. Mr Borrow has not the slightest wish to publish the book. The MS. was left with you because you wished to see it, and when left, you were particularly requested not to let it pass out of your own hands. But it seems you have shown it to various individuals whose opinions you repeat. What those opinions are worth may be gathered from the following fact. The book is one of the most learned works ever written ; yet in the summary of the opinions which you give, not one single allusion is made to the learning which pervades the book, no more than if it contained none at all. It is treated just as if all the philological and historical facts were mere inventions, and the book a common novel. . . . With regard to Lavengro it is necessary to observe that if ever a book experienced infamous and undeserved treatment it was that book. It was attacked in every form that envy and malice could suggest, on account of Mr Borrow's acquirements and the success of The Bible in Spain, and it was deserted by those whose duty it was, in some degree to have protected it. No attempt was ever made to refute the vile calumny that it was a book got up against the Popish agitation of '51. It was written years previous to that period — a fact of which none is better aware than the Publisher. Is that calumny to be still permitted to go unanswered ? xxvii.] BORROW REBUKES HIS PUBLISHER 431 If these suggestions are attended to, well and good ; if not, Mr Borrow can bide his time. He is independent of the public and of everybody. Say no more on that Russian Subject. Mr Borrow has had quite enough of the press. If he wrote a book on Russia, it would be said to be like The Bible in Spain, or it would be said to be unlike The Bible in Spain, and would be blamed in either case. He has written a book in connection with England such as no other body could have written, and he now rests from his labours. He has found England an ungrateful country. It owes much to him, and he owes nothing to it. If he had been a low ignorant impostor, like a person he could name, he would have been employed and honoured. — I remain, Yours sincerely, Mary Borrow. On 5th April 1856 Mrs Borrow wrote again, requesting Murray to return the manuscript, but for what purpose she does not state. Two days later it was despatched by rail from Albemarle Street. Some years before, Borrow had met Rev. Whitwell Elwin, Rector of Booton, somewhere about the time he (Elwin) came up to London to edit The Quarterly Review, viz., 1853. 1 The first interview between the two men has been described as characteristic of both. " Borrow was just then very sore with his slashing critics, and on someone mentioning that Elwin was a ' Quartering reviewer,' he said, ' Sir, I wish you a better employment.' Then hastily changing the subject, he called out, ' What party zreyou in the Church — Tractarian, Moderate, or Evangelical ? I am happy to say, / am the old High.' ' I am happy to say I am not,' was Elwin's emphatic reply. Borrow boasted of his proficiency in the Norfolk dialect, which he endeavoured to speak as broadly as possible. ' I told him,' said Elwin, ' that he had not cultivated it with his usual success.' As the conversation proceeded it became less disputatious, and the two ended by becoming so cordial that they promised 1 Elwin could not very well have known Borrow all his, Borrow's life, as Dr Knapp states, for he was fifteen years younger, being born 26th Feb. 18 1 6. 432 THE ROMANY RYE [1857 to visit each other. Borrow fulfilled his promise in the following October, when he went to Booton, and was 1 full of anecdote and reminiscence,' and delighted the rectory children by singing them songs in the gypsy tongue. Elwin during this visit urged him to try his hand at an article for the Review. ' Never,' he said, ' I have made a resolution never to have anything to do with such a blackguard trade.' " l Elwin became greatly interested in The Romany Rye. He endeavoured to influence its composition, and even wrote to Borrow begging him " to give his sequel to Lavengro more of an historical, and less of a romancing air." He was not happy about the book. He wrote to John Murray in March : — " ' It is not the statements themselves which provoke incredulity, but the melodramatic effect which he tries to impart to all his adventures.' Instead of 'roaring like a lion,' in reply, as Elwin had expected, he returned quite a ' lamb-like ' note, which gave promise of a greater success for his new work than its precursor." 2 Borrow appears to have become tired of biding his time with regard to The Romany Rye, and on 27th Feb. 1857 he wrote to John Murray to say that "the work must go to press, and that unless the printing is forthwith commenced, I must come up to London and make arrangements myself. Time is passing away. It ought to have appeared many years ago. I can submit to no more delays." The work was accordingly proceeded with, and Elwin wrote a criticism of the work for The Quarterly Review from the proof-sheets : — " When the review was almost finished, it was on the point of being altogether withdrawn, owing to a passage in Romany Rye which Elwin said was clearly meant to be 1 Some XV 111. Century Men of Letters. Ed. Warwick Elwin, 1902. 2 Some X VIII. Century Men of Letters. Ed. Warwick Elwin, 1902. xxvii.] A DIGNIFIED REJOINDER 433 a reflection on his friend Ford, 'to avenge the presumed refusal of the latter to praise Lavengro in The Quarterly Review? ' I am very anxious,' he said, ' to get Borrow justice for rare merits which have been entirely overlooked, but if he persists in publishing an attack of this kind I shall, I fear, not be able to serve him.' The objectionable paragraphs had been written by Borrow under a mis- apprehension, and he cancelled them as soon as he was convinced of his error." 1 John Murray determined not to publish the book unless the offending passage were removed. He wrote to Borrow the following letter : — %th April 1857. My DEAR BORROW, — When I have done anything towards you deserving of apology I will not hesitate to offer one. As it is, I have acted loyally towards you, and with a view to maintain your interests. I agreed to publish your present work solely with the object of obliging you, and in a great degree at the strong recommendation of Cooke. I meant (as was my duty) to do my very best to promote its success. You on your side promised to listen to me in regard to any necessary omissions ; and on the faith of this, I pointed out one omission, which I make the indispensable condition of my proceeding further with the book. I have asked nothing unfair nor unreasonable — nay, a compliance with the request is essential for your own character as an author and a man. You are the last man that I should ever expect to " frighten or bully " ; and if a mild but firm remonstrance against an offensive passage in your book is interpreted by you into such an application, I submit that the grounds for the notion must exist nowhere but in your own imagination. The alternative offered to you is to omit or publish elsewhere. Nothing shall compel me to publish what you have written. Think calmly and dispassionately over this, and when you have decided let me know. Yours very faithfully, John Murray. 1 Some XVII I. Century Men of Letters. Ed. Warwick Elwin, 1902. 2 E 434 THE ROMANY RYE [1857 The reference that had so offended Murray and Elwin had, in all probability been interpolated in proof form, otherwise it would have been discovered either when Murray read the manuscript or Elwin the proofs. By return of post came the following reply from Borrow, then at Great Yarmouth : — Dear Sir, — Yesterday I received your letter. You had better ask your cousin [Robert Cooke] to come down and talk about matters. After Monday I shall be dis- engaged and shall be most happy to see him. And now I must tell you that you are exceedingly injudicious. You call a chapter heavy, and I, not wishing to appear unaccommodating, remove or alter two or three passages for which I do not particularly care, whereupon you make most unnecessary comments, obtruding your private judgment upon matters with which you have no business, and of which it is impossible that you should have a competent knowledge. If you disliked the passages you might have said so, but you had no right to say anything more. I believe that you not only meant no harm, but that your intentions were good ; unfortunately, however, people with the best of intentions occasionally do a great deal of harm. In your language you are frequently in the highest degree injudicious ; for example, in your last letter you talk of obliging me by publishing my work. Now is not that speaking very injudiciously? Surely you forget that I could return a most cutting answer were I disposed to do so. I believe, however, that your intentions are good, and that you are disposed to be friendly. — Yours truly, George Borrow. The tone of this letter is strangely reminiscent of some of the Rev. Andrew Brandram's admonitions to Borrow himself, during his association with the Bible Society. Borrow bowed to the wind, and the offending passage was deleted, and The Romany Rye eventually appeared on 30th April 1857, in an edition of a thousand copies. The public, or such part of it as had not forgotten Borrow, had been kept waiting six years to know what xxvii.] A QUESTION OF ACCURACY 435 had happened on the morning after the storm. Lavengro had ended by the postilion concluding his story with " Young gentleman, I will now take a spell on your blanket — young lady, good-night," and presumably the three, Borrow, Isopel Berners and their guest had lain down to sleep, and a great quiet fell upon the dingle, and the moon and the stars shone down upon it, and the red glow from the charcoal in the brazier paled and died away. The Romany Rye is a puzzling book. The latter portion, at least, seems to suggest " spiritual autobio- graphy." It reveals the man, his atmosphere, his character, and nowhere better than among the jockeys at Horncastle. It gives a better and more convincing picture of Borrow than the most accurate list of dates and occurrences, all vouched for upon unimpeachable authority. It is impressionism applied to autobiography, which has always been considered as essentially a subject for photo- graphic treatment. Borrow thought otherwise, with the result that many people decline to believe that his picture is a portrait, because there is a question as to the dates. Among the reviews, which were on the whole unfriendly, was the remarkable notice in The Quarterly Review, by the Rev. Whitwell Elwin : — x " Nobody," he wrote, " sympathises with wounded vanity, and the world only laughs when a man angrily informs it that it does not rate him at his true value. The public to whom he appeals must, after all, be the judge of his pretensions. Their verdict at first is frequently wrong, but it is they themselves who must reverse it, and not the author who is upon his trial before them. The attacks of critics, if they are unjust, invariably yield to the same remedy. Though we do not think that Mr Borrow is a good counsel in his own cause, we are yet strongly of the opinion that Time in this case has some wrongs to repair, and that Lavengro has not obtained the fame which was its due. It contains passages which in their way are not surpassed by anything in English Literature." 1 Entitled Roving Life in England. March 1S57. 436 THE ROMANY RYE [1857 The value of these prophetic words lies in the fine spirit of fatherly reproof in which the whole review was written. It is the work of a critic who regarded literature as a thing to be approached, both by author and reviewer, with grave and deliberate ceremony, not with enthusiasm or prejudice. From any other source the following words would not have possessed the significance they did, coming from a man of such sane ideas with the courage to express them : — " Various portions of the history are known to be a faithful narrative of Mr Borrow's career, while we ourselves can testify, as to many other parts of his volumes, that nothing can excel the fidelity with which he has described both men and things. Far from his showing any tendency to exaggeration, such of his characters as we chance to have known, and they are not a few, are rather within the truth than beyond it. However picturesquely they may be drawn, the lines are invariably those, of nature. Why under these circumstances he should envelop the question in mystery is more than we can divine. There can be no doubt that the larger part, and possibly the whole, of the work is a narrative of actual occurrences." 1 The Appendix itself, which had drawn from Elwin the grave declaration that " Mr Borrow is very angry with his critics," is a fine piece of rhetorical denunciation. It opens with the deliberate restraint of a man who feels the fury of his wrath surging up within him. It tells again the story of Lavengro, pointing morals as it goes. Then the studied calm is lost — Priestcraft, " Foreign Nonsense," " Gentility Nonsense," " Canting Nonsense," " Pseudo- Critics," " Pseudo-Radicals " he flogs and pillories merci- lessly until, arriving at " The Old Radical," he throws off all restraint and lunges out wildly, mad with hate and 1 Elwin had already testified, also in The Quarterly Review, to the accuracy of Borrow's portrait of B, R. Haydon in Lavengro, as confirmed by documentary evidence, and this after first reading the account as "a comic exaggeration." xxvii.] A FAILURE 437 despair. As a piece of literary folly, the Appendix to The Romany Rye has probably never been surpassed. It alienated from Borrow all but his personal friends, and it sealed his literary fate as far as his own generation was concerned. In short, he had burnt his boats. Borrow had sent a copy of The Romany Rye to FitzGerald, which is referred to by him in a letter written from Gorleston to Professor Cowell (5th June 1857) : — " Within hail almost lives George Borrow who has lately published, and given me, two new Volumes of Lavengro called Romany Rye, with some excellent things, and some very bad (as I have made bold to write to him — how shall I face him !). You would not like the Book at all, I think." 1 Borrow was bitterly disappointed at the effect pro- duced by The Romany Rye. On someone once saying that it was the finest piece of literary invective since Swift, he replied, " Yes, I meant it to be ; and what do you think the effect was ? No one took the least notice of it ! " 2 The Romany Rye was not a success. The thousand copies lasted a year. When it appeared likely that a second edition would be required, Borrow wrote to John Murray urging him not to send the book to the press again until he " was quite sure the demand for it will at least defray all attendant expenses." He saw that whatever profits had resulted from the publication of the first edition, were in danger of being swallowed up in the preparation of a second. When this did eventually make its appearance in 1858, it was limited to 750 copies, which lasted until 1872. Borrow's own attitude with regard to the work and his wisdom in publishing it is summed up in a letter to John Murray (17th Sept. 1857): — " I was very anxious to bring it out," he writes ; " and I bless God that I had the courage and perseverance to do 1 Letters and Literary Remains of Edward FitzGerald, 1 889. 2 Mr A. Egmont Hake in Atheiueum, 13th Aug. 1881. 438 THE ROMANY RYE [1857 so. It is of course unpalatable to many ; for it scorns to foster delusion, to cry ' peace where there is no peace,' and denounces boldly the evils which are hurrying the country to destruction, and which have kindled God's anger against it, namely, the pride, insolence, cruelty, covetous- ness, and hypocrisy of its people, and above all the rage for gentility, which must be indulged in at the expense of every good and honourable feeling." The writing of the Appendix had aroused in Borrow all his old enthusiasm, and he appears to have come to the determination to publish a number of works, including a veritable library of translations. At the end of The Romany Rye appeared a lengthy list of books in pre- paration. 1 1 Works by the Author of The Bible in Spain, ready for the Press. In Two Volumes, Celtic Bards, Chiefs, and Kings. — In Two Volumes, Wild Wales, Its People, Language, and Scenery. — In Two Volumes, Songs of Europe ; or, Metrical Translations From all the European Languages. With brief Prefatory Remarks on each Language and its Literature. — In Two Volumes, Kcempe Viser ; Songs about Giants and Heroes. With Romantic and Historical Ballads, Translated from the Ancient Danish. With an Introduction and Copious Notes. — In One Volume, The Turkish Jester ; or, The Pleasantries of Cogia Nasr Eddin Efendi. Translated from the Turkish. With an Introduction. — In Two Volumes, Penquite and Pentyre ; or, The Head of the Forest and the Headland. A Book on Cornwall. — In One Volume, Russian Popular Tales, With an Intro- duction and Notes. Contents : — The Story of Emelian the Fool ; The Story of the Frog and the Hero ; The Story of the Golden Mountain ; The Story of the Seven Sevenlings ; The Story of the Eryslan ; The Story of the Old Man and his Son, the Crane; The Story of the Daughter of the Stroey ; The Story of Klim ; The Story of Prince Vikor ; The Story of Prince Peter ; The Story of Yvashka with the Bear's Ear. — In One Volume, The Sleeping Bard ; or, Visions of the World, Death, & Hell. By Master Elis Wyn. Translated from the Cambrian British. — In Two Volumes (Unfinished), Northern-Skalds, Kings, and Earls. — The Death of Balder ; A Heroic Play. Translated from the Danish ofEvald. — In One Volume, Bayr Jairgey and Glion Doo : The Red Path and the Black Valley. Wanderings in Quest of Manx Literature. xxvii.] DEATH OF OLD MRS BORROW 439 In August 1857 Borrow paid a second visit to Wales, walking " upwards of four hundred miles." Starting from Laugharne in Carmarthenshire, he visited Tenby, Pembroke, Milford Haven, Haverford, St David's, Fish- guard, Newport, Cardigan, Lampeter; passing into Brecknockshire, he eventually reached Mortimer's Cross in Hereford and thence to Shrewsbury. In October he was at Leighton, Donnington and Uppington, where he found traces of Gronwy Owen, the one-time curate and all-time poet. Throughout his life Borrow had shown by every action and word written about her, the great love he bore his mother. When his wife wrote to her and he was too restless to do so himself, he would interpolate two or three lines to " My dear Mamma." She was always in his thoughts, and he never wavered in his love for her and devotion to her comfort ; whilst she looked upon him as only a mother so good and so tender could look upon a son who had become her " only hope." For many years of her life it had been ordained that this brave old lady should live alone. 1 In the middle of August 1858 the news reached Borrow that his mother had been taken suddenly ill. She was in her eighty- seventh year, and at such an age all illnesses are dangerous. Borrow hastened to Oulton, and arrived just in time to be with her at the last. Thus on 16th August 1858, of "pulmonary congestion," died Anne Borrow, who had followed her husband about with his regiment, and had reared and educated her two boys under circumstances of great disadvantage. She had lost one ; but the other, her youngest born, whom she had so often shielded from his father's reproaches, had been spared to her, and she had seen him famous. Upon her grave in Oulton Churchyard the son caused 1 " She was a lady of striking figure and very graceful manners, perhaps more serious than vivacious." — Mr A. Egmont Hake in The Athenaum, 13th August 1881. 440 THE ROMANY RYE [1859 to be inscribed the words, " She was a good wife and a good mother," than which no woman can ask more. 1 The death of his mother was a great shock to Borrow. " He felt the blow keenly," Mrs Borrow wrote to John Murray, " and I advised a tour in Scotland to recruit his health and spirits." Accordingly he went North early in October, leaving his wife and Henrietta at Great Yarmouth. He visited the Highlands, walking several hundred miles. Mull struck him as " a very wild country, perhaps the wildest in Europe." Many of its place-names reminded him strongly of the Isle of Man. At the end of November he finished up the tour at Lerwick in Shetland, where he bought presents for his "loved ones," having seen Greenock, Glasgow, Perth, Aberdeen, Inver- ness, Wick, Thurso among other places. His impressions were not altogether favourable to the Scotch. " A queerer country I never saw in all my life," he wrote later . . . " a queerer set of people than the Scotch you would scarcely see in a summer's day." 2 In the following year (1859) an excursion was made to Ireland by Borrow and his family. Making Dublin his headquarters, where he left his wife and Henrietta comfortably settled, he tramped to Connemara and the Giant's Causeway, the expedition being full of adventure and affording him " much pleasure," in spite of the fact that he was " frequently wet to the skin, and indifferently lodged." Borrow had inherited from his mother some property at Mattishall Burgh, one and a half miles from his birth- place, consisting of some land, a thatched house and outbuildings, now demolished. This was let to a small- holder named Henry Hill. Borrow thought very highly of his tenant, and for hours together would tramp up and 1 She bequeathed to her son by will "all and every thing" of which she died possessed, charging him with the delivery of any gift to any other person she might desire. 2 Wild Wales, page 548. xxvil] EAST ANGLIAN SUSPICION 441 down beside him as he ploughed the land, asking questions, and hearing always something new from the amazing stores of nature knowledge that Henry Hill had acquired. This Norfolk worthy appears to have been possessed of a genius for many things. He was well versed in herbal lore, a self-taught 'cellist, playing each Sunday in the Congregational Chapel at Mattishall, and an equally self-taught watch-repairer ; but his chief claim to fame was as a bee-keeper, local tradition crediting him with being the first man to keep bees under glass. He would solemnly state that his bees, whom he looked upon as friends, talked to him. On Sundays the country folk for miles round would walk over to Mattishall Burgh to see old Henry Hill's bees, and hear him expound their lore. It was perforce Sunday, there was no other day for the Norfolk farm-labourer of that generation, who seemed always to live on the verge of starvation. Borrow him- self expressed regret to Henry Hill that it had not been possible to add the education of the academy to that of the land. He saw that the combination would have produced an even more remarkable man. In Norfolk all strangers are regarded with suspicion. Lifelong friendships are not contracted in a day. The East Anglian is shrewd, and requires to know something about those whom he admits to the sacred inner circle of his friendship. Borrow was well-known in the Mattishall district, and was looked upon with more than usual suspicion. He was unquestionably a strange man, in speech, in appearance, in habits. He could and would knock down any who offended him; but, worst of all, he was the intimate of gypsies, sat by their fires, spoke in their tongue. The population round about was entirely an agricultural one, and all united in hating the gypsies as their greatest enemies, because of their depredations. Add to this the fact that Borrow was a frequenter of public-houses, of which there were seven in the village, and was wont to boast that you could get at the true 442 THE ROMANY RYE [1859 man only after he had been mellowed into speech by good English ale. Then he would open his heart and unburden his mind of all the accumulated knowledge that he possessed, and add something to the epic of the soil. Borrow's overbearing manner made people shy of him. On one occasion he told John, the son and successor of Henry Hill, that he ought to be responsible for the debt of his half-brother ; the debt, it may be mentioned, was to Borrow. There is no better illustration of the suspicion with which Borrow was regarded locally, than an incident that occurred during one of his visits to Mattishall. He called upon John Hill at Church Farm to collect his rent. The evening was spent very agreeably. Borrow recited some of his ballads, quoted Scripture and languages, and sang a song. He was particularly interested on account of Mrs Hill being from London, where she knew many of his haunts. He remained the whole evening with the family and partook of their meal ; but was allowed to go to one of the seven public-houses for a bed, although there were spare bedrooms in the house that he might have occupied. Such was the suspicion that Borrow's habits created in the minds of his fellow East Anglians. 1 1 These particulars have been kindly supplied by Mr D. B. Hill of Mattishall, Norfolk. CHAPTER XXVIII JULY 1859 — JANUARY 1 869 A FTER his second tour in Wales, Borrow had sub- -*■*• mitted to John Murray the manuscript of his trans- lation of The Sleeping Bard, which in 1830 had so alarmed the little Welsh bookseller of Smithfield. " I really want something to do," Borrow wrote, " and seeing the work passing through the press might amuse me." Murray, however, could not see his way to accept the offer, and the manuscript was returned. Borrow decided to publish the book at his own expense, and accordingly commissioned a Yarmouth man to print him 250 copies, upon the title-page of which John Murray permitted his name to appear. In the note in which he tells of the Welsh bookseller's doubts and fears, Borrow goes on to assure his readers that there is no harm in the book. " It is true," he says, " that the Author is any thing but mincing in his expressions and descriptions, but there is nothing in the Sleeping Bard which can give offence to any but the over fastidious. There is a great deal of squeamish nonsense in the world ; let us hope however that there is not so much as there was. Indeed can we doubt that such folly is on the decline, when we find Albemarle Street in '6o, willing to publish a harmless but plain speaking book which Smithfield shrank from in '30." The edition was very speedily exhausted, largely on account of an article entitled, The Welsh and Their 444 LIFE IN LONDON [1859 Literature, written years before, that Borrow adapted as a review of the book, and published anonymously in The Quarterly Reviezv (Jan. 1861). The Sleeping Bard was not reprinted. The next event of importance in Borrow's life was his removal to London with Mrs Borrow and Henrietta. Towards the end of the Irish holiday (4th Nov. 1859), Mrs Borrow had written to John Murray : " If all be well in the Spring, I shall wish to look around, and select a pleasant, healthy residence within from three to ten miles of London." Borrow may have felt more at liberty to make the change now that his mother was dead, although whilst she was at Oulton he was as little company for her at Great Yarmouth as he would have been in London. Whatever led them to the decision to take up their residence in London, Borrow and his wife left Great Yarmouth at the end of June, and immediately proceeded to look about them for a suitable house. Their choice eventually fell upon number 22 Hereford Square, Brompton, which had the misfortune to be only a few doors from number 26, where lived Frances Power Cobbe. The rent was £6$ per annum. The Borrows entered upon their tenancy at the Michaelmas quarter, and were joined by Henrietta, who had remained behind at Great Yarmouth during the house-hunting. Miss Cobbe has given in her Autobiography a very unlovely picture of George Borrow during the period of his residence in Hereford Square. No woman, except his relatives and dependants, will tolerate egoism in a man. Borrow was an egoist. If not permitted to lead the conversation, he frequently wrapped himself in a gloomy silence and waited for an opportunity to discomfit the usurper of the place he seemed to consider his own. Among his papers were found after his death a large number of letters from poor men whom Borrow had assisted. His friend the Rev. Francis Cunningham once wrote to him a letter protesting against his assisting xxviii] MISS COBBE'S FRANKNESS 445 Nonconformist schools. He gave to Church and Chapel alike. This disproves misanthropy, and leaves egoism as the only explanation of his occasional lapses into bitterness or rudeness. When in happy vein, however, " his conversa- tion . . . was unlike that of any other man ; whether he told a long story or only commented on some ordinary topic, he was always quaint, often humorous." 1 Miss Cobbe would not humour an egoist, because constitutionally women, especially clever women, dislike them, unless they wish to marry them. When she heard it said, as it very frequently was said, that Borrow was a gypsy by blood, she caustically remarked that if he were not he " ought to have been." Miss Cobbe had living with her a Miss Lloyd who, " amused by his quaint stories and his (real or sham) enthusiasm for Wales, . . . cultivated his acquaint- ance. I," continued Miss Cobbe frankly, "never liked him, thinking him more or less of a hypocrite." 2 On one occasion Borrow had accepted an invitation from Miss Cobbe to meet some friends, but subsequently withdrew his acceptance " on finding that Dr Martineau was to be of the party . . . nor did he ever after attend our little assem- blies without first ascertaining that Dr Martineau would not be present ! " This she explained by the assertion that Dr Martineau had " horsed " Borrow when he was punished for running away from school at Norwich. It appeared " irresistibly comic " to her mind. There is an amusing account given by Miss Cobbe of how she worsted Borrow, which is certainly extremely flattering to her accomplishments. Once when talking with him she happened to say "something about the imperfect education of women, and he said it was right they should be ignorant, and that no man could endure a clever wife. I laughed at him openly," she continues, " and told him some men knew better. What did he think of the Brownings ? ' Oh, he 1 Mr. A. Egmont Hake in The Athenaum, 13th Aug. 18S1. a The Life of Frances Power Cobbe, by Herself, 1894. 446 LIFE IN LONDON [i860 had heard the name ; he did not know anything of them. Since Scott, he read no modern writer ; Scott was greater than Homer! What he liked were curious, old, erudite books about mediaeval and northern things.' I said I knew little of such literature, and preferred the writers of our own age, but indeed I was no great student at all. There- upon he evidently wanted to astonish me ; and, talking of Ireland, said, 'Ah, yes; a most curious, mixed race. First there were the Firbolgs, — the old enchanters, who raised mists.' . . . ' Don't you think, Mr Borrow,' I asked, 'it was the Tuatha-de-Danaan who did that? Keatinge expressly says that they conquered the Fir- bolgs by that means.' (Mr B. somewhat out of counten- ance), ' Oh ! Aye ! Keatinge is the authority ; a most extraordinary writer.' ' Well, I should call him the Geoffrey of Monmouth of Ireland.' (Mr B. changing the venue), ' I delight in Norse-stories ; they are far grander than the Greek. There is the story of Olaf the Saint of Norway. Can anything be grander? What a noble character ! ' ' But,' I said, ' what do you think of his putting all those poor Druids on the Skerry of Shrieks, and leaving them to be drowned by the tide ? ' (Thereupon Mr B. looked at me askant out of his gipsy eyes, as if he thought me an example of the evils of female education ! ) ' Well ! Well ! I forgot about the Skerry of Shrieks. Then there is the story of Beowulf the Saxon going out to sea in his burning ship to die.' ' Oh, Mr Borrow! that isn't a Saxon story at all. It is in the Heimskringla ! It is told of Hakon of Norway.' Then, I asked him about the gipsies and their language, and if they were certainly Aryans ? He didn't know (or pretended not to know) what Aryans were ; and altogether displayed a miraculous mixture of odd knowledge and more odd ignorance. Whether the latter were real or assumed I know not ! " x These were some of the neighbourly little pleasantries indulged in by Miss Cobbe, regarding a man who was a frequent guest at her house. " His has indeed been a fantastic fate ! " writes Mr Theodore Watts-Dunton. " When the shortcomings of any illustrious man save Borrow are under discussion, ' les de'fauts de ses qualites ' is the criticism — wise as charitable — which 1 The Life of Frances Power Cobbc, by Herself, 1894. xxvm.] A VEIN OF HUMOUR 447 they evoke. Yes, each one is allowed to have his angularities save Borrow. Each one is allowed to show his own pet unpleasant facets of character now and then — allowed to show them as inevitable foils to the pleasant ones — save Borrow. His weaknesses no one ever condones. During his lifetime his faults were for ever chafing and irritating his acquaintances, and now that he and they are dead, these faults of his seem to be chafing and irritating people of another generation. A fantastic fate, I say, for him who was so interesting to some of us ! " 1 On occasion Borrow could be inexcusably rude, as he was to a member of the Russian Embassy who one day called at Hereford Square for a copy of Targutn for the Czar, when he told him that his Imperial master could fetch it himself. Again, no one can defend him for affronting the " very distinguished scholar " with whom he happened to disagree, by thundering out, " Sir, you're a fool ! " Such lapses are deplorable ; but why should we view them in a different light from those of Dr Johnson ? What would have been regarded in another distin- guished man as a pleasant vein of humour was in Borrow's case looked upon as evidence of his unveracity. A contemporary tells how, on one occasion, he went with him into " a tavern " for a pint of ale, when Borrow pointed out " a yokel at the far end of the apartment. The foolish bumpkin was slumbering. Borrow in a stage whisper, gravely assured me that the man was a murderer, and confided to me with all the emphasis of honest conviction the scene and details of his crime. Subsequently I ascertained that the elaborate incidents and fine touches of local colour were but the coruscations of a too vivid imagination, and that the villain of the ale-house on the common was as innocent as the author of The Romany Rye." 2 1 " In Defence of Borrow," prefixed to The Romany Rye. Ward, Locke & Co. 2 Vestiges of Borrow ; Some Personal Reminiscences. The Globe, 2 1 st July 1896. 448 LIFE IN LONDON [I860 If Borrow had been called upon to explain this little pleasantry he would in all probability have replied in the words of Mr Petulengro, that he had told his acquaintance " things . . . which are not exactly true, simply to make a fool of you, brother." It is strange how those among his contemporaries who disliked him, denied Borrow the indulgence that is almost invariably accorded to genius. Those who were not for him were bitterly against him. In their eyes he was either outrageously uncivil or insultingly rude. Dr Hake, although a close friend, saw Borrow's dominant weakness, his love of the outward evidences of fame. Dr Hake's impartiality gives greater weight to his testimony when he tells of Borrow's first meeting with Dr Robert Latham, the ethnologist, philologist and grammarian. Latham much wanted to meet Borrow, and promised Dr Hake to be on his best behaviour. He was accordingly invited to dinner with Borrow. Latham as usual began to show off his knowledge. He became aggressive, and finally very excited ; but throughout the meal Borrow showed the utmost patience and courtesy, much to his host's relief. When he subsequently encountered Latham in the street he always stopped " to say a kind word, seeing his forlorn condition." Dr Hake had settled at Coombe End, Roehampton, and now that the Borrows were in London, the two families renewed their old friendship. Borrow would walk over to Coombe End, and on arriving at the gate would call out, "Are you alone?" If there were other callers he would pass by, if not he would enter and frequently persuade Dr Hake, and perhaps his sons, to accompany him for a walk. " There was something not easily forgotten," writes Mr A. Egmont Hake, " in the manner in which he would unexpectedly come to our gates, singing some gypsy song, and as suddenly depart." l They had many pleasant tramps 1 The Athencewn, 13th August 1881. xxvm.] A PLEASANT TRIO 449 together, mostly in Richmond Park, where Borrow appeared to know every tree and showed himself very learned in deer. He was " always saying something in his loud, self-asserting voice ; sometimes stopping suddenly, drawing his huge stature erect, and changing the keen and haughty expression of his face into the rapt and half fatuous look of the oracle, he would without preface recite some long fragment from Welsh or Scandinavian bards, his hands hanging from his chest and flapping in symphony. Then he would push on again, and as suddenly stop, arrested by the beautiful scenery, and exclam, ' Ah ! this is England, as the Pretender said when he again looked on his fatherland.' Then on reaching any town, he would be sure to spy out some lurking gypsy, whom no one but himself would have known from a common horse-dealer. A conversation in Romany would ensue, a shilling would change hands, two fingers would be pointed at the gypsy, and the interview would be at an end." 1 One day he asked Dr Hake's youngest boy if he knew how to fight a man bigger than himself, and on being told that he didn't, advised him to " accept his challenge, and tell him to take off his coat, and while he was doing it knock him down and then run for your life." 2 Once Borrow arrived at Dr Hake's house to find another caller in the person of Mr Theodore Watts- Dunton, and they " went through a pleasant trio, in which Borrow, as was his wont, took the first fiddle. . . . Borrow made himself agreeable to Watts [-Dunton], recited a fairy tale in the best style to him, and liked him." 3 Borrow did not recognise in Mr Watts-Dunton the young- man whom he had seen bathing on the beach at Great Yarmouth, pleased to be near his hero, but too much afraid to venture to address him. Writing of this meeting at Coombe End, Mr Watts-Dunton says: "There is however 1 Mr A. Egmont Hake in Macmillaris Magazine, November 1881. 2 Mr A. Egmont Hake in The Athenaum, 13th August 1881. 3 Memoirs of Eighty Years, by Dr Gordon Hake, 1892. 2 F 450 LIFE IN LONDON [1861 no doubt that Borrow would have run away from me had I been associated in his mind with the literary calling. But at that time I had written nothing at all save poems, and a prose story or two of a romantic kind." l Borrow hated the literary man, he was at war with the whole genus. Mr Watts-Dunton confesses that he made great efforts to enlist Borrow's interest. He touched on Bamfylde Moore Carew, beer, bruisers, philology, "gentility non- sense," the " trumpery great " ; but without success. Borrow was obviously suspicious of him. Then with inspiration he happened to mention what proved to be a magic name. "I tried other subjects in the same direction," Mr Watts-Dunton continues, " but with small success, till in a lucky moment I bethought myself of Ambrose Gwinett, . . . the man who, after having been hanged and gibbeted for murdering a traveller with whom he had shared a double-bedded room at a seaside inn, revived in the night, escaped from the gibbet-irons, went to sea as a common sailor, and afterwards met on a British man-of- war the very man he had been hanged for murdering. The truth was that Gwinett's supposed victim, having been attacked on the night in question by a violent bleeding of the nose, had risen and left the house for a few minutes' walk in the sea-breeze, when the press-gang captured him and bore him off to sea, where he had been in service ever since. The story is true, and the pamphlet, Borrow afterwards told me (I know not on what authority), was written by Goldsmith from Gwinett's dictation for a platter of cow-heel. " To the bewilderment of Dr Hake, I introduced the subject of Ambrose Gwinett in the same manner as I might have introduced the story of ' Achilles' wrath,' and appealed to Dr Hake (who, of course, had never heard of the book or the man) as to whether a certain incident in the pamphlet had gained or lost by the dramatist who, at one of the minor theatres, had many years ago dramatized the story. Borrow was caught at last. ' What ? ' said he, 1 you know that pamphlet about Ambrose Gwinett ? ' ' Know it ? ' said I, in a hurt tone, as though he had asked me if I knew ' Macbeth ' ; ' of course I know Ambrose 1 The AthencEwn, ioth September 1881. THE REV. ANDREW BRANDRAM {From an old silhouette in the possession of the British and Foreign Bible Society). [To face page 450. xxvm.] THE STORY OF AMBROSE GWINETT 451 Gwinett, Mr Borrow, don't you ? ' ' And you know the play?' said he. 'Of course I do, Mr Borrow,' I said, in a tone that was now a little angry at such an insinuation of crass ignorance. ' Why,' said he, ' it's years and years since it was acted; I never was much of a theatre man, but I did go to see that' ' Well I should rather think you did, Mr Borrow,' said I. ' But,' said he, staring hard at me, 'you — you were not born ! ' ' And I was not born,' said I, ' when the " Agamemnon " was produced, and yet one reads the " Agamemnon," Mr Borrow. I have read the drama of " Ambrose Gwinett." I have it bound in morocco, with some more of Douglas Jerrold's early transpontine plays, and some iEschylean dramas by Mr Fitzball. J will lend it to you, Mr Borrow, if you like.' He was completely conquered, ' Hake ! ' he cried, in a loud voice, regardless of my presence, ' Hake ! your friend knows everything.' Then he murmured to himself. ' Wonderful man ! Knows Ambrose Gwinett ! ' " It is such delightful reminiscences as these that will cause me to have as long as I live a very warm place in my heart for the memory of George Borrow." 1 After this, intercourse proved easy. At Borrow's suggestion they walked to the Bald-Faced Stag, in Kingston Vale, to inspect Jerry Abershaw's sword. This famous old hostelry was a favourite haunt of Borrow's, where he would often rest during his walk and drink " a cup of ale " (which he would call " swipes," and make a wry face as he swallowed) and talk of the daring deeds of Jerry the highwayman. Many people have testified to the pleasure of being in the company of the whimsical, eccentric, humbug-hating Borrow. " He was a choice companion on a walk," writes Mr A. Egmont Hake, "whether across country or in the slums of Houndsditch. His enthusiasm for nature was peculiar ; he could draw more poetry from a wide- spreading marsh with its straggling rushes than from the most beautiful scenery, and would stand and look at it with rapture." 2 1 The Athenaufn, ioth September 1881. 2 The Athenceum, 13th August 1881. 452 LIFE IN LONDON [1861 Since the tour in Wales in 1854, from which he returned with the four " Note Books," Borrow had been working steadily at Wild Wales. In 1857 the book had been announced as " ready for the press " ; but this was obviously an anticipation. The manuscript was sub- mitted to John Murray early in November 1861. On the 20th of that month he wrote the following letter, address- ing it, not to Borrow, but to his wife : — Dear Mrs Borrow,— The MS. of Wild Wales has occupied my thoughts almost ever since Friday last. I approached this MS. with some diffidence, recol- lecting the unsatisfactory results, on the whole, of our last publication — Romany Rye. I have read a large part of this new work with care and attention, and although it is beautifully written and in a style of English undefiled, which few writers can surpass, there is yet a want of stirring incident in it which makes me fearful as to the result of its publication. In my hands at least I cannot think it would succeed even as well as Romany Rye — and I am fearful of not doing justice to it. I do not like to undertake a work with the chance of reproach that it may have failed through my want of power to promote its circulation, and I do wish, for Borrow's own sake, that in this instance he would try some other publisher and perhaps some other form of publication. In my hands I am convinced the work will not answer the author's expectations, and I am not prepared to take on me this amount of responsibility. I will give the best advice I can if called upon, and shall be only too glad if I can be useful to Mr Borrow. I regret to have to write in this sense, but believe me always, Dear Mrs Borrow, Your faithful friend, John Murray. The reply to this letter has not been preserved. It would appear that some " stirring incidents " were added, among others most probably the account of Borrow blessing the Irish reapers, who mistook him for Father Toban. This anecdote was one of John Murray's favourite xxviil] A FINANCIAL SUCCESS 453 passages. It is evident that some concession was made to induce Murray to change his mind. In any case Wild Wales appeared towards the close of 1862 in an edition of 1000 copies. The publisher's misgivings were not justified, as the first edition produced a profit, up to 30th June 1863, °f ^53 r > 1 4 s -> which was equally divided between author and publisher. The second, and cheap, edition of 3000 copies lasted for thirteen years, and the deficiency on this absorbed the greater part of the publisher's profit. In a way it is the most remarkable of Borrow's books ; for it shows that he was making a serious effort to regain his public. It is an older, wiser and chastened Borrow that appears in its pages, striding through the land of the bards at six miles an hour, his satchel slung over his shoulder, his green umbrella grasped in his right hand, shouting the songs of Wales, about which he knew more than any man he met. There are no gypsies (except towards the end of the book a reference to his meeting with Captain Bosvile), no bruisers, the pope is scarcely mentioned, and " gentility-nonsense " is veiled almost to the point of elimination. It seems scarcely conceivable that the hand that had written the appendix to The Romany Rye could have so restrained itself as to write Wild Wales. Borrow had evidently read and carefully digested Whitwell Elwin's friendly strictures upon The Romany Rye. Instead of the pope, the gypsies and the bruisers of England, there were the vicarage cat, the bards and the thousand and one trivial incidents of the wayside. There were occasional gleams of the old fighting spirit, notably when he characterises sherry, 1 as 1 " Sherry drinkers, ... I often heard him say in a tone of positive loathing, he despised. He had a habit of speaking in a measured syllabic manner, if he wished to express dislike or contempt, which was certainly very effective. He would say : ' If you want to have the Sherry tang, get Madeira (that's a gentleman's wine), and throw into it two or three pairs of old boots, and you'll get the taste of the pig skins they carry the Sherry about in." — Rev. J. R. P. Berkeley's Recollections. The Life of George Borrow, by Dr Knapp. 454 LIFE IN LONDON [1862 " a silly, sickly compound, the use of which will transform a nation, however bold and warlike by nature, into a race of sketchers, scribblers, and punsters, — in fact, into what Englishmen are at the present day." He has created the atmosphere of Wales as he did that of the gypsy encamp- ment. He shows the jealous way in which the Welsh cling to their language, and their suspicion of the Saesneg, or Saxon. Above all, he shows how national are the Welsh poets, belonging not to the cultured few ; but to the labouring man as much as to the landed proprietor. Borrow earned the respect of the people, not only because he knew their language ; but on account of his profound knowledge of their literature, their history, and their traditions. No one could escape him, he accosted every soul he met, and evinced a desire for information as to place-names that instantly arrested their attention. The most curious thing about Wild Wales is the omission of all mention of the Welsh Gypsies, who, with those of Hungary, share the distinction of being the aristocrats of their race. Several explanations have been suggested to account for the curious circumstance. Had Borrow's knowledge of Welsh Romany been scanty, he could very soon have improved it. The presence of his wife and step-daughter was no hindrance ; for, as a matter of fact, they were very little with him, even when they and Borrow were staying at Llangollen ; but during the long tours they were many miles away. In all probability the Welsh Gypsies were sacrificed to British prejudice, much as were pugilism and the baiting of the pope. In spite of its simple charm and convincing atmosphere, Wild Wales did not please the critics. Those who noticed it (and there were many who did not) either questioned its genuineness, or found it crowded with triviality and self- glorification. It was full of the superfluous, the superfluous repeated, and above all it was too long (some 250,000 words). The Spectator notice was an exception ; it did credit to the critical faculty of the man who wrote it. He xxvm.] JUSTICE TO THE WELSH BARDS 455 declined "to boggle and wrangle over minor defects in what is intrinsically good," and praised Wild Wales as "the first really clever book ... in which an honest attempt is made to do justice to Welsh literature." Borrow had much time upon his hands in London, which he occupied largely in walking. He visited the Metropolitan Gypsyries at Wandsworth, "the Potteries," and " the Mounts," as described in Romano Lavo-Lil. Sometimes he would be present at some sporting event, such as the race between the Indian Deerfoot and Jackson, styled the American Deer — tame sport in com- parison with the "mills" of his boyhood. He did very little writing, and from 1862, when Wild Wales appeared, until he published The Romano Lavo-Lil in 1874, his literary output consisted of only some translations contri- buted to Once a Week (January 1862 to December 1863). In 1865 he was to lose his step-daughter, who married a William MacOubrey, M.D., described in the marriage register as a physician of Sloane Street, London, and subsequently upon his tombstone as a barrister. In the July of 1866 Borrow and his wife went to Belfast on a visit to the newly married pair. From Belfast Borrow took another trip into Scotland, crossing over to Stranraer. From there he proceeded to Glen Luce and subsequently to Newton Stewart, Castle Douglas, Dumfries, Ecclefechan, Gretna Green, Carlisle, Langholm, Hawick, Jedburgh, Yetholm (where he saw Esther Blyth of Kirk Yetholm), Kelso, Abbotsford, Melrose, Berwick, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and so back to Belfast, having been absent for nearly four weeks. Mrs Borrow's health had been the cause of the family leaving Oulton for Great Yarmouth, and about the time of the Irish visit it seems to have become worse. When Borrow was away upon his excursion he received a letter at Carlisle in which his wife informed him that she was not so well; but urging him not to return if he were enjoying his trip and it were benefiting his health. 456 LIFE IN LONDON [1867 In the autumn of the following year (1867) they were at Bognor, Mrs Borrow taking the sea air, her husband tramping about the country and penetrating into the New Forest. On their return to town Mrs Borrow appears to have become worse. There was much corre- spondence to be attended to with regard to the Oulton Estate, and she had to go down to Suffolk to give her personal attention to certain important details. Miss Cobbe throws a little light on the period in a letter to a friend, in which she says : " Mr Borrow says his wife is very ill and anxious to keep the peace with C. (a litigious neighbour). Poor old B. was very sad at first, but I cheered him up and sent him off quite brisk last night. He talked all about the Fathers again, arguing that their quotations went to prove that it was not our gospels they had in their hands. I knew most of it before, but it was admirably done. I talked a little theology to him in a serious way (finding him talk of his ' horrors ') and he abounded in my sense of the non-existence of Hell, and of the presence and action on the soul of a Spirit, rewarding and punishing. He would not say ' God ' ; but repeated over and over again that he spoke not from books but from his own personal experience." 1 On 24th January (1869) Mrs Borrow was taken suddenly ill and the family doctor being out of town, Borrow sent for Dr W. S. Playfair of 5 Curzon Street. A letter from Dr Playfair, 25th January, to the family doctor is the only coherent testimony in existence as to what was actually the matter with Mrs Borrow. It runs : " I found great difficulty in making out the case exactly," he writes, "since Mr Borrow himself was so agitated that I could get no very clear account of it. I could detect no marked organic affection about the heart or lungs, of which she chiefly complained. It seemed to me to be either a very aggravated form of hysteria, or, what appears more likely, some more serious mental 1 Life of Frances Power Cobbe, by Herself, 1894. xxviii.] DEATH OF MRS BORROW 457 affection. In any case, the chief requisite seemed very careful and intelligent nursing or management, and I doubt very much, from what I saw, whether she gets that with her present surroundings. If it is really the more serious mental affection, I should fancy that the sooner means are taken to have her properly taken care of, the better." Dr Playfair saw in Borrow's highly nervous excitable nature, if not the cause of his wife's breakdown, at least an obstacle to her recovery, and was of opinion that Mrs Borrow's disorder had been greatly aggravated by her husband's presence. Mrs Borrow never rallied from the attack, and on the 30th she died of " valvular disease of the heart and dropsy," being then in her seventy-seventh year. On 4th February she was buried in Brompton Cemetery, and the lonely man, her husband, returned to Hereford Square. The grave bears the inscription, " To the Beloved Memory of My Mother, Mary Borrow, who fell asleep in Jesus, 30th January 1869." It is strange that this should be in Henrietta's and not Borrow's name. Mrs Borrow evidently made over her property to her husband during her lifetime, as there is no will in existence, and no application appears to have been made either by Borrow or anyone else for letters of administration. CHAPTER XXIX JANUARY 1869— 1 88 1 [~^HE death of his wife was a last blow to Borrow, and -*• he soon retired from the world. At first he appears to have sought consolation in books, to judge from the number of purchases he made about this time ; but it was, apparently, with pitiably unsuccessful results. In a letter to a friend Miss Cobbe gives a picture in his lonliness : " Poor old Borrow is in a sad state," she wrote. " I hope he is starting in a day or two for Scotland. I sent C. with a note begging him to come and eat the Welsh mutton you sent me to-day, and he sent back word, ' Yes.' Then, an hour afterwards, he arrived, and in a most agitated manner said he had come to say ' he would rather not. He would not trouble anyone with his sorrows.' I made him sit down, and talked as gently to him as possible, saying : ' It won't be a trouble Mr Borrow, it will be a pleasure to me.' But it was all of no use. He was so cross so rude, I had the greatest difficulty in talking to him. I asked about his servant, and he said I could not help him. I asked him about Bowring, and he said : ' Don't speak of it.' (It was some dispute with Sir John Bowring, who was an acquaintance of mine, and with whom I offered to mediate.) ' I asked him would he look at the photos of the Siamese,' and he said : ' Don't show them to me ! ' So, in despair, as he sat silent, I told him I had been at a pleasant dinner-party the night before, and had met Mr L , who told me of certain curious books of mediaeval history. ' Did he know them ? ' ' No, and he dare said Mr L did not, either ! Who was Mr L ? ' I described that obscure individual, (one of the xxix.] "HANS BREITMANN " 459 foremost writers of the day), and added that he was immensely liked by everybody. Whereupon Borrow repeated at least twelve times, ' Immensely liked ! As if a man could be immensely liked ! ' quite insultingly. To make a diversion (I was very patient with him as he was in trouble), • I said I had just come home from the Lyell's and had heard ' . . . But there was no time to say what I had heard ! Mr Borrow asked : ' Is that old Lyle I met here once, the man who stands at the door (of some den or other) and bets?' I explained who Sir Charles was, l (of course he knew very well), but he went on and on, till I said gravely: 'I don't think you will meet those sort of people here, Mr Borrow. We don't associate with black- legs, exactly.'" 2 In the Autumn of 1870 Borrow became acquainted with Charles G. Leland (" Hans Breitmann ") as the result of receiving from him the following letter : — Brighton, 24 th October 1870. Dear Sir, — During the eighteen months that I have been in England, my efforts to find some mutual friend who would introduce me to you have been quite in vain. As the author of two or three works which have been kindly received in England, I have made the acquaintance of many literary men and enjoyed much hospitality ; but I assure you very sincerely that my inability to find you out or get at you has been a source of great annoyance to me. As you never published a book which I have not read through five times — excepting The Bible in Spain and Wild Wales, which I have only read once — you will perfectly understand why I should be so desirous of meeting you. As you have very possibly never heard of me before, I would state that I wrote a collection of Ballads satirising Germany and the Germans under the title of Hans Breitmann. I never before in my life solicited the favour of any man's acquaintance, except through the regular medium of an introduction. If my request to be allowed the 1 The Geologist, 1797-1875. 2 The Life of Frances Power Cobbc, by Herself, 1894. 460 A LONELY OLD AGE [1870 favour of meeting and seeing you does not seem too outre", I would be to glad to go to London, or wherever you may be, if it can be done without causing you any inconvenience, and if I should not be regarded as an intruder. I am an American, and among us such requests are parfaitment (sic) en i^gle. I am, . . . Charles G. Leland. Borrow replied on 2nd Nov. : Sir, I have received your letter and am gratified by the desire you express to make my acquaintance. Whenever you please to come I shall be happy to see you. Truly yours, George Borrow. 1 The meeting unquestionably took place at Hereford Square, and Leland found Borrow " a tall, large, fine- looking man who must have been handsome in his youth." 2 The result of the interview was that Leland sent to Borrow a copy of his Ballads and also The Music Lesson of Confucius, then about to appear. At the same time he wrote to Borrow drawing his attention to one of the ballads written in German Romany jib, and enquiring if it were worth anything. Whilst deprecating his " impudence " in writing a Romany gili and telling, as a pupil might a master, of his interest in and his association with the gypsies, he continues : " My dear Mr Borrow, for all this you are entirely responsible. More than twenty years ago your books had an incredible influence on me, and now you see the results." After telling him that he can never thank him sufficiently for the instructions he has given in The Romany Rye as to how to take care of a horse on a thirty-mile ride, he concludes — " With 1 Charles Godfrey Leland, by E. R. Pennell, 1908. 2 Memoirs, by C. G. Leland, 1893. xxix.] THE RIVAL LAV-ENGROS 461 apologies for the careless tone of this letter, and with sincere thanks for your kindness in permitting me to call on you and for your courteous note, — I am your sincere admirer." The account that Leland gives of this episode in his Memoirs is puzzling and contradictory in the light of his first letter. He writes : " There was another hard old character with whom I became acquainted in those days, and one who, though not a Carlyle, still, like him, exercised in a peculiar way a great influence on English literature. This was George Borrow. I was in the habit of reading a great deal in the British Museum, where he also came, and there I was introduced to him. 1 [Leland seems to be in error here ; see ante, page 460.] He was busy with a venerable-looking volume in old Irish, and made the remark to me that he did not believe there was a man living who could read old Irish with ease (which I now observe to myself was ' fished ' out of Sir W. Betham). We discussed several Gypsy words and phrases. I met him in the same place several times." 2 Leland states that he sent a note to Borrow, care of John Murray, asking permission to dedicate to him his forthcoming book, The English Gypsies and Their Language; but received no reply, although Murray assured him that the letter had been received by Borrow. " He received my note on the Saturday," Leland writes — - " never answered it — and on Monday morning advertised in all the journals his own forthcoming work on the same subject" 3 Had Borrow asked him to delay publishing his own book, Leland says he would have done so, " for I had so great a respect for the Nestor of Gypsyism, that 1 In her biography of Leland, Mrs Pennell states that an American woman, a Mrs Lewis ("Estelle") introduced Leland to Borrow at the British Museum and that they talked Gypsy. " I hear he expressed himself as greatly pleased with me," was Leland's comment. The correspondence clearly shows that Leland called on Borrow. 2 Memoirs of C. G. Leland, 1893. 3 Memoirs of C. G. Leland, 1893. 462 A LONELY OLD AGE [1874 I would have been very glad to have gratified him with such a small sacrifice." 1 However Borrow may have heard that Leland had in preparation a book on the English Gypsies, he seemed to feel that it was a trespass upon ground that was peculiarly his own. Having revised and prepared for the press the new edition of the Gypsy St Luke for the Bible Society (published December 1872), and the one-volume editions of Lavengro and The Romany Rye, he set to work to forestall Leland with his own Romano Lavo-Lil. In spite of his haste, however, Borrow was beaten in the race, and Leland got his volume out first. When the Romano Lavo-LW 1 appeared in March 1874, Borrow found what, in all probability he had not dreamed of, that the thirty-three years intervening between its publication and that of The Zincali, had changed the whole literary world as regards "things of Egypt." In 1841 Borrow had produced a unique book, such as only one man in England could have written, and that man himself 3 ; 1 Leland's annoyance with Borrow did not prevent him paying to his memory the following tribute : — "What I admire in Borrow to such a degree that before it his faults or failings seem very trifling, is his absolutely vigorous, marvellously varied originality, based on direct familiarity with Nature, but guided and cultured by the study of natural, simple writers, such as Defoe and Smollett. I think that the 'interest' in, or rather sympathy for gypsies, in his case as in mine, came not from their being curious or dramatic beings, but because they are so much a part of free life, of out-of-doors Nature ; so associated with sheltered nooks among rocks and trees, the hedgerow and birds, river-sides, and wild roads. Borrow's heart was large and true as regarded English rural life ; there was a place in it for everything which was of the open air and freshly beautiful." — Memoirs of C. G. Leland, 1893. 2 Romano Lavo-Lil : Word-Book of the Romany, or English Gypsy Language. With Specimens of Gypsy Poetry, and an Account of Certain Gypsyries or Places Inhabited by Them, and of Various Things Relating to Gypsy Life in England. 3 "There were not two educated men in England who possessed the slightest knowledge of Romany." — F. H. Groome in Academy, 13th June 1874. xxix.] A SPENT FORCE 463 but in 1874 he found himself not only out of date, but out-classed. The title very thoroughly explains the scope of the work. The Vocabulary had existed in manuscript for many years. For some reason, difficult to explain, Borrow had omitted from this Vocabulary a number of the gypsy words that appeared in Lavengro and The Romany Rye. In spite of this " Mr Borrow's present vocabulary makes a goodly show," wrote F. H. Groome, ". . . containing no fewer than fourteen hundred words, of which about fifty will be entirely new to those who only know Romany in books." 1 After praising the Gypsy songs as the best portion of the book, Groome proceeds : " Of his prose I cannot say so much. It is the Romany of the study rather than of the tents [!] Mr Borrow has attempted to rehabilitate English Romany by enduing it with forms and inflections, of which some are still rarely to be heard, some extinct, and others absolutely incorrect ; while Mr Leland has been content to give it as it really is. Of the two methods I cannot doubt that most readers will agree with me in thinking that Mr Leland's is the more satisfactory." 2 The Athenceum sternly rebuked Borrow for seeming " to make the mistake of confounding the amount of Rommanis which he has collected in this book with the actual extent of the language itself." The reviewer pays a somewhat grudging tribute to other portions of the book, the accounts of the Gypsyries and the biographical particulars of the Romany worthies, but the work suffers by comparison with those of Paspati and Leland. He acknowledges that Borrow was one of the pioneers of those who gave accounts of the Gypsies in Eng- lish, who gave to many their present taste for Gypsy matters, 1 F. H. Groome in Academy, 13th June 1874. 2 Ibid. 464 A LONELY OLD AGE [1874 " but," he proceeds, " we cannot allow merely senti- mental considerations to prevent us from telling the honest truth. The fact is that the Romano Lavo-Lil is nothing more than a rechauffe of the materials collected by Mr Borrow at an early stage of his investigations, and nearly every word and every phrase may be found in one form or another in his earlier works. Whether or not Mr Borrow has in the course of his long experience become the deep Gypsy which he has always been supposed to be, we cannot say ; but it is certain that his present book contains little more than he gave to the public forty years ago, and does not by any means represent the present state of knowledge on the subject. But at the present day, when comparative philology has made such strides, and when want of accurate scholarship is as little tolerated in strange and remote languages as in classical literature, the Romano Lavo-Lil is, to speak mildly, an anachronism." This notice, if Borrow read it, must have been very bitter to him. All the loyalty to, and enthusiasm for, Borrow cannot disguise the fact that his work, as far as the Gypsies were concerned, was finished. He had first explored the path, but others had followed and levelled it into a thoroughfare, and Borrow found his facts and theories obsolete — a humiliating discovery to a man so shy, so proud, and so sensitive. The Romano Lavo-Lil was Borrow's swan song. He lived for another seven years ; but as far as the world was concerned he was dead. In an obituary notice of Robert Latham, Mr Watts-Dunton tells a story that emphasizes how thoroughly his existence had been forgotten. Atone of Mrs Procter's " at homes " he was talking of Latham and Borrow, but when he happened to mention that both men were still alive, that is in the early Seventies, and that quite recently he had been in the company of each on separate occasions, he found that he had lost caste in the eyes of his hearers for talking about men as alive "who were well known to have been dead years ago." 1 1 The Athenceum, 17th March 1888. xxix.] THE CALM COLOSSUS 465 There is an interesting picture of Borrow as he appeared in the Seventies, given by F. H. Groome, who writes : " The first time I ever saw him was at Ascot, the Wednesday evening of the Cup week in, I think, the year 1872. I was stopping at a wayside inn, half-a-mile on the Windsor road, just opposite which inn there was a great encampment of Gypsies. One of their lads had on the Tuesday affronted a soldier ; so two or three hundred redcoats came over from Windsor, intending to wreck the camp. There was a babel of cursing and screaming, much brandishing of belts and tent-rods, when suddenly an arbiter appeared, a white-haired, brown-eyed, calm Colossus, speaking Romany fluently, and drinking deep draughts of ale — in a quarter of an hour Tommy Atkins and Anselo Stanley were sworn friends over a loving- quart. " Mr Burroughs," said one of the Gypsies (it is the name by which Gypsies still speak of him), and I knew that at last I had met him whom of all men I most wished to meet. Matty Cooper, the ' celebrated Windsor Frog ' {vide Leland), presented me as ' a young gentleman, Rya, a scholard from Oxford ' ; and " H'm,' quoth Colossus, ' a good many fools come from Oxford.' It was a bad beginning, but it ended well, by his asking me to walk with him to the station, and on the way inviting me to call on him in London. I did so, but not until nearly a twelve-month afterwards, when I found him in Hereford Square, and when he set strong ale before me, as again on the occasion of my third and last meeting with him in the tent of our common acquaintance, Shadrach Heme, at the Potteries, Notting Hill. Both these times we had much talk together, but I remember only that it was partly about East Anglia, and more about ' things of Egypt.' Conversations twenty years old are easy to imagine, hard to reproduce. . . . Probably Borrow asked me the Romany for ' frying-pan,' and I modestly answered, ' Either maasalli or tasseromengrV (this is password No. 1), and then I may have asked him the Romany for ' brick,' to which he will have answered, that ' there is no such word ' (this is No. 2). But one thing I do remember, that he was frank and kindly, interesting and interested ; I was only a lad, and he was verging on seventy. I could tell him about a few ' travellers ' whom he had not recently 2 G 466 A LONELY OLD AGE [1874 seen — Charlie Pinfold, the hoary polygamist, Plato and Mantis Buckland, Cinderella Petulengro, and Old Tom Oliver (' Ha ! so he has seen Tom Oliver,' I seem to remember that)." x There was nothing now to keep Borrow in London. Nobody wanted to read his books, other stars had risen in the East. His publisher had exclaimed with energy, as Borrow himself would relate, " I want to meet with good writers, but there are none to be had : I want a man who can write like Ecclesiastes." There is something tragic in the account that Mr Watts-Dunton gives of his last encounter with Borrow : " The last time I ever saw him," he writes, " was shortly before he left London to live in the country. It was, I remember well, on Waterloo Bridge, where I had stopped to gaze at a sunset of singular and striking splendour, whose gorgeous clouds and ruddy mists were reeling and boiling over the West-End. Borrow came up and stood leaning over the parapet, entranced by the sight, as well he might be. Like most people born in flat districts, he had a passion for sunsets. Turner could not have painted that one, I think, and certainly my pen could not describe it. ... I never saw such a sunset before or since, not even on Waterloo Bridge ; and from its association with 4 the last of Borrow,' I shall never forget it." 2 In 1874 Borrow withdrew to Oulton, there to end his lonely life, his spirit seeming to enjoy the dreary solitude of the Cottage, with its mournful surroundings. His step- daughter, the Henrietta of old, remained in London with her husband, and Borrow's loneliness was complete. Sometimes he was to be seen stalking along the highways at a great pace, wearing a broad brimmed hat and a Spanish cloak, a tragic figure of solitude and despair, speaking to no one, no one daring to speak to him, who locally was considered as " a funny tempered man." In a fragment of a letter from Edward FitzGerald to 1 The Bookman, February 1893. 3 The AthencEuvi, 10th Sept. 1881. xxix.] EDWARD FITZGERALD'S LETTERS 467 W. B. Donne (June 1874), there is an interesting reference to Borrow : — " Wait ! " he writes. " I have one little thing to tell you, which, little as it is, is worth all the rest, if you don't know already. " Borrow — has got back to his own Oulton Lodge. My Nephew, Edmund Kerrich, now Adjutant to some Volunteer Battalion, wants a house near, not in, Lowestoft : and got some Agent to apply for Borrow's — who sent word that he is himself there — an old Man — wanting Retirement, etc. This was the account Edmund got. " I saw in some Athenaeum a somewhat contemptuous notice of G. B.'s ' Rommany Lil ' or whatever the name is. I can easily understand that B. should not meddle with science of any sort ; but some years ago he would not have liked to be told so, however Old Age may have cooled him now." x Borrow sent a message to FitzGerald through Edmund Kerrich of Geldeston, asking him to visit Oulton Cottage. The reply shows all the sweetness of the writer's nature : — Little Grange, Woodbridge, Jan. 10/75. DEAR BORROW, — My nephew Kerrich told me of a very kind invitation that you sent to me, through him, some while ago. I think the more of it because I imagine, from what I have heard, that you have slunk away from human company as much — as I have ! For the last fifteen years I have not visited any one of my very oldest friends, except the daughters of my old [? friend] George Crabbe, and Donne — once only, and for half a day, just to assure myself by my own eyes how he was after the severe illness he had last year, and which he never will quite recover from, I think ; though he looked and moved better than I expected. Well — to tell you all about why I have thus fallen 1 Willia?n Bodham Donne and His Friends. Edited by Catherine 13. Johnson, 1905. 468 A LONELY OLD AGE [1875 from my company would be a tedious thing, and all about one's self too — whom, Montaigne says, one never talks about without detriment to the person talked about. Suffice to say, 'so it is ' ; and one's friends, however kind and ' loyal ' (as the phrase goes), do manage to exist and enjoy themselves pretty reasonably without one. So with me. And is it not much the same with you also ? Are you not glad now to be mainly alone, and find company a heavier burden than the grasshopper ? If one ever had this solitary habit, it is not likely to alter for the better as one grows older — as one grows old. I like to think over my old friends. There they are, lingering as ineffaceable portraits — done in the prime of life — in my memory. Perhaps we should not like one another so well after a fifteen-years separation, when all of us change and most of us for the worse. I do not say that would be your case ; but you must, at any rate, be less inclined to disturb the settled repose into which you, I suppose, have fallen. I remember first seeing you at Oulton, some twenty-five years ago ; then at Donne's in London ; then at my own happy home in Regent's Park ; then ditto at Gorleston — after which, I have seen nobody, except the nephews and nieces left me by my good sister Kerrich. So shall things rest ? I could not go to you, after refusing all this while to go to older — if not better — friends, fellow Collegians, fellow schoolfellows ; and yet will you still believe me (as I hope they do) Yours and theirs sincerely, Edward FitzGerald. Borrow was still a remarkably robust man. Mr Watts- Dunton tells how, " At seventy years of age, after breakfasting at eight o'clock in Hereford Square, he would walk to Putney, meet one or more of us at Roehampton, roam about Wimbledon and Richmond Park with us, bathe in the Fen Ponds with a north-east wind cutting across the icy water like a razor, run about the grass afterwards like a boy to shake off some of the water-drops, stride about the park for hours, and then, after fasting for twelve hours, eat a dinner at Roehampton that would have done Sir Walter Scott's eyes good to see. Finally, he would walk back to xxix.] CLOSING YEARS 469 Hereford Square, getting home late at night. And if the physique of the man was bracing, his conversation, unless he happened to be suffering from one of his occasional fits of depression, was still more so. Its freshness, raciness and eccentric whim no pen could describe. There is a kind of humour the delight of which is that while you smile at the pictures it draws, you smile quite as much or more to think that there is a mind so whimsical, crotchetty, and odd as to draw them. This was the humour of Borrow." x He was seventy years of age when, one March day during a bitterly-cold east wind, he stripped and plunged into one of the Fen Ponds in Richmond Park, which was covered with ice, and dived and swam under the water for a time, reappearing some distance from the spot where he had entered the water. 2 The remaining years of Borrow's life were spent in Suffolk. He would frequently go to Norwich, however ; for the old city seemed to draw him irresistibly from his hermitage. He would take a lodging there, and spend much of his time occupying a certain chair in the Norfolk Hotel in St Giles. There were so many old associations with Norwich that made it appear home to him. He was possessed of sentiment in plenty, it had caused his old mother to wish that " dear George would not' have such fancies about the old house " in Willow Lane. Later, Dr and Mrs MacOubrey removed to Oulton (about 1878), and Borrow's life became less dismal and lonely ; but he was nearing his end. Sometimes there would be a flash of that old unconquerable spirit. His stepdaughter relates how, "on the 2 1 st of November [1878], the place [the farm] having been going to decay for fourteen months, Mr Palmer [the tenant] called to demand that Mr Borrow should put it in repair ; otherwise he would do it himself 1 Mr T. Watts-Dunton, in The Athenaum, 3rd Sept. 1881. 2 Mr A. Egmont Hake, in The. Athemeum, 13th Aug. 1881. 470 A LONELY OLD AGE [1879 and send in the bills, saying, ' I don't care for the old farm or you either,' and several other insulting things ; whereupon Mr Borrow remarked very calmly, ' Sir, you came in by that door, you can go out by it ' — and so it ended." 1 It was on an occasion such as this that Borrow yearned for a son to knock the rascal down. He was an infirm man, his body feeling the wear and tear of the strenuous open-air life he had led. In 1879, according to Mrs MacOubrey, he was ." unable to walk as far as the white gate," the boundary of his estate. He was obviously breaking-up very rapidly. The surroundings appear to have reflected the gloomy nature of the master of the estate. The house was dilapidated, "with everything about it more or less untidy," 2 although at this period his income amounted to upwards of five hundred pounds a year. " During his latter years," writes Mr W. A. Dutt, " his tall, erect, somewhat mysterious figure was often seen in the early hours of summer mornings or late at night on the lonely pathways that wind in and out from the banks of Oulton Broad . . . the village children used to hush their voices and draw aside at his approach. They looked upon him with fear and awe. ... In his heart, Borrow was fond of the little ones, though it amused him to watch the impression his strange personality made upon them. Older people he seldom spoke to when out on his solitary rambles ; but sometimes he would flash out such a glance from beneath his broad-brimmed hat and shaggy eyebrows as would make timid country folk hasten on their way filled with vague thoughts and fears of the evil eye." 3 Even to the last the old sensitiveness occasionally flashed out, as on the occasion of a visit from the Vicar of Lowestoft, who drove over with an acquaintance of 1 The Life of George Borrow, by Dr Knapp. - East Anglia, by J. Ewing Ritchie, 1883. " George Borrow in East Anglia. xxix.] THE END 471 Borrow's to make the hermit's acquaintance. The visitor was so incautious as to ask the age of his host, when, with Johnsonian emphasis, came the reply : " Sir, I tell my age to no man ! " This occurred some time during the year 1880. Immediately his discomfited guest had departed, Borrow withdrew to the summer - house, where he drew up the following apothegm on " People's Age":- " Never talk to people about their age. Call a boy a boy, and he will fly into a passion and say, ' Not quite so much of a boy either ; I'm a young man.' Tell an elderly person that he's not so young as he was, and you will make him hate you for life. Compliment a man of eighty- five on the venerableness of his appearance and he will shriek out : ' No more venerable than yourself,' and will perhaps hit you with his crutch." On 1st December 1880 Borrow sent for his solicitor from Lowestoft, and made his will, by which he bequeathed all his property, real and personal, to his stepdaughter Henrietta, devising that it should be held in trust for her by his friend Elizabeth Harvey. It was evidently Borrow's intention so to tie up the bequest that Dr MacOubrey could not in any way touch his wife's estate. The end came suddenly. On the morning of 26th July 1 88 1 Dr and Mrs MacOubrey drove into Lowestoft, leaving Borrow alone in the house. When they returned he was dead. Throughout his life Borrow had been a solitary, and it seems fitting that he should die alone. It has been urged against his stepdaughter that she disregarded Borrow's appeals not to be left alone in the house, as he felt himself to be dying. He may have made similar requests on other occasions ; still, whatever the facts, it was strange to leave so old and so infirm a man quite unattended. On 4th August the body was brought to London, and buried beside that of Mrs George Borrow in Brompton 472 A LONELY OLD AGE [1881 Cemetery. On the stone, which is what is known as a saddle-back, is inscribed : In Loving Remembrance of GEORGE HENRY BORROW, Esq., who died july 26th, l88l (at his residence " oulton cottage, suffolk ") in his 79th year. (Author of The Bible in Spain, Lavengro— and other works.) "in hope of a glorious resurrection." A fruitless effort was made by the late J. J. Colman of Carrow to purchase the whole of Borrow's manuscripts, library, and papers for the Carrow Abbey Library ; but the price asked, a thousand pounds, was considered too high, and they passed into the possession of another. Eventually they found their way into the reverent hands of the man who subsequently made Borrow his hero, and who devoted years of his life to the writing of his biography — Dr W. J. Knapp. It was Borrow's fate, a tragic fate for a man so proud, to outlive the period of his fame. Not only were his books forgotten, but the world anticipated his death by some seven or eight years. His was a curiously complex nature, one that seems specially to have been conceived by Providence to arouse enmity among the many, and to awaken in the hearts of the few a sterling, unwavering friendship. It is impossible to reconcile the accounts of those who hated him with those whose love and respect he engaged. He was in sympathy with vagrants and vagabonds — a taste that was perhaps emphasised by the months he spent in preparing Celebrated Trials. If those months xxix] A REMARKABLE CHARACTER 473 of hack work taught him sympathy with pariahs, it also taught him to write strong, nervous English. He was one of the most remarkable characters of his century — whimsical, eccentric, lovable, inexplicable ; possessed of an odd, dry humour that sometimes failed him when most he needed it. He lived and died a stranger to the class to which he belonged, and was the intimate friend and associate of that dark and mysterious personage, Mr Petulengro. He hated his social equals, and admired Tamerlane and Jerry Abershaw. It has been said 1 that he was born three centuries too late, and that he belonged to the age when men dropped mysteriously down the river in ships, later to return with strange stories and great treasure from the Spanish Main. Mr Watts-Dunton has said : — " When Borrow was talking to people in his own class of life there was always in his bearing a kind of shy, defiant egotism. What Carlyle called the ' armed neu- trality ' of social intercourse oppressed him. He felt himself to be in the enemy's camp. In his eyes there was always a kind of watchfulness, as if he were taking stock of his interlocutor and weighing him against himself. He seemed to be observing what effect his words were having, and this attitude repelled people at first. But the moment he approached a gypsy on the heath, or a poor Jew in Houndsditch, or a homeless wanderer by the wayside, he became another man. He threw off the burden of restraint. The feeling of the ■ armed neutrality ' was left behind, and he seemed to be at last enjoying the only social intercourse that could give him pleasure. This it was that enabled him to make friends so entirely with the gypsies. Notwithstanding what is called ' Romany guile ' (which is the growth of ages of oppression), the basis of the Romany character is a joyous frankness. Once let the isolating wall which shuts off the Romany from the 'Gorgio' be broken through, and the communicativeness of the Romany temperament begins to show itself. The gypsies are extremely close observers ; they were very quick to notice how different was Borrow's bearing 1 W. E. Henley. 474 A LONELY OLD AGE [1881 towards themselves from his bearing towards people of his own race, and Borrow used to say that ' old Mrs Heme and Leonora were the only gypsies who suspected and disliked him.'" 1 This convincing character sketch seems to show the real Borrow. It accounts even for that high-piping, artificial voice (a gypsy trait) that he assumed when speaking with those who were not his intimate friends, and which any sudden interest in the conversation would cause him to abandon in favour of his own deep, rich tones. Mr F. J. Bowring, himself no friend of Borrow's for very obvious reasons, has described this artificial intonation as something between a beggar's whine and the high - pitched voice of a gypsy — in sort, a falsetto. He tells how, on one occasion, when in conversation with Borrow, he happened to mention to him something of particular interest concerning the gypsies, Borrow became immensely interested, immediately dropped the falsetto and spoke in his natural voice, which Mr Bowring describes as deep and manly. Even his friends were led sometimes into criticisms that appear unsympathetic. 2 He was, Dr Hake has said, " essentially hypochondriacal. Society he loved and hated alike : he loved it that he might be pointed out and talked of; he hated it because he was not the prince that he felt himself in its midst." 3 It is the son who shows the better understanding, although there is no doubt about Dr Hake's loyalty to Borrow. There is a faithful presentation of a man such as Borrow really seems to have been, in the following words : — 1 The Athenmim, 25 th March 1899. 2 Many attacks have been made upon Borrow's memory : one well-known man of letters and divine has gone to lengths that can only be described as unpardonable. It is undesirable to do more than deplore the lapse that no doubt the writer himself has already deeply regretted. 3 Memoirs 0/ Eighty Years, 1892. xxtx.] A PATRIOT 475 " Few men have ever made so deep an impression on me as George Borrow. His tall, broad figure, his stately bearing, his fine brown eyes, so bright yet soft, his thick- white hair, his oval beardless face, his loud rich voice and bold heroic air were such as to impress the most indifferent lookers-on. Added to this there was some- thing not easily forgotten in the manner in which he would unexpectedly come to our gates, singing some gypsy song, and as suddenly depart." x If Borrow wrote that he was ashamed of being an Englishman and referred to their " pinched and mortified expressions," if he found the virtues of the Saxons " uncouth and ungracious," he never permitted others to make disparaging remarks about his country or his countrymen. 2 He was typically English in this : agree with his strictures, add a word or two of dispraise of the English, and there appeared a terrifying figure of a patriot ; " not only an Englishman but an East English- man," which in Borrow's vocabulary meant the finest of the breed. He might with more truth have said a Cornishman. " I could not command myself when I heard my own glorious land traduced in this unmerited manner,"' 5 he once exclaimed. He permitted to himself, and to himself only, a certain latitude in such matters. That Borrow exaggerated is beyond all question, but it must not be called deliberate. He desired to give impressions of scenes and people, and he was inclined to emphasize certain features. Isopel Berners he wished it to be known was a queenly creature, and he described her as taller than himself (he was 6 feet 2 inches without his shoes). Exaggeration is colour, not form. A disbelief in his having encountered the convict son of the old apple-woman near Salisbury does not imply that the 1 Mr A. Egmont Hake in The Athenawm, 13th August 1881. 2 In The Bible in Spain. " Next to the love of God, the love of country is the best preventative of crime." (Page 53.) ? ' The Bible in Spain, page 97. 47G A LONELY OLD AGE [1881 old woman herself is a fiction. Borrow insisted upon Norfolk as his county, " where the people eat the best dumplings in the world, and speak the purest English." He even spoke with a strong, if imperfect, East Anglian accent. As a matter of fact his father was Cornish and his mother of Huguenot stock. It would be absurd to argue from this obvious exaggeration of the actual facts that Borrow was a myth. Then he has been taken to task for not being a philologist as well as a linguist. He may have used the word philologist somewhat loosely on occasion. " Think what the reader would have lost," says one eminent but by no means prejudiced critic 1 with real sympathy and insight, " had Borrow waited to verify his etymologies." In all probability Nature will never produce a Humboldt- Le Sage combination of intellect. Language was to Borrow merely the key that permitted him access to the chamber of men's minds. It must be confessed that sometimes he invaded the sacred precincts of philology. His chapter on the Basque language in The Bible in Spain has been described as " utterly frantic," and German philologists, speechless in their astonishment, have expressed themselves upon his conclusions in marks of exclamation ! He was not qualified to discourse upon the science of language. He was a staunch member of the Church of England, because he believed there was in it more religion than in any other Church ; but this did not hinder him from consorting with the godless children of the tents, or contributing towards the upkeep of Nonconformist schools. The gypsies honoured and trusted him because, crooked themselves, they appreciated straightness and clean living in another. They had never known him use a bad word or do a bad thing. He was, on occasion, arrogant, overbearing, ungracious, in short all the unattractive things that a proud and masterful man can be ; but his friendship 1 Mr Thomas Seccombe in The Bookman, Feb. 1892. xxix] UNDERSTANDING FRIENDS 477 was as strong as the man himself; his charity above the narrow prejudices of sect. When he threw his tremendous power into any enterprise or undertaking, it was with the determination that it should succeed, if work and self- sacrifice could make it. " The wisest course," he thought, was, "... to blend the whole of the philosophy of the tombstone with a portion of the philosophy of the publican and something more, to enjoy one's pint and pipe and other innocent pleasures, and to think every now and then of death and judgment." x Borrow loved mystery for its own sake, and none were ever able quite to penetrate into the inner fastness of his personality. Those who came nearest to it were probably Hasfeldt and Ford, whose persistent good-humour was an armour against a reserve that chilled most men. Of all Borrow's friends it is probable that none under- stood him so well as Hasfeldt. He recognised the strength of character of the white-haired man who sang when he was happy, and he refused to be affected by his gloomy moods. " Write and tell me," he requests, " if you have not fallen in love with some nun or Gypsy in Spain, or have met with some other romantic adventure worthy of a roaming knight." On another occasion (June 1845) ne boasts with some justification, "Heaven be praised, I can comprehend you as a reality, while many regard you as an imaginary, fantastic being. But they who portray you have not eaten bread and salt with you." Borrow's contemporary recognition was a chance ; he was writing for another generation, and some of the friends that he left behind have loyally striven to erect to him the only monument an artist desires — the proclaiming of his works. Nature it appeared had framed Borrow in a moment of magnificence, and, lest he should be enticed away from her, had instilled into his soul a hatred of all things artificial and at variance with her august decrees. He 1 Wild Welles^ page 628. 478 A LONELY OLD AGE [1881 was shy and suspicious with the men and women who regulated their lives by the narrow standards of civilisation and decorum ; but with the children of the tents and the vagrants of the wayside he was a single-minded man, eager to learn the lore of the open air. He recognised in these vagabonds the true sons and daughters of " the Great Mother who mixes all our bloods." THE END LIST OF BORROWS WORKS 1825 Celebrated Trials, and Remarkable Cases of Criminal Jurisprudence, from the Earliest Records to the Year 1825. Six volumes, with plates. London. Faustus : His Life, Death, and Descent into Hell. Translated from the German [of F. M. von Klinger]. W. Simpkin and R. Marshall, London. 1826 Romantic Ballads. Translated from the Danish : and Miscellaneous Pieces. S. Wilkin, Norwich. 1835 Targum : or, Metrical Translations from Thirty Languages and Dialects. St Petersburgh. Reprinted later by Jarrold & Sons, Norwich. The Talisman. From the Russian of Alexander Pushkin. With Other Pieces. St Petersburg. 1841 The Zincali; or, An Account of the Gypsies of Spain. With an Original Collection of their Songs and Poetry, and a Copious Dictionary of their Language. Two volumes. John Murray, London. 1842 The Bible in Spain; or, the Journeys, Adventures, and Imprisonments of an Englishman in an Attempt to Circulate the Scriptures in the Peninsula. Three volumes. John Murray, London. 479 480 LIST OF BORROWS WORKS 1851 Lavengro : The Scholar — The Gypsy — The Priest. Three volumes. John Murray, London. 1857 The Romany Rye : a Sequel to Lavengro. Two volumes. John Murray, London. i860 The Sleeping Bard; or, Visions of the World, Death, and Hell. By Elis Wyn. Translated from the Cambrian British. John Murray, London. 1862 Wild Wales: Its People, Language, and Scenery. Three volumes. John Murray, London. 1874 Romano Lavo-Lil : Word-Book of the Romany; or, English Gypsy Language. With Many Pieces in Gypsy, Illustrative of the Way of Speaking and Thinking of the English Gypsies ; with Specimens of Their Poetry, and an Account of Certain Gypsyries or Places Inhabited by Them, and of Various Things Relating to Gypsy Life in England. John Murray, London. The Turkish Jester ; or, the Pleasantries ofCogia Nasr Eddin Effendi. Translated from the Turkish. Jarrold & Sons, Norwich. The Death of Balder. Translated from the Danish of Evald. Jarrold & Sons, Norwich. From the foregoing list has been omitted the mysterious Life and Adventures of Joseph Sell, the Great Traveller, and those works that Borrow edited or translated for the British and Foreign Bible Society. INDEX Abades, 276 Abbotsford, 455 Aberdeen, 440 Ab Gwilym, 27, 29, 83, 336, 414, 418 Academy, F. H. Groome in, 340, 462, 463 Acle, 24 Adelung, F. von, 112 Aldea Gallega, 1 60 Alquin, State Councillor, 131 Antiquities of the Royal School at Nor- wich, by J. Burton, 25 n, Antonio, Borrow's Greek servant. See Buchini, Antonio Antonio, Borrow's Portuguese servant, 154. 155. 157, 160 Aranjuez, 275, 276 Arden, Francis (Ardrey in Lavengro), 46, 54, 67, 68, 429 Array olos, 1 60 Arrevalo, 277 Asmus, Simondsen & Co., bankers for British & Foreign Bible Society at St Petersburg, 94, 117 Aston, Arthur, British Minister at Madrid, 317 Astorga, 200 Athenceum, The, 61, 64, 94 «., 143, 146, 352, 372, 380 n., 388, 390, 398, 424, 437, 439 "•, 445, 4^3, 464, 465, 466, 468, 469, 474 Autobiographical notes, MS. supplied to Mr John Longe, quoted, 23 «., 34, 96 n. Autobiography. See Lavengro Aviles, 205 n. Badajos, 162, 164-166, 218, 336 Bailly, Juan Antonio, 336 Bala, 416 Balmaceda, Carlist leader, 277 Bangor, 415, 417 4S1 Bargas, 269 Barion, Miss, afterwards Mrs Fitz- Gerald, 426 Basque translation of Scriptures (St Luke) made by Dr Oteiza, and put in hand to print, 217 ; completed and published, 221 ; all copies of St Luke at shop seized, ordered to be placed in all public libraries, 228 Bayonne, 75, 189 Bayr Jairgey and Glion Doo, 420, 422 Beckford, William, 61 Belfast, 455 Bellotas, Las, 205 Bembibre, 201 Bentley, Lord, 180 Berkeley, Rev. J. R. P., 406, 408, 410, 4", 453 «• Berners, Isopel, 64, 65, 66, 398, 435, 475 Berwick, 455 Betanzos, 202 Bexley, Lord, 271 Bible in Spain, The, quoted from, 17, 58, 75, 76, 88, 153, 154, 159, 160, 161, 162, 164, 165, 166, 167, 169, 171, 182, 183, 185, 189, 190, 191, 2or, 202, 204, 205, 210, 217, 228, 232, 234, 235, 236, 246, 247, 269, 279, 284 «., 285, 298, 340, 342, 343, 344-347, 348-354, 356, 359, 365, 368, 370, 373, 377, 379, 39*> 401, 404, 430, 431, 47s, 476 Bible in the World, 271 Binding of Manchu Testament, 117, 132 ; Spanish Testament, 194 Birrell, Hon. Augustine, 400 Blackwood's Magazine, 370, 37 1, 390 Bligh, Hon. J. D. (British Minister at St Petersburg), 114, 170 Bludoff, M. (Russian Minister of the Interior), 114, 115 Blyth, Esther, 455 Bognor, 456 2 H 482 INDEX Bohemian Grammar, MS. of George Borrow in British Museum, 365 Bolt tin Oficial de Malaga, 242 Bonanza, 303 Bookman, The, 86, 400, 476 Boorde, Andrew, 339 Booton, 432 Borrego, Andreas, 192, 208, 267 Borrow, Ann, wife of Captain Thomas Borrow and mother of George Borrow — Daughter of Farmer Perfrement of East Dereham, 4 ; playing as super at theatre, 4 ; married to Thomas Borrow, 5 ; becomes acquainted with John Murray, founder of publishing house, 5 ; her first and second sons born, 6 ; with her husband and children at East Dereham, 8 ; to Norman Cross, 11 ; Colchester and Edinburgh, 13; Norwich, 15 ; Clonmel, 16 ; Templemore, 17 ; Norwich, 18 ; settled at Norwich, 19 ; Captain Borrow's savings produce for her ^"100 per annum, 40 ; receives back money George had borrowed, io5 ; and remittances from him from Russia, 118, 119; receives ^50 from sale of John's effects, 126; her anxiety about George's Chinese pro- ject, 139 ; her wish to have him with her, I48 ; he stops with her for a short time, 149 ; The Bible in Spain dedicated to her, 350 ; her removal from Norwich to Oulton Hall, 402 ; her death at Oulton, 439 Borrow, Ann, mother of George Borrow, letters of — to George Borrow, 124, 1 37 to Mrs Clarke, 321 ; now Mrs G. Borrow, q.v. to Mrs George Borrow, 351, 402 Borrow, George Henry, his birth, 6 ; and christening, 7 ; his infancy with the regiment, 7 ; his characteristics as a child, 7 ; before three seized a viper without harm, 8 ; with his parents at East Dereham, 8 ; no application to book learning, 9 ; his vivid recollections of early years, 10 ; his interest in Robinson Crusoe, 10 ; at Norman Cross, friendship with snake-catcher, II, 12 ; present of a tame viper, 12 ; learning Lilly's Latin Grammar, 13 ; removal to Colchester and Edinburgh, 13 ; attending the High School, Edin- burgh, 14 ; proves himself a good fighter in school "bickers" 14; Borrow, George Henry — contd. removal to Norwich, goes to Gram- mar School there, 15 ; with family to Clonmel, 16 ; attends Protestant school there, meets Murtagh, who teaches him Erse, 17 ; moved on to Templemore and learns to ride, 17 ; lasting impressions of nine months in Ireland, 17 ; return to Norwich, 18 ; back at Grammar School there, 19; previous schooling at Huddersfield and Sheffield, 19 ; his attainments contrasted with John's, 20 ; some of his contemporaries at the Grammar School, 20 ; his dislike of school routine, 20 ; learning French, Spanish, and Italian, 21 ; fishing in the Yare and shooting, 22 ; learning to box from Thurtell, 22 ; sees prize-fight at Eaton, 22 ; meets Ambrose Petulengro, 22 ; learns Romany, his numerous vagabond acquaintances, saves boy from drowning, 23 ; with three others runs away from home, but captured, 24 ; accretions to the story, 25 ; his inclination for the army, a serious illness and attack of " Horrors," articled to a firm of solicitors, 26 ; leaves home to live with Mr Simpson, learns Welsh and translates poems of Ab Gwilym, 27 ; his bargain with the gtoom who taught him Welsh, his method of learning the language, 28 ; Danish, Arabic, Armenian, and Saxon learnt in this period, as door-keeper at the office excluded the best clients and admitted those who interested him most, 29 ; his great regard for Mr Simpson, 30, 31 ; his admiration and affection for John, 31 ; at a prize-fight at North Walsham, 32 ; his friendship with William Taylor, 33-35 ; now master of twenty languages, 34 ; his description of Taylor, 35 ; his despair of his future, meeting with Dr Bowring, 36 ; de- pendent on his own earnings after his father's death, 40 ; leaves Norwich for London, lodgings at ; Milman Street, Bedford Row, 41 ; magazines in which he had already published verse translations, 41 ; his first inter- view with Sir Richard Phillips and commission to write a story in style of Dairyman's Daughter, 42, 43 ; dinner with Sir Richard, commission for Celebrated Trials, and for transla- tion of Proximate Causes into German, INDEX 483 Borrow, George Henry — conld. 44-46 ; his leisure spent in exploring the city with Francis Arden, 46 ; a surprise visit from John, 47 ; Phillips' constant interruptions bring on an attack of " Horrors," Kerrison's account of his behaviour, 48 ; his remuneration for editing the Trials and translating Proximate Causes, 49 ; dispute with Phillips, 49-50 ; Proxi- mate Causes translated by another, 50; Trials finished, 51; translates Klinger's Faust us, 52-54 ; fails to find a publisher for his translation of Ab Gwilym, Joseph Sell, an un- published work, 54-55 ; written in a week, when reduced to half-a-crown, 55-56 ; and sold for ^20, 56 ; argu- ments for and against the existence of the story, 57-59 ; after fourteen months there, leaves London, 60 ; coach to Amesbury, walks to Stone- henge and Salisbury, his habit of touching against the evil eye, meets Jack Slingsby, 61 ; buys his beat, plant and pony, and starts tinker, Mrs Heme tries to poison him, 62 ; goes as far as the Welsh border, then to Willenhall, 63 ; a fit of the " Horrors," fight with the Flaming Tinman, meets Isopel Berners, 64 ; his attitude towards her, 65 ; his story of buying a horse with moneyborrowed from Petulengro, 66 ; doubts about the story, and other experiences, 67 ; discrepancies in his itinerary, 68, 69 ; his description of his own character at this time, 69 ; the " Horrors " again, 70 ; returns to Norwich, finds his translation of Faustus has been destroyed, 71 ; his probable and ascertained adventures during the "Veiled Period," 72-91 ; adventures of characters in Lavengro and Romany Rye probably his own during this time, 72 ; pub- lishes Romantic Ballads from the Danish, 73 ; in London again, 74 ; a sitting to Haydon, 74 ; his " Veiled Period " assumed to be one of wandering, 75 ; visits to Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal, 75-77 ; in 1827 back in Norwich, and in 1829 in London, proposes a translation of the Scoto-Gaelic Bards, 78 ; at work on Songs of Scandinavia, 80, 8 1 ; desires a commission under Prince Leopold if he should become King of Greece, 81, 82 ; tries for an ap- Borrow, George Henry — contd. pointment at the British Museum, 82 ; in Norwich once more, 84 ; his wish for an Army career, 84-85 ; Songs of Scandinavia never compiled, 86 ; commissioned to translate The Sleep- ing Bard, 87 ; in Paris during " The Three Glorious Days " of Revolution, and Norwich again, 88 ; writing to Army Pay Office about John's half- pay, 88-89 5 thoughts of joining John in Mexico, 89 ; his failures due to his hyper-sensitive nature, 90-91 ; Rev. F. Cunningham introduces him to the secretary of the Bible Society, 93 ; walks to London to interview Bible Society, 95 ; their satisfaction with his capabilities, 96 ; returns to Norwich with Manchu books, but wants grammar, 97 ; the racy style of his letters, 97-98 ; proposes to translate St John into Romany, suggests his brother as agent in Mexico, 98 ; reads proofs of the Nahuatl edition of St Luke, 99 ; his progress in Manchu, still without the grammar, 100 ; writes that he has mastered Manchu, invited to London for examination, 101 ; re- commended by Sub-Committee to go to St Petersburg to assist with Manchu Testament, 102 ; rebuked for spiritual pride, his anxiety to acquire the idiom of Earl St., 103 ; his mild reply, his appointment and departure ior Russia, 104 ; not a good accountant, Harriet Martineau's opinion of his appointment, 105 ; letters of introduction, 104, 106 ; repays money he had borrowed from his mother, 106 ; on his journey, the " Horrors " cured at Hamburg, 107 ; his journey by Liibeck and Tra- vemiinde to St Petersburg, 108 ; his love of St Petersburg and his friends there, 109 ; his opinion of Russians as linguists, no ; learning Russian and making acquaintances, III ; transcrib- ing 2 Chronicles and St Matthew, 112 ; to complete the transcription took him all the year, 113 ; petitions Russian Government for permission to print Manchu Scriptures, 1 14; permission granted, 115 ; feels the severity of the winter, 116; finding printer and arranging the binding, and improving his Manchu, 117; finds the difficulty of the language greater than he supposed, remit- 484 INDEX Borrow, George Henry — contd. tances to his mother, 118; catches a chill and has an attack of " Horrors," 119 ; realizing difficulties of distribution, 120; suggests means of overcoming them, 121 ; bargaining with printers, 122 ; and papermakers, 123 ; his grief at his brother's death, description of Russian living, 125 ; removes to larger premises, allows three months to pass without writing to the Society, 126 ; his account of difficulties overcome and work done in three months, 127-133; proposes that he should become the Society's agent at Kiakhta, 134; correcting type as well as proofs, 135 ; he sends the Society copies of the Four Gospels in Manchu, 137 ; disagrees with Lipovzoff on a matter of translation, 138 ; still intent on going to China to distribute the Bible, 139; his difficulty in getting permission to ship Manchu Testa- ment to England, 140-141 ; the translations he made whilst in Russia, 141-143 ; he visits Moscow, 143 ; sees much of the gypsies there, 144-T45 ; returns to London, 146 ; his wish to remain in the service of the Society, 148-149; stays with his mother at Norwich and visits Oulton, 149 ; asked for his opinion whether he should go to China or Portugal, suggests Portugal and Spain, 151 ; takes letters of introduction to Lisbon, 151 ; sails for Lisbon, and on arrival wishes himself in Russia, 153 ; his servant Antonio, 154; visits every part of the city and surroundings, 154 ; to Mafra and Cintra, and nearly loses his life, 155 ; asks Mr Wilby which is the most ignorant region, and goes there, 156; with Antonio to Evora, distributing Testa- ments and talking with the peasants, J 57 J gets introductions from Dr Bowring, and returns to Lisbon, 159; sets out for Spain, 160; his idiot guide, 161 ; arrives at Badajos, 162 ; with the gypsies, 164- 166 ; settles in lodgings at Madrid, 167 ; at first unfavourably impressed, later revised his opinion, 168-169 ; obtains, through Hon. G. Villiers, audience with the premier, Mendi- ziibal, for permission to print Scrip- tures, or sell imported ones, but is refused, and writes to the Society Borrow, George Henry — contd. hopefully, 170-172 ; a change in the Government increases his hopes, 175 ; suffering from the climate and the delayed permission, 178 ; his sense of diplomacy, 180 ; suffering from the reaction after long suspense, 1 81 ; ordered home, 183 ; leaves Madrid and reaches London, 184 ; confers with the Society, sends his mother money, and returns via Falmouth to Lisbon, 185; escape from fire and ship- wreck, and on to Cadiz, 186 ; thence to Seville, 188; Cordoba, 189; and Madrid, 191 ; advised by Mr Villiers to take no notice of change of Govern- ment, but proceed with printing, buys paper for Testament, 191 ; arranges for printing, 192 ; proposes to ride into the wildest parts and sell Scrip- tures, 193 ; obtains permission, 194 • finishes printing, 195 ; sets forth with his Greek servant Antonio Buchini, 196 ; his efforts to sell through the booksellers, 197 ; his method of proceeding with the trade, and in advertising, 199 ; prostrated for a week at Leon, 200 ; his account of a Spanish Grand Post, 201 ; one horse falling sick, he bleeds him, and he and Antonio lead both, 202 ; dangers from robbers and Carlists, 202-203 ! selling in the market-place, 203-204 ; arrested at Cape Finisterre as a spy, 204 ; sells his black Anda- lusian at a profit, 205 ; a night visit at Orviedo, 205-207 ; anxious to get back to Madrid on account of the stock and his health, 207 ; Testaments he had written for not arrived at Santander and he ill, he rides through rebel infested country to Madrid, 208- 209; after an absence of five and a half months, 209 ; his unconventional methods, 210 ; finds adverse political changes in Madrid, 211 ; his methods of advertisement and sale, his reply to a newspaper attack on the Society, 212 ; his first meeting with Lieut. Graydon, and the beginning of troubles caused by him, 213 ; find- ing the Madrid booksellers so apathetic he opens a shop for the sale of Scriptures, where he is asked chiefly for complete Bibles and orders them, 214 ; engages Francisco in place of Antonio, 215 ; more adver- tising, 216 ; starts printing Basque and Gitano St Luke, 217 ; the INDEX 485 Borrow, George Henry — contd, Gitano translated by himself with the help of gypsies, 218 ; suspicion caused by their presence at his lodg- • ings, 218. 219; ordered by Civil Governor to sell no more Spanish New Testaments without r.otes, 220 ; complies, but continues to sell the Gitano and Basque St Luke, 221 ; the intervention of Sir George Villiers alone prevents his expulsion, 222 ; Count Ofalia applying for a Gitano St Luke, Borrow takes it in person, 223 ; misunderstanding re- garding Marin, 225-226 ; his anxiety about his stock of Bibles, etc., 227- 228 ; hires a room for safety of stock, 228 ; receives a call from a police agent, 231 ; followed by the issue of a warrant, 232 ; his lodgings searched in his absence and he escapes arrest, hears of the warrant and returns to his lodgings and is arrested, 234 ; imprisoned, 235 ; glad of the oppor- tunity of studying criminals, 236 ; refuses to leave till his character is cleared, 237 ; Diplomatic Action in his case, 237-241, 243-246 ; compli- cated by Lieut. Graydon's behaviour, 241-243 ; liberated with unsullied honour, 246 ; his differences with the Society over Graydon, 248-251, 254- 264 ; writes to the Correo National as sole authorised agent of the Society, 251 ; has an interview with the Archbishop of Toledo, 253 ; not having heard from the Society for some time he proposes to go on another tour, 257; receives the Society's resolutions on Graydon's affair, 257, 258 ; and Brandram's covering letter, 258-261 ; aconference with him desired by the Society, 265 ; he writes explaining why he does not go — false testimony is sworn against him, 266 ; a rural distributing excursion in New Castile, 268-271 ; a peasant's recollections of him, 270 ; being instructed by the Society to consult Sir George Villiers, he returns to Madrid, 271 ; finds Sir George is in England, 273 ; and sets out with Antonio and Lopez for La Mancha, 275 ; but Lopez being arrested and released, they return to Madrid, but undiscouraged start for Old Castile, 276-278 ; he loses both his companions, rescues Lopez from prison, 277 ; returns alone to Borrow, George Henry — contd. Madrid, finds resolution recalling him at once, 278 ; expects to be in England in three weeks but illness prevents for another month, 279 ; his report to the Society, withdrawn later, 280-282 ; returns to Spain to find political changes, and his confiscated Testaments threatened with destruc- tion, 283 ; after ten days in Seville proceeds to Madrid, 284 ; re-engages Antonio Buchini who had run away, his Arabian horse sent to him by Lopez with Victoriano to assist in distribution, 285 ; a tour of the villages around Madrid, 286 ; leaves Victoriano distributing and returns to Madrid, 287 ; employs eight col- porteurs amongst the poor and servants of Madrid, 288 ; a midnight summons, starts for Seville to dispose of the remainder of the Testaments, 289 ; another meeting with the Manchegan Prophetess, 292 ; his craft with the Custom-house, 293 ; his meeting with Lieut.-Col. Napier, 294-297 ; his assistants at Seville, 298 ; he takes a house there, 299 ; had kept up correspondence with Mrs Clarke of Oulton, 300 ; a seizure of Scriptures at his house, 301 ; an expedition to the coast of Barbary, 303 ; engages Hayim Ben Attar, trouble with the Vice-Consul, 304 ; after five weeks there returns to Seville, instructions to sell out and return to England, 305 ; proposes distributing in La Mancha, 307, 309 ; realises that his connexion with the Society nears its end, 308 ; his trouble over passport, 310-315; imprisoned 312-315; his meeting with the Marques de Santa Coloma, 316 ; his case taken up by the Embassy, 317 ; his friendship with Mrs Clarke, 320, 322 ; their engagement, 321 ; his tributes to her when his wife, 322 ; no news of him at Earl Street for three months, nor he from there for five, 323 ; his return to England, his marriage to Mrs Clarke, 324 ; his connexion with the Bible Society reviewed, 326-328 ; goes to Oulton Cottage to live, 330 ; writing in the Summer-house, 330-331 ; as host, 331 ; Miss Harvey's recollections of him, 332-334 ; leaves MS. of The Zincali with Mr Murray, 335 ; his interest in the gypsies, 337-339 ; the 486 INDEX Borrow, George Henry— contd. journal he kept in the Peninsula, his friendship with Richard Ford, 342 ; borrows from the Bible Society his letters to them, 343 ; sends MS. of Bible in Spain to Mr Murray, 344 ; horse-breaking and quarrelling with the rector about their dogs, 347 ; his Bible in Spain published, 350 ; its reception and sales, 351-353; translations, 352; fame, 354 ; but still restless, Royal Institution wishes to honour him, 355 ; his portrait by Phillips, 357 ; trying for a Government post abroad, 358 ; made a bad impression on women, 360 ; makes a journey to the East, 361-364 ; his first draft of notes for Lavengro, 365 ; writes for The Quarterly, a review of Ford's Handbook to' Spam, 368; rather an attack on Spain than a review, 369 ; worried by railway at Oulton, 371 ; would like to be J.P., 373-376 ; tries for appointment as Consul at Canton, 377 ; the sales of his books, 379 ; his love of animals, 381 ; his occasional rudeness in conversation, 382 ; capable of deep feeling, 384 ; a frequent guest of Murray's, 385 ; more strange behaviour, 386 ; slow progress with Lavengro, 387-389 ! MS. sent at last, 389 ; unfavourably received, 390-391 ; the liner side of his nature, 392 ; his limitations in literary appreciation, 392-394 ; his resentment of criticism of Lavengro, 395-396 ; his personality the great factor in his writings, 400 ; his devotion to his mother, 402 ; his removal from Oulton to Great Yarmouth for his wife's health sake, 403 ; his prowess as swimmer, 404 ; visits his kinsfolk in Cornwall, 405- 412 ; his intended book on his Cornish trip, 411 ; in London for a fortnight working at the British Museum, 412-413 ; returns to' Yar- mouth, 413; a summer trip with his wife and daughter-in-law to Wales, 414-420 ; his attachment to Henrietta, 415 ; his wife and Henrietta return- ing home, he tramps Wales for two months, 416-420 ; a summer holiday in the Isle of Man, 420-422 ; his note- books of the Tour, 421 ; his reputation amongst the villagers at Oulton, 423 ; his opinions of good old ale, 424-425 ; another visit to Borrow, George Henry — contd. Wales, 439 ; a walking tour in the Highlands, a trip with his family to Ireland, 440 ; looking after some property at Mattishall, 440- 442 ; publishes his translation of The Sleeping Bard, 443-444 ; removal to London, 444 ; accounts of his life in London, 444-455 ; with his wife to Belfast, and a trip through the Low- lands of Scotland, 455 ; his greater interest in books after his wife's death, 458 ; publishes Romano Lavo- Lil, 462 ; his return to Oulton, 466 ; takes temporary lodgings at Norwich, 469 ; his apothegm on " People's age," his death, and burial beside his wife, 471 Borrow, George Henry, languages he was acquainted with — Latin, 13, 20, 34 «., 34, 142 11. Erse, 17, 31 11 „ 34, 142 n. Greek, 20, 31 «., 34 French, 21, 31 «., 34, 142 «., 294 Italian, 21, 31 ;/., 34, 142 n. Spanish, 21, 31 «., 34, 142 ;/., 294 Romany, 23, 34, 142 ;/. Welsh, 27, 31 //., 34, 98, 142 ;/. Danish, 29, 31 «., 34, 76, 142 ;/. Arabic, 29, 31 «., 142 ;/. Armenian, 29, 31 ;.'. Saxon, 29 German, 31 «., 34, 142 ;/., 294 Hebrew, 31 «., 34, 142 n. Gaelic, 31 ;/., 142 n. Portuguese, 34, 76, 142 ;/. Celtic and Go: hie Dialects, 34 Moultanee, 76, 295 Manchu, 96-102, 117, 142 n. Nahuatl, 99 Russian, ill, 142 ;/. Turkish, 134, 142 n. Chinese, 134, 142 n. Ancient British, 142 it. Danish, 142 n. Norse, 142 ;/. Irish, 142 n. Anglo-Saxon, 142 >:. Dutch, 142 n. Finnish, 142 n. Malo-Russian, 142 ;/. Modern Greek, 142 ;/., 294 Persian, 142 ». Polish, 142 ;/. Provencal, 142 n. Swedish, 142 n. Tartar, 134, 1 42 n. Tibetan, 142 n. Cambrian British, 142 n. INDEX 487 Borrow, George Henry, languages he was acquainted with — contd. Basque, 217 Gitano, 217, 218 Hindi, 294 Borrow, George Henry, his letters quoted — to Roger Kerrison, 40-41 to Simpkin and Marshall, 53 n. to B. R. Haydon, 74 to his mother, 75, 104, 106, 108, 109, no, 116 «., 119, 123, 124, 125, 148, 167, 168, 185, 236 to Rev. A. Brandram, 78 »., 149, 150- 15', 167. 173,175,176,177,178, 180, 181, 182, 183, 187, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 197, 198, 200, 204, 205, 207, 209, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 2l6, 219, 220, 221, 224, 226, 227, 24O, 241, 249, 250, 252, 253, 2 54, 255, 256, 257, 262-264, 265, 266, 268, 270, 271-273, 277,278, 279, 284, 285, 288, 290,291,293, 298, 299, 301, 302, 304, 305,307, 308, 309, 310, 314, 317, 320, 321, 322, 323, 364 to Dr J. Bowring, afterwards Sir, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84, 87, 158 to Secretary of State for War, 89 to Rev. J. Jowett, 93 »., 97, 98, 100, 101, 102, 107, no, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 120, 121, 122, 123, 127-133, '34, 136, 138, 139, 140, 141, 150, 153, 154, 155 to Rev. F. Cunningham, 98, 118, 141, 142 to J. Tarn, 135 to Richard Ford, 196, 367, 368 to Lord William Hervey, 277 to Rev, G. Browne, 278, 306 to Dr Usoz, 279 to W. Hitchin, 288 to Mrs Clarke, 301, 321 ; now his wife O7.V.) to his wife, 352, 357, 388, 409, 411, 412, 4:3 to Dawson Turner, 387 to Hon. G. S. S. Jerningham, 311- 313 to Rev. Denniss, 348 to C. G. Leland, 460 to J. G. Lockhart, 374 to John Murray (II.), 348, 349, 351, 355, 356, 358, 365 to John Murray (III.), 5, 34°, 343, 346, 349.351,354,356,358, 361, 366, 367, 372, 373. 374, 379. 387, 389, 390, 42s, 432, 434, 437 to Robert Taylor, 405 Borrow, George Henry, his reports to the Bible Society, 95, 138, 143, 144, 145, 147, 184, 192, 196, 203, 209, 221-222, 229, 252, 261-262, 265, 275, 280-282 Borrow, Henry, uncle of George Borrow, 3,405 Borrow, Henry, cousin of George Borrow, 406 Borrow, John, grandfather of George Borrow, 2 Borrow, John Thomas, first son of Thomas and Ann Borrow, and brother of George — His birth, 6 ; his brother's description of him as a child, 6 ; making quick progress at school, 9 ; attending the High School, Edinburgh, 14 ; re- moval to Norwich, and attending Grammar School, 15 ; studies drawing and painting under old Crome, 15 ; gazetted ensign in his father's regiment, with regiment to Clonmel, 16 ; promoted lieu- tenant, removal to Templemore, 17; disbanded at Norwich, 18; previous schooling at Huddersfield and Sheffield, 19 ; his attainments contrasted with George's, 20 ; his pro- fession closed by the Peace, making progress with Crome, 31 ; goes to London to study under Haydon, and to Paris, 32 ; gives no address for six months, his return during his father's last illness, 38 ; comes to London with a commission for Haydon and visits George, 47 ; goes to Mexico, 88 ; his death, 123 ; his career in Mexico, 124 ; leaves fifty pounds, 126 Borrow, John Thomas, letters of — to George, 58, 81, 88, 90, 99 Borrow, Mary, grandmother of George Borrow, 2 Borrow, Mary, nee Skepper, wife of George Borrow — Her birth and parentage, married to Henry Clarke, R.N., birth of her daughter Henrietta, 92 ; introduces Borrow to Rev. Francis Cunning- ham, 93 ; keeps up correspond- ence with Borrow, 137 ; loss of her mother, 149 ; purposes to settle in Seville, 300 ; comes to reside in Borrow's house at Seville, 301 ; Marques de Santa Coloma speaks of her as Borrow's wife, 316 ; return to England, and her marriage to Borrow, 324 ; makes fair copies of 488 INDEX Borrow, Mary, nee Skepper, wife of George Borrow — contd. his MSS., 334 ; transcribes from his letters to the Bible Society, 343 ; a trip in Wales with her husband and Henrietta, 414-416; a summer holiday in the Isle of Man, 420; her failing health, 455 ; a visit to Bognor, and return to London, her last illness, 456 ; and death, 457 Borrow, Mary, wife of George Borrow, letters of — to George Borrow, 140 to John Murray (III.), 363, 368, 422, 430, 431, 440, 444 to Mrs Borrow, sen., 414, 416, 428 to Robert Cooke, 422, 423 Borrow, Samuel, cousin of George Borrow, 421 Borrow, Thomas, father of George Borrow — Leader of the Liskeard men in a town fight at Menheniot, working on his father's farm, appren- ticed to Edmund Hambley, 2 ; enlists in Coldstream Guards, his previous Militia training, 3 ; promo- tion and transfer as Sergeant-Major to West Norfolk Militia, his fight with Ben Bryan in Hyde Park, 4 ; marries Ann Perfrement, promoted to Quartermaster and later Adjutant, 5 ; in quarters at East Dereham, 8 ; removal to Norman Cross, 11 ; Colchester and Edinburgh, 13 ; to Norwich, 15 ; with regiment to Clonmel, 16; and Templemore, 17; return to Norwich and disbanded, retired on full pay, 18 ; settled there, 19 ; puzzled what to do with George, 25 ; would like him to become clergy- man, but at last decides on the law, 26 ; his anxiety for George's future, 28, 29 ; his anxiety about John's career, 31 ; his failing health, and increased anxiety as to George's future, 37; hisdeath, 38 ; and George's account of the last scene, 38, 39 ; his pension ceasing at death, his savings produce ^"ioo per annum for widow, his will, 40 Borrow, William, son of George Bor- row's cousin, Samuel Borrow, 421 Boulogne, 279 Bowring, F. G., 376 «., 378, 383, 415 «., 4I9> 474 Bowring, Dr, afterwards Sir John, 36- 37, 58, 79-37, 106, 158, "159, 352, 354, 363, 376, 383, 391,396 Bowring, Dr, afterwards Sir John, letters of, to George Borrow, 83, 377 Bowring, Wilfred J., 79 n. Brace, Charles L., Hungary in 1 85 1, 362 Brackenbury, J. M., Consul at Cadiz, 303, 307, 323, 324 Letter of, to George Borrow, 307 «. Brandram, Rev. Andrew, of Bible Society, 76, 93, 95, 98, roi «., 133, 151, 188,281, 306, 326,327, 334, 434 Letters of, to Rev. E.Whitely, 76, 1 51 ; to George Borrow, 105, 148, 150, 159,173,174, 175,177,183,187, 194, T 95, 207, 212, 2T3, 2l6, 258- 26l, 264, 273 «., 274, 286, 290- 291, 325 to Lieut. Gray don, 214 Breame, Anne. See Skepper, Mrs Anne Bristol, Lord, 382 Britannia, The, letter from " A School-fellow of Lavengro" in, 20, 21,25, 33, 34 British & Foreign Bible Society, 72, 75, 93-339 History of. See Canton, W., History of British & Foreign Bible Society Resolutions, Minutes, and Reports of, quoted, 104, 126, 129, 145- 146, 151, 257, 258, 278, 305, 309, 325 Brooke, Sir James, Rajah of Sarawak, schoolfellow of Borrow's at Norwich, 20, 69 Browne, Rev. G., Secretary of Bible Society, 278, 286 Letter of, to George Borrow, 306 Browning, Robert and E. B., 445 Bucharest, 362 Buchini, Antonio, Borrow's Greek ser- vant, 196, 202, 204, 208, 209, 215, 247, 268, 269, 270, 275, 276, 277, 285, 287, 288, 289, 292, 299, 302 Burcham, Thos. B., schoolfellow of Borrow's at Norwich, 20 Burney, H. D., 410 Bury Post, 404 Bury St Edmunds, 384 Byron, Lord, 393 Cacabelos, 201 Cadiz, 186-188, 283, 303, 307 Calzado, Jose (Pepe), salesman at the Madrid Depot, 214 Caniero, the, 205 Canton, 377 INDEX 489 Canton, W., History of the British & Foreign Bible Society, 2 1 3, 22 4, 22 5 "•> 249, 262, 281-282 Cardigan, 439 Carey, John, 45 n. Carlisle, 455 Carnarvon, 416 Castle Douglas, 455 Castro Pol, 205 Celebrated Trials and Remarkable Cases of Criminal Jurisprudence from the Earliest Records to the year 1825, 44, 45. 49-53, 57, 47 2 Chester, 414 Chichester, 426 Chrysostom, Johannes, 298, 300 Cintra, 155 Clarendon, Earl of. See Villiers, Hon. George Clarke, Henrietta Maria (Hen.), 93 ; her birth and parentage, 92-93 ; arrives with her mother at Seville, 301 ; Marques de Santa Coloma speaks of her as Borrow's daughter, 316 ; her guitar-playing, 321 ; Borrow's affection for her, 322 ; return to England, 324 ; a trip in Wales with Borrow and her mother, 414-416 ; a summer holiday in the Isle of Man, 420 ; married to Dr William MacOubrey, 455 ; goes to live at Oulton again, 469 Letter of, to George Borrow, 415 Clarke, Mrs Mary, nee Skepper. See Borrow, Maiy, wife of George Borrow Clonmel, 16 Cobbe, Frances Power, 335, 444, 445, 446, 458 Life of 445, 446, 456, 459 Coisa d'Ouro, 205 Colburtis United Service Magazine, 370 Colchester, 13 Colman, J. J., 472 Colombres, 207 Colquhoun, Sir Patrick, 363 Colugna, 207 Constantinople, 363, 367 Convucion, 205 Cooke, Robert, partner with John Murray, 404, 422, 433, 434 Cordoba, 189, 314 Cordoba, Bishop of, 227 Corfu, 364 Correo National, 251, 258 Coruna, 202, 203, 205 Coveja, 269 Cowell, Prof. E. B., 4 2 7, 4 2 8 Crabbe, Rev. George, 427, 467 Crabbe, Rev. James, 98 Croker, John Wilson, 399 Crome, John, landscape painter, 15, 31, 3 2 Cromer, 423, 424 Cullum, Lady, 382 Cullum, Sir T., 382 Cunningham, Allan, 73, 74, 354 Cunningham, Rev. Francis, 92, 93, 96, 137,444 Letter of, to Rev. Andrew Brandram, 93 Curzon, Hon. Robert, 378 Dalrymple, John, schoolfellow of Borrow, 25 Danish Songs and Ballads, 73 Danish Traditions and Superstitions, 73 Death of Balder, The, translated from the Danish of Evald, 79 Debreczin, 362 Denniss, Rev., letter to George Borrow, 347 Despacho. See under Madrid D'Etreville, Rev. Thomas, Borrow's French master, 21 n. Diaz, Maria, Borrow's landlady in Madrid, 191, 234, 235, 268, 269, 270, 285, 299 Letter of, to George Borrow, 299 Dickens, Charles, 394 Dionysius of Cephalonia, 298 Donne, W. B., 61, 143, 385, 427 Letter of, to Bernard Barton, 385 William Bodham Donne and His Friends, 385, 467 Donnington, 439 Douglas, 420 Drake, Rev. Wm., of Mundesley, 27 «. Dryburgh, 393 Dublin, 440 Dublin Review, 351 Duenas Palencia, 200 Dumfries, 455 Dutt, W. A., George Borrow in East Anglia, 476 Earlham Hall, seat of J. J. Gurney, 22 East Dereham, 4, 8 Eastern Daily Press, letter of Rev. Wm. Drake, 27 n. Letters of Elizabeth Harvey to, 331, 33 2 , 3 2 3, 36o, 381, 404, 416, 4 2 5 Eastlake, Lady, Journals and Corre- spondence of, 361 Ecclefechan, 455 Edinburgh, 13, 455 490 INDEX Edinburgh Review, 369, 391, 396 Elvas, 161, 162 Elwin, Warwick, in Athenceum, 398 ; Some XVIII. Century Men of Letters, 432, 433 Elwin, Rev. Whitwell, 35, 429, 431, 432, 434, 435, 453 Letter of, to John Murray (III.), 432 Ely, 423 Entrena, Deigo de, Civil Governor of Madrid, 232, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239 Letter of, to Sir George Villiers, 232- 233 Espaiiol, El, 173, 192 ;/., 212 Estremoz, 161 Eugenio, Pedro Martin de, police officer, 231, 232, 234, 237, 238, 245 Falmouth, 185, 186, 283 Faustus : His Life, Death, and Descent into Hell, translation, 53, 57, 71 Fenn, Lady, wife of Sir John Fenn, 9 Ferrol, 205 n. Festiniog, 416 Finisterre, 77 «., 78 «., 185, 186, 204, 328 Fishguard, 439 FitzGerald, Edward, 437 Letters of, to George Borrow, 403, 426, 427, 467-468 to Prof. E. B. Cowell, 428, 437 to W. B. Donne, 467 Letters and Ltterary Remains of 428, 437 Flaming Tinman, The. See Heme, Anselo Flethers, Rev., 321 Ford, Richard, 335, 342, 343, 344, 345, 349, 354, 365, 367, 371, 390, 391, 433 Letters of, to George Borrow, 343, 349, 351, 358, 365, 369, 371, 390 Ford, Richard, Letters of, 196, 330, 335, 336, 349, 367, 387 Hand-Booh for Travellers in Spain, 368 Foreign Office Papers at Record Office, 77 «., 232, 242, 246, 255, 313 n., 319 »• Foreign Quarterly Review, 86 Fox, Caroline, her Memories of Old Friends, 101, 329, 359 Foz, 205 Francisco, Borrow's Basque servant, 215,217, 234, 235, 246 Eraser's Magazine, 370, 37 1 French prisoners at Norman Cross, II Frias, Duke of, 283 Fuente la Higuera, 287 GALITZIN, Prince Alexander, 106, in Letter of, to John Venning, in n. Galiano, Alcala, 174, 175, 176 Gamboa, Don Ramon de, 224 Gazeta Oficial, 251, 266 Genoa, 76, 77 Gerling, Capt, 351 Geronimo, Dom, 157 Giant's Causeway, 440 Gibraltar, 212, 225, 248, 303 Gifford, William, 45 n. Gijon, 205 n. Gitano translation of Scriptures (St Luke), made by Borrow with the assistance of gypsy women, 217, 218 ; put in hand to print, 217 ; completed and published, 221 ; all copies of St Luke at shop seized, ordered to be placed in all public libraries, 228 ; new and revised edition, 462 Gladstone, W. E., 373 Glasgow, 440, 445 Glen Luce, 455 Globe, The, Vestiges of Borrow in, 375, 376 n. Good Words, John Murray (IV.) in, 404 Granada, 184 Granja, La, 276 Graydon, Lieut. Nevvenham, 179, 181, 212-214, 224, 225, 226, 227, 241-243, 248-251, 254-264, 274, 281, 307, 326, 327, 328 Great Yarmouth, 403, 405, 426, 427, 428 Greenock, 440 Gretch, N. L, 112 Gretna Green, 455 Groome, F. H., 61, 339 Introduction to Lavengro, 340 in the Academy, 340, 462, 463 in the Bookman, 400, 465 Grosswardein, 362 Grundtwig, Dr, 82 Guadalajara, 287 Guadarrama, 209 n. Gurney, Anna, 423, 424 Gurney, John Joseph, Norwich banker, 22, 92 n„ 93 «., IOI «., 137 Gwinett, Ambrose, 450, 451 Gypsies, 337-341 in England, 12, 23, 36, 61-69, 375, 376,455 in Russia, 76, 143-145 in Hungary, 76, 362 in Turkey, 76 in France, 76 INDEX 491 Gypsies — contd. in Spain, 164-166, 186, 218, 221-222, 295-296, 316 in Wallachia, 362 Gypsies of Spain, The, 52, 67, 75, 76, 164, 165, 216, 217, 218, 221 «., 222, 247, 33i, 334. 335- 336, 337, 333,339, 343, 3fo, 356, 359, 361, 372, 376, 379, 391, 462 Gypsies, Southampton Committee for the amelioration of the condition of, 9S Hacavo, Dr, 279 Haggart, David, 14 Hake, A. Egmont, in Athenaeum, 372, 376,437,439,445, 448, 449, 451, 469, 475 in MacmillarC s Magazine, 394, 449 Hake, Dr Thomas Gordon, 379, 448- 451 Letter of, to Mrs G. Borrow, 396 .Memories of Eighty Years, 360, 379, 380, 381, 382, 383, 390, 402, 404, 410, 449, 474 Hambley, Edmund, 2 Hamburg, 107 Harford Bridge, 22 Harford Family, Annals of, 380 Harvey, Elizabeth, 471 Letters in Eastern Daily Press, 331, 332, 333, 36o, 381, 404, 416, 425 Hasfeldt, J. P., 94, III, 126, 128, 129, 135 n., 143, 146, 343, 344, 366, 477 Letters of, to George Borrow, 112, 141 »., 247, 335, 351 Hattersley, John, 99, 101 Havre, 364 Hawick, 455 Hay, Drummond, Consul-General at Tangier, 303, 304, 305 Haydon, B. R., historical painter, 32, 47, 74. 436 n. Haydon, B. A\, Correspondence and Table- Talk of, 74 Hayim Ben Attar, 304, 306, 307, 312, 314, 324, 330, 331 Hayland, Capt. J. R., 155 n. Henley, W. E., 473 n. Heme, Anselo {The Flaming Tinman'), 61, 64, 66 Heme, Mrs, 62 Hervey, Lord Alfred, 382 Hervey, Lord William, Charge d' Affaires at Madrid, 273, 278, 281 Hill, D. B., 442 n. Hill, Henry, 440, 441 Hill, John, 442 Hitchin, W., of Bible Society, 288 Holland, Rev. Wm., 5 n. Horncastle, 68, 435 "Horrors," 26, 36, 48, 64, 107, 119, 125, 135,283 Howard de Walden, Lord, 158 Hubbard, Egerton, 1 10 Huddersfield, 191 Inverness, 440 Isturitz, Francisco de, Spanish Prime Minister, 174, 178, 181, 191, 192 Italica, 295 Jane, A. G., " Footprints of George Borrow," in The Bible in the World, 271 Janina, 364 Jaraicejo, 166 Jedburgh, 455 Jerningham, Hon. G. S. S., Chargt d'Affaires at Seville, 310, 317 Jessopp, Dr Augustus, in Athenceum, 38l Journal of the Gipsy Lore Society, 96 n., 186 n., 195, 316 Jowett, Rev. Joseph, Literary Supt. of British & Foreign Bible Society, 95, 97, 98, 99, 100, 102, 103, 104, 108, 286 Letters of, to George Borrow, 102, 103, 126, 134, 136, 138 Kiakhta, 121, 134, 377 Keats, John, 394 Kelly, Sir Fitzroy, 382 Kelso, 393, 455 Kenyon, Dr F. G., 378 Kerrich, Edmund, 426, 427, 467 Kerrison, Allday, 88, 126 n. Kerrison, Roger, 26 n., 40, 42, 48 Letter of, to John Borrow, 48 Killey, George, 421 King Arthur's Castle, 410 Kingston Vale, 451 Knapp, Dr W. J., Life of George Borrow, 25, 26, 31, 45 n., 53 «., 54, 56, 57, 58, 60 »., 65, 66, 75, 77 n., 93 «., 99, 155, 166, 320, 321, 328, 347-348, 365, 406, 408, 412, 413, 430, r 43l ^,453,470,472 Kolsovar, 362 LABAJOS, 277, 288 Lampeter, 439 Land's End, 410 Langholme, 455 Latham, Dr Richard, 384, 448, 464 492 INDEX Laugharne, 439 Lavengro, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, II, 13, 15, 21 «., 22 «., 24, 30, 31, 32, 35, 49, 50, 52, 54, 55. 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 75, 78 «., 91, 162, 328, 329, 340, 341- 365-368, 386, 387-401, 422, 425, 429, 43o, 432, 433. 435, 456, 462, 463 Leighton, 439 Leland, C. G.("Hans Breitmann "), 48, 340 «., 363, 459, 460 Letter of, to George Borrow, 459 Leland, Charles Godfrey, by £. R. Pennell, 460 Memoirs, 460, 461, 462 Leon, 200 Lerwick, 440 Levy (Mousha in Lavengrd), Borrow's instructor in Hebrew, 33 Life and Adventures of Joseph Sell, the Great Traveller, 54-58 Lipovzoff, S. P., 94, 101, 102, 113, 115, 116, 131, 133, 135, 138, 139 Lisbon, 152-156, 159, 185-186, 317 Liskeard, 1, 2, 406 Lister, Albert, 252 Llanes, 207 Llangollen, 381, 414, 416 Lockhart, J. G., 350, 369, 370 Letters of, to J. Murray (III.), 369 to R. Ford, 370 London — 16 Milman St., Bedford Row, 41 26 Bryanston St., Portman Sq., 74 17 Great Russell Street, 78 7 Museum Street, 80 Earl Street, 95, 101, 104, 116, 185, 279-282 Spread Eagle, Gracechurch St., 324 St Peter's, Cornhill, 324 22 Hereford Square, 444, 457 Brompton Cemetery, 457, 471, 472 Waterloo Bridge, 466 Longe, John, to whom Borrow supplied some autobiographical notes, 23, 2<; «•, 34 Lopez, Eduardo, 270 Lopez, Juan, husband of Maria Diaz, Borrow's landlady at Madrid, 269, 270, 275, 276, 277, 285 Liibeck, 108 Luarca, 205 Lugo, 201, 202 Lyell, Sir Charles, 459 Lynn, 423 MacOubrey, Henrietta Maria. See Clarke, Henrietta Maria MacOubrey, Wm., M.D., 455, 469, 471 Madrid, 75, 77, 167-184, 191-198, 209- 269, 271-275, 276, 284-289, 306, ^ 307, 309, 317-322 Calle de la Zara, 167-184 12 Calle de Santiago, 191, 218, 231, 234, 285 Despacho de la Sociedad Biblica y Estrangera, 25 Calle de Principe, 214, 216, 220, 221, 228, 230, 231, 250, 267, 275. 299 n. Mafra, 153 Mahmoud, Borrow's Tartar servant, 112, 126 Malaga, 184, 242, 249, 250, 254, 255, 272, 273 Manchegan Prophetess, 284, 292 Manchu translation of the Bible — Lipovzoff commissioned by Bible Society to translate New Testament, 94 ; Father Puerot's translation of most of the Old Testament and two books of the New discovered in St Petersburg, 95 ; Borrow commis- sioned to study the language, with a view of going to assist Lipovzoff in St Petersburg, 97 ; after nineteen weeks' study he is selected, 101 ; and sent off, 104 ; the whole of Puerot's version transcribed and collated in six months, 113 ; permissions granted to print, 115 ; the type had been stored in damp cellar, 117 ; proposal for binding, 117 ; plans for distribution, 120; exorbitant price asked for printing reduced by 58 per cent., 122, 129 ; and of paper reduced to a third, 123, 128 ; St Matthew set and printed from bad copy, by composi- tors who did not know the language, 127; St Mark well in hand, 128; type found loose and trodden into muddy floor, 129 ; compositors to be taught the alphabet, indecipher- able copy, paper late in delivery and short in quantity and bad in quality, bad paper printed, 130; had to be replaced, another papermaker found, 131 ; binding, 123-133 ; copies of the Four Gospels sent home to the Society, 137 ; printing of New Testament complete, and six vols, bound, 140 ; difficulties of shipment to England, 140-141 ; opinions of the work, its cost, 146 ; the whole edition sent to Earl St., 146 Manzanares, 284, 292 Marin, Don Pascual, 225-227, 251, 261 Marks, William, British Consul at Malaga, 242, 243, 248 INDEX 493 Marrin Mufioz, 277 Marseilles, 77, 364 Martineau, Dr James, schoolfellow of Borrow's at Norwich, 20, 25, 445 Martineau, Harriet, Autobiography, 33, 35, 105 Mattishall Burgh, 440, 44 r, 442 Maturin, C. R., his Melmolh the Wanderer, 297 n. Medina del Campo, 200 Melrose, 455 Mendizabal, Juan Alvarez y, 170, 171, 174 Menheniot, I, 2 Meridia, 166 Mickiewicz, 143 Milford Haven, 439 Mocejon, 269 Mogadore, 304 Moll, Benedict, 353 Montemor Novo, 160 Monthly Magazine, The, 41, 43, 45, 53, 72, 73 Monthly Review, 8 1 n. Morris, Huw, 414, 418 Morshead, Captain, afterwards General, 3 Mortimer's Cross, 439 Moscow, 143-145 Marina Rotze, 144, 145 Moultan, 296 Mousehold Heath, 23, 36 Mousehole, 410 Mousha, in Lavengro. See Levy Mull, 440 Muros, 205 Murray, John (I.), 5 Murray, John (II.), 49, 335- 358 Letters of, to George Borrow, 341, 351, 357, 372, 383 Murray, John (III.), 5 *•■ 433, 434, 443 Letters of, to George Borrow, 371, 374, 388, 389, 399, 428, 433 to Mrs Borrow, 388, 389, 422, 452 in Good Words, 404 Murray, John (IV.), 385 Murray, Miss Jane, 5 Napier, Lieut.-Col. E. H. D. E., 76, 294-297 Excursions along the Shores of the Mediterranean, 76 «. , 294, 297 Navaia, 205 Naval Carnero, 287, 289 New Forest, 456 New Magazine , The, 41 New Monthly Magazine, The, 41 Newport (Mon.), 439 Newton Stewart, 455 Nogales, 201 Norman Cross, II, 396 French prisoners at, 1 1 North Repps, 424 Norwich — Grammar School, 15, 19, 20 Willow Lane, 19, 71, 72, 78, 101, 149, 402, 469 Tuck's Court, St Giles, 26, 27, 29, 332 Upper Close, 27 Guildhall, 31 21 King Street, 33 Horse Fair, 78 Lakenham, 123 Norfolk Hotel, St Giles, 469 Novales, 205 n. OCANA, 276 O'Connell, D., 359, 423 Ofalia, Count, Prime Minister of Spain, 211, 220, 222, 223, 224, 229, 235- 244, 248, 249, 250, 256, 266, 269, 272, 273, 278, 28l, 283, 395 Letters of, to Sir George Villiers, 254-255, 267, 273 Olivan, Mr, 175, 176, 179 Ona, 209 n. Once a Week, 455 Ontane'da, 209 n. Oporto, 76 Orviedo, 205-207, 255, 272 O'Shea, Mr, banker at Madrid, 196 Oteiza, Dr, 217 Oulton Cottage, 325, 330-371, 466, 469 Oulton Hall, 92, 149, 371, 374, 402, 403, 416, 456 Ounse, 203 Owen, Gronwy, 417, 418, 439 Padron, 203, 204 Paget, Lieut. Henry, 5 Palmerston, Lord, 158, 307, 377 Pamplona, 77, 328 Paper, cost of, in Russia, 123, 128; in Spain, 191 Paris, 75, 77, 88, 279, 362, 364 Peel, Sir Robert, 352 Pembroke, 439 Penquite, 406, 409, 410, 419 Pentire Point, 410 Penzance, 410 Perez de Castro, Evarsto, 317 Letter of, to Mr Aston, 317-319 Perfrement, Ann, See Borrow, Ann, mother of George Borrow Perfremenr, Samuel, grandfather of George Borrow, 4 Perth, 440 Peterborough, 414 494 INDEX Peto, Sir S. M., 37ii 372, 395 Petulengro, Mr, 12, 23, 36, 62, 63, 65, 66, 67, 68, 473 Petulengro, Mrs, 65 Petulengro, Ambrose (Jasper in Laven- gro), 12, 22, 339 Phillips, H. W., R.A., 357 Phillips, Sir Richard, publisher, 41-52, 56, 57, 60, 72 Phillips, Richard, jun., son of Sir Richard, 43 Pitiegua, 200 n. Playfair, Dr W. S., 456, 457 Pluchard, M., printer, St Petersburg, 129, 131 Plymouth, 405 Plymouth Mail, 405 Pontevedra, 203, 255, 272, 273 Porter, George, of Denbigh, 418 Portugal, 154-162 Prevesa, 364 Primate of Spain. See Toledo, Arch- bishop of Printing, cost of, in Russia, 122, 129; in Spain, 192 Prophetess, the Manchegan. See Manchegan Prophetess Proximate Causes of the Material Pheno- mena of the Universe, 44, 45, 49-51 Puerot, Father, 95, 113 Puerto de Fuencebadon, 201 Puerto Manzanal, 201 Purland, Theodosius and Francis, schoolfellows of Borrow, 25 Quarterly Review, 3 50, 368, 369, 388, ~ 431, 432, 433, 435, 436 n., 444 Queen Regent of Spain, 243, 244, 246, 264 Quiro?a, General, Military Governor of Madrid, 236, 239, 240 Revolution of La Granja, 88, 182 Riba de Sella, 207 Richmond Park, 468, 469 Ritchie, J. Ewing, East Anglia, 470 Rivadeo, 205 Rivas, Duke of, 174, 175, 176, 179 Roehampton, 448, 468 Romano Lavo-Lil, 12, 415 «., 455, 462- 464, 467 Romantic Ballads, translated from the Danish, and Miscellaneous Pieces, 41- 42, 73, 79 Romany Rye quoted from, 36, 40, 49, 55, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 90, 328, 329, 354 «•, 355 "•> 372, 377, 378, 391, 394, 397, 401, 4", 412, 413, 421, 422, 425, 428-438, 462, 463 Rome, 364 Romero, Rey, 353 Rossi, Theodore, 419 n. Rous, Hon. Wm. Rufus, 374 Rule, Rev. W. H., of the Wesleyan Methodist Society, 212, 213, 225- 227, 248, 250, 328 Letter of, to Geo. Borrow, 225 St Cleer, 2, 3, 406, 410 St Davids, 439 St Michael's Mount, 410 St Petersburg, 102, 104, 105, 106, 108- 143, 145-146, 221 ; Galernoy Ulitza, 1 10 Salamanca, 199, 255, 272 Salisbury, 6 1 Salonika, 364 Sampson, John, 60, 68, 69, 339, 398 Sanchez, Mariano Paz y, 99 San Cyprian, 277 San Lucar, 293, 302, 303, 306 Santa Maria, 205 n. San Sebastian, 229 Santa Coloma, Marques de, 186, 195, 288, 328 Santa Cruz, 312, 313 Santander, 207, 208 Santiago, 202, 203, 255, 272, 273 n., 353 Santillana, 207 San Vincente, 207 Schilling de Canstadt, Baron, 94, io5, in, 115, 117, 131, 133, 137, 142 Schmidt, Dr I. J., 104, 114, 116 «., 133 Schultz & Beneze, printers, St Peters- burg, 122, 129, 130, 131, 135, 142, J 43 Scio de San Miguel, Father Felipe, his Spanish translation of the Bible, 192, 212, 214, 221, 227, 242, 254, 267, 273, 299 Scott, Sir Walter, 393 Seccombe, Thomas, in Bookman, 86, 476 Segovia, 276 Seville, 76, 188, 255, 272, 283, 284, 289, 291-303, 305-317, 322-324 Posada de la Reyna, 293 ; Plazuela de la Pila Seca, 299, 303, 311- 317, 322-324 Seymour, Lady Augusta, 382 Sheffield, 19 Sherringham, 424 Shrewsbury, 439 Sidi Habismilk, Borrow's Arabian horse, 285, 287, 299, 324, 330, 368, 380 Simpkin & Marshall, 53 n., 57, 71 Simpson & Rackham, solicitors, Norwich, 26, 28, 40 INDEX 495 Simpson, William, of Simpson & Rackham, solicitors, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 Skepper, Mrs Anne, 92, 149, 300 Skepper, Breame, 92, 300 Skepper, Edmund, 92, 149, 300 Skepper, Mary, afterwards Mrs Henry Clarke. See Borrow, Mary, wife of George Borrow Sleeping Bard, The, translated from the Welsh of Elis Wyn, 87, 441 Slingsby. Jack, 61, 64, 424 Smiles', S., A Publisher and his Friends, 335 Smith, Gypsy. See Petulengro Snaefell, 421 Snowdon, 415 Songs 0/ Europe, or Metrical Translations from All the European Languages, 428 n. Songs of Scandinavia, 80, 81, 377 Sothern, Mr, private secretary to Sir George Villiers, 234, 235, 236, 237, 259- 317 Soto Luino, 205 Spain, 163-184, 186-279, 283-324 Spanish translation of Scriptures — Borrow sent to Portugal and Spain, 151 ; application to the Government for permission to print, 171 ; permis- sion granted, 180 ; with the sugges- tion to employ Government printer, 181 ; provisional arrangements made, 183 ; saving in cost of paper, 191 ; and of printing, read three times by Borrow and revised by Dr Usoz, 192 ; five thousand copies printed, 195 Spectator, The, 454 Stafford, 67 Stephen, Sir Leslie, 45 n. Stoddart, Col. Charles, schoolfellow of Borrow's at Norwich, 20 Stonehenge, 61, 399 Stradbroke, Earl of, 374, 376 Stranraer, 455 Strickland, Agnes, 383 Swan, Rev. Wm , 94, 95, 104, 108, 109, 114, 1 16 Talavera, 167, 287 Talisman, The, from the Russian of Alexander Pushkin, with Other Pieces, 143 Tarn worth, 68, 69 Tangier, 303-305 Targum, or Metrical Translations from Thirty Languages and Dialects, 142 Tarn, J., treasurer, British & Foreign Bible Society, 135 n. Tawno Chikno, 23, 66 Taylor, Anne, cousin to George Borrow, 405,411,414 Taylor, Anne, jun., 409 Taylor, Baron I. J. Severin, 188, 294 Taylor, John, publisher, 73 Taylor, Robert, husband of George Borrow's cousin, Anne Borrow, 405, 410 Taylor, William, of Norwich, 33-35, 41, 105, 366 Memoir of, by J. W. Robberds, quoted, 34 Templemore, 17 Tenby, 439 Tennyson, Alfred, Lord, 394 Tetuan, 304 Thackeray, W. M., 382 Thurso, 440 Thomas, Ellen (Ellen Jones in Wild Wales), 417, 418 Thurtell, John, 22, 51, 366, 367 Tunes, The, 355 Tintagel, 410 Toledo, 216, 275, 283 Toledo, Archbishop of, Primate of Spain, 17 «., 241, 252, 253 Truro, 410 Ty Gronwy, 417 Type-setting of Manchu Testament, 117, 127, 128, 130 Universal Review, 44, 45, 48 University Press, St Petersburg, 122 Upcher, Rev. A. VV., in Athenceum, 424 Uppington, 439 Usoz, Dr Louis de, editor of El Espanol, 174, 182, 192, 211 Valencia, 212-214, 226, 262, 266, 272 Valladolid, 200, 203, 209 «., 255, 272, 273 n. Valpy, Rev. E., Borrow's schoolmaster at Norwich, 20, 23, 25 " Veiled Period " of Borrow's life, 57, 72-91, 328 Venice, 364 VenniDg, John, 106, no, in Memorials of, ill Vestiges of Borrow: Some Personal Reminiscences, in The Globe, 375, 376 ;/. Victoriano, 285, 287, 288 Vidocq, Eugene Francois, 361 Vienna, 362, 364 Vigo, 203 Vilallos, 277 496 INDEX Villafranca, 201 Villa Luenga, 269 „ Villa Seca, 268, 269, 270 Villa Viciosa, 207 Villiers, Hon. George, afterwards Sir George, and later Earl of Clarendon, British Minister at Madrid, 170, 176, 178, 179, 180, 181, 191, 192, 197, 21T, 213, 215, 219, 220, 222, 224, 232, 235-246, 248, 249, 252, 253, 254, 256, 258, 264, 266, 271, 272, 273, 274, 281, 283,285, 317, 336, 358, 374 Letters of, to George Borrow, 179 to Lord Palmerston, 215, 238, 239, 240, 241, 243, 244 to Count Ofalia, 229-230, 234 «., 237,255 to Diego de Entrena, 236, 237 Viviero, 205 Vocabulary of the Gypsy Language as spoken in Hungary and Transylvania, MS. of George Borrow in British Museum, 364 WALLING, R. A. J., George Borrow, 407, 408 Wandering Children and the Benevolent Gentleman, The, 25 Watts-Dunton, Theodore, 339, 396, 397, 410,446, 449, 451,464, 466, 468 Notes upon George Borrow, introduc- tion to Lavengro, 396, 399 Watts-Dunton, Theodore — contd. In Defence of Borrow, introduction to Romany Rye, 447 n. in The Athenaeum, 464, 466, 468, 473 Webb, Joseph Cator, 300 Webster, Rev. Wentworth, 12 n., 17 «., 95, 186 «., 195, 316, 328 Welsh Preacher, the, 62, 90 Whewell, Wm, 385 White, Blanco, 252 Whitely, Rev. E., of Oporto, 76, 152, 153 Wick, 440 Wilby, John, 151, 152, 153, 156, 175, 186 Wild Wales quoted from, 27, 28, 30, 31, 41, 109 «., 321, 322, 328, 355 «., 381, 415, 417-420, 425, 452-455, 477 Willenhall, 63, 68, 69 Williams, Mr, Consul at Seville, 311, 312, 323 Wilson, Sir Archdale, schoolfellow of Borrow's at Norwich, 20 Wisbech, 423 Wood, Charles, 192, 252, 256, 281 Woodfall, H. D., printer, 389, 422 Wordsworth, 393 Yare, river, 22, 23 Yetholm, 455 Yuncler, 269 Zincali, The. See The Gypsies of Spain PRINTED T.Y OLIVER AND HOYD, EDINBURGH JUM 7 1912 Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date: March 2009 PreservationTechnologies A WORLD LEADER IN COM FCTinMS PRESERVATION 111 Thomson Park Drive Cranberry Township, PA 16066 (724)779-2111