CHAPTER XXXV
THE AFTERMATH
“We are all Borrovians now.”—AUGUSTINE BIRRELL.
IT is a curious fact that of only two men of distinction in English letters in these later years can it be said that they lived to a good old age and yet failed of recognition for work that is imperishable. Many poets have died young—Shelley and Keats for example—to whom this public recognition was refused in their lifetime. But given the happiness of reaching middle age, this recognition has never failed. It came, for example, to Wordsworth and Coleridge long after their best work was done. It came with more promptness to all the great Victorian novelists. This recognition did not come in their lifetime to two Suffolk friends, Edward FitzGerald with _Omar Khayyám_ and George Borrow with _Lavengro_. In the case of FitzGerald there was probably no consciousness that he had produced a great poem. In any case his sunny Irish temperament could easily have surmounted disappointment if he had expected anything from the world in the way of literary fame. Borrow was quite differently made. He was as intense an egoist as Rousseau, whose work he had probably never read, and would not have appreciated if he had read. He longed for the recognition of the multitude through his books, and thoroughly enjoyed it when it was given to him for a moment—for his _Bible in Spain_. Such appreciation as he received in his lifetime was given to him for that book and for no other. There were here and there enthusiasts for his _Lavengro_ and _Romany Rye_. Dr. Jessopp has told us that he was one. But it was not until long after his death that the word “Borrovian” {268} came into the language. Not a single great author among his contemporaries praised him for his _Lavengro_, the book for which we most esteem him to-day. His name is not mentioned by Carlyle or Tennyson or Ruskin in all their voluminous works. Among the novelists also he is of no account. Dickens and Thackeray and George Eliot knew him not. Charlotte Brontë does indeed write of him with enthusiasm, {269a} but she is alone among the great Victorian authors in this particular. Borrow’s _Lavengro_ received no commendation from contemporary writers of the first rank. He died in his seventy-eighth year an obscure recluse whose works were all but forgotten. Since that year, 1881, his fame has been continually growing. His greatest work, _Lavengro_, has been reprinted with introductions by many able critics; {269b} notable essayists have proclaimed his worth. Of these Mr. Watts-Dunton and Mr. Augustine Birrell have been the most assiduous. The efforts of the former have already been noted. Mr. Birrell has expressed his devotion in more than one essay. {269c} Referring to a casual reference by Robert Louis Stevenson to _The Bible in Spain_, {270a} in which R. L. S. speaks well of that book, Mr. Birrell, not without irony, says:
It is interesting to know this, interesting, that is, to the great Clan Stevenson, who owe suit and service to their liege lord; but so far as Borrow is concerned, it does not matter, to speak frankly, two straws. The author of _Lavengro_, _The Romany Rye_, _The Bible in Spain_, and _Wild Wales_ is one of those kings of literature who never need to number their tribe. His personality will always secure him an attendant company, who, when he pipes, must dance.
This is to sum up the situation to perfection. You cannot force people to become readers of Borrow by argument, by criticism, or by the force of authority. You reach the stage of admiration and even love by effects which rise remote from all questions of style or taste. To say, as does a recent critic, that “there is something in Borrow after all; not so much as most people suppose, but still a great deal,” {270b} is to miss the compelling power of his best books as they strike those with whom they are among the finest things in literature. In attempting to interest new readers in the man—and this book is not for the sect called Borrovians, to whom I recommend the earlier biographies, but for a wider public which knows not Borrow—I hope I shall succeed in sending many to those incomparable works, which have given me so many pleasant hours.
INDEX A
_Academy_, F. H. Groome’s review of _Word Book_, 151
Aikin, Lucy, on Mrs. John Taylor, 39; on William Taylor, 40
Ainsworth, Harrison, _Lavengro_ criticised by, 185
_Ancient Poetry and Romances of Spain_, by Bowring, 82
Andalusia described, 124
André, Major, trial of, included in Borrow’s volumes, 67
_Annals of the Harford Family_, reference to Borrow in, 158
_Apologia pro Vita Sua_, by J. H. Newman, 224
Arnold, Matthew, and George Borrow contrasted, 65
_Athenæum_, _The_, Hasfeld’s letter on Russian literature and Borrow in, 98, 99; friendly review of _The Zincali_ in, 147; severely criticises _Lavengro_, 184, 225—and _Romany Rye_, 225; reminiscences of Borrow contributed to, 203, 204
Augsburg, Confession of, 169
Austin, John, 39
— Sarah, 37
_Autobiographical Recollections of Sir John Bowring_, 81, 82
_Autobiography of Harriet Martineau_, quoted, 40
B
BALDREY, S. H., reminiscences of the Borrows published by, 257–59
Barbauld, Mrs., 40
Baretti, Joseph, witnesses at trial of, 68
Bathurst, Bishop, 38, 66
Belcher, pugilist, 77
Bell, Catherine, 37
_Benjamin Robert Haydon_; _Correspondence and Table Talk_, by F. W. Haydon, 22
_Bible in Spain_, _The_, 33, 158, 170, 191; quoted, 137, 154; episode of the blind girl, 120; brings fame to Borrow, 147, 157, 158; the title of, 153; criticisms of Mr. Murray’s reader on copy of—number of copies sold—referred to in House of Commons, 157; reviews of, 157, 161, 184; how written, 185; Gladstone’s admiration of, 203
Birrell, Augustine, 153; introduction to _Lavengro_ by, 269
Black Forest, Borrow in the, 169
_Blackwood’s Magazine_, condemns _Lavengro_, 184
Borrow, Ann, mother of Borrow, 8, 9, 12, 81, 142; life in Norwich of, 14–16, 44; correspondence of, 16, 115, 120–23, 143; death—inscription on tomb of, 203
Borrow, Elizabeth, 192
— George Henry, biographical drafts, 7–13; wandering childhood of, 25–35; schooldays at Norwich, 45–49; struggles and failure in London, 57–59; Celtic ancestry of, 235; characteristics of, 15, 95, 188, 202, 204, 227, 252, 268; agent for Bible Society, 94, 117; work for the Society in—Portugal, 113, 114—Russia, 97–109—Spain, 110–29; imprisonments of, 79, 117, 127, 144; correspondence of, with—Bowring, 84–89—Brackenbury, 128, 129—Ford, 161–167—Haydon, 22—Jerningham, 127—Henrietta MacOubrey, 259–64—his wife, 117–19, 123–26, 145, 172–82, 205, 206, 210–18, 221; Darwin asks information from, 205; fails to become a magistrate, 139, 203; feeling of, as regards people and language of Ireland, 32, 33, 195; friends of later years, 250–54; life of, in London, 244–49—in Oulton Broad and Yarmouth, 199–206; attainments of, as a linguist, 33, 41, 42, 81; literary tastes of, 13, 26, 79, 155–57, 223, 224; literary methods of, 188; attitude towards literary men, 224, 225, 252; marriage of, 128, 143, 144, 146, 147; personal appearance, 147, 192, 200, 201; physical vigour of, 246, 258; political sympathies, 111; pugilistic tastes, 74–77; translations by, 51, 78–80; travels in—Austria-Hungary, 172–79—Greece and Italy, 179—82—Ireland, 220, 221—Portugal, 113, 114—Russia, 97–109—Scotland, 207–21—Spain, 110–29—Wales, 235, 236, 240–43; unfounded reports as to neglect of, when dying, 255, 256; unrecognised genius and growing fame of, 202, 268; Yarmouth rescue episode, 192
Borrow, Henry, 192
— John, grandfather of George Henry, 8–10
—John Thomas, 9, 32; Captain Borrow’s love of, 10, 17; described in _Lavengro_, 17; pictures by, 19; career and death of, 17–24
— Mary, 142–44, 184; correspondence with: Ann Borrow, 236—G. H. Borrow, 93, 117–19, 123–26, 158, 159, 168–82, 193, 240–42, 244–46—Hake, 252, 253; epitaph written for, by Borrow, 140; family history, 138–41; house-keeping genius of, 256; marriage of, 93, 146; death of, 247, 248
— Captain Thomas, 17, 18, 25, 32, 55, 192; descent of, 8, 9; military career of, 8–10; referred to in _Lavengro_, 10–13; prejudiced against the Irish, 33, 34; pensioned off, 44; his fight with Big Ben Brain, 74, 76
— William, 192
Bowring, Sir John, collaboration with Borrow, 80; correspondence with Borrow, 84–89, 113, 114; described by Borrow, 83, 84; Borrow’s relations with, 81–89
Boyd, Robert, 161
Brace, Charles L., 174
Brackenbury, Mr., letter from, to Borrow, 128, 129
Brain, Big Ben, 10–12, 76
Brandram, Rev. Mr., 94; correspondence of, with Borrow, 104, 105; letter from, to Mrs. Borrow, 115
British and Foreign Bible Society, aided by the Gurneys, 38; Borrow’s connection with, 78, 90–93; growth and procedure of, 91–93; sanctioned in Russia by the Czar, 92; number of bibles issued in Spain for three years up to 1913, 113; work of, in Spain, 111–29; breezy controversy between Borrow and the, 117
Brontë, Charlotte, writes of Borrow with enthusiasm, 269
_Brontës_, _The_, by Clement Shorter, quoted, 269
Brooke, Rajah, 45
Brown, Rev. Arthur, 28
Browne, Sir Thomas, 36
Browning, Robert, 68
Buchini, Antonio, Borrow’s attendant in Spain, 116
Bunsens, the invitation given to Borrow by, 158
Bunyan, what Borrow owed to, 224
Burcham, Thomas, 51
Burke, Edmund, 68
_Bury Post_, _The_, account in, of life-saving by Borrow at Yarmouth, 192
Buxton, Sir T. F., 37
— Lady, 37, 38, 58
C
CAGLIOSTRO, trial of, included in Borrow’s volumes, 67
Campbell, Thomas, 51, 66
Canton, William, 92
Carlyle, Thomas, 90, 97; _Miscellanies_, 42; point of similitude between Borrow and, 243; on Edward FitzGerald, 228; prejudiced against Scott, 41
_Celebrated Trials_, Borrow’s first piece of hack-work, 58; payment made to Borrow for, 68; distinguishing feature of, 68; dramatic episodes in, 68, 69
Chamisso’s _Peter Schlemihl_, 83
_Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem_, picture by Haydon, 21
Clarendon, Earl of, 191; befriends Borrow in Spain, 82, 114; career of, and services to Borrow, 137–39
Clarke, Lieutenant Henry, 140, 142
Cobbe, Frances Power, 224; her opinion of Borrow, 90; her story of Borrow and James Martineau, 49; unkindly glimpses of Borrow given by—her character and works, 247, 248
Collins, Mortimer, his appreciation of _Wild Wales_, 239
Collinson, Robert, 247
Cooke, Robert, 233
_Cornhill Magazine_, _The_, reviews _Wild Wales_ unfavourably, 236
“Corporation Feast, The,” plate of, borrowed for _Life and Death of Faustus_, 61
Cowell, Professor E. C., friendship of, with FitzGerald, 230
Cowper, poet, Borrow’s devotion to, 8, 26
Crabbe, Mrs., 258
— George, FitzGerald’s letter to, 233
Cribb, pugilist, 77
Croft, Sir Herbert, 69
Crome, John, 19, 20, 37, 44
Cunningham, Mrs., 37
— Allan, writes introduction in verse to _Romantic Ballads_; correspondence with Borrow, 64
Cunningham, Rev. Francis, befriends Borrow with the Bible Society, 37, 38, 92, 93; his praise of Borrow, 110, 142
— Rev. John W., 92, 141
D
_Dairyman’s Daughter_, _The_, extraordinary vogue of, 58; Borrow’s failure to appreciate, 92
Dalrymple, Arthur, on schooldays of Borrow, 46; on Borrow and his wife, 146
— John, joins Borrow in a schoolboy escapade, 46
Danube, description of the, 169
Darlow, T. H., _Letters to the Bible Society_, 102, 103, 105–7
Darwin, Charles, letter from, asking for information, regarding the dogs of Spain, from Borrow, 205
_Death of Balder_, _The_, translation by Borrow, 84
_Deceived Merman_, _The_, versions by Borrow and Matthew Arnold compared, 65
Defoe, Daniel, Borrow’s master in literature, 27, 79, 224
Denniss, Rev. E. P., acrid correspondence between Borrow and, 202
D’Eterville, Thomas, Borrow’s teacher, 46
Diaz, Maria, Borrow’s tribute to, 130
Domenico’s picture of the burial of Count of Orgaz, 119
Donne, W. B., letters to Borrow, 225, 233, 234; awards high praise to _Romany Rye_ and _Lavengro_, 225
Drake, William, description of Borrow by, 50
Dumpling Green, birthplace of Borrow, 7, 8, 26
E
EAST DEREHAM, described in _Lavengro_, 7, 26
_Eastern Daily Press_, _The_, Miss Harvey’s letter on Borrow in, 200–2
Eastlake, Lady, her description of Borrow, 168
Edinburgh, childhood of Borrow in, 30–32
_Edinburgh Review_, reviews Borrow’s works, 148
Elwin, Rev. Whitwell, his estimate of _Lavengro_, 186, 187; his interview with, and impressions of, Borrow, 187, 188; letters to Borrow from, 189; reviews _Romany Rye_ in _Quarterly Review_, 225
Enghien, Duc d’, trial of, included in Borrow’s volumes, 67
_Essays Critical and Historical_, by J. H. Newman, quoted, 224
_Excursions along the Shores of the Mediterranean_, attractive glimpse of Borrow in, 130–34
F
FAUNTLEROY, HENRY, trial of, included in Borrow’s volumes, 68, 69
_Faustus_, translated by Borrow, 60–63, 67, 82; burned by libraries of Norwich, 63; criticisms on, 63
Fenn, Lady, commemorated by Cowper, and in _Lavengro_—books for children by, 26
— Sir John, author of Paston Letters, 26
Fielding, what Borrow owed to, 224
Fig, James, 75
FitzGerald, Edward, parallel between Borrow and—works of, 227, 228; character and gifts of, 227; marriage of, 228; letters to Borrow, 228–33; criticises Borrow’s expressions, 233
Ford, Richard, 78, 147, 191; family history and fortune of, 160, 161; anti-democratic outlook of, 161; his tribute to Borrow—reviews _The Bible in Spain_, 161; correspondence with the Borrows, 78, 161–68; odd sentence referring to Borrow, in a letter of, 164; advice given to Borrow by, 183; his ideas about _Lavengro_, 184; on _The Zincali_, 148, 149; his work, 78, 64, 166, 167
— Sir Richard, creator of mounted police force of London, 160
Fox, Caroline, 94
_Frazer’s Magazine_, _Lavengro_ condemned by, 184
_French Prisoners of Norman Cross_, _The_, by Rev. Arthur Brown, 28
Fry, Elizabeth, connection of, with Bible Society, 92; the courtship of, 37, 38
G
GARRICK, DAVID, 68
“George Borrow Reminiscences,” by S. H. Baldrey, quoted, 257–59
Gibson, Robin, 31
Gifford, William, 59
Gill, Rev. W., letter to Borrow from, 197, 198
Glen, William, 97
Gypsies, language of, Borrow’s description of Hungarian, 175
Gladstone, W. E., his admiration of _The Bible in Spain_, 203
Glen, William, Borrow’s friendship with, 97
Graydon, Lieutenant, a rival of Borrow in Spain, 116
Groome, Archdeacon, his memories of Borrow’s schooldays, 50
— F. H., gypsy scholar, reviews _Romano Lavo-Lil_, 151, 152
Grundtvig, Mr., Borrow’s translations for, 88
Gully, John, career of, 77
Gurdons, the, subscribe to Borrow’s _Romantic Ballads_, 66
Gurney, Miss Anna, letter from, to Mrs. Borrow, 155; Borrow cross-examined in Arabic by, 204
— Daniel, 38
— John, 37
— Joseph John, connection of, with great bank, 37, 38; and with Bible Society, 92; his praise of Borrow, 110
Gurneys, the, at Norwich, 37–39; subscribe to Borrow’s _Romantic Ballads_, 66
_Gypsies of Spain_, _The_. See _Zincali_, _The_.
H
HACKMAN, PARSON, trial of, in Borrow’s volumes, 69
Haggart, David, 18; story of, 30, 31; trial and execution of, 32
Hake, Egmont, article of, in _Dictionary of National Biography_, on Borrow, 252
— Dr. T. G., on _Lavengro_, 185, 250, 251; his intimacy with Borrow, 250–54; relations of, with the Rossetti family, 250; asperities of, when speaking of Borrow, 251, 252
Hamilton, Duke of, 76
_Handbook for Travellers in Spain_, by Richard Ford, 78; Borrow’s blundering review of, 165, 166; Maxwell’s praise of, 167
Hares, the, 66
Harvey, Miss Elizabeth, her impressions of Borrow, 200–2; letters to Mrs. MacOubrey from, 264, 265
Harveys, the, 66
Hasfeld, John P., 191; Borrow’s correspondence with, 97–101
Hawkes, Robert, 20–22, 66
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, suggestion of, as to gypsy descent of Borrow, 9, 14
Haydon, Benjamin, 66; career of, 21–23; correspondence of, with Borrow, 22, 79
Haydon, F. W., _Benjamin Robert Haydon_, 22
Hayim Ben Attar, Moorish servant of Borrow, 144
Heenan, pugilist, 75
Herne, Sanspirella, second wife of Ambrose Smith, 29
Hester, George P., writes to Borrow on possible connection between Sclaves and Saxons, 226
Highland Society, the, Borrow’s proposal to, 80
Hill, Mary, 31
_Historic Survey of German Poetry_, by William Taylor, 42
_History of the British and Foreign Bible Society_, by William Canton, 92
Howell, _State Trials_ of, 67
Howitt, Mary, her appreciation of _Wild Wales_, 236, 237
_Hungary in_ 1851, glimpse of Borrow in, 174
Hunt, Joseph, trial and execution of, 71, 72
Hyde, Dr. Douglas, Irish scholar, 34
I
IRELAND, Borrow’s early years in, 31–35; his feelings as regards people and language of, 195
_Iris_, _The_, editing of, 41
J
JACKSON, JOHN, pugilist, 74
_Jane Eyre_, cruelly reviewed by Lady Eastlake, 168
Jay, Elizabeth, on happy married life of the Borrows, 146
Jerningham, Sir George, letter from, to Borrow, 127; Borrow’s complaints to, 137
Jessopp, Dr., on Borrow as a pupil at the Grammar School, 45; his admiration of Borrow, 203, 204
Joan of Arc, trial of, included in Borrow’s volumes, 67
Johnson, Dr. Samuel, 68; on Ireland and Irish Literature, 33; his kindness for pugilists, 75
— Tom, his fight with Brain, 76
_Joseph Sell_, 61
Jowett, Rev. Joseph, Secretary of the Bible Society, 38; correspondence of, with Borrow, 97, 102, 103
K
_Kæmpe Viser_, translation by Borrow, 84, 85
Keate, Dr., 106
Kerrison, Allday, 53; invites John Borrow to join him in Mexico, 23
— Roger, 53, 60; Borrow’s correspondence with, 53, 90
— Thomas, 52
Kett, Robert, 36
King, Thomas, owner of the Borrow house in Willow Lane—descent of, from Archbishop Parker, 16
—, — junior, marries sister of J. S. Mill, 16
— Tom, conqueror of Heenan, 75
Klinger, F. M. von, works of, 62
Knapp, Dr., _Life of Borrow_, 3 and _passim_; purchases half the Borrow papers, 155
L
LA GIRALDA, 124
Lambert, Daniel, gaoler of Phillips, 56
Lamplighter, racehorse, Borrow’s desire to see, 205
Lang, Andrew, his onslaught on Borrow, 251
Laurie, Sir Robert, 16
_Lavengro_, appreciations of, 148, 149, 185, 250, 251; autobiographical nature of, 7, 9, 11, 12, 34, 38, 50–52, 57, 58, 185, 188, 244; copies of, sold, 190; criticisms and reviews of, 184, 185, 186, 225; Donne on some reviewers of, 233, 234; greatness of, unrecognised in Borrow’s lifetime, 202; preparation of manuscript of, 183, 184; Thurtell referred to in, 69
_Leicester Herald_ started by Phillips, 56
Leland, Charles Godfrey, correspondence of, with Borrow, 149–51; his books—tribute to Borrow, 151
Lenz, 169
_Letters from George Borrow to the Bible Society_, 97, 98, 102; valuable information in, 110; interesting facts revealed in, 155, 156; quoted, 106
_Letters of Richard Ford_, 161; Borrow’s mistake in reviewing, 165
_Life and Adventures of Joseph Sell_, Borrow’s story of the writing of, 61
_Life of Borrow_, by Dr. Knapp, 3, and _passim_; glimpse of Ann Perfrement’s girlhood in, 14; gruesome picture of circumstances of Borrow’s death—strongly denounced by Henrietta MacOubrey, 255
_Life of B. R. Haydon_, by Tom Taylor, 21, 22
_Life of David Haggart_, by himself, 31
_Life of Frances Power Cobbe as told by Herself_, glimpses of Borrow in, 246, 247
_Life of Sir James Mackintosh_, quoted, 40
_Lights on Borrow_, by Rev. A. Jessopp, D.D., quoted, 45
Lipóftsof, worker for Bible Society, 102, 105, 173
_Literary Gazette_, _The_, reviews of Borrow’s works in, 63, 147
Lloyd, Miss M. C., 247
Lopez, Eduardo, 130
— Juan, Borrow’s tribute to, 130
Luke, gypsy translation of, 119
Luther, Martin, 169
_Lycidas_, Tennyson’s enthusiasm for, 185
M
MACAULAY, ZACHARY, connection of, with Bible Society, 91
Mace, Jem, 75
MacOubrey, Dr., 218, 256; status and accomplishments of, 259; pamphlets issued by, 259; illness and death of, 266
MacOubrey, Henrietta, 3, 91, 123, 140, and _passim_; on Borrow, 51; Borrow’s tribute to, in _Wild Wales_—her devotion to Borrow, 255; unfounded stories of her neglect of Borrow, 255–57; correspondence of, 259–67; death of—inscription on tomb of, 266; charitable bequests of, 267
Man, Isle of, Borrow’s expedition to, 195–98; his investigations into the Manx language, 196, 197
Marie Antoinette, trial of, included in Borrow’s volumes, 67
Martelli, C. F., his memories of Borrow, 54
Martineau, David, 39
— Dr. James, impressions of, as schoolfellow of Borrow, 46–48
— Gaston, 39
— Harriet, 39; on Borrow’s connection with the Bible Society, 90
Maxwell, Sir W. S., praises Ford’s book, 167; criticises _Lavengro_, 184
Meadows, Margaret, 39
— Sarah, 39
_Memoir of the Life and Writings of William Taylor of Norwich_, _A_, by J. W. Robbards, 40
_Memoirs of Fifty Years_, by T. G. Hake, 250, 251
_Memoirs of John Venning_, 95
_Memoirs of the Public and Private Life of Sir Richard Phillips_, 55, 56
_Memoirs of Vidocq_, translated by Borrow, 80
Mendizábal, Borrow’s interview with, 114, 138
Mezzofanti, 136
Miles, H. D., his defence of prize-fighting, 74
Mill, John Stuart, Thomas King marries sister of, 16
Moira, Lord, 56
Mol, Benedict, 130, 155
Montague, Basil, his reference to Mrs. John Taylor, 40
_Monthly Magazine_, _The_, 41, 43, 57; Borrow’s work on, 58
Morrin, killed by David Haggart, 31
Morris, Lewis, Welsh bard, 238
— Sir Lewis, letter to Borrow, 238, 239
Moscow, monster bell at, 169
Mousehold Heath, historical and artistic associations of, 29, 36
Mousha, introduces Borrow to Taylor, 52; figures in _Lavengro_, 52
Munich described, 169
Murray, John, publishes _The Zincali_, 147; correspondence of Borrow with, 202
— Hon. R. D., 129
Murtagh, Irish friend of Borrow—figures in _Lavengro_, 34
_Museum_, _The_, 56
N
NANTES, Edict of, Borrow’s ancestors driven from France by Revocation of, 14, 39
Napier, Admiral Sir C., 130
— Col. E., 81; interesting account of Borrow by, 130–34
Nelson, Lord, a pupil of Norwich Grammar School, 45
_Newgate Calendar_, edited by Borrow, 67, 68
_Newgate Lives and Trials_, Borrow’s work on, 59
Newman, Cardinal, influenced towards Roman Catholicism by Scott, 224
_New Monthly Magazine_, _The_, 74
Ney, Marshal, trial of, included in Borrow’s volumes, 67
Nicholas, Thomas, 192
Norfolk, Duke of, 56
Nore, mutiny at the, 16
_Norfolk Chronicle_, missionary speech of Borrow referred to in, 110
Norman Cross, French prisoners at, 10, 30; Borrow’s memories of, 27–30
_Norvicensian_, William Drake’s notice in, 50
Norwich, 36, 54, 86; Borrow’s description of, 51, 52; satirised by Borrow, 61
O
O’CONNELL, DANIEL, Borrow’s desire to see, 205
Oliver, Tom, pugilist, 76
_Once a Week_, Borrow contributes to, 248
Opie, Mrs., 37
_Oracle_, _The_, quoted, 76
Orford, Col. Lord, 23
Orgaz, Count of, Domenico’s picture of, 119
Overend and Gurney, banking firm, 37, 38
Owen, Goronwy, Borrow’s favourite Welsh bard, 242, 243
P
PAHLIN, 136
Painter, Edward, pugilist, 76
Palgrave, R. H. I., letters to Mrs. MacOubrey from, 265
Palmer, Professor E. H., gypsy scholar, 151
Park, Mr. Justice, 72
Parker, Archbishop, descent of Thomas King from, 16
Paterson, John, work of, for Bible Society in Russia, 92
Pennell, Mrs. Elizabeth Robins, her biography of Leland, quoted, 159
Perfrement, Mary, grandmother of Borrow, 8, 14
— Samuel, grandfather of Borrow, 8, 14
_Peter Schlemihl_, translated by Bowring, 83
Petrie, George, correspondence of Borrow with, 218, 219
Phillips, Lady, 57
— Sir Richard, 23, 43, 59; early days of, 55–56; imprisonment of, 56; relations of, with Borrow, 57–59
Picts, the, Borrow on, 218, 219
Pilgrim, John, Borrow’s visits to, 258
Pischel, Professor Richard, criticises Borrow’s etymologies, 223
Pott, Dr. A. F., gypsy scholar, 151
_Prayer Book and Homily Society_, Borrow’s correspondence with, 107, 108
Prize-fighting, Borrow’s taste for, 13, 52, 74–77
Probert, witness against Thurtell, 71
Prothero, Rowland E., 161
Purland, Francis, companion of Borrow in schoolboy escapade, 46
— Theodosius, 46
Pushkin, Alexander, Russian poet, translated by Borrow, 109
Q
_Quarterly Review_, _The_, review of _Lavengro_ in, 186; of _Romany Rye_ in, 225
R
RACKHAM, TOM, 50
Rackhams, the, 66
_Raising of Lazarus_, picture by Haydon, 21
Ratisbon, Borrow at, 169; Dean of, 170
Reay, Martha, murdered by Hackman, 69
Reeve, Henry, 39
_Res Judicatæ_, by Augustine Birrell, 269
Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 68
Richmond, Legh, connection of, with Bible Society, 92
_Rights of Man_, Phillips charged with selling, 56
Ritson, Mrs., 119, 125
Robbards, J. W., writes memoir of William Taylor, 40
_Romano Lavo-Lil_, reviews of, 151, 152
_Romantic Ballads_, translation from the Danish by Borrow, 64–67, 82
_Romany Rye_, _The_, 199; appreciations of, 148, 149, 152, 226, 230; autobiographical nature of, 185, 188; Borrow embittered by failure of, 225; characters in, 223; defects of Appendix, 223, 224; identification of localities of, 223; philological criticism of, 223; preparation of manuscript of, 222; quoted, 116; reviews of, 225, 226
Ross, Janet, _Three Generations of Englishwomen_, 39
Rowe, Quartermaster, 16
_Rubáiyát_, Fitzgerald’s paraphrase, 227; quoted in original and translated, 229; Tennyson’s eulogy of, 231
S
ST. PETERSBURG, Borrow in, 97–109
San Tomé, 119
Sampson, John, eminent gypsy expert—extraordinary suggestion of, regarding Borrow, 223; criticises Borrow’s etymologies, 223
Sayers, Dr., 40
Scott, Sir Walter, 42; Borrow’s prejudice against, 18, 223; influence of, on J. H. Newman, 224; Taylor’s influence on, 40; writings of, admired by Borrow, 223
_Servian Popular Poetry_, by Bowring, 82
Seville described, 124
Sharp, Granville, connection with Bible Society of, 91
Shorter, C. K., _The Brontës_, 269
Sidney, Algernon, trial of, included in Borrow’s volumes, 68
Sierraina de Ronda, 124
Sigerson, Dr., Irish scholar, 34
Simeon, Charles, connection with Bible Society of, 92
Simpson, William, Borrow articled to, 50, 51; described by Borrow, 50, 51
Skepper, Anne, 93, 140, 142
— Breame, 93
— Edmund, 93, 142
_Sleeping Bard_, _The_, translation by Borrow, 80; refused by publishers, 208
Smiles, Samuel, on publication of _The Zincali_, 147
Smith, Ambrose, the Jasper Petulengro of _Lavengro_, 28–30
— Fäden, 29
— Thomas, 30
_Songs from Scandinavia_, translation by Borrow, 80
_Songs of Scotland_, by Allan Cunningham, Borrow’s appreciation of, 64
Southey, Robert, affection of, for William Taylor, 40; on death of Taylor, 42
_Spectator_, _The_, point of view of criticism of Borrow of, 270; reviews _Wild Wales_, 236
Spencer quoted, 118
_State Trials_, 67, 68
Stephen, Sir J. Fitzjames, 141
— Sir Leslie, 59
Stevenson, R. L., perfunctory references to Borrow in writings of, 270
Strasbourg, 169
Struensee, Count, trial of, included in Borrow’s volumes, 67
Sussex, Duke of, 40
Swan, Rev. William, 102
T
_Targum_, translation by Borrow, 195; high praise of, 99, 108, 109
Taylor, Anne, describes Borrow’s appearance, 192
— Baron, Borrow’s meeting with, 136
— Dr. John, 39
— John, 39
— Mrs. John, 37; Basil Montague on, 40
— Richard, 39
— Robert, 192
— Tom, author of _Life of B. R. Haydon_, 21, 22
Taylor, William, 37, 44; dialogue in _Lavengro_ between Borrow and, 11; gives Borrow lessons in German, 51; gives Borrow introductions to Phillips and Campbell, 52; his love of paradox, 47; influence of, on Borrow, 40; Harriet Martineau on, 40; his friends and literary work, 40–42; correspondence with Southey, 41; his testimony to Borrow’s knowledge of German, 60
Taylors, the, at Norwich, 37, 39–43
Tennyson on enthusiasm for _Lycidas_, 185; his eulogy of FitzGerald’s translation of the _Rubáiyát_, 231
Thackeray, W. M., Borrow’s attitude towards, 224, 252; on Edward FitzGerald, 228
Thompson, W. H., 231
_Three Generations of English women_, by Janet Ross, 39
Thurtell, Alderman, 71, 73
— John, 52, 66; trial of—glimpses of, in Borrow’s books, 69–73; great authors who have commented on crime of, 69, 70
Timbs, John, 66
Toledo described, 118, 119
Treve, Captain, 16
Turner, Dawson, 157, 185
_Twelve Essays on the Phenomena of Nature_, Phillips anxious to produce in a German dress, 57
_Twelve Essays on the Proximate Causes_, Borrow unable to translate into German—published in German, 58
U
_Universal Review_, _The_, 58, 59; Borrow’s work on, 58
Upcher, A. W., contributes reminiscences of Borrow to the _Athenæum_, 204
Usóz y Rio, Don Luis de, letters from, to Borrow, 134–36
Utting, Mr., 172
V
VALPY, REV. E., Borrow’s schoolmaster—story of Borrow being flogged by, 46–49
Venning, John, work of, in Russia—befriends Borrow, 95
Victoria, Queen, visits gypsy encampment, 29
Vidocq, memoirs of, translated by Borrow, 80
Vienna described, 170
W
_Wahrheit und Dichtung_, opening lines of, compared with those of _Lavengro_, 7
Walpole, Horace, on Mr. Fenn, 26
Watts-Dunton, Theodore, criticism of Borrow’s work, 251; on intimacy between Borrow and Hake, 250, 251; introduction to _Lavengro_ by, 269
Weare pamphlets, 71
— William, murder of, 71
_Westminster Review_, 82
Whewell, Dr., 188
Wilberforce, William, connection of, with Bible Society, 91
Wilcock, Rev. J., his impressions of Borrow, 220
_Wild Wales_, 9, 143, 246, 255; appreciations of, 233, 236, 238, 239; comparative failure of, 239; comparison of, with Borrow’s three other great works, 242; high spirits of 243; Lope de Vega’s ghost story referred to in, 237; reviews of, 236; time taken to write, 236
_Wilhelm Meister_, quoted, 91
_William Bodham Donne and his Friends_, Borrow described in, 233, 234
Williams, J. Evan, letter from Borrow to, on similarity of some Sclavonian and Welsh words, 237, 238
Woodhouses, the, 66
Wordsworth, Borrow’s estimate of, 224
Wormius, Olaus, 51
Wright, Dr. Aldis, 231
Z
_Zincali_, _The_, work by Borrow, 29; criticisms of, 147, 148; number of copies of, sold, 158; editions of, issued, 147
* * * * *
The Temple Press Letchworth ENGLAND
Footnotes
{11a} _Lavengro_, ch. xiv.
{11b} _Ibid._, ch. xxiii.
{15} _Lavengro_, ch. xxxvii.
{20} _Lavengro_, ch. xxv.
{21} _Life of B. R. Haydon_, by Tom Taylor, 1853, vol. ii. p. 21.
{22} _Benjamin Robert Haydon_: _Correspondence and Table Talk_, with a Memoir by his son, Frederic Wordsworth Haydon, vol. i. pp. 360–1.
{33a} _The Bible in Spain_, ch. xx.
{33b} Dr. Johnson was the first as Borrow was the second to earn this distinction. Johnson, as reported by Boswell, says:
“_I have long wished that the Irish literature were cultivated_. _Ireland is known by tradition to have been once the seat of piety and learning_, _and surely it would be very acceptable to all those who are curious on the origin of nations or the affinities of languages to be further informed of the evolution of a people so ancient and once so illustrious_. _I hope that you will continue to cultivate this kind of learning which has too long been neglected_, _and which_, _if it be suffered to remain in oblivion for another century_, _may perhaps never be retrieved_.”
{34} _Lavengro_.
{39} _Three Generations of Englishwomen_, by Janet Ross, vol. i. p. 3.
{42} Reprinted in Carlyle’s _Miscellanies_.
{47} This is a contemptuous reference in Martineau’s own words to “George Borrow, the writer and actor of romance.”
{49} _Life of Frances Power Cobbe as told by Herself_, ch. xvii.
{50} _Norvicensian_, 1888, p. 177.
{51} The _Britannia_ newspaper, 26th June, 1851.
{54} Mr. C. F. Martelli of Staple Inn, London, who has so generously placed this information at my disposal. Mr. Martelli writes:
“Old memories brought him to our office for professional advice, and there I saw something of him, and a very striking personality he was, and a rather difficult client to do business with. One peculiarity I remember was that he believed himself to be plagued by autograph hunters, and was reluctant to trust our firm with his signature in any shape or form, and that we in consequence had some trouble in inducing him to sign his will. I have seen him sitting over my fire in my room at that office for hours, half asleep, and crooning out Romany songs while waiting for my chief.”
{58} In _Lavengro_.
{62} _Life and Death of Faustus_, p. 59.
{67a} _Celebrated Trials and Remarkable Cases of Criminal Jurisprudence from the Earliest Records to the Year_ 1825. In six volumes. London: Printed for Geo. Knight & Lacey, Paternoster Row, 1825. Price £3 12 s. in boards.
{67b} _The New and Complete Newgate Calendar or Malefactors Recording Register_. By William Jackson. Six vols. 1802.
{67c} Cobbett and Howell’s _State Trials_. In thirty-three volumes and index, 1809 to 1828. The last volume, apart from the index, was actually published the year after Borrow’s _Celebrated Trials_, that is, in 1826; but the last trial recorded was that of Thistlewood in 1820. The editors were William Cobbett, Thomas Bayly Howell, and his son, Thomas Jones Howell.
{70} Another witness attained fame by her answer to the inquiry, “Was supper postponed?” with the reply, “No, it was pork.”
{79} Only thus can we explain Borrow’s later declaration that he had _four_ times been in prison.
{80a} _Memoirs of Vidocq_, _Principal Agent of the French Police until_ 1827, _and now proprietor of the paper manufactory at St. Mandé_. Written by himself. Translated from the French. In Four Volumes. London: Whittaker, Treacher and Arnot, Ave Maria Lane, 1829.
{80b} This with other documents I have presented to the Borrow Museum, Norwich.
{80c} In 1830 Borrow had another disappointment. He translated _The Sleeping Bard_ from the Welsh. This also failed to find a publisher. It was issued in 1860, under which date we discuss it.
{91a} Keep not standing, fixed and rooted, Briskly venture, briskly roam: Head and hand, where’er thou foot it, And stout heart, are still at home. In each land the sun does visit: We are gay whate’er betide. To give room for wandering is it, That the world was made so wide.
(Carlyle’s translation.)
{91b} Through the will of his stepdaughter, Henrietta MacOubrey.
{92} Canton’s _History of the Bible Society_, vol. i. 195.
{102} _Letters of George Borrow to the British and Foreign Bible Society_, published by Direction of the Committee. Edited by T. H. Darlow. Hodder and Stoughton, 1911. The Russian Correspondence occupies pages 1–97.
{103a} Darlow: _Letters to the Bible Society_, p. 32.
{103b} _Ibid._, p. 47.
{103c} _Ibid._, pp. 60, 61.
{104} Mr. Glen.
{105} Darlow: _Letters to the Bible Society_, p. 96.
{106} Darlow: _Letters to the Bible Society_, p. 65.
{107} Darlow: _Letters to the Bible Society_, p. 81.
{110} _Norfolk Chronicle_, 17th October, 1835.
{113} When in Madrid in May, 1913, I called upon Mr. William Summers, the courteous Secretary of the Madrid Branch of the British and Foreign Bible Society in the Flor Alta. Mr. Summers informs me that the issues of the British and Foreign Bible Society, Bibles and Testaments, in Spain for the years 1910–12 are as follows:
Year. Bibles. Testaments. Portions. Total. 1910 5,309 8,971 70,594 84,874 1911 5,665 11,481 79,525 96,671 1912 9,083 11,842 85,024 105,949
The Calle del Principe is now rapidly being pulled down and new buildings taking the place of those Borrow knew.
{145a} The following suggestion has, however, been made to me by a friend of Henrietta MacOubrey, _née_ Clarke:
“I think Borrow intended ‘Carreta’ for ‘dearest.’ It is impossible to think that he would call his wife a ‘cart.’ Perhaps he intended ‘Carreta’ for ‘Querida.’ Probably their pronunciation was not Castillian, and they spelled the word as they pronounced it. In speaking of her to ‘Hen.’ Borrow always called her ‘Mamma.’ Mrs. MacOubrey took a great fancy to me because she said I was like ‘Mamma.’ She meant in character, not in person.”
{148} Knapp’s _Life_, vol. i. p. 378.
{151} _The Academy_, 13th June, 1874.
{155} This was Miss Catherine Gurney, who was born in 1776, in Magdalen Street, Norwich, and died at Lowestoft in 1850, aged seventy-five. She twice presided over the Earlham home. The brother referred to was Joseph John Gurney.
{159} 4750 copies were sold in the three volume form in 1843, and a sixth and cheaper edition the same year sold 9000 copies.
{164} _The Times_, 12th April, 1843.
{197} The whole of this diary will be issued in my edition of _The Collected Works_. It has appeared, with my permission, in the Manx Folk Lore Magazine, _Mannin_, November, 1914.
{199} They lived first at 169 King Street, then at two addresses unknown, then successively at 37, 38 and 39 Camperdown Terrace; their last address was 28 Trafalgar Place.
{229} I am indebted to Mr. Edward Heron-Allen for the information that this is the original of the last verse but one in FitzGerald’s first version of the _Rubáiyát_:
r 74.
Ah Moon of my Delight, who knowest no wane, The Moon of Heaven is rising once again, How oft, hereafter rising, shall she look Through this same Garden after me—in vain.
{255} Henrietta’s guitar is now in my possession and is a very handsome instrument.
{256} Henrietta MacOubrey put every difficulty in the way of Dr. Knapp, and I hold many letters from her strongly denouncing his _Life_.
{268} A word that is very misleading, as no writer was ever so little the founder of a school.
{269a} Although this fact was not known until 1908 when I published _The Brontës_: _Life and Letters_. See vol. ii. p. 24, where Charlotte Brontë writes: “In George Borrow’s works I found a wild fascination, a vivid graphic power of description, a fresh originality, an athletic simplicity, which give them a stamp of their own.”
{269b} Theodore Watts-Dunton, Augustine Birrell and Francis Hindes Groome. Lionel Johnson’s essay on Borrow is the more valuable in its enthusiasm in that it was written by a Roman Catholic. Writing in the _Outlook_ (1st April, 1899) he said:
“What the four books mean and are to their lovers is upon this sort. Written by a man of intense personality, irresistible in his hold upon your attention, they take you far afield from weary cares and business into the enamouring airs of the open world, and into days when the countryside was uncontaminated by the vulgar conventions which form the worst side of ‘civilised’ life in cities. They give you the sense of emancipation, of manumission into the liberty of the winding road and fragrant forest, into the freshness of an ancient country-life, into a _milieu_ where men are not copies of each other. And you fall in with strange scenes of adventure, great or small, of which a strange man is the centre as he is the scribe; and from a description of a lonely glen you are plunged into a dissertation upon difficult old tongues, and from dejection into laughter, and from gypsydom into journalism, and everything is equally delightful, and nothing that the strange man shows you can come amiss. And you will hardly make up your mind whether he is most Don Quixote, or Rousseau, or Luther, or Defoe; but you will always love these books by a brave man who travelled in far lands, travelled far in his own land, travelled the way of life for close upon eighty years, and died in perfect solitude. And this will be the least you can say, though he would not have you say it—_Requiescat in pace Viator_.”
{269c} In _Res Judicatæ_, 1892 (a paper reprinted from _The Reflector_, 8th January, 1888), in his introduction to _Lavengro_ (Macmillan, 1900), in an essay entitled “The Office of Literature,” in the second series of _Obiter Dicta_, and in an address at Norwich, on 5th July, 1913, reprinted in full in the _Eastern Daily Press_ of 7th July, 1913.
{270a} There are but three references to Borrow in Stevenson’s writings, all of them perfunctory. These are in _Memories and Portraits_ (“A Gossip on a Novel of Dumas’”), in _Familiar Studies of Men and Books_ (“Some Aspects of Robert Burns”), and in _The Ideal House_.
{270b} _The Spectator_, 12th July, 1913.