Dr. Knapp, on insufficient evidence, attributes the translation to Borrow. But certainly Borrow might have incorporated this passage in his own work almost word for word without justifying a charge either of plagiarism or untruth. Other men had written fiction as if it were autobiography; he was writing autobiography as if it were fiction; he used his own life as a subject for fiction. Ford crudely said that Borrow "coloured up and poetised" his adventures. CHAPTER XIV--OUT OF LONDON If Borrow is taken literally, he was at Blackheath on May 12, 1825, sold his "Life of Joseph Sell" on the 20th, and left London on the 22nd. "For some months past I had been far from well, and my original indisposition, brought on partly by the peculiar atmosphere of the Big City, partly by anxiety of mind, had been much increased by the exertions which I had been compelled to make during the last few days. I felt that, were I to remain where I was, I should die, or become a confirmed valetudinarian. I would go forth into the country, travelling on foot, and, by exercise and inhaling pure air, endeavour to recover my health, leaving my subsequent movements to be determined by Providence." He says definitely in the appendix to "The Romany Rye," that he fled from London and hack-authorship for "fear of a consumption." Walking on an unknown road out of London the "poor thin lad" felt tired at the ninth milestone, and thought of putting up at an inn for the night, but instead took the coach to ---, _i.e._, Amesbury.