George Borrow: The Man and His BooksThomas, Edward
General
George Borrow: The Man and His Books
Thomas, Edward
Borrow, George, 1803-1881
In 1826 he was in Norwich: the "Romantic Ballads" were published there,
and in May he received a letter from Allan Cunningham, whose cheery
commendatory verses ushered in the book. The letter suggests that Borrow
was indolent from apathy. The book had no success or notice, which Knapp
puts down to his not sending out presentation copies. "I judge,
however," says he, "that he sent one to Walter Scott, and that that busy
writer forgot to acknowledge the courtesy. Borrow's lifelong hostility
to Scott would thus be accounted for;" but the hostility is his reason
for supposing that the copy was sent. Some time afterwards, in 1826, he
was at 26, Bryanstone Street, Portman Square, and was to sit for the
artist, B. R. Haydon, before going off to the South of France. If he
went, he may have paid the visits to Paris, Bayonne, Italy and Spain,
which he alludes to in "The Bible in Spain"; he may, as Dr. Knapp
suggests, have covered the ground of Murtagh's alleged travels in "The
Romany Rye," and have been at Pau, with Quesada's army marching to
Pamplona, at Torrelodones, and at Seville. But in a letter to the Bible
Society in 1838 he spoke of his earlier acquaintance with Spain being
confined almost entirely to Madrid. It may be true, as he says in "The
Zincali," that "once in the south of France, when he was weary, hungry,
and penniless, he observed one of these patterans or Gypsy trails, and,
following the direction pointed out, arrived at the resting place of some
Gypsies, who received him with kindness and hospitality on the faith of
no other word of recommendation than patteran." It may be true that he
wandered in Italy, and rested at nightfall by a kiln "about four leagues
from Genoa." But by April, 1827, he must have been back in Norwich,
according to Knapp, to see Marshland Shales at the fair. Knapp gives
certain proof that he was there between September and December.
Thereafter, if Knapp was right, he was translating Vidocq's "Memoirs." In
1829 again he was in London, at 17, Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, and
was projecting with John Bowring a collection of "Songs of Scandinavia."
He applied for work to the Highland Society and to the British Museum, in
1830. In that summer he was at 7, Museum Street, Bloomsbury. He was not
satisfied with his work or its remuneration. He thought of entering the
French Army, of going to Greece, of getting work, with Bowring's help,
under the Belgian Government. His name "had been down for several years"
for the purchase of a commission in the English Army, and Bowring offered
to recommend him to "a corps in one of the Eastern Colonies," where he
could perfect his Arabic and Persian. In 1842 he wrote a letter to
Bowring, printed by Mr. Walling, asking for "as many of the papers and
manuscripts which I left at yours some twelve years ago, as you can
find," and for advice and a loan of books, and promising that Murray will
send a copy of "The Bible in Spain" to "my oldest, I may say my _only_
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account