Chapter VII: Part I: Editiones Principes, Etc (5)

Although the poem was not printed until 1913, it is quite evident that the translation was made by Borrow in or about the year 1826. The paper upon which the Manuscript is written is watermarked with the date 1824, whilst the handwriting coincides with that of several of the pieces included in the _Romantic Ballads of_ 1826. "There can be little doubt," writes Mr. Gosse, "that Borrow intended _The Gold Horns_ for that volume, and rejected it at last. He was conscious, perhaps, that his hand had lacked the skill needful to reproduce a lyric the melody of which would have taxed the powers of Coleridge or of Shelley."

"_The Gold Horns_ marks one of the most important stages in the
history of Scandinavian literature. It is the earliest, and the
freshest, specimen of the Romantic Revival in its definite form. In
this way, it takes in Danish poetry a place analogous to that taken
by _The Ancient Mariner_ in English poetry. . . .

"Oehlenschlager has explained what it was that suggested to him the
leading idea of his poem. Two antique horns of gold, discovered some
time before in the bogs of Slesvig, had been recently stolen from the
national collection at Rosenberg, and the thieves had melted down the
inestimable treasures. Oehlenschlager treats these horns as the
reward for genuine antiquarian enthusiasm, shown in a sincere and
tender passion for the ancient relics of Scandinavian history. From
a generation unworthy to appreciate them, the _Horns_ had been
withdrawn, to be mysteriously restored at the due romantic
hour."--[_From the Introduction by Edmund Gosse_.]

There is a copy of _The Gold Horns_ in the Library of the British Museum. The Press-mark is C. 57. d. 19.

(60) [TORD OF HAFSBOROUGH: 1914]

Tord of Hafsborough / and Other Ballads / By / George Borrow / London: / Printed for Private Circulation / 1914.

Collation:--Square demy octavo, pp. 32; consisting of: Half-title (with blank reverse) pp. 1-2; Title-page, as above (with a note regarding the American copyright upon the centre of the reverse) pp. 3-4; and Text of the _Ballads_ pp. 5-32. There are head-lines throughout, each page being headed with the title of the particular _Ballad_ occupying it. At the foot of p. 32 is the following imprint: "_London_: / _Printed for Thomas J. Wise_, _Hampstead_, _N.W._ / _Edition limited to Thirty Copies_." The signatures are A and B (two sheets, each eight leaves), the one inset within the other.

Issued in bright green paper wrappers, with untrimmed edges, and with the title-page reproduced upon the front. The leaves measure 8.5 x 6.875 inches.

Thirty Copies only were printed.

_Contents_.

PAGE

TORD OF HAFSBOROUGH. [_It was Tord of Hafsborough_] 5

FROM THE ARABIC. [_O thou who fain would'st wisdom 10 gain_]

THORVALD. [_Swayne Tveskieg did a man possess_] 11

Previously printed in _The Foreign Quarterly Review_, vol. vi, 1830, p. 74.

PETER COLBIORNSEN. ['_Fore Fredereksteen King Carl he 16 lay_]

Previously printed in _The Foreign Quarterly Review_, vol. vi, 1830, pp. 84-85.

KRAGELILL. ['_Twas noised about_, '_twas noised about_] 21

ALLEGAST. [_The Count such a store of gold had got_] 25

EPIGRAMS:

1. [_Assume a friend's face when a foeman you spy_] 30

2. [_The lion in woods finds prey of noble kind_] 30

3. [_Though God provides our daily bread_] 30

4. [_To trust a man I never feel inclined_] 31

5. [_A hunter who was always seeking game_] 31

6. [_The plans of men of shrewdest wit_] 31

7. [_Well was it said_, _long years ago_] 31

8. [_Who roams the world by many wants beset_] 32

It is probable that the whole of these eight _Epigrams_ were derived by Borrow from Persian sources.

ON A YOUNG MAN WITH RED HAIR. [_He is a lad of sober 32 mind_]

_Note_.--Each poem to which no reference is attached, appeared for the first time in this volume.

There is a copy of _Tord of Hafsborough and Other Ballads_ in the Library of the British Museum. The Press-mark is C. 44. d. 38.

(61) [THE EXPEDITION TO BIRTING'S LAND: 1914]

The Expedition to / Birting's Land / and Other Ballads / By / George Borrow / London: / Printed for Private Circulation / 1914.

Collation:--Square demy octavo, pp. 27; consisting of: Half-title (with blank reverse) pp. 1-2; Title-page, as above (with a note regarding the American copyright upon the centre of the reverse) pp. 3-4; and Text of the _Ballads_ pp. 5-27. There are head-lines throughout, each page being headed with the title of the particular _Ballad_ occupying it. Upon the reverse of p. 27 is the following imprint: "_London_: / _Printed for Thomas J. Wise_, _Hampstead_, _N.W._ / _Edition limited to Thirty Copies_." The signatures are A (a half-sheet of four leaves), B (a quarter-sheet of two leaves), and C (a full sheet of eight leaves), inset within each other.

Issued in bright green paper wrappers, with untrimmed edges, and with the title-page reproduced upon the front. The leaves measure 8.5 x 6.875 inches.

Thirty Copies only were printed.

_Contents_.

PAGE

THE EXPEDITION TO BIRTING'S LAND. [_The King he o'er the 5 castle rules_]

Of _The Expedition to Birting's Land_ no less than three Manuscripts are extant. The first was composed in 1826, and was originally destined for inclusion in the _Romantic Ballads_ of that date. It is numbered to come between _The Tournament_ and _Vidrik Verlandson_. The second was written in 1829, and was intended to find a place in _The Songs of Scandinavia_. The third was prepared in 1854, with a view to its appearance in the _Koempe Viser_. In the two earlier versions the Ballad bears the tentative title _The Expedition of King Diderik's Warriors to Birting's Land_. The texts of all three differ very considerably, the final version being that from which the Ballad was here printed.

THE SINGING MARINER. [_Who will ever have again_] 16

Previously printed in _The Monthly Magazine_, Vol. lvi, 1823, p. 335.

There exists an early Manuscript of this charming lyric, differing entirely from the text as printed. This early version is written in couplets, instead of in four-line stanzas. Here is the first stanza, followed by the equivalent couplet from the MS.:

Printed text.

_Who will ever have again_,
_On the land or on the main_,
_Such a chance as happen'd to_
_Count Arnaldos long ago_.

MS.

_Who had e'er such an adventure the ocean's waves
upon_,
_As had the Count Arnaldos the morning of St. John_.

Upon the opposite page I give a facsimile of this early Manuscript, the exact size of the original. The tiny waif affords a delightful specimen of Borrow's extremely beautiful and graceful minute handwriting, of which one or two other examples exist. The paper upon which the lines are written is evidently a leaf torn from a small note-book.

YOUTH'S SONG IN SPRING. [_O_, _scarcely is Spring a time 18 of pure bliss_]

THE NIGHTINGALE. [_In midnight's calm hour the 19 Nightingale sings_]

Previously printed in _The Monthly Magazine_, vol. lvi, 1823, p. 526.

LINES. [_Say from what mine took Love the yellow gold_] 20

MORNING SONG. [_From Eastern quarters now_] 21

Previously printed in _The Foreign Quarterly Review_, vol. vi, 1830, p. 65.

FROM THE FRENCH. [_This world by fools is occupied_] 22

THE MORNING WALK. [_To the beech grove with so sweet an 23 air_]

Previously printed in _The Foreign Quarterly Review_, vol. vi, 1830, pp. 80-81.

_Note_.--Each poem to which no reference is attached, appeared for the first time in this volume.

There is a copy of _The Expedition to Birting's Land and Other Ballads_ in the Library of the British Museum. The Press-mark is C. 44. d. 38.

[Picture: Manuscript of Singing Mariner]

_PART II_. CONTRIBUTIONS TO PERIODICAL LITERATURE, ETC.

(1) _The New Monthly Magazine_, Vol. vii, 1823. Pp. 540-542.

THE DIVER, A BALLAD TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN. [_Where is the man who will dive for his King_?]

Reprinted in The Song of Deirdra and Other Ballads, 1913, pp. 8-17.

(2) _The Monthly Magazine_, Vol. lvi, 1823.

P. 244.

ODE TO A MOUNTAIN TORRENT. [_How lovely thou art in thy tresses of foam_]

Reprinted, with the text substantially revised, in _Romantic Ballads_, 1826, pp. 164-166. Again reprinted in _Targum_, 1835, pp. 45-46.

The majority of Borrow's contributions to _The Monthly Magazine_ appeared under the signature '_George Olaus Borrow_.' Dr. Knapp has recorded that he found in the Corporation Library at Norwich a book on ancient Danish Literature, by Olaus Wormius, carrying several marginal notes in Borrow's handwriting. The suggestion that it was from this book that Borrow derived the pseudonymous second Christian name which he employed in _The Monthly Magazine_ is not an unreasonable one.

P. 245.

DEATH. [_Perhaps_ '_tis folly_, _but still I feel_]

Reprinted (under the amended title _Thoughts on Death_, and with some small textual variations) in _Romantic Ballads_, 1826, pp. 169-170.

Another version of the same poem was printed (under the title _A Survey of Death_, the first line reading _My blood is freezing_, _my senses reel_) in _Mollie Charane and Other Ballads_, 1913, pp. 11-12.

P. 246.

MOUNTAIN SONG. [_That pathway before ye_, _so narrow and gray_]

Pp. 306-309.

DANISH POETRY AND BALLAD WRITING. A Prose Essay, including, _inter alia_, the following Ballad:

SKION MIDDEL. [_The maiden was lacing so tightly her vest_]

Reprinted, under the amended title _Sir Middel_, the first line reading "_So tightly was Swanelil lacing her vest_," in _Romantic Ballads_, 1826, pp. 28-30.

Another, but widely different, version of this Ballad is printed in _Child Maidelvold and Other Ballads_, 1913, pp. 5-10. In this latter version the name of the heroine is Sidselil in place of Swanelil, and that of the hero is Child Maidelvold in place of Sir Middel.

Pp. 334-336.

LENORA. [_When morning's gleam was on the hill_]

P. 437.

CHLOE. [_Oh_! _we have a sister on earthly dominions_]

Reprinted in _Targum_, 1835, pp. 47-48.

When gathering _Chloe_ into the pages of _Targum_ Borrow very considerably revised the text. Here is the concluding stanza of each of the two versions:--

1823

_But God shook his sceptre_, _and thunder'd appalling_,
_While winds swept the branches with turbulent sigh_;
_Then trembled the host_, _but they heeded his calling_,
_And bore the sweet maiden_, _yet praying_, _on high_.
"_Ah_, _we had a sister on earthly dominions_!"
_All sung_, _as thro' heaven they joyously trod_,
_And bore_, _with flush'd faces_, _and fluttering pinions_,
_The yet-praying maid to the throne of her God_.

1835

_Then frown'd the dread father_;_ his thunders appalling_
_To rattle began_, _and his whirlwinds to roar_;
_Then trembled the host_, _but they heeded his calling_,
_And Chloe up-snatching_, _to heaven they soar_.
_O we had a sister on earthly dominions_!
_They sang as through heaven triumphant they stray'd_,
_And bore with flush'd faces and fluttering pinions_
_To God's throne of brightness the yet praying maid_.

P. 437.

SEA-SONG. [_King Christian stood beside the mast_]

In 1826 and 1835 the title was changed to _National Song_.

Borrow published no less than four versions of this _National Song_:

1. In _The Monthly Magazine_, 1823, p. 437,

2. In _Romantic Ballads_, 1826, pp. 146-148,

3. In The Foreign Quarterly Review, 1830, pp. 70-71,

4. In _Targum_, 1835, pp. 49-50.

Upon each occasion he practically rewrote the _Song_, so that all four versions differ completely. As an illustration of these differences I give the first stanza of each version:

1823.

_King Christian stood beside the mast_,
_In smoke and flame_;
_His heavy cannon rattled fast_
_Against the Gothmen_, _as they pass'd_:
_Then sunk each hostile sail and mast_
_In smoke and flame_.
"_Fly_, (_said the foe_,) _fly_, _all that can_,
_For who with Denmark's Christian_
_Will ply the bloody game_?"

1826.

_King Christian stood beside the mast_
_Smoke_, _mixt with flame_,
_Hung o'er his guns_, _that rattled fast_
_Against the Gothmen_, _as they passed_:
_Then sunk each hostile sail and mast_
_In smoke and flame_.
"_Fly_!"_ said the foe_: "_fly_! _all that can_,
_Nor wage_, _with Denmark's Christian_,
_The dread_, _unequal game_."

1830.

_King Christian by the main-mast stood_
_In smoke and mist_!
_So pour'd his guns their fiery flood_
_That Gothmen's heads and helmets bow'd_;
_Their sterns_, _their masts fell crashing loud_
_In smoke and mist_.
"_Fly_," _cried they_, "_let him fly who can_,
_For who shall Denmark's Christian_
_Resist_?"

1835.

_King Christian stood beside the mast_
_In smoke and mist_.
_His weapons_, _hammering hard and fast_,
_Through helms and brains of Gothmen pass'd_.
_Then sank each hostile sail and mast_
_In smoke and mist_.
"_Fly_," _said the foe_, "_fly all that can_,
_For who can Denmark's Christian_
_Resist_?"

P. 438.

THE ERL KING. [_Who is it that gallops so lat on the wild_!]

(3) _The Monthly Magazine_, Vol. lvii, 1824.

P. 235.

BERNARD'S ADDRESS TO HIS ARMY. [_Freshly blew the morning breeze_]

P. 335.

THE SINGING MARINER. [_Who will ever have again_]

Reprinted in _The Expedition to Birting's Land and Other Ballads_, 1914, pp. 16-18.

P. 431.

THE FRENCH PRINCESS. [_Towards France a maiden went_]

P. 526.

THE NIGHTINGALE. [_In midnight's calm hour the Nightingale sings_]

Reprinted in _The Expedition to Birting's Land and Other Ballads_, 1914, pp. 19-20.

(4) _The Universal Review_, Vol. i, 1824.

P. 391.

A REVIEW OF _Fortsetzung des Faust Von Goethe_. _Von C. C. L. Schone_. (_Berlin_.)

P. 394.

A REVIEW OF _OElenschlager's Samlede digte_. (_Copenhagen_.)

Pp. 491-513.

A REVIEW OF _Narrative of a Pedestrian Journey through Russia and Siberian Tartary_, _from the Frontiers of China to the Frozen Sea_. _By Capt. John Dundas_, _R.N._ (_London_, 1824.)

(5) _The Monthly Magazine_, Vol. lviii, 1824-1825.

Pp. 19-22.

DANISH TRADITIONS AND SUPERSTITIONS. A Prose Essay. _Part i_. Including _inter alia_ the following Ballad:

WALDEMAR'S CHASE. [_Late at eve they were toiling on Harribee bank_]

Reprinted in _Romantic Ballads_, 1826, pp. 115-116.

P. 47.

WAR-SONG; WRITTEN WHEN THE FRENCH FIRST INVADED SPAIN. [_Arise_, _ye sons of injur'd Spain_]

P. 432.

DANISH SONGS AND BALLADS. No. 1, BEAR SONG. [_The squirrel that's sporting_]

Reprinted in _Romantic Ballads_, 1826, pp. 144-145.

Pp. 498-500.

DANISH TRADITIONS AND SUPERSTITIONS. A Prose Essay. _Part ii_.

(6) _The Monthly Magazine_, Vol. lix, 1825.

Pp. 25-26 and 103-104.

DANISH TRADITIONS AND SUPERSTITIONS. A Prose Essay. _Parts iii and iv_.

Pp. 143-144.

THE DECEIVED MERMAN. [_Fair Agnes left her mother's door_]

Reprinted (with very considerable changes in the text, the first line reading "_Fair Agnes alone on the sea-shore stood_") in _Romantic Ballads_, 1826, pp. 120-123.

In 1854 Borrow rewrote this Ballad, and furnished it with a new title _Agnes and the Merman_. The following stanzas taken from each, will serve to show the difference between the two versions:--

1826.

_The Merman up to the church door came_;
_His eyes they shone like a yellow flame_;

_His face was white_, _and his beard was green_--
_A fairer demon was never seen_.

"_Now_, _Agnes_, _Agnes_, _list to me_,
_Thy babes are longing so after thee_."

"_I cannot come yet_, _here must I stay_
_Until the priest shall have said his say_."

1854.

_In at the door the Merman treads_--
_Away the images turned their heads_.

_His face was white_, _his beard was green_,
_His eyes were full of love_, _I ween_.

"_Hear_, _Agnes_, _hear_! _'tis time for thee_
_To come to thy home below the sea_."

"_I cannot come yet_, _I here must stay_,
_Until the priest has said his say_."

Pp. 308, 411, and 507.

DANISH TRADITIONS AND SUPERSTITIONS. A Prose Essay. _Parts v_, _vi_, _and vii_.

(7) _The Monthly Magazine_, Vol. lx, 1825.

Pp. 296-297 {291} and 424-425.

DANISH TRADITIONS AND SUPERSTITIONS. A Prose Essay. _Parts viii and ix_.

(8) _The Universal Review_, Vol. ii, 1825.

Pp. 315-331.

A REVIEW OF _The Devil's Elixir_; _from the German of Hoffman_. (_London_, _Cadell_, 2 _vols_.)

Pp. 550-566.

A REVIEW OF _Danske Folkesagn_, _Samlede af J. M. Thiele_. (_Copenhagen_, 1818-1823.)

(9) _The Foreign Quarterly Review_, Vol. vi, No. xi, _June_, 1830, pp. 48-87.

A REVIEW OF _Dansk-norsk Litteraturlexicon_, 1818, AND _Den Danske Digtekunsts Middelalder fra Arrebo til Tullin fremstillet i Academiske Foreloesinger holdne i Aarene_, 1798-1800.

A long critical prose article by John Bowring, including, _inter alia_, the following Ballads by George Borrow:--

1. KING OLUF THE SAINT. [_King Oluf and his brother bold_]

Reprinted in _Queen Berngerd_, _The Bard and the Dreams_, _and Other Ballads_, 1913, pp. 23-29.

This is an entirely different Ballad from that which had appeared, under the title _Saint Oluf_, in _Romantic Ballads_, 1826, pp. 53-57.

2. THE BROTHER AVENGED. [_I stood before my master's board_]

Reprinted, with some textual variations, in _The Brother Avenged and Other Ballads_, 1913, pp. 5-8.

3. AAGER AND ELIZA. ['_Twas the valiant knight_, _Sir Aager_]

Previously printed, but with endless variations in the text, in _Romantic Ballads_, 1826, pp. 47-52, where the first line reads, "_Have ye heard of bold Sir Aager_."

As an example of the differences of text to be observed in the two versions, I give three stanzas of each:

1826.

_Up his mighty limbs he gather'd_,
_Took the coffin on his back_;
_And to fair Eliza's bower_
_Hasten'd_, _by the well-known track_.

_On her chamber's lowly portal_,
_With his fingers long and thin_,
_Thrice he tapp'd_, _and bade Eliza_
_Straightway let her bridegroom in_!

_Straightway answer'd fair Eliza_,
"_I will not undo my door_
_Till I hear thee name sweet Jesus_,
_As thou oft hast done before_."

1830.

_Up Sir Aager rose_, _his coffin_
_Bore he on his bended back_.
_Tow'ds the bower of sweet Eliza_
_Was his sad and silent track_.

_He the door tapp'd with his coffin_,
_For his fingers had no skin_;
"_Rise_, _O rise_, _my sweet Eliza_!
_Rise_, _and let thy bridegroom in_."

_Straightway answer'd fair Eliza_:
"_I will not undo my door_
'_Till thou name the name of Jesus_,
_Even as thou could'st before_."

4. MORNING SONG. [From eastern quarters now]

Reprinted in _The Expedition to Birting's Land_, _and Other Ballads_, 1914, pp. 21-22.

5. DANISH NATIONAL SONG. [_King Christian by the main-mast stood_]

Previously printed:

1. In _The Monthly Magazine_, Vol. lvi, 1823, p. 437.

2. In _Romantic Ballads_, 1826, pp. 146-148.

Afterwards reprinted in _Targum_, 1835, pp. 49-50.

6. THE SEAMAN. [_A seaman with a bosom light_]

7. SIR SINCLAIR. [_Sir Sinclair sail'd from the Scottish ground_]

Reprinted in _Targum_, 1835, pp. 51-55.

8. THORVALD. [_Swayne Tveskieg did a man possess_]

Reprinted in _Tord of Hafsborough and Other Ballads_, 1914, pp. 11-15.

9. WHEN I WAS LITTLE. [_There was a time when I was very tiny_]

10. BIRTH OF CHRIST. [_Each spring_,--_when the mists have abandon'd the earth_]

11. TIME'S PERSPECTIVE. [_Through the city sped a youth_]

12. THE MORNING WALK. [_To the beach grove with so sweet an air_]

Reprinted in _The Expedition to Birting's Land and Other Ballads_, 1914, pp. 23-27.

13. THE ASPEN. [_What whispers so strange at the hour of midnight_]

14. DAME MARTHA'S FOUNTAIN. [_Dame Martha dwelt at Karisegaard_]

Reprinted in _Queen Berngerd_, _The Bard and the Dreams_, _and Other Ballads_, 1913, pp. 13-15.

15. PETER COLBIORNSEN. ['_Fore Fredereksteen King Carl he lay_]

Reprinted in _Tord of Hafsborough and Other Ballads_, 1914, pp. 16-20.

16. THE RUINS OF URANIENBORG. [_Thou by the strand dost wander_]

Reprinted, but with much textual variation, in _Ellen of Villenskov and Other Ballads_, 1913, pp. 13-18.

(10.) _The Norfolk Chronicle_, August 18_th_, 1832.

A NOTE ON "THE ORIGIN OF THE WORD 'TORY'."

A short prose article, signed "_George Borrow_," and dated "_Norwich_, _August_ 6."

(11) _The Athenaeum_, _August_ 20, 1836, pp. 587-588.

THE GYPSIES IN RUSSIA AND IN SPAIN.

Two letters from Borrow, giving an account of his experiences of the gypsies in Russia and in Spain.

"All the episodes that he relates he incorporated in _The Bible in
Spain_. The two letters plainly indicate that all the time Borrow
was in Spain his mind was more filled with the subject of the gypsies
than with any other question. He did his work well for the Bible
Society no doubt . . . but there is a humourous note in the fact that
Borrow should have utilised his position as a missionary--for so we
must count him--to make himself thoroughly acquainted with gypsy
folklore, and gypsy songs and dances."--[Shorter, _George Borrow and
his Circle_, p. 240.]

(12) _The Illustrated London News_, _December_ 8_th_, 1855, p. 685.

ANCIENT RUNIC STONE, RECENTLY FOUND IN THE ISLE OF MAN.

Reprinted in _George Borrow and his Circle_, by Clement King Shorter, 1913, pp. 301-303.

(13.) _A Practical Grammar of the Antient Gaelic_. By the Rev. John Kelly, LL.D. Edited by the Rev. William Gill, 8vo, 1859.

p. xi.

TRANSLATION FROM THE MANX. [_And what is glory_, _but the radiance of a name_,--]

Borrow's statement in the closing paragraph (printed _post_, p. 299) of his Essay on _The Welsh and their Literature_ renders it possible to place this Translation to his credit.

p. xix.

A LETTER FROM BORROW TO THE EDITOR, regarding Manx Ballads.

(14) _ The Quarterly Review_, _January_, 1861, pp. 38-63.

THE WELSH AND THEIR LITERATURE. A Prose Essay.

This Essay was in fact a review, by Borrow himself, of his own work _The Sleeping Bard_.

"In the autumn [of 1860] Borrow determined to call attention to it
[_The Sleeping Bard_] himself. He revamped an old article he had
written in 1830, entitled _The Welsh and their Literature_, and sent
it to Mr. Murray for _The Quarterly Review_. . . . The modern
literature and things of Wales were not introduced into the article .
. . and it appeared anonymously in _The Quarterly Review_ for
January, 1861. It is in fact Borrow's own (and the only) review of
_The Sleeping Bard_, which, however, had the decisive result of
selling off the whole edition in a month."--[Knapp's _Life and
Correspondence of George Borrow_, 1899, vol. ii, pp. 195-196.]

The Manuscript of this Essay, or Review, is not at present forthcoming. But, fortunately, the MS. of certain paragraphs with which Borrow brought the Essay to a conclusion, and which the Editor in the exercise of his editorial function quite properly struck out, have been preserved. The barefaced manner in which Borrow anonymously praised and advertised his own work fully justified the Editor's action. I print these paragraphs below. My principal reason for doing so is this, that the closing lines afford evidence of Borrow's authorship of other portions of Gill's Introduction to his Edition of _Kelly's Manx Grammar_, 1859, beyond those which until now have been attributed to his pen:

"Our having mentioned _The Romany Rye_ gives us an opportunity of
saying a few words concerning that work, to the merits of which, and
likewise to those of _Lavengro_, of which it is the sequel, adequate
justice has never been awarded. It is a truly remarkable book,
abounding not only with strange and amusing adventure, but with deep
learning communicated in a highly agreeable form. We owe it an
_amende honorable_ for not having in our recent essay on Buddhism
quoted from it some remarkable passages on that superstition, which
are to be found in a conversation between the hero of the tale and
the man in black. Never was the subject of Buddhism treated in a
manner so masterly and original. But the book exhibits what is
infinitely more precious than the deepest learning, more desirable
than the most amusing treasury of adventure, a fearless, honest
spirit, a resolution to tell the truth however strange the truth may
appear to the world.

"A remarkable proof of this is to be found in what is said in it
respecting the Italians. It is all very well at the present day,
after the miracles lately performed in Italy by her sons, to say that
Italy is the land to which we must look for great men; that it is not
merely the country of singers, fiddlers, _improvisatori_, and
linguists, but of men, of beings who may emphatically be called men.
But who, three or four years ago, would have ventured to say as much?
Why there was one and only one who ventured to say so, and that was
George Borrow in his work entitled _The Romany Rye_. Many other
things equally bold and true he has said in that work, and also in
its predecessor _Lavengro_.

"In conclusion we wish to give Mr. Borrow a piece of advice, namely,
that with all convenient speed he publish whatever works he has
written and has not yet committed to the press. Life is very
precarious, and when an author dies, his unpublished writings are too
frequently either lost to the world, or presented in a shape which
all but stultifies them. Of Mr. Borrow's unpublished writings there
is a catalogue at the end of _The Romany Rye_, and a most remarkable
catalogue it is, comprising works on all kinds of interesting
subjects. Of these, the one which we are most eager to see is that
which is called _Wild Wales_, which we have no doubt whenever it
appears will be welcomed as heartily as _The Bible in Spain_ was
seventeen years ago, a book which first laid open the mysterious
peninsula to the eyes of the world, and that the book on Wales will
be followed by the one which is called _Wanderings in quest of Manx
Literature_. Now the title alone of that book is worth a library of
commonplace works, for it gives the world an inkling of a thing it
never before dreamed of, namely, that the little Celtic Isle of Man
has a vernacular literature. What a pity if the book itself should
be eventually lost! Here some person will doubtless exclaim,
'Perhaps the title is all book, and there is no book behind it; what
can Mr. Borrow know of Manx literature?' Stay, friend, stay! A Manx
grammar has just appeared, edited by a learned and highly respectable
Manx clergyman, in the preface to which are some beautiful and highly
curious notices of Manx vernacular Gallic literature, which are,
however, confessedly not written by the learned Manx clergyman, nor
by any other learned Manxman, but by George Borrow, an Englishman,
the author of _The Bible in Spain_ and _The Romany Rye_."

A number of translations from Welsh Poetry were introduced by Borrow into this Essay. They were all, as he explained in a footnote, derived from his projected _Songs of Europe_. With the exception of an occasional stray couplet, or single line, the following list includes them all:--

1. FROM IOLO GOCH'S "ODE TO THE PLOUGH MAN." [_The mighty Hu with mead would pay_]

Reprinted, with several changes in the text, in _Wild Wales_, 1862, Vol. iii, pp. 292-293.

A further extract from the same _Ode_, "_If with small things we Hu compare_" etc., is given in a footnote on p. 40.

2. SAXONS AND BRITONS. [_A serpent that coils_]

Reprinted (the first line reading _A serpent which coils_) in _Wild Wales_, 1862, Vol. i, p. 48.

3. THE DESTINY OF THE BRITONS. [_Their Lord they shall praise_]

These lines were employed by Borrow in the following year as a motto for the title-pages of _Wild Wales_.

4. FROM AN ODE ON LLYWELYN, BY DAFYDD BENFRAS. [_Llywelyn of the potent hand oft wroght_]

5. FROM AN ODE ON THE MANSION OF OWEN GLENDOWER, BY IOLO GOCH. [_Its likeness now I'll limn you out_]

6. EPIGRAM ON THE RISING OF OWEN GLENDOWER. [_One thousand four hundred_, _no less and no more_]

7. FROM AN ODE TO GRIFFITH AP NICHOLAS, BY GWILYM AP IEUAN HEN. [_Griffith ap Nicholas_! _who like thee_]

Reprinted in _Wild Wales_, 1862, Vol. iii, p. 327.

8. EPIGRAM ON A SPIDER. [_From out its womb it weaves with care_]

(15) _Once a Week_, Vol. vi, _January_ 4_th_, 1862, pp. 37-39.

BALLADS OF THE ISLE OF MAN. TRANSLATED FROM THE MANX. BY GEORGE BORROW:

1. BROWN WILLIAM. [_Let no one in greatness too confident be_]

Reprinted in _Mona Miscellany_, 1869, pp. 67-70.

Again reprinted (with the prose Introduction considerably curtailed) in _Brown William_, _The Power of the Harp_, _and Other Ballads_, 1913, pp. 5-11.

2. MOLLIE CHARANE. [_O_, _Mollie Charane_, _where got you your gold_?]

Reprinted in _Mollie Charane and Other Ballads_, 1913, pp. 5-7.

(16) _Once a Week_, Vol. vi, _March_ 8_th_, 1862, pp. 289-294.

EMELIAN THE FOOL.

The first of a series of three _Russian Popular Tales_, in Prose, translated by George Borrow.

Also printed privately in pamphlet form, as follows:--

_Emelian the Fool_ / _A Tale_ / _Translated from the Russian_ / _By_ / _George Borrow_ / _London_: / _Printed for Private Circulation_ / 1913.--Crown octavo, pp. 37. [See _ante_, Part I, No. 53.]

The _Tale_ was included in _The Avon Booklet_, Vol. ii, 1904, pp. 175-197.

Borrow had projected a volume to contain a series of twelve _Russian Popular Tales_, and this was included among the Works advertised as "ready for the press" at the end of _The Romany Rye_.

Unfortunately the project failed to meet with success, and these three _Tales_ were all that finally appeared.

(17) _Once a Week_, Vol. vi, _May_ 17_th_, 1862, pp. 572-574.

THE STORY OF YVASHKA WITH THE BEAR'S EAR.

The second of a series of _Russian Popular Tales_, in Prose, translated by George Borrow.

Reprinted in _The Sphere_, _February_ 1_st_, 1913, p. 136.

Also printed privately in pamphlet form as follows:--

_The Story_ / _of_ / _Yvashka with the Bear's Ear_ / _Translated from the Russian_ / _By_ / _George Borrow_ / _London_: / _Printed for Private Circulation_ / 1913. Square demy octavo, pp. 23. [See _ante_, Part I, No. 26.]

The _Story_ was also included in _The Avon Booklet_, Vol. ii, 1904, pp. 199-210.

(18) _Once a Week_, Vol. vii, _August_ 2_nd_, 1862, pp. 152-155.

HARALD HARFAGR. A DISCOURSE BETWEEN A VALKYRIE AND A RAVEN, &c. [_Ye men wearing bracelets_]

Reprinted (under the amended title _The Valkyrie and Raven_) in _The Nightingale_, _The Valkyrie and Raven_, _and Other Ballads_, 1913, pp. 11-20.

A Prose Introduction, which preceded the Ballad in _Once a Week_, was not reprinted in _The Nightingale_, _The Valkyrie and Raven_, _and Other Ballads_.

A facsimile (actual size) of a page of the Original Manuscript is given herewith.

In _Once a Week_ this Ballad was accompanied by an Illustration, engraved upon wood, representing the Valkyrie discoursing with the Raven.

[Picture: Manuscript of Harold Harfagr = The Valkyrie and Raven]

(19) _Once a Week_, Vol. vii, _October_ 4_th_, 1862, pp. 403-406.

THE STORY OF TIM.

The third (and last) of a series of _Russian Popular Tales_, in Prose, translated by George Borrow.

Also printed privately in pamphlet form, as follows:--

_The Story of Tim_ / _Translated from the Russian_ / _By_ / _George Borrow_ / _London_: / _Printed for Private Circulation_ / 1913-Crown octavo, p. 31. [See _ante_, Part I, No. 54.]

The _Story_ was also included in _The Avon Booklet_, Vol. ii, 1904, pp. 211-229.

(20) _Once a Week_, Vol. viii, _January_ 3_rd_, 1863, pp. 35-36.

THE COUNT OF VENDEL'S DAUGHTER. [_Within a bower the womb I left_]

Reprinted in _The Verner Raven_, _The Count of Vendel's Daughter_, _and Other Ballads_, 1913, pp. 12-17.

(21) _Once a Week_, Vol. viii, _December_ 12_th_, 1863, p. 686.

THE HAIL-STORM; OR, THE DEATH OF BUI. [_All eager to sail_]

This Ballad differs entirely from those which appeared, under the title _The Hail-Storm_ only, in _Romantic Ballads_, 1826, pp. 136-138, in _Targum_, 1835, pp. 42-43, and in _Young Swaigder or The Force of Runes and Other Ballads_, 1913, pp. 14-15. Each of these three versions consists of four eight-line stanzas; the present Ballad extends to 84 lines, arranged in irregular stanzas.

(22) _Benjamin Robert Haydon_: _Correspondence and Table Talk_. By Frederic Wordsworth Haydon, 1876, Vol. i, pp. 360-361.

A LETTER FROM BORROW TO B. R. HAYDON.

Reprinted in _George Borrow and his Circle_. By Clement King Shorter, 1913, p. 25.

(23) _Life_, _Writings_, _and Correspondence of George Borrow_. By William I. Knapp, 2 Vols, 1899:

Vol. ii, pp. 91-95.

TALE FROM THE CORNISH. [_In Lavan's parish once of yore_]

Reprinted (with some small textual revisions) in _Signelil_, _A Tale from the Cornish_, _and Other Ballads_, 1913, pp. 8-18.

Vol. ii, p. 238.

HUNGARIAN GYPSY SONG. [_To the mountain the fowler has taken his way_]

The two volumes contain, in addition, a considerable number of Letters and other documents published therein for the first time.

(24) _George Borrow_: _The Man and his Work_. By R. A. J. Walling, 8vo, 1908.

SEVERAL LETTERS BY BORROW, ADDRESSED TO DR. [AFTERWARDS SIR JOHN] BOWRING,

were printed for the first time in this volume.

(25) _The Life of George Borrow_. By Herbert Jenkins, 8vo, 1912.

SEVERAL LETTERS, AND PORTIONS OF LETTERS, BY BORROW,

were printed for the first time in this volume.

(26) _The Fortnightly Review_, _April_, 1913, pp. 680-688.

NINE LETTERS FROM BORROW TO HIS WIFE.

The letters form a portion of an article by Mr. Clement Shorter, entitled _George Borrow in Scotland_.

Eight of these letters had been printed previously in _Letters to his Wife Mary Borrow_, 1913 [see _ante_, Part I, No. 19]. The remaining letter was afterwards included in _Letters to his Mother Ann Borrow and Other Correspondents_, 1913 [see _ante_, Part I, No. 57].

(27) _George Borrow and his Circle_. By Clement King Shorter, 8vo, 1913.

MANY LETTERS BY BORROW,

together with a considerable number of other important documents, were first printed in this volume.

_Note_.

The various Poems and Prose Articles included in the above list, to which no reference is appended, have not yet been reprinted in any shape or form.

_Query_.

There exists a galley-proof of a Ballad by Borrow entitled _The Father's Return_. _From the Polish of Mickiewicz_. The Ballad consists of twenty-one four-line stanzas, and commences "_Take children your way_, _for the last time to-day_." This proof is set up in small type, and was evidently prepared for insertion in some provincial newspaper. This paper I have not been able to trace. Should its identity be known to any reader of the present Bibliography I should be grateful for a note of it.

* * * * *

*** In _The Tatler_ for _November_ 26, 1913, appeared a short story entitled _The Potato Patch_. _By G. Borrow_. This story was not by the Author of _Targum_. '_Borrow_' was a mis-print; the name should have read '_G. Barrow_.'

_PART III_. BORROVIANA: COMPLETE VOLUMES OF BIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM.

(1)

George Borrow in / East Anglia / By / William A. Dutt / [_Quotation from Emerson_] / London / David Nutt, 270-271, Strand / 1896.

Collation:--Crown octavo, pp. 80.

Issued in paper boards backed with cloth, with the title-page, slightly abbreviated, reproduced upon the front cover. Some copies are in cream-coloured paper wrappers.

(2)

Life, Writings, / and Correspondence of / George Borrow / Derived from Official and other / Authentic Sources / By William I. Knapp, Ph.D., LL.D. / Author and Editor of French and Spanish Text-Books / Editor of "Las Obras de Boscan," "Diego de Mendoza," etc. / And late of Yale and Chicago Universities / With Portrait and Illustrations / In Two Volumes / Vol. I. [Vol. II.] / London / John Murray, Albemarle Street / New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons / 1899.

Collation:--Demy octavo:

Vol. I. pp. xx + 402.

Vol. II. pp. x + 406, with an inserted slip carrying a List of _Errata_ for both Volumes.

Issued in dull green cloth boards, gilt lettered.

(3)

George Borrow / The Man and his Work / By / R. A. J. Walling / Author of "A Sea Dog of Devon" / Cassell and Company, Limited / London, Paris, New York, Toronto and Melbourne / MCMVIII.

Collation:--Crown octavo, pp. xii + 356.

Issued in dull red cloth boards, gilt lettered.

Several Letters from Borrow to Dr. [afterwards Sir John] Bowring were first printed in this volume.

(4)

George Borrow / Von / Dr. Bernhard Blaesing. / Berlin / Emil Ebering / 1910.

Collation:--Royal octavo, pp. 78.

Issued in mottled-grey paper wrappers, with the title-page reproduced upon the front.

(5)

Cymmrodorion / Society's / Publications. / George Borrow's Second / Tour in Wales. / By / T. C. Cantrill, B.Sc., / and / J. Pringle. / From "Y Cymmrodor," Vol. xxii. {313} / London: Issued by the Society, / New Stone Buildings, 64, Chancery Lane.

Collation:--Demy octavo, pp. 11, without title-page, the title, as above, appearing upon the front wrapper only.

Issued (in _April_, 1911) in bright green paper wrappers, with the title in full upon the front.

(6)

George Borrow / The Man and his Books / By / Edward Thomas / Author of / "The Life of Richard Jefferies," "Light and / Twilight," "Rest and Unrest," "Maurice / Maeterlinck," Etc. / With Portraits and Illustrations / London / Chapman & Hall, Ltd. / 1912.

Collation:--Demy octavo, pp. xii + 333 + viii.

Issued in deep mauve coloured cloth boards, gilt lettered.

(7)

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 / London / John Murray, Albemarle Street, W. / 1912.

Collation:--Demy octavo, pp. xxvi [misnumbered xxviii] + 496.

Issued in bright green cloth boards, gilt lettered. A _Second Edition_ appeared in 1913.

(8)

George / Borrow / A Sermon preached in / Norwich Cathedral on / July 6, 1913 / By / H. C. Beeching, D.D., D.Litt. / Dean of Norwich / London / Jarrold & Sons / Publishers.

Collation:--Crown octavo, pp. 12.

Issued in drab paper wrappers, with the title-page reproduced upon the front, the words _Threepence Net_ being added at foot.

(9)

Souvenir / of the / George Borrow / Celebration / Norwich, July 5th, 1913 / By / James Hooper / Prepared and Published for / the Committee / Jarrold & Sons / Publishers / London and Norwich.

Collation:--Royal octavo, pp. 48, with a Portrait-Frontispiece, and twenty-four Illustrations and Portraits.

Issued in white pictorial paper wrappers, with trimmed edges.

(10)

Catalogue of the Exhibition / Commemorative of George Borrow / Author of "Lavengro" etc. held / at the Norwich Castle Museum. / July, 1913. / Price 3_d._

Collation:--Post octavo, pp. 12.

Issued wire-stitched, without wrappers, and with trimmed edges.

(11)

George Borrow / and his Circle / Wherein may be found many / hitherto Unpublished Letters / of Borrow and his Friends / By / Clement King Shorter / Hodder and Stoughton / London New York Toronto / 1913.

Collation:--Square octavo, printed in half-sheets, pp. xix + 450; with a Portrait of Borrow as Frontispiece, and numerous other Illustrations.

Issued in dark crimson paper boards, backed with buckram, gilt lettered.

There are several variations in this edition as compared with one published simultaneously in America by Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. of Cambridge, Mass. These variations are connected with Borrow's attitude towards the British and Foreign Bible Society, Mr. Shorter having taken occasion to pass some severe strictures upon the obvious cant which characterised the Bible Society in its relations with Borrow. These strictures, although supported by ample quotations from unpublished documents, the London publishers, being a semi-religious house, persuaded the author to cancel.

(12)

A / Bibliography / of / The Writings in Prose and Verse / of / George Henry Borrow / By / Thomas J. Wise / London: / Printed for Private Circulation only / By Richard Clay & Sons, Ltd. / 1914.

Collation:--Foolscap quarto, pp. xxii + 316, with Sixty-nine facsimiles of Title-pages and Manuscripts.

Issued in bright green paper boards, lettered across the back, and with the title-page reproduced upon the front. One hundred copies only were printed.

LONDON:
PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY
BY RICHARD CLAY & SONS, LTD.
1914.

Footnotes:

{0a} The majority of the Manuscripts of Ballads written in or about 1829 are upon paper watermarked with the date 1828. The majority of the Manuscripts of Ballads written in or about 1854 are upon paper watermarked with the date 1852.

{0b} Among the advertisements at the end of _The Romany Rye_, 1857, three works (1) _Celtic Bards_, _Chiefs_, _and Kings_, (2) _Songs of Europe_, and (3) _Koempe Viser_, were announced as 'ready for the Press'; whilst a fourth, _Northern Skalds_, _Kings_, _and Earls_, was noted as 'unfinished.'

{0c} No doubt a considerable number of the Ballads prepared for the _Songs of Scandinavia_ in 1829, and surviving in the Manuscripts of that date, were actually composed during the three previous years. The production of the complete series must have formed a substantial part of Borrow's occupation during that "veiled period," the mists surrounding which Mr. Shorter has so effectually dissipated.

{0d} "What you have written has given me great pleasure, as it holds out hope that I may be employed usefully to the Deity, to man, and to myself."--[_From Borrow's letter to the Rev. J. Jowett_.]

"Our Committee stumbled at an expression in your letter of yesterday
. . . at which a humble Christian might not unreasonably take
umbrage. It is where you speak of becoming '_useful to the Deity_,
_to man_, _and to yourself_.' Doubtless you meant _the prospect of
glorifying God_."--[_From the Rev. J. Jowett's reply_.]

"The courier and myself came all the way without the slightest
accident, my usual wonderful good fortune accompanying us."--[_From
Borrow's letter to the Rev. A. Brandram_.]

"You narrate your perilous journey to Seville, and say at the
beginning of the description '_my usual wonderful good fortune
accompanying us_.' This is a mode of speaking to which we are not
accustomed, it savours of the profane."--[_From the Rev. A.
Brandram's reply_.]

{12} In the majority of the extant copies of the book this List is not present.

{23} The name of the ship.

{85} These preliminary pages are misnumbered viii-xx, instead of vi-xviii.

{132} A reduced facsimile of the first page of the Manuscript of _The King's Wake_ will be found facing page 136.

{161} Facing the following page will be found a reduced facsimile of the first page of the Manuscript of _Ingeborg's Disguise_.

{199} A reduced facsimile of the first page of the original Manuscript of _Ingefred and Gudrune_ will be found facing page 200.

{268} The Manuscript of this poem is in the possession of Mr. J. A. Spoor, of Chicago, to whose courtesy I was indebted for the loan of it when editing the present pamphlet.

{291} Pages 296 and 297 are misnumbered 216 and 217.

{313} _Y Cymmrodor_, vol. xxii, 1910, pp. 160-170.

Notes on the Project Gutenberg Transcription

In the original book the facsimiles occupy a full page and do not carry a page number. In each the verso of the page is blank. In both cases the page counts towards the page number, which is why there are gaps in the page numbering.

The inset nature of the facsimiles also means that in the book they break the flow of the text and are sometimes not even in the section to which they belong. In the transcription they have usually been moved to the end of the section to which they belong. Their original page position is given by their filename (e.g. p304.jpg was originally on page 304).

On page 48 in the paragraph starting "_Targum_ was written by Borrow", the "but a small proportion" is as in the book, but should probably be "but only", or "with".

On page 87 the book has "One of these is now, in the possession . . ."

On page 136 the book has no full-stop at the end of "_To the ears of the Queen in her bed it rang_".

On page 144 "Edition limited to Thirty Copies" has no closing quote.

On page 231 "Edition limited to Thirty Copies" has no closing quote.

On page 253 the full-stop is missing after "reproduced upon the front."

On page 287 for "Freshly blew" the book has "Freshl blew".

The original book also had an errata which has been applied. The original errors were:

On page 86 the paragraph beginning "Issued in dark blue cloth boards..." originally read:

Issued in dark blue cloth boards, with white paper back-labels,
lettered "_Borrow's_ / _Gypsies_ / _of_ / _Spain_. / _Two Volumes_. /
_Vol. i_. [_Vol. ii_.]." The leaves measure 7.75 x 4.875 inches.
The edition consisted of 3,000 Copies. The published price was
30_s._

On page 297 the book read "which Lockhart in the exercise of his editorial", "fully justified Lockhart's action".