CHAPTER XI--THE OLD RADICAL
'This very dirty man, with his very dirty face, Would do any dirty act, which would get him a place.'
Some time ago the writer was set upon by an old Radical and his wife; butbefore he relates the manner in which they set upon him, it will be aswell to enter upon a few particulars tending to elucidate their reasonsfor doing so.
The writer had just entered into his eighteenth year, when he met at thetable of a certain Anglo-Germanist {372a} an individual apparentlysomewhat under thirty, of middle stature, a thin and weaselly figure, asallow complexion, a certain obliquity of vision, and a large pair ofspectacles. This person, who had lately come from abroad, and hadpublished a volume of translations, {372b} had attracted some slightnotice in the literary world, and was looked upon as a kind of lion in asmall provincial capital. After dinner he argued a great deal, spokevehemently against the Church, and uttered the most desperate Radicalismthat was perhaps ever heard, saying he hoped that in a short time therewould not be a king or queen in Europe, and inveighing bitterly againstthe English aristocracy, and against the Duke of Wellington inparticular, whom he said, if he himself was ever president of an Englishrepublic--an event which he seemed to think by no means improbable--hewould hang for certain infamous acts of profligacy and bloodshed which hehad perpetrated in Spain. Being informed that the writer was somethingof a philologist, to which character the individual in question laidgreat pretensions, he came and sat down by him, and talked aboutlanguages and literature. The writer, who was only a boy, was a littlefrightened at first, but, not wishing to appear a child of absoluteignorance, he summoned what little learning he had, and began to blunderout something about the Celtic languages and their literature, and askedthe Lion who he conceived Finn Ma Coul to be? and whether he did notconsider the 'Ode to the Fox,' by Red Rhys of Eryry, to be a masterpieceof pleasantry? Receiving no answer to these questions from the Lion,who, singular enough, would frequently, when the writer put a question tohim, look across the table and flatly contradict some one who was talkingto some other person, the writer dropped the Celtic languages andliterature, and asked him whether he did not think it a funny thing thatTemugin, generally called Genghis Khan, should have married the daughterof Prester John? {373} The Lion, after giving a side-glance at thewriter through his left spectacle glass, seemed about to reply, but wasunfortunately prevented, being seized with an irresistible impulse tocontradict a respectable doctor of medicine, who was engaged inconversation with the master of the house at the upper and further end ofthe table, the writer being a poor ignorant lad, sitting, of course, atthe bottom. The doctor, who had served in the Peninsula, having observedthat Ferdinand the Seventh was not quite so bad as had been represented,the Lion vociferated that he was ten times worse, and that he hoped tosee him and the Duke of Wellington hanged together. The doctor who,being a Welshman, was somewhat of a warm temper, growing rather red, saidthat at any rate he had been informed that Ferdinand the Seventh knewsometimes how to behave himself like a gentleman. This brought on a longdispute, which terminated rather abruptly. The Lion having observed thatthe doctor must not talk about Spanish matters with one who had visitedevery part of Spain, the doctor bowed, and said that he was right, forthat he believed no people in general possessed such accurate informationabout countries as those who had travelled them as bagmen. On the Lionasking the doctor what he meant, the Welshman, whose under jaw began tomove violently, replied that he meant what he said. Here the matterended, for the Lion, turning from him, looked at the writer. The writer,imagining that his own conversation hitherto had been too trivial andcommonplace for the Lion to consider it worth his while to take muchnotice of it, determined to assume a little higher ground, and afterrepeating a few verses of the Koran, and gabbling a little Arabic, askedthe Lion what he considered to be the difference between the Hegira andthe Christian era, adding that he thought the general computation was inerror by about one year; and being a particularly modest person, chieflyhe believes owing to his having been at school in Ireland, absolutelyblushed at finding that the Lion returned not a word in answer. 'What awonderful individual I am seated by,' thought he, 'to whom Arabic seems avulgar speech, and a question about the Hegira not worthy of an answer!'not reflecting that as lions come from the Saharra, they have quiteenough of Arabic at home, and that the question about the Hegira wasrather mal a propos to one used to prey on the flesh of hadjis. 'Now Ionly wish he would vouchsafe me a little of his learning,' thought theboy to himself, and in this wish he was at last gratified, for the Lion,after asking him whether he was acquainted at all with the Sclavonianlanguages, and being informed that he was not, absolutely dumbfounderedhim by a display of Sclavonian erudition.
Years rolled by--the writer was a good deal about, sometimes in London,sometimes in the country, sometimes abroad; in London he occasionally metthe man of the spectacles, who was always very civil to him, and, indeed,cultivated his acquaintance. The writer thought it rather odd that,after he himself had become acquainted with the Sclavonian languages andliterature, the man of the spectacles talked little or nothing aboutthem. In a little time, however, the matter ceased to cause him theslightest surprise, for he had discovered a key to the mystery. In themeantime the man of the spectacles was busy enough; he speculated incommerce, failed, and paid his creditors twenty pennies in the pound;published translations, of which the public at length became heartilytired; having, indeed, got an inkling of the manner in which thosetranslations were got up. He managed, however, to ride out many a storm,having one trusty sheet-anchor--Radicalism. This he turned to the bestadvantage--writing pamphlets and articles in reviews, all in the Radicalinterest, and for which he was paid out of the Radical fund; whicharticles and pamphlets, when Toryism seemed to reel on its last legs,exhibited a slight tendency to Whiggism. Nevertheless, his abhorrence ofdesertion of principle was so great in the time of the Duke ofWellington's administration, that when S--- {374} left the Whigs and wentover, he told the writer, who was about that time engaged with him in aliterary undertaking, that the said S--- was a fellow with a character soinfamous, that any honest man would rather that you should spit in hisface than insult his ears with the mention of the name of S---.
The literary project having come to nothing--in which, by-the-by, thewriter was to have all the labour, and his friend all the credit,provided any credit should accrue from it--the writer did not see thelatter for some years, during which time considerable political changestook place; the Tories were driven from, and the Whigs placed in, office,both events being brought about by the Radicals coalescing with theWhigs, over whom they possessed great influence for the services whichthey had rendered. When the writer next visited his friend he found himvery much altered; his opinions were by no means so exalted as they hadbeen--he was not disposed even to be rancorous against the Duke ofWellington, saying that there were worse men than he, and giving him somecredit as a general; a hankering after gentility seeming to pervade thewhole family, father and sons, wife and daughters, all of whom talkedabout genteel diversions--gentility novels, and even seemed to look withfavour on high Churchism, having in former years, to all appearance, beenbigoted Dissenters. In a little time the writer went abroad, as, indeed,did his friend; not, however, like the writer, at his own expense, but atthat of the country--the Whigs having given him a travelling appointment,which he held for some years, during which he is said to have receivedupwards of twelve thousand pounds of the money of the country, forservices which will, perhaps, be found inscribed on certain tablets whenanother Astolfo shall visit the moon. This appointment, however, he loston the Tories resuming power--when the writer found him almost as radicaland patriotic as ever, just engaged in trying to get into Parliament,into which he got by the assistance of his Radical friends, who, inconjunction with the Whigs, were just getting up a crusade against theTories, which they intended should be a conclusive one.
A little time after the publication of 'The Bible in Spain,
' the Toriesbeing still in power, this individual, full of the most disinterestedfriendship for the author, was particularly anxious that he should bepresented with an official situation in a certain region a great manymiles off. 'You are the only person for that appointment,' said he; 'youunderstand a great deal about the country, and are better acquainted withthe two languages spoken there than anyone in England. Now, I love mycountry, and have, moreover, a great regard for you, and as I am inParliament, and have frequent opportunities of speaking to the Ministry,I shall take care to tell them how desirable it would be to secure yourservices. It is true they are Tories, but I think that even Tories wouldgive up their habitual love of jobbery in a case like yours, and for onceshow themselves disposed to be honest men and gentlemen; indeed, I haveno doubt they will, for having so deservedly an infamous character, theywould be glad to get themselves a little credit by a presentation whichcould not possibly be traced to jobbery or favouritism.' The writerbegged his friend to give himself no trouble about the matter, as he wasnot desirous of the appointment, being in tolerably easy circumstances,and willing to take some rest after a life of labour. All, however, thathe could say was of no use, his friend indignantly observing that thematter ought to be taken entirely out of his hands, and the appointmentthrust upon him for the credit of the country. 'But may not many peoplebe far more worthy of the appointment than myself?' said the writer.'Where?' said the friendly Radical. 'If you don't get it it will be madea job of, given to the son of some steward, or, perhaps, to some quackwho has done dirty work. I tell you what, I shall ask it for you, inspite of you; I shall, indeed!' and his eyes flashed with friendly andpatriotic fervour through the large pair of spectacles which he wore.
And, in fact, it would appear that the honest and friendly patriot puthis threat into execution. 'I have spoken,' said he, 'more than once tothis and that individual in Parliament, and everybody seems to think thatthe appointment should be given to you. Nay, that you should be forcedto accept it. I intend next to speak to Lord A---.' {376a} And so hedid, at least, it would appear so. On the writer calling upon him oneevening, about a week afterwards, in order to take leave of him, as thewriter was about to take a long journey for the sake of his health, hisfriend no sooner saw him than he started up in a violent fit ofagitation, and glancing about the room, in which there were severalpeople, amongst others two Whig members of Parliament, said: 'I am gladyou are come, I was just speaking about you. This,' said he, addressingthe two members, 'is so-and-so, the author of so-and-so, the well-knownphilologist; as I was telling you, I spoke to Lord A--- this day abouthim, and said that he ought forthwith to have the head appointment in---; {376b} and what did the fellow say? Why, that there was nonecessity for such an appointment at all, and if there were, why--Andthen he hummed and ha'd. Yes,' said he, looking at the writer, 'he did,indeed. What a scandal! what an infamy! But I see how it will be, itwill be a job. The place will be given to some son of a steward or tosome quack, as I said before. Oh, these Tories! Well, if this does notmake one--' Here he stopped short, crunched his teeth, and looked theimage of desperation.
Seeing the poor man in this distressed condition, the writer begged himto be comforted, and not to take the matter so much to heart; but theindignant Radical took the matter very much to heart, and refused allcomfort whatsoever, bouncing about the room, and, whilst his spectaclesflashed in the light of four spermaceti candles, exclaiming, 'It will bea job--a Tory job! I see it all, I see it all, I see it all!'
And a job it proved, and a very pretty job, but no Tory job. Shortlyafterwards the Tories were out, and the Whigs were in. From that timethe writer heard not a word about the injustice done to the country innot presenting him with the appointment to ---; the Radical, however, wasbusy enough to obtain the appointment, not for the writer, but forhimself, and eventually succeeded, partly through Radical influence, andpartly through that of a certain Whig lord, for whom the Radical haddone, on a particular occasion, work of a particular kind. So, thoughthe place was given to a quack, and the whole affair a very pretty job,it was one in which the Tories had certainly no hand.
In the meanwhile, however, the friendly Radical did not drop the writer.Oh, no! On various occasions he obtained from the writer all theinformation he could about the country in question, and was particularlyanxious to obtain from the writer, and eventually did obtain, a copy of awork {376c} written in the court language of that country, edited by thewriter--a language exceedingly difficult, which the writer, at theexpense of a considerable portion of his eyesight, had acquired, at leastas far as by the eyesight it could be acquired. What use the writer'sfriend made of the knowledge he had gained from him, and what use he madeof the book, the writer can only guess; but he has little doubt that whenthe question of sending a person to --- was mooted in a ParliamentaryCommittee--which it was at the instigation of the Radical supporters ofthe writer's friend--the Radical, on being examined about the country,gave the information which he had obtained from the writer as his own,and flashed the book and its singular characters in the eyes of theCommittee; and then, of course, his Radical friends would instantly say,'This is the man! there is no one like him. See what information hepossesses; and see that book written by himself in the court language ofSerendib. This is the only man to send there. What a glory, what atriumph it would be to Britain, to send out a man so deeply versed in themysterious lore of ---, as our illustrious countryman--a person who withhis knowledge could beat with their own weapons the wise men of ---! Issuch an opportunity to be lost? Oh, no! surely not! If it is it will bean eternal disgrace to England, and the world will see that Whigs are nobetter than Tories.'
Let no one think the writer uncharitable in these suppositions. Thewriter is only too well acquainted with the antecedents of theindividual, to entertain much doubt that he would shrink from any suchconduct, provided he thought that his temporal interest would beforwarded by it. The writer is aware of more than one instance in whichhe has passed off the literature of friendless young men for his own,after making them a slight pecuniary compensation, and deforming what wasoriginally excellent by interpolations of his own. This was his especialpractice with regard to translation, of which he would fain be esteemedthe king. This Radical literato is slightly acquainted with four or fiveof the easier dialects of Europe, on the strength of which knowledge hewould fain pass for a universal linguist, publishing translations ofpieces originally written in various difficult languages; whichtranslations, however, were either made by himself from literalrenderings done for him into French or German, or had been made from theoriginals into English, by friendless young men, and then deformed by hisalterations.
Well, the Radical got the appointment, and the writer certainly did notgrudge it him. He, of course, was aware that his friend had behaved in avery base manner towards him, but he bore him no ill-will, and invariablywhen he heard him spoken against, which was frequently the case, took hispart when no other person would; indeed, he could well afford to bear himno ill-will. He had never sought for the appointment, nor wished for it,nor, indeed, ever believed himself qualified for it. He was conscious,it is true, that he was not altogether unacquainted with the language andliterature of the country with which the appointment was connected. Hewas likewise aware that he was not altogether deficient in courage and inpropriety of behaviour. He knew that his appearance was not particularlyagainst him; his face not being like that of a convicted pickpocket, norhis gait resembling that of a fox who has lost his tail; yet he neverbelieved himself adapted for the appointment, being aware that he had noaptitude for the doing of dirty work, if called to do it, nor pliancywhich would enable him to submit to scurvy treatment, whether he diddirty work or not--requisites, at the time of which he is speaking,indispensable in every British official; requisites, by-the-by, which hisfriend, the Radical, possessed in a high degree; but though he bore noill-will towards his friend, his friend bore anything but good-willtowards him; for from the moment that he had o
btained the appointment forhimself, his mind was filled with the most bitter malignity against thewriter, and naturally enough; for no one ever yet behaved in a basemanner towards another, without forthwith conceiving a mortal hatredagainst him. You wrong another, know yourself to have acted basely, andare enraged, not against yourself--for no one hates himself--but againstthe innocent cause of your baseness; reasoning very plausibly, 'But forthat fellow, I should never have been base; for had he not existed Icould not have been so, at any rate against him;' and this hatred is allthe more bitter, when you reflect that you have been needlessly base.
Whilst the Tories are in power the writer's friend, of his own accord,raves against the Tories because they do not give the writer a certainappointment, and makes, or says he makes, desperate exertions to makethem do so; but no sooner are the Tories out, with whom he has noinfluence, and the Whigs in, with whom he, or rather his party, hasinfluence, than he gets the place for himself, though, according to hisown expressed opinion--an opinion with which the writer does not, andnever did, concur--the writer was the only person competent to hold it.Now had he, without saying a word to the writer, or about the writer withrespect to the employment, got the place for himself when he had anopportunity, knowing, as he very well knew, himself to be utterlyunqualified for it, the transaction, though a piece of jobbery, would nothave merited the title of a base transaction; as the matter stands,however, who can avoid calling the whole affair not only a pieceof--come, come, out with the word--scoundrelism on the part of thewriter's friend, but a most curious piece of uncalled-for scoundrelism?and who, with any knowledge of fallen human nature, can wonder at thewriter's friend entertaining towards him a considerable portion of galland malignity!
This feeling on the part of the writer's friend was wonderfully increasedby the appearance of Lavengro, many passages of which the Radical in hisforeign appointment applied to himself and family--one or two of hischildren having gone over to Popery, the rest become members of Mr.Platitude's chapel, and the minds of all being filled with ultra notionsof gentility.
The writer, hearing that his old friend had returned to England, toapply, he believes, for an increase of salary, and for a title, calledupon him, unwillingly, it is true, for he had no wish to see a person forwhom, though he bore him no ill-will, he could not avoid feeling aconsiderable portion of contempt, the truth is, that his sole object incalling was to endeavour to get back a piece of literary property whichhis friend had obtained from him many years previously, and which, thoughhe had frequently applied for it, he never could get back. Well, thewriter called; he did not get his property, which, indeed, he hadscarcely time to press for, being almost instantly attacked by his goodfriend and his wife--yes, it was then that the author was set upon by anold Radical and his wife--the wife, who looked the very image of shameand malignity, did not say much, it is true, but encouraged her husbandin all he said. Both of their own accord introduced the subject of'Lavengro.' The Radical called the writer a grumbler, just as if therehad ever been a greater grumbler than himself until, by the means abovedescribed, he had obtained a place: he said that the book contained amelancholy view of human nature--just as if anybody could look in hisface without having a melancholy view of human nature. On the writerquietly observing that the book contained an exposition of hisprinciples, the pseudo-Radical replied, that he cared nothing for hisprinciples--which was probably true, it not being likely that he wouldcare for another person's principles after having shown so thorough adisregard for his own. The writer said that the book, of course, wouldgive offence to humbugs; the Radical then demanded whether he thought hima humbug?--the wretched wife was the Radical's protection, even as heknew she would be; it was on her account that the writer did not kick hisgood friend; as it was, he looked at him in the face and thought tohimself, 'How is it possible I should think you a humbug, when only lastnight I was taking your part in a company in which everybody called you ahumbug?'
The Radical, probably observing something in the writer's eye which hedid not like, became all on a sudden abjectly submissive, and, professingthe highest admiration for the writer, begged him to visit him in hisgovernment; this the writer promised faithfully to do, and he takes thepresent opportunity of performing his promise.
This is one of the pseudo-Radical calumniators of 'Lavengro' and itsauthor; were the writer on his death-bed he would lay his hand on hisheart and say, that he does not believe that there is one trait ofexaggeration in the portrait which he has drawn. This is one of thepseudo-Radical calumniators of 'Lavengro' and its author; and this is oneof the genus, who, after having railed against jobbery for perhaps aquarter of a century, at present batten on large official salaries whichthey do not earn. England is a great country, and her interests requirethat she should have many a well-paid official both at home and abroad;but will England long continue a great country if the care of herinterests both at home and abroad, is in many instances entrusted tobeings like him described above, whose only recommendation for anofficial appointment was that he was deeply versed in the secrets of hisparty and of the Whigs?
Before he concludes, the writer will take the liberty of saying of'Lavengro' that it is a book written for the express purpose ofinculcating virtue, love of country, learning, manly pursuits, andgenuine religion, for example, that of the Church of England, and forawakening a contempt for nonsense of every kind, and a hatred forpriestcraft, more especially that of Rome.
And in conclusion, with respect to many passages of his book, in which hehas expressed himself in terms neither measured nor mealy, he will begleave to observe, in the words of a great poet, who lived a profligatelife it is true, but who died a sincere penitent--thanks, after God, togood Bishop Burnet--
'All this with indignation I have hurl'd At the pretending part of this proud world, Who, swollen with selfish vanity, devise False freedoms, formal cheats, and holy lies, Over their fellow fools to tyrannize.'
ROCHESTER.
THE END.
BILLING AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, GUILDFORD
Footnotes:
{0a} 'Lavengro,' i. 265.
{0b} _Ibid._, i. 340.
{0c} His 'Celebrated Trials' was published March 19, 1825.
{0d} Accounts of this fight, extracted from the _Times _and _MorningHerald_, are given in Hone's 'Every Day Book,' vol. i., 1826.
{0e} References to the attempts of the authorities to suppress this fairwill be found in the _Times _of Tuesday, May 24, 1825, and a descriptionof the fair of 1825 is given in Hone's 'Every Day Book' of the followingyear (1826).
{0f} Borrow says '_two _or _three _days passed by in much the samemanner as the first.' Since one of these days was Sunday, the latterseems the more probable; but if only two days passed, then Borrow musthave left London one day later--_i.e._, Wednesday, May 25, 1825.
{0g} The fair-town lay, therefore, to the east of Willenhall.
{0h} For these astronomical calculations I am indebted to my colleague,Mr. W. E. Plummer, of the Liverpool Observatory.
{0i} 'Life of Borrow,' i. 104.
{0j} His calculation, for instance, gives one day too many at Salisbury,and places the poison episode and the Sunday with the preacher, whichwere two consecutive days, on the 8th and 12th respectively!
{0k} This is the date given in Knapp's 'Life of Borrow,' and also as apage heading in his edition of 'Lavengro,' p. 289. But in a note to hisedition of 'The Romany Rye,' p. 385, he says that the fair was 'onEaster-Monday' (April 3).
{0l} Thorpe's 'Environs of London,' p. 48.
{0m} See chapter xxiv.
{0n} 'Life of Borrow,' i. 103. 'There were _Sells _at Norwich; theirgreat artist was John Sell Cotman.' And there have been _Sells_elsewhere--_nomen omen_! to borrow one of Mr. Groome's favouritequotations.
{0o} 'The Romany Rye,' Appendix, chapter ix.
{0p} _Ibid._, Appendix, cha
pter ii. 'He eats his own bread, and is oneof the very few men in England who are independent in every sense of theword.'
{0q} It looks as if he met Jasper by appointment at the Welsh border.But extraordinary rencontres are commonplace in Borrow's career. Hemeets the Apple-woman's Armenian customer and restores his purse, hemeets Ardrey as he is leaving London, and later at the inn on the GreatNorth Road, where he also meets the Man in Black, Mr. Platitude, and thePostillion. He meets the Apple-woman's son after leaving Salisbury, andsix days later meets Slingsby, whom he had met as a boy at Tamworth. Hemeets Mrs. Herne--or, rather, she meets him--in the Shropshire dingle; hemeets his Irish friend Murtagh at Horncastle, at the same fair; and inthe person of Jack Dale, he meets the pseudo-Quaker's son, who many yearsago had robbed the old Chinese scholar from whom Borrow had just parted.
{0r} Christmas Day.
{0s} Irishman.
{0t} Guineas.
{0u} Borrow had accompanied the preacher and his wife to the Welshborder, where he meets Mr. Petulengro and _turns back._
{0v} 'Lavengro,' ii. 262.
{0w} _Ibid._, ii. 263.
{0x} _Ibid._, ii. 264.
{0y} _Ibid._, chapter x.
{0z} 'The Romany Rye,' chapter xii.
{0z1} Lavengro, ii. 281.
{0z2} 'Lavengro,' ed. Knapp, notes, p. 567. '"Mumpers' Dingle," nearWillenhall, Staffordshire. The place is properly Momber or Monmer Lane,and is now occupied by the "Monmer Lane Ironworks," hence totallyobliterated.'
{0z3} 'Lavengro,' ii. 249.
{0z4} See the 'Gypsy List' appended to Knapp's ed. of 'The Romany Rye.'
{0z5} 'Wild Wales,' iii. 352.
{0z6} 'Lavengro' was published February 7, 1851.
{5a} 'The earthern jugs out of which the people of Norfolk drink arecalled gotches.'--WRIGHT: 'Provincial Dict.'
{5b} Barberini.
{6a} By Gregorio Leti, 2 v., 12o, 1667.
{6b} Clement XIV., d. 1774.
{21} L'Alcoran des Cordeliers: c'est a dire Recueil des plus notablesbourdes et blasphemes de ceux qui ont ose comparer Sainct Francois aJesus Christ; tire du grand livre des conformitez, iadis compose parfrere Barthelemi de Pise.--12o, Geneve, 1578.
{23} The British and Foreign Bible Society. Borrow acted as theSociety's agent in Russia and Spain, 1833-1839.
{26a} Rome.
{26b} Sir Thomas Dereham, d. 1739.
{27} 'Celebrated Trials and Remarkable Cases of Criminal Jurisprudence,from the Earliest Records to the Year 1825.' 6 vols., 8o, publishedMarch 19, 1825.
{29a} _I.e._ Petulengro, the gypsy word for 'smith.'
{29b} In the autograph MS. 'Ambrose' is written throughout (Kn.).
{29c} Correctly _kekaviako saster_, 'kettle-prop.'
{30a} It should be 'blanket.'
{30b} Plenty of gypsies.
{31a} Correct.
{31b} 'Gentlemen and ladies.'
{31c} Let it be.
{32} Jade.
{33} Borrow is fond of using 'Roman' and 'Roumanian' in the sense of'Romany'; but no gypsy ever does so.
{34a} Knapp quotes from Borrow's MSS. the rest of this ditty:
'Sore the chavies 'dre their ten Are chories and lubbenies--tatchipen.'
The song may be translated:
There's a wizard and witch of evil fame, And Petulengro it is their name; Within their tent each lass and youth Is a wanton or thief--I tell you truth.
{34b} Tent.
{36a} See 'Lavengro,' i. 158, note.
{36b} Lady.
{36c} His real name seems to have been Anselo Herne. See p. 72.
{36d} Brother.
{38} The girl she is black. See p. 182, note.
{39a} See Introduction.
{39b} _Ibid._
{40} Better _gaujo_, 'gentile.'
{41} Smiths.
{43a} Only used by gypsies in the phrase 'Romani chal.'
{43b} According to Knapp, this song was built up from a slender prosedraft, three separate versions of it occurring in his MSS.
{44a} 'People.' Not Anglo Romani. The English gypsies use the loanword _foki_.
{44b} Better _trupos_.
{44c} Better _raati_.
{44d} For _hotcher_, 'to burn,' but the right word for 'roast' is _pek_.
{44e} _Boshimengro_, fiddler.
{44f} _Tarni juvel_, 'young woman.'
{45a} The apothecary.
{45b} Lit., entrail.
{46a} The best of Borrow's songs, here or elsewhere. Knapp gives noaccount of it, but the Romani is evidently Borrow's own, and does notadmit of our taking it for a modernization of a genuine old gypsy song.Imitating the uncouth lilt of the original, this piece may be translated:
Said the gipsy girl to her mother dear, 'O mother dear, a sad load I bear.' 'And who gave thee that load to bear, My gypsy girl, my own daughter dear?' 'O mother dear, 'twas a lord so proud, A lord so rich of gentile blood, That on a mettled stallion rode-- 'Twas he gave me this heavy load.' 'Thou harlot young, thou harlot vile, Begone! my tent no more defile; Had gypsy seed within thee sprung, No angry word had left my tongue, But thou art a harlot base and lewd, To stain thyself with gentile blood!'
{46b} Pronounced _chy_, 'girl.'
{46c} Better _kabni_, 'enceinte.'
{46d} 'What,' incorrectly for _kon_, 'who.'
{46e} Better _barvalo_, 'rich.'
{46f} Lit., 'what's,' incorrectly for _te_, 'that.'
{46g} Read _kister'd_, 'rode.'
{46h} Better _jal_, 'go.'
{46i} Better _avri_, 'out.'
{46j} Pronounced _chee_, 'nothing.'
{46k} Read _gorjiko_.
{47a} Incorrectly for _baulay_, 'pigs.'
{47b} Better _balovas_, 'pigmeat.'
{48} Lit., 'sweet bee.'
{49} 'Tell their fortunes,' but no gypsy would say anything except_dukker lende_.
{50} Jasper's real name. See p. 29 note.
{51a} King.
{51b} Book.
{52} See Introduction.
{54a} East Dereham.
{54b} Better _krallis_, 'king.'
{57} See Introduction.
{59a} 'Cuckooing,' a made-up word.
{59b} Fortune-telling.
{59c} Authorship.
{61a} Ghost (Borrovian Gy.).
{61b} See 'Lavengro,' i. 139.
{62a} Lady.
{62b} _Cf._ 'King Lear,' II. iv. 56:
'O, how this mother swells up toward my heart! Hysterica passio, down, thou climbing sorrow, Thy elements below!'
{63} Gypsy girls.
{64} 'My God's book,' the Bible.
{65a} Steal.
{65b} Better _hokker_, 'lie.'
{66} Harlot.
{67} God.
{68a} Kiss.
{68b} Uncles.
{69} Father (Spanish Gy.); the true word is _dad_.
{70} Law (Spanish Gy.).
{71a} Enceinte.
{71b} Uncles and brothers.
{71c} Tent.
{72} Generally speaking, there is no purer gypsy clan than the Hernes.
{73a} Read 'Boswell.'
{73b} See pp. 261-264.
{73c} Fighting-man.
{74a} Hill-town, _i.e._, Norfolk.
{74b} July 17, 1820. See 'Lavengro,' chap. xxvi.
{75} Lovell.
{77a} Better _pokonyes_, 'justice of the peace.'
{77b} Bow Street runners--Gy. _prastermengre_.
{77c} Better _patrin_; the use of this word in the proper sense of'leaf' is not so rare among English gypsies.
{81} Gypsies nowadays are generally married in church. They like thepomp.
{84} Simpson, member of the firm of Simpson and Rackham, Norwich, whereBorrow served his articles.
{87} See pp. 88, 147, 164, and Introduction; 'Lavengro,' ii. 44, _etseq._
{89} Good.
{97} 'Dictionarium novum Latino-Armenium.' Fo., Romae, 1714.
{101} Borrow quotes this sentence, with an added expletive, in his'Romano Lavo-Lil,' p. 110.
{108} Borrow places these words on the title-page of the present book.
{109} A right-handed blow. See 'Lavengro,' ii. 289.
{116} Rather late for an Easter vestry meeting!
{119} Properly _sar_ '_shan_, 'how art thou?'
{120} By God (Borrovian Romani).
{138a} Wordsworth's.
{138b} 'The Excursion.'
{141} The Swan Hotel at Stafford. In 'Lavengro,' ii. 386, the inn isdescribed as upwards of thirty miles distant from the dingle, on thegreat North road.
{146} Louis Jeremiah Abershaw, hanged on Kennington Common, August 3,1795. The Bald-faced Stag near Kingston was his headquarters.
{147a} See Introduction.
{147b} See Camden Pelham's 'Life and Adventures of Galloping Dick.'Philadelphia, 1863.
{148} See p. 27, note.
{149} Gaol (cant).
{152} _I.e._, highwayman.
{161} John Broughton, pugilist (1705-1789).
{162a} April 11, 1750.
{162b} At Broughton's funeral Johnson and Big Ben acted as hispall-bearers, with Humphries, Mendoza, Ward, and Ryan.
{163a} His real name was Francis Arden (Kn.).
{163b} Liverpool.
{164} Chester.
{165} See 'Lavengro,' i. 399; ii. 57.
{166} See Introduction.
{168} Sir James Brooke, Rajah of Sarawah, Borrow's old school-fellow atNorwich (1816-1818).
{182a} Probably meant for 'gypsydom,' but properly old cant for'London.' Rome is here Shelta, or Gaelic back-slang for _mor_, 'great.'
{182b} 'The girl she is black,She lies on her back.'
which looks like a translation of some English ditty.
{183} Sham sailors (old cant).
{189} Fair, straightforward (dialect).
{199} See after, in the jockey's tale, p. 252.
{224} See Introduction.
{226a} Donkey-boy.
{226b} Transported.
{231} See Introduction.
{245} A witch hag. See Ralston's 'Russian Folk tales,' pp. 137, 399.
{250a} In Hungarian gypsy, properly _gulo rai_, 'sweet sir.'
{250b} German cant.
{252} The English rogue described in 'The Life of Meriton Latroon,' awitty extravagant [by Richard Head], 4 vols. London, 1665-80.
{264} Mistress (cant).
{271} _I.e._, mathematics.
{279} John Thurtell, Borrow's old Norwich crony, 1817-20, hanged atHertford, January 9, 1824, for the murder of William Weare.
{280} Hertford.
{281a} July 17, 1820, at North Walsham, Norfolk. See 'Lavengro.'
{281b} _Cf._ the lines from a song which Borrow may have heard inIreland:
'And by this time to-morrow you'll see Your Larry will be dead as mutton. All for what? 'Caze his courage was good!'
{288a} Thimble-rigger.
{288b} Greenwich fair. See Introduction and 'Lavengro,' vol. ii., p.22.
{291} Borrow really heard this tale in Cornwall, from the guide Cronan,in January, 1854.
{296} Tipperary.
{303a} Civita Vecchia.
{303b} The Duke d'Angouleme.
{311a} South.
{311b} Boston.
{311c} Spalding.
{313} We first hear of this Appendix in a letter to Murray, dated Nov.11, 1852, in which Borrow expresses his intention of 'adding some notes'to the present work. The result is this extraordinary 'Malebolgia,' asProfessor Knapp terms it, into which Borrow has thrust all those who hadincurred his ill-will, even for the most trivial of reasons. His enmitywith Rome dates from his Spanish experiences as colporteur of the BibleSociety in 1838 and 1839. 'Mr. Flamson' is placed in the pillory,because he had offended Borrow by carrying a railway line through hisOulton grounds; and Scott, apparently for no better reason than hisneglect to acknowledge a presentation copy of the 'Romantic Ballads.'The 'Lord-Lieutenant' experiences Borrow's resentment because he did notsee his way to making 'Lavengro' a magistrate; and the 'Old Radical' isgibbeted because he obtained an official position which Borrow desiredfor himself.
{314a} Twenty. George Borrow was born July, 1803, and his father diedFebruary, 1824.
{314b} Borrovian for 'gypsydom.'
{321a} 'Canning (1827),' (Kn.).
{321b} _Ibid._
{321c} 'Viscount Goderich' (Kn.).
{322} Little Father (Russian).
{323} The full text and translation of this pointless little song aregiven in the 'Romano Lavo-lil,' pp. 200, 201.
{326} This was written in 1854. (G.B.)
{327} An obscene oath. (G.B.)
{328} See 'Muses' Library,' pp. 86, 87. London, 1738 (G. B.).Reprinted from the original edition in the Early English Text Society(1870).
{329} Genteel with them seems to be synonymous with Gentile and Gentoo;if so, the manner in which it has been applied for ages ceases tosurprise, for genteel is heathenish. Ideas of barbaric pearl and gold,glittering armour, plumes, tortures, blood-shedding, and lust, shouldalways be connected with it. Wace, in his grand Norman poem, calls theBaron genteel:
'La furent li gentil Baron,' etc.
And he certainly could not have applied the word better than to thestrong Norman thief, aimed cap-a-pie, without one particle of ruth orgenerosity; for a person to be a pink of gentility, that is heathenism,should have no such feelings; and, indeed, the admirers of gentilityseldom or never associate any such feelings with it. It was from theNorman, the worst of all robbers and miscreants, who built strongcastles, garrisoned them with devils, and tore out poor wretches' eyes,as the Saxon Chronicle says, that the English got their detestable wordgenteel. What could ever have made the English such admirers ofgentility, it would be difficult to say; for, during three hundred years,they suffered enough by it. Their genteel Norman landlords were theirscourgers, their torturers, the plunderers of their homes, thedishonourers of their wives, and the deflowerers of their daughters.Perhaps, after all, fear is at the root of the English veneration forgentility. (G.B.)
{330} Sir Samuel Morton Peto (1809-89), M.P. for Norwich, 1847-54.
{331} Gentle and gentlemanly may be derived from the same root asgenteel; but nothing can be more distinct from the mere genteel, than theideas which enlightened minds associate with these words. Gentle andgentlemanly mean something kind and genial; genteel, that which isglittering or gaudy. A person can be a gentleman in rags, but nobody canbe genteel. (G.B.)
{332} A favourite figure of Carlyle's, but both he and Borrow took the_mot_ from a report of Thurtell's trial: Q. 'What do you mean byrespectable?' A. 'He kept a gig.'
{337} Perry. (Kn.)
{340} _Gorgiko_, 'gentile,' used here as a nickname.
{348} The writer has been checked in print by the Scotch with being aNorfolk man. Surely, surely, these latter times have not been exactlythe ones in which it was expedient for Scotchmen to check the children ofany county in England with the place of their birth, more especiallythose who have had the honour of being born in Norfolk--times in whichBritish fleets, commanded by Scotchmen, have returned laden with anythingbut laurels from foreign shores. It would have been well for Britain hadshe had the old Norfolk man to dispatch to the Baltic or the Black Sea,lately, instead of Scotch admirals. (G. B.)
{355} The 'whiffler' was the official sword-flourisher of theCorporation.
{357a} Tom Cribb (1781-1848), champion pugilist.
{357b} Thomas Winter (1795-1851), pugilist.
{360} See Introduction.
{365} _Harman-beck_, 'constable' (old cant); modern slang, _beak_.
{368} As the present work will come out in the midst of a vehementpolitical contest, people may be led to suppose that the above waswritte
n expressly for the time. The writer, therefore, begs to statethat it was written in the year 1854. He cannot help adding that he isneither Whig, Tory, nor Radical, and cares not a straw what party governsEngland, provided it is governed well. But he has no hopes of goodgovernment from the Whigs. It is true that amongst them there is onevery great man, Lord Palmerston, who is indeed the sword and buckler, thechariots and the horses of the party; but it is impossible for hislordship to govern well with such colleagues as he has--colleagues whichhave been forced upon him by family influence, and who are continuallypestering him into measures anything but conducive to the country'shonour and interest. If Palmerston would govern well, he must get rid ofthem; but from that step, with all his courage and all his greatness, hewill shrink. Yet how proper and easy a step it would be! He couldeasily get better, but scarcely worse, associates. They appear to haveone object in view, and only one--jobbery. It was chiefly owing to amost flagitious piece of jobbery, which one of his lordship's principalcolleagues sanctioned and promoted, that his lordship experienced hislate parliamentary disasters (G. B.).
{369} The Cato Street conspirators, a reminiscence of Borrow's'Celebrated Trials.'
{371} Sir John Bowring.
{372a} William Taylor of Norwich.
{372b} 'Specimens of the Russian Poets,' translated by John Bowring.12mo., London, 1821.
{373} A fact (G. B.).
{374} Southey.
{376a} Aberdeen.
{376b} China.
{376c} Manchu New Testament.
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