A Bibliography of the Writings in Prose and Verse of George Henry Borrow
Page 7
Vol. II.
Collation:—Large duodecimo, pp. viii + 413; consisting of: Title-page, as above (with imprint “London: / Printed by Woodfall and Kinder, / Angel Court, Skinner Street” upon the centre of the reverse) pp. i–ii; Contents of Vol. II pp. v–vii; p. viii is blank; and Text pp. 1–413. The reverse of p. 413 is blank. There are head-lines throughout, as in the first volume. At the foot of p. 413 the imprint is repeated thus, “Woodfall and Kinder, Printers, Angel Court, Skinner Street, London.” The signatures are A (4 leaves), B to S (17 sheets, each 12 leaves), plus T (4 leaves). The last leaf of Sig. T is a blank. The volume was issued without any Half-title.
Vol. III.
Collation:—Large duodecimo, pp. viii + 474; consisting of: Title-page, as above (with imprint “London: / Printed by Woodfall and Kinder, / Angel Court, Skinner Street” upon the centre of the reverse) pp. i–ii; Contents of Vol. III pp. iii–viii; and Text pp. 1–474. There are head-lines throughout, as in the first volume. At the foot of p. 474 the imprint is repeated thus, “Woodfall and Kinder, Printers, Angel Court, Skinner Street, London.” The signatures are A (8 leaves), B to U (18 sheets, each 12 leaves), plus X (10 leaves). The last leaf of Sig. H is a blank. The volume was issued without any Half-title.
Issued (in December, 1862) in dark green cloth boards, with white paper back-label, lettered “Wild Wales. / By / George Borrow. / Vol. I [Vol. ii, &c.].” The leaves measure 7⅝ × 4⅞ inches. The published price was 30s.; 1,000 copies were printed.
A Second Edition of Wild Wales was issued in 1865, a Third Edition in 1888, and a Fourth Edition in 1896. The book has since been included in divers series of non-copyright works.
The following Poems made their first appearance in the pages of Wild Wales:
Vol. I
page
Chester Ale. [Chester ale, Chester ale! I could ne’er get it down]
Another, widely different, version of these lines exist in manuscript. It reads as follows:
On the Ale of Chester.
Of Chester the ale has but sorry renown,
’Tis made of ground-ivy, of dust, and of bran;
’Tis as thick as a river belough a hugh town,
’Tis not lap for a dog, far less drink for a man.
18
Saxons and Britons. [A serpent which coils]
Previously printed in The Quarterly Review, January 1861, p. 42.
48
Translation of a Welsh Englyn upon Dinas Bran. [Gone, gone are thy gates, Dinas Bran on the height!]
61
Lines Found on the tomb of Madoc. [Here after sailing far I Madoc lie]
105
The Lassies of County Merion. [Full fair the gleisiad in the flood]
This was one stanza only, the fifth, of the complete poem The Cookoo’s Song in Merion, which Borrow translated some years later, and which was first printed in Ermeline, 1913, pp. 21–23. The text of the two versions of this stanza differ considerably.
153
Stanza on the stone of Jane Williams. [Though thou art gone to dwelling cold]
161
The Mist. [O ho! thou villain mist, O ho!]
Although Borrow translated the whole poem, he omitted 24 lines (the 14 opening and 10 closing lines) when printing it in Wild Wales. Here are the missing lines, which I give from the original Manuscript:
A tryste with Morfydd true I made,
’Twas not the first, in greenwood glade,
In hope to make her flee with me;
But useless all, as you will see.
I went betimes, lest she should grieve,
Then came a mist at close of eve;
Wide o’er the path by which I passed,
Its mantle dim and murk it cast.
That mist ascending met the sky,
Forcing the daylight from my eye.
I scarce had strayed a furlong’s space
When of all things I lost the trace.
Where was the grove and waving grain?
Where was the mountain hill and main?
* * * * *
Before me all affright and fear,
Above me darkness dense and drear,
My way at length I weary found,
Into a swaggy willow ground,
Where staring in each nook there stood
Of wry mouthed elves a wrathful brood.
Full oft I sank in that false soil,
My legs were lamed with length of toil.
However hard the case may be
No meetings more in mist for me.
Two of the above lines, somewhat differently worded, were given in Wild Wales, Vol. i, p. 184.
173
Lines Descriptive of the Eagerness of a Soul to reach Paradise. [Now to my rest I hurry away]
251
Filicaia’s Sonnet on Italy. [O Italy! on whom dark Destiny]
290
Translation of an englyn foretelling travelling by steam. [I got up in Mona, as soon as ’twas light]
341
Translation of a Welsh stanza about Snowdon. [Easy to say ‘Behold Eryri’]
360
Stanzas On The Snow Of Snowdon. [Cold is the snow on Snowdon’s brow]
365
Vol. II
Lines from Black Robin’s Ode in praise of Anglesey. [Twelve sober men the muses woo]
33
Lines on a Spring. [The wild wine of Nature]
112
Things written in a Garden. [In a garden the first of our race was deceived]
158
El Punto de la Vana. [Never trust the sample when you go your cloth to buy]
215
Llangollen’s Ale. [Llangollen’s brown ale is with malt and hop rife]
275
Poverty and Riches. An Interlude. [O Riches, thy figure is charming and bright]
A reduced facsimile of the first page of the Manuscript of this Interlude is given herewith, facing page 99.
328
An Ode to Sychark. By Iolo Goch. [Twice have I pledged my word to thee]
392
Vol. III
Translation of a Welsh englyn on the Rhyadr. [Foaming and frothing from mountainous height]
12
Ode to Owen Glendower. [Here’s the life I’ve sigh’d for long]
98
Ode to a Yew Tree. [Thou noble tree; who shelt’rest kind]
203
Lines. [From high Plynlimmon’s shaggy side]
219
Ode to a Yew Tree. [O tree of yew, which here I spy]
This is another, and extended, version of the Ode printed on p. 203 of Wild Wales. Yet another version, differing from both, is printed in Alf the Freebooter and Other Ballads, 1913, p. 27.
247
Lines from Ode to the Ploughman, by Iolo Goch. [The mighty Hu who lives for ever]
Previously printed, with some verbal differences, in The Quarterly Review, January 1861, p. 40.
292
Lines on a Tomb-stone. [Thou earth from earth reflect with anxious mind]
301
Ode to Griffith ap Nicholas. [Griffith ap Nicholas, who like thee]
The first six lines of this Ode had previously appeared in The Quarterly Review, January 1861, p. 50.
327
God’s Better than All. [God’s better than heaven or aught therein]
A reduced facsimile of the first page of the Manuscript of God’s Better than All will be found facing the present page.
335
Ab Gwilym’s Ode to the Sun And Glamorgan. [Each morn, benign of countenance]
377
There is a copy of the First Edition of Wild Wales in the Library of the British Museum. The Press-mark is 10369. e. 12.
(15) [Romano Lavo-Lil: 1874]
Romano Lavo-Lil: / Word-Book of the Romany; / or, / English Gypsy Language. / With many pieces in Gypsy, illustrative of the way of / Speaking and Thinking of the English Gypsies; / with Specimens of their Poetry, and an account of certain Gypsyries
/ or Places Inhabited by them, and of various things / relating to Gypsy Life in England. / By George Borrow, / Author of “Lavengro,” “The Romany Rye,” “The Gypsies of Spain,” / “The Bible in Spain,” etc. / “Can you rokra Romany? / Can you play the bosh? / Can you jal adrey the staripen? / Can you chin the cost?” / “Can you speak the Roman tongue? / Can you play the fiddle? / Can you eat the prison-loaf? / Can you cut and whittle? / London: / John Murray, Albemarle Street. / 1874.
Collation:—Crown octavo, pp. viii + 331; consisting of: Half-title (with blank reverse) pp. i–ii; Title-page, as above (with imprint “London: / Printed by William Clowes and Sons, / Stamford Street and Charing Cross” upon the centre of the reverse) pp. iii–iv; Prefatory Note regarding the Vocabulary p. v; Advertisements of five Works of George Borrow p. vi; Table of Contents pp. vii–viii; and Text pp. 1–331, including Fly-titles (each with blank reverse) to each section of the book. The reverse of p. 331 is blank. At the foot of p. 331 the imprint is repeated thus, “London: Printed by Wm. Clowes and Sons, Stamford Street / and Charing Cross.” There are head-lines throughout, each page being headed with the title of the particular subject occupying it. The signatures, are A (a half-sheet of 4 leaves), B to X (20 sheets, each 8 leaves), Y (a half-sheet of 4 leaves), and Z (a quarter-sheet of 2 leaves).
Issued in dark blue cloth boards, with white paper back-label, lettered “Romano Lavo-Lil; / Word-Book / of / The Romany. / By / George Borrow.” The leaves measure 7¾ × 4⅞ inches. The published price was 10s. 6d.
One Thousand Copies were printed.
The book was set up in type towards the end of 1873, and published early in 1874. Proof-sheets still exist bearing the earlier date upon the title-page.
A considerable amount of Verse by Borrow made its first appearance in the pages of Romano Lavo-Lil, as detailed in the following list:
Contents
page
Little Sayings:
1. [ Whatever ignorance men may show]
109
2. [What must I do, mother, to make you well?]
111
3. [I would rather hear him speak than hear Lally sing]
115
English Gypsy Songs:
1. The Gypsy Meeting. [Who’s your mother, who’s your father?]
175
2. Making a Fortune (1). [Come along, my little gypsy girl]
177
3. Making a Fortune (2). [Come along, my little gypsy girl]
179
The Two Gypsies. [Two gypsy lads were transported]
181
My Roman Lass. [As I to the town was going one day]
This is the first stanza only of The English Gypsy. The complete Song will be found in Marsk Stig’s Daughters and Other Songs and Ballads, 1913, pp. 14–15. Here is the concluding stanza, omitted in Romano Lavo-Lil:
As I to the town was going one day,
I met a young Roman upon the way.
Said he, “Young maid will you share my lot?”
Said I, “Another wife you’ve got.”
“No, no!” the handsome young Roman cried,
“No wife have I in the world so wide;
And you my wedded wife shall be,
If you will share my lot with me.”
183
Yes, my Girl. [If to me you prove untrue]
185
The Youthful Earl. [Said the youthful earl to the Gypsy girl]
185
Love Song. [I’d choose as pillows for my head]
187
Woe is Me. [I’m sailing across the water]
189
The Squire and Lady. [The squire he roams the good greenwood]
191
Gypsy Lullaby. [Sleep thee, little tawny boy!]
193
Our Blessed Queen. [Coaches fine in London]
195
Run for it. [Up, up, brothers!]
This is the first stanza only of the Gypsy Song, printed complete in Marsk Stig’s Daughters and other Songs and Ballads, 1913, p. 16.
195
The Romany Songstress. [Her temples they are aching]
199
The Friar. [A Friar Was preaching once with zeal and with fire]
The Manuscript of these amusing verses, which were translated by Borrow from the dialect of the Spanish Gypsies, affords some curious variants from the published text. Here are the lines as they stand in the MS.:
A Friar
Was preaching once with zeal and with fire;
And a butcher of the plain
Had lost a bonny swine;
And the friar did opine
That the Gypsies it had ta’en.
So, breaking off, he shouted, “Gypsy ho!
Hie home, and from the pot
Take the butcher’s porker out,
The porker good and fat,
And in its place throw
A clout, a dingy clout
Of thy brat, of thy brat;
A clout, a dingy clout,
of thy brat.”
201
Malbrouk. From the Spanish Gypsy Version. [Malbrouk is gone to the wars]
205
Sorrowful Years. [The wit and the skill]
211
Fortune-Telling. [Late rather one morning]
240
The Fortune-Teller’s Song. [Britannia is my name]
243
Gypsy Stanza. [Can you speak the Roman tongue?]
254
Charlotte Cooper. [Old Charlotte I am called]
259
Epigram. [A beautiful face and a black wicked mind]
262
Lines. [Mickie, Huwie and Larry bold]
272
Lines. [What care we, though we be so small?]
280
Ryley Bosvil. [The Gorgios seek to hang me]
296
Ryley and the Gypsy. [Methinks I see a brother]
298
To Yocky Shuri. [Beneath the bright sun, there is none, there is none]
301
Lines. [Roman lads Before the door]
325
Upon page 122 of Romano Lavo-Lil, is printed a version of The Lord’s Prayer cast into Romany by Borrow. The original Manuscript of this translation has survived, and its text presents some curious variations from the published version. A reduced facsimile of this Manuscript serves as Frontispiece to the present Bibliography.
Accompanying the Manuscript of The Lord’s Prayer in Romany, is the Manuscript of a translation made by Borrow into the dialect of the English Gypsies. This translation has never, so far as I am aware, appeared in print. It is an interesting document, and well worthy of preservation. A reduced facsimile of it will be found facing the present page.
A Second Edition of Romano Lavo-Lil was issued by the same publisher, John Murray, in 1888, and a Third in 1905.
There is a copy of the First Edition of Romano Lavo-Lil in the Library of the British Museum. The Press-mark is 2278. c. 15.
(16) [The Turkish Jester: 1884]
The Turkish Jester; / Or, / The Pleasantries / of / Cogia Nasr Eddin Effendi. / Translated from the Turkish / By / George Borrow. / Ipswich: / W. Webber, Dial Lane. / 1884.
Collation:—Crown octavo, printed in half-sheets, pp. ii + 52; consisting of: Title-page, as above (with Certificate of Issue upon the centre of the reverse) pp. i–ii; and Text pp. 1–52. There are no head-lines, the pages being numbered centrally. The book is made up in a somewhat unusual manner, each half-sheet having a separately printed quarter-sheet of two leaves imposed within it. The register is therefore B to E (four sections, each 6 leaves), plus F (2 leaves), the whole preceded by two leaves, one of which is blank, whilst the other carries the Title-page. There is no printer’s imprint. The book was issued without any Half-title. The title is enclosed within a single rectangular ruled frame.
Issued in cream-coloured paper wrappers, with the title-page reproduced upon the front, but reset in types of different character, and without the ruled fram
e, and with the imprint reading High Street in place of Dial Lane. Inside the front cover the Certificate of Issue is repeated. The leaves measure 7¾ × 5 inches. The edition consisted of One Hundred and Fifty Copies. The published price was 7s. 6d.
The Manuscript of The Turkish Jester was formerly owned by Dr. Knapp, and is now the property of the Hispanic Society, of New York. It extends to 71 pages 4to. The translation was probably made about 1854, at the time when Borrow was at work upon his Songs of Europe. In 1857, the book was included among the Advertisements appended to the second volume of The Romany Rye.
There is a copy of the First Edition of The Turkish Jester in the Library of the British Museum. The Press-mark is 758. b. 16.
(17) [The Death of Balder: 1889]