A Bibliography of the Writings in Prose and Verse of George Henry Borrow
Page 13
Issued in bright green paper wrappers, with untrimmed edges, and with the title-page reproduced upon the front. The leaves measure 8½ × 6⅞ inches.
Thirty Copies only were printed.
The Frontispiece is a reduced facsimile of the first page of the original Manuscript of Finnish Arts, or Sir Thor and Damsel Thure.
Contents.
page
Finnish Arts, Or, Sir Thor and Damsel Thure. [Sir Thor was a knight of prowess tried]
A reduced facsimile of the first page of the Manuscript of Finnish Arts will be found facing the present page.
7
A New Song to an Old Tune. [Who starves his wife]
22
Ode from Anacreon. [The earth to drink does not disdain]
24
Lines from the Italian. [“Repent, O repent!” said a Friar one day]
25
A Drinking Song. [O how my breast is glowing]
26
There is a copy of Finnish Arts, Or Sir Thor and Damsel Thure in the Library of the British Museum. The Pressmark is C. 44. d. 38.
(49) [Brown William: 1913]
Brown William / The Power of the Harp / and / Other Ballads / By / George Borrow / London: / Printed for Private Circulation / 1913.
Collation:—Square demy octavo, pp. 31; consisting of: Half-title (with blank reverse) pp. 1–2; Title-page, as above (with notice regarding the American copyright upon the centre of the reverse) pp. 3–4; and Text of the Ballads pp. 5–31. There are head-lines throughout, each page being headed with the title of the particular Ballad occupying it. Upon the reverse of p. 31 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 8½ × 6⅞ inches.
Thirty Copies only were printed.
Contents.
page
Brown William. [Let no one in greatness too confident be]
Previously printed in Once a Week, January 4th, 1862, pp. 37–38.
5
The Power of the Harp. [Sir Peter would forth from the castle ride]
A reduced facsimile of one of the pages of the Manuscript of The Power of The Harp will be found facing herewith.
12
The Unfortunate Marriage. [Hildebrand gave his sister away]
18
The Wrestling-Match. [As one day I wandered lonely, in extreme distress of mind]
25
The Warrior. From the Arabic. [Thou lov’st to look on myrtles green]
31
Note.—Each poem to which no reference is attached, appeared for the first time in this volume.
There is a copy of Brown William, The Power of the Harp, and Other Ballads in the Library of the British Museum. The Press-mark is C. 44. d. 38.
(50) [The Song Of Deirdra: 1913]
The Song of Deirdra / King Byrge and his Brothers / and / Other Ballads / By / George Borrow / London: / Printed for Private Circulation / 1913.
Collation:—Square demy octavo, pp. 28; 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. 5–28. There are head-lines throughout, each page being headed with the title of the particular Ballad occupying it. At the foot of p. 28 is the following imprint: “London: / Printed for Thomas J. Wise, Hampstead, N.W. / Edition limited to Thirty Copies.” The signatures are A (a quarter-sheet of two leaves), B (a half-sheet of four leaves), and C (a full sheet of eight leaves), all 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 8½ × 6¾ inches.
Thirty Copies only were printed.
Contents.
page
The Song of Deirdra. [Farewell, grey Albyn, much loved land]
5
The Diver. [Where is the man who will dive for his king]
Previously printed in The New Monthly Magazine, vol. vii., 1823, pp. 540–542.
8
King Byrge and his Brothers. [Dame Ingeborg three brave brothers could boast]
18
Turkish Hymn to Mahomet. [O Envoy of Allah, to thee be salaam]
26
Note.—Each poem to which no reference is attached appeared for the first time in this volume.
There is a copy of The Song of Deirdra, King Byrge and his Brothers, and Other Ballads in the Library of the British Museum. The Press-mark is C. 44. d. 38.
(51) [Signelil: 1913]
Signelil / A Tale from the Cornish / and Other Ballads / By / George Borrow / London: / Printed for Private Circulation / 1913.
Collation:—Square demy octavo, pp. 28; consisting of: Half-title (with blank reverse) pp. 1–2; Title-page (with notice regarding the American copyright upon the centre of the reverse) pp. 3–4; and Text of the Ballads pp. 5–28. There are head-lines throughout, each page being headed with the title of the particular Ballad occupying it. At the foot of p. 28 is the following imprint: “London: / Printed for Thomas J. Wise, Hampstead, N.W. / Edition limited to Thirty Copies.” The signatures are A (a quarter-sheet of two leaves), B (a half-sheet of four leaves), and C (a full sheet of eight leaves), all 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 8½ × 6⅞ inches.
Thirty Copies only were printed.
Contents.
page
Signelil. [The Lady her handmaid to questioning took]
5
A Tale from the Cornish. [In Lavan’s parish once of yore]
Previously printed, with some trifling inaccuracies, in Knapp’s Life, Writings, and Correspondence of George Borrow, 1899, vol. ii, pp. 91–95.
8
Sir Verner And Dame Ingeborg. [In Linholm’s house
The swains they were drinking and making carouse]
19
The Heddeby Spectre. [At evening fall I chanced to ride]
An earlier, and utterly different, version of this ballad was printed (under the tentative title The Heddybee-Spectre) in Romantic Ballads, 1826, pp. 37–39. Borrow afterwards described this earlier version as “a paraphrase.”
22
From Goudeli. [Yestere’en when the bat, and the owl, and his mate]
25
Peasant Songs of Spain:
1. [ When Jesu our Redeemer]
27
2. [There stands a stone, a rounded stone]
28
Note.—Each poem to which no reference is attached appeared for the first time in this volume.
There is a copy of Signelil, a Tale from the Cornish, and Other Ballads in the Library of the British Museum. The Press-mark is C. 44. d. 38.
(52) [Young Swaigder: 1913]
Young Swaigder / or / The Force of Runes / and Other Ballads / By / George Borrow / London: / Printed for Private Circulation / 1913.
Collation:—Square demy octavo, pp. 27; consisting of: Half-title (with blank reverse) pp. 1–2; Title-page, as above (with a notice regarding the American copyright upon 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 quarter-sheet of two leaves), B (a half-sheet of four leaves), and C (a full sheet of eight leaves), each 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 8½ × 6⅞ inches.
Thirty Copies only were printed.
; Contents.
page
Young Swaigder, Or The Force of Runes. [It was the young Swaigder]
5
The Hail Storm. [As in Horunga Haven]
Previously printed in Romantic Ballads, 1826, pp. 136–138. Again printed in Targum, 1835, pp. 42–43.
In each instance the text varied very considerably. The present version was written about 1854, and represents the text as Borrow finally left it. I quote the first stanza of each version. It will be seen that the revision was progressive.
1826
When from our ships we bounded,
I heard, with fear astounded,
The storm of Thorgerd’s waking;
With flinty masses blended,
Gigantic hail descended,
And thick and fiercely rattled
Against us there embattled.
1835
For victory as we bounded,
I heard, with fear astounded,
The storm, of Thorgerd’s waking,
From Northern vapours breaking.
Sent by the fiend in anger,
With din and stunning clangour,
To crush our might intended,
Gigantic hail descended.
1854
As in Horunga haven
We fed the crow and raven,
I heard the tempest breaking,
Of demon Thorgerd’s waking;
Sent by the fiend in anger,
With din and stunning clangor,
To crush our might intended,
Gigantic hail descended.
Another translation of the same Ballad, extending to 84 lines, was printed in Once a Week, 1863, vol. viii, p. 686, under the title The Hail-Storm; Or, The Death of Bui.
14
Rosmer Mereman. [In Denmark once a lady dwelt]
This ballad should be read in conjunction with Rosmer, printed in The Mermaid’s Prophecy, and other Songs relating to Queen Dagmar, 1913, pp. 25–30.
16
The Wicked Stepmother. No. II. [Sir Peter o’er to the island strayed—]
This ballad should be compared with The Wicked Stepmother, printed in The Dalby Bear and Other Ballads, 1913, pp. 14–20.
23
Note.—Each poem to which no reference is attached, appeared for the first time in this volume.
There is a copy of Young Swaigder or The Force of Runes and Other Ballads in the Library of the British Museum The Press-mark is C. 44. d. 38.
(53) [Emelian The Fool: 1913]
Emelian the Fool / A Tale / Translated from the Russian / By / George Borrow / London: / Printed for Private Circulation / 1913.
Collation:—Crown octavo, pp. 37; consisting of: Half-title (with blank reverse) pp. 1–2; Title-page, as above (with blank reverse) pp. 3–4; Introduction pp. 5–7; and Text of the Tale pp. 8–37. The reverse of p. 37 is blank. The head-line is Emelian the Fool throughout, upon both sides of the page. The pamphlet is concluded by a leaf, with blank reverse, carrying the following imprint upon its recto: “London: / Printed for Thomas J. Wise, Hampstead, N.W. / Edition limited to Thirty Copies.” The signatures are A (a half-sheet of 4 leaves), plus B and C (2 sheets, each 8 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 7½ × 5 inches.
Thirty Copies only were printed.
Emelian the Fool first appeared in Once a Week, vol. vi, March 8th, 1862, pp. 289–294, where it formed the first of a series of three Russian Popular Tales, in Prose, translated by George Borrow.
The Tale was also included in The Avon Booklet, vol. ii, 1904, pp. 175–197.
There is a copy of Emelian the Fool in the Library of the British Museum. The Press-mark is C. 57. e. 45 (1).
(54) [The Story of Tim: 1913]
The Story of Tim / Translated from the Russian / By / George Borrow / London: / Printed for Private Circulation / 1913.
Collation:—Crown octavo, pp. 31; consisting of: Half-title (with blank reverse) pp. 1–2; Title-page as above (with blank reverse) pp. 3–4; Introduction p. 5; and Text of the Story pp. 6–31. The head-line is The Story of Tim throughout, upon both sides of the page. Upon the reverse of p. 31 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 7½ × 5 inches.
Thirty Copies only were printed.
The Story of Tim first appeared in Once a Week, vol. vii, October 4th, 1862, pp. 403–406, where it formed the third of a series of Russian Popular Tales, in Prose, translated by George Borrow.
The Story was also included in The Avon Booklet, vol. ii, 1904, pp. 211–229.
There is a copy of The Story of Tim in the Library of the British Museum. The Press-mark is C. 57. e. 45 (2).
(55) [Mollie Charane: 1913]
Mollie Charane / and Other Ballads / By / George Borrow / London: / Printed for Private Circulation / 1913.
Collation:—Square demy octavo, pp. 28; consisting of: Half-title (with blank reverse) pp. 1–2; Title-page, as above (with notice regarding the American copyright upon the centre of the reverse) pp. 3–4; and Text of the Ballads pp. 5–28. There are headlines throughout, each page being headed with the title of the particular Ballad occupying it. At the foot of p. 28 is the following imprint: “London: / Printed for Thomas J. Wise, Hampstead, N.W. / Edition limited to Thirty Copies.” The signatures are A (a quarter-sheet of two leaves), B (a half-sheet of four leaves), and C (a full sheet of eight leaves), each 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 8½ × 6⅞ inches.
Thirty Copies only were printed.
Contents.
page
Mollie Charane. [O, Mollie Charane, where got you your gold?]
Previously printed in Once a Week, vol. vi, 1862, pp. 38–39.
5
The Danes of Yore. [Well we know from saga]
8
A Survey of Death. [My blood is freezing, my senses reel]
Another version of this poem was printed in The Monthly Magazine, vol. lvi, 1823, p. 245; and reprinted (with some small textual variations) in Romantic Ballads, 1826, pp. 169–170. As the poem is a short one, and as the two versions afford a happy example of the drastic changes Borrow introduced into his text when revising his Ballads, I give them both in full:
1823
Perhaps ’tis folly, but still I feel
My heart-strings quiver, my senses reel,
Thinking how like a fast stream we range,
Nearer and nearer to life’s dread change,
When soul and spirit filter away,
And leave nothing better than senseless clay.
Yield, beauty, yield, for the grave does gape,
And, horribly alter’d, reflects thy shape;
For, oh! think not those childish charms
Will rest unrifled in his cold arms;
And think not there, that the rose of love
Will bloom on thy features as here above.
Let him who roams at Vanity Fair
In robes that rival the tulip’s glare,
Think on the chaplet of leaves which round
His fading forehead will soon be bound,
And on each dirge the priests will say
When his cold corse is borne away,
Let him who seeketh for wealth, uncheck’d
By fear of labour, let him reflect
That yonder gold will brightly shine
When he has perish’d, with all his line;
Tho’ man may rave, and vainly boast,
We are but ashes when at the most.
1913
My blood is freez
ing, my senses reel,
So horror stricken at heart I feel;
Thinking how like a fast stream we range
Nearer and nearer to that dread change,
When the body becomes so stark and cold,
And man doth crumble away to mould.
Boast not, proud maid, for the grave doth gape,
And strangely altered reflects thy shape;
No dainty charms it doth disclose,
Death will ravish thy beauty’s rose;
And all the rest will leave to thee
When dug thy chilly grave shall be.
O, ye who are tripping the floor so light,
In delicate robes as the lily white,
Think of the fading funeral wreath,
The dying struggle, the sweat of death—
Think on the dismal death array,
When the pallid corse is consigned to clay!
O, ye who in quest of riches roam,
Reflect that ashes ye must become;
And the wealth ye win will brightly shine
When burried are ye and all your line;
For your many chests of much loved gold
You’ll nothing obtain but a little mould.
11
Desiderabilia Vitæ. [Give me the haunch of a buck to eat]
Previously printed, with a slightly different text, and arranged in six lines instead of in three four-line stanzas, in Lavengro, 1851, vol. i, p. 306.
13
Saint Jacob. [Saint Jacob he takes our blest Lord by the hand]
14