The Renegade. [Now pay ye the heed that is fitting]
Previously printed, with some small differences of text, in The Talisman, 1835, pp. 13–14.
19
An Impromptu. [And darest thou thyself compare]
21
A Hymn. [O Jesus, Thou Fountain of solace and gladness]
23
The Transformed Damsel. [My father up of the country rode]
This Ballad should be compared with The Cruel Step-dame, printed in The Serpent Knight and Other Ballade, 1913, pp. 30–33. Also with The Transformed Damsel, printed in The Return of the Dead and Other Ballads, 1913, pp. 13–14. The actions described in the earlier stanzas follow closely those of the opening stanzas of The Cruel Step-dame; whilst the incident of the lover cutting a piece of flesh from his own breast to serve as bait to attract his mistress, who, in the form of a bird, is perched upon a branch of the tree above him, is common to both the Transformed Damsel ballads.
25
Note.—Each poem to which no reference is attached appeared for the first time in this volume.
There is a copy of Mollie Charane and Other Ballads in the Library of the British Museum. The Press-mark is C. 44. d. 38.
(56) [Grimhild’s Vengeance: 1913]
Grimhild’s Vengeance / Three Ballads / By / George Borrow / Edited / With an Introduction / By / Edmund Gosse, C. B. / London: / Printed for Private Circulation / 1913.
Collation:—Square demy octavo, pp. 40; 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; Introduction pp. 5–14; and text of the three Ballads pp. 15–40. The head-line is Grimhild’s Vengeance throughout, upon both sides of the page. At the foot of p. 40 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), and B and C (two sheets, each 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
Grimhild’s Vengeance. Song the First. [It was the proud Dame Grimhild Prepares the mead and beer]
A reduced facsimile of page 2 of the 1854 Manuscript of this Song faces the present page.
15
Grimhild’s Vengeance. Song the Second. [It was the proud Dame Grimhild The wine with spices blends]
24
Grimhild’s Vengeance. Song the Third. [O, where will ye find kempions So bold and strong of hand]
32
The Introduction furnished by Mr. Edmund Gosse to Grimhild’s Vengeance is undoubtedly by far the most illuminating and important contribution yet made to the critical study of Borrow’s Ballads, a study which has hitherto been both meagre and inadequate. Not only does Mr. Gosse handle the three Songs particularly before him, and make clear the relationship they bear to each other, but he deals with the whole subject of the origin of Borrow’s Scandinavian Ballads, and traces fully and precisely the immediate source from which their author derived them. One of Borrow’s most vivid records Mr. Gosse calls into question, and proves indisputably that it must henceforth be regarded, if not as a fiction, at least as one more result of Borrow’s inveterate habit of “drawing the long bow,”—to wit the passages in Lavengro wherein Borrow recounts his acquisition of the “strange and uncouth-looking volume” at the price of a kiss from the yeoman’s wife, and the purpose which that volume served him.
Of the first and second of the three Ballads included in Grimhild’s Vengeance two Manuscripts are available. The first of these was written in 1829, and was intended to find a place in the Songs of Scandinavia advertised at the close of that year. The second Manuscript was written in 1854, and was prepared for the projected volumes of Kœmpe Viser of that date. Of the third Ballad there exists only a single Manuscript, namely that produced in 1829. Apparently in 1854 Borrow had relinquished all hope of publishing the Kœmpe Viser before he had commenced work upon the third Ballad. In the present volume the first two Songs were printed from the Manuscripts of 1854; the third Song from the Manuscript of 1829.
There is a copy of Grimhild’s Vengeance in the Library of the British Museum. The Press-mark is C. 44. d. 38.
(57) [Letters to Ann Borrow: 1913]
Letters / To his Mother / Ann Borrow / and Other Correspondents / By / George Borrow / London: / Printed for Private Circulation / 1913.
Collation:—Crown octavo, pp. 38; consisting of Half-title (with blank reverse) pp. 1–2; Title-page, as above (with a notice regarding the American copyright upon the centre of the reverse) pp. 3–4; and Text of the Letters pp. 5–38. The head-line is Letters to his Mother throughout, upon both sides of the page. Following p. 38 is a leaf, with blank recto, and with the following imprint upon the reverse: “London: / Printed for Thomas J. Wise, Hampstead, N.W. / Edition limited to Thirty Copies.” The signatures are A (a half-sheet of four leaves), plus B and C (two sheets, each 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 7½ × 5 inches.
Thirty Copies only were printed.
The series of letters contained in this volume were reprinted in George Borrow and his Circle. By Clement King Shorter, 8vo, 1913. The whole of the holographs are in Mr. Shorter’s possession.
There is a copy of Letters to his Mother, Ann Borrow, in the Library of the British Museum. The Press-mark is C. 57. e. 46.
(58) [The Brother Avenged: 1913]
The Brother Avenged / and / Other Ballads / By / George Borrow / London: / Printed for Private Circulation / 1913.
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 8½ × 6⅞ inches.
Thirty Copies only were printed
Contents.
page
The Brother Avenged. [I stood before my master’s board]
Previously printed (with some textual variations) in The Foreign Quarterly Review, vol. vi, June 1830, pp 61–62.
5
The Eyes. [268] [To kiss a pair of red lips small]
9
Harmodius and Aristogiton. [With the leaves of the myrtle I’ll cover my brand]
12
My Dainty Dame. [My dainty Dame, my heart’s delight]
14
Grasach Abo or The Cause of Grace. [O, Baillie Na Cortie! thy turrets are tall]
16
Dagmar. [Sick in Ribe Dagmar’s lying]
19
The Elf Bride. [There was a youthful swain one day]
These stanzas should be compared with The Elves, printed in The Nightingale, The Valkyrie and Raven, and Other Ballads, 1913, pp. 25–26.
21
The Treasure Digger. [O, would that with last and shoe I had stay’d]
23
The Fisher. [The fisherman saddleth his good winged horse]
25
The Cuckoo. [Abiding an appointment made]
29
Note.—Each poem to which no reference is attached, appeared for the first time in this volume.
There is a copy of The Brother Avenged and Other Ballads in the Library of the British Museum. The Pres
s-mark is C. 44. d. 38.
(59) [The Gold Horns: 1913]
The Gold Horns / Translated by / George Borrow / from the Danish of / Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger / Edited / with an Introduction by / Edmund Gosse, C.B. / London: / Printed for Private Circulation / 1913.
Collation:—Square demy octavo, pp. 25; 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; Introduction pp. 5–9; and Text of The Gold Horns, the Danish and English texts facing each other upon opposite pages, pp. 10–25. The reverse of p. 25 is blank. There are head-lines throughout, each recto being headed The Gold Horns, and each verso Guldhornene. The book is completed by a leaf, with blank reverse, and with 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 four leaves), B (a quarter-sheet of two 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.
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. . . .
“Oehlenschläger 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. Oehlenschläger 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 8½ × 6⅞ 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 gain]
10
Thorvald. [Swayne Tveskieg did a man possess]
Previously printed in The Foreign Quarterly Review, vol. vi, 1830, p. 74.
11
Peter Colbiornsen. [’Fore Fredereksteen King Carl he lay]
Previously printed in The Foreign Quarterly Review, vol. vi, 1830, pp. 84–85.
16
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 mind]
32
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 8½ × 6⅞ inches.
Thirty Copies only were printed.
Contents.
page
The Expedition to Birting’s Land. [The King he o’er the 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 Kœmpe 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.
5
The Singing Mariner. [Who will ever have again]
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.
16
Youth’s Song in Spring. [O, scarcely is Spring a time of pure bliss]
18
The Nightingale. [In midnight’s calm hour the Nightingale sings]
Previously printed in The Monthly Magazine, vol. lvi, 1823, p. 526.
19
Lines. [Say from what mine took Love the yellow gold]
20
Morning Song. [From Eastern quarters now]
Previously printed in The Foreign Quarterly Review, vol. vi, 1830, p. 65.
21
From the French. [This world by fools is occupied]
22
The Morning Walk. [To the beech grove with so sweet an air]
Previously printed in The Foreign Quarterly Review, vol. vi, 1830, pp. 80–81.
23
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.
A Bibliography of the Writings in Prose and Verse of George Henry Borrow Page 14
