Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 05.djvu/415

 BORROW, GEORGE (1803–1881), philologist, was, according to his own account, of a Cornish family on his father’s side, and of a Norman stock on the side of his mother, whose name was Parffrement, and who died at Oulton at the age of 87. He was born at East Dereham, Norfolk, in 1803, where only the first years of his life were passed. His father, some time a recruiting officer,was constantly shifting his residence, and his two sons, with the rest of the family, accompanied him from one quarter to another. They made a long stay in Edinburgh, where Borrow received no small share of his education at the high school. No further reminiscences of these days are at hand save those given by the author of ‘Lavengro’ in the first chapters of that strange romance, After a sojourn in Scotland, Ireland, and many parts of England, the family seems to have again settled near the author's birthplace, for at the age of seventeen Borrow was articled to a solicitor at Norwich. Some insight into his life at this time may be gathered from ‘Wild Wales,’ in which he describes the solicitors office, and alludes to those studies in language already so fondly dwelt on in ‘Lavengro.' The savant who encouraged and aided him in the pursuit of philology, and to whom he affectionately alludes, was the well-known William Taylor, the friend of Southey. Borrow must have gone far into these studies, for in 1826 a book containing some of the fruits of his industry appeared. It was entitled ‘Romantic Ballads, from the Danish. There can be no doubt that the companionship of William Taylor led Borrow's thoughts in the direction of literature as s profession. At any rate, on the death of his father he quitted Norwich for the metropolis, to seek his fortune among the publishers. Much that happened to him in London at this time is recorded in ‘Lavengro,' though the sufferings he endured are never likely to be fully known, The humorous account of his dealings with the publishers is based on his experiences with Sir Richard Phillips, in whose employ he acted as compiler and hack. Whether such a book as the ‘Life and Adventures of Joseph Sell’ ever emanated from his pen is a question not worth asking; it was a fiction, and Mrs. Borrow used to laugh at the idea that hookworms had set up a search for the work; but it is certain that he had a hand in compiling the ‘Newgate Calendar,’ and that the work had no small influence in confirming the bent of his mind. But his spirit chafed under the confinement. Worn out and angry at the treatment he received, he set out on a tour through England. What adventures he had and how he managed to live during the year thus employed can best be gathered by a perusal of ‘Lavengro’ and the ‘Romany Rye,’ though they are rather an idealisation than a strict record of his doings. He had long yearned after travel and adventure. His excursion through England at an end, he next visited France, Germany, Russia, and the East. While on these travels he seems to have worked hard at the language of each country through which he passed, for in 1835 he published in St. Petersburg ‘Targum,’ a series of translations from thirty languages and dialects. While on his travels he acted as agent for the British and Foreign Bible Society, and was the first of the ‘correspondents.’ In the latter capacity he sent letters (1837-9) to the ‘Morning Herald,’ which are said to have often anticipated the government despatches.

In 1840 Borrow married Mary Clarke, the widow of a naval officer whom he met in Spain. With the proceeds from the sale of his works he completed the purchase of an estate on Oulton Broad, a share in which his wife had already inherited. Here he allowed the gipsies to pitch their tents, mingling with them as friends. Indeed he gave a welcome to all comers, and his hospitable and charitable deeds will long be remembered in the neighbourhood. It was here that he lived and wrote ‘Lavengro,’ ‘The Romany Rye,’ ‘Wild Wales,’ ‘Romano Lavo-Lil,’ and other works. He afterwards removed to Hereford Square, Brompton, where in 1869 Mrs. Borrow died.

It was by his publication of the ‘Gipsies in Spain,’ but more especially by the ‘Bible in Spain,' that Borrow won a high place in literature. The romantic interest of these two works drew the public towards the man as much as towards the writer, and he was the Wonder' of a few years. But in the writings which followed he went too far. ‘Lavengro,’ which followed his first successes in 1850, and which, besides being a personal narrative, was a protest against the ‘kid-glove’ literature introduced by Bulwer and Disraeli, made him many enemies and lost him not a few friends. The book, which has been called an ‘epic of ale,’ glorified boxing, spoke up for an open-air life, and assailed the ‘gentility nonsense of the time.’ Such things were unpardonable, and Borrow, the hero of a season before, was tabooed as the high-priest of vulgar tastes. In the sequel to the book which had caused so much disfavour he chastised those who had dared to ridicule him and his work. But it was of no avail. He was sing into another age, and the critics could now afford ignore his onslaught. ‘Wild Wales,’ published in