New-York daily tribune., 1843-09-23
MY. Eorrow.

In a recent number OF the Revue des Deux
Mondes, we find the following account OF the
life Of Mr. Borrow. the author of the Bible IN
Spain, and the Zincali. Boston Adv.
Dir. Borrow says the writer, II. Philarete
Chasies, was originally, bcleve,a horse jockey
or something Of that KIND since then, Purl-
tanical devotion having seized him, ne has trav-
e!ed over the world TO spread gospel hight among
the Creeks, Pdpists, OttomaDs Barbanans, ana
Zlnca To gain souls for CALVIN, to conquer
horses and nfdeis, and To- wander over plans,
marshes and forests, arc his favorlte pleasures
A Don Quixotc Of the 18Th century, and an
English Don Quixotc he Travelled as cotp0rfepr
among The Alpujarras, at Clntra, Ceu;a, Henda,
upon the banks of the Guadalquivlr, and the
Douro, with cargo Of Bibles; some IN ARABIC
Others in the Bohemian toDgue-not that OF Do
hetni., but that of HIndostan (llncali.) Can
you think of any oddity more strange 'liaii ths
With vigorous nature, a wen lenPeieu so'''
an uncommon courage, and burning curiosity
mingled with lively taste Tor adventures ano
even for dangers, a polygot mind with lhe gut
of ,ouques. Mr.. Borrow understands Persian,
Arabic, German, Dutch, Russian, Polish, Span
ish Portuguese, Swedish, Irish, Norwegian, and
the old scandinavian, not to mention Gaelc,
Kymri or Welsh, Sanscrt, and Zncall, the Ian
gUAge Oh tDS VotNS. iiS 40 az NAN'i-
!etic man thrty.fve or SIX years old, with
bright black eve. his brow already covered with
forest of premature white hair, and an olive CON-
plexon, as if he belonged originally 10 that In
dian race of whom he is the chronlcer and friend.
He was born at Norfolk, and found himself,
no one Knows how, and he does not tell, IN the
midst of gyPsies, biacksmiths, fortunctecrs rope
dancers, horse Jockeys, oidclothes merchants
and beggars from Egypt, who Inhabited this city
and it's envrons. From these honorable lnstruc
tors, he received at an early aye his hrst knowl-
edge of gibberish, the rudiments of the Zlncah
language, and hereditary receipts relative to the
rearing and support of horses. As he grew up,
be went to Edinburg, wen: through the unlVer-
sity course, studied diligently Hebrew, Greek and
Latin, and made frequent excursions INTO the
highlands to learn Gaelic thoroughly. What be
came of him afterwards No one knows HIS
friends say he sowed his wild oats, or as the
French say, IL jetait sa gourme. Some pretend
that the turf and the occupations oil a Jockey
never had more Jealous servant. lie bought
and sold horses, bet, won, lost, and probably ran
at Newcastle or Derby. This portion Of his hfc
lies In the shade; he afterwards re-appeared, and
we find him suddenly converted and engaged IN
the service Of the Bible Society, a company or
ganized for the propagation OF the Bible lie
travels over the world, and leaves on his route
Bibles by thousands. When he had seen ASA
and Africa, it appears to him that Spain and
Portugal, those two old ralnparts of Catholicism,
are countries new and curious to visit; pounces
upon them, Caivanlstic Bible in hand is lmprfs-
oned beaten, pursued he persists lives IN the
woods with bandtti, in caverns with gypslcs, IN
garrets with picqros, braves the Aicaldes, shows
his contempt for curates, mocks at ministers,
leagues himself with the Jews, offers his hand
to the Arabs, is neither beaten to death nor hung
which is a miracle, and after having lived through
the most curious romance Of adventures which
could be imagined, this Don Quxote without
squire, this propagandlst without ianatlclsm,
comes back to London all white, wrlnkled, old
and hronZed -