New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-04-30
GEORGE BORROW.
A NEW EDITION OF HIS AUTOBIOGRArlllCAL
ROMANCE.
LAVENGRO. The Scholar. the gypsy. ue IT. y,
nv George Borrow With an Introduction h'
Theodore Watts. PIP. xXxv, 40i. Ward Loch
BOwden d Co.


BOwden Go.
| How much of "Iavcngr0' Is autopio9TaphA
How much of it is pure iictonP How much OF
| u j. real uudcr the color of fiction? How much
of il is fiction under the color OF reality? lho'e
| who had the pleasure of acquaintance with George
| Borrow cooly inform their less fortunate contch-
porarics that it is useless for those who knew him
not in the flesh 10 NEEDLE with these questions
Then they themselves proceed TO answer them. ana
! tho answers are more bewildcring than the pook
itself Mr. Eemont Hake smiles at those VINO
have wasted their time in search tor the mover
entitled Joseph Sell" which the hero of I-aVch-
| gro" declares that he wrote under the stress OF
bitter necessity. No such novel was ever wflttch
he intimatcs Accepting this the practical lesson
| which Borrow drew from this fcigncd literary eN-
| crcisc yonishes away. Reader says he with
the twenty guincas paid for Joseph Sell" in his
nockct supposing that he had "A pocket or twenty
| guincas or n manuscript novel-"R Reader AMIDST
| the difficulties and the dangers Of this ife should
Won ever he tempted 10 despair, cal 7" biihd th'S
| latter chapters of the lille Of lavengro Ih"r"
| are few positions, however dil'cult, from Which
| logged resolution and perseverance may not iprr-
ate YOU" The Injunction is worthless, h'ca'is" 'h'
course Of action from which 1t Il drawn nv why
Of = moral never was followed by fhc moralizing
| "a
seems TO sum up in plain the results Of his
brief Youthful career in London. thought OF AL
nv ways and doings since the day Of NY first
| arrival in that vast city, he writes; Il had
worked and oilcd, and though lad accomplished
| nothing commensurate with tn" hops which ha !
entertained previous 10 nv arrival, had achieved
| my own living, preserved my Independence. ana
| heroine indebted 10 no one. | was now pditiin-
IT, poor i. purse. il j. true. but not wholly empty
rather aling il may he. but not broken IN health;
and with hope in my bosom, Lad ! not ca1~' on
the whole TO H. thankful These ar" the words
| Of IN honest sci-icliant man. certain not 10 fan
OF his genuine purpose in the world. The other
words are those Of man who IL somehow dis
satisfied with himself and is striving q Rake HIM
self out hero. lie almost wishes 10 bclicv" that
| he CONQUERED adversely by one bold stroke, whcr'-
as in his heart hr knew that his real disposition
wa. to run away from it. 10 get out OF the whIrl-
| pool OF inccs-ant and destructive struggle, ana
| wander with little purpose about tho world.
Like nearly all men of high genius. B"rrow
aimed unconsciously and instnr'ively css nj IN
0uencinc ;hc world without than pcrfccting the
| world within himself TO become renowned,
says Mr. Watts. Judging from many pcroration
| in Iavcngro' was IA great an incentive 10 Borrow
TO learn languages. as TO Alexander smiths pot
|
however, this Was an oftcr thought. When man
finds that other men gaze after him because Of his
achievements in some domain other Of ply 'ica
or mental proves he must he strong. tclf-con-
! tanned person indeed not 10 feel the stimulus u
vanity. not 20 seek new conquest'. But ~ fr-t hr
! is a. UNCONSCIOUS Of his incentive as his fellow
men dic Of his existence IL the domain in which
he seeks prc-cmncncc * mental fame IL hardly
| likely 10 catch up with him before middle life.
Borrow : strongest incentive MUST hav" come then
from within, not from without. II may well seem
| likely 10 those who never knew Borrow that Mr..
I Watts hits upon the real solution Of the problem
when he remarks Meantime, let II be Icmcm-
lrred by those who object TO Borrows method
that at the basis of his character deep
sense of wonder. Let it be remembered that he
was led T. study the first Of the languages
| lrish-bcausr Their" WAS. rs he said something
my stcrions and uncommon in its use
| Observe how far-rcaching might be- the reaction
for this capacity Of wondcrncnt on the mind will
| mely subject 10 il. There WAS an nnnity Of
| languages each Of which in is turn must exercise
the same influence a. tl" first. Then the rcla-
| tonship among various forms OF human speech
widely separated from each other startled Borrow
| a. If it were miracle. Thus when the old apple
woman on London Bridge explained that in
thieves slang bread was called pannam. the au-
thor bursts forth
"Tannam.' said J. "Pannam! Evidently con-
nrcted with, if not derived from, the Latin PANS
even a. the word tanner. which signitcth a sin
pence Is connected with, if not derived from,
! tawno, tawner. which. in III" language Of Mr..
| P"tulcnaro. "ienieth sucking cllli Let in.,
see what j. the term for bread in the language Of
Mr. PctulorerO' Moro. on natro, ~ have SOME
times heard IT called is there not some connc'.
ton between these word, and panis? Yes. think
there is and should not wonder II MORO, mauro
and pants were connected. perhaps derived from
the same roo, but what IL that root don't
know wish did though, perhaps, should not
| be the happier. MOrro. mauro. | rather think
moro is III" older form. II is easier t. say
MORO than ,nanro. Morrol Irish aran Welsh,
bara English. bread. can see resemblance be-
tween all the words. and pannam too AMI I rather
think that the Pctulenerian word IL the older
How odd il would be- if the language Of Mr.. Pctu-
lrngrO should eventually turn out 10 be- the mother
Of all the language, IN the world; Yet il is certain
that there are some languages in witch the terms
for bread have connection witt. the word used
by Mr.. Petulengro, Notwithstanding those Ian
aua9cs in many other points, exhibit close affinity
% the language Of the horseshoe master; for cx-
ample, bread in Hebrew Is ham, which assurcdly
exhibits little similitudc 10 the words used By the
aforesaid Pctulcngro. In Armenian IT il -
Ihats, said the stranger, starting up. " BY the
Patriarch AMI the Three Holy Churches. this is
wonderful. How came you 10 know aught Of Ar
mcnlan ~
This article does not refer to book which was
written yesterday and 50 it Is taken for granted
that readers know Borrow's rustic circumlocution
about Mr.. Petulengro when he means tho gypsics
Meanwhile, 1t is TO BE- noted that the Armenian
merchants surprise at finding an Englshman who
could talk lIaik was Rorrow's own expression in
the light Of his own achievements. lie learned
Languages, not by dint Of hard study upon scien.
tiic method but by Il sort OF fatality which drove
him forward 20 new acquisitions The wonderful
reach OF his learning, his abnormal facility, not
only astonshed others: they were bewildering
they had evrn the aspect OF something miraculous
from his point OF view. lie stood in awe OF
himself: for it must be remembered that on lis