hty-one. He lived at Harford Hall
Farm, Lakenham, a largish house standing back from the highway, towards
the end of the Ipswich Road, on the left-hand side going from Norwich,
some little distance this side of Harford Bridges in the river valley
below). The celebrated chapter on "The Bruisers of England" ("Lavengro,"
Chap. XXVI.) has been warmly applauded by many writers as a very fine
example of Borrow's style. That it undoubtedly is, but some critics were
unsympathetic about pugilism, amongst them the late Rev. Whitwell Elwin,
who, in the _Quarterly Review_ (January-April, 1857), wrote: "Mr.
Borrow's notions of what constitutes cant have not always been the same.
In his 'Gypsies of Spain' he speaks of pugilistic combats as 'disgraceful
and brutalizing exhibitions,' but in the Appendix to 'The Romany Rye' we
find that he now considers such language to be cant. This is one of the
cases in which second thoughts are worst." Another reviewer deprecates
Borrow's glorifying attitude towards "the very worst amongst the bad,
such as David Haggart and John Thurtell; and not content with turning
away the edge of an instinctive condemnation of crime, actually entitles
the prize-fighters, the brutality of whose profession can scarcely be
exaggerated, 'the priests of an old religion.'" More recently, while
advocating the Children's Bill in the House of Commons (March 24th,
1908), Mr. Shaw said that "George Borrow never did a worse service to
humanity than by writing 'Lavengro,' with its glorification of vagabond
life." Though one cannot acquit Borrow of inconsistency, we must
remember that "The Gypsies of Spain" was written in 1840, and that he
sent a notice of it to Mr. Brandram of the Bible Society in March of that
year, ending his letter with the words: "I hope yet to die in the cause
of my Redeemer." For my part, I am convinced that Borrow's real opinion
of pugilism is contained in several passages of the Appendix to "The
Romany Rye," where he justifies "his favourite pursuits, hunting after
strange characters, or analysing strange words and names," and expressed
the belief that he would not be refused admission to heaven because of
"some inclination to put on certain gloves, not white kid, with any
friend who may be inclined for a little old-English diversion, and a
readiness to take a glass of ale, with plenty of malt in it, and as
little hop as may well be--ale at least two years old--with the aforesaid
friend when t