tts-Dunton's charming romance _Aylwin_ will recall the
emphasis laid on the passionate love of the Welsh for a tiny strip of
Welsh soil. Borrow understood all this; he had a rare sympathy with the
Cymric Celt. You can trace the Celt in his scenic descriptions, in his
feeling for the spell of antiquity, his restlessness of spirit. And yet
in his appearance there was little to suggest the Celt. Small wonder
that many of his friends spoke of this white-haired giant of six foot
three as if he was first and foremost an excellent athlete.

Certainly he had in full measure an Englishman's delight and proficiency
in athletics--few better at running, jumping, wrestling, sparring, and
swimming.

In many respects indeed Borrow will not have realized the fancy picture
of the Englishman as limned by Hawthorne's fancy--the big, hearty,
self-opiniated, beef-eating, ale-drinking John Bull. Save to a few
intimates like Mr. Watts-Dunton and Dr. Hake he seems to have concealed
very effectually the Celtic sympathies in his nature. But no reader of
his books can be blind to this side of his character; and then again, as
in all the literary Vagabonds, it is the complexity of the man's
temperament that attracts and fascinates.

The man who can delight in the garrulous talk of a country inn,
understand the magic of big solitudes; who can keenly appraise the points
of a horse and feel the impalpable glamour of an old ruin; who will
present an impenetrable reserve to the ordinary stranger and take the
fierce, moody gypsy to his heart; who will break almost every convention
of civilization, yet in the most unexpected way show a sturdy element of
conventionality; a man, in short, of so many bewildering contradictions
and strangely assorted qualities as Borrow cannot but compel interest.

Many of the contradictory traits were not, as they seemed, the
inconsequential moods of an irresponsible nature, but may be traced to
the fierce egotism of the man. The Vagabond is always an egotist; the
egotism may be often amusing, and is rarely uninteresting. But the
personal point of view, the personal impression, has for him the most
tremendous importance. It makes its possessor abnormally sensitive to
any circumstances, any environment, that may restrict his independence or
prevent the full expression of his personal tastes and whims. Among our
Vagabonds the two most pronounced egotists are Borrow and Whitman. The
secret of their influence, the