be found in _Lavengro_ and _The Romany Rye_, to which
books we shall come in due course. Here we need only refer to the fact
that Borrow had loved the gypsies all his life--from his boyish meeting
with Petulengro until in advancing years the prototype of that wonderful
creation of his imagination--for this the Petulengro of _Lavengro_
undoubtedly was--came to visit him at Oulton. Well might Leland call him
'the Nestor of Gypsydom.'

We find the following letter to Dr. Bowring accompanying a copy of _The
Zincali_:

To Dr. John Bowring.

58 JERMYN STREET, ST. JAMES, _April 14, 1841._

MY DEAR SIR,--I have sent you a copy of my work by the mail. If
you could contrive to notice it some way or other I should feel
much obliged. Murray has already sent copies to all the
journals. It is needless to tell you that despatch in these
matters is very important, the first blow is everything. Lord
Clarendon is out of town. So I must send him his presentation
copy through Murray, and then write to him. I am very unwell,
and must go home. My address is George Borrow, Oulton Hall,
Oulton, Lowestoft, Suffolk. Your obedient servant,

GEORGE BORROW.

Two years later we find Borrow writing to an unknown correspondent upon
a phase of folk-lore:

OULTON, LOWESTOFT, SUFFOLK, _August 11, 1843._

MY DEAR SIR,--Many thanks for your interesting and kind letter
in which you do me the honour to ask my opinion respecting the
pedigree of your island goblin, le feu follet Belenger; that
opinion I cheerfully give with a premise that it is only an
opinion; in hunting for the etymons of these fairy names we can
scarcely expect to arrive at anything like certainty.

I suppose you are aware that the name of Bilenger or Billinger
is of occasional though by no means of frequent occurrence both
in England and France. I have seen it; you have heard of
Billings-gate and of Billingham, the unfortunate assassin of
poor Percival,--all modifications of the same root; Belingart,
Bilings home or Billing ston. But what is Billin-ger? Clearly
that which is connected in some way or other with Billing. You
will find _ger_, or something like it, in most
European-tongues--Boulan_ger_, horolo_ger_, tal_ker_, walk_er_,
ba_ker_, bre_wer_, beg_gar_. In Welsh it is of frequent
occurrence in