--we find FitzGerald writing to Dr.
Aldis Wright to the effect that Cowell had been seized with 'a wish to
learn Welsh under George Borrow':

And as he would not venture otherwise, I gave him a Note of
Introduction, and off he went, and had an hour with the old
Boy, who was hard of hearing and shut up in a stuffy room, but
cordial enough; and Cowell was glad to have seen the Man, and
tell him that it was his _Wild Wales_ which first inspired a
thirst for this language into the Professor.[212]

This introduction and meeting are described by Professor Cowell in the
following letter:[213]

CAMBRIDGE, _December 10, 1892._

DEAR SIR,--I fear I cannot help you much by my reminiscences
of Borrow. I never had the slightest interest in the gipsies,
but I always had a corner in my heart for Spain and Wales, and
consequently _The Bible in Spain_ and _Wild Wales_ have always
been favourite books. But though Borrow's works were well known
to me, I never saw him but once, and what I saw of him then
made me feel that he was one of those men who put the best part
of themselves into their books. We get the pure gold there
without the admixture of alloy which daily life seemed to
impart.

I was staying one autumn at Lowestoft some ten years or more
ago when I asked my dear old friend, Mr. Edward FitzGerald, to
give me a letter of introduction to Mr. George Borrow. Armed
with this I started on my pilgrimage and took a chaise for
Oulton Hall. I remember as we drew near we turned into a kind
of drift road through the fields where the long sweeping boughs
of the trees hung so low that I lost my hat more than once as
we drove along. My driver remarked that the old gentleman would
not allow any of his trees to be cut. When we reached the hall
I went in at the gate into the farmyard, but I could see nobody
about anywhere. I walked up to the front door, but nobody
answered my knock except some dogs, who began barking from
their kennels. At last in answer to a very loud knock, the door
was opened by an old gentleman whom I at once recognised by the
engraving to be Borrow himself. I gave him my letter and
introduced myself. He replied in a tone of humorous petulance,
'What is the good of your bringing me a letter when I haven't
got my spectacles to read it?'