IN THE ISLE OF MAN
The holiday which Borrow gave himself the year following his visit to
Wales, that is to say, in September 1855, is recorded in his unpublished
diaries. He never wrote a book as the outcome of that journey, although
he caused one to be advertised under the title of _Bayr Jairgey and
Glion Doo: Wanderings in Search of Manx Literature_.[182] Dr. Knapp
possessed two volumes of these notebooks closely written in pencil.
These he reproduced conscientiously in his _Life_, and indeed here we
have the most satisfactory portion of his book, for the journal is
transcribed with but little modification, and so we have some thirty
pages of genuine 'Borrow' that are really very attractive reading.
Borrow, it will be remembered, learnt the Irish language as a mere
child, much to his father's disgust. Although he never loved the Irish
people, the Celtic Irish, that is to say, whose genial temperament was
so opposed to his own, he did love the Irish language, which he more
than once declared had incited him to become a student of many tongues.
He never made the mistake into which two of his biographers have fallen
of calling it 'Erse.' He was never an accurate student of the Irish
language, but among Englishmen he led the way in the present-day
interest in that tongue--an interest which is now so pronounced among
scholars of many nationalities, and has made in Ireland so definite a
revival of a language that for a time seemed to be on the way to
extinction. Two translations from the Irish are to be found in his
_Targum_ published so far back as 1835, and many other translations from
the Irish poets were among the unpublished manuscripts that he left
behind him. It would therefore be with peculiar interest that he would
visit the Isle of Man which, at the beginning of the nineteenth century,
was an Irish-speaking land, but in 1855 was at a stage when the language
was falling fast into decay. What survived of it was still Irish with
trifling variations in the spelling of words. 'Cranu,' a tree, for
example, had become 'Cwan,' and so on--although the pronunciation was
apparently much the same. When the tall, white-haired Englishman talked
to the older inhabitants who knew something of the language they were
delighted. 'Mercy upon us,' said one old woman, 'I believe, sir, you are
of the old Manx!' Borrow was actually wandering in search of Manx
literature, as the title of the book that he announced implied. He
inquired about the old songs of the island, and of everything that
survived of its earlier language. Altogether Borrow must have had a good
time in thus following his favourite pursuit.
But Dr. Knapp's two notebooks, which are so largely taken up with these
philological matters, are less human than a similar notebook that has
fallen into my hands. This is a long leather pocket-book, in which,
under the title of 'Expedition to the Isle of Man,' we have, written in
pencil, a quite vivacious account of his adventures. It records that
Borrow and his wife and daughter set out through Bury to Peterborough,
Rugby, and Liverpool. It tells of the admiration with which
Peterborough's 'noble cathedral' inspired him. Liverpool he calls a
'London in miniature':
Strolled about town with my wife and Henrietta; wonderful docks
and quays, where all the ships of the world seemed to be
gathered--all the commerce of the world to be carried on; St.
George's Crescent; noble shops; strange people walking about,
an Herculean mulatto, for example; the old china shop; cups
with Chinese characters upon them; an horrible old Irishwoman
with naked feet; Assize Hall a noble edifice.
The party left Liverpool on 20th August, and Borrow, when in sight of
the Isle of Man, noticed a lofty ridge of mountains rising to the
clouds:
Entered into conversation with two of the crew--Manx
sailors--about the Manx language; one, a very tall man, said he
knew only a very little of it as he was born on the coast, but
that his companion, who came from the interior, knew it well;
said it was a mere gibberish. This I denied, and said it was an
ancient language, and that it was like the Irish; his
companion, a shorter man, in shirt sleeves, with a sharp, eager
countenance, now opened his mouth and said I was right, and
said that I was the only gentleman whom he had ever heard ask
questions about the Manx language. I spoke several Irish words
which they understood.
When he had landed he continued his investigations, asking every peasant
he met the Manx for this or that English word:
'Are you Manx?' said I. 'Yes,' he replied, 'I am Manx.' 'And
what do you call a river in Manx?' 'A river,' he replied. 'Can
you speak Manx?' I demanded. 'Yes,' he replied, 'I speak Manx.'
'And you call a river a river?' 'Yes,' said he, 'I do.' 'You
don't call it owen?' said I. 'I do not,' said he. I passed on,
and on the other side of the bridge went for some time along an
avenue of trees, passing by a stone water-mill, till I came to
a public-house on the left hand. Seeing a woman looking out of
the window, I asked her to what place the road led. 'To
Castletown,' she replied. 'And what do you call the river in
Manx?' said I. 'We call it an owen,' said she. 'So I thought,'
I replied, and after a little further discourse returned, as
the night was now coming fast on.
One man whom Borrow asked if there were any poets in Man replied that he
did not believe there were, that the last Manx poet had died some time
ago at Kirk Conoshine, and this man had translated Parnell's _Hermit_
beautifully, and the translation had been printed. He inquired about the
Runic Stones, which he continually transcribed. Under date Thursday,
30th August, we find the following:
This day year I ascended Snowdon, and this morning, which is
very fine, I propose to start on an expedition to Castletown
and to return by Peel.
Very gladly would I follow Borrow more in detail through this
interesting holiday by means of his diary,[183] but it would make my
book too long. As he had his wife and daughter with him there are no
letters by him from the island. But wherever Borrow went he met people
who were interested in him, and so I find the following letter among his
Papers, which he received a year after his return:
To George Borrow, Esq.
3 ALBERT TERRACE, DOUGLAS, _11 February 1856._
MY DEAR SIR,--If experience on report has made you acquainted
with the nature of true Celtic indolence and procrastination
you will be prepared to learn, without surprise, that your
Runic stone still remains unerected.[184] In vain have I called
time after time upon the clerk of Braddan--in vain have I
expostulated. Nothing could I get but fair words and fair
promises. First he was very rheumatic, having, according to his
own account, contracted his dolorous aches in the course of
that five-hours' job under your superintendence in the steeple,
where, it seems, a merciless wind is in the habit of disporting
itself. Then the weather was so unfavourable, then his wife was
ailing, etc., etc. On Saturday, however, armed with your potent
note, I made another attack, and obtained a promise that the
stone should be in its right place on that day of the week
following. So I await the result. My own private impression is
that if we see the achievement complete by Easter there will be
much cause for thankfulness.
Many thanks for _The Illustrated News_; I read the article with
great interest, and subsequently studied the stone itself as
well as its awkward position in its nook in the steeple would
allow me. Your secret, I need hardly say, was faithfully kept
till the receipt of the news assured me that it need be a
secret no longer. I may just mention that the clerk thinks that
the sovereign you left will be quite enough to defray the
expenses. I think so too; at least if there be anything more it
cannot be worth mentioning. Though no Manxman myself still I
shall take the liberty of thanking you in the name of Mona--may
I not add in the name of Antiquarian Science too--for your
liberality in this matter. Mrs. Borrow, I trust, is
convalescent by this time, and Miss Clarke well. With our
united kind regards, believe me, my dear Sir, very sincerely
yours,
S. W. WANTON.
And even three years later we find that Borrow has not forgotten the
friends of that Manx holiday. This letter is from the Vicar of Malew in
acknowledgment of a copy of _The Romany Rye_ published in the interval:
To George Borrow, Esq.
MALEW VICARAGE, BALLASALLA, ISLE OF MAN, _27 Jany. 1859._
MY DEAR SIR,--I return you my most hearty thanks for your most
handsome present of _Romany Rye_, and no less handsome letter
relative to your tour in the Isle of Man and the literature of
the Manx. Both I value very highly, and from both I shall
derive useful hints for my introduction to the new edition of
the _Manx Grammar_. I hope you will have no objection to my
quoting a passage or two from the advertisement of your
forthcoming book; and if I receive no intimation of your
dissent, I shall take it for granted that I have your kind
permission. The whole notice is so apposite to my purpose, and
would be so interesting to every Manxman, that I would fain
insert the whole bodily, did the Author and the limits of an
Introduction permit. The _Grammar_ will, I think, go to press
in March next. It is to be published under the auspices of 'The
Manx Society,' instituted last year 'for the publication of
National documents of the Isle of Man.' As soon as it is
printed I hope to beg the favour of your acceptance of a
copy.--I am, my dear Sir, your deeply obliged humble servant,
WILLIAM GILL.
The letter from Mr. Wanton directs us to the issue of _The Illustrated
London News_ for 8th December 1855, where we find the following note on
the Isle of Man, obviously contributed to that journal by Borrow,
together with an illustration of the Runic Stone, which is also
reproduced here:
[Illustration: RUNIC STONE FROM THE ISLE OF MAN]
ANCIENT RUNIC STONE, RECENTLY FOUND IN THE ISLE OF MAN
For upwards of seventy years a stone which, as far as it could
be discerned, had the appearance of what is called a Danish
cross, has been known to exist in the steeple of Kirk Braddan,
Isle of Man. It was partly bedded in mortar and stones above
the lintel of a doorway leading to a loft above the gallery.
On the 19th of November it was removed from its place under the
superintendence of an English gentleman who had been travelling
about the island. It not only proved to be a Northern cross,
but a Runic one; that is, it bore a Runic inscription. As soon
as the stone had been taken out of the wall, the gentleman in
question copied the inscription and translated it, to the best
of his ability, in the presence of the church clerk who had
removed the stone. The Runes were in beautiful preservation,
and looked as fresh as if they had just come out of the
workshop of Orokoin Gaut. Unfortunately the upper part of the
cross was partly broken, so that the original inscription was
not entire. In the inscription, as it is, the concluding word
is mutilated; in its original state it was probably 'sonr,'
son; the Runic character which answers to _s_ being distinct,
and likewise the greater part of one which stands for _o_. Yet
there is reason for believing that sonr was not the concluding
word of the original, but the penultimate, and that the
original terminated with some Norwegian name: we will suppose
'Olf.' The writing at present on the stone is to this effect:
OTR. RISTI. KROS. THUNU. AFT. FRUKA
FATHOR. SIN. IN. THORWIAORI. S ... (SONR OLFS)
OTR RAISED THIS CROSS TO FRUKI HIS FATHER,
THE THORWIAORI, SO(N OF OLF).
The names Otr and Fruki have never before been found on any of
the Runic stones in the Isle of Man. The words _In_ ...
Thorwiaori, which either denote the place where the individual
to whom they relate lived, or one of his attributes or
peculiarities, will perhaps fling some light on the words In
... Aruthur, which appear on the beautiful cross which stands
nearly opposite the door of Kirk Braddan.
The present cross is curiously ornamented. The side which we
here present to the public bears two monsters, perhaps intended
to represent dragons, tied with a single cord, which passes
round the neck and body of one whose head is slightly averted,
whilst, though it passes round the body of the other, it leaves
the neck free. Little at present can be said about the other
side of the stone, which is still in some degree covered with
the very hard mortar in which it was found lying. The gentleman
of whom we have already spoken, before leaving the island, made
arrangements for placing the stone beside the other cross,
which has long been considered one of the principal ornaments
of the beautiful churchyard of Braddan.
FOOTNOTES:
[182] In vol. ii. of _The Romany Rye_, _vide supra_.
[183] The whole of this diary, which is the best original work that
Borrow left behind him unpublished, will be issued in my edition of _The
Collected Works_.
[184] Borrow found the stone had fallen, and he left money for its
re-erection. He copied this stone on 13th September 1855, noting in his
diary that Henrietta sketched the church while he copied and translated
the inscription which ran as follows--_Thorleifr Nitki raised this Cross
to Fiak, son of his brother's son_, the date being 1084 or 1194 A.D.