he Old Norwich School of artists.
Still, he may never have been brought into immediate contact with him;
for Crome was in his forty-sixth year when Borrow's family first appeared
in Norwich, and George was then but a young lad. But before 1821, when
Old Crome died, Borrow must have learnt a good deal both of the painter
and his pictures, for the admiration that he afterwards expressed can
hardly have been entirely the outcome of the artist's posthumous fame.

"He has painted," writes Borrow, "not pictures of the world, but English
pictures, such as Gainsborough himself might have done; beautiful rural
pieces, with trees that might well tempt the little birds to perch upon
them; thou needest not run to Rome, brother" (this was written of the
time when his brother John was leaving England to study art upon the
Continent), "where lives the old Mariolater, after pictures of the world,
whilst at home there are pictures of England; nor needest thou even go to
London, the big city, in search of a master, for thou hast one at home in
the old East Anglian town, who can instruct thee, while thou needest
instruction; better stay at home, brother, at least for a season, and
toil and strive 'midst groanings and despondency till thou hast attained
excellence, even as he has done--the little dark man with the dark-brown
coat and the top-boots, whose name will one day be considered the chief
ornament of the old town, and whose works will at no distant period rank
amongst the proudest pictures of England--and England against the
world!--thy master, my brother, all too little considered master--Crome."

It would almost appear from the details of the dark-brown coat and
top-boots that Borrow must have met Crome at some period of his Norwich
life. From the foregoing eulogy, one would gather that his brother John
was a pupil of the old painter. This may well have been the case, for
Crome had many such pupils, amongst whom, as has lately been shown, were,
in earlier years, some of the sisters Gurney of Earlham.

CHAPTER IV: DAYS IN NORWICH

The Norwich of Borrow's early years was noted for its literary and
artistic associations, and the names of some of its more distinguished
writers and painters were household words in the land. Harriet Martineau
had "left off darning stockings to take to literature"; Dr. Taylor was
opening up to English readers a new field in German writings; John Sell
Cotman was making a name for himself; an