cing the latter on the
table, set the bottle down before me with a bang, and then standing
still appeared to watch my movements. You think I don't know how to
drink a glass of claret, thought I to myself. I'll soon show you how
we drink claret where I come from; and filling one of the glasses to
the brim, I flickered it for a moment between my eyes and the lustre,
and then held it to my nose; having given that organ full time to
test the bouquet of the wine, I applied the glass to my lips. Taking
a large mouthful of the wine, which I swallowed slowly and by degrees
that the palate might likewise have an opportunity of performing its
functions. A second mouthful I disposed of more summarily; then
placing the empty glass upon the table, I fixed my eyes upon the
bottle and said nothing; whereupon the waiter who had been observing
the whole process with considerable attention, made me a bow yet more
low than before, and turning on his heel retired with a smart chuck
of the head, as much as to say, 'It is all right; the young man is
used to claret.'"

A slight enough incident, but, like every line which Borrow wrote,
intensely temperamental. How characteristic this of the man's attitude:
"You think I don't know how to drink a glass of claret, thought I to
myself." Then with what deliberate pleasure does he record the
theatrical posing for the benefit of the waiter. How he loves to
impress! You are conscious of this in every scene which he describes,
and it is quite useless to resent it. The only way to escape it is by
leaving Borrow unread. And this no wise man can do willingly.

The insatiable thirst for adventure, the passion for the picturesque and
dramatic, were so constant with him, that it need not surprise us when he
seizes upon every opportunity for mystifying and exciting interest. It
is possible that the "veiled period" in his life about which he hints is
veiled because it was a time of privation and suffering, and he is
consequently anxious to forget it. But I do not think it likely. Nor do
the remarks of Mr. Watts-Dunton on this subject support this theory.
Indeed, Mr. Watts-Dunton, who knew him so intimately, and had ample
occasion to note his love of "making a mystery," hints pretty plainly
that "the veiled period" may well be a pleasant myth invented by Borrow
just for the excitement of it, not because there was anything special to
c