entleman,' said he, 'should you ever wish to take a
journey on a horse of your own, and you could not have a much better
than the one you have here eating its fill in the box yonder--I
wonder, by the by, how you ever came by it--you can't do better than
follow the advice I am about to give you, both with respect to your
animal and yourself. Before you start, merely give your horse a
couple of handfuls of corn and a little water, somewhat under a
quart, and if you drink a pint of water yourself out of the pail, you
will feel all the better during the whole day; then you may walk and
trot your animal for about ten miles, till you come to some nice inn,
where you may get down, and see your horse led into a nice stall,
telling him not to feed him till you come. If the ostler happens to
be a dog-fancier, and has an English terrier dog like that of mine
there, say what a nice dog it is, and praise its black and fawn; and
if he does not happen to be a dog-fancier, ask him how he's getting
on, and whether he ever knew worse times; that kind of thing will
please the ostler, and he will let you do just what you please with
your own horse, and when your back is turned he'll say to his
comrades what a nice gentleman you are, and how he thinks he has seen
you before; then go and sit down to breakfast, get up and go and give
your horse a feed of corn; chat with the ostler two or three minutes
till your horse has taken the shine out of his oats, which will
prevent the ostler taking any of it away when your back is turned,
for such things are sometimes done--not that I ever did such a thing
myself when I was at the inn at Hounslow; oh, dear me, no! Then go
and finish your breakfast.'"

IV

It is interesting to compare Borrow's studies in unvarnished human nature
with the characterizations of novelists like Mr. Thomas Hardy. Both
Borrow and Hardy are drawn especially to rough primal characters,
characters not "screened by conventions." As Mr. Hardy puts it in an
essay contributed to the _Forum_ in 1888.

"The conduct of the upper classes is screened by conventions, and
thus the real character is not easily seen; if it is seen it must be
pourtrayed subjectively, whereas in the lower walks conduct is a
direct expression of the inner life, and their characters can be
directly pourtrayed through the act."

M