of William Taylor,
who had rather a bad reputation as a 'freethinker' with all the
church-going citizens of Norwich, with no little pride. Borrow is of
course the 'young man' of the dialogue. He was then eighteen years of
age:

'Not so, not so,' said the young man eagerly; 'before I knew
you I knew nothing, and am still very ignorant; but of late my
father's health has been very much broken, and he requires
attention; his spirits also have become low, which, to tell you
the truth, he attributes to my misconduct. He says that I have
imbibed all kinds of strange notions and doctrines, which will,
in all probability, prove my ruin, both here and hereafter;
which--which----'

'Ah! I understand,' said the elder, with another calm whiff. 'I
have always had a kind of respect for your father, for there is
something remarkable in his appearance, something heroic, and I
would fain have cultivated his acquaintance; the feeling,
however, has not been reciprocated. I met him the other day, up
the road, with his cane and dog, and saluted him; he did not
return my salutation.'

'He has certain opinions of his own,' said the youth, 'which
are widely different from those which he has heard that you
profess.'

'I respect a man for entertaining an opinion of his own,' said
the elderly individual. 'I hold certain opinions; but I should
not respect an individual the more for adopting them. All I
wish for is tolerance, which I myself endeavour to practise. I
have always loved the truth, and sought it; if I have not found
it, the greater my misfortune.'[8]

When Borrow is twenty years of age we have another glimpse of father and
son, the father in his last illness, the son eager as usual to draw out
his parent upon the one subject that appeals to his adventurous spirit,
'I should like to know something about Big Ben,' he says:

'You are a strange lad,' said my father; 'and though of late I
have begun to entertain a more favourable opinion than
heretofore, there is still much about you that I do not
understand. Why do you bring up that name? Don't you know that
it is one of my temptations? You wish to know something about
him? Well, I will oblige you this once, and then farewell to
such vanities--something about him. I will tell you--his--skin
when he flung off his clothes--and