ng that she saw an armed man
threaten her, but it was only an imagination, a phantom of the
brain.

_Boy._ No armed man threatens me; and 'tis not a thing like
that would cause me any fear. Did an armed man threaten me I
would get up and fight him; weak as I am, I would wish for
nothing better, for then, perhaps, I should lose this fear;
mine is a dread of I know not what, and there the horror lies.

_Mother._ Your forehead is cool, and your speech collected. Do
you know where you are?

_Boy._ I know where I am, and I see things just as they are;
you are beside me, and upon the table there is a book which was
written by a Florentine; all this I see, and that there is no
ground for being afraid. I am, moreover, quite cool, and feel
no pain--but, but----

And then there was a burst of 'gemiti, sospiri ed alti guai.'
Alas, alas, poor child of clay! as the sparks fly upward, so
wast thou born to sorrow--Onward![11]

Our next glimpse of Mrs. Borrow is when after his father's death George
had shouldered his knapsack and made his way to London to seek his
fortune by literature. His elder brother had remained at home,
determined upon being a painter, but joined George in London, leaving
the widowed mother momentarily alone in Norwich.

'And how are things going on at home?' said I to my brother,
after we had kissed and embraced. 'How is my mother, and how is
the dog?'

'My mother, thank God, is tolerably well,' said my brother,
'but very much given to fits of crying. As for the dog, he is
not so well; but we will talk more of these matters anon,' said
my brother, again glancing at the breakfast things. 'I am very
hungry, as you may suppose, after having travelled all night.'

Thereupon I exerted myself to the best of my ability to perform
the duties of hospitality, and I made my brother welcome--I may
say more than welcome; and when the rage of my brother's hunger
was somewhat abated, we recommenced talking about the matters
of our little family, and my brother told me much about my
mother; he spoke of her fits of crying, but said that of late
the said fits of crying had much diminished, and she appeared
to be taking comfort; and, if I am not much mistaken, my
brother told me that my mother had of late the prayer-book
frequently in her hand, and