In his edition of _Lavengro_ Dr.Knapp publishes a brief dialogue between master and pupil, which gives us an amusing glimpse of the worthy d'Eterville, whom the boys called 'poor old Detterville.' In the fourteenth and fifteenth chapters of _Lavengro_ he is pleasantly described by his pupil, who adds, with characteristic 'bluff,' that d'Eterville said 'on our arrival at the conclusion of Dante's _Hell_, "vous serez un jour un grand philologue, mon cher."' Borrow's biographers have dwelt at length upon one episode of his schooldays--the flogging he received from Valpy for playing truant with three other boys.

One, by name John Dalrymple, faltered on the way, the two faithful followers of George in his escapade being two brothers named Theodosius and Francis Purland, whose father kept a chemist's shop in Norwich.

The three boys wandered away as far as Acle, eleven miles from Norwich, whence they were ignomimously brought back and birched.
John Dalrymple's brother Arthur, son of a distinguished Norwich surgeon, who became Clerk of the Peace at Norwich in 1854, and died in 1868, has left a memorandum concerning Borrow, from which I take the following extract[40]: 'I was at school with Borrow at the Free School, Norwich, under the Rev.E.Valpy.He was an odd, wild boy, and always wanting to turn Robinson Crusoe or Buccaneer.

My brother John was about Borrow's age, and on one occasion Borrow, John, and another, whose name I forget, determined to run away and turn pirates.
John carried an old horse pistol and some potatoes as his contribution to the general stock, but his zeal was soon exhausted, he turned back at Thorpe Lunatic Asylum; but Borrow went off to Yarmouth, and lived on the Caister Denes for a few days.

I don't remember hearing of any exploits.