At Harford Bridge, some two miles along the Ipswich Road, lived "the
terrible Thurtell," a patron and companion of "the bruisers of
England," who taught Borrow to box, and who ultimately ended his own
inglorious career by being hanged (9th January 1824) for the murder
of Mr Weare, and incidentally figuring in De Quincey's "On Murder
Considered As One of the Fine Arts." It was through "the king of
flash-men" that Borrow saw his first prize-fight at Eaton, near
Norwich.

The passion for horses that came suddenly to Borrow with his first
ride upon the cob in Ireland had continued to grow. He had an
opportunity of gratifying it at the Norwich Horse Fair, held each
Easter under the shadow of the Castle, and famous throughout the
country. {22a} It was here, in 1818, that Borrow encountered again
Ambrose Petulengro, an event that was to exercise a considerable
influence upon his life. Mr Petulengro had become the head of his
tribe, his father and mother having been transported for passing bad
money. He was now a man, with a wife, a child, and also a mother-in-
law, who took a violent dislike to the tall, fair-haired gorgio.
Borrow's life was much broadened by his intercourse with Mr
Petulengro. He was often at the gypsy encampment on Mousehold, a
heath just outside Norwich, where, under the tuition of his host, he
learned the Romany tongue with such rapidity as to astonish his
instructor and earn for him among the gypsies the name of "Lav-
engro," word-fellow or word-master. He also boxed with the godlike
Tawno Chikno, who in turn pronounced him worthy to bear the name
"Cooro-mengro," fist-fellow or fist-master. He frequently
accompanied Mr Petulengro to neighbouring fairs and markets, riding
one of the gypsy's horses. At other times the two would roam over
the gorse-covered Mousehold, discoursing largely about things Romany.