Letters of George Borrow | Page 7

for nearly a fortnight in a hotel,
as the difficulty of procuring lodgings in this place is very great, and

when you have procured them, you have to furnish them yourself at a
considerable expense. During this time I collated with Mr. Swan the
greatest part of what he had transcribed, and eventually I took up my
abode with Mr. Egerton Hubbard, a friend of Mr. Venning's, where I
am for the present very comfortably situated, and I do assure you
exerting myself to the utmost to fulfil the views of the Society. I have
transcribed from the Mandchou Old Testament the second book of
Chronicles, which when I had done, I put aside the Old Testament for a
season, and by the advice of Mr. Swan began to copy St. Matthew's
Gospel from the version of the New, executed by the same hand as the
Old, with the purpose of comparing it with that of Mr. Lipoftsoff. This
task I have just completed, and am now about to commence a transcript
of the Acts. Respecting this manuscript translation of the Old and New
Testaments I must here observe, that with scarcely one exception it is
the most laborious and best executed work of the kind which I have
ever seen, and I cannot but admire the diligence and learning of him
who, probably unasked and unrewarded, engaged in and accomplished
it. The style, as far as I can judge, is to an eminent degree elegant and
polished, and likely to captivate those whose taste is cultivated, and
with this advantage, it exhibits none of that obscurity which too
frequently attends refinement of language; and as for fidelity - it is
upon the whole executed as literally, and with as much adherence to the
original, as the genius of the Tartar language and the understandings of
the people, for whose edification it is intended, will permit. But the
notes and elucidations (which I copy not) which follow every chapter,
both of the Old and New Testament, constitute the most surprising
feature of this work. They are so full and copious, that they occupy far
more space than the text; indeed, I think I speak quite within bounds
when I say that for every page of text there are two of explanatory
matter. The author was a French Jesuit, and when did a Jesuit any thing
which he undertook, whether laudable or the reverse, not far better than
any other person? Staunch Protestant though I be, I am not ashamed to
say that all the skill and talent of our own missionaries, in acquiring
languages and making versions of the Scriptures, are, when compared
with the capabilities displayed by the seminary priests, faint and
seemingly insignificant; and yet it is singular enough that the labours of
the latter in this line have had almost invariably no other fate than to be

buried in continental public libraries or in the literary collections of the
learned and curious; from which it is manifest that the Lord smiled not
upon their undertakings. They thought not of His glory but of the glory
of their order, and the consequence has been that 'He has put down the
mighty from their seat and has exalted the humble and meek.'
A few days since I called upon Mr. Lipoftsoff, and to my surprise
discovered that he was totally unaware of any plan being in agitation
for the printing of his translation of the Scriptures. He said that he had
had no communication with Mr. Schmidt for several months; and far
from being able to furnish me with any information respecting the
probable destiny of his work, he asked questions of me concerning it.
He is a gentleman rather advanced in years, probably between sixty and
seventy, but is nevertheless surprisingly hale and robust. He was very
kind, and promised to give me any assistance in his power towards
acquiring a thorough knowledge of the Mandchou; and, permit me to
say, that Petersburg is the only place in Europe where such a
knowledge can be obtained, for the manuscripts and printed books in
that tongue are very plentiful here, and there are moreover several
individuals who speak and write it. I of course most gladly accepted
such an offer, and shall endeavour to turn it to the best account. Mr. L.
speaks no European language but Russ, which I am not sorry for,
because frequent conversation and intercourse with him will improve
my knowledge of that language. It is a great error to suppose that a
person resident in this country can dispense with Russ, provided he is
acquainted with French and German. The two latter languages, it is true,
are spoken by the French and German shop-keepers settled here.
French is moreover spoken (to foreigners) by the nobility and