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nd miserable region; but having lately read in the Russian newspapers that the town of Guanajuato; where he resided; has been taken and sacked by the murderous bands of the insurgents; I have great reason to fear that his earthly course is terminated; for the former; incited by their demoniacal priests; in comparison with whom the Shamans of Manjuria and the lamas of Mongolia and China are innocent and holy; lay hold of every opportunity of shedding the blood of Protestants and foreigners。
I remain; Revd。 and dear Sir; most truly yours;
G。 BORROW。
LETTER: 4th February; 1834
To the Rev。 J。 Jowett (ENDORSED: recd。 March 10th; 1834; with Report on the Mandchou New Testament。) ST。 PETERSBURG; GALERNOY ULITZA; 4 FEBRUARY (old style) 1834。
REVD。 AND DEAR SIR; … In compliance with the request of the Committee; expressed in your epistle of the 2nd January; I herewith send a report upon Mr。 Lipoftsoff's translation; and as there were many things which I wished to mention in my last letter; but was unable from want of room; I take this opportunity of stating them; with the hope that they will meet with your approbation。
In the first place; whatever communication you wish to make to Mr。 Lipoftsoff I think you had best charge me with to him; for in that case you will be certain that he will receive it; without loss of time。 But I must inform you that he is rather a singular man; and to all appearances perfectly indifferent to the fate of his excellent translation; caring nothing whether it be published as a powerful instrument to open the closed eyes and soften the hard hearts of the idolators of China and Tartary; or whether it be committed to the flames; and for ever lost to the world。 You cannot conceive the cold; heartless apathy in respect to the affair; on which I have been despatched hither as an ASSISTANT; which I have found in people; to whom I looked; not unreasonably; for encouragement and advice。 But thanks be to the Lord; the great object has been accomplished; permission has been obtained to print the New Testament; and have no doubt that permission for the whole Bible is within our reach。 And in regard to what we have yet to do; let it be borne in mind; that we are by no means dependent upon Mr。 Lipoftsoff; though certainly to secure the services which he is capable of performing would be highly desirable; and though he cannot act outwardly in the character of Editor; he having been appointed Censor; he may privately be of great utility to us。 Therefore let the attempt to engage his services be made without delay。
At the Sarepta House is a chest containing Mandchou characters; belonging to the Bible Society; which I shall cause to be examined for the purpose of ascertaining whether they have sustained any injury from rust during the long time they have been lying neglected; if any of them have; my learned friend Baron Schilling; who is in possession of a small fount of Mandchou types for the convenience of printing trifles in that tongue; has kindly promised to assist us with the use of as many of his own as may be necessary。 There is one printing office here; where they are in the habit of printing with the Mongolian character; which differs but little from the Mandchou; consequently the Mongolian compositors will be competent to the task of composing in Mandchou。 There are no Mandchou types in St。 Petersburg; with the exception of our own and Baron Schilling's。
I suppose that it will be thought requisite to print the town for a year or so; it is my humble opinion; and the opinion of much wiser people; that if he were active; zealous and likewise courageous; the blessings resulting from his labours would be incalculable。 It would be by no means a difficult thing to make excursions into Tartary and to form friendships amongst the Tartar hordes; and I am far from certain that with a little management and dexterity he would be unable to penetrate even to Pekin; and to return in safety; after having examined the state of the land。 I can only say that if it were my fortune to have the opportunity; I would make the attempt; and should consider myself only to blame if I did not succeed。
In my last letter I informed you that I had procured myself an instructor in Mandchou; and that I was making tolerable progress in the language。 I should now wish to ask whether this person could not be turned to some further account; for example; to assist me in making a translation into Mandchou of the Psalms and Isaiah; which have not yet been rendered。 A few shillings a week; besides what I give him for my own benefit; would secure his co…operation; for he is a person in very low circumstances。 He is not competent to undertake any thing of the kind by himself; being in many respects very simple and ignorant; but as an assistant I think he might be of considerable utility; and that between us we could produce a version which; although it might not be particularly elegant; would be clear; grammatical and faithful to the original。 In the mean time I shall pursue my studies; and be getting every thing in readiness for setting the printers at work; and with a humble request for SPEEDY INSTRUCTIONS; in order that as little time as possible may be lost in the work of the Lord; I have the honour to remain; Revd。 and dear Sir;
Your most obedient and humble servant;
GEORGE BORROW。
P。S。 … My kindest regards to Mr。 Brandram and my other dear friends at the Bible House。 I thank you heartily for your kind advice in the latter part of your last epistle。 Do me the favour to inform Dr。 Richardson that I have followed his instructions in regard to clothing; etc。; and have derived great benefit therefrom。
LETTER: 15th February; 1834
To the Rev。 Joseph Jowett (ENDORSED: recd。 March …; 1834) ST。 PETERSBURG; FEBRY。 15 (old style); 1834。
REVD。 AND DEAR SIR; … Having forgotten in my last letter to say something which I intended; I take the liberty of troubling you with these lines。 But first of all I must apologise for certain slips of the pen in the Report which I transmitted; for it left me without having been corrected; Baron Schilling having called upon me just as I sat down to the task; and when he had departed; I had barely time to seal it and despatch it by that week's post。 There was in it; I believe; nothing of much importance which required alteration; but; if I mistake not; I had written; in the third side; vibebam; instead of VIVEREM; and unaparelled; or some such word; instead of UNPARALLELED; in the fourth。 Now to the point。
What is to be done with the transcript of Puerot's translation of the Acts of the Apostles; which I made; and which is now in my possession? The translation is in every respect an admirable one; clear; faithful; and elegant。 It would not do to print it in lieu of Mr。 Lipoftsoff's translation of that part of the New Testament; because the styles of the two individuals are so different; that to mix up the writings of the one with those of the other would only serve to disfigure the work; and Mr。 Lipoftsoff's translation is well worthy of being printed separately and entire; but I conceive that we possess a treasure in Puerot's writings; and that it would be a great pity to hide any portion of them from the world。 Pray communicate this hint to the Committee; and pardon me for troubling you。
I remain; Rev。 and dear Sir; most sincerely yours;
G。 BORROW。
LETTER: 15th April; 1834
To the Rev。 J。 Jowett (ENDORSED: recd; May 16th; 1834) GALERNOY ULITZA; ST。 PETERSBURG; 15TH APRIL (old style) 1834。
REVD。 AND DEAR SIR; … Upon the receipt of your letter of the '21st' ult。 'date omitted'; I lost no time in endeavouring to obtain the necessary information upon the points to which you directed my attention; and I have some hope that what I am about to communicate will not be altogether unsatisfactory; but I must first of all state that it was not acquired in a day; and that I have been obliged to go to many people and many places; which will account for my not having sooner returned an answer。
First; respecting the most important point; the expense of printing the New Testament in Mandchou。 I was quite terrified at the enormous sums which some of the printers to whom I made application required for the work。 At length our friend Dr。 Schmidt recommended me to the University Press; and I having spoken to the directors of the establishment; they sent me in the course of a week an estimate which neither Dr。 Schmidt nor myself considered to be unreasonable; and of this estimate I here subjoin a translation:
To Mr。 Borrow。
'After much consultation with the compositor; I have come to the following result concerning the Mandchou business about which you consulted me。 If the work be printed on as thin paper as that of the original; it can only be printed on one side。 Now supposing that the size is to be folio like that of the original; two sides will make a sheet; and the price of composition will be 26 roubles; 20 copecks … that is to say; 12R。 to the compositor; wages 2R。 50c。; percentage to the printing office 11R。 60c。; ma