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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

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