JANUARY–JULY 1833
IT is not a little curious that no one should have thought of putting
Borrow’s undoubted gifts as a linguist to some practical use. He himself
had frequently cast his eyes in the direction of a political appointment
abroad. It remained, however, for the Rev. Francis Cunningham, {92}
vicar of Lowestoft, in Suffolk, to see in this young man against whom the
curse of Babel was inoperative, a sword that, in the hands of the British
and Foreign Bible Society, might be wielded with considerable effect
against the heathen.
Borrow appears to have become acquainted with the Rev. Francis Cunningham
through the Skeppers of Oulton Hall, near Lowestoft, of whom it is
necessary to give some account. Edmund Skepper had married Anne Breame
of Beetley, who, on the death of her father, came into £9000. She and
her husband purchased the Oulton Hall estate, upon which Anne Skepper
seems to have been given a five per cent. mortgage. There were two
children of the marriage, Breame (born 1794) and Mary (born 1796). The
boy inherited the estate, and the girl the mortgage, worth about £450 per
annum. Mary married Henry Clarke, a lieutenant in the Navy (26th July
1817), who within eight months died of consumption. Two months later Mrs
Clarke gave birth to a daughter, who was christened Henrietta Mary. Mrs
Clarke became acquainted with the Cunninghams while they were at
Pakefield, and there is every reason to believe that she was instrumental
in introducing Borrow to Cunningham. It is most probable that they met
during Borrow’s visit at Oulton Hall in November 1832.
The Rev. Francis Cunningham appears to have been impressed by Borrow’s
talent for languages, and fully alive to his value to an institution such
as the Bible Society, of which he, Cunningham, was an active member. He
accordingly addressed {93a} to the secretary, the Rev. Andrew Brandram,
the following letter:
LOWESTOFT VICARAGE,
27_th_ _Dec._ 1832.
MY DEAR FRIEND,—
A young farmer in this neighbourhood has introduced me to-day to a
person of whom I have long heard, who appears to me to promise so
much that I am induced to offer him to you as a successor of Platt
and Greenfield. {93b} He is a person without University education,
but who has read the Bible in thirteen languages. He is independent
in circumstances, of no very defined denomination of Christians, but
I think of certain Christian principle. I shall make more enquiry
about him and see him again. Next week I propose to meet him in
London, and I could wish that you should see him, and, if you please,
take him under your charge for a few days. He is of the middle order
in Society, and a very produceable person.
I intend to be in town on Tuesday morning to go to the Socy. P. C. K.
On Wednesday is Dr Wilson’s meeting at Islington. He may be in town
on Monday evening, and will attend to any appointment.
Will you write me word by return of post, and believe me ever
Most truly and affectionately yours,
F. CUNNINGHAM.
The recommendation was well-timed, for the Bible Society at that
particular moment required such a man as Borrow for a Manchu-Tartar
project it had in view. In 1821 the Bible Society had commissioned
Stepán Vasiliévitch Lipovzoff, {94a} of St Petersburg, to translate the
New Testament into Manchu, the court and diplomatic language of China. A
year later, an edition of 550 copies of the First Gospel was printed from
type specially cast for the undertaking. A hundred copies were
despatched to headquarters in London, and the remainder, together with
the type, placed with the Society’s bankers at St Petersburg, {94b} until
the time should arrive for the distribution of the books.
Three years after (1824), the overflowing Neva flooded the cellars in
which the books were stored, causing their irretrievable ruin, and doing
serious damage to the type. This misfortune appeared temporarily to
discourage the authorities at home, although Mr Lipovzoff was permitted
to proceed with the work of translation, which he completed in two years
from the date of the inundation.
In 1832 the Rev. Wm. Swann, of the London Missionary Society, discovered
in the famous library of Baron Schilling de Canstadt at St Petersburg the
manuscript of a Manchu translation of “the principal part of the Old
Testament,” and two books of the New. The discovery was considered to be
so important that Mr Swann decided to delay his departure for his post in
Siberia and make a transcription, which he did. The Manchu translation
was the work of Father Puerot, “originally a Jesuit emissary at Pekin
[who] passed the latter years of his life in the service of the Russian
Mission in the capacity of physician.” {95}
The immediate outcome of Mr Cunningham’s letter was an interview between
Borrow and the Bible Society’s officials. With characteristic energy and
determination, Borrow trudged up to London, covering the 112 miles on
foot in 27.5 hours. His expenses by the way amounted to
fivepence-halfpenny for the purchase of a roll, two apples, a pint of ale
and a glass of milk. On reaching London he proceeded direct to the Bible
Society’s offices in Earl Street, in spite of the early hour, and there
awaited the arrival of the Rev. Andrew Brandram (Secretary), and the Rev.
Joseph Jowett (Literary Superintendent).
The story of Borrow’s arrival at Earl Street was subsequently told, by
one of the secretaries at a provincial meeting in connection with the
Bible Society. The Rev. Wentworth Webster writes:
“I was little more than a boy when I first heard George Borrow spoken
of at the annual dinner given by a connection of my family to the
deputation of the British and Foreign Bible Society in a country town
near London . . . I can distinctly recall one of the secretaries
telling of his first meeting with Borrow, whom he found waiting at
the offices of the Society one morning;—how puzzled he was by his
appearance; how, after he had read his letter of introduction, he
wished to while away the time until a brother secretary should
arrive, and did not want to say anything to commit himself to such a
strange applicant; so he began by politely hoping that Borrow had
slept well. ‘I am not aware that I fell asleep on the road,’ was the
reply; I have walked from Norwich to London.’” {96a}
It would appear that this conference took place on Friday, 4th January;
for on that day there is an entry in the records of the Society of the
loan to George Borrow of several books from the Society’s library. On
this and subsequent occasions, Borrow was examined as to his
capabilities, the result appearing to be quite satisfactory. To judge
from the books lent to Borrow, one of the subjects would seem to have
been Arabic.
Borrow appeared before the Committee on 14th January, with the result
that they seemed to be “quite satisfied with me and my philological
capabilities,” which they judged of from the report given by the
Secretary and his colleague. A more material sign of approval was found
in the undertaking to defray “the expenses of my journey to and from
London, and also of my residence in that city, in the most handsome
manner.” {96b} That is to say, the Committee voted him the sum of ten
pounds.
Borrow had been formally asked if he were prepared to learn Manchu
sufficiently well to edit, or translate, into that language such portions
of the Scriptures as the Society might decide to issue, provided means of
acquiring the language were put within his reach, and employment should
follow as soon as he showed himself proficient. To this Borrow had
willingly agreed. At this period, the idea appears to have been to
execute the work in London.
Shortly after appearing before the Committee Borrow returned to Norwich,
this time by coach, with several books in the Manchu-Tartar dialect,
including the Gospel of St Matthew and Amyot’s Manchu-French Dictionary.
His instructions were to learn the language and come up for examination
in six months’ time. Possibly the time limit was suggested by Borrow
himself, for he had said that he believed he could master any tongue in a
few months.
After two or three weeks of incessant study of a language that Amyot says
“one may acquire in five or six years,” Borrow, who, it should be
remembered, possessed no grammar of the tongue, wrote to Mr Jowett:
“It is, then, your opinion that, from the lack of anything in the
form of Grammar, I have scarcely made any progress towards the
attainment of Manchu: {97} perhaps you will not be perfectly
miserable at being informed that you were never more mistaken in your
life. I can already, with the assistance of Amyot, translate Manchu
with no great difficulty, and am perfectly qualified to write a
critique on the version of St Matthew’s Gospel, which I brought with
me into the country . . . I will now conclude by beseeching you to
send me, as soon as possible, _whatever can serve to enlighten me in
respect to Manchu Grammar_, for, had I a Grammar, I should in a
month’s time be able to send a Manchu translation of _Jonah_.”
The racy style of Borrow’s letters must have been something of a
revelation to the Bible Society’s officers, who seem to have shown great
tact and consideration in dealing with their self-confident correspondent
There is something magnificent in the letters that Borrow wrote about
this period; their directness and virility, their courage and
determination suggest, not a man who up to the thirtieth year of his age
has been a conspicuous failure, as the world gauges failure; but one who
had grown confident through many victories and is merely proceeding from
one success to another.
Whilst in London, Borrow had discussed with Mr Brandram “the Gypsies and
the profound darkness as to religion and morality that envolved them.”
{98} The Secretary told him of the Southampton Committee for the
Amelioration of the Condition of the Gypsies that had recently been
formed by the Rev. James Crabbe for the express purpose of enlightening
and spreading the Gospel among the Romanys. Furthermore, Mr Brandram, on
hearing of Borrow’s interest in, and knowledge of, the gypsies, had
requested him immediately on his return to Norwich to draw up a
vocabulary of Mr Petulengro’s language, during such time as he might have
free from his other studies. Borrow showed himself, as usual, prolific
of suggestions, all of which involved him in additional labour. He
enquired through Mr Jowett if Mr Brandram would write about him to the
Southampton Committee. He wished to translate into the gypsy tongue the
Gospel of St John, “which I could easily do,” he tells Mr Jowett, “with
the assistance of one or two of the old people, but then they must be
paid, for the gypsies are more mercenary than the Jews.”
He also informed Mr Jowett that he had a brother in Mexico, subsequently
assuring him that he had no doubt of John’s willingness to assist the
Society in “flinging the rays of scriptural light o’er that most
benighted and miserable region.” He sent to his brother, at Mr Jowett’s
request, first a sheet, and afterwards a complete copy, of the Gospel of
St Luke translated into Nahuatl, the prevailing dialect of the Mexican
Indians, by Mariano Paz y Sanchez. {99a}
In addition to learning Manchu, Borrow is credited with correcting and
passing for press the Nahuatl version of St. Luke. {99b} The Bible
Society’s records, however, point to the fact that this work was carried
through by John Hattersley, who later was to come up with Borrow for
examination in Manchu. In the light of this, the following passage from
one of John’s letters is puzzling in the extreme:—“I have just received
your letter of the 16th of February, together with your translation of St
Luke. I am glad you have got the job, but I must say that the Bible
Society are just throwing away their time.”
He goes on to explain how many dialects there are in Mexico. “The job”
can only refer to the Mexican translation, as, at that period, Borrow was
merely studying Manchu. He had received no appointment from the Society.
It may have happened that Borrow expressed a wish to look through the
proofs and that a set was sent to him for this purpose; but there seems
no doubt that the actual official responsibility for the work rested with
Hattersley. A very important point in support of this view is that there
is no record of Borrow being paid anything in connection with this
Mexican translation, beyond the amount of fifteen shillings and
fivepence, which he had expended in postage on the advance sheet and
complete copy sent to John. To judge from the subsequent financial
arrangements between the Society and its agent, it is very improbable
that he was given work to do without payment.
After seven weeks’ study Borrow wrote again to Mr Jowett:
“I am advancing at full gallop, and . . . able to translate with
pleasure and facility the specimens of the best authors who have
written in the language contained in the compilation of the Klaproth.
But I confess that the want of a Grammar has been, particularly in
the beginning of my course, a great clog to my speed, and I have
little doubt that had I been furnished with one I should have
attained my present knowledge of Manchu in half the time. I was
determined, however, not to be discouraged, and, not having a hatchet
at hand to cut down the tree with, to attack it with my knife; and I
would advise every one to make the most of the tools which happen to
be in his possession until he can procure better ones, and it is not
improbable that by the time the good tools arrive he will find he has
not much need of them, having almost accomplished his work.” {100a}
There is a hint of the difficulties he was experiencing in his confession
that tools would still be of service to him, in particular “this same
tripartite Grammar which Mr Brandram is hunting for, my ideas respecting
Manchu construction being still very vague and wandering.” {100b} There
is also a request for “the original grammatical work of Amyot, printed in
the _Memoires_.” {100c}
Borrow had been studying Manchu for seven weeks when, feeling that his
glowing report of the progress he was making might be regarded as “a
piece of exaggeration and vain boasting,” he enclosed a specimen
translation from Manchu into English. This he accompanied with an
assurance that, if required, he could at that moment edit any book
printed in the Manchu dialect. About this period Mr Jowett and his
colleagues passed from one sensation to another. The calm confidence of
this astonishing man was more than justified by his performance. His
attitude towards life was strange to Earl Street.
Nineteen weeks from the date of commencing his study of Manchu, Borrow
wrote again to Mr Jowett with unmistakable triumph: “I have mastered
Manchu, and I should feel obliged by your informing the Committee of the
fact, and also my excellent friend Mr Brandram.” He proceeds to indicate
some of the many difficulties with which he has had to contend, the
absolute difference of Manchu from all the other languages that he has
studied, with the single exception of Turkish; the number of its
idiomatic phrases, which must of necessity be learnt off by heart; the
little assistance he has had in the nature of books. Finally he
acknowledges “the assistance of God,” and asks “to be regularly employed,
for though I am not in want, my affairs are not in a very flourishing
condition.”
The response to this letter was an invitation to proceed to London to
undergo an examination. His competitor was John Hattersley, upon whom,
in the event of Borrow’s failure, would in all probability have devolved
the duty of assisting Mr Lipovzoff. A Manchu hymn, a pæan to the great
Fûtsa, was the test. Each candidate prepared a translation, which was
handed to the examiners, who in turn were to report to the Sub-Committee.
Borrow returned to Norwich to await the result. This was most probably
towards the end of June. {101}
Mr Jowett wrote encouragingly to Borrow of his prospects of obtaining the
coveted appointment. In acknowledgment of this letter, Borrow dashed off
a reply, magnificent in its confidence and manly sincerity. It was a
defiance to the fate that had so long dogged his footsteps.
“What you have written has given me great pleasure,” he wrote, “as it
holds out hope that I may be employed usefully to the Deity, to man,
and myself. I shall be very happy to visit St Petersburg and to
become the coadjutor of Lipovzoff, {102} and to avail myself of his
acquirements in what you very happily designate a most singular
language, towards obtaining a still greater proficiency in it. I
flatter myself that I am for one or two reasons tolerably well
adapted for the contemplated expedition, for besides a competent
knowledge of French and German, I possess some acquaintance with
Russian, being able to read without much difficulty any printed
Russian book, and I have little doubt that after a few months
intercourse with the natives, I should be able to speak it fluently.
It would ill become me to bargain like a Jew or a Gypsy as to terms;
all I wish to say on that point is, that I have nothing of my own,
having been too long dependent on an excellent mother, who is not
herself in very easy circumstances.”
Whilst still waiting for the confirmation by the General Committee of the
Sub-Committee’s resolution, which was favourable to Borrow, Mr Jowett
wrote to him (5th July), telling him how good were his prospects; but
warning him not to be too confident of success. The Sub-Committee had
recommended that Borrow’s services should be engaged that he might go to
St Petersburg and assist Mr Lipovzoff in editing St Luke and the Acts and
any other portions of the New Testament that it was thought desirable to
publish in Manchu. Should the Russian Government refuse to permit the
work to be proceeded with, Borrow was to occupy himself in assisting the
Rev. Wm. Swan to transcribe and collate the manuscript of the Old
Testament in Manchu that had recently come to light. At the same time,
he was to seize every opportunity that presented itself of perfecting
himself in Manchu. For this he was to receive a salary of two hundred
pounds a year to cover all expenses, save those of the journey to and
from St Petersburg, for which the Society was to be responsible. Borrow
was advised to think carefully over the proposal, and, if it should prove
attractive to him, to hold himself in readiness to start as soon as the
General Committee should approve of the recommendation that was to be
placed before it. In conclusion, Mr Jowett proceeded to administer a
gentle rebuke to the confident pride with which the candidate indited his
letters. Only a quotation can show the tact with which the admonition
was conveyed.
“Excuse me,” wrote the Literary Superintendent, “if as a clergyman, and
your senior in years though not in talent, I venture, with the kindest of
motives, to throw out a hint which may not be without its use. I am sure
you will not be offended if I suggest that there is occasionally a tone
of confidence in speaking of yourself, which has alarmed some of the
excellent members of our Committee. It may have been this feeling, more
than once displayed before, which prepared one or two of them to stumble
at an expression in your letter of yesterday, in which, till pointed out,
I confess I was not struck with anything objectionable, but at which,
nevertheless, a humble Christian might not unreasonably take umbrage. It
is where you speak of the prospect of becoming ‘useful to the Deity, to
man, and to yourself.’ Doubtless you meant the prospect of glorifying
God.”
Borrow had yet to learn the idiom of Earl Street, which he showed himself
most anxious to acquire. He clearly recognised that the Bible Society
required different treatment from the Army Pay Office, or the Solicitor
of the Treasury. It was accustomed to humility in those it employed, and
a trust in a higher power, and Borrow’s self-confident letters alarmed
the members of the Committee. How thoroughly Borrow appreciated what was
required is shown in a letter that he wrote to his mother from Russia,
when anticipating the return of his brother. “Should John return home,”
he warns her, “by no means let him go near the Bible Society, for he
would not do for them.”
Borrow’s reply to the Literary Superintendent’s kindly worded admonition
was entirely satisfactory and “in harmony with the rule laid down by
Christ himself.” It was something of a triumph, too, for Mr Jowett to
rebuke a man of such sensitiveness as Borrow, without goading him to an
impatient retort.
The meeting of the General Committee that was to decide upon Borrow’s
future was held on 22nd July, and on the following day Mr Jowett informed
him that the recommendation of the Sub-Committee had been adopted and
confirmed, at the same time requesting him to be at Earl Street on the
morning of Friday, 26th July, that he might set out for St Petersburg the
following Tuesday. On 25th July Borrow took the night coach to London.
On the 29th he appeared before the Editorial Sub-Committee and heard read
the resolution of his appointment, and drafts of letters recommending him
to the Rev. Wm. Swan and Dr I. J. Schmidt, a correspondent of the
Society’s in St Petersburg and a member of the Russian Board of Censors.
Finally, there was impressed upon him “the necessity of confining himself
closely to the one object of his mission, carefully abstaining from
mingling himself with political or ecclesiastical affairs during his
residence in Russia. Mr Borrow assured them of his full determination
religiously to comply with this admonition, and to use every prudent
method for enlarging his acquaintance with the Manchu language.” {104}
The salary was to date from the day he embarked, and on account of
expenses to St Petersburg he drew the sum of £37. The actual amount he
expended was £27, 7s. 6d., according to the account he submitted, which
was dated 2nd October 1834. It is to be feared that Borrow was not very
punctual in rendering his accounts, as Mr Brandram wrote to him (18th
October 1837):—“I know you are no accountant, but do not forget that
there are some who are. My memory was jogged upon this subject the other
day, and I was expected to say to you that a letter of figures would be
acceptable.”
It is not unnatural that those who remembered Borrow as one of William
Taylor’s “harum-scarum” young men, who at one time intended to “abuse
religion and get prosecuted,” should find in his appointment as an agent
of the British and Foreign Bible Society a subject for derisive mirth.
Harriet Martineau’s voice was heard well above the rest. “When this
polyglott gentleman appeared before the public as a devout agent of the
Bible Society in foreign parts,” she wrote, “there was one burst of
laughter from all who remembered the old Norwich days.” {105} Like
hundreds of other men, Borrow had, in youth, been led to somewhat hasty
and ill-considered conclusions; but this in itself does not seem to be
sufficiently strong reason why he should not change his views. Many
young men pass through an aggressively irreligious phase without
suffering much harm. Harriet Martineau was rather too precipitate in
assuming that what a man believes, or disbelieves, at twenty, he holds to
at thirty; such a view negatives the reformer. Perhaps the chief cause
of the change in Borrow’s views was that he had touched the depths of
failure. Here was an opening that promised much. He was a diplomatist
when it suited his purpose, and if the old poison were not quite gone out
of his system, he would hide his wounds, or allow the secretaries to
bandage them with mild reproof.
Very different from the attitude of Harriet Martineau was that of John
Venning, an English merchant resident at Norwich and recently returned
from St Petersburg, where his charity and probity had placed him in high
favour with the Emperor and the Goverment officials. Mr Venning gave
Borrow letters of introduction to a number of influential personages at
St Petersburg, including Prince Alexander Galitzin and Baron Schilling de
Canstadt. Dr Bowring obtained a letter from Lord Palmerston to someone
whose name is not known. There were letters of introduction from other
hands, so that when he was ready to sail Borrow found himself “loaded
with letters of recommendation to some of the first people in Russia. Mr
Venning’s packet has arrived with letters to several of the Princes, so
that I shall be protected if I am seized as a spy; for the Emperor is
particularly cautious as to the foreigners whom he admits. It costs £2,
7s. 6d. merely for permission to go to Russia, which alone is enough to
deter most people.” {106}
Before leaving England, Borrow paid into his mother’s account at her bank
the sum of seventeen pounds, an amount that she had advanced to him
either during his unproductive years, or on account of his expenses in
connection with the expedition to St Petersburg.