have answered any useful purpose if, instead of continuing to struggle
with difficulties and using my utmost to overcome them, I had written in
the following strain--and what else could I have written if I had written
at all?--'I was sent out to St. Petersburg to assist Mr. Lipoftsoff in
the editing of the Mandchou Testament. That gentleman, _who holds three
important situations under the Russian Government_, _and who is far
advanced in years_, has neither time, inclination, or eyesight for the
task, and I am apprehensive that my strength and powers unassisted are
incompetent to it' (praised be the Lord, they were not!), 'therefore I
should be glad to return home. Moreover the compositors say that they
are unaccustomed to compose in an unknown tongue from such scribbled and
illegible copy, and they will scarcely assist me to compose. Moreover
the working printers say (several went away in disgust) that the paper on
which they have to print is too thin to be wetted, and that to print on
dry requires a two-fold exertion of strength, and that they will not do
such work for double wages, for it ruptures them.' Would that have been
a welcome communication to the Committee? Would that have been a
communication suited to the public? I was resolved 'to do or die,' and,
instead of distressing and perplexing the Committee with complaints, to
write nothing until I could write something perfectly satisfactory, as I
now can; and to bring about that result I have spared neither myself nor
my own money. I have toiled in a close printing-office the whole day,
during 90 degrees of heat, for the purpose of setting an example, and
have bribed people to work whom nothing but bribes would induce so to do.
I am obliged to say all this in self-justification. No member of the
Bible Society would ever have heard a syllable respecting what I have
undergone but for the question, 'What has Mr. Borrow been about?' I hope
and trust that question is now answered to the satisfaction of those who
do Mr. Borrow the honour to employ him. In respect to the expense
attending the editing of such a work as the New Testament in Mandchou, I
beg leave to observe that I have obtained the paper, the principal source
of expense, at fifteen roubles per ream less than the Society paid
formerly for it--that is to say, at nearly half the price.
As St. Matthew's Gospel has been ready for some weeks, it is high time
that it should be bound; for if that process be delayed, the paper with
be dirtied and the work injured. I am sorry to inform you that
book-binding in Russia is incredibly dear, and that the expenses
attending the binding of the Testament would amount, were the usual
course pursued, to two-thirds of the entire expenses of the work.
Various book-binders to whom I have applied have demanded one rouble and
a half for the binding of every section of the work, so that the sum
required for the binding of one Testament alone would be twelve roubles.
Dr. Schmidt assured me that one rouble and forty copecks, or, according
to the English currency, fourteenpence halfpenny, were formerly paid for
the binding of every individual copy of St. Matthew's Gospel. I pray
you, my dear Sir, to cause the books to be referred to, for I wish to
know if that statement be correct. In the meantime arrangements have
been made, and the Society will have to pay for each volume of the
Testament the comparatively small sum of forty-five copecks, or fourpence
halfpenny, whereas the usual price here for the most paltry covering of
the most paltry pamphlet is fivepence. Should it be demanded how I have
been able to effect this, my reply is that I have had little hand in the
matter. A nobleman, who honours me with particular friendship, and who
is one of the most illustrious ornaments of Russia and of Europe, has, at
my request, prevailed on his own book-binder, over whom he has much
influence, to do the work on these terms. That nobleman is Baron
Schilling.
Commend me to our most respected Committee. Assure them that in whatever
I have done or left undone, I have been influenced by a desire to promote
the glory of the Trinity and to give my employers ultimate and permanent
satisfaction. If I have erred, it has been from a defect of judgment,
and I ask pardon of God and them.
In the course of a week I shall write again, and give a further account
of my proceedings, for I have not communicated one-tenth of what I have
to impart; but I can write no more now. It is two hours past midnight.
The post goes away to-morrow, and against that morrow I have to examine
and correct three sheets of St. Mark's Gospel, which lie beneath the
paper on which I am writing. With my best regards to Mr. Brandram, I
remain, dear Sir, most truly yours,
G. BORROW.
_P.S._--I wrote to Mr. Jackson and Mr. Tarn last week.
To the Rev. J. Jowett
(_Endorsed_: recd. Nov. 14, 1834)
ST. PETERSBURG, _Oct._ 13_th_ (old style) 1834.
REVEREND AND DEAR SIR,--In pursuance of the promise given in my epistle
of last week, which I trust in the Lord you have received, I again
address you. In the first place I must intreat you to peruse and to read
to the Committee the enclosed Latin certificate penned by Mr. Lipoftsoff,
a gentleman as little inclined to be prodigal of praise, as was of old
the learned Scaliger himself, to whom in many points indeed, he bears no
faint resemblance. In the second place, I must inform you that a few
hurried lines are all that I can afford to write at present; my proof
sheets are rushing in so fast that time is exceedingly precious to me,
and I grudge every moment that is not devoted to my Maker or to my great
undertaking.
Before this letter reaches you St. Mark's Gospel will have passed through
the press. The two remaining Gospels will be printed before the arrival
of Christmas, and by the first of May the entire New Testament, in the
Mandchou language, will have been published. I wish this intelligence to
be communicated to the public, who are at liberty, provided the Lord does
not visit me with some heavy affliction, to hold me culpable, if my
assertion is belied by the event.
It is true that were I to pursue the common practice of editors, it would
be impossible to complete the work in less than two years; the quantity
of proofs, successively required for every sheet, fail not, in general,
to retard the progress of all such undertakings. My beloved friend Mr.
Swan published in this city a small tract in Mongolian; he found that it
was absolutely necessary to demand six proofs of every sheet, for in the
second, nay the third proof, there were frequently as many errors as in
the first, from the compositors not being able properly to read the
corrections. But I never entrust the task of making alterations in the
press to other hands than my own. Having corrected the first proof at
home, I proceed to the printing office and rectify all errors myself. I
consequently never require more than two proofs; the second, which I
generally show to Mr. Lipoftsoff, is frequently faultless. I am so
perfectly convinced of the excellence of this plan, that it is my firm
intention to pursue it in whatever foreign, or even English works, it may
be my destiny to edit.
I wish now to say a few words upon a subject, on which I have previously
said something. At the present moment my principal inducement to such a
step is the observation every now and then made to me, both by Christians
and no Christians, namely: 'You are printing Testaments for which you
will never find readers. Do not tell us that you can distribute them at
Canton and its environs, or on the coasts of China; there are not ten
individuals amongst a million of the aboriginal Chinese, and such
constitute the inhabitants of Canton, of the coasts and of the isles, who
understand the language in which your Testaments are printed. If you
wish for readers you must seek them amongst the masters of Pekin and the
fierce hordes of desert Tartary; but what means do you possess for
introducing them to Tartary or Pekin?' I stated in a former letter that
the town of Kiachta, upon the northern frontier of China, appeared to me
to be in many respects a suitable head-quarters for any person on whom
might devolve the task of endeavouring to supply the Mandchou Tartars
with the word of life in their own language. I am still of opinion, and
so are many individuals much more experienced than myself, that if a
passport could be obtained from the Russian Government, the Bible Society
would do well in despatching an agent to Kiachta, to see what might be
done at, or rather from, that place in the great cause. Kiachta is
little more than 800 miles from Pekin, and not more than half that
distance from Manjuria; he might therefore, trusting in the Lord, not
unreasonably hope to be able to penetrate to the Tartar of the capital
and the desert. True it is that his undertaking would not 'come within
the limits of safe and prudent speculation.' But is it possible for a
plan to come within the limits of safe speculation, which has in view the
conversion of the Tartar? Far be it from me to advise that the entire
stock of Testaments be hazarded in such an enterprise; 200 is the extreme
number which should be ventured, the others shipped for England, for a
seizure upon the agent and his books would be no improbable event. I am
a person of few words, and will therefore state without circumlocution
that I am willing to become that agent. I speak Russ, Mandchou, and the
Tartar or broken Turkish of the Russian steppes, and have also some
knowledge of Chinese, which I might easily improve at Kiachta, half of
the inhabitants of which town are Chinamen. I am therefore not
altogether unqualified for such an adventure. Were the attempt to be
made, the winter of the ensuing year would be the proper time for
starting, because the book will not be ready before next spring, and the
expenses of a summer journey would be enormous.
A few days since, upon taking leave of Prince Abbas Khoulgi, who has
departed from this place to his patrimonial territories, near the
Caucasus, I presented him with a Testament in the Russian-Tartar
language, which is his native tongue. He is without one exception the
most interesting man I have ever met. Though by religion a Mahometan he
is totally divested of the blind bigotry which so peculiarly
characterises the followers of the Camel-driver-warrior-pseudo-prophet,
but on the contrary is possessed of a mind ever restless in the pursuit
of truth, and which will doubtless eventually lead him to the narrow path
which leadeth unto salvation. The Testament which he received from me
was the very last, in the Tartar language, which remained in the shop at
which are sold the publications of what was once the Russian Bible
Society. It is a sad fact that though there are upwards of three
thousand Tartars in St. Petersburg, most of whom can read and write the
Turkish dialect which they speak, not one Testament is at hand suited to
their understandings. I have formed many acquaintances among these most
singular people, whose language I have acquired, during my residence in
the Russian capital, chiefly from conversing with my servant Mahomet
Djaffier, a native of Bucharia, son of the Iman or Mahometan priest of
this place. Notwithstanding the superstition and fanaticism of these men
I am much attached to them; for their conscientiousness, honesty, and
fidelity are beyond all praise. They stand in strong contrast with the
lower orders of the Russians, a good-natured, lowly-vicious, wavering
race, easily excited, easily soothed; whilst the former are sedate,
sober, temperate beings, with minds like Egyptian granite, from which it
is no easy matter to efface an impression, once made. How lamentable
that such people should in the all-important matter of religion have
embraced error instead of truth; what ornaments they would prove at the
present day to Christianity, if, instead of Mahometanism, Christianity
had originally come in their way! Of a surety they would reflect much
more lustre on the religion of Christ than millions whose deeds and
behaviour are more worthy of the followers of the impostor than of Him
'in whose mouth was found no craft or subtlety.'
I have much more to write and wish so to do, but I have really no time.
It is probable that you will not hear from me again before Christmas (old
style), but I entreat _you_ to inform me as soon as possible whether my
proceedings give satisfaction or not; but I must here take the liberty of
stating that if I were moved one inch from my own course, the
consequences might prove disastrous to the work, as I should instantly
lose all power of exertion. I want no assistance but that of God, and
will accept of none. Pray, I beseech you, that _That_ be granted.
You would, my dear Sir, be conferring a great favour upon me, if you
would so far trouble yourself as to write a few lines to my venerated
friend Mr. Cunningham of Lowestoft, informing him that I am tolerably
well, and that the work is going on most prosperously.
I remain, Reverend and dear Sir,
Your most humble and obliged servant,
GEORGE BORROW.
P.S.--Baron Schilling wishes to have a Chinese Testament of the large
edition: pray, send one if possible, and direct it to me at the Sarepta
House. Be particular to remember that it must be of the large edition,
for he has one of the small already in his possession. He wishes
likewise to have Gutzlaff and Lindsay's Voyages.
_Enclosed in the letter is the following certificate_.
Testifico--
Dominum Burro ab initio usque ad hoc tempus summa cum deligentia et
studio in re Mantshurica laborasse.
LIPOVZOFF.
To J. Tarn, Esq.
ST. PETERSBURG, _Decr._ 15/27, 1834.
On the other side I send an account of the money disbursed since the
period of my last writing to you until the present moment. In respect to
the 75 roubles charged for the reprinting of three sheets of St. Matthew,
I beg leave to observe, that after several sheets of that Gospel had been
printed, after the same manner as that adopted in the first edition, Mr.
Lipoftsoff, the Censor, gave me notice that he had determined that the
position of the vowel-points should be altered; and I did not think
proper to make any opposition. But as common-sense informed me that it
was by no means expedient to exhibit two systems of pointing in the same
work, I subsequently caused the first sheets to be reprinted. I think it
necessary to offer this short explanation to prevent any
misunderstanding; for this superfluous expense must be attributed to the
Censor's not knowing originally his own mind, and not to any negligence
on my part. I am so pressed for time that I have not been able to refer
to my last account, which lies buried amongst the ocean of my papers, and
in stating that I retained in hand 123 roubles, I have merely trusted to
memory and calculation; but I am sure the Committee and yourself will
excuse my little inaccuracy, when I state my situation. My two
compositors, whom I had instructed in all the mysteries of Mandchou
composition, are in the hospital down with the brain fever, for every
kind of sickness is at present raging in this place; and during the last
three days I have been running about in all directions in quest of people
to fill their situation, until they recover.
Thanks be to the Lord, I have discovered and engaged the person who
composed the first Mandchou Gospel of St. Matthew, ten years since; and
as next week I shall again station myself in the printing office for the
purpose of assisting and instructing, the great work will not be delayed,
and in a fortnight or ten days I trust to be able, provided an
opportunity occurs, to transmit to England copies of the four Gospels.
With my best rewards to Mr. Brandram and Mr. Jowett (whose last letter I
have received), I remain, etc.,
GEORGE BORROW.
To J. Tarn, Esq.
ST. PETERSBURG, _Feb._ 1, 1835.
The last account which I had the honour of transmitting to you detailed
expenses in the editing of the Mandchou Testament as far as the first two
sheets of St. John. That Gospel having by the blessing of the Almighty
passed through the press, and a copy of it bound, and also copies of the
three other Gospels, having been forwarded to London, I snatch a moment
from my occupation to give an account of my late outgoings, the sums
drawn for having been considerable on account of my having many and large
bills to discharge. When I last wrote, I retained in hand 75 roubles 50
copecks, of the sum of 3500 drawn for; since which sum I have drawn for
the separate sums of 5000 and 500 according to the books of the Sarepta
House. I had advanced to the printer in consequence of the illness of
his compositors the sum of 250, which being deducted from the 5000 I
shall, in order to prevent confusion, take no notice of, and proceed to
give an account of the disbursement of
R. C.
5575 50
11 Jany. 4125
1835, paid
Mr.
Pluchard
for one
hundred and
sixty-five
reams of
paper at
25R. per
ream
27 Dec. 450
1834, paid
Mr.
Lauffert
for the
binding of
St. Matthew
Do. for 2 10
chests to
contain St.
Matthew
Jan. 2, 200
1835, to
printer for
3, 4, 5, 6,
7, 8, 9, 10
of St. John
Do. for 60
printing
6000
titles,
being
sufft. for
6 of the 8
parts of
the Test.
Jany. 9, 150
from 10 to
16 of St.
John
Do. for the 4
casting of
6 large
type, for
titles, not
in Baron
Schilling's
colln., the
rest being
furnished
by him
Do. 16. 150
From 16 to
22 of St.
John
Do. 22. To 450
Mr.
Lauffert
for bindg.
St. Mark's
Gospel
Chests 10
Do. 22,. 22 112 50 5721 50
to 26 and a
half of St.
John
The Society 146R. 0C.
are
therefore
at the
present
moment
further
indebted to
me
Should you discover at any time any inaccuracy in the accounts which I
transmit, you will much oblige me by instantly making me acquainted with
the same, in order that a satisfactory explanation may be given. The
sacrifice of time to the correction of the manuscript and proof-sheets
scarcely allows me a moment's leisure, and I am moreover compelled to
superintend the printers and book-binders, for everything goes wrong
without a strict surveillance.
By the time these lines reach you the Acts of the Apostles (the Lord
willing) will have passed through the press. Next week I hope to write
to the Revd. J. Jowett.
I remain, etc.,
G. BORROW.
P.S.--I believe that the seven shillings may be accounted for in this
manner. I charged seven _pounds_ for my passage to Hamburg, whereas I
paid seven _guineas_.
To the Rev. J. Jowett
(_Endorsed_: recd. March 23, 1835)
ST. PETERSBURG, _Febry._ 20 [old style], 1835.
REVD. AND DEAR SIR,--I take advantage of the period of the Russian
Carnival, during which all business is at a stand-still, to transmit to
you some account of the manner in which I have been engaged, since the
time when I last addressed myself to you. True it is, that I have not
much to communicate; for the history of one day is that of a week, and a
month; and when I state that the printing of the Mandchou New Testament
is advancing rapidly to a conclusion, I shall have stated all I can of
much importance; but as you and our excellent friends at home have a
right to demand particulars, I will endeavour to be as particular as lies
within my power.
About a month since I placed in the hands of Baron Schilling bound copies
of the first four parts of the Testament, the Gospels; he having kindly
promised to cause them to be conveyed to London by one of the couriers
belonging to the Foreign Department, to which the Baron is attached. I
have reason to believe, however, that you have not received them yet, as
I have been informed that they remained in Petersburg some weeks after
they had been deposited in the Foreign Office; but in this respect I am
not culpable; and having no direct means of sending packets to London, I
am glad to embrace any which may come in my way, especially those not
attended with expense to the Society. In the mean time, I wish to inform
you that I am at present occupied on the last sheets of the fifth volume
of the Testament, namely, the Acts of the Apostles, in getting which
through the press I have experienced much difficulty, partly from the
illness of my compositors, and partly from the manner in which the
translation was originally executed, which has rendered much modification
highly necessary.
How I have been enabled to maintain terms of friendship and familiarity
with Mr. Lipoftsoff, and yet fulfil the part which those who employ me
expect me to fulfil, I am much at a loss to conjecture; and yet such is
really the case. It is at all times dangerous to find fault with the
style and composition of authors and translators, even when they come to
your door to ask for your advice and assistance. You may easily conceive
then, that my situation has been one of treble peril. Mr. L. is the
Censor of his own work, and against the Censor's fiat in Russia there is
no appeal; he is moreover a gentleman whom the slightest contradiction
never fails to incense to a most incredible degree; and being a strict
member of the Greek Sclavonian Church, imagines that the revealed word
and will of the Supreme are only to be found in the Sclavonian
Scriptures, from which he made his Mandchou version. Yet whenever
anything has displeased me in his translation, I have frankly told him my
opinion; and in almost every instance (and the instances have been
innumerable: for in translations of the sacred writings omissions and
additions must ever be avoided) he has suffered himself to be persuaded
to remodel what he originally concluded to be perfect, and which perhaps
he still does. So that in what has been hitherto printed of the
Testament, there is little, if any thing, with which any one but a
professed caviller can find fault.
I confess that in one instance I have not been able to carry my point;
though I assure you that I did not yield until I found that it was
absolutely of no avail to offer any further opposition. For although I
was convinced that Mr. L. was wrong, and I think when I state the
particulars that you will be of my opinion, he had on his side the
Chinese scholars of St. Petersburg, Baron Schilling amongst the rest, and
moreover being Censor he could have prohibited the work from proceeding
if I had been too obstinate. I will tell you the ground of dispute; for
why should I conceal it? Mr. L., amongst what he called his improvements
of the translation, thought proper, when the Father Almighty is
addressed, to erase the personal and possessive pronouns _thou_ or
_thine_, as often as they occur, and in their stead to make use of the
noun as the case may require. For example, 'O Father, thou art
merciful,' he would render, 'O Father! the Father is merciful'; 'Our
Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,' by 'Our . . . may the
name of the Father be made holy, may the kingdom of the Father come, may
the will of the Father be done on earth,' etc. I of course objected to
this, and enquired what reason he had for having recourse to so much
tautology. He replied that he had the best of reasons; for that amongst
the Chinese and Tartars none but the dregs of society were ever addressed
in the second person; and that it would be most uncouth and indecent to
speak to the Almighty as if He were a servant or a slave. I told him
that Christians, when they address their Creator, do not address Him as
if He were a great gentleman or illustrious personage, but rather as
children their father, with a mixture of reverence and love; and that
this mixture of reverence and love was one of the most characteristic
traits of Christianity. But he said that in China children never address
their parent in this manner; and that it was contrary to all received
usage; and that in speaking to a parent the children observe the same
respectful formula of phraseology as in addressing an Emperor or Viceroy.
I then observed that our object in sending the Bible into China was not
to encourage the Chinese in any of their customs or observances, but
rather to wean them from them; and that however startling any expression
in the Bible might prove to them at first, it was our hope and trust that
it would eventually cease to be disagreeable and extraordinary, and that
the Chinese were at present in a state which required stirring and
powerful medicine, medicine which must necessarily be disagreeable to the
palate to prove beneficial in another quarter. However, he said that I
talked '_pustota_' (emptiness or nonsense), and as he was not to be
moved, I was compelled to acquiesce with his dictum. This occurred some
months since, and I rejoice to see in the last letter with which you
favoured me a fortuitous corroboration of my views on this subject. I
allude to that part of your letter where you state that you do not desire
the Chinese to consider the Bible the work of a Chinese, etc. Nor do I;
and throughout the progress of the work I have collated every sheet with
the Greek Testament, and whenever I have found anything still adhering to
the translation which struck me as not being faithful to the original, I
have invariably modified it, so that, with the exception of the one
instance above mentioned, I can safely assert that the Word of God has
been rendered into Mandchou as nearly and closely as the idiom of a very
singular language would permit.