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Books: The Life of George Borrow

H >> Herbert Jenkins >> The Life of George Borrow




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." {104a}

The salary was to date from the day he embarked, and on account of
expenses to St Petersburg he drew the sum of 37 pounds. The actual
amount he expended was 27 pounds, 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." {105a} 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 pounds, 7s. 6d. merely for permission to go to Russia, which alone
is enough to deter most people." {106a}

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.



CHAPTER VII: AUGUST 1833-JANUARY 1834



On 19th/31st July 1833 Borrow set out on a journey that was to some
extent to realise his ambitions. He was to be trusted and encouraged
and, what was most important of all, praised for what he
accomplished; for Borrow's was a nature that responded best to the
praise and entire confidence of those for whom he worked.

Travelling second class for reasons of economy, he landed at Hamburg
at seven in the morning of the fourth day, after having experienced
"a disagreeable passage of three days, in which I suffered much from
sea-sickness." {107a} Exhausted by these days of suffering and want
of sleep, the heat of the sun brought on "a transient fit of
delirium," {107b} in other words, an attack of the "Horrors." Two
fellow-passengers (Jews), with whom he had become acquainted,
conveyed him to a comfortable hotel, where he was visited by a
physician, who administered forty drops of laudanum, caused his head
to be swathed in wet towels, ordered him to bed, and charged a fee of
seven shillings. The result was that by the evening he had quite
recovered.

One of Borrow's first duties was to write a lengthy letter to Mr
Jowett, telling him of his movements, describing the city, the
service at a church he attended, the lax morality of the Hamburgers
in permitting rope-dancers in the park, and the opening of dancing-
saloons, "most infamous places," on the Lord's day. "England, with
all her faults," he proceeds, "has still some regard to decency, and
will not tolerate such a shameless display of vice on so sacred a
season, when a decent cheerfulness is the freest form in which the
mind or countenance ought to invest themselves." In conclusion, he
announced his intention of leaving for Lubeck on the sixth, {108a}
and he would be on the Baltic two days later en route for St
Petersburg. "My next letter, provided it pleases the Almighty to
vouchsafe me a happy arrival, will be from the Russian capital." By
"a fervent request that you will not forget me in your prayers," he
demonstrated that Mr Jowett's hint had not been forgotten.

The distance between Hamburg and Lubeck is only about thirty miles,
yet it occupied Borrow thirteen hours, so abominable was the road,
which "was paved at intervals with huge masses of unhewn rock, and
over this pavement the carriage was very prudently driven at a
snail's pace; for, had anything approaching speed been attempted, the
entire demolition of the wheels in a few minutes must have been the
necessary result. No sooner had we quitted this terrible pavement
than we sank to our axle-trees in sand, mud, and water; for, to
render the journey perfectly delectable, the rain fell in torrents
and ceaselessly." {108b} The state of the road Borrow attributed to
the ill-nature of the King of Denmark, for immediately on leaving his
dominions it improved into an excellent carriageway.

On 28th July/9th August Borrow took steamer from Travemunde, and
three days later landed at St Petersburg. His first duty was to call
upon Mr Swan, whom he found "one of the most amiable and interesting
characters" he had ever met. The arrival of a coadjutor caused Mr
Swan considerable relief, as he had suffered in health in consequence
of his uninterrupted labours in transcribing the Manchu manuscript.

Borrow was enthusiastic in his admiration of the capital of "our dear
and glorious Russia." St Petersburg he considered "the finest city
in the world" {109a} other European capitals were unworthy of
comparison. The enormous palaces, the long, straight streets, the
grandeur of the public buildings, the noble Neva that flows
majestically through "this Queen of the cities," the three miles long
Nevsky Prospect, paved with wood; all aroused in him enthusiasm and
admiration. "In a word," he wrote to his mother, "I can do little
else but look and wonder." All that he had read and heard of the
capital of All the Russias had failed to prepare him for this scene
of splendour. The meeting and harmonious mixing of East and West
early attracted his attention. The Oriental cultivation of a twelve-
inch beard among the middle and lower classes, placed them in marked
contrast with the moustached or clean-shaven patricians and
foreigners. In short, Russia gripped hold of and warmed Borrow's
imagination. Here were new types, curious blendings of nationalities
unthought of and strange to him, a mine of wealth to a man whose
studies were never books, except when they helped him the better to
understand men.

Another thing that attracted him to Russia was the great kindness
with which he was received, both by the English Colony and the
natives: to the one he appealed by virtue of a common ancestry; to
the other, on account of his knowledge of the Russian tongue, not to
speak of his mission, which acted as a strong recommendation to their
favour. On his part Borrow reciprocated the esteem. If he were an
implacable enemy, he was also a good friend, and he thoroughly
appreciated the manner in which he was welcomed by his countrymen,
especially the invitation he received from one of them to make his
house his home until he found a suitable dwelling. To his mother he
wrote:


"The Russians are the best-natured, kindest people in the world, and
though they do not know as much as the English [he was not referring
to the Colony], they have not their fiendish, spiteful dispositions,
and if you go amongst them and speak their language, however badly,
they would go through fire and water to do you a kindness." Later,
when in Portugal, he heartily wished himself "back in Russia . . .
where I had left cherished friends and warm affections."


High as was his opinion of the Russians, he was at a loss to
understand how they had earned their reputation as "the best general
linguists in the world." He found Russian absolutely necessary to
anyone who wished to make himself understood. French and German as
equivalents were of less value in St Petersburg than in England.

At first Borrow took up his residence "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 . . . eventually I took up my
abode with Mr Egerton Hubbard, a friend of Mr Venning's [at 221
Galernoy Ulitza], where I am for the present very comfortably
situated." {110a} He stayed with Mr Hubbard for three months; but
was eventually forced to leave on account of constant interruptions,
probably by his fellow-boarders, in consequence of which he could
neither perform his task of transcription nor devote himself to
study. He therefore took a small lodging at a cost of nine shillings
a week, including fires, where he could enjoy quiet and solitude.
His meals he got at a Russian eating-house, dinner costing fivepence,
"consequently," he writes to his mother, "I am not at much expense,
being able to live for about sixty pounds a year and pay a Russian
teacher, who has five shillings for one lesson a week."

One of Borrow's earliest thoughts on arriving at St Petersburg had
been to present his letters of introduction. Within two days of
landing he called upon Prince Alexander Galitzin, {111a} accompanied
by his fellow-lodger, young Venning. One of the most important, and
at the same time useful, friendships that he made was with Baron
Schilling de Canstadt, the philologist and savant, who, later, with
his accustomed generosity, was to place his unique library at
Borrow's disposition. The Baron was one of the greatest bibliophiles
of his age, and possessed a collection of Eastern manuscripts and
other priceless treasures that was world-famous. He spared neither
expense nor trouble in procuring additions to his collection, which
after his death was acquired by the Imperial Academy of Science at St
Petersburg. In this literary treasure-house Borrow found facilities
for study such as he nowhere else could hope to obtain.

Another friendship that Borrow made was with John P. Hasfeldt, a man
of about his own age attached to the Danish Legation, who also gave
lessons in languages. Borrow seems to have been greatly attracted to
Hasfeldt, who wrote to him with such cordiality. It was Hasfeldt who
gave to Borrow as a parting gift the silver shekel that he invariably
carried about with him, and which caused him to be hailed as blessed
by the Gibraltar Jews.

In his letter Hasfeldt shows himself a delightful correspondent. His
generous camaraderie seemed to warm Borrow to response, as indeed
well it might. Who could resist the breezy good humour of the
following from a letter addressed to Borrow by Hasfeldt years later?
-


"Do you still eat Pike soup? Do you remember the time when you lived
on that dish for more than six weeks, and came near exterminating the
whole breed? And the pudding that accompanied it, that always lay as
hard as a stone on the stomach? This you surely have not forgotten.
Yes, your kitchen was delicately manipulated by Machmoud, your Tartar
servant, who only needed to give you horse-meat to have merited a
diploma. Do you still sing when you are in a good humour? Doubtless
you are not troubled with many friends to visit you, for you are not
of the sort who are easily understood, nor do you care to have
everyone understand you; you prefer to have people call you grey and
let you gae."


Other friends Borrow made, including Nikolai Ivanovitch Gretch,
{112a} the grammarian, and Friedrich von Adelung, {112b}} who
assisted him with the loan of books and MSS. in Oriental tongues.

The story of Borrow's labours in connection with the printing of the
Manchu version of the New Testament, forms a remarkable study of
unswerving courage and will-power triumphing over apparently
insurmountable obstacles. The mere presence of difficulties seemed
to increase his eagerness and determination to overcome them.
Disappointments he had in plenty; but his indomitable courage and
untiring energy, backed up by the earnest support he received from
Earl Street, enabled him to emerge from his first serious undertaking
with the knowledge that he had succeeded where failure would not have
been discreditable.

He threw himself into his work with characteristic eagerness. At the
end of the first two months he had transcribed the Second Book of
Chronicles and the Gospel of St Matthew. He formed a very high
opinion of the work of the translator, and took the opportunity of
paying a tribute to the followers of Ignatius Loyola (Father Puerot
was a Jesuit). "When," he writes, "did a Jesuit any thing which he
undertook, whether laudable or the reverse, not far better than any
other person?" yet they laboured in vain, for "they thought not of
His glory, but of the glory of their order." {113a}

Borrow discovered that Mr Lipovzoff knew nothing of the Bible
Society's scheme for printing the New Testament in Manchu; but he
found, what was of even greater importance to him, that the old man
knew no European language but Russian. Thus the frequent
conversations and explanations all tended to improve Borrow's
knowledge of the language of the people among whom he was living.

Mr Lipovzoff struck Borrow as being "rather a singular man," as he
took occasion to inform Mr Jowett, apparently utterly indifferent as
to the fate of his translation, excellent though it was. As a matter
of fact, Mr Lipovzoff was occupied with his own concerns, and, as an
official in the Russian Foreign Office, most likely saw the
inexpediency of a too eager enthusiasm for the Bible Society's
Manchu-Tartar programme. He was probably bewildered by the fierce
energy of its honest and compelling agent, who had descended upon St
Petersburg to do the Society's bidding with an impetuosity and
determination foreign to Russian official life. Borrow was on fire
with zeal and impatient of the apathy of those around him.

He soon began to show signs of that singleness of purpose and
resourcefulness that, later, was to arouse so much enthusiasm among
the members of the Bible Society at home. The transcribing and
collating Puerot's version of the Scriptures occupied the remainder
of the year. On the completion of this work, it had been arranged
that Mr Swan should return to his mission-station in Siberia. The
next step was to obtain official sanction to print the Lipovzoff
version of the New Testament. Dr Schmidt, to whom Borrow turned for
advice and information, was apparently very busily occupied with his
own affairs, which included the compilation of a Mongolian Grammar
and Dictionary. The Doctor was optimistic, and promised to make
enquiries about the steps to be taken to obtain the necessary
permission to print; but Borrow heard nothing further from him.


"Thus circumstanced, and being very uneasy in my mind," he writes, "I
determined to take a bold step, and directly and without further
feeling my way, to petition the Government in my own name for
permission to print the Manchu Scriptures. Having communicated this
determination to our beloved, sincere, and most truly Christian
friend Mr Swan (who has lately departed to his station in Siberia,
shielded I trust by the arm of his Master), it met with his perfect
approbation and cordial encouragement. I therefore drew up a
petition, and presented it with my own hand to His Excellence Mr
Bludoff, Minister of the Interior." {114a}


The minister made reply that he doubted his jurisdiction in the
matter; but that he would consider. Fearful lest the matter should
miscarry or be shelved, Borrow called on the evening of the same day
upon the British Minister, the Hon. J. D. Bligh, "a person of superb
talents, kind disposition, and of much piety," {114b} whose
friendship Borrow had "assiduously cultivated," and who had shown him
"many condescending marks of kindness." {114c} But Mr Bligh was out.
Nothing daunted, Borrow wrote a note entreating his interest with the
Russian officials. On calling for an answer in the morning, he was
received by Mr Bligh, when "he was kind enough to say that if I
desired it he would apply officially to the Minister, and exert all
his influence in his official character in order to obtain the
accomplishment of my views, but at the same time suggested that it
would, perhaps, be as well at a private interview to beg it as a
personal favour." {115a}

There was hesitation, perhaps suspicion, in official quarters. It is
easy to realise that the Government was not eager to assist the agent
of an institution closely allied to the Russian Bible Society, which
it had recently been successful in suppressing. It might with
impunity suppress a Society; but in George Borrow it soon became
evident that the officials had to deal with a man of purpose and
determination who used a British Minister as a two-edged sword.
Borrow was invited to call at the Asiatic Department: he did so, and
learned that if permission were granted, Mr Lipovzoff (who was a
clerk in the Department) was to be censor (over his own translation!)
and Borrow editor. There was still the "If." Borrow waited a
fortnight, then called on Mr Bligh. By great good chance Mr Bludoff
was dining that evening with the British Minister. The same night
Borrow received a message requesting him to call on Mr Bludoff the
next day. On presenting himself he was given a letter to the
Director of Worship, which he delivered without delay, and was told
to call again on the first day of the following week.

"On calling there I FOUND THAT PERMISSION HAD BEEN GRANTED TO PRINT
THE MANCHU SCRIPTURE." {115b} Baron Schilling had rendered some
assistance in getting the permission, and Borrow was requested to
inform him of "the deep sense of obligation" of the Bible Society, to
which was added a present of some books.

Borrow clearly viewed this as only a preliminary success; he had in
mind the eventual printing of the whole Bible. He was beginning to
feel conscious of his own powers. Mr Swan had gone, and upon
Borrow's shoulders rested the whole enterprise. A mild wave of
enthusiasm passed over the Head Office at Earl Street on receipt of
the news that permission to print had been obtained.

"You cannot conceive," Borrow wrote to Mr Jowett, "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." {116a}
Well might he underline the word "assistant." In this same letter,
with a spasmodic flicker of the old self-confidence, he adds, "In
regard to what we have yet to do, let it be borne in mind, that we
are by no means dependent upon Mr Lipovzoff, 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." Borrow seems to have formed no very high
opinion of Mr Lipovzoff's capacity for affairs, although he
recognised his skill as a translator.

At first Borrow seems to have found the severity of the winter very
trying. "The cold when you go out into it," he writes to his mother
(1st/13th Feb. 1834), "cuts your face like a razor, and were you not
to cover it with furs the flesh would be bitten off. The rooms in
the morning are heated with a stove as hot as ovens, and you would
not be able to exist in one for a minute; but I have become used to
them and like them much, though at first they made me dreadfully sick
and brought on bilious headaches."

There was still at the Sarepta House, the premises of the Bible
Society's bankers in St Petersburg, the box of Manchu type, which had
not been examined since the river floods. In addition to this, the
only other Manchu characters in St Petersburg belonged to Baron
Schilling, who possessed a small fount of the type, which he used
"for the convenience of printing trifles in that tongue," as Borrow
phrased it. This was to be put at Borrow's disposal if necessary;
but first the type at the Sarepta House had to be examined. Borrow's
plan was, provided the type were not entirely ruined, to engage the
services of a printer who was accustomed to setting Mongolian
characters, which are very similar to those of Manchu, who would, he
thought, be competent to undertake the work. He suggested following
the style of the St Matthew's Gospel already printed, giving to each
Gospel and the Acts a volume and printing the Epistles and the
Apocalypse in three more, making eight volumes in all.

These he proposed putting "in a small thin wooden case, covered with
blue stuff, precisely after the manner of Chinese books, in order
that they may not give offence to the eyes of the people for whom
they are intended by a foreign and unusual appearance, for the mere
idea that they are barbarian books would certainly prevent them being
read, and probably cause their destruction if ever they found their
way into the Chinese Empire." {117a} Borrow left nothing to chance;
he thought out every detail with great care before venturing to put
his plans into execution.

Although busily occupied in an endeavour to stimulate Russian
government officials to energy and decision, Borrow was not
neglecting what had been so strongly urged upon him, the perfecting
of himself in the Manchu dialect. In reply to an enquiry from Mr
Jowett as to what manner of progress he was making, he wrote


"For some time past I have taken lessons from a person who was
twelve years in Pekin, and who speaks Manchu and Chinese with
fluency. I pay him about six shillings English for each lesson,
which I grudge not, for the perfect acquirement of Manchu is one of
my most ardent wishes." {118a}