as
the old Saxon does from the modern English. Therefore it cannot
be of the slightest utility to any but the learned, that is, to
about ten individuals in one thousand. I hope and trust that
the Almighty will see fit to open some door for the
illumination of this country, for it is not to be wondered if
vice and crime be very prevalent here when the people are
ignorant of the commandments of God. Is it to be wondered that
the people follow their every day pursuits on the Sabbath when
they know not the unlawfulness of so doing? Is it to be
wondered that they steal when only in dread of the laws of the
country, and are not deterred by the voice of conscience which
only exists in a few. This accounts for their profanation of
their Sabbath, their proneness to theft, etc. It is only
surprising that so much goodness is to be found in their nature
as is the case, for they are mild, polite, and obliging, and in
most of their faces is an expression of great kindness and
benignity. I find that the slight knowledge which I possess of
the Russian tongue is of the utmost service to me here, for the
common opinion in England that only French and German are
spoken by persons of any respectability in Petersburg is a
great and injurious error. The nobility, it is true, for the
most part speak French when necessity obliges them, that is,
when in company with foreigners who are ignorant of Russian,
but the affairs of most people who arrive in Petersburg do not
lie among the nobility, therefore a knowledge of the language
of the country, unless you associate solely with your own
countrymen, is indispensable. The servants speak no language
but their native tongue, and also nine out of ten of the middle
classes of Russians. I might as well address Mr. Lipoftsof, who
is to be my coadjutor in the edition of the New Testament (in
Manchu) in Hebrew as in either French or German, for though he
can read the first a little he cannot speak a word of it or
understand when spoken. I will now conclude by wishing you all
possible happiness. I have the honour to be, etc.,

GEORGE BORROW.

When the work was done at so great a cost of money,[107] and of energy
and enthusiasm on the part of George Borrow, it was found that the books
were useless. Most of these New Testa