"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,