He left Norwich for St Petersburg on 13 August 1833. Borrow was charged by the Bible Society with supervising a translation of the Bible into Manchu. As a traveller, he was overwhelmed by the beauty of St Petersburg: "Notwithstanding I have previously heard and read much of the beauty and magnificence of the Russian capital... There can be no doubt that it is the finest City in Europe, being pre-eminent for the grandeur of its public edifices and the length and regularity of its streets."