He had not been a week in St.Petersburg before he had gained the regard of one, William Glen, who, in 1825, had been engaged by the Bible Society to translate the Old Testament into Persian.

The clever Scot, of whom Borrow was informed by a competent judge that he was 'a Persian scholar of the first water,' was probably too heretical for the Society which recalled him, much to his chagrin.
'He is a very learned man, but of very simple and unassuming manners,' wrote Borrow to Jowett.[100] His version of the _Psalms_ appeared in 1830, and of _Proverbs_ in 1831.

Thus he was going home in despair, but seems to have had good talk on the way with Borrow in St.Petersburg.

In 1845 his complete Old Testament in Persian appeared in Edinburgh.

This William Glen has been confused with another William Glen, a law student, who taught Carlyle Greek, but they had nothing in common.