MAY 1–13, 1838
ON the morning of 30th April, whilst at breakfast, Borrow, according to
his own account, received a visit from a man who announced that he was “A
Police Agent.” He came from the Civil Governor, who was perfectly aware
that he, Borrow, was continuing in secret to dispose of the “evil books”
that he had been forbidden to sell. The man began poking round among the
books and papers that were lying about, with the result that Borrow led
his visitor by the arm down the three flights of stairs into the street,
“looking him steadfastly in the face the whole time,” and subsequently
sending down by his landlady the official’s sombrero, which, in the
unexpectedness of his departure, he had left behind him.
The official report of Pedro Martin de Eugenio, the police agent in
question, runs as follows:—
MADRID, 30_th_ _April_ 1838.
OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE POLICE AGENT OF THE LANGUAGE HELD BY MR
BORROW.
_Public Security_.—In virtue of an order from His Excellency the
Civil Governor, {231} I went to seize the Copies Entitled the Gospel
of St Luke, in the Shop Princes Street No. 25, belonging to Mr George
Borrow, but not finding him there; I went to his lodgings, which are
in St James Street, No. 16, on the third floor and presenting the
said order to Him He read it, and with an angry look threw it on the
ground saying, that He had nothing to do with the Civil Governor,
that He was authorised by His Ambassador to sell the Work in
question, and that an English Stable Boy, is more than any Spanish
Civil Governor, and that I had forcibly entered his house, to which I
replied that I only went there to communicate the order to Him, as
proprietor as he was of the said Shop, and to seize the Copies in it
in virtue of that Order, and He answered I might do as I liked, that
He should go to the House of His Ambassador, and that I should be
responsible for the consequences; to which I replied that He had
personally insulted the Civil Governor and all Spain, to which He
answered in the same terms, holding the same language as above
stated.
All of which I communicate to you for the objects required.
THE POLICE AGENT
PEDRO MARTIN DE EUGENIO. {232a}
Borrow felt that the fellow had been sent to entrap him into some
utterance that should justify his arrest. In any case a warrant was
issued that same morning. The news caused Borrow no alarm; for one thing
he was indifferent to danger, for another he was desirous of studying the
robber language of Spain, and had already, according to his own
statement, {232b} made an unsuccessful effort to obtain admission to the
city prison.
The official account of the interview between Borrow and the “Police
Agent” is given in the following letter from the Civil Governor to Sir
George Villiers:—
To the British Minister,—
MADRID, 30_th_ _April_ 1838.
SIR,
The Vicar of the Diocese having, on the 16th and 26th Instant,
officially represented to me, that neither the publication nor the
sale of the Gospel of St Luke translated into the romain, or Gitano
Dialect ought to be permitted, until such time as the translation had
been examined and approved by the competent Ecclesiastical Authority,
in conformity with the Canonical and Civil regulations existing on
the matter, I gave an order to a dependent of this civil
administration, to present himself in the house of Mr George Borrow,
a British Subject, charged by the London Bible Society with the
publication of this work, and to seize all the Copies of it. In
execution of this order my Warrant was yesterday morning {233}
presented to the said Mr George Borrow; who, so far from obeying it,
broke out in insults most offensive to my authority, threw the order
on the ground with angry gestures, and grossly abused the bearer of
it, and said that he had nothing to do with the Civil Governor. The
detailed report in writing which has been made to me of this
disageeeable occurrence could not but deeply affect me, being a
question of a British Subject, to whom the Government of Her Catholic
Majesty has always afforded the same protection as to its own. As
Executor of the Law it is my duty to cause its decrees to be
inviolably observed; and you will well understand, that both the
Canonical as the Civil Laws now existing, in this kingdom, relative
to writings and works published upon Dogmas, Morals, and holy and
religious matters, are the same without distinction for the Subjects
of all Countries residing in Spain. No one can be permitted to
violate them with impunity, without detriment to the Laws themselves,
to the Royal Authority and to the Evangelical Moral which is highly
interested in preventing the propagation of doctrines which may be
erroneous, and that the purity of the sublime maxims of our divine
Faith should remain intact.
In conformity with these undeniable principles, which are in the Laws
of all civilised nations, you must acknowledge that the offensive
conduct of Mr George Borrow, and his disobedience to a legitimate
Authority sufficiently authorised the proceeding to his arrest . . .
I have, etc., etc.
DEIGO DE ENTRENA.
The “Police Agent” seems to have boasted that within twenty-four hours
Borrow would be in prison; Borrow, on the other hand, determined to prove
the “Police Agent” wrong. He therefore spent the rest of the day and the
following night at a café. {234a} In the evening he received a visit
from Maria Diaz, {234b} his landlady and also his strong adherent and
friend, whom he had informed of his whereabouts. From her he learned
that his lodgings had been searched and that the _alguazils_, who bore a
warrant for his arrest, were much disappointed at not finding him.
The next morning, 1st May, at the request of Sir George Villiers, Borrow
called at the Embassy and narrated every circumstance of the affair, with
the result that he was offered the hospitality of the Embassy, which he
declined. Whilst in conversation with Mr Sothern, Sir George Villiers’
private secretary, Borrow’s Basque servant Francisco rushed in with the
news that the _alguazils_ were again at his rooms searching among his
papers, whereat Borrow at once left the Embassy, determined to return to
his lodgings. Immediately afterwards he was arrested, {234c} within
sight of the doors of the Embassy, and conducted to the office of the
Civil Governor. Francisco in the meantime, acting on his master’s
instructions, conveyed to him in Basque that the _alguazils_ might not
understand, proceeded immediately to the British Embassy and informed Sir
George Villiers of what had just taken place, with such eloquence and
feeling that Mr Sothern afterwards remarked to Borrow, “That Basque of
yours is a noble fellow,” and asked to be given the refusal of his
services should Borrow ever decide to part with him. With his dependents
Borrow was always extremely popular, even in Spain, where, according to
Mr Sothern, a man’s servant seemed to be his worst enemy.
Borrow submitted quietly to his arrest and was first taken to the office
of the Civil Governor (_Gefatura Politica_), and subsequently to the
Carcel de la Corte, by two Salvaguardias, “like a common malefactor.”
Here he was assigned a chamber that was “large and lofty, but totally
destitute of every species of furniture with the exception of a huge
wooden pitcher, intended to hold my daily allowance of water.” {235} For
this special accommodation Borrow was to pay, otherwise he would have
been herded with the common criminals, who existed in a state of foulness
and misery. Acting on the advice of the _Alcayde_, Borrow despatched a
note to Maria Diaz, with the result that when Mr Sothern arrived, he
found the prisoner not only surrounded by his friends and furniture, but
enjoying a comfortable meal, whereat he laughed heartily.
Borrow learned that, immediately on hearing what had taken place, Sir
George Villiers had despatched Mr Sothern to interview Señor Entrena, the
Civil Governor, who rudely referred him to his secretary, and refused to
hold any communication with the British Legation save in writing.
Nothing further could be done that night, and on hearing that Borrow was
determined to remain in durance, even if offered his liberty, now that he
had been illegally placed there, Mr Sothern commended his resolution.
The Government had put itself grievously in the wrong, and Sir George,
who had already sent a note to Count Ofalia demanding redress, seemed
desirous of making it as difficult for them as possible, now that they
had perpetrated this wanton outrage on a British subject. He determined
to make it a national affair.
It is by no means certain that Borrow was anxious to leave the _Carcel de
la Corte_, even with the apologies of Spain in his pocket. The prison
afforded him unique opportunities for the study of criminal vagabonds.
An entirely new phase of life presented itself to him, and, but for this
arrest and his subsequent decision to involve the authorities in
difficulties, _The Bible in Spain_ would have lacked some of its most
picturesque pages. It would have been strange if he had not encountered
some old friend or acquaintance in the prison of the Spanish capital. At
the _Carcel de la Corte_ he found the notorious and immense Gitana,
Aurora, who had fallen into the hands of the _Busné_ for defrauding a
rather foolish widow.
“A great many people came to see me,” Borrow wrote to his mother,
“amongst others, General Quiroga, the Military Governor, who assured me
that all he possessed was at my service. The Gypsies likewise came, but
were refused admittance.” His dinner was taken to him from an inn, and
Sir George Villiers sent his butler each day to make enquiries. There
was, however, one very unpleasant feature of his prison life, the
verminous condition of the whole building. In spite of having fresh
linen taken to him each day, he suffered very much from what the polished
Spaniard prefers to call _miseria_.
Sir George Villiers took active and immediate steps, not only to secure
Borrow’s release, but to obtain an unqualified apology. Referring to the
letter he had received from the Civil Governor (30th April), he expressed
himself as convinced that “a gentleman of Borrow’s character and
education was incapable of the conduct alleged,” and had accordingly
requested Mr Sothern to enquire into the matter and then to call upon the
Civil Governor to explain in what manner he had been misinformed. As the
Civil Governor refused to receive Mr Sothern, Sir George adds that he
need trouble him no further, as the affair had been placed before Her
Catholic Majesty’s Government; but during his five years of office at the
Court of Madrid, he proceeded, “no circumstance has occurred likely to be
more prejudicial to the relations between the two Countries than the
insult and imprisonment to which a respectable Englishman has now been
subjected upon the unsupported evidence of a Police Officer,” acting
under the orders of the Civil Governor.
On 3rd May Sir George Villiers wrote again to Count Ofalia, reminding him
that he had not received the letter from him that he had expected. In
the course of a lengthy recapitulation of the occurrences of the past ten
days, Sir George reminded Count Ofalia that, as a result of their
interview on 30th April about the ill-usage of Borrow, the Count had
written on 1st May to him a private letter stating that measures had been
taken to release Borrow on _parole_, he to appear when necessary, and
that if Sir George would abstain from making a written remonstrance,
Count Ofalia would see that both he and Borrow received the ample
satisfaction to which they were entitled. Borrow had been taken by two
Guards “like a Malefactor, to the Common Prison, where he would have been
confined with Criminals of every description if he had not had money to
pay for a Cell to Himself.” The British Minister complained that every
step that he had taken for Borrow’s protection was followed by fresh
insult, and he further intimated that Borrow refused to leave the prison
until his character had been publicly cleared.
The Spanish Government now found itself in a quandary. The British
Minister was pressing for satisfaction, and he was too powerful and too
important to the needs of Spain to be offended. The prisoner himself
refused to be liberated, because he had been illegally arrested, inasmuch
as he, a foreigner, had been committed to prison without first being
conducted before the Captain-General of Madrid, as the law provided.
Furthermore, Borrow advised the authorities that if they chose to eject
him from the prison he would resist with all his bodily strength. In
this determination he was confirmed by the British Minister.
A Cabinet Council was held, at which Señor Entrena was present. The
Premier explained the serious situation in which the ministry found
itself, owing to the attitude assumed by the British Minister, and he
remarked that the Civil Governor must respect the privileges of
foreigners. Señor Entrena suggested that he should be relieved of his
duties; but the majority of the Cabinet seems to have been favourable to
him. The _Affaire Borrow_ is said to have come up for debate even during
a secret session of the Chamber.
When Count Ofalia had called at the British Embassy (4th May) he was
informed by Sir George Villiers that the affair had passed beyond the
radius of a subordinate authority of the Government, and that he
“considered that great want of respect had been shown to me, as Her
Majesty’s Minister, and that an unjustifiable outrage had been committed
upon a British Subject,” {238a} and that the least reparation that he was
disposed to accept was a written declaration that an injustice had been
done, and the dismissal of the Police Officer. {238b}
The value of a British subject’s freedom was brought home to the Spanish
Government with astonishing swiftness and decision. The Civil Governor
wrote to Sir George Villiers (3rd May), apparently at the instance of the
distraught premier, discoursing sagely upon the Civil and Canon Laws of
Spain, and adding that the 25 copies of the Gitano St Luke were seized,
“not as being confiscated, but as a deposit to be restored in due time.”
He concluded by hoping that he had convinced the British Minister of his
good faith.
In his reply, Sir George considered that the Civil Governor had been led
to view the matter in a light that would not “bear the test of impartial
examination.” The result of this interchange of letters was twofold.
Sir George dropped the correspondence with “that Functionary [who]
displays so complete a disregard for fact,” {239a} and as Count Ofalia
evaded the real question at issue, holding out “slender hopes of the
matter ending in the reparation which I considered to be peremptorily
called for,” {239b} he advised Borrow to claim protection from the
Captain-General, the only authority competent to exercise any
jurisdiction over him. The Captain-General Quiroga, jealous of his
authority, entered warmly into the dispute and ordered the Civil Governor
to hand over the case to him. There was now a danger of the _Affaire
Borrow_ being made a party question, in which case it would have been
extremely difficult to settle.
The intervention of the Captain-General rendered all the more obvious the
illegality of the Civil Governor’s action, and increased the
embarrassment of Count Ofalia, who called on Sir George to ask him to
have Borrow’s memorial to the Captain-General withdrawn. He refused, and
said the only way now to finish the affair was that “His Excellency
should in an official Note declare to me that Mr Borrow left the prison,
where he had been improperly placed, with unstained honour,—that the
Police Agent, upon whose testimony he had been arrested, should be
dismissed,—that all expenses imposed upon Mr Borrow by his detention
should be repaid him by the Government,—that Mr Borrow’s not having
availed himself of the ‘Fuero Militar’ should not be converted into a
precedent, or in any way be considered to prejudice that important right,
and that Count Ofalia should add with reference to maintaining the
friendly relations between Great Britain and Spain, that he hoped I would
accept this satisfaction as sufficient.” {240a}
Borrow states that Sir George Villiers went to the length of informing
Count Ofalia that unless full satisfaction were accorded Borrow, he would
demand his passports and instruct the commanders of the British war
vessels to desist from furnishing further assistance to Spain. {240b}
There is, however, no record of this in the official papers sent by Sir
George to the Foreign Office. What actually occurred was that, on 8th
May, the British Minister, determined to brook no further delay, wrote a
grave official remonstrance, in which he stated that, “if the desire had
existed to bring it to a close,” the case of Borrow could have been
settled. “Having up to the present moment,” he proceeds, “trusted that
in Your Excellency’s hands, this affair would be treated with all that
consideration required by its nature and the consequences that may follow
upon it . . . I have forborne from denouncing the whole extent of the
illegality which has marked the proceedings of the case” (viz., the Civil
Governor’s having usurped the right of the Captain-General of the
Province in causing Borrow’s arrest). In conclusion, Sir George states
that he considers the
“case of most pressing importance, for it may compromise the
relations now existing between Great Britain and Spain. It is one
that requires a complete satisfaction, for the honor of England and
the future position of Englishmen in the Country are concerned; and
the satisfaction, in order to be complete, required to be promptly
given.”
“This disagreeable business,” Sir George writes in another of his
despatches, “is rendered yet more so by the impossibility of
defending with success all Mr Borrow’s proceedings . . . His
imprudent zeal likewise in announcing publicly that the Bible Society
had a depôt of Bibles in Madrid, and that he was the Agent for their
sale, irritated the Ecclesiastical Authorities, whose attention has
of late been called to the proceedings of a Mr Graydon,—another agent
of the Bible Society, who has created great excitement at Malaga (and
I believe in other places) by publishing in the Newspapers that the
Catholic Religion was not the religion of God, and that he had been
sent from England to convert Spaniards to Protestantism. I have upon
more than one occasion cautioned Mr Graydon, but in vain, to be more
prudent. The Methodist Society of England is likewise endeavouring
to establish a School at Cadiz, and by that means to make
conversions.
“Under all these circumstances it is not perhaps surprising that the
Archbishop of Toledo and the Heads of the Church should be alarmed
that an attempt at Protestant Propagandism is about to be made, or
that the Government should wish to avert the evils of religious
schism in addition to all those which already weigh upon the Country;
and to these different causes it must, in some degree, be attributed
that Mr Borrow has been an object of suspicion and treated with such
extreme rigor. Still, however, they do not justify the course
pursued by the Civil Governor towards him, or by the Government
towards myself, and I trust Your Lordship will consider that in the
steps I have taken upon the matter, I have done no more than what the
National honor, and the security of Englishmen in this Country,
rendered obligatory upon me.” {241a}
Whilst Borrow was in the _Carcel de la Corte_, a grave complication had
arisen in connection with the misguided Lieutenant Graydon. Borrow gives
a strikingly dramatic account {241b} of Count Ofalia’s call at the
British Embassy. He is represented as arriving with a copy of one of
Graydon’s bills, which he threw down upon a table calling upon Sir George
Villiers to read it and, as a gentleman and the representative of a great
and enlightened nation, tell him if he could any longer defend Borrow and
say that he had been ill or unfairly treated. According to the Foreign
Office documents, Count Ofalia _wrote_ to Sir George Villiers on 5th May,
_enclosing_ a copy of an advertisement inserted by Lieutenant Graydon in
the _Boletin Oficial de Malaga_, which, translated, runs as follows:—
“The Individual in question most earnestly calls the greatest
attention of each member of the great Spanish Family to this _divine_
Book, in order that _through it_ he may learn the chief cause, if not
the _sole one_, of all his terrible afflictions and of his _only_
remedy, as it is so clearly manifested in the Holy Scripture . . . A
detestable system of superstition and fanaticism, _only greedy for
money_, and not so either of the temporal or eternal felicity of man,
has prevailed in Spain (as also in other Nations) during several
Centuries, by the _absolute_ exclusion of the true knowledge of the
Great God and last Judge of Mankind: and thus it has been plunged
into the most frightful calamities. There was a time in which
precisely the same was read in the then _very little_ Kingdom of
England, but at length Her Sons recognising their imperative _Duty_
towards God and their Neighbour, as also their unquestionable rights,
and that since the world exists it has never been possible to gather
grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles, they destroyed the system
and at the price of their blood chose the Bible. Oh that the
unprejudiced and enlightened inhabitants not only of Malaga and of so
many other Cities, but of all Spain, would follow so good an
example.” {242a}
The result of Graydon’s advertisement was that “the people flocked in
crowds to purchase it [the Bible], so much so that 200 copies, all that
were in Mr Graydon’s possession at the time, were sold in the course of
the day. The Bishop sent the Fiscal to stop the sale of the work, but
before the necessary measures were taken they were all disposed of.”
{242b} In consequence Graydon “was detained and under my [the Consul’s]
responsibility allowed to remain at large.” {243a} A jury of nine all
pronounced the article to contain “matter subject to legal process”
{243b} but a second jury of twelve at the subsequent public trial
“unanimously absolved” Graydon.
Sir George Villiers acknowledged the letter from Count Ofalia (9th May)
saying that he had written to Graydon warning him to be more cautious in
future. He stated that from personal knowledge he could vouch for the
purity of Lieutenant Graydon’s intentions; but he regretted that he
should have announced his object in so imprudent a manner as to give
offence to the ministers of the Catholic religion of Spain. In a
despatch to Lord Palmerston he states that he has not thought it in the
interests of the Bible Society to defend this conduct of Graydon, “whose
zeal appears so little tempered by discretion,” {243c} as he had written
to Count Ofalia. “Had I done so,” he proceeds, “and thereby tended to
confirm some of the idle reports that are current, that England had a
national object to serve in the propagation of Protestantism in Spain, it
is not improbable that a legislative Enactment might have been introduced
by some Member of the Cortes, which would be offensive to England, and
render it yet more difficult than it is the task the Bible Society seems
desirous to undertake in this Country.” {243d} Sir George concludes by
saying that he gave to “these Agents the best advice and assistance in my
power, but if by their acts they infringe the laws of the Country,” it
will be impossible to defend them.
Sir George thought so seriously of the _Affaire Borrow_, as endangering
the future liberty of Englishmen in Spain, that he went so far as to send
a message to the Queen Regent, “by a means which I always have at my
disposal,” {244a} in which he told her that he thought the affair “might
end in a manner most injurious to the continuance of friendly relations
between the two Countries.” {244b} He received a gracious assurance that
he should have satisfaction. Later there reached him
“a second message from the Queen Regent expressing Her Majesty’s hope
that Count Ofalia’s Note [of 11th May] would be satisfactory to me,
and stating that Her Ministers had so fully proved their incompetency
by giving any just cause of complaint to the Minister of Her only
real Friend and Ally, The Queen of England, that she should have
dismissed them, were it not that the state of affairs in the Northern
Provinces at this moment might be prejudiced by a change of
Government, which Her Majesty said she knew no one more than myself
would regret, but at the same time if I was not satisfied I had only
to state what I required and it should be immediately complied with.
My answer was confined to a grateful acknowledgement of Her Majesty’s
condescension and kindness. Count Ofalia has informed me that as
President of the Council He had enjoined all his Colleagues never to
take any step directly or indirectly concerning an Englishman without
a previous communication with Him as to its propriety, and I
therefore venture to hope that the case of Mr Borrow will not be
unattended with ultimate advantage to British subjects in Spain.”
{244c}
The “Note” referred to by the Queen Regent in her message was Count
Ofalia’s acquiescence in Sir George Villiers’ demands, with the exception
of the dismissal of the Police Officer. His communication runs:—
“11_th_ _May_ 1838.
“SIR,—The affair of Mr Borrow is already decided by the Judge of
First Instance and his decision has been approved by the Superior or
Territorial Court of the Province. As I stated to you in my note of
the fourth last, the foundation of the arrest of Mr Borrow, who was
detained (and not committed), was an official communication from the
Agent of Police, Don Pedro Martin de Eugenio, in which he averred
that on intimating to Mr Borrow the written order of the Civil
Governor relative to the seizure of a book which he had published and
exposed for sale without complying with the forms prescribed by the
Civil and Ecclesiastical Laws of Spain, he (Mr Borrow) had thrown on
the floor the order of the Superior Authority of the Province and
used offensive expressions with regard to the said Authority.
“The judicial proceedings have had for their object the ascertainment
of the fact. Mr Borrow has denied the truth of the statement and the
Agent of Police, who it appears entered the lodgings of Mr Borrow
without being accompanied by any one, has been unable to confirm by
evidence what he alleged in his official report, or to produce the
testimony of any one in support of it.
“This being the case the judge has declared and the Territorial Court
approved the superceding of the cause, putting Mr Borrow immediately
at complete liberty, with the express declaration that the arrest he
has suffered in no wise affects his honor and good fame, and that the
‘_celador_ of Public Security,’ Don Pedro Martin de Eugenio, be
admonished for the future to proceed in the discharge of his duty
with proper respect and circumspection according to the condition and
character of the persons whom he has to address.
“In accordance with the judicial decision and anxious to give
satisfaction to Mr Borrow, correcting at the same time the fault of
the Agent of Police in having presented himself without being
accompanied by any person in order to effect the seizure in the
lodging of Mr Borrow, Her Majesty has thought proper to command that
the aforesaid Don Pedro Martin de Eugenio be suspended from his
office for the space of Four Months, an order which I shall
communicate to the Minister of the Interior, and that Mr Borrow be
indemnified for the expenses which may have been incurred by his
lodging in the apartment of the Alcaide (chief gaoler or Governor)
for the days of his detention, although even before the expiration of
24 hours after his arrest he was permitted to return to his house
under his word of honor during the judicial proceedings, as I stated
to you in my note already cited. I flatter myself that in this
determination you as well as your Government will see a fresh proof
of the desire which animates that of H.M. the Queen Regent to
maintain and draw closer the relation of friendship and alliance
existing between the two countries. And with respect to the claim
advanced by Mr Borrow, and of which you also make mention in Your
Note of the 8th inst., I ought to declare to you that when the Judge
of First Instance received official information of the said claim the
business was already concluded in his tribunal, and consequently
there was nothing to be done. Without, for this reason, there being
understood any innovation with respect to the matter of privilege
(_fuero_) according as it is now established.” {246a}
Borrow was liberated with unsullied honour on 12th May, after twelve
days’ imprisonment. He refused the compensation that Sir George Villiers
had made a condition, and later wrote to the Bible Society asking that
there might be deducted from the amount due to him the expenses of the
twelve days. He states also that he refused to acquiesce in the
dismissal of the Agent of Police, by which he doubtless means his
suspension, giving as a reason that there might be a wife and family
likely to suffer. In any case the man was only carrying out his
instructions. Borrow’s reason for refusing the payment of his expenses
was that he was unwilling to afford them, the Spanish Government, an
opportunity of saying that after they had imprisoned an Englishman
unjustly, and without cause, he condescended to receive money at their
hands. {246b}
The greatest loss to Borrow, consequent upon his imprisonment, no
government could make good. His faithful Basque, Francisco, had
contracted typhus, or gaol fever, that was raging at the time, and died
within a few days of his master’s release. “A more affectionate creature
never breathed,” Borrow wrote to Mr Brandram. The poor fellow, who, “to
the strength of a giant joined the disposition of a lamb . . . was
beloved even in the _patio_ of the prison, where he used to pitch the bar
and wrestle with the murderers and felons, always coming off victor.”
{247a} The next day Antonio presented himself at Borrow’s lodging, and
without invitation or comment assumed the duties he had relinquished in
order that he might enjoy the excitements of change. “Who should serve
you now but myself?” he asked when questioned as to the meaning of his
presence, “N’est pas que le sieur François est mort!” {247b}
John Hasfeldt’s comment on his friend’s imprisonment was characteristic.
In September 1838 he wrote:—
“The very last I heard of you is that you have had the great good
fortune to be stopping in the _carcel de corte_ at Madrid, which
pleasing intelligence I found in the _Preussiche Staats-Zeitung_ this
last spring. If you were fatter no doubt the monks would have got up
an _Auto de Fé_ on your behalf, and you might easily have become a
nineteenth-century martyr. Then your strange life would have been
hawked about the streets of London for one penny, though you never
obtained a fat living to eat and drink and take your ease after all
the hardships you have endured.”