stated that my next would be dated either from Santander or the capital
of Spain. I arrived yesterday at Madrid, but I previously visited
Santander, which I reached with my usual good fortune, without accident,
after a fatiguing journey of six days. When there, I found to my great
sorrow that the two hundred Testaments which I had ordered to be sent
from Madrid were not come; and I supposed that they had either been
seized on the way by the Carlists or that my letter had miscarried. {256}
I then thought of applying to England for a supply, but I abandoned the
idea for two reasons; first, that I should have to remain idly loitering
at Santander for at least a month before I could receive them--a place
where every article is so dear that my expenses with the strictest
economy would have amounted to nearly two pounds _per diem_; secondly,
that I was very unwell, and unable to procure medical advice at
Santander: for, to tell the truth, ever since I left Corunna I have been
afflicted with a terrible dysentery, and latterly with an ophthalmia, the
result of the other malady.
I therefore determined on returning to Madrid. To effect this, however,
seemed almost impossible. Parties of the army of Don Carlos, which in a
partial degree had been routed in Castile, were hovering about the
country through which I should have to pass, more especially that part
called 'The Mountains,' so that all communication had ceased between
Santander and the southern districts. Nevertheless I determined to
trust, as usual, in the Almighty and to venture. I purchased, therefore,
a small horse and sallied forth with Antonio, notwithstanding I was so
unwell as to be scarcely able to support myself. I wished to have
written to you from Santander, but I was exceedingly dispirited and could
not collect my thoughts. Before departing, I of course entered into
conference with the booksellers as to what they should do in the event of
my finding an opportunity of sending them a stock of Testaments from
Madrid, and having arranged things to my satisfaction I committed myself
to Providence. I will not dwell long on this journey of three hundred
miles. We were in the midst of the fire, yet, strange to say, escaped
without a hair being singed; robberies, murders, and all kinds of
atrocity were perpetrated before, behind, and on both sides of us, but
not so much as a dog barked at _us_, though in one instance a plan had
been laid to intercept us. About four leagues from Santander, whilst we
were baiting our horses at a village hostelry, I saw a fellow run off
after having held a whispering conversation with a boy who was dealing
out barley to us. I instantly enquired of the latter what the man had
said to him, but only obtained an evasive answer. It appeared afterwards
that the conversation was about ourselves. Two or three leagues further
on there was an inn and village, where we had proposed staying, and
indeed had expressed our intention of doing so; but on arriving there,
finding that the sun was still far from its bourn, I determined to
proceed further, expecting to find a resting-place at the distance of a
league; though I was mistaken, finding none until we reached Montaneda,
nine leagues and a half from Santander, where was stationed a small
detachment of soldiers. At the dead of night we were aroused from our
sleep by a cry that the 'factious' were not far off. A messenger had
arrived from the _Alcalde_ of the village where we had previously
intended staying, who stated that a party of Carlists had just surprised
that place, and were searching for an English spy whom they supposed to
be at the inn. The officer commanding the soldiers, upon hearing this,
not deeming his own situation a safe one, instantly drew off his men,
falling back on a stronger party stationed in a fortified village near at
hand; as for ourselves we saddled our horses and continued our way in the
dark. Had the Carlists succeeded in apprehending me, I should instantly
have been shot, and my body cast on the rocks to feed the vultures and
wolves. But 'it was not so written'--said my man, who is a Greek and a
fatalist. The next night we had another singular escape; we had arrived
near the entrance of a horrible pass, called _El puerto de la puente de
las tablas_, or the pass of the bridge of planks, which wound through a
black and frightful mountain, on the further side of which was the town
of Onas, where we meant to tarry for the night. The sun had set about a
quarter of an hour. Suddenly a man with his face covered with blood
rushed out of the pass. Turn back, sir,' he said, 'in the name of God;
there are murderers in that pass; they have just robbed me of my mule and
all I possess, and I have hardly escaped with life from their hands.' I
scarcely can say why, but I made him no answer, and proceeded; indeed I
was so weary and unwell that I cared not what became of me. We
entered--the rocks rose perpendicularly right and left, entirely
intercepting the scanty twilight, so that the darkness of the grave, or
rather the blackness of the valley of the shadow of death, reigned around
us, and we knew not where we went, but trusted solely to the instinct of
the horses, who moved on with their heads close to the ground. The only
sound which we heard was the splash of a stream which tumbled down the
pass. I expected every moment to feel a knife at my throat, but--_it was
not so written_. We threaded the pass without meeting a human being, and
within three quarters of an hour after the time we entered it, we found
ourselves within the _posada_ of the town of Onas, which was filled with
troops and armed peasants expecting an attack from the grand Carlist
army, which was near at hand.
Well! we reached Burgos in safety, we reached Valladolid in safety, we
passed the Guadarama in safety, and now we are safely housed in Madrid.
People say we have been very lucky; Antonio says, 'It was so written';
but I say, 'Glory be to the Lord for His mercies vouchsafed.'
I did not find matters in a very prosperous state in Madrid. Few copies
of the New Testament have been sold; yet what else could be rationally
expected in these latter times? Don Carlos with a large army has been at
the gates; plunder and massacre were expected, and people have been too
much occupied in planning to secure their lives and property to have much
time to devote to reading of any description. I have had an interview
with Dr. Usoz, and have just received a most interesting letter from him,
replete with patriotism and piety; amongst other things he says, 'only
circumstances and the public poverty are the cause of the works not
having met with sale at Madrid.' Of this letter I shall send a
translation. It contains some remarks respecting Father Scio's version,
which I consider to be of high importance, and humbly recommend to the
attention of the Committee.
But I am at present in Madrid, and am thus enabled to superintend in
person the measures calculated to secure the sale of the work. I shall
forthwith cause a thousand advertisements to be printed and affixed from
time to time in every part of the city. I shall likewise employ
colporteurs to vend them in the streets, and shall perhaps establish a
stall or small shop, where Testaments and Testaments alone will be
sold.--No exertion of which I am capable will be spared, and if 'the Word
of the Lord' become not speedily better known at Madrid, it will be
because the Lord in His inscrutable wisdom does not so will it.
Whilst in the northern provinces I ordered a hundred copies to be
despatched from Madrid to each of the three great towns, Valencia,
Seville, and Cadiz, with advertisements; I am glad to be able to state
that advice has been received that the books have reached their
destination. At the commencement of the coming year it is my intention
to visit those parts; for no work seems to prosper in Spain which is not
closely attended to by the master. Whilst at Valladolid I ordered all
the copies which remained unsold of the second supply to be sent to
Burgos, and I am now going to despatch a third fifty to the former town,
and a still larger quantity to Oviedo, those which I carried thither
having been all sold during my short stay.
In a few days it is my intention to commit to the press Luke in Basque
and in Rommany, the latter of which versions I propose to carry with me
to Andalusia and Valencia, the two provinces which most abound with the
Rommany-Chai, of whom, by the way, I found no trace in Old Castile,
Galicia, or the Asturias. As for the Basque version, it is probable that
even in Madrid it will not be without demand, as many Biscayans residing
there will doubtless be eager to read the Gospel when placed within their
reach in their native tongue.
I will now conclude by begging pardon for all errors of commission and
omission. I am a frail foolish vessel, and have accomplished but a
slight portion of what I proposed in my vanity. Yet something, though
but little, has been effected by this journey, which I have just brought
to a conclusion. The New Testament of Christ is enjoying a quiet sale in
the principal towns of the north of Spain, and I have secured the
_friendly interest_ and co-operation of the booksellers of those parts,
particularly him, the most considerable of them all, Rey Romero of
Compostella. I have, moreover, by private sale disposed of one hundred
and sixteen Testaments to individuals entirely of the lower classes,
namely, muleteers, carmen, _contrabandistas_, etc.
My accounts will follow in a few days. Now may the Lord bless you, and
dispose you to pray for myself and all in this land of misery and sorrow.
G. B.
To the Rev. A. Brandram
(_Endorsed_: recd. Dec. 2, 1837)
MADRID, No. 16 CALLE ST. IAGO PISO 3RO.
_Novr._ 20, 1837.
REVD. AND DEAR SIR,--On the other side you have an account of the money
which I expended during my journey, and also of what I have laid out in
the Society's service since my return. In respect to my expenses, I wish
to state that most articles are very dear in Spain, especially in the
parts where I have travelled, and that I have been subjected to many
expenses which I have not specified in the account, for example the
gate-dues for the books, in every town where I have introduced them--the
printing of advertisements--and particularly farriers' bills, as the poor
horses were continually ailing from over-work, bad provender and falls
received amongst the mountains. In the account of Testaments sold you
will observe that I make no mention of by far the greater number, namely
those disposed of at Lugo, Saint James, etc., etc., as I have not yet
received the money from the booksellers. About a week since I received
advice from Leon that the forty copies which I had left there had been
all sold, and that the money was in readiness; I have despatched a fresh
supply of fifty to that important town, where last summer I nearly lost
my life in a burning fever. I am expecting every day a fresh order from
Salamanca, and hope that, as the circle widens in the lake into which a
stripling has cast a pebble, so will the circle of our usefulness
continue widening until it has embraced the whole vast region of Spain.
I have delayed writing for nearly a fortnight, as during that period I
have been looking out for a suitable shop in which to commence operations
in Madrid. I have just found one quite to my mind, situated in the
_Calle del Principe_, one of the principal streets. The rent, it is
true, is rather high (eight _reals_ per diem); but a good situation, as
you are well aware, must be paid for. I came to the resolution of
establishing a shop from finding that the Madrid booksellers entrusted
with the Testaments gave themselves no manner of trouble to secure the
sale, and even withheld advertisements from the public with which they
were supplied. But now everything will be on another footing, and I have
sanguine hopes of selling all that remain of the edition within a short
time.
A violent and furious letter against the Bible Society and its
proceedings has lately appeared in a public print; it is prefixed to a
Pastoral of the Spiritual Governor [_i.e._ Bishop] of Valencia, in which
he forbids the sale of the London Bible in that see. About a week since
I inserted in the _Espanol_ an answer to that letter, which answer has
been read and praised. I send you herewith an English translation of it.
You will doubtless deem it too warm and fiery, but tameness and
gentleness are of little avail when surrounded by the vassal slaves of
bloody Rome. It has answered one purpose--it has silenced our
antagonist, who, it seems, is an unprincipled benefice-hunting curate.
As you read Spanish, I have copied his own words respecting the omission
of the Apocrypha; nevertheless, lest you should find some difficulty in
understanding it, I subjoin here the English.
'If the works of Luther were to be given to the world curtailed of their
_principal chapters_, and his maxims and precepts to a certain degree
transformed, what would his followers and disciples do? Would they not
rise with one accord in numerous bands, and, in order to sustain the
honour of their preceptor, would they not recur to the original writings
and produce in his support his manuscripts? Would they not resort to all
kinds of argument to prove the spuriousness of that edition, and employ
declamation and reasoning in order to blacken the illicit and fraudulent
means which the Catholics were employing?' etc., etc., etc.
I deemed it my duty, as Agent of the Bible Society in Spain, not to
permit so brutal an attack upon it to pass unanswered. Indeed I was
called upon by my friends to reply, and though I am adverse to all
theological and political disputes, I feared to refuse, lest the motives
of my silence should be misconstrued. But now I must be permitted to say
(between ourselves) that it was a very unadvised act to send such a Bible
as the London one over to Spain, a Bible which does the editor no credit
and the Society less; and it was a still more unadvised act to advertise
in the prints of Valencia that it would be given _gratis_ to the poor.
Mr. Villiers, whom I consulted, made use of these words: 'How is it
possible for you (meaning myself) to sell books at Madrid and other
places, when it becomes known that those very same books are being given
away at Valencia? Moreover, giving away Bibles to the multitude will
seem to imply that there is some plot or conspiracy in the wind, and the
Government, with some shadow of reason, may be called upon to interfere,
and the proceedings of the Society may be brought to a sudden stop in
Spain.' I hope you will excuse these hints; they are well meant, and in
uttering them I have, as you know, the prosperity of our hallowed cause
solely at heart.
G. B.
(I am still very unwell.)
To the Editors of El Espanol
GENTLEMEN,--My attention has this moment been directed by a friend to a
letter which appeared in your journal of the 5th instant, signed Jose
Francisco Garcia and prefixed to a circular of the Governor of the See of
Valencia, the object of which is to forbid the purchasing or reading of
the Castilian version of the Bible by Father Felipe Scio, as edited in
London by the British and Foreign Bible Society, and which the Agent of
the Society at Valencia has announced for sale.
Did the principles of the Bible Society permit them to rejoice at the
misfortunes of their fellow-creatures, even of their enemies, the style
and tone which the writer of this epistle has, unfortunately for himself
and his cause, adopted, would afford them plenteous matter for
congratulation. He calls himself an ecclesiastic and talks about 'the
sacred duty of his august ministry,' and for the purpose, I suppose, of
showing how strictly he fulfils the precepts of his mild Master and
Redeemer, he styles the Society in question 'an infernal Society,' and
speaks of 'its accursed fecundity.' Goodly words! Charitable words!
May I be permitted to enquire in what part of the sacred writings he
found them recommended? Perhaps in the following text of the Vulgate:--
'Vae vobis Scribae et Pharisaei hypocritae, qui decimatis mentham, et
anethum, et cyminum, et reliquistis quae graviora sunt legis,
_judicium_, _et misericordiam_, et fidem. Haec oportuit facere, et
illa non omittere.'
Matt. cap. xxiii. vers. 23.
Ay de vosotros, Escribas y Phariseos hipocritas, que diezmais la
yerba buena, y el eneldo, y el comino, y habeis dexado las cosas, que
son mas importantes de la Ley, _la justicia_, _y la misericordia_, y
la fe! Esto era menester hacer, y no dexar lo otro.
The British and Foreign Bible Society is an infernal society and
consequently its members, one and all, are children of the devil. Now,
what is required to constitute a child of the devil, according to the
opinion of the Founder of Christianity--of Jesus--the Living Word--the
Eternal God? Let me quote _His_ own words, according to the Vulgate, the
book of the Church of Rome:
'Vos ex patre diabolo estis: et desideria patris vestri vultis
facere. Ille homicida erat ab initio, et in veritate non stetit,
quia non est veritas in eo: cum loquitur mendacium, ex propriis
loquitur, quia mendax est et pater ejus.'
Joan. cap. viii. vers. 44.
'Vosotros sois hijos del diablo, y quereis cumplir los deseos de
vuestro padre: el fue homicida desde el principio, y no permanecio en
la verdad; porque no hay verdad en el: quando habla mentira, de suyo
habla; porque es mentiroso, y padre de la mentira.'
By this it should appear that the infernal Bible Society by the
propagation of the Scriptures merely fulfils the desire of its father the
devil, and disseminates that which is his. Being a child of the devil it
cannot propagate truth; it propagates the Gospel, and nothing
else--_ergo_, the Gospel is a lie and the father of it the devil.
But the Bible Society is accused, not only in the circular, but in the
epistle which introduces it to the _Espanol_, of vending a mutilated and
curtailed version of the holy books. It is accused of omitting six of
the books which are generally bound up with what is denominated the
Bible; viz., Tobias, Judith, Baruch, Sabiduria, Eclesiastico, y 1o y 2o
de los Machabeos. The _Christian ecclesiastic_, the author of the
epistle, in indignation at this omission becomes suddenly argumentative,
and puts a case to the heretics, which he deems in point; 'Si vieran la
luz publica las obras de Lutero mutiladas en sus _principales capitulos_,
y transformadas en cierto modo sus maximas y preceptos; que diligencias
no practicarian sus secuaces y discipulos? Se levantarian a una en
tropas numerosas para sostener el honor de su preceptor, y con el fin de
dejar en su justo lugar a su amado maestre, recurririan a sus escritos
originales, manifestarian en su apoyo los manuscritos, apelarian a todo
linage de argumentos para acreditar la ilegitimidad de aquella edicion, y
emplearian sus declamaciones y raciocinios para ascar los medios rateres
e ilicitos de que se valia el catolicismo.'
Hear it in Gath! hear it in Gilead! hear it on the hills of Israel! yea
let the furthest corners of the earth hear it! The _principal chapters_
of the Bible are not those of the New Testament, which contains the will
and words of the Saviour, by whom we are to be judged--not those of
Isaiah, who foretold so beautifully and distinctly the coming of that
Saviour to the world--not those of Moses, who wrote of things in their
earliest date, and so nobly depicted the progress of the creation,--but
those of the books of Tobit, Baruch, etc., books which the Roman Church
itself has called apocryphal, and the greater part of which exhibit an
internal character of spuriousness which precludes the possibility of
their being the offspring of inspired minds, though they contain some
things useful and instructive, such as may be found in the writings of
the early doctors, who however never claimed nor were deemed to possess
the gift of inspiration from on high.
Let me here ask: what is to be discovered in the chapters of Tobit, etc.,
of first rate importance to the Christian in his worldly pilgrimage, or
which serves to corroborate and illustrate other parts of Scripture?
Above all, is Christ crucified spoken of or hinted at, as in the
authenticated writings of the Prophets? If not, what is their value in
comparison with that of other books of Scripture, even could their
authenticity be proved?
Now to that point. This Christian ecclesiastic calls with a loud voice
upon his brethren to prove by pamphlets and writing the divinity of the
books of Tobit, Judith, etc. Yea, let them accomplish that--let them
bring sufficient evidence that these apocryphal writings were held in
veneration by the Jews, that they enjoyed a place in the sanctuary along
with the inspired writings, let them show that they were penned by
Prophets, above all _let them produce the originals_--and the Bible
Society will immediately admit them into its editions. Why not? I am
not aware that one point of doctrine, either Protestant or Roman, depends
upon their reception or rejection.
In conclusion. What struck me most on the perusal of this singular
epistle, all the main points of which I believe I have tolerably well
answered, and without much trouble, was the ignorance more than childish,
the extraordinary, unaccountable ignorance, which the author displays on
the subject on which he has written, and all which relates to it,
notwithstanding that subject is a religious one, and he, an ecclesiastic
as he gives the world to know, standing forward as champion of the Church
of Rome. He is evidently as well acquainted with Scripture and the works
of the Fathers as with the Talmud and Zend-avesta, and with the ideas and
dogmas of those whom he calls heretics, as with the religious opinions of
the Mongols and the followers of the Lama of the Himalayan hills. The
miserable attack which, in his rancorous feebleness, he has just
committed on the Bible Society will redound merely to his own shame and
ridicule, and the disgrace of the sect to which he belongs. What could
persuade him to speak of the Vulgate? What could induce him to grasp
that two-edged sword? Does it not cut off his own hands? Does the
Vulgate allude to the Bible Society, or to him and his fellows, when it
cries:--
Vae vobis legisperitis, quia tulistis clavem scientiae, ipsi non
introistis: et eos, qui introibant, prohibuistis.--Lucae, cap. xi.
vers. 52.
'Ay de vosotros, Doctores de la Ley que os alzasteis con la llave de
la ciencia! vosotros no entrasteis, y habeis prohibido a los que
entraban.'
And again:--
Qui ex Deo est, verba Dei audit. Propterea vos non auditis, quia ex
Deo non estis.--Joan. cap. viii. vers. 47.
'El que es de Dios, oye las palabras de Dios. Por eso vosotros no
las ois, porque no sois de Dios.'
What could induce him to speak of Luther and his works? What does he,
what do his abettors, know of Luther and his writings, or of the ideas
which the heretics entertain respecting either? I will instruct them.
Luther was a bold inquiring man, with some learning; he read the
Scriptures in the original tongues, and found that their contents were in
entire variance with the doctrines of the Church of the Seven Hills; he
told the world so, as other men had done, with feebler voices, before,
and the best part of the world believed--not him--but the Scripture, for
he gave it to them in a shape which they could understand. The heretics
look not for salvation by the merits either of Luther or Calvin, for
merits they had none--being merely the instruments which Providence
selected to commence a great work which He has hitherto not thought
proper to perfect. The heretics look for salvation to Christ and hope to
be forgiven by lively faith in Him and by virtue of His blood-shedding.
They trust not in Peter nor in Paul--both men and sinners--in Luther nor
in Calvin--greater sinners still--but in Christ alone. They trust not in
stick nor stone, in picture nor in image, in splinter of cross nor bone
of saint, but in Christ alone--not in His mother or His brother--He
Himself has said: 'those that do the will of my Father that is in heaven,
they are my mother, they are my brethren.'
Quae est mater mea, et qui sunt fratres mei? . . .