last we have sold upwards of one hundred copies. Indeed the demand is
far greater than I can answer, as the books are disposed of faster than
they can be bound by the man whom I employ for that purpose, and in whose
secrecy and honour I have perfect confidence. Eight-and-twenty copies
are at present bespoken and paid for. Many of these Bibles have found
their way into the best houses in Madrid. The Marquis of Santa Coloma
has a large family, but every individual of it, old or young, is now in
possession of a Bible and likewise of a Testament, which, strange to say,
were recommended by the chaplain of the house. One of my most zealous
agents in the propagation of the Bible is an ecclesiastic. He never
walks out without carrying one beneath his gown, which he offers to the
first person he meets whom he thinks likely to purchase. Another
excellent assistant is an elderly gentleman of Navarre, enormously rich,
who is continually purchasing copies on his own account, which he, as I
am told, sends into his native province, for distribution amongst his
friends and the poor.
I have at present sold as many Testaments as I think Madrid will bear,
for a time. I have therefore called in the greatest part of my people,
and content myself with the sale of twelve or fourteen a week, for I am
afraid to over-stock the market, and to bring the book into contempt by
making it too common. The greatest part of those which still remain
(about one thousand) I reserve for Seville, Granada, and some of the
other inland cities of Andalusia, specially Jaen, the bishop of which is
very favourable to us and our cause. I have likewise my eye on Ceuta,
its garrison, its convicts, and singular inhabitants, half Spaniards,
half Moors. To Andalusia I shall probably proceed in about three weeks.
I beg leave to call your attention to the work I sent you, and the
ferocious attack which it contains against the Bible Society, and
especially to the letter of the curate, which I sincerely wish you would
insert in your Extracts. This publication was established and is
supported by money sent by the Cardinals of Rome, and is principally
directed against us. Its abuse, however, is our praise; and the world
may form some judgment of what we are accomplishing in Spain by attending
to some of the remarks and observations which appear in this work, and
which are in all points worthy of Rome and its clan.
My respects to Mr. Josiah Forster, who I hope will have received the
biography of Ripoll, the Quaker, executed at Valencia in 1826.
What news from China?
(UNSIGNED.)
To the Rev. Joseph Jowett
(_Endorsed_: recd. April 22, 1839)
_April_ 10, 1839,
MADRID, No. 16 CALLE SANTIAGO.
REVD. AND DEAR SIR,--In a few days I shall leave Madrid for Seville; and
being anxious to write a few lines before my departure in order that
yourself and others friends may be acquainted with the exact state of
affairs in Spain, I embrace the present opportunity. In the first place
however I beg leave to apologise for not having ere this performed my
promise of writing. Many causes unnecessary to recapitulate prevented
me; but I steadfastly hope that already with your usual considerate
goodness you have imputed my tardiness to anything but neglect.
A convoy starts for Andalusia on the 13th, and I intend to avail myself
of it so far as to send therewith my servant Antonio with the horses and
the Testaments which I destine for circulation in that province. I shall
myself follow with the courier. True it is that I had determined to
proceed by Estremadura, but circumstances have occurred which have
induced me to alter my resolution. The roads in Spain are in a worse
state than ever; and in Estremadura particularly, which for some time
past has enjoyed a tolerable state of tranquillity, a band of Carlist
robbers have lately made their appearance, who murder, make prisoner, or
put at ransom every person who has the misfortune to fall into their
hands. I therefore deem it wise to avoid, if possible, the alternative
of being shot or having to pay one thousand pounds for being set at
liberty, which has already befallen several individuals. It is moreover
wicked to tempt Providence systematically. I have already thrust myself
into more danger than was perhaps strictly necessary, and as I have been
permitted hitherto to escape, it is better to be content with what it has
pleased the Lord to do for me up to the present moment, than to run the
risk of offending Him by a blind confidence in His forbearance, which may
be over-taxed. As it is, however, at all times best to be frank, I am
willing to confess that I am what the world calls exceedingly
superstitious; perhaps the real cause of my change of resolution was a
dream, in which I imagined myself on a desolate road in the hands of
several robbers, who were hacking me with their long ugly knives.
We have been very successful of late, having, since my last letter to Mr.
Brandram, sold no less than two hundred Bibles, so that not more than one
hundred and fifty remain of the five hundred which were sent to me from
Barcelona in sheets. I have discontinued selling Testaments in Madrid,
as it appears to me that we shall have barely sufficient, unless
something unforeseen occurs, for Andalusia and one or two other points
which I wish to visit. When I recollect the difficulties which have
encompassed our path, I can sometimes hardly credit all that the Almighty
has permitted us to accomplish within the last year: a large edition of
the New Testament almost entirely disposed of in the very centre of old,
gloomy, fanatic Spain, in spite of the opposition and the furious cry of
the sanguinary priesthood and the edicts of a tyrannical, deceitful
Government; moreover a spirit of religious enquiry excited, which I have
fervent hope will sooner or later lead to blessed and most important
results. Till of late the name most abhorred and dreaded in these parts
of Spain was that of Martin Luther, who was in general considered as a
species of demon, a cousin-german to Belial and Beelzebub, who under the
disguise of a man wrote and preached blasphemy against the Highest. Yet
now, strange to say, this once abominated personage is spoken of with no
slight degree of respect. People, with Bibles in their hands, not
unfrequently visit me, enquiring with much earnestness and with no slight
degree of simplicity for the writings of the great Doctor Martin, whom
indeed some suppose to be still alive. It will be as well here to
observe that of all the names connected with the Reformation, that of
Luther is the only one known in Spain, and let me add that no
controversial writings but his are likely to be esteemed as possessing
the slightest weight or authority, however great their intrinsic merit
may be. The printing, therefore, of tracts in the Spanish language, of
the description hitherto adopted, appears to be pregnant with no good or
benefit whatever. Of what might be the result of well-executed
translations of judicious selections from the works of Luther, it is not
my business to offer an opinion.
Before commencing this journey to Andalusia I must take the liberty of
making one humble request to my friends of the Bible Society, which is to
be patient. It may not be in my power to send them for a long time any
flattering accounts of operations commenced there. I shall be surrounded
with enemies, bitter, malignant, and powerful, against whose efforts it
is very possible that I may not be able to stand my ground; or the books
which I carry with me may be seized and sequestrated, in spite of all the
plans which I have devised for their safety. The great failing of
Protestants, in general, is a tendency to spring suddenly to the pinnacle
of exultation, and as suddenly to fall to the lowest bathos of dejection,
forgetting that the brightest day as well as the most gloomy night must
necessarily have a termination. How far more wise are the members of
that object of my undying detestation, the Church of Rome; from mixing
with whom I have acquired one principal point of wisdom, which may be
termed, _Ever to expect evil_, _and ever to hope for good_; by attending
to which maxim we find that Church ever regaining the ground which it has
lost. Yesterday seeming a lifeless stick, as in the case of England,
to-day it is a magnificent tree, glorious with leaves and fruit. Excuse
these observations which, I assure you, are well meant. No one
acquainted with me will lay undue partiality to the Roman Church to my
charge, yet there are some points about it which I highly admire; and you
know well enough that it is lawful to receive instruction from an enemy.
I have been lately going through Morrison's Chinese Matthew. I confess
that I am the merest tyro in the language, nevertheless I am compelled to
state that upon the whole I do not like the translation. It appears to
me that in various instances the characters are not grammatically placed;
I mean, not as they are placed in the writings if the best Chinese
authors to express the same ideas. Moreover he has translated the sacred
Name by the character which the Chinese are in the habit of bestowing on
the spirits whose idols they worship, and which is by no means applicable
to the one great God, whom the missionaries of the Greek and Roman
Churches for want of an equivalent in Chinese have always styled, and
with justice [three Chinese characters] (_tien tsz hwang_), or King of
Heaven. The Holy Ghost, he renders by _tching fung_, or Holy Wind, which
is a Hebraism, and which can scarcely be understood by the Chinese. In
Lipoftsoff's Mandchou version it is happily translated by the Holy
Spirit. You will recollect that on my second return to Spain you
requested me to look into Morrison's Testament, on which account I shall
offer no excuse for these trifling remarks.
Do me the favour, my dear Sir, to inform Mr. Hitchin that within a day or
two I shall send him another account of money received and disbursed. I
hope you forwarded the packet containing the life of Ripoll to Mr.
Forster.--Having now said my say for the present, I have the honour to
remain, Revd. and dear Sir,
Your most obedient humble servant,
GEORGE BORROW.
To the Rev. A. Brandram.
(_Endorsed_: recd. May 21, 1839)
SEVILLE, SPAIN, _May_ 2, 1839.
REVD. AND DEAR SIR,--I have been in Seville one week. Perhaps on
learning this you will be disposed to demand the reason of my not having
written previously to this, knowing, as I do, the anxiety of my friends
to know the fate of their adventurer in his wanderings in wild Spain; but
believe me that I had several reasons for deferring, the principal being
an unconquerable aversion to writing blank letters. At present I have
something to communicate besides my arrival, indeed one or two odd
things. The courier and myself came all the way without the slightest
accident, my usual wonderful good fortune accompanying us. I may well
call it wonderful. I was not aware when I resolved to venture with the
mail that I was running into the den of the lion, the whole of La Mancha
with the exception of a few fortified places being once more in the hands
of Pollillos and his banditti, who whenever it pleases them, stop the
courier, burn the vehicle and letters, murder the paltry escort which
attends, and carry away any chance passenger to the mountains, where an
enormous ransom is demanded, which if not paid, brings on the dilemma of
four shots through the head, as the Spaniards say. The upper part of
Andalusia is becoming rapidly nearly as bad as La Mancha. The last time
the courier had passed, he was attacked at the defile of La Rumblar by
six mounted robbers; he was guarded by an escort of as many soldiers; but
the former suddenly galloped from behind a solitary _venta_ and dashed
the soldiers to the ground, who were taken quite by surprise, the hoofs
of the robbers' horses making no noise on account of the great quantity
of mud. The soldiers were instantly disarmed and bound to olive-trees,
with the exception of two who escaped amongst the rocks; they were then
mocked and tormented by the robbers, or rather fiends, for nearly half an
hour, when they were shot, the head of the corporal who commanded being
blown to fragments with a blunderbuss. The robbers then burnt the coach,
which they accomplished by igniting the letters by means of the tow with
which they light their cigars. The life of the courier was saved by one
of them who had formerly been his postillion; he was, however, robbed and
stripped. As we passed by the scene of the butchery the poor fellow
burst into tears, and, though a Spaniard, cursed Spain and the Spaniards,
saying that he shortly intended to pass over to Morocco to confess
Mahomet and to learn the Law of the Moors, for that any country and
religion was better than his own. He pointed to the tree where the
corporal had been tied; though much rain had fallen since, the ground
around was still saturated with blood, and a dog was gnawing a piece of
the unfortunate wretch's skull. A friar travelled with us the whole way
from Madrid to Seville; he was _of the Missionaries_, and was going to
the Philippine Islands to conquer (_para conquistar_), for such was his
word, by which I suppose he meant preaching to the Indians. During the
whole journey he exhibited every symptom of the most abject fear, which
operated upon him so that he became deadly sick, so that we were obliged
to stop twice in the road and lay him amongst the green corn. He said
that if he fell into the hands of the factious he was a lost priest, for
that they would first make him say mass and then blow him up with
gunpowder. He had been a professor of philosophy, as he told me, in one
of the convents (I think it was San Tomas) of Madrid, before their
suppression, but appeared to be grossly ignorant of the Scripture, which
he confounded with the works of Virgil.
We stopped at Manzanares as usual; it was Sunday morning and the market
was crowded with people. I was recognised in a moment, and twenty pairs
of legs instantly hurried away in quest of the prophetess, who presently
made her appearance in the house to which we had retired to breakfast.
After many greetings on both sides, she proceeded in her admirable Latin
to give me an account of all that had occurred in the village since I had
last been there, and of the atrocities of the factious in the
neighbourhood. I asked her to breakfast and introduced her to the friar
whom she addressed in this manner; _Anne Domine Reverendissime facis
adhuc sacrificium_? But the friar did not understand her, and waxing
angry anathematized her for a witch and bade her begone. She was however
not to be disconcerted, and commenced singing in extemporary Castilian
verse the praises of friars and religious houses in general. On
departing I gave her a _peseta_, upon which she burst into tears and
entreated that I would write to her if I reached Seville in safety.
We did arrive at Seville in safety, and I took leave of the friar telling
him that I hoped to meet him again at Philippi. I must now be brief. In
a few days Antonio arrived with the horses. Difficulties now began to
show themselves. All the Testaments were stopped at the custom house,
they were contained in two large chests: but I now know Spain and the
Spaniards. For a few dollars I procured a _fiador_ or person who engaged
_that the chests_ should be carried down the river and embarked at San
Lucar for a foreign land. Yesterday I hired a boat and sent them down,
but on the way I landed in a secure place all the Testaments which I
intend for this part of the country. The chests therefore, with the
copies required for Tangiers and England, with the hundred Gospels in
Gitano and Basque for the Library of the Bible Society, are at present at
San Lucar in the custom house, from which I expect to receive to-morrow
the receipt which the authorities here demand, and which will be
necessary for the security of my voucher. Indeed the whole affair,
though attended with considerable trouble and expense to me, was a mere
formality, as I was given to understand. I was myself treated with the
greatest politeness, and was told that my intentions were known and
honoured. Late last night Antonio and myself returned from an excursion
on foot, bringing beneath our cloaks, as if they were smuggled goods, a
considerable number of Testaments; our path lay along the banks of the
Guadalquivir, the rain poured and the river roared, and by the time we
reached Seville we were wet through and covered with mud from head to
foot. To-day I am laid up, being so _stiff_ and sore that I can hardly
move; but anything for the Gospel's sake.
It is my opinion, and I am not one of those who hazard an opinion rashly,
that much may be accomplished in this place, which, though by no means
the most populous and wealthy, is the most interesting town in all Spain,
and stands beneath the most glorious heaven, and amidst the most
delightful environs; but to effect anything, patience must be exhibited
and prudence employed, and much of both. Consider my situation here. I
am in a city by nature very Levitical, as it contains within it the most
magnificent and splendidly endowed cathedral of any in Spain. I am
surrounded by priests and friars, who know and hate me, and who, if I
commit the slightest act of indiscretion, will halloo their myrmidons
against me. The press is closed to me, the libraries are barred against
me, I have no one to assist me but my hired servant, no pious English
families to comfort or encourage me, the British subjects here being
ranker papists and a hundred times more bigoted than the Spanish
themselves, the consul a _renegade Quaker_. Yet notwithstanding, with
God's assistance I will do much, though silently, burrowing like the mole
in darkness beneath the ground. Those who have triumphed in Madrid, and
in the two Castiles where the difficulties were seven times greater, are
not to be dismayed by priestly frowns at Seville. All I dread is the
imprudence of very excellent people, whose aim is good, but who are doing
exactly what is calculated to further the views of the enemy. I wish
they could be brought to see the absolute necessity of changing their
system. I suppose you heard of the affair of Cadiz.
I have of late written several letters home, which I wish may have been
received as they contain information which I think will be considered of
importance; nevertheless as the road to France has for some time past
been in the hands of the Carlists, it is very possible that they may have
miscarried. I shall therefore take the liberty of telling you that about
a thousand Testaments have been sold, and all the Bibles, to the amount
of 463, since my return to the Peninsula. I shall be happy to receive a
letter from you as soon as possible: you can direct either to my lodgings
at Madrid, or to Posada de la Reyna, Calle Gimios, Sevilla.
Pray excuse this letter, it is badly written, with a bad pen and with bad
ink. I am moreover sick and in pain. Present my respects to Mr. Jowett,
Mr. Browne, and all friends, not forgetting Dr. Steinkopff, to whom I
shortly hope to write.
(UNSIGNED.)
To the Rev. G. Browne
(_Endorsed_: recd. July 1, 1839)
SEVILLE, PLAZUELA DE LA PILA SECA, No. 7,
_June_ 12, 1839.
REVD. AND DEAR SIR,--I received in due course of time your exceedingly
kind letter of the 16th April, and am very grateful for the various
intelligence which you were pleased to communicate. I should have
replied ere this; but I am one of those, as I believe you are aware, who
are averse to writing, especially from a considerable distance, unless
they possess matter of sufficient consequence to fill creditably the
pages of an epistle. I could wish that at the present moment I had more
to write upon, and more interesting details to send you than these which
follow. For two or three weeks after my arrival at Seville I was unable
to accomplish anything, on account of the seizure of the books, with
which you are doubtless acquainted. I however by the assistance of the
Almighty, for which I prayed, was enabled, though not without
considerable trouble, to overcome that difficulty, and to obtain all the
Testaments of which I was in need, to the number of two hundred and
upwards. But still I commenced not operations; indeed I was quite at a
loss, being in a strange place and under very peculiar circumstances, to
imagine the best course to pursue. I therefore waited with perfect
patience until it should please Providence to assist me, and true it is
that help came in rather a remarkable manner.
I was standing in the courtyard of the Reyna _posada_, where for the time
I had taken up my abode, when a man singularly dressed and gigantically
tall entered. My curiosity being excited, I enquired of the master of
the house who he was, when he informed me that he was a foreigner who had
resided a considerable time in Seville, and he believed a Greek. Upon
hearing this I instantly went up to the stranger, and accosted him in the
Greek language in which, though I speak it very ill, I can make myself
understood. He replied in the same idiom, and, flattered by the interest
which I a foreigner expressed for his nation, was not slow in
communicating to me his history. He told me, that his name was
Dionysius; that he was a native of Cephalonia, and had been educated for
the Church, which however not suiting his temper, he had abandoned in
order to follow the profession of the sea, for which he had an early
inclination; that after many adventures and changes of fortune he found
himself one morning on the coast of Spain--a shipwrecked mariner; and
that, ashamed to return to his own country in poverty and distress, he
had remained in the Peninsula, residing chiefly at Seville, where he now
carried on a small trade in books. He said that he was of the Greek
religion, to which he professed strong attachment, and soon discovering
that I was a Protestant, spoke with unbounded abhorrence of the Papal
system, nay of its followers in general, whom he called Latins, and whom
he charged with the ruin of his own country, inasmuch as they sold it to
the Turk. It instantly struck me that this individual would be an
excellent assistant in the work which had brought me to Seville, namely
the propagation of the eternal Gospel; and accordingly after some more
conversation, in which he exhibited considerable learning, I explained
myself to him. He entered into my views with considerable eagerness; and
hitherto I have had no reason to repent my confidence, he having disposed
of a considerable number of New Testaments, and even contrived to send a
certain number of copies to two small towns, at some distance from
Seville.
On account of the extreme dearness of every article at the _posada_,
where moreover I had a suspicion that I was watched, I removed with my
servant and horses to an empty house in a solitary part of the town,
where I still am, and where I purpose to remain during my stay in
Andalusia. Here I live in the greatest privacy, admitting no person but
two or three in whom I have the greatest confidence, who entertain the
same views as myself and who assist me in the circulation of the Gospel.
One of these is a very remarkable person: an aged professor of music, by
birth an old Castilian, and one of the very few who retain traces of the
ancient Spanish character, which with all its faults, its stiffness, its
formality, and its pride, I believe (always setting the character of the
Christian aside) to be the most estimable and trustworthy in the world.
This venerable individual has just brought me the price of six Testaments
and a Gypsy Gospel, which he has this day sold under the heat of an
Andalusian sun. What was his motive? A Christian one, truly. He says
that his unfortunate countrymen, who are at present robbing and murdering
each other, may probably be rendered better by the reading of the Gospel,
but cannot be injured: adding, that many a man has been reformed by the
Scripture but that no one ever yet became a thief or assassin from its
perusal.