Indeed the quantity of books, at my disposal, at present remaining unsold
in Spain is so small, that I am almost tempted to be niggard of them,
lest in an unprovided hour an extraordinary call should be made.
However, before leaving Seville, it will be well to pay some attention to
the poor. I have an agent awaiting my orders, another Greek, introduced
to me by Dionysius; he is a labouring brick-layer, a native of the Morea,
and has been upwards of thirty-five years in this country, so that he has
almost entirely lost his native language; nevertheless his attachment to
his own country is so strong, that he considers whatever is not Greek to
be utterly barbarous and bad. Though entirely destitute of education he
has, by his strength of character and by a kind of rude eloquence which
he possesses, obtained such a mastery over the minds of the labouring
classes of Seville that to everything he asserts they assent, however his
assertions may shock their prejudices and Spanish pride; so that
notwithstanding he is a foreigner he may at any time become the
_Masaniello_ of Seville. I am happy to be able to add that he is an
honest, industrious man notwithstanding his eccentricities, so that
should I employ him, which I have not yet resolved upon, I may entertain
perfect confidence that his actions will be no disparagement to the book
he vends.
We are continually pressed for Bibles, which of course we cannot supply;
Testaments are held in comparatively little esteem. Allow me to make
here a remark which it is true I ought to have made three years ago; but
we live and learn. It is unwise to print Testaments, and Testaments
alone for Catholic countries. The reason is plain. The Catholic, unused
to Scripture reading, finds a thousand things which he cannot possibly
understand in the New Testament, the foundation of which is the Old.
'Search the Scriptures, for they bear witness to Me,' may well be applied
to this point. It may be replied that New Testaments separate are in
great demand and of infinite utility in England. But England, thanks be
to the Lord, is not Spain; and though an English labourer may read a
Testament and derive from it the most blessed fruit, it does not follow
that a Spanish peasant will enjoy similar success, as he will find many
dark things with which the other is well acquainted and competent to
understand, being versed in the Bible history from his childhood. I
confess however that in the campaign of last summer we could not have
accomplished with Bibles what Providence permitted us to do with
Testaments, the former being far too bulky for rural journeys. In
conclusion, I am glad to be able to say that one of my principal reasons
for leaving Madrid was an inability to answer the pressing demands for
Bibles which came pouring upon me every instant, and to which every
person in the house where I lived can bear witness. Let the Revd. Doctor
Wiseman get over this fact, who in his unchristian and unfounded attack
on the Bible Society has stated that it cannot dispose of its books at
any price, nor indeed get rid of them gratis!
Dear Mrs. Browne shall have her letter.
G. B.
_P.S._ I have just received Mr. Brandram's epistle. Present to him my
best thanks for it, and above all for the remarks, which I will remember.
Pray let him send me the Pamphlet of the T. S. I wish to see their
observations on the Vulgate. Likewise the other papers.
To the Rev. A. Brandram
(_Endorsed_: recd. July 15, 1839)
SEVILLE, PLAZUELA DE LA PILA SECA, No. 7,
28 _June_ 1839.
REVD. AND DEAR SIR,--I received your letter of the 22nd May, and likewise
Mr. Jackson's of the 5th June, containing the conclusion of the [Annual]
Report, which you were so kind as to send me. I wish in the first place
to say a few words, which some passages in your communication suggest.
Think not I pray you that any observation of yours respecting style, or
any peculiarities of expression which I am in the habit of exhibiting in
my correspondence, can possibly awaken in me any feeling but that of
gratitude, knowing so well as I do the person who offers them, and the
motives by which he is influenced. I have reflected on those passages
which you were pleased to point out as objectionable, and have nothing to
reply further than that I have erred, that I am sorry, and will endeavour
to mend, and that moreover I have already prayed for assistance so to do.
Allow me however to offer a word not in excuse but in explanation of the
expression 'wonderful good fortune' which appeared in a former letter of
mine. It is clearly objectionable, and, as you very properly observe,
savours of pagan times. But I am sorry to say that I am much in the
habit of repeating other people's sayings without weighing their
propriety. The saying was not mine: but I heard it in conversation and
thoughtlessly repeated it. A few miles from Seville I was telling the
courier of the many perilous journeys which I had accomplished in Spain
in safety, and for which I thanked the Lord. His reply was: '_La mucha
suerte de Usted tambien nos ha acompanado en este viage_.'
Your reply to the Trinitarian Society, for I suppose that it was written
by you, afforded me the highest satisfaction. I admired its tone and
spirit, and said at the time that a more convincing piece of reasoning
had never been penned on any subject. The case of Luther and the early
Reformers, who were converted from the errors of Popery by the perusal of
the Vulgate, the book of the Popish Church, is certainly exceedingly
strong; as it at once does away with any argument which may be raised
against the propriety of circulating versions made from it. Perhaps it
would have been as well to add that the Lollards' Bible, the book which
converted England, was a literal translation from the Vulgate and not
from the original tongues, which, as is well knows, Wickliffe did not
understand. Those who decry the Vulgate should please to remember that,
though adopted by the Popish Church, its foundation was laid before
Popery existed, and that before criticising a book it is desirable to
have read it. There are faults in the Vulgate, indeed far too many; but
I believe them to be more the result of infirmity than malice, all the
heavy and strong texts most dangerous to the Papal system appearing in it
uncurtailed and unmodified. No people dread the Vulgate more than the
Papists themselves, which they know to be _a terrible two-edged sword
which will cut off their hands if they handle it_.
I now beg leave to send you an extract of a letter which I received
yesterday morning from Madrid. It is from my landlady, who is my agent
there, and I consider it to be my duty to communicate it to the Society,
as I consider that it speaks volumes as to the state of affairs in the
capital and the spirit of enquiry abroad; at the same time I presume not
to offer any comment upon it. The rest of the letter treats of
indifferent matters.
'The binder has brought me eight Bibles, which he has contrived to make
up out of _the sheets gnawn by the rats_, and which would have been
necessary even had they amounted to eight thousand (_y era necesario se
puvieran vuelto_ 8000), {422a} because the people are innumerable who
come to seek more. Don Santiago has been here with some friends, who
insisted upon having a part of them. The Aragonese gentleman has
likewise been, he who came before your departure and bespoke twenty-four.
He now wants twenty-five. I begged them to take Testaments, but they
would not.' {422b}
We go on selling Testaments at Seville in a quiet satisfactory manner.
We have just commenced offering the book to the poor. That most
remarkable individual, Johannes Chrysostom, the Greek bricklayer, being
the agent whom we employ. I confess that we might sell more than we at
present do, were we to press the matter; but we are cautious, and
moreover our stock of Testaments is waning apace. Two or three ladies of
my acquaintance occasionally dispose of some amongst their friends, but
they say that they experience some difficulty, the cry for Bibles being
great. Dionysius also tells me that for every Testament which he sells
he could dispose of with ease fifty Bibles. Within a few weeks I propose
to cross the water to Ceuta and Tangiers with part of the books at
present in embargo at San Lucar. I shall take the liberty of giving you
a full and minute description of the state of those places, the first of
which has, I believe, never been visited by any one bearing the Gospel.
When I consider the immensity of what remains to be done, even in this
inconsiderable portion of the globe, before wretched mortals can be
brought to any sense of their lost and fallen state, I invariably lose
all hope of anything efficient being accomplished by human means, unless
it shall please the Almighty to make of straws and rushes weapons capable
of cleaving the adamantine armour of superstition and unbelief.
It is eight o'clock at night, and Johannes Chrysostom has I just arrived
from his labour. I have not spoken to him; but I hear him below in the
courtyard detailing to Antonio the progress he has made in the last two
days. He speaks barbarous Greek, plentifully interlarded with Spanish
words; but I gather from his discourse that he has already sold twelve
Testaments among his fellow-labourers. I hear copper coin falling on the
stones and Antonio, who is not of a very Christian temper, reproving him
for not having brought the proceeds of the sale in silver. He now asks
for fifteen [Testaments] more, as he says the demand is becoming great,
and that he shall have no difficulty in disposing of them in the course
of the morrow whilst pursuing his occupations. Antonio goes to fetch
them, and he now stands alone by the little marble fountain, singing a
wild song, which I believe to be a hymn of his beloved Greek Church.
Behold one of the helpers which the Lord has sent me in my Gospel labours
on the shores of the Guadalquivir.
Should you wish to transmit to me any part of the Report, I should
conceive that you had best direct it to the care of Mr. Brackenbury at
Cadiz, on whom I propose to call on my way to Ceuta, etc. As for Cadiz
itself, I have no intention of attempting to do any thing there, at least
for the present. After a great deal of gloomy and unsettled weather the
genuine Andalusian summer has come upon us at last. The brilliancy of
the sun and the azure of the heavens are perfectly indescribable. The
people here complain sadly of the heat, but as for myself, I luxuriate in
it, like the butterflies which hover about the _macetas_, or flowerpots,
in the court. Hoping that you will present my remembrances to Mrs.
Brandram, and likewise to all other dear friends, I remain Revd. and dear
Sir, yours truly,
GEORGE BORROW.
To the Rev. A. Brandram
(_Endorsed_: recd. Aug. 5, 1839)
SEVILLE, No. 7 PLAZUELA DE LA PILA SECA,
18_th_ _July_ 1839.
REVD. AND DEAR SIR,--As I am about to leave Seville in a few days for San
Lucar, Tangiers, and Ceuta, I wish before setting out to send a word or
two in order that you may be acquainted with the state of matters up to
the present moment. Our work is concluded here for the season, and for
the very efficient reason that I have no more Testaments to sell,
somewhat more than two hundred having been circulated since my arrival.
A poor Genoese, the waiter at a Swiss ordinary, has just been with me
requesting a dozen, which he says have been bespoken by people who
frequent the house, but I have been obliged to send him away, it not
being in my power to supply him. About ten days since I was visited by
various _alguacils_, headed by the _Alcalde del Barrio_, or headborough,
who made a small seizure of Testaments and Gypsy Gospels which happened
to be lying about. This visit was far from being disagreeable to me, as
I considered it to be a very satisfactory proof of the effect of our
exertions in Seville. I cannot help here relating to you an anecdote. A
day or two subsequent, having occasion to call at the house of the
headborough to complain of an act of dishonesty which had been committed
by my porters, I found him lying on his bed, for it was the hour of the
_siesta_, reading intently one of the very Testaments which he had taken
away--all of which, if he had obeyed his orders, he would have deposited
in the office of the Civil Governor. So intently indeed was he engaged
in his reading that he did not at first observe my entrance; when he did,
however, he sprang up in great confusion, and locked the book up in his
cabinet; whereupon I smiled and told him to be under no alarm, as I was
glad to see him so usefully employed. Recovering himself he said that he
had read the book nearly through, and that he had found no harm in it,
but on the contrary everything to praise, adding that he believed that
the clergy must be possessed with devils (_endemoniados_) to persecute it
in the manner which they did.
It was Sunday when the seizure was made, and I happened to be reading the
Liturgy. One of the _alguacils_ when going away made an observation
respecting the very different manner in which the Protestants and
Catholics keep the Sabbath, the former being in their houses reading good
books, and the latter abroad in the bull ring, seeing the wild bulls
tearing out the gory bowels of the poor horses. The bull amphitheatre at
Seville is, as you perhaps may have heard, the finest in all Spain, and
is invariably on a Sunday, the only day in which it is open, filled with
applauding multitudes.
I am happy to be able to say that the soil of Spain is now tolerably well
broken up, and to a certain degree prepared for the labours of any future
missionaries bearing the blessed Bible, who may visit this interesting
part of the world. We have had considerable difficulty hitherto in
circulating Testaments, and we have merely been enabled to scatter about
the thousands, which are now being read, by very extraordinary exertions.
Nevertheless when I take a large view of the subject I feel inclined to
believe that we were right in commencing our labours in the interior of
Spain by printing an edition of the New Testament at Madrid. I much
doubt whether the astonishing demand for the Bible, which almost
compelled me to leave the capital, and which now shows itself at Seville
and other places, for example, Burgos, Valladolid, and Saint James of
Galicia, to the great mortification of the Popish clergy, would have
arisen but for the appearance of the New Testament which awaked in
people's minds the desire of possessing the entire Scripture. With great
humility, however, I feel disposed to advise that provided at any future
time the Society should think itself called upon to recommence its
exertions here in the cause of a crucified Saviour, it employ, as its
mighty instrument the Bible, the entire blessed Bible; having
nevertheless always ready for distribution a certain quantity of
Testaments, the wishes of weak human beings being influenced by such
strange causes that it is probable that were it known at Madrid, or in
other places, that there was a dearth of Testaments, the demand for the
same would instantly become greater than for the entire Bible.
A few days since I received a communication from my correspondent at
Saint James at Galicia, old Rey Romero, whom I have mentioned on a former
occasion when residing there. The good old man has sent me in his
account, by which it appears that 115 copies of the New Testament were
sold at Saint James between the months of August 1837 and May 1838, at
which time the further sale of the work was forbidden, and 35 copies,
which remained unsold, placed in embargo. The balance of the account in
our favour is 950 _reals_ after deducting all expenses. I shall preserve
this letter with care, as I attach some importance to it. Who has not
heard of Saint James of Compostella, the temple of the great image of the
patron of Spain, and the most favourite resort in the world of benighted
Popish pilgrims? Nevertheless 115 copies of the pure unadulterated Word
of God were purchased there in a few months at the high price of ten
_reals_ each. I humbly beg leave to refer you to my account of that
remarkable place, and to hope that in the statement of proceedings in
Spain it will not be forgotten. 64 copies, it appears, were also sold in
the small town of Lugo, also in Galicia, and 56 at Leon, the capital of
the ancient kingdom of the same name, and which perhaps may be considered
as the least enlightened and most fanatic place in all Spain.
By advice from Madrid from Mrs. Maria Diaz, whom I charged with the care
of the property of the Bible Society in that place, it appears that there
remain unsold:--
Of Testaments, 962
Of Gospels in the Gypsy tongue, 286
Of ditto in Basque, 394
The quantity of Testaments would not have been so large had I not
recovered before leaving Madrid upwards of two hundred, which had been
placed in embargo at Santander and subsequently removed to the capital.
On a rough account, therefore, I should say that about three thousand
have been sold during the last twelve months in the interior of Spain,
for which I give praise to God with the humility and gratitude due. Of
those which remain I should wish to be permitted on my return from my
present expedition to circulate some in La Mancha, especially at
Manzanares and Valdepenas. The state of that province is truly horrible;
it appears peopled partly with spectres and partly with demons. There is
famine, and such famine; there is assassination, and such unnatural
assassination. There you see soldiers and robbers, ghastly lepers and
horrible and uncouth maimed and blind, exhibiting their terrible
nakedness in the sun. I was prevented last year in carrying the Gospel
amongst them. May I be more successful this.
I now beg leave to conclude my tedious letter with requesting that you
will be kind enough to send the enclosed communication to my friend in
Russia. I hope you will pardon the trouble I am giving you, but I have
no other resource, as there is no direct mode of communication between
Russia and Spain. Present my kind remembrances to dear Mr. Jowett and
other friends, and believe me to remain, Revd. and dear Sir,
Ever truly yours,
G. B.
To the Rev. A. Brandram
(_Endorsed_: recd. Oct. 7, 1839)
TANGIERS, _September_ 4, 1839.
REVD. AND DEAR SIR,--I have now been nearly one month in this place, and
should certainly have written to you before had I possessed any secure
means of despatching a letter; but there is no mail from Tangiers to any
part of the world, so that when writing one is obliged to have recourse
to the disagreeable necessity of confiding letters to individuals who
chance to be going to Gibraltar to be put into the post there, who not
unfrequently lose or forget them. One which I wrote for Spain has
already miscarried, which circumstance makes me cautious. I will now
relate the leading events which have occurred to me since my departure
from Seville, observing however that I have kept a regular journal, which
on the first opportunity I shall transmit for the satisfaction of my
friends at home. You are already aware that I had determined to carry
the Scripture in Spanish to the Christian families established on the
sea-coast of Barbary, and more especially Tangiers, the Spanish language
being in general use among them, whether Spaniards by birth or Genoese,
French or English. To enable me to do this, having no copies of the
sacred volume at Seville, I determined to avail myself of a certain
number of Testaments in embargo at the custom-house of San Lucar a town
at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, forming part of the stock seized by
order of the Government and which I had been officially requested to
remove from Spain. I started from Seville on the night of the 31st of
July in one of the steamers which ply upon the Guadalquivir, arriving at
San Lucar early in the morning. I shall now make an extract from my
journal, relative to the Testaments.
'It will be as well here to curtail what relates to these books,
otherwise the narrative might be considerably embarrassed. They
consisted of a chest of Testaments in Spanish, and a small box of Saint
Luke's Gospel in the Gitano or language of the Spanish Gypsies. I
obtained them from the custom-house of San Lucar with a pass for that of
Cadiz. At Cadiz I was occupied two days, and also a person whom I
employed, in going through all the required formalities and in procuring
the necessary papers. The expense was great, as money was demanded at
every step I took, though I was simply complying with the orders of the
Spanish Government in removing prohibited books from Spain. The farce
did not end till after my arrival at Gibraltar, where I paid the Spanish
consul a dollar for certifying on the back of the pass that the books had
arrived, which pass I was obliged to send back to Cadiz. It is true that
he never saw the books nor enquired about them; but he received the
money, for which alone he seemed to be anxious.
'Whilst at the custom-house of San Lucar, I was asked one or two
questions respecting the books contained in the chests; this afforded me
some opportunity of speaking of the New Testament and the Bible Society.
What I said excited attention, and presently all the officers and
dependents of the house, great and small, were gathered around me, from
the governor to the porter. As it was necessary to open the boxes to
inspect their contents, we all proceeded to the courtyard where, holding
a Testament in my hand, I recommenced my discourse. I scarcely know what
I said, for I was much agitated and hurried away by my feelings, when I
bethought me of the manner in which the Word of God was persecuted in the
unhappy kingdom of Spain. My words however evidently made impression,
and to my astonishment every person present pressed me for a copy. I
sold several within the walls of the custom-house. The object, however,
of most attention was the Gypsy Gospel, which was minutely examined
amidst smiles and exclamations of surprise, some individual every now and
then crying '_Cosas de los Ingleses_.' A bystander asked me whether I
could speak the Gitano language. I replied that I could not only speak
it but write it, and instantly made a speech of about five minutes in the
Gypsy tongue, which I had no sooner concluded than all clapped their
hands, and simultaneously shouted, '_Cosas de los Ingleses_! _Cosas de
los Ingleses_!' I disposed of several Gypsy Gospels likewise, and having
now settled the business which brought me to the custom-house, I saluted
my new friends and departed with my books.
'I strolled from the inn to view the town. It was past noon, and the
heat was exceedingly fierce . . . I became tired of gazing, and was
retracing my steps, when I was accosted by two Gypsies, men who by some
means had heard of my arrival. We exchanged some words in Gitano, but
they appeared to be very ignorant of the language, and utterly unable to
maintain a conversation in it. They were clamorous for a _gabicote_, or
book, in Gypsy. I refused it them, saying that they could turn it to no
profitable account; and learning that they could read, promised them each
a Testament in Spanish. This offer, however, they refused with disdain,
saying that they cared for nothing written in the language of the _Busne_
or Gentiles. They then persisted in their demand, to which I at last
yielded, being unable to resist their importunity; whereupon they
accompanied me to the inn, and received what they so ardently desired.'