The Bible in Spain

G >> George Borrow >> The Bible in Spain

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The news of the arrival of the book of life soon spread like
wildfire through the villages of the Sagra of Toledo, and wherever
my people and myself directed our course we found the inhabitants
disposed to receive our merchandize; it was even called for where
not exhibited. One night as I was bathing myself and horse in the
Tagus, a knot of people gathered on the bank, crying, "Come out of
the water, Englishman, and give us books; we have got our money in
our hands." The poor creatures then held out their hands, filled
with cuartos, a copper coin of the value of the farthing, but
unfortunately I had no Testaments to give them. Antonio, however,
who was at a short distance, having exhibited one, it was instantly
torn from his hands by the people, and a scuffle ensued to obtain
possession of it. It very frequently occurred, that the poor
labourers in the neighbourhood, being eager to obtain Testaments,
and having no money to offer us in exchange, brought various
articles to our habitation as equivalents; for example, rabbits,
fruit and barley, and I made a point never to disappoint them, as
such articles were of utility either for our own consumption or
that of the horses.

In Villa Seca there was a school in which fifty-seven children were
taught the first rudiments of education. One morning the
schoolmaster, a tall slim figure of about sixty, bearing on his
head one of the peaked hats of Andalusia, and wrapped,
notwithstanding the excessive heat of the weather, in a long cloak,
made his appearance; and having seated himself, requested to be
shown one of our books. Having delivered it to him, he remained
examining it for nearly half an hour, without uttering a word. At
last he laid it down with a sigh, and said that he should be very
happy to purchase some of these books for his school, but from
their appearance, especially from the quality of the paper and
binding, he was apprehensive that to pay for them would exceed the
means of the parents of his pupils, as they were almost destitute
of money, being poor labourers. He then commenced blaming the
government, which he said established schools without affording the
necessary books, adding that in his school there were but two books
for the use of all his pupils, and these he confessed contained but
little good. I asked him what he considered the Testaments were
worth? He said, "Senor Cavalier, to speak frankly, I have in other
times paid twelve reals for books inferior to yours in every
respect, but I assure you that my poor pupils would be utterly
unable to pay the half of that sum." I replied, "I will sell you
as many as you please for three reals each, I am acquainted with
the poverty of the land, and my friends and myself, in affording
the people the means of spiritual instruction have no wish to
curtail their scanty bread." He replied: "Bendito sea Dios,"
(blessed be God,) and could scarcely believe his ears. He
instantly purchased a dozen, expending, as he said, all the money
he possessed, with the exception of a few cuartos. The
introduction of the word of God into the country schools of Spain
is therefore begun, and I humbly hope that it will prove one of
those events, which the Bible Society, after the lapse of years,
will have most reason to remember with joy and gratitude to the
Almighty.

An old peasant is reading in the portico. Eighty-four years have
passed over his head, and he is almost entirely deaf; nevertheless
he is reading aloud the second of Matthew: three days since he
bespoke a Testament, but not being able to raise the money, he has
not redeemed it until the present moment. He has just brought
thirty farthings; as I survey the silvery hair which overshadows
his sunburnt countenance, the words of the song occurred to me,
"Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to
thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation."

I experienced much grave kindness and simple hospitality from the
good people of Villa Seca during my sojourn amongst them. I had at
this time so won their hearts by the "formality" of my behaviour
and language, that I firmly believe they would have resisted to the
knife any attempt which might have been made to arrest or otherwise
maltreat me. He who wishes to become acquainted with the genuine
Spaniard, must seek him not in seaports and large towns, but in
lone and remote villages, like those of the Sagra. There he will
find all that gravity of deportment and chivalry of disposition
which Cervantes is said to have sneered away; and there he will
hear, in everyday conversation, those grandiose expressions, which,
when met with in the romances of chivalry, are scoffed at as
ridiculous exaggerations.

I had one enemy in the village--it was the curate.

"The fellow is a heretic and a scoundrel," said he one day in the
conclave. "He never enters the church, and is poisoning the minds
of the people with his Lutheran books. Let him be bound and sent
to Toledo, or turned out of the village at least."

"I will have nothing of the kind," said the alcalde, who was said
to be a Carlist. "If he has his opinions, I have mine too. He has
conducted himself with politeness. Why should I interfere with
him? He has been courteous to my daughter, and has presented her
with a volume. Que viva! and with respect to his being a Lutheran,
I have heard say that amongst the Lutherans there are sons of as
good fathers as here. He appears to me a caballero. He speaks
well."

"There is no denying it," said the surgeon.

"Who speaks SO well?" shouted the herrador. "And, who has more
formality? Vaya! did he not praise my horse, 'The Flower of
Spain'? Did he not say that in the whole of Ingalaterra there was
not a better? Did he not assure me, moreover, that if he were to
remain in Spain he would purchase it, giving me my own price? Turn
him out, indeed! Is he not of my own blood, is he not fair-
complexioned? Who shall turn him out when I, 'the one-eyed,' say
no?"

In connection with the circulation of the Scriptures I will now
relate an anecdote not altogether divested of singularity. I have
already spoken of the water-mill by the bridge of Azeca. I had
formed acquaintance with the tenant of this mill, who was known in
the neighbourhood by the name of Don Antero. One day, taking me
into a retired place, he asked me, to my great astonishment,
whether I would sell him a thousand Testaments at the price at
which I was disposing of them to the peasantry; saying, if I would
consent he would pay me immediately. In fact, he put his hand into
his pocket, and pulled it out filled with gold ounces. I asked him
what was his reason for wishing to make so considerable a purchase.
Whereupon he informed me that he had a relation in Toledo whom he
wished to establish, and that he was of opinion that his best plan
would be to hire him a shop there and furnish it with Testaments.
I told him that he must think of nothing of the kind, as probably
the books would be seized on the first attempt to introduce them
into Toledo, as the priests and canons were much averse to their
distribution.

He was not disconcerted, however, and said his relation could
travel, as I myself was doing, and dispose of them to the peasants
with profit to himself. I confess I was inclined at first to
accept his offer, but at length declined it, as I did not wish to
expose a poor man to the risk of losing money, goods, and perhaps
liberty and life. I was likewise averse to the books being offered
to the peasantry at an advanced price, being aware that they could
not afford it, and the books, by such an attempt, would lose a
considerable part of that influence which they then enjoyed; for
their cheapness struck the minds of the people, and they considered
it almost as much in the light of a miracle as the Jews the manna
which dropped from heaven at the time they were famishing, or the
spring which suddenly gushed from the flinty rocks to assuage their
thirst in the wilderness.

At this time a peasant was continually passing and repassing
between Villa Seca and Madrid, bringing us cargoes of Testaments on
a burrico. We continued our labours until the greater part of the
villages of the Sagra were well supplied with books, more
especially those of Vargas, Coveja, Mocejon, Villaluenga, Villa
Seca, and Yungler. Hearing at last that our proceedings were known
at Toledo, and were causing considerable alarm, we returned to
Madrid.

CHAPTER XLIV

Aranjuez--A Warning--A Night Adventure--A Fresh Expedition--
Segovia--Abades--Factions Curas--Lopez in Prison--Rescue of Lopez.

The success which had attended our efforts in the Sagra of Toledo
speedily urged me on to a new enterprise. I now determined to
direct my course to La Mancha, and to distribute the word amongst
the villages of that province. Lopez, who had already performed
such important services in the Sagra, had accompanied us to Madrid,
and was eager to take part in this new expedition. We determined
in the first place to proceed to Aranjuez, where we hoped to obtain
some information which might prove of utility in the further
regulation of our movements; Aranjuez being but a slight distance
from the frontier of La Mancha and the high road into that province
passing directly through it. We accordingly sallied forth from
Madrid, selling from twenty to forty Testaments in every village
which lay in our way, until we arrived at Aranjuez, to which place
we had forwarded a large supply of books.

A lovely spot is Aranjuez, though in desolation: here the Tagus
flows through a delicious valley, perhaps the most fertile in
Spain; and here upsprang, in Spain's better days, a little city,
with a small but beautiful palace shaded by enormous trees, where
royalty delighted to forget its cares. Here Ferdinand the Seventh
spent his latter days, surrounded by lovely senoras and Andalusian
bull-fighters: but as the German Schiller has it in one of his
tragedies:

"The happy days in fair Aranjuez,
Are past and gone."

When the sensual king went to his dread account, royalty deserted
it, and it soon fell into decay. Intriguing counters no longer
crowd its halls; its spacious circus, where Manchegan bulls once
roared in rage and agony, is now closed, and the light tinkling of
guitars is no longer heard amidst its groves and gardens.

At Aranjuez I made a sojourn of three days, during which time
Antonio, Lopez, and myself visited every house in the town. We
found a vast deal of poverty and ignorance amongst the inhabitants,
and experienced some opposition: nevertheless it pleased the
Almighty to permit us to dispose of about eighty Testaments, which
were purchased entirely by the very poor people; those in easier
circumstances paying no attention to the word of God, but rather
turning it to scoff and ridicule.

One circumstance was very gratifying and cheering to me, namely,
the ocular proof which I possessed that the books which I had
disposed of were read, and with attention, by those to whom I sold
them; and that many others participated in their benefit. In the
streets of Aranjuez, and beneath the mighty cedars and gigantic
elms and plantains which compose its noble woods, I have frequently
seen groups assembled listening to individuals who, with the New
Testament in their hands, were reading aloud the comfortable words
of salvation.

It is probable that, had I remained a longer period at Aranjuez, I
might have sold many more of these divine books, but I was eager to
gain La Mancha and its sandy plains, and to conceal myself for a
season amongst its solitary villages, for I was apprehensive that a
storm was gathering around me; but when once through Ocana, the
frontier town, I knew well that I should have nothing to fear from
the Spanish authorities, as their power ceased there, the rest of
La Mancha being almost entirely in the hands of the Carlists, and
overrun by small parties of banditti, from whom, however, I trusted
that the Lord would preserve me. I therefore departed for Ocana,
distant three leagues from Aranjuez.

I started with Antonio at six in the evening, having early in the
morning sent forward Lopez with between two and three hundred
Testaments. We left the high road, and proceeded by a shorter way
through wild hills and over very broken and precipitous ground:
being well mounted we found ourselves just after sunset opposite
Ocana, which stands on a steep hill. A deep valley lay between us
and the town: we descended, and came to a small bridge, which
traverses a rivulet at the bottom of the valley, at a very small
distance from a kind of suburb. We crossed the bridge, and were
passing by a deserted house on our left hand, when a man appeared
from under the porch.

What I am about to state will seem incomprehensible, but a singular
history and a singular people are connected with it: the man
placed himself before my horse so as to bar the way, and said
"Schophon," which, in the Hebrew tongue, signifies a rabbit. I
knew this word to be one of the Jewish countersigns, and asked the
man if he had any thing to communicate? He said, "You must not
enter the town, for a net is prepared for you. The corregidor of
Toledo, on whom may all evil light, in order to give pleasure to
the priests of Maria, in whose face I spit, has ordered all the
alcaldes of these parts, and the escribanos and the corchetes to
lay hands on you wherever they may find you, and to send you, and
your books, and all that pertains to you to Toledo. Your servant
was seized this morning in the town above, as he was selling the
writings in the streets, and they are now awaiting your arrival in
the posada; but I knew you from the accounts of my brethren, and I
have been waiting here four hours to give you warning in order that
your horse may turn his tail to your enemies, and neigh in derision
of them. Fear nothing for your servant, for he is known to the
alcalde, and will be set at liberty, but do you flee, and may God
attend you." Having said this, he hurried towards the town.

I hesitated not a moment to take his advice, knowing full well
that, as my books had been taken possession of, I could do no more
in that quarter. We turned back in the direction of Aranjuez, the
horses, notwithstanding the nature of the ground, galloping at full
speed; but our adventures were not over. Midway, and about half a
league from the village of Antigola, we saw close to us on our left
hand three men on a low bank. As far as the darkness would permit
us to distinguish, they were naked, but each bore in his hand a
long gun. These were rateros, or the common assassins and robbers
of the roads. We halted and cried out, "Who goes there?" They
replied, "What's that to you? pass by." Their drift was to fire at
us from a position from which it would be impossible to miss. We
shouted, "If you do not instantly pass to the right side of the
road, we will tread you down between the horses' hoofs." They
hesitated and then obeyed, for all assassins are dastards, and the
least show of resolution daunts them. As we galloped past, one
cried, with an obscene oath, "Shall we fire?" But another said,
"No, no! there's danger." We reached Aranjuez, where early next
morning Lopez rejoined us, and we returned to Madrid.

I am sorry to state that two hundred Testaments were seized at
Ocana, from whence, after being sealed up, they were despatched to
Toledo. Lopez informed me, that in two hours he could have sold
them all, the demand was so great. As it was, twenty-seven were
disposed of in less than ten minutes.

"Ride on because of the word of righteousness." Notwithstanding
the check which we had experienced at Ocana, we were far from being
discouraged, and forthwith prepared ourselves for another
expedition. As we returned from Aranjeuz to Madrid, my eyes had
frequently glanced towards the mighty wall of mountains dividing
the two Castiles, and I said to myself, "Would it not be well to
cross those hills, and commence operations on the other side, even
in Old Castile? There I am unknown, and intelligence of my
proceedings can scarcely have been transmitted thither.
Peradventure the enemy is asleep, and before he has roused himself,
I may have sown much of the precious seed amongst the villages of
the Old Castilians. To Castile, therefore, to Castile la Vieja!"
Accordingly, on the day after my arrival, I despatched several
cargoes of books to various places which I proposed to visit, and
sent forward Lopez and his donkey, well laden, with directions to
meet me on a particular day beneath a particular arch of the
aqueduct of Segovia. I likewise gave him orders to engage any
persons willing to co-operate with us in the circulation of the
Scriptures, and who might be likely to prove of utility in the
enterprise. A more useful assistant than Lopez in an expedition of
this kind it was impossible to have. He was not only well
acquainted with the country, but had friends, and even connexions
on the other side of the hills, in whose houses he assured me that
we should at all times find a hearty welcome. He departed in high
spirits, exclaiming, "Be of good cheer, Don Jorge; before we return
we will have disposed of every copy of your evangelic library.
Down with the friars! Down with superstition! Viva Ingalaterra,
viva el Evangelio!"

In a few days I followed with Antonio. We ascended the mountains
by the pass called Pena Cerrada, which lies about three leagues to
the eastward of that of Guadarama. It is very unfrequented, the
high road between the two Castiles passing through Guadarama. It
has, moreover, an evil name, being, according to common report,
infested with banditti. The sun was just setting when we reached
the top of the hills, and entered a thick and gloomy pine forest,
which entirely covers the mountains on the side of Old Castile.
The descent soon became so rapid and precipitous, that we were fain
to dismount from our horses and to drive them before us. Into the
woods we plunged deeper and deeper still; night-birds soon began to
hoot and cry, and millions of crickets commenced their shrill
chirping above, below, and around us. Occasionally, amidst the
trees at a distance, we could see blazes, as if from immense fires.
"They are those of the charcoal-burners, mon maitre!" said Antonio;
"we will not go near them, however, for they are savage people, and
half bandits. Many is the traveller whom they have robbed and
murdered in these horrid wildernesses."

It was blackest night when we arrived at the foot of the mountains;
we were still, however, amidst woods and pine forests, which
extended for leagues in every direction. "We shall scarcely reach
Segovia to-night, mon maitre," said Antonio. And so indeed it
proved, for we became bewildered, and at last arrived where two
roads branched off in different directions, we took not the left
hand road, which would have conducted us to Segovia, but turned to
the right, in the direction of La Granja, where we arrived at
midnight.

We found the desolation of La Granja far greater than that of
Aranjuez; both had suffered from the absence of royalty, but the
former to a degree which was truly appalling. Nine-tenths of the
inhabitants had left this place, which, until the late military
revolution, had been the favourite residence of Christina. So
great is the solitude of La Granja, that wild boars from the
neighbouring forests, and especially from the beautiful pine-
covered mountain which rises like a cone directly behind the
palace, frequently find their way into the streets and squares, and
whet their tusks against the pillars of the porticos.

"Ride on because of the word of righteousness." After a stay of
twenty-four hours at La Granja, we proceeded to Segovia. The day
had arrived on which I had appointed to meet Lopez. I repaired to
the aqueduct, and sat down beneath the hundred and seventh arch,
where I waited the greater part of the day, but he came not,
whereupon I rose and went into the city.

At Segovia I tarried two days in the house of a friend, still I
could hear nothing of Lopez. At last, by the greatest chance in
the world, I heard from a peasant that there were men in the
neighbourhood of Abades selling books.

Abades is about three leagues distant from Segovia, and upon
receiving this intelligence, I instantly departed for the former
place, with three donkeys laden with Testaments. I reached Abades
at nightfall, and found Lopez, with two peasants whom he had
engaged, in the house of the surgeon of the place, where I also
took up my residence. He had already disposed of a considerable
number of Testaments in the neighbourhood, and had that day
commenced selling at Abades itself; he had, however, been
interrupted by two of the three curas of the village, who, with
horrid curses denounced the work, threatening eternal condemnation
to Lopez for selling it, and to any person who should purchase it;
whereupon Lopez, terrified, forbore until I should arrive. The
third cura, however, exerted himself to the utmost to persuade the
people to provide themselves with Testaments, telling them that his
brethren were hypocrites and false guides, who, by keeping them in
ignorance of the word and will of Christ, were leading them to the
abyss. Upon receiving this information, I instantly sallied forth
to the market-place, and that same night succeeded in disposing of
upwards of thirty Testaments. The next morning the house was
entered by the two factious curas, but upon my rising to confront
them, they retreated, and I heard no more of them, except that they
publicly cursed me in the church more than once, an event which, as
no ill resulted from it, gave me little concern.

I will not detail the events of the next week; suffice it to say
that arranging my forces in the most advantageous way, I succeeded,
by God's assistance, in disposing of from five to six hundred
Testaments amongst the villages from one to seven leagues' distance
from Abades. At the expiration of that period I received
information that my proceedings were known in Segovia, in which
province Abades is situated, and that an order was about to be sent
to the alcalde to seize all books in my possession. Whereupon,
notwithstanding that it was late in the evening, I decamped with
all my people, and upwards of three hundred Testaments, having a
few hours previously received a fresh supply from Madrid. That
night we passed in the fields, and next morning proceeded to
Labajos, a village on the high road from Madrid to Valladolid. In
this place we offered no books for sale, but contented ourselves
with supplying the neighbouring villages with the word of God: we
likewise sold it in the highways.

We had not been at Labajos a week, during which time we were
remarkably successful, when the Carlist chieftain, Balmaseda, at
the head of his cavalry, made his desperate inroad into the
southern part of Old Castile, dashing down like an avalanche from
the pine-woods of Soria. I was present at all the horrors which
ensued,--the sack of Arrevalo, and the forcible entry into Martin
Munoz. Amidst these terrible scenes we continued our labours.
Suddenly I lost Lopez for three days, and suffered dreadful anxiety
on his account, imagining that he had been shot by the Carlists; at
last I heard that he was in prison at Villallos, three leagues
distant. The steps which I took to rescue him will be found
detailed in a communication, which I deemed it my duty to transmit
to Lord William Hervey, who, in the absence of Sir George Villiers,
now became Earl of Clarendon, fulfilled the duties of minister at
Madrid:-

LABAJOS, PROVINCE OF SEGOVIA,
August 23, 1838.

My Lord,--I beg leave to call your attention to the following
facts. On the 21st inst. I received information that a person in
my employ, of the name of Juan Lopez, had been thrown into the
prison of Villallos, in the province of Avila, by order of the cura
of that place. The crime with which he was charged was selling the
New Testament. I was at that time at Labajos, in the province of
Segovia, and the division of the factious chieftain Balmaseda was
in the immediate neighbourhood. On the 22nd, I mounted my horse
and rode to Villallos, a distance of three leagues. On my arrival
there, I found that Lopez had been removed from the prison to a
private house. An order had arrived from the corregidor of Avila,
commanding that the person of Lopez should be set at liberty, and
that the books which had been found in his possession should be
alone detained. Nevertheless, in direct opposition to this order,
(a copy of which I herewith transmit,) the alcalde of Villallos, at
the instigation of the cura, refused to permit the said Lopez to
quit the place, either to proceed to Avila or in any other
direction. It had been hinted to Lopez that as the factious were
expected, it was intended on their arrival to denounce him to them
as a liberal, and to cause him to be sacrificed. Taking these
circumstances into consideration, I deemed it my duty as a
Christian and a gentleman, to rescue my unfortunate servant from
such lawless hands, and in consequence, defying opposition, I bore
him off, though entirely unarmed, through a crowd of at least one
hundred peasants. On leaving the place I shouted, "Viva Isabel
Segunda."