THE BIBLE IN SPAIN - GEORGE BORROW

looking behind and around him, seemingly in dread of being
overheard, which brought to my mind an expression of a friend
of mine, that if there be any truth in metempsychosis, the soul
of Count Ofalia must have originally belonged to a mouse. We
parted in kindness, and I went away, wondering by what strange
chance this poor man had become prime minister of a country
like Spain.
CHAPTER XXXIX
The Two Gospels - The Alguazil - The Warrant - The Good Maria -
The Arrest - Sent to Prison - Reflections - The Reception -
The Prison Room - Redress Demanded.
At length the Gospel of Saint Luke in the Gypsy language
was in a state of readiness. I therefore deposited a certain
number of copies in the despacho, and announced them for sale.
The Basque, which was by this time also printed, was likewise
advertised. For this last work there was little demand. Not
so, however, for the Gypsy Luke, of which I could have easily
disposed of the whole edition in less than a fortnight. Long,
however, before this period had expired, the clergy were up in
arms. "Sorcery!" said one bishop. "There is more in this than
we can dive into," exclaimed a second. "He will convert all
Spain by means of the Gypsy language," cried a third. And then
came the usual chorus on such occasions, of QUE INFAMIA! QUE
PICARDIA! At last, having consulted together, away they
hurried to their tool the corregidor, or, according to the
modern term, the gefe politico of Madrid. I have forgotten the
name of this worthy, of whom I had myself no personal knowledge
whatever. Judging from his actions, however, and from common
report, I should say that he was a stupid wrong-headed
creature, savage withal - a melange of borrico, mule, and wolf.
Having an inveterate antipathy to all foreigners, he lent a
willing ear to the complaint of my accusers, and forthwith gave
orders to make a seizure of all the copies of the Gypsy Gospel
which could be found in the despacho. The consequence was,
that a numerous body of alguazils directed their steps to the
Calle del principe; some thirty copies of the book in question
were pounced upon, and about the same number of Saint Luke in
Basque. With this spoil these satellites returned in triumph
to the gefatura politica, where they divided the copies of the
Gypsy volume amongst themselves, selling subsequently the
greater number at a large price, the book being in the greatest
demand, and thus becoming unintentionally agents of an
heretical society. But every one must live by his trade, say
these people, and they lose no opportunity of making their
words good, by disposing to the best advantage of any booty
which falls into their hands. As no person cared about the
Basque Gospel, it was safely stowed away, with other
unmarketable captures, in the warehouses of the office.
The Gypsy Gospels had now been seized, at least as many
as were exposed for sale in the despacho. The corregidor and
his friends, however, were of opinion that many more might be
obtained by means of a little management. Fellows, therefore,
hangers-on of the police office, were daily dispatched to the
shop in all kinds of disguises, inquiring, with great seeming
anxiety, for "Gypsy books," and offering high prices for
copies. They, however, returned to their employers emptyhanded.
My Gallegan was on his guard, informing all who made
inquiries, that books of no description would be sold at the
establishment for the present. Which was in truth the case, as
I had given him particular orders to sell no more under any
pretence whatever.
I got no credit, however, for my frank dealing. The
corregidor and his confederates could not persuade themselves
but that by some means mysterious and unknown to them, I was
daily selling hundreds of these Gypsy books, which were to
revolutionize the country, and annihilate the power of the
Father of Rome. A plan was therefore resolved upon, by means
of which they hoped to have an opportunity of placing me in a
position which would incapacitate me for some time from taking
any active measures to circulate the Scriptures, either in
Gypsy or in any other language.
It was on the morning of the first of May, if I forget
not, that an unknown individual made his appearance in my
apartment as I was seated at breakfast; he was a mean-looking
fellow, about the middle stature, with a countenance on which
knave was written in legible characters. The hostess ushered
him in, and then withdrew. I did not like the appearance of my
visitor, but assuming some degree of courtesy, I requested him
to sit down, and demanded his business. "I come from his
excellency the political chief of Madrid," he replied, "and my
business is to inform you that his excellency is perfectly
aware of your proceedings, and is at any time able to prove
that you are still disposing of in secret those evil books
which you have been forbidden to sell." "Is he so," I replied;
"pray let him do so forthwith, but what need of giving me
information?" "Perhaps," continued the fellow, "you think his
worship has no witnesses; know, however, that he has many, and
respectable ones too." "Doubtless," I replied, "and from the
respectability of your own appearance, you are perhaps one of
them. But you are occupying my time unprofitably; begone,
therefore, and tell whoever sent you, that I have by no means a
high opinion of his wisdom." "I shall go when I please,"
retorted the fellow; "do you know to whom you are speaking?
Are you aware that if I think fit I can search your apartment,
yes, even below your bed? What have we here," he continued;
and commenced with his stick poking a heap of papers which lay
upon a chair; "what have we here; are these also papers of the
Gypsies?" I instantly determined upon submitting no longer to
this behaviour, and taking the fellow by the arm, led him out
of the apartment, and then still holding him, conducted him
downstairs from the third floor in which I lived, into the
street, looking him steadfastly in the face the whole while.
The fellow had left his sombrero on the table, which I
dispatched to him by the landlady, who delivered it into his
hand as he stood in the street staring with distended eyes at
the balcony of my apartment.
"A trampa has been laid for you, Don Jorge," said Maria
Diaz, when she had reascended from the street; "that corchete
came here with no other intention than to have a dispute with
you; out of every word you have said he will make a long
history, as is the custom with these people: indeed he said, as
I handed him his hat, that ere twenty-four hours were over, you
should see the inside of the prison of Madrid."
In effect, during the course of the morning, I was told
that a warrant had been issued for my apprehension. The
prospect of incarceration, however, did not fill me with much
dismay; an adventurous life and inveterate habits of wandering
having long familiarized me to situations of every kind, so
much so as to feel myself quite as comfortable in a prison as
in the gilded chamber of palaces; indeed more so, as in the
former place I can always add to my store of useful
information, whereas in the latter, ennui frequently assails
me. I had, moreover, been thinking for some time past of
paying a visit to the prison, partly in the hope of being able
to say a few words of Christian instruction to the criminals,
and partly with the view of making certain investigations in
the robber language of Spain, a subject about which I had long
felt much curiosity; indeed, I had already made application for
admittance into the Carcel de la Corte, but had found the
matter surrounded with difficulties, as my friend Ofalia would
have said. I rather rejoiced then in the opportunity which was
now about to present itself of entering the prison, not in the
character of a visitor for an hour, but as a martyr, and as one
suffering in the holy cause of religion. I was determined,
however, to disappoint my enemies for that day at least, and to
render null the threat of the alguazil, that I should be
imprisoned within twenty-four hours. I therefore took up my
abode for the rest of the day in a celebrated French tavern in
the Calle del Caballero de Gracia, which, as it was one of the
most fashionable and public places in Madrid, I naturally
concluded was one of the last where the corregidor would think
of seeking me.
About ten at night, Maria Diaz, to whom I had
communicated the place of my retreat, arrived with her son,
Juan Lopez. "O senor," said she on seeing me, "they are
already in quest of you; the alcalde of the barrio, with a
large comitiva of alguazils and such like people, have just
been at our house with a warrant for your imprisonment from the
corregidor. They searched the whole house, and were much
disappointed at not finding you. Wo is me, what will they do
when they catch you?" "Be under no apprehensions, good Maria,"
said I; "you forget that I am an Englishman, and so it seems
does the corregidor. Whenever he catches me, depend upon it he
will be glad enough to let me go. For the present, however, we
will permit him to follow his own course, for the spirit of
folly seems to have seized him."
I slept at the tavern, and in the forenoon of the
following day repaired to the embassy, where I had an interview
with Sir George, to whom I related every circumstance of the
affair. He said that he could scarcely believe that the
corregidor entertained any serious intentions of imprisoning
me: in the first place, because I had committed no offence; and
in the second, because I was not under the jurisdiction of that
functionary, but under that of the captain-general, who was
alone empowered to decide upon matters which relate to
foreigners, and before whom I must be brought in the presence
of the consul of my nation. "However," said he, "there is no
knowing to what length these jacks in office may go. I
therefore advise you, if you are under any apprehension, to
remain as my guest at the embassy for a few days, for here you
will be quite safe." I assured him that I was under no
apprehension whatever, having long been accustomed to
adventures of this kind. From the apartment of Sir George, I
proceeded to that of the first secretary of embassy, Mr.
Southern, with whom I entered into conversation. I had
scarcely been there a minute when my servant Francisco rushed
in, much out of breath, and in violent agitation, exclaiming in
Basque, "Niri jauna (MASTER MINE), the alguaziloac and the
corchetoac, and all the other lapurrac (THIEVES) are again at
the house. They seem half mad, and not being able to find you,
are searching your papers, thinking, I suppose, that you are
hid among them." Mr. Southern here interrupting him, inquired
of me what all this meant. Whereupon I told him, saying at the
same time, that it was my intention to proceed at once to my
lodgings. "But perhaps these fellows will arrest you," said
Mr. S., "before we can interfere." "I must take my chance as
to that," I replied, and presently afterwards departed.
Ere, however, I had reached the middle of the street of
Alcala, two fellows came up to me, and telling me that I was
their prisoner, commanded me to follow them to the office of
the corregidor. They were in fact alguazils, who, suspecting
that I might enter or come out of the embassy, had stationed
themselves in the neighbourhood. I instantly turned round to
Francisco, and told him in Basque to return to the embassy and
to relate there to the secretary what had just occurred. The
poor fellow set off like lightning, turning half round,
however, to shake his fist, and to vent a Basque execration at
the two lapurrac, as he called the alguazils.
They conducted me to the gefatura or office of the
corregidor, where they ushered me into a large room, and
motioned me to sit down on a wooden bench. They then stationed
themselves on each side of me: there were at least twenty
people in the apartment beside ourselves, evidently from their
appearance officials of the establishment. They were all well
dressed, for the most part in the French fashion, in round
hats, coats, and pantaloons, and yet they looked what in
reality they were, Spanish alguazils, spies, and informers, and
Gil Blas, could he have waked from his sleep of two centuries,
would, notwithstanding the change of fashion, have had no
difficulty in recognizing them. They glanced at me as they
stood lounging about the room; they gathered themselves
together in a circle and began conversing in whispers. I heard
one of them say, "he understands the seven Gypsy jargons."
Then presently another, evidently from his language an
Andalusian, said, "ES MUY DIESTRO (he is very skilful), and can
ride a horse and dart a knife full as well as if he came from
my own country." Thereupon they all turned round and regarded
me with a species of interest, evidently mingled with respect,
which most assuredly they would not have exhibited had they
conceived that I was merely an honest man bearing witness in a
righteous cause.
I waited patiently on the bench at least one hour,
expecting every moment to be summoned before my lord the
corregidor. I suppose, however, that I was not deemed worthy
of being permitted to see so exalted a personage, for at the
end of that time, an elderly man, one however evidently of the
alguazil genus, came into the room and advanced directly
towards me. "Stand up," said he. I obeyed. "What is your
name?" he demanded. I told him. "Then," he replied,
exhibiting a paper which he held in his hand, "Senor, it is the
will of his excellency the corregidor that you be forthwith
sent to prison."
He looked at me steadfastly as he spoke, perhaps
expecting that I should sink into the earth at the formidable
name of prison; I however only smiled. He then delivered the
paper, which I suppose was the warrant for my committal, into
the hand of one of my two captors, and obeying a sign which
they made, I followed them.
I subsequently learned that the secretary of legation,
Mr. Southern, had been dispatched by Sir George, as soon as the
latter had obtained information of my arrest, and had been
waiting at the office during the greater part of the time that
I was there. He had demanded an audience of the corregidor, in
which he had intended to have remonstrated with him, and
pointed out to him the danger to which he was subjecting
himself by the rash step which he was taking. The sullen
functionary, however, had refused to see him, thinking,
perhaps, that to listen to reason would be a dereliction of
dignity: by this conduct, however, he most effectually served
me, as no person, after such a specimen of uncalled-for
insolence, felt disposed to question the violence and injustice
which had been practised towards me.
The alguazils conducted me across the Plaza Mayor to the
Carcel de la Corte, or prison of the court, as it is called.
Whilst going across the square, I remembered that this was the
place where, in "the good old times," the Inquisition of Spain
was in the habit of holding its solemn AUTOS DA FE, and I cast
my eye to the balcony of the city hall, where at the most
solemn of them all, the last of the Austrian line in Spain sat,
and after some thirty heretics, of both sexes, had been burnt
by fours and by fives, wiped his face, perspiring with heat,
and black with smoke, and calmly inquired, "No hay mas?" for
which exemplary proof of patience he was much applauded by his
priests and confessors, who subsequently poisoned him. "And
here am I," thought I, "who have done more to wound Popery,
than all the poor Christian martyrs that ever suffered in this
accursed square, merely sent to prison, from which I am sure to
be liberated in a few days, with credit and applause. Pope of
Rome! I believe you to be as malicious as ever, but you are
sadly deficient in power. You are become paralytic, Batuschca,
and your club has degenerated to a crutch."
We arrived at the prison, which stands in a narrow street
not far from the great square. We entered a dusky passage, at
the end of which was a wicket door. My conductors knocked, a
fierce visage peered through the wicket; there was an exchange
of words, and in a few moments I found myself within the prison
of Madrid, in a kind of corridor which overlooked at a
considerable altitude what appeared to be a court, from which
arose a hubbub of voices, and occasionally wild shouts and
cries. Within the corridor which served as a kind of office,
were several people; one of them sat behind a desk, and to him
the alguazils went up, and after discoursing with him some time
in low tones, delivered the warrant into his hands. He perused
it with attention, then rising he advanced to me. What a
figure! He was about forty years of age, and his height might
have amounted to some six feet two inches, had he not been
curved much after the fashion of the letter S. No weazel ever
appeared lanker, and he looked as if a breath of air would have
been sufficient to blow him away; his face might certainly have
been called handsome, had it not been for its extraordinary and
portentous meagreness; his nose was like an eagle's bill, his
teeth white as ivory, his eyes black (Oh how black!) and
fraught with a strange expression, his skin was dark, and the
hair of his head like the plumage of the raven. A deep quiet
smile dwelt continually on his features; but with all the quiet
it was a cruel smile, such a one as would have graced the
countenance of a Nero. "MAIS EN REVANCHE PERSONNE N'ETOIT PLUS
HONNETE." "Caballero," said he, "allow me to introduce myself
to you as the alcayde of this prison. I perceive by this paper
that I am to have the honour of your company for a time, a
short time doubtless, beneath this roof; I hope you will banish
every apprehension from your mind. I am charged to treat you
with all the respect which is due to the illustrious nation to
which you belong, and which a cavalier of such exalted category
as yourself is entitled to expect. A needless charge, it is
true, as I should only have been too happy of my own accord to
have afforded you every comfort and attention. Caballero, you
will rather consider yourself here as a guest than a prisoner;
you will be permitted to roam over every part of this house
whenever you think proper. You will find matters here not
altogether below the attention of a philosophic mind! Pray,
issue whatever commands you may think fit to the turnkeys and
officials, even as if they were your own servants. I will now
have the honour of conducting you to your apartment - the only
one at present unoccupied. We invariably reserve it for
cavaliers of distinction. I am happy to say that my orders are
again in consonance with my inclination. No charge whatever
will be made for it to you, though the daily hire of it is not
unfrequently an ounce of gold. I entreat you, therefore, to
follow me, cavalier, who am at all times and seasons the most
obedient and devoted of your servants." Here he took off his
hat and bowed profoundly.
Such was the speech of the alcayde of the prison of
Madrid; a speech delivered in pure sonorous Castilian, with
calmness, gravity, and almost with dignity; a speech which
would have done honour to a gentleman of high birth, to
Monsieur Basompierre, of the Old Bastile, receiving an Italian
prince, or the high constable of the Tower an English duke
attainted of high treason. Now, who in the name of wonder was
this alcayde?
One of the greatest rascals in all Spain. A fellow who
had more than once by his grasping cupidity, and by his
curtailment of the miserable rations of the prisoners, caused
an insurrection in the court below only to be repressed by
bloodshed, and by summoning military aid; a fellow of low
birth, who, only five years previous, had been DRUMMER to a
band of royalist volunteers!
But Spain is the land of extraordinary characters.
I followed the alcayde to the end of the corridor, where
was a massive grated door, on each side of which sat a grim
fellow of a turnkey. The door was opened, and turning to the
right we proceeded down another corridor, in which were many
people walking about, whom I subsequently discovered to be
prisoners like myself, but for political offences. At the end
of this corridor, which extended the whole length of the patio,
we turned into another, and the first apartment in this was the
one destined for myself. It was large and lofty, but totally
destitute of every species of furniture, with the exception of
a huge wooden pitcher, intended to hold my daily allowance of
water. "Caballero," said the alcayde, "the apartment is
without furniture, as you see. It is already the third hour of
the tarde, I therefore advise you to lose no time in sending to
your lodgings for a bed and whatever you may stand in need of,
the llavero here shall do your bidding. Caballero, adieu till
I see you again."
I followed his advice, and writing a note in pencil to
Maria Diaz, I dispatched it by the llavero, and then sitting
down on the wooden pitcher, I fell into a reverie, which
continued for a considerable time.
Night arrived, and so did Maria Diaz, attended by two
porters and Francisco, all loaded with furniture. A lamp was
lighted, charcoal was kindled in the brasero, and the prison
gloom was to a certain degree dispelled.
I now left my seat on the pitcher, and sitting down on a
chair, proceeded to dispatch some wine and viands, which my
good hostess had not forgotten to bring with her. Suddenly Mr.
Southern entered. He laughed heartily at finding me engaged in
the manner I have described. "B-," said he, "you are the man
to get through the world, for you appear to take all things
coolly, and as matters of course. That, however, which most
surprises me with respect to you is, your having so many
friends; here you are in prison, surrounded by people
ministering to your comforts. Your very servant is your
friend, instead of being your worst enemy, as is usually the
case. That Basque of yours is a noble fellow. I shall never
forget how he spoke for you, when he came running to the
embassy to inform us of your arrest. He interested both Sir
George and myself in the highest degree: should you ever wish
to part with him, I hope you will give me the refusal of his
services. But now to other matters." He then informed me that
Sir George had already sent in an official note to Ofalia,
demanding redress for such a wanton outrage on the person of a
British subject. "You must remain in prison," said he, "tonight,
but depend upon it that to-morrow, if you are disposed,
you may quit in triumph." "I am by no means disposed for any
such thing," I replied. "They have put me in prison for their
pleasure, and I intend to remain here for my own." "If the
confinement is not irksome to you," said Mr. Southern, "I
think, indeed, it will be your wisest plan; the government have
committed themselves sadly with regard to you; and, to speak
plainly, we are by no means sorry for it. They have on more
than one occasion treated ourselves very cavalierly, and we
have now, if you continue firm, an excellent opportunity of
humbling their insolence. I will instantly acquaint Sir George
with your determination, and you shall hear from us early on
the morrow." He then bade me farewell; and flinging myself on
my bed, I was soon asleep in the prison of Madrid.
CHAPTER XL
Ofalia - The Juez - Carcel do la Corte - Sunday in Prison -
Robber Dress - Father and Son - Characteristic Behaviour -
The Frenchman - Prison Allowance - Valley of the Shadow -
Pure Castilian - Balseiro - The Cave - Robber Glory.
Ofalia quickly perceived that the imprisonment of a
British subject in a manner so illegal as that which had
attended my own, was likely to be followed by rather serious
consequences. Whether he himself had at all encouraged the
corregidor in his behaviour towards me, it is impossible to
say; the probability is that he had not: the latter, however,
was an officer of his own appointing, for whose actions himself
and the government were to a certain extent responsible. Sir
George had already made a very strong remonstrance upon the
subject, and had even gone so far as to state in an official
note that he should desist from all farther communication with
the Spanish government until full and ample reparation had been
afforded me for the violence to which I had been subjected.
Ofalia's reply was, that immediate measures should be taken for
my liberation, and that it would be my own fault if I remained
in prison. He forthwith ordered a juez de la primera
instancia, a kind of solicitor-general, to wait upon me, who
was instructed to hear my account of the affair, and then to
dismiss me with an admonition to be cautious for the future.
My friends of the embassy, however, had advised me how to act
in such a case. Accordingly, when the juez on the second night
of my imprisonment made his appearance at the prison, and
summoned me before him, I went, but on his proceeding to
question me, I absolutely refused to answer. "I deny your
right to put any questions to me," said I; "I entertain,
however, no feelings of disrespect to the government or to
yourself, Caballero Juez; but I have been illegally imprisoned.
So accomplished a jurist as yourself cannot fail to be aware
that, according to the laws of Spain, I, as a foreigner, could
not be committed to prison for the offence with which I had
been charged, without previously being conducted before the
captain-general of this royal city, whose duty it is to protect
foreigners, and see that the laws of hospitality are not
violated in their persons."
JUEZ. - Come, come, Don Jorge, I see what you are aiming
at; but listen to reason: I will not now speak to you as a juez
but as a friend who wishes you well, and who entertains a
profound reverence for the British nation. This is a foolish
affair altogether; I will not deny that the political chief
acted somewhat hastily on the information of a person not
perhaps altogether worthy of credit. No great damage, however,
has been done to you, and to a man of the world like yourself,
a little adventure of this kind is rather calculated to afford
amusement than anything else. Now be advised, forget what has
happened; you know that it is the part and duty of a Christian
to forgive; so, Don Jorge, I advise you to leave this place
forthwith. I dare say you are getting tired of it. You are
this moment free to depart; repair at once to your lodgings,
where, I promise you, that no one shall be permitted to
interrupt you for the future. It is getting late, and the
prison doors will speedily be closed for the night. VAMOS, DON
JORGE, A LA CASA, A LA POSADA!
MYSELF. - "But Paul said unto them, they have beaten us
openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison;
and now do they thrust us out privily? Nay, verily: but let
them come themselves and fetch us out."
I then bowed to the juez, who shrugged his shoulders and
took snuff. On leaving the apartment I turned to the alcayde,
who stood at the door: "Take notice," said I, "that I will not
quit this prison till I have received full satisfaction for
being sent hither uncondemned. You may expel me if you please,
but any attempt to do so shall be resisted with all the bodily
strength of which I am possessed."
"Your worship is right," said the alcayde with a bow, but
in a low voice.
Sir George, on hearing of this affair, sent me a letter
in which he highly commanded my resolution not to leave the
prison for the present, at the same time begging me to let him
know if there were anything that he could send me from the
embassy to render my situation more tolerable.
I will now leave for the present my own immediate
affairs, and proceed to give some account of the prison of
Madrid and its inmates.
The Carcel de la Corte, where I now was, though the
principal prison of Madrid, is one which certainly in no
respect does credit to the capital of Spain. Whether it was
originally intended for the purpose to which it is at present
applied, I have no opportunity of knowing. The chances,
however, are, that it was not; indeed it was not till of late
years that the practice of building edifices expressly intended
and suited for the incarceration of culprits came at all into
vogue. Castles, convents, and deserted palaces, have in all
countries, at different times, been converted into prisons,
which practice still holds good upon the greater part of the
continent, and more particularly in Spain and Italy, which
accounts, to a certain extent, for the insecurity of the
prisons, and the misery, want of cleanliness, and unhealthiness
which in general pervade them.
I shall not attempt to enter into a particular
description of the prison of Madrid, indeed it would be quite
impossible to describe so irregular and rambling an edifice.
Its principal features consisted of two courts, the one behind
the other, intended for the great body of the prisoners to take
air and recreation in. Three large vaulted dungeons or
calabozos occupied three sides of this court, immediately below
the corridors of which I have already spoken. These dungeons
were roomy enough to contain respectively from one hundred to
one hundred and fifty prisoners, who were at night secured
therein with lock and bar, but during the day were permitted to
roam about the courts as they thought fit. The second court
was considerably larger than the first, though it contained but
two dungeons, horribly filthy and disgusting places; this
second court being used for the reception of the lower grades
of thieves. Of the two dungeons one was, if possible, yet more
horrible than the other; it was called the gallineria, or
chicken coop, and within it every night were pent up the young
fry of the prison, wretched boys from seven to fifteen years of
age, the greater part almost in a state of nudity. The common
bed of all the inmates of these dungeons was the ground,
between which and their bodies nothing intervened, save
occasionally a manta or horse-cloth, or perhaps a small
mattress; this latter luxury was, however, of exceedingly rare
occurrence.
Besides the calabozos connected with the courts, were
other dungeons in various parts of the prison; some of them
quite dark, intended for the reception of those whom it might
be deemed expedient to treat with peculiar severity. There was
likewise a ward set apart for females. Connected with the
principal corridor were many small apartments, where resided
prisoners confined for debt or for political offences. And,
lastly, there was a small capilla or chapel, in which prisoners
cast for death passed the last three days of their existence in
company of their ghostly advisers.
I shall not soon forget my first Sunday in prison.
Sunday is the gala day of the prison, at least of that of
Madrid, and whatever robber finery is to be found within it, is
sure to be exhibited on that day of holiness. There is not a
set of people in the world more vain than robbers in general,
more fond of cutting a figure whenever they have an
opportunity, and of attracting the eyes of their fellow
creatures by the gallantry of their appearance. The famous
Sheppard of olden times delighted in sporting a suit of Genoese
velvet, and when he appeared in public generally wore a silverhilted
sword at his side; whilst Vaux and Hayward, heroes of a
later day, were the best dressed men on the pave of London.
Many of the Italian bandits go splendidly decorated, and the
very Gypsy robber has a feeling for the charms of dress; the
cap alone of the Haram Pasha, or leader of the cannibal Gypsy
band which infested Hungary towards the conclusion of the last
century, was adorned with gold and jewels to the value of four
thousand guilders. Observe, ye vain and frivolous, how vanity
and crime harmonize. The Spanish robbers are as fond of this
species of display as their brethren of other lands, and,
whether in prison or out of it, are never so happy as when,
decked out in a profusion of white linen, they can loll in the
sun, or walk jauntily up and down.
Snow-white linen, indeed, constitutes the principal
feature in the robber foppery of Spain. Neither coat nor
jacket is worn over the shirt, the sleeves of which are wide
and flowing, only a waistcoat of green or blue silk, with an
abundance of silver buttons, which are intended more for show
than use, as the vest is seldom buttoned. Then there are wide
trousers, something after the Turkish fashion; around the waist
is a crimson faja or girdle, and about the head is tied a
gaudily coloured handkerchief from the loom of Barcelona; light
pumps and silk stockings complete the robber's array. This
dress is picturesque enough, and well adapted to the fine
sunshiny weather of the Peninsula; there is a dash of
effeminacy about it, however, hardly in keeping with the
robber's desperate trade. It must not, however, be supposed
that it is every robber who can indulge in all this luxury;
there are various grades of thieves, some poor enough, with
scarcely a rag to cover them. Perhaps in the crowded prison of
Madrid, there were not more than twenty who exhibited the dress
which I have attempted to describe above; these were JENTE DE
REPUTACION, tip-top thieves, mostly young fellows, who, though
they had no money of their own, were supported in prison by
their majas and amigas, females of a certain class, who form
friendships with robbers, and whose glory and delight it is to
administer to the vanity of these fellows with the wages of
their own shame and abasement. These females supplied their
cortejos with the snowy linen, washed, perhaps, by their own
hands in the waters of the Manzanares, for the display of the
Sunday, when they would themselves make their appearance
dressed a la maja, and from the corridors would gaze with
admiring eyes upon the robbers vapouring about in the court
below.
Amongst those of the snowy linen who most particularly
attracted my attention, were a father and son; the former was a
tall athletic figure of about thirty, by profession a
housebreaker, and celebrated throughout Madrid for the peculiar
dexterity which he exhibited in his calling. He was now in
prison for a rather atrocious murder committed in the dead of
night, in a house at Caramanchel, in which his only accomplice
was his son, a child under seven years of age. "The apple," as
the Danes say, "had not fallen far from the tree"; the imp was
in every respect the counterpart of the father, though in
miniature. He, too, wore the robber shirt sleeves, the robber
waistcoat with the silver buttons, the robber kerchief round
his brow, and, ridiculous enough, a long Manchegan knife in the
crimson faja. He was evidently the pride of the ruffian
father, who took all imaginable care of this chick of the
gallows, would dandle him on his knee, and would occasionally
take the cigar from his own moustached lips and insert it in
the urchin's mouth. The boy was the pet of the court, for the
father was one of the valientes of the prison, and those who
feared his prowess, and wished to pay their court to him, were
always fondling the child. What an enigma is this world of
ours! How dark and mysterious are the sources of what is
called crime and virtue! If that infant wretch become
eventually a murderer like his father, is he to blame? Fondled
by robbers, already dressed as a robber, born of a robber,
whose own history was perhaps similar. Is it right?
O, man, man, seek not to dive into the mystery of moral
good and evil; confess thyself a worm, cast thyself on the
earth, and murmur with thy lips in the dust, Jesus, Jesus!
What most surprised me with respect to the prisoners, was
their good behaviour; I call it good when all things are taken
into consideration, and when I compare it with that of the
general class of prisoners in foreign lands. They had their
occasional bursts of wild gaiety, their occasional quarrels,
which they were in the habit of settling in a corner of the
inferior court with their long knives; the result not
unfrequently being death, or a dreadful gash in the face or the
abdomen; but, upon the whole, their conduct was infinitely
superior to what might have been expected from the inmates of
such a place. Yet this was not the result of coercion, or any
particular care which was exercised over them; for perhaps in
no part of the world are prisoners so left to themselves and so
utterly neglected as in Spain: the authorities having no
farther anxiety about them, than to prevent their escape; not
the slightest attention being paid to their moral conduct and
not a thought bestowed upon their health, comfort or mental
improvement, whilst within the walls. Yet in this prison of
Madrid, and I may say in Spanish prisons in general, for I have
been an inmate of more than one, the ears of the visitor are
never shocked with horrid blasphemy and obscenity, as in those
of some other countries, and more particularly in civilized
France; nor are his eyes outraged and himself insulted, as he
would assuredly be, were he to look down upon the courts from
the galleries of the Bicetre. And yet in this prison of Madrid
were some of the most desperate characters in Spain: ruffians
who had committed acts of cruelly and atrocity sufficient to
make the flesh shudder. But gravity and sedateness are the
leading characteristics of the Spaniards, and the very robber,
except in those moments when he is engaged in his occupation,
and then no one is more sanguinary, pitiless, and wolfishly
eager for booty, is a being who can be courteous and affable,
and who takes pleasure in conducting himself with sobriety and
decorum.
Happily, perhaps, for me, that my acquaintance with the
ruffians of Spain commenced and ended in the towns about which
I wandered, and in the prisons into which I was cast for the
Gospel's sake, and that, notwithstanding my long and frequent
journeys, I never came in contact with them on the road or in
the despoblado.
The most ill-conditioned being in the prison was a
Frenchman, though probably the most remarkable. He was about
sixty years of age, of the middle stature, but thin and meagre,
like most of his countrymen; he had a villainously-formed head,
according to all the rules of craniology, and his features were
full of evil expression. He wore no hat, and his clothes,
though in appearance nearly new, were of the coarsest
description. He generally kept aloof from the rest, and would
stand for hours together leaning against the walls with his
arms folded, glaring sullenly on what was passing before him.
He was not one of the professed valientes, for his age
prevented his assuming so distinguished a character, and yet
all the rest appeared to hold him in a certain awe: perhaps
they feared his tongue, which he occasionally exerted in
pouring forth withering curses on those who incurred his
displeasure. He spoke perfectly good Spanish, and to my great
surprise excellent Basque, in which he was in the habit of
conversing with Francisco, who, lolling from the window of my
apartment, would exchange jests and witticisms with the
prisoners in the court below, with whom he was a great
favourite.
One day when I was in the patio, to which I had free
admission whenever I pleased, by permission of the alcayde, I
went up to the Frenchman, who stood in his usual posture,
leaning against the wall, and offered him a cigar. I do not
smoke myself, but it will never do to mix among the lower
classes of Spain unless you have a cigar to present
occasionally. The man glared at me ferociously for a moment,
and appeared to be on the point of refusing my offer with
perhaps a hideous execration. I repeated it, however, pressing
my hand against my heart, whereupon suddenly the grim features
relaxed, and with a genuine French grimace, and a low bow, he
accepted the cigar, exclaiming, "AH, MONSIEUR, PARDON, MAIS
C'EST FAIRE TROP D'HONNEUR A UN PAUVRE DIABLE COMME MOI."
"Not at all," said I, "we are both fellow prisoners in a
foreign land, and being so we ought to countenance each other.
I hope that whenever I have need of your co-operation in this
prison you will afford it me."
"Ah, Monsieur," exclaimed the Frenchman in rapture, "VOUS
AVEZ BIEN RAISON; IL FAUT QUE LES EIRANGERS SE DONNENT LA MAIN
DANS CE . . . PAYS DE BARBARES. TENEZ," he added, in a
whisper, "if you have any plan for escaping, and require my
assistance, I have an arm and a knife at your service: you may
trust me, and that is more than you could any of these SACRES
GENS ICI," glancing fiercely round at his fellow prisoners.
"You appear to be no friend to Spain and the Spaniards,"
said I. "I conclude that you have experienced injustice at
their hands. For what have they immured you in this place?"
"POUR RIEN DU TOUT, C'EST A DIRE POUR UNE BAGATELLE; but
what can you expect from such animals? For what are you
imprisoned? Did I not hear say for Gypsyism and sorcery?"
"Perhaps you are here for your opinions?"
"AH, MON DIEU, NON; JE NE SUIS PAS HOMME A SEMBLABLE
BETISE. I have no opinions. JE FAISOIS . . . MAIS CE
N'IMPORTE; JE ME TROUVE ICI, OU JE CREVE DE FAIM."
"I am sorry to see a brave man in such a distressed
condition," said I; "have you nothing to subsist upon beyond
the prison allowance? Have you no friends?"
"Friends in this country, you mock me; here one has no
friends, unless one buy them. I am bursting with hunger; since
I have been here I have sold the clothes off my back, that I
might eat, for the prison allowance will not support nature,
and of half of that we are robbed by the Batu, as they call the
barbarian of a governor. LES HAILLONS which now cover me were
given by two or three devotees who sometimes visit here. I
would sell them if they would fetch aught. I have not a sou,
and for want of a few crowns I shall be garroted within a month
unless I can escape, though, as I told you before, I have done
nothing, a mere bagatelle; but the worst crimes in Spain are
poverty and misery."
"I have heard you speak Basque, are you from French
Biscay?"
"I am from Bordeaux, Monsieur; but I have lived much on
the Landes and in Biscay, TRAVAILLANT A MON METIER. I see by
your look that you wish to know my history. I shall not tell
it you. It contains nothing that is remarkable. See, I have
smoked out your cigar; you may give me another, and add a
dollar if you please, NOUS SOMMES CREVES ICI DE FAIM. I would
not say as much to a Spaniard, but I have a respect for your
countrymen; I know much of them; I have met them at Maida and
the other place." *
* Perhaps Waterloo.
"Nothing remarkable in his history!" Why, or I greatly
err, one chapter of his life, had it been written, would have
unfolded more of the wild and wonderful than fifty volumes of
what are in general called adventures and hairbreadth escapes
by land and sea. A soldier! what a tale could that man have
told of marches and retreats, of battles lost and won, towns
sacked, convents plundered; perhaps he had seen the flames of
Moscow ascending to the clouds, and had "tried his strength
with nature in the wintry desert," pelted by the snow-storm,
and bitten by the tremendous cold of Russia: and what could he
mean by plying his trade in Biscay and the Landes, but that he
had been a robber in those wild regions, of which the latter is
more infamous for brigandage and crime than any other part of
the French territory. Nothing remarkable in his history! then
what history in the world contains aught that is remarkable?
I gave him the cigar and dollar: he received them, and
then once more folding his arms, leaned back against the wall
and appeared to sink gradually into one of his reveries. I
looked him in the face and spoke to him, but he did not seem
either to hear or see me. His mind was perhaps wandering in
that dreadful valley of the shadow, into which the children of
earth, whilst living, occasionally find their way; that
dreadful region where there is no water, where hope dwelleth
not, where nothing lives but the undying worm. This valley is
the facsimile of hell, and he who has entered it, has
experienced here on earth for a time what the spirits of the
condemned are doomed to suffer through ages without end.
He was executed about a month from this time. The
bagatelle for which he was confined was robbery and murder by
the following strange device. In concert with two others, he
hired a large house in an unfrequented part of the town, to
which place he would order tradesmen to convey valuable
articles, which were to be paid for on delivery; those who
attended paid for their credulity with the loss of their lives
and property. Two or three had fallen into the snare. I
wished much to have had some private conversation with this
desperate man, and in consequence begged of the alcayde to
allow him to dine with me in my own apartment; whereupon
Monsieur Basompierre, for so I will take the liberty of calling
the governor, his real name having escaped my memory, took off
his hat, and, with his usual smile and bow, replied in purest
Castilian, "English Cavalier, and I hope I may add friend,
pardon me, that it is quite out of my power to gratify your
request, founded, I have no doubt, on the most admirable
sentiments of philosophy. Any of the other gentlemen beneath
my care shall, at any time you desire it, be permitted to wait
upon you in your apartment. I will even go so far as to cause
their irons, if irons they wear, to be knocked off in order
that they may partake of your refection with that comfort which
is seemly and convenient: but to the gentleman in question I
must object; he is the most evil disposed of the whole of this
family, and would most assuredly breed a funcion either in your
apartment or in the corridor, by an attempt to escape.
Cavalier, ME PESA, but I cannot accede to your request. But
with respect to any other gentleman, I shall be most happy,
even Balseiro, who, though strange things are told of him,
still knows how to comport himself, and in whose behaviour
there is something both of formality and politeness, shall this
day share your hospitality if you desire it, Cavalier."
Of Balseiro I have already had occasion to speak in the
former part of this narrative. He was now confined in an upper
story of the prison, in a strong room, with several other
malefactors. He had been found guilty of aiding and assisting
one Pepe Candelas, a thief of no inconsiderable renown, in a
desperate robbery perpetrated in open daylight upon no less a
personage than the queen's milliner, a Frenchwoman, whom they
bound in her own shop, from which they took goods and money to
the amount of five or six thousand dollars. Candelas had
already expiated his crime on the scaffold, but Balseiro, who
was said to be by far the worst ruffian of the two, had by dint
of money, an ally which his comrade did not possess, contrived
to save his own life; the punishment of death, to which he was
originally sentenced, having been commuted to twenty years'
hard labour in the presidio of Malaga. I visited this worthy
and conversed with him for some time through the wicket of the
dungeon. He recognized me, and reminded me of the victory
which I had once obtained over him, in the trial of our
respective skill in the crabbed Gitano, at which Sevilla the
bull-fighter was umpire.
Upon my telling him that I was sorry to see him in such a
situation, he replied that it was an affair of no manner of
consequence, as within six weeks he should be conducted to the
presidio, from which, with the assistance of a few ounces
distributed among the guards, he could at any time escape.
"But whither would you flee?" I demanded. "Can I not flee to
the land of the Moors," replied Balseiro, "or to the English in
the camp of Gibraltar; or, if I prefer it, cannot I return to
this foro (CITY), and live as I have hitherto done, choring the
gachos (ROBBING THE NATIVES); what is to hinder me? Madrid is
large, and Balseiro has plenty of friends, especially among the
lumias (WOMEN)," he added with a smile. I spoke to him of his
ill-fated accomplice Candelas; whereupon his face assumed a
horrible expression. "I hope he is in torment," exclaimed the
robber. The friendship of the unrighteous is never of long
duration; the two worthies had it seems quarrelled in prison;
Candelas having accused the other of bad faith and an undue
appropriation to his own use of the CORPUS DELICTI in various
robberies which they had committed in company.
I cannot refrain from relating the subsequent history of
this Balseiro. Shortly after my own liberation, too impatient
to wait until the presidio should afford him a chance of
regaining his liberty, he in company with some other convicts
broke through the roof of the prison and escaped. He instantly
resumed his former habits, committing several daring robberies,
both within and without the walls of Madrid. I now come to his
last, I may call it his master crime, a singular piece of
atrocious villainy. Dissatisfied with the proceeds of street
robbery and house-breaking, he determined upon a bold stroke,
by which he hoped to acquire money sufficient to support him in
some foreign land in luxury and splendour.
There was a certain comptroller of the queen's household,
by name Gabiria, a Basque by birth, and a man of immense
possessions: this individual had two sons, handsome boys,
between twelve and fourteen years of age, whom I had frequently
seen, and indeed conversed with, in my walks on the bank of the
Manzanares, which was their favourite promenade. These
children, at the time of which I am speaking, were receiving
their education at a certain seminary in Madrid. Balseiro,
being well acquainted with the father's affection for his
children, determined to make it subservient to his own
rapacity. He formed a plan which was neither more nor less
than to steal the children, and not to restore them to their
parent until he had received an enormous ransom. This plan was
partly carried into execution: two associates of Balseiro well
dressed drove up to the door of the seminary, where the
children were, and, by means of a forged letter, purporting to
be written by the father, induced the school-master to permit
the boys to accompany them for a country jaunt, as they
pretended. About five leagues from Madrid, Balseiro had a cave
in a wild unfrequented spot between the Escurial and a village
called Torre Lodones: to this cave the children were conducted,
where they remained in durance under the custody of the two
accomplices; Balseiro in the meantime remaining in Madrid for
the purpose of conducting negotiations with the father. The
father, however, was a man of considerable energy, and instead
of acceding to the terms of the ruffian, communicated in a
letter, instantly took the most vigorous measures for the
recovery of his children. Horse and foot were sent out to
scour the country, and in less than a week the children were
found near the cave, having been abandoned by their keepers,
who had taken fright on hearing of the decided measures which
had been resorted to; they were, however, speedily arrested and
identified by the boys as their ravishers. Balseiro perceiving
that Madrid was becoming too hot to hold him, attempted to
escape, but whether to the camp of Gibraltar or to the land of
the Moor, I know not; he was recognized, however, at a village
in the neighbourhood of Madrid, and being apprehended, was
forthwith conducted to the capital, where he shortly after
terminated his existence on the scaffold, with his two
associates; Gabiria and his children being present at the
ghastly scene, which they surveyed from a chariot at their
ease.
Such was the end of Balseiro, of whom I should certainly
not have said so much, but for the affair of the crabbed
Gitano. Poor wretch! he acquired that species of immortality
which is the object of the aspirations of many a Spanish thief,
whilst vapouring about in the patio, dressed in the snowy
linen; the rape of the children of Gabiria made him at once the
pet of the fraternity. A celebrated robber, with whom I was
subsequently imprisoned at Seville, spoke his eulogy in the
following manner. -
"Balseiro was a very good subject, and an honest man. He
was the head of our family, Don Jorge; we shall never see his
like again; pity that he did not sack the parne (MONEY), and
escape to the camp of the Moor, Don Jorge."
CHAPTER XLI
Maria Diaz - Priestly Vituperation - Antonio's Visit -
Antonio at Service - A Scene - Benedict Mol -
Wandering in Spain - The Four Evangiles.
"Well," said I to Maria Diaz on the third morning after
my imprisonment, "what do the people of Madrid say to this
affair of mine?"
"I do not know what the people of Madrid in general say
about it, probably they do not take much interest in it;
indeed, imprisonments at the present time are such common
matters that people seem to be quite indifferent to them; the
priests, however, are in no slight commotion, and confess that
they have committed an imprudent thing in causing you to be
arrested by their friend the corregidor of Madrid."
"How is that?" I inquired. "Are they afraid that their
friend will be punished?"
"Not so, Senor," replied Maria; "slight grief indeed
would it cause them, however great the trouble in which he had
involved himself on their account; for this description of
people have no affection, and would not care if all their
friends were hanged, provided they themselves escaped. But
they say that they have acted imprudently in sending you to
prison, inasmuch as by so doing they have given you an
opportunity of carrying a plan of yours into execution. `This
fellow is a bribon,' say they, `and has commenced tampering
with the prisoners; they have taught him their language, which
he already speaks as well as if he were a son of the prison.
As soon as he comes out he will publish a thieves' gospel,
which will still be a more dangerous affair than the Gypsy one,
for the Gypsies are few, but the thieves! woe is us; we shall
all be Lutheranized. What infamy, what rascality! It was a
trick of his own. He was always eager to get into prison, and
now in evil hour we have sent him there, EL BRIBONAZO; there
will be no safety for Spain until he is hanged; he ought to be
sent to the four hells, where at his leisure he might translate
his fatal gospels into the language of the demons.' "
"I but said three words to the alcayde of the prison,"
said I, "relative to the jargon used by the children of the
prison."
"Three words! Don Jorge; and what may not be made out of
three words? You have lived amongst us to little purpose if
you think we require more than three words to build a system
with: those three words about the thieves and their tongue were
quite sufficient to cause it to be reported throughout Madrid
that you had tampered with the thieves, had learnt their
language, and had written a book which was to overturn Spain,
open to the English the gates of Cadiz, give Mendizabal all the
church plate and jewels, and to Don Martin Luther the
archiepiscopal palace of Toledo."
Late in the afternoon of a rather gloomy day, as I was
sitting in the apartment which the alcayde had allotted me, I
heard a rap at the door. "Who is that?" I exclaimed. "C'EST
MOI, MON MAITRE," cried a well-known voice, and presently in
walked Antonio Buchini, dressed in the same style as when I
first introduced him to the reader, namely, in a handsome but
rather faded French surtout, vest and pantaloons, with a
diminutive hat in one hand, and holding in the other a long and
slender cane.
"BON JOUR, MON MAITRE," said the Greek; then glancing
around the apartment, he continued, "I am glad to find you so
well lodged. If I remember right, mon maitre, we have slept in
worse places during our wanderings in Galicia and Castile."
"You are quite right, Antonio," I replied; "I am very
comfortable. Well, this is kind of you to visit your ancient
master, more especially now he is in the toils; I hope,
however, that by so doing you will not offend your present
employer. His dinner hour must be at hand; why are not you in
the kitchen?"
"Of what employer are you speaking, mon maitre?" demanded
Antonio.
"Of whom should I speak but Count -, to serve whom you
abandoned me, being tempted by an offer of a monthly salary
less by four dollars than that which I was giving you."
"Your worship brings an affair to my remembrance which I
had long since forgotten. I have at present no other master
than yourself, Monsieur Georges, for I shall always consider
you as my master, though I may not enjoy the felicity of
waiting upon you."
"You have left the Count, then," said I, "after remaining
three days in the house, according to your usual practice."
"Not three hours, mon maitre," replied Antonio; "but I
will tell you the circumstances. Soon after I left you I
repaired to the house of Monsieur le Comte; I entered the
kitchen, and looked about me. I cannot say that I had much
reason to be dissatisfied with what I saw; the kitchen was
large and commodious, and every thing appeared neat and in its
proper place, and the domestics civil and courteous; yet I know
not how it was, the idea at once rushed into my mind that the
house was by no means suited to me, and that I was not destined
to stay there long; so hanging my haversac upon a nail, and
sitting down on the dresser, I commenced singing a Greek song,
as I am in the habit of doing when dissatisfied. The domestics
came about me asking questions; I made them no answer, however,
and continued singing till the hour for preparing the dinner
drew nigh, when I suddenly sprang on the floor and was not long
in thrusting them all out of the kitchen, telling them that
they had no business there at such a season; I then at once
entered upon my functions. I exerted myself, mon maitre, I
exerted myself, and was preparing a repast which would have
done me honour; there was, indeed, some company expected that
day, and I therefore determined to show my employer that
nothing was beyond the capacity of his Greek cook. EH BIEN,
mon maitre, all was going on remarkably well, and I felt almost
reconciled to my new situation, when who should rush into the
kitchen but LE FILS DE LA MAISON, my young master, an ugly
urchin of thirteen years or thereabouts; he bore in his hand a
manchet of bread, which, after prying about for a moment, he
proceeded to dip in the pan where some delicate woodcocks were
in the course of preparation. You know, mon maitre, how
sensitive I am on certain points, for I am no Spaniard but a
Greek, and have principles of honour. Without a moment's
hesitation I took my young master by the shoulders, and
hurrying him to the door, dismissed him in the manner which he
deserved; squalling loudly, he hurried away to the upper part
of the house. I continued my labours, but ere three minutes
had elapsed, I heard a dreadful confusion above stairs, ON
FAISOIT UNE HORRIBLE TINTAMARRE, and I could occasionally
distinguish oaths and execrations: presently doors were flung
open, and there was an awful rushing downstairs, a gallopade.
It was my lord the count, his lady, and my young master,
followed by a regular bevy of women and filles de chambre. Far
in advance of all, however, was my lord with a drawn sword in
his hand, shouting, `Where is the wretch who has dishonoured my
son, where is he? He shall die forthwith.' I know not how it
was, mon maitre, but I just then chanced to spill a large bowl
of garbanzos, which were intended for the puchera of the
following day. They were uncooked, and were as hard as
marbles; these I dashed upon the floor, and the greater part of
them fell just about the doorway. EH BIEN, mon maitre, in
another moment in bounded the count, his eyes sparkling like
coals, and, as I have already said, with a rapier in his hand.
`TENEZ, GUEUX ENRAGE,' he screamed, making a desperate lunge at
me, but ere the words were out of his mouth, his foot slipping
on the pease, he fell forward with great violence at his full
length, and his weapon flew out of his hand, COMME UNE FLECHE.
You should have heard the outcry which ensued - there was a
terrible confusion: the count lay upon the floor to all
appearance stunned; I took no notice, however, continuing
busily employed. They at last raised him up, and assisted him
till he came to himself, though very pale and much shaken. He
asked for his sword: all eyes were now turned upon me, and I
saw that a general attack was meditated. Suddenly I took a
large caserolle from the fire in which various eggs were
frying; this I held out at arm's length peering at it along my
arm as if I were curiously inspecting it; my right foot
advanced and the other thrown back as far as possible. All
stood still, imagining, doubtless, that I was about to perform
some grand operation, and so I was; for suddenly the sinister
leg advancing, with one rapid COUP DE PIED, I sent the
caserolle and its contents flying over my head, so that they
struck the wall far behind me. This was to let them know that
I had broken my staff and had shaken the dust off my feet; so
casting upon the count the peculiar glance of the Sceirote
cooks when they feel themselves insulted, and extending my
mouth on either side nearly as far as the ears, I took down my
haversac and departed, singing as I went the song of the
ancient Demos, who, when dying, asked for his supper, and water
wherewith to lave his hands:
[Greek text which cannot be reproduced]
And in this manner, mon maitre, I left the house of the
Count of - ."
MYSELF. - And a fine account you have given of yourself;
by your own confession, your behaviour was most atrocious.
Were it not for the many marks of courage and fidelity which
you have exhibited in my service, I would from this moment hold
no farther communication with you.
ANTONIO. - MAIS QU' EST CE QUE VOUS VOUDRIEZ, MON MAITRE?
Am I not a Greek, full of honour and sensibility? Would you
have the cooks of Sceira and Stambul submit to be insulted here
in Spain by the sons of counts rushing into the temple with
manchets of bread. Non, non, mon maitre, you are too noble to
require that, and what is more, TOO JUST. But we will talk of
other things. Mon maitre, I came not alone; there is one now
waiting in the corridor anxious to speak to you.
MYSELF. - Who is it?
ANTONIO. - One whom you have met, mon maitre, in various
and strange places.
MYSELF. - But who is it?
ANTONIO. - One who will come to a strange end, FOR SO IT
IS WRITTEN. The most extraordinary of all the Swiss, he of
Saint James, - DER SCHATZ GRABER.
MYSELF. - Not Benedict Mol?
"YAW, MEIN LIEBER HERR," said Benedict, pushing open the
door which stood ajar; "it is myself. I met Herr Anton in the
street, and hearing that you were in this place, I came with
him to visit you."
MYSELF. - And in the name of all that is singular, how is
it that I see you in Madrid again? I thought that by this time
you were returned to your own country.
BENEDICT. - Fear not, lieber herr, I shall return thither
in good time; but not on foot, but with mules and coach. The
schatz is still yonder, waiting to be dug up, and now I have
better hope than ever: plenty of friends, plenty of money. See
you not how I am dressed, lieber herr?
And verily his habiliments were of a much more
respectable appearance than any which he had sported on former
occasions. His coat and pantaloons, which were of light green,
were nearly new. On his head he still wore an Andalusian hat,
but the present one was neither old nor shabby, but fresh and
glossy, and of immense altitude of cone: whilst in his hand,
instead of the ragged staff which I had observed at Saint James
and Oviedo, he now carried a huge bamboo rattan, surmounted by
the grim head of either a bear or lion, curiously cut out of
pewter.
"You have all the appearance of a treasure seeker
returned from a successful expedition," I exclaimed.
"Or rather," interrupted Antonio, "of one who has ceased
to trade on his own bottom, and now goes seeking treasures at
the cost and expense of others."
I questioned the Swiss minutely concerning his adventures
since I last saw him, when I left him at Oviedo to pursue my
route to Santander. From his answers I gathered that he had
followed me to the latter place; he was, however, a long time
in performing the journey, being weak from hunger and
privation. At Santander he could hear no tidings of me, and by
this time the trifle which he had received from me was
completely exhausted. He now thought of making his way into
France, but was afraid to venture through the disturbed
provinces, lest he should fall into the hands of the Carlists,
who he conceived might shoot him as a spy. No one relieving
him at Santander, he departed and begged his way till he found
himself in some part of Aragon, but where he scarcely knew.
"My misery was so great," said Bennet, "that I nearly lost my
senses. Oh, the horror of wandering about the savage hills and
wide plains of Spain, without money and without hope!
Sometimes I became desperate, when I found myself amongst rocks
and barrancos, perhaps after having tasted no food from sunrise
to sunset, and then I would raise my staff towards the sky and
shake it, crying, lieber herr Gott, ach lieber herr Gott, you
must help me now or never; if you tarry, I am lost; you must
help me now, now! And once when I was raving in this manner,
methought I heard a voice, nay I am sure I heard it, sounding
from the hollow of a rock, clear and strong; and it cried, `Der
schatz, der schatz, it is not yet dug up; to Madrid, to Madrid.
The way to the schatz is through Madrid.' And then the thought
of the schatz once more rushed into my mind, and I reflected
how happy I might be, could I but dig up the schatz. No more
begging, then, no more wandering amidst horrid mountains and
deserts; so I brandished my staff, and my body and my limbs
became full of new and surprising strength, and I strode
forward, and was not long before I reached the high road; and
then I begged and bettled as I best could, until I reached
Madrid."
"And what has befallen you since you reached Madrid?" I
inquired. "Did you find the treasure in the streets?"
On a sudden Bennet became reserved and taciturn, which
the more surprised me, as, up to the present moment, he had at
all times been remarkably communicative with respect to his
affairs and prospects. From what I could learn from his broken
hints and innuendoes, it appeared that, since his arrival at
Madrid, he had fallen into the hands of certain people who had
treated him with kindness, and provided him with both money and
clothes; not from disinterested motives, however, but having an
eye to the treasure. "They expect great things from me," said
the Swiss; "and perhaps, after all, it would have been more
profitable to have dug up the treasure without their
assistance, always provided that were possible." Who his new
friends were, he either knew not or would not tell me, save
that they were people in power. He said something about Queen
Christina and an oath which he had taken in the presence of a
bishop on the crucifix and "the four Evangiles." I thought
that his head was turned, and forbore questioning. Just before
taking his departure, he observed "Lieber herr, pardon me for
not being quite frank towards you, to whom I owe so much, but I
dare not; I am not now my own man. It is, moreover, an evil
thing at all times to say a word about treasure before you have
secured it. There was once a man in my own country, who dug
deep into the earth until he arrived at a copper vessel which
contained a schatz. Seizing it by the handle, he merely
exclaimed in his transport, `I have it'; that was enough,
however: down sank the kettle, though the handle remained in
his grasp. That was all he ever got for his trouble and
digging. Farewell, lieber herr, I shall speedily be sent back
to Saint James to dig up the schatz; but I will visit you ere I
go - farewell."
CHAPTER XLII
Liberation from Prison - The Apology - Human Nature -
The Greek's Return - Church of Rome - Light of Scripture -
Archbishop of Toledo - An Interview - Stones of Price -
A Resolution - The Foreign Language - Benedict's Farewell -
Treasure Hunt at Compostella - Truth and Fiction.
I Remained about three weeks in the prison of Madrid, and
then left it. If I had possessed any pride, or harboured any
rancour against the party who had consigned me to durance, the
manner in which I was restored to liberty would no doubt have
been highly gratifying to those evil passions; the government
having acknowledged, by a document transmitted to Sir George,
that I had been incarcerated on insufficient grounds, and that
no stigma attached itself to me from the imprisonment I had
undergone; at the same time agreeing to defray all the expenses
to which I had been subjected throughout the progress of this
affair.
It moreover expressed its willingness to dismiss the
individual owing to whose information I had been first
arrested, namely, the corchete or police officer who had
visited me in my apartments in the Calle de Santiago, and
behaved himself in the manner which I have described in a
former chapter. I declined, however, to avail myself of this
condescension of the government, more especially as I was
informed that the individual in question had a wife and family,
who, if he were disgraced, would be at once reduced to want. I
moreover considered that, in what he had done and said, he had
probably only obeyed some private orders which he had received;
I therefore freely forgave him, and if he does not retain his
situation at the present moment, it is certainly no fault of
mine.
I likewise refused to accept any compensation for my
expenses, which were considerable. It is probable that many
persons in my situation would have acted very differently in
this respect, and I am far from saying that herein I acted
discreetly or laudably; but I was averse to receive money from
people such as those of which the Spanish government was
composed, people whom I confess I heartily despised, and I was
unwilling to afford them an opportunity of saying that after
they had imprisoned an Englishman unjustly, and without a
cause, he condescended to receive money at their hands. In a
word, I confess my own weakness; I was willing that they should
continue my debtors, and have little doubt that they had not
the slightest objection to remain so; they kept their money,
and probably laughed in their sleeves at my want of common
sense.
The heaviest loss which resulted from my confinement, and
for which no indemnification could be either offered or
received, was in the death of my affectionate and faithful
Basque Francisco, who having attended me during the whole time
of my imprisonment, caught the pestilential typhus or gaol
fever, which was then raging in the Carcel de la Corte, of
which he expired within a few days subsequent to my liberation.
His death occurred late one evening; the next morning as I was
lying in bed ruminating on my loss, and wondering of what
nation my next servant would be, I heard a noise which seemed
to be that of a person employed vigorously in cleaning boots or
shoes, and at intervals a strange discordant voice singing
snatches of a song in some unknown language: wondering who it
could be, I rang the bell.
"Did you ring, mon maitre," said Antonio, appearing at
the door with one of his arms deeply buried in a boot.
"I certainly did ring," said I, "but I scarcely expected
that you would have answered the summons."
"MAIS POURQUOI NON, MON MAITRE?" cried Antonio. "Who
should serve you now but myself? N'EST PAS QUE LE SIEUR
FRANCOIS EST MORT? And did I not say, as soon as I heard of
his departure, I shall return to my functions CHEZ MON MAITRE,
Monsieur Georges?"
"I suppose you had no other employment, and on that
account you came."
"AU CONTRAIRE, MON MAITRE," replied the Greek, "I had
just engaged myself at the house of the Duke of Frias, from
whom I was to receive ten dollars per month more than I shall
accept from your worship; but on hearing that you were without
a domestic, I forthwith told the Duke, though it was late at
night, that he would not suit me, and here I am."
"I shall not receive you in this manner," said I; "return
to the Duke, apologize for your behaviour, request your
dismission in a regular way; and then if his grace is willing
to part with you, as will most probably be the case, I shall be
happy to avail myself of your services."
It is reasonable to expect that after having been
subjected to an imprisonment which my enemies themselves
admitted to be unjust, I should in future experience more
liberal treatment at their hands than that which they had
hitherto adopted towards me. The sole object of my ambition at
this time was to procure toleration for the sale of the Gospel
in this unhappy and distracted kingdom, and to have attained
this end I would not only have consented to twenty such
imprisonments in succession, as that which I had undergone, but
would gladly have sacrificed life itself. I soon perceived,
however, that I was likely to gain nothing by my incarceration;
on the contrary, I had become an object of personal dislike to
the government since the termination of this affair, which it
was probable I had never been before; their pride and vanity
were humbled by the concessions which they had been obliged to
make in order to avoid a rupture with England. This dislike
they were now determined to gratify, by thwarting my views as
much as possible. I had an interview with Ofalia on the
subject uppermost in my mind: I found him morose and snappish.
"It will be for your interest to be still," said he; "beware!
you have already thrown the whole corte into confusion; beware,
I repeat; another time you may not escape so easily." "Perhaps
not," I replied, "and perhaps I do not wish it; it is a
pleasant thing to be persecuted for the Gospel's sake. I now
take the liberty of inquiring whether, if I attempt to
circulate the word of God, I am to be interrupted." "Of
course," exclaimed Ofalia; "the church forbids such
circulation." "I shall make the attempt, however," I
exclaimed. "Do you mean what you say?" demanded Ofalia,
arching his eyebrows and elongating his mouth. "Yes," I
continued, "I shall make the attempt in every village in Spain
to which I can penetrate."
Throughout my residence in Spain the clergy were the
party from which I experienced the strongest opposition; and it
was at their instigation that the government originally adopted
those measures which prevented any extensive circulation of the
sacred volume through the land. I shall not detain the course
of my narrative with reflections as to the state of a church,
which, though it pretends to be founded on Scripture, would yet
keep the light of Scripture from all mankind, if possible. But
Rome is fully aware that she is not a Christian church, and
having no desire to become so, she acts prudently in keeping
from the eyes of her followers the page which would reveal to
them the truths of Christianity. Her agents and minions
throughout Spain exerted themselves to the utmost to render my
humble labours abortive, and to vilify the work which I was
attempting to disseminate. All the ignorant and fanatical
clergy (the great majority) were opposed to it, and all those
who were anxious to keep on good terms with the court of Rome
were loud in their cry against it. There was, however, one
section of the clergy, a small one, it is true, rather
favourably disposed towards the circulation of the Gospel
though by no means inclined to make any particular sacrifice
for the accomplishment of such an end: these were such as
professed liberalism, which is supposed to mean a disposition
to adopt any reform both in civil and church matters, which may
be deemed conducive to the weal of the country. Not a few
amongst the Spanish clergy were supporters of this principle,
or at least declared themselves so, some doubtless for their
own advancement, hoping to turn the spirit of the times to
their own personal profit; others, it is to be hoped, from
conviction, and a pure love of the principle itself. Amongst
these were to be found, at the time of which I am speaking,
several bishops. It is worthy of remark, however, that of all
these not one but owed his office, not to the Pope, who
disowned them one and all, but to the Queen Regent, the
professed head of liberalism throughout all Spain. It is not,
therefore, surprising that men thus circumstanced should feel
rather disposed than not to countenance any measure or scheme
at all calculated to favour the advancement of liberalism; and
surely such an one was a circulation of the Scriptures. I
derived but little assistance from their good will, however,
supposing that they entertained some, as they never took any
decided stand nor lifted up their voices in a bold and positive
manner, denouncing the conduct of those who would withhold the
light of Scripture from the world. At one time I hoped by
their instrumentality to accomplish much in Spain in the Gospel
cause; but I was soon undeceived, and became convinced that
reliance on what they would effect, was like placing the hand
on a staff of reed which will only lacerate the flesh. More
than once some of them sent messages to me, expressive of their
esteem, and assuring me how much the cause of the Gospel was
dear to their hearts. I even received an intimation that a
visit from me would be agreeable to the Archbishop of Toledo,
the Primate of Spain.
Of this personage I can say but little, his early history
being entirely unknown to me. At the death of Ferdinand, I
believe, he was Bishop of Mallorca, a small insignificant see,
of very scanty revenues, which perhaps he had no objection to
exchange for one more wealthy; it is probable, however, that
had he proved a devoted servant of the Pope, and consequently a
supporter of legitimacy, he would have continued to the day of
his death to fill the episcopal chair of Mallorca; but he was
said to be a liberal, and the Queen Regent thought fit to
bestow upon him the dignity of Archbishop of Toledo, by which
he became the head of the Spanish church. The Pope, it is
true, had refused to ratify the nomination, on which account
all good Catholics were still bound to consider him as Bishop
of Mallorca, and not as Primate of Spain. He however received
the revenues belonging to the see, which, though only a shadow
of what they originally were, were still considerable, and
lived in the primate's palace at Madrid, so that if he were not
archbishop DE JURE, he was what many people would have
considered much better, archbishop DE FACTO.
Hearing that this personage was a personal friend of
Ofalia, who was said to entertain a very high regard for him, I
determined upon paying him a visit, and accordingly one morning
betook myself to the palace in which he resided. I experienced
no difficulty in obtaining an interview, being forthwith
conducted to his presence by a common kind of footman, an
Asturian, I believe, whom I found seated on a stone bench in
the entrance hall. When I was introduced the Archbishop was
alone, seated behind a table in a large apartment, a kind of
drawing-room; he was plainly dressed, in a black cassock and
silken cap; on his finger, however, glittered a superb
amethyst, the lustre of which was truly dazzling. He rose for
a moment as I advanced, and motioned me to a chair with his
hand. He might be about sixty years of age; his figure was
very tall, but he stooped considerably, evidently from
feebleness, and the pallid hue of ill health overspread his
emaciated features. When he had reseated himself, he dropped
his head, and appeared to be looking on the table before him.
"I suppose your lordship knows who I am?" said I, at last
breaking silence.
The Archbishop bent his head towards the right shoulder,
in a somewhat equivocal manner, but said nothing.
"I am he whom the Manolos of Madrid call Don Jorgito el
Ingles; I am just come out of prison, whither I was sent for
circulating my Lord's Gospel in this kingdom of Spain?"
The Archbishop made the same equivocal motion with his
head, but still said nothing.
"I was informed that your lordship was desirous of seeing
me, and on that account I have paid you this visit."
"I did not send for you," said the Archbishop, suddenly
raising his head with a startled look.
"Perhaps not: I was, however, given to understand that my
presence would be agreeable; but as that does not seem to be
the case, I will leave."
"Since you are come, I am very glad to see you."
"I am very glad to hear it," said I, reseating myself;
"and since I am here, we may as well talk of an all-important
matter, the circulation of the Scripture. Does your lordship
see any way by which an end so desirable might be brought
about?"
"No," said the Archbishop faintly.
"Does not your lordship think that a knowledge of the
Scripture would work inestimable benefit in these realms?"
"I don't know."
"Is it probable that the government may be induced to
consent to the circulation?"
"How should I know?" and the Archbishop looked me in the
face.
I looked in the face of the Archbishop; there was an
expression of helplessness in it, which almost amounted to
dotage. "Dear me," thought I, "whom have I come to on an
errand like mine? Poor man, you are not fitted to play the
part of Martin Luther, and least of all in Spain. I wonder why
your friends selected you to be Archbishop of Toledo; they
thought perhaps that you would do neither good nor harm, and
made choice of you, as they sometimes do primates in my own
country, for your incapacity. You do not seem very happy in
your present situation; no very easy stall this of yours. You
were more comfortable, I trow, when you were the poor Bishop of
Mallorca; could enjoy your puchera then without fear that the
salt would turn out sublimate. No fear then of being smothered
in your bed. A siesta is a pleasant thing when one is not
subject to be disturbed by `the sudden fear.' I wonder whether
they have poisoned you already," I continued, half aloud, as I
kept my eyes fixed on his countenance, which methought was
becoming ghastly.
"Did you speak, Don Jorge?" demanded the Archbishop.
"That is a fine brilliant on your lordship's hand," said
I.
"You are fond of brilliants, Don Jorge," said the
Archbishop, his features brightening up; "vaya! so am I; they
are pretty things. Do you understand them?"
"I do," said I, "and I never saw a finer brilliant than
your own, one excepted; it belonged to an acquaintance of mine,
a Tartar Khan. He did not bear it on his finger, however; it
stood in the frontlet of his horse, where it shone like a star.
He called it Daoud Scharr, which, being interpreted, meaneth
LIGHT OF WAR."
"Vaya!" said the Archbishop, "how very extra-ordinary; I
am glad you are fond of brilliants, Don Jorge. Speaking of
horses, reminds me that I have frequently seen you on
horseback. Vaya! how you ride; it is dangerous to be in your
way."
"Is your lordship fond of equestrian exercise?"
"By no means, Don Jorge; I do not like horses; it is not
the practice of the church to ride on horseback. We prefer
mules: they are the quieter animals; I fear horses, they kick
so violently."
"The kick of a horse is death," said I, "if it touches a
vital part. I am not, however, of your lordship's opinion with
respect to mules: a good ginete may retain his seat on a horse
however vicious, but a mule - vaya! when a false mule TIRA POR
DETRAS, I do not believe that the Father of the Church himself
could keep the saddle a moment, however sharp his bit."
As I was going away, I said, "And with respect to the
Gospel, your lordship; what am I to understand?"
"NO SE," said the Archbishop, again bending his head
towards the right shoulder, whilst his features resumed their
former vacant expression. And thus terminated my interview
with the Archbishop of Toledo.
"It appears to me," said I to Maria Diaz, on returning
home; "it appears to me, Marequita mia, that if the Gospel in
Spain is to wait for toleration until these liberal bishops and
archbishops come forward boldly in its behalf, it will have to
tarry a considerable time."
"I am much of your worship's opinion," answered Maria; "a
fine thing, truly, it would be to wait till they exerted
themselves in its behalf. Ca! the idea makes me smile: was
your worship ever innocent enough to suppose that they cared
one tittle about the Gospel or its cause? Vaya! they are true
priests, and had only self-interest in view in their advances
to you. The Holy Father disowns them, and they would now fain,
by awaking his fears and jealousy, bring him to some terms; but
let him once acknowledge them and see whether they would admit
you to their palaces or hold any intercourse with you: `Forth
with the fellow,' they would say; `vaya! is he not a Lutheran?
Is he not an enemy to the Church? A LA HORCA, A LA HORCA!' I
know this family better than you do, Don Jorge."
"It is useless tarrying," said I; "nothing, however, can
be done in Madrid. I cannot sell the work at the despacho, and
I have just received intelligence that all the copies exposed
for sale in the libraries in the different parts of Spain which
I visited, have been sequestrated by order of the government.
My resolution is taken: I shall mount my horses, which are
neighing in the stable, and betake myself to the villages and
plains of dusty Spain. AL CAMPO, AL CAMPO: `Ride forth because
of the word of righteousness, and thy right hand shall show
thee terrible things.' I will ride forth, Maria."
"Your worship can do no better; and allow me here to tell
you, that for every single book you might sell in a despacho in
the city, you may dispose of one hundred amongst the villages,
always provided you offer them cheap: for in the country money
is rather scant. Vaya! should I not know? am I not a villager
myself, a villana from the Sagra? Ride forth, therefore; your
horses are neighing in the stall, as your worship says, and you
might almost have added that the Senor Antonio is neighing in
the house. He says he has nothing to do, on which account he
is once more dissatisfied and unsettled. He finds fault with
everything, but more particularly with myself. This morning I
saluted him, and he made me no reply, but twisted his mouth in
a manner very uncommon in this land of Spain."
"A thought strikes me," said I; "you have mentioned the
Sagra; why should not I commence my labours amongst the
villages of that district?"
"Your worship can do no better," replied Maria; "the
harvest is just over there, and you will find the people
comparatively unemployed, with leisure to attend and listen to
you; and if you follow my advice, you will establish yourself
at Villa Seca, in the house of my fathers, where at present
lives my lord and husband. Go, therefore, to Villa Seca in the
first place, and from thence you can sally forth with the Senor
Antonio upon your excursions. Peradventure, my husband will
accompany you; and if so, you will find him highly useful. The
people of Villa Seca are civil and courteous, your worship;
when they address a foreigner they speak to him at the top of
their voice and in Gallegan."
"In Gallegan!" I exclaimed.
"They all understand a few words of Gallegan, which they
have acquired from the mountaineers, who occasionally assist
them in cutting the harvest, and as Gallegan is the only
foreign language they know, they deem it but polite to address
a foreigner in that tongue. Vaya! it is not a bad village,
that of Villa Seca, nor are the people; the only illconditioned
person living there is his reverence the curate."
I was not long in making preparations for my enterprise.
A considerable stock of Testaments were sent forward by an
arriero, I myself followed the next day. Before my departure,
however, I received a Benedict Mol.
"I am come to bid you farewell, lieber herr; I return to
Compostella."
"On what errand?"
"To dig up the schatz, lieber herr. For what else should
I go? For what have I lived until now, but that I may dig up
the schatz in the end?"
"You might have lived for something better," I exclaimed.
"I wish you success, however. But on what grounds do you hope?
Have you obtained permission to dig? Surely you remember your
former trials in Galicia?"
"I have not forgotten them, lieber herr, nor the journey
to Oviedo, nor `the seven acorns,' nor the fight with death in
the barranco. But I must accomplish my destiny. I go now to
Galicia, as is becoming a Swiss, at the expense of the
government, with coach and mule, I mean in the galera. I am to
have all the help I require, so that I can dig down to the
earth's centre if I think fit. I - but I must not tell your
worship, for I am sworn on `the four Evangiles' not to tell."
"Well, Benedict, I have nothing to say, save that I hope
you will succeed in your digging."
"Thank you, lieber herr, thank you; and now farewell.
Succeed! I shall succeed!" Here he stopped short, started,
and looking upon me with an expression of countenance almost
wild, he exclaimed: "Heiliger Gott! I forgot one thing.
Suppose I should not find the treasure after all."
"Very rationally said; pity, though, that you did not
think of that contingency till now. I tell you, my friend,
that you have engaged in a most desperate undertaking. It is
true that you may find a treasure. The chances are, however, a
hundred to one that you do not, and in that event, what will be
your situation? You will be looked upon as an impostor, and
the consequences may be horrible to you. Remember where you
are, and amongst whom you are. The Spaniards are a credulous
people, but let them once suspect that they have been imposed
upon, and above all laughed at, and their thirst for vengeance
knows no limit. Think not that your innocence will avail you.
That you are no impostor I feel convinced; but they would never
believe it. It is not too late. Return your fine clothes and
magic rattan to those from whom you had them. Put on your old
garments, grasp your ragged staff, and come with me to the
Sagra, to assist in circulating the illustrious Gospel amongst
the rustics on the Tagus' bank."
Benedict mused for a moment, then shaking his head, he
cried, "No, no, I must accomplish my destiny. The schatz is
not yet dug up. So said the voice in the barranco. To-morrow
to Compostella. I shall find it - the schatz - it is still
there - it MUST be there."
He went, and I never saw him more. What I heard,
however, was extraordinary enough. It appeared that the
government had listened to his tale, and had been so struck
with Bennet's exaggerated description of the buried treasure,
that they imagined that, by a little trouble and outlay, gold
and diamonds might be dug up at Saint James sufficient to
enrich themselves and to pay off the national debt of Spain.
The Swiss returned to Compostella "like a duke," to use his own
words. The affair, which had at first been kept a profound
secret, was speedily divulged. It was, indeed, resolved that
the investigation, which involved consequences of so much
importance, should take place in a manner the most public and
imposing. A solemn festival was drawing nigh, and it was
deemed expedient that the search should take place on that day.
The day arrived. All the bells in Compostella pealed. The
whole populace thronged from their houses, a thousand troops
were drawn up in the square, the expectation of all was wound
up to the highest pitch. A procession directed its course to
the church of San Roque; at its head was the captain-general
and the Swiss, brandishing in his hand the magic rattan, close
behind walked the MEIGA, the Gallegan witch-wife, by whom the
treasure-seeker had been originally guided in the search;
numerous masons brought up the rear, bearing implements to
break up the ground. The procession enters the church, they
pass through it in solemn march, they find themselves in a
vaulted passage. The Swiss looks around. "Dig here," said he
suddenly. "Yes, dig here," said the meiga. The masons labour,
the floor is broken up, - a horrible and fetid odour arises. .
. .
Enough; no treasure was found, and my warning to the
unfortunate Swiss turned out but too prophetic. He was
forthwith seized and flung into the horrid prison of Saint
James, amidst the execrations of thousands, who would have
gladly torn him limb from limb.
The affair did not terminate here. The political
opponents of the government did not allow so favourable an
opportunity to escape for launching the shafts of ridicule.
The Moderados were taunted in the cortes for their avarice and
credulity, whilst the liberal press wafted on its wings through
Spain the story of the treasure-hunt at Saint James.
"After all, it was a TRAMPA of Don Jorge's," said one of
my enemies. "That fellow is at the bottom of half the
picardias which happen in Spain."
Eager to learn the fate of the Swiss, I wrote to my old
friend Rey Romero, at Compostella. In his answer he states: "I
saw the Swiss in prison, to which place he sent for me, craving
my assistance, for the sake of the friendship which I bore to
you. But how could I help him? He was speedily after removed
from Saint James, I know not whither. It is said that he
disappeared on the road."
Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. Where in the
whole cycle of romance shall we find anything more wild,
grotesque, and sad, than the easily-authenticated history of
Benedict Mol, the treasure-digger of Saint James?
CHAPTER XLIII
Villa Seca - Moorish House - The Puchera - The Rustic Council -
Polite Ceremonial - The Flower of Spain - The Bridge of Azeca -
The Ruined Castle - Taking the Field - Demand for the Word -
he Old Peasant - The Curate and Blacksmith -
Cheapness of the Scriptures.
It was one of the most fiercely hot days in which I ever
braved the sun, when I arrived at Villa Seca. The heat in the
shade must have amounted at least to one hundred degrees, and
the entire atmosphere seemed to consist of flickering flame.
At a place called Leganez, six leagues from Madrid, and about
half way to Toledo, we diverged from the highway, bending our
course seemingly towards the south-east. We rode over what are
called plains in Spain, but which, in any other part of the
world, would be called undulating and broken ground. The crops
of corn and barley had already disappeared. The last vestiges
discoverable being here and there a few sheaves, which the
labourers were occupied in removing to their garners in the
villages. The country could scarcely be called beautiful,
being perfectly naked, exhibiting neither trees nor verdure.
It was not, however, without its pretensions to grandeur and
magnificence, like every part of Spain. The most prominent
objects were two huge calcareous hills or rather one cleft in
twain, which towered up on high; the summit of the nearest
being surmounted by the ruins of an ancient castle, that of
Villaluenga. About an hour past noon we reached Villa Seca.
We found it a large village, containing about seven
hundred inhabitants, and surrounded by a mud wall. A plaza, or
market-place, stood in the midst, one side of which is occupied
by what is called a palace, a clumsy quadrangular building of
two stories, belonging to some noble family, the lords of the
neighbouring soil. It was deserted, however, being only
occupied by a kind of steward, who stored up in its chambers
the grain which he received as rent from the tenants and
villanos who farmed the surrounding district.
The village stands at the distance of about a quarter of
a league from the bank of the Tagus, which even here, in the
heart of Spain, is a beautiful stream, not navigable, however,
on account of the sand-banks, which in many places assume the
appearance of small islands, and are covered with trees and
brushwood. The village derives its supply of water entirely
from the river, having none of its own; such at least as is
potable, the water of its wells being all brackish, on which
account it is probably termed Villa Seca, which signifies "the
dry hamlet." The inhabitants are said to have been originally
Moors; certain it is, that various customs are observable here
highly favourable to such a supposition. Amongst others, a
very curious one; it is deemed infamous for a woman of Villa
Seca to go across the market-place, or to be seen there, though
they have no hesitation in showing themselves in the streets
and lanes. A deep-rooted hostility exists between the
inhabitants of this place and those of a neighbouring village,
called Vargas; they rarely speak when they meet, and never
intermarry. There is a vague tradition that the people of the
latter place are old Christians, and it is highly probable that
these neighbours were originally of widely different blood;
those of Villa Seca being of particularly dark complexions,
whilst the indwellers of Vargas are light and fair. Thus the
old feud between Moor and Christian is still kept up in the
nineteenth century in Spain.
Drenched in perspiration, which fell from our brows like
rain, we arrived at the door of Juan Lopez, the husband of
Maria Diaz. Having heard of our intention to pay him a visit,
he was expecting us, and cordially welcomed us to his
habitation, which, like a genuine Moorish house, consisted only
of one story. It was amply large, however, with a court and
stable. All the apartments were deliciously cool. The floors
were of brick or stone, and the narrow and trellised windows,
which were without glass, scarcely permitted a ray of sun to
penetrate into the interior.
A puchera had been prepared in expectation of our
arrival; the heat had not taken away my appetite, and it was
not long before I did full justice to this the standard dish of
Spain. Whilst I ate, Lopez played upon the guitar, singing
occasionally snatches of Andalusian songs. He was a short,
merry-faced, active fellow, whom I had frequently seen at
Madrid, and was a good specimen of the Spanish labrador or
yeoman. Though far from possessing the ability and intellect
of his wife, Maria Diaz, he was by no means deficient in
shrewdness and understanding. He was, moreover, honest and
disinterested, and performed good service in the Gospel cause,
as will presently appear.
When the repast was concluded, Lopez thus addressed me:-
"Senor Don Jorge, your arrival in our village has already
caused a sensation, more especially as these are times of war
and tumult, and every person is afraid of another, and we dwell
here close on the confines of the factious country; for, as you
well know, the greater part of La Mancha is in the hands of the
Carlinos and thieves, parties of whom frequently show
themselves on the other side of the river: on which account the
alcalde of this city, with the other grave and notable people
thereof, are desirous of seeing your worship, and conversing
with you, and of examining your passport." "It is well," said
I; "let us forthwith pay a visit to these worthy people."
Whereupon he conducted me across the plaza, to the house of the
alcalde, where I found the rustic dignitary seated in the
passage, enjoying the refreshing coolness of a draught of air
which rushed through. He was an elderly man, of about sixty,
with nothing remarkable in his appearance or his features,
which latter were placid and good-humoured. There were several
people with him, amongst whom was the surgeon of the place, a
tall and immensely bulky man, an Alavese by birth, from the
town of Vitoria. There was also a red fiery-faced individual,
with a nose very much turned on one side, who was the
blacksmith of the village, and was called in general El Tuerto,
from the circumstance of his having but one eye. Making the
assembly a low bow, I pulled out my passport, and thus
addressed them:-
"Grave men and cavaliers of this city of Villa Seca, as I
am a stranger, of whom it is not possible that you should know
anything, I have deemed it my duty to present myself before
you, and to tell you who I am. Know, then, that I am an
Englishman of good blood and fathers, travelling in these
countries for my own profit and diversion, and for that of
other people also. I have now found my way to Villa Seca,
where I propose to stay some time, doing that which may be
deemed convenient; sometimes riding across the plain, and
sometimes bathing myself in the waters of the river, which are
reported to be of advantage in times of heat, I therefore beg
that, during my sojourn in this capital, I may enjoy such
countenance and protection from its governors as they are in
the habit of affording to those who are of quiet and wellordered
life, and are disposed to be buxom and obedient to the
customs and laws of the republic."
"He speaks well," said the alcalde, glancing around.
"Yes, he speaks well," said the bulky Alavese; "there is
no denying it."
"I never heard any one speak better," cried the
blacksmith, starting up from a stool on which he was seated.
"Vaya! he is a big man and a fair complexioned like myself. I
like him, and have a horse that will just suit him; one that is
the flower of Spain, and is eight inches above the mark."
I then, with another bow, presented my passport to the
alcalde, who, with a gentle motion of his hand, appeared to
decline taking it, at the same time saying, "It is not
necessary." "Oh, not at all," exclaimed the surgeon. "The
housekeepers of Villa Seca know how to comport themselves with
formality," observed the blacksmith. "They would be very loth
to harbour any suspicion against a cavalier so courteous and
well spoken." Knowing, however, that this refusal amounted to
nothing, and that it merely formed part of a polite ceremonial,
I proffered the passport a second time, whereupon it was
instantly taken, and in a moment the eyes of all present were
bent upon it with intense curiosity. It was examined from top
to bottom, and turned round repeatedly, and though it is not
probable that an individual present understood a word of it, it
being written in French, it gave nevertheless universal
satisfaction; and when the alcalde, carefully folding it up,
returned it to me, they all observed that they had never seen a
better passport in their lives, or one which spake in higher
terms of the bearer.
Who was it said that "Cervantes sneered Spain's chivalry
away?" I know not; and the author of such a line scarcely
deserves to be remembered. How the rage for scribbling tempts
people at the present day to write about lands and nations of
which they know nothing, or worse than nothing. Vaya! It is
not from having seen a bull-fight at Seville or Madrid, or
having spent a handful of ounces at a posada in either of those
places, kept perhaps by a Genoese or a Frenchman, that you are
competent to write about such a people as the Spaniards, and to
tell the world how they think, how they speak, and how they
act! Spain's chivalry sneered away! Why, there is every
probability that the great body of the Spanish nation speak,
think, and live precisely as their forefathers did six
centuries ago.
In the evening the blacksmith, or, as he would be called
in Spanish, El Herrador, made his appearance at the door of
Lopez on horseback. "Vamos, Don Jorge," he shouted. "Come
with me, if your worship is disposed for a ride. I am going to
bathe my horse in the Tagus by the bridge of Azeca." I
instantly saddled my jaca Cordovesa, and joining him, we rode
out of the village, directing our course across the plain
towards the river. "Did you ever see such a horse as this of
mine, Don Jorge?" he demanded. "Is he not a jewel - an alaja?"
And in truth the horse was a noble and gallant creature, in
height at least sixteen hands, broad-chested, but of clean and
elegant limbs. His neck was superbly arched, and his head
towered on high like that of a swan. In colour he was a bright
chestnut, save his flowing mane and tail, which were almost
black. I expressed my admiration, whereupon the herrador, in
high spirits, pressed his heels to the creature's sides, and
flinging the bridle on its neck, speeded over the plain with
prodigious swiftness, shouting the old Spanish cry, Cierra! I
attempted to keep up with him, but had not a chance. "I call
him the flower of Spain," said the herrador, rejoining me.
"Purchase him, Don Jorge, his price is but three thousand
reals. * I would not sell him for double that sum, but the
Carlist thieves have their eyes upon him, and I am apprehensive
that they will some day make a dash across the river and break
into Villa Seca, all to get possession of my horse, `The Flower
of Spain.'"
* About thirty pounds.
It may be as well to observe here, that within a month
from this period, my friend the herrador, not being able to
find a regular purchaser for his steed, entered into
negotiations with the aforesaid thieves respecting him, and
finally disposed of the animal to their leader, receiving not
the three thousand reals he demanded, but an entire herd of
horned cattle, probably driven from the plains of La Mancha.
For this transaction, which was neither more nor less than high
treason, he was cast into the prison of Toledo, where, however,
he did not continue long; for during a short visit to Villa
Seca, which I made in the spring of the following year, I found
him alcalde of that "republic."
We arrived at the bridge of Azeca, which is about half a
league from Villa Seca; close beside it is a large water-mill,
standing upon a dam which crosses the river. Dismounting from
his steed, the herrador proceeded to divest it of the saddle,
then causing it to enter the mill-pool, he led it by means of a
cord to a particular spot, where the water reached half way up
its neck, then fastening a cord to a post on the bank, he left
the animal standing in the pool. I thought I could do no
better than follow his example, and accordingly procuring a
rope from the mill, I led my own horse into the water. "It
will refresh their blood, Don Jorge," said the herrador; "let
us leave them there for an hour, whilst we go and divert
ourselves."
Near the bridge, on the side of the river on which we
were, was a kind of guard-house, where were three carbineers of
the revenue, who collected the tolls of the bridge; we entered
into conversation with them: "Is not this a dangerous position
of yours," said I to one of them, who was a Catalan; "close
beside the factious country? Surely it would not be difficult
for a body of the Carlinos or bandits to dash across the bridge
and make prisoners of you all."
"It would be easy enough at any moment, Cavalier,"
replied the Catalan; "we are, however, all in the hands of God,
and he has preserved us hitherto, and perhaps still will. True
it is that one of our number, for there were four of us
originally, fell the other day into the hands of the canaille:
he had wandered across the bridge amongst the thickets with his
gun in search of a hare or rabbit, when three or four of them
fell upon him and put him to death in a manner too horrible to
relate. But patience! every man who lives must die. I shall
not sleep the worse tonight because I may chance to be hacked
by the knives of these malvados to-morrow. Cavalier, I am from
Barcelona, and have seen there mariners of your nation; this is
not so good a country as Barcelona. Paciencia! Cavalier, if
you will step into our house, I will give you a glass of water;
we have some that is cool, for we dug a deep hole in the earth
and buried there our pitcher; it is cool, as I told you, but
the water of Castile is not like that of Catalonia."
The moon had arisen when we mounted our horses to return
to the village, and the rays of the beauteous luminary danced
merrily on the rushing waters of the Tagus, silvered the plain
over which we were passing, and bathed in a flood of brightness
the bold sides of the calcareous hill of Villaluenga and the
antique ruins which crowned its brow. "Why is that place
called the Castle of Villaluenga?" I demanded.
"From a village of that name, which stands on the other
side of the hill, Don Jorge," replied the herrador. "Vaya! it
is a strange place, that castle; some say it was built by the
Moors in the old times, and some by the Christians when they
first laid siege to Toledo. It is not inhabited now, save by
rabbits, which breed there in abundance amongst the long grass
and broken stones, and by eagles and vultures, which build on
the tops of the towers; I occasionally go there with my gun to
shoot a rabbit. On a fine day you may descry both Toledo and
Madrid from its walls. I cannot say I like the place, it is so
dreary and melancholy. The hill on which it stands is all of
chalk, and is very difficult of ascent. I heard my grandame
say that once, when she was a girl, a cloud of smoke burst from
that hill, and that flames of fire were seen, just as if it
contained a volcano, as perhaps it does, Don Jorge."
The grand work of Scripture circulation soon commenced in
the Sagra. Notwithstanding the heat of the weather, I rode
about in all directions. It was well that heat agrees with my
constitution, otherwise it would have been impossible to effect
anything in this season, when the very arrieros frequently fall
dead from their mules, smitten by sun-stroke. I had an
excellent assistant in Antonio, who, disregarding the heat like
myself, and afraid of nothing, visited several villages with
remarkable success. "Mon maitre," said he, "I wish to show you
that nothing is beyond my capacity." But he who put the
labours of us both to shame, was my host, Juan Lopez, whom it
had pleased the Lord to render favourable to the cause. "Don
Jorge," said he, "IO QUIERO ENGANCHARME CON USTED (I wish to
enlist with you); I am a liberal, and a foe to superstition; I
will take the field, and, if necessary, will follow you to the
end of the world; VIVA INGALATERRA; VIVA EL EVANGELIO." Thus
saying, he put a large bundle of Testaments into a satchel, and
springing upon the crupper of his grey donkey, he cried "ARRHE
BURRA," and hastened away. I sat down to my journal.
Ere I had finished writing, I heard the voice of the
burra in the courtyard, and going out, I found my host
returned. He had disposed of his whole cargo of twenty
Testaments at the village of Vargas, distant from Villa Seca
about a league. Eight poor harvest men, who were refreshing
themselves at the door of a wine-house, purchased each a copy,
whilst the village schoolmaster secured the rest for the little
ones beneath his care, lamenting, at the same time, the great
difficulty he had long experienced in obtaining religious
books, owing to their scarcity and extravagant price. Many
other persons were also anxious to purchase Testaments, but
Lopez was unable to supply them: at his departure, they
requested him to return within a few days.
I was aware that I was playing rather a daring game, and
that it was very possible that, when I least expected it, I
might be seized, tied to the tail of a mule, and dragged either
to the prison of Toledo or Madrid. Yet such a prospect did not
discourage me in the least, but rather urged me to persevere;
for at this time, without the slightest wish to gratify myself,
I could say that I was eager to lay down my life for the cause,
and whether a bandit's bullet, or the gaol fever brought my
career to a close, was a matter of indifference to me; I was
not then a stricken man: "Ride on because of the word of
righteousness," was my cry.
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 sea-ports 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."
As it is my belief that the cura of Villallos is a person
capable of any infamy, I beg leave humbly to intreat your
Lordship to cause a copy of the above narration to be forwarded
to the Spanish government. - I have the honour to remain, My
Lord, Your Lordship's most obedient,
GEORGE BORROW.
To the Right Honourable
LORD WILLIAM HERVEY.
After the rescue of Lopez we proceeded in the work of
distribution. Suddenly, however, the symptoms of an
approaching illness came over me, which compelled us to return
in all haste to Madrid. Arrived there, I was attacked by a
fever which confined me to my bed for several weeks; occasional
fits of delirium came over me, during one of which, I imagined
myself in the market-place of Martin Munos, engaged in deadly
struggle with the chieftain Balmaseda.
The fever had scarcely departed, when a profound
melancholy took possession of me, which entirely disqualified
me for active exertion. Change of scene and air was
recommended; I therefore returned to England.
CHAPTER XLV
Return to Spain - Seville - A Hoary Persecutor -
Manchegan Prophetess - Antonio's Dream.
On the 31st of December, 1838, I again visited Spain for
the third time. After staying a day or two at Cadiz I repaired
to Seville, from which place I proposed starting for Madrid
with the mail post. Here I tarried about a fortnight, enjoying
the delicious climate of this terrestrial Paradise, and the
balmy breezes of the Andalusian winter, even as I had done two
years previously. Before leaving Seville, I visited the
bookseller, my correspondent, who informed me that seventy-six
copies of the hundred Testaments entrusted to his care had been
placed in embargo by the government last summer, and that they
were at the present time in the possession of the
ecclesiastical governor, whereupon I determined to visit this
functionary also, with the view of making inquiries concerning
the property.
He lived in a large house in the Pajaria, or strawmarket.
He was a very old man, between seventy and eighty,
and, like the generality of those who wear the sacerdotal habit
in this city, was a fierce persecuting Papist. I imagine that
he scarcely believed his ears when his two grand-nephews,
beautiful black-haired boys who were playing in the court-yard,
ran to inform him that an Englishman was waiting to speak with
him, as it is probable that I was the first heretic who ever
ventured into his habitation. I found him in a vaulted room,
seated on a lofty chair, with two sinister-looking secretaries,
also in sacerdotal habits, employed in writing at a table
before him. He brought powerfully to my mind the grim old
inquisitor who persuaded Philip the Second to slay his own son
as an enemy to the church.
He rose as I entered, and gazed upon me with a
countenance dark with suspicion and dissatisfaction. He at
last condescended to point me to a sofa, and I proceeded to
state to him my business. He became much agitated when I
mentioned the Testaments to him; but I no sooner spoke of the
Bible Society and told him who I was, than he could contain
himself no longer: with a stammering tongue, and with eyes
flashing fire like hot coals, he proceeded to rail against the
society and myself, saying that the aims of the first were
atrocious, and that, as to myself, he was surprised that, being
once lodged in the prison of Madrid, I had ever been permitted
to quit it; adding, that it was disgraceful in the government
to allow a person of my character to roam about an innocent and
peaceful country, corrupting the minds of the ignorant and
unsuspicious. Far from allowing myself to be disconcerted by
his rude behaviour, I replied to him with all possible
politeness, and assured him that in this instance he had no
reason to alarm himself, as my sole motive in claiming the
books in question, was to avail myself of an opportunity which
at present presented itself, of sending them out of the
country, which, indeed, I had been commanded to do by an
official notice. But nothing would soothe him, and he informed
me that he should not deliver up the books on any condition,
save by a positive order of the government. As the matter was
by no means an affair of consequence, I thought it wise not to
persist, and also prudent to take my leave before he requested
me. I was followed even down into the street by his niece and
grand-nephews, who, during the whole of the conversation, had
listened at the door of the apartment and heard every word.
In passing through La Mancha, we staid for four hours at
Manzanares, a large village. I was standing in the marketplace
conversing with a curate, when a frightful ragged object
presented itself; it was a girl about eighteen or nineteen,
perfectly blind, a white film being spread over her huge
staring eyes. Her countenance was as yellow as that of a
Mulatto. I thought at first that she was a Gypsy, and
addressing myself to her, inquired in Gitano if she were of
that race; she understood me, but shaking her head, replied,
that she was something better than a Gitana, and could speak
something better than that jargon of witches; whereupon she
commenced asking me several questions in exceedingly good
Latin. I was of course very much surprised, but summoning all
my Latinity, I called her Manchegan Prophetess, and expressing
my admiration for her learning, begged to be informed by what
means she became possessed of it. I must here observe that a
crowd instantly gathered around us, who, though they understood
not one word of our discourse, at every sentence of the girl
shouted applause, proud in the possession of a prophetess who
could answer the Englishman.
She informed me that she was born blind, and that a
Jesuit priest had taken compassion on her when she was a child,
and had taught her the holy language, in order that the
attention and hearts of Christians might be more easily turned
towards her. I soon discovered that he had taught her
something more than Latin, for upon telling her that I was an
Englishman, she said that she had always loved Britain, which
was once the nursery of saints and sages, for example Bede and
Alcuin, Columba and Thomas of Canterbury; but she added those
times had gone by since the re-appearance of Semiramis
(Elizabeth). Her Latin was truly excellent, and when I, like a
genuine Goth, spoke of Anglia and Terra Vandalica (Andalusia),
she corrected me by saying, that in her language those places
were called Britannia and Terra Betica. When we had finished
our discourse, a gathering was made for the prophetess, the
very poorest contributing something.
After travelling four days and nights, we arrived at
Madrid, without having experienced the slightest accident,
though it is but just to observe, and always with gratitude to
the Almighty, that the next mail was stopped. A singular
incident befell me immediately after my arrival; on entering
the arch of the posada called La Reyna, where I intended to put
up, I found myself encircled in a person's arms, and on turning
round in amazement, beheld my Greek servant, Antonio. He was
haggard and ill-dressed, and his eyes seemed starting from
their sockets.
As soon as we were alone he informed that since my
departure he had undergone great misery and destitution,
having, during the whole period, been unable to find a master
in need of his services, so that he was brought nearly to the
verge of desperation; but that on the night immediately
preceding my arrival he had a dream, in which he saw me,
mounted on a black horse, ride up to the gate of the posada,
and that on that account he had been waiting there during the
greater part of the day. I do not pretend to offer an opinion
concerning this narrative, which is beyond the reach of my
philosophy, and shall content myself with observing that only
two individuals in Madrid were aware of my arrival in Spain. I
was very glad to receive him again into my service, as,
notwithstanding his faults, he had in many instances proved of
no slight assistance to me in my wanderings and biblical
labours.
I was soon settled in my former lodgings, when one my
first cares was to pay a visit to Lord Clarendon. Amongst
other things, he informed me that he had received an official
notice from the government, stating the seizure of the New
Testaments at Ocana, the circumstances relating to which I have
described on a former occasion, and informing him that unless
steps were instantly taken to remove them from the country,
they would be destroyed at Toledo, to which place they had been
conveyed. I replied that I should give myself no trouble about
the matter; and that if the authorities of Toledo, civil or
ecclesiastic, determined upon burning these books, my only hope
was that they would commit them to the flames with all possible
publicity, as by so doing they would but manifest their own
hellish rancour and their hostility to the word of God.
Being eager to resume my labours, I had no sooner arrived
at Madrid than I wrote to Lopez at Villa Seca, for the purpose
of learning whether he was inclined to cooperate in the work,
as on former occasions. In reply, he informed me that he was
busily employed in his agricultural pursuits: to supply his
place, however, he sent over an elderly villager, Victoriano
Lopez by name, a distant relation of his own.
What is a missionary in the heart of Spain without a
horse? Which consideration induced me now to purchase an
Arabian of high caste, which had been brought from Algiers by
an officer of the French legion. The name of this steed, the
best I believe that ever issued from the desert, was Sidi
Habismilk.
CHAPTER XLVI
Work of Distribution resumed - Adventure at Cobenna -
Power of the Clergy - Rural Authorities - Fuente la Higuera -
Victoriano's Mishap - Village Prison - The Rope -
Antonio's Errand - Antonio at Mass.
In my last chapter, I stated that, immediately after my
arrival at Madrid, I proceeded to get everything in readiness
for commencing operations in the neighbourhood; and I soon
entered upon my labours in reality. Considerable success
attended my feeble efforts in the good cause, for which at
present, after the lapse of some years, I still look back with
gratitude to the Almighty.
All the villages within the distance of four leagues to
the east of Madrid, were visited in less than a fortnight, and
Testaments to the number of nearly two hundred disposed of.
These villages for the most part are very small, some of them
consisting of not more than a dozen houses, or I should rather
say miserable cabins. I left Antonio, my Greek, to superintend
matters in Madrid, and proceeded with Victoriano, the peasant
from Villa Seca, in the direction which I have already
mentioned. We, however, soon parted company, and pursued
different routes.
The first village at which I made an attempt was Cobenna,
about three leagues from Madrid. I was dressed in the fashion
of the peasants in the neighbourhood of Segovia, in Old
Castile; namely, I had on my head a species of leather helmet
or montera, with a jacket and trousers of the same material. I
had the appearance of a person between sixty and seventy years
of age, and drove before me a borrico with a sack of Testaments
lying across its back. On nearing the village, I met a
genteel-looking young woman leading a little boy by the hand:
as I was about to pass her with the customary salutation of
VAYA USTED CON DIOS, she stopped, and after looking at me for a
moment, she said: "Uncle (TIO), what is that you have got on
your borrico? Is it soap?"
"Yes," I replied: "it is soap to wash souls clean."
She demanded what I meant; whereupon I told her that I
carried cheap and godly books for sale. On her requesting to
see one, I produced a copy from my pocket and handed it to her.
She instantly commenced reading with a loud voice, and
continued so for at least ten minutes, occasionally exclaiming:
"QUE LECTURA TAN BONITA, QUE LECTURA TAN LINDA!" What
beautiful, what charming readings!" At last, on my informing
her that I was in a hurry, and could not wait any longer, she
said, "true, true," and asked me the price of the book: I told
her "but three reals," whereupon she said, that though what I
asked was very little, it was more than she could afford to
give, as there was little or no money in those parts. I said I
was sorry for it, but that I could not dispose of the books for
less than I had demanded, and accordingly, resuming it, wished
her farewell, and left her. I had not, however, proceeded
thirty yards, when the boy came running behind me, shouting,
out of breath: "Stop, uncle, the book, the book!" Upon
overtaking me, he delivered the three reals in copper, and
seizing the Testament, ran back to her, who I suppose was his
sister, flourishing the book over his head with great glee.
On arriving at the village, I directed my steps to a
house, around the door of which I saw several people gathered,
chiefly women. On my displaying my books, their curiosity was
instantly aroused, and every person had speedily one in his
hand, many reading aloud; however, after waiting nearly an
hour, I had disposed of but one copy, all complaining bitterly
of the distress of the times, and the almost total want of
money, though, at the same time, they acknowledged that the
books were wonderfully cheap, and appeared to be very good and
Christian-like. I was about to gather up my merchandise and
depart, when on a sudden the curate of the place made his
appearance. After having examined the book for some time with
considerable attention, he asked me the price of a copy, and
upon my informing him that it was three reals, he replied that
the binding was worth more, and that he was much afraid that I
had stolen the books, and that it was perhaps his duty to send
me to prison as a suspicious character; but added, that the
books were good books, however they might be obtained, and
concluded by purchasing two copies. The poor people no sooner
heard their curate recommend the volumes, than all were eager
to secure one, and hurried here and there for the purpose of
procuring money, so that between twenty and thirty copies were
sold almost in an instant. This adventure not only affords an
instance of the power still possessed by the Spanish clergy
over the minds of the people, but proves that such influence is
not always exerted in a manner favourable to the maintenance of
ignorance and superstition.
In another village, on my showing a Testament to a woman,
she said that she had a child at school for whom she would like
to purchase one, but that she must first know whether the book
was calculated to be of service to him. She then went away,
and presently returned with the school-master, followed by all
the children under his care; she then, showing the schoolmaster
a book, inquired if it would answer for her son. The
schoolmaster called her a simpleton for asking such a question,
and said that he knew the book well, and there was not its
equal in the world (NO HAY OTRO EN EL MUNDO). He instantly
purchased five copies for his pupils, regretting that he had no
more money, "for if I had," said he, "I would buy the whole
cargo." Upon hearing this, the woman purchased four copies,
namely, one for her living son, another for her DECEASED
HUSBAND, a third for herself, and a fourth for her brother,
whom she said she was expecting home that night from Madrid.
In this manner we proceeded; not, however, with uniform
success. In some villages the people were so poor and needy,
that they had literally no money; even in these, however, we
managed to dispose of a few copies in exchange for barley or
refreshments. On entering one very small hamlet, Victoriano
was stopped by the curate, who, on learning what he carried,
told him that unless he instantly departed, he would cause him
to be imprisoned, and would write to Madrid in order to give
information of what was going on. The excursion lasted about
eight days. Immediately after my return, I dispatched
Victoriano to Caramanchal, a village at a short distance from
Madrid, the only one towards the west which had not been
visited last year. He staid there about an hour, and disposed
of twelve copies, and then returned, as he was exceedingly
timid, and was afraid of being met by the thieves who swarm on
that road in the evening.
Shortly after these events, a circumstance occurred which
will perhaps cause the English reader to smile, whilst, at the
same time, it will not fail to prove interesting, as affording
an example of the feeling prevalent in some of the lone
villages of Spain with respect to innovation and all that
savours thereof, and the strange acts which are sometimes
committed by the real authorities and the priests, without the
slightest fear of being called to account; for as they live
quite apart * from the rest of the world, they know no people
greater than themselves, and scarcely dream of a higher power
than their own.
* [Footnote in Greek text which cannot be reproduced]
I was about to make an excursion to Guadalajara, and the
villages of Alcarria, about seven leagues distant from Madrid;
indeed I merely awaited the return of Victoriano to sally
forth; I having dispatched him in that direction with a few
Testaments, as a kind of explorer, in order that, from his
report as to the disposition manifested by the people for
purchasing, I might form a tolerably accurate opinion as to the
number of copies which it might be necessary to carry with me.
However, I heard nothing of him for a fortnight, at the end of
which period a letter was brought to me by a peasant, dated
from the prison of Fuente la Higuera, a village eight leagues
from Madrid, in the Campina of Alcala: this letter, written, by
Victoriano, gave me to understand that he had been already
eight days imprisoned, and that unless I could find some means
to extricate him, there was every probability of his remaining
in durance until he should perish with hunger, which he had no
doubt would occur as soon as his money was exhausted. From
what I afterwards learned, it appeared that, after passing the
town of Alcala, he had commenced distributing, and with
considerable success. His entire stock consisted of sixty-one
Testaments, twenty-five of which he sold without the slightest
difficulty or interruption in the single village of Arganza;
the poor labourers showering blessings on his head for
providing them with such good books at an easy price.
Not more than eighteen of his books remained, when he
turned off the high road towards Fuente la Higuera. This place
was already tolerably well known to him, he having visited it
of old, when he travelled the country in the capacity of a
vendor of cacharras or earthen pans. He subsequently stated
that he felt some misgiving whilst on the way, as the village
had invariably borne a bad reputation. On his arrival, after
having put up his cavallejo or little pony at a posada, he
proceeded to the alcalde for the purpose of asking permission
to sell the books, which that dignitary immediately granted.
He now entered a house and sold a copy, and likewise a second.
Emboldened by success, he entered a third, which, it appeared,
belonged to the barber-surgeon of the village. This personage
having just completed his dinner, was seated in an arm chair
within his doorway, when Victoriano made his appearance. He
was a man about thirty-five, of a savage truculent countenance.
On Victoriano's offering him a Testament, he took it in his
hand to examine it, but no sooner did his eyes glance over the
title-page than he burst out into a loud laugh, exclaiming:-
"Ha, ha, Don Jorge Borrow, the English heretic, we have
encountered you at last. Glory to the Virgin and the Saints!
We have long been expecting you here, and at length you are
arrived." He then inquired the price of the book, and on being
told three reals, he flung down two, and rushed out of the
house with the Testament in his hand.
Victoriano now became alarmed, and determined upon
leaving the place as soon as possible. He therefore hurried
back to the posada, and having paid for the barley which his
pony had consumed, went into the stable, and placing the
packsaddle on the animal's back, was about to lead it forth,
when the alcalde of the village, the surgeon, and twelve other
men, some of whom were armed with muskets, suddenly presented
themselves. They instantly made Victoriano prisoner, and after
seizing the books and laying an embargo on the pony, proceeded
amidst much abuse to drag the captive to what they denominated
their prison, a low damp apartment with a little grated window,
where they locked him up and left him. At the expiration of
three quarters of an hour, they again appeared, and conducted
him to the house of the curate, where they sat down in
conclave; the curate, who was a man stone blind, presiding,
whilst the sacristan officiated as secretary. The surgeon
having stated his accusation against the prisoner, namely, that
he had detected him in the fact of selling a version of the
Scriptures in the vulgar tongue, the curate proceeded to
examine Victoriano, asking him his name and place of residence,
to which he replied that his name was Victoriano Lopez, and
that he was a native of Villa Seca, in the Sagra of Toledo.
The curate then demanded what religion he professed? and
whether he was a Mohometan, or freemason? and received for
answer that he was a Roman Catholic. I must here state, that
Victoriano, though sufficiently shrewd in his way, was a poor
old labourer of sixty-four; and until that moment had never
heard either of Mahometans or freemasons. The curate becoming
now incensed, called him a TUNANTE or scoundrel, and added, you
have sold your soul to a heretic; we have long been aware of
your proceedings, and those of your master. You are the same
Lopez, whom he last year rescued from the prison of Villallos,
in the province of Avila; I sincerely hope that he will attempt
to do the same thing here. "Yes, yes," shouted the rest of the
conclave, "let him but venture here, and we will shed his
heart's blood on our stones." In this manner they went on for
nearly half an hour. At last they broke up the meeting, and
conducted Victoriano once more to his prison.
During his confinement he lived tolerably well, being in
possession of money. His meals were sent him twice a day from
the posada, where his pony remained in embargo. Once or twice
he asked permission of the alcalde, who visited him every night
and morning with his armed guard, to purchase pen and paper, in
order that he might write to Madrid; but this favour was
peremptorily refused him, and all the inhabitants of the
village were forbidden under terrible penalties to afford him
the means of writing, or to convey any message from him beyond
the precincts of the place, and two boys were stationed before
the window of his cell for the purpose of watching everything
which might be conveyed to him.
It happened one day that Victoriano, being in need of a
pillow, sent word to the people of the posada to send him his
alforjas or saddlebags, which they did. In these bags there
chanced to be a kind of rope, or, as it is called in Spanish,
SOGA, with which he was in the habit of fastening his satchel
to the pony's back. The urchins seeing an end of this rope,
hanging from the alforjas, instantly ran to the alcalde to give
him information. Late at evening, the alcalde again visited
the prisoner at the head of his twelve men as usual. "BUENAS
NOCHES," said the alcalde. "BUENAS NOCHES TENGA USTED,"
replied Victoriano. "For what purpose did you send for the
soga this afternoon?" demanded the functionary. "I sent for no
soga," said the prisoner, "I sent for my alforjas to serve as a
pillow, and it was sent in them by chance." "You are a false
malicious knave," retorted the alcalde; "you intend to hang
yourself, and by so doing ruin us all, as your death would be
laid at our door. Give me the soga." No greater insult can be
offered to a Spaniard than to tax him with an intention of
committing suicide. Poor Victoriano flew into a violent rage,
and after calling the alcalde several very uncivil names, he
pulled the soga from his bags, flung it at his head, and told
him to take it home and use it for his own neck.
At length the people of the posada took pity on the
prisoner, perceiving that he was very harshly treated for no
crime at all; they therefore determined to afford him an
opportunity of informing his friends of his situation, and
accordingly sent him a pen and inkhorn, concealed in a loaf of
bread, and a piece of writing paper, pretending that the latter
was intended for cigars. So Victoriano wrote the letter; but
now ensued the difficulty of sending it to its destination, as
no person in the village dare have carried it for any reward.
The good people, however, persuaded a disbanded soldier from
another village, who chanced to be at Fuente la Higuera in
quest of work, to charge himself with it, assuring him that I
would pay him well for his trouble. The man, watching his
opportunity, received the letter from Victoriano at the window:
and it was he who, after travelling on foot all night,
delivered it to me in safety at Madrid.
I was now relieved from my anxiety, and had no fears for
the result. I instantly went to a friend who is in possession
of large estates about Guadalajara, in which province Fuente la
Higuera is situated, who furnished me with letters to the civil
governor of Guadalajara and all the principal authorities;
these I delivered to Antonio, whom, at his own request, I
despatched on the errand of the prisoner's liberation. He
first directed his course to Fuente la Higuera, where, entering
the alcalde's house, he boldly told him what he had come about.
The alcalde expecting that I was at hand, with an army of
Englishmen, for the purpose of rescuing the prisoner, became
greatly alarmed, and instantly despatched his wife to summon
his twelve men; however, on Antonio's assuring him that there
was no intention of having recourse to violence, he became more
tranquil. In a short time Antonio was summoned before the
conclave and its blind sacerdotal president. They at first
attempted to frighten him by assuming a loud bullying tone, and
talking of the necessity of killing all strangers, and
especially the detested Don Jorge and his dependents. Antonio,
however, who was not a person apt to allow himself to be easily
terrified, scoffed at their threats, and showing them his
letters to the authorities of Guadalajara, said that he should
proceed there on the morrow and denounce their lawless conduct,
adding that he was a Turkish subject, and that should they dare
to offer him the slightest incivility, he would write to the
sublime Porte, in comparison with whom the best kings in the
world were but worms, and who would not fail to avenge the
wrongs of any of his children, however distant, in a manner too
terrible to be mentioned. He then returned to his posada. The
conclave now proceeded to deliberate amongst themselves, and at
last determined to send their prisoner on the morrow to
Guadalajara, and deliver him into the hands of the civil
governor.
Nevertheless, in order to keep up a semblance of
authority, they that night placed two men armed at the door of
the posada where Antonio was lodged, as if he himself were a
prisoner. These men, as often as the clock struck the hour,
shouted "Ave Maria! Death to the heretics." Early in the
morning the alcalde presented himself at the posada, but before
entering he made an oration at the door to the people in the
street, saying, amongst other things, "Brethren, these are the
fellows who have come to rob us of our religion." He then went
into Antonio's apartment, and after saluting him with great
politeness, said, that as a royal or high mass was about to be
celebrated that morning, he had come to invite him to go to
church with him. Whereupon Antonio, though by no means a massgoer,
rose and accompanied him, and remained two hours, as he
told me, on his knees on the cold stones, to his great
discomfort; the eyes of the whole congregation being fixed upon
him during the time.
After mass and breakfast, he departed for Guadalajara,
Victoriano having been already despatched under a guard. On
his arrival, he presented his letters to the individuals for
whom they were intended. The civil governor was convulsed with
merriment on hearing Antonio's account of the adventure.
Victoriano was set at liberty, and the books were placed in
embargo at Guadalajara; the governor stating, however, that
though it was his duty to detain them at present, they should
be sent to me whenever I chose to claim them; he moreover said
that he would do his best to cause the authorities of Fuente la
Higuera to be severely punished, as in the whole affair they
had acted in the most cruel tyrannical manner, for which they
had no authority. Thus terminated this affair, one of those
little accidents which chequer missionary life in Spain.
CHAPTER XLVII
Termination of our Rural Labours - Alarm of the Clergy -
A New Experiment - Success at Madrid - Goblin-Alguazil -
Staff of Office - The Corregidor - An Explanation -
The Pope in England - New Testament expounded - Works of Luther.
We proceeded in our task of distributing the Scriptures
with various success, until the middle of March, when I
determined upon starting for Talavera, for the purpose of
seeing what it was possible to accomplish in that town and the
neighbourhood. I accordingly bent my course in that direction,
accompanied by Antonio and Victoriano. On our way thither we
stopped at Naval Carnero, a large village five leagues to the
west of Madrid, where I remained three days, sending forth
Victoriano to the circumjacent hamlets with small cargoes of
Testaments. Providence, however, which had hitherto so
remarkably favoured us in these rural excursions, now withdrew
from us its support, and brought them to a sudden termination;
for in whatever place the sacred writings were offered for
sale, they were forthwith seized by persons who appeared to be
upon the watch; which events compelled me to alter my intention
of proceeding to Talavera and to return forthwith to Madrid.
I subsequently learned that our proceedings on the other
side of Madrid having caused alarm amongst the heads of the
clergy, they had made a formal complaint to the government, who
immediately sent orders to all the alcaldes of the villages,
great and small, in New Castile, to seize the New Testament
wherever it might be exposed for sale; but at the same time
enjoining them to be particularly careful not to detain or
maltreat the person or persons who might be attempting to vend
it. An exact description of myself accompanied these orders,
and the authorities both civil and military were exhorted to be
on their guard against me and my arts and machinations; for, I
as the document stated, was to-day in one place, and to-morrow
at twenty leagues' distance.
I was not much discouraged by this blow, which indeed did
not come entirely unexpected. I, however, determined to change
the sphere of action, and not expose the sacred volume to
seizure at every step which I should take to circulate it. In
my late attempts, I had directed my attention exclusively to
the villages and small towns, in which it was quite easy for
the government to frustrate my efforts by means of circulars to
the local authorities, who would of course be on the alert, and
whose vigilance it would be impossible to baffle as every
novelty which occurs in a small place is forthwith bruited
about. But the case would be widely different amongst the
crowds of the capital, where I could pursue my labours with
comparative secrecy. My present plan was to abandon the rural
districts, and to offer the sacred volume at Madrid, from house
to house, at the same low price as in the country. This plan I
forthwith put into execution.
Having an extensive acquaintance amongst the lower
orders, I selected eight intelligent individuals to co-operate
with me, amongst whom were five women. All these I supplied
with Testaments, and then sent them forth to all the parishes
in Madrid. The result of their efforts more than answered my
expectations. In less than fifteen days after my return from
Naval Carnero, nearly six hundred copies of the life and words
of Him of Nazareth had been sold in the streets and alleys of
Madrid; a fact which I hope I may be permitted to mention with
gladness and with decent triumph in the Lord.
One of the richest streets is the Calle Montera, where
reside the principal merchants and shopkeepers of Madrid. It
is, in fact, the street of commerce, in which respect, and in
being a favourite promenade, it corresponds with the far-famed
"Nefsky" of Saint Petersburg. Every house in this street was
supplied with its Testament, and the same might be said with
respect to the Puerto del Sol. Nay, in some instances, every
individual in the house, man and child, man-servant and maidservant,
was furnished with a copy. My Greek, Antonio, made
wonderful exertions in this quarter; and it is but justice to
say that, but for his instrumentality, on many occasions, I
might have been by no means able to give so favourable an
account of the spread of "the Bible in Spain." There was a
time when I was in the habit of saying "dark Madrid," an
expression which, I thank God, I could now drop. It were
scarcely just to call a city, "dark," in which thirteen hundred
Testaments at least were in circulation, and in daily use.
It was now that I turned to account a supply of Bibles
which I had received from Barcelona, in sheets, at the
commencement of the preceding year. The demand for the entire
Scriptures was great; indeed far greater than I could answer,
as the books were disposed of faster than they could be bound
by the man whom I employed for that purpose. Eight-and-twenty
copies were bespoken and paid for before delivery. Many of
these Bibles found their way into the best houses in Madrid.
The Marquis of - had a large family, but every individual of
it, old and young, was in possession of a Bible, and likewise 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 was an ecclesiastic. He never walked
out without carrying one beneath his gown, which he offered to
the first person he met whom he thought likely to purchase.
Another excellent assistant was an elderly gentleman of
Navarre, enormously rich, who was continually purchasing copies
on his own account, which he, as I was told, sent into his
native province, for distribution amongst his friends and the
poor.
On a certain night I had retired to rest rather more
early than usual, being slightly indisposed. I soon fell
asleep, and had continued so for some hours, when I was
suddenly aroused by the opening of the door of the small
apartment in which I lay. I started up, and beheld Maria Diaz,
with a lamp in her hand, enter the room. I observed that her
features, which were in general peculiarly calm and placid,
wore a somewhat startled expression. "What is the hour, and
what brings you here?" I demanded.
"Senor," said she, closing the door, and coming up to the
bed-side. "It is close upon midnight; but a messenger
belonging to the police has just entered the house and demanded
to see you. I told him that it was impossible, for that your
worship was in bed. Whereupon he sneezed in my face, and said
that he would see you if you were in your coffin. He has all
the look of a goblin, and has thrown me into a tremor. I am
far from being a timid person, as you are aware, Don Jorge; but
I confess that I never cast my eyes on these wretches of the
police, but my heart dies away within me! I know them but too
well, and what they are capable of."
"Pooh," said I, "be under no apprehension, let him come
in, I fear him not, whether he be alguazil or hobgoblin.
Stand, however, at the doorway, that you may be a witness of
what takes place, as it is more than probable that he comes at
this unreasonable hour to create a disturbance, that he may
have an opportunity of making an unfavourable report to his
principals, like the fellow on the former occasion."
The hostess left the apartment, and I heard her say a
word or two to some one in the passage, whereupon there was a
loud sneeze, and in a moment after a singular figure appeared
at the doorway. It was that of a very old man, with long white
hair, which escaped from beneath the eaves of an exceedingly
high-peaked hat. He stooped considerably, and moved along with
a shambling gait. I could not see much of his face, which, as
the landlady stood behind him with the lamp, was consequently
in deep shadow. I could observe, however, that his eyes
sparkled like those of a ferret. He advanced to the foot of
the bed, in which I was still lying, wondering what this
strange visit could mean; and there he stood gazing at me for a
minute, at least, without uttering a syllable. Suddenly,
however, he protruded a spare skinny hand from the cloak in
which it had hitherto been enveloped, and pointed with a short
staff, tipped with metal, in the direction of my face, as it he
were commencing an exorcism. He appeared to be about to speak,
but his words, if he intended any, were stifled in their birth
by a sudden sternutation which escaped him, and which was so
violent that the hostess started back, exclaiming, "Ave Maria
purissima!" and nearly dropped the lamp in her alarm.
"My good person," said I, "what do you mean by this
foolish hobgoblinry? If you have anything to communicate do so
at once, and go about your business. I am unwell, and you are
depriving me of my repose."
"By the virtue of this staff," said the old man, "and the
authority which it gives me to do and say that which is
convenient, I do command, order, and summon you to appear tomorrow,
at the eleventh hour at the office of my lord the
corregidor of this village of Madrid, in order that, standing
before him humbly, and with befitting reverence, you may listen
to whatever he may have to say, or if necessary, may yield
yourself up to receive the castigation of any crimes which you
may have committed, whether trivial or enormous. TENEZ,
COMPERE," he added, in most villainous French, "VOILA MON
AFFAIRE; VOILA CE QUE JE VIENS VOUS DIRE."
Thereupon he glared at me for a moment, nodded his head
twice, and replacing his staff beneath is cloak, shambled out
of the room, and with a valedictory sneeze in the passage left
the house.
Precisely at eleven on the following day, I attended at
the office of the corregidor. He was not the individual whose
anger I had incurred on a former occasion, and who had thought
proper to imprison me, but another person, I believe a Catalan,
whose name I have also forgotten. Indeed, these civil
employments were at this period given to-day and taken away tomorrow,
so that the person who held one of them for a month
might consider himself a functionary of long standing. I was
not kept waiting a moment, but as soon as I had announced
myself, was forthwith ushered into the presence of the
corregidor, a good-looking, portly, and well-dressed personage,
seemingly about fifty. He was writing at a desk when I
entered, but almost immediately arose and came towards me. He
looked me full in the face, and I, nothing abashed, kept my
eyes fixed upon his. He had, perhaps, expected a less
independent bearing, and that I should have quaked and crouched
before him; but now, conceiving himself bearded in his own den,
his old Spanish leaven was forthwith stirred up. He plucked
his whiskers fiercely. "Escuchad," said he, casting upon me a
ferocious glance, "I wish to ask you a question."
"Before I answer any question of your excellency," said
I, "I shall take the liberty of putting one myself. What law
or reason is there that I, a peaceable individual and a
foreigner, should have my rest disturbed by DUENDES and
hobgoblins sent at midnight to summon me to appear at public
offices like a criminal?"
"You do not speak the truth," shouted the corregidor;
"the person sent to summon you was neither duende nor
hobgoblin, but one of the most ancient and respectable officers
of this casa, and so far from being dispatched at midnight, it
wanted twenty-five minutes to that hour by my own watch when he
left this office, and as your lodging is not distant, he must
have arrived there at least ten minutes before midnight, so
that you are by no means accurate, and are found wanting in
regard to truth."
"A distinction without a difference," I replied. "For my
own part, if I am to be disturbed in my sleep, it is of little
consequence whether at midnight or ten minutes before that
time; and with respect to your messenger, although he might not
be a hobgoblin, he had all the appearance of one, and assuredly
answered the purpose, by frightening the woman of the house
almost into fits by his hideous grimaces and sneezing
convulsions."
CORREGIDOR. - You are a - I know not what. Do you know
that I have the power to imprison you?
MYSELF. - You have twenty alguazils at your beck and
call, and have of course the power, and so had your
predecessor, who nearly lost his situation by imprisoning me;
but you know full well that you have not the right, as I am not
under your jurisdiction, but that of the captain-general. If I
have obeyed your summons, it was simply because I had a
curiosity to know what you wanted with me, and from no other
motive whatever. As for imprisoning me, I beg leave to assure
you, that you have my full consent to do so; the most polite
society in Madrid is to be found in the prison, and as I am at
present compiling a vocabulary of the language of the
Madrilenian thieves, I should have, in being imprisoned, an
excellent opportunity of completing it. There is much to be
learnt even in the prison, for, as the Gypsies say, "The dog
that trots about finds a bone."
CORREGIDOR. - Your words are not those of a Caballero.
Do you forget where you are, and in whose presence? Is this a
fitting place to talk of thieves and Gypsies in?
MYSELF. - Really I know of no place more fitting, unless
it be the prison. But we are wasting time, and I am anxious to
know for what I have been summoned; whether for crimes trivial
or enormous, as the messenger said.
It was a long time before I could obtain the required
information from the incensed corregidor; at last, however, it
came. It appeared that a box of Testaments, which I had
despatched to Naval Carnero, had been seized by the local
authorities, and having been detained there for some time, was
at last sent back to Madrid, intended as it now appeared, for
the hands of the corregidor. One day as it was lying at the
waggon-office, Antonio chanced to enter on some business of his
own and recognised the box, which he instantly claimed as my
property, and having paid the carriage, removed it to my
warehouse. He had considered the matter as of so little
importance, that he had not as yet mentioned it to me. The
poor corregidor, however, had no doubt that it was a deep-laid
scheme to plunder and insult him. And now, working himself up
into almost a frenzy of excitement, he stamped on the ground,
exclaiming, "QUE PICARDIA! QUE INFAMIA!"
The old system, thought I, of prejudging people and
imputing to them motives and actions of which they never
dreamed. I then told him frankly that I was entirely ignorant
of the circumstance by which he had felt himself aggrieved; but
that if upon inquiry I found that the chest had actually been
removed by my servant from the office to which it had been
forwarded, I would cause it forthwith to be restored, although
it was my own property. "I have plenty more Testaments," said
I, "and can afford to lose fifty or a hundred. I am a man of
peace, and wish not to have any dispute with the authorities
for the sake of an old chest and a cargo of books, whose united
value would scarcely amount to forty dollars."
He looked at me for a moment, as if in doubt of my
sincerity, then, again plucking his whiskers, he forthwith
proceeded to attack me in another quarter: "PERO QUE INFAMIA,
QUE PICARDIA! to come into Spain for the purpose of overturning
the religion of the country. What would you say if the
Spaniards were to go to England and attempt to overturn the
Lutheranism established there?"
"They would be most heartily welcome," I replied; "more
especially if they would attempt to do so by circulating the
Bible, the book of Christians, even as the English are doing in
Spain. But your excellency is not perhaps aware that the Pope
has a fair field and fair play in England, and is permitted to
make as many converts from Lutheranism every day in the week as
are disposed to go over to him. He cannot boast, however, of
much success; the people are too fond of light to embrace
darkness, and would smile at the idea of exchanging their
gospel privileges for the superstitious ceremonies and
observances of the church of Rome."
On my repeating my promise that the books and chest
should be forthwith restored, the corregidor declared himself
satisfied, and all of a sudden became excessively polite and
condescending: he even went so far as to say that he left it
entirely with myself, whether to return the books or not;
"and," continued he, "before you go, I wish to tell you that my
private opinion is, that it is highly advisable in all
countries to allow full and perfect tolerance in religious
matters, and to permit every religious system to stand or fall
according to its own merits."
Such were the concluding words of the corregidor of
Madrid, which, whether they expressed his private opinion or
not, were certainly grounded on sense and reason. I saluted
him respectfully and retired, and forthwith performed my
promise with regard to the books; and thus terminated this
affair.
It almost appeared to me at this time, that a religious
reform was commencing in Spain; indeed, matters had of late
come to my knowledge, which, had they been prophesied only a
year before, I should have experienced much difficulty in
believing.
The reader will be surprised when I state that in two
churches of Madrid the New Testament was regularly expounded
every Sunday evening by the respective curates, to about twenty
children who attended, and who were all provided with copies of
the Society's edition of Madrid, 1837. The churches which I
allude to, were those of San Gines and Santo Cruz. Now I
humbly conceive that this fact alone is more than equivalent to
all the expense which the Society had incurred in the efforts
which it had been making to introduce the Gospel into Spain;
but be this as it may, I am certain that it amply recompensed
me for all the anxiety and unhappiness which I had undergone.
I now felt that whenever I should be compelled to discontinue
my labours in the Peninsula, I should retire without the
slightest murmur, my heart being filled with gratitude to the
Lord for having permitted me, useless vessel as I was, to see
at least some of the seed springing up, which during two years
I had been casting on the stony ground of the interior of
Spain.
When I recollected the difficulties which had encompassed
our path, I could sometimes hardly credit all that the Almighty
had permitted us to accomplish within the last year. A large
edition of the New Testament had been almost entirely disposed
of in the very centre of Spain, in spite of the opposition and
the furious cry of the sanguinary priesthood and the edicts of
a deceitful government, and a spirit of religious inquiry
excited, which I had fervent hope would 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
guise of a man, wrote and preached blasphemy against the
Highest; yet, now strange to say, this once abominated
personage was spoken of with no slight degree of respect.
People with Bibles in their hands not unfrequently visited me,
inquiring with much earnestness, and with no slight degree of
simplicity, for the writings of the great Doctor Martin, whom,
indeed, some supposed 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 common description of tracts, written with the view of
exposing the errors of popery, are therefore not calculated to
prove of much benefit in Spain, though it is probable that much
good might be accomplished by well-executed translations of
judicious selections from the works of Luther.
CHAPTER XLVIII
Projected Journey - A Scene of Blood - The Friar -
Seville - Beauties of Seville - Orange Trees and Flowers -
Murillo - The Guardian Angel - Dionysius - My Coadjutors -
Demand for the Bible.
By the middle of April I had sold as many Testaments as I
thought Madrid would bear; I therefore called in my people, for
I was afraid to overstock the market, and to bring the book
into contempt by making it too common. I had, indeed, by this
time, barely a thousand copies remaining of the edition which I
had printed two years previously; and with respect to Bibles,
every copy was by this time disposed of, though there was still
a great demand for them, which, of course, I was unable to
satisfy.
With the remaining copies of the Testament, I now
determined to betake myself to Seville, where little had
hitherto been effected in the way of circulation: my
preparations were soon made. The roads were at this time in a
highly dangerous state, on which account I thought to go along
with a convoy, which was about to start for Andalusia. Two
days, however, before its departure, understanding that the
number of people who likewise proposed to avail themselves of
it was likely to be very great, and reflecting on the slowness
of this way of travelling, and moreover the insults to which
civilians were frequently subjected from the soldiers and petty
officers, I determined to risk the journey with the mail. This
resolutions I carried into effect. Antonio, whom I had
resolved to take with me, and my two horses, departed with the
convoy, whilst in a few days I followed with the mail courier.
We travelled all the way without the slightest accident, my
usual wonderful good fortune accompanying us. I might well
call it wonderful, for 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 Palillos and his
banditti, who, whenever it pleased them, stopped the courier,
burnt the vehicle and letters, murdered the paltry escort, and
carried away any chance passenger to the mountains, where an
enormous ransom was demanded, the alternative being four shots
through the head, as the Spaniards say.
The upper part of Andalusia was becoming rapidly nearly
as bad as La Mancha. The last time the mail had passed, it was
attacked at the defile of La Rumblar by six mounted robbers; it
was guarded by an escort of as many soldiers, but the former
suddenly galloped from behind a solitary venda, 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
sandy nature of the ground. 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 burned 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 wept, and, though a Spaniard, cursed
Spain and the Spaniards, saying that he intended shortly to
pass over to the Moreria, to confess Mahomet, and to learn the
law of the Moors, for that any country and religion were 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, and 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
professor of philosophy, as he told me, in one of the convents
(I think it was San Thomas) of Madrid before their suppression,
but appeared to be grossly ignorant of the Scriptures, which he
confounded with the works of Virgil.
We stopped at Manzanares as usual; it was Sunday morning,
and the market-place was crowded with people. I was recognised
in a moment, and twenty pair 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 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 intreated 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. As it was my intention to remain at Seville for some
months, I determined to hire a house, in which I conceived I
could live with more privacy, and at the same time more
economically than in a posada. It was not long before I found
one in every respect suited to me. It was situated in the
Plazuela de la Pila Seca, a retired part of the city, in the
neighbourhood of the cathedral, and at a short distance from
the gate of Xeres; and in this house, on the arrival of Antonio
and the horses, which occurred within a few days, I took up my
abode.
I was now once more in beautiful Seville and had soon
ample time and leisure to enjoy its delights and those of the
surrounding country; unfortunately, at the time of my arrival,
and indeed for the next ensuing fortnight, the heaven of
Andalusia, in general so glorious, was overcast with black
clouds, which discharged tremendous showers of rain, such as
few of the Sevillians, according to their own account, had ever
seen before. This extraordinary weather had wrought no little
damage in the neighbourhood, causing the Guadalquivir, which,
during the rainy season, is a rapid and furious stream, to
overflow its banks and to threaten an inundation. It is true
that intervals were occurring when the sun made his appearance
from his cloudy tabernacle, and with his golden rays caused
everything around to smile, enticing the butterfly forth from
the bush, and the lizard from the hollow tree, and I invariably
availed myself of these intervals to take a hasty promenade.
O how pleasant it is, especially in springtide, to stray
along the shores of the Guadalquivir. Not far from the city,
down the river, lies a grove called Las Delicias, or the
Delights. It consists of trees of various kinds, but more
especially of poplars and elms, and is traversed by long shady
walks. This grove is the favourite promenade of the
Sevillians, and there one occasionally sees assembled whatever
the town produces of beauty or gallantry. There wander the
black-eyed Andalusian dames and damsels, clad in their graceful
silken mantillas; and there gallops the Andalusian cavalier, on
his long-tailed thick-maned steed of Moorish ancestry. As the
sun is descending, it is enchanting to glance back from this
place in the direction of the city; the prospect is
inexpressibly beautiful. Yonder in the distance, high and
enormous, stands the Golden Tower, now used as a toll-house,
but the principal bulwark of the city in the time of the Moors.
It stands on the shore of the river, like a giant keeping
watch, and is the first edifice which attracts the eye of the
voyager as he moves up the stream to Seville. On the other
side, opposite the tower, stands the noble Augustine convent,
the ornament of the faubourg of Triana, whilst between the two
edifices rolls the broad Guadalquivir, bearing on its bosom a
flotilla of barks from Catalonia and Valencia. Farther up is
seen the bridge of boats which traverses the water. The
principal object of this prospect, however, is the Golden
Tower, where the beams of the setting sun seem to be
concentrated as in a focus, so that it appears built of pure
gold, and probably from that circumstance received the name
which it now bears. Cold, cold must the heart be which can
remain insensible to the beauties of this magic scene, to do
justice to which the pencil of Claude himself were barely
equal. Often have I shed tears of rapture whilst I beheld it,
and listened to the thrush and the nightingale piping forth
their melodious songs in the woods, and inhaled the breeze
laden with the perfume of the thousand orange gardens of
Seville:
"Kennst du das land wo die citronem bluhen?"
The interior of Seville scarcely corresponds with the
exterior: the streets are narrow, badly paved, and full of
misery and beggary. The houses are for the most part built in
the Moorish fashion, with a quadrangular patio or court in the
centre, where stands a marble fountain, constantly distilling
limpid water. These courts, during the time of the summer
heats, are covered over with a canvas awning, and beneath this
the family sit during the greater part of the day. In many,
especially those belonging to the houses of the wealthy, are to
be found shrubs, orange trees, and all kinds of flowers, and
perhaps a small aviary, so that no situation can be conceived
more delicious than to lie here in the shade, hearkening to the
song of the birds and the voice of the fountain.
Nothing is more calculated to interest the stranger as he
wanders through Seville, than a view of these courts obtained
from the streets, through the iron-grated door. Oft have I
stopped to observe them, and as often sighed that my fate did
not permit me to reside in such an Eden for the remainder of my
days. On a former occasion, I have spoken of the cathedral of
Seville, but only in a brief and cursory manner. It is perhaps
the most magnificent cathedral in all Spain, and though not so
regular in its architecture as those of Toledo and Burgos, is
far more worthy of admiration when considered as a whole. It
is utterly impossible to wander through the long aisles, and to
raise one's eyes to the richly inlaid roof, supported by
colossal pillars, without experiencing sensations of sacred
awe, and deep astonishment. It is true that the interior, like
those of the generality of the Spanish cathedrals, is somewhat
dark and gloomy; yet it loses nothing by this gloom, which, on
the contrary, rather increases the solemnity of the effect.
Notre Dame of Paris is a noble building, yet to him who has
seen the Spanish cathedrals, and particularly this of Seville,
it almost appears trivial and mean, and more like a town-hall
than a temple of the Eternal. The Parisian cathedral is
entirely destitute of that solemn darkness and gloomy pomp
which so abound in the Sevillian, and is thus destitute of the
principal requisite to a cathedral.
In most of the chapels are to be found some of the very
best pictures of the Spanish school; and in particular many of
the master-pieces of Murillo, a native of Seville. Of all the
pictures of this extraordinary man, one of the least celebrated
is that which has always wrought on me the most profound
impression. I allude to the Guardian Angel (ANGEL DE LA
GUARDIA), a small picture which stands at the bottom of the
church, and looks up the principal aisle. The angel, holding a
flaming sword in his right hand, is conducting the child. This
child is, in my opinion, the most wonderful of all the
creations of Murillo; the form is that of an infant about five
years of age, and the expression of the countenance is quite
infantine, but the tread - it is the tread of a conqueror, of a
God, of the Creator of the universe; and the earthly globe
appears to tremble beneath its majesty.
The service of the cathedral is in general well attended,
especially when it is known that a sermon is to be preached.
All these sermons are extemporaneous; some of them are edifying
and faithful to the Scriptures. I have often listened to them
with pleasure, though I was much surprised to remark, that when
the preachers quoted from the Bible, their quotations were
almost invariably taken from the apocryphal writings. There is
in general no lack of worshippers at the principal shrines -
women for the most part - many of whom appear to be animated
with the most fervent devotion.
I had flattered myself, previous to my departure from
Madrid, that I should experience but little difficulty in the
circulation of the Gospel in Andalusia, at least for a time, as
the field was new, and myself and the object of my mission less
known and dreaded than in New Castile. It appeared, however,
that the government at Madrid had fulfilled its threat,
transmitting orders throughout Spain for the seizure of my
books wherever found. The Testaments that arrived from Madrid
were seized at the custom-house, to which place all goods on
their arrival, even from the interior, are carried, in order
that a duty be imposed upon them. Through the management of
Antonio, however, I procured one of the two chests, whilst the
other was sent down to San Lucar, to be embarked for a foreign
land as soon as I could make arrangements for that purpose.
I did not permit myself to be discouraged by this slight
CONTRETEMPS, although I heartily regretted the loss of the
books which had been seized, and which I could no longer hope
to circulate in these parts, where they were so much wanted;
but I consoled myself with the reflection, that I had still
several hundred at my disposal, from the distribution of which,
if it pleased the Lord, a blessed harvest might still proceed.
I did not commence operations for some time, for I was in
a strange place, and scarcely knew what course to pursue. I
had no one to assist me but poor Antonio, who was as ignorant
of the place as myself. Providence, however, soon sent me a
coadjutor, in rather a singular manner. I was standing in the
courtyard of the Reyna Posada, where I occasionally dined, when
a man, singularly dressed and gigantically tall, entered. My
curiosity was excited, and I inquired of the master of the
house who he was. 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, 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 eagerness, and in the sequel I had
no reason to regret 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.
Another helper in the circulation of the Gospel I found
in an aged professor of music, who, with much stiffness and
ceremoniousness, united much that was excellent and admirable.
This venerable individual, only three days after I had made his
acquaintance, brought me the price of six Testaments and a
Gypsy Gospel, which he had sold under the heat of an Andalusian
sun. What was his motive? A Christian one truly. He said
that his unfortunate countrymen, who were then robbing and
murdering each other, might probably be rendered better by the
reading of the Gospel, but could never be injured. Adding,
that many a man had been reformed by the Scriptures, but that
no one ever yet became a thief or assassin from its perusal.
But my most extraordinary agent, was one whom I
occasionally employed in circulating the Scriptures amongst the
lower classes. I might have turned the services of this
individual to far greater account had the quantity of books at
my disposal been greater; but they were now diminishing
rapidly, and as I had no hopes of a fresh supply, I was almost
tempted to be niggard of the few which remained. This agent
was a Greek bricklayer, by name Johannes Chrysostom, who had
been introduced to me by Dionysius. He was a native of the
Morea, but had been upwards of thirty-five years in Spain, so
that he had almost entirely lost his native language.
Nevertheless, his attachment to his own country was so strong
that he considered whatever was not Greek as utterly barbarous
and bad. Though entirely destitute of education, he had, by
his strength of character, and by a kind of rude eloquence
which he possessed, obtained such a mastery over the minds of
the labouring classes of Seville, that they assented to almost
everything he said, notwithstanding the shocks which their
prejudices were continually receiving. So that, although he
was a foreigner, he could at any time have become the
Massaniello of Seville. A more honest creature I never saw,
and I soon found that if I employed him, notwithstanding his
eccentricities, I might entertain perfect confidence that his
actions would be no disparagement to the book he vended.
We were continually pressed for Bibles, which of course
we could not supply. Testaments were held in comparatively
little esteem. I had by this time made the discovery of a fact
which it would have been well had I been aware of three years
before; but we live and learn. I mean the inexpediency of
printing 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 of 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 a papal country; and though an English labourer
may read a Testament, and derive from it the most blessed
fruit, it does not follow that a Spanish or Italian 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 my summer campaign of
the preceding year, I could not have accomplished with Bibles
what Providence permitted me to effect with Testaments, the
former being far too bulky for rural journeys.
CHAPTER XLIX
The Solitary House - The Dehesa - Johannes Chrysostom -
Manuel - Bookselling at Seville - Dionysius and the Priests -
Athens and Rome - Proselytism - Seizure of Testaments -
Departure from Seville.
I have already stated, that I had hired an empty house in
Seville, wherein I proposed to reside for some months. It
stood in a solitary situation, occupying one side of a small
square. It was built quite in the beautiful taste of
Andalusia, with a court paved with small slabs of white and
blue marble. In the middle of this court was a fountain well
supplied with the crystal lymph, the murmur of which, as it
fell from its slender pillar into an octangular basin, might be
heard in every apartment. The house itself was large and
spacious, consisting of two stories, and containing room
sufficient for at least ten times the number of inmates which
now occupied it. I generally kept during the day in the lower
apartments, on account of the refreshing coolness which
pervaded them. In one of these was an immense stone watertrough,
ever overflowing with water from the fountain, in which
I immersed myself every morning. Such were the premises to
which, after having provided myself with a few indispensable
articles of furniture, I now retreated with Antonio and my two
horses.
I was fortunate in the possession of these quadrupeds,
inasmuch as it afforded me an opportunity of enjoying to a
greater extent the beauties of the surrounding country. I know
of few things in this life more delicious than a ride in the
spring or summer season in the neighbourhood of Seville. My
favourite one was in the direction of Xerez, over the wide
Dehesa, as it is called, which extends from Seville to the
gates of the former town, a distance of nearly fifty miles,
with scarcely a town or village intervening. The ground is
irregular and broken, and is for the most part covered with
that species of brushwood called carrasco, amongst which winds
a bridle-path, by no means well defined, chiefly trodden by the
arrieros, with their long train of mules and borricos. It is
here that the balmy air of beautiful Andalusia is to be inhaled
in full perfection. Aromatic herbs and flowers are growing in
abundance, diffusing their perfume around. Here dark and
gloomy cares are dispelled as if by magic from the bosom, as
the eyes wander over the prospect, lighted by unequalled
sunshine, in which gaily-painted butterflies wanton, and green
and golden Salamanquesas lie extended, enjoying the luxurious
warmth, and occasionally startling the traveller, by springing
up and making off with portentous speed to the nearest coverts,
whence they stare upon him with their sharp and lustrous eyes.
I repeat, that it is impossible to continue melancholy in
regions like these, and the ancient Greeks and Romans were
right in making them the site of their Elysian fields. Most
beautiful they are even in their present desolation, for the
hand of man has not cultivated them since the fatal era of the
expulsion of the Moors, which drained Andalusia of at least two
thirds of its population.
Every evening it was my custom to ride along the Dedesa,
until the topmost towers of Seville were no longer in sight. I
then turned about, and pressing my knees against the sides of
Sidi Habismilk, my Arabian, the fleet creature, to whom spur or
lash had never been applied, would set off in the direction of
the town with the speed of a whirlwind, seeming in his headlong
course to devour the ground of the waste, until he had left it
behind, then dashing through the elm-covered road of the
Delicias, his thundering hoofs were soon heard beneath the
vaulted archway of the Puerta de Xerez, and in another moment
he would stand stone still before the door of my solitary house
in the little silent square of the Pila Seca.
It is eight o'clock at night, I am returned from the
Dehesa, and am standing on the sotea, or flat roof of my house,
enjoying the cool breeze. Johannes Chrysostom has just arrived
from his labour. I have not spoken to him, but I hear him
below in the court-yard, 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
pavement, 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 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 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.
I lived in the greatest retirement during the whole time
that I passed at Seville, spending the greater part of each day
in study, or in that half-dreamy state of inactivity which is
the natural effect of the influence of a warm climate. There
was little in the character of the people around to induce me
to enter much into society. The higher class of the
Andalusians are probably upon the whole the most vain and
foolish of human beings, with a taste for nothing but sensual
amusements, foppery in dress, and ribald discourse. Their
insolence is only equalled by their meanness, and their
prodigality by their avarice. The lower classes are a shade or
two better than their superiors in station: little, it is true,
can be said for the tone of their morality; they are
overreaching, quarrelsome, and revengeful, but they are upon
the whole more courteous, and certainly not more ignorant.
The Andalusians are in general held in the lowest
estimation by the rest of the Spaniards, even those in opulent
circumstances finding some difficulty at Madrid in procuring
admission into respectable society, where, if they find their
way, they are invariably the objects of ridicule, from the
absurd airs and grimaces in which they indulge, - their
tendency to boasting and exaggeration, their curious accent,
and the incorrect manner in which they speak and pronounce the
Castilian language.
In a word, the Andalusians, in all estimable traits of
character, are as far below the other Spaniards as the country
which they inhabit is superior in beauty and fertility to the
other provinces of Spain.
Yet let it not for a moment be supposed that I have any
intention of asserting, that excellent and estimable
individuals are not to be found amongst the Andalusians; it was
amongst THEM that I myself discovered one, whom I have no
hesitation in asserting to be the most extraordinary character
that has ever come within my sphere of knowledge; but this was
no scion of a noble or knightly house, "no wearer of soft
clothing," no sleek highly-perfumed personage, none of the
romanticos who walk in languishing attitudes about the streets
of Seville, with long black hair hanging upon their shoulders
in luxuriant curls; but one of those whom the proud and
unfeeling style the dregs of the populace, a haggard,
houseless, penniless man, in rags and tatters: I allude to
Manuel, the - what shall I call him? - seller of lottery
tickets, driver of death carts, or poet laureate in Gypsy
songs? I wonder whether thou art still living, my friend
Manuel; thou gentleman of Nature's forming - honest, pureminded,
humble, yet dignified being! Art thou still wandering
through the courts of beautiful Safacoro, or on the banks of
the Len Baro, thine eyes fixed in vacancy, and thy mind
striving to recall some half-forgotten couplet of Luis Lobo; or
art thou gone to thy long rest, out beyond the Xeres gate
within the wall of the Campo Santo, to which in times of pest
and sickness thou wast wont to carry so many, Gypsy and
Gentile, in thy cart of the tinkling bell? Oft in the REUNIONS
of the lettered and learned in this land of universal
literature, when weary of the display of pedantry and egotism,
have I recurred with yearning to our Gypsy recitations at the
old house in the Pila Seca. Oft, when sickened by the highwrought
professions of those who bear the cross in gilded
chariots, have I thought on thee, thy calm faith, without
pretence, - thy patience in poverty, and fortitude in
affliction; and as oft, when thinking of my speedily
approaching end, have I wished that I might meet thee once
again, and that thy hands might help to bear me to "the dead
man's acre" yonder on the sunny plain, O Manuel!
My principal visitor was Dionysius, who seldom failed to
make his appearance every forenoon: the poor fellow came for
sympathy and conversation. It is difficult to imagine a
situation more forlorn and isolated than that of this man, - a
Greek at Seville, with scarcely a single acquaintance, and
depending for subsistence on the miserable pittance to be
derived from selling a few books, for the most part hawked
about from door to door. "What could have first induced you to
commence bookselling in Seville?" said I to him, as he arrived
one sultry day, heated and fatigued, with a small bundle of
books secured together by a leather strap.
DIONYSIUS. - For want of a better employment, Kyrie, I
have adopted this most unprofitable and despised one. Oft have
I regretted not having been bred up as a shoe-maker, or having
learnt in my youth some other useful handicraft, for gladly
would I follow it now. Such, at least, would procure me the
respect of my fellow-creatures inasmuch as they needed me; but
now all avoid me and look upon me with contempt; for what have
I to offer in this place that any one cares about? Books in
Seville! where no one reads, or at least nothing but new
romances, translated from the French, and obscenity. Books!
Would I were a Gypsy and could trim donkeys, for then I were at
least independent and were more respected than I am at present.
MYSELF. - Of what kind of books does your stock in trade
consist?
DIONYSIUS. - Of those not likely to suit the Seville
market, Kyrie; books of sterling and intrinsic value; many of
them in ancient Greek, which I picked up upon the dissolution
of the convents, when the contents of the libraries were hurled
into the courtyards, and there sold by the arrobe. I thought
at first that I was about to make a fortune, and in fact my
books would be so in any other place; but here I have offered
an Elzevir for half a dollar in vain. I should starve were it
not for the strangers who occasionally purchase of me.
MYSELF. - Seville is a large cathedral city, abounding
with priests and canons; surely one of these occasionally visit
you to make purchases of classic works, and books connected
with ecclesiastical literature.
DIONYSIUS. - If you think so, Kyrie, you know little
respecting the ecclesiastics of Seville. I am acquainted with
many of them, and can assure you that a tribe of beings can
scarcely be found with a more confirmed aversion to
intellectual pursuits of every kind. Their reading is confined
to newspapers, which they take up in the hope of seeing that
their friend Don Carlos is at length reinstated at Madrid; but
they prefer their chocolate and biscuits, and nap before
dinner, to the wisdom of Plato and the eloquence of Tully.
They occasionally visit me, but it is only to pass away a heavy
hour in chattering nonsense. Once on a time, three of them
came, in the hope of making me a convert to their Latin
superstition. "Signior Donatio," said they, (for so they
called me,) "how is it that an unprejudiced person like
yourself, a man really with some pretension to knowledge, can
still cling to this absurd religion of yours? Surely, after
having resided so many years in a civilised country like this
of Spain, it is high time to abandon your half-pagan form of
worship, and to enter the bosom of the church; now pray be
advised, and you shall be none the worse for it." "Thank you,
gentlemen," I replied, "for the interest you take in my
welfare; I am always open to conviction; let us proceed to
discuss the subject. What are the points of my religion which
do not meet your approbation? You are of course well
acquainted with all our dogmas and ceremonies." "We know
nothing about your religion, Signior Donatio, save that it is a
very absurd one, and therefore it is incumbent upon you, as an
unprejudiced and well-informed man, to renounce it." "But,
gentlemen, if you know nothing of my religion, why call it
absurd? Surely it is not the part of unprejudiced people to
disparage that of which they are ignorant." "But, Signior
Donatio, it is not the Catholic Apostolic Roman religion, is
it?" "It may be, gentlemen, for what you appear to know of it;
for your information, however, I will tell you that it is not;
it is the Greek Apostolic religion. I do not call it catholic,
for it is absurd to call that catholic which is not universally
acknowledged." "But, Signior Donatio, does not the matter
speak for itself? What can a set of ignorant Greek barbarians
know about religion? If they set aside the authority of Rome,
whence should they derive any rational ideas of religion?
whence should they get the gospel?" "The Gospel, gentlemen?
Allow me to show you a book, here it is, what is your opinion
of it?" "Signior Donatio, what does this mean? What
characters of the devil are these, are they Moorish? Who is
able to understand them?" "I suppose your worships, being
Roman priests, know something of Latin; if you inspect the
title-page to the bottom, you will find, in the language of
your own church, the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ,' in the original Greek, of which your vulgate is merely
a translation, and not a very correct one. With respect to the
barbarism of Greece, it appears that you are not aware that
Athens was a city, and a famed one, centuries before the first
mud cabin of Rome was thatched, and the Gypsy vagabonds who
first peopled it, had escaped from the hands of justice."
"Signior Donatio, you are an ignorant heretic, and insolent
withal, WHAT NONSENSE IS THIS! . . . ." But I will not weary
your ears, Kyrie, with all the absurdities which the poor Latin
PAPAS poured into mine; the burden of their song being
invariably, WHAT NONSENSE IS THIS! which was certainly
applicable enough to what they themselves were saying. Seeing,
however, that I was more than their match in religious
controversy, they fell foul of my country. "Spain is a better
country than Greece," said one. "You never tasted bread before
you came to Spain," cried another. "And little enough since,"
thought I. "You never before saw such a city as Seville," said
the third. But then ensued the best part of the comedy: my
visitors chanced to be natives of three different places; one
was of Seville, another of Utrera, and the third of Miguel
Turra, a miserable village in La Mancha. At the mention of
Seville, the other two instantly began to sing the praises of
their respective places of birth; this brought on comparisons,
and a violent dispute was the consequence. Much abuse passed
between them, whilst I stood by, shrugged my shoulders, and
said TIPOTAS. * At last, as they were leaving the house, I
said, "Who would have thought, gentlemen, that the polemics of
the Greek and Latin churches were so closely connected with the
comparative merits of Seville, Utrera, and Miguel Turra?"
* Nothing at all.
MYSELF. - Is the spirit of proselytism very prevalent
here? Of what description of people do their converts
generally consist?
DIONYSIUS. - I will tell you, Kyrie: the generality of
their converts consist of German or English Protestant
adventurers, who come here to settle, and in course of time
take to themselves wives from among the Spanish, prior to which
it is necessary to become members of the Latin church. A few
are vagabond Jews, from Gibraltar or Tangier, who have fled for
their crimes into Spain, and who renounce their faith to escape
from starvation. These gentry, however, it is necessary to
pay, on which account the priests procure for them padrinos or
godfathers; these generally consist of rich devotees over whom
the priests have influence, and who esteem it a glory and a
meritorious act to assist in bringing back lost souls to the
church. The neophyte allows himself to be convinced on the
promise of a peseta a day, which is generally paid by the
godfathers for the first year, but seldom for a longer period.
About forty years ago, however, they made a somewhat notable
convert. A civil war arose in Morocco, caused by the separate
pretensions of two brothers to the throne. One of these being
worsted, fled over to Spain, imploring the protection of
Charles the Fourth. He soon became an object of particular
attention to the priests, who were not slow in converting him,
and induced Charles to settle upon him a pension of a dollar
per day. He died some few years since in Seville, a despised
vagabond. He left behind him a son, who is at present a
notary, and outwardly very devout, but a greater hypocrite and
picaroon does not exist. I would you could see his face,
Kyrie, it is that of Judas Iscariot. I think you would say so,
for you are a physiognomist. He lives next door to me, and
notwithstanding his pretensions to religion, is permitted to
remain in a state of great poverty.
And now nothing farther for the present about Dionysius.
About the middle of July our work was concluded at
Seville, and for the very efficient reason, that I had no more
Testaments to sell; somewhat more than two hundred having been
circulated since my arrival.
About ten days before the time of which I am speaking, I
was visited by various alguazils, accompanied by a kind of
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 an anecdote - A day or two
subsequent, having occasion to call at the house of the
headborough respecting my passport, I found him lying on his
bed, for it was the hour of siesta, reading intently one of the
Testaments which he had taken away, all of which, if he had
obeyed his orders, would have been deposited in the office of
the civil governor. So intently, indeed, was he engaged in
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, he believed that the
clergy must be possessed with devils (ENDEMONIADOS) to
persecute it in the manner they did.
It was Sunday when the seizure was made, and I happened
to be reading the Liturgy. One of the alguazils, 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 own houses reading good books, and the
latter abroad in the bull-ring, seeing the wild bulls tear out
the gory bowels of the poor horses. The bull amphitheatre at
Seville is the finest in all Spain, and is invariably on a
Sunday (the only day on which it is open) filled with
applauding multitudes.
I now made preparations for leaving Seville for a few
months, my destination being the coast of Barbary. Antonio,
who did not wish to leave Spain, in which were his wife and
children, returned to Madrid, rejoicing in a handsome gratuity
with which I presented him. As it was my intention to return
to Seville, I left my house and horses in charge of a friend in
whom I could confide, and departed. The reasons which induced
me to visit Barbary will be seen in the following chapters.
CHAPTER L
Night on the Guadalquivir - Gospel Light - Bonanza -
Strand of San Lucar - Andalusian Scenery - History of a Chest -
Cosas de los Ingleses - The Two Gypsies - The Driver -
The Red Nightcap - The Steam Boat - Christian Language.
On the night of the 31st of July I departed from Seville
upon my expendition, going on board one of the steamers which
ply on the Guadalquivir between Seville and Cadiz.
It was my intention to stop at San Lucar, for the purpose
of recovering the chest of Testaments which had been placed in
embargo there, until such time as they could be removed from
the kingdom of Spain. These Testaments I intended for
distribution amongst the Christians whom I hoped to meet on the
shores of Barbary. San Lucar is about fifteen leagues distant
from Seville, at the entrance of the bay of Cadiz, where the
yellow waters of the Guadalquivir unite with the brine. The
steamer shot from the little quay, or wharf, at about half-past
nine, and then arose a loud cry, - it was the voices of those
on board and on shore wishing farewell to their friends.
Amongst the tumult I thought I could distinguish the accents of
some friends of my own who had accompanied me to the bank, and
I instantly raised my own voice louder than all. The night was
very dark, so much so, indeed, that as we passed along we could
scarcely distinguish the trees which cover the eastern shore of
the river until it takes its first turn. A calmazo had reigned
during the day at Seville, by which is meant, exceedingly
sultry weather, unenlivened by the slightest breeze. The night
likewise was calm and sultry. As I had frequently made the
voyage of the Guadalquivir, ascending and descending this
celebrated river, I felt nothing of that restlessness and
curiosity which people experience in a strange place, whether
in light or darkness, and being acquainted with none of the
other passengers, who were talking on the deck, I thought my
best plan would be to retire to the cabin and enjoy some rest,
if possible. The cabin was solitary and tolerably cool, all
its windows on either side being open for the admission of air.
Flinging myself on one of the cushioned benches, I was soon
asleep, in which state I continued for about two hours, when I
was aroused by the curious biting of a thousand bugs, which
compelled me to seek the deck, where, wrapping myself in my
cloak, I again fell asleep. It was near daybreak when I awoke;
we were then about two leagues from San Lucar. I arose and
looked towards the east, watching the gradual progress of dawn,
first the dull light, then the streak, then the tinge, then the
bright flush, till at last the golden disk of that orb which
giveth day emerged from the abyss of immensity, and in a moment
the whole prospect was covered with brightness and glory. The
land smiled, the waters sparkled, the birds sang, and men arose
from their resting places and rejoiced: for it was day, and the
sun was gone forth on the errand of its Creator, the diffusion
of light and gladness, and the dispelling of darkness and
sorrow.
"Behold the morning sun
Begins his glorious way;
His beams through all the nations run,
And life and light convey.
"But where the Gospel comes,
It spreads diviner light;
It calls dead sinners from their tombs,
And gives the blind their sight."
We now stopped before Bonanza: this is properly speaking
the port of San Lucar, although it is half a league distant
from the latter place. It is called Bonanza on account of its
good anchorage, and its being secured from the boisterous winds
of the ocean; its literal meaning is "fair weather." It
consists of several large white buildings, principally
government store-houses, and is inhabited by the coast-guard,
dependents on the custom-house, and a few fishermen. A boat
came off to receive those passengers whose destination was San
Lucar, and to bring on board about half a dozen who were bound
for Cadiz: I entered with the rest. A young Spaniard of very
diminutive stature addressed some questions to me in French as
to what I thought of the scenery and climate of Andalusia. I
replied that I admired both, which evidently gave him great
pleasure. The boatman now came demanding two reals for
conveying me on shore. I had no small money, and offered him a
dollar to change. He said that it was impossible. I asked him
what was to be done; whereupon he replied uncivilly that he
knew not, but could not lose time, and expected to be paid
instantly. The young Spaniard, observing my embarrassment,
took out two reals and paid the fellow. I thanked him heartily
for this act of civility, for which I felt really grateful; as
there are few situations more unpleasant than to be in a crowd
in want of change, whilst you are importuned by people for
payment. A loose character once told me that it was far
preferable to be without money at all, as you then knew what
course to take. I subsequently met the young Spaniard at
Cadiz, and repaid him with thanks.
A few cabriolets were waiting near the wharf, in order to
convey us to San Lucar. I ascended one, and we proceeded
slowly along the Playa or strand. This place is famous in the
ancient novels of Spain, of that class called Picaresque, or
those devoted to the adventures of notorious scoundrels, the
father of which, as also of all others of the same kind, in
whatever language, is Lazarillo de Tormes. Cervantes himself
has immortalized this strand in the most amusing of his smaller
tales, La Ilustre Fregona. In a word, the strand of San Lucar
in ancient times, if not in modern, was a rendezvous for
ruffians, contrabandistas, and vagabonds of every, description,
who nested there in wooden sheds, which have now vanished. San
Lucar itself was always noted for the thievish propensities of
its inhabitants - the worst in all Andalusia. The roguish
innkeeper in DON QUIXOTE perfected his education at San Lucar.
All these recollections crowded into my mind as we proceeded
along the strand, which was beautifully gilded by the
Andalusian sun. We at last arrived nearly opposite to San
Lucar, which stands at some distance from the water side. Here
a lively spectacle presented itself to us: the shore was
covered with a multitude of females either dressing or
undressing themselves, while (I speak within bounds) hundreds
were in the water sporting and playing; some were close by the
beach, stretched at their full length on the sand and pebbles,
allowing the little billows to dash over their heads and
bosoms; whilst others were swimming boldly out into the firth.
There was a confused hubbub of female cries, thin shrieks and
shrill laughter; couplets likewise were being sung, on what
subject it is easy to guess, for we were in sunny Andalusia,
and what can its black-eyed daughters think, speak, or sing of
but AMOR, AMOR, which now sounded from the land and the waters.
Farther on along the beach we perceived likewise a crowd of men
bathing; we passed not by them, but turned to the left up an
alley or avenue which leads to San Lucar, and which may be a
quarter of a mile long. The view from hence was truly
magnificent; before us lay the town, occupying the side and top
of a tolerably high hill, extending from east to west. It
appeared to be of considerable size, and I was subsequently
informed that it contained at least twenty thousand
inhabitants. Several immense edifices and walls towered up in
a style of grandeur, which can be but feebly described by
words; but the principal object was an ancient castle towards
the left. The houses were all white, and would have shone
brilliantly in the sun had it been higher, but at this early
hour they lay comparatively in shade. The TOUT ENSEMBLE was
very Moorish and oriental, and indeed in ancient times San
Lucar was a celebrated stronghold of the Moors, and next to
Almeria, the most frequented of their commercial places in
Spain. Everything, indeed, in these parts of Andalusia, is
perfectly oriental. Behold the heavens, as cloudless and as
brightly azure as those of Ind; the fiery sun which tans the
fairest cheek in a moment, and which fills the air with
flickering flame; and O, remark the scenery and the vegetable
productions. The alley up which we were moving was planted on
each side with that remarkable tree or plant, for I know not
which to call it, the giant aloe, which is called in Spanish,
PITA, and in Moorish, GURSEAN. It rises here to a height
almost as magnificent as on the African shore. Need I say that
the stem, which springs up from the middle of the bush of green
blades, which shoot out from the root on all sides, is as high
as a palm-tree; and need I say, that those blades, which are of
an immense thickness at the root, are at the tip sharper than
the point of a spear, and would inflict a terrible wound on any
animal which might inadvertently rush against them?
One of the first houses at San Lucar was the posada at
which we stopped. It confronted, with some others, the avenue
up which we had come. As it was still early, I betook myself
to rest for a few hours, at the end of which time I went out to
visit Mr. Phillipi, the British vice-consul, who was already
acquainted with me by name, as I had been recommended to him in
a letter from a relation of his at Seville. Mr. Phillipi was
at home in his counting-house, and received me with much
kindness and civility. I told him the motive of my visit to
San Lucar, and requested his assistance towards obtaining the
books from the customhouse, in order to transport them out of
the country, as I was very well acquainted with the
difficulties which every one has to encounter in Spain, who has
any business to transact with the government authorities. He
assured me that he should be most happy to assist me, and
accordingly despatched with me to the custom-house his head
clerk, a person well known and much respected at San Lucar.
It may be as well here at once to give the history of
these books, which might otherwise tend to embarrass the
narrative. 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 at 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 formalities, and in
procuring the necessary papers. The expense was great, as
money was demanded at every step I had to take, though I was
simply complying in this instance with the orders of the
Spanish government in removing prohibited books from Spain.
The farce did not end until my arrival at Gibraltar, where I
paid the Spanish consul a dollar for certifying on the back of
the pass, which I had to return to Cadiz, that the books were
arrived at the former place. It is true that he never saw the
books nor inquired about them, but he received the money, for
which he alone 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
Testaments 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 court-yard,
where, holding a Testament in my hand, I recommended 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 this
unhappy kingdom. My words 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;
an 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
INGALATERRA," "COSAS DE LOS INGLESES." I disposed of several
copies of the Gypsy Gospel likewise, and having now settled the
business which had brought me to the custom-house, I saluted my
new friends and departed with my books.
I now revisited Mr. Phillipi, who, upon learning that it
was my intention to proceed to Cadiz next morning by the
steamer, which would touch at Bonanza at four o'clock,
despatched the chests and my little luggage to the latter
place, where he likewise advised me to sleep, in order that I
might be in readiness to embark at that early hour. He then
introduced me to his family, his wife an English woman, and his
daughter an amiable and beautiful girl of about eighteen years
of age, whom I had previously seen at Seville; three or four
other ladies from Seville were likewise there on a visit, and
for the purpose of sea-bathing. After a few words in English
between the lady of the house and myself, we all commenced
chatting in Spanish, which seemed to be the only language
understood or cared for by the rest of the company; indeed, who
would be so unreasonable as to expect Spanish females to speak
any language but their own, which, flexible and harmonious as
it is, (far more so I think than any other,) seemed at times
quite inadequate to express the wild sallies of their luxuriant
imagination. Two hours fled rapidly away in discourse,
interrupted occasionally by music and song, when I bade
farewell to this delightful society, and strolled out to view
the town.
It was now past noon, and the heat was exceedingly
fierce: I saw scarcely a living being in the streets, the
stones of which burnt my feet through the soles of my boots. I
passed through the square of the Constitution, which presents
nothing particular to the eye of the stranger, and ascended the
hill to obtain a nearer view of the castle. It is a strong
heavy edifice of stone, with round towers, and, though
deserted, appears to be still in a tolerable state of
preservation. I became tired of gazing, and was retracing my
steps, when I was accosted by two Gypsies, who by some means
had heard of my arrival. We exchanged some words in Gitano,
but they appeared to be very ignorant of the dialect, and
utterly unable to maintain a conversation in it. They were
clamorous for a gabicote, or book in the Gypsy tongue. I
refused it them, saying that they could turn it to no
profitable account; but finding that they could read, I
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.
In the evening I was visited by Mr. Phillipi, who
informed me that he had ordered a cabriolet to call for me at
the inn at eleven at night, for the purpose of conveying me to
Bonanza, and that a person there who kept a small wine-house,
and to whom the chests and other things had been forwarded,
would receive me for the night, though it was probable that I
should have to sleep on the floor. We then walked to the
beach, where there were a great number of bathers, all men.
Amongst them were some good swimmers; two, in particular, were
out at a great distance in the firth of the Guadalquivir, I
should say at least a mile; their heads could just be descried
with the telescope. I was told that they were friars. I
wondered at what period of their lives they had acquired their
dexterity at natation. I hoped it was not at a time when,
according to their vows, they should have lived for prayer,
fasting, and mortification alone. Swimming is a noble
exercise, but it certainly does not tend to mortify either the
flesh or the spirit. As it was becoming dusk, we returned to
the town, when my friend bade me a kind farewell. I then
retired to my apartment, and passed some hours in meditation.
It was night, ten o'clock; - eleven o'clock, and the
cabriolet was at the door. I got in, and we proceeded down the
avenue and along the shore, which was quite deserted. The
waves sounded mournfully; everything seemed to have changed
since the morning. I even thought that the horse's feet
sounded differently, as it trotted slowly over the moist firm
sand. The driver, however, was by no means mournful, nor
inclined to be silent long: he soon commenced asking me an
infinity of questions as to whence I came and whither I was
bound. Having given him what answers I thought most proper, I,
in return, asked him whether he was not afraid to drive along
that beach, which had always borne so bad a character, at so
unseasonable an hour. Whereupon, he looked around him, and
seeing no person, he raised a shout of derision, and said that
a fellow with his whiskers feared not all the thieves that ever
walked the playa, and that no dozen men in San Lucar dare to
waylay any traveller whom they knew to be beneath his
protection. He was a good specimen of the Andalusian braggart.
We soon saw a light or two shining dimly before us; they
proceeded from a few barks and small vessels stranded on the
sand close below Bonanza: amongst them I distinguished two or
three dusky figures. We were now at our journey's end, and
stopped before the door of the place where I was to lodge for
the night. The driver, dismounting, knocked loud and long,
until the door was opened by an exceedingly stout man of about
sixty years of age; he held a dim light in his hand, and was
dressed in a red nightcap and dirty striped shirt. He admitted
us, without a word, into a very large long room with a clay
floor. A species of counter stood on one side near the door;
behind it stood a barrel or two, and against the wall, on
shelves, many bottles of various sizes. The smell of liquors
and wine was very powerful. I settled with the driver and gave
him a gratuity, whereupon he asked me for something to drink to
my safe journey. I told him he could call for whatever he
pleased; whereupon he demanded a glass of aguardiente, which
the master of the house, who had stationed himself behind the
counter, handed him without saying a word. The fellow drank it
off at once, but made a great many wry faces after having
swallowed it, and, coughing, said that he made no doubt it was
good liquor, as it burnt his throat terribly. He then embraced
me, went out, mounted his cabriolet, and drove off.
The old man with the red nightcap now moved slowly to the
door, which he bolted and otherwise secured; he then drew
forward two benches, which he placed together, and pointed to
them as if to intimate to me that there was my bed: he then
blew out the candle and retired deeper into the apartment,
where I heard him lay himself down sighing and snorting. There
was now no farther light than what proceeded from a small
earthen pan on the floor, filled with water and oil, on which
floated a small piece of card with a lighted wick in the
middle, which simple species of lamp is called "mariposa." I
now laid my carpet bag on the bench as a pillow, and flung
myself down. I should have been asleep instantly, but he of
the red nightcap now commenced snoring awfully, which brought
to my mind that I had not yet commended myself to my friend and
Redeemer: I therefore prayed, and then sank to repose.
I was awakened more than once during the night by cats,
and I believe rats, leaping upon my body. At the last of these
interruptions I arose, and, approaching the mariposa, looked at
my watch; it was half-past three o'clock. I opened the door
and looked out; whereupon some fishermen entered clamouring for
their morning draught: the old man was soon on his feet serving
them. One of the men said to me that, if I was going by the
steamer, I had better order my things to the wharf without
delay, as he had heard the vessel coming down the river. I
dispatched my luggage, and then demanded of the red nightcap
what I owed him. He replied "One real." These were the only
two words which I heard proceed from his mouth: he was
certainly addicted to silence, and perhaps to philosophy,
neither of which are much practised in Andalusia. I now
hurried to the wharf; the steamer was not yet arrived, but I
heard its thunder up the river every moment becoming more
distinct: there was mist and darkness upon the face of the
waters, and I felt awe as I listened to the approach of the
invisible monster booming through the stillness of the night.
It came at last in sight, plashed its way forward, stopped, and
I was soon on board. It was the Peninsula, the best boat on
the Guadalquivir.
What a wonderful production of art is a steamboat; and
yet why should we call it wonderful, if we consider its
history. More than five hundred years have elapsed since the
idea of making one first originated; but it was not until the
close of the last century that the first, worthy of the name,
made its appearance on a Scottish river.
During this long period of time, acute minds and skilful
hands were occasionally busied in attempting to remove those
imperfections in the machinery, which alone prevented a vessel
being made capable of propelling itself against wind and tide.
All these attempts were successively abandoned in despair, yet
scarcely one was made which was perfectly fruitless; each
inventor leaving behind him some monument of his labour, of
which those who succeeded him took advantage, until at last a
fortunate thought or two, and a few more perfect arrangements,
were all that were wanting. The time arrived, and now, at
length, the very Atlantic is crossed by haughty steamers. Much
has been said of the utility of steam in spreading abroad
civilization, and I think justly. When the first steam vessels
were seen on the Guadalquivir, about ten years ago, the
Sevillians ran to the banks of the river, crying "sorcery,
sorcery," which idea was not a little favoured by the
speculation being an English one, and the boats, which were
English built, being provided with English engineers, as,
indeed, they still are; no Spaniard having been found capable
of understanding the machinery. They soon however, became
accustomed to them, and the boats are in general crowded with
passengers. Fanatic and vain as the Sevillians still are, and
bigoted as they remain to their own customs, they know that
good, in one instance at least, can proceed from a foreign
land, and that land a land of heretics; inveterate prejudice
has been shaken, and we will hope that this is the dawn of
their civilization.
Whilst passing over the bay of Cadiz, I was reclining on
one of the benches on the deck, when the captain walked by in
company with another man; they stopped a short distance from
me, and I heard the captain ask the other, in a low voice, how
many languages he spoke; he replied "only one." "That one,"
said the captain, "is of course the Christian"; by which name
the Spaniards style their own language in contradistinction to
all others. "That fellow," continued the captain, "who is
lying on the deck, can speak Christian too, when it serves his
purpose, but he speaks others, which are by no means Christian:
he can talk English, and I myself have heard him chatter in
Gitano with the Gypsies of Triana; he is now going amongst the
Moors, and when he arrives in their country, you will hear him,
should he be there, converse as fluently in their gibberish as
in Christiano, nay, better, for he is no Christian himself. He
has been several times on board my vessel already, but I do not
like him, as I consider that he carries something about with
him which is not good."
This worthy person, on my coming aboard the boat, had
shaken me by the hand and expressed his joy at seeing me again.
CHAPTER LI
Cadiz - The Fortifications - The Consul-General -
Characteristic Anecdote - Catalan Steamer - Trafalgar -
Alonzo Guzman - Gibil Muza - Orestes Frigate - The Hostile Lion -
Works of the Creator - Lizard of the Rock - The Concourse -
Queen of the Waters - Broken Prayer.
Cadiz stands, as is well known, upon a long narrow neck
of land stretching out into the ocean, from whose bosom the
town appears to rise, the salt waters laving its walls on all
sides save the east, where a sandy isthmus connects it with the
coast of Spain. The town, as it exists at the present day, is
of modern construction, and very unlike any other town which is
to be found in the Peninsula, being built with great regularity
and symmetry. The streets are numerous, and intersect each
other, for the most part, at right angles. They are very
narrow in comparison to the height of the houses, so that they
are almost impervious to the rays of the sun, except when at
its midday altitude. The principal street, however, is an
exception, it being of some width. This street, in which
stands the Bolsa, or exchange, and which contains the houses of
the chief merchants and nobility, is the grand resort of
loungers as well as men of business during the early part of
the day, and in that respect resembles the Puerta del Sol at
Madrid. It is connected with the great square, which, though
not of very considerable extent, has many pretensions to
magnificence, it being surrounded with large imposing houses,
and planted with fine trees, with marble seats below them for
the accommodation of the public. There are few public edifices
worthy of much attention: the chief church, indeed, might be
considered a fine monument of labour in some other countries,
but in Spain, the land of noble and gigantic cathedrals, it can
be styled nothing more than a decent place of worship; it is
still in an unfinished state. There is a public walk or
alameda on the northern ramparts, which is generally thronged
in summer evenings: the green of its trees, when viewed from
the bay, affords an agreeable relief to the eye, dazzled with
the glare of the white buildings, for Cadiz is also a bright
city. It was once the wealthiest place in all Spain, but its
prosperity has of late years sadly diminished, and its
inhabitants are continually lamenting its ruined trade; on
which account many are daily abandoning it for Seville, where
living at least is cheaper. There is still, however, much life
and bustle in the streets, which are adorned with many splendid
shops, several of which are in the style of Paris and London.
The present population is said to amount to eighty thousand
souls.
It is not without reason that Cadiz has been called a
strong town: the fortifications on the land side, which were
partly the work of the French during the sway of Napoleon, are
perfectly admirable, and seem impregnable: towards the sea it
is defended as much by nature as by art, water and sunken rocks
being no contemptible bulwarks. The defences of the town,
however, except the landward ones, afford melancholy proofs of
Spanish apathy and neglect, even when allowance is made for the
present peculiarly unhappy circumstances of the country.
Scarcely a gun, except a few dismounted ones, is to be seen on
the fortifications, which are rapidly falling to decay, so that
this insulated stronghold is at present almost at the mercy of
any foreign nation which, upon any pretence, or none at all,
should seek to tear it from the grasp of its present legitimate
possessors, and convert it into a foreign colony.
A few hours after my arrival, I waited upon Mr. B., the
British consul-general at Cadiz. His house, which is the
corner one at the entrance of the alameda, commands a noble
prospect of the bay, and is very large and magnificent. I had
of course long been acquainted with Mr. B. by reputation; I
knew that for several years he had filled, with advantage to
his native country and with honour to himself, the
distinguished and highly responsible situation which he holds
in Spain. I knew, likewise, that he was a good and pious
Christian, and, moreover, the firm and enlightened friend of
the Bible Society. Of all this I was aware, but I had never
yet enjoyed the advantage of being personally acquainted with
him. I saw him now for the first time, and was much struck
with his appearance. He is a tall, athletic, finely built man,
seemingly about forty-five or fifty; there is much dignity in
his countenance, which is, however, softened by an expression
of good humour truly engaging. His manner is frank and affable
in the extreme. I am not going to enter into minute details of
our interview, which was to me a very interesting one. He knew
already the leading parts of my history since my arrival in
Spain, and made several comments upon it, which displayed his
intimate knowledge of the situation of the country as regards
ecclesiastical matters, and the state of opinion respecting
religious innovation.
I was pleased to find that his ideas in many points
accorded with my own, and we were both decidedly of opinion
that, notwithstanding the great persecution and outcry which
had lately been raised against the Gospel, the battle was by no
means lost, and that the holy cause might yet triumph in Spain,
if zeal united with discretion and Christian humility were
displayed by those called upon to uphold it.
During the greater part of this and the following day, I
was much occupied at the custom-house, endeavouring to obtain
the documents necessary for the exportation of the Testaments.
On the afternoon of Saturday, I dined with Mr. B. and his
family, an interesting group, - his lady, his beautiful
daughters, and his son, a fine intelligent young man. Early
the next morning, a steamer, the BALEAR, was to quit Cadiz for
Marseilles, touching on the way at Algeciras, Gibraltar, and
various other ports of Spain. I had engaged my passage on
board her as far as Gibraltar, having nothing farther to detain
me at Cadiz; my business with the custom-house having been
brought at last to a termination, though I believe I should
never have got through it but for the kind assistance of Mr. B.
I quitted this excellent man and my other charming friends at a
late hour with regret. I believe that I carried with me their
very best wishes; and, in whatever part of the world I, a poor
wanderer in the Gospel's cause, may chance to be, I shall not
unfrequently offer up sincere prayers for their happiness and
well-being.
Before taking leave of Cadiz, I shall relate an anecdote
of the British consul, characteristic of him and the happy
manner in which he contrives to execute the most disagreeable
duties of his situation. I was in conversation with him in a
parlour of his house, when we were interrupted by the entrance
of two very unexpected visitors: they were the captain of a
Liverpool merchant vessel and one of the crew. The latter was
a rough sailor, a Welshman, who could only express himself in
very imperfect English. They looked unutterable dislike and
defiance at each other. It appeared that the latter had
refused to work, and insisted on leaving the ship, and his
master had in consequence brought him before the consul, in
order that, if he persisted, the consequences might be detailed
to him, which would be the forfeiture of his wages and clothes.
This was done; but the fellow became more and more dogged,
refusing ever to tread the same deck again with his captain,
who, he said, had called him "Greek, lazy lubberly Greek,"
which he would not bear. The word Greek rankled in the
sailor's mind, and stung him to the very core. Mr. B., who
seemed to be perfectly acquainted with the character of
Welshmen in general, who are proverbially obstinate when
opposition is offered to them, and who saw at once that the
dispute had arisen on foolish and trivial grounds, now told the
man, with a smile, that he would inform him of a way by which
he might gain the weather-gage of every one of them, consul and
captain and all, and secure his wages and clothes; which was by
merely going on board a brig of war of her Majesty, which was
then lying in the bay. The fellow said he was aware of this,
and intended to do so. His grim features, however, instantly
relaxed in some degree, and he looked more humanely upon his
captain. Mr. B. then, addressing himself to the latter, made
some observations on the impropriety of using the word Greek to
a British sailor; not forgetting, at the same time, to speak of
the absolute necessity of obedience and discipline on board
every ship. His words produced such an effect, that in a very
little time the sailor held out his hand towards his captain,
and expressed his willingness to go on board with him and
perform his duty, adding, that the captain, upon the whole, was
the best man in the world. So they departed mutually pleased;
the consul making both of them promise to attend divine service
at his house on the following day.
Sunday morning came, and I was on board the steamer by
six o'clock. As I ascended the side, the harsh sound of the
Catalan dialect assailed my ears. In fact, the vessel was
Catalan built, and the captain and crew were of that nation;
the greater part of the passengers already on board, or who
subsequently arrived, appeared to be Catalans, and seemed to
vie with each other in producing disagreeable sounds. A burly
merchant, however, with a red face, peaked chin, sharp eyes,
and hooked nose, clearly bore off the palm; he conversed with
astonishing eagerness on seemingly the most indifferent
subjects, or rather on no subject at all; his voice would have
sounded exactly like a coffee-mill but for a vile nasal twang:
he poured forth his Catalan incessantly till we arrived at
Gibraltar. Such people are never sea-sick, though they
frequently produce or aggravate the malady in others. We did
not get under way until past eight o'clock, for we waited for
the Governor of Algeciras, and started instantly on his coming
on board. He was a tall, thin, rigid figure of about seventy,
with a long, grave, wrinkled countenance; in a word, the very
image of an old Spanish grandee. We stood out of the bay,
rounding the lofty lighthouse, which stands on a ledge of
rocks, and then bent our course to the south, in the direction
of the straits. It was a glorious morning, a blue sunny sky
and blue sunny ocean; or, rather, as my friend Oehlenschlaeger
has observed on a similar occasion, there appeared two skies
and two suns, one above and one below.
Our progress was rather slow, notwithstanding the
fineness of the weather, probably owing to the tide being
against us. In about two hours we passed the Castle of Santa
Petra, and at noon were in sight of Trafalgar. The wind now
freshened and was dead ahead; on which account we hugged
closely to the coast, in order to avoid as much as possible the
strong heavy sea which was pouring down from the Straits. We
passed within a very short distance of the Cape, a bold bluff
foreland, but not of any considerable height.
It is impossible for an Englishman to pass by this place
- the scene of the most celebrated naval action on record -
without emotion. Here it was that the united navies of France
and Spain were annihilated by a far inferior force; but that
force was British, and was directed by one of the most
remarkable men of the age, and perhaps the greatest hero of any
time. Huge fragments of wreck still frequently emerge from the
watery gulf whose billows chafe the rocky sides of Trafalgar:
they are relies of the enormous ships which were burnt and sunk
on that terrible day, when the heroic champion of Britain
concluded his work and died. I never heard but one individual
venture to say a word in disparagement of Nelson's glory: it
was a pert American, who observed, that the British admiral was
much overrated. "Can that individual be overrated," replied a
stranger, "whose every thought was bent on his country's
honour, who scarcely ever fought without leaving a piece of his
body in the fray, and who, not to speak of minor triumphs, was
victorious in two such actions as Aboukir and Trafalgar?"
We were now soon in sight of the Moorish coast, Cape
Spartel appearing dimly through mist and vapour on our right.
A regular Levanter had now come on, and the vessel pitched and
tossed to a very considerable degree. Most of the passengers
were sea-sick; the governor, however, and myself held out
manfully: we sat on a bench together, and entered into
conversation respecting the Moors and their country.
Torquemada himself could not have spoken of both with more
abhorrence. He informed me that he had been frequently in
several of the principal Moorish towns of the coast, which he
described as heaps of ruins: the Moors themselves he called
Caffres and wild beasts. He observed that he had never been
even at Tangier, where the people were most civilised, without
experiencing some insult, so great was the abhorrence of the
Moors to anything in the shape of a Christian. He added,
however, that they treated the English with comparative
civility, and that they had a saying among them to the effect
that Englishman and Mahometan were one and the same; he then
looked particularly grave for a moment, and, crossing himself,
was silent. I guessed what was passing in his mind:
"From heretic boors,
And Turkish Moors,
Star of the sea,
Gentle Marie,
Deliver me!"
At about three we were passing Tarifa, so frequently
mentioned in the history of the Moors and Christians. Who has
not heard of Alonzo Guzman the faithful, who allowed his only
son to be crucified before the walls of the town rather than
submit to the ignominy of delivering up the keys to the Moorish
monarch, who, with a host which is said to have amounted to
nearly half a million of men, had landed on the shores of
Andalusia, and threatened to bring all Spain once more beneath
the Moslem yoke? Certainly if there be a land and a spot where
the name of that good patriot is not sometimes mentioned and
sung, that land, that spot is modern Spain and modern Tarifa.
I have heard the ballad of Alonzo Guzman chanted in Danish, by
a hind in the wilds of Jutland; but once speaking of "the
Faithful" to some inhabitants of Tarifa, they replied that they
had never heard of Guzman the faithful of Tarifa, but were
acquainted with Alonzo Guzman, "the one-eyed" (EL TUERTO), and
that he was one of the most villainous arrieros on the Cadiz
road.
The voyage of these narrow seas can scarcely fail to be
interesting to the most apathetic individual, from the nature
of the scenery which presents itself to the eye on either side.
The coasts are exceedingly high and bold, especially that of
Spain, which seems to overthrow the Moorish; but opposite to
Tarifa, the African continent, rounding towards the south-west,
assumes an air of sublimity and grandeur. A hoary mountain is
seen uplifting its summits above the clouds: it is Mount Abyla,
or as it is called in the Moorish tongue, Gibil Muza, or the
hill of Muza, from the circumstance of its containing the
sepulchre of a prophet of that name. This is one of the two
excrescences of nature on which the Old World bestowed the
title of the Pillars of Hercules. Its skirts and sides occupy
the Moorish coast for many leagues in more than one direction,
but the broad aspect of its steep and stupendous front is
turned full towards that part of the European continent where
Gibraltar lies like a huge monster stretching far into the
brine. Of the two hills or pillars, the most remarkable, when
viewed from afar, is the African one, Gibil Muza. It is the
tallest and bulkiest, and is visible at a greater distance; but
scan them both from near, and you feel that all your wonder is
engrossed by the European column. Gibil Muza is an immense
shapeless mass, a wilderness of rocks, with here and there a
few trees and shrubs nodding from the clefts of its precipices;
it is uninhabited, save by wolves, wild swine, and chattering
monkeys, on which last account it is called by the Spaniards,
MONTANA DE LAS MONAS (the hill of the baboons); whilst, on the
contrary, Gibraltar, not to speak of the strange city which
covers part of it, a city inhabited by men of all nations and
tongues, its batteries and excavations, all of them miracles of
art, is the most singular-looking mountain in the world - a
mountain which can neither be described by pen nor pencil, and
at which the eye is never satiated with gazing.
It was near sunset, and we were crossing the bay of
Gibraltar. We had stopped at Algeciras, on the Spanish side,
for the purpose of landing the old governor and his suite, and
delivering and receiving letters.
Algeciras is an ancient Moorish town, as the name
denotes, which is an Arabic word, and signifies "the place of
the islands." It is situated at the water's edge, with a lofty
range of mountains in the rear. It seemed a sad deserted
place, as far as I could judge at the distance of half a mile.
In the harbour, however, lay a Spanish frigate and French war
brig. As we passed the former, some of the Spaniards on board
our steamer became boastful at the expense of the English. It
appeared that, a few weeks before, an English vessel, suspected
to be a contraband trader, was seen by this frigate hovering
about a bay on the Andalusian coast, in company with an English
frigate, the ORESTES. The Spaniard dogged them for some time,
till one morning observing that the ORESTES had disappeared, he
hoisted English colours, and made a signal to the trader to
bear down; the latter, deceived by the British ensign, and
supposing that the Spaniard was the friendly ORESTES, instantly
drew near, was fired at and boarded, and proving in effect to
be a contraband trader, she was carried into port and delivered
over to the Spanish authorities. In a few days the captain of
the ORESTES hearing of this, and incensed at the unwarrantable
use made of the British flag, sent a boat on board the frigate
demanding that the vessel should be instantly restored, as, if
she was not, he would retake her by force; adding that he had
forty cannons on board. The captain of the Spanish frigate
returned for answer, that the trader was in the hands of the
officers of the customs, and was no longer at his disposal;
that the captain of the ORESTES however, could do what he
pleased, and that if he had forty guns, he himself had fortyfour;
whereupon the ORESTES thought proper to bear away. Such
at least was the Spanish account as related by the journals.
Observing the Spaniards to be in great glee at the idea of one
of their nation having frightened away the Englishman, I
exclaimed, "Gentlemen, all of you who suppose that an English
sea captain has been deterred from attacking a Spaniard, from
an apprehension of a superior force of four guns, remember, if
you please, the fate of the SANTISSIMA TRINIDAD, and be pleased
also not to forget that we are almost within cannon's sound of
Trafalgar."
It was neat sunset, I repeat, and we were crossing the
bay of Gibraltar. I stood on the prow of the vessel, with my
eyes intently fixed on the mountain fortress, which, though I
had seen it several times before, filled my mind with
admiration and interest. Viewed from this situation, it
certainly, if it resembles any animate object in nature, has
something of the appearance of a terrible couchant lion, whose
stupendous head menaces Spain. Had I been dreaming, I should
almost have concluded it to be the genius of Africa, in the
shape of its most puissant monster, who had bounded over the
sea from the clime of sand and sun, bent on the destruction of
the rival continent, more especially as the hue of its stony
sides, its crest and chine, is tawny even as that of the hide
of the desert king. A hostile lion has it almost invariably
proved to Spain, at least since it first began to play a part
in history, which was at the time when Tarik seized and
fortified it. It has for the most part been in the hands of
foreigners: first the swarthy and turbaned Moor possessed it,
and it is now tenanted by a fair-haired race from a distant
isle. Though a part of Spain, it seems to disavow the
connexion, and at the end of a long narrow sandy isthmus,
almost level with the sea, raising its blasted and
perpendicular brow to denounce the crimes which deform the
history of that fair and majestic land.
It was near sunset, I say it for the third time, and we
were crossing the bay of Gibraltar. Bay! it seemed no bay, but
an inland sea, surrounded on all sides by enchanted barriers,
so strange, so wonderful was the aspect of its coasts. Before
us lay the impregnable hill; on our right the African
continent, with its grey Gibil Muza, and the crag of Ceuta, to
which last a solitary bark seemed steering its way; behind us
the town we had just quitted, with its mountain wall; on our
left the coast of Spain. The surface of the water was
unruffled by a wave, and as we rapidly glided on, the strange
object which we were approaching became momentarily more
distinct and visible. There, at the base of the mountain, and
covering a small portion of its side, lay the city, with its
ramparts garnished with black guns pointing significantly at
its moles and harbours; above, seemingly on every crag which
could be made available for the purpose of defence or
destruction, peered batteries, pale and sepulchral-looking, as
if ominous of the fate which awaited any intrusive foe; whilst
east and west towards Africa and Spain, on the extreme points,
rose castles, towers, or atalaias which overcrowded the whole,
and all the circumjacent region, whether land or sea. Mighty
and threatening appeared the fortifications, and doubtless,
viewed in any other situation, would have alone occupied the
mind and engrossed its wonder; but the hill, the wondrous hill,
was everywhere about them, beneath them, or above them,
overpowering their effect as a spectacle. Who, when he beholds
the enormous elephant, with his brandished trunk, dashing
impetuously to the war, sees the castle which he bears, or
fears the javelins of those whom he carries, however skilful
and warlike they may be? Never does God appear so great and
powerful as when the works of his hands stand in contrast with
the labours of man. Survey the Escurial, it is a proud work,
but wonder if you can when you see the mountain mocking it
behind; survey that boast of Moorish kings, survey Granada from
its plain, and wonder if you can, for you see the Alpujarra
mocking it from behind. O what are the works of man compared
with those of the Lord? Even as man is compared with his
creator. Man builds pyramids, and God builds pyramids: the
pyramids of man are heaps of shingles, tiny hillocks on a sandy
plain; the pyramids of the Lord are Andes and Indian hills.
Man builds walls and so does his Master; but the walls of God
are the black precipices of Gibraltar and Horneel, eternal,
indestructible, and not to be scaled; whilst those of man can
be climbed, can be broken by the wave or shattered by the
lightning or the powder blast. Would man display his power and
grandeur to advantage, let him flee far from the hills; for the
broad pennants of God, even his clouds, float upon the tops of
the hills, and the majesty of God is most manifest among the
hills. Call Gibraltar the hill of Tarik or Hercules if you
will, but gaze upon it for a moment and you will call it the
hill of God. Tarik and the old giant may have built upon it;
but not all the dark race of whom Tarik was one, nor all the
giants of old renown of whom the other was one, could have
built up its crags or chiseled the enormous mass to its present
shape.
We dropped anchor not far from the mole. As we expected
every moment to hear the evening gun, after which no person is
permitted to enter the town, I was in trepidation lest I should
be obliged to pass the night on board the dirty Catalan
steamer, which, as I had no occasion to proceed farther in her,
I was in great haste to quit. A boat now drew nigh, with two
individuals at the stern, one of whom, standing up, demanded,
in an authoritative voice, the name of the vessel, her
destination and cargo. Upon being answered, they came on
board. After some conversation with the captain, they were
about to depart, when I inquired whether I could accompany them
on shore. The person I addressed was a tall young man, with a
fustian frock coat. He had a long face, long nose, and wide
mouth, with large restless eyes. There was a grin on his
countenance which seemed permanent, and had it not been for his
bronzed complexion, I should have declared him to be a cockney,
and nothing else. He was, however, no such thing, but what is
called a rock lizard, that is, a person born at Gibraltar of
English parents. Upon hearing my question, which was in
Spanish, he grinned more than ever, and inquired, in a strange
accent, whether I was a son of Gibraltar. I replied that I had
not that honour, but that I was a British subject. Whereupon
he said that he should make no difficulty in taking me ashore.
We entered the boat, which was rapidly rowed towards the land
by four Genoese sailors. My two companions chattered in their
strange Spanish, he of the fustian occasionally turning his
countenance full upon me, the last grin appearing ever more
hideous than the preceding ones. We soon reached the quay,
where my name was noted down by a person who demanded my
passport, and I was then permitted to advance.
It was now dusk, and I lost no time in crossing the
drawbridge and entering the long low archway which, passing
under the rampart, communicates with the town. Beneath this
archway paced with measured tread, tall red-coated sentinels
with shouldered guns. There was no stopping, no sauntering in
these men. There was no laughter, no exchange of light
conversation with the passers by, but their bearing was that of
British soldiers, conscious of the duties of their station.
What a difference between them and the listless loiterers who
stand at guard at the gate of a Spanish garrisoned town.
I now proceeded up the principal street, which runs with
a gentle ascent along the base of the hill. Accustomed for
some months past to the melancholy silence of Seville, I was
almost deafened by the noise and bustle which reigned around.
It was Sunday night, and of course no business was going on,
but there were throngs of people passing up and down. Here was
a military guard proceeding along; here walked a group of
officers, there a knot of soldiers stood talking and laughing.
The greater part of the civilians appeared to be Spaniards, but
there was a large sprinkling of Jews in the dress of those of
Barbary, and here and there a turbaned Moor. There were gangs
of sailors likewise, Genoese, judging from the patois which
they were speaking, though I occasionally distinguished the
sound of "tou logou sas," by which I knew there were Greeks at
hand, and twice or thrice caught a glimpse of the red cap and
blue silken petticoats of the mariner from the Romaic isles.
On still I hurried, till I arrived at a well known hostelry,
close by a kind of square, in which stands the little exchange
of Gibraltar. Into this I ran and demanded lodging, receiving
a cheerful welcome from the genius of the place, who stood
behind the bar, and whom I shall perhaps have occasion
subsequently to describe. All the lower rooms were filled with
men of the rock, burly men in general, with swarthy complexions
and English features, with white hats, white jean jerkins, and
white jean pantaloons. They were smoking pipes and cigars, and
drinking porter, wine and various other fluids, and conversing
in the rock Spanish, or rock English as the fit took them.
Dense was the smoke of tobacco, and great the din of voices,
and I was glad to hasten up stairs to an unoccupied apartment,
where I was served with some refreshment, of which I stood much
in need.
I was soon disturbed by the sound of martial music close
below my windows. I went down and stood at the door. A
military band was marshalled upon the little square before the
exchange. It was preparing to beat the retreat. After the
prelude, which was admirably executed, the tall leader gave a
flourish with his stick, and strode forward up the street,
followed by the whole company of noble looking fellows and a
crowd of admiring listeners. The cymbals clashed, the horns
screamed, and the kettle-drum emitted its deep awful note, till
the old rock echoed again, and the hanging terraces of the town
rang with the stirring noise:
"Dub-a-dub, dub-a-dub - thus go the drums,
Tantara, tantara, the Englishman comes."
O England! long, long may it be ere the sun of thy glory
sink beneath the wave of darkness! Though gloomy and
portentous clouds are now gathering rapidly around thee, still,
still may it please the Almighty to disperse them, and to grant
thee a futurity longer in duration and still brighter in renown
than thy past! Or if thy doom be at hand, may that doom be a
noble one, and worthy of her who has been styled the Old Queen
of the waters! May thou sink, if thou dost sink, amidst blood
and flame, with a mighty noise, causing more than one nation to
participate in thy downfall! Of all fates, may it please the
Lord to preserve thee from a disgraceful and a slow decay;
becoming, ere extinct, a scorn and a mockery for those selfsame
foes who now, though they envy and abhor thee, still fear thee,
nay, even against their will, honour and respect thee.
Arouse thee, whilst yet there is time, and prepare thee
for the combat of life and death! Cast from thee the foul
scurf which now encrusts thy robust limbs, which deadens their
force, and makes them heavy and powerless! Cast from thee thy
false philosophers, who would fain decry what, next to the love
of God, has hitherto been deemed most sacred, the love of the
mother land! Cast from thee thy false patriots, who, under
the. pretext of redressing the wrongs of the poor and weak,
seek to promote internal discord, so that thou mayest become
only terrible to thyself! And remove from thee the false
prophets, who have seen vanity and divined lies; who have
daubed thy wall with untempered mortar, that it may fall; who
see visions of peace where there is no peace; who have
strengthened the hands of the wicked, and made the heart of the
righteous sad. O, do this, and fear not the result, for either
shall thy end be a majestic and an enviable one, or God shall
perpetuate thy reign upon the waters, thou old Queen!
The above was part of a broken prayer for my native land,
which, after my usual thanksgiving, I breathed to the Almighty
ere retiring to rest that Sunday night at Gibraltar.
CHAPTER LII
The Jolly Hosteler - Aspirants for Glory - A Portrait -
Hamalos - Solomons - An Expedition - The Yeoman Soldier -
The Excavations - The Pull by the Skirt - Judah and his Father -
Judah's Pilgrimage - The Bushy Beard - The False Moors -
Judah and the King's Son - Premature Old Age.
Perhaps it would have been impossible to have chosen a
situation more adapted for studying at my ease Gibraltar and
its inhabitants, than that which I found myself occupying about
ten o'clock on the following morning. Seated on a small bench
just opposite the bar, close by the door, in the passage of the
hostelry at which I had taken up my temporary abode, I enjoyed
a view of the square of the exchange and all that was going on
there, and by merely raising my eyes, could gaze at my leisure
on the stupendous hill which towers above the town to an
altitude of some thousand feet. I could likewise observe every
person who entered or left the house, which is one of great
resort, being situated in the most-frequented place of the
principal thoroughfare of the town. My eyes were busy and so
were my ears. Close beside me stood my excellent friend
Griffiths, the jolly hosteler, of whom I take the present
opportunity of saying a few words, though I dare say he has
been frequently described before, and by far better pens. Let
those who know him not figure to themselves a man of about
fifty, at least six feet in height, and weighing some eighteen
stone, an exceedingly florid countenance and good features,
eyes full of quickness and shrewdness, but at the same time
beaming with good nature. He wears white pantaloons, white
frock, and white hat, and is, indeed, all white, with the
exception of his polished Wellingtons and rubicund face. He
carries a whip beneath his arm, which adds wonderfully to the
knowingness of his appearance, which is rather more that of a
gentleman who keeps an inn on the Newmarket road, "purely for
the love of travellers, and the money which they carry about
them," than of a native of the rock. Nevertheless, he will
tell you himself that he is a rock lizard; and you will
scarcely doubt it when, besides his English, which is broad and
vernacular, you hear him speak Spanish, ay, and Genoese too,
when necessary, and it is no child's play to speak the latter,
which I myself could never master. He is a good judge of
horse-flesh, and occasionally sells a "bit of a blood," or a
Barbary steed to a young hand, though he has no objection to do
business with an old one; for there is not a thin, crouching,
liver-faced lynx-eyed Jew of Fez capable of outwitting him in a
bargain: or cheating him out of one single pound of the fifty
thousand sterling which he possesses; and yet ever bear in mind
that he is a good-natured fellow to those who are disposed to
behave honourably to him, and know likewise that he will lend
you money, if you are a gentleman, and are in need of it; but
depend upon it, if he refuse you, there is something not
altogether right about you, for Griffiths knows HIS WORLD, and
is not to be made a fool of.
There was a prodigious quantity of porter consumed in my
presence during the short hour that I sat on the bench of that
hostelry of the rock. The passage before the bar was
frequently filled with officers, who lounged in for a
refreshment which the sultry heat of the weather rendered
necessary, or at least inviting; whilst not a few came
galloping up to the door on small Barbary horses, which are to
be found in great abundance at Gibraltar. All seemed to be on
the best terms with the host, with whom they occasionally
discussed the merits of particular steeds, and whose jokes they
invariably received with unbounded approbation. There was much
in the demeanour and appearance of these young men, for the
greater part were quite young, which was highly interesting and
agreeable. Indeed, I believe it may be said of English
officers in general, that in personal appearance, and in
polished manners, they bear the palm from those of the same
class over the world. True it is, that the officers of the
royal guard of Russia, especially of the three noble regiments
styled the Priberjensky, Simeonsky, and Finlansky polks might
fearlessly enter into competition in almost all points with the
flower of the British army; but it must be remembered, that
those regiments are officered by the choicest specimens of the
Sclavonian nobility, young men selected expressly for the
splendour of their persons, and for the superiority of their
mental endowments; whilst, probably, amongst all the fairhaired
Angle-Saxons youths whom I now saw gathered near me,
there was not a single one of noble ancestry, nor of proud and
haughty name; and certainly, so far from having been selected
to flatter the pride and add to the pomp of a despot, they had
been taken indiscriminately from a mass of ardent aspirants for
military glory, and sent on their country's service to a remote
and unhealthy colony. Nevertheless, they were such as their
country might be proud of, for gallant boys they looked, with
courage on their brows, beauty and health on their cheeks, and
intelligence in their hazel eyes.
Who is he who now stops before the door without entering,
and addresses a question to my host, who advances with a
respectful salute? He is no common man, or his appearance
belies him strangely. His dress is simple enough; a Spanish
hat, with a peaked crown and broad shadowy brim - the veritable
sombrero - jean pantaloons and blue hussar jacket; - but how
well that dress becomes one of the most noble-looking figures I
ever beheld. I gazed upon him with strange respect and
admiration as he stood benignantly smiling and joking in good
Spanish with an impudent rock rascal, who held in his hand a
huge bogamante, or coarse carrion lobster, which he would fain
have persuaded him to purchase. He was almost gigantically
tall, towering nearly three inches above the burly host
himself, yet athletically symmetrical, and straight as the pine
tree of Dovrefeld. He must have counted eleven lustres, which
cast an air of mature dignity over a countenance which seemed
to have been chiseled by some Grecian sculptor, and yet his
hair was black as the plume of the Norwegian raven, and so was
the moustache which curled above his well-formed lip. In the
garb of Greece, and in the camp before Troy, I should have
taken him for Agamemnon. "Is that man a general?" said I to a
short queer-looking personage, who sat by my side, intently
studying a newspaper. "That gentleman," he whispered in a
lisping accent, "is, sir, the Lieutenant-Governor of
Gibraltar."
On either side outside the door, squatting on the ground,
or leaning indolently against the walls, were some half dozen
men of very singular appearance. Their principal garment was a
kind of blue gown, something resembling the blouse worn by the
peasants of the north of France, but not so long; it was
compressed around their waists by a leathern girdle, and
depended about half way down their thighs. Their legs were
bare, so that I had an opportunity of observing the calves,
which appeared unnaturally large. Upon the head they wore
small skull-caps of black wool. I asked the most athletic of
these men, a dark-visaged fellow of forty, who they were. He
answered, "hamalos." This word I knew to be Arabic, in which
tongue it signifies a porter; and, indeed, the next moment, I
saw a similar fellow staggering across the square under an
immense burden, almost sufficient to have broken the back of a
camel. On again addressing my swarthy friend, and enquiring
whence he came, he replied, that he was born at Mogadore, in
Barbary, but had passed the greatest part of his life at
Gibraltar. He added, that he was the "capitaz," or head man of
the "hamalos" near the door. I now addressed him in the Arabic
of the East, though with scarcely the hope of being understood,
more especially as he had been so long from his own country.
He however answered very pertinently, his lips quivering with
eagerness, and his eyes sparkling with joy, though it was easy
to perceive that the Arabic, or rather the Moorish, was not the
language in which he was accustomed either to think or speak.
His companions all gathered round and listened with avidity,
occasionally exclaiming, when anything was said which they
approved of: "WAKHUD RAJIL SHEREEF HADA, MIN BELED BEL
SCHARKI." (A holy man this from the kingdoms of the East.) At
last I produced the shekel, which I invariably carry about me
as a pocket-piece, and asked the capitaz whether he had ever
seen that money before. He surveyed the censer and olivebranch
for a considerable time, and evidently knew not what to
make of it. At length he fell to inspecting the characters
round about it on both sides, and giving a cry, exclaimed to
the other hamalos: "Brothers, brothers, these are the letters
of Solomon. This silver is blessed. We must kiss this money."
He then put it upon his head, pressed it to his eyes, and
finally kissed it with enthusiasm as did successively all his
brethren. Then regaining it, he returned it to me, with a low
reverence. Griffiths subsequently informed me, that the fellow
refused to work during all the rest of the day, and did nothing
but smile, laugh, and talk to himself.
"Allow me to offer you a glass of bitters, sir," said the
queer-looking personage before mentioned; he was a corpulent
man, very short, and his legs particularly so. His dress
consisted of a greasy snuff-coloured coat, dirty white
trousers, and dirtier stockings. On his head he wore a rusty
silk hat, the eaves of which had a tendency to turn up before
and behind. I had observed that, during my conversation with
the hamalos, he had several times uplifted his eyes from the
newspaper, and on the production of the shekel had grinned very
significantly, and had inspected it when in the hand of the
capitaz. "Allow me to offer you a glass of bitters," said he;
"I guessed you was one of our people before you spoke to the
hamalos. Sir, it does my heart good to see a gentleman of your
appearance not above speaking to his poor brethren. It is what
I do myself not unfrequently, and I hope God will blot out my
name, and that is Solomons, when I despise them. I do not
pretend to much Arabic myself, yet I understood you tolerably
well, and I liked your discourse much. You must have a great
deal of shillam eidri, nevertheless you startled me when you
asked the hamalo if he ever read the Torah; of course you meant
with the meforshim; poor as he is, I do not believe him
becoresh enough to read the Torah without the commentators. So
help me, sir, I believe you to be a Salamancan Jew; I am told
there are still some of the old families to be found there.
Ever at Tudela, sir? not very far from Salamanca, I believe;
one of my own kindred once lived there: a great traveller, sir,
like yourself; went over all the world to look for the Jews, -
went to the top of Sinai. Anything that I can do for you at
Gibraltar, sir? Any commission; will execute it as reasonably,
and more expeditiously than any one else. My name is Solomons.
I am tolerably well known at Gibraltar; yes, sir, and in the
Crooked Friars, and, for that matter, in the Neuen Stein Steg,
at Hamburgh; so help me, sir, I think I once saw your face at
the fair at Bremen. Speak German, sir? though of course you
do. Allow me, sir, to offer you a glass of bitters. I wish,
sir, they were mayim, hayim for your sake, I do indeed, sir, I
wish they were living waters. Now, sir, do give me your
opinion as to this matter (lowering his voice and striking the
newspaper). Do you not think it is very hard that one Yudken
should betray the other? When I put my little secret beyad
peluni, - you understand me, sir? - when I entrust my poor
secret to the custody of an individual, and that individual a
Jew, a Yudken, sir, I do not wish to be blown, indeed, I do not
expect it. In a word, what do you think of the GOLD DUST
ROBBERY, and what will be done to those unfortunate people, who
I see are convicted?"
That same day I made enquiry respecting the means of
transferring myself to Tangier, having no wish to prolong my
stay at Gibraltar, where, though it is an exceedingly
interesting place to an observant traveller, I had no
particular business to detain me. In the evening I was visited
by a Jew, a native of Barbary, who informed me that he was
secretary to the master of a small Genoese bark which plied
between Tangier and Gibraltar. Upon his assuring me that the
vessel would infallibly start for the former place on the
following evening, I agreed with him for my passage. He said
that as the wind was blowing from the Levant quarter, the
voyage would be a speedy one. Being desirous now of disposing
to the most advantage of the short time which I expected to
remain at Gibraltar, I determined upon visiting the
excavations, which I had as yet never seen, on the following
morning, and accordingly sent for and easily obtained the
necessary permission.
About six on Tuesday morning, I started on this
expedition, attended by a very intelligent good-looking lad of
the Jewish persuasion, one of two brothers who officiated at
the inn in the capacity of valets de place.
The morning was dim and hazy, yet sultry to a degree. We
ascended a precipitous street, and proceeding in an easterly
direction, soon arrived in the vicinity of what is generally
known by the name of the Moorish Castle, a large tower, but so
battered by the cannon balls discharged against it in the
famous siege, that it is at present little better than a ruin;
hundreds of round holes are to be seen in its sides, in which,
as it is said, the shot are still imbedded; here, at a species
of hut, we were joined by an artillery sergeant, who was to be
our guide. After saluting us, he led the way to a huge rock,
where he unlocked a gate at the entrance of a dark vaulted
passage which passed under it, emerging from which passage we
found ourselves in a steep path, or rather staircase, with
walls on either side.
We proceeded very leisurely, for hurry in such a
situation would have been of little avail, as we should have
lost our breath in a minute's time. The soldier, perfectly
well acquainted with the locality, stalked along with measured
steps, his eyes turned to the ground.
I looked fully as much at that man as at the strange
place where we now were, and which was every moment becoming
stranger. He was a fine specimen of the yeoman turned soldier;
indeed, the corps to which he belonged consists almost entirely
of that class. There he paces along, tall, strong, ruddy, and
chestnut-haired, an Englishman every inch; behold him pacing
along, sober, silent, and civil, a genuine English soldier. I
prize the sturdy Scot, I love the daring and impetuous
Irishman; I admire all the various races which constitute the
population of the British isles; yet I must say that, upon the
whole, none are so well adapted to ply the soldier's hardy
trade as the rural sons of old England, so strong, so cool,
yet, at the same time, animated with so much hidden fire. Turn
to the history of England and you will at once perceive of what
such men are capable; even at Hastings, in the grey old time,
under almost every disadvantage, weakened by a recent and
terrible conflict, without discipline, comparatively speaking,
and uncouthly armed, they all but vanquished the Norman
chivalry. Trace their deeds in France, which they twice
subdued; and even follow them to Spain, where they twanged the
yew and raised the battle-axe, and left behind them a name of
glory at Inglis Mendi, a name that shall last till fire
consumes the Cantabrian hills. And, oh, in modern times, trace
the deeds of these gallant men all over the world, and
especially in France and Spain, and admire them, even as I did
that sober, silent, soldier-like man who was showing me the
wonders of a foreign mountain fortress, wrested by his
countrymen from a powerful and proud nation more than a century
before, and of which he was now a trusty and efficient
guardian.
We arrived close to the stupendous precipice, which rises
abruptly above the isthmus called the neutral ground, staring
gauntly and horridly at Spain, and immediately entered the
excavations. They consist of galleries scooped in the living
rock at the distance of some twelve feet from the outside,
behind which they run the whole breadth of the hill in this
direction. In these galleries, at short distances, are ragged
yawning apertures, all formed by the hand of man, where stand
the cannon upon neat slightly-raised pavements of small flint
stones, each with its pyramid of bullets on one side, and on
the other a box, in which is stowed the gear which the gunner
requires in the exercise of his craft. Everything was in its
place, everything in the nicest English order, everything ready
to scathe and overwhelm in a few moments the proudest and most
numerous host which might appear marching in hostile array
against this singular fortress on the land side.
There is not much variety in these places, one cavern and
one gun resembling the other. As for the guns, they are not of
large calibre, indeed, such are not needed here, where a pebble
discharged from so great an altitude would be fraught with
death. On descending a shaft, however, I observed, in one cave
of special importance, two enormous carronades looking with
peculiar wickedness and malignity down a shelving rock, which
perhaps, although not without tremendous difficulty, might be
scaled. The mere wind of one of these huge guns would be
sufficient to topple over a thousand men. What sensations of
dread and horror must be awakened in the breast of a foe when
this hollow rock, in the day of siege, emits its flame, smoke,
and thundering wind from a thousand yawning holes; horror not
inferior to that felt by the peasant of the neighbourhood when
Mongibello belches forth from all its orifices its sulphureous
fires.
Emerging from the excavations, we proceeded to view
various batteries. I asked the sergeant whether his companions
and himself were dexterous at the use of the guns. He replied
that these cannons were to them what the fowling-piece is to
the fowler, that they handled them as easily, and, he believed,
pointed them with more precision, as they seldom or never
missed an object within range of the shot. This man never
spoke until he was addressed, and then the answers which he
gave were replete with good sense, and in general well worded.
After our excursion, which lasted at least two hours, I made
him a small present, and took leave with a hearty shake of the
hand.
In the evening I prepared to go on board the vessel bound
for Tangier, trusting in what the Jewish secretary had told me
as to its sailing. Meeting him, however, accidentally in the
street, he informed me that it would not start until the
following morning, advising me at the same time to be on board
at an early hour. I now roamed about the streets until night
was beginning to set in, and becoming weary, I was just about
to direct my steps to the inn, when I felt myself gently pulled
by the skirt. I was amidst a concourse of people who were
gathered around some Irish soldiers who were disputing, and I
paid no attention; but I was pulled again more forcibly than
before, and I heard myself addressed in a language which I had
half forgotten, and which I scarcely expected ever to hear
again. I looked round, and lo! a tall figure stood close to me
and gazed in my face with anxious inquiring eyes. On its head
was the kauk or furred cap of Jerusalem; depending from its
shoulders, and almost trailing on the ground, was a broad blue
mantle, whilst kandrisa or Turkish trousers enveloped its
nether limbs. I gazed on the figure as wistfully as it gazed
upon me. At first the features appeared perfectly strange, and
I was about to exclaim, I know you not, when one or two
lineaments struck me, and I cried, though somewhat
hesitatingly, "Surely this is Judah Lib."
I was in a steamer in the Baltic in the year `34, if I
mistake not. There was a drizzling rain and a high sea, when I
observed a young man of about two and twenty leaning in a
melancholy attitude against the side of the vessel. By his
countenance I knew him to be one of the Hebrew race,
nevertheless there was something very singular in his
appearance, something which is rarely found amongst that
people, a certain air of nobleness which highly interested me.
I approached him, and in a few minutes we were in earnest
conversation. He spoke Polish and Jewish German
indiscriminately. The story which he related to me was highly
extraordinary, yet I yielded implicit credit to all his words,
which came from his mouth with an air of sincerity which
precluded doubt; and, moreover, he could have no motive for
deceiving me. One idea, one object, engrossed him entirely:
"My father," said he, in language which strongly marked his
race, "was a native of Galatia, a Jew of high caste, a learned
man, for he knew Zohar, * and he was likewise skilled in
medicine. When I was a child of some eight years, he left
Galatia, and taking his wife, who was my mother, and myself
with him, he bent his way unto the East, even to Jerusalem;
there he established himself as a merchant, for he was
acquainted with trade and the arts of getting money. He was
much respected by the Rabbins of Jerusalem, for he was a Polish
man, and he knew more Zohar and more secrets than the wisest of
them. He made frequent journeys, and was absent for weeks and
for months, but he never exceeded six moons. My father loved
me, and he taught me part of what he knew in the moments of his
leisure. I assisted him in his trade, but he took me not with
him in his journeys. We had a shop at Jerusalem, even a shop
of commerce, where we sold the goods of the Nazarene, and my
mother and myself, and even a little sister who was born
shortly after our arrival at Jerusalem, all assisted my father
in his commerce. At length it came to pass, that on a
particular time he told us that he was going on a journey, and
he embraced us and bade us farewell, and he departed, whilst we
continued at Jerusalem attending to the business. We awaited
his return, but months passed, even six months, and he came
not, and we wondered; and months passed, even other six passed,
but still he came not, nor did we hear any tidings of him, and
our hearts were filled with heaviness and sorrow. But when
years, even two years, were expired, I said to my mother, `I
will go and seek my father'; and she said, `Do so,' and she
gave me her blessing, and I kissed my little sister, and I went
forth as far as Egypt, and there I heard tidings of my father,
for people told me he had been there, and they named the time,
and they said that he had passed from thence to the land of the
Turk; so I myself followed to the land of the Turk, even unto
Constantinople. And when I arrived there I again heard of my
father, for he was well known amongst the Jews, and they told
me the time of his being there, and they added that he had
speculated and prospered, and departed from Constantinople, but
whither he went they knew not. So I reasoned within myself and
said, perhaps he may have gone to the land of his fathers, even
unto Galatia, to visit his kindred; so I determined to go there
myself, and I went, and I found our kindred, and I made myself
known to them, and they rejoiced to see me; but when I asked
them for my father, they shook their heads and could give me no
intelligence; and they would fain have had me tarry with them,
but I would not, for the thought of my father was working
strong within me, and I could not rest. So I departed and went
to another country, even unto Russia, and I went deep into that
country, even as far as Kazan, and of all I met, whether Jew,
or Russ, or Tartar, I inquired for my father; but no one knew
him, nor had heard of him. So I turned back and here thou
seest me; and I now purpose going through all Germany and
France, nay, through all the world, until I have received
intelligence of my father, for I cannot rest until I know what
is become of my father, for the thought of him burneth in my
brain like fire, even like the fire of Jehinnim."
* A Rabbinical book, very difficult to be understood,
though written avowedly for the purpose of elucidating many
points connected with the religious ceremonies of the Hebrews.
Such was the individual whom I now saw again, after a
lapse of five years, in the streets of Gibraltar, in the dusk
of the evening. "Yes," he replied, "I am Judah, surnamed the
Lib. Thou didst not recognise me, but I knew thee at once. I
should have known thee amongst a million, and not a day has
passed since I last saw thee, but I have thought on thee." I
was about to reply, but he pulled me out of the crowd and led
me into a shop where, squatted on the floor, sat six or seven
Jews cutting leather; he said something to them which I did not
understand, whereupon they bowed their heads and followed their
occupation, without taking any notice of us. A singular figure
had followed us to the door; it was a man dressed in
exceedingly shabby European garments, which exhibited
nevertheless the cut of a fashionable tailor. He seemed about
fifty; his face, which was very broad, was of a deep bronze
colour; the features were rugged, but exceedingly manly, and,
notwithstanding they were those of a Jew, exhibited no marks of
cunning, but, on the contrary, much simplicity and good nature.
His form was about the middle height, and tremendously
athletic, the arms and back were literally those of a Hercules
squeezed into a modern surtout; the lower part of his face was
covered with a bushy beard, which depended half way down his
breast. This figure remained at the door, his eyes fixed upon
myself and Judah.
The first inquiry which I now addressed was "Have you
heard of your father?"
"I have," he replied. "When we parted, I proceeded
through many lands, and wherever I went I inquired of the
people respecting my father, but still they shook their heads,
until I arrived at the land of Tunis; and there I went to the
head rabbi, and he told me that he knew my father well, and
that he had been there, even at Tunis, and he named the time,
and he said that from thence he departed for the land of Fez;
and he spoke much of my father and of his learning, and he
mentioned the Zohar, even that dark book which my father loved
so well; and he spoke yet more of my father's wealth and his
speculations, in all of which it seems he had thriven. So I
departed and I mounted a ship, and I went into the land of
Barbary, even unto Fez, and when I arrived there I heard much
intelligence of my father, but it was intelligence which
perhaps was worse than ignorance. For the Jews told me that my
father had been there, and had speculated and had thriven, and
that from thence he departed for Tafilaltz, which is the
country of which the Emperor, even Muley Abderrahman, is a
native; and there he was still prosperous, and his wealth in
gold and silver was very great; and he wished to go to a not
far distant town, and he engaged certain Moors, two in number,
to accompany him and defend him and his treasures: and the
Moors were strong men, even makhasniah or soldiers; and they
made a covenant with my father, and they gave him their right
hands, and they swore to spill their blood rather than his
should be shed. And my father was encouraged and he waxed
bold, and he departed with them, even with the two false Moors.
And when they arrived in the uninhabited place, they smote my
father, and they prevailed against him, and they poured out his
blood in the way, and they robbed him of all he had, of his
silks and his merchandise, and of the gold and silver which he
had made in his speculations, and they went to their own
villages, and there they sat themselves down and bought lands
and houses, and they rejoiced and they triumphed, and they made
a merit of their deed, saying, `We have killed an infidel, even
an accursed Jew'; and these things were notorious in Fez. And
when I heard these tidings my heart was sad, and I became like
a child, and I wept; but the fire of Jehinnim burned no longer
in my brain, for I now knew what was become of my father. At
last I took comfort and I reasoned with myself, saying, `Would
it not be wise to go unto the Moorish king and demand of him
vengeance for my father's death, and that the spoilers be
despoiled, and the treasure, even my father's treasure, be
wrested from their hands and delivered up to me who am his
son?' And the king of the Moors was not at that time in Fez,
but was absent in his wars; and I arose and followed him, even
unto Arbat, which is a seaport, and when I arrived there, lo!
I found him not, but his son was there, and men said unto me
that to speak unto the son was to speak unto the king, even
Muley Abderrahman; so I went in unto the king's son, and I
kneeled before him, and I lifted up my voice and I said unto
him what I had to say, and he looked courteously upon me and
said, `Truly thy tale is a sorrowful one, and it maketh me sad;
and what thou asketh, that will I grant, and thy father's death
shall be avenged and the spoilers shall be despoiled; and I
will write thee a letter with my own hand unto the Pasha, even
the Pasha of Tafilaltz, and I will enjoin him to make inquiry
into thy matter, and that letter thou shalt thyself carry and
deliver unto him.' And when I heard these words, my heart died
within my bosom for very fear, and I replied, `Not so, my lord;
it is good that thou write a letter unto the Pasha, even unto
the Pasha of Tafilaltz, but that letter will I not take,
neither will I go to Tafilaltz, for no sooner should I arrive
there, and my errand be known, than the Moors would arise and
put me to death, either privily or publicly, for are not the
murderers of my father Moors; and am I aught but a Jew, though
I be a Polish man?' And he looked benignantly, and he said,
`Truly, thou speakest wisely; I will write the letter, but thou
shalt not take it, for I will send it by other hands; therefore
set thy heart at rest, and doubt not that, if thy tale be true,
thy father's death shall be avenged, and the treasure, or the
value thereof, be recovered and given up to thee; tell me,
therefore, where wilt thou abide till then?' And I said unto
him, `My lord, I will go into the land of Suz and will tarry
there.' And he replied: `Do so, and thou shalt hear speedily
from me.' So I arose and departed and went into the land of
Suz, even unto Sweerah, which the Nazarenes call Mogadore; and
waited with a troubled heart for intelligence from the son of
the Moorish king, but no intelligence came, and never since
that day have I heard from him, and it is now three years since
I was in his presence. And I sat me down at Mogadore, and I
married a wife, a daughter of our nation, and I wrote to my
mother, even to Jerusalem, and she sent me money, and with that
I entered into commerce, even as my father had done, and I
speculated, and I was not successful in my speculations, and I
speedily lost all I had. And now I am come to Gibraltar to
speculate on the account of another, a merchant of Mogadore,
but I like not my occupation, he has deceived me; I am going
back, when I shall again seek the presence of the Moorish king
and demand that the treasure of my father be taken from the
spoilers and delivered up to me, even to me his son."
I listened with mute attention to the singular tale of
this singular man, and when he had concluded I remained a
considerable time without saying a word; at last he inquired
what had brought me to Gibraltar. I told him that I was merely
a passer through on my way to Tangier, for which place I
expected to sail the following morning. Whereupon he observed,
that in the course of a week or two he expected to be there
also, when he hoped that we should meet, as he had much more to
tell me. "And peradventure," he added, "you can afford me
counsel which will be profitable, for you are a person of
experience, versed in the ways of many nations; and when I look
in your countenance, heaven seems to open to me, for I think I
see the countenance of a friend, even of a brother." He then
bade me farewell, and departed; the strange bearded man, who
during our conversation had remained patiently waiting at the
door, following him. I remarked that there was less wildness
in his look than on the former occasion, but at the same time,
more melancholy, and his features were wrinkled like those of
an aged man, though he had not yet passed the prime of youth.
CHAPTER LIII
Genoese Mariners - St. Michael's Cave - Midnight Abysses -
Young American - A Slave Proprietor - The Fairy Man - Infidelity.
Throughout the whole of that night it blew very hard, but
as the wind was in the Levant quarter, I had no apprehension of
being detained longer at Gibraltar on that account. I went on
board the vessel at an early hour, when I found the crew
engaged in hauling the anchor close, and making other
preparations for sailing. They informed me that we should
probably start in an hour. That time however passed, and we
still remained where we were, and the captain continued on
shore. We formed one of a small flotilla of Genoese barks, the
crews of which seemed in their leisure moments to have no
better means of amusing themselves than the exchange of abusive
language; a furious fusillade of this kind presently commenced,
in which the mate of our vessel particularly distinguished
himself; he was a grey-haired Genoese of sixty. Though not
able to speak their patois, I understood much of what was said;
it was truly shocking, and as they shouted it forth, judging
from their violent gestures and distorted features, you would
have concluded them to be bitter enemies; they were, however,
nothing of the kind, but excellent friends all the time, and
indeed very good-humoured fellows at bottom. Oh, the
infirmities of human nature! When will man learn to become
truly Christian?
I am upon the whole very fond of the Genoese; they have,
it is true, much ribaldry and many vices, but they are a brave
and chivalrous people, and have ever been so, and from them I
have never experienced aught but kindness and hospitality.
After the lapse of another two hours, the Jew secretary
arrived and said something to the old mate, who grumbled much;
then coming up to me, he took off his hat and informed me that
we were not to start that day, saying at the same time that it
was a shame to lose such a noble wind, which would carry us to
Tangier in three hours. "Patience," said I, and went on shore.
I now strolled towards Saint Michael's cave, in company
with the Jewish lad whom I have before mentioned.
The way thither does not lie in the same direction as
that which leads to the excavations; these confront Spain,
whilst the cave yawns in the face of Africa. It lies nearly at
the top of the mountain, several hundred yards above the sea.
We passed by the public walks, where there are noble trees, and
also by many small houses, situated delightfully in gardens,
and occupied by the officers of the garrison. It is wrong to
suppose Gibraltar a mere naked barren rock; it is not without
its beautiful spots - spots such as these, looking cool and
refreshing, with bright green foliage. The path soon became
very steep, and we left behind us the dwellings of man. The
gale of the preceding night had entirely ceased, and not a
breath of air was stirring; the midday sun shone in all its
fierce glory, and the crags up which we clambered were not
unfrequently watered with the perspiration drops which rained
from our temples: at length we arrived at the cavern.
The mouth is a yawning cleft in the side of the mountain,
about twelve feet high and as many wide; within there is a very
rapid precipitous descent for some fifty yards, where the
cavern terminates in an abyss which leads to unknown depths.
The most remarkable object is a natural column, which rises up
something like the trunk of an enormous oak, as if for the
purpose of supporting the roof; it stands at a short distance
from the entrance, and gives a certain air of wildness and
singularity to that part of the cavern which is visible, which
it would otherwise not possess. The floor is exceedingly
slippery, consisting of soil which the continual drippings from
the roof have saturated, so that no slight precaution is
necessary for him who treads it. It is very dangerous to enter
this place without a guide well acquainted with it, as, besides
the black pit at the extremity, holes which have never been
fathomed present themselves here and there, falling into which
the adventurer would be dashed to pieces. Whatever men may
please to say of this cave, one thing it seems to tell to all
who approach it, namely, that the hand of man has never been
busy about it; there is many a cave of nature's forming, old as
the earth on which we exist, which nevertheless exhibits
indications that man has turned it to some account, and that it
has been subjected more or less to his modifying power; not so
this cave of Gibraltar, for, judging from its appearance, there
is not the slightest reason for supposing that it ever served
for aught else than a den for foul night birds, reptiles, and
beasts of prey. It has been stated by some to have been used
in the days of paganism as a temple to the god Hercules, who,
according to the ancient tradition, raised the singular mass of
crags now called Gibraltar, and the mountain which confronts it
on the African shores, as columns which should say to all
succeeding times that he had been there, and had advanced no
farther. Sufficient to observe, that there is nothing within
the cave which would authorize the adoption of such an opinion,
not even a platform on which an altar could have stood, whilst
a narrow path passes before it, leading to the summit of the
mountain. As I have myself never penetrated into its depths, I
can of course not pretend to describe them. Numerous have been
the individuals who, instigated by curiosity, have ventured
down to immense depths, hoping to discover an end, and indeed
scarcely a week passes without similar attempts being made
either by the officers or soldiers of the garrison, all of
which have proved perfectly abortive. No termination has ever
been reached, nor any discoveries made to repay the labour and
frightful danger incurred; precipice succeeds precipice, and
abyss succeeds abyss, in apparently endless succession, with
ledges at intervals, which afford the adventurers opportunities
for resting themselves and affixing their rope-ladders for the
purpose of descending yet farther. What is, however, most
mortifying and perplexing is to observe that these abysses are
not only before, but behind you, and on every side; indeed,
close within the entrance of the cave, on the right, there is a
gulf almost equally dark and full as threatening as that which
exists at the nether end, and perhaps contains within itself as
many gulfs and horrid caverns branching off in all directions.
Indeed, from what I have heard, I have come to the opinion,
that the whole hill of Gibraltar is honeycombed, and I have
little doubt that, were it cleft asunder, its interior would be
found full of such abysses of Erebus as those to which Saint
Michael's cave conducts. Many valuable lives are lost every
year in these horrible places; and only a few weeks before my
visit, two sergeants, brothers, had perished in the gulf on the
right hand side of the cave, having, when at a great depth,
slipped down a precipice. The body of one of these adventurous
men is even now rotting in the bowels of the mountain, preyed
upon by its blind and noisome worms; that of his brother was
extricated. Immediately after this horrible accident, a gate
was placed before the mouth of the cave, to prevent
individuals, and especially the reckless soldiers, from
indulging in their extravagant curiosity. The lock, however,
was speedily forced, and at the period of my arrival the gate
swung idly upon its hinges.
As I left the place, I thought that perhaps similar to
this was the cave of Horeb, where dwelt Elijah, when he heard
the still small voice, after the great and strong wind which
rent the mountains and brake in pieces the rocks before the
Lord; the cave to the entrance of which he went out and stood
with his face wrapped in his mantle, when he heard the voice
say unto him, "What doest thou here, Elijah?" (1 Kings xix. 11-
13.)
And what am I doing here, I inquired of myself as, vexed
at my detention, I descended into the town.
That afternoon I dined in the company of a young
American, a native of South Carolina. I had frequently seen
him before, as he had been staying for some time at the inn
previous to my arrival at Gibraltar. His appearance was
remarkable: he was low of stature, and exceedingly slightly
made; his features were pale but very well formed; he had a
magnificent head of crispy black hair, and as superb a pair of
whiskers of the same colour as I ever beheld. He wore a white
hat, with broad brim and particularly shallow crown, and was
dressed in a light yellow gingham frock striped with black, and
ample trousers of calico, in a word, his appearance was
altogether queer and singular. On my return from my ramble to
the cave, I found that he had himself just descended from the
mountain, having since a very early hour been absent exploring
its wonders.
A man of the rock asked him how he liked the excavations.
"Liked them," said he; "you might just as well ask a person who
has just seen the Niagara Falls how he liked them - like is not
the word, mister." The heat was suffocating, as it almost
invariably is in the town of Gibraltar, where rarely a breath
of air is to be felt, as it is sheltered from all winds. This
led another individual to inquire of him whether he did not
think it exceedingly hot? "Hot, sir," he replied, "not at all:
fine cotton gathering weather as a man could wish for. We
couldn't beat it in South Carolina, sir." "You live in South
Carolina, sir - I hope, sir, you are not a slave proprietor,"
said the short fat Jewish personage in the snuff-coloured coat,
who had offered me the bitters on a previous occasion; "it is a
terrible thing to make slaves of poor people, simply because
they happen to be black; don't you think so, sir?" "Think so,
sir - no, sir, I don't think so - I glory in being a slave
proprietor; have four hundred black niggers on my estate - own
estate, sir, near Charleston - flog half a dozen of them before
breakfast, merely for exercise. Niggers only made to be
flogged, sir: try to escape sometimes; set the blood-hounds in
their trail, catch them in a twinkling; used to hang themselves
formerly: the niggers thought that a sure way to return to
their own country and get clear of me: soon put a stop to that:
told them that if any more hanged themselves I'd hang myself
too, follow close behind them, and flog them in their own
country ten times worse than in mine. What do you think of
that, friend?" It was easy to perceive that there was more of
fun than malice in this eccentric little fellow, for his large
grey eyes were sparkling with good humour whilst he poured out
these wild things. He was exceedingly free of his money; and a
dirty Irish woman, a soldier's wife, having entered with a
basketful of small boxes and trinkets, made of portions of the
rock of Gibraltar, he purchased the greatest part of her ware,
giving her for every article the price (by no means
inconsiderable) which she demanded. He had glanced at me
several times, and at last I saw him stoop down and whisper
something to the Jew, who replied in an undertone, though with
considerable earnestness "O dear no, sir; perfectly mistaken,
sir: is no American, sir:- from Salamanca, sir; the gentleman
is a Salamancan Spaniard." The waiter at length informed us
that he had laid the table, and that perhaps it would be
agreeable to us to dine together: we instantly assented. I
found my new acquaintance in many respects a most agreeable
companion: he soon told me his history. He was a planter, and,
from what he hinted, just come to his property. He was part
owner of a large vessel which traded between Charleston and
Gibraltar, and the yellow fever having just broken out at the
former place, he had determined to take a trip (his first) to
Europe in this ship; having, as he said, already visited every
state in the Union, and seen all that was to be seen there. He
described to me, in a very naive and original manner, his
sensations on passing by Tarifa, which was the first walled
town he had ever seen. I related to him the history of that
place, to which he listened with great attention. He made
divers attempts to learn from me who I was; all of which I
evaded, though he seemed fully convinced that I was an
American; and amongst other things asked me whether my father
had not been American consul at Seville. What, however, most
perplexed him was my understanding Moorish and Gaelic, which he
had heard me speak respectively to the hamalos and the Irish
woman, the latter of whom, as he said, had told him that I was
a fairy man. At last he introduced the subject of religion,
and spoke with much contempt of revelation, avowing himself a
deist; he was evidently very anxious to hear my opinion, but
here again I evaded him, and contented myself with asking him,
whether he had ever read the Bible. He said he had not; but
that he was well acquainted with the writings of Volney and
Mirabeau. I made no answer; whereupon he added, that it was by
no means his habit to introduce such subjects, and that there
were very few persons to whom he would speak so unreservedly,
but that I had very much interested him, though our
acquaintance had been short. I replied, that he would scarcely
have spoken at Boston in the manner that I had just heard him,
and that it was easy to perceive that he was not a New
Englander. "I assure you," said he, "I should as little have
thought of speaking so at Charleston, for if I held such
conversation there, I should soon have had to speak to myself."
Had I known less of deists than it has been my fortune to
know, I should perhaps have endeavoured to convince this young
man of the erroneousness of the ideas which he had adopted; but
I was aware of all that he would have urged in reply, and as
the believer has no carnal arguments to address to carnal
reason upon this subject, I thought it best to avoid
disputation, which I felt sure would lead to no profitable
result. Faith is the free gift of God, and I do not believe
that ever yet was an infidel converted by means of after-dinner
polemics. This was the last evening of my sojourn in
Gibraltar.
CHAPTER LIV
Again on Board - The Strange Visage - The Hadji - Setting Sail -
The Two Jews - American Vessel - Tangier - Adun Oulem -
The Struggle - The Forbidden Thing.
On Thursday, the 8th of August, I was again on board the
Genoese bark, at as early an hour as on the previous morning.
After waiting, however, two or three hours without any
preparation being made for departing, I was about to return to
the shore once more, but the old Genoese mate advised me to
stay, assuring me that he had no doubt of our sailing speedily,
as all the cargo was on board, and we had nothing further to
detain us. I was reposing myself in the little cabin, when I
heard a boat strike against the side of the vessel, and some
people come on board. Presently a face peered in at the
opening, strange and wild. I was half asleep, and at first
imagined I was dreaming, for the face seemed more like that of
a goat or an orge than of a human being; its long beard almost
touching my face as I lay extended in a kind of berth.
Starting up, however, I recognised the singular-looking Jew
whom I had seen in the company of Judah Lib. He recognised me
also, and nodding, bent his huge features into a smile. I
arose and went upon deck, where I found him in company with
another Jew, a young man in the dress of Barbary. They had
just arrived in the boat. I asked my friend of the beard who
he was, from whence he came, and where he was going? He
answered, in broken Portuguese, that he was returning from
Lisbon, where he had been on business, to Mogadore, of which
place he was a native. He then looked me in the face and
smiled, and taking out a book from his pocket, in Hebrew
characters, fell to reading it; whereupon a Spanish sailor on
board observed that with such a beard and book he must needs be
a sabio, or sage. His companion was from Mequinez, and spoke
only Arabic.
A large boat now drew nigh, the stern of which was filled
with Moors; there might be about twelve, and the greater part
evidently consisted of persons of distinction, as they were
dressed in all the pomp and gallantry of the East, with snowwhite
turbans, jabadores of green silk or scarlet cloth, and
bedeyas rich with gold galloon. Some of them were exceedingly
fine men, and two amongst them, youths, were strikingly
handsome, and so far from exhibiting the dark swarthy
countenance of Moors in general, their complexions were of a
delicate red and white. The principal personage, and to whom
all the rest paid much deference, was a tall athletic man of
about forty. He wore a vest of white quilted cotton, and white
kandrisa, whilst gracefully wound round his body, and swathing
the upper part of his head, was the balk, or white flannel
wrapping plaid always held in so much estimation by the Moors
from the earliest period of their history. His legs were bare
and his feet only protected from the ground by yellow slippers.
He displayed no farther ornament than one large gold ear-ring,
from which depended a pearl, evidently of great price. A noble
black beard, about a foot in length, touched his muscular
breast. His features were good, with the exception of the
eyes, which were somewhat small; their expression, however,
was, evil; their glances were sullen; and malignity and illnature
were painted in every lineament of his countenance,
which seemed never to have been brightened with a smile. The
Spanish sailor, of whom I have already had occasion to speak,
informed me in a whisper, that he was a santuron, or big saint,
and was so far back on his way from Mecca; adding, that he was
a merchant of immense wealth. It soon appeared that the other
Moors had merely attended him on board through friendly
politeness, as they all successively came to bid him adieu,
with the exception of two blacks, who were his attendants. I
observed that these blacks, when the Moors presented them their
hands at departing, invariably made an effort to press them to
their lips, which effort was as uniformly foiled, the Moors in
every instance, by a speedy and graceful movement, drawing back
their hand locked in that of the black, which they pressed
against their own heart; as much as to say, "though a negro and
a slave you are a Moslem, and being so, you art our brother -
Allah knows no distinctions." The boatman now went up to the
hadji, demanding payment, stating, at the same time, that he
had been on board three times on his account, conveying his
luggage. The sum which he demanded appeared exorbitant to the
hadji, who, forgetting that he was a saint, and fresh from
Mecca, fumed outrageously, and in broken Spanish called the
boatman thief. If there be any term of reproach which stings a
Spaniard (and such was the boatman) more than another, it is
that one; and the fellow no sooner heard it applied to himself,
than with eyes sparkling with fury, he put his fist to the
hadji's nose, and repaid the one opprobrious name by at least
ten others equally bad or worse. He would perhaps have
proceeded to acts of violence had he not been pulled away by
the other Moors, who led him aside, and I suppose either said
or gave him something which pacified him, as he soon got into
his boat, and returned with them on shore. The captain now
arrived with his Jewish secretary, and orders were given for
setting sail.
At a little past twelve we were steering out of the bay
of Gibraltar; the wind was in the right quarter, but for some
time we did not make much progress, lying almost becalmed
beneath the lee of the hill; by degrees, however, our progress
became brisker, and in about an hour we found ourselves
careering smartly towards Tarifa.
The Jew secretary stood at the helm, and indeed appeared
to be the person who commanded the vessel, and who issued out
all the necessary orders, which were executed under the
superintendence of the old Genoese mate. I now put some
questions to the hadji, but he looked at me askance with his
sullen eye, pouted with his lip, and remained silent; as much
as to say, "Speak not to me, I am holier than thou." I found
his negroes, however, far more conversable. One of them was
old and ugly, the other about twenty, and as well looking as it
is possible for a negro to be. His colour was perfect ebony,
his features exceedingly well formed and delicate, with the
exception of the lips, which were too full. The shape of his
eyes was peculiar; they were rather oblong than round, like
those of an Egyptian figure. Their expression was thoughtful
and meditative. In every respect he differed from his
companion, even in colour, (though both were negroes,) and was
evidently a scion of some little known and superior race. As
he sat beneath the mast gazing at the sea, I thought he was
misplaced, and that he would have appeared to more advantage
amidst boundless sands, and beneath a date tree, and then he
might have well represented a Jhin. I asked him from whence he
came, he replied that he was a native of Fez, but that he had
never known his parents. He had been brought up, he added, in
the family of his present master, whom he had followed in the
greater part of his travels, and with whom he had thrice
visited Mecca. I asked him if he liked being a slave?
Whereupon he replied, that he was a slave no longer, having
been made free for some time past, on account of his faithful
services, as had likewise his companion. He would have told me
much more, but the hadji called him away, and otherwise
employed him, probably to prevent his being contaminated by me.
Thus avoided by the Moslems, I betook myself to the Jews,
whom I found nowise backward in cultivating an intimacy. The
sage of the beard told me his history, which in some respects
reminded me of that of Judah Lib, as it seemed that, a year or
two previous, he had quitted Mogadore in pursuit of his son,
who had betaken himself to Portugal. On the arrival, however,
of the father at Lisbon, he discovered that the fugitive had, a
few days before, shipped himself for the Brazils. Unlike Judah
in quest of his father, he now became weary, and discontinued
the pursuit. The younger Jew from Mequinez was exceedingly gay
and lively as soon as he perceived that I was capable of
understanding him, and made me smile by his humorous account of
Christian life, as he had observed it at Gibraltar, where he
had made a stay of about a month. He then spoke of Mequinez,
which, he said, was a Jennut, or Paradise, compared with which
Gibraltar was a sty of hogs. So great, so universal is the
love of country. I soon saw that both these people believed me
to be of their own nation; indeed, the young one, who was much
the most familiar, taxed me with being so, and spoke of the
infamy of denying my own blood. Shortly before our arrival off
Tarifa, universal hunger seemed to prevail amongst us. The
hadji and his negroes produced their store, and feasted on
roast fowls, the Jews ate grapes and bread, myself bread and
cheese, whilst the crew prepared a mess of anchovies. Two of
them speedily came, with a large portion, which they presented
to me with the kindness of brothers: I made no hesitation in
accepting their present, and found the anchovies delicious. As
I sat between the Jews, I offered them some, but they turned
away their heads with disgust, and cried HALOOF (hogsflesh).
They at the same time, however, shook me by the hand, and,
uninvited, took a small portion of my bread. I had a bottle of
Cognac, which I had brought with me as a preventive to sea
sickness, and I presented it to them; but this they also
refused, exclaiming, HARAM (it is forbidden). I said nothing.
We were now close to the lighthouse of Tarifa, and
turning the head of the bark towards the west, we made directly
for the coast of Africa. The wind was now blowing very fresh,
and as we had it almost in our poop, we sprang along at a
tremendous rate, the huge lateen sails threatening every moment
to drive us beneath the billows, which an adverse tide raised
up against us. Whilst scudding along in this manner, we passed
close under the stern of a large vessel bearing American
colours; she was tacking up the straits, and slowly winning her
way against the impetuous Levanter. As we passed under her, I
observed the poop crowded with people gazing at us; indeed, we
must have offered a singular spectacle to those on board, who,
like my young American friend at Gibraltar, were visiting the
Old World for the first time. At the helm stood the Jew; his
whole figure enveloped in a gabardine, the cowl of which,
raised above his head, gave him almost the appearance of a
spectre in its shroud; whilst upon the deck, mixed with
Europeans in various kinds of dresses, all of them picturesque
with the exception of my own, trod the turbaned Moors, the haik
of the hadji flapping loosely in the wind. The view they
obtained of us, however, could have been but momentary, as we
bounded past them literally with the speed of a racehorses so
that in about an hour's time we were not more than a mile's
distance from the foreland on which stands the fortress
Alminar, and which constitutes the boundary point of the bay of
Tangier towards the east. There the wind dropped and our
progress was again slow.
For a considerable time Tangier had appeared in sight.
Shortly after standing away from Tarifa, we had descried it in
the far distance, when it showed like a white dove brooding on
its nest. The sun was setting behind the town when we dropped
anchor in its harbour, amidst half a dozen barks and felouks
about the size of our own, the only vessels which we saw.
There stood Tangier before us, and a picturesque town it was,
occupying the sides and top of two hills, one of which, bold
and bluff, projects into the sea where the coast takes a sudden
and abrupt turn. Frowning and battlemented were its walls,
either perched on the top of precipitous rocks, whose base was
washed by the salt billows, or rising from the narrow strand
which separates the hill from the ocean.
Yonder are two or three tiers of batteries, displaying
heavy guns which command the harbour; above them you see the
terraces of the town rising in succession like steps for
giants. But all is white, perfectly white, so that the whole
seems cut out of an immense chalk rock, though true it is that
you behold here and there tall green trees springing up from
amidst the whiteness: perhaps they belong to Moorish gardens,
and beneath them even now peradventure is reclining many a
dark-eyed Leila, akin to the houries. Right before you is a
high tower or minaret, not white but curiously painted, which
belongs to the principal mosque of Tangier; a black banner
waves upon it, for it is the feast of Ashor. A noble beach of
white sand fringes the bay from the town to the foreland of
Alminar. To the east rise prodigious hills and mountains; they
are Gibil Muza and his chain; and yon tall fellow is the peak
of Tetuan; the grey mists of evening are enveloping their
sides. Such was Tangier, such its vicinity, as it appeared to
me whilst gazing from the Genoese bark.
A boat was now lowered from the vessel, in which the
captain, who was charged with the mail from Gibraltar, the Jew
secretary, and the hadji and his attendant negroes departed for
the shore. I would have gone with them, but I was told that I
could not land that night, as ere my passport and bill of
health could be examined, the gates would be closed; so I
remained on board with the crew and the two Jews. The former
prepared their supper, which consisted simply of pickled
tomatoes, the other provisions having been consumed. The old
Genoese brought me a portion, apologizing at the same time, for
the plainness of the fare. I accepted it with thanks, and told
him that a million better men than myself had a worse super. I
never ate with more appetite. As the night advanced, the Jews
sang Hebrew hymns, and when they had concluded, demanded of me
why I was silent, so I lifted up my voice and chanted Adun
Oulem:-
"Reigned the Universe's Master, ere were earthly things
begun;
When His mandate all created, Ruler was the name He won;
And alone He'll rule tremendous when all things are past
and gone,
He no equal has, nor consort, He, the singular and lone,
Has no end and no beginning; His the sceptre, might and
throne.
He's my God and living Saviour, rock to whom in need I
run;
He's my banner and my refuge, fount of weal when called
upon;
In His hand I place my spirit at nightfall and rise of
sun,
And therewith my body also; God's my God - I fear no
one."
Darkness had now fallen over land and sea; not a sound
was heard save occasionally the distant barking of a dog from
the shore, or some plaintive Genoese ditty, which arose from a
neighbouring bark. The town seemed buried in silence and
gloom, no light, not even that of a taper, could be descried.
Turning our eyes in the direction of Spain, however, we
perceived a magnificent conflagration seemingly enveloping the
side and head of one of the lofty mountains northward of
Tarifa; the blaze was redly reflected in the waters of the
strait; either the brushwood was burning or the Carboneros were
plying their dusky toil. The Jews now complained, of
weariness, and the younger, uncording a small mattress, spread
it on the deck and sought repose. The sage descended into the
cabin, but he had scarcely time to lie down ere the old mate,
darting forward, dived in after him, and pulled him out by the
heels, for it was very shallow, and the descent was effected by
not more than two or three steps. After accomplishing this, he
called him many opprobrious names, and threatened him with his
foot, as he lay sprawling on the deck. "Think you," said he,
"who are a dog and a Jew, and pay as a dog and a Jew; think you
to sleep in the cabin? Undeceive yourself, beast; that cabin
shall be slept in by none to-night but this Christian
Cavallero." The sage made no reply, but arose from the deck
and stroked his beard, whilst the old Genoese proceeded in his
philippic. Had the Jew been disposed, he could have strangled
the insulter in a moment, or crushed him to death in his brawny
arms, as I never remember to have seen a figure so powerful and
muscular; but he was evidently slow to anger, and longsuffering;
not a resentful word escaped him, and his features
retained their usual expression of benignant placidity.
I now assured the mate that I had not the slightest
objection to the Jew's sharing the cabin with me, but rather
wished it, as there was room for us both and for more. "Excuse
me, Sir Cavalier," replied the Genoese, "but I swear to permit
no such thing; you are young and do not know this canaille as I
do, who have been backward and forward to this coast for twenty
years; if the beast is cold, let him sleep below the hatches as
I and the rest shall, but that cabin he shall not enter."
Observing that he was obstinate I retired, and in a few minutes
was in a sound sleep which lasted till daybreak. Twice or
thrice, indeed, I thought that a struggle was taking place near
me, but I was so overpowered with weariness, or "sleep
drunken," as the Germans call it, that I was unable to arouse
myself sufficiently to discover what was going on; the truth
is, that three times during the night, the sage feeling himself
uncomfortable in the open air by the side of his companion,
penetrated into the cabin, and was as many times dragged out by
his relentless old enemy, who, suspecting his intentions, kept
his eye upon him throughout the night.
About five I arose; the sun was shining brightly and
gloriously upon town, bay, and mountain; the crew were already
employed upon deck repairing a sail which had been shivered in
the wind of the preceding day. The Jews sat disconsolate on
the poop; they complained much of the cold they had suffered in
their exposed situation. Over the left eye of the sage I
observed a bloody cut, which he informed me he had received
from the old Genoese after he had dragged him out of the cabin
for the last time. I now produced my bottle of Cognac, begging
that the crew would partake of it as a slight return for their
hospitality. They thanked me, and the bottle went its round;
it was last in the hands of the old mate, who, after looking
for a moment at the sage, raised it to his mouth, where he kept
it a considerable time longer than any of his companions, after
which he returned it to me with a low bow. The sage now
inquired what the bottle contained: I told him Cognac or
aguardiente, whereupon with some eagerness he begged that I
would allow him to take a draught. "How is this?" said I;
"yesterday you told me that it was a forbidden thing, an
abomination." "Yesterday," said he, "I was not aware that it
was brandy; I thought it wine, which assuredly is an
abomination, and a forbidden thing." "Is it forbidden in the
Torah?" I inquired. "Is it forbidden in the law of God?" "I
know not," said he, "but one thing I know, that the sages have
forbidden it." "Sages like yourself," cried I with warmth;
"sages like yourself, with long beards and short
understandings: the use of both drinks is permitted, but more
danger lurks in this bottle than in a tun of wine. Well said
my Lord the Nazarene, `ye strain at a gnat, and swallow a
camel'; but as you are cold and shivering, take the bottle and
revive yourself with a small portion of its contents." He put
it to his lips and found not a single drop. The old Genoese
grinned.
"Bestia," said he, "I saw by your looks that you wished
to drink of that bottle, and I said within me, even though I
suffocate, yet will I not leave one drop of the aguardiente of
the Christian Cavalier to be wasted on that Jew, on whose head
may evil lightnings fall."
"Now, Sir Cavalier," he continued, "you can go ashore;
these two sailors shall row you to the Mole, and convey your
baggage where you think proper; may the Virgin bless you
wherever you go."
CHAPTER LV
The Mole - The Two Moors - Djmah of Tangier - House of God -
British Consul - Curious Spectacle - The Moorish House -
Joanna Correa - Ave Maria.
So we rode to the Mole and landed. This Mole consists at
present of nothing more than an immense number of large loose
stones, which run about five hundred yards into the bay; they
are part of the ruins of a magnificent pier which the English,
who were the last foreign nation which held Tangier, destroyed
when they evacuated the place. The Moors have never attempted
to repair it; the surf at high water breaks over it with great
fury. I found it a difficult task to pick my way over the
slippery stones, and should once or twice have fallen but for
the kindness of the Genoese mariners. At last we reached the
beach, and were proceeding towards the gate of the town, when
two persons, Moors, came up to us. I almost started at sight
of the first; he was a huge old barbarian with a white uncombed
beard, dirty turban, haik, and trousers, naked legs, and
immense splay feet, the heels of which stood out a couple of
inches at least behind his rusty black slippers.
"That is the captain of the port," said one of the
Genoese; "pay him respect." I accordingly doffed my hat and
cried, "SBA ALKHEIR A SIDI" (Good-morning, my lord). "Are you
Englishmans?" shouted the old grisly giant. "Englishmans, my
lord," I replied, and, advancing, presented him my hand, which
he nearly wrung off with his tremendous gripe. The other Moor
now addressed me in a jargon composed of English, Spanish, and
Arabic. A queer-looking personage was he also, but very
different in most respects from his companion, being shorter by
a head at least, and less complete by one eye, for the left orb
of vision was closed, leaving him, as the Spaniards style it,
TUERTO; he, however, far outshone the other in cleanliness of
turban, haik, and trousers. From what he jabbered to me, I
collected that he was the English consul's mahasni or soldier;
that the consul, being aware of my arrival, had dispatched him
to conduct me to his house. He then motioned me to follow him,
which I did, the old port captain attending us to the gate,
when he turned aside into a building, which I judged to be a
kind of custom-house from the bales and boxes of every
description piled up before it. We passed the gate and
proceeded up a steep and winding ascent; on our left was a
battery full of guns, pointing to the sea, and on our right a
massive wall, seemingly in part cut out of the hill; a little
higher up we arrived at an opening where stood the mosque which
I have already mentioned. As I gazed upon the tower I said to
myself, "Surely we have here a younger sister of the Giralda of
Seville."
I know not whether the resemblance between the two
edifices has been observed by any other individual; and perhaps
there are those who would assert that no resemblance exists,
especially if, in forming an opinion, they were much swayed by
size and colour: the hue of the Giralda is red, or rather
vermilion, whilst that which predominates in the Djmah of
Tangier is green, the bricks of which it is built being of that
colour; though between them, at certain intervals, are placed
others of a light red tinge, so that the tower is beautifully
variegated. With respect to size, standing beside the giant
witch of Seville, the Tangerine Djmah would show like a tenyear
sapling in the vicinity of the cedar of Lebanon, whose
trunk the tempests of five hundred years have worn. And yet I
will assert that the towers in other respects are one and the
same, and that the same mind and the same design are manifested
in both; the same shape do they exhibit, and the same marks
have they on their walls, even those mysterious arches graven
on the superficies of the bricks, emblematic of I know not
what. The two structures may, without any violence, be said to
stand in the same relation to each other as the ancient and
modern Moors. The Giralda is the world's wonder, and the old
Moor was all but the world's conqueror. The modern Moor is
scarcely known, and who ever heard of the Tower of Tangier?
Yet examine it attentively, and you will find in that tower
much, very much, to admire, and certainly, if opportunity
enable you to consider the modern Moor as minutely, you will
discover in him, and in his actions, amongst much that is wild,
uncouth, and barbarous, not a little capable of amply rewarding
laborious investigation.
As we passed the mosque I stopped for a moment before the
door, and looked in upon the interior: I saw nothing but a
quadrangular court paved with painted tiles and exposed to the
sky; on all sides were arched piazzas, and in the middle was a
fountain, at which several Moors were performing their
ablutions. I looked around for the abominable thing, and found
it not; no scarlet strumpet with a crown of false gold sat
nursing an ugly changeling in a niche. "Come here," said I,
"papist, and take a lesson; here is a house of God, in
externals at least, such as a house of God should be: four
walls, a fountain, and the eternal firmament above, which
mirrors his glory. Dost thou build such houses to the God who
hast said, `Thou shalt make to thyself no graven image'? Fool,
thy walls are stuck with idols; thou callest a stone thy
Father, and a piece of rotting wood the Queen of Heaven. Fool,
thou knowest not even the Ancient of Days, and the very Moor
can instruct thee. He at least knows the Ancient of Days who
has said, `Thou shalt have no other gods but me.'"
And as I said these words, I heard a cry like the roaring
of a lion, and an awful voice in the distance exclaim, "KAPUL
UDBAGH" (there is no god but one).
We now turned to the left through a passage which passed
under the tower, and had scarcely proceeded a few steps, when I
heard a prodigious hubbub of infantine voices: I listened for a
moment, and distinguished verses of the Koran; it was a school.
Another lesson for thee, papist. Thou callest thyself a
Christian, yet the book of Christ thou persecutest; thou
huntest it even to the sea-shore, compelling it to seek refuge
upon the billows of the sea. Fool, learn a lesson from the
Moor, who teaches his child to repeat with its first accents
the most important portions of the book of his law, and
considers himself wise or foolish, according as he is versed in
or ignorant of that book; whilst thou, blind slave, knowest not
what the book of thy own law contains, nor wishest to know: yet
art thou not to be judged by thy own law? Idolmonger, learn
consistency from the Moor: he says that he shall be judged
after his own law, and therefore he prizes and gets by heart
the entire book of his law.
We were now at the consul's house, a large roomy
habitation, built in the English style. The soldier led me
through a court into a large hall hung with the skins of all
kinds of ferocious animals, from the kingly lion to the
snarling jackal. Here I was received by a Jew domestic, who
conducted me at once to the consul, who was in his library. He
received me with the utmost frankness and genuine kindness, and
informed me that, having received a letter from his excellent
friend Mr. B., in which I was strongly recommended, he had
already engaged me a lodging in the house of a Spanish woman,
who was, however, a British subject, and with whom he believed
that I should find myself as comfortable as it was possible to
be in such a place as Tangier. He then inquired if I had any
particular motive for visiting the place, and I informed him
without any hesitation that I came with the intention of
distributing a certain number of copies of the New Testament in
the Spanish language amongst the Christian residents of the
place. He smiled, and advised me to proceed with considerable
caution, which I promised to do. We then discoursed on other
subjects, and it was not long before I perceived that I was in
the company of a most accomplished scholar, especially in the
Greek and Latin classics; he appeared likewise to be thoroughly
acquainted with the Barbary empire and with the Moorish
character.
After half an hour's conversation, exceedingly agreeable
and instructive to myself, I expressed a wish to proceed to my
lodging: whereupon he rang the bell, and the same Jewish
domestic entering who had introduced me, he said to him in the
English language, "Take this gentleman to the house of Joanna
Correa, the Mahonese widow, and enjoin her, in my name, to take
care of him and attend to his comforts; by doing which she will
confirm me in the good opinion which I at present entertain of
her, and will increase my disposition to befriend her."
So, attended by the Jew, I now bent my steps to the
lodging prepared for me. Having ascended the street in which
the house of the consul was situated, we entered a small square
which stands about half way up the hill. This, my companion
informed me, was the soc, or market-place. A curious spectacle
here presented itself. All round the square were small wooden
booths, which very much resembled large boxes turned on their
sides, the lid being supported above by a string. Before each
of these boxes was a species of counter, or rather one long
counter ran in front of the whole line, upon which were
raisins, dates, and small barrels of sugar, soap, and butter,
and various other articles. Within each box, in front of the
counter, and about three feet from the ground, sat a human
being, with a blanket on its shoulders, a dirty turban on its
head, and ragged trousers, which descended as far as the knee,
though in some instances, I believe, these were entirely
dispensed with. In its hand it held a stick, to the end of
which was affixed a bunch of palm leaves, which it waved
incessantly as a fan, for the purpose of scaring from its goods
the million flies which, engendered by the Barbary sun,
endeavoured to settle upon them. Behind it, and on either
side, were piles of the same kind of goods. SHRIT HINAI, SHRIT
HINAI, (buy here, buy here), was continually proceeding from
its mouth. Such are the grocers of Tangier, such their shops.
In the middle of the soc, upon the stones, were pyramids
of melons and sandias, (the water species), and also baskets
filled with other kinds of fruit, exposed for sale, whilst
round cakes of bread were lying here and there upon the stones,
beside which sat on their hams the wildest-looking beings that
the most extravagant imagination ever conceived, the head
covered with an enormous straw hat, at least two yards in
circumference, the eaves of which, flapping down, completely
concealed the face, whilst the form was swathed in a blanket,
from which occasionally were thrust skinny arms and fingers.
These were Moorish women, who were, I believe, in all
instances, old and ugly, judging from the countenances of which
I caught a glimpse as they lifted the eaves of their hats to
gaze on me as I passed, or to curse me for stamping on their
bread. The whole soc was full of peoples and there was
abundance of bustle, screaming, and vociferation, and as the
sun, though the hour was still early, was shining with the
greatest brilliancy, I thought that I had scarcely ever
witnessed a livelier scene.
Crossing the soc we entered a narrow street with the same
kind of box-shops on each side, some of which, however, were
either unoccupied or not yet opened, the lid being closed. We
almost immediately turned to the left, up a street somewhat
similar, and my guide presently entered the door of a low
house, which stood at the corner of a little alley, and which
he informed me was the abode of Joanna Correa. We soon stood
in the midst of this habitation. I say the midst, as all the
Moorish houses are built with a small court in the middle.
This one was not more than ten feet square. It was open at the
top, and around it on three sides were apartments; on the
fourth a small staircase, which communicated with the upper
story, half of which consisted of a terrace looking down into
the court, over the low walls of which you enjoyed a prospect
of the sea and a considerable part of the town. The rest of
the story was taken up by a long room, destined for myself, and
which opened upon the terrace by a pair of folding-doors. At
either end of this apartment stood a bed, extending
transversely from wall to wall, the canopy touching the
ceiling. A table and two or three chairs completed the
furniture.
I was so occupied in inspecting the house of Joanna
Correa, that at first I paid little attention to that lady
herself. She now, however, came up upon the terrace where my
guide and myself were standing. She was a woman about five and
forty, with regular features, which had once been handsome, but
had received considerable injury from time, and perhaps more
from trouble. Two of her front teeth had disappeared, but she
still had fine black hair. As I looked upon her countenance, I
said within myself, if there be truth in physiognomy, thou art
good and gentle, O Joanna; and, indeed, the kindness I
experienced from her during the six weeks which I spent beneath
her roof would have made me a convert to that science had I
doubted in it before. I believe no warmer and more
affectionate heart ever beat in human bosom than in that of
Joanna Correa, the Mahonese widow, and it was indexed by
features beaming with benevolence and good nature, though
somewhat clouded with melancholy.
She informed me that she had been married to a Genoese,
the master of a felouk which passed between Gibraltar and
Tangier, who had been dead about four years, leaving her with a
family of four children, the eldest of which was a lad of
thirteen; that she had experienced great difficulty in
providing for her family and herself since the death of her
husband, but that Providence had raised her up a few excellent
friends, especially the British consul; that besides letting
lodgings to such travellers as myself, she made bread which was
in high esteem with the Moors, and that she was likewise in
partnership in the sale of liquors with an old Genoese. She
added, that this last person lived below in one of the
apartments; that he was a man of great ability and much
learning, but that she believed he was occasionally somewhat
touched here, pointing with her finger to her forehead, and she
therefore hoped that I would not be offended at anything
extraordinary in his language or behaviour. She then left me,
as she said, to give orders for my breakfast; whereupon the
Jewish domestic, who had accompanied me from the consul,
finding that I was established in the house, departed.
I speedily sat down to breakfast in an apartment on the
left side of the little wustuddur, the fare was excellent; tea,
fried fish, eggs, and grapes, not forgetting the celebrated
bread of Joanna Correa. I was waited upon by a tall Jewish
youth of about twenty years, who informed me that his name was
Haim Ben Atar, that he was a native of Fez, from whence his
parents brought him at a very early age to Tangier, where he
had passed the greater part of his life principally in the
service of Joanna Correa, waiting upon those who, like myself,
lodged in the house. I had completed my meal, and was seated
in the little court, when I heard in the apartment opposite to
that in which I had breakfasted several sighs, which were
succeeded by as many groans, and then came "AVE MARIA, GRATIA
PLENA, ORA PRO ME," and finally a croaking voice chanted:-
"Gentem auferte perfidam
Credentium de finibus,
Ut Christo laudes debitas
Persolvamus alacriter."
"That is the old Genoese," whispered Haim Ben Atar,
"praying to his God, which he always does with particular
devotion when he happens to have gone to bed the preceding
evening rather in liquor. He has in his room a picture of
Maria Buckra, before which he generally burns a taper, and on
her account he will never permit me to enter his apartment. He
once caught me looking at her, and I thought he would have
killed me, and since then he always keeps his chamber locked,
and carries the key in his pocket when he goes out. He hates
both Jew and Moor, and says that he is now living amongst them
for his sins."
"They do not place tapers before pictures," said I, and
strolled forth to see the wonders of the land.
CHAPTER LVI
The Mahasni - Sin Samani - The Bazaar - Moorish Saints - See the Ayana! -
The Prickly Fig - Jewish Graves - The Place of Carcases -
The Stable Boy - Horses of the Moslem - Dar Dwag.
I was standing in the market-place, a spectator of much
the same scene as I have already described, when a Moor came up
to me and attempted to utter a few words in Spanish. He was a
tall elderly man, with sharp but rather whimsical features, and
might have been called good-looking, had he not been one-eyed,
a very common deformity in this country. His body was swathed
in an immense haik. Finding that I could understand Moorish,
he instantly began talking with immense volubility, and I soon
learned that he was a Mahasni. He expatiated diffusely on the
beauties of Tangier, of which he said he was a native, and at
last exclaimed, "Come, my sultan, come, my lord, and I will
show you many things which will gladden your eyes, and fill
your heart with sunshine; it were a shame in me, who have the
advantage of being a son of Tangier, to permit a stranger who
comes from an island in the great sea, as you tell me you do,
for the purpose of seeing this blessed land, to stand here in
the soc with no one to guide him. By Allah, it shall not be
so. Make room for my sultan, make room for my lord," he
continued, pushing his way through a crowd of men and children
who had gathered round us; "it is his highness' pleasure to go
with me. This way, my lord, this way"; and he led the way up
the hill, walking at a tremendous rate and talking still
faster. "This street," said he, "is the Siarrin, and its like
is not to be found in Tangier; observe how broad it is, even
half the breadth of the soc itself; here are the shops of the
most considerable merchants, where are sold precious articles
of all kinds. Observe those two men, they are Algerines and
good Moslems; they fled from Zair (ALGIERS) when the Nazarenes
conquered it, not by force of fighting, not by valour, as you
may well suppose, but by gold; the Nazarenes only conquer by
gold. The Moor is good, the Moor is strong, who so good and
strong? but he fights not with gold, and therefore he lost
Zair.
"Observe you those men seated on the benches by those
portals: they are Mahasniah, they are my brethren. See their
haiks how white, see their turbans how white. O that you could
see their swords in the day of war, for bright, bright are
their swords. Now they bear no swords. Wherefore should they?
Is there not peace in the land? See you him in the shop
opposite? That is the Pasha of Tangier, that is the Hamed Sin
Samani, the under Pasha of Tangier; the elder Pasha, my lord,
is away on a journey; may Allah send him a safe return. Yes,
that is Hamed; he sits in his hanutz as were he nought more
than a merchant, yet life and death are in his hands. There he
dispenses justice, even as he dispenses the essence of the rose
and cochineal, and powder of cannon and sulphur; and these two
last he sells on the account of Abderrahman, my lord and
sultan, for none can sell powder and the sulphur dust in his
land but the sultan. Should you wish to purchase atar del
nuar, should you wish to purchase the essence of the rose, you
must go to the hanutz of Sin Samani, for there only you will
get it pure; you must receive it from no common Moor, but only
from Hamed. May Allah bless Hamed. The Mahasniah, my
brethren, wait to do his orders, for wherever sits the Pasha,
there is a hall of judgment. See, now we are opposite the
bazaar; beneath yon gate is the court of the bazaar; what will
you not find in that bazaar? Silks from Fez you will find
there; and if you wish for sibat, if you wish for slippers for
your feet, you must seek them there, and there also are sold
curious things from the towns of the Nazarenes. Those large
houses on our left are habitations of Nazarene consuls; you
have seen many such in your own land, therefore why should you
stay to look at them? Do you not admire this street of the
Siarrin? Whatever enters or goes out of Tangier by the land
passes through this street. Oh, the riches that pass through
this street! Behold those camels, what a long train; twenty,
thirty, a whole cafila descending the street. Wullah! I know
those camels, I know the driver. Good day, O Sidi Hassim, in
how many days from Fez? And now we are arrived at the wall,
and we must pass under this gate. This gate is called Bab del
Faz; we are now in the Soc de Barra."
The Soc de Barra is an open place beyond the upper wall
of Tangier, on the side of the hill. The ground is irregular
and steep; there are, however, some tolerably level spots. In
this place, every Thursday and Sunday morning, a species of
mart is held, on which account it is called Soc de Barra, or
the outward market-place. Here and there, near the town ditch,
are subterranean pits with small orifices, about the
circumference of a chimney, which are generally covered with a
large stone, or stuffed with straw. These pits are granaries,
in which wheat, barley, and other species of grain intended for
sale are stored. On one side are two or three rude huts, or
rather sheds, beneath which keep watch the guardians of the
corn. It is very dangerous to pass over this hill at night,
after the town gates are closed, as at that time numerous large
and ferocious dogs are let loose, who would to a certainty pull
down, and perhaps destroy, any stranger who should draw nigh.
Half way up the hill are seen four white walls, inclosing a
spot about ten feet square, where rest the bones of Sidi
Mokhfidh, a saint of celebrity, who died some fifteen years
ago. Here terminates the soc; the remainder of the hill is
called El Kawar, or the place of graves, being the common
burying ground of Tangier; the resting places of the dead are
severally distinguished by a few stones arranged so as to form
an oblong circle. Near Mokhfidh sleeps Sidi Gali; but the
principal saint of Tangier lies interred on the top of the
hill, in the centre of a small plain. A beautiful chapel or
mosque, with vaulted roof, is erected there in his honour,
which is in general adorned with banners of various dyes. The
name of this saint is Mohammed el Hadge, and his memory is held
in the utmost veneration in Tangier and its vicinity. His
death occurred at the commencement of the present century.
These details I either gathered at the time or on
subsequent occasions. On the north side of the soc, close by
the town, is a wall with a gate. "Come," said the old Mahasni,
giving a flourish with his hand; "Come, and I will show you the
garden of a Nazarene consul." I followed him through the gate,
and found myself in a spacious garden laid out in the European
taste, and planted with lemon and pear trees, and various kinds
of aromatic shrubs. It was, however, evident that the owner
chiefly prided himself on his flowers, of which there were
numerous beds. There was a handsome summerhouse, and art
seemed to have exhausted itself in making the place complete.
One thing was wanting, and its absence was strangely
remarkable in a garden at this time of the year; scarcely a
leaf was to be seen. The direst of all the plagues which
devastated Egypt was now busy in this part of Africa - the
locust was at work, and in no place more fiercely than in the
particular spot where I was now standing. All around looked
blasted. The trees were brown and bald as in winter. Nothing
green save the fruits, especially the grapes, huge clusters of
which were depending from the "parras"; for the locust touches
not the fruit whilst a single leaf remains to be devoured. As
we passed along the walks these horrible insects flew against
us in every direction, and perished by hundreds beneath our
feet. "See the ayanas," said the old Mahasni, "and hear them
eating. Powerful is the ayana, more powerful than the sultan
or the consul. Should the sultan send all his Mahasniah
against the ayana, should he send me with them, the ayana would
say, `Ha! ha!' Powerful is the ayana! He fears not the
consul. A few weeks ago the consul said, `I am stronger than
the ayana, and I will extirpate him from the land.' So he
shouted through the city, `O Tangerines! speed forth to fight
the ayana, - destroy him in the egg; for know that whosoever
shall bring me one pound weight of the eggs of the ayana, unto
him will I give five reals of Spain; there shall be no ayanas
this year.' So all Tangier rushed forth to fight the ayana,
and to collect the eggs which the ayana had laid to hatch
beneath the sand on the sides of the hills, and in the roads,
and in the plains. And my own child, who is seven years old,
went forth to fight the ayana, and he alone collected eggs to
the weight of five pounds, eggs which the ayana had placed
beneath the sand, and he carried them to the consul, and the
consul paid the price. And hundreds carried eggs to the
consul, more or less, and the consul paid them the price, and
in less than three days the treasure chest of the consul was
exhausted. And then he cried, `Desist, O Tangerines! perhaps
we have destroyed the ayana, perhaps we have destroyed them
all.' Ha! ha! Look around you, and beneath you, and above
you, and tell me whether the consul has destroyed the ayana.
Oh, powerful is the ayana! More powerful than the consul, more
powerful than the sultan and all his armies."
It will be as well to observe here, that within a week
from this time all the locusts had disappeared, no one knew
how, only a few stragglers remained. But for this providential
deliverance, the fields and gardens in the vicinity of Tangier
would have been totally devastated. These insects were of an
immense size, and of a loathly aspect.
We now passed over the see to the opposite side, where
stand the huts of the guardians. Here a species of lane
presents itself, which descends to the sea-shore; it is deep
and precipitous, and resembles a gully or ravine. The banks on
either side are covered with the tree which bears the prickly
fig, called in Moorish, KERMOUS DEL INDE. There is something
wild and grotesque in the appearance of this tree or plant, for
I know not which to call it. Its stem, though frequently of
the thickness of a man's body, has no head, but divides itself,
at a short distance from the ground, into many crooked
branches, which shoot in all directions, and bear green and
uncouth leaves, about half an inch in thickness, and which, if
they resemble anything, present the appearance of the fore fins
of a seal, and consist of multitudinous fibres. The fruit,
which somewhat resembles a pear, has a rough tegument covered
with minute prickles, which instantly enter the hand which
touches them, however slightly, and are very difficult to
extract. I never remember to have seen vegetation in ranker
luxuriance than that which these fig-trees exhibited, nor upon
the whole a more singular spot. "Follow me," said the Mahasni,
"and I will show you something which you will like to see." So
he turned to the left, leading the way by a narrow path up the
steep bank, till we reached the summit of a hillock, separated
by a deep ditch from the wall of Tangier. The ground was
thickly covered with the trees already described, which spread
their strange arms along the surface, and whose thick leaves
crushed beneath our feet as we walked along. Amongst them I
observed a large number of stone slabs lying horizontally; they
were rudely scrawled over with odd characters, which I stooped
down to inspect. "Are you Talib enough to read those signs?"
exclaimed the old Moor. "They are letters of the accursed
Jews; this is their mearrah, as they call it, and here they
inter their dead. Fools, they trust in Muza, when they might
believe in Mohammed, and therefore their dead shall burn
everlastingly in Jehinnim. See, my sultan, how fat is the soil
of this mearrah of the Jews; see what kermous grow here. When
I was a boy I often came to the mearrah of the Jews to eat
kermous in the season of their ripeness. The Moslem boys of
Tangier love the kermous of the mearrah of the Jews; but the
Jews will not gather them. They say that the waters of the
springs which nourish the roots of these trees, pass among the
bodies of their dead, and for that reason it is an abomination
to taste of these fruits. Be this true, or be it not, one
thing is certain, in whatever manner nourished, good are the
kermous which grow in the mearrah of the Jews."
We returned to the lane by the same path by which we had
come: as we were descending it he said, "Know, my sultan, that
the name of the place where we now are, and which you say you
like much, is Dar Sinah (THE HOUSE OF THE TRADES). You will
ask me why it bears that name, as you see neither house nor
man, neither Moslem, Nazarene, nor Jew, only our two selves; I
will tell you, my sultan, for who can tell you better than
myself? Learn, I pray you, that Tangier was not always what it
is now, nor did it occupy always the place which it does now.
It stood yonder (pointing to the east) on those hills above the
shore, and ruins of houses are still to be seen there, and the
spot is called Old Tangier. So in the old time, as I have
heard say, this Dar Sinah was a street, whether without or
within the wall matters not, and there resided men of all
trades; smiths of gold and silver, and iron, and tin, and
artificers of all kinds: you had only to go to the Dar Sinah if
you wished for anything wrought, and there instantly you would
find a master of the particular craft. My sultan tells me he
likes the look of Dar Sinah at the present day; truly I know
not why, especially as the kermous are not yet in their
ripeness nor fit to eat. If he likes Dar Sinah now, how would
my sultan have liked it in the olden time, when it was filled
with gold and silver, and iron and tin, and was noisy with the
hammers, and the masters and the cunning men? We are now
arrived at the Chali del Bahar (seashore). Take care, my
sultan, we tread upon bones."
We had emerged from the Dar Sinah, and the seashore was
before us; on a sudden we found ourselves amongst a multitude
of bones of all kinds of animals, and seemingly of all dates;
some being blanched with time and exposure to sun and wind,
whilst to others the flesh still partly clung; whole carcases
were here, horses, asses, and even the uncouth remains of a
camel. Gaunt dogs were busy here, growling, tearing, and
gnawing; amongst whom, unintimidated, stalked the carrion
vulture, fiercely battening and even disputing with the brutes
the garbage; whilst the crow hovered overhead and croaked
wistfully, or occasionally perched upon some upturned rib bone.
"See," said the Mahasni, "the kawar of the animals. My sultan
has seen the kawar of the Moslems and the mearrah of the Jews;
and he sees here the kawar of the animals. All the animals
which die in Tangier by the hand of God, horse, dog, or camel,
are brought to this spot, and here they putrefy or are devoured
by the birds of the heaven or the wild creatures that prowl on
the chali. Come, my sultan, it is not good to remain long in
this place."
We were preparing to leave the spot, when we heard a
galloping down the Dar Sinah, and presently a horse and rider
darted at full speed from the mouth of the lane and appeared
upon the strand; the horseman, when he saw us, pulled up his
steed with much difficulty, and joined us. The horse was small
but beautiful, a sorrel with long mane and tail; had he been
hoodwinked he might perhaps have been mistaken for a Cordovese
jaca; he was broad-chested, and rotund in his hind quarters,
and possessed much of the plumpness and sleekness which
distinguish that breed, but looking in his eyes you would have
been undeceived in a moment; a wild savage fire darted from the
restless orbs, and so far from exhibiting the docility of the
other noble and loyal animal, he occasionally plunged
desperately, and could scarcely be restrained by a strong curb
and powerful arm from resuming his former headlong course. The
rider was a youth, apparently about eighteen, dressed as a
European, with a Montero cap on his head: he was athletically
built, but with lengthy limbs, his feet, for he rode without
stirrups or saddle, reaching almost to the ground; his
complexion was almost as dark as that of a Mulatto; his
features very handsome, the eyes particularly so, but filled
with an expression which was bold and bad; and there was a
disgusting look of sensuality about the mouth. He addressed a
few words to the Mahasni, with whom he seemed to be well
acquainted, inquiring who I was. The old man answered, "O Jew,
my sultan understands our speech, thou hadst better address
thyself to him." The lad then spoke to me in Arabic, but
almost instantly dropping that language proceeded to discourse
in tolerable French. "I suppose you are French," said he with
much familiarity, "shall you stay long in Tangier?" Having
received an answer, he proceeded, "as you are an Englishman,
you are doubtless fond of horses, know, therefore, whenever you
are disposed for a ride, I will accompany you, and procure you
horses. My name is Ephraim Fragey: I am stable-boy to the
Neapolitan consul, who prizes himself upon possessing the best
horses in Tangier; you shall mount any you please. Would you
like to try this little aoud (STALLION)?" I thanked him, but
declined his offer for the present, asking him at the same time
how he had acquired the French language, and why he, a Jew, did
not appear in the dress of his brethren? "I am in the service
of a consul," said he, "and my master obtained permission that
I might dress myself in this manner; and as to speaking French,
I have been to Marseilles and Naples, to which last place I
conveyed horses, presents from the Sultan. Besides French, I
can speak Italian." He then dismounted, and holding the horse
firmly by the bridle with one hand, proceeded to undress
himself, which having accomplished, he mounted the animal and
rode into the water. The skin of his body was much akin in
colour to that of a frog or toad, but the frame was that of a
young Titan. The horse took to the water with great
unwillingness, and at a small distance from the shore commenced
struggling with his rider, whom he twice dashed from his back;
the lad, however, clung to the bridle, and detained the animal.
All his efforts, however, being unavailing to ride him deeper
in, he fell to washing him strenuously with his hands, then
leading him out, he dressed himself and returned by the way he
came.
"Good are the horses of the Moslems," said my old friend,
"where will you find such? They will descend rocky mountains
at full speed and neither trip nor fall, but you must be
cautious with the horses of the Moslems, and treat them with
kindness, for the horses of the Moslems are proud, and they
like not being slaves. When they are young and first mounted,
jerk not their mouths with your bit, for be sure if you do they
will kill you; sooner or later, you will perish beneath their
feet. Good are our horses; and good our riders, yea, very good
are the Moslems at mounting the horse; who are like them? I
once saw a Frank rider compete with a Moslem on this beach, and
at first the Frank rider had it all his own way, and he passed
the Moslem, but the course was long, very long, and the horse
of the Frank rider, which was a Frank also, panted; but the
horse of the Moslem panted not, for he was a Moslem also, and
the Moslem rider at last gave a cry and the horse sprang
forward and he overtook the Frank horse, and then the Moslem
rider stood up in his saddle. How did he stand? Truly he
stood on his head, and these eyes saw him; he stood on his head
in the saddle as he passed the Frank rider; and he cried ha!
ha! as he passed the Frank rider; and the Moslem horse cried
ha! ha! as he passed the Frank breed, and the Frank lost by a
far distance. Good are the Franks; good their horses; but
better are the Moslems, and better the horses of the Moslems."
We now directed our steps towards the town, but not by
the path we came: turning to the left under the hill of the
mearrah, and along the strand, we soon came to a rudely paved
way with a steep ascent, which wound beneath the wall of the
town to a gate, before which, on one side, were various little
pits like graves, filled with water or lime. "This is Dar
Dwag," said the Mahasni; "this is the house of the bark, and to
this house are brought the hides; all those which are prepared
for use in Tangier are brought to this house, and here they are
cured with lime, and bran, and bark, and herbs. And in this
Dar Dwag there are one hundred and forty pits; I have counted
them myself; and there were more which have now ceased to be,
for the place is very ancient. And these pits are hired not by
one, nor by two, but by many people, and whosoever list can
rent one of these pits and cure the hides which he may need;
but the owner of all is one man, and his name is Cado Ableque.
And now my sultan has seen the house of the bark, and I will
show him nothing more this day; for to-day is Youm al Jumal
(FRIDAY), and the gates will be presently shut whilst the
Moslems perform their devotions. So I will accompany my sultan
to the guest house, and there I will leave him for the
present."
We accordingly passed through a gate, and ascending a
street found ourselves before the mosque where I had stood in
the morning; in another minute or two we were at the door of
Joanna Correa. I now offered my kind guide a piece of silver
as a remuneration for his trouble, whereupon he drew himself up
and said:-
"The silver of my sultan I will not take, for I consider
that I have done nothing to deserve it. We have not yet
visited all the wonderful things of this blessed town. On a
future day I will conduct my sultan to the castle of the
governor, and to other places which my sultan will be glad to
see; and when we have seen all we can, and my sultan is content
with me, if at any time he see me in the soc of a morning, with
my basket in my hand, and he see nothing in that basket, then
is my sultan at liberty as a friend to put grapes in my basket,
or bread in my basket, or fish or meat in my basket. That will
I not refuse of my sultan, when I shall have done more for him
than I have now. But the silver of my sultan will I not take
now nor at any time." He then waved his hand gently and
departed.
CHAPTER LVII
Strange Trio - The Mulatto - The Peace-offering -
Moors of Granada - Vive la Guadeloupo - The Moors -
Pascual Fava - Blind Algerine - The Retreat.
Three men were seated in the wustuddur of Joanna Correa,
when I entered; singular-looking men they all were, though
perhaps three were never gathered together more unlike to each
other in all points. The first on whom I cast my eye was a man
about sixty, dressed in a grey kerseymere coat with short
lappets, yellow waistcoat, and wide coarse canvas trousers;
upon his head was a very broad dirty straw hat, and in his hand
he held a thick cane with ivory handle; his eyes were bleared
and squinting, his face rubicund, and his nose much carbuncled.
Beside him sat a good-looking black, who perhaps appeared more
negro than he really was, from the circumstance of his being
dressed in spotless white jean - jerkin, waistcoat, and
pantaloons being all of that material: his head gear consisted
of a blue Montero cap. His eyes sparkled like diamonds, and
there was an indescribable expression of good humour and fun
upon his countenance. The third man was a Mulatto, and by far
the most remarkable personage of the group: he might be between
thirty and forty; his body was very long, and though uncouthly
put together, exhibited every mark of strength and vigour; it
was cased in a ferioul of red wool, a kind of garment which
descends below the hips. His long muscular and hairy arms were
naked from the elbow, where the sleeves of the ferioul
terminate; his under limbs were short in comparison with his
body and arms; his legs were bare, but he wore blue kandrisa as
far as the knee; every features of his face was ugly,
exceedingly and bitterly ugly, and one of his eyes was
sightless, being covered with a white film. By his side on the
ground was a large barrel, seemingly a water-cask, which he
occasionally seized with a finger and thumb, and waved over his
head as if it had been a quart pot. Such was the trio who now
occupied the wustuddur of Joanna Correa: and I had scarcely
time to remark what I have just recorded, when that good lady
entered from a back court with her handmaid Johar, or the
pearl, an ugly fat Jewish girl with an immense mole on her
cheek.
"QUE DIOS REMATE TU NOMBRE," exclaimed the Mulatto; "may
Allah blot out your name, Joanna, and may he likewise blot out
that of your maid Johar. It is more than fifteen minutes that
I have been seated here, after having poured out into the
tinaja the water which I brought from the fountain, and during
all that time I have waited in vain for one single word of
civility from yourself or from Johar. USTED NO TIENE MODO, you
have no manner with you, nor more has Johar. This is the only
house in Tangier where I am not received with fitting love and
respect, and yet I have done more for you than for any other
person. Have I not filled your tinaja with water when other
people have gone without a drop? When even the consul and the
interpreter of the consul had no water to slake their thirst,
have you not had enough to wash your wustuddur? And what is my
return? When I arrive in the heat of the day, I have not one
kind word spoken to me, nor so much as a glass of makhiah
offered to me; must I tell you all that I do for you, Joanna?
Truly I must, for you have no manner with you. Do I not come
every morning just at the third hour; and do I not knock at
your door; and do you not arise and let me in, and then do I
not knead your bread in your presence, whilst you lie in bed,
and because I knead it, is not yours the best bread in Tangier?
For am I not the strongest man in Tangier, and the most noble
also?" Here he brandished his barrel over his head, and his
face looked almost demoniacal. "Hear me, Joanna," he
continued, "you know that I am the strongest man in Tangier,
and I tell you again, for the thousandth time, that I am the
most noble. Who are the consuls? Who is the Pasha? They are
pashas and consuls now, but who were their fathers? I know
not, nor do they. But do I not know who my fathers were? Were
they not Moors of Garnata (GRANADA), and is it not on that
account that I am the strongest man in Tangier? Yes, I am of
the old Moors of Garnata, and my family has lived here, as is
well known, since Garnata was lost to the Nazarenes, and now I
am the only one of my family of the blood of the old Moors in
all this land, and on that account I am of nobler blood than
the sultan, for the sultan is not of the blood of the Moors of
Garnata. Do you laugh, Joanna? Does your maid Johar laugh?
Am I not Hammin Widdir, EL HOMBRE MAS VALIDO DE TANGER? And is
it not true that I am of the blood of the Moors of Garnata?
Deny it, and I will kill you both, you and your maid Johar."
"You have been eating hashish and majoon, Hammin," said
Joanna Correa, "and the Shaitan has entered into you, as he but
too frequently does. I have been busy, and so has Johar, or we
should have spoken to you before; however, mai doorshee (IT
DOES NOT SIGNIFY), I know how to pacify you now and at all
times, will you take some gin-bitters, or a glass of common
makhiah?"
"May you burst, O Joanna," said the Mulatto, "and may
Johar also burst; I mean, may you both live many years, and
know neither pain nor sorrow. I will take the gin-bitters, O
Joanna, because they are stronger than the makhiah, which
always appears to me like water; and I like not water, though I
carry it. Many thanks to you, Joanna, here is health to you,
Joanna, and to this good company."
She had handed him a large tumbler filled to the brim; he
put it to his nostrils, snuffled in the flavour, and then
applying it to his mouth, removed it not whilst one drop of the
fluid remained. His features gradually relaxed from their
former angry expression, and looking particularly amiable at
Joanna, he at last said:
"I hope that within a little time, O Joanna, you will be
persuaded that I am the strongest man in Tangier, and that I am
sprung from the blood of the Moors of Garnata, as then you will
no longer refuse to take me for a husband, you and your maid
Johar, and to become Moors. What a glory to you, after having
been married to a Genoui, and given birth to Genouillos, to
receive for a husband a Moor like me, and to bear him children
of the blood of Garnata. What a glory too for Johar, how much
better than to marry a vile Jew, even like Hayim Ben Atar, or
your cook Sabia, both of whom I could strangle with two
fingers, for am I not Hammin Widdir Moro de Garnata, EL HOMBRE
MAS VALIDO BE TANGER?" He then shouldered his barrel and
departed.
"Is that Mulatto really what he pretends to be?" said I
to Joanna; "is he a descendant of the Moors of Granada?"
"He always talks about the Moors of Granada when he is
mad with majoon or aguardiente," interrupted, in bad French,
the old man whom I have before described, and in the same
croaking voice which I had heard chanting in the morning.
"Nevertheless it may be true, and if he had not heard something
of the kind from his parents, he would never have imagined such
a thing, for he is too stupid. As I said before, it is by no
means impossible: many of the families of Granada settled down
here when their town was taken by the Christians, but the
greater part went to Tunis. When I was there, I lodged in the
house of a Moor who called himself Zegri, and was always
talking of Granada and the things which his forefathers had
done there. He would moreover sit for hours singing romances
of which I understood not one word, praised be the mother of
God, but which he said all related to his family; there were
hundreds of that name in Tunis, therefore why should not this
Hammin, this drunken water-carrier, be a Moor of Granada also?
He is ugly enough to be emperor of all the Moors. O the
accursed canaille, I have lived amongst them for my sins these
eight years, at Oran and here. Monsieur, do you not consider
it to be a hard case for an old man like myself, who am a
Christian, to live amongst a race who know not God, nor Christ,
nor anything holy?"
"What do you mean," said I, "by asserting that the Moors
know not God? There is no people in the world who entertain
sublimer notions of the uncreated eternal God than the Moors,
and no people have ever shown themselves more zealous for his
honour and glory; their very zeal for the glory of God has been
and is the chief obstacle to their becoming Christians. They
are afraid of compromising his dignity by supposing that he
ever condescended to become man. And with respect to Christ,
their ideas even of him are much more just than those of the
Papists, they say he is a mighty prophet, whilst, according to
the others, he is either a piece of bread or a helpless infant.
In many points of religion the Moors are wrong, dreadfully
wrong, but are the Papists less so? And one of their practices
sets them immeasurably below the Moors in the eyes of any
unprejudiced person: they bow down to idols, Christian idols if
you like, but idols still, things graven of wood and stone and
brass, and from these things, which can neither hear, nor
speak, nor feel, they ask and expect to obtain favours."
"VIVE LA FRANCE, VIVE LA GUADELOUPE," said the black,
with a good French accent. "In France and in Guadeloupe there
is no superstition, and they pay as much regard to the Bible as
to the Koran; I am now learning to read in order that I may
understand the writings of Voltaire, who, as I am told, has
proved that both the one and the other were written with the
sole intention of deceiving mankind. O VIVE LA FRANCE! where
will you find such an enlightened country as France; and where
will you find such a plentiful country as France? Only one in
the world, and that is Guadeloupe. Is it not so, Monsieur
Pascual? Were you ever at Marseilles? AH QUEL BON PAYS EST
CELUI-LA POUR LES VIVRES, POUR LES PETITS POULETS, POUR LES
POULARDES, POUR LES PERDRIX, POUR LES PERDREAUX, POUR LES
ALOUETTES, POUR LES BECASSES, POUR LES BECASSINES, ENFIN, POUR
TOUT."
"Pray, sir, are you a cook?" demanded I.
"MONSIEUR, JE LE SUIS POUR VOUS RENDRE SERVICE, MON NOM
C'EST GERARD, ET J'AI L'HONNEUR D'ETRE CHEF DE CUISINE CHEZ
MONSIEUR LE CONSUL HOLLANDOIS. A PRESENT JE PRIE PERMISSION DE
VOUS SALUER; IL FAUT QUE J'AILLE A LA MAISON POUR FAIRE LE
DINER DE MON MAITRE."
At four I went to dine with the British consul. Two
other English gentlemen were present, who had arrived at
Tangier from Gibraltar about ten days previously for a short
excursion, and were now detained longer than they wished by the
Levant wind. They had already visited the principal towns in
Spain, and proposed spending the winter either at Cadiz or
Seville. One of them, Mr. -, struck me as being one of the
most remarkable men I had ever conversed with; he travelled not
for diversion nor instigated by curiosity, but merely with the
hope of doing spiritual good, chiefly by conversation. The
consul soon asked me what I thought of the Moors and their
country. I told him that what I had hitherto seen of both
highly pleased me. He said that were I to live amongst them
ten years, as he had done, he believed I should entertain a
very different opinion; that no people in the world were more
false and cruel; that their government was one of the vilest
description, with which it was next to an impossibility for any
foreign power to hold amicable relations, as it invariably
acted with bad faith, and set at nought the most solemn
treaties. That British property and interests were every day
subjected to ruin and spoliation, and British subjects exposed
to unheard-of vexations, without the slightest hope of redress
being afforded, save recourse was had to force, the only
argument to which the Moors were accessible. He added, that
towards the end of the preceding year an atrocious murder had
been perpetrated in Tangier: a Genoese family of three
individuals had perished, all of whom were British subjects,
and entitled to the protection of the British flag. The
murderers were known, and the principal one was even now in
prison for the fact, yet all attempts to bring him to condign
punishment had hitherto proved abortive, as he was a Moor, and
his victims Christians. Finally he cautioned me, not to take
walks beyond the wall unaccompanied by a soldier, whom he
offered to provide for me should I desire it, as otherwise I
incurred great risk of being ill-treated by the Moors of the
interior whom I might meet, or perhaps murdered, and he
instanced the case of a British officer who not long since had
been murdered on the beach for no other reason than being a
Nazarene, and appearing in a Nazarene dress. He at length
introduced the subject of the Gospel, and I was pleased to
learn that, during his residence in Tangier, he had distributed
a considerable quantity of Bibles amongst the natives in the
Arabic language, and that many of the learned men, or Talibs,
had read the holy volume with great interest, and that by this
distribution, which, it is true, was effected with much
caution, no angry or unpleasant feeling had been excited. He
finally asked whether I had come with the intention of
circulating the Scripture amongst the Moors.
I replied that I had no opportunity of doing so, as I had
not one single copy either in the Arable language or character.
That the few Testaments which were in my possession were in the
Spanish language, and were intended for circulation amongst the
Christians of Tangier, to whom they might be serviceable, as
they all understood the language.
It was night, and I was seated in the wustuddur of Joanna
Correa, in company with Pascual Fava the Genoese. The old
man's favourite subject of discourse appeared to be religion,
and he professed unbounded love for the Saviour, and the
deepest sense of gratitude for his miraculous atonement for the
sins of mankind. I should have listened to him with pleasure
had he not smelt very strongly of liquor, and by certain
incoherence of language and wildness of manner given
indications of being in some degree the worse for it. Suddenly
two figures appeared beneath the doorway; one was that of a
bare-headed and bare-legged Moorish boy of about ten years of
age, dressed in a gelaba; he guided by the hand an old man,
whom I at once recognised as one of the Algerines, the good
Moslems of whom the old Mahasni had spoken in terms of praise
in the morning whilst we ascended the street of the Siarrin.
He was very short of stature and dirty in his dress; the lower
part of his face was covered with a stubbly white beard; before
his eyes he wore a large pair of spectacles, from which he
evidently received but little benefit, as he required the
assistance of the guide at every step. The two advanced a
little way into the wustuddur and there stopped. Pascual Fava
no sooner beheld them, than assuming a jovial air he started
nimbly up, and leaning on his stick, for he had a bent leg,
limped to a cupboard, out of which he took a bottle and poured
out a glass of wine, singing in the broken kind of Spanish used
by the Moors of the coast:
"Argelino,
Moro fino,
No beber vino,
Ni comer tocino."
(Algerine,
Moor so keen,
No drink wine,
No taste swine.)
He then handed the wine to the old Moor, who drank it
off, and then, led by the boy, made for the door without saying
a word.
"HADE MUSHE HALAL," (that is not lawful,) said I to him
with a loud voice.
"CUL SHEE HALAL," (everything is lawful,) said the old
Moor, turning his sightless and spectacled eyes in the
direction from which my voice reached him. "Of everything
which God has given, it is lawful for the children of God to
partake."
"Who is that old man?" said I to Pascual Fava, after the
blind and the leader of the blind had departed. "Who is he!"
said Pascual; "who is he! He is a merchant now, and keeps a
shop in the Siarrin, but there was a time when no bloodier
pirate sailed out of Algier. That old blind wretch has cut
more throats than he has hairs in his beard. Before the French
took the place he was the rais or captain of a frigate, and
many was the poor Sardinian vessel which fell into his hands.
After that affair he fled to Tangier, and it is said that he
brought with him a great part of the booty which he had amassed
in former times. Many other Algerines came hither also, or to
Tetuan, but he is the strangest guest of them all. He keeps
occasionally very extraordinary company for a Moor, and is
rather over intimate with the Jews. Well, that's no business
of mine; only let him look to himself. If the Moors should
once suspect him, it were all over with him. Moors and Jews,
Jews and Moors! Oh my poor sins, my poor sins, that brought me
to live amongst them! -
" `Ave Maris stella,
Dei Mater alma,
Atque semper virgo,
Felix coeli porta!' "
He was proceeding in this manner when I was startled by
the sound of a musket.
"That is the retreat," said Pascual Fava. "It is fired
every night in the soc at half-past eight, and it is the signal
for suspending all business, and shutting up. I am now going
to close the doors, and whosoever knocks, I shall not admit
them till I know their voice. Since the murder of the poor
Genoese last year, we have all been particularly cautious."
Thus had passed Friday, the sacred day of the Moslems,
and the first which I had spent in Tangier. I observed that
the Moors followed their occupations as if the day had nothing
particular in it. Between twelve and one, the hour of prayer
in the mosque, the gates of the town were closed, and no one
permitted either to enter or go out. There is a tradition,
current amongst them, that on this day, and at this hour, their
eternal enemies, the Nazarenes, will arrive to take possession
of their country; on which account they hold themselves
prepared against a surprisal.