At The Dead Of Night,
Finding The Time Hang Heavy On Their Hands, They Took A Crowbar And
Removed The Slab And Looked Down Into The Abyss Below; It Was Dark
As The Grave; Whereupon They Affixed A Weight To The End Of A Long
Rope And Lowered It Down.
At a very great depth it seemed to
strike against something dull and solid like lead:
They supposed
it might be a coffin; perhaps it was, but whose is the question."
CHAPTER XXVIII
Skippers of Padron - Caldas de los Reyes - Pontevedra - The Notary
Public - Insane Barber - An Introduction - Gallegan Language -
Afternoon Ride - Vigo - The Stranger - Jews of the Desert - Bay of
Vigo - Sudden Interruption - The Governor.
After a stay of about a fortnight at Saint James, we again mounted
our horses and proceeded in the direction of Vigo. As we did not
leave Saint James till late in the afternoon, we travelled that day
no farther than Padron, a distance of only three leagues. This
place is a small port, situate at the extremity of a firth which
communicates with the sea. It is called for brevity's sake,
Padron, but its proper appellation is Villa del Padron, or the town
of the patron saint; it having been, according to the legend, the
principal residence of Saint James during his stay in Galicia. By
the Romans it was termed Iria Flavia. It is a flourishing little
town, and carries on rather an extensive commerce, some of its tiny
barks occasionally finding their way across the Bay of Biscay, and
even so far as the Thames and London.
There is a curious anecdote connected with the skippers of Padron,
which can scarcely be considered as out of place here, as it
relates to the circulation of the Scriptures. I was one day in the
shop of my friend the bookseller at Saint James, when a stout good-
humoured-looking priest entered. He took up one of my Testaments,
and forthwith burst into a violent fit of laughter. "What is the
matter?" demanded the bookseller. "The sight of this book reminds
me of a circumstance": replied the other, "about twenty years ago,
when the English first took it into their heads to be very zealous
in converting us Spaniards to their own way of thinking, they
distributed a great number of books of this kind amongst the
Spaniards who chanced to be in London; some of them fell into the
hands of certain skippers of Padron, and these good folks, on their
return to Galicia, were observed to have become on a sudden
exceedingly opinionated and fond of dispute. It was scarcely
possible to make an assertion in their hearing without receiving a
flat contradiction, especially when religious subjects were brought
on the carpet. 'It is false,' they would say; 'Saint Paul, in such
a chapter and in such a verse, says exactly the contrary.' 'What
can you know concerning what Saint Paul or any other saint has
written?' the priests would ask them. 'Much more than you think,'
they replied; 'we are no longer to be kept in darkness and
ignorance respecting these matters:' and then they would produce
their books and read paragraphs, making such comments that every
person was scandalized; they cared nothing about the Pope, and even
spoke with irreverence of the bones of Saint James. However, the
matter was soon bruited about, and a commission was dispatched from
our see to collect the books and burn them. This was effected, and
the skippers were either punished or reprimanded, since which I
have heard nothing more of them. I could not forbear laughing when
I saw these books; they instantly brought to my mind the skippers
of Padron and their religious disputations."
Our next day's journey brought us to Pontevedra. As there was no
talk of robbers in these parts, we travelled without any escort and
alone. The road was beautiful and picturesque, though somewhat
solitary, especially after we had left behind us the small town of
Caldas. There is more than one place of this name in Spain; the
one of which I am speaking is distinguished from the rest by being
called Caldas de los Reyes, or the warm baths of the kings. It
will not be amiss to observe that the Spanish Caldas is synonymous
with the Moorish Alhama, a word of frequent occurrence both in
Spanish and African topography. Caldas seemed by no means
undeserving of its name: it stands on a confluence of springs, and
the place when we arrived was crowded with people who had come to
enjoy the benefit of the waters. In the course of my travels I
have observed that wherever warm springs are found, vestiges of
volcanoes are sure to be nigh; the smooth black precipice, the
divided mountain, or huge rocks standing by themselves on the plain
or on the hill side, as if Titans had been playing at bowls. This
last feature occurs near Caldas de los Reyes, the side of the
mountain which overhangs it in the direction of the south being
covered with immense granite stones, apparently at some ancient
period eructed from the bowels of the earth. From Caldas to
Pontevedra the route was hilly and fatiguing, the heat was intense,
and those clouds of flies, which constitute one of the pests of
Galicia, annoyed our horses to such a degree that we were obliged
to cut down branches from the trees to protect their heads and
necks from the tormenting stings of these bloodthirsty insects.
Whilst travelling in Galicia at this period of the year on
horseback, it is always advisable to carry a fine net for the
protection of the animal, a sure and commodious means of defence,
which appears, however, to be utterly unknown in Galicia, where,
perhaps, it is more wanted than in any other part of the world.
Pontevedra, upon the whole, is certainly entitled to the
appellation of a magnificent town, some of its public edifices,
especially the convents, being such as are nowhere to be found but
in Spain and Italy.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 108 of 218
Words from 109665 to 110683
of 222596
