The Woman Of The House And Her Daughter Were Exceedingly Civil To
Me, And Coming Near Crouched Down, Asking Various Questions About
England.
A man dressed somewhat like an English sailor, who sat on
the other side of the hearth confronting me, said, "I hate the
English, for they are not baptized, and have not the law," meaning
the law of God.
I laughed, and told him that according to the law
of England, no one who was unbaptized could be buried in
consecrated ground; whereupon he said, "Then you are stricter than
we." He then said, "What is meant by the lion and the unicorn
which I saw the other day on the coat of arms over the door of the
English consul at St. Ubes?" I said they were the arms of England!
"Yes," he replied, "but what do they represent?" I said I did not
know. "Then," said he, "you do not know the secrets of your own
house." I said, "Suppose I were to tell you that they represent
the Lion of Bethlehem, and the horned monster of the flaming pit in
combat, as to which should obtain the mastery in England, what
would you say?" He replied, "I should say that you gave a fair
answer." This man and myself became great friends; he came from
Palmella, not far from St. Ubes; he had several mules and horses
with him, and dealt in corn and barley. I again walked out and
roamed in the environs of the town.
About half a mile from the southern wall is a stone fountain, where
the muleteers and other people who visit the town are accustomed to
water their horses. I sat down by it, and there I remained about
two hours, entering into conversation with every one who halted at
the fountain; and I will here observe, that during the time of my
sojourn at Evora, I repeated my visit every day, and remained there
the same time; and by following this plan, I believe that I spoke
to at least two hundred of the children of Portugal upon matters
relating to their eternal welfare. I found that very few of those
whom I addressed had received any species of literary education,
none of them had seen the Bible, and not more than half a dozen had
the slightest inkling of what the holy book consisted. I found
that most of them were bigoted Papists and Miguelites at heart. I
therefore, when they told me they were Christians, denied the
possibility of their being so, as they were ignorant of Christ and
His commandments, and placed their hope of salvation on outward
forms and superstitious observances, which were the invention of
Satan, who wished to keep them in darkness that at last they might
stumble into the pit which he had dug for them. I said repeatedly
that the Pope, whom they revered, was an arch deceiver, and the
head minister of Satan here on earth, and that the monks and
friars, whose absence they so deplored, and to whom they had been
accustomed to confess themselves, were his subordinate agents.
When called upon for proofs, I invariably cited the ignorance of my
auditors respecting the Scriptures, and said that if their
spiritual guides had been really ministers of Christ, they would
not have permitted their flocks to remain unacquainted with His
Word.
Since this occurred, I have been frequently surprised that I
experienced no insult and ill-treatment from the people, whose
superstitions I was thus attacking; but I really experienced none,
and am inclined to believe that the utter fearlessness which I
displayed, trusting in the Protection of the Almighty, may have
been the cause. When threatened by danger, the best policy is to
fix your eye steadily upon it, and it will in general vanish like
the morning mist before the sun; whereas, if you quail before it,
it is sure to become more imminent. I have fervent hope that the
words of my mouth sank deep into the hearts of some of my auditors,
as I observed many of them depart musing and pensive. I
occasionally distributed tracts amongst them; for although they
themselves were unable to turn them to much account, I thought that
by their means they might become of service at some future time,
and fall into the hands of others, to whom they might be of eternal
interest. Many a book which is abandoned to the waters is wafted
to some remote shore, and there proves a blessing and a comfort to
millions, who are ignorant from whence it came.
The next day, which was Friday, I called at the house of my friend
Don Geronimo Azveto. I did not find him there, but was directed to
the see, or episcopal palace, in an apartment of which I found him,
writing, with another gentleman, to whom he introduced me; it was
the governor of Evora, who welcomed me with every mark of kindness
and affability. After some discourse, we went out together to
examine an ancient edifice, which was reported to have served, in
bygone times, as a temple to Diana. Part of it was evidently of
Roman architecture, for there was no mistaking the beautiful light
pillars which supported a dome, under which the sacrifices to the
most captivating and poetical divinity of the heathen theocracy had
probably been made; but the original space between the pillars had
been filled up with rubbish of a modern date, and the rest of the
building was apparently of the architecture of the latter end of
the Middle Ages. It was situated at one end of the building which
had once been the seat of the Inquisition, and had served, before
the erection of the present see, as the residence of the bishop.
Within the see, where the governor now resides, is a superb
library, occupying an immense vaulted room, like the aisle of a
cathedral, and in a side apartment is a collection of paintings by
Portuguese artists, chiefly portraits, amongst which is that of Don
Sebastian.
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