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 maid-servant, 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.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 176 of 218
Words from 179321 to 180321
of 222596
