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.
