Madrid, he observed that
copies of the work might be extensively circulated in Andalusia.
"I have been accustomed to bookselling," he continued, "and at one
time possessed a small shop of my own in this place. Once having
occasion to go to Gibraltar, I procured several copies of the
Scriptures; some, it is true, were seized by the officers of the
customs, but the rest I sold at a high price, and with considerable
profit to myself."
I had returned from a walk in the country, on a glorious sunshiny
morning of the Andalusian winter, and was directing my steps
towards my lodging: as I was passing by the portal of a large
gloomy house near the gate of Xeres, two individuals dressed in
zamarras emerged from the archway, and were about to cross my path,
when one, looking in my face, suddenly started back, exclaiming in
the purest and most melodious French: "What do I see? If my eyes
do not deceive me - it is himself. Yes, the very same as I saw him
first at Bayonne; then long subsequently beneath the brick wall at
Novogorod; then beside the Bosphorus; and last at - at - Oh, my
respectable and cherished friend, where was it that I had last the
felicity of seeing your well-remembered and most remarkable
physiognomy?"
Myself. - It was in the south of Ireland, if I mistake not. Was it
not there that I introduced you to the sorcerer who tamed the
savage horses by a single whisper into their ear? But tell me what
brings you to Spain and Andalusia, the last place where I should
have expected to find you?
Baron Taylor. - And wherefore, my most respectable B-? Is not Spain
the land of the arts; and is not Andalusia of all Spain that
portion which has produced the noblest monuments of artistic
excellence and inspiration? Surely you know enough of me to be
aware that the arts are my passion; that I am incapable of
imagining a more exalted enjoyment than to gaze in adoration on a
noble picture. O come with me! for you too have a soul capable of
appreciating what is lovely and exalted; a soul delicate and
sensitive. Come with me, and I will show you a Murillo, such as -.
But first allow me to introduce you to your compatriot. My dear
Monsieur W., turning to his companion (an English gentleman from
whom and from his family I subsequently experienced unbounded
kindness and hospitality on various occasions, and at different
periods at Seville), allow me to introduce to you my most cherished
and respectable friend, one who is better acquainted with Gypsy
ways than the Chef des Bohemiens a Triana, one who is an expert
whisperer and horse-sorcerer, and who, to his honour I say it, can
wield hammer and tongs, and handle a horse-shoe with the best of
the smiths amongst the Alpujarras of Granada.
In the course of my travels I have formed various friendships and
acquaintances, but no one has more interested me than Baron Taylor,
and there is no one for whom I entertain a greater esteem and
regard. To personal and mental accomplishments of the highest
order he unites a kindness of heart rarely to be met with, and
which is continually inducing him to seek for opportunities of
doing good to his fellow creatures, and of contributing to their
happiness; perhaps no person in existence has seen more of the
world and life in its various phases than himself. His manners are
naturally to the highest degree courtly, yet he nevertheless
possesses a disposition so pliable that he finds no difficulty in
accommodating himself to all kinds of company, in consequence of
which he is a universal favourite. There is a mystery about him,
which, wherever he goes, serves not a little to increase the
sensation naturally created by his appearance and manner. Who he
is, no one pretends to assert with downright positiveness: it is
whispered, however, that he is a scion of royalty; and who can gaze
for a moment upon that most graceful figure, that most intelligent
but singularly moulded countenance, and those large and expressive
eyes, without feeling as equally convinced that he is of no common
lineage, as that he is no common man. Though possessed of talents
and eloquence which would speedily have enabled him to attain to an
illustrious position in the state, he has hitherto, and perhaps
wisely, contented himself with comparative obscurity, chiefly
devoting himself to the study of the arts and of literature, of
both of which he is a most bounteous patron.
He has, notwithstanding, been employed by the illustrious house to
which he is said to be related in more than one delicate and
important mission, both in the East and the West, in which his
efforts have uniformly been crowned with complete success. He was
now collecting masterpieces of the Spanish school of painting,
which were destined to adorn the saloons of the Tuileries.
He has visited most portions of the earth, and it is remarkable
enough that we are continually encountering each other in strange
places and under singular circumstances. Whenever he descries me,
whether in the street or the desert, the brilliant hall or amongst
Bedouin haimas, at Novogorod or Stambul, he flings up his arms and
exclaims, "O ciel! I have again the felicity of seeing my
cherished and most respectable B-."
CHAPTER XVI
Departure for Cordova - Carmona - German Colonies - Language - The
Sluggish Horse - Nocturnal Welcome - Carlist Landlord - Good Advice -
Gomez - The Old Genoese - The Two Opinions.
After a sojourn of about fourteen days at Seville, I departed for
Cordova.
