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.
On a certain night I had retired to rest rather more early than
usual, being slightly indisposed. I soon fell asleep, and had
continued so for some hours, when I was suddenly aroused by the
opening of the door of the small apartment in which I lay. I
started up, and beheld Maria Diaz, with a lamp in her hand, enter
the room. I observed that her features, which were in general
peculiarly calm and placid, wore a somewhat startled expression.
"What is the hour, and what brings you here?" I demanded.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 656 of 809
Words from 180146 to 180413
of 222596
