第141章 19th September,1838(2)

I now proceed to the subject of my travels in Spain.Before undertaking them I was little acquainted with the genius of the Spanish people in general,having resided almost entirely in Madrid,and I was fully convinced that it was not from the inhabitants of one city that an accurate judgment could be formed of a population of nine millions,thinly scattered over a vast country so divided and intersected by mountain barriers as is the Peninsula.With this population under all its various circumstances and under all its various phases,the result of descent from a variety of foreign nations,I was anxious to make myself acquainted;for I reflected that he who builds a city on ground which he has not fully examined will perhaps discover when too late that his foundation is in a swamp,and that the whole of his labour is momentarily in danger of being swallowed up.Itherefore went forth not so much for the purpose of distributing the Scriptures as to make myself acquainted with the prefatory steps requisite to be taken in order to secure my grand object.

Before departing from Madrid I consulted with the many friends,some of them highly distinguished,which I had the honour to possess in that capital.Their unanimous advice,whether Catholics or Protestants,was that for the present I should proceed with the utmost caution,but without concealing the object of my mission which I considered to be the simple propagation of the Scripture -that I should avoid with diligence the giving offence to the prejudices of the people,especially in the rural districts,and endeavour everywhere to keep on good terms with the clergy,at least one-third of whom are known to be anxious for the dissemination of the Word of God though at the same time unwilling to separate themselves from the discipline and ceremonials of Rome.

I bore this advice in mind,which indeed perfectly tallied with my own ideas,and throughout the two thousand miles of my peregrination during the summer of last year,I performed much if not all of what I proposed,and am not aware that in one single instance my proceedings were such as could possibly merit reproof.

I established depots in all the principal towns of the north of Spain,and in all gave notice to the public of the arrival of the New Testament in a mild yet expressive advertisement which I here exhibit,and which I beg leave to state is the only advertisement which I ever made use of.The consequence was that the work enjoyed a reasonable sale,and I experienced no opposition -except in the case of Leon,a town remarkable for its ultra-Carlism -but on the contrary much encouragement especially on the part of the ecclesiastics.I visited Salamanca and Valladolid the chief seats of Castilian learning,I visited Saint James of Compostella,the temple of the great image of the Patron of Spain,and in none of these cities was a single voice raised against the Bible Society or its Agent.But I did not confine myself to the towns,but visited the small and large villages,and by this means became acquainted with both citizens and rustics;amongst the former I found little desire for sober serious reading,but on the contrary a rage for stimulant narratives,and amongst too many a lust for the deistical writings of the French,especially for those of Talleyrand,which have been translated into Spanish and published by the press of Barcelona,and for which I was frequently pestered.I several times enquired of the book-sellers of the various towns which Ivisited as to the means to be used towards introducing the Scripture amongst the villagers;but to this question they invariably replied that,unless the villagers came to the towns and purchased the work,they saw no means of making it known amongst them,unless I made friends in the villages in whose hands I could deposit copies for sale,though in such a case the difficulty of recovering the money would be immense.I therefore at last resolved to make an experiment,the result of which fully corresponded with an opinion which I had for some time formed -namely,that in the villages,sequestered and apart amongst the mountains and in the sandy plains of Spain,I might at any time be sure of a glorious harvest,far more rich than that which it was possible for me to expect in towns and cities,unless I had recourse to means unwarranted,nay forbidden,by the Book which Idistributed,and which means had been proscribed by the Society itself on my departure for Spain.But now to proceed at once to the experiment,which I made at different periods and in different provinces.

I twice sallied forth one morning alone and on horseback,and proceeded to a distant village,bearing behind me a satchel of books.On my arrival,which took place just after the SIESTA or afternoon's sleep had concluded,I proceeded in both instances to the market-place,where I spread a horse-cloth on the ground,on which I deposited my books.I then commenced crying with a loud voice:'Peasants,peasants,I bring you the Word of God at a cheap price.I know you have but little money,but I bring it to you at whatever you can command,at four or three REALS according to your means.'I thus went on till a crowd gathered round me,who examined the book with attention,many of them reading it aloud.

But I had not long to tarry;in both instances I disposed of my cargo almost instantaneously,and then mounted my horse without a question having been asked me,and returned to my temporary residence lighter than I left it.This occurred in Castile and Galicia,near the towns of Santiago and Valladolid.