第179章 24th December,1839(1)

To the Rev.A.Brandram (ENDORSED:recd.Jan.3,1840.)DECR.24,1839,MADRID,No.16CALLE SANTIAGO.

REV.AND DEAR SIR,-The last letter which I wrote to you was from Seville,and in that I gave you an account of what I had been doing for some time previous and likewise of my imprisonment.I have now been in Madrid nearly three weeks,and immediately after my arrival I demanded redress of the Spanish Government for the various outrages which I have recently been subjected to at Seville.Mr.

Aston,the British Minister,not having yet arrived at Madrid,Ipresented my complaint through Mr.Jerningham the first secretary of Legation,who has superseded Mr.Southern,the latter gentleman having been appointed to Lisbon.Mr.Southern introduced me to Mr.

Jerningham,who received me with great kindness and took up my cause very warmly.Whether I shall be able to obtain justice Iknow not,for I have against me the Canons of Seville;and all the arts of villainy which they are so accustomed to practise will of course be used against me for the purpose of screening the ruffian who is their instrument.An instance which I am about to give will speak volumes as to this person's character.When I was in prison,he forced his way into my house and searched it for Testaments,but found none.When he was questioned by the vice-consul as to the authority by which he made this search,he pulled out a paper purporting to be the deposition of an old woman to the effect that I had sold her a Testament some ten days before.This document was a forgery.I had never seen the female in question,and during the whole time that I have been in Andalusia I have never sold a book of any description to any such person.

I have been,my dear Sir,fighting with wild beasts during the greatest part of the time which has elapsed since I had last the pleasure of seeing you.None but myself can have an idea of what Ihave undergone and the difficulties which I have had to encounter;but I wish not to dilate on that subject.Thanks be to the Most High that my labours are now brought to a conclusion.The Madrid edition of the New Testament has been distributed,with the exception of a few hundred copies,which I have no wish should be sold at present,for reasons stated on a prior occasion,and which I shall endeavour to leave in safe custody.The fate of this edition has been a singular one,by far the greatest part having been dispersed among the peasantry of Spain and the remainder amongst the very poor of the towns,the artisans of Madrid and Seville,the water-carriers and porters.You will rarely find a copy of this work in the houses of the wealthy and respectable,but you will frequently light upon it in the huts of the labourers,in the garrets or cellars of the penniless,and even in the hulks and convict-garrisons (PRESIDIOS).I myself saw it in the prison of Seville.As for the few copies of the entire Bible which I had at my disposal,they have been distributed amongst the upper classes,chiefly amongst the mercantile body,the members of which upon the whole are by far the most intellectual and best educated of the subjects of the Spanish monarchy.

I have thus cast my books upon the waters.It is for the Lord on high to determine the quantity of good which they are to operate.