Letters of George Borrow to the British and Foreign Bible SocietyBorrow, George
Religion
Letters of George Borrow to the British and Foreign Bible Society
Borrow, George
Authors, English -- 19th century -- Correspondence; British and Foreign Bible Society; English letters
I will now say a few words respecting the state of Spain, though what I
communicate will probably startle you, as in England you are quite in the
dark respecting what is going on here. At the moment I am writing,
Cabrera, the tiger-friar, is within nine leagues of Madrid with an army
nearly ten thousand strong; he has beaten the Queen's troops in several
engagements, and has ravaged La Mancha with fire and sword, burning
several towns; bands of affrighted fugitives are arriving every hour
bringing tidings of woe and disaster, and I am but surprised that the
enemy does not appear, and by taking Madrid, which is at his mercy, put
an end to the war at once. But the truth is, the Carlist generals do not
wish the war to cease; for as long as the country is involved in
bloodshed and anarchy, they can plunder and exercise that lawless
authority so dear to men of fierce and brutal passions. Cabrera is a
wretch whose sole enjoyment consists in inflicting pain and torture and
causing woe and misery to his fellow creatures; he is one of the
instruments of the anger of the Almighty, a scourge in the hand of
Providence to chastise a land whose wickedness had become intolerable.
For the elect's sake, and there are a few even in Spain, may it please
the Lord to shorten the affliction of these days, or all flesh must
succumb.
I remain, dear Sir, most truly yours,
G. B.
_P.S._--Pray let me hear from you shortly, and remember me particularly
to Mr. Jowett and Mr. Browne.
_P.S._ 2.--I have already paid, in part, for the printing and paper, as
you will have concluded by my draft. The Gospel of Saint Luke, in the
Rommany language, is nearly ready for the press. It is my intention to
subjoin a vocabulary of all the words used, with an explanation in the
Spanish language.
Before I left England I was authorised to look out for a person competent
to translate the Scriptures in Basque (Spanish). I am acquainted with a
gentleman who is well versed in that dialect, of which I myself have some
knowledge. Perhaps it would not be unwise to engage him to translate St.
Luke as a trial of his powers.
To the Rev. A. Brandram
(_Endorsed_: recd. Mar. 25, 1837)
MADRID, No. 16 CALLE SANT IAGO PISO 3RO.
[_March_ 16th, 1837].
REVD. SIR,--I write a few lines for the purpose of informing you that the
New Testament in Castilian will be ready in a few days, probably before
you receive this epistle, should it reach you, which I have some doubts
of from the terrible and distracted state of Spain at the present time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account