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
In the name of the _Most Highest_ take steps for preventing that
miserable creature Graydon from ruining us all.
GEORGE BORROW.
To the Rev. A. Brandram
(_Endorsed_: recd. June 4, 1838)
MADRID, _May_ 25, 1838,
CALLE SANTIAGO.
REVD. AND DEAR SIR,--Events follow each other so quickly in this singular
country, and my situation is so peculiar, and I am afraid so little
understood at home, that I am obliged to take up the pen more frequently
than I am inclined. Do not think me intrusive in again troubling you. I
do it in the hope of preventing any alarm which an incorrect report of
the following circumstance might cause you.
Immediately on receiving intelligence of the scenes which had taken place
at Malaga, the Spanish Government resolved to put an end to all Bible
transactions in Spain, and forthwith gave orders for the seizure of all
the Bibles and Testaments in the country wherever they might be deposited
or exposed for sale. They notified the same to Sir George Villiers,
expressly stating that the resolution was taken in consequence of the,
'_Ocurrido en Malaga_.' I have now learnt that several of my depots have
been seized in various parts of Spain, for example, at Salamanca,
Seville, and of course at Malaga. This, however, gives me little
uneasiness, for, with the blessing of God, I shall be able to repair all,
always provided I am allowed to follow my own plans, and to avail myself
of the advantages which have lately been opened especially to cultivate
the kind feeling lately manifested towards me by the principal Spanish
clergy.
But now prompt measures must be taken on the part of the Bible Society.
Knowing as I do the character of the unfortunate man who has lately
caused so much havoc, I am apprehensive that he may be guilty of some
fresh excess. From Mr. Rule's letter, which I forwarded to you, it
appears that for some time it has been his intention to quit Spain, but
not quietly, witness this last affair of Malaga. Now my fear is that on
his return to Barcelona, on finding that the books and Bibles intrusted
to his discretion have been seized, he will publish as a parting legacy
some tirade against the Government and clergy. If he do, he will
probably bring himself into trouble and at all events destruction on our
cause; for the Government is quite despotic, as indeed is necessary at
the present time, and the whole of Spain is under martial law. Therefore
for his own sake, if not for the sake of the cause, let him instantly
retire, abandoning the Bibles to their fate. They shall not be lost.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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