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
It is my opinion, and I am not one of those who hazard an opinion rashly,
that much may be accomplished in this place, which, though by no means
the most populous and wealthy, is the most interesting town in all Spain,
and stands beneath the most glorious heaven, and amidst the most
delightful environs; but to effect anything, patience must be exhibited
and prudence employed, and much of both. Consider my situation here. I
am in a city by nature very Levitical, as it contains within it the most
magnificent and splendidly endowed cathedral of any in Spain. I am
surrounded by priests and friars, who know and hate me, and who, if I
commit the slightest act of indiscretion, will halloo their myrmidons
against me. The press is closed to me, the libraries are barred against
me, I have no one to assist me but my hired servant, no pious English
families to comfort or encourage me, the British subjects here being
ranker papists and a hundred times more bigoted than the Spanish
themselves, the consul a _renegade Quaker_. Yet notwithstanding, with
God's assistance I will do much, though silently, burrowing like the mole
in darkness beneath the ground. Those who have triumphed in Madrid, and
in the two Castiles where the difficulties were seven times greater, are
not to be dismayed by priestly frowns at Seville. All I dread is the
imprudence of very excellent people, whose aim is good, but who are doing
exactly what is calculated to further the views of the enemy. I wish
they could be brought to see the absolute necessity of changing their
system. I suppose you heard of the affair of Cadiz.
I have of late written several letters home, which I wish may have been
received as they contain information which I think will be considered of
importance; nevertheless as the road to France has for some time past
been in the hands of the Carlists, it is very possible that they may have
miscarried. I shall therefore take the liberty of telling you that about
a thousand Testaments have been sold, and all the Bibles, to the amount
of 463, since my return to the Peninsula. I shall be happy to receive a
letter from you as soon as possible: you can direct either to my lodgings
at Madrid, or to Posada de la Reyna, Calle Gimios, Sevilla.
Pray excuse this letter, it is badly written, with a bad pen and with bad
ink. I am moreover sick and in pain. Present my respects to Mr. Jowett,
Mr. Browne, and all friends, not forgetting Dr. Steinkopff, to whom I
shortly hope to write.
(UNSIGNED.)
To the Rev. G. Browne
(_Endorsed_: recd. July 1, 1839)
SEVILLE, PLAZUELA DE LA PILA SECA, No. 7,
_June_ 12, 1839.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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