The Bible in Spain: Or, the Journeys, Adventures, and Imprisonments of an Englishman, in an Attempt to Circulate the Scriptures in the PeninsulaBorrow, George
Religion
The Bible in Spain: Or, the Journeys, Adventures, and Imprisonments of an Englishman, in an Attempt to Circulate the Scriptures in the Peninsula
Borrow, George
Borrow, George, 1803-1881 -- Travel -- Spain; Spain -- Description and travel; Spain -- History -- 19th century
At Lugo I found a wealthy bookseller, to whom I brought a letter of
recommendation from Madrid. He willingly undertook the sale of my books.
The Lord deigned to favour my feeble exertions in his cause at Lugo. I
brought thither thirty Testaments, all of which were disposed of in one
day; the bishop of the place, for Lugo is an episcopal see, purchasing
two copies for himself, whilst several priests and ex-friars, instead of
following the example of their brethren at Leon, by persecuting the work,
spoke well of it and recommended its perusal. I was much grieved that my
stock of these holy books was exhausted, there being a great demand; and
had I been able to supply them, quadruple the quantity might have been
sold during the few days that I continued at Lugo.
Lugo contains about six thousand inhabitants. It is situated on lofty
ground, and is defended by ancient walls. It possesses no very
remarkable edifice, and the cathedral church itself is a small mean
building. In the centre of the town is the principal square, a light
cheerful place, not surrounded by those heavy cumbrous buildings with
which the Spaniards both in ancient and modern times have encircled their
plazas. It is singular enough that Lugo, at present a place of very
little importance, should at one period have been the capital of Spain:
yet such it was in the time of the Romans, who, as they were a people not
much guided by caprice, had doubtless very excellent reasons for the
preference which they gave to the locality.
There are many Roman remains in the vicinity of this place, the most
remarkable of which are the ruins of the ancient medicinal baths, which
stand on the southern side of the river Minho, which creeps through the
valley beneath the town. The Minho in this place is a dark and sullen
stream, with high, precipitous, and thickly wooded banks.
One evening I visited the baths, accompanied by my friend the bookseller.
They had been built over warm springs which flow into the river.
Notwithstanding their ruinous condition, they were crowded with sick,
hoping to derive benefit from the waters, which are still famed for their
sanative power. These patients exhibited a strange spectacle as, wrapped
in flannel gowns much resembling shrouds, they lay immersed in the tepid
waters amongst disjointed stones, and overhung with steam and reek.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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