The Bible in Spain, Vol. 2 [of 2]: 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, Vol. 2 [of 2]: 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
to speak unto the king, even Muley Abderrahman; so I went in unto the
king’s son, and I kneeled before him, and I lifted up my voice, and I
said unto him what I had to say, and he looked courteously upon me and
said, ‘Truly thy tale is a sorrowful one, and it maketh me sad; and what
thou askest, that will I grant, and thy father’s death shall be avenged,
and the spoilers shall be despoiled; and I will write thee a letter with
my own hand unto the Pasha, even the Pasha of Tafilaltz, and I will
enjoin him to make inquiry into thy matter, and that letter thou shalt
thyself carry and deliver unto him.’ And when I heard these words, my
heart died within my bosom for very fear, and I replied, ‘Not so, my
lord; it is good that thou write a letter unto the Pasha, even unto the
Pasha of Tafilaltz, but that letter will I not take, neither will I go to
Tafilaltz, for no sooner should I arrive there, and my errand be known,
than the Moors would arise and put me to death, either privily or
publicly, for are not the murderers of my father Moors; and am I aught
but a Jew, though I be a Polish man?’ And he looked benignantly, and he
said, ‘Truly, thou speakest wisely; I will write the letter, but thou
shalt not take it, for I will send it by other hands; therefore set thy
heart at rest, and doubt not that, if thy tale be true, thy father’s
death shall be avenged, and the treasure, or the value thereof, be
recovered and given up to thee; tell me, therefore, where wilt thou abide
till then?’ And I said unto him, ‘My lord, I will go into the land of
Suz and will tarry there.’ And he replied, ‘Do so, and thou shalt hear
speedily from me.’ So I arose and departed, and went into the land of
Suz, even unto Swirah, which the Nazarenes call Mogadore; and I waited
with a troubled heart for intelligence from the son of the Moorish king,
but no intelligence came, and never since that day have I heard from him,
and it is now three years since I was in his presence. And I sat me down
at Mogadore, and I married a wife, a daughter of our nation, and I wrote
to my mother, even to Jerusalem, and she sent me money, and with that I
entered into commerce, even as my father had done, and I speculated, and
I was not successful in my speculations, and I speedily lost all I had.
And now I am come to Gibraltar to speculate on the account of another, a
merchant of Mogadore, but I like not my occupation; he has deceived me; I
am going back, when I shall again seek the presence of the Moorish king,
and demand that the treasure of my father be taken from the spoilers and
delivered up to me, even to me his son.”
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