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Books: The Life of George Borrow

H >> Herbert Jenkins >> The Life of George Borrow





It is pleasant to record that the Sub-Committee expressed itself as
unable to see in Mr Brandram's letter what Borrow saw. There was no
intention to convey the impression that he had made false statements,
and regret was expressed that he had thought it necessary to apply to
the Embassy for confirmation of what he had written. All this Mr
Brandram conveyed in a letter dated 6th August. He continues: "I am
now in full possession of all that Mr Graydon has done, and find it
utterly impossible to account for that very strong feeling that you
have imbibed against him."

On 20th July Mr Brandram had written that, after consulting with two
or three members of the Committee, they all confirmed a wish already
expressed that their Agent should not continue to expose himself to
such dangers. If, however, he still saw the way open before him,


"as so pleasantly represented in your letter . . . you need not think
of returning . . . Do allow me to suggest to you," he continues, "to
drop allusion to Mr Graydon in your letters. His conduct is not
regarded here as you regard it. I could fancy, but perhaps it is all
fancy, that you have him in your eye when you tell us that you have
eschewed handbills and advertisements. Time has been when you have
used them plentifully . . . Sir George Villiers is in England--but I
do not know that we shall seek an interview with him--We are afraid
of being hampered with the trammels of office."


The Committee, however, did not endorse Mr Brandram's view as to
Borrow continuing in Spain, and further, they did "not see it right,"
the secretary wrote (6th August), "after the confidential
communication in which you have been in with the Government, that you
should be acting now in such open defiance of it, and putting
yourself in such extreme jeopardy." Later Borrow made reference to
the remark about the handbills.


"It would have been as well," he wrote, "if my respected and revered
friend, the writer, had made himself acquainted with the character of
my advertisements before he made that observation. There is no harm
in an advertisement, if truth, decency and the fear of God are
observed, and I believe my own will be scarcely found deficient in
any of these three requisites. It is not the use of a serviceable
instrument, but its abuse that merits reproof, and I cannot conceive
that advertising was abused by me when I informed the people of
Madrid that the New Testament was to be purchased at a cheap price in
the Calle del Principe." {275a}


Elsewhere he referred to these same advertisements as "mild yet
expressive."

In spite of the strained state of his relations with the Bible
Society, Borrow had no intention of remaining in Madrid brooding over
his wrongs. Encouraged by the success that had attended his efforts
in the Sagra of Toledo, and indifferent to the fact that his renewed
activity was known at Toledo, where it was causing some alarm, he
determined to proceed to Aranjuez, and, on his arrival there, to be
guided by events as to his future movements. Accordingly about 28th
July he set out attended by Antonio and Lopez, who had accompanied
him from Villa Seca to Madrid, proceeding in the direction of La
Mancha, and selling at every village through which they passed from
twenty to forty Testaments. At Aranjuez they remained three days,
visiting every house in the town and disposing of about eighty books.
It was no unusual thing to see groups of the poorer people gathered
round one of their number who was reading aloud from a recently
purchased Testament.

Feeling that his enemies were preparing to strike, Borrow determined
to push on to the frontier town of Ocana, beyond which the clergy had
only a nominal jurisdiction on account of its being in the hands of
the Carlists. Lopez was sent on with between two and three hundred
Testaments, and Borrow, accompanied by Antonio, followed later by a
shorter route through the hills. As they approached the town, a man,
a Jew, stepped out from the porch of an empty house and barred their
way, telling them that Lopez had been arrested at Ocana that morning
as he was selling Testaments in the streets, and that the authorities
were now waiting for Borrow himself.

Seeing that no good could be done by plunging into the midst of his
enemies, who had their instructions from the corregidor of Toledo,
Borrow decided to return to Aranjuez. This he did, on the way
narrowly escaping assassination at the hands of three robbers. The
next morning he was rejoined by Lopez, who had been released. He had
sold 27 Testaments, and 200 had been confiscated and forwarded to
Toledo. The whole party then returned to Madrid.

The unfortunate affair at Ocana by no means discouraged Borrow. It
was his intention "with God's leave" to "fight it out to the last."
He saw that his only chance of distributing his store of Testaments
lay in visiting the smaller villages before the order to confiscate
his books arrived from Toledo. His enemies were numerous and
watchful; but Borrow was as cunning as a gypsy and as far-seeing as a
Jew. Thinking that his notoriety had not yet crossed the Guadarrama
mountains and penetrated into Old Castile, he decided to anticipate
it. Lopez was sent ahead with a donkey bearing a cargo of
Testaments, his instructions being to meet Borrow and Antonio at La
Granja. Failing to find Lopez at the appointed place, Borrow pushed
on to Segovia, where he received news that some men were selling
books at Abades, to which place he proceeded with three more donkeys
laden with books that had been consigned to a friend at Segovia. At
Abades Lopez was discovered busily occupied in selling Testaments.

Hearing that an order was about to be sent from Segovia to Abades for
the confiscation of his Testaments, Borrow immediately left the town,
donkeys, Testaments and all, and for safety's sake passed the night
in the fields. The next day they proceeded to the village of
Labajos. A few days after their arrival the Carlist leader
Balmaceda, at the head of his robber cavalry, streamed down from the
pine woods of Soria into the southern part of Old Castile, Borrow
"was present at all the horrors which ensued--the sack of Arrevalo,
and the forcible entry into Marrin Munoz and San Cyprian. Amidst
these terrible scenes we continued our labours undaunted." {277a} He
witnessed what "was not the war of men or even cannibals . . . it
seemed a contest of fiends from the infernal pit." Antonio became
seized with uncontrollable fear and ran away to Madrid. Lopez soon
afterwards disappeared, and, left alone, Borrow suffered great
anxiety as to the fate of the brave fellow. Hearing that he was in
prison at Vilallos, about three leagues distant, and in spite of the
fact that Balmaceda's cavalry division was in the neighbourhood,
Borrow mounted his horse and set off next day (22nd Aug.) alone. He
found on his arrival at Vilallos, that Lopez had been removed from
the prison to a private house. Disregarding an order from the
corregidor of Avila that only the books should be confiscated and
that the vendor should be set at liberty, the Alcalde, at the
instigation of the priest, refused to liberate Lopez. It had been
hinted to the unfortunate man that on the arrival of the Carlists he
was to be denounced as a liberal, which would mean death. "Taking
these circumstances into consideration," Borrow wrote, {277b} "I
deemed it my duty as a Christian and a gentleman to rescue my
unfortunate servant from such lawless hands, and in consequence,
defying opposition, I bore him off, though perfectly unarmed, through
a crowd of at least one hundred peasants. On leaving the place I
shouted 'Viva Isabella Segunda.'"

In this affair Borrow had, not only the approval of Lord William
Hervey, but of Count Ofalia also. In all probability the Bible
Society has never had, and never will have again, an agent such as
Borrow, who on occasion could throw aside the cloak of humility and
grasp a two-edged sword with which to discomfit his enemies, and who
solemnly chanted the creed of Islam whilst engaged as a Christian
missionary. There was something magnificent in his Christianity; it
savoured of the Crusades in its pre-Reformation virility. Martyrdom
he would accept if absolutely necessary; but he preferred that if
martyrs there must be they should be selected from the ranks of the
enemy, whilst he, George Borrow, represented the strong arm of the
Lord.

After the Vilallos affair, Borrow returned to Madrid, crossing the
Guadarramas alone and with two horses. "I nearly perished there," he
wrote to Mr Brandram (1st Sept.), "having lost my way in the darkness
and tumbled down a precipice." The perilous journey north had
resulted in the sale of 900 Testaments, all within the space of three
weeks and amidst scenes of battle and bloodshed.

On his return to Madrid, Borrow found awaiting him the Resolution of
the General Committee (6th Aug.), recalling him "without further
delay."


"I will set out for England as soon as possible," he wrote in reply;
{278a} "but I must be allowed time. I am almost dead with fatigue,
suffering and anxiety; and it is necessary that I should place the
Society's property in safe and sure custody."


On 1st September he wrote to Mr Brandram that he should "probably be
in England within three weeks." Shortly after this he was attacked
with fever, and confined to his bed for ten days, during which he was
frequently delirious. When the fever departed, he was left very weak
and subject to a profound melancholy.


"I bore up against my illness as long as I could," he wrote, {279a}
"but it became too powerful for me. By good fortune I obtained a
decent physician, a Dr Hacayo, who had studied medicine in England,
and aided by him and the strength of my constitution I got the better
of my attack, which, however, was a dreadfully severe one. I hope my
next letter will be from Bordeaux. I cannot write more at present,
for I am very feeble."


The actual date that Borrow left Madrid is not known. He himself
gave it as 31st August, {279b} which is obviously inaccurate, as on
19th September he wrote to Mr Brandram: "I am now better, and hope
in a few days to be able to proceed to Saragossa, which is the only
road open." He travelled leisurely by way of the Pyrenees, through
France to Paris, where he spent a fortnight. Of Paris he was very
fond; "for, leaving all prejudices aside, it is a magnificent city,
well supplied with sumptuous buildings and public squares, unequalled
by any town in Europe." {279c} Having bought a few rare books he
proceeded to Boulogne, "and thence by steamboat to London," {279d}
where in all probability he arrived towards the end of October.

He had "long talks on Spanish affairs" with his friends at Earl
Street, where personal interviews seem to have brought about a much
better feeling. The General Committee requested Borrow to put into
writing his views as to the best means to be adopted for the future
distribution of the Scriptures in Spain. He accordingly wrote a
statement, {280a} a fine, vigorous piece of narrative, putting his
case so clearly and convincingly as to leave little to be said for
the unfortunate Graydon. He expressed himself as "eager to be
carefully and categorically questioned." This Report appears
subsequently to have been withdrawn, probably on the advice of
Borrow's friends, who saw that its uncompromising bluntness of
expression would make it unacceptable to the General Committee. It
was certainly presented to and considered by the Sub-Committee.
Another document was drawn up entitled, "Report of Mr Geo. Borrow on
Past and Future Operations in Spain." This reached Earl Street on
28th November. In it Borrow states that as the inhabitants of the
cities had not shown themselves well-disposed towards the Scriptures,
it would be better to labour in future among the peasantry. It was
his firm conviction, he wrote,


"that every village in Spain will purchase New Testaments, from
twenty to sixty, according to its circumstances. During the last two
months of his sojourn in Spain he visited about forty villages, and
in only two instances was his sale less than thirty copies in each .
. . If it be objected to the plan which he has presumed to suggest
that it is impossible to convey to the rural districts of Spain the
book of life without much difficulty and danger, he begs leave to
observe that it does not become a real Christian to be daunted by
either when it pleases his Maker to select him as an instrument; and
that, moreover, if it be not written that a man is to perish by wild
beasts or reptiles he is safe in the den even of the Cockatrice as in
the most retired chamber of the King's Palace; and that if, on the
contrary, he be doomed to perish by them, his destiny will overtake
him notwithstanding all the precautions which he, like a blind worm,
may essay for his security."


In conclusion Borrow calls attention, without suggesting intimate
alliance and co-operation, to the society of the liberal-minded
Spanish ecclesiastics, which has been formed for the purpose of
printing and circulating the Scriptures in Spanish WITHOUT COMMENTARY
OR NOTES. This had reference to a movement that was on foot in
Madrid, supported by the Primate and the Bishops of Vigo and Joen, to
challenge the Government in regard to its attempt to prevent the free
circulation of the Scriptures. It was held that nowhere among the
laws of Spain is it forbidden to circulate the Scriptures either with
or without annotations. The only prohibition being in the various
Papal Bulls. Charles Wood was chosen as "the ostensible manager of
the concern"; but had it not been for the trouble in the South,
Borrow would have been the person selected.

It would have been in every way deplorable had Borrow severed his
connection with the Bible Society as a result of the Graydon episode.
Borrow had been impulsive and indignant in his letters to Earl
Street, Mr Brandram, on the other hand, had been "a little partial,"
and on one or two occasions must have written hastily in response to
Borrow's letters. There is no object in administering blame or
directing reproaches when the principals in a quarrel have made up
their differences; but there can be no question that the failure of
the Officials and Committee of the Bible Society to appreciate the
situation in Spain retarded their work in that country very
considerably. This fact is now generally recognised. Mr Canton has
admirably summed up the situation when he says:


"Borrow had his faults, but insincerity and lack of zeal in the cause
he had espoused were not among them. Both Sir George Villiers and
his successor [during Sir George's visit to England], Lord William
Hervey, were satisfied with the propriety of his conduct. Count
Ofalia himself recognised his good faith--'cuia buena fe me es
conocida.' To see his plans thwarted, his work arrested, the objects
of the Society jeopardised, and his own person endangered by the
indiscretion of others, formed, if not a justification, at least a
sufficient excuse for the expression of strong feeling. On the other
hand, it was difficult for those at home to ascertain the actual
facts of the case, to understand the nicety of the situation, and to
arrive at an impartial judgment. Mr Brandram, who in any case would
have been displeased with Borrow's unrestrained speech, appears to
have suspected that his statements were not free from exaggeration,
and that his discretion was not wholly beyond reproach. Happily the
tension caused by this painful episode was relieved by Lieut.
Graydon's withdrawal to France in June." {282a}



CHAPTER XVIII: DECEMBER 1838-MAY 1839



On 14th December 1838 it was resolved by the General Committee of the
Bible Society that Borrow should proceed once more to Spain to
dispose of such copies of the Scriptures as remained on hand at
Madrid and other depots established by him in various parts of the
country. He left London on the 21st, and sailed from Falmouth two
days later, reaching Cadiz on the 31st, after a stormy passage, and
on 2nd January he arrived at Seville, "rather indisposed with an old
complaint," probably "the Horrors."

In such stirring times to be absent from the country, even for so
short a period as two months, meant that on his return the traveller
found a new Spain. Borrow learned that the Duke of Frias had
succeeded Count Ofalia in September. The Duke had advised the
British Ambassador in November that the Spanish authorities were
possessed of a quantity of Borrow's Bibles (?New Testaments) that had
been seized and taken to Toledo, and that if arrangements were not
made for them to be taken out of Spain they would be destroyed. Sir
George Villiers had replied that Mr Borrow, who was then out of the
country, had been advised of the Duke's notification, and as soon as
word was received from him, the Duke should be communicated with.
Then the Duke of Frias in turn passed out of office and was succeeded
by another, and so, politically, change followed change.

The Government, however, had no intention of putting itself in the
wrong a second time. Great Britain's friendship was of far too great
importance to the country to be jeopardised for the mere
gratification of imprisoning George Borrow. An order had been sent
out to all the authorities that an embargo was to be placed upon the
books themselves; but those distributing them were not to be arrested
or in any way harmed.

At Seville he found evidences of the activity of the Government in
the news that of the hundred New Testaments that he had left with his
correspondent there, seventy-six had been seized during the previous
summer. Hearing that the books were in the hands of the
Ecclesiastical Governor, Borrow astonished that "fierce, persecuting
Papist by calling to make enquiries concerning them." The old man
treated his visitor to a stream of impassioned invective against the
Bible Society and its agent, expressing his surprise that he had ever
been permitted to leave the prison in Madrid. Seeing that nothing
was to be gained, although he had an absolute right to the books,
provided he sent them out of the country, Borrow decided not to press
the matter.

On the night of 12th Jan. 1839, he left Seville with the Mail Courier
and his escort bound for Madrid, where he arrived on the 16th without
accident or incident, although the next Courier traversing the route
was stopped by banditti. It was during this journey, whilst resting
for four hours at Manzanares, a large village in La Mancha, that he
encountered the blind girl who had been taught Latin by a Jesuit
priest, and whom he named "the Manchegan Prophetess." {284a} In
telling Mr Brandram of the incident, Borrow tactlessly remarked,
"what wonderful people are the Jesuits; when shall we hear of an
English rector instructing a beggar girl in the language of Cicero?"
Mr Brandram clearly showed that he liked neither the remark, which he
took as personal, nor the use of the term "prophetess."

On reaching Madrid a singular incident befell Borrow. On entering
the arch of the posada called La Reyna, he found himself encircled by
a pair of arms, and, on turning round, found that they belonged to
the delinquent Antonio, who stood before his late master "haggard and
ill-dressed, and his eyes seemed starting from their sockets." The
poor fellow, who was entirely destitute, had, on the previous night,
dreamed that he saw Borrow arrive on a black horse, and, in
consequence, had spent the whole day in loitering about outside the
posada. Borrow was very glad to engage him again, in spite of his
recent cowardice and desertion. Borrow once more took up his abode
with the estimable Maria Diaz, and one of his first cares was to call
on Lord Clarendon (Sir George Villiers had succeeded his uncle as
fourth earl), by whom he was kindly received.

A week later, there arrived from Lopez at Villa Seca his "largest and
most useful horse," the famous Sidi Habismilk (My Lord the Sustainer
of the Kingdom), "an Arabian of high caste . . . the best, I believe,
that ever issued from the desert," {285a} Lopez wrote, regretting
that he was unable to accompany "The Sustainer of the Kingdom" in
person, being occupied with agricultural pursuits, but he sent a
relative named Victoriano to assist in the work of distributing the
Gospel.

Borrow's plan was to make Madrid his headquarters, with Antonio in
charge of the supplies, and visit all the villages and hamlets in the
vicinity that had not yet been supplied with Testaments. He then
proposed to turn eastward to a distance of about thirty leagues.


"I have been very passionate in prayer," he writes, {285b} "during
the last two or three days; and I entertain some hope that the Lord
has condescended to answer me, as I appear to see my way with
considerable clearness. It may, of course, prove a delusion, and the
prospects which seem to present themselves may be mere palaces of
clouds, which a breath of wind is sufficient to tumble into ruin;
therefore bearing this possibility in mind it behoves me to beg that
I may be always enabled to bow meekly to the dispensations of the
Almighty, whether they be of favour or severity."


Mr Brandram's comment on this portion of Borrow's letter is rather
suggestive of deliberate fault-finding.


"May your 'passionate' prayers be answered," he writes. {286a} "You
see I remark your unusual word--very significant it is, but one
rather fitted for the select circle where 'passion' is understood in
its own full sense--and not in the restricted meaning attached to it
ordinarily. Perhaps you will not often meet with a better set of men
than those who assembled in Earl Street, but they may not always be
open to the force of language, and so unwonted a phrase may raise odd
feelings in their minds. Do not be in a passion, will you, for the
freedom of my remarks. You will perhaps suppose remarks were made in
Committee. This does not happen to be the case, though I fully
anticipated it. Mr Browne, Mr Jowett and myself had first privately
devoured your letter, and we made our remarks. We could relish such
a phrase."


Sometimes there was a suggestion of spite in Mr Brandram's letters.
He was obviously unfriendly towards Borrow during the latter portion
of his agency. It was clear that the period of Borrow's further
association with the Bible Society was to be limited. If he replied
at all to this rather unfair criticism, he must have done so
privately to Mr Brandram, as there is no record of his having
referred to it in any subsequent letters among the Society's
archives.

All unconscious that he had so early offended, Borrow set out upon
his first journey to distribute Testaments among the villages around
Madrid. Dressed in the manner of the peasants, on his head a
montera, a species of leathern helmet, with jacket and trousers of
the same material, and mounted on Sidi Habismilk, he looked so unlike
the conventional missionary that the housewife may be excused who
mistook him for a pedlar selling soap.

In some villages where the people were without money, they received
Testaments in return for refreshing the missionaries. "Is this
right?" Borrow enquires of Mr Brandram. The village priests
frequently proved of considerable assistance; for when they
pronounced the books good, as they sometimes did, the sale became
extremely brisk. After an absence of eight days, Borrow returned to
Madrid. Shortly afterwards, when on the eve of starting out upon
another expedition to Guadalajara and the villages of Alcarria, he
received a letter from Victoriano saying that he was in prison at
Fuente la Higuera, a village about eight leagues distant. Acting
with his customary energy and decision, Borrow obtained from an
influential friend letters to the Civil Governor and principal
authorities of Guadalajara. He then despatched Antonio to the
rescue, with the result that Victoriano was released, with the
assurance that those responsible for his detention should be severely
punished.

Whilst Victoriano was in prison, Borrow and Antonio had been very
successful in selling Testaments and Bibles in Madrid, disposing of
upwards of a hundred copies, but entirely to the poor, who "receive
the Scriptures with gladness," although the hearts of the rich were
hard. The work in and about Madrid continued until the middle of
March, when Borrow decided to make an excursion as far as Talavera.
The first halt was made at the village of Naval Carnero. Soon after
his arrival orders came from Madrid warning the alcaldes of every
village in New Castile to be on the look out for the tall, white-
haired heretic, of whom an exact description was given, who to-day
was in one place and to-morrow twenty leagues distant. No violence
was to be offered either to him or to his assistants; but he and they
were to be baulked in their purpose by every legitimate means.

Foiled in the rural districts, Borrow instantly determined to change
his plan of campaign. He saw that he was less likely to attract
notice in the densely-populated capital than in the provinces. He
therefore galloped back to Madrid, leaving Victoriano to follow more
leisurely. He rejoiced at the alarm of the clergy. "Glory to God!"
he exclaims, "they are becoming thoroughly alarmed, and with much
reason." {288a} The "reason" lay in the great demand for Testaments
and Bibles. A new binding-order had to be given for the balance of
the 500 Bibles that had arrived in sheets, or such as had been left
of them by the rats, who had done considerable damage in the Madrid
storehouse.