第97章 19th August,1837(2)

What is the fact?Almost every road is teeming with banditti,who under the name of Carlists plunder friend and foe,and to robbery join cruelty so atrociously horrible that indignation at the crime is frequently lost in wonder;for the Galician robbers are seldom satisfied with booty,and unlike their brethren in other parts generally mutilate or assassinate those who are so unfortunate as to fall in their hands;prostitution is carried on to an enormous extent,and although loathsome concustant [sic]diseases stare the stranger in the face in the street,in the market-place,in the church,and at the fountain;'Drunken as a Galician'is a proverb;and superstitions forgotten,abandoned in the rest of Spain,are clung to here with surprising pertinacity,the clergy exerting themselves to uphold them by carrying on a very extensive sale in charms,verifying the old saying,'Witches are found where friars abound.'

An unhappy man,whilst collecting vipers amongst the hills,which he was in the practice of selling to the apothecaries,was lately met near Orense by some of these monsters.Having plundered and stripped him,they tied his hands behind him and thrust his head into the sack,which contained several of these horrible reptiles alive!They then fastened the sack at the mouth round his neck,and having feasted their ears for a time with his cries,they abandoned him to his fate.The poor wretch,stung by the vipers in the face and eyes,presently became mad and ran through several villages,till he fell dead.

I am now in the heart of this strange country and people.It has pleased the Lord to bless my humble endeavours more than I had reason to expect;since my arrival Santiago between thirty and forty copies of the New Testament have been despatched.The bookseller of the place,Rey Romero,a venerable man of seventy,very wealthy and respected,has taken up the cause with an enthusiasm which doubtless emanates from on high,losing no opportunity of recommending the work to those who enter his shop,which is very splendid and commodious.

In many instances,when the peasants of the neighbourhood have come with the intention of purchasing some of the foolish popular story-books of Spain,he has persuaded them in lieu thereof to carry home Testaments,assuring them that it was not only a better and more instructive,but even a far more entertaining book than those they came in quest of.He has taken a great fancy to me,and comes to visit me every evening,when he accompanies me in my walks about the town and environs.Every one who is aware how rare it is to meet with friendship and cordiality in Spain will easily conceive my joy at finding such a coadjutor,and I have no doubt that when Iam absent he will exert himself as much,and I hope as effectually,as now that I am present.

I leave Saint James to-morrow for Pontevedra and Vigo,carrying with me some Testaments which I hope to dispose of,notwithstanding there are no booksellers in those places.I shall then return to Corunna,either by Compostella or by some other route.I trust the Lord will preserve me in this journey as He has done in others.

From Corunna I propose to travel through the mountains to Oviedo in the Asturias,provided that town be not speedily in the hands of the factious.By the time these lines reach you,you will doubtless have heard of the irruption of a part of the Pretender's hordes into Old Castile;they have carried everything before them,and have sacked and taken possession of the city of Segovia,distant only one day's march from Madrid.From the aspect of things I should say that the miseries of this land,far from having reached their climax,are but commencing.Yet let no one mourn for Egypt:she is but paying the price of her sorceries and superstitions.

(UNSIGNED.)

P.S.-At San Sebastian I shall need Davison's Turkish Grammar,which you have in the Library.It will be of assistance to me in editing the Basque St.Luke;the two languages are surprisingly connected.