Paciencia!
Cavalier, If You Will Step Into Our House, I Will Give You A Glass
Of Water; We Have Some
That is cool, for we dug a deep hole in the
earth and buried there our pitcher; it is cool,
As I told you, but
the water of Castile is not like that of Catalonia."
The moon had arisen when we mounted our horses to return to the
village, and the rays of the beauteous luminary danced merrily on
the rushing waters of the Tagus, silvered the plain over which we
were passing, and bathed in a flood of brightness the bold sides of
the calcareous hill of Villaluenga and the antique ruins which
crowned its brow. "Why is that place called the Castle of
Villaluenga?" I demanded.
"From a village of that name, which stands on the other side of the
hill, Don Jorge," replied the herrador. "Vaya! it is a strange
place, that castle; some say it was built by the Moors in the old
times, and some by the Christians when they first laid siege to
Toledo. It is not inhabited now, save by rabbits, which breed
there in abundance amongst the long grass and broken stones, and by
eagles and vultures, which build on the tops of the towers; I
occasionally go there with my gun to shoot a rabbit. On a fine day
you may descry both Toledo and Madrid from its walls. I cannot say
I like the place, it is so dreary and melancholy. The hill on
which it stands is all of chalk, and is very difficult of ascent.
I heard my grandame say that once, when she was a girl, a cloud of
smoke burst from that hill, and that flames of fire were seen, just
as if it contained a volcano, as perhaps it does, Don Jorge."
The grand work of Scripture circulation soon commenced in the
Sagra. Notwithstanding the heat of the weather, I rode about in
all directions. It was well that heat agrees with my constitution,
otherwise it would have been impossible to effect anything in this
season, when the very arrieros frequently fall dead from their
mules, smitten by sun-stroke. I had an excellent assistant in
Antonio, who, disregarding the heat like myself, and afraid of
nothing, visited several villages with remarkable success. "Mon
maitre," said he, "I wish to show you that nothing is beyond my
capacity." But he who put the labours of us both to shame, was my
host, Juan Lopez, whom it had pleased the Lord to render favourable
to the cause. "Don Jorge," said he, "io quiero engancharme con
usted (I wish to enlist with you); I am a liberal, and a foe to
superstition; I will take the field, and, if necessary, will follow
you to the end of the world; Viva Ingalaterra; viva el Evangelio."
Thus saying, he put a large bundle of Testaments into a satchel,
and springing upon the crupper of his grey donkey, he cried "Arrhe
burra," and hastened away. I sat down to my journal.
Ere I had finished writing, I heard the voice of the burra in the
courtyard, and going out, I found my host returned. He had
disposed of his whole cargo of twenty Testaments at the village of
Vargas, distant from Villa Seca about a league. Eight poor harvest
men, who were refreshing themselves at the door of a wine-house,
purchased each a copy, whilst the village schoolmaster secured the
rest for the little ones beneath his care, lamenting, at the same
time, the great difficulty he had long experienced in obtaining
religious books, owing to their scarcity and extravagant price.
Many other persons were also anxious to purchase Testaments, but
Lopez was unable to supply them: at his departure, they requested
him to return within a few days.
I was aware that I was playing rather a daring game, and that it
was very possible that, when I least expected it, I might be
seized, tied to the tail of a mule, and dragged either to the
prison of Toledo or Madrid. Yet such a prospect did not discourage
me in the least, but rather urged me to persevere; for at this
time, without the slightest wish to gratify myself, I could say
that I was eager to lay down my life for the cause, and whether a
bandit's bullet, or the gaol fever brought my career to a close,
was a matter of indifference to me; I was not then a stricken man:
"Ride on because of the word of righteousness," was my cry.
The news of the arrival of the book of life soon spread like
wildfire through the villages of the Sagra of Toledo, and wherever
my people and myself directed our course we found the inhabitants
disposed to receive our merchandize; it was even called for where
not exhibited. One night as I was bathing myself and horse in the
Tagus, a knot of people gathered on the bank, crying, "Come out of
the water, Englishman, and give us books; we have got our money in
our hands." The poor creatures then held out their hands, filled
with cuartos, a copper coin of the value of the farthing, but
unfortunately I had no Testaments to give them. Antonio, however,
who was at a short distance, having exhibited one, it was instantly
torn from his hands by the people, and a scuffle ensued to obtain
possession of it. It very frequently occurred, that the poor
labourers in the neighbourhood, being eager to obtain Testaments,
and having no money to offer us in exchange, brought various
articles to our habitation as equivalents; for example, rabbits,
fruit and barley, and I made a point never to disappoint them, as
such articles were of utility either for our own consumption or
that of the horses.
In Villa Seca there was a school in which fifty-seven children were
taught the first rudiments of education. One morning the
schoolmaster, a tall slim figure of about sixty, bearing on his
head one of the peaked hats of Andalusia, and wrapped,
notwithstanding the excessive heat of the weather, in a long cloak,
made his appearance; and having seated himself, requested to be
shown one of our books.
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