I Was Standing In The Courtyard Of The Reyna
Posada, Where I Occasionally Dined, When A Man, Singularly Dressed
And Gigantically Tall, Entered.
My curiosity was excited, and I
inquired of the master of the house who he was.
He informed me
that he was a foreigner, who had resided a considerable time in
Seville, and he believed a Greek. Upon hearing this, I instantly
went up to the stranger, and accosted him in the Greek language, in
which, though I speak it very ill, I can make myself understood.
He replied in the same idiom, and, flattered by the interest which
I, a foreigner, expressed for his nation, was not slow in
communicating to me his history. He told me that his name was
Dionysius, that he was a native of Cephalonia, and had been
educated for the church, which, not suiting his temper, he had
abandoned, in order to follow the profession of the sea, for which
he had an early inclination. That after many adventures and
changes of fortune, he found himself one morning on the coast of
Spain, a shipwrecked mariner, and that, ashamed to return to his
own country in poverty and distress, he had remained in the
Peninsula, residing chiefly at Seville, where he now carried on a
small trade in books. He said that he was of the Greek religion,
to which he professed strong attachment, and soon discovering that
I was a Protestant, spoke with unbounded abhorrence of the papal
system; nay of its followers in general, whom he called Latins, and
whom he charged with the ruin of his own country, inasmuch as they
sold it to the Turk. It instantly struck me, that this individual
would be an excellent assistant in the work which had brought me to
Seville, namely, the propagation of the eternal Gospel, and
accordingly, after some more conversation, in which he exhibited
considerable learning, I explained myself to him. He entered into
my views with eagerness, and in the sequel I had no reason to
regret my confidence, he having disposed of a considerable number
of New Testaments, and even contrived to send a certain number of
copies to two small towns at some distance from Seville.
Another helper in the circulation of the Gospel I found in an aged
professor of music, who, with much stiffness and ceremoniousness,
united much that was excellent and admirable. This venerable
individual, only three days after I had made his acquaintance,
brought me the price of six Testaments and a Gypsy Gospel, which he
had sold under the heat of an Andalusian sun. What was his motive?
A Christian one truly. He said that his unfortunate countrymen,
who were then robbing and murdering each other, might probably be
rendered better by the reading of the Gospel, but could never be
injured. Adding, that many a man had been reformed by the
Scriptures, but that no one ever yet became a thief or assassin
from its perusal.
But my most extraordinary agent, was one whom I occasionally
employed in circulating the Scriptures amongst the lower classes.
I might have turned the services of this individual to far greater
account had the quantity of books at my disposal been greater; but
they were now diminishing rapidly, and as I had no hopes of a fresh
supply, I was almost tempted to be niggard of the few which
remained. This agent was a Greek bricklayer, by name Johannes
Chrysostom, who had been introduced to me by Dionysius. He was a
native of the Morea, but had been upwards of thirty-five years in
Spain, so that he had almost entirely lost his native language.
Nevertheless, his attachment to his own country was so strong that
he considered whatever was not Greek as utterly barbarous and bad.
Though entirely destitute of education, he had, by his strength of
character, and by a kind of rude eloquence which he possessed,
obtained such a mastery over the minds of the labouring classes of
Seville, that they assented to almost everything he said,
notwithstanding the shocks which their prejudices were continually
receiving. So that, although he was a foreigner, he could at any
time have become the Massaniello of Seville. A more honest
creature I never saw, and I soon found that if I employed him,
notwithstanding his eccentricities, I might entertain perfect
confidence that his actions would be no disparagement to the book
he vended.
We were continually pressed for Bibles, which of course we could
not supply. Testaments were held in comparatively little esteem.
I had by this time made the discovery of a fact which it would have
been well had I been aware of three years before; but we live and
learn. I mean the inexpediency of printing Testaments, and
Testaments alone, for Catholic countries. The reason is plain:
the Catholic, unused to Scripture reading, finds a thousand things
which he cannot possibly understand in the New Testament, the
foundation of which is the Old. "Search the Scriptures, for they
bear witness of me," may well be applied to this point. It may be
replied, that New Testaments separate are in great demand, and of
infinite utility in England, but England, thanks be to the Lord, is
not a papal country; and though an English labourer may read a
Testament, and derive from it the most blessed fruit, it does not
follow that a Spanish or Italian peasant will enjoy similar
success, as he will find many dark things with which the other is
well acquainted, and competent to understand, being versed in the
Bible history from his childhood. I confess, however, that in my
summer campaign of the preceding year, I could not have
accomplished with Bibles what Providence permitted me to effect
with Testaments, the former being far too bulky for rural journeys.
CHAPTER XLIX
The Solitary House - The Dehesa - Johannes Chrysostom - Manuel -
Bookselling at Seville - Dionysius and the Priests - Athens and Rome-
-Proselytism - Seizure of Testaments - Departure from Seville.
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