. .
My interview with him lasted nearly an hour. Some singular
discourse passed between us: I found him, as I had been informed,
a bitter enemy to the Bible Society, of which he spoke in terms of
hatred and contempt, and by no means a friend to the Christian
religion, which I could easily account for. I was not discouraged,
however, and pressed upon him the matter which brought me thither,
and was eventually so far successful, as to obtain a promise, that
at the expiration of a few months, when he hoped the country would
be in a more tranquil state, I should be allowed to print the
Scriptures.
As I was going away he said, "Yours is not the first application I
have had; ever since I have held the reins of government I have
been pestered in this manner, by English calling themselves
Evangelical Christians, who have of late come flocking over into
Spain. Only last week a hunchbacked fellow found his way into my
cabinet whilst I was engaged in important business, and told me
that Christ was coming. . . . And now you have made your
appearance, and almost persuaded me to embroil myself yet more with
the priesthood, as if they did not abhor me enough already. What a
strange infatuation is this which drives you over lands and waters
with Bibles in your hands. My good sir, it is not Bibles we want,
but rather guns and gunpowder, to put the rebels down with, and
above all, money, that we may pay the troops; whenever you come
with these three things you shall have a hearty welcome, if not, we
really can dispense with your visits, however great the honour."
Myself. - There will be no end to the troubles of this afflicted
country until the gospel have free circulation.
Mendizabal. - I expected that answer, for I have not lived thirteen
years in England without forming some acquaintance with the
phraseology of you good folks. Now, now, pray go; you see how
engaged I am. Come again whenever you please, but let it not be
within the next three months.
"Don Jorge," said my hostess, coming into my apartment one morning,
whilst I sat at breakfast with my feet upon the brasero, "here is
my son Baltasarito, the national; he has risen from his bed, and
hearing that there is an Englishman in the house, he has begged me
to introduce him, for he loves Englishmen on account of the
liberality of their opinions; there he is, what do you think of
him?"
I did not state to his mother what I thought; it appeared to me,
however, that she was quite right calling him Baltasarito, which is
the diminutive of Baltasar, forasmuch as that ancient and sonorous
name had certainly never been bestowed on a more diminutive
personage: he might measure about five feet one inch, though he
was rather corpulent for his height; his face looked yellow and
sickly, he had, however, a kind of fanfaronading air, and his eyes,
which were of dark brown, were both sharp and brilliant. His
dress, or rather his undress, was somewhat shabby: he had a
foraging cap on his head, and in lieu of a morning gown, he wore a
sentinel's old great coat.
"I am glad to make your acquaintance, senor nacional," said I to
him, after his mother had departed, and Baltasar had taken his
seat, and of course lighted a paper cigar at the brasero. "I am
glad to have made your acquaintance, more especially as your lady
mother has informed me that you have great influence with the
nationals. I am a stranger in Spain, and may want a friend;
fortune has been kind to me in procuring me one who is a member of
so powerful a body."
Baltasar. - Yes, I have a great deal to say with the other
nationals; there is none in Madrid better known than Baltasar, or
more dreaded by the Carlists. You say you may stand in need of a
friend; there is no fear of my failing you in any emergency. Both
myself and any of the other nationals will be proud to go out with
you as padrinos, should you have any affair of honour on your
hands. But why do you not become one of us? We would gladly
receive you into our body.
Myself. - Is the duty of a national particularly hard?
Baltasar. - By no means; we have to do duty about once every fifteen
days, and then there is occasionally a review, which does not last
long. No! the duties of a national are by no means onerous, and
the privileges are great. I have seen three of my brother
nationals walk up and down the Prado of a Sunday, with sticks in
their hands, cudgelling all the suspicious characters, and it is
our common practice to scour the streets at night, and then if we
meet any person who is obnoxious to us, we fall upon him, and with
a knife or a bayonet generally leave him wallowing in his blood on
the pavement: no one but a national would be permitted to do that.
Myself. - Of course none but persons of liberal opinions are to be
found amongst the nationals?
Baltasar. - Would it were so! There are some amongst us, Don Jorge,
who are no better than they should be; they are few, however, and
for the most part well known. Theirs is no pleasant life, for when
they mount guard with the rest they are scouted, and not
unfrequently cudgelled. The law compels all of a certain age
either to serve in the army or to become national soldiers on which
account some of these Godos are to be found amongst us.
Myself. - Are there many in Madrid of the Carlist opinion?
Baltasar. - Not among the young people; the greater part of the
Madrilenian Carlists capable of bearing arms departed long ago to
join the ranks of the factious in the Basque provinces.
