doubtless deem it too warm and fiery," he writes, referring to his reply, "but tameness and gentleness are of little avail when surrounded by the vassal slaves of bloody Rome." {212a} Borrow's response to the "benefice-hunting curate" not only silenced him, but was listened to by the General Committee of the Society "with much pleasure."

The cause of the trouble in Valencia lay with the other agent of the Bible Society in Spain, Lieutenant James Newenham Graydon, R.N., who first took up the work of distributing the Scriptures at Gibraltar in 1835. Here he became associated with the Rev. W. H. Rule, of the Wesleyan Methodist Society. "The Lieutenant, who seems to have combined the personal charm of the Irish gentleman with some of the perfervid incautiousness of the Keltic temperament, finding himself unemployed at Gibraltar, resolved to do what lay in his power for the spiritual enlightenment of Spain. Without receiving a regular commission from any society, he took up single-handed the task which he had imposed upon himself." {213a}

Borrow had first met Lieutenant Graydon at Madrid, in the summer of 1836, where he saw him two or three times. When Graydon left, on account of the heat, Borrow had removed to Graydon's lodgings as being more comfortable than his own. The prohibition in Valencia was directly due to the indiscretion and incaution of Graydon. The Vicar-General of the province gave as a reason for his action, an advertisement that had appeared in the Diario Comercial of Valencia, undertaking to supply Bibles gratis to those who could not afford to buy them. For this advertisement Graydon was admonished by the General Committee, which refused to entertain his plea that, being unpaid, he was not, strictly speaking, an agent of the Bible Society. He was given to understand that as the Society was responsible for his acts he must be guided by its views and wishes.

The next occasion on which Borrow came into conflict with this impulsive missionary free-lance was in March 1838, when he heard from the Rev. W. H. Rule that Graydon was on his way to Andalusia. Borrow immediately wrote to Mr Brandram that he, acting on the advice of Sir George Villiers, had already planned an expedition into that province, and furthermore that he had despatched there a number of Testaments. He explained to Mr Brandram that he was apprehensive "of the re-acting at Seville of the Valencian Drama, which I have such unfortunate cause to rue, as I am the victim on whom an aggravated party have wreaked their vengeance, and for the very cogent reason that I was within their reach." {213b} On this occasion Graydon was instructed not to start upon his projected journey, although Mr Brandram gave the order much against his own inclination. {214a}

One great difficulty that Borrow had to contend with was the apathy of the Madrid booksellers, who "gave themselves no manner of trouble to secure the sale, and even withheld [the] advertisements from the public." {214b} This determined him to open a shop himself, and, accordingly, towards the end of November, he secured premises in the Calle del Principe, one of the main thoroughfares, for which he agreed to pay a rent of eight reals a day. He furnished the premises handsomely, with glass cases and chandeliers, and caused to be painted in large yellow characters the sign "Despacho de la Sociedad Biblica y Estrangera" (Depot of the Biblical and Foreign Society). He engaged a Gallegan (Jose Calzado, whom he called Pepe) as salesman, and on 27th November formally opened his new premises. Customers soon presented themselves; but many were disappointed on finding that they could not obtain the Bible. "I could have sold ten times the amount of what I did," Borrow writes. "I MUST therefore be furnished with Bibles instanter; send me therefore the London edition, bad as it is, say 500 copies." {214c}

To facilitate the passing of these books through the customs, Borrow suggested that they should be consigned to the British Consul at Cadiz, who was friendly to the Society and "would have sufficient influence to secure their admission into Spain. But the most advisable way," he goes on to explain with great guile, "would be to pack them in two chests, placing at the top Bibles in English and other languages, for there is a demand, viz., 100 English, 100 French, 50 German, 50 Hebrew, 50 Greek, 10 Modern Greek, 10 Persian, 20 Arabic. PRAY DO NOT FAIL." {215a}

When Sir George Villiers first obtained from Isturitz permission for Borrow to print and sell the New Testament in Spanish without notes, he had cautioned him "to use the utmost circumspection, and in order to pursue his vocation with success, to avoid offending popular prejudices, which would not fail to be excited against a Protestant and a Foreigner engaged in the propagation of the Gospel." {215b} This warning the British Minister had repeated frequently since. It was without consulting Sir George that Borrow opened his depot, and "imprudently painted upon the window that it was the Depot of the London (sic) Bible Society for the sale of Bibles. I told him," Sir George writes "that such a measure would render the interference of the Authorities inevitable, and so it turned out." {215c}

Borrow now lost the services of the faithful Antonio, who, on the last day of the year, informed him that he had become unsettled and dissatisfied with everything at his master's lodgings, including the house, the furniture, and the landlady herself. Therefore he had hired himself out to a count for four dollars a month less than he was receiving from Borrow, because he was "fond of change, though it be for the worse. Adieu, mon maitre," he said in parting; "may you be as well served as you deserve. Should you chance, however, to have any pressing need de mes soins, send for me without hesitation, and I will at once give my new master warning." A few days later Borrow engaged a Basque, named Francisco, who "to the strength of a giant joined the disposition of a lamb," {216a} and who had been strongly recommended to him.

On his return from a hurried visit to Toledo, Borrow found his Despacho succeeding as well as could be expected. To call attention to his premises he now took an extremely daring step. He caused to be printed three thousand copies of an advertisement on paper yellow, blue, and crimson, "with which I almost covered the sides of the streets" he wrote, "and besides this inserted notices in all the journals and periodicals, employing also a man, after the London fashion, to parade the streets with a placard, to the astonishment of the populace." {216b} The result of this move, Borrow declared, was that every man, woman and child in Madrid became aware of the existence of his Despacho, as well they might. In spite of this commercial enterprise, the first month's trading showed a sale of only between seventy and eighty New Testaments, and ten Bibles, {216c} these having been secured from a Spanish bookseller who had brought them secretly from Gibraltar, but who was afraid to sell them himself. Mr Brandram's comment upon the letter from Borrow telling of the posters was that its contents had "afforded us no little merriment. The idea of your placards and placard-bearers in Madrid is indeed a novel one. It cannot but be effectual in giving publicity. I sincerely hope it may not be prejudicial." {216d}

When in England, at the end of 1836, Borrow had been authorised by the Bible Society to find "a person competent to translate the Scriptures in Basque." On 27th February 1837, he wrote telling Mr Brandram that he had become "acquainted with a gentleman well versed in that dialect, of which I myself have some knowledge." Dr Oteiza, the domestic physician of the Marques de Salvatierra, was accordingly commissioned to proceed with the work, for which, when completed, he was paid the sum of "8 pounds and a few odd shillings." Borrow reported to Mr Brandram (7th June 1837):

"I have examined it with much attention, and find it a very faithful version. The only objection which can be brought against it is that Spanish words are frequently used to express ideas for which there are equivalents in Basque; but this language, as spoken at present in Spain, is very corrupt, and a work written entirely in the Basque of Larramendi's Dictionary would be intelligible to very few. I have read passages from it to men of Guipuscoa, who assured me that they had no difficulty in understanding it, and that it was written in the colloquial style of the province."

Borrow had "obtained a slight acquaintance" with Basque when a youth, which he lost no opportunity of extending by mingling with Biscayans during his stay in the Peninsula. He also considerably improved himself in the language by conversing with his Basque servant Francisco. Borrow now decided to print the Gitano and Basque versions of St Luke, which he accordingly put in hand; but as the compositors were entirely ignorant of both languages, he had to exercise the greatest care in reading the proofs.

During his stay in Spain he had found time to translate into the dialect of the Spanish gypsies the greater part of the New Testament. {217a} His method had been somewhat original. Believing that there is "no individual, however wicked and hardened, who is utterly GODLESS," {217b} he determined to apply his belief to the gypsies. To enlist their interest in the work, he determined to allow them to do the translating themselves. At one period of his residence in Madrid he was regularly visited by two gypsy women, and these he decided to make his translators; for he found the women far more amenable than the men. In spite of the fact that he had already translated into Gitano the New Testament, or the greater part of it, he would read out to the women from the Spanish version and let them translate it into Romany themselves, thus obtaining the correct gypsy idiom. The women looked forward to these gatherings and also to "the one small glass of Malaga" with which their host regaled them. They had got as far as the eighth chapter before the meetings ended. What was the moral effect of St Luke upon the minds of two gypsies? Borrow confessed himself sceptical; first, because he was acquainted with the gypsy character; second, because it came to his knowledge that one of the women "committed a rather daring theft shortly afterwards, which compelled her to conceal herself for a fortnight." {218a} Borrow comforted himself with the reflection that "it is quite possible, however, that she may remember the contents of those chapters on her death-bed." {218b} The translation of the remaining chapters was supplied from Borrow's own version begun at Badajos in 1836.

It is not strange that Borrow should be regarded with suspicion by the Spaniards on account of his association with the Gitanos. Sometimes there would be as many as seventeen gypsies gathered together at his lodgings in the Calle de Santiago.

"The people in the street in which I lived," he writes, {218c} "seeing such numbers of these strange females continually passing in and out, were struck with astonishment, and demanded the reason. The answers which they obtained by no means satisfied them. 'Zeal for the conversion of souls--the souls too of Gitanas,--disparate! the fellow is a scoundrel. Besides he is an Englishman, and is not baptised; what cares he for souls? They visit him for other purposes. He makes base ounces, which they carry away and circulate. Madrid is already stocked with false money.' Others were of the opinion that we met for the purposes of sorcery and abomination. The Spaniard has no conception that other springs of action exist than interest or villany."