The Life of George Borrow [97]
in his imprisonment. Whatever the truth, there appears to have been some embarrassment among those responsible for bringing in the lost sheep as to what should be done with him. "I hope that Mann's history will be a warning to many of our friends," Borrow wrote to Mr Rule and quoted the passage in his letter to Mr Brandram, {226a} "and tend to a certain extent to sober down the desire for doing what is called at home SMART THINGS, many of which terminate in a manner very different from the original expectations of the parties concerned." Mr Brandram thought that Borrow was a little hard upon Graydon, and that he had not received "with the due grano salis the statements of the unfortunate M." He intimated, nevertheless, that the Committee had no opening for Mann's services.
That Borrow was justified in his anger is shown by the fact that, as he had foreseen, he reaped all the odium of Mann's conversion. The Bishop of Cordoba in Council branded him as "a dangerous, pestilent person, who under the pretence of selling the Scriptures went about making converts, and moreover employed subordinates for the purpose of deluding weak and silly people into separation from the Mother Church." {227a}
Although Borrow was angry about the Mann episode, he did not allow his personal feelings to prevent him from ministering to the needs of the poor ex-priest "as far as prudence will allow," when he fell ill. He even went the length of writing to Mr Rule, being wishful "not to offend him." None the less he felt that he had not been well treated. To Mr Brandram he wrote reminding him "that all the difficulty and danger connected with what has been accomplished in Spain have fallen to my share, I having been labouring on the flinty rock and sierra, and not in smiling meadows refreshed by sea breezes." {227b}
On 14th July 1838 Borrow made the last reference to the ex-priest in a letter to Mr Brandram: "The unfortunate M. is dying of a galloping consumption, brought on by distress of mind. All the medicine in the world would not accomplish his cure." {227c}
The watchful eye of the law was still on Borrow, and fearful lest his stock of Bibles, of which 500 had arrived from Barcelona, and the Gypsy and Basque editions of St Luke should he seized, he hired a room where he stored the bulk of the books. He now advertised the two editions of St Luke, with the result that on 16th April a party of Alguazils entered the shop and took possession of twenty-five copies of the Romany Gospel of St Luke.
On the publication of the Gypsy St Luke, a fresh campaign had been opened against Borrow, and accusations of sorcery were made and fears expressed as to the results of the publication of the book. Application was made by the priestly party to the Civil Governor, with the result that all the copies at the Despacho of the Basque and Gitano versions of St Luke had been seized. Borrow states that the Alguazils "divided the copies of the gypsy volume among themselves, selling subsequently the greater number at a large price, the book being in the greatest demand." {228a} Thus the very officials responsible for the seizure and suppression of the Bible Society's books in Spain became "unintentionally agents of an heretical society." {228b}
Disappointed at the smallness of the spoil, the authorities strove by artifice to discover if Borrow still had copies of the books in his possession. To this end they sent to the Despacho spies, who offered high prices for copies of the Gitano St Luke, in which their interest seemed specially to centre, to the exclusion of the Basque version. To these enquiries the same answer was returned, that at present no further books would be sold at the Despacho.
As evidence of the high opinion formed of the Romany version of St Luke, the following story told by Borrow is amusing:-
"Shortly before my departure a royal edict was published, authorising all public libraries to provide themselves with copies of the said works [the Basque and Gypsy St Lukes] on account of their philological merit; whereupon
That Borrow was justified in his anger is shown by the fact that, as he had foreseen, he reaped all the odium of Mann's conversion. The Bishop of Cordoba in Council branded him as "a dangerous, pestilent person, who under the pretence of selling the Scriptures went about making converts, and moreover employed subordinates for the purpose of deluding weak and silly people into separation from the Mother Church." {227a}
Although Borrow was angry about the Mann episode, he did not allow his personal feelings to prevent him from ministering to the needs of the poor ex-priest "as far as prudence will allow," when he fell ill. He even went the length of writing to Mr Rule, being wishful "not to offend him." None the less he felt that he had not been well treated. To Mr Brandram he wrote reminding him "that all the difficulty and danger connected with what has been accomplished in Spain have fallen to my share, I having been labouring on the flinty rock and sierra, and not in smiling meadows refreshed by sea breezes." {227b}
On 14th July 1838 Borrow made the last reference to the ex-priest in a letter to Mr Brandram: "The unfortunate M. is dying of a galloping consumption, brought on by distress of mind. All the medicine in the world would not accomplish his cure." {227c}
The watchful eye of the law was still on Borrow, and fearful lest his stock of Bibles, of which 500 had arrived from Barcelona, and the Gypsy and Basque editions of St Luke should he seized, he hired a room where he stored the bulk of the books. He now advertised the two editions of St Luke, with the result that on 16th April a party of Alguazils entered the shop and took possession of twenty-five copies of the Romany Gospel of St Luke.
On the publication of the Gypsy St Luke, a fresh campaign had been opened against Borrow, and accusations of sorcery were made and fears expressed as to the results of the publication of the book. Application was made by the priestly party to the Civil Governor, with the result that all the copies at the Despacho of the Basque and Gitano versions of St Luke had been seized. Borrow states that the Alguazils "divided the copies of the gypsy volume among themselves, selling subsequently the greater number at a large price, the book being in the greatest demand." {228a} Thus the very officials responsible for the seizure and suppression of the Bible Society's books in Spain became "unintentionally agents of an heretical society." {228b}
Disappointed at the smallness of the spoil, the authorities strove by artifice to discover if Borrow still had copies of the books in his possession. To this end they sent to the Despacho spies, who offered high prices for copies of the Gitano St Luke, in which their interest seemed specially to centre, to the exclusion of the Basque version. To these enquiries the same answer was returned, that at present no further books would be sold at the Despacho.
As evidence of the high opinion formed of the Romany version of St Luke, the following story told by Borrow is amusing:-
"Shortly before my departure a royal edict was published, authorising all public libraries to provide themselves with copies of the said works [the Basque and Gypsy St Lukes] on account of their philological merit; whereupon