The Bible in Spain | Page 3

it can
minister to her cruelty or avarice. The Spaniard was still willing to pay,
as far as his means would allow, but he was soon given to understand

that he was a degraded being,-- a barbarian; nay, a beggar. Now, you
may draw the last cuarto from a Spaniard, provided you will concede to
him the title of cavalier, and rich man, for the old leaven still works as
powerfully as in the time of the first Philip; but you must never hint
that he is poor, or that his blood is inferior to your own. And the old
peasant, on being informed in what slight estimation he was held,
replied, "If I am a beast, a barbarian, and a beggar withal, I am sorry for
it; but as there is no remedy, I shall spend these four bushels of barley,
which I had reserved to alleviate the misery of the holy father, in
procuring bull spectacles, and other convenient diversions, for the
queen my wife, and the young princes my children. Beggar! carajo!
The water of my village is better than the wine of Rome."
I see that in a late pastoral letter directed to the Spaniards, the father of
Rome complains bitterly of the treatment which he has received in
Spain at the hands of naughty men. "My cathedrals are let down," he
says, "my priests are insulted, and the revenues of my bishops are
curtailed." He consoles himself, however, with the idea that this is the
effect of the malice of a few, and that the generality of the nation love
him, especially the peasantry, the innocent peasantry, who shed tears
when they think of the sufferings of their pope and their religion.
Undeceive yourself, Batuschca, undeceive yourself! Spain was ready to
fight for you so long as she could increase her own glory by doing so;
but she took no pleasure in losing battle after battle on your account.
She had no objection to pay money into your coffers in the shape of
alms, expecting, however, that the same would be received with the
gratitude and humility which becomes those who accept charity.
Finding, however, that you were neither humble nor grateful;
suspecting, moreover, that you held Austria in higher esteem than
herself, even as a banker, she shrugged up her shoulders, and uttered a
sentence somewhat similar to that which I have already put into the
mouth of one of her children, "These four bushels of barley," etc.
It is truly surprising what little interest the great body of the Spanish
nation took in the late struggle, and yet it has been called, by some who
ought to know better, a war of religion and principle. It was generally
supposed that Biscay was the stronghold of Carlism, and that the

inhabitants were fanatically attached to their religion, which they
apprehended was in danger. The truth is, that the Basques cared nothing
for Carlos or Rome, and merely took up arms to defend certain rights
and privileges of their own. For the dwarfish brother of Ferdinand they
always exhibited supreme contempt, which his character, a compound
of imbecility, cowardice, and cruelty, well merited. If they made use of
his name, it was merely as a cri de guerre. Much the same may be said
with respect to his Spanish partisans, at least those who appeared in the
field for him. These, however, were of a widely different character
from the Basques, who were brave soldiers and honest men. The
Spanish armies of Don Carlos were composed entirely of thieves and
assassins, chiefly Valencians and Manchegans, who, marshalled under
two cut-throats, Cabrera and Palillos, took advantage of the distracted
state of the country to plunder and massacre the honest part of the
community. With respect to the Queen Regent Christina, of whom the
less said the better, the reins of government fell into her hands on the
decease of her husband, and with them the command of the soldiery.
The respectable part of the Spanish nation, and more especially the
honourable and toilworn peasantry, loathed and execrated both factions.
Oft when I was sharing at nightfall the frugal fare of the villager of Old
or New Castile, on hearing the distant shot of the Christino soldier or
Carlist bandit, he would invoke curses on the heads of the two
pretenders, not forgetting the holy father and the goddess of Rome,
Maria Santissima. Then, with the tiger energy of the Spaniard when
roused, he would start up and exclaim: "Vamos, Don Jorge, to the plain,
to the plain! I wish to enlist with you, and to learn the law of the
English. To the plain, therefore, to the plain to-morrow, to circulate the
gospel of Ingalaterra."
Amongst the peasantry of Spain I found my sturdiest supporters: and
yet the