Madrid, 10th April 1848

Rev  A Brandram No.16

Madrid 10th April 1848

My Dear Friend,

My last letter give you a hint of our troubles here. Many were killed on the night of the 26th and a great number were wounded. Among the former was one Englishman of the Society of Friends lately come here, and among the latter Mrs. Colonel Stopford's waiting maid, who had one of her ankles shattered by three balls. Amputation had to take place, and she is not yet out of immediate danger. I was nearly being caught in the midst of this affray, as I generally go on the Sunday evening to read Prayers in the American Ambassador's house, which would both in going and coming have exposed me. But I was warned in time and did not go out. This is another of the many preservations God has vouchsafed me in the midst of dangers, and blessed be his name for all these mercies.

Did you write me between the 7th January and the 9th February? I have no letter between. I wish we could return again to our numbering, as it is always satisfactory to know with certainty whether all letters come to hand or not. I may here acknowledge the receipt of yours of the 6thMarch, and of Mr. Jackson's of the 27th.

You ask in your letter of the 22nd February whether I saw Mr. Brackenbury our Consul at Cadiz. I did see him, and thought him cold, especially considering the letters of introduction I sent him, and I thought the best thing I could say of him was, nothing. The Downing Street incubus no doubt was upon him, but yet he might have been as friendly as the Marks in Malaga who are officially under the same.

Pray did you get the parcel containing the two cushions from Barbary, and the Hebrew Pentateuch from Gibraltar? It was sent from Cadiz by the Packet of the 27th December, which carried a letter of the same date. I may here mention a curious little coincidence. Right opposite the door of my lodging is a "European Bookseller's," and lately there has been stuck up an advertisement banner in large letters "La Bible en Espagne, par George Borrow." It seems this work has been translated into French, and has come to travel here also, and over again, whether for good or evil I know not.

I cannot help congratulating you, and the country, on the elevation of the Bishop of Chester to the Archepiscopal See of Canterbury, as you have noticed to me. May God bless him there and make him a blessing.

In regard to a Summer extensive Tour. What I contemplate, and wish your opinion of, is the following. To go first to San Sebastian, where through friends in that place I should try to get the Gospel of Luke in the Basque language printed, the revision of which has just been completed by the Translator. There are four Basque provinces in Spain, beside what is in France, and in these the major part of the people speak only this tongue. San Sebastian is in one of them.

You will perhaps recollect that I wrote to you formerly about establishing a place of sale on the French side of the River Bidasoa which divides France and Spain. That object I would try to get arranged. Also in that place might be printed with security our Basque volume, should we fail of doing it in San Sebastian. The French call their side of the of the town Behovie, the Spaniards theirs and both Behovia. Now our Books would carry being printed in Behovia, which all the Basque people would consider their own Behovia. In the same manner there, and through the same happy use of the word, we might perhaps print, if judged desirable, the Spanish New Testament. Our printing and paper manufacturing friends in San Sebastian could probably manage these matters for us, for our advantage and their own.

From Behovia I would think of going to Bayonne to arrange about our Spanish Books which should be sent to that place, either from London or Paris. From that port I could sail to different ports on the northwest coast of Spain, and take on each occasion a supply of Bibles and Testaments, and have them landed as part of my luggage.

Further, on this tour, I should like to go Eastward from Bayonne, zig-zagging the Pyrenean Ridge, so as to avail myself of the opportunities that should offer for entering our Books from France into Spain, for which we would need to have supplies in Toulouse and some other French towns. On this course I would make a special point of paying a visit to a small independent republic which has long existed in the Pyrenean mountains. Its name is Andorra, and by a geographical work now before me published this same year, its inhabitants are stated to amount to 15,000, of which 2000 are in the capital of the same name. This little nation is under the protection, I had nearly said of the crown of France, but say in things civil, and ecclesiastically it is part of a diocese of Spain. Now there I should think we might print, and sell, and do what we liked. At all events the place should be visited to see what could be done there in all our work. Lastly, I would go into Catalonia which lies still further Eastward, and extends to the end of the Ridge, and then would visit Barcelona. I would have the Catalonian New Testament particularly under my attention in that quarter.

All this, and less, would make an ample summer tour. What I have given is a mere sketch and outline, and to be filled up more or less as things should appear when in the several places, and as time might permit. I may add, that all this plan is in full accordance with Mr. Usoz's views. We now therefore wait to learn what are yours, as to the whole, and the parts severally.

In regard to the Letter of Credit about which I wrote to Mr. Hitchin, I would observe, that hitherto I have not stood in need of such a document, as in all those parts where I travel there were remittances to be made to England, and I always found parties both ready to trust me, and glad of my Bills. I took out indeed a Letter of Credit to the West Indies for £200, but I never made any use of it, and tore it up at the end of my Seven Years Tour in that quarter. Here there are not remittances of the same sort, and business has to be done with Banks. My first Bill here was drawn in the Union Bank where the chief officer was my particular friend, and hence I found no difficulty. But that bank has broken up, or rather down, and I am obliged to go elsewhere. Mr. O'Shea's Bank is the only other place I can go to, and though I drew my last Bill there in my usual way, it was intimated to me, that through a Letter of Credit was the regular way of doing business. Hence my application for the same. You are aware that the having a Letter of Credit does not imply the immediate drawing f the sum mentioned in it, nor even the drawing of any part of it, for in the West Indies, as I have said, I did not drawn on it at all. Sums are drawn on it from time to time, and as they are drawn, they are advised in England to the house where the letter was procured, and then, and not till then, they will be charged to your account. There is an advantage in having such a letter, as it enables one to draw any small sums, say £10 or £20 at a time, instead of what has been usual with me in Bills of £50. When I wrote I had in view a little journey to see a friendly Priest, and as I am about out on my travelling score, I said I might have occasion to draw soon on it, and from thus noticing the subject I extended to more general and distant travelling. I have now however given up that little journey, owing to the peculiar state of things here at present. A month hence will be quite in time for me to receive this Letter of Credit; and I may observe that my needed of it is not dependent on my travelling, for I shall have to draw whether I travel or not. I have made inquiry since I wrote Mr. Hitchin, and find that any of the City Banks will do as well as Coutt's, though that is the one O'Shea's Bank here is more immediately connected with.

Mr. Jackson's letter of the 4th instant has come in whilst I was writing.

            I remain, My Dear Friend,

                        Yours Very Truly,

                                    James Thomson.

Madrid, 24th April 1848

Rev A Brandram No.17

Madrid 24th April 1848

My Dear Friend,

In my letter of  the 27th March, I mentioned to you my application to Mr. Bulwer about our six cases, with the hopes at first excited, and the disappointment in which this, as previous efforts, had ended. I added, that I had another resource or two that I would try for the gaining of our object. One of these I immediately tried, but it failed. In succession I tried the other, and perhaps it will result favourably, but they must see such result before we can rejoice in it. The attempt I made first was, the requesting a letter from Mr. Bulwer to the Foreign Office here, that I might try to get an order from thence for the Spanish Consul in London, that he might give the proper certificate. Mr. Bulwer readily gave me this letter, and from my first reception, I had good hopes; but the Foreign Minister would needs first consult with his brother of the Exchequer, and as our matter had been there before, and was rejected, it was so again.

My next application was to the American Minister here, and with whom previously I had spoken on the subject generally, but there were reasons for my not specifically making a request to him then concerning it. But failing on all hands, I ventured formally to ask him for the favour in question. He has granted it, but the doubt in the matter as to success is this, that on a former occasion of said Minister getting books from London, the Spanish Consul refused this certificate until he should get an order from the government here, because some of the books as in our case, where prohibited articles, being bound or in Spanish. This order was applied for here and of course obtained. Now General Saunders, for that is the American Minister's name, said he could not well apply for a second order so soon after the previous one. But in this refusal of the Consul, he was demurring where he ought not, though he had right, I believe, on his side in our case. There is a specific statute, as he ought to know, of the government here, allowing Ambassadors to bring among other things important prohibited articles. I have applied for a copy of this and if it come before I seal my letter I shall enclose it. But in the meantime I forward you the printed instructions regarding the liberties granted to Foreign Ministers grounded on the statute mentioned. At the place of the top of the second page where I have made a pencil mark, you will see that such liberty in importing prohibited articles is clearly allowed, and the provision made for it, namely, that of charging duties on them, whereas other articles to them are duty free. This should be shown to the Consul if he hesitates, as well as the statute I have referred to if enclosed. – John Miller, 26 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden is General Saunders's agent for books and other things he gets from London. I do not know whether it would be better for you to act through him or not, but give you his name and address in case of need. Again, perhaps you had better employ another Broker than the one spoken to before, and that the shipment be made to Bilbao instead of Santander. The address should be "Al Sr. General Saunders, Ministro Plenipotentiario de los Estados Unidos, Madrid", and the letter should be sent to the American Consul at Bilbao, whose address is "Sr. D. Mariano de Aguirre". The last notice I have to make is, that it will suit better to send four cases instead of six. When these are done Providence will open another door for more. I would say, drop all the 8vo Testaments as they are bulky. Let there be an equal number of large and small Bibles, and equal numbers of the 12mo and 32mo new Testaments. If you have still the Four Books, send us a proper supply of them. Of course you will send all Usoz's books ordered.

I here notice (to conclude the year just before your annual meeting) some things which might or should have been noticed earlier. – I duly received Mr. Jackson's letter of the 17th January, with Invoice of the four cases I had expected when it Gibraltar. By letter from Mr. Dove of the 11th March, I learned, that these had arrived a few days before he wrote. I also received Mr. Jackson's letter of the 12th February, with Invoice of the Books voted for Tangier and Tetuan on the 24th December. The Hebrew Bibles in that Invoice are marked in 12mo I suppose my mistake, for it is Duncan's Bible in 8vo that is mentioned in the Resolution.

Soon after receiving the Invoice of the Books for Barbary, I wrote a letter to my Jew friends there, and enclosed it to Mr. Dove, with directions as to forwarding the Books when they came, and also the letter. On the 11th March they had not arrived, nor could they have arrived so late as the 18th instant, as Mr. Dove promised to write me as soon as they came, and his letter of that date would have been here this morning.

Have you heard from Mr. Tiddy in reply to your inquiries about the 12mo Hebrew Pentateuch? In your letter of the 4th January you inquire if I know to what extent the Jews in Barbary understand the Hebrew. To a considerable extent, I should think, judging from the readiness I observed in reading and translating passages from the Hebrew Bible, and Coriat is translating direct from it. – As to the services of the Jews, about which you dealt, after my leaving them, I would say, that, added to some degree of friendship, I took the measure most likely to secure interest in Jews, if common report speaks correctly, namely, the money one. They are to have a commission on what they sell.

With regard to the Arabic dialects spoken in Marocco, I think the judgment pronounced on it by your young friend has some correctness in it, as it corresponds a good deal with the view given me by Mr. Drummond Hay, the British chargé d'affaires in Tangier to whom I wrote on the subject. But this view hardly accords with what he said to me in conversation, namely, that the language and the dialect were as different as Latin and Italian, or as Ancient and Modern Greek. We must therefore leave the subject till further light can be obtained. Your work in Barbary at present must be with the Jews, and when the result of the attempt made for them is seen, you will be able to judge whether further measures should be adopted, and in connexion with working for them, some lights may arise as to what can be done for the Moors.

Bearing on this subject, I would observe, that in Cadiz I met with a Frenchman, a kind of half Jew, that is, a Jew in reality, but not caring to show it, and rather wishing to conceal such a connexion. He was then lately come from Marocco, and had traveled extensively over it. I told him of my arrangements in sending the Hebrew Scriptures to the Jews there. He said, it was likely they would have an extensive circulation over the country; and he particularly recommended the sending of a supply to Mogador, as the Books were all destroyed there, he said, during the French bombardments and robberies in consequence within the place. I should think you might venture to send there, with safety and good hopes, 100 copies of the Bible, and bound in four volumes like those sent to Gibraltar. Mr. Willshire, the British Consul in Mogador, of whom everybody speaks well, would be the person to whose care you might entrust them. If you should agree to send this supply, as I hope you will, be so good as to send it as early as you may find an opportunity, and these two experiments will guide for the future better than one of them, as the places are situated in opposite quarters of the country.

To conclude this letter, and year, allow me to say that this is a noted day with me. On this day, 30 years ago, I left home for abroad. I left alone, and I am again alone.

            Believe me, My Dear Friend, Very Truly Yours,

                                                                        James Thomson.

P.S. I have seen the Royal Orders on the subject above noticed. There are six of them, and it is not easy to give just what is wanted. But no doubt the Spanish Consul has them in his house. They are noted in the first page of the paper enclosed opposite the mark.