To the Rev. Andrew Brandram (ENDORSED: recd. May 3rd, 1838) MADRID, APRIL 23, 1838,
CALLE SANTIAGO.
REVD. AND DEAR SIR, - I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 10th inst. and also my friend Mr. Jackson's of the 5th, containing the resolution of the Committee in my respect, which I shall of course attend to.
My reason for troubling you with these lines is an apprehension that my late communication has not been understood by you; for there is something in the tone of your reply which has made me rather unhappy, though I can easily conjecture that at the time you wrote it you were labouring under a considerable pressure of business. Had you paid a little more attention to my letter, you would have perceived that it was written unwillingly on my part, but Mr. Rule thought his province had been invaded. As for myself I wish to say nothing, but it will be as well to remind you 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. I hoped in Seville and other towns of Andalusia to have secured the sale of more Testaments than it is probable that I shall be able to do in Spain proper, where I was afraid that my efforts had not been appreciated; but if my good friend Mr. Graydon has preceded me to those regions let him remain there and let no one interrupt him. I hope in the Lord that he will be permitted to prosper. When you write to him, present my cordial regards, and assure him that at all times I shall be happy to hear from him.
I hope nothing in my last letter, in which I forwarded Mr. R's communication, will be taken in bad part. I repeat that I was grieved to have Marin saddled upon me, in a place where I am surrounded by spies and persecuted by many and vindictive enemies. The idea, however, of his having gone back to Rome is preposterous, the Bishop of Jaen having assured Mr. R. that he had turned a deaf ear to all the promises which had been made to him, with the view of inducing him to recant. He has not yet made his appearance.
I remain, my dear Sir, yours,GEORGE BORROW. P.S. - You have never had the urbanity to acknowledge the receipt of my Gypsy Gospel. In the Spanish newspapers it has been called a great accession to the literature of Spain.