When I recollected the difficulties which had encompassed our path, I could sometimes hardly credit all that the Almighty had permitted us to accomplish within the last year.  A large edition of the New Testament had been almost entirely disposed of in the very centre of Spain, in spite of the opposition and the furious cry of the sanguinary priesthood and the edicts of a deceitful government, and a spirit of religious inquiry excited, which I had fervent hope would sooner or later lead to blessed and most important results.  Till of late the name most abhorred and dreaded in these parts of Spain, was that of Martin Luther, who was in general considered as a species of demon, a cousin-german to Belial and Beelzebub, who, under the guise of a man, wrote and preached blasphemy against the Highest; yet, now strange to say, this once abominated personage was spoken of with no slight degree of respect.  People with Bibles in their hands not unfrequently visited me, inquiring with much earnestness, and with no slight degree of simplicity, for the writings of the great Doctor Martin, whom, indeed, some supposed to be still alive.

It will be as well here to observe, that of all the names connected with the Reformation, that of Luther is the only one known in Spain; and let me add, that no controversial writings but his are likely to be esteemed as possessing the slightest weight or authority, however great their intrinsic merit may be.  The common description of tracts, written with the view of exposing the errors of popery, are therefore not calculated to prove of much benefit in Spain, though it is probable that much good might be accomplished by well-executed translations of judicious selections from the works of Luther.

CHAPTER XLVIII

Projected Journey—­A Scene of Blood—­The Friar—­Seville—­Beauties of Seville—­Orange Trees and Flowers—­Murillo—­The Guardian Angel—­ Dionysius—­My Coadjutors—­Demand for the Bible.

By the middle of April I had sold as many Testaments as I thought Madrid would bear; I therefore called in my people, for I was afraid to overstock the market, and to bring the book into contempt by making it too common.  I had, indeed, by this time, barely a thousand copies remaining of the edition which I had printed two years previously; and with respect to Bibles, every copy was by this time disposed of, though there was still a great demand for them, which, of course, I was unable to satisfy.

With the remaining copies of the Testament, I now determined to betake myself to Seville, where little had hitherto been effected in the way of circulation:  my preparations were soon made.  The roads were at this time in a highly dangerous state, on which account I thought to go along with a convoy, which was about to start for Andalusia.  Two days, however, before its departure, understanding that the number of people who likewise proposed to avail