g no copies of the
sacred volume at Seville, I determined to avail myself of a certain
number of Testaments in embargo at the custom-house of San Lucar a town
at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, forming part of the stock seized by
order of the Government and which I had been officially requested to
remove from Spain. I started from Seville on the night of the 31st of
July in one of the steamers which ply upon the Guadalquivir, arriving at
San Lucar early in the morning. I shall now make an extract from my
journal, relative to the Testaments.

'It will be as well here to curtail what relates to these books,
otherwise the narrative might be considerably embarrassed. They
consisted of a chest of Testaments in Spanish, and a small box of Saint
Luke's Gospel in the Gitano or language of the Spanish Gypsies. I
obtained them from the custom-house of San Lucar with a pass for that of
Cadiz. At Cadiz I was occupied two days, and also a person whom I
employed, in going through all the required formalities and in procuring
the necessary papers. The expense was great, as money was demanded at
every step I took, though I was simply complying with the orders of the
Spanish Government in removing prohibited books from Spain. The farce
did not end till after my arrival at Gibraltar, where I paid the Spanish
consul a dollar for certifying on the back of the pass that the books had
arrived, which pass I was obliged to send back to Cadiz. It is true that
he never saw the books nor enquired about them; but he received the
money, for which alone he seemed to be anxious.

'Whilst at the custom-house of San Lucar, I was asked one or two
questions respecting the books contained in the chests; this afforded me
some opportunity of speaking of the New Testament and the Bible Society.
What I said excited attention, and presently all the officers and
dependents of the house, great and small, were gathered around me, from
the governor to the porter. As it was necessary to open the boxes to
inspect their contents, we all proceeded to the courtyard where, holding
a Testament in my hand, I recommenced my discourse. I scarcely know what
I said, for I was much agitated and hurried away by my feelings, when I
bethought me of the manner in which the Word of God was persecuted in the
unhappy kingdom of Spain. My words however evidently made impression,
and to my astonishment every person present pressed me for a copy. I
sold several within the wa