ts while he was away from Madrid. At St. James' itself he
made a friend and a co-operator of the old bookseller, Rey Romero, who
knew Benedict Moll.

Borrow returned to the sale of Testaments at Madrid, and to his own
favourite project of printing his Spanish Gypsy translation of the Gospel
of St. Luke. To advertise his Testaments he posted up and sent about
flaming tricoloured placards. This was too much for the Moderate
Government which had followed the Liberals: the sale of Testaments was
stopped, and that for thirty years after. The officials had been
irritated by the far graver indiscretions of another but irregular agent
of the Bible Society, Lieutenant Graydon, R.N., "a fervid Irish
Protestant." {139} Apparently this man had advertised Bibles in Valencia
as to be sold at very low prices and even given away; had printed abuse
of the Spanish clergy and Government, and had described himself as co-
operating with Borrow. Except at Madrid, the Bibles and Testaments in
Borrow's depots throughout Spain were seized by the Government. The
books had at last to be sent out of the country, British Consuls were
forbidden to countenance religious agents; and in the opinion of the
Consul at Seville, J. M. Brackenbury, this was directly due to Graydon's
indiscretions. The Society were kind to him. They cautioned him not to
attack Popery, but to leave the Bible to speak for itself. The caution
was vain, but in spite of the harm done to Borrow and themselves they
recalled Graydon with but a qualified disavowal of his conduct. Borrow
did not conceal from the Society his opinion that this man, with his
"lunatic vagaries," had been the "evil genius" of the Bible cause and of
himself. The incident did no good to the already bickering relations
between Borrow and the Rev. A. Brandram, the Secretary. Evidently
Borrow's character jarred upon Brandram, who took revenge by a tone of
facetious cavil and several criticisms upon Borrow's ways, upon his
confident masculine tone, for example, his "passionate" prayer, and his
confession of superstitious obedience to an ominous dream. Brandram even
took the trouble to remind Borrow that when it came to distribution in
Russia his success had ended: which was true but not through any fault of
his. Borrow took the criticism as if applied to his Spanish work also,
saying: "It was unkind and unjust to taunt me with having been
unsuccessful in distributing the Scriptures. Allow me to sta