LETTERS FROM GRANADA
MATAMOROS again writes:—
" Our Paris friends intend to make the greater part of the defense public, according to a letter they have lately sent me, for, like yourself, they think it so good. Senor Don Moreno Dias is my advocate's name, and he has been complimented by many eminent people, some of whom are known to him only by hearsay, so great is the enthusiasm that has been produced by its perusal. I can assure you that from much experience I can say that you have done notable service to Spain by the translation and printing of the work of Dr. De Sanctis, Confession and Tradition,' and when I first heard of it I found it impossible to get many copies, but those I did get have done good service. A fellow countryman, Senor— Usoz, sent me by Mr. Rew the important work called the ‘Epistola Consolatoria,' written in 1560 by the distinguished Spanish brother, Don Juan Perez. It is addressed to the suffering saints in the prisons of the Inquisition at Seville, Valladolid, etc. It is written in the old Castilian language used in those days, and is extremely interesting. It is a treasure of piety and divine love, and one of the best books that has come within my reach. I must tell you something of this Mr. Rew, who came all the way to Granada to visit me, with his wife and niece. When he was here in my cell, there were present also the wife and daughter of Senor Mann the Malaga prisoner, my mother, Senor Trigo and his wife, Alhama, and my brother Henry. After talking a little together, Mr. Rew spoke to us most opportunely, and with much faith, and, filled by the love of Jesus, with much feeling he exhorted us to persevere, to continue instant in prayer. I had also the pleasure of speaking at this time to those then present, and of explaining to them the continual joy I had in Jesus, and the hope I entertained that this joy would be unceasing, through a lively faith, much prayer, and the consolations of the Holy Spirit. I spoke at length on these important subjects, and many tears fell from the eyes of the women there present, who were much moved. I read to them the let chapter to the Philippians, as also the 4th of 1st Peter, and happy thoughts came to the minds of all touching these beautiful passages from the Book of Life, and there was manifest in the midst of our little congregation a visible but inexplicable joy in Jesus. Mr. R. asked me at this time also what was my opinion as to the education of some of the children of the prisoners in England, and I gave him my humble opinion on the matter, which is very important, and ever since I have been reflecting over it with great pleasure. I told him that I thought it not only desirable, but that the results likely to follow would, with God's blessing, be very great indeed. He seemed to think the same, and left, animated by the best desires. May God bless him! And finally, dear brother, in my humble cell we all bent the knee to our heavenly Father, and I returned thanks to Him for the joy He allowed me to experience in my chains. I thanked Him for the willingness with which I and the other prisoners would give up our lives for the sweet name of Jesus, and for His love. I thanked our Father for the Christian activity displayed by the body of Christ, and begged of Him to give to it constantly the presence of the Divine Spirit. I pardoned in His sight all our enemies, and finally I gave thanks to God for permitting me to suffer for the divine name of Jesus. Certain other subjects I embraced in my prayer, and was almost exhausted as I finished, for I am so powerfully moved, so deeply impressed when I am engaged in this delightful exercise, that the pleasure I feel is immeasurable, and on the coldest winter's day I perspire profusely.”
In a letter from Matamoros in June, 1862, he says the following:-"I have received four copies of the small but important tract against the traffic of negroes in Cuba, against that horrible, that dishonorable traffic in human blood, that terrible stain to humanity, that execrable blot on my country, and on all countries that continue to allow this page to remain in their history.
“I have sent the tract to various towns in Spain, and if I had some hundreds of them I would willingly pay the postage, so as to have the pleasure of forwarding it to various friends and important personages. No one has ever been able to make me give up my opinion, which is that Europe can never expiate the crime of allowing the continuance of this traffic. I can't understand how modern society can permit that the father be torn from the bosom of his family, and the son from the father, the spirit of destruction pandered to, and all for the sake of sacrilegious gains to a few hundred ambitious and privileged individuals.”
In the month of August I had a long letter giving much information, a copious extract from which I give below:—
"Prison of the Audiencia, Granada, Aug. 11, 1862.
"My dearest and ever-to-be remembered father in Jesus, my indefatigable, my zealous, and beloved brother, in the hope of our future life. Your highly appreciated and beautiful letter of the 25th of the past month, received the 5th of the present, and the longest of all I have had the comfort of receiving from you, reached me in all safety, and how cheering and edifying to my spirit it has been!
“When I had the joy of receiving it, one of mine was on the road, with an enclosure for the Rev. Mr. Magee, and in it I told you of the petition of the fiscal, against the dearly-loved friends and brothers in Malaga.
“Your letter contains two things eminently beautiful, and of unlimited consolation to me; one is the almost entire re-establishment of your most precious health. Oh! this is of such importance to me; this is more to the poor prisoner than his own personal health, more, a thousand times, than his liberty. The second, my beloved, are the eloquent proofs of love that you give all through your country (and likewise beyond it), unequivocal expression of incomparable esteem that the body of Christ gives us, in recompense of your great zeal. This said, I am going to answer your letter, although I shall do it indifferently, as usual.
“I rejoice greatly that you have written to the Rev. Senor Ruet; he also tells me of it to-day, in a letter, that is like a heavy tear falling from his overwhelmed heart.
“Poor Pastor! in every place grief pursues him. What a sad exile he is suffering. In short, my beloved, believe me truly, I have a most vehement desire to see you, and to talk with you. I have a very strong persuasion that you are chosen by the Lord to open to my poor country the path of its triumph; I hold as a certainty, that the Lord will grant you this distinguished favor, this precious page in the history of your Christian life. I pray to the Lord that He will grant me to see you, to embrace you, to speak much, much with you of what relates to Spain, and then, that God may show me the road I have to follow. May the will of the Lord be done!
“I would say much to you to-day, much about this great work to which you are called; I would initiate you in the best means, that, in my humble opinion, are the most opportune for arriving soonest at the desired end, for gathering the spiritual fruits, of so much sacrifice, so many efforts, of so much labor; but I think the moment has not yet arrived. At the present, there is a most important question that opens to my country the desired road for its triumph in the gospel; and it is necessary that this should come to a conclusion. When this is settled, be it in what way it may, we will think with indefatigable solicitude upon the rest, for I think there is now doing for Spain a thousand times more than one could calculate, and with better success than could have been accomplished, perhaps, by the work of many years. Each day I note a greater enthusiasm for the evangelical cause in Spain. Now I do not see that dread of tyranny-everything presents itself before me now, firm, decided, and hopeful in Jesus; the shield of Jesus, stronger a thousand times than steel, makes it impossible for the sharp weapons of tyranny to wound the heart of our holy work. Tyranny only in appearance triumphs, but its triumph is like that of the tiger with the poor sheep, drawing forth his claws filled with innocent and inoffensive blood; it has no other triumph, this is its miserable victory.
“I note, dear friend, a certain terror in the enemy's press-I note a certain panic amongst our enemies, and I see much love, much life in Jesus, in all the beloved brethren. Oh! a thousand times blessed be the sweet name of Jesus, fountain of all consolation, of all resignation, of strength, and of hope.
“As soon as I have an unoccupied moment, I mean to write a letter to the Clamor, giving a general idea of all that has happened, and is now taking place in Spain, in order that public opinion may have a true and full impression, under which it may study this great cause, which eminent men call the first cause of the globe. The picture it presents is assuredly more important than appears at first sight, and I think Spain ought to know what it is.
“From what I have said to you in the beginning of this letter, you will understand, my beloved protector in Jesus, that my days have been greatly occupied; besides what I have already told you, I have had to reproduce new and numerous data for the committee of Paris, that they may be published in connection with the religious persecution in Spain. From Madrid I have had a number of letters from different friends and people there: I have had some from Malaga, from Gibraltar, from Holland; and, in short, each day my occupations increase more and more, and this has been the cause that I have not yet written my letter to the Roman Catholics; but do not fear, it shall be written on the first occasion, and probably very soon.
“It would be almost impossible for me to explain how much I am occupied. I rise to write, and I am writing all day, and I finish doing so late at night; this is a great consolation to me, it gives me life, dear friend.
“I have received an excellent letter from Dr. Capadose, of Holland, deeply and profoundly touching. Dr. Capadose is an old man, but with a vigorous imagination, a heart full of life and health, and very deeply instructed. ‘He loves you much, and he knows all your worth; he knows and admires your eminent zeal. I had very strong desires that you two should be in direct communication; already, some time since, I mentioned it to him, and he assured me he would write to you; and now, I see with joy that he has done so, and that it has given you Christian pleasure. Oh that this mutual correspondence of beings, so much loved by me, that this kind of double link between two of God's beloved sons may give to the world the worthy fruit of the virtues of both, of the Great Captain Jesus, under whose glorious banner they serve with so much enthusiasm.
“In some of my former letters I think I told you of his wish to publish a pamphlet upon this question, and he asked permission from me a short time since to publish all my letters in it. I replied that he might use them in whatever way he thought would most advance the Lord's holy cause, nevertheless, I had never expected that my humble letters would see the light. But how could I refuse this to a dear brother who thinks such a publication is beneficial to the Lord's body I It is now many months since I received a letter from the venerable Mr. Dallas; perhaps my last went astray, or his occupations have prevented him; at any rate, I think I will write very soon to him.
“The signatures to the letter from the Presbyterian Church in Dublin, St. Mary's Abbey, I have not been able to make out entirely; two only have I understood. If you find any mistakes, correct them in the translation, I pray you. Both of them are worth very little, rather, I should say, nothing, coming from my feeble pen; if they have anything that recommends them, it is because my heart speaks in them.
“I have read with much gratitude the words that Mrs. Sturge dedicates to my humble self; if I have time I will send her a few lines in this, trying to show her the great value in which I hold hers. They are a great consolation to me; but Mrs. Sturge will know that nothing is due to me; no man can do any good thing; whatever is acceptable in me is the work of the Holy Spirit, the work of God; Matamoros is worth a thousand times less than nothing.
“These proofs of divine love that are manifested by all the brethren, and that offer to my sight the sacred spectacle of the most holy union in the divine name of Jesus, make me happy a thousand times more than one can imagine; and as this consoles me in Jesus, so does it disquiet me little or nothing whether the Roman Catholics ask my liberty or not from the Spanish government or the queen.
“I have already told you more than once that my future fate does not disturb me. My prison is no cause of sadness to me; it is a sweet cause of joy and rejoicing in Jesus; and my liberty, except as granted through the powerful influence of prayer, affects my heart very little.
“I know that God watches over me, and how little can the enemies of saving faith do of that faith that He left us, as the only path to life. But the way of God is different from our way and I often say to myself, If it is the will of the Lord that the Roman Catholics ask for my liberty, must I not respect the designs of the Most High? who knows, if He permits this, that through my very enemies the injustice of my imprisonment may be shown forth?'
“I will not ask for it; but neither will I refuse it. It is indifferent to me, however, as in all this matter my liberty is not the first object; but the necessity of showing the injustice of these attempts against conscience. I leave to the day the anxiety that belongs to it.
“But permit me to tell you one thing. It appears to me that I see in this what I read in the Book of Life respecting Jesus under the judgment of Pilate (Matt. 27:1919When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. (Matthew 27:19)). His wife writes to Pilate, under the impression caused upon her by a dream, and frightened, prays her husband to have nothing to do with the case of that Just One. Pilate washes his hands; but he sends him to be scourged, and gives him up to the rage of the people in spite of knowing his innocence.
“I am not just; there is but one man to whom the being just' belongs, and He is Jesus Christ. I am a miserable sinner, but I am innocent; and if before the laws of the world I am criminal, it is because men agree it should be so, that they may better serve Satan. Other men besides those who believe me guilty, ranged under the same banner might warn, and even supplicate them not to punish me, and to cease their rigor; but for this they would invoke the laws of worldly expediency. They calculate an evil in all this, and like the wife of Pilate, they desire, through fear of the world, to avoid it. But in all this do you see the work of the Holy Spirit in the Catholics 1 I think not, it is mere worldly expediency. Notwithstanding, I believe that my Pilate (the Queen and her government will give me up to the convict overseers of the galleys. I think they will allow all the fury of that clergy to fall on me; who embitter the laws, irritate the conscience of the judges, and in every way work against Christians.
“Pardon me, dear friend, for having taken the liberty of making this poor, humble comparison to you. I think the charity of Catholics would be the charity of Pilate.
“If you can send me by R—, Valera's Bible; recently published in London, I shall be greatly obliged; it may be useful to me in the galleys.
“This moment I have received a letter from Seville, containing very interesting details, which I shall now give you a brief sketch of, and at greater length hereafter.
“In Seville, nineteen persons have been proceeded against; for four of this number only has the fiscal demanded seven years at the galleys. The judge asked pardon for all the nineteen.
“The fiscal of her Majesty demanded pardon for seventeen, but the superior tribunal begged that the penalty of seven years at the galleys should be passed upon Senors Don Diego Bordallo and Don T. Mesa Santanella. The audiencia of Seville or superior tribunal approved entirely the petition of her Majesty's fiscal, and they have sentenced Bordallo and Mesa to seven years at the galleys.
“When the sentence of the judges in the inferior tribunal differs from that of the superior tribunal, the parties sentenced have the right of appealing the third time; and as this has occurred in the case at Seville, Bordallo and Mesa have appealed, and the cause is now running the usual course; there is still a hope of pardon for these two victims of tyranny.
“In the cause nothing has been proved; but Bordallo and Mesa are sentenced on the ground of moral evidence, and by the 45th rule of the code the judges are authorized to impose penalties for moral evidence, although proofs may be wanted.
“This is a sketch of the spectacle presented by the cause in Seville. But, there is something more. Bordallo writes to me that he has been seventeen months in prison, and he has not received a single real from anybody to help him. I believe it, but I do not understand it; for I had been assured from different sources that the prisoners at Seville were succored, and now I see it is not so, at least with Bordallo and Mesa, the only ones at present in prison there.
“As soon as I was aware of this, I wrote to Bordallo, telling him to let me know immediately to whom I might send some relief for him from the sum that I have for my own necessities. This letter goes out to-day, and within three days I shall have the answer, and I will send him 200 Rs. (£2), which is all I can spare.
“Henceforward I shall put myself in direct communication with the prisoners at Seville. I do not abandon any one; whilst I have a loaf, three parts of it shall be for my brother prisoners, be they Spaniards or not. The All Powerful will do me justice. Henceforward, dear friend, the prisoners at Seville shall have a place in my poor letters; you shall know all about them, for I think my duty is not only towards a certain set of prisoners; all are equal in my estimation.
“These sentenced at Seville have not been found out through the papers that were taken from me, but through some documents that the post-office authorities intercepted; in short, when I receive your answer to this, I shall give you fuller particulars.
“Let us turn to Granada; there is no news here; Trigo's wife has been very ill, but is now much better; indeed, I may say convalescent. Alhama continues well, and so are all his family. The alcalde has gone to a bathing place for two months, and on this account we are enjoying more liberty.
“I send you, enclosed in this, some of my likenesses, as an humble proof of gratitude to those dear brethren.
“I am going now to finish, after having detained you so long. My letters are archives, and it requires patience to read them; but, friend of my heart, you must bear my failing with resignation. I hope, when writing to your respected father, that you will offer him by humble remembrances.
“My mother salutes you, and all your family, with gratitude and Christian joy, as also does Enrique. The Christian remembrances of all the brethren, and the heart of your humble brother in the Lord,
"MANUEL MATAMOROS.”
"N.B.—The missionary, of whom I spoke to you, for Oran, has been entirely approved of by the committee at Paris.”
Granada, September 10.
“I think that in fifteen days my trial will be public, for I observe an unusual activity, and, as I believe, because they are desirous that I may be condemned before the arrival of the queen at Granada, which will be on the 8th or 9th of October, and just two years since my imprisonment. What is most likely, when I receive your answer to this, my case will be settled, and I shall be able to tell you about it. I am completely tranquil, and if my sentence is severe, I shall sing songs of praise to my Lord. I intend to be present at the public trial, and to speak before the tribunal—not to ask their pardon, for that I do not need, but to ask that all the weight of the law may fall upon me alone, and not on my companions.”
After two years of "wearing out of this saint of the Most High," the oft-mentioned and long protracted trial was brought to a close; and the letter following, giving some account of the same, was received:—
Letter From Manuel Matamoros
"Granada, Prison of the Audiencia, Oct. 5, 1862.
“My dear and zealous brother in Him who is our life and hope, two years ago the governor of Granada sent the order for my capture, and for the examination of my house. I was seized, was taken to a miserable prison, and from that time till now, you know what a chain of suffering has bound me; you know how much honor has been put upon me; for it is a glory and a joy to be permitted to suffer for Jesus' sake. Well, now, my enemies, not yet satisfied, have condemned me to suffer eight years of the galleys, to inhabilitation, and to the judgment of all the costs.
“I am twenty-seven, and I am going to the galleys; to a horrible place which is intended for the shame and sorrow of those who dwell there. But there is neither shame nor sorrow for me! My soul rejoices in Jesus. I, a poor miserable sinner, have been chosen by the Lord to suffer; and in this there is no shame, but honor; wonderful honor for me; for I do not deserve this distinction, and I am very grateful to my Master who has granted it to me.
“This horrible suit has at length come to an end, having been carried forward with a most tyrannical spirit for two years—two years of grief, and tribulation, and tears—two years of the patient resignation of a dear mottle; whose son has been torn from her side, and placed under the ban of a terrible sentence. Oh, my poor mother! She was attacked with illness when she received the news. Mother, thou art also a victim to this cruelty, but thou also canst rejoice in thy tribulation for Christ.
“The time has come, dear friend, when I, deprived by men of all rights of citizenship, must enter upon my punishment—must go to the place which society has set apart for those wretches who are unworthy to continue in its midst. The voice of my dearly-loved mother will, perhaps, never again reach my ears. I shall know that she suffers, but shall not be able to comfort her with my presence. I shall be there altogether at the mercy of a fanatical governor, who will visit me with all the force of popish cruelty. There, at the merest caprice of the officials, the unfortunate convicts are beaten, and buffeted, and abused, even when inoffensive; and I shall be exposed, perhaps, to the cruel blows of some vile criminal, who has been chosen as overseer chiefly because his terrible antecedents are such as to inspire his fellow-prisoners with terror.
“The blows of such an one may fall upon me and hasten my death. I shall never hear the voice of my dear brothers. Your precious letters, my much-loved friend, will never reach me; and this will be my life for eight long years. But for all this, my cross I take up joyfully and follow Jesus. If I have not been permitted to carry the Word of God from village to village throughout Spain, I will publish it in prison. God rejoices over the conversion of the most abject, of the most sinful, and to those criminals I will show the way of life. There I will be, if the Lord allows me; just what I was when free. My hearers will not be honorable citizens, they will be miserable convicts. But, perhaps, these very convicts may see how horrible their past life has been, and will begin to live a new one, and will respect and will follow Jesus; and you can fancy how I rejoice to be able to dedicate myself to such a glorious work; and I must not fear the rod of punishment. Jesus sought out his death for our sakes.
“His apostles went everywhere preaching the word, through sorrow, tribulations, torments; they are my example, I follow them. And all this is not in my own strength, I am worthless, am nothing, can do nothing, by God's strength only I shall be enabled to do this; yet my heart tells me that I shall be permitted to carry out my earnest desires, as I have prayed for the sake of Jesus.
“Alhama has been sentenced to nine years. The additional year of punishment is given (amongst other reasons) because he wrote and acknowledged that letter, directed to me, which was seized, and which, bearing my name and address in full, and containing important intelligence, was the cause of my imprisonment also in Barcelona; which, you remember, was commanded by telegram. The judges believed that Granada was the chief seat and origin of these troubles, of which they suppose me to be a victim. Notwithstanding, they condemned me to eight years. The Lord pardon them!
“Trigo has been pronounced not guilty, and will soon be set free. He will return to the bosom of his family. I do heartily rejoice. Dear Trigo, may the Lord enlighten and protect him for the future!
“As our sentences do not exactly correspond with those of the inferior tribunal, we may again appeal against them. It is a matter of indifference to me whether an appeal is made, or whether I go at once to my doom. The appeal would keep us still for some months in this prison; but this offers nothing to be wished for, as the immediate commencement of my term of labor has no terrors.
“I have, however, consulted my respected and revered friends, B., W. N., and Dr. B., and yourself.
I will do as you advise, but have no choice in the matter myself. Alhama will appeal, but I need not therefore. I will fulfill my eight years, and he may obtain commutation. Believe me, dear friend, I am very happy. The continued illness of my darling mother is my only real trouble; but my Lord gives me strength to bear all with patience.
“I shall address a letter to the queen on her arrival at Granada, not to ask for mercy, which I do not need from her; no, for my crime, if it existed, would only be judged by the God who judges the consciences of all men, but I will represent to her our inoffensive lives, the liberty of our brothers in Seville, Malaga, and Granada, and the inalienable right of Christians to meet together to worship round the household hearth.
“I forgot to tell you that all the rest of the prisoners have been, or will immediately be, set at liberty. My most loving remembrances to all dear to you. Salute all my brothers in my name. Your affectionate brother in the Lord,
“M. M.”
About this time, the other Granada prisoner, Senor Trigo, writes as follows:—
" Respected Sir, and beloved brother in Christ, after nineteen months of untold sufferings, the tribunals of this world have absolved me from the eleven years of penal servitude that was petitioned for against me by her majesty's fiscal, and in a few days probably I shall be set at liberty. Conscientious motives of eternal gratitude impel me to write these few lines to you. My heart is so filled to you and all the rest of your magnanimous and sympathizing countrymen, that I wish I possessed the eloquence of Paul, in order to express to you as I should desire my deep and earnest gratitude for the many benefits received from you all, and which have helped in no small degree to sweeten the bitter cup of sorrow mixed for us by the hands of tyrants, for the sole crime of loving and propagating the blessed gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And as I have taken the liberty of addressing you, I cannot help mentioning in my letter how much the Spanish church owes to that eminent, decided, and resigned champion of the truth, Don Manuel Matamoros. Without him and the Divine help dispensed to him, the persecutions we have undergone would have destroyed the Spanish Christians; and what can I say of his excellent mother—of that worthy lady whose maternal love is only equaled by her many virtues, by her heroic resignation, and by the distinguished gifts that adorn her, and which are the admiration and the respect of all who know her. I say all this, though I feel that already you are aware of these facts, but a sacred duty of conscience impels me not to be silent. The labors of the son bring him into prison. He is condemned to eight years of servitude, but nevertheless, all is resignation in them both, all is rejoicing in Jesus, all is Christian decision. Manuel has the pleasure of receiving innumerable visits from people in every rank of life, and letters of sympathy; even his enemies cannot help paying a tribute of respect to his virtues. Yesterday he was visited by an ecclesiastic, who, moved by a desire to know him, found his way to his prison, where he remained for a long time, talking and discussing; and he finally told him, that he had come to see him, moved as he was by his energetic and dignified deportment, although walking himself in quite a distinct path from Matamoros. But I must conclude. Manuel, placed at the head of all correspondence concerning the Spanish prisoners, has watched over all with unceasing care, and, as far as I am personally concerned, I can say that he has done for me far beyond what I could ever have contemplated. I say this, for I have never known him indifferent to my wants, but ever endeavoring in every way to mitigate my sufferings. I conclude by wishing that the Most High may grant to you and your family His heavenly grace, and that being sustained by it you may enjoy that felicity which your humble brother in the Lord desires you.
“MIGUEL TRIGG.”