LETTER FROM REFORMED CHURCH AT GRANADA—PROCEEDINGS OF FRIENDS IN ENGLAND
ABOUT this time we received from the Reformed Church of Granada the following letter:—
"DEAR AND REVERED BRETHREN IN OUR BLESSED REDEEMER, JESUS CHRIST,
"We learn, by letters from Malaga and Barcelona, that our brothers in those towns have, through you, addressed the English public in terms of hearty gratitude for the support which has been rendered to our persecuted brethren here.
“We rejoice to hear that the Churches of Malaga and Barcelona have adopted so wise a method of manifesting their Christian thankfulness to the illustrious deputation which brought the case of our friends before Lord John Russell.
“If the sufferings of Don M. Matamoros and Don J. Alhama were not inflicted on account of their evangelical sentiments and their constant co-operation and eminent services in the Lord's work, we would silently lament over their miserable condition, and pray to the Lord to pardon and defend them. But their crime has been none other than the offense of being Protestants and preachers of the truth; and we seize this opportunity of protesting against the barbarous tyranny which has entombed them for four months in loathsome dungeons, which has associated them with criminals, and which has made them the object of infinite vexations and persecutions.
“We unite with the Churches of Malaga and Barcelona in thankfulness to those among you who have lightened the sufferings of our innocent brethren.
“In Don Jose Alhama we recognize the fervent Christian, the honored citizen, the unwearied soldier of Christ, who formed and gave existence to this Church, sacrificing, in so doing, not only his worldly interests, but also his precious freedom.
“In Don M. Matamoros we recognize an equally worthy brother, a zealous fellow-worker and preacher of the gospel in many places, and the founder of the Churches of Malaga and Barcelona; on whose name, as on that of his fellow-prisoner, no shadow of a stain has ever fallen. Yet these are the only accusations which can be brought against these dear friends, and which, in substance, appear in their indictment. Yet, were they simple brothers in Christ, and not distinguished champions doing battle for his name, we would yet raise our voice of thankfulness to you, and our cry of loud protest against the tyranny of our oppressors.
“We protest, because our religious sentiments are identical with those of our suffering brothers—we are Christians. Our rule of faith is the whole Bible, and the Bible alone. We desire to be distinguished by our pure and sincere faith, our love, and our trust in Jesus Christ, our only Advocate and Mediator. And, therefore, we energetically protest against the Church of Rome, which is the greatest and wiliest foe of our Lord.
“We conclude with an earnest expression of our gratitude to Sir R. Peel, whose energy and Christian zeal were the means of greatly alleviating the sufferings of our brethren, releasing Matamoros from the solitude of his confinement by especial recommendation, the jailers rendering the condition of both of these prisoners of Christ less lamentable.
“It is useless to attempt to express by these few words, our gratitude to you and the other eminent Christians who are praying and watching for the wellbeing of the sufferers; all Spanish Christians know and venerate these names.
“Receive, dear English brethren, the expression of our Christian love. May the Divine Spirit dwell with you and yours forever.
“Your brethren and sisters in the Lord Jesus,
“THE PRESIDENT (in prison).
[Here follow one hundred and sixty signatures.
“To Messrs. Newton, Tregelles, and Greene.”
A letter to me from Alhama gives some faint idea of the sorrows of these brethren:—
“My DEAR SIR, AND BELOVED BROTHER IN CHRIST,
“With great joy and hearty gratitude I take up my pen to write you a few lines. I have read the letters which you have addressed to the worthy Christian soldier and brave gospel champion, Don M. Matamoros. I have read in your last letter the passage in which you so kindly wrote of me. Oh, dear brother, your letters strengthen our faith, and give peace and consolation to our spirits. Truly, the conduct of the Pope's Christians and of Christ's Christians is widely different. The Pope's Christians torment us, body and soul; they speak ill of us; they anathematize us; they represent us as the vilest criminals, that the people may hate us; they cast us into filthy dungeons, separating us from our dear families and from our brethren in Christ, thus bringing the former to the verge of destitution, and filling the hearts of the latter with fear and mourning; and all this they do for the honor and glory of God.
“What! Does the love of the gospel lead men to ruin an honest and honorable family Is it to the glory of God to rob innocent children of their father, and deprive them at once of his paternal affection, and of the means of subsistence) Is it in the spirit of the Lord Jesus, who pardoned the adulteress and prayed for his murderers, to cast into dreadful prisons, amidst the lowest felons, those whose only offense is, that they have preached the gospel and taught men to love as brethren, and strive to instruct them in those divine truths which God through his Son Jesus Christ has given to us for our learning,—truths which can alone make nations happy and release humanity from its curse “And the children of the gospel, how do they act They fortify out faith; they wipe our tears; they comfort us in our afflictions; our children are their children; they pray for us; they pray for our enemies; and we from our doleful prison daily do the same. Eternal glory be to Jesus Christ—glory to his holy gospel—glory to those Christians who teach and practice the Word of God, and who unite faith and charity.
“I thank God for my conversion. I thank Him for having permitted me to read His Holy Word, for having learned from it to convert hatred into love, to pardon and pity those who do me wrong, and to endure with resignation and faith the troubles of this valley of tears....
“Until today I hoped that dear M. Matamoros would have been able to answer your kind letter himself, but the state of his health makes me fear that he may still be some days before he can do so.
“For the first fortnight of our stay here I trusted that he would be completely restored to health, but, alas! these hopes have not been realized.
“The unhealthy condition of our prisons renders his recovery but too doubtful. Nevertheless, I trust in God that he may be spared to us.... He sends to you and your dear family a thousand kind, nesses. May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all, is what I pray.
“Your brother in the Lord,
“JOSE ALHAMA.”
It may not be generally known that at the time of the eruption of the barbarians, the Vandals took possession of the southern portion of Spain. Hence the word Vandalucia, the v having been dropped it remains Andalucia. Matamoros, from his complexion, evidently belongs to the race of the Vandals, whilst Alhama is supposed to be of Moorish origin, sundry circumstances indicating this, and particularly the Arabic prefix to his name, Al, which is found in many Spanish words, and is easily accounted for by the 800 years of Moorish rule in Spain.
The English public were not idle during this reign of terror to Protestants in Spain. Deputations waited on Earl Russell, Minister for Foreign Affairs. The newspapers joined to help, and daily the voice of public sympathy became more audible. Petitions were sent to the Houses of Parliament. Prayer was made, but the Lord's time to deliver had not arrived. His way is not as our way. We are so short-sighted. One of the petitions sent to the House of Commons, after detailing many of the sorrows and persecutions of our brethren, concluded by the following words:—
“That your petitioners are informed that by the law of Spain there is but one religion permitted—the Roman Catholic—and no other form of worship is tolerated; and that if any one quit the Roman Catholic Church, he therefore renders himself liable to several years' penal servitude at the galleys.
“That your petitioners fear that the present severe persecution of Protestants in Spain by the Roman priesthood is likely to exterminate, if possible, the Protestant faith in the land.
“That as Roman Catholics have in this country full liberty of worship, your petitioners earnestly pray your honorable House to adopt such measures as may seem advisable for the purpose of supporting Her Majesty's Government, by co-operation with other Protestant Powers, or otherwise, in making such a representation as may obtain from the Spanish Government, by pacific and friendly action, an assurance that such persecutions will be stopped. And your petitioners will ever pray.”
The Morning Post newspaper also had some excellent articles, an extract from one of which we transcribe:—
“I may add that the health of Matamoros, always delicate, is fast sinking under the rigor of his confinement “As the subject is likely soon to be brought before Parliament, I am anxious, through your columns, to draw the attention of members of both Houses to the facts. I need not inform you that it is a distinct principle of international law that nations may interfere on behalf of their co-religionists when severely persecuted. Not that any ask for forcible intervention; but might not the English Government (if their remonstrances are despised) induce other Governments—Prussia, Holland, Sweden, Belgium, and probably France-to unite with them in the endeavor to induce the Spanish Government to rescind the law which punishes Protestantism as a crime? And might not our consuls and vice-consuls in Spain be instructed to show as much sympathy with those persecuted for Protestantism there, as our consuls in Syria and elsewhere in the Turkish dominions have been directed to show to the persecuted in those countries? Suppose that in this country we were to pass a law condemning to the galleys for eight years everyone who professed himself a Roman Catholic, would not all Catholic Christendom be aroused? A convention exists with Spain touching the slave trade; is a convention with her impossible for the abandonment of that which is virtually the Inquisition? Zeal, earnestness, and pertinacity in reiterating applications and remonstrances often effect great things.
“It is very probable that Matamoros and Alhama may be worn out with protracted suffering, and die, but it must not be supposed that the question will expire with them. It will revive in a hundred other cases, and we must be prepared to meet it.
“It has been said, and I believe on the best authority, that the Spanish Government would gladly wash their hands of these persecutions, but they yield at present to the pressure of the priesthood and the Court. If this be so, it is an additional reason for pertinacious effort on our part. I enclose my card, and beg to subscribe myself your obedient servant,
"Feb. 25th." "ANGLICANUS.”
Speeches were made in Parliament by Sir Robert Peel and Mr. Kinnaird; but the days of action in favor of God's truth have passed away among our rulers, and of us nationally it may be written, "Thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified." While all this want of action and sympathy was seen in our Government, the oppressed continued to groan and sigh, "and their cries have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabbath.”
In February, 1861, Matamoros writes, "After the silence of a few days that have appeared years to me, I take up my pen to write to you. My imprisonment rapidly weakens my strength of body, but there is compensation, for my spirit is strengthened, my faith is assured, and I am passing through the happiest time of my life. It is now a quarter to two o'clock in the morning while I write to you, and I have been obliged to rise from my bed to do so, for during the day it would be impossible; we are much exposed, for there are many treacherous persons watching over us. I am very ill, but no other result could be expected from the effects of many privations and the unhealthiness of the prison on my already feeble constitution. Even men of robust health suffer here. The expense of my correspondence in Spain and abroad is considerable, but besides that, to be allowed to speak with a friend, to receive a visit, to send the most trifling message, or to procure the smallest comfort, all costs money. Such is the morality of the Spanish employés; even in the prisons they live upon the fears of the prisoners; they flourish in the shade of their griefs, and will not grant them the slightest alleviation unless it is paid for with money which their victims may save by depriving themselves of necessaries, or selling the furniture of their houses.”
In the month of June the following tidings reached us.
"Prison of the `Audiencia,' Granada, June 11, 1861.
“RESPECTED AND DEAR BROTHER IN THE LORD, OUR HOPE, TRUST, AND ONLY JOY,
“Three days ago I completed eight months of my sad and dismal imprisonment, and to-day at length I hear that my case is to be tried.
“The petition of the 'Promoter Fiscal' has been notified to us. I gave you, some time ago, some account of this man. He asks for nine years at the galleys for us three who are imprisoned at Granada, and four years at the galleys for those who were let out on bail, and who are now here for their trial, whose number is about ten. Advocates have been chosen for us; three from among the most eminent of Granada, as follows:—For Alhama, Don Antonio Moreno Dias; for Don Manuel Trigo, Don Mariano Lederma; and for me, Don Juan Rodriguez de la Escalera. The case will be defended by them this week before the inferior tribunal.
“I will send you, dear brother, a copy of the sentence, and the defense of our advocates, and any farther facts worthy of notice. Believe me that these things do not alarm me in the least. Absolutely in no wise has it changed, nor can it change the complete tranquility that I enjoy, both in my spirit and in my conscience as a Christian. I despise the rigor of the tyrant; and the physical sufferings I am undergoing are impotent in causing me to vacillate for a single moment.
“No, a thousand times no! My life has been but a chain of sorrow, entwined with thorns which have lacerated my heart; but our sufferings for the cause of the gospel are and ever shall be an eternal satisfaction to us. I am not shaken, nor shall I be. I live happy under continual suffering; and this happiness is mine by faith in Christ, who I ask to pardon my enemies. Good-bye for the present, dear brother; I cannot now write more; but let me remind you that your unwonted silence, and the remembrance of my dear mother, are the only things that make me a little sad.—Yours ever in Christ,
"MANUEL MATAMOROS.”
Six of Matamoros' letters had been intercepted, which caused us great anxiety about him; and not until the latter end of June did we know any details, when the letter explaining the delay was received.
"Prison, Granada, June 15, 1861.
“VERY DEARLY-LOVED AND RESPECTED BROTHER,
“I have never experienced more difficulty in conveying to you my sentiments of love and gratitude than I do at present. I have never rejoiced more fervently at the receipt of your letter than I did when your last was delivered to me; for, for six weeks I had not heard from you, though I have written to you six times. And what a miserable time has this been! These last six weeks have been full of sufferings to me. Annoyances, many and various, have tormented my enfeebled frame. My life is one of perpetual agitation. It is like a tempest which threatens my existence, as a little boat tossed on the breakers would be imperiled by a storm. My constitution is failing under the weight of these repeated blows. But with all this I receive the most powerful assistance, the most precious help, which leads me to a haven of salvation; which converts grief into joy; suffering into peace; and changes all that is gloomy into all that is bright. My invariable faith in the Lord, our dear Redeemer, does this for me.
“But life has its necessities, and one of the chief to me at present is to receive your letters and those of Mrs. Tregelles; and during this unfortunate time I have not received her letters either. Consider my condition and you will pity and pardon me.
“Your letter of the 4th has made me uneasy concerning mine to you. You say you have not heard from me since a certain date, and I have written six times to you without receiving any answer Oh, may God touch the hearts of our enemies, and if the letters have fallen into their hands ... .
"I pass on to another point which will give you and your family much sadness of heart. The punishment which has been awarded to us was officially announced to us on the 13th. Alhama, Trigo, and myself are to be condemned to eighteen years' punishment: nine at the galleys, and nine more under the constant vigilance of the civil authorities. Besides this, we are to be declared forever incapable of holding any office or political position, and also of teaching or instructing. This is horrible, inquisitorial, and inhuman.
“Of this nine years of convict labor I need say nothing. You can fancy what they will be in Spain.
But the other nine of surveillance are also very severe and trying. We shall be obliged to present ourselves once or twice daily to the authorities. We shall not be allowed to leave the town in which we sojourn; but in case we should do so, we shall be obliged to travel by a route which shall be appointed for us, and also to have a note of infamy upon our passports. If we fail in any of these points the remainder of our sentence must be fulfilled at the hulks.
"Nine of our brethren are sentenced to seven years of the galleys, and D. N. N. to four. In all, twenty-one brethren are involved in this affair in Granada alone; and, with the exception of a few against whom the charges were not proved, are all doomed by the tyranny under which we groan to a dark and disastrous future. We read calmly the sentence of the Fiscal which imposes so barbarous a punishment upon us, and it should be made known throughout Europe as a specimen of the tyrannical spirit which influences the Spanish laws, and their inquisitorial rage against those Protestants who desire to propagate their faith.
“This sanguinary document is yet a curiosity, and is worthy of all our pity. It is a document written by a Roman Catholic to demand the punishment of men who are children of God, but are Protestants. This is sufficient to give you an idea of its form and its spirit. It is specially severe upon me. I am considered as a criminal of the first magnitude, and of a deeper dye than any of the rest. I am repeatedly called the chief of the organization, the instigator and director of all the rest. I am declared responsible for the crime of forming the churches of Malaga and Barcelona, and guilty also of evangelizing in these and other parts of Spain; and this, as well as my declaration of faith before the tribunal, demands a severe and heavy punishment.
"Amongst other little things, it is remarked in this document that my imprisonment has not answered the purpose of converting me; but that I have constantly been striving to propagate my heresies even in prison. In fact, nothing that could prejudice the supreme tribunal against me, or compass my total ruin, has been forgotten. But with all this, one point is very remarkable: the Fiscal confesses distinctly that this Protestant organization may one day change the religion of Spain. What a confession! And if it is true, how can they say that their religion is the true one? and if it is the true one, why do they fear and persecute the Protestants so much?
“Our dear Alhama is accused of various crimes; the chief of them being, the having assisted A— in his escape; being president of the Granada committee, and, therefore, responsible for all its doings. His sentence will be the same as mine, as the accomplice of a crime is as guilty as the perpetrator; and, besides, other heavy charges are laid against him.
“The Fiscal has been completely and deeply to blame in his accusations against Don Miguel Trigo. Every one of the charges against him is unjust and inspired by revenge. The Fiscal has been for years a personal enemy of Trigo, and has now an opportunity of exhibiting and satisfying his vengeance; for although several of the lawyers believe that the superior court will release him, in the meantime he will have to endure the sufferings and pain of captivity. I would dwell at greater length upon these points, but that I purpose sending you a copy of the sentence in the course of a few days. It consists of twenty pages of MSS.
“The more liberal portions of the press, though themselves Roman Catholics, are horrified at the severity of the sentence. The Clamor Publico is taking an attitude which is worthy at least of the century in which we live, and touches upon this disgraceful affair in a few eloquent passages, which have been copied by other newspapers.
“But, dear friend, though I am sure this letter will make you grieve, yet you will see in all this matter the hand of Providence, which has determined that Roman Catholicism should throw this dark stain upon her name, to prove once more how different is her teaching from that of Him who would not permit Peter to strike His enemies; who healed the wound which His disciple made; and whose last words were to ask for the pardon of those who had shed His blood, and given Him gall to drink; and whose whole life taught humility, gentleness, charity, and fraternal love.
“Be fully persuaded, however, that courage, resignation, and tranquility have not failed me, do not fail me now, and never will, to bear with Christian resignation whatever afflictions weigh down my weakened frame. Neither in prison, nor before the executioner, will I ever retract; wherever I find myself, there they shall see me tranquil and rejoicing; there they shall see me disposed to confess my faith in the Lord, and to protest against the Church of Rome, his implacable enemy.
“Our beloved Alhama has suffered from a robbery of goods in his establishment to the value of 1000 reals, or £10, through a person in charge there. The replacing of these goods has cost him more than the value of the lost ones, that he had bought on favorable terms from another workman. This, added to the great wants of a numerous family, of which he is the only support, to the supplying of rich goods for the season, and to the wants that are produced from day to day by the prolongation of an eight months' imprisonment, has caused that the sums received by him have not covered his necessities. Besides this, Senor Alhama has not omitted, as far as his means would allow, to assist Trigo and other unfortunate brethren, who, having been taken prisoners with him, are now in want, and some donations for Malaga, the total sum of which, since the month of March, amounts to some 600 reals, or £6.
“I say nothing of the content which your sympathy has produced, and the love shown in your desire to see me, because my unworthy pen is too weak to do so; but, suffice it to say, that you make me happy with such significant proofs of Christian love. I do not think we shall be allowed out for a long walk. However, if you settle upon your journey, I think perhaps it would be more opportune, and of greater interest to you to do so, in time to hear the final sentence, when the defenses are made in public, when our crime, and the reason of our punishment is shown, and I think this would be important....
"I think the final sentence will come on towards the end of the year; the circumstance of the birth of the new Infanta would be now very favorable for the ambassador to do much. Do you know if he has done anything “I shall receive the pictures to-morrow by the diligence, and I await with impatience for this great pleasure; I send you a thousand, thousand thanks for your generous condescension. Alhama feels equally grateful, and also sends you repeated thanks.
“Count always upon the eternal affection and gratitude of your unworthy brother in the Lord,
“MANUEL MATAMOROS.
“Alhama participates in the same eternal gratitude with me, gives you thanks for all, and offers his respects to your family.”
"Prison of the Audiencia,' Granada, June 22, 1861.
"MOST BELOVED BROTHER IN THE LORD,
“The pictures are in our hands! Oh, with what anxiety I opened the envelope that contained them! How much I desired to see your likeness, whom I do not know, as I know the greatness of your heart! My eager gaze has been fixed upon it a thousand times;... They are hung up on the strong wall of my prison, over the table at which I am now writing, and I fix my eyes on them every moment; and those sacred remembrances console me so much, they are a soothing balm to my tried spirit.
“But in what an opportune occasion your edifying letter reached me. This morning dawned upon a fatal day for me—one of those days that take away years of life—a day of extreme trial. The Fiscal's petition, in which nine years of imprisonment and other penalties of an afflictive and disgraceful character, were demanded against me, has traversed Spain like an electric shock. I had wished that my dear mother and the poor prisoners in Malaga had not heard of it; it will rend their sorrowing hearts; however, the press has taken upon itself to cross my desires, and has carried this news to the remotest corner of the Peninsula. But with what anguish to me!
“I have received various letters from Barcelona, Malaga, and other places, full of tender grief; but, alas! a dear friend in Barcelona has overcome me. He tells me my dearest mother is inconsolable, that she has almost lost her reason! My God, my God, shelter her, as Thou dost shelter me, giving me strength to be able to endure!...
“Two of the prisoners of Malaga have fallen sick in their wretched dungeons. My poor brothers! This is my situation to-day, think on it, and pity me. I do not suffer on my own account; no, I suffer in thinking that the beings I love most suffer; I suffer in thinking that they perhaps believe that I suffer, when, on the contrary, this epoch (that others, perhaps, may think sad) is to me the happiest epoch in my life.
“I feel my physical strength weakening under nature's hard laws, but my moral being grows ever more robust, ever more firm; yes, more firm, because there are no chains in the world, no sufferings sufficient, no torments capable of making me draw back. All the earthly power of the Church of Rome, with its stakes and scaffolds, would not be sufficient ever to intimidate this poor prisoner, the most unworthy of all the Spanish Christians.
“I know what I owe to my beloved Jesus, I know what I owe to his holy and immortal church, and that which I owe to myself, so as not to appear timid before the horrible torments of tyrants. What are their rigors to me? Nothing, nothing. I only hold as supremely important that which is acceptable in the eyes of God. It is true that I suffer, knowing that my brethren in the faith, and my virtuous and incomparable mother suffers; but this grief is produced by sincere Christian affection; it is the natural feeling of a son who loves a mother to whom he owes tender affection and care; but it is not the suffering of my distressful situation, which I would not exchange for the felicity of Pius IX.
“The translation of the notable discourse of Sin Robert Peel has been published in a Spanish newspaper. I pray you to tell him in my humble name that I offer him my sincere thanks for his noble, worthy, and magnanimous efforts; poor Spain owes him much, much, beloved brother, and our gratitude towards such an eloquent orator is engraved in the depth of our hearts.
“To the excellent Mr. Newton, offer in my humble name my respects; tell him, also, of my eternal gratitude, my warm Christian love; and assure him in the most positive manner of my constancy, my unvarying desire of sacrificing even my life, if necessary, for the cause of the gospel, and of my perfect tranquility in the midst of so many sad and repeated blows.
“I received yesterday a notable, expressive, and most eloquent letter, signed by different amiable and charitable brothers and sisters in Dublin. My state of health and my occupations prevent me from answering it immediately; however, perhaps I may be able to do so tomorrow.
“The blessing of the Lord be with you constantly, and with all your family. Alhama, who participates in equal gratitude and love towards you, begs me to assure you of it in the warmest manner.
“Your brother in the Lord,
“MANUEL MATAMOROS.”
A short time before the reception of the above, a meeting had been convened at St. James's Hall, London, presided over by Lord Shaftesbury, and attended by a highly influential and respectable audience. On this occasion Sir R. Peel made a long and powerful speech, bringing before the public the horrors that these Spanish Protestants were obliged to suffer. After introducing the subject at some length, he continued by saying:—
“What have these violent persecutions cost Spain in the past? What lost Spain the Indies? Its miserable persecutions. What lost Spain the Netherlands Mr. Motley, in his charming work, recently published, says:—` The great cause of the revolt which in a few years was to break out through the Netherlands, was the introduction of the Inquisition, and the persecution which Philip of Spain, in 1561, had arranged for exterminating that religious belief, which was already accepted by a large portion of the Netherland subjects.' Let Spain take care that its intolerance even now, in these days of revolution, be not pushed too far. When Matamoros was at Barcelona, he was dragged to Malaga, and from Malaga to the dungeons at Granada. I, in company with two ladies, traveled with him into the mountains of Granada to the prison cell of that town. I learned to admire his simple piety; and I and the ladies with me were determined to use every effort, although we were strangers, to ameliorate his condition.
Now let me read you one or two extracts from letters written by these men, Alhama and Matamoros, by which you can judge whether they are suffering because they are excited Socialists or because of their religious belief. Matamoros says, in one of his letters:—
“'The tribunals in this place are acting in a satanic and inquisitorial manner with us; my physical powers are rapidly sinking, and the thread of my life appears nearly spun out. The dampness of these prisons is killing me; but every step I take towards the tomb strengthens my faith.'
“Is that the language of a Socialist or a political agitator? I have here a letter from Alhama, which is still more touching:—
“`Yes, I suffer very, very deeply. You will imagine all if I tell you a little. They are constantly trying to make my poor wife ashamed of her husband.
“'I suffer with patience all that is hardest in our undeserved captivity. Be firm; grow in faith; we put our trust in God.'
"I will read one other extract:—
“‘Of our misfortunes and sufferings here in prison I will say nothing. The cruelty they practice upon us, the extreme severity they treat us with, is almost without an example in the annals of tyranny. The jailers have received strict orders not to allow us to speak in the prison. The governor calls us heretics. The other prisoners frequently wish to speak to us, but they are told to pass by. Formerly we were allowed to see our friends, and my patient Alhama was permitted to see his mother, and wife, and children. All the prisoners still have this liberty, be they even robbers or assassins; but we are allowed nothing, and are not permitted to speak to anyone. I asked to walk a little while when the sun was shining, and was refused. The jailer said he had strict injunctions to use all rigor towards me. Indeed, were I to write many pages, and to use the strongest language, I could not explain all that I am suffering.'
“I ask, is not that the language of a martyr? Matamoros has heard that the government pretends that they are Socialists, and this is the way he answers the charge:—' Our cause has nothing of a political nature; it is completely separated from every political and worldly movement; it is the holy cause of the gospel.' That is the answer, that upon this platform, in the presence of a thousand free Englishmen, I give to the Government of Spain when they dare to taunt these people with being imprisoned for their connection with secret societies. I have seen these men in prison with my own eyes. Their cell was no larger than that table. I paced it in three steps. They had no light—no table; everything was denied them. Do you recollect Byron's description of the prisoners of Chillon? One of them is dead, another is chained to a pillar, and the third is dying. The description conveys to my mind what I should imagine to be the feelings of these men. The man chained to the pillar says of the other one:—
"'He, too, was struck, and, day by day,
Was withered on the stalk away.
Oh, God! it is a fearful thing
To see the human soul take wing,
In any shape, in any mood:
I've seen it rushing forth in blood,
I've seen it on the breaking ocean
Strive with a swollen convulsive motion,
I've seen the sick and ghastly bed
Of sin delirious with its dread:
But these were horrors—this was woe
Unmixed with such—but sure and slow;
He faded, and so calm and meek,
So softly worn, so sweetly weak,
So tearless, yet so tender—kind,
And grieved for those he left behind:
With all the while a cheek, whose bloom
Was as the mockery of the tomb.'
"That is what I saw in the dungeon of Granada. I have seen in my own experience the terrors of the 'heaving ocean.' I have been with four other men upon a plank in the mid ocean, the sole survivors from a terrible shipwreck. I have seen men, one by one, perish at my side, but it did not move me: I awaited my destiny. It was horrible, but it was not woe. I have seen the battle-field of the defeated: it was horrible, but it was not woe. I have seen the prisoner expiating his offense, and receiving his last sentence for his defiance of the laws of God and man: it was horrible, but it did not affect me. But I have seen the prisoners in the dungeon at Granada, and I admit that I felt, perhaps as many of you have felt often, or, it may be, only once in your life—felt
"'What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal.'
“Would to God that any words of mine could remove one iota of the burden that presses down these poor fellows in Granada! But they shall be relieved. We have a patriot minister who knows how to interpret the feelings of his countrymen, and he will be prepared to carry out the desire not only of the metropolis, but of every province of this empire, that Her Majesty's Government should take some step in the matter. We do not ask to go to war with Spain. The power of this country does not depend upon earthworks and barricades, and lines of defense. The power of this country is in the exercise of its moral influence. It was so in the time of Queen Elizabeth. For twenty years she never fired a gun, and yet England had then a character and prestige in Europe. Never was this country so much respected abroad, as in the time of Cromwell. Why was it I Not because of sanguinary wars, but because Cromwell knew how to maintain the character and prestige of his country amid the nations of Europe. So shall it be now. We ask that the moral influence of this country, as a friendly power, may be exerted in alleviating the sufferings and calamities which have befallen these poor Christians in Spain, whose doctrines are not those of a mere sect, but the doctrines of many millions in this country and in Europe. The resolution I have the honor to move will, I am sure, meet with the assent of every man and woman in this assembly, and will receive the support of public opinion not only here, but throughout Europe. For, by the friendly sympathy of a free press, which is the worst enemy of oppression, the sentiments we here express will be carried far beyond these walls, and will animate the hearts of many in Sweden, and France, and Germany, and I believe in Spain itself. We would have them know, that as our institutions secure unlimited liberty to every class of professing Christians, so they give us an indisputable right to intercede with other nations in favor of our fellow-Christians who are suffering—not for their political, but for their religious opinions —a persecution which is not only an insult to Europe, and an outrage to the spirit of the age in which we live, but which to my mind is totally incompatible with the mild and charitable principles of Christianity.”
The sympathy evinced by Sir R. Peel at the time of the imprisonment of Matamoros, his great exertions since, and many things that have come under my notice, impel me to bid him God speed, and to desire, as I do most heartily, that as by God's providence he has been chosen in the first instance as the instrument of advocating the cause of our persecuted Spanish friends, he may never dismiss this matter from his thoughts until he sees an end put to this persecution in the deliverance of the captives, and in the proclamation of religious liberty in priest-ridden Spain.
But it was not only in the palaces of our nobility that the story of the Spanish sufferers had become a matter of deep interest. It had already been rehearsed again and again in all the length and breadth of Great Britain, and over the continent of Europe; on the banks of the Ganges and in the United States; and better and higher still, we love to think that the sorrowful sighing of the prisoner has come into the ears of the Lord of Hosts. In all their afflictions Re is afflicted. He has heard their cry, and will help them.
But simple imprisonment was not sufficient punishment in the eyes of the enraged ecclesiastics of Spain for those who had dared to preach the truth in the midst of the classic land of superstition. A more bitter cup was still their lot, as will be seen in the sequel.
But in the midst of these deep waters, God was day by day adding to the number of the ministering children, who ministered to the afflicted of their substance, and words of sweetest consolation. Among these may be mentioned the Rev. B. W. Newton, of London; Dr. and Mrs. Tregelles, of Plymouth; Geo. Millie; of Bristol; and the Rev. R. Govett, of Norwich, to say nothing of a host of others whose untiring and prayerful sympathy has been invaluable.
The Rev. Mr. Dallas and Mr. Eade went from the Geneva Conference to pay them a visit in prison. General Alexander went out at the instance of the Evangelical Alliance, with a mission to General O'Donell, the Spanish Prime Minister at Madrid, but in spite of all his remonstrances, the bars and the bolts still firmly secured their persons. A sum of nearly £1000 went from this country to pay for the heavy law expenses, and for the support of the numerous families of the imprisoned in Malaga, Granada, and Seville; this money, laid up in heaven, bears good interest here in showers of blessing, and those who thus use their substance shall find that when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, they shall receive a crown of glory which fadeth not away. "Inasmuch as ye have done it to the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me." In the midst of all these persecutions we see a better day in store for Spain, in answer to the prayers of these sufferers. Before Germany was made free, Luther had to be bound; before England enjoyed an open Bible, Cramer must suffer; before France enjoyed the same, centuries of sorrow were the forerunners. The Madiai in Italy were heralds of blessing for their land, but they must submit to the will of the Lord first in bonds, and shall we say that the same laws do not apply to Spain. Away with the thought. "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy," He has said who cannot lie; and we will wait on Him for the fulfillment of the word.