Ofalia had been moved by these remonstrances, and more than once promised to do all in his power to oblige Sir George; but then the bishops again beset him, and playing upon his political if not religious fears, prevented him from acting a just, honest, and honourable part.  At the desire of Sir George Villiers, I drew up a brief account of the Bible Society, and an exposition of its views, especially in respect to Spain, which he presented with his own hands to the Count.  I shall not trouble the reader by inserting this memorial, but content myself with observing, that I made no attempts to flatter and cajole, but expressed myself honestly and frankly, as a Christian ought.  Ofalia, on reading it, said, “What a pity that this is a Protestant society, and that all its members are not Catholics.”

A few days subsequently, to my great astonishment, he sent a message to me by a friend, requesting that I would send him a copy of my Gypsy Gospel.  I may as well here state, that the fame of this work, though not yet published, had already spread like wildfire through Madrid, and every person was passionately eager to possess a copy; indeed, several grandees of Spain sent messages with similar requests, all of which I however denied.  I instantly resolved to take advantage of this overture on the part of Count Ofalia, and to call on him myself.  I therefore caused a copy of the Gospel to be handsomely bound, and proceeding to the palace, was instantly admitted to him.  He was a dusky, diminutive person, between fifty and sixty years of age, with false hair and teeth, but exceedingly gentlemanly manners.  He received me with great affability, and thanked me for my present; but on my proceeding to speak of the New Testament, he told me that the subject was surrounded with difficulties, and that the great body of the clergy had taken up the matter against me; he conjured me, however, to be patient and peaceable, in which case he said he would endeavour to devise some plan to satisfy me.  Amongst other things, he observed that the bishops hated a sectarian more than an Atheist.  Whereupon I replied, that, like the Pharisees of old, they cared more for the gold of the temple than the temple itself.  Throughout the whole of our interview he evidently laboured under great fear, and was continually looking behind and around him, seemingly in dread of being overheard, which brought to my mind an expression of a friend of mine, that if there be any truth in metempsychosis, the soul of Count Ofalia must have originally belonged to a mouse.  We parted in kindness, and I went away, wondering by what strange chance this poor man had become prime minister of a country like Spain.

CHAPTER XXXIX

The Two Gospels—­The Alguazil—­The Warrant—­The Good Maria—­The Arrest—­Sent to Prison—­Reflections—­The Reception—­The Prison Room—­Redress Demanded.