JOHN BESSAC CROSSES THE PYRENEES MOUNTAINS

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Abd ar-Rahman III, Alicante, Alicante Wine, America, American Army, Arabs, Badalona, Barcelona, Blanes, Cadiz, Coll de Panissars, France, Gerona, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, John Bessac, Jonquera, Madrid, Mataro, Mediterranean, Minstrel, Perpignon, Philadelphia, Pompey the Great, Pryrenees, Roman Roads, Romans, Spain, Tortosa, Toulouse, Via Augusta, Via Domitia, Vidreres

John had been sitting in the city of Toulouse, France, knowing that he had to make a decision about where to settle. But Madrid? Why Madrid? Cadiz had no calling for him since his brother Ruffus died. But why did John choose Madrid? It had to be his adventuresome spirit. Young men tend to think romantically about far places as well as beautiful women. So Madrid it would be.

John’s first leg would be from Toulouse to Perpignon. He would still be in France; however, he would be on the cusp of the Pyrenees Mountains. Perpignon would allow him to gather whatever information he may need to help him cross the mountains.

It was an eighty mile trek from Toulouse to Perpignon. Being excited about his next great adventure he made the trip in three days. John had overestimated his endurance. He required rest. He found some solitude on the banks of the river. There was thick brush near the bridge that would shield him from the sun and the prying eyes of the church.  That is where he spent the fourth day. Many others were also there resting their tired feet and doing their best to get out of the November sun. The nights were cold but by nine in the morning the heat was well on its way.

It was there that he met a minstrel of sorts. They agreed to become traveling companions while they crossed the Pyrenees. A plan was made between them. They would enter Spain at Jonquera. The die was cast and they set their course forward.

Their path through the Pyrenees was only six miles from the Mediterranean Sea. John could smell the mountain shrubs and the salt air simultaneously. He had never experienced an aroma like this before. His senses were aroused and his romantic thoughts of wanderlust almost undid him. He considered staying there. His new companion, the minstrel, convinced him that they needed to keep moving.

There were no inns across the mountains and a person needed to be “established” in order to set roots in the villages. They met many local people along their way through the Pyrenees. It was not that the people were terse or rude. In fact they went out of their way to offer the two travelers shelter. The mountain people shared their black bread and onions with them.

After a twenty mile trek they finally reached Jonquera.

John Bessac’s romanticism once again took control as he viewed the castle in the mountains. It rested above Jonquera with a commanding presence. A Roman road, the Via Augusta , which ran from Cádiz to the Pyrénées , also captured John Bessac’s imagination. There, at Jonquera, it joined the Via Domitia at the Coll de Panissars. The people informed John that this was an alter built by Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus; Pompey the Great. John Bessac was carried away with the history of La Jonquera.

Once John came to his senses he realized that it was a long eighty miles to Barcelona and another three hundred miles to his goal of Madrid. The next day he and his companion were once more on the pathway to their final destination.

Some of the trip was through the countryside of Gerona and Vidreres which reminded him of his home country. The trip was, at times, more enjoyable once he reached Blanes, Mataro and then Badalona. Along that route he could see the Mediterranean and it took his mind off of his feet.

The eighty mile walk from Jonquera along the coast to Barcelona was completed in four days.

John’s minstrel friend decided to stay in Barcelona. There were many people there and several venues in which he could ply his craft. John travelled alone for the remaining one hundred miles to Tortosa.

Another castle and more romantic notions held John’s attention as he spoke to the people of Tortosa.

John heard stories of Roman conquest and the start of this castle. The Arabs under the second caliphate of  Abd ar-Rahman III added to it. John was mesmerized by the view of the castle above the Ebro River.

John still had another two hundred miles after leaving Tortosa.  The trip gave him plenty of time to think. He had thoughts about eventually getting to Philadelphia to become an agent for a business. His brothers had recently become involved with establishing contacts in America.

Or possibly, if that did not work out, he would join the American army. John carefully weighed several different plans. His trip was not all planning. He had plenty of time to enjoy himself.

Once he slept in a cottage and another time in the open air under a wide spread chestnut tree.

He remembered one evening staying with a priest and three lay brothers. That evening he enjoyed roasted chestnuts followed up with a few servings of Alicant wine.

Most of the trip was on foot.

Once in a while, rain – – – sun – – – or fog, he would hitch a ride on a rickety mule-hauled cart.

He never knew if he would be sitting next to a keg of olive oil – – – or at other times sacks of figs. There were a few times when a cart was loaded with honey or bee’s wax. Then he would have to keep swatting at bees that were drawn to the load.

John arrived in Madrid without a coin in his pocket.

JOHN BESSAC’S FOOTPATH TO FREEDOM

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Agen, Beaumont, Cadiz, Catholic Church, France, Gendarme, Madrid, Montvalant, Shylock, St. Martin's Day, Toulouse

John Bessac walked speedily along the highways all that evening. He made considerable distance. However, as daylight appeared he knew that his father, his uncle and the Holy Roman Catholic Church would be searching for him. Agen was his immediate destination.

He kept up his pace so that he could put more distance between himself and Montvalant. To be safe he departed the highway and walked the fields and solitary footpaths. He wished to see the city of Agen soon; and then Beaumont and Toulouse.

John’s forty mile trip from Montvalent to Agen was without incident. On the second morning he decided to rest after being two days without sleep. He found a comfortable place near a stack of hay and drifted off for a well-deserved rest.

Something brought him out of his deep sleep. Even with his eyes closed he felt a presence of some sort. Slowly opening his eyes he found himself looking at the well-shined boots of a state gendarme. A conversation about John ensued.

After some convincing, the policeman was satisfied that John was on a trip to visit friends. He pointed out to John that a storm was in the air and that he should find a more secure place to rest. John, in his deep sleep, had not noticed the change in the temperature, wind and clouds. He remained a little foggy from his recent awakening and attempted to determine what day it was.

“November 13^th or 14^th; a few days after St. Martin’s Day” he said out loud.

“Pardon me?” responded the policeman.

“Nothing, nothing at all” lied John. “Just forgot the actual date.”

The policeman looked askance at John, excused himself, and departed.

John felt rested up enough to continue his journey towards Toulouse. He was somewhat conflicted as to whether to find shelter or move on. He decided to put more distance between himself and the dreaded plans that the church had for him.

The next sixty miles to Toulouse were windy and cold. John was thankful that it did not rain. He had not thought about a canvas wrap to keep the wetness from soaking him. There was a heavy fall mist coming from the Atlantic side of France but it was not enough to dampen him through.

It took three more days of walking for John to reach Toulouse. He found a reasonable priced boarding room and started making plans. His first task was to write his good friend Barte. Barte’s return letter contained advice and a gift. The advice was for John to head for Cadiz where John had established friends. Barte suggested that John may be able to find a job in the hospital where he had once worked. John did not wish to relive the memories of his brother dying in Cadiz.

The gift was a note that John could cash. It was a second party check drawn on a merchant from Bordeaux. The only person that John could find to cash it was a shylock who extracted an ungodly sum “due to the risk.”

Being desperate, John took the partial amount.

A month had passed while he stayed in Toulouse.

John then departed for Madrid.

 

JOHN BESSAC and the Right Reverend Bishop

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Bishop, Cadiz, Chenango County, Don Quixote, Greene NY, Jean Guillaume deBesse, John Bessac, Montvalant, priesthood, Revolutionary War, St. Martin, vows

John Bessac was eighteen years of age and had already had experiences that other lads his age only dreamed of.

He had played on the hillsides above the Dordogne River in Montvalant. He had studied and mastered languages at the University of Cahors. Not only that but he had made a voyage to Morocco to save hostages from Hammuda ibn Ali, the Monarch of Morocco.

Then he spent a year in Cadiz, Spain, understanding the ramifications of disease and surgery at the largest hospital in Europe.

All were not pleasant experiences in Cadiz. He lost his brother Rufus due to some strange malady. And John had burned his face and hands saving another lad from a laboratory fire.

However, he did have the opportunity to read several medical theses, “Don Quixote” and also some of Alain-Rene Le Sage’s humorous short stories.

Yes, John Bessac had led a full life by the age of eighteen.

Now it was time for him to take his vows of priesthood.

But John had seen too much. He was full of life and spirit, very fond of his amusements and had a deep desire to continue visiting various parts of the world. How was he to keep these desires buried if he were to enter the life of a priest?

The only counsel he could trust to help him make his case were his two remaining brothers; Baptiste and Bertrand. The bond between the three was strong. Many nights were spent with them as John discussed his problem.

Finally Baptiste and Bertrand agreed to speak to their father about John’s dilemma.

No effort was spared by the brothers to convince John’s father to abandon his plans for John. And it almost worked if it were not for John’s Uncle Louis. Louis was an unyielding arch-catholic and had established close friendships high in the church.

The Right Reverend Bishop of the Diocese wrote a pressing letter to John’s father insisting that John take the vows immediately. That settled the matter for John, whether he agreed with the plan or not.

On St. Martin‘s Day a feast would take place in Montvalant.

Saint Martin Croissants

Immediately after high mass John would be given the vows by the Bishop during a solemn ceremony. The Bishop had laid out his plans well.

The speech prior to the ceremony would discuss the generous nature of St. Martin, the saint of the day, while also picturing him as an equestrian knight.

St. Martin Dividing His Cloak For a Naked and Cold Beggar

The Bishop thought “Maybe that will plant the seed of a more exciting calling to John.”

Life sequestered away in some forlorn abbey did not appear to be one of John’s goals.

JOHN BESSAC IN CADIZ, SPAIN

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Alain Rene Le Sage, Barte, Bordeaux, Cadiz, Cadiz Hospital, Dr. Sangrado, Gil Blas, Lab fire, Oporto

John was directed, by who we do not know, to accompany his older brother Rufus to Spain. Rufus was to study medicine in the largest hospital in Europe which was located in Cadiz.

The Old Cadiz Hospital; Circa 1700's

Young John Bessac’s job was to observe the general techniques of surgery and learn the basic treatment of diseases.

While Rufus was studying surgery and medicine John was involving himself with the high society found in Cadiz. He also found time to study chemistry and read dissertations on medicine. The brothers of his religious organization in France had suggested that he obtain and read a copy of Don Quixotte, which he did.

Apparently John Bessac had been reading Alain Rene Le Sage’s “Gil Blas and Dr. Sangrado.”  Whenever he spoke of reading the dissertations on medicine he would laugh. He said he would prefer the benefits of Dr. Sangrado’s invariable “bleeding and potations of warm water” over some of the cures found in those dissertations.

Alain Rene Le Sage courtesy of Wikipedia

An Explanation of Dr. Sangrado

John Bessac had been in Cadiz less than a year when his brother Rufus suddenly died. He had contracted a contagious disease while caring for patients in the hospital. John, at about the same time period, had severely burned his hands and face in a laboratory experiment. A young lad had accidentally broken a large bulbous glass vessel full of spirits which caught fire from a nearby alcohol lamp. John Bessac had saved the young man’s life.

John, with bandaged hands wrote a letter to his mother explaining Rufus’ death and his own misfortune in the lab. With that done he buried himself in the study of surgery. This seemed to give him some relief from the loss of his brother.

He continued with his studies for some time before receiving a response from his mother. She begged him to leave the hospital before he, too, would come down with a contagious malady. The hospital was always over crowded with patients having all sorts of strange illnesses. John, after some thought, decided to pack his belongings and head home. He bid his friends in Cadiz goodbye and arrived in Bordeaux two weeks later.

Cadiz Waterfront

 John would have arrived sooner but had, by chance, met his old friend Barte in Oporto. They spent a week there before heading for Bordeaux. Upon arriving at Bordeaux they sent their luggage on to Cahors and walked the remainder of the way home.

John was relieved to finally be at home with his mother, father and brothers.