,brazilian ,sketches ,by ,rev4 ,t4 ,b4 ,ray1 ,d4,d4 ,educational ,secretary of the ,foreign ,mission ,board of the ,southern ,baptist ,convention4 ,,to ,,my ,,wife ,,who ,,shared ,,the ,,journey ,,with ,,me ,,contents ,i4 ,,the ,,country ,,ii4 ,,the ,,capital1 ,,rio ,,de ,,janeiro ,,iii4 ,a ,,visit ,,to ,a ,,country ,,church ,,iv4 ,,two ,,presidents ,v4 ,,the ,,gospel ,,withheld ,,vi4 ,,saint ,,worship ,,vii4 ,,penance ,,and ,,priest ,,viii4 ,,the ,,gospel ,,triumphant ,,ix4 ,,jose ,,barretto ,x4 ,,captain ,,egydio ,,xi4 ,,felicidade 7,felicity7 ,,xii4 ,,persecution ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,bible ,,as ,a ,,missionary ,,factor ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,mettle ,,of ,,the ,,native ,,christian ,,xv4 ,,the ,,testing ,,of ,,the ,,missionary ,,xvi4 ,,the ,,urgent ,,call ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,last ,,stand ,,of ,,the ,,latin ,,race ,,appendix ,,foreword4 ,i was dining one day with a very successful business man who1 although his business had extensive relations in many lands1 was meagerly informed about the work of missions4 ,i thought ,i might interest him by telling him something of the effects of missions upon commerce4 ,so ,i told him about how the civilizing presence of missionary effort creates new demands which in turn increases trade4 ,he listened comprehendingly for a while and then remarked3 ,what you say is interesting1 but what ,i wish to know is not whether missions increase business--we have business enough and have methods of increasing the volume--,what ,i want to know is whether the missionary is making good and whether ,christianity is making good in meeting the spiritual needs of the heathen4 ,if ever ,i should become greatly interested in missions it would be because ,i should feel that ,christianity could solve the spiritual problem for the heathen better than anything else4 ,what are the facts about that phase of missions8 ,these words made a profound impression on me1 and since then ,i have spent little time in setting forth the by-products of missions1 tremendously important and interesting though they are4 ,i place the main emphasis on how gloriously ,christianity1 through the efforts of the missionary1 meets the aching spiritual hunger of the heathen heart and transforms his life into spiritual efficiency4 ,since this is my conception of what the burden of the message concerning missions should be1 it should not surprise anyone to find the following pages filled with concrete statements of actual gospel triumphs4 ,i have endeavored to draw a picture of the religious situation in ,brazil by reciting facts4 ,i have described some of the work of others done in former years and ,i have recorded some wonderful manifestations of the triumphant power of the gospel which ,i was privileged to see with my own eyes4 ,these pages record testimony which thing1 ,i take it1 most people desire concerning the missionary enterprise4 ,more arguments might have been stated and more conclusions might have been expressed1 but ,i have left the reader to make his own deductions from the facts ,i have tried faithfully to record4 ,no attempt has been made to follow in detail the itinerary taken by my wife and myself which carried us into ,brazil1 ,argentina and ,chili in ,south ,america1 and ,portugal and ,spain in ,europe4 ,it is sufficient to know that we reached the places mentioned and can vouch for the truth of the facts stated4 ,i have confined myself to sketches about ,brazil because ,i did not desire to write a book of travel1 but to show how the gospel succeeds in a ,catholic field as being an example of the manner in which it is succeeding in other similar lands where it is being preached vigorously4 ,i wish to say also that ,i have drawn the materials from the experiences of my own denomination more largely because ,i know it better and therefore could bear more reliable testimony4 ,it should be borne in mind that the successes of this one denomination are typical of the work of several other ,protestant bodies now laboring in ,brazil4 ,the missionaries and other friends made it possible wherever we went to observe conditions at close range and under favorable auspices4 ,to these dear friends who received us so cordially and labored so untiringly for our comfort and to make our visit most helpful we would express here our heartfelt gratitude4 ,we record their experiences and ours in the hope that the knowledge of them may bring to the reader a better appreciation of the missionary and the great cause for which the missionary labors so self-sacrificingly4 ,richmond1 ,va4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,country4 ,we had sailed in a southeasternly direction from ,new ,york twelve days when we rounded ,cape ,st4 ,roque1 the easternmost point of ,south ,america4 ,a line drawn due north from this point would pass through the ,atlantic midway between ,europe and ,america4 ,if we had sailed directly south we should have touched the western instead of the eastern coast1 for the reason that practically the entire continent of ,south ,america lies east of the parallel of longitude which passes through ,new ,york4 ,after sighting land we sailed along the coast three days before we cast anchor at ,bahia1 our first landing place4 ,two days more were required to reach ,rio de ,janeiro4 ,when we afterwards sailed from ,rio to ,buenos ,aires1 ,argentina1 we spent three and one-half days skirting along the shore of ,brazil4 ,for eight and one-half days we sailed in sight of ,brazilian territory1 and had we been close enough to shore north of ,cape ,st4 ,roque1 we should have added three days more to our survey of these far-stretching shores4 ,brazil lies broadside to the ,atlantic ,ocean with a coast line almost as long as the ,pacific and ,atlantic seaboards of the ,united ,states combined4 ,its ocean frontage is about #d1jjj miles in length4 ,this coast line1 however1 is not all the water front of ,brazil4 ,she boasts of the ,amazon1 the mightiest river in the world4 ,this stream is navigable by ships of large draught for #b1gjj miles from its mouth4 ,it has eight tributaries from #gjj to #a1bjj miles and four from #a1ejj to #b1jjj miles in length4 ,one of these1 the ,madeira1 empties as much water into the larger stream as does the ,mississippi into the ,gulf4 ,no other river system drains vaster or richer territory4 ,it drains one million square miles more than does the ,mississippi1 and in all it has #bg1jjj miles of navigable waters4 ,the land connections of ,brazil are also extensive4 ,all the other countries on the continent1 save ,chili and ,ecuador1 border on ,brazil4 ,the ,guianas and ,venezuela1 on the north2 ,colombia and ,peru on the west2 ,bolivia1 ,argentina1 ,paraguay and ,uruguay on the south--eight countries in all4 ,it is indeed a vast territory4 ,the ,united ,states could be placed within its borders and still there would be left enough ,brazilian territory to make a ,state as large as ,texas4 ,almost from the time we sighted land until we rounded the cape near ,montevideo1 we could see the mountains along the shore4 ,the mountains extend far interior and up and down the length of the country4 ,the climate of the tropical ,amazon ,valley is1 of course1 very hot1 but as soon as the mountains are reached on the way south the climate even in the tropical section is modified4 ,the section south of ,rio1 on account of the mountains and other forces of nature1 has a temperate climate1 delightful for the habitation of man4 ,each of these great zones1 the tropical1 the subtropical and the temperate1 is marked more by its distinctive leading products than by climate4 ,each of these sections yields a product in which ,brazil leads the world4 ,the largest and most inexhaustible rubber supply in the world is found in the ,amazon ,valley region4 ,the central section raises so much cocoa that it gives ,brazil first rank in the production of this commodity4 ,the great temperate region produces three-fourths of all the coffee used in the world4 ,of course1 there is much overlapping in the distribution of these products4 ,other products1 such as cotton1 farinha1 beans1 peas1 tobacco1 sugar1 bananas1 are raised in large quantities and could be far more extensively produced if the people would utilize the best methods and implements of modern agriculture4 ,the mountains are full of ores and the forests of the finest timber1 and the great interior has riches unknown to man4 ,it has the most extensive unexplored region on earth4 ,what the future holds for this marvelously endowed country1 when her resources are revealed and brought to market1 no one would dare predict4 ,few countries in the world would venture a claim to such immense riches4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,the ,,capital1 ,,rio ,,de ,,janeiro4 ,the city of ,rio is the center of life in ,brazil4 ,we entered the ,bay of ,rio after nightfall on the sixth of ,june4 ,the miles and miles of lights in the city of ,rio on the one side1 and of ,nietheroy on the other1 gave us the impression that we were in some gigantic fair grounds4 ,missionaries ,entzminger1 ,shepard1 ,maddox and ,mrs4 ,entzminger came aboard to welcome us and bring us ashore4 ,we were taken to the ,rio ,baptist ,college and ,seminary1 where we were entertained in good old ,tennessee style by the ,shepards4 ,this school building was built in #ahdi by ,dom ,pedro ,,ii4 for a school which was known as the ,boarding ,school of ,dom ,pedro ,,ii4 ,it accommodated two hundred students4 ,the ,emperor supported the school4 ,in #ahhg the school was moved to larger quarters4 ,dr4 ,shepard is renting the property for our college1 but our school like ,dom ,pedro's has outgrown these quarters and we are compelled to rent additional buildings some distance away to accommodate the increasing number of students4 ,there are about three hundred students in all departments4 ,as we studied the situation at close range1 we had it driven in upon us that one of the greatest needs in ,brazil is the one ,dr4 ,shepard and his co-laborers are trying to meet in this school4 ,three-fourths of the population of ,brazil cannot read4 ,we need1 above all things now1 educated leaders4 ,what a call is there for trained native pastors and evangelists6 ,some of the ,seminary students have been preaching as many as twenty-one times a month in addition to carrying their studies in the school4 ,dr4 ,shepard has been forced to stop them from some of this preaching because it was preventing successful work in the class room4 ,the need is so great that it is very difficult to keep the students from such work4 ,i must not go too far afield from the subject of this chapter1 but ,i must take the time to say that nothing breaks down prejudice against the gospel more effectively than do the schools conducted by the various mission boards4 ,one day a ,methodist colporter entered a town in the interior of the ,state of ,minas ,geraes and began to preach and offer his ,bibles for sale in the public square4 ,soon a fanatical mob was howling around him and his life was in imminent peril4 ,just as the excitement was at the highest two young men belonging to one of the best families in the place pressed through the crowd and1 ascertaining that the man was a minister of the gospel1 took charge of him and drove off the mob4 ,they led the colporter to their home1 which was the best in the town1 and showed him generous hospitality4 ,they invited the people in to hear him preach1 and thus through their kindness the man and his message received a favorable hearing4 ,it should be remembered1 too1 that these young men belonged to a very devout ,roman ,catholic family4 ,what was the secret of their actions8 ,they had rescued1 entertained and enabled to preach a man who was endeavoring to propagate a faith that was very much opposed to their own4 ,the explanation is that they had attended ,granberry ,college1 that great ,methodist school at ,juiz de ,fora4 ,they had not accepted ,protestant ,christianity1 but the school had given them such a vision and appreciation of the gospel that they could never again be the intolerant bigots their fellow townsmen were4 ,the college had made them friends and that was a tremendous service4 ,first we must have friends1 then followers4 ,nothing more surely and more extensively makes friends for our cause than the schools1 and it must be said also that they are wonderfully effective in the work of direct evangelization4 ,the ,first ,baptist ,church commissioned ,deacon ,theodore ,teixeira and ,dr4 ,shepard to pilot us over the city4 ,the church provided us with an automobile and our splendid guides magnified their office4 ,it is a ,,magnificent city1 indeed4 ,the strip of land between the mountains and the seashore is not wide4 ,in some places1 in fact1 the mountains come quite down to the water4 ,the city1 in the most beautiful and picturesque way1 avails itself of all possible space1 even in many places climbing high on the mountain sides and pressing itself deep into the coves4 ,perhaps no city in the world has a more picturesque combination of mountain and water with which to make a beautiful location4 ,it has about a million inhabitants1 and being the federal capital1 is the greatest and most influential city in ,brazil4 ,most of its streets are narrow and tortuous and until recently were considered unhealthy4 ,a few years ago the magnificent ,avenida ,central was cut through the heart of the city and one of the most beautiful avenues in the world was built4 ,twelve million dollars' worth of property was condemned to make way for this splendid street4 ,it cuts across a peninsula through the heart of the city from shore to shore1 and is magnificent1 indeed1 with its sidewalks wrought in beautiful geometrical designs1 with its ornate street lamps1 with its generous width appearing broader by contrast with other narrow streets1 with its modern buildings4 ,there is another street1 however1 which is dearer to the ,brazilian than the ,avenida4 ,he takes great pride in the ,avenida1 but he has peculiar affection for the ,rua d',ouvidor4 ,down the ,ouvidor flows a human tide such as is found nowhere else in ,brazil4 ,no one attempts to keep on the pavement4 ,the street is given over entirely to pedestrians4 ,no vehicle ever passes down it until after midnight4 ,in this narrow street1 with its attractive shops filled with the highest-priced goods in the world1 you can soon find anyone you wish to meet1 because before long everyone who can reach it will pass through4 ,in this street the happy1 jesting1 jostling crowd is in one continuous festa4 ,in passing through the city one is greatly impressed by the number of parks and beautiful public squares1 and in particular with the wonderful ,beiramar1 which is a combination of promenades1 driveways and park effects that stretches for miles along the shore of the bay4 ,what a thing of beauty this last-named park is6 ,there is nothing comparable to it anywhere4 ,when ,rio wishes to go on a grand passeio 7promenade7 nothing but the grand ,beiramar will suffice4 ,one cannot help being impressed also by the prevalence of coffee-drinking stands and stores--especially if he meets many friends4 ,these friends will insist upon taking him into a coffee stand and engaging him in conversation while they sip coffee4 ,on many corners are little round or octagonal pagoda-like structures in which coffee and cakes are sold4 ,the coffee-drinking places are everywhere and most of them are usually filled4 ,the practice of taking coffee with one's friends must lessen materially the amount of strong drink consumed by the ,brazilian4 ,nevertheless1 that amount of strong drink is1 alas1 altogether too great4 ,the greatest nuisance on the streets of ,rio1 or any other city of ,brazil1 is the lottery ticket seller4 ,these venders are more numerous and more insistent than are the newsboys in the ,united ,states4 ,there are all sorts of superstitions about lotteries4 ,certain images in one's dreams at night are said to correspond to certain lucky numbers4 ,dogs1 cats1 horses1 cows and many other animals have certain numbers corresponding to them4 ,for instance1 if one should dream tonight about a dog1 he would try tomorrow to find a lottery ticket to correspond in number with a dog4 ,say the dog number was thirty-seven4 ,this man would try to find a ticket whose number ends in thirty-seven4 ,such a ticket would be considered lucky4 ,the ticket sellers often call out as they pass along the street the last two numbers on the tickets they have to sell1 and if a man hears the number called which corresponds to the animal he dreamed about last night1 he will consider it lucky and buy4 ,there are also many shops where only lottery tickets are sold4 ,no evil has more tenaciously and universally fastened upon the people than has the evil of gambling in lotteries4 ,there are #caj ,federal lotteries1 besides many others run by the various ,states4 ,these #caj lotteries receive in premiums the enormous sum of #ai1cii1bjj every month--about one dollar for every individual in ,brazil4 ,a portion of the profits amassed by the lottery companies is devoted to charity1 a portion to ,roman ,catholic churches and a portion goes to the government4 ,even after these amounts are taken out1 there is ample left for the enrichment of the companies' coffers to the impoverishment of many very needy working people4 ,it is difficult to write temperately of ,rio de ,janeiro4 ,there is such a rare combination here of the primitive and the progressive1 of the oriental and occidental1 that one is inclined to go off into exclamation points4 ,on the ,avenida ,central one sees numbers of street venders carrying all kinds of wares on their heads and pulling all sorts of carts1 making their way in and out among the automobiles1 and handsome victorias ,,pulled ,,by ,,mules4 ,we note also all types of people4 ,the ,latin features predominate1 but the negro is in evidence1 the ,indian features are often recognized1 and mingled with these are seen faces representing all nations4 ,one is impressed with the dress of the people4 ,who is that handsomely-groomed1 gentleman passing8 ,from his fine clothes you think he must be a man of wealth and influence4 ,who is he8 ,he is a barber4 ,that one over there is a clerk4 ,but why these fine clothes8 ,ah6 thereby hangs the tale4 ,appearance is worshiped4 ,parade runs through everything1 even in the prevailing religion1 which1 alas1 is little more than form--parade4 ,don't get the idea that everybody is finely dressed and that every handsomely-dressed man is a barber4 ,many are able to afford such clothes and are cultured gentlemen4 ,one notices most the dress of the lower classes1 the most striking article of which is the wooden-bottom sandals into which they thrust their toes and go flapping along in imminent peril of losing the slippers every moment4 ,the remainder of the clothing worn by these beslippered people consists often of only two thin garments4 ,certainly this is a place of great contrasts4 ,but somehow these contrasts do not impress one as being incongruous4 ,they are in perfect keeping with their surroundings4 ,rio is really a cosmopolitan city and is a pleasant blending of the old and the new4 ,there are several places from which splendid views of the city can be had1 but none of them is comparable to the panorama which stretches out before one when he stands on the top of ,mt4 ,corcovado4 ,the scene which greets one from this mountain is indescribable4 ,the ,bay of ,rio de ,janeiro1 with its eighty islands1 ,sugar ,loaf ,mountain1 a bare rock standing at the entrance1 the city winding its tortuous way in and out between the mountains and spreading itself over many hills1 the open sea in the distance and the wild mountain scenery to the back of us1 constitute a panorama surpassingly beautiful4 ,nictheroy lies just across the bay4 ,we went over there one night and spoke in the rented hall where our church worships1 and spent the night in the delightful home of the ,entzmingers4 ,the next morning1 before breakfast1 ,dr4 ,entzminger showed me over the city4 ,nictheroy has forty thousand inhabitants and is the capital of the ,state of ,rio de ,janeiro4 ,it is a beautiful city and offers a wide field for missionary work4 ,its importance is apparent4 ,we have a church in the populous suburb of ,engenho de ,dentro4 ,we were present there at a great celebration when the church cleared off the remainder of its debt and burned the notes4 ,the building was crowded to its utmost capacity4 ,the people stood in the aisles from the rear to the pulpit4 ,they filled the little rooms behind the pulpit and occupied space about the windows4 ,there are about seventy members of the church4 ,a far greater progress should be made now that the debt as well as other encumbrances have been removed4 ,there are in ,rio the ,first1 ,engenho de ,dentro1 ,governors ,island and ,santa ,cruz churches1 and twelve preaching places1 four of which are in rented halls4 ,missionary ,maddox utilizes many members of the churches in providing preaching at these missions4 ,there are only a very few paid evangelists in this mission1 but a great many church members are glad to go to these stations and tell the gospel story4 ,besides our ,baptist work1 the ,southern ,methodists are conducting a very prosperous mission4 ,they have several churches and a station for settlement work4 ,the ,presbyterians and the ,congregationalists have some excellent churches and the ,,ymca is one of the most flourishing in ,south ,america4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,a ,,visit ,,to ,a ,,country ,,church4 ,that ,i may give you a glimpse of the country life in ,brazil1 and also some impression of country mission work1 ,i invite you to take a trip with ,missionary ,maddox and myself to the little hamlet of ,parahyba do ,sul1 in the interior of the ,state of ,rio4 ,on ,monday1 ,june #acth1 we boarded a six ,,am train for ,parahyba do ,sul1 which we reached about ten o'clock4 ,it is a charming town situated on the river by the same name4 ,this river reminds one of the ,french ,broad1 though the mountains are not so high and precipitous as the ,north ,carolina mountains4 ,the mountains1 too1 in this section are not covered with trees1 but with a tall grass1 which1 being in bloom1 gave a beautiful purple color to the landscape4 ,the railroad climbs up the mountain sides from ,rio in a very picturesque manner4 ,the ,parahyba do ,sul ,church is three miles over the mountains from the station1 in the house of ,mrs4 ,manoela ,rosa ,rodrigues4 ,the house is constructed with mud walls and a thatched roof4 ,the floors are the bare ground1 which is packed hard and smooth4 ,there are two rooms1 with a narrow hall between them and a sort of lean to kitchen4 ,the largest room1 which is about fifteen feet square1 is devoted to the church4 ,the most prominent piece of furniture in the house is the pulpit1 which stands in this room4 ,this pulpit is large out of all proportion to everything else about the place4 ,it was covered over with a beautifully embroidered altar piece4 ,the two chairs placed for ,brother ,maddox and myself were also entirely covered with crocheted ,brazilian lace4 ,i hesitated to occupy such a daintily decorated seat4 ,this church of forty-six members maintains three ,sunday schools in the adjoining country and six preaching stations1 members of the church doing the preaching4 ,every member gives to the college in ,rio #bjj reis 7six cents7 a month1 and to missions1 etc41 #cjj reis 7nine cents7 per month4 ,this is munificent liberality when we take into consideration their exhausting poverty4 ,our coming was a great event with them4 ,we were met at the station by a member of the church1 who mounted us on a gray pony apiece and soon had us on our way4 ,he walked1 and with his pacing sort of stride he easily kept up with us4 ,his feet were innocent of shoes4 ,he says he does not like shoes because they interfere with his walking4 ,underneath that dilapidated hat and those somewhat seedy clothes we found a warm-hearted ,christian1 who serves the ,lord with passionate devotion4 ,he often preaches1 though he has very little learning4 ,he is mighty in the ,scriptures1 having committed to memory large sections of them1 and has a genuine experience of grace to which he bears testimony with great power4 ,we arrived at the church about eleven o'clock4 ,we were received with expressions of great joy4 ,mrs4 ,manoela was so happy over our coming that she embraced us in true ,brazilian style4 ,we were shown into our room1 where we refreshed ourselves by brushing off the dust and bathing4 ,how spick and span clean was everything in that room1 even to the dirt floor6 ,before we had completed our ablutions1 the good woman of the house called ,maddox out and asked what she could cook for me4 ,she thought ,i could not eat ,brazilian dishes4 ,he told her1 to her great relief1 that ,i could eat anything he could4 ,quite right he was1 too1 for we had been traveling all the morning on the sustenance furnished by a cup of coffee which we had taken at the ,rio station a little before six o'clock4 ,we were in possession of an appetite by this time that would have raised very few questions about any article of food4 ,soon we were seated at the breakfast table1 which was placed in the church room with benches around it for seats4 ,i was honored by being placed at one end of the table4 ,what a meal it was6 ,not only had ,mrs4 ,manoela taxed her own larder1 but the other members1 who by this time had arrived in large numbers1 had brought in many good things4 ,i cannot tell what the dishes were1 for the reason that ,i do not know4 ,it is sufficient to say that every one was good--perhaps our appetite helped out our appreciation of some of them4 ,there were as many as eight dishes the like of which ,i had never tasted before4 ,how do you suppose ,i managed it when they served some delicious cane molasses1 and1 instead of bread to go with it1 they served cream cheese8 ,i asked ,maddox how ,i should work this combination4 ,he replied by cutting up his cheese into his plate of molasses and eating the mixture4 ,i did the same thing1 and ,i bear testimony that it was fine4 ,by the time the breakfast was concluded1 ,i had scored a point with our good friends1 for they thought that a stranger who could render such a good account of himself at a ,brazilian breakfast must be very much like themselves4 7,let us explain about ,brazilian meals3 ,they take coffee in the early morning4 ,bread and butter is served with the coffee4 ,breakfast1 which is a very substantial meal1 is served about eleven o'clock4 ,dinner1 which is the chief meal of the day1 is served about five o'clock in the afternoon4 ,at bedtime light refreshments are served1 which are often substantial enough to make another meal74 ,after breakfast was over1 and it was some time before it was over1 for the crowd had to be fed1 we assembled for worship4 ,the congregation was too large for the little room1 so the men built a beautiful arbor out of bamboo cane4 ,when ,maddox told me we were to hold services under an arbor ,i was dissappointed1 for somehow there had come over me a great desire to speak from that large pulpit in the little room4 ,my dissappointment was short-lived1 however1 for when we reached the arbor there were the pulpit and the lace-covered chairs6 ,it was a gracious service4 ,the ,spirit of the ,lord was upon us4 ,the sermon lost none of its effect from the fact that it had to be interpreted1 because ,maddox interpreted it with sympathy and power4 ,after preaching1 four were received for baptism4 ,they were not converted at this service1 but had been expecting to come for some time4 ,maddox baptized them in the spring branch1 which had been deepened by a temporary dam being thrown across it4 ,one of those baptized was a woman ninety years of age4 ,our time was growing short now4 ,maddox changed his clothes in a hurry4 ,we had to catch the four o'clock train4 ,we did stop long enough to drink a cup of ,brazilian coffee4 ,such coffee6 ,i will not attempt to describe it1 because our friends in the ,states can not understand4 ,there is nothing like it in this country4 ,we took time1 too1 to say good-bye4 ,the whole crowd lined up and we went the length of the line1 bidding everyone a hearty godspeed4 ,the ,brazilian not only shakes hands with you1 but he embraces you heartily4 ,yes1 some of the good matrons embraced us4 ,it was a novel experience for me1 but a mere custom with them1 and the act was performed with such modest restraint that any possible objectionable features were eliminated4 ,having said good-bye to them all we mounted our gray ponies1 and1 led by our barefooted friend1 rode away with thanks-giving in our hearts for the good fellowship with the saints of ,parahyba do ,sul4 ,the tie of love for a common ,lord had bound our affections to them4 ,their simple-hearted sincerity and devotion had helped us4 ,their zeal had contributed to our faith4 ,one incident touched me especially4 ,just before breakfast a little girl about four years of age1 led by her mother1 brought to us a package containing some ,brazilian cakes4 ,when we opened the package there lay on top a piece of folded paper on ,which was written3 ,how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings1 that publisheth peace1 that bringeth good tidings of good1 that publisheth salvation1 that saith unto ,zion1 thy ,god reigneth' '7,isa4 #eb3g74 ,presented to our brother pastors1 ,maddox and ,ray by ,archimina ,nunes4 ,instantly there arose in my heart the prayer that ,god would speed the day when his swift-footed messengers shall publish the good tidings of peace to all this vast and needy land4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,two ,,presidents4 ,it was our good fortune while in ,rio to be received by the ,president of the ,republic1 ,dr4 ,nilo ,pecanha4 ,missionaries ,shepard1 ,langston and ,ginsburg and ,dr4 ,nogueira ,paranagua escorted me4 ,when we started ,i suggested that we take a street car4 ,not so those ,brazilians6 ,we must go in an automobile4 ,we were very careful to wear our ,prince ,albert coats1 too2 for1 above all things1 the ,brazilian is a master in punctilious ceremonies4 ,we were ushered into the waiting room by a doorkeeper1 a finely-liveried mulatto with a large chain around his shoulders to indicate his authority4 ,the waiting room was full of people1 but we were not kept waiting long4 ,we sent in our cards and soon we heard our names announced and we were led into the presence of the private secretary4 ,after a few words of explanation by ,dr4 ,paranagua1 the secretary retired to ask the ,president if he would see us4 ,he returned presently and showed us into the audience chamber1 which was a large and tastefully decorated room4 ,around the walls were several groups of chairs1 placed in true ,brazilian style somewhat as follows3 ,a cane-bottomed divan was set with its back to the wall1 then several cane-bottomed chairs were placed at right angles to it in two rows facing each other1 usually four in a row4 ,the ,president guided me between these chairs and took a seat on the divan and motioned me to a seat by his side4 ,he is a man of slight build1 with a mild expression which wins confidence4 ,he was most informal in his speech and spoke in a candid and unreserved manner which quickly put us at ease4 ,i told him1 through an interpreter1 that we had come from a visit to the ,minister of the ,interior1 with whom we had been in conference about the status of ,brazilian schools4 ,the ,president expressed his great pleasure over our coming to see him and said that he had personal knowledge of what our denomination is doing and of some of the workers4 ,he was satisfied that our object was altruistic and for the good of the country and people2 that so far as depended upon him1 he was ready to give us the full benefit of his official position4 ,as proof of his wish to see absolute religious freedom1 he cited an instance of how he had protected some monks in the ,amazon ,valley recently4 ,these men were in straits and he had sent soldiers to liberate them1 and then turning with a smile to ,ginsburg1 he said that he also never abandoned his friend ,solomon when he was attacked4 ,he refreshed our minds upon the fact that lately1 when certain priests in the city of ,rio had attempted to resist the government over a disputed piece of property which had been granted them under the old regime1 he gave them to understand that if they did not behave themselves1 the door was open and they could leave the country4 ,they soon came to terms4 ,as to his successor1 the ,president said that the incoming ,president was of the same party and would carry out the same policies1 ideas and ideals4 ,these policies meant absolute liberty of thought1 conscience and speech1 which is guaranteed by the constitution4 ,before the interview closed1 he again expressed his pleasure at receiving a representative of an ,american institution1 convinced as he was that the propaganda of our schools1 morals and ideals would draw the two nations closer together1 and that he was ready to encourage us to that end4 ,we are following the ideals of the ,united ,states1 he said1 which we recognize as our elder sister4 ,he expressed peculiar pleasure over the prospect of our establishing a college and he assured us that the ,brazilian government would put no obstacle in the way of our purpose1 but that it would do all in its power1 on the other hand1 to encourage us4 ,while we are meeting ,presidents1 ,i would like to introduce you to another one upon whom the salvation of ,brazil depends more largely than it does upon any occupant of the chair of chief magistrate4 ,it is possible for the man who has been elevated by the ballots of his people to serve in a large way the moral good of his people and we thank ,god for all rulers who rule with justice and liberality in the interest of liberty and the common good4 ,but far greater and far more serviceable than these are those choice spirits who1 by embracing the gospel of ,christ1 give themselves devoutly to bringing in ,his reign in the hearts of men4 ,such spirits1 by the sheer force of their characters1 wield a far more abiding influence for the help of their fellows4 ,the man ,i wish to introduce is ,dr4 ,nogueira ,paranagua1 the ,president of the ,brazilian ,baptist ,convention4 ,he belongs to one of the oldest and most aristocratic families of the ,state of ,piauhy4 ,he was ,governor of his state at the time of the institution of the ,republic4 ,after the establishment of the ,republic1 he was elected to the ,national ,congress for a term of four years4 ,then he was elected to the ,senate and served nine years4 ,he is a skilled physician and is married to a ,swiss lady of fine family4 ,his family connections occupy one quarter of the ,state of ,piauhy4 ,he is1 at the present time1 ,treasurer of the ,national ,printing ,concern1 which does not occupy all of his time4 ,the remainder of his time he devotes to the practice of his profession and to the preaching of the gospel4 ,he is a deacon in the ,first church in ,rio4 ,he is not an ordained minister--he is simply an humble man of ,god4 ,he is an ardent patriot who believes that the salvation of ,brazil can be realized only through the gospel of ,christ1 to which he gives his life and all4 ,now ,i1 for one1 believe that the theory of ,dr4 ,nogueira is the one that will finally lead ,brazil into the fullness of life and power it is capable of attaining4 ,it is well to have written in the constitution the guarantee of religious and political liberty4 ,it is well to have ,presidents who courageously carry into effect the provisions of this constitution1 but the highest good is not attained until behind all documentary guarantees is a personal righteousness in the people4 ,dr4 ,nogueira's insistent advocacy of ,christ for ,brazil is the one thing that gives assurance of a genuine righteousness that will exalt the nation4 ,he is the ,president of a remarkable body4 ,it was our privilege to attend the ,brazilian ,baptist ,convention which met in ,sao ,paulo1 ,june1 #aiaj4 ,it was composed of sixty delegates1 about one third of whom were missionaries4 ,the remainder were natives4 ,they came from all parts of ,brazil4 ,one man from the ,madeira ,valley traveled three weeks on his journey to ,sao ,paulo4 ,they represented #aji churches1 which had a total membership of #g1jjj4 ,these churches increased by baptism twenty-five per cent1 last year4 ,they maintain a boys' school and a theological school at ,pernambuco1 a school for boys and girls at ,bahia1 a boys' school at ,nova ,friburgo1 a girls' school at ,sao ,paulo and the crown of the school system1 the ,rio ,baptist ,college and ,seminary in the capital4 ,they have a ,publication ,board to produce ,sunday ,school and other literature1 a ,home ,mission ,board to develop the missionary work in the bounds of ,brazil1 and a ,foreign ,mission ,board1 which conducts foreign mission operations in ,chill and ,portugal4 ,while their country is so needy1 they believe in the principle of foreign missions so thoroughly that they gave last year for foreign missions as much per capita as did the churches in the bounds of the ,southern ,baptist ,convention4 ,one night during the ,convention1 ,i addressed them upon the subject of foreign missions1 and after ,i had finished speaking one of the missionaries came forward and said he had thought that in as much as he had given his life to foreign mission work1 he was not under any special obligation to contribute money to this cause1 but now he saw his error and proposed to give as a means of grace and in order to discharge his duty to the larger cause4 ,what a privilege it was to attend this ,convention6 ,all of us took our meals at the ,girls' ,college and by this arrangement we had a most delightful time socially4 ,it is a fine body full of good cheer1 hope1 faith1 courage1 consecration4 ,to come to know them--missionaries and native ,christians alike--is to enter into fellowship with some of the choicest and most indomitable spirits that have ever adorned the ,kingdom of our ,lord4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,gospel ,,withheld4 ,when ,i went to ,south ,america ,i decided that ,i would spend little time upon the material aspects of the trip1 but would1 on the other hand1 attempt to arrive at an understanding of the religious conditions and needs of the people4 ,i consider that the religious needs are the abiding and vital interests of any people4 ,i knew also that ,brazil is counted as being a ,roman ,catholic country and the consideration at once arose in connection with this fact as to whether this religion affected the life and thought of the people sufficiently to satisfy their religious needs4 ,if it does1 then let us be honest enough to recognize it1 and if it does not1 let us be courageous enough to assume our responsibility towards it for we must hold that the great justification for missionary effort is the evangelical and not the polemical one4 ,if there is no greater reason for our entering a country than for the purpose of fighting the ,catholics1 then ,i1 for one1 am frank to say that ,i do not think we ought to spend our energies in any such field4 ,the question for us to settle is whether there is a real call for the preaching of the gospel in a given country4 ,that question can be answered only by a candid consideration of the facts in the case and not by the bigoted notion that all who do not agree with us are to be driven from the face of the earth4 ,what is the religious status of ,brazil8 ,is there any call for ,protestant effort8 ,i answer after giving serious study to this question1 and after personal observation of the effects of the religious practices upon the people1 that there is the same imperative call for missionary effort in ,brazil that comes from ,china or any other heathen country1 viz41 the gospel is not preached to the people4 ,the priests hold services1 to be sure1 in the churches1 but there are many churches in ,brazil in which there has been no pretense of preaching a sermon within five years4 ,the priests do not preach4 ,they say mass1 read prayers and sing songs in ,latin1 a language which is not understood by the people4 ,occasionally1 a ,catholic fraternity will invite a special orator to preach a sermon upon some great feast day4 ,this visiting brother does not preach4 ,his theme upon such an occasion would either be a discussion of the special saint whose day is being celebrated1 or he would speak upon some civic question which had more or less to do with the moral or political life of the people4 ,in the interior these special occasions occur only once every two to five years1 so that even this semblance of a sermon comes rarely4 ,in the cities these special addresses are made on one saint's day each year or on some special anniversary1 or when some dignitary is making a visit4 ,usually this dignitary will say a mass and not preach4 ,when one of these special days occurs the preaching is not heard very extensively for the reason that the noise and commotion about the stalls for gambling1 drinking and other attractions is sufficient to drown the voice of the speaker4 ,these side-show attractions fill all available space about the building1 giving it the appearance of a circus more than anything else4 ,they are run by individuals who pay a tax to the church for the privilege4 ,the preaching is not the feature of the day1 the chief object seeming to be to furnish amusement for the people and money for the church4 ,it cannot be said that on such days the gospel can possibly be preached successfully4 ,occasionally there is held in the church what is called a special mission4 ,this is conducted by visiting monks4 ,we would expect that on such occasions the gospel would be preached1 but such is not the case4 ,they hear confessions in the morning4 ,a special premium is placed upon the celebration of marriages during the mission1 because these visiting monks will make a cheaper rate than the resident priests4 ,for this reason the majority of the priests do not like to have these monks come in for special missions1 and would not conduct them but for the fact that the bishop compels them to do so4 ,the addresses delivered by the monks in these special missions are not sermons4 ,they either upbraid the ,protestants1 speak against civil marriage 7the only legal marriage in ,brazil is that performed by a civil officer71 inveigh against the ,republic1 discourse upon the lives of the saints1 assail ,luther and other reformers1 or urge confession1 penance and submission to the ,pope4 ,furthermore1 the ,bible is withheld from the people4 ,the circulation of no book is so bitterly opposed as that of the ,bible4 ,it is true that the ,franciscan monks are trying to introduce an edition of the ,new ,testament which contains special comments attacking ,protestants4 ,these special editions are very expensive and difficult to secure4 ,the person who wishes to buy one of these ,bibles must get permission from the vicar of his parish1 and if the would-be purchaser is inclined towards ,protestantism1 the vicar will refuse to grant permission4 ,the priests are not very much in sympathy with the idea of circulating even this annotated edition of the ,new ,testament4 ,in ,armagoza1 near ,bahia1 the ,franciscan monks held1 three or four years ago1 a mission and sold about #a1jjj of these ,catholic ,scriptures4 ,it seems that the ,protestants had also been circulating a ,testament which had the same general appearance as that sold by the ,franciscan monks4 ,when the monks had sold out their supplies1 they heard of what the ,protestants had done and inasmuch as the people could not distinguish between the true book and the false1 they ordered the people to bring back all of the books to the monks1 under the promise that they would examine them1 eliminate the ,protestant book and return to the owners the authorized ,bible4 ,the people brought back their books in good faith4 ,the monks took them1 but never returned them4 ,neither did they return the money4 ,on the #bbnd of ,february1 #aijc1 there occurred a public burning of ,bibles in ,pernambuco4 ,this was done in defiance of the ,protestant work with the evident purpose of intimidating the ,protestant workers and arousing a public sentiment against them4 ,but having failed in this1 their first effort1 they decided to try another even more ostentatious4 ,although it is illegal to burn any religious document publicly1 yet the first burning passed unnoticed by the officials of the law4 ,but not so the second4 ,having incurred the censure and ill-will of many of the most thoughtful and liberal-minded1 even of the ,catholics themselves1 by the disgrace of ,february #bbnd1 the directors of the ,anti-,protestant ,league decided to make a grand rally on the occasion of the league's first anniversary1 ,september #bgth4 ,and to realize this1 they published about two weeks beforehand a very extensive program4 ,the program said that there will be burned #bf ,bibles1 #db ,testaments1 #de copies of the ,gospel of ,matthew1 ,luke #i1 ,john #ab1 ,mark #d and ,acts #i1 besides a great many other useful books4 ,in the list also there were some three hundred copies of different religious ,protestant papers4 ,according to the program the bishop was to preside4 ,the public burning1 however1 was not performed4 ,such pressure was brought to bear upon the officials that they interfered4 ,it was even discussed in the ,national ,house of ,congress4 ,but in spite of all opposition1 not to be completely defeated1 they burned the ,bibles in the back yard of the church4 ,these examples are sufficient to demonstrate the attitude of the priests towards the ,scriptures1 and we must concede that any church or set of men who by such methods withhold from the people the ,word of ,god cannot be said to preach the gospel4 ,he is an enemy of the gospel who puts any restraint upon the circulation of the ,scriptures4 ,it is wise indeed for the sake of their cause that these opponents of ,protestantism should oppose the circulation of the ,scriptures1 for we shall cite numerous instances of how the ,bible unaided has broken down ,romish superstition and turned men from dark error into the light of the glorious gospel of ,jesus4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,saint ,,worship4 ,what is the real religion of the ,brazilians8 ,it is more a saint worship than anything else4 ,saint worship is at its core4 ,mary is the chief saint4 ,all prayers are made to her4 ,she is the intercessor4 ,the ,litany is all addressed to ,mary4 ,it runs1 ,oh ,mary1 hear us1 etc4 ,she is worshiped under different aspects--,mary of the ,sailors1 ,mary of the ,conception1 ,mary of the ,candles1 ,mary of the ,rosary1 ad infinitum4 ,even ,christ is worshiped as a saint4 ,the patron saint of ,campos1 for instance1 is called ,sao ,salvador 7,st4 ,savior74 ,the city of ,bahia is called ,sao ,salvador4 ,its patron saint is ,jesus4 ,a saint is an intercessor between man and ,god4 ,because of his holiness1 he has favor with ,god1 and therefore the people pray to him4 ,very few consider the saint lower than ,god4 ,they offer sacrifices1 make prayers and burn candles to the saint4 ,st4 ,anthony of ,padua is a very hard-worked saint4 ,he has placed upon him the double duty of furnishing suitors for all the young women and of leading the armies of the ,republic to victory4 ,no wonder this overworked saint gets into trouble4 ,young women place him in their rooms1 burn candles and offer prayers before him4 ,he is dressed up in the finest toggery and is given great honor4 ,if1 however1 after awhile he does not bring along the suitor1 he is given a sound beating1 or he may be hung head downwards in a well or stood on his head under a table4 ,these indignities are heaped upon him in order to force him to produce the suitor which the young lady very much desires4 ,he is also the military saint4 ,in the time of the ,empire1 he was carried at the head of the army and had the rank of a colonel4 ,even after the ,empire was abolished1 he retained his rank for many years and received from the government the salary of a colonel4 ,such an idol was in ,bahia and his salary was discontinued only five years ago4 ,the money went1 of course1 to the priest in the church where the image was kept4 ,every town1 village and country seat has its protecting saint4 ,in time of drouth they in many places carry the saint through the streets in procession4 ,he is taken from his place in the church to some hut1 maybe1 where he is placed beneath the altar4 ,this is done in order to cause him to bring rain4 ,after the rain comes he is taken out and with great distinction is replaced in his original niche4 ,they do this sometimes in the case of a scourge of insects or disease4 ,late one evening1 after ,missionary ,ginsburg and ,i had returned from a trip into the interior of the ,state of ,bahia1 we arrived in the city of ,nazareth4 ,it is a town of about #aj1jjj inhabitants4 ,we were to wait here until the following morning for the boat which was to take us to ,bahia4 ,as we went down the street we saw a great throng of people surging about an image which was being carried upon the shoulders of some men4 ,two priests walked in front to direct the movements of the procession4 ,more than half of the people in the city must have been in the procession4 ,they paraded far out into the country1 crossed to the opposite side of the river1 wound themselves back and forth through the narrow streets until a late hour at night4 ,at eleven o'clock just before we retired1 we stood for some time watching the procession pass the hotel where we were stopping4 ,it was a miserably ugly little image1 gaudily decorated4 ,it was being paraded through the streets for the purpose of staying the plague of smallpox1 which at that time was scourging the town4 ,when we saw the procession last it had been augmented by such numbers that it appeared as if the entire city was following this image4 ,they seemed to believe that it could really charm away the smallpox4 ,this is not an isolated case4 ,it is typical4 ,every patron saint has laid upon him at times the responsibility of breaking a drouth or the effects of a dreadful scourge which may be afflicting the people4 ,it is the veriest sort of idolatry4 ,one of the most pitiful exhibitions of superstition to be found in ,brazil is that in connection with the many shrines to which pilgrimages are made by thousands of people and at which places great miracles are supposed to be performed4 ,in ,bahia there is a famous shrine called ,bom ,fim 7,good ,end74 ,it is located on a hill in the suburbs of the city4 ,years ago tradition has it1 the image of ,san ,salvador was found on the summit of this hill4 ,a priest took charge of the image and removed it to a church4 ,on the following morning the image was missing1 and upon going to the spot where he first found it1 he discovered the image4 ,again he took it to the church1 and again on the following day1 he found the image at the original place4 ,the tradition was1 therefore1 started that the image had fallen from ,heaven to the top of the hill1 and every time it was removed from this spot it1 of itself1 returned4 ,so it was taken for granted that the image desired its shrine built on this spot4 ,at first there was a little shrine constructed1 and afterward was built the magnificent edifice which now shelters the image4 ,to this place the thousands go annually upon pilgrimages4 ,one of the most gruesome spectacles to be found anywhere is in a side room near the altar4 ,from the ceiling are suspended wax and plaster of paris reproductions called ex-votos of literally every portion of the body--feet1 hands1 limbs1 heads1 all portions--the ceiling space is completely covered with these uncanny figures4 ,the wall is hung with pictures1 which portray all sorts of scenes1 such as a man in shipwreck1 a carpenter falling down a ladder1 a child falling out of a second-story window1 death chambers of various people1 etc4 ,these figures and pictures are intended to represent miracles4 ,when these people were in their afflictions they prayed to the image of the ,good ,end and made a promise that if they should recover they would bring one of these votive offerings of the part affected1 whether of man or beast1 to the shrine4 ,some of them came before the cure was effected1 and with a prayer1 left the image behind and the cures of their disease or afflictions were attributed to the image of ,bom ,fim4 ,it is said that when this church is given its annual cleaning1 just before the celebration of the saint's day1 thousands of people congregate here1 roll in the waters which are used to wash out the building1 and drink the filthy stuff1 deeming it to be holy4 ,there is hardly a more revolting scene to be found anywhere1 and all in the name of religion4 ,until recently1 when the police put an end to it1 a most disgusting species of holy dance was observed on this annual day in which the most sensual practices were indulged4 ,perhaps the most famous shrine in all ,brazil is in the far interior of the ,state of ,bahia on the ,san ,francisco ,river4 ,it is the famous ,lapa4 ,the image has its shrine in a cave in a very remarkable geological formation4 ,one hundred thousand people make pilgrimages to this shrine every year from all of the ,states in ,brazil4 ,the last ,emperor himself made a visit to this shrine4 ,from ,june to ,august of last year #bj1jjj was collected from the pilgrims4 ,our missionary1 ,jackson1 met a man who had been on the way six months4 ,it required him a year to make this trip4 ,the same missionary saw a family from the ,state of ,alagoas which had been on the journey six weeks4 ,dr4 ,z4 ,c4 ,taylor says he passed through sections that had been almost depopulated because the men had sold out their homes1 horses and cattle in order to seek a miracle in their favor at this same shrine4 ,fire destroyed the image in #aijb4 ,protestants were accused of setting fire to it because a missionary was near at the time4 7,he was forty miles away47 ,in the controversy that arose the missionary noted that1 inasmuch as the new image was sent by freight and not by ticket1 it must be an idol and not a saint4 ,suffice it to say1 that a new image was placed and the people are worshiping it with the same zeal with which they worshiped the old1 even though the new one came by freight and the old one was supposed to have fallen from ,heaven4 ,it is believed to have miracle working power and to give great merit to one who makes the pilgrimage to it4 ,in the daily paper called the ,provinca1 published in ,pernambuco1 there was printed on ,august #bc1 #aiaj1 the following telegram from the city of ,rio1 the capital of the ,republic4 ,the ,seculo 7,century7 of today announces that on ,st4 ,leopold street in ,andarahy 7a suburb of ,rio7 there was discovered a fountain of water in a hollow rock1 in which a plebian found an image of a saint4 ,this image1 adds the ,seculo1 although in water1 did not present the least vestige of humidity4 ,the news of this curious discovery was immediately circulated1 and there was a great pilgrimage1 including a reporter of the ,seculo1 to this miraculous fountain in ,andarahy4 ,it is very probable that this telegram heralds the advent of a new shrine1 because it is in this fashion that these so-called miracle-working shrines are brought into existence4 ,not all of these shrines are canonized1 but nevertheless they have power over the people4 ,as we were making a trip into the interior of the ,state of ,pernambuco we passed a station called ,severino4 ,near the station we could see a splendid church building which had been constructed in honor of ,st4 ,severino4 ,this saint is not in the calendar1 not recognized by the church nor the bishop1 yet it is popular all over ,brazil4 ,many people are named after him1 and to this shrine are brought many of the same sort of things as were described in connection with the shrine of the ,good ,end4 ,this idol is stuffed with sugar-cane pith4 ,the head of it was found in the woods some time ago4 ,a tradition was started that an image had fallen from ,heaven4 ,the superstitious people believed the report and soon a shrine was in full operation1 which today1 even though it be not canonized1 is exerting a far-reaching influence4 ,the owner of the shrine gave up his farming and lives handsomely on the offerings the deluded bring to his private shrine4 ,in one of the most magnificent churches in ,bahia is an image of a negro saint4 ,this holy being won his canonization as a reward for stealing money from his master to contribute to the church4 ,that is it3 ,do anything you please1 provided you share the spoils with the church4 ,across the breast of the ,virgin's image in the church of ,our ,lady of ,penha in ,pernambuco1 before which church the ,bibles were burned in #aijc1 are written the following words3 ,one hundred days' indulgence to the person who will kiss the holy foot of the ,holy ,virgin4 ,this pitifully expresses1 perhaps1 the thought behind saint worship4 ,it is the hope that the aching of the sinful heart may find some assuagement through the worship of these gilded1 gaudy images4 ,it is claimed by the priests and some of the more intelligent that the image worshiped is only a concrete representation of the saint1 and it contains symbolically the spirit of the saint4 ,to be sure6 ,this is exactly the reason the more intelligent fetish worshiper in ,africa assigns for worshiping his hand-made god4 ,the etone or piece of wood is a representative of ,god and to a degree contains ,his spirit4 ,such worship is condemned as being idolatry in the ,african4 ,the thing which is idolatry in the ,african must be idolatry in the ,catholic4 ,even the ,catholics will condemn the idol worship of the heathen1 and yet this same ,catholic church has in scores of places in ,south ,america and in other heathen lands1 taken the identical images worshiped by the heathen and converted them into ,catholic saints4 ,in the city of ,braga1 in ,portugal1 is a temple which centuries ago was devoted to ,jupiter4 ,it was afterward converted into a ,catholic church and dedicated to ,st4 ,peter4 ,the idol ,jupiter1 with two keys in his hand1 was consecrated into ,st4 ,peter4 ,in another part of the same city is a temple devoted to ,janus in ,roman times1 which was turned into a temple dedicated to ,st4 ,john4 ,the idol which formerly was worshiped as ,janus is being now worshiped as ,st4 ,john4 ,in the same temple there is an image now consecrated as ,st4 ,mark which was formerly the god ,mars4 ,the saint worship in ,brazil is just as heathenish4 ,in ,china ,buddhist idols were renamed ,jehosaphat by the ,jesuits and worshiped4 ,their practices in ,brazil are in keeping with their methods in other lands4 ,what is the difference between a worshiper who thus seeks indulgence through the worship of an image in ,brazil and a like worshiper with a like soul need bowing before a similar wooden image in ,africa or ,china8 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,penance ,,and ,,priest4 ,confession and penance play a large part in the religious life of the common people4 ,the priests exercise great ingenuity to preserve the confessional4 ,the better educated classes have long ago deserted the confessional1 but it still holds sway over the common people and hangs like a dark shadow over the immoral deeds of the priests4 ,along with it flourishes the performance of penance4 ,these two hand-maidens in wrong-doing often thrive in an absurd way4 ,in ,penedo1 the capital of the ,state of ,alagoas1 a new wharf was being built and the money granted by the ,government was not sufficient to complete the work4 ,the contractors approached the two monks who were to hold a mission in the city during ,february1 #aijd1 and offered to pay them #ejj if they would instruct the people to1 in penance1 carry across the city the stones which had been brought from the interior4 ,a large quantity of building material had been brought down by rail and needed to be transported across to the wharf4 ,the monks agreed1 gave instructions accordingly1 and in one week the people carried these stones across the town to the wharf4 ,the transfer of these stones would have cost #b1ejj4 ,at least #aj1jjj people engaged in this colossal act of penance4 ,they came from two counties4 ,thus the contractors1 by a little skillful manipulation1 made penance save them considerable money4 ,in some of these penances the people wear crowns of thorns on their heads and cords about their necks and go barefooted through the streets of the city in their pilgrimages to the church4 ,all1 that through these means they may find some ease for the conscience which accuses them of evil4 ,what shall ,i say of the priests8 ,i believe ,i will say nothing4 ,i declined steadily to soil the pages of my note book with the records of the immoral deeds of these men4 ,i will let speak for me an educated ,brazilian1 a teacher in an excellent school in ,pernambuco1 who is not a professing ,christian1 but who1 like a great many of his class1 admires ,christianity very sincerely4 ,when ,mr4 ,colton1 ,international ,secretary of the ,young ,men's ,christian ,association1 passed through ,pernambuco in ,june1 #aiaj1 he was given a banquet by some of the leading men1 which event offended so grievously the ,catholic authorities that they published in the ,religious ,tribune1 their organ1 a bitter diatribe on the ,young ,men's ,christian ,association4 ,the professor1 to whom ,i referred1 who is now one of the leading judges in the state1 published the following answer to this attack4 ,he is in far better position to speak authoritatively about the ,brazilian priests than ,i am4 ,his article ran as follows3 ,,fury ,,unbridled4 ,the official organ of the diocese of ,olinda could not on this occasion control its great animus4 ,it threw aside its old worn-out mantle of hypocrisy1 it precipitated itself furiously and insolently against the ,y4,m4,c4,a4 ,it not only does not forgive1 but does not fear to excommunicate the local and ,state authorities who appeared at the banquet nor the directory of the ,portuguese reading rooms who lent their hall to said ,y4,m4,c4,a4 ,after affirming that the evangelization of ,brazil means its unchristianizing the clerical organ begins to call the members of the ,association and ,protestants in general wolves in sheep's clothing4 ,but we ask1 to whom does this epithet apply better8 ,to us who dress as the generality of men1 thus leaving no doubt as to our sex and freeing our consciences from the ignominious ,roman yoke1 direct ourselves by that straight and narrow way which leads to salvation2 or to this black band which secretly and maliciously makes of a man its prey from the moment in which he sees the light of day until the moment in which he goes to rest in the bosom of the earth8 ,to us1 ,who having no thirst for dominion1 seek to cultivate in man all the noble attributes given by the ,creator1 to us who teach clearly and without sophistry and gross superstitions the plan of salvation as it is found in the word of ,god2 or to this legion of corrupt and hypocritical parasites1 corruptors of youth1 whose character they seek to debase and villify by means of the confessional8 ,the only object of the wolf in dressing himself as a sheep is to devour the sheep4 ,and these shaven heads know perfectly well why we cite the chronicles of the convents2 they know from personal knowledge who are responsible for the greater part of the illegitimate children1 and they have no doubt about the permanency and progress of prostitution4 ,but they have effrontery1 these priests6 ,what has the priesthood done in ,brazil in about #djj years8 ,the answer is found in facts that prove the absence of all initiative of will1 of strength1 of energy and of activity4 ,brazil has only been a field for torpid exploitation by these gain-hunting libertines4 ,and what of the attacks against private and public fortunes8 ,happily1 for some years1 the public conscience has been awakening and the people are beginning to know that a priest1 even the best of them1 is worthless4 ,freed from an official religion1 the ,brazilian people have really made progress in spite of the hopelessness of ,romanism that perverts all things and resorts to ail sorts of schemes to preserve its former easy position4 ,we1 pirates8 ,ah6 deceivers4 ,then we1 who present ourselves loyally without subterfuge1 proclaiming the divine truths1 speaking logically1 without artifices or superstitions1 are pirates8 ,you noble priests are noble specimens of ,christian culture1 ,i must confess6 ,you are such good things that ,france has already horsewhipped you out of the country1 and ,spain1 whose knightly race is regaining the noble attributes obliterated by the iron yoke of ,romanism1 is about ready to apply to you the same punishment4 ,there is no doubt that the priest is losing ground every day4 ,all their manifestations of hate and satanic fury are easily explained4 ,one easily recognizes the true value of the explosion of vicious egotism found in the official organ of the diocese of ,olinda4 ,the priest this time lost his calmness and let escape certain rude phrases as if he were yet in the good old times when he could imprison and burn at his pleasure4 ,console yourselves1 reverend lord priests1 everything comes to an end1 and the ancient period of darkness and obscurity exists no more in ,brazil4 ,what is the net result of such religious life as we have been portraying8 ,the common and more ignorant people accept without very much questioning the teachings and practices which we have explained4 ,the better educated people1 especially the men1 have lost confidence in the priesthood4 ,scarcely an educated man can be found who believes in the moral uprightness of the priest4 ,the chief hold the ,church has upon the better classes is a social and not a religious one4 ,births1 marriages1 deaths1 alike are great social events1 and upon such occasions1 because it is custom to have a priest1 the better classes of people even call in the services of the priests1 in whom they have no confidence4 ,the effect upon the beliefs of these better classes is most distressing4 ,spiritism1 materialism and atheism are rampant1 and one could well believe that these people set adrift without spiritual guides are in a worse condition than if they were still devout believers in the ancient practices of the ,roman church4 ,they are far more difficult to reach because they have imbibed the philosophies of spiritism1 materialism and atheism4 ,an atheist in ,south ,america is just as difficult to approach as he is anywhere4 ,the devout ,catholics are easier to reach with the gospel4 ,the devout ,catholic has at least one element which must always be reckoned with in dealing helpfully with an immortal soul4 ,he has reverence1 which thing many of those people who have been swung away from their faith have not4 ,i take no comfort in the fact that the people in large numbers are deserting the ,roman ,catholic church and are being set adrift without any form of religion4 ,one could wish that they might be held to their old beliefs until we could reach them with the virile truths of the gospel of ,jesus4 ,we come back to it--the gospel is not preached in ,brazil except as it is preached by the ,protestant missionary4 ,the need is just as great for gospel preaching in this country as it is in ,china4 ,one day after ,i had finished speaking to a congregation in ,castello1 back in the interior from ,campos1 an old ,english woman came up to me and expressed her great pleasure over having the privilege of hearing once more the gospel preached in ,english4 ,i had spoken in ,english1 and the missionary had interpreted what ,i had to say into ,portuguese4 ,she had heard the sermon twice4 ,she had been in ,brazil thirty-odd years4 ,she and her husband had lived in the far interior4 ,they had recently moved down to ,castello that they might be near the little church where they could have the opportunity of worshiping ,god4 ,she told me that back in the town in which they had lived they had left two sons who were engaged in business for themselves4 ,these two sons had been born in ,brazil1 and yet in all their lives ,,they ,,had ,,never ,,heard ,a ,,gospel ,,sermon4 ,yes1 these people are without the gospel and this is our justification for carrying to them the message of life4 ,for them ,christ died1 and to them1 because they have not heard1 ,he has sent us that we might bring ,his precious message of eternal salvation1 for ,how shall they believe in ,him of whom they have not heard8 ,and how shall they hear without a preacher8 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,the ,,gospel ,,triumphant4 ,it is often claimed that the progress of the gospel is slower and more difficult in ,catholic countries than in outright heathen lands4 ,such statements can be answered only by an appeal to the facts in the case4 ,what are the facts8 ,the ,foreign ,mission ,board of the ,southern ,baptist ,convention has been conducting operations in ,brazil for about thirty years4 ,it has been doing work in ,china for more than sixty years4 ,during all the time since work--was opened in ,brazil1 the ,board has had about three times as many missionaries in ,china as it had in ,brazil1 with the result that at the present time we have #i1ici members of our churches in ,brazil1 as against #i1iij members of our churches in ,china4 ,we have worked less than half as long in ,brazil and with one-third of the missionary force4 ,last year with a missionary force one-third as large in ,brazil as it was in ,china1 there were #fce more baptisms in ,brazil than there were in ,china4 ,there were #a1ecd baptisms in ,china and #b1afi in ,brazil4 ,the same sort of comparison between our work in ,italy and ,japan would make the same showing4 ,this is not to make a prejudicial statement concerning the work in any field4 ,we make it simply to show that the gospel does succeed remarkably in the ,catholic countries4 ,the fact is1 the rate of progress is far greater in the ,catholic country than it is in the heathen land4 ,the gospel does succeed in ,catholic countries4 ,what is said here of the work of this one ,board can be said just as truly of the others4 ,it was our privilege to witness some remarkable demonstrations of the power of the gospel while we were in ,brazil4 ,about #c3cj o'clock one afternoon we arrived in ,genipapo in the interior of the ,state of ,bahia1 after having ridden since early morning upon the railroad train through a mountainous country which1 with its tropical vegetation1 held our keenest interest4 ,we were met at the station by some members of our church1 who escorted us to the home of ,polycarpo ,nogueira4 ,mrs ,nogueira is a very devout ,christian4 ,some years ago she learned that her mother had embraced ,christianity4 ,mrs4 ,nogueira set out upon a journey of #acj miles on muleback to her mother's home for the purpose of taking out of her mother's heart her belief in the gospel4 ,she succeeded in shaking her mother's faith and also the faith of her brother4 ,she now determined to prepare herself to combat this ,baptist teaching which was spreading over the country4 ,she marked passages of ,scripture which she proposed to use against the ,baptists4 ,but when she used them she grew ashamed because she became conscious of the fact that she had misapplied the ,word which she then gave deeper study4 ,the ,word of ,god took hold of her own heart and she in turn was converted4 ,her first thought was concerning her mother and brother #acj miles away4 ,again she took the long journey on muleback in order to lead her loved ones to ,christ4 ,she was able to re-establish her mother's faith1 but to this day her deep regret is that her brother does not believe4 ,we had a great service at the church that night4 ,the crowd was so large that we held the services out in the open4 ,seven stood to confess their surrender to ,christ4 ,the good deacon of the church was so thoroughly in the spirit of the occasion and in such sympathy with me that he declared he could understand my ,english4 ,he really seemed to catch it before the missionary could interpret it4 ,on the following day we reached ,st4 ,inez1 the station at the end of the railway1 and spent the night in a poor excuse of a lodging house called the ,commercial ,hotel4 ,at #g o'clock on the following morning1 which was ,sunday1 we started on horseback for ,arroz ,novo1 an excellent country church fifteen miles away4 ,a young brother named ,john ,laringeiro 7,john ,orangetree7 had brought horses for us4 ,before his conversion he was an arch persecutor1 and since he has become a ,christian he has been called upon to suffer even more bitter persecution than he ever inflicted upon others4 ,he is struggling to care for his mother1 and as the pastor of the church at ,rio ,preto1 he is a most acceptable gospel preacher4 ,it was a fine ride into the country1 over hill and mountain and deeply-shaded valley4 ,after we had ridden about half the length of our journey several brethren from ,arroz ,novo 7,new ,rice7 met us to escort us to the church4 ,a mile or two further we were met by another company1 who swelled the number of our dashing cavalcade to about twenty-five4 ,it was dashing1 too1 for they were hard riders4 ,it was a very joyous and cordial reception committee4 ,finally we rode into sight of the church1 winch is located on a high hill commanding a grand panorama of the mountains4 ,as we approached we saw two long lines of people standing facing each other in front of the church4 ,the men were on one side and the women on the other--about #fjj of them4 ,as we rode up the congregation sang a hymn to give us welcome4 ,we dismounted when we reached the end of the two lines and walked down between them to the church4 ,now it is the custom in ,brazil upon festal occasions to strew the meeting place with oleander and cinnamon leaves and to throw rose petals and confetti upon those they wish to honor4 ,these good people observed this custom generously that day4 ,a wide space of the ground in front of the church was strewed with leaves1 and they showered such quantities of rose petals and confetti upon us that we were beautiful sights by the time we reached the door4 ,we entered the very creditable church building into which the people now poured until every foot of space was occupied4 ,there was hardly room left for me to make gestures as ,i spoke4 ,it was ten o'clock4 ,the people had been present since four engaged in a prayer meeting4 ,we began the service immediately4 ,the ,spirit of the ,lord was upon us to preach the gospel4 ,afterward we called for those who wished to make confession of their faith in ,christ4 ,we pushed back the people a little bit in the front and the space thus made vacant was immediately filled with those who wished to confess their ,lord and ,savior4 ,we saw that others wanted to come1 so we asked them to stand where they were4 ,all through the audience they rose4 ,then began the examination of these candidates4 ,numerous questions were put to them by the missionary and the pastor of the church4 ,sometimes as many as twenty-five or even more questions would be asked an individual so great was the care exercised in examining those who wished to become members of the church1 and what impressed me most was the fact that after every question they could think of had been asked1 they would ask if anyone present could endorse him4 ,whereupon someone1 if he could recommend the candidate would1 after a brief speech of endorsement1 make a motion to receive him4 ,over to my right rose a young woman who was the most beautiful woman ,i saw in ,brazil4 ,her name was ,elvira ,leal4 ,she had been favorable to the gospel for some time and had suffered cruel persecution from her father4 ,the tears streamed down her face as she spoke1 saying1 ,you know my story and what ,i have been called upon to endure for the gospel's sake1 but this morning ,i must confess the ,lord4 ,i cannot resist the ,spirit longer4 ,i learned that her father1 in order to force her to give up her faith1 had dragged her across the floor by her hair4 ,he had brandished his dagger over her heart1 threatening to take her life2 he had forced her to break her engagement to be married to the young preacher1 ,john ,larinjeiro1 who had brought the horses for us2 he had declared he would kill both of them rather than to allow them to marry1 and at the time we were there she was compelled to live in the home of a neighbor1 so violent had become her father in his opposition to her adherence to the gospel4 ,that morning1 however1 she said though she knew it involved suffering1 she would follow her ,savior at whatever cost4 ,by the time the missionary had finished examining this woman1 a man had crowded near to the front and indicated that he wished to say something4 ,it was ,john ,larinjeiro's brother4 ,he said that for two years he had been impressed with the gospel1 but because of the persecution in his own home he had held back4 ,when years ago his mother had been converted1 he went to persuade her to give up her religion4 ,persuasion failing1 he persecuted her severely4 ,she finally told him that his efforts were of no avail because she could not give up her faith in ,christ1 yet if he would take the ,bible and show her where she was wrong1 she would give it up4 ,he secured a gospel circulated by the priest and also ,the ,manual of ,instructions for ,holding ,missions and both of these confirmed his mother's faith1 and he had no more to say4 ,the ,word impressed itself upon his heart and he became sympathetic to the gospel4 ,then trouble arose4 ,his father-in-law1 he said1 had threatened to take his wife and children from him and to put him out of his own home4 ,his wife had persecuted him and declared she would leave him if he made the confession he desired to make4 ,he said that he did not know what to do1 but had come forward to ask us to pray for him4 ,then the congregation fell upon its face1 as far as such a thing was possible1 and prayed4 ,i could not understand all they said in the prayers because they were spoken in ,portuguese1 but so mighty was the presence of the ,spirit and so irresistible was the appeal sent up to the throne of ,grace that ,i knew before the prayers ended what the result would be4 ,as soon as the prayers were concluded1 the man stood up and said1 ,news travels quickly in this country4 ,it may be that when ,i reach home ,i shall find my wife and children gone1 but whatever may be the cost1 ,i cannot resist the ,spirit today4 ,i must confess my ,lord and ask for membership in the church4 ,of course1 he was received4 ,a letter received from the missionary some months later informed me that the father-in-law had carried out his threat and did take away the wife and children4 ,numerous others stood to make confession1 and the examination continued far past one o'clock1 'till twenty-one were received for baptism4 ,this marvelous outpouring of the ,spirit of ,christ enabled us to see with our own eyes the power of the gospel demonstrated in the saving of souls in ,brazil4 ,after the service we went to breakfast in a house near by4 ,the crowd1 according to custom1 came into the dining room1 as many of them as could1 to hear the conversation while we sat about the table4 ,the walls of the building were made of mud1 the floor was the bare ground1 in the corner of the room1 surrounded by a mud puddle1 stood a water jar1 around which the chickens were picking4 ,i kicked a pig out of my way1 accidentally stepped on a dog1 but nothing daunted1 fell to with good will and ate1 asking no questions4 ,after a few hours' ride1 upon our return journey in the afternoon1 we reached the town of ,olhos d',agua 7,fountains of ,water7 through which we had passed upon our outward journey in the early morning4 ,there is a very good church at this place which has suffered cruel persecution4 ,upon the doors of every ,protestant house in the town have been painted black crosses4 ,they were placed there at night by the ,catholics to keep the ,devil from coming out4 ,the black cross of derision has become a mark of honor in that community4 ,we were greeted by a splendid audience that night and the gospel again was honored4 ,more than a dozen people accepted ,christ and made confession of ,him4 ,i was greatly interested in ,brother ,raymundo1 who is the leading member of this church4 ,formerly he was a great persecutor4 ,he was an enemy to ,antonio ,barros1 who is now a leading member in the church at ,arroz ,novo4 ,barros was converted at ,lage1 and when he met ,raymundo he greeted him1 at which ,raymundo was greatly surprised4 ,barros explained his action by saying that he had found ,christ and wanted to live at peace with all men4 ,the fact that his enemy should embrace him and beg his pardon greatly impressed ,raymundo4 ,upon the invitation of ,barros1 ,raymundo attended the meeting that night4 ,he was touched by the gospel and was converted4 ,he now had to experience the same persecution he had inflicted upon others4 ,his enemies wrote to the merchants in ,bahia and told them that he was out of his mind4 ,so persistent was their persecution that he was compelled to give up his business4 ,his credit was destroyed by these reports4 ,he moved away from ,olhos d',agua1 but when the native pastor left the place recently ,raymundo returned in order to hold the work together4 ,he now makes his meager living by trading1 and through great sacrifice leads the congregation in a very acceptable service4 ,we returned to ,st4 ,ignez by ten o'clock that night1 tired and happy over what our eyes had seen and our hearts had felt4 ,it had been a day of triumph for the gospel4 ,on ,monday we started on our journey for ,santo ,antonio4 ,when we passed through ,genipapo we found ,brother ,polycarpo ,nogueira at the station4 ,he had come to ask about a passage of ,scripture ,i had pointed out to him on the night when we stayed in his home ,we had urged him to accept the gospel and he hesitated4 ,i quoted to him1 ,everyone1 therefore1 who shall confess me before men1 him will ,i confess before my ,father in ,heaven4 ,but whosoever shall deny me before men1 him1 will ,i deny before my ,father who is in ,heaven4 ,mat4 #aj3cb1 #cc4 ,he told us about a wonderful meeting held in the church on ,sunday1 in which one had been converted and many others were deeply interested4 ,he himself was evidently moved upon by the ,spirit4 ,may the word we gave him lead him to ,christ4 ,some hours further on we passed through ,vargem ,grande1 where we have another church4 ,several people boarded the train to accompany us to ,santo ,antonio4 ,one of them was ,fausto de ,almeida4 ,when the ex-priest1 ,ottoni1 visited ,vargem ,guande some years ago to preach the gospel this man ,almeida1 with a great crowd of boys equipped with tin cans1 met him at the station4 ,this troupe escorted ,ottoni to the church and stood outside making as much noise as possible4 ,he offered the ex-priest a loaded cigar1 which ,ottoni declined with kindly thanks4 ,the minister's conduct was so gentle and kind that ,fausto1 when he bethought himself1 went home in a rage1 became intoxicated1 and in order to vent his wrath1 went out into his back yard and fired his pistols4 ,a little later one of his sisters was converted1 and by her good testimony not long after that when she died1 he was greatly impressed4 ,another sister was converted and gave him a ,bible1 which he read and in which he found the message of ,christ4 ,he obeyed his ,lord1 and in spite of violent opposition on the part of his wife1 is today in a faithful and effective way1 building up the church at ,vargem1 ,grande4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,jose ,,barretto4 ,when we reached ,santo ,antonio de ,jesus at two p4 m4 we found a throng at the station to meet us4 ,they gave us a royal welcome1 receiving us literally with open arms4 ,after this hearty greeting we formed a procession and marched two and two through the streets of the city to the church4 ,they wished us to take the lead in the procession1 but we declined the honor and finally took position about the middle of the line4 ,they seemed to march through every street in the city1 so eager were they to impress the population that there was somebody else in the world besides their religious persecutors4 ,when we arrived at the church they showered us once more with rose petals and confetti4 ,after prayer we were taken to the home of ,jose ,barretto to be entertained4 ,now1 this same ,jose ,barretto is a very remarkable character4 ,he was formerly ,superintendent of the ,manganese mines near by and very active in politics4 ,if any questionable work needed to be done in order to influence an election ,jose was called upon to do it4 ,he is a great1 strong fellow1 more than six feet in height and weighs1 perhaps1 #bej pounds4 ,he was a violent man1 fearless and desperate4 ,i noted many scars on his face which were evidences of many dangerous encounters4 ,he did not deign to steal the ballots1 but would take possession of the ballot box1 extract from it the proper number of votes1 destroy them1 seal the box and allow the count to be made4 ,no one dared withstand him4 ,he was just as violent in his opposition to the ,protestants4 ,he declared that he would beat any ,protestant who should ever come into his house4 ,well1 one day his own brother-in-law came to see him4 ,this brother-in-law was blind and also a ,christian4 ,after a while ,jose and his wife were commiserating the brother over his blindness when he said1 that though his eyes were clouded1 his soul saw the light of life4 ,his sister said to him1 ,you must be a ,protestant4 ,he replied1 ,yes1 thank ,god1 ,i know ,jesus ,christ4 ,she was so frightened that she fainted1 because she had visions of her burly husband pouncing upon her blind brother and beating him to death4 ,her husband resuscitated her and soothed her by saying1 ,i know ,i have said all of these things about what ,i would do to the ,protestants1 but ,i hope ,i am not mean enough to strike a blind man and certainly ,i would not injure your brother4 ,that night the brother asked them to read the ,scriptures4 ,they had no ,bible1 but did possess a book of ,bible stories1 one of which the sister read1 and then the brother asked permission to pray4 ,jose ,barretto had always been reverential1 and so he knelt in prayer4 ,so earnest and childlike was the praying of the blind brother and so fully did he express the real heart hunger of the great1 strong man that when the prayer was finished1 ,jose ,barretto said very sincerely1 ,amen4 ,he became deeply interested in the gospel4 ,when the brother left1 the ,spirit of ,god so impressed ,jose that he felt he must look up a ,new ,testament which he had taken from an employee some time ago4 ,he had looked at this book which he had taken from the employee's hands1 and finding no saints' pictures in it1 concluded that it was that hated ,protestant ,bible the priests were trying to keep from being circulated1 and had thrown it into a box in the corner of his office4 ,now he went to this box1 fished out the ,new ,testament1 brushed the dust from its pages and read from it the word of life4 ,the blind brother1 in the meantime1 had gone to ,santo ,antonio and told what had happened4 ,the chief of police of the city1 who was a ,christian and the ,president of the ,baptist ,young ,people's ,union1 declared that he was going out to see ,jose4 ,i have been afraid to go1 he said1 because ,jose has been so violently opposed to the gospel4 ,he went and found the strong man poring over the pages of the book in his effort to find the way of life4 ,he explained the gospel and ,barretto was soon converted1 as was also his sister4 ,his wife held on to her old faith4 ,she would pray1 but would use the ,crucifix4 ,finally the husband and sister decided they would burn the idol1 which they accordingly did4 ,when the wife saw that no dreadful calamity befell the house she concluded that the idol was a powerless thing and gave her heart to ,christ4 ,the life of ,jose ,barretto since that time has been a burning light4 ,he has been as zealous in following ,christ as he ever was in following evil1 though not so violent4 ,his witness has been honored amongst his own family and relations especially4 ,they have been forced to realize that there is something in ,christianity which can produce such a remarkable change in the life of such a violent man4 ,when we were in his home we learned of a family of twenty-one1 some distance out in the country1 who were ready to make confession of their faith and be baptized4 ,they were anxious for the missionary to come and baptize them and to organize a church in one of their homes4 ,these people were the relatives of ,jose ,barretto4 ,it is marvelous how the witness of his life is bearing fruit4 ,he lost his position as ,superintendent by his acceptance of ,christ1 but is now making a living as a coffee merchant4 ,we had a remarkable service at the church that night4 ,a great throng pressed into the building1 and ,jose ,barretto was the chief usher4 ,i have never seen a man who could crowd more people into a building than could he4 ,after the house had been packed there still remained on the outside a crowd as large as that sandwiched into the building4 ,i preached the gospel once more1 speaking1 of course1 in all of these services through an interpreter4 ,when ,i called for those who would confess ,christ ,i did not ask them to come forward because there was no room for them4 ,they stood here and there over the audience until more than twenty expressed themselves as having accepted ,christ and desiring membership in the church4 ,when one man stood amongst this number ,i noticed that ,jose ,barretto was very deeply moved4 ,his great frame shook with emotion4 ,i learned afterwards that the man who stood was a police sergeant1 who in the old days had been ,jose's confederate in his political crookedness4 ,that night this man stood acknowledging his sins and asking for membership in the church4 ,jose's faithfulness had won him4 ,once more we witnessed a marvelous victory of the gospel4 ,on the very day on which we visited ,santo ,antonio and were entertained in the home of our good brother ,jose ,barretto1 this great stalwart fellow who had been such a violent opposer of ,christianity and who had previously lived such a desperate life1 was met on the street by one of his former schoolmates4 ,his schoolmate chided him for becoming a ,christian and insinuated that ,jose's conversion was an act of weakness and also that he would not hold out very long4 ,he went further to say many severe things in criticism of the cause of ,protestant ,christianity4 ,jose ,barretto replied1 ,you ought to be ashamed of yourself for finding fault with the thing which has produced such a change in my life4 ,you know the kind of character ,i have been in this community4 ,you know how violent and sinful ,i have been and you know at this time how ,i am living4 ,a religion which can produce such a change as this does not deserve ridicule4 ,the man turned and slunk away4 ,in the meantime1 there had gathered around them a number of people1 because they knew how serious a matter it was for anyone to oppose him1 and they expected to see something violent take place that day4 ,being emboldened by the mild answer which he gave to his persecutor1 others began to ask questions4 ,finally one of them asked him this question3 ,suppose someone should strike you in the face in persecution1 what would you do8 ,and then the great1 strong violent man who had been made meek and humble by his acceptance of ,jesus gave an answer which showed him to be genuinely converted to the ,spirit of ,jesus4 ,he said3 ,i am not afraid of such a thing as that happening1 for the reason that ,i propose to live in this community such a life for the help of my brothers that no one will ever desire to strike me in the face1 and these others turned shame-stricken away from him4 ,he threw down before that community the challenge of his life1 and that is the thing that not only in ,brazil1 but here in our own land1 must finally win for our ,king the triumph which is ,his due4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,captain ,,egydio4 ,what brought about the readiness of this territory in the interior of the ,state of ,bahia for the acceptance of the gospel8 ,perhaps the brand of burning which did more than any other to shed light through the entire section over which we passed1 was the person of ,captain ,egydio ,pereira de ,almeida4 ,he was one of several brothers of a good country family which owned large possessions in the interior #aej miles from the city of ,bahia4 ,he was an intense ,catholic1 but never a persecutor4 ,at one time he was ,captain in the ,national ,guards4 ,he was political boss of his community and protector for a small tribe of ,indians4 ,he was a hard-working1 law-abiding citizen4 ,in order to know the story we must go back a little4 ,in #ahib ,solomon ,ginsburg sold a ,bible to ,guilhermino de ,almeida on the train when he was going to ,armagoza4 ,ginsburg had only one ,bible left and felt constrained to offer it to the stranger across the aisle4 ,the man said he had no money and did not care to buy4 ,the missionary pressed him and finally sold him for fifty cents a ,bible worth four times that amount4 ,that night his fellow passenger heard the missionary speak in the theater in ,armagoza and seemed to enjoy especially the hymns the preacher sang4 ,the missionary marked for him the ,ten ,commandments and other passages in the ,bible4 ,when the man reached his home at ,vargem ,grande a few days afterward he told his brother ,marciano de ,almeida of his encounter with the missionary1 of how he had bought the ,bible which he did not want and of the ,ten ,commandments the missionary had marked for him4 ,he very willingly gave his ,bible to his brother4 ,marciano read the book and was particularly impressed with the ,ten ,commandments4 ,now1 we must introduce into this narrative another character in the person of good ,brother ,madeiros4 ,some time before this1 having become interested in the gospel1 he had gone to ,bahia and had been instructed by ,missionary ,z4 ,c4 ,taylor in the truth to such good purpose that he gave himself to the ,lord4 ,his neighbors at ,valenca1 his native town1 on learning of his having accepted ,christ1 drove him out1 and he moved to ,vargem ,grande4 ,but he found no rest in his new home1 for his fellow townsmen so persecuted him that he was compelled to live in the outskirts of the town4 ,he was the first believer in ,vargem ,grande4 ,when ,marciano de ,almeida became interested in the ,scriptures he went to see ,madeiros and was instructed by him in the gospel4 ,he told the persecuted saint that he would stand by him from now on1 for ,marciano had experienced a marvelous conversion4 ,on learning that his images were idols1 ,marciano collected all immediately and burnt them1 greatly to the disgust of his family and the whole town4 ,he began at once to declare the ,word of ,god1 and though he was as gentle as a lamb1 he was also as bold as a lion in defending the gospel4 ,when his brother1 ,captain ,egydio de ,almeida1 who lived sixty miles away1 learned that ,marciano had become converted1 he made the journey to take out of his brother's heart the false teaching which he had imbibed4 ,he pitied his brother1 thinking that ,marciano's mind had become unbalanced4 ,when ,captain ,egydio arrived at his brother's in ,vargem ,grande1 being a very positive man1 he set about the business of straightening out his brother with dispatch and determination4 ,he failed in his purpose1 and then called in a priest4 ,when he returned with the priest ,marciano asked the two to be seated4 ,immediately the priest inquired1 ,what is this ,i am hearing about you1 ,marciano8 ,he replied1 ,mr4 ,priest1 ,i am thirty-five years old and you never gave me the ,bible1 ,god's ,holy ,law and as ,god ordered it4 ,i came by it through the ,protestants whom you have always abused4 ,you have taken my money all these years for mass1 saying you would take the souls of our kin out of a purgatory that does not exist4 ,you taught me to worship idols which ,god's ,word condemns4 ,you sprinkle my children for money1 marry them for money1 and when they die you still demand money to save their souls from an imaginary purgatory4 ,the ,bible teaches me1 on the other hand1 that ,god offers me a free salvation through ,jesus ,christ4 ,the priest rose and said good-bye without offering a word of explanation4 ,seeing the priest thus defeated1 ,captain ,egydio turned to old ,brother ,madeiros1 who happened to be present1 and said3 ,if you continue to put these false doctrines in my brother's head ,i will send a couple of ,indians here to take off your head4 ,yes1 replied ,madeiros1 you may cut off my head1 but you cannot cut off my soul from ,god4 ,captain ,egydio returned home breathing out plagues upon himself and his family4 ,he drank heavily at every grog shop on his way and scattered abroad the news about his family's disgrace4 ,he was a man of a kind heart1 and though he did not embrace the truths of his brother's religion1 he did show his brother great consideration and1 being a political leader for that district1 became his brother's protector4 ,when his wrath had cooled down somewhat he began to recall many things ,marciano had told him about the ,bible1 and as he looked upon his many expensive idols set here and there in niches about his home1 he said to himself3 ,well1 did ,marciano say these images do nothing4 ,they neither draw water1 cut wood nor pick coffee4 ,they do not teach school1 they do not protect our home1 for there is one covered with soot4 ,there is another the rats have gnawed1 and recently another fell and was broken4 ,how powerless they are4 ,then he remembered the ,bible which a believer had given him years before4 ,he began to examine it in a closed room4 ,ag he read he prayed1 ,oh1 ,god1 if this religion of ,marciano be right1 show it to me4 ,he seemed to be making good progress4 ,but about this time he received word that his brother and the missionary ,r4 ,e ,neighbor were coming to see him4 ,the priest had also heard of the approaching visit and had sent a letter to ,captain ,egydio's son warning him against the coming men1 saying that they were emissaries of the ,united ,states and wished to lead the ,almeidas astray4 ,the letter bearer was instructed to deliver the letter to the son and not let the father know anything about it1 but he said1 ,i cannot do that because ,i must be true to my old captain1 so he gave the letter to ,captain ,egydio4 ,he wag greatly disturbed over the warnings the priest had given and tried to induce his children to give up the reading of the pamphlets and ,scriptures he had given to them1 which thing they refused to do4 ,his brother and the missionary came according to agreement and ,captain ,egydio1 true to his word1 went with them to the town of ,areia to protect them while they were engaged in conducting a gospel service in the public square4 ,the priest of the town sent the police to prevent the ,protestants from conducting the meeting4 ,the sergeant1 who had been under ,captain ,egydio when he was ,captain in the ,national ,guards1 was one of the detail sent to suppress the meeting4 ,he declared that he would stand by his old ,captain1 for the men knew that under the ,constitution the missionary had a perfect right to hold the meeting4 ,the meeting was held1 but under such unfavorable circumstances that the ,captain stood forth and said3 ,i have not declared myself a ,protestant1 but from this time ,i shall be a ,protestant and propose to give my life to the spread of this faith4 ,it happened that one day he was called to visit a boy who had been shot4 ,as he rode along through the open fields he was burdened with prayer to ,god4 ,suddenly he felt a strange feeling and he seemed to hear a voice saying1 ,you are saved4 ,immediately he knew that the ,lord had visited him with ,his blessed salvation4 ,he shouted as he rode along the way1 ,glory to ,god4 ,i am redeemed4 ,he rode on in this state to the home of the boy4 ,seeing the boy could not live1 he began to exhort him to look to ,christ for salvation1 and just before the boy's spirit passed out from him1 he made confession of his ,lord4 ,the ,captain returned to his home overflowing with joy4 ,he galloped his horse up to the door1 shouting1 ,glory1 hallelujah1 ,i am saved4 ,he embraced his wife and children and all stood back staring at him4 ,finally the mother cried3 ,poor man6 ,children1 your father is mad4 ,get the scissors and let us cut off his hair2 let us rub some liniment on his head4 ,all right1 he said1 only do not cut it too close1 and he suffered them to rub the liniment also upon his head4 ,seeing that there was no change in him1 they also administered to him one of their homely medicines1 a small portion of which he was willing to take to pacify them4 ,their opinion of his sanity was not changed4 ,not only his family1 but his neighbors suspected him4 ,as he engaged in business--and he was a very busy man--people were watching him to see if something was not dreadfully wrong4 ,finally all realized that a great and beneficent change had taken place4 ,he never became a preacher1 but he did not allow to pass an opportunity to tell the story of his newly-found ,savior4 ,his ,bible was constantly in his hands1 and he read the marvelous news to all4 ,his family soon became interested in the gospel and they1 even to his son-in-law1 became as crazy upon the subject as he4 ,thirteen of them were baptized at one time4 ,for activity in evangelization his equal was scarcely ever met4 ,he kept for distribution boxes of ,bibles and tracts4 ,while at business he witnessed for the gospel4 ,he traveled extensively4 ,some of his bosom friends became his worst enemies1 but many of them he led to ,christ1 or at least to a friendship1 for the gospel4 ,he did not preach1 but invited many preachers to come to his community and was always ready to accompany them whenever they needed his presence4 ,his life was the greatest sermon he could preach to the people4 ,they had known him once in the old days when one of his sons fell sick he promised to carry his weight of beeswax to the miracle working saint of the ,lapa shrine1 #ajj miles away on the ,san ,francisco ,river4 ,the son recovered and the father kept his word4 ,now they saw him discard his old superstitions for the truth in ,jesus4 ,the gospel that could produce such a marvelous change as this had its effect upon his neighbors4 ,he organized a church upon his own fazenda and it held its meetings in his own house at ,casca4 ,he became deeply interested in the subject of education4 ,he said one day to ,dr4 ,z4 ,c4 ,taylor1 our missionary at ,bahia3 ,while ,i was a ,catholic ,i had no desire to educate my children1 but now ,i would give all of this farm to see them educated4 ,dr4 ,taylor told him of some of his own plans concerning a school1 and ,captain ,egydio contributed the first money for the school1 which ,dr4 ,taylor afterward established1 ,captain ,egydio's gift of a thousand dollars making it possible for this school to be organized4 ,of the trials and persecutions which he endured for the gospel1 we can cite only one or two4 ,a priest paid two men sixty dollars to go and take the ,captain's life4 ,they appeared one night at his door and asked for employment4 ,he invited them in1 saying he had plenty of work he could give them to do4 ,the time soon arrived for family prayers and the men were invited to be present4 ,the ,captain afterward told the family that while he was praying he received a distinct impression that the men had come to do him bodily injury and that in the prayer he had committed himself absolutely to the protection of ,god4 ,the next day he took the two men out into the field to show them what to do4 ,in the meantime he had been telling them of the love of ,jesus and how ,he had come to save to the uttermost those who would believe on ,him4 ,one lingered behind to shoot1 but his hand trembled too much4 ,the other did not have the courage to do the man of ,god any injury4 ,that night they said they would not stay longer4 ,he paid them for the day's work1 bade them godspeed and they departed4 ,but he did not always escape suffering so easily4 ,one afternoon as he was passing by the priest's home the priest accosted him and said3 ,captain1 why is it you do not stop with me any more8 ,you used to do so1 but of late you have passed me by4 ,he urged the ,captain so strongly that he decided to stay all night4 ,they offered him wine to drink1 which he refused4 ,then they gave him coffee4 ,that night he suffered agony and was sick for some time after reaching home4 ,he was sure he had been poisoned4 ,he suffered many persecutions from unsympathetic neighbors1 not only from criticism1 but sometimes from bodily injuries and from painful abuse1 all of which he bore with an equanimity of spirit which would do credit to any martyr to the cause of ,christ4 ,dr4 ,z4 ,c4 ,taylor relates a trying experience through which he and ,captain ,egydio passed together4 ,the ,captain and ,i were together one day returning home from a preaching tour by a near cut1 passing the door of our greatest persecutor1 ,captain ,bernadino1 who on seeing us1 seized a stick1 and running to us1 beat back our hordes1 crying1 ',back1 back1 you cannot pass my house4' ,a plunge of my horse caused my hat to fall off1 which he handed me and continued to force our retreat4 ,we returned by way of the home of his son-in-law1 who was a baptized believer1 and while this brother was piloting us down a hill to another way home ,captain ,bernadino1 jumping from behind a bush1 caught my horse by the bridle4 ,he had an assassin at his heels1 with axe in hand1 asking every minute what he should do4 ,captain ,bernadino wore out his stick on my horse1 planting the last stroke across my loins2 then he struck me about a dozen times in the breast with his fist4 ,i said to him1 ',captain1 why are you beating me1 ,i believe in ,god2 do not you also8' ,stopping and panting he said1 ',do you believe in ,god1 you rascal8' ',yes1' ,i said1 'and ,jesus also who came to save us sinners4' ',don't let up1 don't let up1 hit him1 hit him1' cried his wife and children4 ,he pulled the bridle from my hands1 led my horse into a pond close by1 and gathering mud1 pelted me from foot to shoulder4 ,then leaving my horse1 he went after ,captain ,egydio1 who was guarded by another assassin4 ,on passing his son-in-law1 kneeling1 he struck him on the head1 saying1 ',get up1 you fool6' ,leading the ,captain's horse into the water1 he covered him with mud from foot to head4 ,then1 putting our bridles up1 he beat our horses and told us to go1 never to be seen in those parts any more4 ,my bridle reins he crossed1 which fact caused me when ,i passed his wife1 who stood with a long stick upraised1 to strike me1 to turn my horse upon her instead of away from her1 and the horse came near running over her4 ,she struck and fell back1 the stick falling across my horse's neck4 ,such a pandemonium of mad voices1 cursing and shouting as we left ,i never heard4 ,it took us till night to reach home4 ,the family took it as an honor1 and smiling and laughing1 we were spending the evening merrily1 when at nine or ten o'clock a rap at the door caused us all to suspend our hilarity4 ,it was that son-in-law of the persecutor1 bringing his wife1 asking to be baptized4 ,she had witnessed the persecution her father gave us1 and on her husband's return to the house1 she told him the scene made her think of the ,apostles and that now she was determined to be baptized4 ,at first ,i thought of bloodshed1 for her father had threatened to kill her1 her mother1 ,captain ,egydio and the man who baptized her4 ,but ,i had always taught them to obey ,christ and leave results with ,him1 so we heard her experience and at midnight ,i baptized her4 ,captain ,egydio did not complain of our treatment nor did ,i ever mention it to our ,consul4 ,when he gave his heart to ,christ he gave his life and all4 ,he followed where his conscience led4 ,before his conversion he was a great smoker4 ,the missionary asked him one day if he smoked for the glory of ,god4 ,he took the cigarette from his mouth1 threw it away and never smoked again4 ,this was characteristic of his determination and his unfaltering devotion to what he esteemed to be right4 ,the end came swiftly one night4 ,he had an attack apparently of indigestion which carried him speedily away4 ,the symptoms seemed to indicate that he had been poisoned4 ,all that night he spent in prayer and in singing hymns4 ,he died leaving his benediction upon his family and upon those ,brazilians who would give their hearts and their services to ,jesus ,christ4 ,he was buried upon his own farm4 ,as his family did not erect a cross over his grave1 one of his neighbors who had persecuted ,captain ,egydio violently many times thought he would correct him in his grave1 and so he set up a large cross over him4 ,one night soon after1 this cross was cut down4 ,the violent neighbor instituted a suit for the violation of the law in tearing down a symbol of the ,roman ,catholic church4 ,he also came with great pomp1 accompanied by soldiers1 and set up another cross4 ,the law suit finally wore itself out and both parties were glad to drop it1 each party sharing an equal amount of the costs4 ,the persecution has been so bitter that the church which ,captain ,egydio organized in his own house was removed to ,pe da ,serra1 three miles away1 and from there it was driven by persecution to ,rio ,preto1 where today it flourishes with a membership of about fifty people and is in a hopeful condition4 ,the widow and her children have been compelled to move into the city of ,bahia4 ,a recent letter informs me of the conversion of the two youngest girls4 ,the witness of ,captain ,egydio has not been lost4 ,it is marvelous how much he accomplished in his short career4 ,he was converted ,october1 #ahid1 baptized ,february #d1 #ahie1 and died ,march #cjth1 #ahih1 at fifty years of age4 ,in these few years he sowed the country down with the gospel truth4 ,we visited ,vargem ,grande1 ,santo ,antonio1 ,areia and ,genipapo churches1 all of which had grown very largely out of the influence of this one man1 and had we been permitted to go further1 we might have visited several other churches for whose beginning the life of this valiant servant of ,god was in a great measure responsible4 ,he1 being dead1 yet speaketh4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,felicidade4 ,one of the most fascinating phases of mission study is the tracing of the lines along which the gospel spreads4 ,this is true because it brings us into touch with the native ,christian who is one of the greatest agencies for the spread of the gospel4 ,as it was in the first century1 so it is now--they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the gospel4 ,the history of those ,apostolic times repeats itself in every mission land4 ,he who personally observes the work in ,brazil or any other mission field will have a keener appreciation and understanding of the ,acts of the ,apostles written by ,luke4 ,the native ,christians must either witness for their ,lord or else betray ,him4 ,there is no middle ground4 ,a large percentage of the churches in ,brazil grew out of the fact that a believer moved into a community and began to tell the story of the love of ,jesus to his neighbors4 ,he may have entered this community by choice or may have been driven into it by persecution4 ,however1 that may be1 the truth is that many a poor1 despised1 often persecuted believer1 has started a movement in a community which gathered to itself a large company of believers1 and formed the nucleus of another one of those most wonderful institutions in all the world--a church of ,jesus ,christ4 ,when ,i had entered the ,first ,baptist ,church in ,sao ,paulo1 ,brazil1 and stood for a moment looking about me1 ,i heard someone exclaim1 ,oh1 there he is6 ,there he is6 and presently ,i found myself locked in the affectionate embrace of an apparently very happy old woman4 ,she was about seventy years of age4 ,she was the janitress of the church4 ,she had looked forward to our coming with joyful pleasure1 and gave to us as hearty a welcome as did anyone in ,brazil4 ,her name was ,felicidade1 which being translated means ,felicity4 ,several years ago she had come from ,pernambuco1 in which city and ,state she had labored with great success for many years in behalf of the gospel4 ,when a girl of ten or twelve years of age she heard her father talk about a book he had seen in the court-house upon which the ,judge had laid his hand as he administered the oath4 ,she had the greatest desire to see this book4 ,she was married in her thirteenth year and her husband died when she was eighteen4 ,after his death she went from the country to the city of ,pernambuco1 where she met some members of the ,congregational ,church and was led by them to attend the services4 ,she saw the ,bible and heard a sermon preached from the text1 ,blessed are they that hunger and thirst1 and soon afterward she gave obedience to ,jesus4 ,from that time forth her whole conversation was upon the gospel and upon the subject of bringing other people to ,christ4 ,one time when ,mrs4 ,entzminger was away from the city of ,pernambuco she left her children in charge of ,felicidade4 ,while ,felicidade was passing along the street with the children one day she was met by ,mrs4 ,maria ,motta and her daughter1 who stopped to admire the beautiful children4 ,felicidade told who the children were and urged her new acquaintances to attend the church services4 ,they accepted her invitation and soon became interested in the gospel1 and before long were converted to faith in ,jesus ,christ4 ,then their persecution began4 ,they lost all their friends and endured many other hardships4 ,they came from one of the best families in the city1 and therefore felt the persecution more bitterly than might have some others4 ,the girl1 ,augusta1 secured work in the ,english store4 ,her mother took in fine ironing1 and thus the two made their support4 ,afterward ,augusta married ,augusto ,santiago1 who at the present time is the pastor of our thriving church in the city of ,nazareth4 ,she has been to him one of the greatest blessings in that she has done much to help him in his effort to prepare himself better for his work4 ,when we visited ,nazareth we were entertained in the delightful home of ,augusto ,santiago and found it to be charming in every respect4 ,when ,felicidade lived in ,pernambuco it was her custom to sell fruit for six months to make money enough to live upon for the remainder of the year4 ,she would then go into the interior with tracts and ,bibles1 sell them and in every way try to lead people to ,christ4 ,one year she made it her aim to lead not less than twelve to her ,lord1 and she was able to accomplish her purpose4 ,her education is limited1 but she knows any number of ,scripture verses1 which she is able to quote with remarkable aptness4 ,upon one of her visits into the interior she was found at ,nazareth by ,innocencio ,barbosa1 a farmer who resided in the district of ,ilheitas4 ,he lived about thirty miles from ,nazareth4 ,he took ,felicidade home with him in order that she might teach the gospel to his family4 ,meanwhile1 his friend1 ,hermenigildo1 who lived in a distant neighborhood1 bought a ,bible in ,limoeiro and told his friend ,innocencio of what he had done4 ,innocencio told him of the presence of ,felicidade and suggested that his friend might take her home with him that she might explain the gospel to his family also4 ,felicidade accordingly went into this other home and soon the entire family1 including a son-in-law and some relatives1 were led to ,jesus1 and a church of about fifty members was organized in ,hermenigildo's house4 ,thus the faithful witnessing of this humble1 consecrated woman was so honored of the ,holy ,spirit that scores were led into the light of the gospel of ,jesus4 ,out of her efforts grew churches which the violence of the oppressor could not destroy1 because the work she did became immortal when it passed over into the hands of the ,lord of ,hosts1 against whose church not even the gates of ,hell can prevail4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,persecution4 ,some of the severest persecutions the saints have ever endured in ,pernambuco broke upon this new congregation in the ,ilheitas district4 ,the houses of the believers were broken into and everything destroyed1 some of the buildings were burned4 ,the believers asked for police protection1 but the police sent to protect them being under the domination of the priest1 who was the political boss of that district1 persecuted the believers even more than their neighbors had done4 ,they drove the believers about1 beating them with their swords1 forcing them to drink whisky and in many ingenious ways heaped indignities upon them4 ,after the success of the great persecution in ,bom ,jardim1 of which we will speak later1 the priest organized a large force of men to destroy everything belonging to the ,protestants in the ,ilheitas district and to drive them away4 ,they burned all of the church furniture1 as well as the household furniture belonging to ,hermenigildo1 who was forced to flee for his life4 ,they cut the cord to the hammock in which was lying his young baby4 ,the fall broke the neck of the child4 ,the mother was driven unclothed between two lines of soldiers and severely beaten4 ,the other believers were so harrassed that most of them were compelled to leave the neighborhood4 ,hermenigildo stayed away five months1 when a change in police chiefs in ,pernambuco made it possible for him to return4 ,the church was reorganized the following year4 ,a new building was constructed on ,hermenigildo's farm and today1 with a membership of #ajc1 it is in a most prosperous condition4 ,in the little city of ,nazareth the fury of persecution has been felt4 ,not a great while after the church had been organized by ,dr4 ,entzminger the farmers in the community and the priest combined to drive the ,protestants out of town4 ,dr4 ,entzminger heard of their purpose and went up to ,nazareth1 accompanied by a number of soldiers whom the ,government had put at his disposal4 ,a great throng was collected at the station to do violence to the missionary on his arrival1 but when they saw the soldiers they took to their heels1 and many came that night to the service to show that they were not in the mob4 ,a year or two later another mob broke into the church1 poured oil over the furniture and burned practically everything4 ,the police saved the building4 ,once after this1 when ,missionary ,ginsburg was to hold an open-air meeting in this same town1 a soldier was hired to take his life4 ,the officers of the law left town in order that the deed might be done without hindrance4 ,the soldier drank whisky in order to brace himself for the deed1 and fortunately imbibed too much and became so intoxicated that he fell asleep4 ,when he awoke the meeting had been held and he had missed his chance4 ,these facts were confessed by the soldier to ,dr4 ,entzminger after the soldier had been converted a year later4 ,at the railway station at ,nazareth we met ,primo da ,fonseca1 who had1 for the sake of the gospel1 lost all in a great persecution at ,bom ,jardim1 which is not a great distance from ,nazareth4 ,he was a reader of evangelical literature and preached the gospel all over that country1 though he had not been baptized4 ,a native missionary went into that region1 began preaching and soon afterward gathered a congregation and organized a church in ,fonseca's home4 ,the political boss of the community planned with the ,catholics to take #hjj men into ,bom ,jardim on the night of ,april #aeth1 #aijj1 for the purpose of killing all the ,protestants who were in prayer at ,fonseca's house4 ,the mob divided into two parties4 ,one party was to approach the house from the front and the other from the opposite side4 ,a gun was to be fired as a signal for the attack4 ,the first party approached the house1 which was near the theater4 ,now in the theater at that time was gathered a great throng of people4 ,when the news came to them of the approach of the mob the women thought it was a part of the band of bandits led by ,antonio ,silvino1 who is perhaps the most famous outlaw of ,brazil4 ,all were greatly frightened4 ,the ,mayor went out to see if he could not do something to persuade the mob to leave the town4 ,after some parleying they said that inasmuch as the ,mayor asks1 we will turn back4 ,someone at that time fired a shot and shouted1 ,viva ,santa ,anna in honor of the patron saint of that city4 ,this signal brought up the supporting party at once1 who mistook their comrades for the believers and fired into them4 ,in the melee twenty people were killed and about fifty wounded4 ,all night they were carrying the dead away to burial in order that they might cover up the deed as far as possible4 ,the ,municipal ,judge made out a case that the ,protestants had fired on the ,catholics4 ,he pronounced nineteen as being implicated4 ,several escaped1 six were finally brought to trial4 ,dr4 ,entzminger in ,pernambuco sent lawyers and gave such assistance as he could4 ,after about two years1 ,missionary ,ginsburg having come also to help in the meantime1 the men on trial were set free4 ,fonseca lost all he had in this law suit1 he being one of those arrested4 ,he was in jail four months4 ,he has been deserted by his family4 ,when the disturbance occurred he was ,marshal of his town4 ,today he lives in ,nazareth1 poor1 deserted1 faithful4 ,but what cares he for this suffering1 poverty and desertion as he contemplates the fact that he has set a torch of eternal light in his community4 ,the church which he finally established will bear faithful witness in spite of hardships long after all persecution has ceased1 and he1 himself1 has gone home to ,god4 ,it was our good fortune to visit the little town of ,cabo 7which means ,cape71 two hours' ride from ,pernambuco1 where we have a small church1 organized about two years ago4 ,we were entertained in the home of a mechanic who superintends the bridge construction along the railroad which passes through the town4 ,he takes his ,bible with him when he goes to work1 and wherever he is he preaches the gospel4 ,he told us of two station agents along the line who had recently accepted ,christ through his personal efforts4 ,we had a delightful service that night in the church1 a great throng of people being present1 six of whom made public profession of their faith in ,jesus4 ,after we had returned from the church we sat in the little dining room in the rear part of this man's house until a late hour4 ,some of those who had suffered for the cause of the gospel came in to see us1 and as we sat there in the dim light of the flickering candle1 they told us of some of their sufferings for the gospel's sake4 ,the scene reminded me of what must have taken place often in many a dark room in the early centuries when the ,christians gathered together for the sake of comforting each other in their trials4 ,amongst those who were present in this little room was brother ,honofre1 through whose efforts the church at ,cabo had been founded4 ,several years ago he began to read a ,bible which had been presented to him by a man who was not interested in it4 ,he became converted along with his household4 ,there was a ,catholic family living opposite to him which he determined to reach with the gospel4 ,after awhile this family accepted ,christ and the two families began to hold worship in their homes4 ,soon they rented a hall1 with the aid of a few others1 and sent to ,pernambuco for a missionary to come and organize them into a church4 ,this man has endured cruel hardships4 ,he had to abandon his business as a street merchant because the people boycotted him4 ,he rented a house1 built an oven and began to bake bread4 ,not long after that he was put out of this house4 ,again and yet again he had the same experience until recently he has rented a house from the same man who provided for our church building4 ,he can now make a living4 ,the church has had experience similar to that of its founder4 ,it was put out of three rented buildings at the instance of the ,vicar1 who either forced the owners to eject or he1 himself1 bought the property4 ,finally a man who is not a believer1 but whose mother is1 bought the present building and sold it to me church4 ,he is permitting the church to pay for the building in installments of small sums4 ,at last the church has a place upon which it can rest the sole of its feet and in two years has grown from ten to fifty members4 ,on the occasion of our visit six more made public confession of ,christ before a large audience and were received for baptism4 ,out on the cape is a fine lighthouse which we had admired as we came up the coast on the ship4 ,may it be a symbol of the lighthouse which this church may become to the storm tossed in that section of ,brazil4 ,of course1 persecution is a painful thing for those who are called upon to endure it1 but wherever ,i found those who had passed through afflictions they counted it all joy to suffer for the cause of ,christ1 and whenever ,i attempted to comfort them because of their hardships1 ,i came away more comforted than they1 for the reason that their joyous willingness to suffer for ,his sake strengthened my own faith and assured me of the ultimate triumph of the gospel through the labors of such heroic people4 ,persecution1 while it may temporarily suspend work in a certain place1 always defeats its own purpose1 and instead of preventing the spread of the gospel1 is one of the most helpful agencies in the growth of the truth4 ,a most encouraging illustration of this fact occurred in ,pernambuco in #aijd4 ,there had been a bitter persecution at ,cortez1 a village not far from ,pernambuco4 ,the chief instigator of the trouble was the parish priest4 ,the believers were driven out of the town and their lives threatened4 ,the missionary went and was also driven out1 but returned under the protection of some soldiers and conducted gospel services through a whole week in order to give courage to the believers and to demonstrate that the ,protestants could not be driven out4 ,a news account of this persecution was published in a daily paper in ,pernambuco4 ,a boy cut this article out and gave it to his teacher1 a priest in the ,silesian ,college4 ,the teacher read the article and wrote a letter to ,missionary ,cannada and asked him to come to the college at midnight to explain the gospel4 ,two letters were passed before the missionary finally went at midnight to hold a conference4 ,the priest came out and discussed the gospel with the missionary and then returned to the college1 taking with him a copy of the ,new ,testament4 ,after a month the missionary went again at midnight to the college and the priest came away with him once for all4 ,the priest went to the home of the missionary and for two months studied the ,bible1 after which time he was converted4 ,he at once began to preach the gospel to his friends as he would meet them on the streets4 ,he also made a public declaration of his conversion in print4 ,the ,president of the college from which he had gone obtained an interview with him and offered him every inducement to return4 ,his parents disinherited him and many other trials came to him1 but through all1 he stood firm4 ,he has just graduated from the ,southern ,baptist ,theological ,seminary1 taking the ,th4 ,d4 degree and has been appointed to teach in the ,baptist ,college and ,theological ,seminary in ,rio4 ,his name is ,piani4 ,about a year after ,piani's conversion he induced another priest to leave the same college4 ,this man spent a month in the missionary's house studying the ,bible1 but was enticed back by the priests and hurried away to ,new ,york in order that he might escape the influence of ,piani4 ,three months after reaching ,new ,york he was converted and joined the ,fifth ,avenue ,baptist ,church and is today a pastor of a ,baptist church in ,massachusetts4 ,in no place where our people have endured persecution1 even though it may have been severe enough to cost the lives of some1 has the work been abandoned1 but in every place the weak1 struggling congregation which faced obliteration at the fury of its enemy1 has in the end increased1 and today enjoys the blessing of growth in numbers and in the sympathy of the people4 ,persecution is a good agency in the spread of the gospel4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,bible ,,as ,a ,,missionary ,,factor4 ,the ,bible is a mighty factor in the spread of the gospel in ,brazil4 ,in #ahhi there came down to ,bahia a man named ,queiroz from two hundred and fifty miles in the interior4 ,he came seeking baptism at the hands of ,dr4 ,z4 ,c4 ,taylor4 ,it appears that some six or eight years previous to that time an agent of a ,bible society had entered this man's community1 preached the gospel and left behind him some copies of the ,scriptures4 ,one of these ,bibles was found afterwards by ,queiroz1 who studied it and was impressed with its truth4 ,he began to bring the message of the ,word to the attention of his large circle of friends and kindred4 ,having preached in several places1 he was finally asked by the district judge to come to his house where he was given opportunity to meet a number of friends4 ,the friends of ,queiroz1 however1 began to ask him whether it was right for him to be preaching thus before he had been baptized1 whereupon he resolved to go to ,bahia to seek baptism4 ,he made the journey and was baptized4 ,a week after he had returned he wrote to ,dr4 ,taylor1 saying he had preached at ,deer ,forks and had baptized eight4 ,during the next two weeks similar letters were sent1 which gave the number he had baptized4 ,the church at ,bahia was apprized of conditions1 and it decided to send ,queiroz an invitation to come and receive ordination4 ,he came with great humility and joy and was ordained1 but before the ordination had taken place he had already baptized fifty-five people4 ,the church1 at ,bahia1 after the ordination of ,queiroz1 legalized the baptisms4 ,five years after the baptism of this man ,dr4 ,taylor was finally able to make the journey to ,conquista1 where he found the church well organized1 with a house of worship built at its own expense and with the pastor's home erected near by4 ,the missionary says1 ,i now understand why ,god never permitted me to visit ,conquista during these five years4 ,i believe it was for the purpose of showing me that the native ,christians can and will take care of themselves and the gospel if we will only confide in them4 ,i wonder how many churches in the ,united ,states have built their own house and pastorium and sustained themselves from the start8 ,not a cent from the ,board has been spent on the church and the evangelization done by ,brother ,queiroz4 ,another example of the power of the ,bible in spreading the gospel is found in the way the gospel came to ,guandu1 ,state of ,rio1 and the country round about4 ,one night in ,campos in #ahid1 after the missionary had finished his sermon1 a young woman approached him and said1 ,my father has been teaching us out of that same book you used4 ,would you not like to go out in the country to visit him8 ,the missionary replied that he would1 and then the girl explained how the ,bible came to this community4 ,one evening a colporteur approached her father's door and asked for entertainment1 saying he had been refused by several families along the way4 ,to the host's inquiry as to why he had been refused entertainment for the night the colporteur said3 ,they declined because ,i am a ,protestant4 ,the man replied4 ,come in and welcome4 ,after the dinner ,mr4 ,vidal 7for that was the farmer's name7 asked what this ,protestantism meant4 ,the colporteur explained and preached the gospel to the best of his ability4 ,when the time came to retire the colporteur said1 ,it is my custom to read the ,scriptures and to pray before ,i retire4 ,if you have no objection ,i would like to do so tonight4 ,mr4 ,vidal answered1 ,i shall be glad for you to do so4 ,the colporteur read and there in the dining hall before the curious onlookers knelt and poured out his heart to his ,heavenly ,father4 ,he called down the blessing and the favor of ,god upon the family4 ,the tears poured down his cheeks as he lifted his soul in this prayer4 ,after he finished praying ,mr4 ,vidal said1 ,i have never heard prayer like that4 ,teach me how to do it4 ,i have heard ,latin prayers repeated1 but they did not grip me like that4 ,the colporteur replied by explaining that prayer must be from the heart4 ,he then took out a ,bible and said1 ,i want to make you a present of this book4 ,you have been kind to me4 ,read it1 for it has in it the ,word of ,life4 ,he went away the following morning4 ,we do not know who he was--only the record on high will discover his person to us4 ,the book left behind became a great light for ,mr4 ,vidal4 ,he read it and was so impressed with its teachings that he taught the ,word to his family and neighbors4 ,his house became a house of prayer and teaching4 ,when ,missionary ,ginsburg went out there1 preached the ,word and explained about ,christ1 he asked those who wished to follow the ,lord to stand4 ,practically the whole company stood4 ,they had been prepared1 by ,mr4 ,vidal ,the missionary went back a few times and soon a church of about forty members was organized and was called the ,church of ,guandu4 ,the ,word spread up the country first amongst ,mr4 ,vidal's relatives and friends4 ,at ,santa ,barbara the station master1 ,carlos ,mendonca1 was converted1 who is now pastor of our church at ,cantagallo4 ,he first moved to ,rio ,bonito and founded a church there1 the truth spread1 in other directions also and so the light which the unknown colporteur left with this farmer has shed its rays of blessings upon a whole county4 ,twenty-one years ago1 a ,bible which belonged to a ,catholic priest1 or rather a part of a ,catholic ,bible1 fell into the hands of the old man1 ,joaquim ,borges4 ,through the reading of this ,bible1 he abandoned idolatry and other practices of ,rome and put his trust solely in the ,lord ,jesus for his salvation4 ,for sixteen years he resisted all attempts of priests and others to turn him back to ,rome1 always giving a clear and firm testimony to the truth of the gospel4 ,during all this time he never met with another believer4 ,hearing of him1 ,e4 ,a4 ,jackson wrote him to meet him in ,pilao ,arcado4 ,he came #abj miles and waited twelve days for the arrival of the missionary4 ,as ,jackson had through passage to ,santa ,rita1 he asked the captain to hold the steamer while he baptized ,mr4 ,borges4 ,before administering baptism ,jackson preached to the great crowd on the river bank and on the decks of the steamer4 ,it was a solemn and beautiful sight to behold this man1 seventy-seven years of age1 following his ,lord in baptism at his first meeting with a minister of the gospel and before a multitude which had never witnessed such a scene4 ,dripping from the river1 ,jackson welcomed him into the ranks of ,god's children4 ,the missionary embarked on the steamer and ,mr4 ,borges went back to work among his neighbors4 ,up till the present time not even a native minister has visited him1 for the lack of workers and funds to send them4 ,eye hath not seen1 nor ear heard1 nor hath it entered into the heart to conceive the glorious things ,god has prepared for the man who will go to work for ,him among the neglected people of the interior of ,brazil4 ,in the ,state of ,sao ,paulo is a boy1 ,ramiro by name1 now about thirteen years of age1 the only son of parents who do not know a letter of the alphabet4 ,indeed1 he is the only one in a large connection that has been taught to read4 ,the family lives about twenty miles from their market town1 ,mogy das ,cruzes1 to which they go to sell the meager fruits of their labors on the little farm4 ,in this town they have some acquaintances1 among whom is a believer whose faith had come through reading the ,bible4 ,this believer one day came into possession of a ,bible which he didn't need1 and so he gave it to ,ramiro1 who was then about nine or ten years of age and was beginning to learn to read4 ,the little fellow trudged home1 twenty miles away1 carrying his priceless present1 and showed it joyously to his parents4 ,this was the first book that ever entered their humble home1 excepting1 of course1 ,ramiro's little school book4 ,curious to know what the book contained1 the father put ,ramiro to deciphering some of its pages4 ,guided1 no doubt1 by the ,holy ,spirit1 he fell upon the ,new ,testament and laboriously read on and on for months and months ,the neighbors--all ignorant alike--would come and listen to ,ramiro spell out sentence after sentence1 he becoming more expert as the days went by4 ,he would read1 they would listen and discuss1 the ,holy ,spirit1 in the meantime1 fixing the sacred truth in their hearts4 ,this persistent reading of the ,word went on for two or three years to a time when the ,lord opened to ,dr4 ,j4 ,j4 ,taylor1 of ,sao ,paulo1 a door of opportunity in ,mogy das ,cruzes4 ,he found twelve people ready to follow on in the ,lord's ordinance4 ,since that time even more abundant fruit has been gathered4 ,dr4 ,taylor at first baptized three of ,ramiro's cousins who hail from the same village twenty miles away and recently he baptized the uncle1 aunt1 some more cousins and ,ramiro himself4 ,ramiro taught the words of many hymns to his family and neighbors4 ,through him and his book his aged grandparents1 ninety years old and bedridden1 rejoice in the ,savior4 ,how great must be the might of the ,word of ,god which can convert to salvation strong men through the faltering lips of a child ,and yet1 after all1 is not this the combination which alone is powerful in spreading the gospel--a simple1 child-like heart1 through which the ,word may speak forth8 ,a little child shall lead them1 because it can be artless enough to give simple utterance to the ,word of ,god4 ,oh1 for more in all lands who will give unaffected voice to the ,word of ,god6 ,that message has power in it if it can get sincere expression4 ,we need to realize more than we do the transcendent importance of giving wide circulation to the ,bible in foreign lands4 ,the illustrations given here of the wonderful success of the ,book should help us to reach a better appreciation of the value of the ,word of ,god in mission endeavor4 ,certainly1 there is marvelous power in it4 ,its enemies fear its might2 therefore1 they fight desperately to prevent the circulation of it4 ,would that we could have as keen a realization of the vitality of this ,book as do its enemies4 ,surely then1 we would do far more for the sowing of the ,scriptures beside all waters4 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,mettle ,,of ,,the ,,native ,,christian4 ,in #ahid1 ,francisco da ,silva1 soon after his conversion in ,bahia1 went to ,victoria in the ,state of ,espirito ,santo to live4 ,he went into the interior with some surveyors1 and in addition to the work he was called upon to do1 he found time to tell the story of ,jesus4 ,eight people were converted and he wrote ,dr4 ,z4 ,c4 ,taylor to come and baptize them4 ,dr4 ,taylor was not able to go immediately1 and one of the men secured his baptism in a very unique way4 ,he asked ,francisco to baptize him ,francisco replied that he could not because he was not ordained4 ,the man returned home and examined his ,bible and came back a few days later and demanded again that ,francisco baptize him4 ,francisco replied that in order to baptize1 one must be ordained4 ,no1 said the man1 ,i have looked in the ,bible and ,i do not find it necessary for one to be ordained in order to baptize4 ,so catching hold of ,francisco1 he pulled him along to a river near by1 ,francisco through it all holding back the best he could and arguing with the man that he could not baptize him4 ,but the man constrained him and forced him into the river4 ,francisco seeing his zeal1 performed the ceremony4 ,some question afterward was raised about the validity of this baptism1 and the man was baptized regularly by the same ,francisco1 who had in the meantime received ordination4 ,when he had finished with one party of surveyors another wanted to employ him1 and they went to the first party to find out about him4 ,the men said3 ,he has fine qualifications for the position1 but there is one objection to him--he is a ,protestant4 ,ah1 said the second party1 can't we with a little money get that out of him8 ,no1 replied the first1 it seems to be grown into him4 ,he was taken by the second party1 the chief of which and all his family soon became devoted ,christians4 ,the desire to tell the story of ,jesus burned in ,francisco's heart so warmly that he gave up his lucrative employment with the surveying party1 bought a mule and other necessities for his journey and started out to proclaim the unsearchable riches of ,christ to the people of that ,state4 ,he was remarkably successful and soon gathered about him a little band of believers1 who1 because of their faithfulness to ,christ1 were called upon to suffer severe persecution4 ,they were compelled to flee into the distant mountains where ,missionary ,jackson afterward found them1 organized them into a church and baptized seventy-five converts4 ,later they were able to return to their homes1 due to the fact that a more lenient administration was inaugurated in ,victoria4 ,very soon afterward our faithful missionary1 ,l4 ,m4 ,reno1 was sent to this ,state1 and the work from this good beginning has had remarkable prosperity4 ,the pioneer missionary1 da ,silva1 after having gained the title of ,apostle to the ,state of ,espirito ,santo1 was called in #aiaj to his reward4 ,from what we have been saying1 you have no doubt made many inferences about the kind of ,christians these ,brazilians make4 ,if you had seen them face to face1 you would have been1 as ,i was1 impressed with their appearance4 ,they were the best-looking people ,i saw4 ,their countenances were clearer and there was a hopeful1 resourceful look upon them that was not noticeable upon the non-believers4 ,sin and fear always break the spirit of men1 and though there may be a brave look assumed1 yet there always hangs a cloud over the countenance of the sin-stained and fear-driven man1 be he a religionist or atheist4 ,this change in appearance is produced by a change in their way of living4 ,when they are converted they cease drinking1 gambling1 ,sabbath-breaking1 and often the men give up smoking and the women cease taking snuff4 ,the fact is they sometimes are extreme upon this subject4 ,i heard of one church that made the giving up of tobacco and another the laying aside of jewelry the test of fellowship4 ,these people coming out from under the domination of a religion of fear into the light and liberty of the gospel are changed from glory to glory1 having upon them the light of ,god's countenance4 ,they are liberal givers4 ,there is a much larger proportion of tithers among them than among the ,christians in the ,states4 ,here1 too1 they often go to extremes4 ,more than one church in ,brazil makes tithing obligatory upon its members4 ,last year the ,brazilian ,baptists gave as much per capita for foreign missions as did the ,baptists in our ,southern ,states4 ,they have set their aim this year higher than the ,southern ,baptists have4 ,they sustain foreign mission work in ,chili and ,portugal4 ,they engage in this foreign mission endeavor because the leaders think that the foreign mission principle is vital to the life and development of the churches4 ,this giving to foreign missions is not to the neglect of their home enterprises4 ,they have ,home and ,state ,mission ,boards which they support liberally4 ,they have am ,education ,board to which they gave forty cents per capita last year and all of this giving out of such grinding poverty6 ,here and there are people of larger means who are munificent in their gifts4 ,it was the generous offer of #e1jjj by ,captain ,egydio that made possible the founding of the ,collegio ,americano ,egydio1 which school was established by the ,taylors in ,bahia4 ,he paid #fej the first installment upon the furniture1 but his sudden taking off prevented the college from realizing the whole amount promised1 because the family lost so heavily by persecution after the father had been taken away4 ,col ,benj4 ,nogueira ,paranagua1 a rich cattleman1 built a church1 school and library building at ,corrente in the ,state of ,piauhy at his own expense and afterward paid the salary of a teacher for the school4 ,when the church in ,san ,fidelis1 which was established in the face of trying persecution1 was considering how it could possibly build a meeting house1 a coffee farmer1 who was not yet a member1 rose and said3 ,i am old and useless1 but ,i want to do something for ,jesus and ,his church4 ,i1 therefore1 offer to erect the church building and the church may pay me six per cent4 annually until ,i die1 and then the building will belong to the church as a legacy which ,i intend to leave4 ,as the work on the house progressed he signified his desire to be the first one to be baptized in the baptistry4 ,this was granted gladly and his thought of charging six per cent on the building until his death disappeared in the watery grave and he made the church a present outright of the beautiful chapel4 ,not only this chapel has been built by an individual1 but others have been built in the same way4 ,usually1 however1 the churches are built out of the sacrificial offerings of the people4 ,so well has this church building movement progressed that now about one-third of the #adb ,baptist ,churches organized in ,brazil worship in their own buildings1 and with a few exceptions1 these buildings have been erected by the gifts of the people and not by the gifts of the ,foreign ,mission ,board4 ,the ,presbyterians show a better proportion of buildings than this and the ,methodists quite as good4 ,the subject of self-support is a live one4 ,there has been good progress made in this matter1 but1 of course1 it will require many years to teach the churches their full duty in this regard4 ,many churches have reached the point where they take care of all local expenses4 ,some of the missionaries go so far as to advocate not organizing any more churches until the congregations can be self-supporting4 ,the ,south ,brazilian ,mission1 in its recent meeting1 adopted the rule that no church should be organized hereafter until it could pay at last #fj per cent of its own expenses--these expenses to include the care of the house1 the salary of the native pastor1 etc4 ,i have already cited instances of personal work4 ,i wish to say more particularly that the great success which has attended the work in ,brazil must be in a large measure attributed to the fact that those who have been led to ,christ have been zealous in witnessing personally to others of the grace which had been bestowed upon them4 ,one of the greatest laymen in ,brazil is our ,brother ,thomaz ,l4 da ,costa4 ,he is the ,superintendent of a very considerable business firm in ,bahia4 ,he is a deacon in the ,first ,baptist ,church1 one of the moving spirits upon the ,brazilian ,foreign ,mission ,board and practically superintends the work of the ,state ,mission ,board of ,bahia4 ,years ago he was converted in ,rio through the agency of his washerwoman4 ,this faithful woman is a member of the ,first ,baptist ,church4 ,she decided she would attempt to lead ,thomaz to ,christ4 ,so on ,saturday when she would bring his laundry she would invite him to come to her house on the following day for dinner4 ,i might say by way of parenthesis1 that there is not a steam laundry in ,brazil4 ,all of the laundry work is done by hand4 ,sometimes there is quite a considerable firm which employs many laundresses4 ,thomaz1 after declining the good woman's invitation many times1 finally one day decided he would accept it4 ,on ,sunday he appeared at her house for dinner4 ,after the dinner was over she suggested that they1 in company with several of her children1 should take a stroll through some of the parks4 ,they passed through the great park in the center of the city1 and after a while they found themselves in front of a building in which they heard singing4 ,the good woman suggested that they go upstairs into the hall from which proceeded the sounds of the music4 ,they went in1 ,thomaz not knowing what sort of place it was4 ,dr4 ,bagby1 the first missionary of our board to ,brazil1 was conducting a service and soon began a sermon which impressed ,thomaz very greatly4 ,the sermon drew such a picture of his life that he accused the woman of having told ,dr4 ,bagby about him4 ,she had not done so1 she declared1 and this fact impressed ,thomaz even more4 ,next ,saturday1 when she brought his laundry1 she invited him to take dinner with her again on ,sunday1 but he was too shrewd for her and declined1 saying that he understood her purpose4 ,the message which he had heard in the sermon1 however1 stayed with him4 ,on the following ,saturday the good woman again invited him to take dinner with her on ,sunday4 ,he declined4 ,when the third ,saturday came1 before she had time to extend her usual invitation1 he said3 ,i am coming to dinner with you tomorrow4 ,he went according to promise1 and after the meal had been finished1 they did not take a round-about course1 but went directly to the church1 and there the man listened to the gospel again and gave himself to ,christ4 ,he has not missed a service since unless providentially hindered4 ,i asked him if he was sorry of the step he had taken and he replied3 ,no1 indeed4 ,it is as ,paul says1 ',a salvation not to be repented of4' ,there can be but one inevitable result to such faithful witnessing as this4 ,one of the most hopeful signs in connection with the work in ,brazil is the fact that a large percentage of the members of the churches endeavor to lead others to ,christ in a personal way4 ,a large percentage of them will conduct public services wherever the opportunity can be found4 ,in the ,first ,baptist ,church in ,rio there are more than twenty men who will go out and conduct public services4 ,they are not skilled preachers4 ,they may have very limited education1 but they can take the ,book1 read it1 explain its message through the light of their own individual experiences1 and by this means of witnessing to the power of the saving grace of ,god in their own lives1 they are able to lead many to ,jesus4 ,is not this after all the kind of preaching our ,lord has sent us into the world to do8 ,the severest persecution which these ,brazilian ,christians are called upon to endure is not that which comes to them when they are stoned1 or when their property may be destroyed or when their business may be taken away from them through boycotts or when they may be turned into the streets through the bitter hatred of hard-hearted priests1 but the most trying persecution is that which comes from the insinuating remark1 the sneer of the supercilious and the doubt of the envious4 ,the taunt of hypocrisy is often thrown into the teeth of native ,christians4 ,their motives are frequently impugned4 ,i was profoundly impressed with the answer they usually give to such persecutions4 ,they reply by saying3 ,see how we live4 ,note the difference between our careers now and our careers before we became ,christians4 ,and this challenge of the life is the one which will finally answer the ridicule and doubt of all who assail them4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,the ,,testing ,,of ,,the ,,missionary4 ,in thinking of the missionary1 most of us dwell upon the heroic self-denial he practices and the bravery with which he faces the gravest dangers4 ,certainly1 the missionary in ,brazil is due a good share of such appreciation4 ,he has been called upon to endure shameful indignities1 painful personal dangers and the enervating perils of a hostile climate4 ,our own missionaries have been beaten1 stoned1 thrown into streams1 arrested and haled before courts1 shot at and in many instances saved only by the most signal dispensations of ,providence4 ,dr4 ,bagby1 our first missionary1 in spite of stoning and arrest when he was baptizing converts in ,bahia1 kept fearlessly on in his endeavor to lead the people to ,christ4 ,dr4 ,z4 ,c4 ,taylor traveled through the interior of ,bahia ,state in perils of robbers1 in perils of fanatics1 in perils of infuriated priests and in perils of bloodthirsty persecutors without fear or shrinking4 ,in the spring of #aiaj ,solomon ,ginsburg was set upon by a mob at ,itabopoana1 which opened fire with such perilous directness that one bullet flattened upon the wall a few inches above his head4 ,this same missionary in #ahid endured bitter persecutions when he attempted to open the work at ,san ,fidelis in the interior of the ,state of ,rio de ,janeiro4 ,a mob of a thousand people threw stones1 grass1 corn and a great miscellany of other objects at him and his little band of worshipers4 ,the howling of the mob prevented him from preaching4 ,the best that could be done was to sing songs4 ,finally1 a stone having struck a girl in the congregation1 he carried her out through the infuriated mob to a drug store across the street1 where she was resuscitated1 and he returned to his service of song4 ,next morning he was called to the police headquarters and the officer forbade him to preach4 ,he asked what the missionary was doing there1 to which he replied1 ,to preach the gospel4 ,the missionary was then prohibited from preaching in the province4 ,he replied that he was sorry he could not obey1 for he had superior orders4 ,he could not accept orders from the police1 nor the ,governor1 nor even from the ,president of the ,republic4 ,the officer asked who this superior authority was4 ,the missionary replied it was ,god4 ,god had told him to go preach the gospel in all the world to every creature2 some of ,god's creatures were in ,san ,fidelis and he was there to preach according to the command of his ,lord4 ,the police officer1 after plying him with insulting epithets1 kept him a prisoner of the ,state as a disturber of the peace4 ,on the following day he was sent to the ,state prison at ,nictheroy1 where he was confined for ten days4 ,friends1 through the solicitation of ,mrs4 ,ginsburg1 brought pressure to bear upon the ,government and the missionary was released4 ,he was requested then as a personal favor not to return until after the naval revolt1 which was then in progress1 should be suppressed and a degree of quiet could be restored to the ,state4 ,being thus requested1 he remained away from ,san ,fidelis awhile4 ,when the revolt was suppressed he returned to ,san ,fidelis and persecution arose again4 ,he appealed to the chief officer of the ,state and fifty soldiers were sent to his relief4 ,in choosing these fifty soldiers the officer asked for believers to volunteer4 ,twenty-five responded4 ,he asked then for sympathizers and twenty-five more volunteered4 ,these were put under the command of the missionary1 who instructed them not to appear armed at the church4 ,they came unarmed1 but when the mob began to thrown stones again and refused to respect the soldiers1 they pounced upon the evil doers and there was a rough and tumble fight4 ,several were bruised considerably and a number of limbs were broken1 but after this conflict the persecution ceased4 ,we relate these incidents for the purpose of making it clear that our missionaries have been called upon to suffer greatly for the cause of ,christ4 ,every missionary who has been in ,brazil any length of time has felt the weight of personal1 physical persecution1 and all in the gravest dangers have conducted themselves as became the heroic character with which they are so splendidly endowed4 ,and this suffering1 we are sorry to say1 is not yet over4 ,for many years to come the desperate and despotic hand of ,rome1 which could in the name of religion invent the horrible inquisition and organize the bloodthirsty order of ,jesuits1 has not changed its attitude completely and will resist desperately to the last the inevitable progress of ,protestantism in ,brazil4 ,let me hasten1 however1 to say that it is very easy to get the wrong impression of what the heroism of the missionary consists4 ,it is easy for us to think it consists in his willingness to face personal danger4 ,if such an idea should obtain amongst us permanently and alas1 it has persisted altogether too long2 it will rob the story of missions of its true interest and hazard appreciation of the enterprise upon the ability of the historian to find thrilling tales of adventure to gratify the appetite of the sensation-loving public4 ,the most trying thing to the missionary is not the imminence of personal danger1 but the ever-present chilling1 benumbing indifference of the people to the gospel4 ,even though here and there we find large numbers of people who are ready to accept the gospel1 let us not deceive ourselves into the belief that all ,brazil is eagerly seeking to enter the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,the ,macedonian call to ,paul did not come from a whole nation which was ready to accept his teaching1 but from one man in a nation4 ,most all ,macedonian calls are like that4 ,the few1 comparatively speaking1 rise to utter such calls and these few are the keys of opportunity which may be used to unlock whole ,empires4 ,the great body of the people in ,brazil 7and this is especially true of the educated classes7 are as indifferent to the gospel as people are most anywhere else4 ,it is the weight of this stolid indifference which tries the endurance of the missionary4 ,it fills the very atmosphere he breathes and hangs a dark cloud over his horizon1 which only his faith in ,god and the winning of occasional converts graciously tinge with a silver lining4 ,it is indifference1 slowly yielding indifference that tests the temper of the missionary character4 ,there are times when a bit of physical persecution would afford a positive relief to the fatigue of his exacting career4 ,the days of the pioneer missionary1 with their personal dangers1 have in a measure passed4 ,the yeans of the persecutor in the face of an increasingly more enlightened civilization are numbered4 ,the probability of personal perils is growing steadily less4 ,the missionary must now fight for a hearing before a public which is too often willing to let him alone4 ,in many places it does not care enough for his message to persecute him for bringing it4 ,it is ready to patronize him with an assumed air of liberality and resist the message which burns in his heart and upon his lips4 ,they are willing for him to speak1 but not willing to listen to what he has to say4 ,he must fight for a hearing with this patronizing indifference4 ,it is this that tries his spirit4 ,it is this that bleeds his heart of its strength4 ,it is this that calls out the heroic in him as never does the dart of the savage1 the weapon of the fanatic or the fury of the mob4 ,to hold on true to his purpose in the face of such soul-harrowing indifference is the crowning act of heroism upon the part of our missionaries4 ,no one of them has ever drawn back and given up his work for fear of death at the hands of his persecutors1 but it must be said for the sake of the truth that some have succumbed before the rigors of blasting indifference4 ,the saints at home ought to support valiantly with their prayers our missionaries who at the front are engaged in a battle even unto death with indifferent souls unwilling to accept their message4 ,there is another count in this subject of indifference to which we at home should give more prayerful consideration4 ,it is the failure of the churches at home to send out an adequate number of missionaries to reinforce the workers at the front and make it possible for them to take advantage of the opportunities that have come to them already4 ,what could take the spirit out of a man more quickly than the feeling that those who had sent him out do not care enough about him to give him support and reinforcements for his work8 ,it is a shame upon us that we at home add another burden to our missionaries by failing to loyally support them4 ,what must be a man's thoughts after he has toiled and sacrificed on a field for years and has unceasingly begged for a mere tithe of the helpers he really needs and which we fail to send8 ,when that brave garrison of ,english soldiers were shut up in ,lady ,smith1 ,south ,africa1 during the ,boer ,war their courage to hold out against overwhelming odds and on insufficient rations through many weeks was kept up by the assurance that the patriotic ,english nation was doing its utmost to send relief1 though the relief was long delayed4 ,if the thought that their home people were not trying to send succor to them had ever taken possession of their minds1 they would have surrendered forthwith4 ,their line of communication was cut1 but they knew help was coming1 and so they held out with grim determination until relief came4 ,how is it with our missionaries in ,brazil8 ,their lines of communication are intact4 ,they know their people at home are able to supply them with the help they need and yet the help does not come4 ,what must be the conclusion forced upon1 them and what must be the effect upon them8 ,either the churches1 though able1 will not give the means to send out missionaries1 or the men for reinforcement will not volunteer4 ,it may be that both causes are at work4 ,what is the matter when a pulpit committee of a prominent church can have sixty names suggested to it of men who might become its pastor1 and a good percentage 7save the mark7 of these direct applications1 when our small missionary force in ,brazil is pleading for only ten men to be sent out to relieve them in their strain8 ,whatever explanation we may have to offer for these things1 the fact remains that our indifference to the call of our men at the front adds an additional weight to their already too heavy load1 and yet1 in spite of it all1 they are standing with unflinching heroism at their posts4 ,something must be done to relieve this situation4 ,counting all denominations1 there are in ,brazil fewer missionaries today in proportion to the population than there are either in ,india or ,china4 ,why this disparity of workers in ,brazil8 ,is it because the work is not successful there8 ,the facts show that1 taking into consideration the number of workers1 it is one of the most fruitful of all mission fields4 ,is it because there is less need of the gospel8 ,i believe ,i have shown that these people are bereft of the gospel1 and because of their sin and idolatry are as needy as are to be found anywhere4 ,no1 there is no excuse to be offered4 ,our workers at the front need help4 ,we are trying their brave spirits by withholding the relief they have a right to expect1 and yet we repeat they are holding on with a courage that stamps them as heroes of the finest type4 ,god help us to see our obligation to send out recruits in sufficiently large numbers to relieve these brave soldiers and transform them from a besieged garrison into an aggressive army of conquerors4 ,let us bear in mind that what is said about indifference both on the foreign field and among the churches at home is spoken of the people in the large4 ,thank ,god1 the light is breaking in many places at home and abroad4 ,many individuals and churches are today seeing the larger vision and are assuming their larger responsibility in the support of the foreign mission cause4 ,many are saying3 ,we will faithfully strengthen the hands of our brothers who toil so courageously at the front4 ,in ,brazil 7and in other mission fields1 too17 there is in many places a marvelous breaking away from the old attitude of indifference4 ,the little handful of missionaries we have on the field are straining every nerve to meet the opportunities that are pressing upon them4 ,they are not discouraged4 ,they are as busy as life trying to meet the increasing demands4 ,they are looking to the future with the largest hope4 ,they are a band of the most incurable optimists you ever saw4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,the ,,urgent ,,call4 ,this very breaking away in some places is piling up additional burdens and the pitifully inadequate force is called upon to meet demands that twice their number could hardly satisfy4 ,if we had the same distribution of ,baptist ministers in our ,southern country that we have in ,brazil there would be only four ministers in ,texas1 two in ,virginia1 three in ,georgia and other ,states in like proportion4 ,think of ,e4 ,a4 ,nelson1 the only representative of our board in the ,amazon region1 trying to spread himself over four ,states which comprise a territory five times as large as ,texas4 ,passing down the coast1 five days journey1 we would find ,d4 ,l4 ,hamilton and ,h4 ,h4 ,muirhead1 who have faced dangers as fearlessly as have any brave spirits who have enriched the annals of missionary history with courageous service4 ,they1 along with ,miss ,voorheis1 are our sole representatives in the ,state of ,pernambuco and in the adjoining ,state of ,alagoas4 ,c4 ,f4 ,stapp1 ,solomon ,ginsburg and ,e4 ,a4 ,jackson are attempting to carry forward the work in the vast ,states of ,piauhy1 ,goyaz1 a part of ,minas ,geraes1 and ,bahia1 which last named ,state has in it one city as large as ,new ,orleans4 ,e4 ,a4 ,jackson is located far in the interior of the ,state1 three weeks' journey from ,bahia2 all of the energies of ,stapp are consumed in caring for the school2 ,ginsburg is forced to give his attention to the nurturing of the thirty-five churches and of evangelizing as far as his strength will go4 ,in the ,state beyond them1 going down the coast1 stands ,l4 ,m4 ,reno1 in the ,state of ,espirito ,santo4 ,in the populous ,state of ,rio1 in which is located the capital city with its #a1jjj1jjj inhabitants1 we have ,entzminger1 ,shepard1 ,langston1 ,maddox1 ,cannada1 ,christie1 ,taylor and ,crosland4 ,entzminger1 in addition to conducting the publishing house1 must also conduct the mission operations in ,nictheroy1 a city of #dj1jjj2 ,shepard1 ,taylor and ,langston have placed upon their shoulders the tremendous responsibility of conducting the college and seminary2 ,cannada must give his energies to the ,flumenense ,school for ,boys1 leaving only ,maddox1 ,christie and ,crosland at liberty to do the wider evangelistic work and care for the many churches which the success of their labors have thrust upon them4 ,crosland has been transferred recently to ,bello ,horizonte1 in the great ,state of ,minas ,geraes4 ,farther ,south1 in ,sao ,paulo1 the richest and most progressive ,state in the country1 are ,bagby1 ,deter and ,edwards1 ,misses ,carroll1 ,thomas and ,grove4 ,bagby and wife and the young ladies just mentioned devote their time to the school1 leaving only two to man a field which1 because of its splendid railroad facilities1 has in it scores of inviting locations for successful work4 ,in ,paranagua in the next ,state to the ,south1 have been located recently ,r4 ,e4 ,pettigrew and wife4 ,far down to the ,south in ,rio ,grande do ,sul1 a ,state as large as ,tennessee and ,kentucky combined1 stands a single sentinel in the person of ,a4 ,l4 ,dunstan4 ,what a battle line for twenty men to maintain6 ,it is more than #d1jjj miles in length4 ,if you should place these men in line across our ,southern territory1 locating the first one in ,baltimore1 you would travel #ajj miles before you reach the second1 #ajj miles before you reach the third1 #ajj miles to the fourth1 and in going toward the ,southwest1 you would reach the twentieth man in ,el ,paso1 ,tex4 ,whereas1 if you were to draw up the ,baptist ministers enrolled in the ,southern ,baptist ,convention territory along the same line and pass down it to make the count1 by the time you had reached ,el ,paso you would have passed #h1jjj men1 for they would have been placed just one-fourth of a mile apart4 ,why do we need #djj ministers in this country to one in ,brazil8 ,is it possible that we will grudgingly cling to our #h1jjj ministers and decline to give even eight to reinforce our little handful in ,brazil8 ,such a division of forces can neither be fair nor faithful4 ,in drawing this picture ,i have practically stated the situation for the other denominations4 ,the ,presbyterians occupy the same general territory as do the ,baptists with an equal number of missionaries4 ,the ,methodists have somewhat more compactly stationed about the same number of missionaries as each of the other two1 while the ,episcopalians1 the ,congregationalists and the ,evangelical ,mission of ,south ,america combined add a number about equal to each of the three larger denominations4 ,a total of less than #ajj ordained missionaries scattered over a territory larger than the ,united ,states of ,north ,america1 which allows about four missionaries to each ,brazilian ,state4 ,add to this number the wives of the missionaries1 the thirty-seven unmarried women and the #abe native workers and the entire missionary body1 foreign and native1 barely totals #cjj4 ,how utterly inadequate is such a force in the presence of such vast needs6 ,because this situation has in it a call so apparent and so inexpressibly urgent it is impossible to portray it in words4 ,the ripeness of the ,state of ,piauhy for evangelization will illustrate the urgency of the opportunity all over ,brazil4 ,as far back as #ahic ,dr4 ,nogueira ,paranagua1 who was at that time ,national ,senator from his ,state1 urged ,dr4 ,z4 ,c4 ,taylor to send a man into ,piauhy and promised to help pay the expenses4 ,two years later ,col4 ,benj4 ,nogueira1 the brother of the ,senator1 gave a similar invitation1 making a promise that he would sustain a missionary4 ,it was not until #aija that ,e4 ,a4 ,jackson was able to reach ,col4 ,benjamin's home4 ,he preached the gospel in this good man's house and also in ,corrente1 the town near by4 ,persecution1 bitter and determined1 arose4 ,there were three attempts to take ,jackson's life in one day4 ,once ,col4 ,benjamin stepped in between the assassin and the missionary and thus saved the missionary's life4 ,some months later1 upon the return of the missionary1 ,col4 ,benjamin1 who had been for so many years a friend to the gospel1 gave himself to it and was baptized4 ,in ,january1 #aijd1 the new house of worship at ,corrente was dedicated4 ,it was built by ,col4 ,benjamin at his own expense4 ,he also built a school building and library1 and afterward when the missionary was able to secure a teacher1 this generous man paid all the charges4 ,when we reached ,brazil last summer ,i received a message from ,judge ,julio ,nogueira ,paranagua1 a nephew of ,col4 ,benjamin1 who is one of the ,circuit ,judges in the ,state of ,piauhy and who after a short while is to be retired upon his pension1 according to the ,brazilian law4 ,as soon as this takes place he expects to give himself entirely to the work of evangelizing his own people4 ,the message ran3 ,the ,state of ,piauhy is open to the gospel4 ,there is a fight on between the priests and the better classes4 ,the better educated people1 disgusted with ,romanism and priesthood1 are drifting into materialism and atheism1 but if a competent man could be situated at ,therezina1 the capital1 the whole ,state could easily be won to the gospel4 ,his uncle1 who is ,president of our ,brazilian ,convention1 as we have already stated1 whose family embraces in its immediate connection over a thousand people1 in a letter written me after ,i left ,rio1 reinforces this appeal4 ,he says3 ,i come to call your attention to the ,state of ,piauhy1 the field in ,brazil at present which seems to me to be the best prepared for evangelization4 ,many things have contributed to bring this about4 ,the ,masons1 on the one hand1 have done the most they possibly could against ,romanism2 on the other hand1 the propaganda sincere and fervent of a small church founded in the southern part of the ,state1 which happily is receiving the greatest blessing from ,almighty ,god1 is greatly contributing to the reception of the gospel throughout the ,state4 ,my brother1 ,col4 ,benj4 ,nogueira1 the founder of that church1 has passed away1 but he has left sons who are spiritual and who continue to work4 ,with the work developed there it will spread beneficently4 ,in the adjoining townships there exist many believers1 and a church will be founded soon in ,paranagua1 a town situated on the beautiful lake by the same name4 ,in the cities of ,jerumenha and ,floriano there are already small churches1 which united to the others in assiduous labors1 will powerfully contribute to the evangelization of the ,state1 which is one of the most promising of ,northern ,brazil4 ,my friend1 ,senator ,gervazio de ,britto ,passo1 strongly desires that a minister of the gospel come to the section where he is most influential4 ,this ,senator greatly sympathizes with our cause and is convinced that his numerous and influential friends as soon as enlightened by a pastor as to what the religion of the ,baptists is1 will unite with them1 becoming evangelical4 ,the best moment to move in that ,state is the present one1 when so many causes concur for our evangelical development4 ,the population of ,piauhy1 which is over #ejj1jjj1 will increase considerably as well as its economic wealth4 ,i hope that you will not leave this field without pastors1 where the gospel is being received as the greatest benefit to which the people can aspire for their civilization4 ,it was my good fortune to meet the present ,senator from the ,state of ,piauhy aboard the ship as he went up the coast1 and he1 while not a ,protestant1 urged upon me the importance of our heeding the call of this ,nogueira family and personally assured me that he would do his utmost to see that such a missionary would have the widest opportunity to preach the gospel to the people4 ,this must be a ,macedonian call1 which we hope to soon be able to heed4 ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,last ,,stand ,,op ,,the ,,latin ,,race4 ,there was a time in the life of the ,anglo-,saxon race ,when it became necessary for at least a portion of it to go out into a new country in order that it might achieve the larger destiny it was to fulfill in the world4 ,god was behind that exodus as truly as he was behind the transplanting of ,abraham into a new environment4 ,here in our country1 unfettered by despotic traditions and precedents1 the ,anglo-,saxon achieved religious and political liberty with a rapidity and thoroughness that could not have been possible in the old ,continent of ,europe4 ,likewise also did ,god separate the ,latin race from continental oppression that it might grow a better manhood in the freer atmosphere of the ,western ,world4 ,it is true that the ,latin movement was not prompted by the same motive that impelled the ,anglo-,saxon4 ,instead of the love of liberty1 he was led out by the lure of gold4 ,nevertheless1 we must believe the final result will be the same or else disbelieve in the ultimate triumph of the guidance of ,god4 ,we should not despair of the success of this providential movement4 ,in ,south ,america is to be witnessed the last stand of the ,latin race4 ,there ,god has given him one last chance to achieve a religious character which will honor his ,lord4 ,it is the duty of his ,northern brother to sympathize with him and to believe in his ability to build up a character worthy of himself and ,god4 ,if we cannot bring ourselves to such a belief it is useless for us to expect to be helpful1 and it is unfaithful in us to expend money upon a people when we are confident it will be wasted4 ,we must not forget that these people are the descendants of the ,caesars1 of ,seneca1 ,napoleon--the race that ruled the world for fifteen centuries4 ,they surely have not lost all of their virility4 ,it must be a case of wasted strength4 ,we believe that this race has in it the possibility of rejuvenation4 ,lavaleye1 the great ,belgian political economist1 very probably spoke the truth when he said that the ,latin race is equal to the ,anglo-,saxon1 the only difference being the gospel which the ,protestants preach and live4 ,we shall be helpful in our effort to give him the proper sympathy if we remember the handicaps under which he has labored4 ,he was satisfied with his old fossilized religion1 which had taught him to believe that despotism is a virtue4 ,he did not1 therefore1 come to ,america for liberty4 ,the early settlers were the veriest adventurers of whom the gold lust made paragons of cruelty and crime4 ,they brought with them the intriguing priest who would corrupt the ,kingdom of ,heaven in order to maintain his power4 ,there was no intentional break with their old life4 ,the light that guided them to ,america was the yellow light of gold and not the white light of righteousness4 ,the first result was that there developed in the untrammeled ,west the most unreasoning despotism1 the most unblushing robbery and the most shamelessly corrupt priestcraft4 ,so this whole transplanted mass of the worst intolerance1 most insatiable greed and the most corrupt priesthood that ,europe has ever produced1 had to be taught from the beginning on the new soil1 the elements of the higher manhood they so desperately needed4 ,they had learned no first lesson in ,europe1 and therefore their first lesson in ,america was to unlearn the very things that constituted their central life and thought in ,europe4 ,what progress has this providential teaching of the ,latins in the ,new ,world made8 ,so swiftly did they learn the lessons of liberty that hardly had the conflict which won complete freedom for the ,united ,states closed before the inevitable struggle for the same priceless heritage was in full swing in all ,latin-,america4 ,and be it said to their everlasting credit that this sacred cause1 in spite of revolutions and reactions1 which at times hazarded the whole scheme1 has made steady advance1 all critics to the contrary1 notwithstanding4 ,political liberty is potentially at least achieved in ,south ,america4 ,it is written in the ,constitutions of the ,republics and in the purposes of the people4 ,while many battles will be fought to establish it in detail1 yet the principle is so well established that it will never be uprooted1 provided we give the moral and educational aid we should render at this critical hour4 ,we have come upon a time when we must give to our ,south ,american brothers unstinted support4 ,they have attained political freedom1 but they have not yet gained religious freedom4 ,nothing can be more anomalous than a ,state with political freedom fostering a ,state religion that is desperately and unscrupulously intolerant4 ,no genuine ,republic can support a ,state religion4 ,the two will not live together4 ,one or the other must go1 as the history of ,france will abundantly substantiate4 ,one result is inevitable--the people will eventually repudiate the despotic religion and drift into atheism and infidelity4 ,indeed1 such a thing is happening in ,south ,america today4 ,the better educated classes are being set hopelessly adrift religiously and the more ignorant1 the common people1 are following idolatry4 ,neither have the gospel preached to them4 ,the ,bible is withheld4 ,such a state of affairs is a loud call to us4 ,if these people are left without a vital1 character building religion they will1 because of their volatile natures1 degenerate into the grossest perversions of morality4 ,in such an event the ,monroe ,doctrine itself would become a menace4 ,unless we give these people the gospel it will be far better to annul the ,monroe ,doctrine and permit the stronger nations of ,europe to enter for the sake of good government and morality4 ,we must either carry to our ,latin brothers the regenerating1 uplifting1 energizing gospel of ,jesus1 or step out of the way and let ,england and ,germany interpose their strong arms to prevent one of the most colossal catastrophes of all time in the moral collapse of the #gj1jjj1jjj ,latin-,americans4 ,surely1 this must be the time when we1 if we ever intend to do so1 must reinforce our ,latin brothers4 ,they have done well1 they have made progress1 but they have gone about as far as they can in the struggle upon the moral resources at their command4 ,their very progress in education and civilization is widening the breach between them and their former religious teachers4 ,a new life must come in1 even the power of the gospel4 ,this alone can save ,latin-,america from inglorious failure4 ,we should not deceive ourselves into believing this prevailing religion has lost its power1 even though it is losing its religious hold upon the better classes4 ,it still retains its social influence over these same educated classes1 who despise its priests4 ,this social power is a bulwark of strength that we shall experience great difficulty in breaking4 ,then1 too1 we may be sure these ,latin lands will have reinforcement from the ,spanish priesthood1 which fact assures a most astute clerical leadership4 ,the ,spanish priest is today the most resourceful1 alert and capable priest on the earth4 ,i believe he is to be the last strong defender of the ,roman ,catholic organization4 ,it is no accident that ,merry de ,val1 the ,pope's prime minister1 is a ,spaniard4 ,his appointment to that office is a just recognition of the most virile priesthood in the ,roman realm4 ,i was profoundly impressed with the ,spanish priest4 ,he looks you in the eye4 ,he is on the street1 hail fellow well met with the people4 ,it is evident that he is conscious of power and possesses the gift of leadership which he is eager to use4 ,latin-,america will feel the force of his capable leadership4 ,the situation in ,brazil is complicated furthermore by the turn affairs have taken in ,portugal4 ,there were riots in ,rio and public demonstrations against the local priests and against the exiled ,portuguese priests that would probably enter ,brazil after the establishment of the ,portuguese ,republic4 ,but it appears that these ,portuguese clerics are to be admitted4 ,this increases the gravity of the situation4 ,we shall be forced to take account of these men4 ,they are a part of the religious problem of ,south ,america4 ,whether we wish to antagonize them or not1 we shall be cognizant of their power4 ,they will not let us alone4 ,they will not give up ,south ,america to ,protestantism without a bitter struggle4 ,now ,i do not say all of these things of the ,catholic phase of the religious problem in ,latin-,america for the purpose of recommending that we should gird ourselves for a polemical mission to these countries4 ,we should look the situation squarely in the face that we may be able to estimate properly every force with which we shall have to do4 ,i think that if the sole purpose in conducting these missions is to fight the ,catholics1 then we can find work to engage us more worthily4 ,let us evermore keep before us the fact that the ,latin races have a real need of the gospel and the gospel is not being preached to them by the priests4 ,if this is true1 our duty is clear and our call is imperative4 ,we must go and preach a positive1 soul-saving gospel1 avoiding conflict as far as possible and by satisfying the heart-hunger of the people with the ,bread of ,life1 win them to ,christ and a new life in ,him4 ,i want to enter a plea for these1 our brothers to the ,south of us4 ,god has separated them from their old soul-dwarfing environment in ,europe1 and set them in this ,western ,world that they might learn of ,him4 ,whether they realize it or not1 they are making the last fight for salvation and character their race is ever to engage in4 ,they have a need of the gospel as distressing as that of the grossest heathen4 ,their religion itself is leading them further and further from their saving ,lord4 ,their teachers1 who should show them the light of life1 are a beclouding hindrance4 ,the little band of missionaries we have sent are hopelessly inadequate to the task and plead for reinforcements with a pathos that almost breaks our hearts4 ,oh1 do not some of us1 as we have followed the portrayal of the needs of ,south ,america1 like ,isaiah of old1 hear the ,lord saying1 ,whom shall ,i send and who will go for us8 ,god grant that some of us may respond as he did1 ,lord1 here am ,i4 ,send me4 ,the same deep longing for salvation that is in our hearts is in the ,latin heart4 ,one day in the interior of ,brazil ,i stood with a missionary speaking with a man who had ridden to the railroad station to talk with us a few moments while the train was stopping4 ,as we conversed a boy twelve years of age drew near to hear us4 ,he was pitifully disfigured with leprosy4 ,so moved was the missionary by the sight that he turned and said3 ,why do you not go somewhere and be treated4 ,there flashed instantly in the boy's eye a hope that had long since died1 and he quickly inquired1 ,where can ,i go8 ,the missionary could not tell him1 and ,i watched the last ray of hope flicker for a second and then die out forever6 ,ever since that day ,i have been hearing that pathetic question1 ,where can ,i go8 ,i seem to hear all ,latin-,americans ask it out of depths of sin4 ,and we know to whom they must go for healing and salvation4 ,shall we tell them8 ,lord to whom shall we go--thou hast the words of eternal life4 ,to whom shall ,latin-,america go8 ,only ,christ has for them the word of life which blessed truth they will never know unless we carry it to them4 ,,the ,,end4 ,,appendix4 ,,summary ,,of ,,southern ,,baptist ,,work ,,in ,,brazil4 ,i4 ,,missionaries-- #a4 ,foreign1 #dd4 7#a7 ,men1 #ba4 7#b7 ,women1 #bc4 #b4 ,native1 #aag4 ,,ii4 ,,church ,,statistics-- #a4 ,churches1 #adb4 #b4 ,membership1 #i1ici4 #c4 ,church ,buildings1 #dd4 #d4 ,outstations1 #dig4 #e4 ,sunday ,schools1 #ach4 #f4 ,sunday ,school ,scholars1 #d1dch4 ,,iii4 ,,schools-- #a4 ,primary ,schools1 #i4 #b4 ,bagby ,school for ,girls in ,sao ,paulo4 #c4 ,fluminense ,school for ,boys in ,nova ,friburgo4 #d4 ,school for ,boys and ,girls in ,bahia4 #e4 ,school for ,boys and ,girls in ,pernambuco4 #f4 ,rio ,baptist ,college and ,seminary in ,rio4 #g4 ,total number of students1 #hfi4 #h4 ,theological ,departments in connection with ,rio and ,pernambuco schools4 ,,iv4 ,,general-- #a4 ,work begun in #ahhb4 #b4 ,publishing ,house in ,rio4