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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/4283-h.zip b/4283-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9d20037 --- /dev/null +++ b/4283-h.zip diff --git a/4283-h/4283-h.htm b/4283-h/4283-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..aefceb7 --- /dev/null +++ b/4283-h/4283-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,4293 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<HTML> +<HEAD> + +<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> + +<TITLE> +The Project Gutenberg E-text of Brazilian Sketches, by T. B. Ray +</TITLE> + +<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> +BODY { color: Black; + background: White; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + text-align: justify } + +P {text-indent: 4% } + +P.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +P.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-size: small } + +P.letter {text-indent: 0%; + font-size: small ; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.finis { font-size: larger ; + text-align: center ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +</STYLE> + +</HEAD> + +<BODY> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Brazilian Sketches, by T. B. Ray + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Brazilian Sketches + +Author: T. B. Ray + +Posting Date: July 9, 2009 [EBook #4283] +Release Date: July, 2003 +First Posted: December 30, 2001 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BRAZILIAN SKETCHES *** + + + + +Produced by Robert Rowe, Charles Franks and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. HTML version by Al Haines. + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<BR><BR> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +Brazilian Sketches +</H1> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +By +</H3> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +Rev. T. B. Ray, D.D. +</H2> + +<BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +Educational Secretary of the Foreign Mission Board <BR> +of the Southern Baptist Convention. +</H4> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +TO MY WIFE WHO SHARED THE JOURNEY WITH ME +</H3> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +CONTENTS +</H2> + +<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="80%"> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">I. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap01">THE COUNTRY</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">II. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap02">THE CAPITAL, RIO DE JANEIRO</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">III. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap03">A VISIT TO A COUNTRY CHURCH</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap04">TWO PRESIDENTS</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">V. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap05">THE GOSPEL WITHHELD</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap06">SAINT WORSHIP</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap07">PENANCE AND PRIEST</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap08">THE GOSPEL TRIUMPHANT</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap09">JOSE BARRETTO</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">X. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap10">CAPTAIN EGYDIO</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap11">FELICIDADE (Felicity)</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap12">PERSECUTION</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap13">THE BIBLE AS A MISSIONARY FACTOR</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap14">THE METTLE OF THE NATIVE CHRISTIAN</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap15">THE TESTING OF THE MISSIONARY</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap16">THE URGENT CALL</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap17">THE LAST STAND OF THE LATIN RACE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#appendix">APPENDIX</A></TD> +</TR> +</TABLE> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +FOREWORD. +</H3> + +<P> +I was dining one day with a very successful business man who, although +his business had extensive relations in many lands, was meagerly +informed about the work of missions. I thought I might interest him by +telling him something of the effects of missions upon commerce. So I +told him about how the civilizing presence of missionary effort creates +new demands which in turn increases trade. He listened comprehendingly +for a while and then remarked: "What you say is interesting, 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 +heathen. 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 else. What are +the facts about that phase of missions?" +</P> + +<P> +These words made a profound impression on me, and since then I have +spent little time in setting forth the by-products of missions, +tremendously important and interesting though they are. I place the +main emphasis on how gloriously Christianity, through the efforts of +the missionary, meets the aching spiritual hunger of the heathen heart +and transforms his life into spiritual efficiency. +</P> + +<P> +Since this is my conception of what the burden of the message +concerning missions should be, it should not surprise anyone to find +the following pages filled with concrete statements of actual gospel +triumphs. I have endeavored to draw a picture of the religious +situation in Brazil by reciting facts. 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 eyes. These pages record testimony which +thing, I take it, most people desire concerning the missionary +enterprise. More arguments might have been stated and more conclusions +might have been expressed, but I have left the reader to make his own +deductions from the facts I have tried faithfully to record. +</P> + +<P> +No attempt has been made to follow in detail the itinerary taken by my +wife and myself which carried us into Brazil, Argentina and Chili in +South America, and Portugal and Spain in Europe. It is sufficient to +know that we reached the places mentioned and can vouch for the truth +of the facts stated. +</P> + +<P> +I have confined myself to sketches about Brazil because I did not +desire to write a book of travel, 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 vigorously. +</P> + +<P> +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 testimony. 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 Brazil. +</P> + +<P> +The missionaries and other friends made it possible wherever we went to +observe conditions at close range and under favorable auspices. 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 gratitude. 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-sacrificingly. +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +Richmond, Va. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap01"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER I. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE COUNTRY. +</H3> + +<P> +We had sailed in a southeasternly direction from New York twelve days +when we rounded Cape St. Roque, the easternmost point of South America. +A line drawn due north from this point would pass through the Atlantic +midway between Europe and America. If we had sailed directly south we +should have touched the western instead of the eastern coast, for the +reason that practically the entire continent of South America lies east +of the parallel of longitude which passes through New York. +</P> + +<P> +After sighting land we sailed along the coast three days before we cast +anchor at Bahia, our first landing place. Two days more were required +to reach Rio de Janeiro. When we afterwards sailed from Rio to Buenos +Aires, Argentina, we spent three and one-half days skirting along the +shore of Brazil. For eight and one-half days we sailed in sight of +Brazilian territory, and had we been close enough to shore north of +Cape St. Roque, we should have added three days more to our survey of +these far-stretching shores. Brazil lies broadside to the Atlantic +Ocean with a coast line almost as long as the Pacific and Atlantic +seaboards of the United States combined. Its ocean frontage is about +4,000 miles in length. +</P> + +<P> +This coast line, however, is not all the water front of Brazil. She +boasts of the Amazon, the mightiest river in the world. This stream is +navigable by ships of large draught for 2,700 miles from its mouth. It +has eight tributaries from 700 to 1,200 miles and four from 1,500 to +2,000 miles in length. One of these, the Madeira, empties as much water +into the larger stream as does the Mississippi into the Gulf. No other +river system drains vaster or richer territory. It drains one million +square miles more than does the Mississippi, and in all it has 27,000 +miles of navigable waters. +</P> + +<P> +The land connections of Brazil are also extensive. All the other +countries on the continent, save Chili and Ecuador, border on Brazil. +The Guianas and Venezuela, on the north; Colombia and Peru on the west; +Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay on the south—eight countries +in all. +</P> + +<P> +It is indeed a vast territory. 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 Texas. +</P> + +<P> +Almost from the time we sighted land until we rounded the cape near +Montevideo, we could see the mountains along the shore. The mountains +extend far interior and up and down the length of the country. The +climate of the tropical Amazon Valley is, of course, very hot, but as +soon as the mountains are reached on the way south the climate even in +the tropical section is modified. The section south of Rio, on account +of the mountains and other forces of nature, has a temperate climate, +delightful for the habitation of man. Each of these great zones, the +tropical, the subtropical and the temperate, is marked more by its +distinctive leading products than by climate. Each of these sections +yields a product in which Brazil leads the world. The largest and most +inexhaustible rubber supply in the world is found in the Amazon Valley +region. The central section raises so much cocoa that it gives Brazil +first rank in the production of this commodity. The great temperate +region produces three-fourths of all the coffee used in the world. Of +course, there is much overlapping in the distribution of these +products. Other products, such as cotton, farinha, beans, peas, +tobacco, sugar, bananas, are raised in large quantities and could be +far more extensively produced if the people would utilize the best +methods and implements of modern agriculture. The mountains are full of +ores and the forests of the finest timber, and the great interior has +riches unknown to man. It has the most extensive unexplored region on +earth. What the future holds for this marvelously endowed country, when +her resources are revealed and brought to market, no one would dare +predict. Few countries in the world would venture a claim to such +immense riches. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap02"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER II. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE CAPITAL, RIO DE JANEIRO. +</H3> + +<P> +The city of Rio is the center of life in Brazil. We entered the Bay of +Rio after nightfall on the sixth of June. The miles and miles of lights +in the city of Rio on the one side, and of Nietheroy on the other, gave +us the impression that we were in some gigantic fair grounds. +Missionaries Entzminger, Shepard, Maddox and Mrs. Entzminger came +aboard to welcome us and bring us ashore. We were taken to the Rio +Baptist College and Seminary, where we were entertained in good old +Tennessee style by the Shepards. This school building was built in 1849 +by Dom Pedro II. for a school which was known as the "Boarding School +of Dom Pedro II." It accommodated two hundred students. The Emperor +supported the school. In 1887 the school was moved to larger quarters. +Dr. Shepard is renting the property for our college, 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 students. There are about three hundred students +in all departments. +</P> + +<P> +As we studied the situation at close range, we had it driven in upon us +that one of the greatest needs in Brazil is the one Dr. Shepard and his +co-laborers are trying to meet in this school. Three-fourths of the +population of Brazil cannot read. We need, above all things now, +educated leaders. What a call is there for trained native pastors and +evangelists! Some of the Seminary students have been preaching as many +as twenty-one times a month in addition to carrying their studies in +the school. Dr. Shepard has been forced to stop them from some of this +preaching because it was preventing successful work in the class room. +The need is so great that it is very difficult to keep the students +from such work. +</P> + +<P> +I must not go too far afield from the subject of this chapter, 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 boards. 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 square. Soon a fanatical mob was +howling around him and his life was in imminent peril. 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 and, ascertaining +that the man was a minister of the gospel, took charge of him and drove +off the mob. They led the colporter to their home, which was the best +in the town, and showed him generous hospitality. They invited the +people in to hear him preach, and thus through their kindness the man +and his message received a favorable hearing. It should be remembered, +too, that these young men belonged to a very devout Roman Catholic +family. +</P> + +<P> +What was the secret of their actions? They had rescued, entertained and +enabled to preach a man who was endeavoring to propagate a faith that +was very much opposed to their own. The explanation is that they had +attended Granberry College, that great Methodist school at Juiz de +Fora. They had not accepted Protestant Christianity, 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 were. The +college had made them friends and that was a tremendous service. First +we must have friends, then followers. Nothing more surely and more +extensively makes friends for our cause than the schools, and it must +be said also that they are wonderfully effective in the work of direct +evangelization. +</P> + +<P> +The First Baptist Church commissioned Deacon Theodore Teixeira and Dr. +Shepard to pilot us over the city. The church provided us with an +automobile and our splendid guides magnified their office. It is a +MAGNIFICENT city, indeed. The strip of land between the mountains and +the seashore is not wide. In some places, in fact, the mountains come +quite down to the water. The city, in the most beautiful and +picturesque way, avails itself of all possible space, even in many +places climbing high on the mountain sides and pressing itself deep +into the coves. Perhaps no city in the world has a more picturesque +combination of mountain and water with which to make a beautiful +location. It has about a million inhabitants, and being the federal +capital, is the greatest and most influential city in Brazil. +</P> + +<P> +Most of its streets are narrow and tortuous and until recently were +considered unhealthy. 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 built. Twelve million dollars' worth of +property was condemned to make way for this splendid street. It cuts +across a peninsula through the heart of the city from shore to shore, +and is magnificent, indeed, with its sidewalks wrought in beautiful +geometrical designs, with its ornate street lamps, with its generous +width appearing broader by contrast with other narrow streets, with its +modern buildings. +</P> + +<P> +There is another street, however, which is dearer to the Brazilian than +the Avenida. He takes great pride in the Avenida, but he has peculiar +affection for the Rua d'Ouvidor. Down the Ouvidor flows a human tide +such as is found nowhere else in Brazil. No one attempts to keep on the +pavement. The street is given over entirely to pedestrians. No vehicle +ever passes down it until after midnight. In this narrow street, with +its attractive shops filled with the highest-priced goods in the world, +you can soon find anyone you wish to meet, because before long everyone +who can reach it will pass through. In this street the happy, jesting, +jostling crowd is in one continuous "festa". +</P> + +<P> +In passing through the city one is greatly impressed by the number of +parks and beautiful public squares, and in particular with the +wonderful Beiramar, which is a combination of promenades, driveways and +park effects that stretches for miles along the shore of the bay. What +a thing of beauty this last-named park is! There is nothing comparable +to it anywhere. When Rio wishes to go on a grand "passeio" (promenade) +nothing but the grand Beiramar will suffice. +</P> + +<P> +One cannot help being impressed also by the prevalence of +coffee-drinking stands and stores—especially if he meets many friends. +These friends will insist upon taking him into a coffee stand and +engaging him in conversation while they sip coffee. On many corners are +little round or octagonal pagoda-like structures in which coffee and +cakes are sold. The coffee-drinking places are everywhere and most of +them are usually filled. The practice of taking coffee with one's +friends must lessen materially the amount of strong drink consumed by +the Brazilian. Nevertheless, that amount of strong drink is, alas, +altogether too great. +</P> + +<P> +The greatest nuisance on the streets of Rio, or any other city of +Brazil, is the lottery ticket seller. These venders are more numerous +and more insistent than are the newsboys in the United States. There +are all sorts of superstitions about lotteries. Certain images in one's +dreams at night are said to correspond to certain lucky numbers. Dogs, +cats, horses, cows and many other animals have certain numbers +corresponding to them. For instance, if one should dream tonight about +a dog, he would try tomorrow to find a lottery ticket to correspond in +number with a dog. Say the dog number was thirty-seven. This man would +try to find a ticket whose number ends in thirty-seven. Such a ticket +would be considered lucky. The ticket sellers often call out as they +pass along the street the last two numbers on the tickets they have to +sell, and if a man hears the number called which corresponds to the +animal he dreamed about last night, he will consider it lucky and buy. +There are also many shops where only lottery tickets are sold. No evil +has more tenaciously and universally fastened upon the people than has +the evil of gambling in lotteries. There are 310 Federal lotteries, +besides many others run by the various States. These 310 lotteries +receive in premiums the enormous sum of $19,399,200 every month—about +one dollar for every individual in Brazil. A portion of the profits +amassed by the lottery companies is devoted to charity, a portion to +Roman Catholic churches and a portion goes to the government. Even +after these amounts are taken out, there is ample left for the +enrichment of the companies' coffers to the impoverishment of many very +needy working people. +</P> + +<P> +It is difficult to write temperately of Rio de Janeiro. There is such a +rare combination here of the primitive and the progressive, of the +oriental and occidental, that one is inclined to go off into +exclamation points. On the Avenida Central one sees numbers of street +venders carrying all kinds of wares on their heads and pulling all +sorts of carts, making their way in and out among the automobiles, and +handsome victorias PULLED BY MULES. We note also all types of people. +The Latin features predominate, but the negro is in evidence, the +Indian features are often recognized, and mingled with these are seen +faces representing all nations. One is impressed with the dress of the +people. Who is that handsomely-groomed, gentleman passing? From his +fine clothes you think he must be a man of wealth and influence. Who is +he? He is a barber. That one over there is a clerk. But why these fine +clothes? Ah! thereby hangs the tale. Appearance is worshiped. Parade +runs through everything, even in the prevailing religion, which, alas, +is little more than form—parade. Don't get the idea that everybody is +finely dressed and that every handsomely-dressed man is a barber. Many +are able to afford such clothes and are cultured gentlemen. One notices +most the dress of the lower classes, 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 moment. +The remainder of the clothing worn by these beslippered people consists +often of only two thin garments. Certainly this is a place of great +contrasts. But somehow these contrasts do not impress one as being +incongruous. They are in perfect keeping with their surroundings. Rio +is really a cosmopolitan city and is a pleasant blending of the old and +the new. +</P> + +<P> +There are several places from which splendid views of the city can be +had, but none of them is comparable to the panorama which stretches out +before one when he stands on the top of Mt. Corcovado. The scene which +greets one from this mountain is indescribable. The Bay of Rio de +Janeiro, with its eighty islands, Sugar Loaf Mountain, a bare rock +standing at the entrance, the city winding its tortuous way in and out +between the mountains and spreading itself over many hills, the open +sea in the distance and the wild mountain scenery to the back of us, +constitute a panorama surpassingly beautiful. +</P> + +<P> +Nictheroy lies just across the bay. We went over there one night and +spoke in the rented hall where our church worships, and spent the night +in the delightful home of the Entzmingers. The next morning, before +breakfast, Dr. Entzminger showed me over the city. Nictheroy has forty +thousand inhabitants and is the capital of the State of Rio de Janeiro. +It is a beautiful city and offers a wide field for missionary work. Its +importance is apparent. +</P> + +<P> +We have a church in the populous suburb of Engenho de Dentro. We were +present there at a great celebration when the church cleared off the +remainder of its debt and burned the notes. The building was crowded to +its utmost capacity. The people stood in the aisles from the rear to +the pulpit. They filled the little rooms behind the pulpit and occupied +space about the windows. There are about seventy members of the church. +A far greater progress should be made now that the debt as well as +other encumbrances have been removed. +</P> + +<P> +There are in Rio the First, Engenho de Dentro, Governors Island and +Santa Cruz churches, and twelve preaching places, four of which are in +rented halls. Missionary Maddox utilizes many members of the churches +in providing preaching at these missions. There are only a very few +paid evangelists in this mission, but a great many church members are +glad to go to these stations and tell the gospel story. +</P> + +<P> +Besides our Baptist work, the Southern Methodists are conducting a very +prosperous mission. They have several churches and a station for +settlement work. The Presbyterians and the Congregationalists have some +excellent churches and the YMCA is one of the most flourishing in South +America. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap03"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER III. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A VISIT TO A COUNTRY CHURCH. +</H3> + +<P> +That I may give you a glimpse of the country life in Brazil, and also +some impression of country mission work, I invite you to take a trip +with Missionary Maddox and myself to the little hamlet of Parahyba do +Sul, in the interior of the State of Rio. +</P> + +<P> +On Monday, June 13th, we boarded a six AM train for Parahyba do Sul, +which we reached about ten o'clock. It is a charming town situated on +the river by the same name. This river reminds one of the French Broad, +though the mountains are not so high and precipitous as the North +Carolina mountains. The mountains, too, in this section are not covered +with trees, but with a tall grass, which, being in bloom, gave a +beautiful purple color to the landscape. The railroad climbs up the +mountain sides from Rio in a very picturesque manner. +</P> + +<P> +The Parahyba do Sul Church is three miles over the mountains from the +station, in the house of Mrs. Manoela Rosa Rodrigues. The house is +constructed with mud walls and a thatched roof. The floors are the bare +ground, which is packed hard and smooth. There are two rooms, with a +narrow hall between them and a sort of "lean to" kitchen. The largest +room, which is about fifteen feet square, is devoted to the church. The +most prominent piece of furniture in the house is the pulpit, which +stands in this room. This pulpit is large out of all proportion to +everything else about the place. It was covered over with a beautifully +embroidered altar piece. The two chairs placed for Brother Maddox and +myself were also entirely covered with crocheted Brazilian lace. I +hesitated to occupy such a daintily decorated seat. +</P> + +<P> +This church of forty-six members maintains three Sunday schools in the +adjoining country and six preaching stations, members of the church +doing the preaching. Every member gives to the college in Rio 200 reis +(six cents) a month, and to missions, etc., 300 reis (nine cents) per +month. This is munificent liberality when we take into consideration +their exhausting poverty. +</P> + +<P> +Our coming was a great event with them. We were met at the station by a +member of the church, who mounted us on a gray pony apiece and soon had +us on our way. He walked, and with his pacing sort of stride he easily +kept up with us. His feet were innocent of shoes. He says he does not +like shoes because they interfere with his walking. Underneath that +dilapidated hat and those somewhat seedy clothes we found a +warm-hearted Christian, who serves the Lord with passionate devotion. +He often preaches, though he has very little learning. He is mighty in +the Scriptures, having committed to memory large sections of them, and +has a genuine experience of grace to which he bears testimony with +great power. +</P> + +<P> +We arrived at the church about eleven o'clock. We were received with +expressions of great joy. Mrs. Manoela was so happy over our coming +that she embraced us in true Brazilian style. We were shown into our +room, where we refreshed ourselves by brushing off the dust and +bathing. How spick and span clean was everything in that room, even to +the dirt floor! +</P> + +<P> +Before we had completed our ablutions, the good woman of the house +called Maddox out and asked what she could cook for me. She thought I +could not eat Brazilian dishes. He told her, to her great relief, that +I could eat anything he could. Quite right he was, too, 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'clock. We were in possession of an appetite by this time that would +have raised very few questions about any article of food. +</P> + +<P> +Soon we were seated at the breakfast table, which was placed in the +church room with benches around it for seats. I was honored by being +placed at one end of the table. What a meal it was! Not only had Mrs. +Manoela taxed her own larder, but the other members, who by this time +had arrived in large numbers, had brought in many good things. I cannot +tell what the dishes were, for the reason that I do not know. It is +sufficient to say that every one was good—perhaps our appetite helped +out our appreciation of some of them. There were as many as eight +dishes the like of which I had never tasted before. How do you suppose +I managed it when they served some delicious cane molasses, and, +instead of bread to go with it, they served cream cheese? I asked +Maddox how I should work this combination. He replied by cutting up his +cheese into his plate of molasses and eating the mixture. I did the +same thing, and I bear testimony that it was fine. By the time the +breakfast was concluded, I had scored a point with our good friends, +for they thought that a stranger who could render such a good account +of himself at a Brazilian breakfast must be very much like themselves. +(Let us explain about Brazilian meals: They take coffee in the early +morning. Bread and butter is served with the coffee. Breakfast, which +is a very substantial meal, is served about eleven o'clock. Dinner, +which is the chief meal of the day, is served about five o'clock in the +afternoon. At bedtime light refreshments are served, which are often +substantial enough to make another meal). +</P> + +<P> +After breakfast was over, and it was some time before it was over, for +the crowd had to be fed, we assembled for worship. The congregation was +too large for the little room, so the men built a beautiful arbor out +of bamboo cane. When Maddox told me we were to hold services under an +arbor I was dissappointed, for somehow there had come over me a great +desire to speak from that large pulpit in the little room. My +dissappointment was short-lived, however, for when we reached the arbor +there were the pulpit and the lace-covered chairs! It was a gracious +service. The Spirit of the Lord was upon us. The sermon lost none of +its effect from the fact that it had to be interpreted, because Maddox +interpreted it with sympathy and power. +</P> + +<P> +After preaching, four were received for baptism. They were not +converted at this service, but had been expecting to come for some +time. Maddox baptized them in the spring branch, which had been +deepened by a temporary dam being thrown across it. One of those +baptized was a woman ninety years of age. +</P> + +<P> +Our time was growing short now. Maddox changed his clothes in a hurry. +We had to catch the four o'clock train. We did stop long enough to +drink a cup of Brazilian coffee. Such coffee! I will not attempt to +describe it, because our friends in the States can not understand. +There is nothing like it in this country. We took time, too, to say +good-bye. The whole crowd lined up and we went the length of the line, +bidding everyone a hearty godspeed. The Brazilian not only shakes hands +with you, but he embraces you heartily. Yes, some of the good matrons +embraced us. It was a novel experience for me, but a mere custom with +them, and the act was performed with such modest restraint that any +possible objectionable features were eliminated. Having said good-bye +to them all we mounted our gray ponies, and, led by our barefooted +friend, rode away with thanks-giving in our hearts for the good +fellowship with the saints of Parahyba do Sul. +</P> + +<P> +The tie of love for a common Lord had bound our affections to them. +Their simple-hearted sincerity and devotion had helped us. Their zeal +had contributed to our faith. One incident touched me especially. Just +before breakfast a little girl about four years of age, led by her +mother, brought to us a package containing some Brazilian cakes. When +we opened the package there lay on top a piece of folded paper on Which +was written: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that +bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good +tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, thy +God reigneth' '(Isa. 52:7). Presented to our brother pastors, Maddox +and Ray by Archimina Nunes." 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 land. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap04"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +TWO PRESIDENTS. +</H3> + +<P> +It was our good fortune while in Rio to be received by the President of +the Republic, Dr. Nilo Pecanha. Missionaries Shepard, Langston and +Ginsburg and Dr. Nogueira Paranagua escorted me. When we started I +suggested that we take a street car. Not so those Brazilians! We must +go in an automobile. We were very careful to wear our Prince Albert +coats, too; for, above all things, the Brazilian is a master in +punctilious ceremonies. We were ushered into the waiting room by a +doorkeeper, a finely-liveried mulatto with a large chain around his +shoulders to indicate his authority. The waiting room was full of +people, but we were not kept waiting long. We sent in our cards and +soon we heard our names announced and we were led into the presence of +the private secretary. After a few words of explanation by Dr. +Paranagua, the secretary retired to ask the President if he would see +us. He returned presently and showed us into the audience chamber, +which was a large and tastefully decorated room. Around the walls were +several groups of chairs, placed in true Brazilian style somewhat as +follows: A cane-bottomed divan was set with its back to the wall, then +several cane-bottomed chairs were placed at right angles to it in two +rows facing each other, usually four in a row. The President guided me +between these chairs and took a seat on the divan and motioned me to a +seat by his side. He is a man of slight build, with a mild expression +which wins confidence. He was most informal in his speech and spoke in +a candid and unreserved manner which quickly put us at ease. +</P> + +<P> +I told him, through an interpreter, that we had come from a visit to +the Minister of the Interior, with whom we had been in conference about +the status of Brazilian schools. 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 workers. +He was satisfied that our object was altruistic and for the good of the +country and people; that so far as depended upon him, he was ready to +give us the full benefit of his official position. As proof of his wish +to see absolute religious freedom, he cited an instance of how he had +protected some monks in the Amazon Valley recently. These men were in +straits and he had sent soldiers to liberate them, and then turning +with a smile to Ginsburg, he said that he also never abandoned his +friend Solomon when he was attacked. He refreshed our minds upon the +fact that lately, 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 regime, he gave them to understand that +if they did not behave themselves, the door was open and they could +leave the country. They soon came to terms. As to his successor, the +President said that the incoming President was of the same party and +would carry out the same policies, ideas and ideals. These policies +meant absolute liberty of thought, conscience and speech, which is +guaranteed by the constitution. Before the interview closed, he again +expressed his pleasure at receiving a representative of an American +institution, convinced as he was that the propaganda of our schools, +morals and ideals would draw the two nations closer together, and that +he was ready to encourage us to that end. "We are following the ideals +of the United States," he said, "which we recognize as our elder +sister." 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 purpose, but that it would do +all in its power, on the other hand, to encourage us. +</P> + +<P> +While we are meeting Presidents, 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 magistrate. 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 good. But far greater and far more serviceable +than these are those choice spirits who, by embracing the gospel of +Christ, give themselves devoutly to bringing in His reign in the hearts +of men. Such spirits, by the sheer force of their characters, wield a +far more abiding influence for the help of their fellows. The man I +wish to introduce is Dr. Nogueira Paranagua, the President of the +Brazilian Baptist Convention. +</P> + +<P> +He belongs to one of the oldest and most aristocratic families of the +State of Piauhy. He was Governor of his state at the time of the +institution of the Republic. After the establishment of the Republic, +he was elected to the National Congress for a term of four years. Then +he was elected to the Senate and served nine years. He is a skilled +physician and is married to a Swiss lady of fine family. His family +connections occupy one quarter of the State of Piauhy. He is, at the +present time, Treasurer of the National Printing Concern, which does +not occupy all of his time. The remainder of his time he devotes to the +practice of his profession and to the preaching of the gospel. He is a +deacon in the First church in Rio. He is not an ordained minister—he +is simply an humble man of God. He is an ardent patriot who believes +that the salvation of Brazil can be realized only through the gospel of +Christ, to which he gives his life and all. +</P> + +<P> +Now I, for one, believe that the theory of Dr. Nogueira is the one that +will finally lead Brazil into the fullness of life and power it is +capable of attaining. It is well to have written in the constitution +the guarantee of religious and political liberty. It is well to have +Presidents who courageously carry into effect the provisions of this +constitution, but the highest good is not attained until behind all +documentary guarantees is a personal righteousness in the people. Dr. +Nogueira's insistent advocacy of Christ for Brazil is the one thing +that gives assurance of a genuine righteousness that will exalt the +nation. +</P> + +<P> +He is the President of a remarkable body. It was our privilege to +attend the Brazilian Baptist Convention which met in Sao Paulo, June, +1910. It was composed of sixty delegates, about one third of whom were +missionaries. The remainder were natives. They came from all parts of +Brazil. One man from the Madeira Valley traveled three weeks on his +journey to Sao Paulo. They represented 109 churches, which had a total +membership of 7,000. These churches increased by baptism twenty-five +per cent, last year. They maintain a boys' school and a theological +school at Pernambuco, a school for boys and girls at Bahia, a boys' +school at Nova Friburgo, a girls' school at Sao Paulo and the crown of +the school system, the Rio Baptist College and Seminary in the capital. +They have a Publication Board to produce Sunday School and other +literature, a Home Mission Board to develop the missionary work in the +bounds of Brazil, and a Foreign Mission Board, which conducts foreign +mission operations in Chill and Portugal. While their country is so +needy, 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 Convention. One +night during the Convention, I addressed them upon the subject of +foreign missions, 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 work, he was not under any +special obligation to contribute money to this cause, 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 cause. +</P> + +<P> +What a privilege it was to attend this Convention! All of us took our +meals at the Girls' College and by this arrangement we had a most +delightful time socially. It is a fine body full of good cheer, hope, +faith, courage, consecration. 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 Lord. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap05"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER V. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE GOSPEL WITHHELD. +</H3> + +<P> +When I went to South America I decided that I would spend little time +upon the material aspects of the trip, but would, on the other hand, +attempt to arrive at an understanding of the religious conditions and +needs of the people. I consider that the religious needs are the +abiding and vital interests of any people. +</P> + +<P> +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 needs. If it does, then let us +be honest enough to recognize it, and if it does not, 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 one. If there is no greater reason +for our entering a country than for the purpose of fighting the +Catholics, then I, for one, am frank to say that I do not think we +ought to spend our energies in any such field. The question for us to +settle is whether there is a real call for the preaching of the gospel +in a given country. 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 +earth. +</P> + +<P> +What is the religious status of Brazil? Is there any call for +Protestant effort? I answer after giving serious study to this +question, and after personal observation of the effects of the +religious practices upon the people, that there is the same imperative +call for missionary effort in Brazil that comes from China or any other +heathen country, viz., the gospel is not preached to the people. +</P> + +<P> +The priests hold services, to be sure, in the churches, but there are +many churches in Brazil in which there has been no pretense of +preaching a sermon within five years. The priests do not preach. They +say mass, read prayers and sing songs in Latin, a language which is not +understood by the people. Occasionally, a Catholic fraternity will +invite a special orator to preach a sermon upon some great feast day. +This visiting brother does not preach. His theme upon such an occasion +would either be a discussion of the special saint whose day is being +celebrated, or he would speak upon some civic question which had more +or less to do with the moral or political life of the people. In the +interior these special occasions occur only once every two to five +years, so that even this semblance of a sermon comes rarely. In the +cities these special addresses are made on one saint's day each year or +on some special anniversary, or when some dignitary is making a visit. +Usually this dignitary will say a mass and not preach. 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 +gambling, drinking and other attractions is sufficient to drown the +voice of the speaker. These side-show attractions fill all available +space about the building, giving it the appearance of a circus more +than anything else. They are run by individuals who pay a tax to the +church for the privilege. The preaching is not the feature of the day, +the chief object seeming to be to furnish amusement for the people and +money for the church. It cannot be said that on such days the gospel +can possibly be preached successfully. +</P> + +<P> +Occasionally there is held in the church what is called a special +mission. This is conducted by visiting monks. We would expect that on +such occasions the gospel would be preached, but such is not the case. +They hear confessions in the morning. A special premium is placed upon +the celebration of marriages during the mission, because these visiting +monks will make a cheaper rate than the resident priests. For this +reason the majority of the priests do not like to have these monks come +in for special missions, and would not conduct them but for the fact +that the bishop compels them to do so. The addresses delivered by the +monks in these special missions are not sermons. They either upbraid +the Protestants, speak against civil marriage (the only legal marriage +in Brazil is that performed by a civil officer), inveigh against the +Republic, discourse upon the lives of the saints, assail Luther and +other reformers, or urge confession, penance and submission to the Pope. +</P> + +<P> +Furthermore, the Bible is withheld from the people. The circulation of +no book is so bitterly opposed as that of the Bible. It is true that +the Franciscan monks are trying to introduce an edition of the New +Testament which contains special comments attacking Protestants. These +special editions are very expensive and difficult to secure. The person +who wishes to buy one of these Bibles must get permission from the +vicar of his parish, and if the would-be purchaser is inclined towards +Protestantism, the vicar will refuse to grant permission. The priests +are not very much in sympathy with the idea of circulating even this +annotated edition of the New Testament. +</P> + +<P> +In Armagoza, near Bahia, the Franciscan monks held, three or four years +ago, a mission and sold about 1,000 of these Catholic Scriptures. It +seems that the Protestants had also been circulating a Testament which +had the same general appearance as that sold by the Franciscan monks. +When the monks had sold out their supplies, they heard of what the +Protestants had done and inasmuch as the people could not distinguish +between the true book and the false, they ordered the people to bring +back all of the books to the monks, under the promise that they would +examine them, eliminate the Protestant book and return to the owners +the authorized Bible. The people brought back their books in good +faith. The monks took them, but never returned them. Neither did they +return the money. +</P> + +<P> +On the 22nd of February, 1903, there occurred a public burning of +Bibles in Pernambuco. This was done in defiance of the Protestant work +with the evident purpose of intimidating the Protestant workers and +arousing a public sentiment against them. +</P> + +<P> +But having failed in this, their first effort, they decided to try +another even more ostentatious. +</P> + +<P> +Although it is illegal to burn any religious document publicly, yet the +first burning passed unnoticed by the officials of the law. But not so +the second. +</P> + +<P> +Having incurred the censure and ill-will of many of the most thoughtful +and liberal-minded, even of the Catholics themselves, by the disgrace +of February 22nd, the directors of the Anti-Protestant League decided +to make a grand rally on the occasion of the league's first +anniversary, September 27th. And to realize this, they published about +two weeks beforehand a very extensive program. The program said that +"there will be burned 26 Bibles, 42 Testaments, 45 copies of the Gospel +of Matthew, Luke 9, John 12, Mark 4 and Acts 9", besides a great many +other useful books. In the list also there were some three hundred +copies of different religious Protestant papers. +</P> + +<P> +According to the program the bishop was to preside. The public burning, +however, was not performed. Such pressure was brought to bear upon the +officials that they interfered. It was even discussed in the National +House of Congress. But in spite of all opposition, not to be completely +defeated, they burned the Bibles in the back yard of the church. +</P> + +<P> +These examples are sufficient to demonstrate the attitude of the +priests towards the Scriptures, 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 gospel. He is an enemy of the gospel who +puts any restraint upon the circulation of the Scriptures. It is wise +indeed for the sake of their cause that these opponents of +Protestantism should oppose the circulation of the Scriptures, 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 Jesus. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap06"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +SAINT WORSHIP. +</H3> + +<P> +What is the real religion of the Brazilians? It is more a saint worship +than anything else. Saint worship is at its core. Mary is the chief +saint. All prayers are made to her. She is the intercessor. The Litany +is all addressed to Mary. It runs, "Oh Mary, hear us, etc." She is +worshiped under different aspects—Mary of the Sailors, Mary of the +Conception, Mary of the Candles, Mary of the Rosary, ad infinitum. Even +Christ is worshiped as a saint. The patron saint of Campos, for +instance, is called Sao Salvador (St. Savior). The city of Bahia is +called Sao Salvador. Its patron saint is Jesus. +</P> + +<P> +A saint is an intercessor between man and God. Because of his holiness, +he has favor with God, and therefore the people pray to him. Very few +consider the saint lower than God. They offer sacrifices, make prayers +and burn candles to the saint. +</P> + +<P> +St. Anthony of Padua is a very hard-worked saint. 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 victory. No wonder this +overworked saint gets into trouble. Young women place him in their +rooms, burn candles and offer prayers before him. He is dressed up in +the finest toggery and is given great honor. If, however, after awhile +he does not bring along the suitor, he is given a sound beating, or he +may be hung head downwards in a well or stood on his head under a +table. These indignities are heaped upon him in order to force him to +produce the suitor which the young lady very much desires. He is also +the military saint. In the time of the Empire, he was carried at the +head of the army and had the rank of a colonel. Even after the Empire +was abolished, he retained his rank for many years and received from +the government the salary of a colonel. Such an idol was in Bahia and +his salary was discontinued only five years ago. The money went, of +course, to the priest in the church where the image was kept. +</P> + +<P> +Every town, village and country seat has its protecting saint. In time +of drouth they in many places carry the saint through the streets in +procession. He is taken from his place in the church to some hut, +maybe, where he is placed beneath the altar. This is done in order to +cause him to bring rain. After the rain comes he is taken out and with +great distinction is replaced in his original niche. They do this +sometimes in the case of a scourge of insects or disease. +</P> + +<P> +Late one evening, after Missionary Ginsburg and I had returned from a +trip into the interior of the State of Bahia, we arrived in the city of +Nazareth. It is a town of about 10,000 inhabitants. We were to wait +here until the following morning for the boat which was to take us to +Bahia. +</P> + +<P> +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 men. +Two priests walked in front to direct the movements of the procession. +More than half of the people in the city must have been in the +procession. They paraded far out into the country, crossed to the +opposite side of the river, wound themselves back and forth through the +narrow streets until a late hour at night. At eleven o'clock just +before we retired, we stood for some time watching the procession pass +the hotel where we were stopping. It was a miserably ugly little image, +gaudily decorated. It was being paraded through the streets for the +purpose of staying the plague of smallpox, which at that time was +scourging the town. When we saw the procession last it had been +augmented by such numbers that it appeared as if the entire city was +following this image. They seemed to believe that it could really charm +away the smallpox. +</P> + +<P> +This is not an isolated case. It is typical. 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 people. It is +the veriest sort of idolatry. +</P> + +<P> +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 performed. In Bahia there is a famous shrine called Bom +Fim (Good End). It is located on a hill in the suburbs of the city. +Years ago tradition has it, the image of San Salvador was found on the +summit of this hill. A priest took charge of the image and removed it +to a church. On the following morning the image was missing, and upon +going to the spot where he first found it, he discovered the image. +Again he took it to the church, and again on the following day, he +found the image at the original place. The tradition was, therefore, +started that the image had fallen from Heaven to the top of the hill, +and every time it was removed from this spot it, of itself, returned. +So it was taken for granted that the image desired its shrine built on +this spot. At first there was a little shrine constructed, and +afterward was built the magnificent edifice which now shelters the +image. +</P> + +<P> +To this place the thousands go annually upon pilgrimages. One of the +most gruesome spectacles to be found anywhere is in a side room near +the altar. From the ceiling are suspended wax and plaster of paris +reproductions called ex-votos of literally every portion of the +body—feet, hands, limbs, heads, all portions—the ceiling space is +completely covered with these uncanny figures. The wall is hung with +pictures, which portray all sorts of scenes, such as a man in +shipwreck, a carpenter falling down a ladder, a child falling out of a +second-story window, death chambers of various people, etc. These +figures and pictures are intended to represent miracles. 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 affected, whether of man or +beast, to the shrine. Some of them came before the cure was effected, +and with a prayer, left the image behind and the cures of their disease +or afflictions were attributed to the image of Bom Fim. It is said that +when this church is given its annual cleaning, just before the +celebration of the saint's day, thousands of people congregate here, +roll in the waters which are used to wash out the building, and drink +the filthy stuff, deeming it to be holy. There is hardly a more +revolting scene to be found anywhere, and all in the name of religion. +Until recently, when the police put an end to it, a most disgusting +species of holy dance was observed on this annual day in which the most +sensual practices were indulged. +</P> + +<P> +Perhaps the most famous shrine in all Brazil is in the far interior of +the State of Bahia on the San Francisco River. It is the famous Lapa. +The image has its shrine in a cave in a very remarkable geological +formation. One hundred thousand people make pilgrimages to this shrine +every year from all of the States in Brazil. The last Emperor himself +made a visit to this shrine. From June to August of last year $20,000 +was collected from the pilgrims. Our missionary, Jackson, met a man who +had been on the way six months. It required him a year to make this +trip. The same missionary saw a family from the State of Alagoas which +had been on the journey six weeks. Dr. Z. C. Taylor says he passed +through sections that had been almost depopulated because the men had +sold out their homes, horses and cattle in order to seek a miracle in +their favor at this same shrine. Fire destroyed the image in 1902. +Protestants were accused of setting fire to it because a missionary was +near at the time. (He was forty miles away.) In the controversy that +arose the missionary noted that, inasmuch as the new image was sent by +freight and not by ticket, it must be an idol and not a saint. Suffice +it to say, that a new image was placed and the people are worshiping it +with the same zeal with which they worshiped the old, even though the +new one came by freight and the old one was supposed to have fallen +from Heaven. It is believed to have miracle working power and to give +great merit to one who makes the pilgrimage to it. +</P> + +<P> +In the daily paper called the "Provinca," published in Pernambuco, +there was printed on August 23, 1910, the following telegram from the +city of Rio, the capital of the Republic. +</P> + +<P> +"The Seculo (Century) of today announces that on St. Leopold street in +Andarahy (a suburb of Rio) there was discovered a fountain of water in +a hollow rock, in which a plebian found an image of a saint. +</P> + +<P> +"This image," adds the Seculo, "although in water, did not present the +least vestige of humidity. The news of this curious discovery was +immediately circulated, and there was a great pilgrimage, including a +reporter of the Seculo, to this miraculous fountain in Andarahy." +</P> + +<P> +It is very probable that this telegram heralds the advent of a new +shrine, because it is in this fashion that these so-called +miracle-working shrines are brought into existence. +</P> + +<P> +Not all of these shrines are canonized, but nevertheless they have +power over the people. As we were making a trip into the interior of +the State of Pernambuco we passed a station called Severino. Near the +station we could see a splendid church building which had been +constructed in honor of St. Severino. This saint is not in the +calendar, not recognized by the church nor the bishop, yet it is +popular all over Brazil. Many people are named after him, and to this +shrine are brought many of the same sort of things as were described in +connection with the shrine of the Good End. This idol is stuffed with +sugar-cane pith. The head of it was found in the woods some time ago. A +tradition was started that an image had fallen from Heaven. The +superstitious people believed the report and soon a shrine was in full +operation, which today, even though it be not canonized, is exerting a +far-reaching influence. The owner of the shrine gave up his farming and +lives handsomely on the offerings the deluded bring to his private +shrine. +</P> + +<P> +In one of the most magnificent churches in Bahia is an image of a negro +saint. This holy being won his canonization as a reward for stealing +money from his master to contribute to the church. That is it: Do +anything you please, provided you share the spoils with the church. +</P> + +<P> +Across the breast of the Virgin's image in the church of Our Lady of +Penha in Pernambuco, before which church the Bibles were burned in +1903, are written the following words: "One hundred days' indulgence to +the person who will kiss the holy foot of the Holy Virgin." This +pitifully expresses, perhaps, the thought behind saint worship. It is +the hope that the aching of the sinful heart may find some assuagement +through the worship of these gilded, gaudy images. It is claimed by the +priests and some of the more intelligent that the image worshiped is +only a concrete representation of the saint, and it contains +symbolically the spirit of the saint. To be sure! This is exactly the +reason the more intelligent fetish worshiper in Africa assigns for +worshiping his hand-made god. The etone or piece of wood is a +representative of God and to a degree contains His spirit. Such worship +is condemned as being idolatry in the African. The thing which is +idolatry in the African must be idolatry in the Catholic. Even the +Catholics will condemn the idol worship of the heathen, and yet this +same Catholic church has in scores of places in South America and in +other heathen lands, taken the identical images worshiped by the +heathen and converted them into Catholic saints. +</P> + +<P> +In the city of Braga, in Portugal, is a temple which centuries ago was +devoted to Jupiter. It was afterward converted into a Catholic church +and dedicated to St. Peter. The idol Jupiter, with two keys in his +hand, was consecrated into St. Peter. In another part of the same city +is a temple devoted to Janus in Roman times, which was turned into a +temple dedicated to St. John. The idol which formerly was worshiped as +Janus is being now worshiped as St. John. In the same temple there is +an image now consecrated as St. Mark which was formerly the god Mars. +The saint worship in Brazil is just as heathenish. In China Buddhist +idols were renamed Jehosaphat by the Jesuits and worshiped. Their +practices in Brazil are in keeping with their methods in other lands. +</P> + +<P> +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 China? +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap07"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PENANCE AND PRIEST. +</H3> + +<P> +Confession and penance play a large part in the religious life of the +common people. The priests exercise great ingenuity to preserve the +confessional. The better educated classes have long ago deserted the +confessional, but it still holds sway over the common people and hangs +like a dark shadow over the immoral deeds of the priests. Along with it +flourishes the performance of penance. These two hand-maidens in +wrong-doing often thrive in an absurd way. +</P> + +<P> +In Penedo, the capital of the State of Alagoas, a new wharf was being +built and the money granted by the Government was not sufficient to +complete the work. The contractors approached the two monks who were to +hold a mission in the city during February, 1904, and offered to pay +them $500 if they would instruct the people to, in penance, carry +across the city the stones which had been brought from the interior. A +large quantity of building material had been brought down by rail and +needed to be transported across to the wharf. The monks agreed, gave +instructions accordingly, and in one week the people carried these +stones across the town to the wharf. The transfer of these stones would +have cost $2,500. At least 10,000 people engaged in this colossal act +of penance. They came from two counties. Thus the contractors, by a +little skillful manipulation, made penance save them considerable money. +</P> + +<P> +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 church. All, that through these +means they may find some ease for the conscience which accuses them of +evil. +</P> + +<P> +What shall I say of the priests? I believe I will say nothing. I +declined steadily to soil the pages of my note book with the records of +the immoral deeds of these men. I will let speak for me an educated +Brazilian, a teacher in an excellent school in Pernambuco, who is not a +professing Christian, but who, like a great many of his class, admires +Christianity very sincerely. When Mr. Colton, International Secretary +of the Young Men's Christian Association, passed through Pernambuco in +June, 1910, he was given a banquet by some of the leading men, which +event offended so grievously the Catholic authorities that they +published in the "Religious Tribune," their organ, a bitter diatribe on +the Young Men's Christian Association. The professor, to whom I +referred, who is now one of the leading judges in the state, published +the following answer to this attack. He is in far better position to +speak authoritatively about the Brazilian priests than I am. His +article ran as follows: +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +"FURY UNBRIDLED." +</P> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +"The official organ of the diocese of Olinda could not on this occasion +control its great animus. It threw aside its old worn-out mantle of +hypocrisy, it precipitated itself furiously and insolently against the +Y.M.C.A. It not only does not forgive, 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 Y.M.C.A. +</P> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +"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 clothing. +</P> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +"But we ask, to whom does this epithet apply better? To us who dress as +the generality of men, thus leaving no doubt as to our sex and freeing +our consciences from the ignominious Roman yoke, direct ourselves by +that straight and narrow way which leads to salvation; 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 earth? To us, Who having no thirst for +dominion, seek to cultivate in man all the noble attributes given by +the Creator, to us who teach clearly and without sophistry and gross +superstitions the plan of salvation as it is found in the word of God; +or to this legion of corrupt and hypocritical parasites, corruptors of +youth, whose character they seek to debase and villify by means of the +confessional? +</P> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +"The only object of the wolf in dressing himself as a sheep is to +devour the sheep. And these shaven heads know perfectly well why we +cite the chronicles of the convents; they know from personal knowledge +who are responsible for the greater part of the illegitimate children, +and they have no doubt about the permanency and progress of +prostitution. +</P> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +"But they have effrontery, these priests! +</P> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +"What has the priesthood done in Brazil in about 400 years? The answer +is found in facts that prove the absence of all initiative of will, of +strength, of energy and of activity. Brazil has only been a field for +torpid exploitation by these gain-hunting libertines. And what of the +attacks against private and public fortunes? +</P> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +"Happily, for some years, the public conscience has been awakening and +the people are beginning to know that a priest, even the best of them, +is worthless. +</P> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +"Freed from an official religion, 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 +position. +</P> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +"We, pirates? Ah! deceivers. Then we, who present ourselves loyally +without subterfuge, proclaiming the divine truths, speaking logically, +without artifices or superstitions, are pirates? You noble priests are +noble specimens of Christian culture, I must confess! You are such good +things that France has already horsewhipped you out of the country, and +Spain, whose knightly race is regaining the noble attributes +obliterated by the iron yoke of Romanism, is about ready to apply to +you the same punishment. +</P> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +"There is no doubt that the priest is losing ground every day. All +their manifestations of hate and satanic fury are easily explained. +</P> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +"One easily recognizes the true value of the explosion of vicious +egotism found in the official organ of the diocese of Olinda. 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 pleasure. Console yourselves, reverend lord priests, everything +comes to an end, and the ancient period of darkness and obscurity +exists no more in Brazil." +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +What is the net result of such religious life as we have been +portraying? The common and more ignorant people accept without very +much questioning the teachings and practices which we have explained. +The better educated people, especially the men, have lost confidence in +the priesthood. Scarcely an educated man can be found who believes in +the moral uprightness of the priest. The chief hold the Church has upon +the better classes is a social and not a religious one. Births, +marriages, deaths, alike are great social events, and upon such +occasions, because it is custom to have a priest, the better classes of +people even call in the services of the priests, in whom they have no +confidence. The effect upon the beliefs of these better classes is most +distressing. Spiritism, materialism and atheism are rampant, 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 church. They are far +more difficult to reach because they have imbibed the philosophies of +spiritism, materialism and atheism. An atheist in South America is just +as difficult to approach as he is anywhere. The devout Catholics are +easier to reach with the gospel. The devout Catholic has at least one +element which must always be reckoned with in dealing helpfully with an +immortal soul. He has reverence, which thing many of those people who +have been swung away from their faith have not. 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 religion. +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 Jesus. +</P> + +<P> +We come back to it—the gospel is not preached in Brazil except as it +is preached by the Protestant missionary. The need is just as great for +gospel preaching in this country as it is in China. +</P> + +<P> +One day after I had finished speaking to a congregation in Castello, +back in the interior from Campos, 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 English. I had spoken in English, and +the missionary had interpreted what I had to say into Portuguese. She +had heard the sermon twice. She had been in Brazil thirty-odd years. +She and her husband had lived in the far interior. They had recently +moved down to Castello that they might be near the little church where +they could have the opportunity of worshiping God. She told me that +back in the town in which they had lived they had left two sons who +were engaged in business for themselves. These two sons had been born +in Brazil, and yet in all their lives THEY HAD NEVER HEARD A GOSPEL +SERMON. Yes, these people are without the gospel and this is our +justification for carrying to them the message of life. For them Christ +died, and to them, because they have not heard, He has sent us that we +might bring His precious message of eternal salvation, for "How shall +they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they +hear without a preacher?" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap08"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE GOSPEL TRIUMPHANT. +</H3> + +<P> +It is often claimed that the progress of the gospel is slower and more +difficult in Catholic countries than in outright heathen lands. Such +statements can be answered only by an appeal to the facts in the case. +What are the facts? The Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist +Convention has been conducting operations in Brazil for about thirty +years. It has been doing work in China for more than sixty years. +During all the time since work—was opened in Brazil, the Board has had +about three times as many missionaries in China as it had in Brazil, +with the result that at the present time we have 9,939 members of our +churches in Brazil, as against 9,990 members of our churches in China. +We have worked less than half as long in Brazil and with one-third of +the missionary force. Last year with a missionary force one-third as +large in Brazil as it was in China, there were 635 more baptisms in +Brazil than there were in China. There were 1,534 baptisms in China and +2,169 in Brazil. The same sort of comparison between our work in Italy +and Japan would make the same showing. This is not to make a +prejudicial statement concerning the work in any field. We make it +simply to show that the gospel does succeed remarkably in the Catholic +countries. The fact is, the rate of progress is far greater in the +Catholic country than it is in the heathen land. The gospel does +succeed in Catholic countries. What is said here of the work of this +one Board can be said just as truly of the others. +</P> + +<P> +It was our privilege to witness some remarkable demonstrations of the +power of the gospel while we were in Brazil. About 3:30 o'clock one +afternoon we arrived in Genipapo in the interior of the State of Bahia, +after having ridden since early morning upon the railroad train through +a mountainous country which, with its tropical vegetation, held our +keenest interest. We were met at the station by some members of our +church, who escorted us to the home of Polycarpo Nogueira. Mrs Nogueira +is a very devout Christian. Some years ago she learned that her mother +had embraced Christianity. Mrs. Nogueira set out upon a journey of 130 +miles on muleback to her mother's home for the purpose of taking out of +her mother's heart her belief in the gospel. She succeeded in shaking +her mother's faith and also the faith of her brother. She now +determined to prepare herself to combat this Baptist teaching which was +spreading over the country. She marked passages of Scripture which she +proposed to use against the Baptists. 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 study. The Word of God +took hold of her own heart and she in turn was converted. Her first +thought was concerning her mother and brother 130 miles away. Again she +took the long journey on muleback in order to lead her loved ones to +Christ. She was able to re-establish her mother's faith, but to this +day her deep regret is that her brother does not believe. +</P> + +<P> +We had a great service at the church that night. The crowd was so large +that we held the services out in the open. Seven stood to confess their +surrender to Christ. 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 English. He really seemed to catch it +before the missionary could interpret it. +</P> + +<P> +On the following day we reached St. Inez, the station at the end of the +railway, and spent the night in a poor excuse of a lodging house called +the Commercial Hotel. +</P> + +<P> +At 7 o'clock on the following morning, which was Sunday, we started on +horseback for Arroz Novo, an excellent country church fifteen miles +away. A young brother named John Laringeiro (John Orangetree) had +brought horses for us. Before his conversion he was an arch persecutor, +and since he has become a Christian he has been called upon to suffer +even more bitter persecution than he ever inflicted upon others. He is +struggling to care for his mother, and as the pastor of the church at +Rio Preto, he is a most acceptable gospel preacher. +</P> + +<P> +It was a fine ride into the country, over hill and mountain and +deeply-shaded valley. After we had ridden about half the length of our +journey several brethren from Arroz Novo (New Rice) met us to escort us +to the church. A mile or two further we were met by another company, +who swelled the number of our dashing cavalcade to about twenty-five. +It was dashing, too, for they were hard riders. It was a very joyous +and cordial reception committee. Finally we rode into sight of the +church, winch is located on a high hill commanding a grand panorama of +the mountains. As we approached we saw two long lines of people +standing facing each other in front of the church. The men were on one +side and the women on the other—about 600 of them. As we rode up the +congregation sang a hymn to give us welcome. We dismounted when we +reached the end of the two lines and walked down between them to the +church. 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 honor. These good people +observed this custom generously that day. A wide space of the ground in +front of the church was strewed with leaves, and they showered such +quantities of rose petals and confetti upon us that we were beautiful +sights by the time we reached the door. +</P> + +<P> +We entered the very creditable church building into which the people +now poured until every foot of space was occupied. There was hardly +room left for me to make gestures as I spoke. It was ten o'clock. The +people had been present since four engaged in a prayer meeting. We +began the service immediately. The Spirit of the Lord was upon us to +preach the gospel. Afterward we called for those who wished to make +confession of their faith in Christ. 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 Savior. We saw that +others wanted to come, so we asked them to stand where they were. All +through the audience they rose. Then began the examination of these +candidates. Numerous questions were put to them by the missionary and +the pastor of the church. 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 church, and what +impressed me most was the fact that after every question they could +think of had been asked, they would ask if anyone present could endorse +him. Whereupon someone, if he could recommend the candidate would, +after a brief speech of endorsement, make a motion to receive him. +</P> + +<P> +Over to my right rose a young woman who was the most beautiful woman I +saw in Brazil. Her name was Elvira Leal. She had been favorable to the +gospel for some time and had suffered cruel persecution from her +father. The tears streamed down her face as she spoke, saying, "You +know my story and what I have been called upon to endure for the +gospel's sake, but this morning I must confess the Lord. I cannot +resist the Spirit longer." I learned that her father, in order to force +her to give up her faith, had dragged her across the floor by her hair. +He had brandished his dagger over her heart, threatening to take her +life; he had forced her to break her engagement to be married to the +young preacher, John Larinjeiro, who had brought the horses for us; he +had declared he would kill both of them rather than to allow them to +marry, and at the time we were there she was compelled to live in the +home of a neighbor, so violent had become her father in his opposition +to her adherence to the gospel. That morning, however, she said though +she knew it involved suffering, she would follow her Savior at whatever +cost. +</P> + +<P> +By the time the missionary had finished examining this woman, a man had +crowded near to the front and indicated that he wished to say +something. It was John Larinjeiro's brother. He said that for two years +he had been impressed with the gospel, but because of the persecution +in his own home he had held back. When years ago his mother had been +converted, he went to persuade her to give up her religion. Persuasion +failing, he persecuted her severely. She finally told him that his +efforts were of no avail because she could not give up her faith in +Christ, yet if he would take the Bible and show her where she was +wrong, she would give it up. 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 faith, and he had no more to say. +The Word impressed itself upon his heart and he became sympathetic to +the gospel. Then trouble arose. His father-in-law, he said, had +threatened to take his wife and children from him and to put him out of +his own home. His wife had persecuted him and declared she would leave +him if he made the confession he desired to make. He said that he did +not know what to do, but had come forward to ask us to pray for him. +Then the congregation fell upon its face, as far as such a thing was +possible, and prayed. I could not understand all they said in the +prayers because they were spoken in Portuguese, 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 be. As soon as the prayers were concluded, the man stood +up and said, "News travels quickly in this country. It may be that when +I reach home I shall find my wife and children gone, but whatever may +be the cost, I cannot resist the Spirit today. I must confess my Lord +and ask for membership in the church." Of course, he was received. 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 children. +</P> + +<P> +Numerous others stood to make confession, and the examination continued +far past one o'clock, 'till twenty-one were received for baptism. 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 +Brazil. +</P> + +<P> +After the service we went to breakfast in a house near by. The crowd, +according to custom, came into the dining room, as many of them as +could, to hear the conversation while we sat about the table. The walls +of the building were made of mud, the floor was the bare ground, in the +corner of the room, surrounded by a mud puddle, stood a water jar, +around which the chickens were picking. I kicked a pig out of my way, +accidentally stepped on a dog, but nothing daunted, fell to with good +will and ate, asking no questions. +</P> + +<P> +After a few hours' ride, upon our return journey in the afternoon, we +reached the town of Olhos d'Agua (Fountains of Water) through which we +had passed upon our outward journey in the early morning. There is a +very good church at this place which has suffered cruel persecution. +Upon the doors of every Protestant house in the town have been painted +black crosses. They were placed there at night by the Catholics to keep +the Devil from coming out. The black cross of derision has become a +mark of honor in that community. We were greeted by a splendid audience +that night and the gospel again was honored. More than a dozen people +accepted Christ and made confession of Him. +</P> + +<P> +I was greatly interested in Brother Raymundo, who is the leading member +of this church. Formerly he was a great persecutor. He was an enemy to +Antonio Barros, who is now a leading member in the church at Arroz +Novo. Barros was converted at Lage, and when he met Raymundo he greeted +him, at which Raymundo was greatly surprised. Barros explained his +action by saying that he had found Christ and wanted to live at peace +with all men. The fact that his enemy should embrace him and beg his +pardon greatly impressed Raymundo. Upon the invitation of Barros, +Raymundo attended the meeting that night. He was touched by the gospel +and was converted. He now had to experience the same persecution he had +inflicted upon others. His enemies wrote to the merchants in Bahia and +told them that he was out of his mind. So persistent was their +persecution that he was compelled to give up his business. His credit +was destroyed by these reports. He moved away from Olhos d'Agua, but +when the native pastor left the place recently Raymundo returned in +order to hold the work together. He now makes his meager living by +trading, and through great sacrifice leads the congregation in a very +acceptable service. +</P> + +<P> +We returned to St. Ignez by ten o'clock that night, tired and happy +over what our eyes had seen and our hearts had felt. It had been a day +of triumph for the gospel. +</P> + +<P> +On Monday we started on our journey for Santo Antonio. When we passed +through Genipapo we found Brother Polycarpo Nogueira at the station. 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 hesitated. I quoted to him, "Everyone, therefore, who +shall confess me before men, him will I confess before my Father in +Heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him, will I deny before +my Father who is in Heaven." Mat. 10:32, 33. He told us about a +wonderful meeting held in the church on Sunday, in which one had been +converted and many others were deeply interested. He himself was +evidently moved upon by the Spirit. May the word we gave him lead him +to Christ. +</P> + +<P> +Some hours further on we passed through Vargem Grande, where we have +another church. Several people boarded the train to accompany us to +Santo Antonio. One of them was Fausto de Almeida. When the ex-priest, +Ottoni, visited Vargem Guande some years ago to preach the gospel this +man Almeida, with a great crowd of boys equipped with tin cans, met him +at the station. This troupe escorted Ottoni to the church and stood +outside making as much noise as possible. He offered the ex-priest a +loaded cigar, which Ottoni declined with kindly thanks. The minister's +conduct was so gentle and kind that Fausto, when he bethought himself, +went home in a rage, became intoxicated, and in order to vent his +wrath, went out into his back yard and fired his pistols. A little +later one of his sisters was converted, and by her good testimony not +long after that when she died, he was greatly impressed. Another sister +was converted and gave him a Bible, which he read and in which he found +the message of Christ. He obeyed his Lord, and in spite of violent +opposition on the part of his wife, is today in a faithful and +effective way, building up the church at Vargem, Grande. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap09"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +JOSE BARRETTO. +</H3> + +<P> +When we reached Santo Antonio de Jesus at two p. m. we found a throng +at the station to meet us. They gave us a royal welcome, receiving us +literally with open arms. After this hearty greeting we formed a +procession and marched two and two through the streets of the city to +the church. They wished us to take the lead in the procession, but we +declined the honor and finally took position about the middle of the +line. They seemed to march through every street in the city, so eager +were they to impress the population that there was somebody else in the +world besides their religious persecutors. When we arrived at the +church they showered us once more with rose petals and confetti. After +prayer we were taken to the home of Jose Barretto to be entertained. +</P> + +<P> +Now, this same Jose Barretto is a very remarkable character. He was +formerly Superintendent of the Manganese mines near by and very active +in politics. If any questionable work needed to be done in order to +influence an election Jose was called upon to do it. He is a great, +strong fellow, more than six feet in height and weighs, perhaps, 250 +pounds. He was a violent man, fearless and desperate. I noted many +scars on his face which were evidences of many dangerous encounters. He +did not deign to steal the ballots, but would take possession of the +ballot box, extract from it the proper number of votes, destroy them, +seal the box and allow the count to be made. No one dared withstand +him. He was just as violent in his opposition to the Protestants. He +declared that he would beat any Protestant who should ever come into +his house. +</P> + +<P> +Well, one day his own brother-in-law came to see him. This +brother-in-law was blind and also a Christian. After a while Jose and +his wife were commiserating the brother over his blindness when he +said, that though his eyes were clouded, his soul saw the light of +life. His sister said to him, "You must be a Protestant." He replied, +"Yes, thank God, I know Jesus Christ." She was so frightened that she +fainted, because she had visions of her burly husband pouncing upon her +blind brother and beating him to death. Her husband resuscitated her +and soothed her by saying, "I know I have said all of these things +about what I would do to the Protestants, but I hope I am not mean +enough to strike a blind man and certainly I would not injure your +brother." That night the brother asked them to read the Scriptures. +They had no Bible, but did possess a book of Bible stories, one of +which the sister read, and then the brother asked permission to pray. +Jose Barretto had always been reverential, and so he knelt in prayer. +So earnest and childlike was the praying of the blind brother and so +fully did he express the real heart hunger of the great, strong man +that when the prayer was finished, Jose Barretto said very sincerely, +"Amen." He became deeply interested in the gospel. +</P> + +<P> +When the brother left, 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 ago. He had looked at this book which he had taken from the +employee's hands, and finding no saints' pictures in it, concluded that +it was that hated Protestant Bible the priests were trying to keep from +being circulated, and had thrown it into a box in the corner of his +office. Now he went to this box, fished out the New Testament, brushed +the dust from its pages and read from it the word of life. The blind +brother, in the meantime, had gone to Santo Antonio and told what had +happened. The chief of police of the city, who was a Christian and the +President of the Baptist Young People's Union, declared that he was +going out to see Jose. "I have been afraid to go," he said, "because +Jose has been so violently opposed to the gospel." +</P> + +<P> +He went and found the strong man poring over the pages of the book in +his effort to find the way of life. He explained the gospel and +Barretto was soon converted, as was also his sister. His wife held on +to her old faith. She would pray, but would use the Crucifix. Finally +the husband and sister decided they would burn the idol, which they +accordingly did. 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 Christ. +</P> + +<P> +The life of Jose Barretto since that time has been a burning light. He +has been as zealous in following Christ as he ever was in following +evil, though not so violent. His witness has been honored amongst his +own family and relations especially. 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 man. When we were in +his home we learned of a family of twenty-one, some distance out in the +country, who were ready to make confession of their faith and be +baptized. They were anxious for the missionary to come and baptize them +and to organize a church in one of their homes. These people were the +relatives of Jose Barretto. It is marvelous how the witness of his life +is bearing fruit. He lost his position as Superintendent by his +acceptance of Christ, but is now making a living as a coffee merchant. +</P> + +<P> +We had a remarkable service at the church that night. A great throng +pressed into the building, and Jose Barretto was the chief usher. I +have never seen a man who could crowd more people into a building than +could he. After the house had been packed there still remained on the +outside a crowd as large as that sandwiched into the building. I +preached the gospel once more, speaking, of course, in all of these +services through an interpreter. When I called for those who would +confess Christ I did not ask them to come forward because there was no +room for them. They stood here and there over the audience until more +than twenty expressed themselves as having accepted Christ and desiring +membership in the church. When one man stood amongst this number I +noticed that Jose Barretto was very deeply moved. His great frame shook +with emotion. I learned afterwards that the man who stood was a police +sergeant, who in the old days had been Jose's confederate in his +political crookedness. That night this man stood acknowledging his sins +and asking for membership in the church. Jose's faithfulness had won +him. Once more we witnessed a marvelous victory of the gospel. +</P> + +<P> +On the very day on which we visited Santo Antonio and were entertained +in the home of our good brother Jose Barretto, this great stalwart +fellow who had been such a violent opposer of Christianity and who had +previously lived such a desperate life, was met on the street by one of +his former schoolmates. 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 long. He went further to say +many severe things in criticism of the cause of Protestant +Christianity. Jose Barretto replied, "You ought to be ashamed of +yourself for finding fault with the thing which has produced such a +change in my life. You know the kind of character I have been in this +community. You know how violent and sinful I have been and you know at +this time how I am living. A religion which can produce such a change +as this does not deserve ridicule." The man turned and slunk away. In +the meantime, there had gathered around them a number of people, +because they knew how serious a matter it was for anyone to oppose him, +and they expected to see something violent take place that day. Being +emboldened by the mild answer which he gave to his persecutor, others +began to ask questions. Finally one of them asked him this question: +"Suppose someone should strike you in the face in persecution, what +would you do?" And then the great, 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 Jesus. He said: "I am +not afraid of such a thing as that happening, 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 face," and +these others turned shame-stricken away from him. He threw down before +that community the challenge of his life, and that is the thing that +not only in Brazil, but here in our own land, must finally win for our +King the triumph which is His due. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap10"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER X. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CAPTAIN EGYDIO. +</H3> + +<P> +What brought about the readiness of this territory in the interior of +the State of Bahia for the acceptance of the gospel? Perhaps the brand +of burning which did more than any other to shed light through the +entire section over which we passed, was the person of Captain Egydio +Pereira de Almeida. He was one of several brothers of a good country +family which owned large possessions in the interior 150 miles from the +city of Bahia. He was an intense Catholic, but never a persecutor. At +one time he was Captain in the National Guards. He was political boss +of his community and protector for a small tribe of Indians. He was a +hard-working, law-abiding citizen. +</P> + +<P> +In order to know the story we must go back a little. In 1892 Solomon +Ginsburg sold a Bible to Guilhermino de Almeida on the train when he +was going to Armagoza. Ginsburg had only one Bible left and felt +constrained to offer it to the stranger across the aisle. The man said +he had no money and did not care to buy. The missionary pressed him and +finally sold him for fifty cents a Bible worth four times that amount. +That night his fellow passenger heard the missionary speak in the +theater in Armagoza and seemed to enjoy especially the hymns the +preacher sang. The missionary marked for him the Ten Commandments and +other passages in the Bible. +</P> + +<P> +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 +missionary, of how he had bought the Bible which he did not want and of +the Ten Commandments the missionary had marked for him. He very +willingly gave his Bible to his brother. Marciano read the book and was +particularly impressed with the Ten Commandments. +</P> + +<P> +Now, we must introduce into this narrative another character in the +person of good Brother Madeiros. Some time before this, having become +interested in the gospel, he had gone to Bahia and had been instructed +by Missionary Z. C. Taylor in the truth to such good purpose that he +gave himself to the Lord. His neighbors at Valenca, his native town, on +learning of his having accepted Christ, drove him out, and he moved to +Vargem Grande. But he found no rest in his new home, for his fellow +townsmen so persecuted him that he was compelled to live in the +outskirts of the town. He was the first believer in Vargem Grande. When +Marciano de Almeida became interested in the Scriptures he went to see +Madeiros and was instructed by him in the gospel. He told the +persecuted saint that he would stand by him from now on, for Marciano +had experienced a marvelous conversion. +</P> + +<P> +On learning that his images were idols, Marciano collected all +immediately and burnt them, greatly to the disgust of his family and +the whole town. He began at once to declare the Word of God, and though +he was as gentle as a lamb, he was also as bold as a lion in defending +the gospel. +</P> + +<P> +When his brother, Captain Egydio de Almeida, who lived sixty miles +away, learned that Marciano had become converted, he made the journey +to take out of his brother's heart the false teaching which he had +imbibed. He pitied his brother, thinking that Marciano's mind had +become unbalanced. When Captain Egydio arrived at his brother's in +Vargem Grande, being a very positive man, he set about the business of +straightening out his brother with dispatch and determination. He +failed in his purpose, and then called in a priest. When he returned +with the priest Marciano asked the two to be seated. Immediately the +priest inquired, "What is this I am hearing about you, Marciano?" He +replied, "Mr. Priest, I am thirty-five years old and you never gave me +the Bible, God's Holy Law and as God ordered it. I came by it through +the Protestants whom you have always abused. You have taken my money +all these years for mass, saying you would take the souls of our kin +out of a purgatory that does not exist. You taught me to worship idols +which God's Word condemns. You sprinkle my children for money, marry +them for money, and when they die you still demand money to save their +souls from an imaginary purgatory. The Bible teaches me, on the other +hand, that God offers me a free salvation through Jesus Christ." The +priest rose and said good-bye without offering a word of explanation. +Seeing the priest thus defeated, Captain Egydio turned to old Brother +Madeiros, who happened to be present, and said: "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 head." "Yes," replied Madeiros, "you may +cut off my head, but you cannot cut off my soul from God." Captain +Egydio returned home breathing out plagues upon himself and his family. +He drank heavily at every grog shop on his way and scattered abroad the +news about his family's disgrace. He was a man of a kind heart, and +though he did not embrace the truths of his brother's religion, he did +show his brother great consideration and, being a political leader for +that district, became his brother's protector. +</P> + +<P> +When his wrath had cooled down somewhat he began to recall many things +Marciano had told him about the Bible, and as he looked upon his many +expensive idols set here and there in niches about his home, he said to +himself: "Well, did Marciano say these images do nothing. They neither +draw water, cut wood nor pick coffee. They do not teach school, they do +not protect our home, for there is one covered with soot. There is +another the rats have gnawed, and recently another fell and was broken. +How powerless they are." Then he remembered the Bible which a believer +had given him years before. He began to examine it in a closed room. Ag +he read he prayed, "Oh, God, if this religion of Marciano be right, +show it to me." +</P> + +<P> +He seemed to be making good progress. But about this time he received +word that his brother and the missionary R. E Neighbor were coming to +see him. The priest had also heard of the approaching visit and had +sent a letter to Captain Egydio's son warning him against the coming +men, saying that they were emissaries of the United States and wished +to lead the Almeidas astray. The letter bearer was instructed to +deliver the letter to the son and not let the father know anything +about it, but he said, "I cannot do that because I must be true to my +old captain," so he gave the letter to Captain Egydio. 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 them, which thing they refused to do. +</P> + +<P> +His brother and the missionary came according to agreement and Captain +Egydio, true to his word, went with them to the town of Areia to +protect them while they were engaged in conducting a gospel service in +the public square. The priest of the town sent the police to prevent +the Protestants from conducting the meeting. The sergeant, who had been +under Captain Egydio when he was Captain in the National Guards, was +one of the detail sent to suppress the meeting. He declared that he +would stand by his old Captain, for the men knew that under the +Constitution the missionary had a perfect right to hold the meeting. +The meeting was held, but under such unfavorable circumstances that the +Captain stood forth and said: "I have not declared myself a Protestant, +but from this time I shall be a Protestant and propose to give my life +to the spread of this faith." +</P> + +<P> +It happened that one day he was called to visit a boy who had been +shot. As he rode along through the open fields he was burdened with +prayer to God. Suddenly he felt a strange feeling and he seemed to hear +a voice saying, "You are saved." Immediately he knew that the Lord had +visited him with His blessed salvation. He shouted as he rode along the +way, "Glory to God. I am redeemed." He rode on in this state to the +home of the boy. Seeing the boy could not live, he began to exhort him +to look to Christ for salvation, and just before the boy's spirit +passed out from him, he made confession of his Lord. The Captain +returned to his home overflowing with joy. He galloped his horse up to +the door, shouting, "Glory, hallelujah, I am saved." He embraced his +wife and children and all stood back staring at him. Finally the mother +cried: "Poor man! Children, your father is mad. Get the scissors and +let us cut off his hair; let us rub some liniment on his head." "All +right," he said, "only do not cut it too close," and he suffered them +to rub the liniment also upon his head. Seeing that there was no change +in him, they also administered to him one of their homely medicines, a +small portion of which he was willing to take to pacify them. Their +opinion of his sanity was not changed. +</P> + +<P> +Not only his family, but his neighbors suspected him. As he engaged in +business—and he was a very busy man—people were watching him to see +if something was not dreadfully wrong. Finally all realized that a +great and beneficent change had taken place. He never became a +preacher, but he did not allow to pass an opportunity to tell the story +of his newly-found Savior. His Bible was constantly in his hands, and +he read the marvelous news to all. His family soon became interested in +the gospel and they, even to his son-in-law, became as crazy upon the +subject as he. Thirteen of them were baptized at one time. +</P> + +<P> +For activity in evangelization his equal was scarcely ever met. He kept +for distribution boxes of Bibles and tracts. While at business he +witnessed for the gospel. He traveled extensively. Some of his bosom +friends became his worst enemies, but many of them he led to Christ, or +at least to a friendship, for the gospel. He did not preach, but +invited many preachers to come to his community and was always ready to +accompany them whenever they needed his presence. His life was the +greatest sermon he could preach to the people. 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 shrine, 100 +miles away on the San Francisco River. The son recovered and the father +kept his word. Now they saw him discard his old superstitions for the +truth in Jesus. The gospel that could produce such a marvelous change +as this had its effect upon his neighbors. He organized a church upon +his own fazenda and it held its meetings in his own house at Casca. +</P> + +<P> +He became deeply interested in the subject of education. He said one +day to Dr. Z. C. Taylor, our missionary at Bahia: "While I was a +Catholic I had no desire to educate my children, but now I would give +all of this farm to see them educated." Dr. Taylor told him of some of +his own plans concerning a school, and Captain Egydio contributed the +first money for the school, which Dr. Taylor afterward established, +Captain Egydio's gift of a thousand dollars making it possible for this +school to be organized. +</P> + +<P> +Of the trials and persecutions which he endured for the gospel, we can +cite only one or two. +</P> + +<P> +A priest paid two men sixty dollars to go and take the Captain's life. +They appeared one night at his door and asked for employment. He +invited them in, saying he had plenty of work he could give them to do. +The time soon arrived for family prayers and the men were invited to be +present. 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 God. The next day he took the two men +out into the field to show them what to do. 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 Him. One lingered behind to shoot, +but his hand trembled too much. The other did not have the courage to +do the man of God any injury. That night they said they would not stay +longer. He paid them for the day's work, bade them godspeed and they +departed. +</P> + +<P> +But he did not always escape suffering so easily. One afternoon as he +was passing by the priest's home the priest accosted him and said: +"Captain, why is it you do not stop with me any more? You used to do +so, but of late you have passed me by." He urged the Captain so +strongly that he decided to stay all night. They offered him wine to +drink, which he refused. Then they gave him coffee. That night he +suffered agony and was sick for some time after reaching home. He was +sure he had been poisoned. +</P> + +<P> +He suffered many persecutions from unsympathetic neighbors, not only +from criticism, but sometimes from bodily injuries and from painful +abuse, all of which he bore with an equanimity of spirit which would do +credit to any martyr to the cause of Christ. +</P> + +<P> +Dr. Z. C. Taylor relates a trying experience through which he and +Captain Egydio passed together. +</P> + +<P> +"The Captain and I were together one day returning home from a +preaching tour by a near cut, passing the door of our greatest +persecutor, Captain Bernadino, who on seeing us, seized a stick, and +running to us, beat back our hordes, crying, 'Back, back, you cannot +pass my house.' A plunge of my horse caused my hat to fall off, which +he handed me and continued to force our retreat. We returned by way of +the home of his son-in-law, who was a baptized believer, and while this +brother was piloting us down a hill to another way home Captain +Bernadino, jumping from behind a bush, caught my horse by the bridle. +He had an assassin at his heels, with axe in hand, asking every minute +what he should do. Captain Bernadino wore out his stick on my horse, +planting the last stroke across my loins; then he struck me about a +dozen times in the breast with his fist. I said to him, 'Captain, why +are you beating me, I believe in God; do not you also?' Stopping and +panting he said, 'Do you believe in God, you rascal?' 'Yes,' I said, +'and Jesus also who came to save us sinners.' 'Don't let up, don't let +up, hit him, hit him,' cried his wife and children. He pulled the +bridle from my hands, led my horse into a pond close by, and gathering +mud, pelted me from foot to shoulder. Then leaving my horse, he went +after Captain Egydio, who was guarded by another assassin. On passing +his son-in-law, kneeling, he struck him on the head, saying, 'Get up, +you fool!' Leading the Captain's horse into the water, he covered him +with mud from foot to head. Then, putting our bridles up, he beat our +horses and told us to go, never to be seen in those parts any more. My +bridle reins he crossed, which fact caused me when I passed his wife, +who stood with a long stick upraised, to strike me, to turn my horse +upon her instead of away from her, and the horse came near running over +her. She struck and fell back, the stick falling across my horse's +neck. Such a pandemonium of mad voices, cursing and shouting as we left +I never heard. It took us till night to reach home. The family took it +as an honor, and smiling and laughing, we were spending the evening +merrily, when at nine or ten o'clock a rap at the door caused us all to +suspend our hilarity. It was that son-in-law of the persecutor, +bringing his wife, asking to be baptized. She had witnessed the +persecution her father gave us, and on her husband's return to the +house, she told him the scene made her think of the Apostles and that +now she was determined to be baptized. At first I thought of bloodshed, +for her father had threatened to kill her, her mother, Captain Egydio +and the man who baptized her. But I had always taught them to obey +Christ and leave results with Him, so we heard her experience and at +midnight I baptized her. +</P> + +<P> +Captain Egydio did not complain of our treatment nor did I ever mention +it to our Consul. +</P> + +<P> +When he gave his heart to Christ he gave his life and all. He followed +where his conscience led. Before his conversion he was a great smoker. +The missionary asked him one day if he smoked for the glory of God. He +took the cigarette from his mouth, threw it away and never smoked +again. This was characteristic of his determination and his unfaltering +devotion to what he esteemed to be right. +</P> + +<P> +The end came swiftly one night. He had an attack apparently of +indigestion which carried him speedily away. The symptoms seemed to +indicate that he had been poisoned. All that night he spent in prayer +and in singing hymns. He died leaving his benediction upon his family +and upon those Brazilians who would give their hearts and their +services to Jesus Christ. +</P> + +<P> +He was buried upon his own farm. As his family did not erect a cross +over his grave, one of his neighbors who had persecuted Captain Egydio +violently many times thought he would correct him in his grave, and so +he set up a large cross over him. One night soon after, this cross was +cut down. The violent neighbor instituted a suit for the violation of +the law in tearing down a symbol of the Roman Catholic church. He also +came with great pomp, accompanied by soldiers, and set up another +cross. The law suit finally wore itself out and both parties were glad +to drop it, each party sharing an equal amount of the costs. +</P> + +<P> +The persecution has been so bitter that the church which Captain Egydio +organized in his own house was removed to Pe da Serra, three miles +away, and from there it was driven by persecution to Rio Preto, where +today it flourishes with a membership of about fifty people and is in a +hopeful condition. The widow and her children have been compelled to +move into the city of Bahia. A recent letter informs me of the +conversion of the two youngest girls. +</P> + +<P> +The witness of Captain Egydio has not been lost. It is marvelous how +much he accomplished in his short career. He was converted October, +1894, baptized February 4, 1895, and died March 30th, 1898, at fifty +years of age. In these few years he sowed the country down with the +gospel truth. We visited Vargem Grande, Santo Antonio, Areia and +Genipapo churches, all of which had grown very largely out of the +influence of this one man, and had we been permitted to go further, we +might have visited several other churches for whose beginning the life +of this valiant servant of God was in a great measure responsible. "He, +being dead, yet speaketh." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap11"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +FELICIDADE. +</H3> + +<P> +One of the most fascinating phases of mission study is the tracing of +the lines along which the gospel spreads. 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 gospel. As it was in the first +century, so it is now—"they that were scattered abroad went everywhere +preaching the gospel." The history of those Apostolic times repeats +itself in every mission land. 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 Luke. The native +Christians must either witness for their Lord or else betray Him. There +is no middle ground. 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 neighbors. He may have +entered this community by choice or may have been driven into it by +persecution. However, that may be, the truth is that many a poor, +despised, often persecuted believer, has started a movement in a +community which gathered to itself a large company of believers, and +formed the nucleus of another one of those most wonderful institutions +in all the world—a church of Jesus Christ. +</P> + +<P> +When I had entered the First Baptist Church in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and +stood for a moment looking about me, I heard someone exclaim, "Oh, +there he is! There he is!" and presently I found myself locked in the +affectionate embrace of an apparently very happy old woman. She was +about seventy years of age. She was the janitress of the church. She +had looked forward to our coming with joyful pleasure, and gave to us +as hearty a welcome as did anyone in Brazil. Her name was Felicidade, +which being translated means "Felicity." +</P> + +<P> +Several years ago she had come from Pernambuco, in which city and State +she had labored with great success for many years in behalf of the +gospel. +</P> + +<P> +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 oath. She had the greatest desire +to see this book. She was married in her thirteenth year and her +husband died when she was eighteen. After his death she went from the +country to the city of Pernambuco, where she met some members of the +Congregational Church and was led by them to attend the services. She +saw the Bible and heard a sermon preached from the text, "Blessed are +they that hunger and thirst," and soon afterward she gave obedience to +Jesus. +</P> + +<P> +From that time forth her whole conversation was upon the gospel and +upon the subject of bringing other people to Christ. One time when Mrs. +Entzminger was away from the city of Pernambuco she left her children +in charge of Felicidade. While Felicidade was passing along the street +with the children one day she was met by Mrs. Maria Motta and her +daughter, who stopped to admire the beautiful children. Felicidade told +who the children were and urged her new acquaintances to attend the +church services. They accepted her invitation and soon became +interested in the gospel, and before long were converted to faith in +Jesus Christ. +</P> + +<P> +Then their persecution began. They lost all their friends and endured +many other hardships. They came from one of the best families in the +city, and therefore felt the persecution more bitterly than might have +some others. The girl, Augusta, secured work in the English store. Her +mother took in fine ironing, and thus the two made their support. +Afterward Augusta married Augusto Santiago, who at the present time is +the pastor of our thriving church in the city of Nazareth. 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 work. When we +visited Nazareth we were entertained in the delightful home of Augusto +Santiago and found it to be charming in every respect. +</P> + +<P> +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 +year. She would then go into the interior with tracts and Bibles, sell +them and in every way try to lead people to Christ. One year she made +it her aim to lead not less than twelve to her Lord, and she was able +to accomplish her purpose. Her education is limited, but she knows any +number of Scripture verses, which she is able to quote with remarkable +aptness. +</P> + +<P> +Upon one of her visits into the interior she was found at Nazareth by +Innocencio Barbosa, a farmer who resided in the district of Ilheitas. +He lived about thirty miles from Nazareth. He took Felicidade home with +him in order that she might teach the gospel to his family. Meanwhile, +his friend, Hermenigildo, who lived in a distant neighborhood, bought a +Bible in Limoeiro and told his friend Innocencio of what he had done. +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 also. Felicidade accordingly went into this other +home and soon the entire family, including a son-in-law and some +relatives, were led to Jesus, and a church of about fifty members was +organized in Hermenigildo's house. +</P> + +<P> +Thus the faithful witnessing of this humble, consecrated woman was so +honored of the Holy Spirit that scores were led into the light of the +gospel of Jesus. Out of her efforts grew churches which the violence of +the oppressor could not destroy, because the work she did became +immortal when it passed over into the hands of the Lord of Hosts, +against whose church not even the gates of Hell can prevail. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap12"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PERSECUTION. +</H3> + +<P> +Some of the severest persecutions the saints have ever endured in +Pernambuco broke upon this new congregation in the Ilheitas district. +The houses of the believers were broken into and everything destroyed, +some of the buildings were burned. The believers asked for police +protection, but the police sent to protect them being under the +domination of the priest, who was the political boss of that district, +persecuted the believers even more than their neighbors had done. They +drove the believers about, beating them with their swords, forcing them +to drink whisky and in many ingenious ways heaped indignities upon +them. After the success of the great persecution in Bom Jardim, of +which we will speak later, the priest organized a large force of men to +destroy everything belonging to the Protestants in the Ilheitas +district and to drive them away. They burned all of the church +furniture, as well as the household furniture belonging to +Hermenigildo, who was forced to flee for his life. They cut the cord to +the hammock in which was lying his young baby. The fall broke the neck +of the child. The mother was driven unclothed between two lines of +soldiers and severely beaten. The other believers were so harrassed +that most of them were compelled to leave the neighborhood. +Hermenigildo stayed away five months, when a change in police chiefs in +Pernambuco made it possible for him to return. The church was +reorganized the following year. A new building was constructed on +Hermenigildo's farm and today, with a membership of 103, it is in a +most prosperous condition. +</P> + +<P> +In the little city of Nazareth the fury of persecution has been felt. +Not a great while after the church had been organized by Dr. Entzminger +the farmers in the community and the priest combined to drive the +Protestants out of town. Dr. Entzminger heard of their purpose and went +up to Nazareth, accompanied by a number of soldiers whom the Government +had put at his disposal. A great throng was collected at the station to +do violence to the missionary on his arrival, but when they saw the +soldiers they took to their heels, and many came that night to the +service to show that they were not in the mob. A year or two later +another mob broke into the church, poured oil over the furniture and +burned practically everything. The police saved the building. Once +after this, when Missionary Ginsburg was to hold an open-air meeting in +this same town, a soldier was hired to take his life. The officers of +the law left town in order that the deed might be done without +hindrance. The soldier drank whisky in order to brace himself for the +deed, and fortunately imbibed too much and became so intoxicated that +he fell asleep. When he awoke the meeting had been held and he had +missed his chance. These facts were confessed by the soldier to Dr. +Entzminger after the soldier had been converted a year later. +</P> + +<P> +At the railway station at Nazareth we met Primo da Fonseca, who had, +for the sake of the gospel, lost all in a great persecution at Bom +Jardim, which is not a great distance from Nazareth. He was a reader of +evangelical literature and preached the gospel all over that country, +though he had not been baptized. A native missionary went into that +region, began preaching and soon afterward gathered a congregation and +organized a church in Fonseca's home. The political boss of the +community planned with the Catholics to take 800 men into Bom Jardim on +the night of April 15th, 1900, for the purpose of killing all the +Protestants who were in prayer at Fonseca's house. The mob divided into +two parties. One party was to approach the house from the front and the +other from the opposite side. A gun was to be fired as a signal for the +attack. The first party approached the house, which was near the +theater. Now in the theater at that time was gathered a great throng of +people. 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 Silvino, +who is perhaps the most famous outlaw of Brazil. All were greatly +frightened. The Mayor went out to see if he could not do something to +persuade the mob to leave the town. After some parleying they said that +inasmuch as the Mayor asks, we will turn back. Someone at that time +fired a shot and shouted, "Viva Santa Anna" in honor of the patron +saint of that city. This signal brought up the supporting party at +once, who mistook their comrades for the believers and fired into them. +In the melee twenty people were killed and about fifty wounded. All +night they were carrying the dead away to burial in order that they +might cover up the deed as far as possible. The Municipal Judge made +out a case that the Protestants had fired on the Catholics. He +pronounced nineteen as being implicated. Several escaped, six were +finally brought to trial. Dr. Entzminger in Pernambuco sent lawyers and +gave such assistance as he could. After about two years, Missionary +Ginsburg having come also to help in the meantime, the men on trial +were set free. Fonseca lost all he had in this law suit, he being one +of those arrested. He was in jail four months. He has been deserted by +his family. When the disturbance occurred he was Marshal of his town. +Today he lives in Nazareth, poor, deserted, faithful. But what cares he +for this suffering, poverty and desertion as he contemplates the fact +that he has set a torch of eternal light in his community. The church +which he finally established will bear faithful witness in spite of +hardships long after all persecution has ceased, and he, himself, has +gone home to God. +</P> + +<P> +It was our good fortune to visit the little town of Cabo (which means +Cape), two hours' ride from Pernambuco, where we have a small church, +organized about two years ago. We were entertained in the home of a +mechanic who superintends the bridge construction along the railroad +which passes through the town. He takes his Bible with him when he goes +to work, and wherever he is he preaches the gospel. He told us of two +station agents along the line who had recently accepted Christ through +his personal efforts. +</P> + +<P> +We had a delightful service that night in the church, a great throng of +people being present, six of whom made public profession of their faith +in Jesus. 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 hour. +Some of those who had suffered for the cause of the gospel came in to +see us, and as we sat there in the dim light of the flickering candle, +they told us of some of their sufferings for the gospel's sake. 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 trials. +</P> + +<P> +Amongst those who were present in this little room was brother Honofre, +through whose efforts the church at Cabo had been founded. Several +years ago he began to read a Bible which had been presented to him by a +man who was not interested in it. He became converted along with his +household. There was a Catholic family living opposite to him which he +determined to reach with the gospel. After awhile this family accepted +Christ and the two families began to hold worship in their homes. Soon +they rented a hall, with the aid of a few others, and sent to +Pernambuco for a missionary to come and organize them into a church. +This man has endured cruel hardships. He had to abandon his business as +a street merchant because the people boycotted him. He rented a house, +built an oven and began to bake bread. Not long after that he was put +out of this house. 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 building. He can now make a living. +</P> + +<P> +The church has had experience similar to that of its founder. It was +put out of three rented buildings at the instance of the Vicar, who +either forced the owners to eject or he, himself, bought the property. +Finally a man who is not a believer, but whose mother is, bought the +present building and sold it to me church. He is permitting the church +to pay for the building in installments of small sums. 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 members. On the occasion of our +visit six more made public confession of Christ before a large audience +and were received for baptism. +</P> + +<P> +Out on the cape is a fine lighthouse which we had admired as we came up +the coast on the ship. May it be a symbol of the lighthouse which this +church may become to the storm tossed in that section of Brazil. +</P> + +<P> +Of course, persecution is a painful thing for those who are called upon +to endure it, but wherever I found those who had passed through +afflictions they counted it all joy to suffer for the cause of Christ, +and whenever I attempted to comfort them because of their hardships, I +came away more comforted than they, 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 people. Persecution, while it may temporarily suspend work +in a certain place, always defeats its own purpose, and instead of +preventing the spread of the gospel, is one of the most helpful +agencies in the growth of the truth. +</P> + +<P> +A most encouraging illustration of this fact occurred in Pernambuco in +1904. There had been a bitter persecution at Cortez, a village not far +from Pernambuco. The chief instigator of the trouble was the parish +priest. The believers were driven out of the town and their lives +threatened. The missionary went and was also driven out, 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 out. A news +account of this persecution was published in a daily paper in +Pernambuco. A boy cut this article out and gave it to his teacher, a +priest in the Silesian College. 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 gospel. Two letters were passed before the +missionary finally went at midnight to hold a conference. The priest +came out and discussed the gospel with the missionary and then returned +to the college, taking with him a copy of the New Testament. After a +month the missionary went again at midnight to the college and the +priest came away with him once for all. The priest went to the home of +the missionary and for two months studied the Bible, after which time +he was converted. He at once began to preach the gospel to his friends +as he would meet them on the streets. He also made a public declaration +of his conversion in print. The President of the college from which he +had gone obtained an interview with him and offered him every +inducement to return. His parents disinherited him and many other +trials came to him, but through all, he stood firm. He has just +graduated from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, taking the +Th. D. degree and has been appointed to teach in the Baptist College +and Theological Seminary in Rio. His name is Piani. About a year after +Piani's conversion he induced another priest to leave the same college. +This man spent a month in the missionary's house studying the Bible, +but was enticed back by the priests and hurried away to New York in +order that he might escape the influence of Piani. 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 Massachusetts. +</P> + +<P> +In no place where our people have endured persecution, even though it +may have been severe enough to cost the lives of some, has the work +been abandoned, but in every place the weak, struggling congregation +which faced obliteration at the fury of its enemy, has in the end +increased, and today enjoys the blessing of growth in numbers and in +the sympathy of the people. Persecution is a good agency in the spread +of the gospel. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap13"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE BIBLE AS A MISSIONARY FACTOR. +</H3> + +<P> +The Bible is a mighty factor in the spread of the gospel in Brazil. In +1889 there came down to Bahia a man named Queiroz from two hundred and +fifty miles in the interior. He came seeking baptism at the hands of +Dr. Z. C. Taylor. It appears that some six or eight years previous to +that time an agent of a Bible society had entered this man's community, +preached the gospel and left behind him some copies of the Scriptures. +One of these Bibles was found afterwards by Queiroz, who studied it and +was impressed with its truth. He began to bring the message of the Word +to the attention of his large circle of friends and kindred. Having +preached in several places, he was finally asked by the district judge +to come to his house where he was given opportunity to meet a number of +friends. The friends of Queiroz, however, began to ask him whether it +was right for him to be preaching thus before he had been baptized, +whereupon he resolved to go to Bahia to seek baptism. He made the +journey and was baptized. A week after he had returned he wrote to Dr. +Taylor, saying he had preached at Deer Forks and had baptized eight. +During the next two weeks similar letters were sent, which gave the +number he had baptized. The church at Bahia was apprized of conditions, +and it decided to send Queiroz an invitation to come and receive +ordination. He came with great humility and joy and was ordained, but +before the ordination had taken place he had already baptized +fifty-five people. The church, at Bahia, after the ordination of +Queiroz, legalized the baptisms. +</P> + +<P> +Five years after the baptism of this man Dr. Taylor was finally able to +make the journey to Conquista, where he found the church well +organized, with a house of worship built at its own expense and with +the pastor's home erected near by. The missionary says, "I now +understand why God never permitted me to visit Conquista during these +five years. 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 them. I wonder how many churches in the +United States have built their own house and pastorium and sustained +themselves from the start? Not a cent from the Board has been spent on +the church and the evangelization done by Brother Queiroz." +</P> + +<P> +Another example of the power of the Bible in spreading the gospel is +found in the way the gospel came to Guandu, State of Rio, and the +country round about. One night in Campos in 1894, after the missionary +had finished his sermon, a young woman approached him and said, "My +father has been teaching us out of that same book you used. Would you +not like to go out in the country to visit him?" The missionary replied +that he would, and then the girl explained how the Bible came to this +community. +</P> + +<P> +One evening a colporteur approached her father's door and asked for +entertainment, saying he had been refused by several families along the +way. To the host's inquiry as to why he had been refused entertainment +for the night the colporteur said: "They declined because I am a +Protestant." The man replied. "Come in and welcome." After the dinner +Mr. Vidal (for that was the farmer's name) asked what this +Protestantism meant. The colporteur explained and preached the gospel +to the best of his ability. +</P> + +<P> +When the time came to retire the colporteur said, "It is my custom to +read the Scriptures and to pray before I retire. If you have no +objection I would like to do so tonight." Mr. Vidal answered, "I shall +be glad for you to do so." The colporteur read and there in the dining +hall before the curious onlookers knelt and poured out his heart to his +Heavenly Father. He called down the blessing and the favor of God upon +the family. The tears poured down his cheeks as he lifted his soul in +this prayer. After he finished praying Mr. Vidal said, "I have never +heard prayer like that. Teach me how to do it. I have heard Latin +prayers repeated, but they did not grip me like that." The colporteur +replied by explaining that prayer must be from the heart. He then took +out a Bible and said, "I want to make you a present of this book. You +have been kind to me. Read it, for it has in it the Word of Life." He +went away the following morning. We do not know who he was—only the +record on high will discover his person to us. +</P> + +<P> +The book left behind became a great light for Mr. Vidal. He read it and +was so impressed with its teachings that he taught the Word to his +family and neighbors. His house became a house of prayer and teaching. +When Missionary Ginsburg went out there, preached the Word and +explained about Christ, he asked those who wished to follow the Lord to +stand. Practically the whole company stood. They had been prepared, by +Mr. Vidal The missionary went back a few times and soon a church of +about forty members was organized and was called the Church of Guandu. +</P> + +<P> +The Word spread up the country first amongst Mr. Vidal's relatives and +friends. At Santa Barbara the station master, Carlos Mendonca, was +converted, who is now pastor of our church at Cantagallo. He first +moved to Rio Bonito and founded a church there, the truth spread, 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 +county. Twenty-one years ago, a Bible which belonged to a Catholic +priest, or rather a part of a Catholic Bible, fell into the hands of +the old man, Joaquim Borges. Through the reading of this Bible, he +abandoned idolatry and other practices of Rome and put his trust solely +in the Lord Jesus for his salvation. For sixteen years he resisted all +attempts of priests and others to turn him back to Rome, always giving +a clear and firm testimony to the truth of the gospel. During all this +time he never met with another believer. Hearing of him, E. A. Jackson +wrote him to meet him in Pilao Arcado. He came 120 miles and waited +twelve days for the arrival of the missionary. As Jackson had through +passage to Santa Rita, he asked the captain to hold the steamer while +he baptized Mr. Borges. Before administering baptism Jackson preached +to the great crowd on the river bank and on the decks of the steamer. +It was a solemn and beautiful sight to behold this man, seventy-seven +years of age, 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 scene. Dripping from the river, Jackson welcomed him into the +ranks of God's children. The missionary embarked on the steamer and Mr. +Borges went back to work among his neighbors. Up till the present time +not even a native minister has visited him, for the lack of workers and +funds to send them. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 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 Brazil. +</P> + +<P> +In the State of Sao Paulo is a boy, Ramiro by name, now about thirteen +years of age, the only son of parents who do not know a letter of the +alphabet. Indeed, he is the only one in a large connection that has +been taught to read. +</P> + +<P> +The family lives about twenty miles from their market town, Mogy das +Cruzes, to which they go to sell the meager fruits of their labors on +the little farm. In this town they have some acquaintances, among whom +is a believer whose faith had come through reading the Bible. This +believer one day came into possession of a Bible which he didn't need, +and so he gave it to Ramiro, who was then about nine or ten years of +age and was beginning to learn to read. The little fellow trudged home, +twenty miles away, carrying his priceless present, and showed it +joyously to his parents. This was the first book that ever entered +their humble home, excepting, of course, Ramiro's little school book. +Curious to know what the book contained, the father put Ramiro to +deciphering some of its pages. Guided, no doubt, by the Holy Spirit, 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 sentence, he becoming more expert as +the days went by. He would read, they would listen and discuss, the +Holy Spirit, in the meantime, fixing the sacred truth in their hearts. +This persistent reading of the Word went on for two or three years to a +time when the Lord opened to Dr. J. J. Taylor, of Sao Paulo, a door of +opportunity in Mogy das Cruzes. He found twelve people ready to follow +on in the Lord's ordinance. +</P> + +<P> +Since that time even more abundant fruit has been gathered. Dr. Taylor +at first baptized three of Ramiro's cousins who hail from the same +village twenty miles away and recently he baptized the uncle, aunt, +some more cousins and Ramiro himself. Ramiro taught the words of many +hymns to his family and neighbors. Through him and his book his aged +grandparents, ninety years old and bedridden, rejoice in the Savior. +</P> + +<P> +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 yet, +after all, is not this the combination which alone is powerful in +spreading the gospel—a simple, child-like heart, through which the +Word may speak forth? "A little child shall lead them," because it can +be artless enough to give simple utterance to the Word of God. Oh, for +more in all lands who will give unaffected voice to the Word of God! +That message has power in it if it can get sincere expression. +</P> + +<P> +We need to realize more than we do the transcendent importance of +giving wide circulation to the Bible in foreign lands. 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 endeavor. Certainly, there is marvelous power in it. Its +enemies fear its might; therefore, they fight desperately to prevent +the circulation of it. Would that we could have as keen a realization +of the vitality of this Book as do its enemies. Surely then, we would +do far more for the sowing of the Scriptures beside all waters. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap14"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE METTLE OF THE NATIVE CHRISTIAN. +</H3> + +<P> +In 1894, Francisco da Silva, soon after his conversion in Bahia, went +to Victoria in the State of Espirito Santo to live. He went into the +interior with some surveyors, and in addition to the work he was called +upon to do, he found time to tell the story of Jesus. Eight people were +converted and he wrote Dr. Z. C. Taylor to come and baptize them. +</P> + +<P> +Dr. Taylor was not able to go immediately, and one of the men secured +his baptism in a very unique way. He asked Francisco to baptize him +Francisco replied that he could not because he was not ordained. The +man returned home and examined his Bible and came back a few days later +and demanded again that Francisco baptize him. Francisco replied that +in order to baptize, one must be ordained. "No," said the man, "I have +looked in the Bible and I do not find it necessary for one to be +ordained in order to baptize." So catching hold of Francisco, he pulled +him along to a river near by, Francisco through it all holding back the +best he could and arguing with the man that he could not baptize him. +But the man constrained him and forced him into the river. Francisco +seeing his zeal, performed the ceremony. Some question afterward was +raised about the validity of this baptism, and the man was baptized +regularly by the same Francisco, who had in the meantime received +ordination. +</P> + +<P> +When he had finished with one party of surveyors another wanted to +employ him, and they went to the first party to find out about him. The +men said: "He has fine qualifications for the position, but there is +one objection to him—he is a Protestant." "Ah," said the second party, +"can't we with a little money get that out of him?" "No," replied the +first, "it seems to be grown into him." He was taken by the second +party, the chief of which and all his family soon became devoted +Christians. +</P> + +<P> +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 +party, bought a mule and other necessities for his journey and started +out to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ to the people of that +State. He was remarkably successful and soon gathered about him a +little band of believers, who, because of their faithfulness to Christ, +were called upon to suffer severe persecution. They were compelled to +flee into the distant mountains where Missionary Jackson afterward +found them, organized them into a church and baptized seventy-five +converts. Later they were able to return to their homes, due to the +fact that a more lenient administration was inaugurated in Victoria. +Very soon afterward our faithful missionary, L. M. Reno, was sent to +this State, and the work from this good beginning has had remarkable +prosperity. The pioneer missionary, da Silva, after having gained the +title of Apostle to the State of Espirito Santo, was called in 1910 to +his reward. +</P> + +<P> +From what we have been saying, you have no doubt made many inferences +about the kind of Christians these Brazilians make. If you had seen +them face to face, you would have been, as I was, impressed with their +appearance. They were the best-looking people I saw. Their countenances +were clearer and there was a hopeful, resourceful look upon them that +was not noticeable upon the non-believers. Sin and fear always break +the spirit of men, and though there may be a brave look assumed, yet +there always hangs a cloud over the countenance of the sin-stained and +fear-driven man, be he a religionist or atheist. This change in +appearance is produced by a change in their way of living. When they +are converted they cease drinking, gambling, Sabbath-breaking, and +often the men give up smoking and the women cease taking snuff. The +fact is they sometimes are extreme upon this subject. I heard of one +church that made the giving up of tobacco and another the laying aside +of jewelry the test of fellowship. 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 glory, having upon them the light of +God's countenance. +</P> + +<P> +They are liberal givers. There is a much larger proportion of tithers +among them than among the Christians in the States. Here, too, they +often go to extremes. More than one church in Brazil makes tithing +obligatory upon its members. Last year the Brazilian Baptists gave as +much per capita for foreign missions as did the Baptists in our +Southern States. They have set their aim this year higher than the +Southern Baptists have. They sustain foreign mission work in Chili and +Portugal. 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 churches. This giving to foreign missions is not +to the neglect of their home enterprises. They have Home and State +Mission Boards which they support liberally. They have am Education +Board to which they gave forty cents per capita last year and all of +this giving out of such grinding poverty! +</P> + +<P> +Here and there are people of larger means who are munificent in their +gifts. It was the generous offer of $5,000 by Captain Egydio that made +possible the founding of the Collegio Americano Egydio, which school +was established by the Taylors in Bahia. He paid $650 the first +installment upon the furniture, but his sudden taking off prevented the +college from realizing the whole amount promised, because the family +lost so heavily by persecution after the father had been taken away. +Col Benj. Nogueira Paranagua, a rich cattleman, built a church, 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 school. When +the church in San Fidelis, which was established in the face of trying +persecution, was considering how it could possibly build a meeting +house, a coffee farmer, who was not yet a member, rose and said: "I am +old and useless, but I want to do something for Jesus and His church. +I, therefore, offer to erect the church building and the church may pay +me six per cent. annually until I die, and then the building will +belong to the church as a legacy which I intend to leave." As the work +on the house progressed he signified his desire to be the first one to +be baptized in the baptistry. 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 chapel. Not only this chapel has been built by an individual, +but others have been built in the same way. Usually, however, the +churches are built out of the sacrificial offerings of the people. So +well has this church building movement progressed that now about +one-third of the 142 Baptist Churches organized in Brazil worship in +their own buildings, and with a few exceptions, these buildings have +been erected by the gifts of the people and not by the gifts of the +Foreign Mission Board. The Presbyterians show a better proportion of +buildings than this and the Methodists quite as good. +</P> + +<P> +The subject of self-support is a live one. There has been good progress +made in this matter, but, of course, it will require many years to +teach the churches their full duty in this regard. Many churches have +reached the point where they take care of all local expenses. Some of +the missionaries go so far as to advocate not organizing any more +churches until the congregations can be self-supporting. The South +Brazilian Mission, in its recent meeting, adopted the rule that no +church should be organized hereafter until it could pay at last 60 per +cent of its own expenses—these expenses to include the care of the +house, the salary of the native pastor, etc. +</P> + +<P> +I have already cited instances of personal work. 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 them. +</P> + +<P> +One of the greatest laymen in Brazil is our Brother Thomaz L. da Costa. +He is the Superintendent of a very considerable business firm in Bahia. +He is a deacon in the First Baptist Church, one of the moving spirits +upon the Brazilian Foreign Mission Board and practically superintends +the work of the State Mission Board of Bahia. +</P> + +<P> +Years ago he was converted in Rio through the agency of his +washerwoman. This faithful woman is a member of the First Baptist +Church. She decided she would attempt to lead Thomaz to Christ. So on +Saturday when she would bring his laundry she would invite him to come +to her house on the following day for dinner. I might say by way of +parenthesis, that there is not a steam laundry in Brazil. All of the +laundry work is done by hand. Sometimes there is quite a considerable +firm which employs many laundresses. Thomaz, after declining the good +woman's invitation many times, finally one day decided he would accept +it. +</P> + +<P> +On Sunday he appeared at her house for dinner. After the dinner was +over she suggested that they, in company with several of her children, +should take a stroll through some of the parks. They passed through the +great park in the center of the city, and after a while they found +themselves in front of a building in which they heard singing. The good +woman suggested that they go upstairs into the hall from which +proceeded the sounds of the music. They went in, Thomaz not knowing +what sort of place it was. Dr. Bagby, the first missionary of our board +to Brazil, was conducting a service and soon began a sermon which +impressed Thomaz very greatly. The sermon drew such a picture of his +life that he accused the woman of having told Dr. Bagby about him. She +had not done so, she declared, and this fact impressed Thomaz even more. +</P> + +<P> +Next Saturday, when she brought his laundry, she invited him to take +dinner with her again on Sunday, but he was too shrewd for her and +declined, saying that he understood her purpose. The message which he +had heard in the sermon, however, stayed with him. On the following +Saturday the good woman again invited him to take dinner with her on +Sunday. He declined. When the third Saturday came, before she had time +to extend her usual invitation, he said: "I am coming to dinner with +you tomorrow." He went according to promise, and after the meal had +been finished, they did not take a round-about course, but went +directly to the church, and there the man listened to the gospel again +and gave himself to Christ. He has not missed a service since unless +providentially hindered. I asked him if he was sorry of the step he had +taken and he replied: "No, indeed. It is as Paul says, 'A salvation not +to be repented of.'" +</P> + +<P> +There can be but one inevitable result to such faithful witnessing as +this. 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 way. A large +percentage of them will conduct public services wherever the +opportunity can be found. In the First Baptist Church in Rio there are +more than twenty men who will go out and conduct public services. They +are not skilled preachers. They may have very limited education, but +they can take the Book, read it, explain its message through the light +of their own individual experiences, and by this means of witnessing to +the power of the saving grace of God in their own lives, they are able +to lead many to Jesus. Is not this after all the kind of preaching our +Lord has sent us into the world to do? +</P> + +<P> +The severest persecution which these Brazilian Christians are called +upon to endure is not that which comes to them when they are stoned, 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 priests, but the +most trying persecution is that which comes from the insinuating +remark, the sneer of the supercilious and the doubt of the envious. The +taunt of hypocrisy is often thrown into the teeth of native Christians. +Their motives are frequently impugned. I was profoundly impressed with +the answer they usually give to such persecutions. They reply by +saying: "See how we live. Note the difference between our careers now +and our careers before we became Christians." And this challenge of the +life is the one which will finally answer the ridicule and doubt of all +who assail them. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap15"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE TESTING OF THE MISSIONARY. +</H3> + +<P> +In thinking of the missionary, most of us dwell upon the heroic +self-denial he practices and the bravery with which he faces the +gravest dangers. Certainly, the missionary in Brazil is due a good +share of such appreciation. He has been called upon to endure shameful +indignities, painful personal dangers and the enervating perils of a +hostile climate. Our own missionaries have been beaten, stoned, thrown +into streams, arrested and haled before courts, shot at and in many +instances saved only by the most signal dispensations of Providence. +Dr. Bagby, our first missionary, in spite of stoning and arrest when he +was baptizing converts in Bahia, kept fearlessly on in his endeavor to +lead the people to Christ. Dr. Z. C. Taylor traveled through the +interior of Bahia State in perils of robbers, in perils of fanatics, in +perils of infuriated priests and in perils of bloodthirsty persecutors +without fear or shrinking. In the spring of 1910 Solomon Ginsburg was +set upon by a mob at Itabopoana, which opened fire with such perilous +directness that one bullet flattened upon the wall a few inches above +his head. +</P> + +<P> +This same missionary in 1894 endured bitter persecutions when he +attempted to open the work at San Fidelis in the interior of the State +of Rio de Janeiro. A mob of a thousand people threw stones, grass, corn +and a great miscellany of other objects at him and his little band of +worshipers. The howling of the mob prevented him from preaching. The +best that could be done was to sing songs. Finally, a stone having +struck a girl in the congregation, he carried her out through the +infuriated mob to a drug store across the street, where she was +resuscitated, and he returned to his service of song. +</P> + +<P> +Next morning he was called to the police headquarters and the officer +forbade him to preach. He asked what the missionary was doing there, to +which he replied, "To preach the gospel." The missionary was then +prohibited from preaching in the province. He replied that he was sorry +he could not obey, for he had superior orders. He could not accept +orders from the police, nor the Governor, nor even from the President +of the Republic. The officer asked who this superior authority was. The +missionary replied it was God. God had told him to go preach the gospel +in all the world to every creature; some of God's creatures were in San +Fidelis and he was there to preach according to the command of his +Lord. The police officer, after plying him with insulting epithets, +kept him a prisoner of the State as a disturber of the peace. On the +following day he was sent to the State prison at Nictheroy, where he +was confined for ten days. Friends, through the solicitation of Mrs. +Ginsburg, brought pressure to bear upon the Government and the +missionary was released. He was requested then as a personal favor not +to return until after the naval revolt, which was then in progress, +should be suppressed and a degree of quiet could be restored to the +State. Being thus requested, he remained away from San Fidelis awhile. +</P> + +<P> +When the revolt was suppressed he returned to San Fidelis and +persecution arose again. He appealed to the chief officer of the State +and fifty soldiers were sent to his relief. In choosing these fifty +soldiers the officer asked for believers to volunteer. Twenty-five +responded. He asked then for sympathizers and twenty-five more +volunteered. These were put under the command of the missionary, who +instructed them not to appear armed at the church. They came unarmed, +but when the mob began to thrown stones again and refused to respect +the soldiers, they pounced upon the evil doers and there was a rough +and tumble fight. Several were bruised considerably and a number of +limbs were broken, but after this conflict the persecution ceased. +</P> + +<P> +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 +Christ. Every missionary who has been in Brazil any length of time has +felt the weight of personal, physical persecution, and all in the +gravest dangers have conducted themselves as became the heroic +character with which they are so splendidly endowed. And this +suffering, we are sorry to say, is not yet over. For many years to come +the desperate and despotic hand of Rome, which could in the name of +religion invent the horrible inquisition and organize the bloodthirsty +order of Jesuits, has not changed its attitude completely and will +resist desperately to the last the inevitable progress of Protestantism +in Brazil. +</P> + +<P> +Let me hasten, however, to say that it is very easy to get the wrong +impression of what the heroism of the missionary consists. It is easy +for us to think it consists in his willingness to face personal danger. +If such an idea should obtain amongst us permanently and alas, it has +persisted altogether too long; 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 public. +</P> + +<P> +The most trying thing to the missionary is not the imminence of +personal danger, but the ever-present chilling, benumbing indifference +of the people to the gospel. Even though here and there we find large +numbers of people who are ready to accept the gospel, let us not +deceive ourselves into the belief that all Brazil is eagerly seeking to +enter the Kingdom of God. The Macedonian call to Paul did not come from +a whole nation which was ready to accept his teaching, but from one man +in a nation. Most all Macedonian calls are like that. The few, +comparatively speaking, rise to utter such calls and these few are the +keys of opportunity which may be used to unlock whole Empires. The +great body of the people in Brazil (and this is especially true of the +educated classes) are as indifferent to the gospel as people are most +anywhere else. It is the weight of this stolid indifference which tries +the endurance of the missionary. It fills the very atmosphere he +breathes and hangs a dark cloud over his horizon, which only his faith +in God and the winning of occasional converts graciously tinge with a +silver lining. It is indifference, slowly yielding indifference that +tests the temper of the missionary character. There are times when a +bit of physical persecution would afford a positive relief to the +fatigue of his exacting career. +</P> + +<P> +The days of the pioneer missionary, with their personal dangers, have +in a measure passed. The yeans of the persecutor in the face of an +increasingly more enlightened civilization are numbered. The +probability of personal perils is growing steadily less. The missionary +must now fight for a hearing before a public which is too often willing +to let him alone. In many places it does not care enough for his +message to persecute him for bringing it. It is ready to patronize him +with an assumed air of liberality and resist the message which burns in +his heart and upon his lips. They are willing for him to speak, but not +willing to listen to what he has to say. He must fight for a hearing +with this patronizing indifference. It is this that tries his spirit. +It is this that bleeds his heart of its strength. It is this that calls +out the heroic in him as never does the dart of the savage, the weapon +of the fanatic or the fury of the mob. 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 missionaries. No one of them has ever +drawn back and given up his work for fear of death at the hands of his +persecutors, but it must be said for the sake of the truth that some +have succumbed before the rigors of blasting indifference. 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 message. +</P> + +<P> +There is another count in this subject of indifference to which we at +home should give more prayerful consideration. 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 already. +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 work? It is a shame upon us that +we at home add another burden to our missionaries by failing to loyally +support them. 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 send? +</P> + +<P> +When that brave garrison of English soldiers were shut up in Lady +Smith, South Africa, 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 relief, though the relief was long +delayed. If the thought that their home people were not trying to send +succor to them had ever taken possession of their minds, they would +have surrendered forthwith. Their line of communication was cut, but +they knew help was coming, and so they held out with grim determination +until relief came. +</P> + +<P> +How is it with our missionaries in Brazil? Their lines of communication +are intact. They know their people at home are able to supply them with +the help they need and yet the help does not come. What must be the +conclusion forced upon, them and what must be the effect upon them? +Either the churches, though able, will not give the means to send out +missionaries, or the men for reinforcement will not volunteer. It may +be that both causes are at work. 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 pastor, and a good percentage (save the mark) +of these direct applications, when our small missionary force in Brazil +is pleading for only ten men to be sent out to relieve them in their +strain? Whatever explanation we may have to offer for these things, the +fact remains that our indifference to the call of our men at the front +adds an additional weight to their already too heavy load, and yet, in +spite of it all, they are standing with unflinching heroism at their +posts. +</P> + +<P> +Something must be done to relieve this situation. Counting all +denominations, there are in Brazil fewer missionaries today in +proportion to the population than there are either in India or China. +Why this disparity of workers in Brazil? Is it because the work is not +successful there? The facts show that, taking into consideration the +number of workers, it is one of the most fruitful of all mission +fields. Is it because there is less need of the gospel? I believe I +have shown that these people are bereft of the gospel, and because of +their sin and idolatry are as needy as are to be found anywhere. No, +there is no excuse to be offered. Our workers at the front need help. +We are trying their brave spirits by withholding the relief they have a +right to expect, and yet we repeat they are holding on with a courage +that stamps them as heroes of the finest type. 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 conquerors. +</P> + +<P> +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 large. Thank God, the light is breaking in many places at home and +abroad. Many individuals and churches are today seeing the larger +vision and are assuming their larger responsibility in the support of +the foreign mission cause. Many are saying: "We will faithfully +strengthen the hands of our brothers who toil so courageously at the +front." In Brazil (and in other mission fields, too,) there is in many +places a marvelous breaking away from the old attitude of indifference. +The little handful of missionaries we have on the field are straining +every nerve to meet the opportunities that are pressing upon them. They +are not discouraged. They are as busy as life trying to meet the +increasing demands. They are looking to the future with the largest +hope. They are a band of the most incurable optimists you ever saw. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap16"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE URGENT CALL. +</H3> + +<P> +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 satisfy. 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 Texas, two in Virginia, +three in Georgia and other States in like proportion. Think of E. A. +Nelson, the only representative of our board in the Amazon region, +trying to spread himself over four States which comprise a territory +five times as large as Texas. Passing down the coast, five days +journey, we would find D. L. Hamilton and H. H. Muirhead, who have +faced dangers as fearlessly as have any brave spirits who have enriched +the annals of missionary history with courageous service. They, along +with Miss Voorheis, are our sole representatives in the State of +Pernambuco and in the adjoining State of Alagoas. C. F. Stapp, Solomon +Ginsburg and E. A. Jackson are attempting to carry forward the work in +the vast States of Piauhy, Goyaz, a part of Minas Geraes, and Bahia, +which last named State has in it one city as large as New Orleans. E. +A. Jackson is located far in the interior of the State, three weeks' +journey from Bahia; all of the energies of Stapp are consumed in caring +for the school; Ginsburg is forced to give his attention to the +nurturing of the thirty-five churches and of evangelizing as far as his +strength will go. In the State beyond them, going down the coast, +stands L. M. Reno, in the State of Espirito Santo. In the populous +State of Rio, in which is located the capital city with its 1,000,000 +inhabitants, we have Entzminger, Shepard, Langston, Maddox, Cannada, +Christie, Taylor and Crosland. Entzminger, in addition to conducting +the publishing house, must also conduct the mission operations in +Nictheroy, a city of 40,000; Shepard, Taylor and Langston have placed +upon their shoulders the tremendous responsibility of conducting the +college and seminary; Cannada must give his energies to the Flumenense +School for Boys, leaving only Maddox, 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 them. Crosland has been +transferred recently to Bello Horizonte, in the great State of Minas +Geraes. Farther South, in Sao Paulo, the richest and most progressive +State in the country, are Bagby, Deter and Edwards, Misses Carroll, +Thomas and Grove. Bagby and wife and the young ladies just mentioned +devote their time to the school, leaving only two to man a field which, +because of its splendid railroad facilities, has in it scores of +inviting locations for successful work. In Paranagua in the next State +to the South, have been located recently R. E. Pettigrew and wife. Far +down to the South in Rio Grande do Sul, a State as large as Tennessee +and Kentucky combined, stands a single sentinel in the person of A. L. +Dunstan. What a battle line for twenty men to maintain! It is more than +4,000 miles in length. If you should place these men in line across our +Southern territory, locating the first one in Baltimore, you would +travel 100 miles before you reach the second, 100 miles before you +reach the third, 100 miles to the fourth, and in going toward the +Southwest, you would reach the twentieth man in El Paso, Tex. Whereas, +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 count, by the time you had reached El Paso you would have +passed 8,000 men, for they would have been placed just one-fourth of a +mile apart. +</P> + +<P> +Why do we need 400 ministers in this country to one in Brazil? Is it +possible that we will grudgingly cling to our 8,000 ministers and +decline to give even eight to reinforce our little handful in Brazil? +Such a division of forces can neither be fair nor faithful. +</P> + +<P> +In drawing this picture I have practically stated the situation for the +other denominations. The Presbyterians occupy the same general +territory as do the Baptists with an equal number of missionaries. The +Methodists have somewhat more compactly stationed about the same number +of missionaries as each of the other two, while the Episcopalians, the +Congregationalists and the Evangelical Mission of South America +combined add a number about equal to each of the three larger +denominations. A total of less than 100 ordained missionaries scattered +over a territory larger than the United States of North America, which +allows about four missionaries to each Brazilian State. Add to this +number the wives of the missionaries, the thirty-seven unmarried women +and the 125 native workers and the entire missionary body, foreign and +native, barely totals 300. How utterly inadequate is such a force in +the presence of such vast needs! Because this situation has in it a +call so apparent and so inexpressibly urgent it is impossible to +portray it in words. +</P> + +<P> +The ripeness of the State of Piauhy for evangelization will illustrate +the urgency of the opportunity all over Brazil. As far back as 1893 Dr. +Nogueira Paranagua, who was at that time National Senator from his +State, urged Dr. Z. C. Taylor to send a man into Piauhy and promised to +help pay the expenses. Two years later Col. Benj. Nogueira, the brother +of the Senator, gave a similar invitation, making a promise that he +would sustain a missionary. It was not until 1901 that E. A. Jackson +was able to reach Col. Benjamin's home. He preached the gospel in this +good man's house and also in Corrente, the town near by. Persecution, +bitter and determined, arose. There were three attempts to take +Jackson's life in one day. Once Col. Benjamin stepped in between the +assassin and the missionary and thus saved the missionary's life. Some +months later, upon the return of the missionary, Col. Benjamin, who had +been for so many years a friend to the gospel, gave himself to it and +was baptized. In January, 1904, the new house of worship at Corrente +was dedicated. It was built by Col. Benjamin at his own expense. He +also built a school building and library, and afterward when the +missionary was able to secure a teacher, this generous man paid all the +charges. +</P> + +<P> +When we reached Brazil last summer I received a message from Judge +Julio Nogueira Paranagua, a nephew of Col. Benjamin, who is one of the +Circuit Judges in the State of Piauhy and who after a short while is to +be retired upon his pension, according to the Brazilian law. As soon as +this takes place he expects to give himself entirely to the work of +evangelizing his own people. The message ran: "The State of Piauhy is +open to the gospel. There is a fight on between the priests and the +better classes. The better educated people, disgusted with Romanism and +priesthood, are drifting into materialism and atheism, but if a +competent man could be situated at Therezina, the capital, the whole +State could easily be won to the gospel." +</P> + +<P> +His uncle, who is President of our Brazilian Convention, as we have +already stated, whose family embraces in its immediate connection over +a thousand people, in a letter written me after I left Rio, reinforces +this appeal. He says: +</P> + +<P> +"I come to call your attention to the State of Piauhy, the field in +Brazil at present which seems to me to be the best prepared for +evangelization. Many things have contributed to bring this about. The +Masons, on the one hand, have done the most they possibly could against +Romanism; on the other hand, the propaganda sincere and fervent of a +small church founded in the southern part of the State, which happily +is receiving the greatest blessing from Almighty God, is greatly +contributing to the reception of the gospel throughout the State. My +brother, Col. Benj. Nogueira, the founder of that church, has passed +away, but he has left sons who are spiritual and who continue to work. +With the work developed there it will spread beneficently. In the +adjoining townships there exist many believers, and a church will be +founded soon in Paranagua, a town situated on the beautiful lake by the +same name. In the cities of Jerumenha and Floriano there are already +small churches, which united to the others in assiduous labors, will +powerfully contribute to the evangelization of the State, which is one +of the most promising of Northern Brazil. My friend, Senator Gervazio +de Britto Passo, strongly desires that a minister of the gospel come to +the section where he is most influential. 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 is, will unite with them, becoming +evangelical. The best moment to move in that State is the present one, +when so many causes concur for our evangelical development. The +population of Piauhy, which is over 500,000, will increase considerably +as well as its economic wealth. +</P> + +<P> +"I hope that you will not leave this field without pastors, where the +gospel is being received as the greatest benefit to which the people +can aspire for their civilization." +</P> + +<P> +It was my good fortune to meet the present Senator from the State of +Piauhy aboard the ship as he went up the coast, and he, while not a +Protestant, 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 people. This must be a Macedonian call, +which we hope to soon be able to heed. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap17"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE LAST STAND OP THE LATIN RACE. +</H3> + +<P> +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 +world. God was behind that exodus as truly as he was behind the +transplanting of Abraham into a new environment. Here in our country, +unfettered by despotic traditions and precedents, the Anglo-Saxon +achieved religious and political liberty with a rapidity and +thoroughness that could not have been possible in the old Continent of +Europe. +</P> + +<P> +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 World. It is true that the Latin movement was not +prompted by the same motive that impelled the Anglo-Saxon. Instead of +the love of liberty, he was led out by the lure of gold. Nevertheless, +we must believe the final result will be the same or else disbelieve in +the ultimate triumph of the guidance of God. We should not despair of +the success of this providential movement. +</P> + +<P> +In South America is to be witnessed the last stand of the Latin race. +There God has given him one last chance to achieve a religious +character which will honor his Lord. 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 God. If we cannot bring ourselves +to such a belief it is useless for us to expect to be helpful, and it +is unfaithful in us to expend money upon a people when we are confident +it will be wasted. +</P> + +<P> +We must not forget that these people are the descendants of the +Caesars, of Seneca, Napoleon—the race that ruled the world for fifteen +centuries. They surely have not lost all of their virility. It must be +a case of wasted strength. We believe that this race has in it the +possibility of rejuvenation. Lavaleye, the great Belgian political +economist, very probably spoke the truth when he said that the Latin +race is equal to the Anglo-Saxon, the only difference being the gospel +which the Protestants preach and live. +</P> + +<P> +We shall be helpful in our effort to give him the proper sympathy if we +remember the handicaps under which he has labored. He was satisfied +with his old fossilized religion, which had taught him to believe that +despotism is a virtue. He did not, therefore, come to America for +liberty. The early settlers were the veriest adventurers of whom the +gold lust made paragons of cruelty and crime. They brought with them +the intriguing priest who would corrupt the Kingdom of Heaven in order +to maintain his power. There was no intentional break with their old +life. The light that guided them to America was the yellow light of +gold and not the white light of righteousness. The first result was +that there developed in the untrammeled West the most unreasoning +despotism, the most unblushing robbery and the most shamelessly corrupt +priestcraft. So this whole transplanted mass of the worst intolerance, +most insatiable greed and the most corrupt priesthood that Europe has +ever produced, had to be taught from the beginning on the new soil, the +elements of the higher manhood they so desperately needed. They had +learned no first lesson in Europe, and therefore their first lesson in +America was to unlearn the very things that constituted their central +life and thought in Europe. +</P> + +<P> +What progress has this providential teaching of the Latins in the New +World made? 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-America. And be it said to +their everlasting credit that this sacred cause, in spite of +revolutions and reactions, which at times hazarded the whole scheme, +has made steady advance, all critics to the contrary, notwithstanding. +Political liberty is potentially at least achieved in South America. It +is written in the Constitutions of the Republics and in the purposes of +the people. While many battles will be fought to establish it in +detail, yet the principle is so well established that it will never be +uprooted, provided we give the moral and educational aid we should +render at this critical hour. +</P> + +<P> +We have come upon a time when we must give to our South American +brothers unstinted support. They have attained political freedom, but +they have not yet gained religious freedom. Nothing can be more +anomalous than a State with political freedom fostering a State +religion that is desperately and unscrupulously intolerant. No genuine +Republic can support a State religion. The two will not live together. +One or the other must go, as the history of France will abundantly +substantiate. One result is inevitable—the people will eventually +repudiate the despotic religion and drift into atheism and infidelity. +Indeed, such a thing is happening in South America today. The better +educated classes are being set hopelessly adrift religiously and the +more ignorant, the common people, are following idolatry. Neither have +the gospel preached to them. The Bible is withheld. Such a state of +affairs is a loud call to us. +</P> + +<P> +If these people are left without a vital, character building religion +they will, because of their volatile natures, degenerate into the +grossest perversions of morality. In such an event the Monroe Doctrine +itself would become a menace. 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 +morality. We must either carry to our Latin brothers the regenerating, +uplifting, energizing gospel of Jesus, 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 +70,000,000 Latin-Americans. Surely, this must be the time when we, if +we ever intend to do so, must reinforce our Latin brothers. They have +done well, they have made progress, but they have gone about as far as +they can in the struggle upon the moral resources at their command. +Their very progress in education and civilization is widening the +breach between them and their former religious teachers. A new life +must come in, even the power of the gospel. This alone can save +Latin-America from inglorious failure. +</P> + +<P> +We should not deceive ourselves into believing this prevailing religion +has lost its power, even though it is losing its religious hold upon +the better classes. It still retains its social influence over these +same educated classes, who despise its priests. This social power is a +bulwark of strength that we shall experience great difficulty in +breaking. Then, too, we may be sure these Latin lands will have +reinforcement from the Spanish priesthood, which fact assures a most +astute clerical leadership. The Spanish priest is today the most +resourceful, alert and capable priest on the earth. I believe he is to +be the last strong defender of the Roman Catholic organization. It is +no accident that Merry de Val, the Pope's prime minister, is a +Spaniard. His appointment to that office is a just recognition of the +most virile priesthood in the Roman realm. I was profoundly impressed +with the Spanish priest. He looks you in the eye. He is on the street, +"hail fellow well met" with the people. It is evident that he is +conscious of power and possesses the gift of leadership which he is +eager to use. Latin-America will feel the force of his capable +leadership. +</P> + +<P> +The situation in Brazil is complicated furthermore by the turn affairs +have taken in Portugal. 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 Republic. But it appears that these +Portuguese clerics are to be admitted. This increases the gravity of +the situation. We shall be forced to take account of these men. They +are a part of the religious problem of South America. Whether we wish +to antagonize them or not, we shall be cognizant of their power. They +will not let us alone. They will not give up South America to +Protestantism without a bitter struggle. +</P> + +<P> +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 countries. 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 do. I think +that if the sole purpose in conducting these missions is to fight the +Catholics, then we can find work to engage us more worthily. 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 +priests. If this is true, our duty is clear and our call is imperative. +We must go and preach a positive, soul-saving gospel, avoiding conflict +as far as possible and by satisfying the heart-hunger of the people +with the Bread of Life, win them to Christ and a new life in Him. +</P> + +<P> +I want to enter a plea for these, our brothers to the South of us. God +has separated them from their old soul-dwarfing environment in Europe, +and set them in this Western World that they might learn of Him. +Whether they realize it or not, they are making the last fight for +salvation and character their race is ever to engage in. They have a +need of the gospel as distressing as that of the grossest heathen. +Their religion itself is leading them further and further from their +saving Lord. Their teachers, who should show them the light of life, +are a beclouding hindrance. 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 hearts. Oh, do not some of us, as +we have followed the portrayal of the needs of South America, like +Isaiah of old, hear the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send and who will go +for us?" God grant that some of us may respond as he did, "Lord, here +am I. Send me." +</P> + +<P> +The same deep longing for salvation that is in our hearts is in the +Latin heart. 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 stopping. As we +conversed a boy twelve years of age drew near to hear us. He was +pitifully disfigured with leprosy. So moved was the missionary by the +sight that he turned and said: "Why do you not go somewhere and be +treated." There flashed instantly in the boy's eye a hope that had long +since died, and he quickly inquired, "Where can I go?" The missionary +could not tell him, and I watched the last ray of hope flicker for a +second and then die out forever! Ever since that day I have been +hearing that pathetic question, "Where can I go?" I seem to hear all +Latin-Americans ask it out of depths of sin. And we know to whom they +must go for healing and salvation. Shall we tell them? "Lord to whom +shall we go—thou hast the words of eternal life." To whom shall +Latin-America go? Only Christ has for them the word of life which +blessed truth they will never know unless we carry it to them. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="finis"> +THE END. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="appendix"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +APPENDIX. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +SUMMARY OF SOUTHERN BAPTIST WORK IN BRAZIL. +</P> + +<PRE> +I. MISSIONARIES— + 1. Foreign, 44. + (1) Men, 21. + (2) Women, 23. + + 2. Native, 117. + +II. CHURCH STATISTICS— + 1. Churches, 142. + 2. Membership, 9,939. + 3. Church Buildings, 44. + 4. Outstations, 497. + 5. Sunday Schools, 138. + 6. Sunday School Scholars, 4,438. + +III. SCHOOLS— + 1. Primary Schools, 9. + 2. Bagby School for Girls in Sao Paulo. + 3. Fluminense School for Boys in Nova Friburgo. + 4. School for Boys and Girls in Bahia. + 5. School for Boys and Girls in Pernambuco. + 6. Rio Baptist College and Seminary in Rio. + 7. Total number of students, 869. + 8. Theological Departments in connection + with Rio and Pernambuco schools. + +IV. GENERAL— + 1. Work begun in 1882. + 2. Publishing House in Rio. +</PRE> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Brazilian Sketches, by T. B. Ray + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BRAZILIAN SKETCHES *** + +***** This file should be named 4283-h.htm or 4283-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/8/4283/ + +Produced by Robert Rowe, Charles Franks and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. HTML version by Al Haines. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Ray + +Posting Date: July 9, 2009 [EBook #4283] +Release Date: July, 2003 +First Posted: December 30, 2001 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BRAZILIAN SKETCHES *** + + + + +Produced by Robert Rowe, Charles Franks and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. HTML version by Al Haines. + + + + + + + + + + +Brazilian Sketches + +By + +Rev. T. B. Ray, D.D. + + +Educational Secretary of the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern +Baptist Convention. + +TO MY WIFE WHO SHARED THE JOURNEY WITH ME + + + + + +CONTENTS + + I. THE COUNTRY + II. THE CAPITAL, RIO DE JANEIRO + III. A VISIT TO A COUNTRY CHURCH + IV. TWO PRESIDENTS + V. THE GOSPEL WITHHELD + VI. SAINT WORSHIP + VII. PENANCE AND PRIEST + VIII. THE GOSPEL TRIUMPHANT + IX. JOSE BARRETTO + X. CAPTAIN EGYDIO + XI. FELICIDADE (Felicity) + XII. PERSECUTION + XIII. THE BIBLE AS A MISSIONARY FACTOR + XIV. THE METTLE OF THE NATIVE CHRISTIAN + XV. THE TESTING OF THE MISSIONARY + XVI. THE URGENT CALL + XVII. THE LAST STAND OF THE LATIN RACE + APPENDIX + + + + +FOREWORD. + + +I was dining one day with a very successful business man who, although +his business had extensive relations in many lands, was meagerly +informed about the work of missions. I thought I might interest him by +telling him something of the effects of missions upon commerce. So I +told him about how the civilizing presence of missionary effort creates +new demands which in turn increases trade. He listened comprehendingly +for a while and then remarked: "What you say is interesting, 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 +heathen. 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 else. What are +the facts about that phase of missions?" + +These words made a profound impression on me, and since then I have +spent little time in setting forth the by-products of missions, +tremendously important and interesting though they are. I place the +main emphasis on how gloriously Christianity, through the efforts of +the missionary, meets the aching spiritual hunger of the heathen heart +and transforms his life into spiritual efficiency. + +Since this is my conception of what the burden of the message +concerning missions should be, it should not surprise anyone to find +the following pages filled with concrete statements of actual gospel +triumphs. I have endeavored to draw a picture of the religious +situation in Brazil by reciting facts. 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 eyes. These pages record testimony which +thing, I take it, most people desire concerning the missionary +enterprise. More arguments might have been stated and more conclusions +might have been expressed, but I have left the reader to make his own +deductions from the facts I have tried faithfully to record. + +No attempt has been made to follow in detail the itinerary taken by my +wife and myself which carried us into Brazil, Argentina and Chili in +South America, and Portugal and Spain in Europe. It is sufficient to +know that we reached the places mentioned and can vouch for the truth +of the facts stated. + +I have confined myself to sketches about Brazil because I did not +desire to write a book of travel, 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 vigorously. + +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 testimony. 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 Brazil. + +The missionaries and other friends made it possible wherever we went to +observe conditions at close range and under favorable auspices. 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 gratitude. 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-sacrificingly. + +Richmond, Va. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE COUNTRY. + + +We had sailed in a southeasternly direction from New York twelve days +when we rounded Cape St. Roque, the easternmost point of South America. +A line drawn due north from this point would pass through the Atlantic +midway between Europe and America. If we had sailed directly south we +should have touched the western instead of the eastern coast, for the +reason that practically the entire continent of South America lies east +of the parallel of longitude which passes through New York. + +After sighting land we sailed along the coast three days before we cast +anchor at Bahia, our first landing place. Two days more were required +to reach Rio de Janeiro. When we afterwards sailed from Rio to Buenos +Aires, Argentina, we spent three and one-half days skirting along the +shore of Brazil. For eight and one-half days we sailed in sight of +Brazilian territory, and had we been close enough to shore north of +Cape St. Roque, we should have added three days more to our survey of +these far-stretching shores. Brazil lies broadside to the Atlantic +Ocean with a coast line almost as long as the Pacific and Atlantic +seaboards of the United States combined. Its ocean frontage is about +4,000 miles in length. + +This coast line, however, is not all the water front of Brazil. She +boasts of the Amazon, the mightiest river in the world. This stream is +navigable by ships of large draught for 2,700 miles from its mouth. It +has eight tributaries from 700 to 1,200 miles and four from 1,500 to +2,000 miles in length. One of these, the Madeira, empties as much water +into the larger stream as does the Mississippi into the Gulf. No other +river system drains vaster or richer territory. It drains one million +square miles more than does the Mississippi, and in all it has 27,000 +miles of navigable waters. + +The land connections of Brazil are also extensive. All the other +countries on the continent, save Chili and Ecuador, border on Brazil. +The Guianas and Venezuela, on the north; Colombia and Peru on the west; +Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay on the south--eight countries +in all. + +It is indeed a vast territory. 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 Texas. + +Almost from the time we sighted land until we rounded the cape near +Montevideo, we could see the mountains along the shore. The mountains +extend far interior and up and down the length of the country. The +climate of the tropical Amazon Valley is, of course, very hot, but as +soon as the mountains are reached on the way south the climate even in +the tropical section is modified. The section south of Rio, on account +of the mountains and other forces of nature, has a temperate climate, +delightful for the habitation of man. Each of these great zones, the +tropical, the subtropical and the temperate, is marked more by its +distinctive leading products than by climate. Each of these sections +yields a product in which Brazil leads the world. The largest and most +inexhaustible rubber supply in the world is found in the Amazon Valley +region. The central section raises so much cocoa that it gives Brazil +first rank in the production of this commodity. The great temperate +region produces three-fourths of all the coffee used in the world. Of +course, there is much overlapping in the distribution of these +products. Other products, such as cotton, farinha, beans, peas, +tobacco, sugar, bananas, are raised in large quantities and could be +far more extensively produced if the people would utilize the best +methods and implements of modern agriculture. The mountains are full of +ores and the forests of the finest timber, and the great interior has +riches unknown to man. It has the most extensive unexplored region on +earth. What the future holds for this marvelously endowed country, when +her resources are revealed and brought to market, no one would dare +predict. Few countries in the world would venture a claim to such +immense riches. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE CAPITAL, RIO DE JANEIRO. + + +The city of Rio is the center of life in Brazil. We entered the Bay of +Rio after nightfall on the sixth of June. The miles and miles of lights +in the city of Rio on the one side, and of Nietheroy on the other, gave +us the impression that we were in some gigantic fair grounds. +Missionaries Entzminger, Shepard, Maddox and Mrs. Entzminger came +aboard to welcome us and bring us ashore. We were taken to the Rio +Baptist College and Seminary, where we were entertained in good old +Tennessee style by the Shepards. This school building was built in 1849 +by Dom Pedro II. for a school which was known as the "Boarding School +of Dom Pedro II." It accommodated two hundred students. The Emperor +supported the school. In 1887 the school was moved to larger quarters. +Dr. Shepard is renting the property for our college, 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 students. There are about three hundred students +in all departments. + +As we studied the situation at close range, we had it driven in upon us +that one of the greatest needs in Brazil is the one Dr. Shepard and his +co-laborers are trying to meet in this school. Three-fourths of the +population of Brazil cannot read. We need, above all things now, +educated leaders. What a call is there for trained native pastors and +evangelists! Some of the Seminary students have been preaching as many +as twenty-one times a month in addition to carrying their studies in +the school. Dr. Shepard has been forced to stop them from some of this +preaching because it was preventing successful work in the class room. +The need is so great that it is very difficult to keep the students +from such work. + +I must not go too far afield from the subject of this chapter, 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 boards. 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 square. Soon a fanatical mob was +howling around him and his life was in imminent peril. 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 and, ascertaining +that the man was a minister of the gospel, took charge of him and drove +off the mob. They led the colporter to their home, which was the best +in the town, and showed him generous hospitality. They invited the +people in to hear him preach, and thus through their kindness the man +and his message received a favorable hearing. It should be remembered, +too, that these young men belonged to a very devout Roman Catholic +family. + +What was the secret of their actions? They had rescued, entertained and +enabled to preach a man who was endeavoring to propagate a faith that +was very much opposed to their own. The explanation is that they had +attended Granberry College, that great Methodist school at Juiz de +Fora. They had not accepted Protestant Christianity, 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 were. The +college had made them friends and that was a tremendous service. First +we must have friends, then followers. Nothing more surely and more +extensively makes friends for our cause than the schools, and it must +be said also that they are wonderfully effective in the work of direct +evangelization. + +The First Baptist Church commissioned Deacon Theodore Teixeira and Dr. +Shepard to pilot us over the city. The church provided us with an +automobile and our splendid guides magnified their office. It is a +MAGNIFICENT city, indeed. The strip of land between the mountains and +the seashore is not wide. In some places, in fact, the mountains come +quite down to the water. The city, in the most beautiful and +picturesque way, avails itself of all possible space, even in many +places climbing high on the mountain sides and pressing itself deep +into the coves. Perhaps no city in the world has a more picturesque +combination of mountain and water with which to make a beautiful +location. It has about a million inhabitants, and being the federal +capital, is the greatest and most influential city in Brazil. + +Most of its streets are narrow and tortuous and until recently were +considered unhealthy. 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 built. Twelve million dollars' worth of +property was condemned to make way for this splendid street. It cuts +across a peninsula through the heart of the city from shore to shore, +and is magnificent, indeed, with its sidewalks wrought in beautiful +geometrical designs, with its ornate street lamps, with its generous +width appearing broader by contrast with other narrow streets, with its +modern buildings. + +There is another street, however, which is dearer to the Brazilian than +the Avenida. He takes great pride in the Avenida, but he has peculiar +affection for the Rua d'Ouvidor. Down the Ouvidor flows a human tide +such as is found nowhere else in Brazil. No one attempts to keep on the +pavement. The street is given over entirely to pedestrians. No vehicle +ever passes down it until after midnight. In this narrow street, with +its attractive shops filled with the highest-priced goods in the world, +you can soon find anyone you wish to meet, because before long everyone +who can reach it will pass through. In this street the happy, jesting, +jostling crowd is in one continuous "festa". + +In passing through the city one is greatly impressed by the number of +parks and beautiful public squares, and in particular with the +wonderful Beiramar, which is a combination of promenades, driveways and +park effects that stretches for miles along the shore of the bay. What +a thing of beauty this last-named park is! There is nothing comparable +to it anywhere. When Rio wishes to go on a grand "passeio" (promenade) +nothing but the grand Beiramar will suffice. + +One cannot help being impressed also by the prevalence of +coffee-drinking stands and stores--especially if he meets many friends. +These friends will insist upon taking him into a coffee stand and +engaging him in conversation while they sip coffee. On many corners are +little round or octagonal pagoda-like structures in which coffee and +cakes are sold. The coffee-drinking places are everywhere and most of +them are usually filled. The practice of taking coffee with one's +friends must lessen materially the amount of strong drink consumed by +the Brazilian. Nevertheless, that amount of strong drink is, alas, +altogether too great. + +The greatest nuisance on the streets of Rio, or any other city of +Brazil, is the lottery ticket seller. These venders are more numerous +and more insistent than are the newsboys in the United States. There +are all sorts of superstitions about lotteries. Certain images in one's +dreams at night are said to correspond to certain lucky numbers. Dogs, +cats, horses, cows and many other animals have certain numbers +corresponding to them. For instance, if one should dream tonight about +a dog, he would try tomorrow to find a lottery ticket to correspond in +number with a dog. Say the dog number was thirty-seven. This man would +try to find a ticket whose number ends in thirty-seven. Such a ticket +would be considered lucky. The ticket sellers often call out as they +pass along the street the last two numbers on the tickets they have to +sell, and if a man hears the number called which corresponds to the +animal he dreamed about last night, he will consider it lucky and buy. +There are also many shops where only lottery tickets are sold. No evil +has more tenaciously and universally fastened upon the people than has +the evil of gambling in lotteries. There are 310 Federal lotteries, +besides many others run by the various States. These 310 lotteries +receive in premiums the enormous sum of $19,399,200 every month--about +one dollar for every individual in Brazil. A portion of the profits +amassed by the lottery companies is devoted to charity, a portion to +Roman Catholic churches and a portion goes to the government. Even +after these amounts are taken out, there is ample left for the +enrichment of the companies' coffers to the impoverishment of many very +needy working people. + +It is difficult to write temperately of Rio de Janeiro. There is such a +rare combination here of the primitive and the progressive, of the +oriental and occidental, that one is inclined to go off into +exclamation points. On the Avenida Central one sees numbers of street +venders carrying all kinds of wares on their heads and pulling all +sorts of carts, making their way in and out among the automobiles, and +handsome victorias PULLED BY MULES. We note also all types of people. +The Latin features predominate, but the negro is in evidence, the +Indian features are often recognized, and mingled with these are seen +faces representing all nations. One is impressed with the dress of the +people. Who is that handsomely-groomed, gentleman passing? From his +fine clothes you think he must be a man of wealth and influence. Who is +he? He is a barber. That one over there is a clerk. But why these fine +clothes? Ah! thereby hangs the tale. Appearance is worshiped. Parade +runs through everything, even in the prevailing religion, which, alas, +is little more than form--parade. Don't get the idea that everybody is +finely dressed and that every handsomely-dressed man is a barber. Many +are able to afford such clothes and are cultured gentlemen. One notices +most the dress of the lower classes, 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 moment. +The remainder of the clothing worn by these beslippered people consists +often of only two thin garments. Certainly this is a place of great +contrasts. But somehow these contrasts do not impress one as being +incongruous. They are in perfect keeping with their surroundings. Rio +is really a cosmopolitan city and is a pleasant blending of the old and +the new. + +There are several places from which splendid views of the city can be +had, but none of them is comparable to the panorama which stretches out +before one when he stands on the top of Mt. Corcovado. The scene which +greets one from this mountain is indescribable. The Bay of Rio de +Janeiro, with its eighty islands, Sugar Loaf Mountain, a bare rock +standing at the entrance, the city winding its tortuous way in and out +between the mountains and spreading itself over many hills, the open +sea in the distance and the wild mountain scenery to the back of us, +constitute a panorama surpassingly beautiful. + +Nictheroy lies just across the bay. We went over there one night and +spoke in the rented hall where our church worships, and spent the night +in the delightful home of the Entzmingers. The next morning, before +breakfast, Dr. Entzminger showed me over the city. Nictheroy has forty +thousand inhabitants and is the capital of the State of Rio de Janeiro. +It is a beautiful city and offers a wide field for missionary work. Its +importance is apparent. + +We have a church in the populous suburb of Engenho de Dentro. We were +present there at a great celebration when the church cleared off the +remainder of its debt and burned the notes. The building was crowded to +its utmost capacity. The people stood in the aisles from the rear to +the pulpit. They filled the little rooms behind the pulpit and occupied +space about the windows. There are about seventy members of the church. +A far greater progress should be made now that the debt as well as +other encumbrances have been removed. + +There are in Rio the First, Engenho de Dentro, Governors Island and +Santa Cruz churches, and twelve preaching places, four of which are in +rented halls. Missionary Maddox utilizes many members of the churches +in providing preaching at these missions. There are only a very few +paid evangelists in this mission, but a great many church members are +glad to go to these stations and tell the gospel story. + +Besides our Baptist work, the Southern Methodists are conducting a very +prosperous mission. They have several churches and a station for +settlement work. The Presbyterians and the Congregationalists have some +excellent churches and the YMCA is one of the most flourishing in South +America. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +A VISIT TO A COUNTRY CHURCH. + + +That I may give you a glimpse of the country life in Brazil, and also +some impression of country mission work, I invite you to take a trip +with Missionary Maddox and myself to the little hamlet of Parahyba do +Sul, in the interior of the State of Rio. + +On Monday, June 13th, we boarded a six AM train for Parahyba do Sul, +which we reached about ten o'clock. It is a charming town situated on +the river by the same name. This river reminds one of the French Broad, +though the mountains are not so high and precipitous as the North +Carolina mountains. The mountains, too, in this section are not covered +with trees, but with a tall grass, which, being in bloom, gave a +beautiful purple color to the landscape. The railroad climbs up the +mountain sides from Rio in a very picturesque manner. + +The Parahyba do Sul Church is three miles over the mountains from the +station, in the house of Mrs. Manoela Rosa Rodrigues. The house is +constructed with mud walls and a thatched roof. The floors are the bare +ground, which is packed hard and smooth. There are two rooms, with a +narrow hall between them and a sort of "lean to" kitchen. The largest +room, which is about fifteen feet square, is devoted to the church. The +most prominent piece of furniture in the house is the pulpit, which +stands in this room. This pulpit is large out of all proportion to +everything else about the place. It was covered over with a beautifully +embroidered altar piece. The two chairs placed for Brother Maddox and +myself were also entirely covered with crocheted Brazilian lace. I +hesitated to occupy such a daintily decorated seat. + +This church of forty-six members maintains three Sunday schools in the +adjoining country and six preaching stations, members of the church +doing the preaching. Every member gives to the college in Rio 200 reis +(six cents) a month, and to missions, etc., 300 reis (nine cents) per +month. This is munificent liberality when we take into consideration +their exhausting poverty. + +Our coming was a great event with them. We were met at the station by a +member of the church, who mounted us on a gray pony apiece and soon had +us on our way. He walked, and with his pacing sort of stride he easily +kept up with us. His feet were innocent of shoes. He says he does not +like shoes because they interfere with his walking. Underneath that +dilapidated hat and those somewhat seedy clothes we found a +warm-hearted Christian, who serves the Lord with passionate devotion. +He often preaches, though he has very little learning. He is mighty in +the Scriptures, having committed to memory large sections of them, and +has a genuine experience of grace to which he bears testimony with +great power. + +We arrived at the church about eleven o'clock. We were received with +expressions of great joy. Mrs. Manoela was so happy over our coming +that she embraced us in true Brazilian style. We were shown into our +room, where we refreshed ourselves by brushing off the dust and +bathing. How spick and span clean was everything in that room, even to +the dirt floor! + +Before we had completed our ablutions, the good woman of the house +called Maddox out and asked what she could cook for me. She thought I +could not eat Brazilian dishes. He told her, to her great relief, that +I could eat anything he could. Quite right he was, too, 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'clock. We were in possession of an appetite by this time that would +have raised very few questions about any article of food. + +Soon we were seated at the breakfast table, which was placed in the +church room with benches around it for seats. I was honored by being +placed at one end of the table. What a meal it was! Not only had Mrs. +Manoela taxed her own larder, but the other members, who by this time +had arrived in large numbers, had brought in many good things. I cannot +tell what the dishes were, for the reason that I do not know. It is +sufficient to say that every one was good--perhaps our appetite helped +out our appreciation of some of them. There were as many as eight +dishes the like of which I had never tasted before. How do you suppose +I managed it when they served some delicious cane molasses, and, +instead of bread to go with it, they served cream cheese? I asked +Maddox how I should work this combination. He replied by cutting up his +cheese into his plate of molasses and eating the mixture. I did the +same thing, and I bear testimony that it was fine. By the time the +breakfast was concluded, I had scored a point with our good friends, +for they thought that a stranger who could render such a good account +of himself at a Brazilian breakfast must be very much like themselves. +(Let us explain about Brazilian meals: They take coffee in the early +morning. Bread and butter is served with the coffee. Breakfast, which +is a very substantial meal, is served about eleven o'clock. Dinner, +which is the chief meal of the day, is served about five o'clock in the +afternoon. At bedtime light refreshments are served, which are often +substantial enough to make another meal). + +After breakfast was over, and it was some time before it was over, for +the crowd had to be fed, we assembled for worship. The congregation was +too large for the little room, so the men built a beautiful arbor out +of bamboo cane. When Maddox told me we were to hold services under an +arbor I was dissappointed, for somehow there had come over me a great +desire to speak from that large pulpit in the little room. My +dissappointment was short-lived, however, for when we reached the arbor +there were the pulpit and the lace-covered chairs! It was a gracious +service. The Spirit of the Lord was upon us. The sermon lost none of +its effect from the fact that it had to be interpreted, because Maddox +interpreted it with sympathy and power. + +After preaching, four were received for baptism. They were not +converted at this service, but had been expecting to come for some +time. Maddox baptized them in the spring branch, which had been +deepened by a temporary dam being thrown across it. One of those +baptized was a woman ninety years of age. + +Our time was growing short now. Maddox changed his clothes in a hurry. +We had to catch the four o'clock train. We did stop long enough to +drink a cup of Brazilian coffee. Such coffee! I will not attempt to +describe it, because our friends in the States can not understand. +There is nothing like it in this country. We took time, too, to say +good-bye. The whole crowd lined up and we went the length of the line, +bidding everyone a hearty godspeed. The Brazilian not only shakes hands +with you, but he embraces you heartily. Yes, some of the good matrons +embraced us. It was a novel experience for me, but a mere custom with +them, and the act was performed with such modest restraint that any +possible objectionable features were eliminated. Having said good-bye +to them all we mounted our gray ponies, and, led by our barefooted +friend, rode away with thanks-giving in our hearts for the good +fellowship with the saints of Parahyba do Sul. + +The tie of love for a common Lord had bound our affections to them. +Their simple-hearted sincerity and devotion had helped us. Their zeal +had contributed to our faith. One incident touched me especially. Just +before breakfast a little girl about four years of age, led by her +mother, brought to us a package containing some Brazilian cakes. When +we opened the package there lay on top a piece of folded paper on Which +was written: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that +bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good +tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, thy +God reigneth' '(Isa. 52:7). Presented to our brother pastors, Maddox +and Ray by Archimina Nunes." 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 land. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +TWO PRESIDENTS. + + +It was our good fortune while in Rio to be received by the President of +the Republic, Dr. Nilo Pecanha. Missionaries Shepard, Langston and +Ginsburg and Dr. Nogueira Paranagua escorted me. When we started I +suggested that we take a street car. Not so those Brazilians! We must +go in an automobile. We were very careful to wear our Prince Albert +coats, too; for, above all things, the Brazilian is a master in +punctilious ceremonies. We were ushered into the waiting room by a +doorkeeper, a finely-liveried mulatto with a large chain around his +shoulders to indicate his authority. The waiting room was full of +people, but we were not kept waiting long. We sent in our cards and +soon we heard our names announced and we were led into the presence of +the private secretary. After a few words of explanation by Dr. +Paranagua, the secretary retired to ask the President if he would see +us. He returned presently and showed us into the audience chamber, +which was a large and tastefully decorated room. Around the walls were +several groups of chairs, placed in true Brazilian style somewhat as +follows: A cane-bottomed divan was set with its back to the wall, then +several cane-bottomed chairs were placed at right angles to it in two +rows facing each other, usually four in a row. The President guided me +between these chairs and took a seat on the divan and motioned me to a +seat by his side. He is a man of slight build, with a mild expression +which wins confidence. He was most informal in his speech and spoke in +a candid and unreserved manner which quickly put us at ease. + +I told him, through an interpreter, that we had come from a visit to +the Minister of the Interior, with whom we had been in conference about +the status of Brazilian schools. 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 workers. +He was satisfied that our object was altruistic and for the good of the +country and people; that so far as depended upon him, he was ready to +give us the full benefit of his official position. As proof of his wish +to see absolute religious freedom, he cited an instance of how he had +protected some monks in the Amazon Valley recently. These men were in +straits and he had sent soldiers to liberate them, and then turning +with a smile to Ginsburg, he said that he also never abandoned his +friend Solomon when he was attacked. He refreshed our minds upon the +fact that lately, 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 regime, he gave them to understand that +if they did not behave themselves, the door was open and they could +leave the country. They soon came to terms. As to his successor, the +President said that the incoming President was of the same party and +would carry out the same policies, ideas and ideals. These policies +meant absolute liberty of thought, conscience and speech, which is +guaranteed by the constitution. Before the interview closed, he again +expressed his pleasure at receiving a representative of an American +institution, convinced as he was that the propaganda of our schools, +morals and ideals would draw the two nations closer together, and that +he was ready to encourage us to that end. "We are following the ideals +of the United States," he said, "which we recognize as our elder +sister." 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 purpose, but that it would do +all in its power, on the other hand, to encourage us. + +While we are meeting Presidents, 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 magistrate. 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 good. But far greater and far more serviceable +than these are those choice spirits who, by embracing the gospel of +Christ, give themselves devoutly to bringing in His reign in the hearts +of men. Such spirits, by the sheer force of their characters, wield a +far more abiding influence for the help of their fellows. The man I +wish to introduce is Dr. Nogueira Paranagua, the President of the +Brazilian Baptist Convention. + +He belongs to one of the oldest and most aristocratic families of the +State of Piauhy. He was Governor of his state at the time of the +institution of the Republic. After the establishment of the Republic, +he was elected to the National Congress for a term of four years. Then +he was elected to the Senate and served nine years. He is a skilled +physician and is married to a Swiss lady of fine family. His family +connections occupy one quarter of the State of Piauhy. He is, at the +present time, Treasurer of the National Printing Concern, which does +not occupy all of his time. The remainder of his time he devotes to the +practice of his profession and to the preaching of the gospel. He is a +deacon in the First church in Rio. He is not an ordained minister--he +is simply an humble man of God. He is an ardent patriot who believes +that the salvation of Brazil can be realized only through the gospel of +Christ, to which he gives his life and all. + +Now I, for one, believe that the theory of Dr. Nogueira is the one that +will finally lead Brazil into the fullness of life and power it is +capable of attaining. It is well to have written in the constitution +the guarantee of religious and political liberty. It is well to have +Presidents who courageously carry into effect the provisions of this +constitution, but the highest good is not attained until behind all +documentary guarantees is a personal righteousness in the people. Dr. +Nogueira's insistent advocacy of Christ for Brazil is the one thing +that gives assurance of a genuine righteousness that will exalt the +nation. + +He is the President of a remarkable body. It was our privilege to +attend the Brazilian Baptist Convention which met in Sao Paulo, June, +1910. It was composed of sixty delegates, about one third of whom were +missionaries. The remainder were natives. They came from all parts of +Brazil. One man from the Madeira Valley traveled three weeks on his +journey to Sao Paulo. They represented 109 churches, which had a total +membership of 7,000. These churches increased by baptism twenty-five +per cent, last year. They maintain a boys' school and a theological +school at Pernambuco, a school for boys and girls at Bahia, a boys' +school at Nova Friburgo, a girls' school at Sao Paulo and the crown of +the school system, the Rio Baptist College and Seminary in the capital. +They have a Publication Board to produce Sunday School and other +literature, a Home Mission Board to develop the missionary work in the +bounds of Brazil, and a Foreign Mission Board, which conducts foreign +mission operations in Chill and Portugal. While their country is so +needy, 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 Convention. One +night during the Convention, I addressed them upon the subject of +foreign missions, 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 work, he was not under any +special obligation to contribute money to this cause, 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 cause. + +What a privilege it was to attend this Convention! All of us took our +meals at the Girls' College and by this arrangement we had a most +delightful time socially. It is a fine body full of good cheer, hope, +faith, courage, consecration. 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 Lord. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE GOSPEL WITHHELD. + + +When I went to South America I decided that I would spend little time +upon the material aspects of the trip, but would, on the other hand, +attempt to arrive at an understanding of the religious conditions and +needs of the people. I consider that the religious needs are the +abiding and vital interests of any people. + +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 needs. If it does, then let us +be honest enough to recognize it, and if it does not, 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 one. If there is no greater reason +for our entering a country than for the purpose of fighting the +Catholics, then I, for one, am frank to say that I do not think we +ought to spend our energies in any such field. The question for us to +settle is whether there is a real call for the preaching of the gospel +in a given country. 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 +earth. + +What is the religious status of Brazil? Is there any call for +Protestant effort? I answer after giving serious study to this +question, and after personal observation of the effects of the +religious practices upon the people, that there is the same imperative +call for missionary effort in Brazil that comes from China or any other +heathen country, viz., the gospel is not preached to the people. + +The priests hold services, to be sure, in the churches, but there are +many churches in Brazil in which there has been no pretense of +preaching a sermon within five years. The priests do not preach. They +say mass, read prayers and sing songs in Latin, a language which is not +understood by the people. Occasionally, a Catholic fraternity will +invite a special orator to preach a sermon upon some great feast day. +This visiting brother does not preach. His theme upon such an occasion +would either be a discussion of the special saint whose day is being +celebrated, or he would speak upon some civic question which had more +or less to do with the moral or political life of the people. In the +interior these special occasions occur only once every two to five +years, so that even this semblance of a sermon comes rarely. In the +cities these special addresses are made on one saint's day each year or +on some special anniversary, or when some dignitary is making a visit. +Usually this dignitary will say a mass and not preach. 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 +gambling, drinking and other attractions is sufficient to drown the +voice of the speaker. These side-show attractions fill all available +space about the building, giving it the appearance of a circus more +than anything else. They are run by individuals who pay a tax to the +church for the privilege. The preaching is not the feature of the day, +the chief object seeming to be to furnish amusement for the people and +money for the church. It cannot be said that on such days the gospel +can possibly be preached successfully. + +Occasionally there is held in the church what is called a special +mission. This is conducted by visiting monks. We would expect that on +such occasions the gospel would be preached, but such is not the case. +They hear confessions in the morning. A special premium is placed upon +the celebration of marriages during the mission, because these visiting +monks will make a cheaper rate than the resident priests. For this +reason the majority of the priests do not like to have these monks come +in for special missions, and would not conduct them but for the fact +that the bishop compels them to do so. The addresses delivered by the +monks in these special missions are not sermons. They either upbraid +the Protestants, speak against civil marriage (the only legal marriage +in Brazil is that performed by a civil officer), inveigh against the +Republic, discourse upon the lives of the saints, assail Luther and +other reformers, or urge confession, penance and submission to the Pope. + +Furthermore, the Bible is withheld from the people. The circulation of +no book is so bitterly opposed as that of the Bible. It is true that +the Franciscan monks are trying to introduce an edition of the New +Testament which contains special comments attacking Protestants. These +special editions are very expensive and difficult to secure. The person +who wishes to buy one of these Bibles must get permission from the +vicar of his parish, and if the would-be purchaser is inclined towards +Protestantism, the vicar will refuse to grant permission. The priests +are not very much in sympathy with the idea of circulating even this +annotated edition of the New Testament. + +In Armagoza, near Bahia, the Franciscan monks held, three or four years +ago, a mission and sold about 1,000 of these Catholic Scriptures. It +seems that the Protestants had also been circulating a Testament which +had the same general appearance as that sold by the Franciscan monks. +When the monks had sold out their supplies, they heard of what the +Protestants had done and inasmuch as the people could not distinguish +between the true book and the false, they ordered the people to bring +back all of the books to the monks, under the promise that they would +examine them, eliminate the Protestant book and return to the owners +the authorized Bible. The people brought back their books in good +faith. The monks took them, but never returned them. Neither did they +return the money. + +On the 22nd of February, 1903, there occurred a public burning of +Bibles in Pernambuco. This was done in defiance of the Protestant work +with the evident purpose of intimidating the Protestant workers and +arousing a public sentiment against them. + +But having failed in this, their first effort, they decided to try +another even more ostentatious. + +Although it is illegal to burn any religious document publicly, yet the +first burning passed unnoticed by the officials of the law. But not so +the second. + +Having incurred the censure and ill-will of many of the most thoughtful +and liberal-minded, even of the Catholics themselves, by the disgrace +of February 22nd, the directors of the Anti-Protestant League decided +to make a grand rally on the occasion of the league's first +anniversary, September 27th. And to realize this, they published about +two weeks beforehand a very extensive program. The program said that +"there will be burned 26 Bibles, 42 Testaments, 45 copies of the Gospel +of Matthew, Luke 9, John 12, Mark 4 and Acts 9", besides a great many +other useful books. In the list also there were some three hundred +copies of different religious Protestant papers. + +According to the program the bishop was to preside. The public burning, +however, was not performed. Such pressure was brought to bear upon the +officials that they interfered. It was even discussed in the National +House of Congress. But in spite of all opposition, not to be completely +defeated, they burned the Bibles in the back yard of the church. + +These examples are sufficient to demonstrate the attitude of the +priests towards the Scriptures, 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 gospel. He is an enemy of the gospel who +puts any restraint upon the circulation of the Scriptures. It is wise +indeed for the sake of their cause that these opponents of +Protestantism should oppose the circulation of the Scriptures, 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 Jesus. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +SAINT WORSHIP. + + +What is the real religion of the Brazilians? It is more a saint worship +than anything else. Saint worship is at its core. Mary is the chief +saint. All prayers are made to her. She is the intercessor. The Litany +is all addressed to Mary. It runs, "Oh Mary, hear us, etc." She is +worshiped under different aspects--Mary of the Sailors, Mary of the +Conception, Mary of the Candles, Mary of the Rosary, ad infinitum. Even +Christ is worshiped as a saint. The patron saint of Campos, for +instance, is called Sao Salvador (St. Savior). The city of Bahia is +called Sao Salvador. Its patron saint is Jesus. + +A saint is an intercessor between man and God. Because of his holiness, +he has favor with God, and therefore the people pray to him. Very few +consider the saint lower than God. They offer sacrifices, make prayers +and burn candles to the saint. + +St. Anthony of Padua is a very hard-worked saint. 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 victory. No wonder this +overworked saint gets into trouble. Young women place him in their +rooms, burn candles and offer prayers before him. He is dressed up in +the finest toggery and is given great honor. If, however, after awhile +he does not bring along the suitor, he is given a sound beating, or he +may be hung head downwards in a well or stood on his head under a +table. These indignities are heaped upon him in order to force him to +produce the suitor which the young lady very much desires. He is also +the military saint. In the time of the Empire, he was carried at the +head of the army and had the rank of a colonel. Even after the Empire +was abolished, he retained his rank for many years and received from +the government the salary of a colonel. Such an idol was in Bahia and +his salary was discontinued only five years ago. The money went, of +course, to the priest in the church where the image was kept. + +Every town, village and country seat has its protecting saint. In time +of drouth they in many places carry the saint through the streets in +procession. He is taken from his place in the church to some hut, +maybe, where he is placed beneath the altar. This is done in order to +cause him to bring rain. After the rain comes he is taken out and with +great distinction is replaced in his original niche. They do this +sometimes in the case of a scourge of insects or disease. + +Late one evening, after Missionary Ginsburg and I had returned from a +trip into the interior of the State of Bahia, we arrived in the city of +Nazareth. It is a town of about 10,000 inhabitants. We were to wait +here until the following morning for the boat which was to take us to +Bahia. + +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 men. +Two priests walked in front to direct the movements of the procession. +More than half of the people in the city must have been in the +procession. They paraded far out into the country, crossed to the +opposite side of the river, wound themselves back and forth through the +narrow streets until a late hour at night. At eleven o'clock just +before we retired, we stood for some time watching the procession pass +the hotel where we were stopping. It was a miserably ugly little image, +gaudily decorated. It was being paraded through the streets for the +purpose of staying the plague of smallpox, which at that time was +scourging the town. When we saw the procession last it had been +augmented by such numbers that it appeared as if the entire city was +following this image. They seemed to believe that it could really charm +away the smallpox. + +This is not an isolated case. It is typical. 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 people. It is +the veriest sort of idolatry. + +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 performed. In Bahia there is a famous shrine called Bom +Fim (Good End). It is located on a hill in the suburbs of the city. +Years ago tradition has it, the image of San Salvador was found on the +summit of this hill. A priest took charge of the image and removed it +to a church. On the following morning the image was missing, and upon +going to the spot where he first found it, he discovered the image. +Again he took it to the church, and again on the following day, he +found the image at the original place. The tradition was, therefore, +started that the image had fallen from Heaven to the top of the hill, +and every time it was removed from this spot it, of itself, returned. +So it was taken for granted that the image desired its shrine built on +this spot. At first there was a little shrine constructed, and +afterward was built the magnificent edifice which now shelters the +image. + +To this place the thousands go annually upon pilgrimages. One of the +most gruesome spectacles to be found anywhere is in a side room near +the altar. From the ceiling are suspended wax and plaster of paris +reproductions called ex-votos of literally every portion of the +body--feet, hands, limbs, heads, all portions--the ceiling space is +completely covered with these uncanny figures. The wall is hung with +pictures, which portray all sorts of scenes, such as a man in +shipwreck, a carpenter falling down a ladder, a child falling out of a +second-story window, death chambers of various people, etc. These +figures and pictures are intended to represent miracles. 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 affected, whether of man or +beast, to the shrine. Some of them came before the cure was effected, +and with a prayer, left the image behind and the cures of their disease +or afflictions were attributed to the image of Bom Fim. It is said that +when this church is given its annual cleaning, just before the +celebration of the saint's day, thousands of people congregate here, +roll in the waters which are used to wash out the building, and drink +the filthy stuff, deeming it to be holy. There is hardly a more +revolting scene to be found anywhere, and all in the name of religion. +Until recently, when the police put an end to it, a most disgusting +species of holy dance was observed on this annual day in which the most +sensual practices were indulged. + +Perhaps the most famous shrine in all Brazil is in the far interior of +the State of Bahia on the San Francisco River. It is the famous Lapa. +The image has its shrine in a cave in a very remarkable geological +formation. One hundred thousand people make pilgrimages to this shrine +every year from all of the States in Brazil. The last Emperor himself +made a visit to this shrine. From June to August of last year $20,000 +was collected from the pilgrims. Our missionary, Jackson, met a man who +had been on the way six months. It required him a year to make this +trip. The same missionary saw a family from the State of Alagoas which +had been on the journey six weeks. Dr. Z. C. Taylor says he passed +through sections that had been almost depopulated because the men had +sold out their homes, horses and cattle in order to seek a miracle in +their favor at this same shrine. Fire destroyed the image in 1902. +Protestants were accused of setting fire to it because a missionary was +near at the time. (He was forty miles away.) In the controversy that +arose the missionary noted that, inasmuch as the new image was sent by +freight and not by ticket, it must be an idol and not a saint. Suffice +it to say, that a new image was placed and the people are worshiping it +with the same zeal with which they worshiped the old, even though the +new one came by freight and the old one was supposed to have fallen +from Heaven. It is believed to have miracle working power and to give +great merit to one who makes the pilgrimage to it. + +In the daily paper called the "Provinca," published in Pernambuco, +there was printed on August 23, 1910, the following telegram from the +city of Rio, the capital of the Republic. + +"The Seculo (Century) of today announces that on St. Leopold street in +Andarahy (a suburb of Rio) there was discovered a fountain of water in +a hollow rock, in which a plebian found an image of a saint. + +"This image," adds the Seculo, "although in water, did not present the +least vestige of humidity. The news of this curious discovery was +immediately circulated, and there was a great pilgrimage, including a +reporter of the Seculo, to this miraculous fountain in Andarahy." + +It is very probable that this telegram heralds the advent of a new +shrine, because it is in this fashion that these so-called +miracle-working shrines are brought into existence. + +Not all of these shrines are canonized, but nevertheless they have +power over the people. As we were making a trip into the interior of +the State of Pernambuco we passed a station called Severino. Near the +station we could see a splendid church building which had been +constructed in honor of St. Severino. This saint is not in the +calendar, not recognized by the church nor the bishop, yet it is +popular all over Brazil. Many people are named after him, and to this +shrine are brought many of the same sort of things as were described in +connection with the shrine of the Good End. This idol is stuffed with +sugar-cane pith. The head of it was found in the woods some time ago. A +tradition was started that an image had fallen from Heaven. The +superstitious people believed the report and soon a shrine was in full +operation, which today, even though it be not canonized, is exerting a +far-reaching influence. The owner of the shrine gave up his farming and +lives handsomely on the offerings the deluded bring to his private +shrine. + +In one of the most magnificent churches in Bahia is an image of a negro +saint. This holy being won his canonization as a reward for stealing +money from his master to contribute to the church. That is it: Do +anything you please, provided you share the spoils with the church. + +Across the breast of the Virgin's image in the church of Our Lady of +Penha in Pernambuco, before which church the Bibles were burned in +1903, are written the following words: "One hundred days' indulgence to +the person who will kiss the holy foot of the Holy Virgin." This +pitifully expresses, perhaps, the thought behind saint worship. It is +the hope that the aching of the sinful heart may find some assuagement +through the worship of these gilded, gaudy images. It is claimed by the +priests and some of the more intelligent that the image worshiped is +only a concrete representation of the saint, and it contains +symbolically the spirit of the saint. To be sure! This is exactly the +reason the more intelligent fetish worshiper in Africa assigns for +worshiping his hand-made god. The etone or piece of wood is a +representative of God and to a degree contains His spirit. Such worship +is condemned as being idolatry in the African. The thing which is +idolatry in the African must be idolatry in the Catholic. Even the +Catholics will condemn the idol worship of the heathen, and yet this +same Catholic church has in scores of places in South America and in +other heathen lands, taken the identical images worshiped by the +heathen and converted them into Catholic saints. + +In the city of Braga, in Portugal, is a temple which centuries ago was +devoted to Jupiter. It was afterward converted into a Catholic church +and dedicated to St. Peter. The idol Jupiter, with two keys in his +hand, was consecrated into St. Peter. In another part of the same city +is a temple devoted to Janus in Roman times, which was turned into a +temple dedicated to St. John. The idol which formerly was worshiped as +Janus is being now worshiped as St. John. In the same temple there is +an image now consecrated as St. Mark which was formerly the god Mars. +The saint worship in Brazil is just as heathenish. In China Buddhist +idols were renamed Jehosaphat by the Jesuits and worshiped. Their +practices in Brazil are in keeping with their methods in other lands. + +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 China? + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +PENANCE AND PRIEST. + + +Confession and penance play a large part in the religious life of the +common people. The priests exercise great ingenuity to preserve the +confessional. The better educated classes have long ago deserted the +confessional, but it still holds sway over the common people and hangs +like a dark shadow over the immoral deeds of the priests. Along with it +flourishes the performance of penance. These two hand-maidens in +wrong-doing often thrive in an absurd way. + +In Penedo, the capital of the State of Alagoas, a new wharf was being +built and the money granted by the Government was not sufficient to +complete the work. The contractors approached the two monks who were to +hold a mission in the city during February, 1904, and offered to pay +them $500 if they would instruct the people to, in penance, carry +across the city the stones which had been brought from the interior. A +large quantity of building material had been brought down by rail and +needed to be transported across to the wharf. The monks agreed, gave +instructions accordingly, and in one week the people carried these +stones across the town to the wharf. The transfer of these stones would +have cost $2,500. At least 10,000 people engaged in this colossal act +of penance. They came from two counties. Thus the contractors, by a +little skillful manipulation, made penance save them considerable money. + +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 church. All, that through these +means they may find some ease for the conscience which accuses them of +evil. + +What shall I say of the priests? I believe I will say nothing. I +declined steadily to soil the pages of my note book with the records of +the immoral deeds of these men. I will let speak for me an educated +Brazilian, a teacher in an excellent school in Pernambuco, who is not a +professing Christian, but who, like a great many of his class, admires +Christianity very sincerely. When Mr. Colton, International Secretary +of the Young Men's Christian Association, passed through Pernambuco in +June, 1910, he was given a banquet by some of the leading men, which +event offended so grievously the Catholic authorities that they +published in the "Religious Tribune," their organ, a bitter diatribe on +the Young Men's Christian Association. The professor, to whom I +referred, who is now one of the leading judges in the state, published +the following answer to this attack. He is in far better position to +speak authoritatively about the Brazilian priests than I am. His +article ran as follows: + + +"FURY UNBRIDLED." + +"The official organ of the diocese of Olinda could not on this occasion +control its great animus. It threw aside its old worn-out mantle of +hypocrisy, it precipitated itself furiously and insolently against the +Y.M.C.A. It not only does not forgive, 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 Y.M.C.A. + +"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 clothing. + +"But we ask, to whom does this epithet apply better? To us who dress as +the generality of men, thus leaving no doubt as to our sex and freeing +our consciences from the ignominious Roman yoke, direct ourselves by +that straight and narrow way which leads to salvation; 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 earth? To us, Who having no thirst for +dominion, seek to cultivate in man all the noble attributes given by +the Creator, to us who teach clearly and without sophistry and gross +superstitions the plan of salvation as it is found in the word of God; +or to this legion of corrupt and hypocritical parasites, corruptors of +youth, whose character they seek to debase and villify by means of the +confessional? + +"The only object of the wolf in dressing himself as a sheep is to +devour the sheep. And these shaven heads know perfectly well why we +cite the chronicles of the convents; they know from personal knowledge +who are responsible for the greater part of the illegitimate children, +and they have no doubt about the permanency and progress of +prostitution. + +"But they have effrontery, these priests! + +"What has the priesthood done in Brazil in about 400 years? The answer +is found in facts that prove the absence of all initiative of will, of +strength, of energy and of activity. Brazil has only been a field for +torpid exploitation by these gain-hunting libertines. And what of the +attacks against private and public fortunes? + +"Happily, for some years, the public conscience has been awakening and +the people are beginning to know that a priest, even the best of them, +is worthless. + +"Freed from an official religion, 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 +position. + +"We, pirates? Ah! deceivers. Then we, who present ourselves loyally +without subterfuge, proclaiming the divine truths, speaking logically, +without artifices or superstitions, are pirates? You noble priests are +noble specimens of Christian culture, I must confess! You are such good +things that France has already horsewhipped you out of the country, and +Spain, whose knightly race is regaining the noble attributes +obliterated by the iron yoke of Romanism, is about ready to apply to +you the same punishment. + +"There is no doubt that the priest is losing ground every day. All +their manifestations of hate and satanic fury are easily explained. + +"One easily recognizes the true value of the explosion of vicious +egotism found in the official organ of the diocese of Olinda. 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 pleasure. Console yourselves, reverend lord priests, everything +comes to an end, and the ancient period of darkness and obscurity +exists no more in Brazil." + + +What is the net result of such religious life as we have been +portraying? The common and more ignorant people accept without very +much questioning the teachings and practices which we have explained. +The better educated people, especially the men, have lost confidence in +the priesthood. Scarcely an educated man can be found who believes in +the moral uprightness of the priest. The chief hold the Church has upon +the better classes is a social and not a religious one. Births, +marriages, deaths, alike are great social events, and upon such +occasions, because it is custom to have a priest, the better classes of +people even call in the services of the priests, in whom they have no +confidence. The effect upon the beliefs of these better classes is most +distressing. Spiritism, materialism and atheism are rampant, 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 church. They are far +more difficult to reach because they have imbibed the philosophies of +spiritism, materialism and atheism. An atheist in South America is just +as difficult to approach as he is anywhere. The devout Catholics are +easier to reach with the gospel. The devout Catholic has at least one +element which must always be reckoned with in dealing helpfully with an +immortal soul. He has reverence, which thing many of those people who +have been swung away from their faith have not. 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 religion. +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 Jesus. + +We come back to it--the gospel is not preached in Brazil except as it +is preached by the Protestant missionary. The need is just as great for +gospel preaching in this country as it is in China. + +One day after I had finished speaking to a congregation in Castello, +back in the interior from Campos, 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 English. I had spoken in English, and +the missionary had interpreted what I had to say into Portuguese. She +had heard the sermon twice. She had been in Brazil thirty-odd years. +She and her husband had lived in the far interior. They had recently +moved down to Castello that they might be near the little church where +they could have the opportunity of worshiping God. She told me that +back in the town in which they had lived they had left two sons who +were engaged in business for themselves. These two sons had been born +in Brazil, and yet in all their lives THEY HAD NEVER HEARD A GOSPEL +SERMON. Yes, these people are without the gospel and this is our +justification for carrying to them the message of life. For them Christ +died, and to them, because they have not heard, He has sent us that we +might bring His precious message of eternal salvation, for "How shall +they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they +hear without a preacher?" + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE GOSPEL TRIUMPHANT. + + +It is often claimed that the progress of the gospel is slower and more +difficult in Catholic countries than in outright heathen lands. Such +statements can be answered only by an appeal to the facts in the case. +What are the facts? The Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist +Convention has been conducting operations in Brazil for about thirty +years. It has been doing work in China for more than sixty years. +During all the time since work--was opened in Brazil, the Board has had +about three times as many missionaries in China as it had in Brazil, +with the result that at the present time we have 9,939 members of our +churches in Brazil, as against 9,990 members of our churches in China. +We have worked less than half as long in Brazil and with one-third of +the missionary force. Last year with a missionary force one-third as +large in Brazil as it was in China, there were 635 more baptisms in +Brazil than there were in China. There were 1,534 baptisms in China and +2,169 in Brazil. The same sort of comparison between our work in Italy +and Japan would make the same showing. This is not to make a +prejudicial statement concerning the work in any field. We make it +simply to show that the gospel does succeed remarkably in the Catholic +countries. The fact is, the rate of progress is far greater in the +Catholic country than it is in the heathen land. The gospel does +succeed in Catholic countries. What is said here of the work of this +one Board can be said just as truly of the others. + +It was our privilege to witness some remarkable demonstrations of the +power of the gospel while we were in Brazil. About 3:30 o'clock one +afternoon we arrived in Genipapo in the interior of the State of Bahia, +after having ridden since early morning upon the railroad train through +a mountainous country which, with its tropical vegetation, held our +keenest interest. We were met at the station by some members of our +church, who escorted us to the home of Polycarpo Nogueira. Mrs Nogueira +is a very devout Christian. Some years ago she learned that her mother +had embraced Christianity. Mrs. Nogueira set out upon a journey of 130 +miles on muleback to her mother's home for the purpose of taking out of +her mother's heart her belief in the gospel. She succeeded in shaking +her mother's faith and also the faith of her brother. She now +determined to prepare herself to combat this Baptist teaching which was +spreading over the country. She marked passages of Scripture which she +proposed to use against the Baptists. 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 study. The Word of God +took hold of her own heart and she in turn was converted. Her first +thought was concerning her mother and brother 130 miles away. Again she +took the long journey on muleback in order to lead her loved ones to +Christ. She was able to re-establish her mother's faith, but to this +day her deep regret is that her brother does not believe. + +We had a great service at the church that night. The crowd was so large +that we held the services out in the open. Seven stood to confess their +surrender to Christ. 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 English. He really seemed to catch it +before the missionary could interpret it. + +On the following day we reached St. Inez, the station at the end of the +railway, and spent the night in a poor excuse of a lodging house called +the Commercial Hotel. + +At 7 o'clock on the following morning, which was Sunday, we started on +horseback for Arroz Novo, an excellent country church fifteen miles +away. A young brother named John Laringeiro (John Orangetree) had +brought horses for us. Before his conversion he was an arch persecutor, +and since he has become a Christian he has been called upon to suffer +even more bitter persecution than he ever inflicted upon others. He is +struggling to care for his mother, and as the pastor of the church at +Rio Preto, he is a most acceptable gospel preacher. + +It was a fine ride into the country, over hill and mountain and +deeply-shaded valley. After we had ridden about half the length of our +journey several brethren from Arroz Novo (New Rice) met us to escort us +to the church. A mile or two further we were met by another company, +who swelled the number of our dashing cavalcade to about twenty-five. +It was dashing, too, for they were hard riders. It was a very joyous +and cordial reception committee. Finally we rode into sight of the +church, winch is located on a high hill commanding a grand panorama of +the mountains. As we approached we saw two long lines of people +standing facing each other in front of the church. The men were on one +side and the women on the other--about 600 of them. As we rode up the +congregation sang a hymn to give us welcome. We dismounted when we +reached the end of the two lines and walked down between them to the +church. 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 honor. These good people +observed this custom generously that day. A wide space of the ground in +front of the church was strewed with leaves, and they showered such +quantities of rose petals and confetti upon us that we were beautiful +sights by the time we reached the door. + +We entered the very creditable church building into which the people +now poured until every foot of space was occupied. There was hardly +room left for me to make gestures as I spoke. It was ten o'clock. The +people had been present since four engaged in a prayer meeting. We +began the service immediately. The Spirit of the Lord was upon us to +preach the gospel. Afterward we called for those who wished to make +confession of their faith in Christ. 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 Savior. We saw that +others wanted to come, so we asked them to stand where they were. All +through the audience they rose. Then began the examination of these +candidates. Numerous questions were put to them by the missionary and +the pastor of the church. 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 church, and what +impressed me most was the fact that after every question they could +think of had been asked, they would ask if anyone present could endorse +him. Whereupon someone, if he could recommend the candidate would, +after a brief speech of endorsement, make a motion to receive him. + +Over to my right rose a young woman who was the most beautiful woman I +saw in Brazil. Her name was Elvira Leal. She had been favorable to the +gospel for some time and had suffered cruel persecution from her +father. The tears streamed down her face as she spoke, saying, "You +know my story and what I have been called upon to endure for the +gospel's sake, but this morning I must confess the Lord. I cannot +resist the Spirit longer." I learned that her father, in order to force +her to give up her faith, had dragged her across the floor by her hair. +He had brandished his dagger over her heart, threatening to take her +life; he had forced her to break her engagement to be married to the +young preacher, John Larinjeiro, who had brought the horses for us; he +had declared he would kill both of them rather than to allow them to +marry, and at the time we were there she was compelled to live in the +home of a neighbor, so violent had become her father in his opposition +to her adherence to the gospel. That morning, however, she said though +she knew it involved suffering, she would follow her Savior at whatever +cost. + +By the time the missionary had finished examining this woman, a man had +crowded near to the front and indicated that he wished to say +something. It was John Larinjeiro's brother. He said that for two years +he had been impressed with the gospel, but because of the persecution +in his own home he had held back. When years ago his mother had been +converted, he went to persuade her to give up her religion. Persuasion +failing, he persecuted her severely. She finally told him that his +efforts were of no avail because she could not give up her faith in +Christ, yet if he would take the Bible and show her where she was +wrong, she would give it up. 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 faith, and he had no more to say. +The Word impressed itself upon his heart and he became sympathetic to +the gospel. Then trouble arose. His father-in-law, he said, had +threatened to take his wife and children from him and to put him out of +his own home. His wife had persecuted him and declared she would leave +him if he made the confession he desired to make. He said that he did +not know what to do, but had come forward to ask us to pray for him. +Then the congregation fell upon its face, as far as such a thing was +possible, and prayed. I could not understand all they said in the +prayers because they were spoken in Portuguese, 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 be. As soon as the prayers were concluded, the man stood +up and said, "News travels quickly in this country. It may be that when +I reach home I shall find my wife and children gone, but whatever may +be the cost, I cannot resist the Spirit today. I must confess my Lord +and ask for membership in the church." Of course, he was received. 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 children. + +Numerous others stood to make confession, and the examination continued +far past one o'clock, 'till twenty-one were received for baptism. 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 +Brazil. + +After the service we went to breakfast in a house near by. The crowd, +according to custom, came into the dining room, as many of them as +could, to hear the conversation while we sat about the table. The walls +of the building were made of mud, the floor was the bare ground, in the +corner of the room, surrounded by a mud puddle, stood a water jar, +around which the chickens were picking. I kicked a pig out of my way, +accidentally stepped on a dog, but nothing daunted, fell to with good +will and ate, asking no questions. + +After a few hours' ride, upon our return journey in the afternoon, we +reached the town of Olhos d'Agua (Fountains of Water) through which we +had passed upon our outward journey in the early morning. There is a +very good church at this place which has suffered cruel persecution. +Upon the doors of every Protestant house in the town have been painted +black crosses. They were placed there at night by the Catholics to keep +the Devil from coming out. The black cross of derision has become a +mark of honor in that community. We were greeted by a splendid audience +that night and the gospel again was honored. More than a dozen people +accepted Christ and made confession of Him. + +I was greatly interested in Brother Raymundo, who is the leading member +of this church. Formerly he was a great persecutor. He was an enemy to +Antonio Barros, who is now a leading member in the church at Arroz +Novo. Barros was converted at Lage, and when he met Raymundo he greeted +him, at which Raymundo was greatly surprised. Barros explained his +action by saying that he had found Christ and wanted to live at peace +with all men. The fact that his enemy should embrace him and beg his +pardon greatly impressed Raymundo. Upon the invitation of Barros, +Raymundo attended the meeting that night. He was touched by the gospel +and was converted. He now had to experience the same persecution he had +inflicted upon others. His enemies wrote to the merchants in Bahia and +told them that he was out of his mind. So persistent was their +persecution that he was compelled to give up his business. His credit +was destroyed by these reports. He moved away from Olhos d'Agua, but +when the native pastor left the place recently Raymundo returned in +order to hold the work together. He now makes his meager living by +trading, and through great sacrifice leads the congregation in a very +acceptable service. + +We returned to St. Ignez by ten o'clock that night, tired and happy +over what our eyes had seen and our hearts had felt. It had been a day +of triumph for the gospel. + +On Monday we started on our journey for Santo Antonio. When we passed +through Genipapo we found Brother Polycarpo Nogueira at the station. 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 hesitated. I quoted to him, "Everyone, therefore, who +shall confess me before men, him will I confess before my Father in +Heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him, will I deny before +my Father who is in Heaven." Mat. 10:32, 33. He told us about a +wonderful meeting held in the church on Sunday, in which one had been +converted and many others were deeply interested. He himself was +evidently moved upon by the Spirit. May the word we gave him lead him +to Christ. + +Some hours further on we passed through Vargem Grande, where we have +another church. Several people boarded the train to accompany us to +Santo Antonio. One of them was Fausto de Almeida. When the ex-priest, +Ottoni, visited Vargem Guande some years ago to preach the gospel this +man Almeida, with a great crowd of boys equipped with tin cans, met him +at the station. This troupe escorted Ottoni to the church and stood +outside making as much noise as possible. He offered the ex-priest a +loaded cigar, which Ottoni declined with kindly thanks. The minister's +conduct was so gentle and kind that Fausto, when he bethought himself, +went home in a rage, became intoxicated, and in order to vent his +wrath, went out into his back yard and fired his pistols. A little +later one of his sisters was converted, and by her good testimony not +long after that when she died, he was greatly impressed. Another sister +was converted and gave him a Bible, which he read and in which he found +the message of Christ. He obeyed his Lord, and in spite of violent +opposition on the part of his wife, is today in a faithful and +effective way, building up the church at Vargem, Grande. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +JOSE BARRETTO. + + +When we reached Santo Antonio de Jesus at two p. m. we found a throng +at the station to meet us. They gave us a royal welcome, receiving us +literally with open arms. After this hearty greeting we formed a +procession and marched two and two through the streets of the city to +the church. They wished us to take the lead in the procession, but we +declined the honor and finally took position about the middle of the +line. They seemed to march through every street in the city, so eager +were they to impress the population that there was somebody else in the +world besides their religious persecutors. When we arrived at the +church they showered us once more with rose petals and confetti. After +prayer we were taken to the home of Jose Barretto to be entertained. + +Now, this same Jose Barretto is a very remarkable character. He was +formerly Superintendent of the Manganese mines near by and very active +in politics. If any questionable work needed to be done in order to +influence an election Jose was called upon to do it. He is a great, +strong fellow, more than six feet in height and weighs, perhaps, 250 +pounds. He was a violent man, fearless and desperate. I noted many +scars on his face which were evidences of many dangerous encounters. He +did not deign to steal the ballots, but would take possession of the +ballot box, extract from it the proper number of votes, destroy them, +seal the box and allow the count to be made. No one dared withstand +him. He was just as violent in his opposition to the Protestants. He +declared that he would beat any Protestant who should ever come into +his house. + +Well, one day his own brother-in-law came to see him. This +brother-in-law was blind and also a Christian. After a while Jose and +his wife were commiserating the brother over his blindness when he +said, that though his eyes were clouded, his soul saw the light of +life. His sister said to him, "You must be a Protestant." He replied, +"Yes, thank God, I know Jesus Christ." She was so frightened that she +fainted, because she had visions of her burly husband pouncing upon her +blind brother and beating him to death. Her husband resuscitated her +and soothed her by saying, "I know I have said all of these things +about what I would do to the Protestants, but I hope I am not mean +enough to strike a blind man and certainly I would not injure your +brother." That night the brother asked them to read the Scriptures. +They had no Bible, but did possess a book of Bible stories, one of +which the sister read, and then the brother asked permission to pray. +Jose Barretto had always been reverential, and so he knelt in prayer. +So earnest and childlike was the praying of the blind brother and so +fully did he express the real heart hunger of the great, strong man +that when the prayer was finished, Jose Barretto said very sincerely, +"Amen." He became deeply interested in the gospel. + +When the brother left, 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 ago. He had looked at this book which he had taken from the +employee's hands, and finding no saints' pictures in it, concluded that +it was that hated Protestant Bible the priests were trying to keep from +being circulated, and had thrown it into a box in the corner of his +office. Now he went to this box, fished out the New Testament, brushed +the dust from its pages and read from it the word of life. The blind +brother, in the meantime, had gone to Santo Antonio and told what had +happened. The chief of police of the city, who was a Christian and the +President of the Baptist Young People's Union, declared that he was +going out to see Jose. "I have been afraid to go," he said, "because +Jose has been so violently opposed to the gospel." + +He went and found the strong man poring over the pages of the book in +his effort to find the way of life. He explained the gospel and +Barretto was soon converted, as was also his sister. His wife held on +to her old faith. She would pray, but would use the Crucifix. Finally +the husband and sister decided they would burn the idol, which they +accordingly did. 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 Christ. + +The life of Jose Barretto since that time has been a burning light. He +has been as zealous in following Christ as he ever was in following +evil, though not so violent. His witness has been honored amongst his +own family and relations especially. 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 man. When we were in +his home we learned of a family of twenty-one, some distance out in the +country, who were ready to make confession of their faith and be +baptized. They were anxious for the missionary to come and baptize them +and to organize a church in one of their homes. These people were the +relatives of Jose Barretto. It is marvelous how the witness of his life +is bearing fruit. He lost his position as Superintendent by his +acceptance of Christ, but is now making a living as a coffee merchant. + +We had a remarkable service at the church that night. A great throng +pressed into the building, and Jose Barretto was the chief usher. I +have never seen a man who could crowd more people into a building than +could he. After the house had been packed there still remained on the +outside a crowd as large as that sandwiched into the building. I +preached the gospel once more, speaking, of course, in all of these +services through an interpreter. When I called for those who would +confess Christ I did not ask them to come forward because there was no +room for them. They stood here and there over the audience until more +than twenty expressed themselves as having accepted Christ and desiring +membership in the church. When one man stood amongst this number I +noticed that Jose Barretto was very deeply moved. His great frame shook +with emotion. I learned afterwards that the man who stood was a police +sergeant, who in the old days had been Jose's confederate in his +political crookedness. That night this man stood acknowledging his sins +and asking for membership in the church. Jose's faithfulness had won +him. Once more we witnessed a marvelous victory of the gospel. + +On the very day on which we visited Santo Antonio and were entertained +in the home of our good brother Jose Barretto, this great stalwart +fellow who had been such a violent opposer of Christianity and who had +previously lived such a desperate life, was met on the street by one of +his former schoolmates. 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 long. He went further to say +many severe things in criticism of the cause of Protestant +Christianity. Jose Barretto replied, "You ought to be ashamed of +yourself for finding fault with the thing which has produced such a +change in my life. You know the kind of character I have been in this +community. You know how violent and sinful I have been and you know at +this time how I am living. A religion which can produce such a change +as this does not deserve ridicule." The man turned and slunk away. In +the meantime, there had gathered around them a number of people, +because they knew how serious a matter it was for anyone to oppose him, +and they expected to see something violent take place that day. Being +emboldened by the mild answer which he gave to his persecutor, others +began to ask questions. Finally one of them asked him this question: +"Suppose someone should strike you in the face in persecution, what +would you do?" And then the great, 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 Jesus. He said: "I am +not afraid of such a thing as that happening, 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 face," and +these others turned shame-stricken away from him. He threw down before +that community the challenge of his life, and that is the thing that +not only in Brazil, but here in our own land, must finally win for our +King the triumph which is His due. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +CAPTAIN EGYDIO. + + +What brought about the readiness of this territory in the interior of +the State of Bahia for the acceptance of the gospel? Perhaps the brand +of burning which did more than any other to shed light through the +entire section over which we passed, was the person of Captain Egydio +Pereira de Almeida. He was one of several brothers of a good country +family which owned large possessions in the interior 150 miles from the +city of Bahia. He was an intense Catholic, but never a persecutor. At +one time he was Captain in the National Guards. He was political boss +of his community and protector for a small tribe of Indians. He was a +hard-working, law-abiding citizen. + +In order to know the story we must go back a little. In 1892 Solomon +Ginsburg sold a Bible to Guilhermino de Almeida on the train when he +was going to Armagoza. Ginsburg had only one Bible left and felt +constrained to offer it to the stranger across the aisle. The man said +he had no money and did not care to buy. The missionary pressed him and +finally sold him for fifty cents a Bible worth four times that amount. +That night his fellow passenger heard the missionary speak in the +theater in Armagoza and seemed to enjoy especially the hymns the +preacher sang. The missionary marked for him the Ten Commandments and +other passages in the Bible. + +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 +missionary, of how he had bought the Bible which he did not want and of +the Ten Commandments the missionary had marked for him. He very +willingly gave his Bible to his brother. Marciano read the book and was +particularly impressed with the Ten Commandments. + +Now, we must introduce into this narrative another character in the +person of good Brother Madeiros. Some time before this, having become +interested in the gospel, he had gone to Bahia and had been instructed +by Missionary Z. C. Taylor in the truth to such good purpose that he +gave himself to the Lord. His neighbors at Valenca, his native town, on +learning of his having accepted Christ, drove him out, and he moved to +Vargem Grande. But he found no rest in his new home, for his fellow +townsmen so persecuted him that he was compelled to live in the +outskirts of the town. He was the first believer in Vargem Grande. When +Marciano de Almeida became interested in the Scriptures he went to see +Madeiros and was instructed by him in the gospel. He told the +persecuted saint that he would stand by him from now on, for Marciano +had experienced a marvelous conversion. + +On learning that his images were idols, Marciano collected all +immediately and burnt them, greatly to the disgust of his family and +the whole town. He began at once to declare the Word of God, and though +he was as gentle as a lamb, he was also as bold as a lion in defending +the gospel. + +When his brother, Captain Egydio de Almeida, who lived sixty miles +away, learned that Marciano had become converted, he made the journey +to take out of his brother's heart the false teaching which he had +imbibed. He pitied his brother, thinking that Marciano's mind had +become unbalanced. When Captain Egydio arrived at his brother's in +Vargem Grande, being a very positive man, he set about the business of +straightening out his brother with dispatch and determination. He +failed in his purpose, and then called in a priest. When he returned +with the priest Marciano asked the two to be seated. Immediately the +priest inquired, "What is this I am hearing about you, Marciano?" He +replied, "Mr. Priest, I am thirty-five years old and you never gave me +the Bible, God's Holy Law and as God ordered it. I came by it through +the Protestants whom you have always abused. You have taken my money +all these years for mass, saying you would take the souls of our kin +out of a purgatory that does not exist. You taught me to worship idols +which God's Word condemns. You sprinkle my children for money, marry +them for money, and when they die you still demand money to save their +souls from an imaginary purgatory. The Bible teaches me, on the other +hand, that God offers me a free salvation through Jesus Christ." The +priest rose and said good-bye without offering a word of explanation. +Seeing the priest thus defeated, Captain Egydio turned to old Brother +Madeiros, who happened to be present, and said: "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 head." "Yes," replied Madeiros, "you may +cut off my head, but you cannot cut off my soul from God." Captain +Egydio returned home breathing out plagues upon himself and his family. +He drank heavily at every grog shop on his way and scattered abroad the +news about his family's disgrace. He was a man of a kind heart, and +though he did not embrace the truths of his brother's religion, he did +show his brother great consideration and, being a political leader for +that district, became his brother's protector. + +When his wrath had cooled down somewhat he began to recall many things +Marciano had told him about the Bible, and as he looked upon his many +expensive idols set here and there in niches about his home, he said to +himself: "Well, did Marciano say these images do nothing. They neither +draw water, cut wood nor pick coffee. They do not teach school, they do +not protect our home, for there is one covered with soot. There is +another the rats have gnawed, and recently another fell and was broken. +How powerless they are." Then he remembered the Bible which a believer +had given him years before. He began to examine it in a closed room. Ag +he read he prayed, "Oh, God, if this religion of Marciano be right, +show it to me." + +He seemed to be making good progress. But about this time he received +word that his brother and the missionary R. E Neighbor were coming to +see him. The priest had also heard of the approaching visit and had +sent a letter to Captain Egydio's son warning him against the coming +men, saying that they were emissaries of the United States and wished +to lead the Almeidas astray. The letter bearer was instructed to +deliver the letter to the son and not let the father know anything +about it, but he said, "I cannot do that because I must be true to my +old captain," so he gave the letter to Captain Egydio. 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 them, which thing they refused to do. + +His brother and the missionary came according to agreement and Captain +Egydio, true to his word, went with them to the town of Areia to +protect them while they were engaged in conducting a gospel service in +the public square. The priest of the town sent the police to prevent +the Protestants from conducting the meeting. The sergeant, who had been +under Captain Egydio when he was Captain in the National Guards, was +one of the detail sent to suppress the meeting. He declared that he +would stand by his old Captain, for the men knew that under the +Constitution the missionary had a perfect right to hold the meeting. +The meeting was held, but under such unfavorable circumstances that the +Captain stood forth and said: "I have not declared myself a Protestant, +but from this time I shall be a Protestant and propose to give my life +to the spread of this faith." + +It happened that one day he was called to visit a boy who had been +shot. As he rode along through the open fields he was burdened with +prayer to God. Suddenly he felt a strange feeling and he seemed to hear +a voice saying, "You are saved." Immediately he knew that the Lord had +visited him with His blessed salvation. He shouted as he rode along the +way, "Glory to God. I am redeemed." He rode on in this state to the +home of the boy. Seeing the boy could not live, he began to exhort him +to look to Christ for salvation, and just before the boy's spirit +passed out from him, he made confession of his Lord. The Captain +returned to his home overflowing with joy. He galloped his horse up to +the door, shouting, "Glory, hallelujah, I am saved." He embraced his +wife and children and all stood back staring at him. Finally the mother +cried: "Poor man! Children, your father is mad. Get the scissors and +let us cut off his hair; let us rub some liniment on his head." "All +right," he said, "only do not cut it too close," and he suffered them +to rub the liniment also upon his head. Seeing that there was no change +in him, they also administered to him one of their homely medicines, a +small portion of which he was willing to take to pacify them. Their +opinion of his sanity was not changed. + +Not only his family, but his neighbors suspected him. As he engaged in +business--and he was a very busy man--people were watching him to see +if something was not dreadfully wrong. Finally all realized that a +great and beneficent change had taken place. He never became a +preacher, but he did not allow to pass an opportunity to tell the story +of his newly-found Savior. His Bible was constantly in his hands, and +he read the marvelous news to all. His family soon became interested in +the gospel and they, even to his son-in-law, became as crazy upon the +subject as he. Thirteen of them were baptized at one time. + +For activity in evangelization his equal was scarcely ever met. He kept +for distribution boxes of Bibles and tracts. While at business he +witnessed for the gospel. He traveled extensively. Some of his bosom +friends became his worst enemies, but many of them he led to Christ, or +at least to a friendship, for the gospel. He did not preach, but +invited many preachers to come to his community and was always ready to +accompany them whenever they needed his presence. His life was the +greatest sermon he could preach to the people. 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 shrine, 100 +miles away on the San Francisco River. The son recovered and the father +kept his word. Now they saw him discard his old superstitions for the +truth in Jesus. The gospel that could produce such a marvelous change +as this had its effect upon his neighbors. He organized a church upon +his own fazenda and it held its meetings in his own house at Casca. + +He became deeply interested in the subject of education. He said one +day to Dr. Z. C. Taylor, our missionary at Bahia: "While I was a +Catholic I had no desire to educate my children, but now I would give +all of this farm to see them educated." Dr. Taylor told him of some of +his own plans concerning a school, and Captain Egydio contributed the +first money for the school, which Dr. Taylor afterward established, +Captain Egydio's gift of a thousand dollars making it possible for this +school to be organized. + +Of the trials and persecutions which he endured for the gospel, we can +cite only one or two. + +A priest paid two men sixty dollars to go and take the Captain's life. +They appeared one night at his door and asked for employment. He +invited them in, saying he had plenty of work he could give them to do. +The time soon arrived for family prayers and the men were invited to be +present. 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 God. The next day he took the two men +out into the field to show them what to do. 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 Him. One lingered behind to shoot, +but his hand trembled too much. The other did not have the courage to +do the man of God any injury. That night they said they would not stay +longer. He paid them for the day's work, bade them godspeed and they +departed. + +But he did not always escape suffering so easily. One afternoon as he +was passing by the priest's home the priest accosted him and said: +"Captain, why is it you do not stop with me any more? You used to do +so, but of late you have passed me by." He urged the Captain so +strongly that he decided to stay all night. They offered him wine to +drink, which he refused. Then they gave him coffee. That night he +suffered agony and was sick for some time after reaching home. He was +sure he had been poisoned. + +He suffered many persecutions from unsympathetic neighbors, not only +from criticism, but sometimes from bodily injuries and from painful +abuse, all of which he bore with an equanimity of spirit which would do +credit to any martyr to the cause of Christ. + +Dr. Z. C. Taylor relates a trying experience through which he and +Captain Egydio passed together. + +"The Captain and I were together one day returning home from a +preaching tour by a near cut, passing the door of our greatest +persecutor, Captain Bernadino, who on seeing us, seized a stick, and +running to us, beat back our hordes, crying, 'Back, back, you cannot +pass my house.' A plunge of my horse caused my hat to fall off, which +he handed me and continued to force our retreat. We returned by way of +the home of his son-in-law, who was a baptized believer, and while this +brother was piloting us down a hill to another way home Captain +Bernadino, jumping from behind a bush, caught my horse by the bridle. +He had an assassin at his heels, with axe in hand, asking every minute +what he should do. Captain Bernadino wore out his stick on my horse, +planting the last stroke across my loins; then he struck me about a +dozen times in the breast with his fist. I said to him, 'Captain, why +are you beating me, I believe in God; do not you also?' Stopping and +panting he said, 'Do you believe in God, you rascal?' 'Yes,' I said, +'and Jesus also who came to save us sinners.' 'Don't let up, don't let +up, hit him, hit him,' cried his wife and children. He pulled the +bridle from my hands, led my horse into a pond close by, and gathering +mud, pelted me from foot to shoulder. Then leaving my horse, he went +after Captain Egydio, who was guarded by another assassin. On passing +his son-in-law, kneeling, he struck him on the head, saying, 'Get up, +you fool!' Leading the Captain's horse into the water, he covered him +with mud from foot to head. Then, putting our bridles up, he beat our +horses and told us to go, never to be seen in those parts any more. My +bridle reins he crossed, which fact caused me when I passed his wife, +who stood with a long stick upraised, to strike me, to turn my horse +upon her instead of away from her, and the horse came near running over +her. She struck and fell back, the stick falling across my horse's +neck. Such a pandemonium of mad voices, cursing and shouting as we left +I never heard. It took us till night to reach home. The family took it +as an honor, and smiling and laughing, we were spending the evening +merrily, when at nine or ten o'clock a rap at the door caused us all to +suspend our hilarity. It was that son-in-law of the persecutor, +bringing his wife, asking to be baptized. She had witnessed the +persecution her father gave us, and on her husband's return to the +house, she told him the scene made her think of the Apostles and that +now she was determined to be baptized. At first I thought of bloodshed, +for her father had threatened to kill her, her mother, Captain Egydio +and the man who baptized her. But I had always taught them to obey +Christ and leave results with Him, so we heard her experience and at +midnight I baptized her. + +Captain Egydio did not complain of our treatment nor did I ever mention +it to our Consul. + +When he gave his heart to Christ he gave his life and all. He followed +where his conscience led. Before his conversion he was a great smoker. +The missionary asked him one day if he smoked for the glory of God. He +took the cigarette from his mouth, threw it away and never smoked +again. This was characteristic of his determination and his unfaltering +devotion to what he esteemed to be right. + +The end came swiftly one night. He had an attack apparently of +indigestion which carried him speedily away. The symptoms seemed to +indicate that he had been poisoned. All that night he spent in prayer +and in singing hymns. He died leaving his benediction upon his family +and upon those Brazilians who would give their hearts and their +services to Jesus Christ. + +He was buried upon his own farm. As his family did not erect a cross +over his grave, one of his neighbors who had persecuted Captain Egydio +violently many times thought he would correct him in his grave, and so +he set up a large cross over him. One night soon after, this cross was +cut down. The violent neighbor instituted a suit for the violation of +the law in tearing down a symbol of the Roman Catholic church. He also +came with great pomp, accompanied by soldiers, and set up another +cross. The law suit finally wore itself out and both parties were glad +to drop it, each party sharing an equal amount of the costs. + +The persecution has been so bitter that the church which Captain Egydio +organized in his own house was removed to Pe da Serra, three miles +away, and from there it was driven by persecution to Rio Preto, where +today it flourishes with a membership of about fifty people and is in a +hopeful condition. The widow and her children have been compelled to +move into the city of Bahia. A recent letter informs me of the +conversion of the two youngest girls. + +The witness of Captain Egydio has not been lost. It is marvelous how +much he accomplished in his short career. He was converted October, +1894, baptized February 4, 1895, and died March 30th, 1898, at fifty +years of age. In these few years he sowed the country down with the +gospel truth. We visited Vargem Grande, Santo Antonio, Areia and +Genipapo churches, all of which had grown very largely out of the +influence of this one man, and had we been permitted to go further, we +might have visited several other churches for whose beginning the life +of this valiant servant of God was in a great measure responsible. "He, +being dead, yet speaketh." + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +FELICIDADE. + + +One of the most fascinating phases of mission study is the tracing of +the lines along which the gospel spreads. 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 gospel. As it was in the first +century, so it is now--"they that were scattered abroad went everywhere +preaching the gospel." The history of those Apostolic times repeats +itself in every mission land. 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 Luke. The native +Christians must either witness for their Lord or else betray Him. There +is no middle ground. 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 neighbors. He may have +entered this community by choice or may have been driven into it by +persecution. However, that may be, the truth is that many a poor, +despised, often persecuted believer, has started a movement in a +community which gathered to itself a large company of believers, and +formed the nucleus of another one of those most wonderful institutions +in all the world--a church of Jesus Christ. + +When I had entered the First Baptist Church in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and +stood for a moment looking about me, I heard someone exclaim, "Oh, +there he is! There he is!" and presently I found myself locked in the +affectionate embrace of an apparently very happy old woman. She was +about seventy years of age. She was the janitress of the church. She +had looked forward to our coming with joyful pleasure, and gave to us +as hearty a welcome as did anyone in Brazil. Her name was Felicidade, +which being translated means "Felicity." + +Several years ago she had come from Pernambuco, in which city and State +she had labored with great success for many years in behalf of the +gospel. + +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 oath. She had the greatest desire +to see this book. She was married in her thirteenth year and her +husband died when she was eighteen. After his death she went from the +country to the city of Pernambuco, where she met some members of the +Congregational Church and was led by them to attend the services. She +saw the Bible and heard a sermon preached from the text, "Blessed are +they that hunger and thirst," and soon afterward she gave obedience to +Jesus. + +From that time forth her whole conversation was upon the gospel and +upon the subject of bringing other people to Christ. One time when Mrs. +Entzminger was away from the city of Pernambuco she left her children +in charge of Felicidade. While Felicidade was passing along the street +with the children one day she was met by Mrs. Maria Motta and her +daughter, who stopped to admire the beautiful children. Felicidade told +who the children were and urged her new acquaintances to attend the +church services. They accepted her invitation and soon became +interested in the gospel, and before long were converted to faith in +Jesus Christ. + +Then their persecution began. They lost all their friends and endured +many other hardships. They came from one of the best families in the +city, and therefore felt the persecution more bitterly than might have +some others. The girl, Augusta, secured work in the English store. Her +mother took in fine ironing, and thus the two made their support. +Afterward Augusta married Augusto Santiago, who at the present time is +the pastor of our thriving church in the city of Nazareth. 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 work. When we +visited Nazareth we were entertained in the delightful home of Augusto +Santiago and found it to be charming in every respect. + +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 +year. She would then go into the interior with tracts and Bibles, sell +them and in every way try to lead people to Christ. One year she made +it her aim to lead not less than twelve to her Lord, and she was able +to accomplish her purpose. Her education is limited, but she knows any +number of Scripture verses, which she is able to quote with remarkable +aptness. + +Upon one of her visits into the interior she was found at Nazareth by +Innocencio Barbosa, a farmer who resided in the district of Ilheitas. +He lived about thirty miles from Nazareth. He took Felicidade home with +him in order that she might teach the gospel to his family. Meanwhile, +his friend, Hermenigildo, who lived in a distant neighborhood, bought a +Bible in Limoeiro and told his friend Innocencio of what he had done. +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 also. Felicidade accordingly went into this other +home and soon the entire family, including a son-in-law and some +relatives, were led to Jesus, and a church of about fifty members was +organized in Hermenigildo's house. + +Thus the faithful witnessing of this humble, consecrated woman was so +honored of the Holy Spirit that scores were led into the light of the +gospel of Jesus. Out of her efforts grew churches which the violence of +the oppressor could not destroy, because the work she did became +immortal when it passed over into the hands of the Lord of Hosts, +against whose church not even the gates of Hell can prevail. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +PERSECUTION. + + +Some of the severest persecutions the saints have ever endured in +Pernambuco broke upon this new congregation in the Ilheitas district. +The houses of the believers were broken into and everything destroyed, +some of the buildings were burned. The believers asked for police +protection, but the police sent to protect them being under the +domination of the priest, who was the political boss of that district, +persecuted the believers even more than their neighbors had done. They +drove the believers about, beating them with their swords, forcing them +to drink whisky and in many ingenious ways heaped indignities upon +them. After the success of the great persecution in Bom Jardim, of +which we will speak later, the priest organized a large force of men to +destroy everything belonging to the Protestants in the Ilheitas +district and to drive them away. They burned all of the church +furniture, as well as the household furniture belonging to +Hermenigildo, who was forced to flee for his life. They cut the cord to +the hammock in which was lying his young baby. The fall broke the neck +of the child. The mother was driven unclothed between two lines of +soldiers and severely beaten. The other believers were so harrassed +that most of them were compelled to leave the neighborhood. +Hermenigildo stayed away five months, when a change in police chiefs in +Pernambuco made it possible for him to return. The church was +reorganized the following year. A new building was constructed on +Hermenigildo's farm and today, with a membership of 103, it is in a +most prosperous condition. + +In the little city of Nazareth the fury of persecution has been felt. +Not a great while after the church had been organized by Dr. Entzminger +the farmers in the community and the priest combined to drive the +Protestants out of town. Dr. Entzminger heard of their purpose and went +up to Nazareth, accompanied by a number of soldiers whom the Government +had put at his disposal. A great throng was collected at the station to +do violence to the missionary on his arrival, but when they saw the +soldiers they took to their heels, and many came that night to the +service to show that they were not in the mob. A year or two later +another mob broke into the church, poured oil over the furniture and +burned practically everything. The police saved the building. Once +after this, when Missionary Ginsburg was to hold an open-air meeting in +this same town, a soldier was hired to take his life. The officers of +the law left town in order that the deed might be done without +hindrance. The soldier drank whisky in order to brace himself for the +deed, and fortunately imbibed too much and became so intoxicated that +he fell asleep. When he awoke the meeting had been held and he had +missed his chance. These facts were confessed by the soldier to Dr. +Entzminger after the soldier had been converted a year later. + +At the railway station at Nazareth we met Primo da Fonseca, who had, +for the sake of the gospel, lost all in a great persecution at Bom +Jardim, which is not a great distance from Nazareth. He was a reader of +evangelical literature and preached the gospel all over that country, +though he had not been baptized. A native missionary went into that +region, began preaching and soon afterward gathered a congregation and +organized a church in Fonseca's home. The political boss of the +community planned with the Catholics to take 800 men into Bom Jardim on +the night of April 15th, 1900, for the purpose of killing all the +Protestants who were in prayer at Fonseca's house. The mob divided into +two parties. One party was to approach the house from the front and the +other from the opposite side. A gun was to be fired as a signal for the +attack. The first party approached the house, which was near the +theater. Now in the theater at that time was gathered a great throng of +people. 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 Silvino, +who is perhaps the most famous outlaw of Brazil. All were greatly +frightened. The Mayor went out to see if he could not do something to +persuade the mob to leave the town. After some parleying they said that +inasmuch as the Mayor asks, we will turn back. Someone at that time +fired a shot and shouted, "Viva Santa Anna" in honor of the patron +saint of that city. This signal brought up the supporting party at +once, who mistook their comrades for the believers and fired into them. +In the melee twenty people were killed and about fifty wounded. All +night they were carrying the dead away to burial in order that they +might cover up the deed as far as possible. The Municipal Judge made +out a case that the Protestants had fired on the Catholics. He +pronounced nineteen as being implicated. Several escaped, six were +finally brought to trial. Dr. Entzminger in Pernambuco sent lawyers and +gave such assistance as he could. After about two years, Missionary +Ginsburg having come also to help in the meantime, the men on trial +were set free. Fonseca lost all he had in this law suit, he being one +of those arrested. He was in jail four months. He has been deserted by +his family. When the disturbance occurred he was Marshal of his town. +Today he lives in Nazareth, poor, deserted, faithful. But what cares he +for this suffering, poverty and desertion as he contemplates the fact +that he has set a torch of eternal light in his community. The church +which he finally established will bear faithful witness in spite of +hardships long after all persecution has ceased, and he, himself, has +gone home to God. + +It was our good fortune to visit the little town of Cabo (which means +Cape), two hours' ride from Pernambuco, where we have a small church, +organized about two years ago. We were entertained in the home of a +mechanic who superintends the bridge construction along the railroad +which passes through the town. He takes his Bible with him when he goes +to work, and wherever he is he preaches the gospel. He told us of two +station agents along the line who had recently accepted Christ through +his personal efforts. + +We had a delightful service that night in the church, a great throng of +people being present, six of whom made public profession of their faith +in Jesus. 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 hour. +Some of those who had suffered for the cause of the gospel came in to +see us, and as we sat there in the dim light of the flickering candle, +they told us of some of their sufferings for the gospel's sake. 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 trials. + +Amongst those who were present in this little room was brother Honofre, +through whose efforts the church at Cabo had been founded. Several +years ago he began to read a Bible which had been presented to him by a +man who was not interested in it. He became converted along with his +household. There was a Catholic family living opposite to him which he +determined to reach with the gospel. After awhile this family accepted +Christ and the two families began to hold worship in their homes. Soon +they rented a hall, with the aid of a few others, and sent to +Pernambuco for a missionary to come and organize them into a church. +This man has endured cruel hardships. He had to abandon his business as +a street merchant because the people boycotted him. He rented a house, +built an oven and began to bake bread. Not long after that he was put +out of this house. 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 building. He can now make a living. + +The church has had experience similar to that of its founder. It was +put out of three rented buildings at the instance of the Vicar, who +either forced the owners to eject or he, himself, bought the property. +Finally a man who is not a believer, but whose mother is, bought the +present building and sold it to me church. He is permitting the church +to pay for the building in installments of small sums. 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 members. On the occasion of our +visit six more made public confession of Christ before a large audience +and were received for baptism. + +Out on the cape is a fine lighthouse which we had admired as we came up +the coast on the ship. May it be a symbol of the lighthouse which this +church may become to the storm tossed in that section of Brazil. + +Of course, persecution is a painful thing for those who are called upon +to endure it, but wherever I found those who had passed through +afflictions they counted it all joy to suffer for the cause of Christ, +and whenever I attempted to comfort them because of their hardships, I +came away more comforted than they, 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 people. Persecution, while it may temporarily suspend work +in a certain place, always defeats its own purpose, and instead of +preventing the spread of the gospel, is one of the most helpful +agencies in the growth of the truth. + +A most encouraging illustration of this fact occurred in Pernambuco in +1904. There had been a bitter persecution at Cortez, a village not far +from Pernambuco. The chief instigator of the trouble was the parish +priest. The believers were driven out of the town and their lives +threatened. The missionary went and was also driven out, 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 out. A news +account of this persecution was published in a daily paper in +Pernambuco. A boy cut this article out and gave it to his teacher, a +priest in the Silesian College. 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 gospel. Two letters were passed before the +missionary finally went at midnight to hold a conference. The priest +came out and discussed the gospel with the missionary and then returned +to the college, taking with him a copy of the New Testament. After a +month the missionary went again at midnight to the college and the +priest came away with him once for all. The priest went to the home of +the missionary and for two months studied the Bible, after which time +he was converted. He at once began to preach the gospel to his friends +as he would meet them on the streets. He also made a public declaration +of his conversion in print. The President of the college from which he +had gone obtained an interview with him and offered him every +inducement to return. His parents disinherited him and many other +trials came to him, but through all, he stood firm. He has just +graduated from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, taking the +Th. D. degree and has been appointed to teach in the Baptist College +and Theological Seminary in Rio. His name is Piani. About a year after +Piani's conversion he induced another priest to leave the same college. +This man spent a month in the missionary's house studying the Bible, +but was enticed back by the priests and hurried away to New York in +order that he might escape the influence of Piani. 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 Massachusetts. + +In no place where our people have endured persecution, even though it +may have been severe enough to cost the lives of some, has the work +been abandoned, but in every place the weak, struggling congregation +which faced obliteration at the fury of its enemy, has in the end +increased, and today enjoys the blessing of growth in numbers and in +the sympathy of the people. Persecution is a good agency in the spread +of the gospel. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +THE BIBLE AS A MISSIONARY FACTOR. + + +The Bible is a mighty factor in the spread of the gospel in Brazil. In +1889 there came down to Bahia a man named Queiroz from two hundred and +fifty miles in the interior. He came seeking baptism at the hands of +Dr. Z. C. Taylor. It appears that some six or eight years previous to +that time an agent of a Bible society had entered this man's community, +preached the gospel and left behind him some copies of the Scriptures. +One of these Bibles was found afterwards by Queiroz, who studied it and +was impressed with its truth. He began to bring the message of the Word +to the attention of his large circle of friends and kindred. Having +preached in several places, he was finally asked by the district judge +to come to his house where he was given opportunity to meet a number of +friends. The friends of Queiroz, however, began to ask him whether it +was right for him to be preaching thus before he had been baptized, +whereupon he resolved to go to Bahia to seek baptism. He made the +journey and was baptized. A week after he had returned he wrote to Dr. +Taylor, saying he had preached at Deer Forks and had baptized eight. +During the next two weeks similar letters were sent, which gave the +number he had baptized. The church at Bahia was apprized of conditions, +and it decided to send Queiroz an invitation to come and receive +ordination. He came with great humility and joy and was ordained, but +before the ordination had taken place he had already baptized +fifty-five people. The church, at Bahia, after the ordination of +Queiroz, legalized the baptisms. + +Five years after the baptism of this man Dr. Taylor was finally able to +make the journey to Conquista, where he found the church well +organized, with a house of worship built at its own expense and with +the pastor's home erected near by. The missionary says, "I now +understand why God never permitted me to visit Conquista during these +five years. 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 them. I wonder how many churches in the +United States have built their own house and pastorium and sustained +themselves from the start? Not a cent from the Board has been spent on +the church and the evangelization done by Brother Queiroz." + +Another example of the power of the Bible in spreading the gospel is +found in the way the gospel came to Guandu, State of Rio, and the +country round about. One night in Campos in 1894, after the missionary +had finished his sermon, a young woman approached him and said, "My +father has been teaching us out of that same book you used. Would you +not like to go out in the country to visit him?" The missionary replied +that he would, and then the girl explained how the Bible came to this +community. + +One evening a colporteur approached her father's door and asked for +entertainment, saying he had been refused by several families along the +way. To the host's inquiry as to why he had been refused entertainment +for the night the colporteur said: "They declined because I am a +Protestant." The man replied. "Come in and welcome." After the dinner +Mr. Vidal (for that was the farmer's name) asked what this +Protestantism meant. The colporteur explained and preached the gospel +to the best of his ability. + +When the time came to retire the colporteur said, "It is my custom to +read the Scriptures and to pray before I retire. If you have no +objection I would like to do so tonight." Mr. Vidal answered, "I shall +be glad for you to do so." The colporteur read and there in the dining +hall before the curious onlookers knelt and poured out his heart to his +Heavenly Father. He called down the blessing and the favor of God upon +the family. The tears poured down his cheeks as he lifted his soul in +this prayer. After he finished praying Mr. Vidal said, "I have never +heard prayer like that. Teach me how to do it. I have heard Latin +prayers repeated, but they did not grip me like that." The colporteur +replied by explaining that prayer must be from the heart. He then took +out a Bible and said, "I want to make you a present of this book. You +have been kind to me. Read it, for it has in it the Word of Life." He +went away the following morning. We do not know who he was--only the +record on high will discover his person to us. + +The book left behind became a great light for Mr. Vidal. He read it and +was so impressed with its teachings that he taught the Word to his +family and neighbors. His house became a house of prayer and teaching. +When Missionary Ginsburg went out there, preached the Word and +explained about Christ, he asked those who wished to follow the Lord to +stand. Practically the whole company stood. They had been prepared, by +Mr. Vidal The missionary went back a few times and soon a church of +about forty members was organized and was called the Church of Guandu. + +The Word spread up the country first amongst Mr. Vidal's relatives and +friends. At Santa Barbara the station master, Carlos Mendonca, was +converted, who is now pastor of our church at Cantagallo. He first +moved to Rio Bonito and founded a church there, the truth spread, 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 +county. Twenty-one years ago, a Bible which belonged to a Catholic +priest, or rather a part of a Catholic Bible, fell into the hands of +the old man, Joaquim Borges. Through the reading of this Bible, he +abandoned idolatry and other practices of Rome and put his trust solely +in the Lord Jesus for his salvation. For sixteen years he resisted all +attempts of priests and others to turn him back to Rome, always giving +a clear and firm testimony to the truth of the gospel. During all this +time he never met with another believer. Hearing of him, E. A. Jackson +wrote him to meet him in Pilao Arcado. He came 120 miles and waited +twelve days for the arrival of the missionary. As Jackson had through +passage to Santa Rita, he asked the captain to hold the steamer while +he baptized Mr. Borges. Before administering baptism Jackson preached +to the great crowd on the river bank and on the decks of the steamer. +It was a solemn and beautiful sight to behold this man, seventy-seven +years of age, 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 scene. Dripping from the river, Jackson welcomed him into the +ranks of God's children. The missionary embarked on the steamer and Mr. +Borges went back to work among his neighbors. Up till the present time +not even a native minister has visited him, for the lack of workers and +funds to send them. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 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 Brazil. + +In the State of Sao Paulo is a boy, Ramiro by name, now about thirteen +years of age, the only son of parents who do not know a letter of the +alphabet. Indeed, he is the only one in a large connection that has +been taught to read. + +The family lives about twenty miles from their market town, Mogy das +Cruzes, to which they go to sell the meager fruits of their labors on +the little farm. In this town they have some acquaintances, among whom +is a believer whose faith had come through reading the Bible. This +believer one day came into possession of a Bible which he didn't need, +and so he gave it to Ramiro, who was then about nine or ten years of +age and was beginning to learn to read. The little fellow trudged home, +twenty miles away, carrying his priceless present, and showed it +joyously to his parents. This was the first book that ever entered +their humble home, excepting, of course, Ramiro's little school book. +Curious to know what the book contained, the father put Ramiro to +deciphering some of its pages. Guided, no doubt, by the Holy Spirit, 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 sentence, he becoming more expert as +the days went by. He would read, they would listen and discuss, the +Holy Spirit, in the meantime, fixing the sacred truth in their hearts. +This persistent reading of the Word went on for two or three years to a +time when the Lord opened to Dr. J. J. Taylor, of Sao Paulo, a door of +opportunity in Mogy das Cruzes. He found twelve people ready to follow +on in the Lord's ordinance. + +Since that time even more abundant fruit has been gathered. Dr. Taylor +at first baptized three of Ramiro's cousins who hail from the same +village twenty miles away and recently he baptized the uncle, aunt, +some more cousins and Ramiro himself. Ramiro taught the words of many +hymns to his family and neighbors. Through him and his book his aged +grandparents, ninety years old and bedridden, rejoice in the Savior. + +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 yet, +after all, is not this the combination which alone is powerful in +spreading the gospel--a simple, child-like heart, through which the +Word may speak forth? "A little child shall lead them," because it can +be artless enough to give simple utterance to the Word of God. Oh, for +more in all lands who will give unaffected voice to the Word of God! +That message has power in it if it can get sincere expression. + +We need to realize more than we do the transcendent importance of +giving wide circulation to the Bible in foreign lands. 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 endeavor. Certainly, there is marvelous power in it. Its +enemies fear its might; therefore, they fight desperately to prevent +the circulation of it. Would that we could have as keen a realization +of the vitality of this Book as do its enemies. Surely then, we would +do far more for the sowing of the Scriptures beside all waters. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +THE METTLE OF THE NATIVE CHRISTIAN. + + +In 1894, Francisco da Silva, soon after his conversion in Bahia, went +to Victoria in the State of Espirito Santo to live. He went into the +interior with some surveyors, and in addition to the work he was called +upon to do, he found time to tell the story of Jesus. Eight people were +converted and he wrote Dr. Z. C. Taylor to come and baptize them. + +Dr. Taylor was not able to go immediately, and one of the men secured +his baptism in a very unique way. He asked Francisco to baptize him +Francisco replied that he could not because he was not ordained. The +man returned home and examined his Bible and came back a few days later +and demanded again that Francisco baptize him. Francisco replied that +in order to baptize, one must be ordained. "No," said the man, "I have +looked in the Bible and I do not find it necessary for one to be +ordained in order to baptize." So catching hold of Francisco, he pulled +him along to a river near by, Francisco through it all holding back the +best he could and arguing with the man that he could not baptize him. +But the man constrained him and forced him into the river. Francisco +seeing his zeal, performed the ceremony. Some question afterward was +raised about the validity of this baptism, and the man was baptized +regularly by the same Francisco, who had in the meantime received +ordination. + +When he had finished with one party of surveyors another wanted to +employ him, and they went to the first party to find out about him. The +men said: "He has fine qualifications for the position, but there is +one objection to him--he is a Protestant." "Ah," said the second party, +"can't we with a little money get that out of him?" "No," replied the +first, "it seems to be grown into him." He was taken by the second +party, the chief of which and all his family soon became devoted +Christians. + +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 +party, bought a mule and other necessities for his journey and started +out to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ to the people of that +State. He was remarkably successful and soon gathered about him a +little band of believers, who, because of their faithfulness to Christ, +were called upon to suffer severe persecution. They were compelled to +flee into the distant mountains where Missionary Jackson afterward +found them, organized them into a church and baptized seventy-five +converts. Later they were able to return to their homes, due to the +fact that a more lenient administration was inaugurated in Victoria. +Very soon afterward our faithful missionary, L. M. Reno, was sent to +this State, and the work from this good beginning has had remarkable +prosperity. The pioneer missionary, da Silva, after having gained the +title of Apostle to the State of Espirito Santo, was called in 1910 to +his reward. + +From what we have been saying, you have no doubt made many inferences +about the kind of Christians these Brazilians make. If you had seen +them face to face, you would have been, as I was, impressed with their +appearance. They were the best-looking people I saw. Their countenances +were clearer and there was a hopeful, resourceful look upon them that +was not noticeable upon the non-believers. Sin and fear always break +the spirit of men, and though there may be a brave look assumed, yet +there always hangs a cloud over the countenance of the sin-stained and +fear-driven man, be he a religionist or atheist. This change in +appearance is produced by a change in their way of living. When they +are converted they cease drinking, gambling, Sabbath-breaking, and +often the men give up smoking and the women cease taking snuff. The +fact is they sometimes are extreme upon this subject. I heard of one +church that made the giving up of tobacco and another the laying aside +of jewelry the test of fellowship. 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 glory, having upon them the light of +God's countenance. + +They are liberal givers. There is a much larger proportion of tithers +among them than among the Christians in the States. Here, too, they +often go to extremes. More than one church in Brazil makes tithing +obligatory upon its members. Last year the Brazilian Baptists gave as +much per capita for foreign missions as did the Baptists in our +Southern States. They have set their aim this year higher than the +Southern Baptists have. They sustain foreign mission work in Chili and +Portugal. 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 churches. This giving to foreign missions is not +to the neglect of their home enterprises. They have Home and State +Mission Boards which they support liberally. They have am Education +Board to which they gave forty cents per capita last year and all of +this giving out of such grinding poverty! + +Here and there are people of larger means who are munificent in their +gifts. It was the generous offer of $5,000 by Captain Egydio that made +possible the founding of the Collegio Americano Egydio, which school +was established by the Taylors in Bahia. He paid $650 the first +installment upon the furniture, but his sudden taking off prevented the +college from realizing the whole amount promised, because the family +lost so heavily by persecution after the father had been taken away. +Col Benj. Nogueira Paranagua, a rich cattleman, built a church, 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 school. When +the church in San Fidelis, which was established in the face of trying +persecution, was considering how it could possibly build a meeting +house, a coffee farmer, who was not yet a member, rose and said: "I am +old and useless, but I want to do something for Jesus and His church. +I, therefore, offer to erect the church building and the church may pay +me six per cent. annually until I die, and then the building will +belong to the church as a legacy which I intend to leave." As the work +on the house progressed he signified his desire to be the first one to +be baptized in the baptistry. 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 chapel. Not only this chapel has been built by an individual, +but others have been built in the same way. Usually, however, the +churches are built out of the sacrificial offerings of the people. So +well has this church building movement progressed that now about +one-third of the 142 Baptist Churches organized in Brazil worship in +their own buildings, and with a few exceptions, these buildings have +been erected by the gifts of the people and not by the gifts of the +Foreign Mission Board. The Presbyterians show a better proportion of +buildings than this and the Methodists quite as good. + +The subject of self-support is a live one. There has been good progress +made in this matter, but, of course, it will require many years to +teach the churches their full duty in this regard. Many churches have +reached the point where they take care of all local expenses. Some of +the missionaries go so far as to advocate not organizing any more +churches until the congregations can be self-supporting. The South +Brazilian Mission, in its recent meeting, adopted the rule that no +church should be organized hereafter until it could pay at last 60 per +cent of its own expenses--these expenses to include the care of the +house, the salary of the native pastor, etc. + +I have already cited instances of personal work. 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 them. + +One of the greatest laymen in Brazil is our Brother Thomaz L. da Costa. +He is the Superintendent of a very considerable business firm in Bahia. +He is a deacon in the First Baptist Church, one of the moving spirits +upon the Brazilian Foreign Mission Board and practically superintends +the work of the State Mission Board of Bahia. + +Years ago he was converted in Rio through the agency of his +washerwoman. This faithful woman is a member of the First Baptist +Church. She decided she would attempt to lead Thomaz to Christ. So on +Saturday when she would bring his laundry she would invite him to come +to her house on the following day for dinner. I might say by way of +parenthesis, that there is not a steam laundry in Brazil. All of the +laundry work is done by hand. Sometimes there is quite a considerable +firm which employs many laundresses. Thomaz, after declining the good +woman's invitation many times, finally one day decided he would accept +it. + +On Sunday he appeared at her house for dinner. After the dinner was +over she suggested that they, in company with several of her children, +should take a stroll through some of the parks. They passed through the +great park in the center of the city, and after a while they found +themselves in front of a building in which they heard singing. The good +woman suggested that they go upstairs into the hall from which +proceeded the sounds of the music. They went in, Thomaz not knowing +what sort of place it was. Dr. Bagby, the first missionary of our board +to Brazil, was conducting a service and soon began a sermon which +impressed Thomaz very greatly. The sermon drew such a picture of his +life that he accused the woman of having told Dr. Bagby about him. She +had not done so, she declared, and this fact impressed Thomaz even more. + +Next Saturday, when she brought his laundry, she invited him to take +dinner with her again on Sunday, but he was too shrewd for her and +declined, saying that he understood her purpose. The message which he +had heard in the sermon, however, stayed with him. On the following +Saturday the good woman again invited him to take dinner with her on +Sunday. He declined. When the third Saturday came, before she had time +to extend her usual invitation, he said: "I am coming to dinner with +you tomorrow." He went according to promise, and after the meal had +been finished, they did not take a round-about course, but went +directly to the church, and there the man listened to the gospel again +and gave himself to Christ. He has not missed a service since unless +providentially hindered. I asked him if he was sorry of the step he had +taken and he replied: "No, indeed. It is as Paul says, 'A salvation not +to be repented of.'" + +There can be but one inevitable result to such faithful witnessing as +this. 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 way. A large +percentage of them will conduct public services wherever the +opportunity can be found. In the First Baptist Church in Rio there are +more than twenty men who will go out and conduct public services. They +are not skilled preachers. They may have very limited education, but +they can take the Book, read it, explain its message through the light +of their own individual experiences, and by this means of witnessing to +the power of the saving grace of God in their own lives, they are able +to lead many to Jesus. Is not this after all the kind of preaching our +Lord has sent us into the world to do? + +The severest persecution which these Brazilian Christians are called +upon to endure is not that which comes to them when they are stoned, 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 priests, but the +most trying persecution is that which comes from the insinuating +remark, the sneer of the supercilious and the doubt of the envious. The +taunt of hypocrisy is often thrown into the teeth of native Christians. +Their motives are frequently impugned. I was profoundly impressed with +the answer they usually give to such persecutions. They reply by +saying: "See how we live. Note the difference between our careers now +and our careers before we became Christians." And this challenge of the +life is the one which will finally answer the ridicule and doubt of all +who assail them. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THE TESTING OF THE MISSIONARY. + + +In thinking of the missionary, most of us dwell upon the heroic +self-denial he practices and the bravery with which he faces the +gravest dangers. Certainly, the missionary in Brazil is due a good +share of such appreciation. He has been called upon to endure shameful +indignities, painful personal dangers and the enervating perils of a +hostile climate. Our own missionaries have been beaten, stoned, thrown +into streams, arrested and haled before courts, shot at and in many +instances saved only by the most signal dispensations of Providence. +Dr. Bagby, our first missionary, in spite of stoning and arrest when he +was baptizing converts in Bahia, kept fearlessly on in his endeavor to +lead the people to Christ. Dr. Z. C. Taylor traveled through the +interior of Bahia State in perils of robbers, in perils of fanatics, in +perils of infuriated priests and in perils of bloodthirsty persecutors +without fear or shrinking. In the spring of 1910 Solomon Ginsburg was +set upon by a mob at Itabopoana, which opened fire with such perilous +directness that one bullet flattened upon the wall a few inches above +his head. + +This same missionary in 1894 endured bitter persecutions when he +attempted to open the work at San Fidelis in the interior of the State +of Rio de Janeiro. A mob of a thousand people threw stones, grass, corn +and a great miscellany of other objects at him and his little band of +worshipers. The howling of the mob prevented him from preaching. The +best that could be done was to sing songs. Finally, a stone having +struck a girl in the congregation, he carried her out through the +infuriated mob to a drug store across the street, where she was +resuscitated, and he returned to his service of song. + +Next morning he was called to the police headquarters and the officer +forbade him to preach. He asked what the missionary was doing there, to +which he replied, "To preach the gospel." The missionary was then +prohibited from preaching in the province. He replied that he was sorry +he could not obey, for he had superior orders. He could not accept +orders from the police, nor the Governor, nor even from the President +of the Republic. The officer asked who this superior authority was. The +missionary replied it was God. God had told him to go preach the gospel +in all the world to every creature; some of God's creatures were in San +Fidelis and he was there to preach according to the command of his +Lord. The police officer, after plying him with insulting epithets, +kept him a prisoner of the State as a disturber of the peace. On the +following day he was sent to the State prison at Nictheroy, where he +was confined for ten days. Friends, through the solicitation of Mrs. +Ginsburg, brought pressure to bear upon the Government and the +missionary was released. He was requested then as a personal favor not +to return until after the naval revolt, which was then in progress, +should be suppressed and a degree of quiet could be restored to the +State. Being thus requested, he remained away from San Fidelis awhile. + +When the revolt was suppressed he returned to San Fidelis and +persecution arose again. He appealed to the chief officer of the State +and fifty soldiers were sent to his relief. In choosing these fifty +soldiers the officer asked for believers to volunteer. Twenty-five +responded. He asked then for sympathizers and twenty-five more +volunteered. These were put under the command of the missionary, who +instructed them not to appear armed at the church. They came unarmed, +but when the mob began to thrown stones again and refused to respect +the soldiers, they pounced upon the evil doers and there was a rough +and tumble fight. Several were bruised considerably and a number of +limbs were broken, but after this conflict the persecution ceased. + +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 +Christ. Every missionary who has been in Brazil any length of time has +felt the weight of personal, physical persecution, and all in the +gravest dangers have conducted themselves as became the heroic +character with which they are so splendidly endowed. And this +suffering, we are sorry to say, is not yet over. For many years to come +the desperate and despotic hand of Rome, which could in the name of +religion invent the horrible inquisition and organize the bloodthirsty +order of Jesuits, has not changed its attitude completely and will +resist desperately to the last the inevitable progress of Protestantism +in Brazil. + +Let me hasten, however, to say that it is very easy to get the wrong +impression of what the heroism of the missionary consists. It is easy +for us to think it consists in his willingness to face personal danger. +If such an idea should obtain amongst us permanently and alas, it has +persisted altogether too long; 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 public. + +The most trying thing to the missionary is not the imminence of +personal danger, but the ever-present chilling, benumbing indifference +of the people to the gospel. Even though here and there we find large +numbers of people who are ready to accept the gospel, let us not +deceive ourselves into the belief that all Brazil is eagerly seeking to +enter the Kingdom of God. The Macedonian call to Paul did not come from +a whole nation which was ready to accept his teaching, but from one man +in a nation. Most all Macedonian calls are like that. The few, +comparatively speaking, rise to utter such calls and these few are the +keys of opportunity which may be used to unlock whole Empires. The +great body of the people in Brazil (and this is especially true of the +educated classes) are as indifferent to the gospel as people are most +anywhere else. It is the weight of this stolid indifference which tries +the endurance of the missionary. It fills the very atmosphere he +breathes and hangs a dark cloud over his horizon, which only his faith +in God and the winning of occasional converts graciously tinge with a +silver lining. It is indifference, slowly yielding indifference that +tests the temper of the missionary character. There are times when a +bit of physical persecution would afford a positive relief to the +fatigue of his exacting career. + +The days of the pioneer missionary, with their personal dangers, have +in a measure passed. The yeans of the persecutor in the face of an +increasingly more enlightened civilization are numbered. The +probability of personal perils is growing steadily less. The missionary +must now fight for a hearing before a public which is too often willing +to let him alone. In many places it does not care enough for his +message to persecute him for bringing it. It is ready to patronize him +with an assumed air of liberality and resist the message which burns in +his heart and upon his lips. They are willing for him to speak, but not +willing to listen to what he has to say. He must fight for a hearing +with this patronizing indifference. It is this that tries his spirit. +It is this that bleeds his heart of its strength. It is this that calls +out the heroic in him as never does the dart of the savage, the weapon +of the fanatic or the fury of the mob. 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 missionaries. No one of them has ever +drawn back and given up his work for fear of death at the hands of his +persecutors, but it must be said for the sake of the truth that some +have succumbed before the rigors of blasting indifference. 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 message. + +There is another count in this subject of indifference to which we at +home should give more prayerful consideration. 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 already. +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 work? It is a shame upon us that +we at home add another burden to our missionaries by failing to loyally +support them. 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 send? + +When that brave garrison of English soldiers were shut up in Lady +Smith, South Africa, 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 relief, though the relief was long +delayed. If the thought that their home people were not trying to send +succor to them had ever taken possession of their minds, they would +have surrendered forthwith. Their line of communication was cut, but +they knew help was coming, and so they held out with grim determination +until relief came. + +How is it with our missionaries in Brazil? Their lines of communication +are intact. They know their people at home are able to supply them with +the help they need and yet the help does not come. What must be the +conclusion forced upon, them and what must be the effect upon them? +Either the churches, though able, will not give the means to send out +missionaries, or the men for reinforcement will not volunteer. It may +be that both causes are at work. 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 pastor, and a good percentage (save the mark) +of these direct applications, when our small missionary force in Brazil +is pleading for only ten men to be sent out to relieve them in their +strain? Whatever explanation we may have to offer for these things, the +fact remains that our indifference to the call of our men at the front +adds an additional weight to their already too heavy load, and yet, in +spite of it all, they are standing with unflinching heroism at their +posts. + +Something must be done to relieve this situation. Counting all +denominations, there are in Brazil fewer missionaries today in +proportion to the population than there are either in India or China. +Why this disparity of workers in Brazil? Is it because the work is not +successful there? The facts show that, taking into consideration the +number of workers, it is one of the most fruitful of all mission +fields. Is it because there is less need of the gospel? I believe I +have shown that these people are bereft of the gospel, and because of +their sin and idolatry are as needy as are to be found anywhere. No, +there is no excuse to be offered. Our workers at the front need help. +We are trying their brave spirits by withholding the relief they have a +right to expect, and yet we repeat they are holding on with a courage +that stamps them as heroes of the finest type. 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 conquerors. + +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 large. Thank God, the light is breaking in many places at home and +abroad. Many individuals and churches are today seeing the larger +vision and are assuming their larger responsibility in the support of +the foreign mission cause. Many are saying: "We will faithfully +strengthen the hands of our brothers who toil so courageously at the +front." In Brazil (and in other mission fields, too,) there is in many +places a marvelous breaking away from the old attitude of indifference. +The little handful of missionaries we have on the field are straining +every nerve to meet the opportunities that are pressing upon them. They +are not discouraged. They are as busy as life trying to meet the +increasing demands. They are looking to the future with the largest +hope. They are a band of the most incurable optimists you ever saw. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +THE URGENT CALL. + + +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 satisfy. 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 Texas, two in Virginia, +three in Georgia and other States in like proportion. Think of E. A. +Nelson, the only representative of our board in the Amazon region, +trying to spread himself over four States which comprise a territory +five times as large as Texas. Passing down the coast, five days +journey, we would find D. L. Hamilton and H. H. Muirhead, who have +faced dangers as fearlessly as have any brave spirits who have enriched +the annals of missionary history with courageous service. They, along +with Miss Voorheis, are our sole representatives in the State of +Pernambuco and in the adjoining State of Alagoas. C. F. Stapp, Solomon +Ginsburg and E. A. Jackson are attempting to carry forward the work in +the vast States of Piauhy, Goyaz, a part of Minas Geraes, and Bahia, +which last named State has in it one city as large as New Orleans. E. +A. Jackson is located far in the interior of the State, three weeks' +journey from Bahia; all of the energies of Stapp are consumed in caring +for the school; Ginsburg is forced to give his attention to the +nurturing of the thirty-five churches and of evangelizing as far as his +strength will go. In the State beyond them, going down the coast, +stands L. M. Reno, in the State of Espirito Santo. In the populous +State of Rio, in which is located the capital city with its 1,000,000 +inhabitants, we have Entzminger, Shepard, Langston, Maddox, Cannada, +Christie, Taylor and Crosland. Entzminger, in addition to conducting +the publishing house, must also conduct the mission operations in +Nictheroy, a city of 40,000; Shepard, Taylor and Langston have placed +upon their shoulders the tremendous responsibility of conducting the +college and seminary; Cannada must give his energies to the Flumenense +School for Boys, leaving only Maddox, 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 them. Crosland has been +transferred recently to Bello Horizonte, in the great State of Minas +Geraes. Farther South, in Sao Paulo, the richest and most progressive +State in the country, are Bagby, Deter and Edwards, Misses Carroll, +Thomas and Grove. Bagby and wife and the young ladies just mentioned +devote their time to the school, leaving only two to man a field which, +because of its splendid railroad facilities, has in it scores of +inviting locations for successful work. In Paranagua in the next State +to the South, have been located recently R. E. Pettigrew and wife. Far +down to the South in Rio Grande do Sul, a State as large as Tennessee +and Kentucky combined, stands a single sentinel in the person of A. L. +Dunstan. What a battle line for twenty men to maintain! It is more than +4,000 miles in length. If you should place these men in line across our +Southern territory, locating the first one in Baltimore, you would +travel 100 miles before you reach the second, 100 miles before you +reach the third, 100 miles to the fourth, and in going toward the +Southwest, you would reach the twentieth man in El Paso, Tex. Whereas, +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 count, by the time you had reached El Paso you would have +passed 8,000 men, for they would have been placed just one-fourth of a +mile apart. + +Why do we need 400 ministers in this country to one in Brazil? Is it +possible that we will grudgingly cling to our 8,000 ministers and +decline to give even eight to reinforce our little handful in Brazil? +Such a division of forces can neither be fair nor faithful. + +In drawing this picture I have practically stated the situation for the +other denominations. The Presbyterians occupy the same general +territory as do the Baptists with an equal number of missionaries. The +Methodists have somewhat more compactly stationed about the same number +of missionaries as each of the other two, while the Episcopalians, the +Congregationalists and the Evangelical Mission of South America +combined add a number about equal to each of the three larger +denominations. A total of less than 100 ordained missionaries scattered +over a territory larger than the United States of North America, which +allows about four missionaries to each Brazilian State. Add to this +number the wives of the missionaries, the thirty-seven unmarried women +and the 125 native workers and the entire missionary body, foreign and +native, barely totals 300. How utterly inadequate is such a force in +the presence of such vast needs! Because this situation has in it a +call so apparent and so inexpressibly urgent it is impossible to +portray it in words. + +The ripeness of the State of Piauhy for evangelization will illustrate +the urgency of the opportunity all over Brazil. As far back as 1893 Dr. +Nogueira Paranagua, who was at that time National Senator from his +State, urged Dr. Z. C. Taylor to send a man into Piauhy and promised to +help pay the expenses. Two years later Col. Benj. Nogueira, the brother +of the Senator, gave a similar invitation, making a promise that he +would sustain a missionary. It was not until 1901 that E. A. Jackson +was able to reach Col. Benjamin's home. He preached the gospel in this +good man's house and also in Corrente, the town near by. Persecution, +bitter and determined, arose. There were three attempts to take +Jackson's life in one day. Once Col. Benjamin stepped in between the +assassin and the missionary and thus saved the missionary's life. Some +months later, upon the return of the missionary, Col. Benjamin, who had +been for so many years a friend to the gospel, gave himself to it and +was baptized. In January, 1904, the new house of worship at Corrente +was dedicated. It was built by Col. Benjamin at his own expense. He +also built a school building and library, and afterward when the +missionary was able to secure a teacher, this generous man paid all the +charges. + +When we reached Brazil last summer I received a message from Judge +Julio Nogueira Paranagua, a nephew of Col. Benjamin, who is one of the +Circuit Judges in the State of Piauhy and who after a short while is to +be retired upon his pension, according to the Brazilian law. As soon as +this takes place he expects to give himself entirely to the work of +evangelizing his own people. The message ran: "The State of Piauhy is +open to the gospel. There is a fight on between the priests and the +better classes. The better educated people, disgusted with Romanism and +priesthood, are drifting into materialism and atheism, but if a +competent man could be situated at Therezina, the capital, the whole +State could easily be won to the gospel." + +His uncle, who is President of our Brazilian Convention, as we have +already stated, whose family embraces in its immediate connection over +a thousand people, in a letter written me after I left Rio, reinforces +this appeal. He says: + +"I come to call your attention to the State of Piauhy, the field in +Brazil at present which seems to me to be the best prepared for +evangelization. Many things have contributed to bring this about. The +Masons, on the one hand, have done the most they possibly could against +Romanism; on the other hand, the propaganda sincere and fervent of a +small church founded in the southern part of the State, which happily +is receiving the greatest blessing from Almighty God, is greatly +contributing to the reception of the gospel throughout the State. My +brother, Col. Benj. Nogueira, the founder of that church, has passed +away, but he has left sons who are spiritual and who continue to work. +With the work developed there it will spread beneficently. In the +adjoining townships there exist many believers, and a church will be +founded soon in Paranagua, a town situated on the beautiful lake by the +same name. In the cities of Jerumenha and Floriano there are already +small churches, which united to the others in assiduous labors, will +powerfully contribute to the evangelization of the State, which is one +of the most promising of Northern Brazil. My friend, Senator Gervazio +de Britto Passo, strongly desires that a minister of the gospel come to +the section where he is most influential. 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 is, will unite with them, becoming +evangelical. The best moment to move in that State is the present one, +when so many causes concur for our evangelical development. The +population of Piauhy, which is over 500,000, will increase considerably +as well as its economic wealth. + +"I hope that you will not leave this field without pastors, where the +gospel is being received as the greatest benefit to which the people +can aspire for their civilization." + +It was my good fortune to meet the present Senator from the State of +Piauhy aboard the ship as he went up the coast, and he, while not a +Protestant, 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 people. This must be a Macedonian call, +which we hope to soon be able to heed. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +THE LAST STAND OP THE LATIN RACE. + + +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 +world. God was behind that exodus as truly as he was behind the +transplanting of Abraham into a new environment. Here in our country, +unfettered by despotic traditions and precedents, the Anglo-Saxon +achieved religious and political liberty with a rapidity and +thoroughness that could not have been possible in the old Continent of +Europe. + +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 World. It is true that the Latin movement was not +prompted by the same motive that impelled the Anglo-Saxon. Instead of +the love of liberty, he was led out by the lure of gold. Nevertheless, +we must believe the final result will be the same or else disbelieve in +the ultimate triumph of the guidance of God. We should not despair of +the success of this providential movement. + +In South America is to be witnessed the last stand of the Latin race. +There God has given him one last chance to achieve a religious +character which will honor his Lord. 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 God. If we cannot bring ourselves +to such a belief it is useless for us to expect to be helpful, and it +is unfaithful in us to expend money upon a people when we are confident +it will be wasted. + +We must not forget that these people are the descendants of the +Caesars, of Seneca, Napoleon--the race that ruled the world for fifteen +centuries. They surely have not lost all of their virility. It must be +a case of wasted strength. We believe that this race has in it the +possibility of rejuvenation. Lavaleye, the great Belgian political +economist, very probably spoke the truth when he said that the Latin +race is equal to the Anglo-Saxon, the only difference being the gospel +which the Protestants preach and live. + +We shall be helpful in our effort to give him the proper sympathy if we +remember the handicaps under which he has labored. He was satisfied +with his old fossilized religion, which had taught him to believe that +despotism is a virtue. He did not, therefore, come to America for +liberty. The early settlers were the veriest adventurers of whom the +gold lust made paragons of cruelty and crime. They brought with them +the intriguing priest who would corrupt the Kingdom of Heaven in order +to maintain his power. There was no intentional break with their old +life. The light that guided them to America was the yellow light of +gold and not the white light of righteousness. The first result was +that there developed in the untrammeled West the most unreasoning +despotism, the most unblushing robbery and the most shamelessly corrupt +priestcraft. So this whole transplanted mass of the worst intolerance, +most insatiable greed and the most corrupt priesthood that Europe has +ever produced, had to be taught from the beginning on the new soil, the +elements of the higher manhood they so desperately needed. They had +learned no first lesson in Europe, and therefore their first lesson in +America was to unlearn the very things that constituted their central +life and thought in Europe. + +What progress has this providential teaching of the Latins in the New +World made? 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-America. And be it said to +their everlasting credit that this sacred cause, in spite of +revolutions and reactions, which at times hazarded the whole scheme, +has made steady advance, all critics to the contrary, notwithstanding. +Political liberty is potentially at least achieved in South America. It +is written in the Constitutions of the Republics and in the purposes of +the people. While many battles will be fought to establish it in +detail, yet the principle is so well established that it will never be +uprooted, provided we give the moral and educational aid we should +render at this critical hour. + +We have come upon a time when we must give to our South American +brothers unstinted support. They have attained political freedom, but +they have not yet gained religious freedom. Nothing can be more +anomalous than a State with political freedom fostering a State +religion that is desperately and unscrupulously intolerant. No genuine +Republic can support a State religion. The two will not live together. +One or the other must go, as the history of France will abundantly +substantiate. One result is inevitable--the people will eventually +repudiate the despotic religion and drift into atheism and infidelity. +Indeed, such a thing is happening in South America today. The better +educated classes are being set hopelessly adrift religiously and the +more ignorant, the common people, are following idolatry. Neither have +the gospel preached to them. The Bible is withheld. Such a state of +affairs is a loud call to us. + +If these people are left without a vital, character building religion +they will, because of their volatile natures, degenerate into the +grossest perversions of morality. In such an event the Monroe Doctrine +itself would become a menace. 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 +morality. We must either carry to our Latin brothers the regenerating, +uplifting, energizing gospel of Jesus, 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 +70,000,000 Latin-Americans. Surely, this must be the time when we, if +we ever intend to do so, must reinforce our Latin brothers. They have +done well, they have made progress, but they have gone about as far as +they can in the struggle upon the moral resources at their command. +Their very progress in education and civilization is widening the +breach between them and their former religious teachers. A new life +must come in, even the power of the gospel. This alone can save +Latin-America from inglorious failure. + +We should not deceive ourselves into believing this prevailing religion +has lost its power, even though it is losing its religious hold upon +the better classes. It still retains its social influence over these +same educated classes, who despise its priests. This social power is a +bulwark of strength that we shall experience great difficulty in +breaking. Then, too, we may be sure these Latin lands will have +reinforcement from the Spanish priesthood, which fact assures a most +astute clerical leadership. The Spanish priest is today the most +resourceful, alert and capable priest on the earth. I believe he is to +be the last strong defender of the Roman Catholic organization. It is +no accident that Merry de Val, the Pope's prime minister, is a +Spaniard. His appointment to that office is a just recognition of the +most virile priesthood in the Roman realm. I was profoundly impressed +with the Spanish priest. He looks you in the eye. He is on the street, +"hail fellow well met" with the people. It is evident that he is +conscious of power and possesses the gift of leadership which he is +eager to use. Latin-America will feel the force of his capable +leadership. + +The situation in Brazil is complicated furthermore by the turn affairs +have taken in Portugal. 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 Republic. But it appears that these +Portuguese clerics are to be admitted. This increases the gravity of +the situation. We shall be forced to take account of these men. They +are a part of the religious problem of South America. Whether we wish +to antagonize them or not, we shall be cognizant of their power. They +will not let us alone. They will not give up South America to +Protestantism without a bitter struggle. + +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 countries. 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 do. I think +that if the sole purpose in conducting these missions is to fight the +Catholics, then we can find work to engage us more worthily. 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 +priests. If this is true, our duty is clear and our call is imperative. +We must go and preach a positive, soul-saving gospel, avoiding conflict +as far as possible and by satisfying the heart-hunger of the people +with the Bread of Life, win them to Christ and a new life in Him. + +I want to enter a plea for these, our brothers to the South of us. God +has separated them from their old soul-dwarfing environment in Europe, +and set them in this Western World that they might learn of Him. +Whether they realize it or not, they are making the last fight for +salvation and character their race is ever to engage in. They have a +need of the gospel as distressing as that of the grossest heathen. +Their religion itself is leading them further and further from their +saving Lord. Their teachers, who should show them the light of life, +are a beclouding hindrance. 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 hearts. Oh, do not some of us, as +we have followed the portrayal of the needs of South America, like +Isaiah of old, hear the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send and who will go +for us?" God grant that some of us may respond as he did, "Lord, here +am I. Send me." + +The same deep longing for salvation that is in our hearts is in the +Latin heart. 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 stopping. As we +conversed a boy twelve years of age drew near to hear us. He was +pitifully disfigured with leprosy. So moved was the missionary by the +sight that he turned and said: "Why do you not go somewhere and be +treated." There flashed instantly in the boy's eye a hope that had long +since died, and he quickly inquired, "Where can I go?" The missionary +could not tell him, and I watched the last ray of hope flicker for a +second and then die out forever! Ever since that day I have been +hearing that pathetic question, "Where can I go?" I seem to hear all +Latin-Americans ask it out of depths of sin. And we know to whom they +must go for healing and salvation. Shall we tell them? "Lord to whom +shall we go--thou hast the words of eternal life." To whom shall +Latin-America go? Only Christ has for them the word of life which +blessed truth they will never know unless we carry it to them. + + +THE END. + + + + +APPENDIX. + +SUMMARY OF SOUTHERN BAPTIST WORK IN BRAZIL. + +I. MISSIONARIES-- + 1. Foreign, 44. + (1) Men, 21. + (2) Women, 23. + + 2. Native, 117. + +II. CHURCH STATISTICS-- + 1. Churches, 142. + 2. Membership, 9,939. + 3. Church Buildings, 44. + 4. Outstations, 497. + 5. Sunday Schools, 138. + 6. Sunday School Scholars, 4,438. + +III. SCHOOLS-- + 1. Primary Schools, 9. + 2. Bagby School for Girls in Sao Paulo. + 3. Fluminense School for Boys in Nova Friburgo. + 4. School for Boys and Girls in Bahia. + 5. School for Boys and Girls in Pernambuco. + 6. Rio Baptist College and Seminary in Rio. + 7. Total number of students, 869. + 8. Theological Departments in connection + with Rio and Pernambuco schools. + +IV. GENERAL-- + 1. Work begun in 1882. + 2. Publishing House in Rio. + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Brazilian Sketches, by T. B. Ray + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BRAZILIAN SKETCHES *** + +***** This file should be named 4283.txt or 4283.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/8/4283/ + +Produced by Robert Rowe, Charles Franks and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. 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THE METTLE OF THE NATIVE CHRISTIAN + XV. THE TESTING OF THE MISSIONARY + XVI. THE URGENT CALL + XVII. THE LAST STAND OF THE LATIN RACE +APPENDIX + + + + + +FOREWORD. + + +I was dining one day with a very successful business man who, +although his business had extensive relations in many lands, was +meagerly informed about the work of missions. I thought I might +interest him by telling him something of the effects of missions +upon commerce. So I told him about how the civilizing presence of +missionary effort creates new demands which in turn increases +trade. He listened comprehendingly for a while and then remarked: +"What you say is interesting, 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 heathen. 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 else. What are the facts +about that phase of missions?" + +These words made a profound impression on me, and since then I +have spent little time in setting forth the by-products of +missions, tremendously important and interesting though they are. +I place the main emphasis on how gloriously Christianity, through +the efforts of the missionary, meets the aching spiritual hunger +of the heathen heart and transforms his life into spiritual +efficiency. + +Since this is my conception of what the burden of the message +concerning missions should be, it should not surprise anyone to +find the following pages filled with concrete statements of actual +gospel triumphs. I have endeavored to draw a picture of the +religious situation in Brazil by reciting facts. 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 eyes. These +pages record testimony which thing, I take it, most people desire +concerning the missionary enterprise. More arguments might have +been stated and more conclusions might have been expressed, but I +have left the reader to make his own deductions from the facts I +have tried faithfully to record. + +No attempt has been made to follow in detail the itinerary taken +by my wife and myself which carried us into Brazil, Argentina and +Chili in South America, and Portugal and Spain in Europe. It is +sufficient to know that we reached the places mentioned and can +vouch for the truth of the facts stated. + +I have confined myself to sketches about Brazil because I did not +desire to write a book of travel, 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 vigorously. + +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 testimony. 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 Brazil. + +The missionaries and other friends made it possible wherever we +went to observe conditions at close range and under favorable +auspices. 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 gratitude. 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- +sacrificingly. + +Richmond, Va. + + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE COUNTRY. + + +We had sailed in a southeasternly direction from New York twelve +days when we rounded Cape St. Roque, the easternmost point of +South America. A line drawn due north from this point would pass +through the Atlantic midway between Europe and America. If we had +sailed directly south we should have touched the western instead +of the eastern coast, for the reason that practically the entire +continent of South America lies east of the parallel of longitude +which passes through New York. + +After sighting land we sailed along the coast three days before we +cast anchor at Bahia, our first landing place. Two days more were +required to reach Rio de Janeiro. When we afterwards sailed from +Rio to Buenos Aires, Argentina, we spent three and one-half days +skirting along the shore of Brazil. For eight and one-half days we +sailed in sight of Brazilian territory, and had we been close +enough to shore north of Cape St. Roque, we should have added +three days more to our survey of these far-stretching shores. +Brazil lies broadside to the Atlantic Ocean with a coast line +almost as long as the Pacific and Atlantic seaboards of the United +States combined. Its ocean frontage is about 4,000 miles in +length. + +This coast line, however, is not all the water front of Brazil. +She boasts of the Amazon, the mightiest river in the world. This +stream is navigable by ships of large draught for 2,700 miles from +its mouth. It has eight tributaries from 700 to 1,200 miles and +four from 1,500 to 2,000 miles in length. One of these, the +Madeira, empties as much water into the larger stream as does the +Mississippi into the Gulf. No other river system drains vaster or +richer territory. It drains one million square miles more than +does the Mississippi, and in all it has 27,000 miles of navigable +waters. + +The land connections of Brazil are also extensive. All the other +countries on the continent, save Chili and Ecuador, border on +Brazil. The Guianas and Venezuela, on the north; Colombia and Peru +on the west; Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay on the +south--eight countries in all. + +It is indeed a vast territory. 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 Texas. + +Almost from the time we sighted land until we rounded the cape +near Montevideo, we could see the mountains along the shore. The +mountains extend far interior and up and down the length of the +country. The climate of the tropical Amazon Valley is, of course, +very hot, but as soon as the mountains are reached on the way +south the climate even in the tropical section is modified. The +section south of Rio, on account of the mountains and other forces +of nature, has a temperate climate, delightful for the habitation +of man. Each of these great zones, the tropical, the subtropical +and the temperate, is marked more by its distinctive leading +products than by climate. Each of these sections yields a product +in which Brazil leads the world. The largest and most +inexhaustible rubber supply in the world is found in the Amazon +Valley region. The central section raises so much cocoa that it +gives Brazil first rank in the production of this commodity. The +great temperate region produces three-fourths of all the coffee +used in the world. Of course, there is much overlapping in the +distribution of these products. Other products, such as cotton, +farinha, beans, peas, tobacco, sugar, bananas, are raised in large +quantities and could be far more extensively produced if the +people would utilize the best methods and implements of modern +agriculture. The mountains are full of ores and the forests of the +finest timber, and the great interior has riches unknown to man. +It has the most extensive unexplored region on earth. What the +future holds for this marvelously endowed country, when her +resources are revealed and brought to market, no one would dare +predict. Few countries in the world would venture a claim to such +immense riches. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE CAPITAL, RIO DE JANEIRO. + + +The city of Rio is the center of life in Brazil. We entered the +Bay of Rio after nightfall on the sixth of June. The miles and +miles of lights in the city of Rio on the one side, and of +Nietheroy on the other, gave us the impression that we were in +some gigantic fair grounds. Missionaries Entzminger, Shepard, +Maddox and Mrs. Entzminger came aboard to welcome us and bring us +ashore. We were taken to the Rio Baptist College and Seminary, +where we were entertained in good old Tennessee style by the +Shepards. This school building was built in 1849 by Dom Pedro II. +for a school which was known as the "Boarding School of Dom Pedro +II." It accommodated two hundred students. The Emperor supported +the school. In 1887 the school was moved to larger quarters. Dr. +Shepard is renting the property for our college, 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 students. There are about three hundred +students in all departments. + +As we studied the situation at close range, we had it driven in +upon us that one of the greatest needs in Brazil is the one Dr. +Shepard and his co-laborers are trying to meet in this school. +Three-fourths of the population of Brazil cannot read. We need, +above all things now, educated leaders. What a call is there for +trained native pastors and evangelists! Some of the Seminary +students have been preaching as many as twenty-one times a month +in addition to carrying their studies in the school. Dr. Shepard +has been forced to stop them from some of this preaching because +it was preventing successful work in the class room. The need is +so great that it is very difficult to keep the students from such +work. + +I must not go too far afield from the subject of this chapter, 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 boards. 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 +square. Soon a fanatical mob was howling around him and his life +was in imminent peril. 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 and, ascertaining that the man was a +minister of the gospel, took charge of him and drove off the mob. +They led the colporter to their home, which was the best in the +town, and showed him generous hospitality. They invited the people +in to hear him preach, and thus through their kindness the man and +his message received a favorable hearing. It should be remembered, +too, that these young men belonged to a very devout Roman Catholic +family. + +What was the secret of their actions? They had rescued, +entertained and enabled to preach a man who was endeavoring to +propagate a faith that was very much opposed to their own. The +explanation is that they had attended Granberry College, that +great Methodist school at Juiz de Fora. They had not accepted +Protestant Christianity, 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 were. The college +had made them friends and that was a tremendous service. First we +must have friends, then followers. Nothing more surely and more +extensively makes friends for our cause than the schools, and it +must be said also that they are wonderfully effective in the work +of direct evangelization. + +The First Baptist Church commissioned Deacon Theodore Teixeira and +Dr. Shepard to pilot us over the city. The church provided us with +an automobile and our splendid guides magnified their office. It +is a MAGNIFICENT city, indeed. The strip of land between the +mountains and the seashore is not wide. In some places, in fact, +the mountains come quite down to the water. The city, in the most +beautiful and picturesque way, avails itself of all possible +space, even in many places climbing high on the mountain sides and +pressing itself deep into the coves. Perhaps no city in the world +has a more picturesque combination of mountain and water with +which to make a beautiful location. It has about a million +inhabitants, and being the federal capital, is the greatest and +most influential city in Brazil. + +Most of its streets are narrow and tortuous and until recently +were considered unhealthy. 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 built. Twelve million dollars' +worth of property was condemned to make way for this splendid +street. It cuts across a peninsula through the heart of the city +from shore to shore, and is magnificent, indeed, with its +sidewalks wrought in beautiful geometrical designs, with its +ornate street lamps, with its generous width appearing broader by +contrast with other narrow streets, with its modern buildings. + +There is another street, however, which is dearer to the Brazilian +than the Avenida. He takes great pride in the Avenida, but he has +peculiar affection for the Rua d'Ouvidor. Down the Ouvidor flows a +human tide such as is found nowhere else in Brazil. No one +attempts to keep on the pavement. The street is given over +entirely to pedestrians. No vehicle ever passes down it until +after midnight. In this narrow street, with its attractive shops +filled with the highest-priced goods in the world, you can soon +find anyone you wish to meet, because before long everyone who can +reach it will pass through. In this street the happy, jesting, +jostling crowd is in one continuous "festa". + +In passing through the city one is greatly impressed by the number +of parks and beautiful public squares, and in particular with the +wonderful Beiramar, which is a combination of promenades, +driveways and park effects that stretches for miles along the +shore of the bay. What a thing of beauty this last-named park is! +There is nothing comparable to it anywhere. When Rio wishes to go +on a grand "passeio" (promenade) nothing but the grand Beiramar +will suffice. + +One cannot help being impressed also by the prevalence of coffee- +drinking stands and stores--especially if he meets many friends. +These friends will insist upon taking him into a coffee stand and +engaging him in conversation while they sip coffee. On many +corners are little round or octagonal pagoda-like structures in +which coffee and cakes are sold. The coffee-drinking places are +everywhere and most of them are usually filled. The practice of +taking coffee with one's friends must lessen materially the amount +of strong drink consumed by the Brazilian. Nevertheless, that +amount of strong drink is, alas, altogether too great. + +The greatest nuisance on the streets of Rio, or any other city of +Brazil, is the lottery ticket seller. These venders are more +numerous and more insistent than are the newsboys in the United +States. There are all sorts of superstitions about lotteries. +Certain images in one's dreams at night are said to correspond to +certain lucky numbers. Dogs, cats, horses, cows and many other +animals have certain numbers corresponding to them. For instance, +if one should dream tonight about a dog, he would try tomorrow to +find a lottery ticket to correspond in number with a dog. Say the +dog number was thirty-seven. This man would try to find a ticket +whose number ends in thirty-seven. Such a ticket would be +considered lucky. The ticket sellers often call out as they pass +along the street the last two numbers on the tickets they have to +sell, and if a man hears the number called which corresponds to +the animal he dreamed about last night, he will consider it lucky +and buy. There are also many shops where only lottery tickets are +sold. No evil has more tenaciously and universally fastened upon +the people than has the evil of gambling in lotteries. There are +310 Federal lotteries, besides many others run by the various +States. These 310 lotteries receive in premiums the enormous sum +of $19,399,200 every month--about one dollar for every individual +in Brazil. A portion of the profits amassed by the lottery +companies is devoted to charity, a portion to Roman Catholic +churches and a portion goes to the government. Even after these +amounts are taken out, there is ample left for the enrichment of +the companies' coffers to the impoverishment of many very needy +working people. + +It is difficult to write temperately of Rio de Janeiro. There is +such a rare combination here of the primitive and the progressive, +of the oriental and occidental, that one is inclined to go off +into exclamation points. On the Avenida Central one sees numbers +of street venders carrying all kinds of wares on their heads and +pulling all sorts of carts, making their way in and out among the +automobiles, and handsome victorias PULLED BY MULES. We note also +all types of people. The Latin features predominate, but the negro +is in evidence, the Indian features are often recognized, and +mingled with these are seen faces representing all nations. One is +impressed with the dress of the people. Who is that handsomely- +groomed, gentleman passing? From his fine clothes you think he +must be a man of wealth and influence. Who is he? He is a barber. +That one over there is a clerk. But why these fine clothes? Ah! +thereby hangs the tale. Appearance is worshiped. Parade runs +through everything, even in the prevailing religion, which, alas, +is little more than form--parade. Don't get the idea that +everybody is finely dressed and that every handsomely-dressed man +is a barber. Many are able to afford such clothes and are cultured +gentlemen. One notices most the dress of the lower classes, 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 moment. The remainder of the +clothing worn by these beslippered people consists often of only +two thin garments. Certainly this is a place of great contrasts. +But somehow these contrasts do not impress one as being +incongruous. They are in perfect keeping with their surroundings. +Rio is really a cosmopolitan city and is a pleasant blending of +the old and the new. + +There are several places from which splendid views of the city can +be had, but none of them is comparable to the panorama which +stretches out before one when he stands on the top of Mt. +Corcovado. The scene which greets one from this mountain is +indescribable. The Bay of Rio de Janeiro, with its eighty islands, +Sugar Loaf Mountain, a bare rock standing at the entrance, the +city winding its tortuous way in and out between the mountains and +spreading itself over many hills, the open sea in the distance and +the wild mountain scenery to the back of us, constitute a panorama +surpassingly beautiful. + +Nictheroy lies just across the bay. We went over there one night +and spoke in the rented hall where our church worships, and spent +the night in the delightful home of the Entzmingers. The next +morning, before breakfast, Dr. Entzminger showed me over the city. +Nictheroy has forty thousand inhabitants and is the capital of the +State of Rio de Janeiro. It is a beautiful city and offers a wide +field for missionary work. Its importance is apparent. + +We have a church in the populous suburb of Engenho de Dentro. We +were present there at a great celebration when the church cleared +off the remainder of its debt and burned the notes. The building +was crowded to its utmost capacity. The people stood in the aisles +from the rear to the pulpit. They filled the little rooms behind +the pulpit and occupied space about the windows. There are about +seventy members of the church. A far greater progress should be +made now that the debt as well as other encumbrances have been +removed. + +There are in Rio the First, Engenho de Dentro, Governors Island +and Santa Cruz churches, and twelve preaching places, four of +which are in rented halls. Missionary Maddox utilizes many members +of the churches in providing preaching at these missions. There +are only a very few paid evangelists in this mission, but a great +many church members are glad to go to these stations and tell the +gospel story. + +Besides our Baptist work, the Southern Methodists are conducting a +very prosperous mission. They have several churches and a station +for settlement work. The Presbyterians and the Congregationalists +have some excellent churches and the YMCA is one of the most +flourishing in South America. + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +A VISIT TO A COUNTRY CHURCH. + + +That I may give you a glimpse of the country life in Brazil, and +also some impression of country mission work, I invite you to take +a trip with Missionary Maddox and myself to the little hamlet of +Parahyba do Sul, in the interior of the State of Rio. + +On Monday, June 13th, we boarded a six AM train for Parahyba do +Sul, which we reached about ten o'clock. It is a charming town +situated on the river by the same name. This river reminds one of +the French Broad, though the mountains are not so high and +precipitous as the North Carolina mountains. The mountains, too, +in this section are not covered with trees, but with a tall grass, +which, being in bloom, gave a beautiful purple color to the +landscape. The railroad climbs up the mountain sides from Rio in a +very picturesque manner. + +The Parahyba do Sul Church is three miles over the mountains from +the station, in the house of Mrs. Manoela Rosa Rodrigues. The +house is constructed with mud walls and a thatched roof. The +floors are the bare ground, which is packed hard and smooth. There +are two rooms, with a narrow hall between them and a sort of "lean +to" kitchen. The largest room, which is about fifteen feet square, +is devoted to the church. The most prominent piece of furniture in +the house is the pulpit, which stands in this room. This pulpit is +large out of all proportion to everything else about the place. It +was covered over with a beautifully embroidered altar piece. The +two chairs placed for Brother Maddox and myself were also entirely +covered with crocheted Brazilian lace. I hesitated to occupy such +a daintily decorated seat. + +This church of forty-six members maintains three Sunday schools in +the adjoining country and six preaching stations, members of the +church doing the preaching. Every member gives to the college in +Rio 200 reis (six cents) a month, and to missions, etc., 300 reis +(nine cents) per month. This is munificent liberality when we take +into consideration their exhausting poverty. + +Our coming was a great event with them. We were met at the station +by a member of the church, who mounted us on a gray pony apiece +and soon had us on our way. He walked, and with his pacing sort of +stride he easily kept up with us. His feet were innocent of shoes. +He says he does not like shoes because they interfere with his +walking. Underneath that dilapidated hat and those somewhat seedy +clothes we found a warm-hearted Christian, who serves the Lord +with passionate devotion. He often preaches, though he has very +little learning. He is mighty in the Scriptures, having committed +to memory large sections of them, and has a genuine experience of +grace to which he bears testimony with great power. + +We arrived at the church about eleven o'clock. We were received +with expressions of great joy. Mrs. Manoela was so happy over our +coming that she embraced us in true Brazilian style. We were shown +into our room, where we refreshed ourselves by brushing off the +dust and bathing. How spick and span clean was everything in that +room, even to the dirt floor! + +Before we had completed our ablutions, the good woman of the house +called Maddox out and asked what she could cook for me. She +thought I could not eat Brazilian dishes. He told her, to her +great relief, that I could eat anything he could. Quite right he +was, too, 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'clock. We were in possession of +an appetite by this time that would have raised very few questions +about any article of food. + +Soon we were seated at the breakfast table, which was placed in +the church room with benches around it for seats. I was honored by +being placed at one end of the table. What a meal it was! Not only +had Mrs. Manoela taxed her own larder, but the other members, who +by this time had arrived in large numbers, had brought in many +good things. I cannot tell what the dishes were, for the reason +that I do not know. It is sufficient to say that every one was +good--perhaps our appetite helped out our appreciation of some of +them. There were as many as eight dishes the like of which I had +never tasted before. How do you suppose I managed it when they +served some delicious cane molasses, and, instead of bread to go +with it, they served cream cheese? I asked Maddox how I should +work this combination. He replied by cutting up his cheese into +his plate of molasses and eating the mixture. I did the same +thing, and I bear testimony that it was fine. By the time the +breakfast was concluded, I had scored a point with our good +friends, for they thought that a stranger who could render such a +good account of himself at a Brazilian breakfast must be very much +like themselves. (Let us explain about Brazilian meals: They take +coffee in the early morning. Bread and butter is served with the +coffee. Breakfast, which is a very substantial meal, is served +about eleven o'clock. Dinner, which is the chief meal of the day, +is served about five o'clock in the afternoon. At bedtime light +refreshments are served, which are often substantial enough to +make another meal). + +After breakfast was over, and it was some time before it was over, +for the crowd had to be fed, we assembled for worship. The +congregation was too large for the little room, so the men built a +beautiful arbor out of bamboo cane. When Maddox told me we were to +hold services under an arbor I was dissappointed, for somehow +there had come over me a great desire to speak from that large +pulpit in the little room. My dissappointment was short-lived, +however, for when we reached the arbor there were the pulpit and +the lace-covered chairs! It was a gracious service. The Spirit of +the Lord was upon us. The sermon lost none of its effect from the +fact that it had to be interpreted, because Maddox interpreted it +with sympathy and power. + +After preaching, four were received for baptism. They were not +converted at this service, but had been expecting to come for some +time. Maddox baptized them in the spring branch, which had been +deepened by a temporary dam being thrown across it. One of those +baptized was a woman ninety years of age. + +Our time was growing short now. Maddox changed his clothes in a +hurry. We had to catch the four o'clock train. We did stop long +enough to drink a cup of Brazilian coffee. Such coffee! I will not +attempt to describe it, because our friends in the States can not +understand. There is nothing like it in this country. We took +time, too, to say good-bye. The whole crowd lined up and we went +the length of the line, bidding everyone a hearty godspeed. The +Brazilian not only shakes hands with you, but he embraces you +heartily. Yes, some of the good matrons embraced us. It was a +novel experience for me, but a mere custom with them, and the act +was performed with such modest restraint that any possible +objectionable features were eliminated. Having said good-bye to +them all we mounted our gray ponies, and, led by our barefooted +friend, rode away with thanks-giving in our hearts for the good +fellowship with the saints of Parahyba do Sul. + +The tie of love for a common Lord had bound our affections to +them. Their simple-hearted sincerity and devotion had helped us. +Their zeal had contributed to our faith. One incident touched me +especially. Just before breakfast a little girl about four years +of age, led by her mother, brought to us a package containing some +Brazilian cakes. When we opened the package there lay on top a +piece of folded paper on Which was written: "How beautiful upon +the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that +publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that +publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, thy God reigneth' +'(Isa. 52:7). Presented to our brother pastors, Maddox and Ray by +Archimina Nunes." 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 +land. + + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +TWO PRESIDENTS. + + +It was our good fortune while in Rio to be received by the +President of the Republic, Dr. Nilo Pecanha. Missionaries Shepard, +Langston and Ginsburg and Dr. Nogueira Paranagua escorted me. When +we started I suggested that we take a street car. Not so those +Brazilians! We must go in an automobile. We were very careful to +wear our Prince Albert coats, too; for, above all things, the +Brazilian is a master in punctilious ceremonies. We were ushered +into the waiting room by a doorkeeper, a finely-liveried mulatto +with a large chain around his shoulders to indicate his authority. +The waiting room was full of people, but we were not kept waiting +long. We sent in our cards and soon we heard our names announced +and we were led into the presence of the private secretary. After +a few words of explanation by Dr. Paranagua, the secretary retired +to ask the President if he would see us. He returned presently and +showed us into the audience chamber, which was a large and +tastefully decorated room. Around the walls were several groups of +chairs, placed in true Brazilian style somewhat as follows: A +cane-bottomed divan was set with its back to the wall, then +several cane-bottomed chairs were placed at right angles to it in +two rows facing each other, usually four in a row. The President +guided me between these chairs and took a seat on the divan and +motioned me to a seat by his side. He is a man of slight build, +with a mild expression which wins confidence. He was most informal +in his speech and spoke in a candid and unreserved manner which +quickly put us at ease. + +I told him, through an interpreter, that we had come from a visit +to the Minister of the Interior, with whom we had been in +conference about the status of Brazilian schools. 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 workers. He was satisfied that our object was +altruistic and for the good of the country and people; that so far +as depended upon him, he was ready to give us the full benefit of +his official position. As proof of his wish to see absolute +religious freedom, he cited an instance of how he had protected +some monks in the Amazon Valley recently. These men were in +straits and he had sent soldiers to liberate them, and then +turning with a smile to Ginsburg, he said that he also never +abandoned his friend Solomon when he was attacked. He refreshed +our minds upon the fact that lately, 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 +regime, he gave them to understand that if they did not behave +themselves, the door was open and they could leave the country. +They soon came to terms. As to his successor, the President said +that the incoming President was of the same party and would carry +out the same policies, ideas and ideals. These policies meant +absolute liberty of thought, conscience and speech, which is +guaranteed by the constitution. Before the interview closed, he +again expressed his pleasure at receiving a representative of an +American institution, convinced as he was that the propaganda of +our schools, morals and ideals would draw the two nations closer +together, and that he was ready to encourage us to that end. "We +are following the ideals of the United States", he said, "which we +recognize as our elder sister." 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 purpose, but that it would do all in its power, on the other +hand, to encourage us. + +While we are meeting Presidents, 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 magistrate. +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 good. But far +greater and far more serviceable than these are those choice +spirits who, by embracing the gospel of Christ, give themselves +devoutly to bringing in His reign in the hearts of men. Such +spirits, by the sheer force of their characters, wield a far more +abiding influence for the help of their fellows. The man I wish to +introduce is Dr. Nogueira Paranagua, the President of the +Brazilian Baptist Convention. + +He belongs to one of the oldest and most aristocratic families of +the State of Piauhy. He was Governor of his state at the time of +the institution of the Republic. After the establishment of the +Republic, he was elected to the National Congress for a term of +four years. Then he was elected to the Senate and served nine +years. He is a skilled physician and is married to a Swiss lady of +fine family. His family connections occupy one quarter of the +State of Piauhy. He is, at the present time, Treasurer of the +National Printing Concern, which does not occupy all of his time. +The remainder of his time he devotes to the practice of his +profession and to the preaching of the gospel. He is a deacon in +the First church in Rio. He is not an ordained minister--he is +simply an humble man of God. He is an ardent patriot who believes +that the salvation of Brazil can be realized only through the +gospel of Christ, to which he gives his life and all. + +Now I, for one, believe that the theory of Dr. Nogueira is the one +that will finally lead Brazil into the fullness of life and power +it is capable of attaining. It is well to have written in the +constitution the guarantee of religious and political liberty. It +is well to have Presidents who courageously carry into effect the +provisions of this constitution, but the highest good is not +attained until behind all documentary guarantees is a personal +righteousness in the people. Dr. Nogueira's insistent advocacy of +Christ for Brazil is the one thing that gives assurance of a +genuine righteousness that will exalt the nation. + +He is the President of a remarkable body. It was our privilege to +attend the Brazilian Baptist Convention which met in Sao Paulo, +June, 1910. It was composed of sixty delegates, about one third of +whom were missionaries. The remainder were natives. They came from +all parts of Brazil. One man from the Madeira Valley traveled +three weeks on his journey to Sao Paulo. They represented 109 +churches, which had a total membership of 7,000. These churches +increased by baptism twenty-five per cent, last year. They +maintain a boys' school and a theological school at Pernambuco, a +school for boys and girls at Bahia, a boys' school at Nova +Friburgo, a girls' school at Sao Paulo and the crown of the school +system, the Rio Baptist College and Seminary in the capital. They +have a Publication Board to produce Sunday School and other +literature, a Home Mission Board to develop the missionary work in +the bounds of Brazil, and a Foreign Mission Board, which conducts +foreign mission operations in Chill and Portugal. While their +country is so needy, 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 Convention. One night during the Convention, +I addressed them upon the subject of foreign missions, 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 work, he was not under any special obligation to +contribute money to this cause, 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 cause. + +What a privilege it was to attend this Convention! All of us took +our meals at the Girls' College and by this arrangement we had a +most delightful time socially. It is a fine body full of good +cheer, hope, faith, courage, consecration. 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 Lord. + + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE GOSPEL WITHHELD. + + +When I went to South America I decided that I would spend little +time upon the material aspects of the trip, but would, on the +other hand, attempt to arrive at an understanding of the religious +conditions and needs of the people. I consider that the religious +needs are the abiding and vital interests of any people. + +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 +needs. If it does, then let us be honest enough to recognize it, +and if it does not, 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 one. If there is no greater reason for our entering a +country than for the purpose of fighting the Catholics, then I, +for one, am frank to say that I do not think we ought to spend our +energies in any such field. The question for us to settle is +whether there is a real call for the preaching of the gospel in a +given country. 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 earth. + +What is the religious status of Brazil? Is there any call for +Protestant effort? I answer after giving serious study to this +question, and after personal observation of the effects of the +religious practices upon the people, that there is the same +imperative call for missionary effort in Brazil that comes from +China or any other heathen country, viz., the gospel is not +preached to the people. + +The priests hold services, to be sure, in the churches, but there +are many churches in Brazil in which there has been no pretense of +preaching a sermon within five years. The priests do not preach. +They say mass, read prayers and sing songs in Latin, a language +which is not understood by the people. Occasionally, a Catholic +fraternity will invite a special orator to preach a sermon upon +some great feast day. This visiting brother does not preach. His +theme upon such an occasion would either be a discussion of the +special saint whose day is being celebrated, or he would speak +upon some civic question which had more or less to do with the +moral or political life of the people. In the interior these +special occasions occur only once every two to five years, so that +even this semblance of a sermon comes rarely. In the cities these +special addresses are made on one saint's day each year or on some +special anniversary, or when some dignitary is making a visit. +Usually this dignitary will say a mass and not preach. 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 gambling, drinking and other attractions is sufficient +to drown the voice of the speaker. These side-show attractions +fill all available space about the building, giving it the +appearance of a circus more than anything else. They are run by +individuals who pay a tax to the church for the privilege. The +preaching is not the feature of the day, the chief object seeming +to be to furnish amusement for the people and money for the +church. It cannot be said that on such days the gospel can +possibly be preached successfully. + +Occasionally there is held in the church what is called a special +mission. This is conducted by visiting monks. We would expect that +on such occasions the gospel would be preached, but such is not +the case. They hear confessions in the morning. A special premium +is placed upon the celebration of marriages during the mission, +because these visiting monks will make a cheaper rate than the +resident priests. For this reason the majority of the priests do +not like to have these monks come in for special missions, and +would not conduct them but for the fact that the bishop compels +them to do so. The addresses delivered by the monks in these +special missions are not sermons. They either upbraid the +Protestants, speak against civil marriage (the only legal marriage +in Brazil is that performed by a civil officer), inveigh against +the Republic, discourse upon the lives of the saints, assail +Luther and other reformers, or urge confession, penance and +submission to the Pope. + +Furthermore, the Bible is withheld from the people. The +circulation of no book is so bitterly opposed as that of the +Bible. It is true that the Franciscan monks are trying to +introduce an edition of the New Testament which contains special +comments attacking Protestants. These special editions are very +expensive and difficult to secure. The person who wishes to buy +one of these Bibles must get permission from the vicar of his +parish, and if the would-be purchaser is inclined towards +Protestantism, the vicar will refuse to grant permission. The +priests are not very much in sympathy with the idea of circulating +even this annotated edition of the New Testament. + +In Armagoza, near Bahia, the Franciscan monks held, three or four +years ago, a mission and sold about 1,000 of these Catholic +Scriptures. It seems that the Protestants had also been +circulating a Testament which had the same general appearance as +that sold by the Franciscan monks. When the monks had sold out +their supplies, they heard of what the Protestants had done and +inasmuch as the people could not distinguish between the true book +and the false, they ordered the people to bring back all of the +books to the monks, under the promise that they would examine +them, eliminate the Protestant book and return to the owners the +authorized Bible. The people brought back their books in good +faith. The monks took them, but never returned them. Neither did +they return the money. + +On the 22nd of February, 1903, there occurred a public burning of +Bibles in Pernambuco. This was done in defiance of the Protestant +work with the evident purpose of intimidating the Protestant +workers and arousing a public sentiment against them. + +But having failed in this, their first effort, they decided to try +another even more ostentatious. + +Although it is illegal to burn any religious document publicly, +yet the first burning passed unnoticed by the officials of the +law. But not so the second. + +Having incurred the censure and ill-will of many of the most +thoughtful and liberal-minded, even of the Catholics themselves, +by the disgrace of February 22nd, the directors of the Anti- +Protestant League decided to make a grand rally on the occasion of +the league's first anniversary, September 27th. And to realize +this, they published about two weeks beforehand a very extensive +program. The program said that "there will be burned 26 Bibles, 42 +Testaments, 45 copies of the Gospel of Matthew, Luke 9, John 12, +Mark 4 and Acts 9", besides a great many other useful books. In +the list also there were some three hundred copies of different +religious Protestant papers. + +According to the program the bishop was to preside. The public +burning, however, was not performed. Such pressure was brought to +bear upon the officials that they interfered. It was even +discussed in the National House of Congress. But in spite of all +opposition, not to be completely defeated, they burned the Bibles +in the back yard of the church. + +These examples are sufficient to demonstrate the attitude of the +priests towards the Scriptures, 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 gospel. He is an +enemy of the gospel who puts any restraint upon the circulation of +the Scriptures. It is wise indeed for the sake of their cause that +these opponents of Protestantism should oppose the circulation of +the Scriptures, 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 Jesus. + + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +SAINT WORSHIP. + + +What is the real religion of the Brazilians? It is more a saint +worship than anything else. Saint worship is at its core. Mary is +the chief saint. All prayers are made to her. She is the +intercessor. The Litany is all addressed to Mary. It runs, "Oh +Mary, hear us, etc." She is worshiped under different aspects-- +Mary of the Sailors, Mary of the Conception, Mary of the Candles, +Mary of the Rosary, ad infinitum. Even Christ is worshiped as a +saint. The patron saint of Campos, for instance, is called Sao +Salvador (St. Savior). The city of Bahia is called Sao Salvador. +Its patron saint is Jesus. + +A saint is an intercessor between man and God. Because of his +holiness, he has favor with God, and therefore the people pray to +him. Very few consider the saint lower than God. They offer +sacrifices, make prayers and burn candles to the saint. + +St. Anthony of Padua is a very hard-worked saint. 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 victory. No +wonder this overworked saint gets into trouble. Young women place +him in their rooms, burn candles and offer prayers before him. He +is dressed up in the finest toggery and is given great honor. If, +however, after awhile he does not bring along the suitor, he is +given a sound beating, or he may be hung head downwards in a well +or stood on his head under a table. These indignities are heaped +upon him in order to force him to produce the suitor which the +young lady very much desires. He is also the military saint. In +the time of the Empire, he was carried at the head of the army and +had the rank of a colonel. Even after the Empire was abolished, he +retained his rank for many years and received from the government +the salary of a colonel. Such an idol was in Bahia and his salary +was discontinued only five years ago. The money went, of course, +to the priest in the church where the image was kept. + +Every town, village and country seat has its protecting saint. In +time of drouth they in many places carry the saint through the +streets in procession. He is taken from his place in the church to +some hut, maybe, where he is placed beneath the altar. This is +done in order to cause him to bring rain. After the rain comes he +is taken out and with great distinction is replaced in his +original niche. They do this sometimes in the case of a scourge of +insects or disease. + +Late one evening, after Missionary Ginsburg and I had returned +from a trip into the interior of the State of Bahia, we arrived in +the city of Nazareth. It is a town of about 10,000 inhabitants. We +were to wait here until the following morning for the boat which +was to take us to Bahia. + +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 +men. Two priests walked in front to direct the movements of the +procession. More than half of the people in the city must have +been in the procession. They paraded far out into the country, +crossed to the opposite side of the river, wound themselves back +and forth through the narrow streets until a late hour at night. +At eleven o'clock just before we retired, we stood for some time +watching the procession pass the hotel where we were stopping. It +was a miserably ugly little image, gaudily decorated. It was being +paraded through the streets for the purpose of staying the plague +of smallpox, which at that time was scourging the town. When we +saw the procession last it had been augmented by such numbers that +it appeared as if the entire city was following this image. They +seemed to believe that it could really charm away the smallpox. + +This is not an isolated case. It is typical. 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 +people. It is the veriest sort of idolatry. + +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 performed. In Bahia there is a +famous shrine called Bom Fim (Good End). It is located on a hill +in the suburbs of the city. Years ago tradition has it, the image +of San Salvador was found on the summit of this hill. A priest +took charge of the image and removed it to a church. On the +following morning the image was missing, and upon going to the +spot where he first found it, he discovered the image. Again he +took it to the church, and again on the following day, he found +the image at the original place. The tradition was, therefore, +started that the image had fallen from Heaven to the top of the +hill, and every time it was removed from this spot it, of itself, +returned. So it was taken for granted that the image desired its +shrine built on this spot. At first there was a little shrine +constructed, and afterward was built the magnificent edifice which +now shelters the image. + +To this place the thousands go annually upon pilgrimages. One of +the most gruesome spectacles to be found anywhere is in a side +room near the altar. From the ceiling are suspended wax and +plaster of paris reproductions called ex-votos of literally every +portion of the body--feet, hands, limbs, heads, all portions--the +ceiling space is completely covered with these uncanny figures. +The wall is hung with pictures, which portray all sorts of scenes, +such as a man in shipwreck, a carpenter falling down a ladder, a +child falling out of a second-story window, death chambers of +various people, etc. These figures and pictures are intended to +represent miracles. 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 affected, whether of man or beast, to the +shrine. Some of them came before the cure was effected, and with a +prayer, left the image behind and the cures of their disease or +afflictions were attributed to the image of Bom Fim. It is said +that when this church is given its annual cleaning, just before +the celebration of the saint's day, thousands of people congregate +here, roll in the waters which are used to wash out the building, +and drink the filthy stuff, deeming it to be holy. There is hardly +a more revolting scene to be found anywhere, and all in the name +of religion. Until recently, when the police put an end to it, a +most disgusting species of holy dance was observed on this annual +day in which the most sensual practices were indulged. + +Perhaps the most famous shrine in all Brazil is in the far +interior of the State of Bahia on the San Francisco River. It is +the famous Lapa. The image has its shrine in a cave in a very +remarkable geological formation. One hundred thousand people make +pilgrimages to this shrine every year from all of the States in +Brazil. The last Emperor himself made a visit to this shrine. From +June to August of last year $20,000 was collected from the +pilgrims. Our missionary, Jackson, met a man who had been on the +way six months. It required him a year to make this trip. The same +missionary saw a family from the State of Alagoas which had been +on the journey six weeks. Dr. Z. C. Taylor says he passed through +sections that had been almost depopulated because the men had sold +out their homes, horses and cattle in order to seek a miracle in +their favor at this same shrine. Fire destroyed the image in 1902. +Protestants were accused of setting fire to it because a +missionary was near at the time. (He was forty miles away.) In the +controversy that arose the missionary noted that, inasmuch as the +new image was sent by freight and not by ticket, it must be an +idol and not a saint. Suffice it to say, that a new image was +placed and the people are worshiping it with the same zeal with +which they worshiped the old, even though the new one came by +freight and the old one was supposed to have fallen from Heaven. +It is believed to have miracle working power and to give great +merit to one who makes the pilgrimage to it. + +In the daily paper called the "Provinca," published in Pernambuco, +there was printed on August 23, 1910, the following telegram from +the city of Rio, the capital of the Republic. + +"The Seculo (Century) of today announces that on St. Leopold +street in Andarahy (a suburb of Rio) there was discovered a +fountain of water in a hollow rock, in which a plebian found an +image of a saint. + +"This image," adds the Seculo, "although in water, did not present +the least vestige of humidity. The news of this curious discovery +was immediately circulated, and there was a great pilgrimage, +including a reporter of the Seculo, to this miraculous fountain in +Andarahy." + +It is very probable that this telegram heralds the advent of a new +shrine, because it is in this fashion that these so-called +miracle-working shrines are brought into existence. + +Not all of these shrines are canonized, but nevertheless they have +power over the people. As we were making a trip into the interior +of the State of Pernambuco we passed a station called Severino. +Near the station we could see a splendid church building which had +been constructed in honor of St. Severino. This saint is not in +the calendar, not recognized by the church nor the bishop, yet it +is popular all over Brazil. Many people are named after him, and +to this shrine are brought many of the same sort of things as were +described in connection with the shrine of the Good End. This idol +is stuffed with sugar-cane pith. The head of it was found in the +woods some time ago. A tradition was started that an image had +fallen from Heaven. The superstitious people believed the report +and soon a shrine was in full operation, which today, even though +it be not canonized, is exerting a far-reaching influence. The +owner of the shrine gave up his farming and lives handsomely on +the offerings the deluded bring to his private shrine. + +In one of the most magnificent churches in Bahia is an image of a +negro saint. This holy being won his canonization as a reward for +stealing money from his master to contribute to the church. That +is it: Do anything you please, provided you share the spoils with +the church. + +Across the breast of the Virgin's image in the church of Our Lady +of Penha in Pernambuco, before which church the Bibles were burned +in 1903, are written the following words: "One hundred days' +indulgence to the person who will kiss the holy foot of the Holy +Virgin." This pitifully expresses, perhaps, the thought behind +saint worship. It is the hope that the aching of the sinful heart +may find some assuagement through the worship of these gilded, +gaudy images. It is claimed by the priests and some of the more +intelligent that the image worshiped is only a concrete +representation of the saint, and it contains symbolically the +spirit of the saint. To be sure! This is exactly the reason the +more intelligent fetish worshiper in Africa assigns for worshiping +his hand-made god. The etone or piece of wood is a representative +of God and to a degree contains His spirit. Such worship is +condemned as being idolatry in the African. The thing which is +idolatry in the African must be idolatry in the Catholic. Even the +Catholics will condemn the idol worship of the heathen, and yet +this same Catholic church has in scores of places in South America +and in other heathen lands, taken the identical images worshiped +by the heathen and converted them into Catholic saints. + +In the city of Braga, in Portugal, is a temple which centuries ago +was devoted to Jupiter. It was afterward converted into a Catholic +church and dedicated to St. Peter. The idol Jupiter, with two keys +in his hand, was consecrated into St. Peter. In another part of +the same city is a temple devoted to Janus in Roman times, which +was turned into a temple dedicated to St. John. The idol which +formerly was worshiped as Janus is being now worshiped as St. +John. In the same temple there is an image now consecrated as St. +Mark which was formerly the god Mars. The saint worship in Brazil +is just as heathenish. In China Buddhist idols were renamed +Jehosaphat by the Jesuits and worshiped. Their practices in Brazil +are in keeping with their methods in other lands. + +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 China? + + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +PENANCE AND PRIEST. + + +Confession and penance play a large part in the religious life of +the common people. The priests exercise great ingenuity to +preserve the confessional. The better educated classes have long +ago deserted the confessional, but it still holds sway over the +common people and hangs like a dark shadow over the immoral deeds +of the priests. Along with it flourishes the performance of +penance. These two hand-maidens in wrong-doing often thrive in an +absurd way. + +In Penedo, the capital of the State of Alagoas, a new wharf was +being built and the money granted by the Government was not +sufficient to complete the work. The contractors approached the +two monks who were to hold a mission in the city during February, +1904, and offered to pay them $500 if they would instruct the +people to, in penance, carry across the city the stones which had +been brought from the interior. A large quantity of building +material had been brought down by rail and needed to be +transported across to the wharf. The monks agreed, gave +instructions accordingly, and in one week the people carried these +stones across the town to the wharf. The transfer of these stones +would have cost $2,500. At least 10,000 people engaged in this +colossal act of penance. They came from two counties. Thus the +contractors, by a little skillful manipulation, made penance save +them considerable money. + +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 church. All, +that through these means they may find some ease for the +conscience which accuses them of evil. + +What shall I say of the priests? I believe I will say nothing. I +declined steadily to soil the pages of my note book with the +records of the immoral deeds of these men. I will let speak for me +an educated Brazilian, a teacher in an excellent school in +Pernambuco, who is not a professing Christian, but who, like a +great many of his class, admires Christianity very sincerely. When +Mr. Colton, International Secretary of the Young Men's Christian +Association, passed through Pernambuco in June, 1910, he was given +a banquet by some of the leading men, which event offended so +grievously the Catholic authorities that they published in the +"Religious Tribune," their organ, a bitter diatribe on the Young +Men's Christian Association. The professor, to whom I referred, +who is now one of the leading judges in the state, published the +following answer to this attack. He is in far better position to +speak authoritatively about the Brazilian priests than I am. His +article ran as follows: + +"FURY UNBRIDLED." + +"The official organ of the diocese of Olinda could not on this +occasion control its great animus. It threw aside its old worn-out +mantle of hypocrisy, it precipitated itself furiously and +insolently against the Y.M.C.A. It not only does not forgive, 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 Y.M.C.A. + +"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 +clothing. + +"But we ask, to whom does this epithet apply better? To us who +dress as the generality of men, thus leaving no doubt as to our +sex and freeing our consciences from the ignominious Roman yoke, +direct ourselves by that straight and narrow way which leads to +salvation; 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 earth? To us, Who having no thirst for dominion, seek to +cultivate in man all the noble attributes given by the Creator, to +us who teach clearly and without sophistry and gross superstitions +the plan of salvation as it is found in the word of God; or to +this legion of corrupt and hypocritical parasites, corruptors of +youth, whose character they seek to debase and villify by means of +the confessional? + +"The only object of the wolf in dressing himself as a sheep is to +devour the sheep. And these shaven heads know perfectly well why +we cite the chronicles of the convents; they know from personal +knowledge who are responsible for the greater part of the +illegitimate children, and they have no doubt about the permanency +and progress of prostitution. + +"But they have effrontery, these priests! + +"What has the priesthood done in Brazil in about 400 years? The +answer is found in facts that prove the absence of all initiative +of will, of strength, of energy and of activity. Brazil has only +been a field for torpid exploitation by these gain-hunting +libertines. And what of the attacks against private and public +fortunes? + +"Happily, for some years, the public conscience has been awakening +and the people are beginning to know that a priest, even the best +of them, is worthless. + +"Freed from an official religion, 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 position + +"We, pirates? Ah! deceivers. Then we, who present ourselves +loyally without subterfuge, proclaiming the divine truths, +speaking logically, without artifices or superstitions, are +pirates? You noble priests are noble specimens of Christian +culture, I must confess! You are such good things that France has +already horsewhipped you out of the country, and Spain, whose +knightly race is regaining the noble attributes obliterated by the +iron yoke of Romanism, is about ready to apply to you the same +punishment. + +"There is no doubt that the priest is losing ground every day. All +their manifestations of hate and satanic fury are easily +explained. + +"One easily recognizes the true value of the explosion of vicious +egotism found in the official organ of the diocese of Olinda. 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 pleasure. Console yourselves, reverend +lord priests, everything comes to an end, and the ancient period +of darkness and obscurity exists no more in Brazil." + +What is the net result of such religious life as we have been +portraying? The common and more ignorant people accept without +very much questioning the teachings and practices which we have +explained. The better educated people, especially the men, have +lost confidence in the priesthood. Scarcely an educated man can be +found who believes in the moral uprightness of the priest. The +chief hold the Church has upon the better classes is a social and +not a religious one. Births, marriages, deaths, alike are great +social events, and upon such occasions, because it is custom to +have a priest, the better classes of people even call in the +services of the priests, in whom they have no confidence. The +effect upon the beliefs of these better classes is most +distressing. Spiritism, materialism and atheism are rampant, 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 church. +They are far more difficult to reach because they have imbibed the +philosophies of spiritism, materialism and atheism. An atheist in +South America is just as difficult to approach as he is anywhere. +The devout Catholics are easier to reach with the gospel. The +devout Catholic has at least one element which must always be +reckoned with in dealing helpfully with an immortal soul. He has +reverence, which thing many of those people who have been swung +away from their faith have not. 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 religion. 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 Jesus. + +We come back to it--the gospel is not preached in Brazil except as +it is preached by the Protestant missionary. The need is just as +great for gospel preaching in this country as it is in China. + +One day after I had finished speaking to a congregation in +Castello, back in the interior from Campos, 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 English. I +had spoken in English, and the missionary had interpreted what I +had to say into Portuguese. She had heard the sermon twice. She +had been in Brazil thirty-odd years. She and her husband had lived +in the far interior. They had recently moved down to Castello that +they might be near the little church where they could have +the opportunity of worshiping God. She told me that back in the +town in which they had lived they had left two sons who were +engaged in business for themselves. These two sons had been born +in Brazil, and yet in all their lives THEY HAD NEVER HEARD A +GOSPEL SERMON. Yes, these people are without the gospel and this +is our justification for carrying to them the message of life. For +them Christ died, and to them, because they have not heard, He has +sent us that we might bring His precious message of eternal +salvation, for "How shall they believe in Him of whom they have +not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE GOSPEL TRIUMPHANT. + + +It is often claimed that the progress of the gospel is slower and +more difficult in Catholic countries than in outright heathen +lands. Such statements can be answered only by an appeal to the +facts in the case. What are the facts? The Foreign Mission Board +of the Southern Baptist Convention has been conducting operations +in Brazil for about thirty years. It has been doing work in China +for more than sixty years. During all the time since work--was +opened in Brazil, the Board has had about three times as many +missionaries in China as it had in Brazil, with the result that at +the present time we have 9,939 members of our churches in Brazil, +as against 9,990 members of our churches in China. We have worked +less than half as long in Brazil and with one-third of the +missionary force. Last year with a missionary force one-third as +large in Brazil as it was in China, there were 635 more baptisms +in Brazil than there were in China. There were 1,534 baptisms in +China and 2,169 in Brazil. The same sort of comparison between our +work in Italy and Japan would make the same showing. This is not +to make a prejudicial statement concerning the work in any field. +We make it simply to show that the gospel does succeed remarkably +in the Catholic countries. The fact is, the rate of progress is +far greater in the Catholic country than it is in the heathen +land. The gospel does succeed in Catholic countries. What is said +here of the work of this one Board can he laid just as truly of +the others. + +It was our privilege to witness some remarkable demonstrations of +the power of the gospel while we were in Brazil. About 3:30 +o'clock one afternoon we arrived in Genipapo in the interior of +the State of Bahia, after having ridden since early morning upon +the railroad train through a mountainous country which, with its +tropical vegetation, held our keenest interest. We were met at the +station by some members of our church, who escorted us to the home +of Polycarpo Nogueira. Mrs Nogueira is a very devout Christian. +Some years ago she learned that her mother had embraced +Christianity. Mrs. Nogueira set out upon a journey of 130 miles on +muleback to her mother's home for the purpose of taking out of her +mother's heart her belief in the gospel. She succeeded in shaking +her mother's faith and also the faith of her brother. She now +determined to prepare herself to combat this Baptist teaching +which was spreading over the country. She marked passages of +Scripture which she proposed to use against the Baptists. 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 +study. The Word of God took hold of her own heart and she in turn +was converted. Her first thought was concerning her mother and +brother 130 miles away. Again she took the long journey on +muleback in order to lead her loved ones to Christ. She was able +to re-establish her mother's faith, but to this day her deep +regret is that her brother does not believe. + +We had a great service at the church that night. The crowd was so +large that we held the services out in the open. Seven stood to +confess their surrender to Christ. 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 English. +He really seemed to catch it before the missionary could interpret +it. + +On the following day we reached St. Inez, the station at the end +of the railway, and spent the night in a poor excuse of a lodging +house called the Commercial Hotel. + +At 7 o'clock on the following morning, which was Sunday, we +started on horseback for Arroz Novo, an excellent country church +fifteen miles away. A young brother named John Laringeiro (John +Orangetree) had brought horses for us. Before his conversion he +was an arch persecutor, and since he has become a Christian he has +been called upon to suffer even more bitter persecution than he +ever inflicted upon others. He is struggling to care for his +mother, and as the pastor of the church at Rio Preto, he is a most +acceptable gospel preacher. + +It was a fine ride into the country, over hill and mountain and +deeply-shaded valley. After we had ridden about half the length of +our journey several brethren from Arroz Novo (New Rice) met us to +escort us to the church. A mile or two further we were met by +another company, who swelled the number of our dashing cavalcade +to about twenty-five. It was dashing, too, for they were hard +riders. It was a very joyous and cordial reception committee. +Finally we rode into sight of the church, winch is located on a +high hill commanding a grand panorama of the mountains. As we +approached we saw two long lines of people standing facing each +other in front of the church. The men were on one side and the +women on the other--about 600 of them. As we rode up the +congregation sang a hymn to give us welcome. We dismounted when we +reached the end of the two lines and walked down between them to +the church. 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 honor. +These good people observed this custom generously that day. A wide +space of the ground in front of the church was strewed with +leaves, and they showered such quantities of rose petals and +confetti upon us that we were beautiful sights by the time we +reached the door. + +We entered the very creditable church building into which the +people now poured until every foot of space was occupied. There +was hardly room left for me to make gestures as I spoke. It was +ten o'clock. The people had been present since four engaged in a +prayer meeting. We began the service immediately. The Spirit of +the Lord was upon us to preach the gospel. Afterward we called for +those who wished to make confession of their faith in Christ. 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 Savior. We saw that others wanted to come, +so we asked them to stand where they were. All through the +audience they rose. Then began the examination of these +candidates. Numerous questions were put to them by the missionary +and the pastor of the church. 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 church, and what impressed me most was the fact that after +every question they could think of had been asked, they would ask +if anyone present could endorse him. Whereupon someone, if he +could recommend the candidate would, after a brief speech of +endorsement, make a motion to receive him. + +Over to my right rose a young woman who was the most beautiful +woman I saw in Brazil. Her name was Elvira Leal. She had been +favorable to the gospel for some time and had suffered cruel +persecution from her father. The tears streamed down her face as +she spoke, saying, "You know my story and what I have been called +upon to endure for the gospel's sake, but this morning I must +confess the Lord. I cannot resist the Spirit longer." I learned +that her father, in order to force her to give up her faith, had +dragged her across the floor by her hair. He had brandished his +dagger over her heart, threatening to take her life; he had forced +her to break her engagement to be married to the young preacher, +John Larinjeiro, who had brought the horses for us; he had +declared he would kill both of them rather than to allow them to +marry, and at the time we were there she was compelled to live in +the home of a neighbor, so violent had become her father in his +opposition to her adherence to the gospel. That morning, however, +she said though she knew it involved suffering, she would follow +her Savior at whatever cost. + +By the time the missionary had finished examining this woman, a +man had crowded near to the front and indicated that he wished to +say something. It was John Larinjeiro's brother. He said that for +two years he had been impressed with the gospel, but because of +the persecution in his own home he had held back. When years ago +his mother had been converted, he went to persuade her to give up +her religion. Persuasion failing, he persecuted her severely. She +finally told him that his efforts were of no avail because she +could not give up her faith in Christ, yet if he would take the +Bible and show her where she was wrong, she would give it up. He +secured a gospel circulated by the priest and also "The Manual of +Instructions for Holding Missions" and both of these confirmted +his mother's faith, and he had no more to say. The Word impressed +itself upon his heart and he became sympathetic to the gospel. +Then trouble arose. His father-in-law, he said, had threatened to +take his wife and children from him and to put him out of his own +home. His wife had persecuted him and declared she would leave him +if he made the confession he desired to make. He said that he did +not know what to do, but had come forward to ask us to pray for +him. Then the congregation fell upon its face, as far as such a +thing was possible, and prayed. I could not understand all they +said in the prayers because they were spoken in Portuguese, 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 be. As soon as the prayers +were concluded, the man stood up and said, "News travels quickly +in this country. It may be that when I reach home I shall find my +wife and children gone, but whatever may he the cost, I cannot +resist the Spirit today. I must confess my Lord and ask for +membership in the church." Of course, he was received. 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 children. + +Numerous others stood to make confession, and the examination +continued far past one o'clock, 'till twenty-one were received +for baptism. 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 Brazil. + +After the service we went to breakfast in a house near by. The +crowd, according to custom, came into the dining room, as many of +them as could, to hear the conversation while we sat about the +table. The walls of the building were made of mud, the floor was +the bare ground, in the corner of the room, surrounded by a mud +puddle, stood a water jar, around which the chickens were picking. +I kicked a pig out of my way, accidentally stepped on a dog, but +nothing daunted, fell to with good will and ate, asking no +questions. + +After a few hours' ride, upon our return journey in the afternoon, +we reached the town of Olhos d'Agua (Fountains of Water) through +which we had passed upon our outward journey in the early morning. +There is a very good church at this place which has suffered cruel +persecution. Upon the doors of every Protestant house in the town +have been painted black crosses. They were placed there at night +by the Catholics to keep the Devil from coming out. The black +cross of derision has become a mark of honor in that community. We +were greeted by a splendid audience that night and the gospel +again was honored. More than a dozen people accepted Christ and +made confession of Him. + +I was greatly interested in Brother Raymundo, who is the leading +member of this church. Formerly he was a great persecutor. He was +an enemy to Antonio Barros, who is now a leading member in the +church at Arroz Novo. Barros was converted at Lage, and when he +met Raymundo he greeted him, at which Raymundo was greatly +surprised. Barros explained his action by saying that he had found +Christ and wanted to live at peace with all men. The fact that his +enemy should embrace him and beg his pardon greatly impressed +Raymundo. Upon the invitation of Barros, Raymundo attended the +meeting that night. He was touched by the gospel and was +converted. He now had to experience the same persecution he had +inflicted upon others. His enemies wrote to the merchants in Bahia +and told them that he was out of his mind. So persistent was their +persecution that he was compelled to give up his business. His +credit was destroyed by these reports. He moved away from Olhos +d'Agua, but when the native pastor left the place recently +Raymundo returned in order to hold the work together. He now makes +his meager living by trading, and through great sacrifice leads +the congregation in a very acceptable service. + +We returned to St. Ignez by ten o'clock that night, tired and +happy over what our eyes had seen and our hearts had felt. It had +been a day of triumph for the gospel. + +On Monday we started on our journey for Santo Antonio. When we +passed through Genipapo we found Brother Polycarpo Nogueira at the +station. 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 hesitated. I quoted to him, +"Everyone, therefore, who shall confess me before men, him will I +confess before my Father in Heaven. But whosoever shall deny me +before men, him, will I deny before my Father who is in Heaven." +Mat. 10:32, 33. He told us about a wonderful meeting held in the +church on Sunday, in which one had been converted and many others +were deeply interested. He himself was evidently moved upon by the +Spirit. May the word we gave him lead him to Christ. + +Some hours further on we passed through Vargem Grande, where we +have another church. Several people boarded the train to accompany +us to Santo Antonio. One of them was Fausto de Almeida. When the +ex-priest, Ottoni, visited Vargem Guande some years ago to preach +the gospel this man Almeida, with a great crowd of boys equipped +with tin cans, met him at the station. This troupe escorted Ottoni +to the church and stood outside making as much noise as possible. +He offered the ex-priest a loaded cigar, which Ottoni declined +with kindly thanks. The minister's conduct was so gentle and kind +that Fausto, when he bethought himself, went home in a rage, +became intoxicated, and in order to vent his wrath, went out into +his back yard and fired his pistols. A little later one of his +sisters was converted, and by her good testimony not long after +that when she died, he was greatly impressed. Another sister was +converted and gave him a Bible, which he read and in which he +found the message of Christ. He obeyed his Lord, and in spite of +violent opposition on the part of his wife, is today in a faithful +and effective way, building up the church at Vargem, Grande. + + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +JOSE BARRETTO. + + +When we reached Santo Antonio de Jesus at two p. m. we found a +throng at the station to meet us. They gave us a royal welcome, +receiving us literally with open arms. After this hearty greeting +we formed a procession and marched two and two through the streets +of the city to the church. They wished us to take the lead in the +procession, but we declined the honor and finally took position +about the middle of the line. They seemed to march through every +street in the city, so eager were they to impress the population +that there was somebody else in the world besides their religious +persecutors. When we arrived at the church they showered us once +more with rose petals and confetti. After prayer we were taken to +the home of Jose Barretto to be entertained. + +Now, this same Jose Barretto is a very remarkable character. He +was formerly Superintendent of the Manganese mines near by and +very active in politics. If any questionable work needed to be +done in order to influence an election Jose was called upon to do +it. He is a great, strong fellow, more than six feet in height and +weighs, perhaps, 250 pounds. He was a violent man, fearless and +desperate. I noted many scars on his face which were evidences of +many dangerous encounters. He did not deign to steal the ballots, +but would take possession of the ballot box, extract from it the +proper number of votes, destroy them, seal the box and allow the +count to be made. No one dared withstand him. He was just as +violent in his opposition to the Protestants. He declared that he +would beat any Protestant who should ever come into his house. + +Well, one day his own brother-in-law came to see him. This +brother-in-law was blind and also a Christian. After a while Jose +and his wife were commiserating the brother over his blindness +when he said, that though his eyes were clouded, his soul saw the +light of life. His sister said to him, "You must be a Protestant." +He replied, "Yes, thank God, I know Jesus Christ." She was so +frightened that she fainted, because she had visions of her burly +husband pouncing upon her blind brother and beating him to death. +Her husband resuscitated her and soothed her by saying, "I know I +have said all of these things about what I would do to the +Protestants, but I hope I am not mean enough to strike a blind man +and certainly I would not injure your brother." That night the +brother asked them to read the Scriptures. They had no Bible, but +did possess a book of Bible stories, one of which the sister read, +and then the brother asked permission to pray. Jose Barretto had +always been reverential, and so he knelt in prayer. So earnest and +childlike was the praying of the blind brother and so fully did he +express the real heart hunger of the great, strong man that when +the prayer was finished, Jose Barretto said very sincerely, +"Amen." He became deeply interested in the gospel. + +When the brother left, 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 ago. He had looked at this book which he had +taken from the employee's hands, and finding no saints' pictures +in it, concluded that it was that hated Protestant Bible the +priests were trying to keep from being circulated, and had thrown +it into a box in the corner of his office. Now he went to this +box, fished out the New Testament, brushed the dust from its pages +and read from it the word of life. The blind brother, in the +meantime, had gone to Santo Antonio and told what had happened. +The chief of police of the city, who was a Christian and the +President of the Baptist Young People's Union, declared that he +was going out to see Jose. "I have been afraid to go," he said, +"because Jose has been so violently opposed to the gospel." + +He went and found the strong man poring over the pages of the book +in his effort to find the way of life. He explained the gospel and +Barretto was soon converted, as was also his sister. His wife held +on to her old faith. She would pray, but would use the Crucifix. +Finally the husband and sister decided they would burn the idol, +which they accordingly did. 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 Christ. + +The life of Jose Barretto since that time has been a burning +light. He has been as zealous in following Christ as he ever was +in following evil, though not so violent. His witness has been +honored amongst his own family and relations especially. 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 man. When we were in his home we learned of a family of +twenty-one, some distance out in the country, who were ready to +make confession of their faith and be baptized. They were anxious +for the missionary to come and baptize them and to organize a +church in one of their homes. These people were the relatives of +Jose Barretto. It is marvelous how the witness of his life is +bearing fruit. He lost his position as Superintendent by his +acceptance of Christ, but is now making a living as a coffee +merchant. + +We had a remarkable service at the church that night. A great +throng pressed into the building, and Jose Barretto was the chief +usher. I have never seen a man who could crowd more people into a +building than could he. After the house had been packed there +still remained on the outside a crowd as large as that sandwiched +into the building. I preached the gospel once more, speaking, of +course, in all of these services through an interpreter. When I +called for those who would confess Christ I did not ask them to +come forward because there was no room for them. They stood here +and there over the audience until more than twenty expressed +themselves as having accepted Christ and desiring membership in +the church. When one man stood amongst this number I noticed that +Jose Barretto was very deeply moved. His great frame shook with +emotion. I learned afterwards that the man who stood was a police +sergeant, who in the old days had been Jose's confederate in his +political crookedness. That night this man stood acknowledging his +sins and asking for membership in the church. Jose's faithfulness +had won him. Once more we witnessed a marvelous victory of the +gospel. + +On the very day on which we visited Santo Antonio and were +entertained in the home of our good brother Jose Barretto, this +great stalwart fellow who had been such a violent opposer of +Christianity and who had previously lived such a desperate life, +was met on the street by one of his former schoolmates. 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 long. He went further to say many severe things +in criticism of the cause of Protestant Christianity. Jose +Barretto replied, "You ought to be ashamed of yourself for finding +fault with the thing which has produced such a change in my life. +You know the kind of character I have been in this community. You +know how violent and sinful I have been and you know at this time +how I am living. A religion which can produce such a change as +this does not deserve ridicule." The man turned and slunk away. In +the meantime, there had gathered around them a number of people, +because they knew how serious a matter it was for anyone to oppose +him, and they expected to see something violent take place that +day. Being emboldened by the mild answer which he gave to his +persecutor, others began to ask questions. Finally one of them +asked him this question: "Suppose someone should strike you in the +face in persecution, what would you do?" And then the great, +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 Jesus. He said: "I am not +afraid of such a thing as that happening, 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 face," +and these others turned shame-stricken away from him. He threw +down before that community the challenge of his life, and that is +the thing that not only in Brazil, but here in our own land, must +finally win for our King the triumph which is His due. + + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +CAPTAIN EGYDIO. + + +What brought about the readiness of this territory in the interior +of the State of Bahia for the acceptance of the gospel? Perhaps +the brand of burning which did more than any other to shed light +through the entire section over which we passed, was the person of +Captain Egydio Pereira de Almeida. He was one of several brothers +of a good country family which owned large possessions in the +interior 150 miles from the city of Bahia. He was an intense +Catholic, but never a persecutor. At one time he was Captain in +the National Guards. He was political boss of his community and +protector for a small tribe of Indians. He was a hard-working, +law-abiding citizen. + +In order to know the story we must go back a little. In 1892 +Solomon Ginsburg sold a Bible to Guilhermino de Almeida on the +train when he was going to Armagoza. Ginsburg had only one Bible +left and felt constrained to offer it to the stranger across the +aisle. The man said he had no money and did not care to buy. The +missionary pressed him and finally sold him for fifty cents a +Bible worth four times that amount. That night his fellow +passenger heard the missionary speak in the theater in Armagoza +and seemed to enjoy especially the hymns the preacher sang. The +missionary marked for him the Ten Commandments and other passages +in the Bible. + +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 missionary, of how he had bought the Bible which he did +not want and of the Ten Commandments the missionary had marked for +him. He very willingly gave his Bible to his brother. Marciano +read the book and was particularly impressed with the Ten +Commandments. + +Now, we must introduce into this narrative another character in +the person of good Brother Madeiros. Some time before this, having +become interested in the gospel, he had gone to Bahia and had been +instructed by Missionary Z. C. Taylor in the truth to such good +purpose that he gave himself to the Lord. His neighbors at +Valenca, his native town, on learning of his having accepted +Christ, drove him out, and he moved to Vargem Grande. But he found +no rest in his new home, for his fellow townsmen so persecuted him +that he was compelled to live in the outskirts of the town. He was +the first believer in Vargem Grande. When Marciano de Almeida +became interested in the Scriptures he went to see Madeiros and +was instructed by him in the gospel. He told the persecuted saint +that he would stand by him from now on, for Marciano had +experienced a marvelous conversion. + +On learning that his images were idols, Marciano collected all +immediately and burnt them, greatly to the disgust of his family +and the whole town. He began at once to declare the Word of God, +and though he was as gentle as a lamb, he was also as bold as a +lion in defending the gospel. + +When his brother, Captain Egydio de Almeida, who lived sixty miles +away, learned that Marciano had become converted, he made the +journey to take out of his brother's heart the false teaching +which he had imbibed. He pitied his brother, thinking that +Marciano's mind had become unbalanced. When Captain Egydio arrived +at his brother's in Vargem Grande, being a very positive man, he +set about the business of straightening out his brother with +dispatch and determination. He failed in his purpose, and then +called in a priest. When he returned with the priest Marciano +asked the two to be seated. Immediately the priest inquired, "What +is this I am hearing about you, Marciano?" He replied, "Mr. +Priest, I am thirty-five years old and you never gave me the +Bible, God's Holy Law and as God ordered it. I came by it through +the Protestants whom you have always abused. You have taken my +money all these years for mass, saying you would take the souls of +our kin out of a purgatory that does not exist. You taught me to +worship idols which God's Word condemns. You sprinkle my children +for money, marry them for money, and when they die you still +demand money to save their souls from an imaginary purgatory. The +Bible teaches me, on the other hand, that God offers me a free +salvation through Jesus Christ." The priest rose and said good-bye +without offering a word of explanation. Seeing the priest thus +defeated, Captain Egydio turned to old Brother Madeiros, who +happened to be present, and said: "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 head." "Yes," replied Madeiros, "you +may cut off my head, but you cannot cut off my soul from God." +Captain Egydio returned home breathing out plagues upon himself +and his family. He drank heavily at every grog shop on his way and +scattered abroad the news about his family's disgrace. He was a +man of a kind heart, and though he did not embrace the truths of +his brother's religion, he did show his brother great +consideration and, being a political leader for that district, +became his brother's protector. + +When his wrath had cooled down somewhat he began to recall many +things Marciano had told him about the Bible, and as he looked +upon his many expensive idols set here and there in niches about +his home, he said to himself: "Well, did Marciano say these images +do nothing. They neither draw water, cut wood nor pick coffee. +They do not teach school, they do not protect our home, for there +is one covered with soot. There is another the rats have gnawed, +and recently another fell and was broken. How powerless they are." +Then he remembered the Bible which a believer had given him years +before. He began to examine it in a closed room. Ag he read he +prayed, "Oh, God, if this religion of Marciano be right, show it +to me." + +He seemed to be making good progress. But about this time he +received word that his brother and the missionary R. E Neighbor +were coming to see him. The priest had also heard of the +approaching visit and had sent a letter to Captain Egydio's son +warning him against the coming men, saying that they were +emissaries of the United States and wished to lead the Almeidas +astray. The letter bearer was instructed to deliver the letter to +the son and not let the father know anything about it, but he +said, "I cannot do that because I must be true to my old captain," +so he gave the letter to Captain Egydio. 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 them, which thing they refused to do. + +His brother and the missionary came according to agreement and +Captain Egydio, true to his word, went with them to the town of +Areia to protect them while they were engaged in conducting a +gospel service in the public square. The priest of the town sent +the police to prevent the Protestants from conducting the meeting. +The sergeant, who had been under Captain Egydio when he was +Captain in the National Guards, was one of the detail sent to +suppress the meeting. He declared that he would stand by his old +Captain, for the men knew that under the Constitution the +missionary had a perfect right to hold the meeting. The meeting +was held, but under such unfavorable circumstances that the +Captain stood forth and said: "I have not declared myself a +Protestant, but from this time I shall be a Protestant and propose +to give my life to the spread of this faith." + +It happened that one day he was called to visit a boy who had been +shot. As he rode along through the open fields he was burdened +with prayer to God. Suddenly he felt a strange feeling and he +seemed to hear a voice saying, "You are saved." Immediately he +knew that the Lord had visited him with His blessed salvation. He +shouted as he rode along the way, "Glory to God. I am redeemed." +He rode on in this state to the home of the boy. Seeing the boy +could not live, he began to exhort him to look to Christ for +salvation, and just before the boy's spirit passed out from him, +he made confession of his Lord. The Captain returned to his home +overflowing with joy. He galloped his horse up to the door, +shouting, "Glory, hallelujah, I am saved." He embraced his wife +and children and all stood back staring at him. Finally the mother +cried: "Poor man! Children, your father is mad. Get the scissors +and let us cut off his hair; let us rub some liniment on his +head." "All right," he said, "only do not cut it too close," and +he suffered them to rub the liniment also upon his head. Seeing +that there was no change in him, they also administered to him one +of their homely medicines, a small portion of which he was willing +to take to pacify them. Their opinion of his sanity was not +changed. + +Not only his family, but his neighbors suspected him. As he +engaged in business--and he was a very busy man--people were +watching him to see if something was not dreadfully wrong. Finally +all realized that a great and beneficent change had taken place. +He never became a preacher, but he did not allow to pass an +opportunity to tell the story of his newly-found Savior. His Bible +was constantly in his hands, and he read the marvelous news to +all. His family soon became interested in the gospel and they, +even to his son-in-law, became as crazy upon the subject as he. +Thirteen of them were baptized at one time. + +For activity in evangelization his equal was scarcely ever met. He +kept for distribution boxes of Bibles and tracts. While at +business he witnessed for the gospel. He traveled extensively. +Some of his bosom friends became his worst enemies, but many of +them he led to Christ, or at least to a friendship, for the +gospel. He did not preach, but invited many preachers to come to +his community and was always ready to accompany them whenever they +needed his presence. His life was the greatest sermon he could +preach to the people. 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 shrine, 100 miles +away on the San Francisco River. The son recovered and the father +kept his word. Now they saw him discard his old superstitions for +the truth in Jesus. The gospel that could produce such a marvelous +change as this had its effect upon his neighbors. He organized a +church upon his own fazenda and it held its meetings in his own +house at Casca. + +He became deeply interested in the subject of education. He said +one day to Dr. Z. C. Taylor, our missionary at Bahia: "While I was +a Catholic I had no desire to educate my children, but now I would +give all of this farm to see them educated. Dr. Taylor told him of +some of his own plans concerning a school, and Captain Egydio +contributed the first money for the school, which Dr. Taylor +afterward established, Captain Egydio's gift of a thousand dollars +making it possible for this school to be organized. + +Of the trials and persecutions which he endured for the gospel, we +can cite only one or two. + +A priest paid two men sixty dollars to go and take the Captain's +life. They appeared one night at his door and asked for +employment. He invited them in, saying he had plenty of work he +could give them to do. The time soon arrived for family prayers +and the men were invited to be present. 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 God. The next day he took the two men out into the +field to show them what to do. 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 Him. One lingered behind to +shoot, but his hand trembled too much. The other did not have the +courage to do the man of God any injury. That night they said they +would not stay longer. He paid them for the day's work, bade them +godspeed and they departed. + +But he did not always escape suffering so easily. One afternoon as +he was passing by the priest's home the priest accosted him and +said: "Captain, why is it you do not stop with me any more? You +used to do so, but of late you have passed me by." He urged the +Captain so strongly that he decided to stay all night. They +offered him wine to drink, which he refused. Then they gave him +coffee. That night he suffered agony and was sick for some time +after reaching home. He was sure he had been poisoned. + +He suffered many persecutions from unsympathetic neighbors, not +only from criticism, but sometimes from bodily injuries and from +painful abuse, all of which he bore with an equanimity of spirit +which would do credit to any martyr to the cause of Christ. + +Dr. Z. C. Taylor relates a trying experience through which he and +Captain Egydio passed together. + +"The Captain and I were together one day returning home from a +preaching tour by a near cut, passing the door of our greatest +persecutor, Captain Bernadino, who on seeing us, seized a stick, +and running to us, beat back our hordes, crying, 'Back, back, you +cannot pass my house.' A plunge of my horse caused my hat to fall +off, which he handed me and continued to force our retreat. We +returned by way of the home of his son-in-law, who was a baptized +believer, and while this brother was piloting us down a hill to +another way home Captain Bernadino, jumping from behind a bush, +caught my horse by the bridle. He had an assassin at his heels, +with axe in hand, asking every minute what he should do. Captain +Bernadino wore out his stick on my horse, planting the last stroke +across my loins; then he struck me about a dozen times in the +breast with his fist. I said to him, 'Captain, why are you beating +me, I believe in God; do not you also?' Stopping and panting he +said, 'Do you believe in God, you rascal?' 'Yes,' I said, 'and +Jesus also who came to save us sinners.' 'Don't let up, don't let +up, hit him, hit him,' cried his wife and children. He pulled the +bridle from my hands, led my horse into a pond close by, and +gathering mud, pelted me from foot to shoulder. Then leaving my +horse, he went after Captain Egydio, who was guarded by another +assassin. On passing his son-in-law, kneeling, he struck him on +the head, saying, 'Get up, you fool!' Leading the Captain's horse +into the water, he covered him with mud from foot to head. Then, +putting our bridles up, he beat our horses and told us to go, +never to be seen in those parts any more. My bridle reins he +crossed, which fact caused me when I passed his wife, who stood +with a long stick upraised, to strike me, to turn my horse upon +her instead of away from her, and the horse came near running over +her. She struck and fell back, the stick falling across my horse's +neck. Such a pandemonium of mad voices, cursing and shouting as we +left I never heard. It took us till night to reach home. The +family took it as an honor, and smiling and laughing, we were +spending the evening merrily, when at nine or ten o'clock a rap at +the door caused us all to suspend our hilarity. It was that son- +in-law of the persecutor, bringing his wife, asking to be +baptized. She had witnessed the persecution her father gave us, +and on her husband's return to the house, she told him the scene +made her think of the Apostles and that now she was determined to +be baptized. At first I thought of bloodshed, for her father had +threatened to kill her, her mother, Captain Egydio and the man who +baptized her. But I had always taught them to obey Christ and +leave results with Him, so we heard her experience and at midnight +I baptized her. + +Captain Egydio did not complain of our treatment nor did I ever +mention it to our Consul. + +When he gave his heart to Christ he gave his life and all. He +followed where his conscience led. Before his conversion he was a +great smoker. The missionary asked him one day if he smoked for +the glory of God. He took the cigarette from his mouth, threw it +away and never smoked again. This was characteristic of his +determination and his unfaltering devotion to what he esteemed to +be right. + +The end came swiftly one night. He had an attack apparently of +indigestion which carried him speedily away. The symptoms seemed +to indicate that he had been poisoned. All that night he spent in +prayer and in singing hymns. He died leaving his benediction upon +his family and upon those Brazilians who would give their hearts +and their services to Jesus Christ. + +He was buried upon his own farm. As his family did not erect a +cross over his grave, one of his neighbors who had persecuted +Captain Egydio violently many times thought he would correct him +in his grave, and so he set up a large cross over him. One night +soon after, this cross was cut down. The violent neighbor +instituted a suit for the violation of the law in tearing down a +symbol of the Roman Catholic church. He also came with great pomp, +accompanied by soldiers, and set up another cross. The law suit +finally wore itself out and both parties were glad to drop it, +each party sharing an equal amount of the costs. + +The persecution has been so bitter that the church which Captain +Egydio organized in his own house was removed to Pe da Serra, +three miles away, and from there it was driven by persecution to +Rio Preto, where today it flourishes with a membership of about +fifty people and is in a hopeful condition. The widow and her +children have been compelled to move into the city of Bahia. A +recent letter informs me of the conversion of the two youngest +girls. + +The witness of Captain Egydio has not been lost. It is marvelous +how much he accomplished in his short career. He was converted +October, 1894, baptized February 4, 1895, and died March 30th, +1898, at fifty years of age. In these few years he sowed the +country down with the gospel truth. We visited Vargem Grande, +Santo Antonio, Areia and Genipapo churches, all of which had grown +very largely out of the influence of this one man, and had we been +permitted to go further, we might have visited several other +churches for whose beginning the life of this valiant servant of +God was in a great measure responsible. "He, being dead, yet +speaketh." + + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +FELICIDADE. + + +One of the most fascinating phases of mission study is the tracing +of the lines along which the gospel spreads. 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 gospel. As it was in +the first century, so it is now--"they that were scattered abroad +went everywhere preaching the gospel." The history of those +Apostolic times repeats itself in every mission land. 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 Luke. The native Christians must either +witness for their Lord or else betray Him. There is no middle +ground. 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 neighbors. He may have +entered this community by choice or may have been driven into it +by persecution. However, that may be, the truth is that many a +poor, despised, often persecuted believer, has started a movement +in a community which gathered to itself a large company of +believers, and formed the nucleus of another one of those most +wonderful institutions in all the world--a church of Jesus Christ. + +When I had entered the First Baptist Church in Sao Paulo, Brazil, +and stood for a moment looking about me, I heard someone exclaim, +"Oh, there he is! There he is!" and presently I found myself +locked in the affectionate embrace of an apparently very happy old +woman. She was about seventy years of age. She was the janitress +of the church. She had looked forward to our coming with joyful +pleasure, and gave to us as hearty a welcome as did anyone in +Brazil. Her name was Felicidade, which being translated means +"Felicity." + +Several years ago she had come from Pernambuco, in which city and +State she had labored with great success for many years in behalf +of the gospel. + +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 oath. She had the +greatest desire to see this book. She was married in her +thirteenth year and her husband died when she was eighteen. After +his death she went from the country to the city of Pernambuco, +where she met some members of the Congregational Church and was +led by them to attend the services. She saw the Bible and heard a +sermon preached from the text, "Blessed are they that hunger and +thirst," and soon afterward she gave obedience to Jesus. + +From that time forth her whole conversation was upon the gospel +and upon the subject of bringing other people to Christ. One time +when Mrs. Entzminger was away from the city of Pernambuco she left +her children in charge of Felicidade. While Felicidade was passing +along the street with the children one day she was met by Mrs. +Maria Motta and her daughter, who stopped to admire the beautiful +children. Felicidade told who the children were and urged her new +acquaintances to attend the church services. They accepted her +invitation and soon became interested in the gospel, and before +long were converted to faith in Jesus Christ. + +Then their persecution began. They lost all their friends and +endured many other hardships. They came from one of the best +families in the city, and therefore felt the persecution more +bitterly than might have some others. The girl, Augusta, secured +work in the English store. Her mother took in fine ironing, and +thus the two made their support. Afterward Augusta married Augusto +Santiago, who at the present time is the pastor of our thriving +church in the city of Nazareth. 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 work. When we visited +Nazareth we were entertained in the delightful home of Augusto +Santiago and found it to be charming in every respect. + +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 year. She would then go into the interior with +tracts and Bibles, sell them and in every way try to lead people +to Christ. One year she made it her aim to lead not less than +twelve to her Lord, and she was able to accomplish her purpose. +Her education is limited, but she knows any number of Scripture +verses, which she is able to quote with remarkable aptness. + +Upon one of her visits into the interior she was found at Nazareth +by Innocencio Barbosa, a farmer who resided in the district of +Ilheitas. He lived about thirty miles from Nazareth. He took +Felicidade home with him in order that she might teach the gospel +to his family. Meanwhile, his friend, Hermenigildo, who lived in a +distant neighborhood, bought a Bible in Limoeiro and told his +friend Innocencio of what he had done. 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 +also. Felicidade accordingly went into this other home and soon +the entire family, including a son-in-law and some relatives, were +led to Jesus, and a church of about fifty members was organized in +Hermenigildo's house. + +Thus the faithful witnessing of this humble, consecrated woman was +so honored of the Holy Spirit that scores were led into the light +of the gospel of Jesus. Out of her efforts grew churches which the +violence of the oppressor could not destroy, because the work she +did became immortal when it passed over into the hands of the Lord +of Hosts, against whose church not even the gates of Hell can +prevail. + + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +PERSECUTION. + + +Some of the severest persecutions the saints have ever endured in +Pernambuco broke upon this new congregation in the Ilheitas +district. The houses of the believers were broken into and +everything destroyed, some of the buildings were burned. The +believers asked for police protection, but the police sent to +protect them being under the domination of the priest, who was the +political boss of that district, persecuted the believers even +more than their neighbors had done. They drove the believers +about, beating them with their swords, forcing them to drink +whisky and in many ingenious ways heaped indignities upon them. +After the success of the great persecution in Bom Jardim, of which +we will speak later, the priest organized a large force of men to +destroy everything belonging to the Protestants in the Ilheitas +district and to drive them away. They burned all of the church +furniture, as well as the household furniture belonging to +Hermenigildo, who was forced to flee for his life. They cut the +cord to the hammock in which was lying his young baby. The fall +broke the neck of the child. The mother was driven unclothed +between two lines of soldiers and severely beaten. The other +believers were so harrassed that most of them were compelled to +leave the neighborhood. Hermenigildo stayed away five months, when +a change in police chiefs in Pernambuco made it possible for him +to return. The church was reorganized the following year. A new +building was constructed on Hermenigildo's farm and today, with a +membership of 103, it is in a most prosperous condition. + +In the little city of Nazareth the fury of persecution has been +felt. Not a great while after the church had been organized by Dr. +Entzminger the farmers in the community and the priest combined to +drive the Protestants out of town. Dr. Entzminger heard of their +purpose and went up to Nazareth, accompanied by a number of +soldiers whom the Government had put at his disposal. A great +throng was collected at the station to do violence to the +missionary on his arrival, but when they saw the soldiers they +took to their heels, and many came that night to the service to +show that they were not in the mob. A year or two later another +mob broke into the church, poured oil over the furniture and +burned practically everything. The police saved the building. Once +after this, when Missionary Ginsburg was to hold an open-air +meeting in this same town, a soldier was hired to take his life. +The officers of the law left town in order that the deed might be +done without hindrance. The soldier drank whisky in order to brace +himself for the deed, and fortunately imbibed too much and became +so intoxicated that he fell asleep. When he awoke the meeting had +been held and he had missed his chance. These facts were confessed +by the soldier to Dr. Entzminger after the soldier had been +converted a year later. + +At the railway station at Nazareth we met Primo da Fonseca, who +had, for the sake of the gospel, lost all in a great persecution +at Bom Jardim, which is not a great distance from Nazareth. He was +a reader of evangelical literature and preached the gospel all +over that country, though he had not been baptized. A native +missionary went into that region, began preaching and soon +afterward gathered a congregation and organized a church in +Fonseca's home. The political boss of the community planned with +the Catholics to take 800 men into Bom Jardim on the night of +April 15th, 1900, for the purpose of killing all the Protestants +who were in prayer at Fonseca's house. The mob divided into two +parties. One party was to approach the house from the front and +the other from the opposite side. A gun was to be fired as a +signal for the attack. The first party approached the house, which +was near the theater. Now in the theater at that time was gathered +a great throng of people. 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 Silvino, who is perhaps the most famous +outlaw of Brazil. All were greatly frightened. The Mayor went out +to see if he could not do something to persuade the mob to leave +the town. After some parleying they said that inasmuch as the +Mayor asks, we will turn back. Someone at that time fired a shot +and shouted, "Viva Santa Anna" in honor of the patron saint of +that city. This signal brought up the supporting party at once, +who mistook their comrades for the believers and fired into them. +In the melee twenty people were killed and about fifty wounded. All +night they were carrying the dead away to burial in order that +they might cover up the deed as far as possible. The Municipal +Judge made out a case that the Protestants had fired on the +Catholics. He pronounced nineteen as being implicated. Several +escaped, six were finally brought to trial. Dr. Entzminger in +Pernambuco sent lawyers and gave such assistance as he could. +After about two years, Missionary Ginsburg having come also to +help in the meantime, the men on trial were set free. Fonseca lost +all he had in this law suit, he being one of those arrested. He +was in jail four months. He has been deserted by his family. When +the disturbance occurred he was Marshal of his town. Today he +lives in Nazareth, poor, deserted, faithful. But what cares he for +this suffering, poverty and desertion as he contemplates the fact +that he has set a torch of eternal light in his community. The +church which he finally established will bear faithful witness in +spite of hardships long after all persecution has ceased, and he, +himself, has gone home to God. + +It was our good fortune to visit the little town of Cabo (which +means Cape), two hours' ride from Pernambuco, where we have a +small church, organized about two years ago. We were entertained +in the home of a mechanic who superintends the bridge construction +along the railroad which passes through the town. He takes his +Bible with him when he goes to work, and wherever he is he +preaches the gospel. He told us of two station agents along the +line who had recently accepted Christ through his personal +efforts. + +We had a delightful service that night in the church, a great +throng of people being present, six of whom made public profession +of their faith in Jesus. 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 hour. Some of those who had suffered for the cause of +the gospel came in to see us, and as we sat there in the dim light +of the flickering candle, they told us of some of their sufferings +for the gospel's sake. 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 trials. + +Amongst those who were present in this little room was brother +Honofre, through whose efforts the church at Cabo had been +founded. Several years ago he began to read a Bible which had been +presented to him by a man who was not interested in it. He became +converted along with his household. There was a Catholic family +living opposite to him which he determined to reach with the +gospel. After awhile this family accepted Christ and the two +families began to hold worship in their homes. Soon they rented a +hall, with the aid of a few others, and sent to Pernambuco for a +missionary to come and organize them into a church. This man has +endured cruel hardships. He had to abandon his business as a +street merchant because the people boycotted him. He rented a +house, built an oven and began to bake bread. Not long after that +he was put out of this house. 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 building. He can now make a living. + +The church has had experience similar to that of its founder. It +was put out of three rented buildings at the instance of the +Vicar, who either forced the owners to eject or he, himself, +bought the property. Finally a man who is not a believer, but +whose mother is, bought the present building and sold it to me +church. He is permitting the church to pay for the building in +installments of small sums. 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 members. On the occasion of our visit six more +made public confession of Christ before a large audience and were +received for baptism. + +Out on the cape is a fine lighthouse which we had admired as we +came up the coast on the ship. May it be a symbol of the +lighthouse which this church may become to the storm tossed in +that section of Brazil. + +Of course, persecution is a painful thing for those who are called +upon to endure it, but wherever I found those who had passed +through afflictions they counted it all joy to suffer for the +cause of Christ, and whenever I attempted to comfort them because +of their hardships, I came away more comforted than they, 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 people. +Persecution, while it may temporarily suspend work in a certain +place, always defeats its own purpose, and instead of preventing +the spread of the gospel, is one of the most helpful agencies in +the growth of the truth. + +A most encouraging illustration of this fact occurred in +Pernambuco in 1904. There had been a bitter persecution at Cortez, +a village not far from Pernambuco. The chief instigator of the +trouble was the parish priest. The believers were driven out of +the town and their lives threatened. The missionary went and was +also driven out, 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 out. A news account of this +persecution was published in a daily paper in Pernambuco. A boy +cut this article out and gave it to his teacher, a priest in the +Silesian College. 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 gospel. Two letters were passed before the +missionary finally went at midnight to hold a conference. The +priest came out and discussed the gospel with the missionary and +then returned to the college, taking with him a copy of the New +Testament. After a month the missionary went again at midnight to +the college and the priest came away with him once for all. The +priest went to the home of the missionary and for two months +studied the Bible, after which time he was converted. He at once +began to preach the gospel to his friends as he would meet them on +the streets. He also made a public declaration of his conversion +in print. The President of the college from which he had gone +obtained an interview with him and offered him every inducement to +return. His parents disinherited him and many other trials came to +him, but through all, he stood firm. He has just graduated from +the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, taking the Th. D. +degree and has been appointed to teach in the Baptist College and +Theological Seminary in Rio. His name is Piani. About a year after +Piani's conversion he induced another priest to leave the same +college. This man spent a month in the missionary's house studying +the Bible, but was enticed back by the priests and hurried away to +New York in order that he might escape the influence of Piani. +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 Massachusetts. + +In no place where our people have endured persecution, even though +it may have been severe enough to cost the lives of some, has the +work been abandoned, but in every place the weak, struggling +congregation which faced obliteration at the fury of its enemy, +has in the end increased, and today enjoys the blessing of growth +in numbers and in the sympathy of the people. Persecution is a +good agency in the spread of the gospel. + + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +THE BIBLE AS A MISSIONARY FACTOR. + + +The Bible is a mighty factor in the spread of the gospel in +Brazil. In 1889 there came down to Bahia a man named Queiroz from +two hundred and fifty miles in the interior. He came seeking +baptism at the hands of Dr. Z. C. Taylor. It appears that some six +or eight years previous to that time an agent of a Bible society +had entered this man's community, preached the gospel and left +behind him some copies of the Scriptures. One of these Bibles was +found afterwards by Queiroz, who studied it and was impressed with +its truth. He began to bring the message of the Word to the +attention of his large circle of friends and kindred. Having +preached in several places, he was finally asked by the district +judge to come to his house where he was given opportunity to meet +a number of friends. The friends of Queiroz, however, began to ask +him whether it was right for him to be preaching thus before he +had been baptized, whereupon he resolved to go to Bahia to seek +baptism. He made the journey and was baptized. A week after he had +returned he wrote to Dr. Taylor, saying he had preached at Deer +Forks and had baptized eight. During the next two weeks similar +letters were sent, which gave the number he had baptized. The +church at Bahia was apprized of conditions, and it decided to send +Queiroz an invitation to come and receive ordination. He came with +great humility and joy and was ordained, but before the ordination +had taken place he had already baptized fifty-five people. The +church, at Bahia, after the ordination of Queiroz, legalized the +baptisms. + +Five years after the baptism of this man Dr. Taylor was finally +able to make the journey to Conquista, where he found the church +well organized, with a house of worship built at its own expense +and with the pastor's home erected near by. The missionary says, +"I now understand why God never permitted me to visit Conquista +during these five years. 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 them. I +wonder how many churches in the United States have built their own +house and pastorium and sustained themselves from the start? Not a +cent from the Board has been spent on the church and the +evangelization done by Brother Queiroz." + +Another example of the power of the Bible in spreading the gospel +is found in the way the gospel came to Guandu, State of Rio, and +the country round about. One night in Campos in 1894, after the +missionary had finished his sermon, a young woman approached him +and said, "My father has been teaching us out of that same book +you used. Would you not like to go out in the country to visit +him?" The missionary replied that he would, and then the girl +explained how the Bible came to this community. + +One evening a colporteur approached her father's door and asked +for entertainment, saying he had been refused by several families +along the way. To the host's inquiry as to why he had been refused +entertainment for the night the colporteur said: "They declined +because I am a Protestant." The man replied. "Come in and +welcome." After the dinner Mr. Vidal (for that was the farmer's +name) asked what this Protestantism meant. The colporteur +explained and preached the gospel to the best of his ability. + +When the time came to retire the colporteur said, "It is my custom +to read the Scriptures and to pray before I retire. If you have no +objection I would like to do so tonight." Mr. Vidal answered, "I +shall be glad for you to do so." The colporteur read and there in +the dining hall before the curious onlookers knelt and poured out +his heart to his Heavenly Father. He called down the blessing and +the favor of God upon the family. The tears poured down his cheeks +as he lifted his soul in this prayer. After he finished praying +Mr. Vidal said, "I have never heard prayer like that. Teach me how +to do it. I have heard Latin prayers repeated, but they did not +grip me like that." The colporteur replied by explaining that +prayer must be from the heart. He then took out a Bible and said, +"I want to make you a present of this book. You have been kind to +me. Read it, for it has in it the Word of Life." He went away the +following morning. We do not know who he was--only the record on +high will discover his person to us. + +The book left behind became a great light for Mr. Vidal. He read +it and was so impressed with its teachings that he taught the Word +to his family and neighbors. His house became a house of prayer +and teaching. When Missionary Ginsburg went out there, preached +the Word and explained about Christ, he asked those who wished to +follow the Lord to stand. Practically the whole company stood. +They had been prepared, by Mr. Vidal The missionary went back a +few times and soon a church of about forty members was organized +and was called the Church of Guandu. + +The Word spread up the country first amongst Mr. Vidal's relatives +and friends. At Santa Barbara the station master, Carlos Mendonca, +was converted, who is now pastor of our church at Cantagallo. He +first moved to Rio Bonito and founded a church there, the truth +spread, 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 county. Twenty-one years ago, a Bible which +belonged to a Catholic priest, or rather a part of a Catholic +Bible, fell into the hands of the old man, Joaquim Borges. Through +the reading of this Bible, he abandoned idolatry and other +practices of Rome and put his trust solely in the Lord Jesus for +his salvation. For sixteen years he resisted all attempts of +priests and others to turn him back to Rome, always giving a clear +and firm testimony to the truth of the gospel. During all this +time he never met with another believer. Hearing of him, E. A. +Jackson wrote him to meet him in Pilao Arcado. He came 120 miles +and waited twelve days for the arrival of the missionary. As +Jackson had through passage to Santa Rita, he asked the captain to +hold the steamer while he baptized Mr. Borges. Before +administering baptism Jackson preached to the great crowd on the +river bank and on the decks of the steamer. It was a solemn and +beautiful sight to behold this man, seventy-seven years of age, +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 scene. Dripping from the river, Jackson welcomed him into +the ranks of God's children. The missionary embarked on the +steamer and Mr. Borges went back to work among his neighbors. Up +till the present time not even a native minister has visited him, +for the lack of workers and funds to send them. Eye hath not seen, +nor ear heard, 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 Brazil. + +In the State of Sao Paulo is a boy, Ramiro by name, now about +thirteen years of age, the only son of parents who do not know a +letter of the alphabet. Indeed, he is the only one in a large +connection that has been taught to read. + +The family lives about twenty miles from their market town, Mogy +das Cruzes, to which they go to sell the meager fruits of their +labors on the little farm. In this town they have some +acquaintances, among whom is a believer whose faith had come +through reading the Bible. This believer one day came into +possession of a Bible which he didn't need, and so he gave it to +Ramiro, who was then about nine or ten years of age and was +beginning to learn to read. The little fellow trudged home, twenty +miles away, carrying his priceless present, and showed it joyously +to his parents. This was the first book that ever entered their +humble home, excepting, of course, Ramiro's little school book. +Curious to know what the book contained, the father put Ramiro to +deciphering some of its pages. Guided, no doubt, by the Holy +Spirit, 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 sentence, he +becoming more expert as the days went by. He would read, they +would listen and discuss, the Holy Spirit, in the meantime, fixing +the sacred truth in their hearts. This persistent reading of the +Word went on for two or three years to a time when the Lord opened +to Dr. J. J. Taylor, of Sao Paulo, a door of opportunity in Mogy +das Cruzes. He found twelve people ready to follow on in the +Lord's ordinance. + +Since that time even more abundant fruit has been gathered. Dr. +Taylor at first baptized three of Ramiro's cousins who hail from +the same village twenty miles away and recently he baptized the +uncle, aunt, some more cousins and Ramiro himself. Ramiro taught +the words of many hymns to his family and neighbors. Through him +and his book his aged grandparents, ninety years old and +bedridden, rejoice in the Savior. + +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 +yet, after all, is not this the combination which alone is +powerful in spreading the gospel--a simple, child-like heart, +through which the Word may speak forth? "A little child shall lead +them," because it can be artless enough to give simple utterance +to the Word of God. Oh, for more in all lands who will give +unaffected voice to the Word of God! That message has power in it +if it can get sincere expression. + +We need to realize more than we do the transcendent importance of +giving wide circulation to the Bible in foreign lands. 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 endeavor. Certainly, there is marvelous +power in it. Its enemies fear its might; therefore, they fight +desperately to prevent the circulation of it. Would that we could +have as keen a realization of the vitality of this Book as do its +enemies. Surely then, we would do far more for the sowing of the +Scriptures beside all waters. + + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +THE METTLE OF THE NATIVE CHRISTIAN. + + +In 1894, Francisco da Silva, soon after his conversion in Bahia, +went to Victoria in the State of Espirito Santo to live. He went +into the interior with some surveyors, and in addition to the work +he was called upon to do, he found time to tell the story of +Jesus. Eight people were converted and he wrote Dr. Z. C. Taylor +to come and baptize them. + +Dr. Taylor was not able to go immediately, and one of the men +secured his baptism in a very unique way. He asked Francisco to +baptize him Francisco replied that he could not because he was not +ordained. The man returned home and examined his Bible and came +back a few days later and demanded again that Francisco baptize +him. Francisco replied that in order to baptize, one must be +ordained. "No," said the man, "I have looked in the Bible and I do +not find it necessary for one to be ordained in order to baptize." +So catching hold of Francisco, he pulled him along to a river near +by, Francisco through it all holding back the best he could and +arguing with the man that he could not baptize him. But the man +constrained him and forced him into the river. Francisco seeing +his zeal, performed the ceremony. Some question afterward was +raised about the validity of this baptism, and the man was +baptized regularly by the same Francisco, who had in the meantime +received ordination. + +When he had finished with one party of surveyors another wanted to +employ him, and they went to the first party to find out about +him. The men said: "He has fine qualifications for the position, +but there is one objection to him--he is a Protestant." "Ah, said +the second party, "can't we with a little money get that out of +him?" "No," replied the first, "it seems to be grown into him." He +was taken by the second party, the chief of which and all his +family soon became devoted Christians. + +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 party, bought a mule and other necessities for his +journey and started out to proclaim the unsearchable riches of +Christ to the people of that State. He was remarkably successful +and soon gathered about him a little band of believers, who, +because of their faithfulness to Christ, were called upon to +suffer severe persecution. They were compelled to flee into the +distant mountains where Missionary Jackson afterward found them, +organized them into a church and baptized seventy-five converts. +Later they were able to return to their homes, due to the fact +that a more lenient administration was inaugurated in Victoria. +Very soon afterward our faithful missionary, L. M. Reno, was sent +to this State, and the work from this good beginning has had +remarkable prosperity. The pioneer missionary, da Silva, after +having gained the title of Apostle to the State of Espirito Santo, +was called in 1910 to his reward. + +From what we have been saying, you have no doubt made many +inferences about the kind of Christians these Brazilians make. If +you had seen them face to face, you would have been, as I was, +impressed with their appearance. They were the best-looking people +I saw. Their countenances were clearer and there was a hopeful, +resourceful look upon them that was not noticeable upon the non- +believers. Sin and fear always break the spirit of men, and though +there may be a brave look assumed, yet there always hangs a cloud +over the countenance of the sin-stained and fear-driven man, be he +a religionist or atheist. This change in appearance is produced by +a change in their way of living. When they are converted they +cease drinking, gambling, Sabbath-breaking, and often the men give +up smoking and the women cease taking snuff. The fact is they +sometimes are extreme upon this subject. I heard of one church +that made the giving up of tobacco and another the laying aside of +jewelry the test of fellowship. 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 glory, having upon them the +light of God's countenance. + +They are liberal givers. There is a much larger proportion of +tithers among them than among the Christians in the States. Here, +too, they often go to extremes. More than one church in Brazil +makes tithing obligatory upon its members. Last year the Brazilian +Baptists gave as much per capita for foreign missions as did the +Baptists in our Southern States. They have set their aim this year +higher than the Southern Baptists have. They sustain foreign +mission work in Chili and Portugal. 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 +churches. This giving to foreign missions is not to the neglect of +their home enterprises. They have Home and State Mission Boards +which they support liberally. They have am Education Board to +which they gave forty cents per capita last year and all of this +giving out of such grinding poverty! + +Here and there are people of larger means who are munificent in +their gifts. It was the generous offer of $5,000 by Captain Egydio +that made possible the founding of the Collegio Americano Egydio, +which school was established by the Taylors in Bahia. He paid $650 +the first installment upon the furniture, but his sudden taking +off prevented the college from realizing the whole amount +promised, because the family lost so heavily by persecution after +the father had been taken away. Col Benj. Nogueira Paranagua, a +rich cattleman, built a church, 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 school. When the church in +San Fidelis, which was established in the face of trying +persecution, was considering how it could possibly build a meeting +house, a coffee farmer, who was not yet a member, rose and said: +"I am old and useless, but I want to do something for Jesus and +His church. I, therefore, offer to erect the church building and +the church may pay me six per cent. annually until I die, and then +the building will belong to the church as a legacy which I intend +to leave." As the work on the house progressed he signified his +desire to be the first one to be baptized in the baptistry. 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 chapel. Not +only this chapel has been built by an individual, but others have +been built in the same way. Usually, however, the churches are +built out of the sacrificial offerings of the people. So well has +this church building movement progressed that now about one-third +of the 142 Baptist Churches organized in Brazil worship in their +own buildings, and with a few exceptions, these buildings have +been erected by the gifts of the people and not by the gifts of +the Foreign Mission Board. The Presbyterians show a better +proportion of buildings than this and the Methodists quite as +good. + +The subject of self-support is a live one. There has been good +progress made in this matter, but, of course, it will require many +years to teach the churches their full duty in this regard. Many +churches have reached the point where they take care of all local +expenses. Some of the missionaries go so far as to advocate not +organizing any more churches until the congregations can be self- +supporting. The South Brazilian Mission, in its recent meeting, +adopted the rule that no church should be organized hereafter +until it could pay at last 60 per cent of its own expenses--these +expenses to include the care of the house, the salary of the +native pastor, etc. + +I have already cited instances of personal work. 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 them. + +One of the greatest laymen in Brazil is our Brother Thomaz L. da +Costa. He is the Superintendent of a very considerable business +firm in Bahia. He is a deacon in the First Baptist Church, one of +the moving spirits upon the Brazilian Foreign Mission Board and +practically superintends the work of the State Mission Board of +Bahia. + +Years ago he was converted in Rio through the agency of his +washerwoman. This faithful woman is a member of the First Baptist +Churoh. She decided she would attempt to lead Thomaz to Christ. So +on Saturday when she would bring his laundry she would invite him +to come to her house on the following day for dinner. I might say +by way of parenthesis, that there is not a steam laundry in +Brazil. All of the laundry work is done by hand. Sometimes there +is quite a considerable firm which employs many laundresses. +Thomaz, after declining the good woman's invitation many times, +finally one day decided he would accpt. it. + +On Sunday he appeared at her house for dinner. After the dinner +was over she suggested that they, in company with several of her +children, should take a stroll through some of the parks. They +passed through the great park in the center of the city, and after +a while they found themselves in front of a building in which they +heard singing. The good woman suggested that they go upstairs into +the hall from which proceeded the sounds of the music. They went +in, Thomaz not knowing what sort of place it was. Dr. Bagby, the +first missionary of our board to Brazil, was conducting a service +and soon began a sermon which impressed Thomaz very greatly. The +sermon drew such a picture of his life that he accused the woman +of having told Dr. Bagby about him. She had not done so, she +declared, and this fact impressed Thomaz even more. + +Next Saturday, when she brought his laundry, she invited him to +take dinner with her again on Sunday, but he was too shrewd for +her and declined, saying that he understood her purpose. The +message which he had heard in the sermon, however, stayed with +him. On the following Saturday the good woman again invited him to +take dinner with her on Sunday. He declined. When the third +Saturday came, before she had time to extend her usual invitation, +he said: "I am coming to dinner with you tomorrow." He went +according to promise, and after the meal had been finished, they +did not take a round-about course, but went directly to the +church, and there the man listened to the gospel again and gave +himself to Christ. He has not missed a service since unless +providentially hindered. I asked him if he was sorry of the step +he had taken and he replied: "No, indeed. It is as Paul says, 'A +salvation not to be repented of.'" + +There can be but one inevitable result to such faithful witnessing +as this. 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 +way. A large percentage of them will conduct public services +wherever the opportunity can be found. In the First Baptist Church +in Rio there are more than twenty men who will go out and conduct +public services. They are not skilled preachers. They may have +very limited education, but they can take the Book, read it, +explain its message through the light of their own individual +experiences, and by this means of witnessing to the power of the +saving grace of God in their own lives, they are able to lead many +to Jesus. Is not this after all the kind of preaching our Lord has +sent us into the world to do? + +The severest persecution which these Brazilian Christians are +called upon to endure is not that which comes to them when they +are stoned, 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 priests, but the most trying persecution is that which +comes from the insinuating remark, the sneer of the supercilious +and the doubt of the envious. The taunt of hypocrisy is often +thrown into the teeth of native Christians. Their motives are +frequently impugned. I was profoundly impressed with the answer +they usually give to such persecutions. They reply by saying: "See +how we live. Note the difference between our careers now and our +careers before we became Christians." And this challenge of the +life is the one which will finally answer the ridicule and doubt +of all who assail them. + + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THE TESTING OF THE MISSIONARY. + + +In thinking of the missionary, most of us dwell upon the heroic +self-denial he practices and the bravery with which he faces the +gravest dangers. Certainly, the missionary in Brazil is due a good +share of such appreciation. He has been called upon to endure +shameful indignities, painful personal dangers and the enervating +perils of a hostile climate. Our own missionaries have been +beaten, stoned, thrown into streams, arrested and haled before +courts, shot at and in many instances saved only by the most +signal dispensations of Providence. Dr. Bagby, our first +missionary, in spite of stoning and arrest when he was baptizing +converts in Bahia, kept fearlessly on in his endeavor to lead the +people to Christ. Dr. Z. C. Taylor traveled through the interior +of Bahia State in perils of robbers, in perils of fanatics, in +perils of infuriated priests and in perils of bloodthirsty +persecutors without fear or shrinking. In the spring of 1910 +Solomon Ginsburg was set upon by a mob at Itabopoana, which opened +fire with such perilous directness that one bullet flattened upon +the wall a few inches above his head. + +This same missionary in 1894 endured bitter persecutions when he +attempted to open the work at San Fidelis in the interior of the +State of Rio de Janeiro. A mob of a thousand people threw stones, +grass, corn and a great miscellany of other objects at him and his +little band of worshipers. The howling of the mob prevented him +from preaching. The best that could be done was to sing songs. +Finally, a stone having struck a girl in the congregation, he +carried her out through the infuriated mob to a drug store across +the street, where she was resuscitated, and he returned to his +service of song. + +Next morning he was called to the police headquarters and the +officer forbade him to preach. He asked what the missionary was +doing there, to which he replied, "To preach the gospel." The +missionary was then prohibited from preaching in the province. He +replied that he was sorry he could not obey, for he had superior +orders. He could not accept orders from the police, nor the +Governor, nor even from the President of the Republic. The officer +asked who this superior authority was. The missionary replied it +was God. God had told him to go preach the gospel in all the world +to every creature; some of God's creatures were in San Fidelis and +he was there to preach according to the command of his Lord. The +police officer, after plying him with insulting epithets, kept him +a prisoner of the State as a disturber of the peace. On the +following day he was sent to the State prison at Nictheroy, where +he was confined for ten days. Friends, through the solicitation of +Mrs. Ginsburg, brought pressure to bear upon the Government and +the missionary was released. He was requested then as a personal +favor not to return until after the naval revolt, which was then +in progress, should be suppressed and a degree of quiet could be +restored to the State. Being thus requested, he remained away from +San Fidelis awhile. + +When the revolt was suppressed he returned to San Fidelis and +persecution arose again. He appealed to the chief officer of the +State and fifty soldiers were sent to his relief. In choosing +these fifty soldiers the officer asked for believers to volunteer. +Twenty-five responded. He asked then for sympathizers and twenty- +five more volunteered. These were put under the command of the +missionary, who instructed them not to appear armed at the church. +They came unarmed, but when the mob began to thrown stones again +and refused to respect the soldiers, they pounced upon the evil +doers and there was a rough and tumble fight. Several were bruised +considerably and a number of limbs were broken, but after this +conflict the persecution ceased. + +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 Christ. Every missionary who has been in Brazil any +length of time has felt the weight of personal, physical +persecution, and all in the gravest dangers have conducted +themselves as became the heroic character with which they are so +splendidly endowed. And this suffering, we are sorry to say, is +not yet over. For many years to come the desperate and despotic +hand of Rome, which could in the name of religion invent the +horrible inquisition and organize the bloodthirsty order of +Jesuits, has not changed its attitude completely and will resist +desperately to the last the inevitable progress of Protestantism +in Brazil. + +Let me hasten, however, to say that it is very easy to get the +wrong impression of what the heroism of the missionary consists. +It is easy for us to think it consists in his willingness to face +personal danger. If such an idea should obtain amongst us +permanently and alas, it has persisted altogether too long; 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 public. + +The most trying thing to the missionary is not the imminence of +personal danger, but the ever-present chilling, benumbing +indifference of the people to the gospel. Even though here and +there we find large numbers of people who are ready to accept the +gospel, let us not deceive ourselves into the belief that all +Brazil is eagerly seeking to enter the Kingdom of God. The +Macedonian call to Paul did not come from a whole nation which was +ready to accept his teaching, but from one man in a nation. Most +all Macedonian calls are like that. The few, comparatively +speaking, rise to utter such calls and these few are the keys of +opportunity which may be used to unlock whole Empires. The great +body of the people in Brazil (and this is especially true of the +educated classes) are as indifferent to the gospel as people are +most anywhere else. It is the weight of this stolid indifference +which tries the endurance of the missionary. It fills the very +atmosphere he breathes and hangs a dark cloud over his horizon, +which only his faith in God and the winning of occasional converts +graciously tinge with a silver lining. It is indifference, slowly +yielding indifference that tests the temper of the missionary +character. There are times when a bit of physical persecution would +afford a positive relief to the fatigue of his exacting career. + +The days of the pioneer missionary, with their personal dangers, +have in a measure passed. The yeans of the persecutor in the face +of an increasingly more enlightened civilization are numbered. The +probability of personal perils is growing steadily less. The +missionary must now fight for a hearing before a public which is +too often willing to let him alone. In many places it does not +care enough for his message to persecute him for bringing it. It +is ready to patronize him with an assumed air of liberality and +resist the message which burns in his heart and upon his lips. +They are willing for him to speak, but not willing to listen to +what he has to say. He must fight for a hearing with this +patronizing indifference. It is this that tries his spirit. It is +this that bleeds his heart of its strength. It is this that calls +out the heroic in him as never does the dart of the savage, the +weapon of the fanatic or the fury of the mob. 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 missionaries. No one +of them has ever drawn back and given up his work for fear of +death at the hands of his persecutors, but it must be said for the +sake of the truth that some have succumbed before the rigors of +blasting indifference. 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 message. + +There is another count in this subject of indifference to which we +at home should give more prayerful consideration. 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 already. 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 work? It is a shame upon us that we at home add another burden +to our missionaries by failing to loyally support them. 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 send? + +When that brave garrison of English soldiers were shut up in Lady +Smith, South Africa, 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 relief, though the relief was +long delayed. If the thought that their home people were not +trying to send succor to them had ever taken possession of their +minds, they would have surrendered forthwith. Their line of +communication was cut, but they knew help was coming, and so they +held out with grim determination until relief came. + +How is it with our missionaries in Brazil? Their lines of +communication are intact. They know their people at home are able +to supply them with the help they need and yet the help does not +come. What must be the conclusion forced upon, them and what must +be the effect upon them? Either the churches, though able, will +not give the means to send out missionaries, or the men for +reinforcement will not volunteer. It may be that both causes are +at work. 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 pastor, and a good percentage (save the mark) of +these direct applications, when our small missionary force in +Brazil is pleading for only ten men to be sent out to relieve them +in their strain? Whatever explanation we may have to offer for +these things, the fact remains that our indifference to the call +of our men at the front adds an additional weight to their already +too heavy load, and yet, in spite of it all, they are standing +with unflinching heroism at their posts. + +Something must be done to relieve this situation. Counting all +denominations, there are in Brazil fewer missionaries today in +proportion to the population than there are either in India or +China. Why this disparity of workers in Brazil? Is it because the +work is not successful there? The facts show that, taking into +consideration the number of workers, it is one of the most +fruitful of all mission fields. Is it because there is less need +of the gospel? I believe I have shown that these people are bereft +of the gospel, and because of their sin and idolatry are as needy +as are to be found anywhere. No, there is no excuse to be offered. +Our workers at the front need help. We are trying their brave +spirits by withholding the relief they have a right to expect, and +yet we repeat they are holding on with a courage that stamps them +as heroes of the finest type. 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 conquerors. + +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 large. Thank God, the light is breaking in many +places at home and abroad. Many individuals and churches are today +seeing the larger vision and are assuming their larger +responsibility in the support of the foreign mission cause. Many +are saying: "We will faithfully strengthen the hands of our +brothers who toil so courageously at the front." In Brazil (and in +other mission fields, too,) there is in many places a marvelous +breaking away from the old attitude of indifference. The little +handful of missionaries we have on the field are straining every +nerve to meet the opportunities that are pressing upon them. They +are not discouraged. They are as busy as life trying to meet the +increasing demands. They are looking to the future with the +largest hope. They are a band of the most incurable optimists you +ever saw. + + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +THE URGENT CALL. + + +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 satisfy. 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 +Texas, two in Virginia, three in Georgia and other States in like +proportion. Think of E. A. Nelson, the only representative of our +board in the Amazon region, trying to spread himself over four +States which comprise a territory five times as large as Texas. +Passing down the coast, five days journey, we would find D. L. +Hamilton and H. H. Muirhead, who have faced dangers as fearlessly +as have any brave spirits who have enriched the annals of +missionary history with courageous service. They, along with Miss +Voorheis, are our sole representatives in the State of Pernambuco +and in the adjoining State of Alagoas. C. F. Stapp, Solomon +Ginsburg and E. A. Jackson are attempting to carry forward the +work in the vast States of Piauhy, Goyaz, a part of Minas Geraes, +and Bahia, which last named State has in it one city as large as +New Orleans. E. A. Jackson is located far in the interior of the +State, three weeks' journey from Bahia; all of the energies of +Stapp are consumed in caring for the school; Ginsburg is forced to +give his attention to the nurturing of the thirty-five churches +and of evangelizing as far as his strength will go. In the State +beyond them, going down the coast, stands L. M. Reno, in the State +of Espirito Santo. In the populous State of Rio, in which is +located the capital city with its 1,000,000 inhabitants, we have +Entzminger, Shepard, Langston, Maddox, Cannada, Christie, Taylor +and Crosland. Entzminger, in addition to conducting the publishing +house, must also conduct the mission operations in Nictheroy, a +city of 40,000; Shepard, Taylor and Langston have placed upon +their shoulders the tremendous responsibility of conducting the +college and seminary; Cannada must give his energies to the +Flumenense School for Boys, leaving only Maddox, 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 them. Crosland has been transferred recently to Bello +Horizonte, in the great State of Minas Geraes. Farther South, in +Sao Paulo, the richest and most progressive State in the country, +are Bagby, Deter and Edwards, Misses Carroll, Thomas and Grove. +Bagby and wife and the young ladies just mentioned devote their +time to the school, leaving only two to man a field which, because +of its splendid railroad facilities, has in it scores of inviting +locations for successful work. In Paranagua in the next State to +the South, have been located recently R. E. Pettigrew and wife. +Far down to the South in Rio Grande do Sul, a State as large as +Tennessee and Kentucky combined, stands a single sentinel in the +person of A. L. Dunstan. What a battle line for twenty men to +maintain! It is more than 4,000 miles in length. If you should +place these men in line across our Southern territory, locating +the first one in Baltimore, you would travel 100 miles before you +reach the second, 100 miles before you reach the third, 100 miles +to the fourth, and in going toward the Southwest, you would reach +the twentieth man in El Paso, Tex. Whereas, 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 count, +by the time you had reached El Paso you would have passed 8,000 +men, for they would have been placed just one-fourth of a mile +apart. + +Why do we need 400 ministers in this country to one in Brazil? Is +it possible that we will grudgingly cling to our 8,000 ministers +and decline to give even eight to reinforce our little handful in +Brazil? Such a division of forces can neither be fair nor +faithful. + +In drawing this picture I have practically stated the situation +for the other denominations. The Presbyterians occupy the same +general territory as do the Baptists with an equal number of +missionaries. The Methodists have somewhat more compactly +stationed about the same number of missionaries as each of the +other two, while the Episcopalians, the Congregationalists and the +Evangelical Mission of South America combined add a number about +equal to each of the three larger denominations. A total of less +than 100 ordained missionaries scattered over a territory larger +than the United States of North America, which allows about four +missionaries to each Brazilian State. Add to this number the wives +of the missionaries, the thirty-seven unmarried women and the 125 +native workers and the entire missionary body, foreign and native, +barely totals 300. How utterly inadequate is such a force in the +presence of such vast needs! Because this situation has in it a +call so apparent and so inexpressibly urgent it is impossible to +portray it in words. + +The ripeness of the State of Piauhy for evangelization will +illustrate the urgency of the opportunity all over Brazil. As far +back as 1893 Dr. Nogueira Paranagua, who was at that time National +Senator from his State, urged Dr. Z. C. Taylor to send a man into +Piauhy and promised to help pay the expenses. Two years later Col. +Benj. Nogueira, the brother of the Senator, gave a similar +invitation, making a promise that he would sustain a missionary. +It was not until 1901 that E. A. Jackson was able to reach Col. +Benjamin's home. He preached the gospel in this good man's house +and also in Corrente, the town near by. Persecution, bitter and +determined, arose. There were three attempts to take Jackson's +life in one day. Once Col. Benjamin stepped in between the +assassin and the missionary and thus saved the missionary's life. +Some months later, upon the return of the missionary, Col. +Benjamin, who had been for so many years a friend to the gospel, +gave himself to it and was baptized. In January, 1904, the new +house of worship at Corrente was dedicated. It was built by Col. +Benjamin at his own expense. He also built a school building and +library, and afterward when the missionary was able to secure a +teacher, this generous man paid all the charges. + +When we reached Brazil last summer I received a message from Judge +Julio Nogueira Paranagua, a nephew of Col. Benjamin, who is one of +the Circuit Judges in the State of Piauhy and who after a short +while is to be retired upon his pension, according to the +Brazilian law. As soon as this takes place he expects to give +himself entirely to the work of evangelizing his own people. The +message ran: "The State of Piauhy is open to the gospel. There is +a fight on between the priests and the better classes. The better +educated people, disgusted with Romanism and priesthood, are +drifting into materialism and atheism, but if a competent man +could be situated at Therezina, the capital, the whole State could +easily be won to the gospel." + +His uncle, who is President of our Brazilian Convention, as we +have already stated, whose family embraces in its immediate +connection over a thousand people, in a letter written me after I +left Rio, reinforces this appeal. He says: + +"I come to call your attention to the State of Piauhy, the field +in Brazil at present which seems to me to be the best prepared for +evangelization. Many things have contributed to bring this about. +The Masons, on the one hand, have done the most they possibly +could against Romanism; on the other hand, the propaganda sincere +and fervent of a small church founded in the southern part of the +State, which happily is receiving the greatest blessing from +Almighty God, is greatly contributing to the reception of the +gospel throughout the State. My brother, Col. Benj. Nogueira, the +founder of that church, has passed away, but he has left sons who +are spiritual and who continue to work. With the work developed +there it will spread beneficently. In the adjoining townships +there exist many believers, and a church will be founded soon in +Paranagua, a town situated on the beautiful lake by the same name. +In the cities of Jerumenha and Floriano there are already small +churches, which united to the others in assiduous labors, will +powerfully contribute to the evangelization of the State, which is +one of the most promising of Northern Brazil. My friend, Senator +Gervazio de Britto Passo, strongly desires that a minister of the +gospel come to the section where he is most influential. 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 is, will unite with +them, becoming evangelical. The best moment to move in that State +is the present one, when so many causes concur for our evangelical +development. The population of Piauhy, which is over 500,000, will +increase considerably as well as its economic wealth. + +"I hope that you will not leave this field without pastors, where +the gospel is being received as the greatest benefit to which the +people can aspire for their civilization." + +It was my good fortune to meet the present Senator from the State +of Piauhy aboard the ship as he went up the coast, and he, while +not a Protestant, 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 people. This must +be a Macedonian call, which we hope to soon be able to heed. + + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +THE LAST STAND OP THE LATIN RACE. + + +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 world. God was behind that exodus as truly as he +was behind the transplanting of Abraham into a new environment. +Here in our country, unfettered by despotic traditions and +precedents, the Anglo-Saxon achieved religious and political +liberty with a rapidity and thoroughness that could not have been +possible in the old Continent of Europe. + +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 World. It is true that the Latin +movement was not prompted by the same motive that impelled the +Anglo-Saxon. Instead of the love of liberty, he was led out by the +lure of gold. Nevertheless, we must believe the final result will +be the same or else disbelieve in the ultimate triumph of the +guidance of God. We should not despair of the success of this +providential movement. + +In South America is to be witnessed the last stand of the Latin +race. There God has given him one last chance to achieve a +religious character which will honor his Lord. 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 God. If we +cannot bring ourselves to such a belief it is useless for us to +expect to be helpful, and it is unfaithful in us to expend money +upon a people when we are confident it will be wasted. + +We must not forget that these people are the descendants of the +Caesars, of Seneca, Napoleon--the race that ruled the world for +fifteen centuries. They surely have not lost all of their +virility. It must be a case of wasted strength. We believe that +this race has in it the possibility of rejuvenation. Lavaleye, the +great Belgian political economist, very probably spoke the truth +when he said that the Latin race is equal to the Anglo-Saxon, the +only difference being the gospel which the Protestants preach and +live. + +We shall be helpful in our effort to give him the proper sympathy +if we remember the handicaps under which he has labored. He was +satisfied with his old fossilized religion, which had taught him +to believe that despotism is a virtue. He did not, therefore, come +to America for liberty. The early settlers were the veriest +adventurers of whom the gold lust made paragons of cruelty and +crime. They brought with them the intriguing priest who would +corrupt the Kingdom of Heaven in order to maintain his power. +There was no intentional break with their old life. The light that +guided them to America was the yellow light of gold and not the +white light of righteousness. The first result was that there +developed in the untrammeled West the most unreasoning despotism, +the most unblushing robbery and the most shamelessly corrupt +priestcraft. So this whole transplanted mass of the worst +intolerance, most insatiable greed and the most corrupt priesthood +that Europe has ever produced, had to be taught from the beginning +on the new soil, the elements of the higher manhood they so +desperately needed. They had learned no first lesson in Europe, +and therefore their first lesson in America was to unlearn the +very things that constituted their central life and thought in +Europe. + +What progress has this providential teaching of the Latins in the +New World made? 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-America. And be +it said to their everlasting credit that this sacred cause, in +spite of revolutions and reactions, which at times hazarded the +whole scheme, has made steady advance, all critics to the +contrary, nothwithstanding. Political liberty is potentially at +least achieved in South America. It is written in the +Constitutions of the Republics and in the purposes of the people. +While many battles will be fought to establish it in detail, yet +the principle is so well established that it will never be +uprooted, provided we give the moral and educational aid we should +render at this critical hour. + +We have come upon a time when we must give to our South American +brothers unstinted support. They have attained political freedom, +but they have not yet gained religious freedom. Nothing can be +more anomolous than a State with political freedom fostering a +State religion that is desperately and unscrupulously intolerant. +No genuine Republic can support a State religion. The two will not +live together. One or the other must go, as the history of France +will abundantly substantiate. One result is inevitable--the people +will eventually repudiate the despotic religion and drift into +atheism and infidelity. Indeed, such a thing is happening in South +America today. The better educated classes are being set +hopelessly adrift religiously and the more ignorant, the common +people, are following idolatry. Neither have the gospel preached +to them. The Bible is withheld. Such a state of affairs is a loud +call to us. + +If these people are left without a vital, character building +religion they will, because of their volatile natures, degenerate +into the grossest perversions of morality. In such an event the +Monroe Doctrine itself would become a menace. 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 morality. We must either carry to +our Latin brothers the regenerating, uplifting, energizing gospel +of Jesus, or step out of the way and let England and Germany +interpose their strong arms to prevent one of the most colossal +catastrophies of all time in the moral collapse of the 70,000,000 +Latin-Americans. Surely, this must be the time when we, if we ever +intend to do so, must reinforce our Latin brothers. They have done +well, they have made progress, but they have gone about as far as +they can in the struggle upon the moral resources at their +command. Their very progress in education and civilization is +widening the breach between them and their former religious +teachers. A new life must come in, even the power of the gospel. +This alone can save Latin-America from inglorious failure. + +We should not deceive ourselves into believing this prevailing +religion has lost its power, even though it is losing its +religious hold upon the better classes. It still retains its +social influence over these same educated classes, who despise its +priests. This social power is a bulwark of strength that we shall +experience great difficulty in breaking. Then, too, we may be sure +these Latin lands will have reinforcement from the Spanish +priesthood, which fact assures a most astute clerical leadership. +The Spanish priest is today the most resourceful, alert and +capable priest on the earth. I believe he is to be the last strong +defender of the Roman Catholic organization. It is no accident +that Merry de Val, the Pope's prime minister, is a Spaniard. His +appointment to that office is a just recognition of the most +virile priesthood in the Roman realm. I was profoundly impressed +with the Spanish priest. He looks you in the eye. He is on the +street, "hail fellow well met" with the people. It is evident that +he is conscious of power and possesses the gift of leadership +which he is eager to use. Latin-America will feel the force of his +capable leadership. + +The situation in Brazil is complicated furthermore by the turn +affairs have taken in Portugal. 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 Republic. But it appears that +these Portuguese clerics are to be admitted. This increases the +gravity of the situation. We shall be forced to take account of +these men. They are a part of the religious problem of South +America. Whether we wish to antagonize them or not, we shall be +cognizant of their power. They will not let us alone. They will +not give up South America to Protestantism without a bitter +struggle. + +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 +countries. 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 do. I think that if the sole purpose in conducting +these missions is to fight the Catholics, then we can find work to +engage us more worthily. 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 priests. If this is true, our +duty is clear and our call is imperative. We must go and preach a +positive, soul-saving gospel, avoiding conflict as far as possible +and by satisfying the heart-hunger of the people with the Bread of +Life, win them to Christ and a new life in Him. + +I want to enter a plea for these, our brothers to the South of us. +God has separated them from their old soul-dwarfing environment in +Europe, and set them in this Western World that they might learn +of Him. Whether they realize it or not, they are making the last +fight for salvation and character their race is ever to engage in. +They have a need of the gospel as distressing as that of the +grossest heathen. Their religion itself is leading them further +and further from their saving Lord. Their teachers, who should +show them the light of life, are a beclouding hindrance. 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 hearts. Oh, do not some of us, as we have followed the +portrayal of the needs of South America, like Isaiah of old, hear +the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send and who will go for us?" God +grant that some of us may respond as he did, "Lord, here am I. +Send me." + +The same deep longing for salvation that is in our hearts is in +the Latin heart. 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 +stopping. As we conversed a boy twelve years of age drew near to +hear us. He was pitifully disfigured with leprosy. So moved was +the missionary by the sight that he turned and said: "Why do you +not go somewhere and be treated." There flashed instantly in the +boy's eye a hope that had long since died, and he quickly +inquired, "Where can I go?" The missionary could not tell him, and +I watched the last ray of hope flicker for a second and then die +out forever! Ever since that day I have been hearing that pathetic +question, "Where can I go?" I seem to hear all Latin-Americans ask +it out of depths of sin. And we know to whom they must go for +healing and salvation. Shall we tell them? "Lord to whom shall we +go--thou hast the words of eternal life." To whom shall Latin- +America go? Only Christ has for them the word of life which +blessed truth they will never know unless we carry it to them. + +THE END. + + + + + +APPENDIX. + +SUMMARY OF SOUTHERN BAPTIST WORK IN BRAZIL. + +I. MISSIONARIES-- + 1. Foreign, 44. + (1) Men, 21. + (2) Women, 23. + + 2. Native, 117. + +II. CHURCH STATISTICS-- + 1. Churches, 142. + 2. Membership, 9,939. + 3. Church Buildings, 44. + 4. Outstations, 497. + 5. Sunday Schools, 138. + 6. Sunday School Scholars, 4,438. + +III. SCHOOLS-- + 1. Primary Schools, 9. + 2. Bagby School for Girls in Sao Paulo. + 3. Fluminense School for Boys in Nova Friburgo. + 4. School for Boys and Girls in Bahia. + 5. School for Boys and Girls in Pernambuco. + 6. Rio Baptist College and Seminary in Rio. + 7. Total number of students, 869. + 8. Theological Departments in connection +with Rio and Penrambuco schools. + +IV. GENERAL-- + 1. Work begun in 1882. + 2. Publishing House in Rio. + + +End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of Brazilian Sketches +by T. B. Ray + diff --git a/old/brazs10.zip b/old/brazs10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..2329524 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/brazs10.zip |