Spain
WHAT follows is a selection of incidents representative or noteworthy in the most recent reports of the Bible Society's colporteurs.
About twenty of these are at work. “In a small provincial town I entered," writes one of the men, “the public wash-house, in which there might be some sixty women at work. As soon as I had offered my books one of the women exclaimed, 'These are Protestant books!’ and if I had not been very smart I would soon have been thrown headforemost into the cistern. I was, however, by a little dexterity able to gain their attention to my words, and before I went away had sold a great many small gospels.
“The day before, I had sold a gospel to a serving girl; this day when I passed before the door of the shop where she worked, the mistress called me, and in great wrath tore up the book, and threw the pieces in my face. With great difficulty I was able to persuade her that she had acted very thoughtlessly, and at last I got her to buy another and promise to read it."
Another of the men says of his labors in these same districts:—" There are some in every place who are disposed to buy and read the Scriptures, and who lend an attentive ear to the explanations we give of the things of the kingdom of God. Thus in the barracks of the Guardia Civil I found an earnest Christian who has the Bible in his house, and esteems it his great treasure, and recommends it to all his friends.
“I visited the school, and was very well received by the teachers, who bought some gospels for themselves, and allowed the children to buy as many as they wished. Here, too, I met several men and women, who make no secret of their evangelical sentiments, and of their desire to leave the Roman Church for a purer faith. What joy such encounters give! I invited the people to meet in their houses to read and study the Book for their mutual edification, and I had out the hope that when they had done so for some time some of the pastors of Madrid would visit them. They were delighted at the idea, and promised to carry out my suggestion."
He adds: “I have read to the people in many houses, and they seemed to appreciate what I read, for they listened with much attention and interest. It is evident that many have a real hunger and thirst for spiritual food, and this explains why they buy so readily the holy gospel."
A third colporteur visited several times the villages near, in one of which large meetings have been held in the theatre hired for the purpose, which have been addressed by pastors from Madrid, and in the neighboring villages he has done good work both in selling and circulating the Scriptures.
In the province of Guadalajara one of the colporteurs has been at work recently. He gives a graphic account of the various towns of his province, and from some of his touches a very vivid idea is obtained of the whole district. Of the province generally he says: “It may be considered one of the poorest in Spain, and one of the farthest back in the matter of instruction. Some of the towns are wonderfully open, and others will need much hard work." Of one of the larger towns, he says: “Seventy-five per cent. of the lower classes are unable to read or write, the commercial part of the inhabitants very insignificant, the wealthier part very resolute for the Roman Church, majority of the rest utterly indifferent —freethinkers many. A small group is inclined towards evangelical religion, but very fearful of the local difficulties and petty vengeance of the clerical party; they are satisfied with cherishing their ideas in secret, and waiting for the time when things will change.' "
Here are his impressions of one of the principal provincial towns: “Its aspect is forbidding to me, a multitude of towers and steeples—the seminary for priests, convents, and no end of churches—the very houses seem to carry the seal of the clerical domination, and look like convents. The number of priests, seminarists and friars is so great that into no place can you enter without stumbling up against one or other of the black fraternity. Everybody is in some way or other related to the priests, and they are the real directors of all business. Even family matters are in their hands the question as to whether this daughter would suit Juan or Pedro, or some other gentleman such a young lady, are submitted to them. And of conversation this is the sum: that the bishop went or is going to the cathedral, that the doctoral (the principal canon) did this or that, that Father A. or B. said such a thing.
“I began, as was natural, with the business people of the place, hut all was in vain. Even the names of the books frightened them; some even, as if they were doing me a great favor, advised me to get away as quickly as possible, as I might get into very awkward circumstances. Some locked at the title-page, and asked who was its author, and on not seeing the ecclesiastical permission flung it from them -a prohibited book. Leaving these merchants to their fate, I addressed myself to the poorer classes, and had some small sales among them.
"In another town I met with a very cordial reception from some, and, I may say, discovered even enthusiasm for the gospel when I had made my explanations."
In Montilla," says another colporteur,” I had a conversation with a young priest, who listened and spoke with respect and interest, so unlike the generality of his kind. He seemed much impressed by my references to the Bible, and still more when, on bringing his own, he found the words to be the same, especially those of 1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)— ‘The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin.'
“One day I sold a Bible to a woman in a shop, and she appeared to be much pleased as I read many verses and spoke of the kingdom of God; and I went away thanking God for His mercy. A few days after I passed by the same street again, and the woman called me in to show me the ashes of my Bible, and the book which in its place the priest had given her."
We will hear again from one more of these workers for Christ.
“In a small town near, the town-crier said to me, ‘There is no one who can compete with you and your Book... Never cease sowing the good seed, for you will reap much fruit. Since you came the first time to this place we have advanced much. At first, not a few books were torn up and burned; now it is quite different: the books are valued, and are being read in every street door.' "
"In T—I visited the threshing-floors, and as I was offering my books for sale, a man tried to prevent me and impede the sale; but we got into discussion about the testimony of the Bible, and all the people in the surrounding floors came up ( to hear, and we spent the whole afternoon discussing, and at the end one woman bought a Testament, and other two or three Gospels."
To show how "Christian" the people are, is 'I the witness of another of these workers among whom our men have to work, I will copy here a charm which is printed in a book sent to me, and which is circulated among these people by their priests. It is entitled: " Curious and mystical secrets to preserve the flocks.—Thou shalt write on parchment on Good Friday during the holy office of the passion the following: Oteos † Oxthow † Noxio,† Bay, † Glay † Apenih †. Then fold up this writing and put it on the top of the shepherd's crook, and, sticking it in the earth in the middle of the flock, it will have the effect of preventing any animal from straying twenty steps from the crook or from his fellow."
A colporteur in his report for May tells that in one village, after visiting from house to house, he got a message by a girl of some thirteen years, that the nuns who have the school wished him to call there. " Thinking," says he, "that I would have plenty of time to do so by-and-by, I went on with my visiting; it was not long, however; before eight or nine girls came running after me to say that I must go immediately to the school. I then went straight to the place, and before I had reached it met several children on their way to their homes, with special permission of the nuns to fetch centimas with which to buy books. When I arrived at the door a nun came out, and I said to her that many men said that the books which I sold were prohibited, and that such men often were, as they called themselves, ministers of the Lord. She answered quickly, I know, I know, but do you sell to all my scholars; the books are very good.' "
“Soon the children came back, and they appeared like a swarm of bees round me, clamoring for gospels. I was sorry not to be able to speak further with the sisters,' as my coach came up at that moment, and I had to take it and go to another village, as it was late, and there was no place to sleep in in that village."
A colporteur, on entering a village, got into conversation with the sacristan, who is also secretary of the Town Council, and they had a long discussion together; and when the sacristan called a halt, saying, it was a long and a grave question, they agreed to continue it the next afternoon at three. The colporteur adds, that there were several muleteers who delayed their departure till the following day in order to hear more. And when the question of the Roman and Protestant Bibles came up, the sacristan brought his own version, thinking to confound the colporteur, but was confounded in his turn; and though the sacristan did what he could to prevent it, two of the muleteers bought Bibles.