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ABSTRACT OF REPORT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 WALDEN SIAN COMMISSION OF ITALIAN 
 
 EVANGELIZATION. 
 
 Beloved Friends, 
 
 Here we are once again knocking at your door, in 
 the hope of obtaining from you the same kind welcome to which 
 you have for many years accustomed us. 
 
 And, first of all, allow us to say, “ Thank you, a thousand 
 times thank you ! ” for your valuable co-operation. You have 
 accompanied your generous gifts with your prayers, and we have 
 experienced the happy result, as you will learn in reading the 
 pages of this report. We would much rather say to you, “Come 
 and see for yourselves what has been done •” but as that cannot 
 be, we shall try to give you as exact and as brief an account of 
 the work as we can. You will find at the end an extended 
 statistical table of the whole work, but here is a short vidimus , 
 enabling one to compare the results of this year with the last:— 
 
 Hearers on Sundays, . 
 
 1882. 
 
 5214 
 
 1883. 
 
 6092 
 
 Members, .... 
 
 3421 
 
 . 3616 
 
 Admissions during the year, 
 
 492 
 
 541 
 
 Catechumens up to 30th June, 
 
 378 
 
 488 
 
 Pupils in Day Schools, 
 
 1860 
 
 1990 
 
 Sunday Scholars, 
 
 1973 
 
 2044 
 
 Scholars in Evening Schools, 
 
 392 
 
 463 
 
 Contributions to the Central 
 Sustentation Fund, 
 
 or 
 
 . Fr., 6393 
 
 Fr., 9269 
 
 (about £256) (about £371) 
 
 The total of the contributions of the Churches has been 51,462 
 francs (about £2058, 10s.):—less, we regret to say, than last year ; 
 but this is explained by the fact that last year the Church at 
 Milan made a special effort in order to furnish its place of 
 worship. 
 
 In fact, our progress as a whole has been a little in advance of 
 
3 
 
 the past year : although, alas ! it is very small, if one considers 
 the road yet to be traversed. Such as it is, however, it is of 
 immense importance to us, inasmuch as it proves that our 
 God—the God of our Fathers—has been with us. Without 
 Him, we heartily acknowledge we could not have maintained our 
 position at all in the unequal warfare against enemies so numer¬ 
 ous and powerful. Through His grace we have been enabled 
 to add 540 new members, of whom about a half have been 
 rescued from Infidelity or Superstition. To Him, therefore, 
 the all-powerful and good Gocl—to the adorable Saviour—be 
 honour, praise, and glory for ever and ever : Amen. 
 
 We spoke at length in our report last year of aggressive work, 
 C and of the progress made in public opinion. We have, this year 
 again, employed every means in our power to attract hearers to 
 our Halls, as well as to reach those who will not enter them. 
 Our younger readers can hardly understand the difficulties we 
 have had to overcome, in order to reach the point we have 
 already gained ; for their benefit we may be allowed to describe 
 two scenes, very dissimilar, which occurred in the same little 
 town at an interval of twenty-two years. 
 
 A Night at Rio Marina {Elba) in 1861. 
 
 It was summer; the sea breeze, cooling the air which the 
 sun’s rays had rendered scorching, made a delightful evening. 
 Millions of stars in the dark blue of the skies were mirrored in 
 the calm and limpid waves, which murmured softly on the shores 
 of Rio. All nature was fitted to raise the soul to God. But 
 alas ! the inhabitants of the little town had no eyes to admire 
 the works of their Creator. They were running in crowds in one 
 direction, crying and gesticulating like madmen. The words 
 most easily gathered, because most often repeated, were “ Fuori , 
 Morte ,” “ Out with him ! to death with him ! ” The crowd, at 
 length reaching a certain house, surrounded it, and shouted more 
 and more loudly, whilst some men eagerly heaped up fagots 
 against the walls and doors. There is no longer any doubt, they 
 are going to burn the house. But what could it contain which 
 Vas excited the passions of the people to so high a pitch ? Some 
 one infected with the plague ? A prisoner escaped from the 
 prison of Porto Ferraio'? No; that house shelters a divinity- 
 student of the Waldensian Church, who has come to Rio with 
 a friend to preach the Gospel. Happily, God did not allow His 
 servants to perish by so horrible a death, nor the page of history, 
 already so soiled by Romish fanaticism, to have another san¬ 
 guinary blot. He touched the hearts of some men of influence, 
 who succeeded in calming the poor fanatics, and rescuing our 
 friends from certain death. Had we been eye-witnesses of this 
 scene, we would have said, “Here at least is a spot where the 
 
4 
 
 Waldensians need not attempt to promulgate the Faith of their 
 Fathers-.”. Well, let us return to Bio after twenty-two years 
 have come and gone. 
 
 4 I i' T XT 4 4- * -r I T g < r j r f \ # . r 
 
 A Day at Rio in 1883. 
 
 It is the 16th of August, the festival of Saint Boch, patron of 
 the locality. A numerous cortege, headed by the band of the 
 little town, is on its way towards a neighbouring height. 
 
 Is it the shrine of the Saint to whom this crowd desires to 
 render homage ? No, for the band plays slow and solemn 
 melodies, and the people who form the procession wear a serious 
 and thoughtful air. It is a funeral. And whose departure are 
 the population of Bio thus mourning ? An Evangelical, a mem- ^ 
 ber of the Waldensian Church of Bio ! The crowd fill the 
 Cemetery, and while they uncover their heads respectfully, listen 
 with attention to the reading and preaching of the Word of God. 
 You might fancy yourself in a Protestant country ; yet the 
 greater part of these people are still Boman Catholics, and pro¬ 
 bably some of these very men had cried, “ Death to the Protest¬ 
 ants” some years before. How wonderful the contrast! 
 
 Yes, notwithstanding the apparent sterility of the soil, the seed 
 has germinated and grown, and the blast of persecution has but 
 caused it to take stronger and deeper root. The Church of Bio 
 Marino at present contains eighty-eight members, the number 
 being reduced because several have emigrated to Leghorn, Nice, 
 and other places ; but its influence has extended' to hundreds of 
 persons, and on the benches of its Schools two-thirds of the rising 
 generation are to be found. Out of 184 children who frequented 
 them during the last year, more than a hundred have Boman 
 Catholic parents. 
 
 And, beyond that Commune, a petition has reached the Com¬ 
 mittee from Bio Gastello, signed by heads of families, desirous of 
 entrusting to us the instruction and education of seventy-two 
 children! 
 
 But now, let me relate another contrast, more striking still:— 
 
 9th September b 1560 at Rome. ^ 
 
 On Monday, the 9tli September 1560 (so writes a historian), an 
 agitated and curious crowd pressed toward the square of the Castle 
 of Saint Angelo, where a scaffold and a pile of wood beside it were 
 prepared. At a short distance arose an amphitheatre with richly 
 decorated steps, on which were seated “ his Holiness ” the Pope, 
 
 “ the Yicar of Jesus Christ on earth,” with Cardinals, Inquisitors, 
 Priests and Monks of every order. When the Martyr for the 
 truth as it is in Jesus appeared, weighed down by his chains, 
 his enemies, who were watching every gesture and the play of 
 his countenance, rehdy to triumph at the least weakness, dis- 
 
covered in his features neither change or fear. He wore the 
 same sweet and resigned attitude he had maintained during his 
 long and painful imprisonment. Reaching the scaffold, he 
 profited by a moment of silence to declare to the people that if 
 he died it was for no crime he had committed, but for having 
 dared to confess the doctrine of his divine Master and Saviour 
 Jesus Christ. “ As for those,” he continued, “who hold the Pope 
 as God on earth, and Vicar of Jesus Christ, they are strangely 
 mistaken, since he shows himself the enemy of His doctrine, of 
 His true service, and of pure religion; and his acts proclaim 
 him Anti-Christ.” He was unable to say more ‘ the Inquisitors 
 gave the signal, and the executioner strangled him! his body, 
 thrown on the pile, was reduced to ashes, and the ashes cast 
 into the Tiber. The martyr was Giovanni Ludovico Pascale, 
 a Waldensian pastor. So ended that sad but memorable day. . 
 
 The %bth November 1883, at Rome. 
 
 On leaving the Piazza Venezia, you enter the principal 
 thoroughfare of Rome, the Via Nazionale ; follow it to the point 
 where it turns sharp to the right, and stop before that building 
 at the corner. The marble cross which surmounts it might, 
 perhaps, make you think it a Roman Catholic Church, but the 
 inscription over the large door would quickly undeceive you. 
 “ There is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the 
 man Christ Jesus. ” No, the Romish Church would never choose 
 these words, apostolic though they be. Above the inscription, 
 the device,—a candle placed on a Bible and surrounded by the 
 motto, “ Lux lucet in Tenebris ,”—distinctly indicates that you may 
 enter with the assurance of finding yourself among friends and 
 brethren. There is a crowd in the church. Look at the speaker 
 and listen :—“ 1 am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ , for it is 
 the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth He 
 has good cause to proclaim these words which St Paul wrote to 
 the Romans, for he is a Waldensian Pastor, and, if it was for the 
 gospel that Pascale was burnt, it is because that gospel is the power 
 of God, that he who now preaches is able to proclaim it freely in 
 this very Rome, whence the cruel order so often went forth to 
 Vdestroy the Waldensian Church. Wonderful! is it not? A 
 Waldensian Pastor, surrounded by Waldensian Pastors, as¬ 
 sembled from all parts of Italy to dedicate to the worship of 
 God a Waldensian Church in Rome ! 
 
 And the Pope? what of him? A prisoner b} r his own choice in 
 his splendid palace, he has still so much modesty left that he dreads 
 coming forth to encounter in the streets that same gospel that he 
 banished from his capital during so many centuries. What a 
 change! Since we were the first to enter Rome in 1870, how 
 comes it, some may enquire, that we are the last to possess a 
 church there? I shall explain that. In 1872 the Rev. Hr 
 
6 
 
 Stewart of Leghorn, the indefatigable friend to whom not 
 merely the Waldensian Church, but Italian Evangelization, owe 
 so much, had purchased for us a house in the Corso contiguous to 
 the church of “ Caravita ” Religious service being therein sus¬ 
 pended, the Government was expected to sell this famous church 
 as it had done others. The acquisition of a house with a story 
 immediately above the peristyle suggested the idea of buying 
 the church itself. Unfortunately, this was refused, Government 
 ordering religious services to be resumed. There being no hope 
 in that quarter, the hunt after a site then commenced, and the 
 one where the church now stands, after a long, weary search, was 
 found, and bought. Still, our troubles were not ended. We had 
 dug 14 metres deep to lay the foundations, and they had scarcely ^ 
 reached the level of the soil, when a Religious Brotherhood, the 
 walls of whose church touch our ground, arrested our progress by 
 a legal action, on the plea that we had no right to build so close 
 to their place of worship. 
 
 Adverse decisions of the “ Tribunate diprima istanza” and of 
 the Court of Appeal, sent us to the Court of Cassation, where, 
 the decision of the inferior courts being reversed, we were in 1882 
 sent back to the Court of Appeal of Ancona. At that period, 
 
 Dr Stewart, tired, naturally, of protracted litigation, left the 
 matter entirely in our own hands. On the strength of the 
 favourable sentence of the Court of Cassation, we found it 
 possible to settle matters with the opposing confraternity, and 
 proceed in the erection of the edifice. Of course these interrup¬ 
 tions, and this protracted lawsuit, cost a deal of money, and the 
 church, now finished, leaves us with a debt of 150,000 francs, 
 £6000, a heavy sum, which would terrify us altogether, were 
 it not that the house bought for us by Dr Stewart, is of higher 
 value. Why not then sell the house and pay our debt ! For 
 the following reasons, which we tell quite frankly. 
 
 1. Colonel Montgomerie Neilson, a devoted Scotch friend, has 
 lent us that sum at a rate of interest so moderate, that we can 
 pay it easily from the rental of the house. 
 
 2. We now wait to see what the Lord has ordained for us. 
 How do we know that He will not put into the heart of some 
 other of His children to complete the work of Dr Stewart Vf 
 He has given us the church, but if the debt on it were paid off^ 
 the house being still ours, we should, from the rent obtained from 
 it, have enough to defray the expenses of our Mission in Rome, and 
 to strengthen our position there. Nay, if the work were to ex¬ 
 tend so that another place of worship were required (God grant 
 it may), we should have the means to erect it too. For this 
 reason, we think we are not doing wrong in leaving it open to 
 friends, to whom the Lord may suggest the idea to render per¬ 
 manent the work of the Waldensian church in Rome, and even 
 to provide for its future extension. 
 
7 
 
 It has been said that our Church is rather too handsome ! 
 Well it is different, indeed, from our small erections in the 
 valleys ; but those to whom we are best known, will readily 
 believe that pride had nothing to do with this ; in fact, the 
 church was planned for us by Dr Stewart himself. Besides, 
 there is only one Borne. Therein beats the heart of Italy. 
 Therein beats the heart of the Papacy. It was evident to us, 
 and to those who understand our countrymen thoroughly, that 
 in Borne a church was required in harmony with the refined 
 taste of Italians, and their ideas regarding a place of worship. 
 This is simply one means among others we consider ourselves 
 bound to use with the view of reaching that upper class of society 
 p that has hitherto eluded us. After all, we never forget that 
 such things are only helps for a higher end. 
 
 We therefore beseech you to redouble your prayers for us. 
 We have done our best to attract and retain the hearers, but 
 we know well that all will be vain without the Divine blessing. 
 Oh, dear friends, we entreat your prayers this year above all, and 
 more especially for Borne. We ask them in the words of St 
 Paul. Bom. xv. 30. “ Now, we beseech you, brethren, for the 
 
 Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye 
 strive together with us in your prayers to God for us.” The 
 Committee of Evangelisation has ordered the transference of 
 its President, the Bev. Signor Prochet, and family to Borne. 
 Their residence is above the church, 107 Via Nazionale. 
 
 We promised in last Beport to give some details this year of a 
 quiet but important work, namely, Colportage. 
 
 Our Colporteurs, the “ Pioneers of Evangelization ,” as they are 
 justly designated, have specially difficult work in Italy. We 
 enjoin them, and also the Scripture readers, to enquire after 
 what is done with the books they have sold. This takes time, 
 but it is time well spent. “ I increasingly appreciate the reasons 
 for your exacting from us that we visit such persons as have 
 bought books from us.” Thus wrote one of our best Colporteurs 
 a few months ago. Let me give one or two extracts from their 
 reports :—“Early in August, I met Signor Alba, and offered him 
 ^ some books ; after some hesitation he purchased a Bible and the 
 Biography of Luigi Desanctis. Observing a confusion in his mind 
 as to the distinction between Christianity and Popery, I insisted 
 on the great doctrine of free salvation by the blood of Christ 
 (Bom. v. 1, x. 34, xi. 6; Ephes. ii., 8, 9, etc.). This conversation 
 seems to have borne some fruit, for some days later, this same 
 gentleman returned to the town (Savigliano) with his wife and 
 daughter. As soon as he saw me he invited me to come near. 
 
 ‘ Here are my wife and daughter,’ said he, i I have brought 
 them here that you may speak to them of the Saviour as you 
 did to me the other day.’ Need I add that I did so with joy, 
 asking God Himself to suggest what I ought to say ] 
 
8 
 
 “ I drew near with my books to a pretty country house (palazzina), 
 at the door of which were seated the owners, enjoying the cool of 
 the evening, ‘ What do you want ? What are you doing here ? 3 
 said the master to me, somewhat crossly. ‘ I have some good and 
 beautiful books which I can sell you cheap.’ ‘No, no, no, no/' 
 
 . . . and the voice which was raised at each successive 
 
 negative, presaged something more than a refusal. On this, the 
 lady, who had taken up an almanack, ‘ L’Amico di Casa,’ inter¬ 
 posed by asking me the price of the little volume. I told her, 
 and she paid it. After which, taking a New Testament she said, 
 ‘This book is a Protestant one.’ ‘No, madam, it is a Christian 
 book.’ ‘Christian, if you like; but you cannot deny that it is 
 read and used by the Protestants.’ ‘ But does that prove that r 
 the book itself is Protestant V ‘ The name of Diodati is obnoxious 
 to my ears.’ ‘Diodati, madam, as well as the Archbishop 
 Martini, are only translators; the Author of the book is God 
 Himself, see,’ . . . and I was opening the book to read 
 some passages of it to her, when the husband, no longer able to 
 contain himself, took me by the arm and thrust me out with very 
 ungracious words. 
 
 “I entered a farmyard just as a man was coming out of it. 
 ‘You have Bibles, if I am not mistaken?’ ‘Yes, Bibles and 
 other books besides, if you will take the trouble of looking at 
 them.’ ‘ No, no, do not open your bag; go away, go away, I 
 wish nothing; I have been taken in once, and that is enough,’ 
 saying which, he retreated and left me. I followed him, asking 
 permission to say a few words. ‘Say on,’ he said, ‘but I tell 
 you beforehand that it is useless, I shall buy nothing.’ ‘Very 
 well, but tell me how you have been deceived.’ ‘ How ? I 
 bought one of these Bibles some time ago, and a friend of mine, 
 a priest, assured me that it was false, and I believe him, 
 because he is an educated man.’ ‘ Could you point out where 
 the Bible is false?’ ‘No, for I have not got it now; and, 
 besides, I could not show you the errors it contains, for the priest 
 has not told me where they are, only he declared the Bible was 
 false, and I do not wish to endanger my soul by keeping the 
 book in my house.’ I replied as well as I could to this poor 
 man, who had been deceived indeed, but not by him whom he 
 accused of deceit. Though he did not bu}^ the Bible, I succeeded 
 in making him take a book of prayers. I shall return to see 
 this man.” 
 
 Prom Piedmont, where these incidents occurred, let us trans¬ 
 port ourselves to the Venetian provinces. 
 
 “On the 14th of August” (writes another Colporteur) “I was at 
 Marrotica : a score of people surrounded the Bible wagon, listen¬ 
 ing to the reading of some passages of Holy Scripture. A young 
 girl drew near, examined a New Testament with care, bought it, 
 and went away. Half an hour later she came back to me much 
 
9 
 
 agitated. ‘Take back your book, I beseech of you, and return 
 me my money/ ‘Why 1 ? 5 ‘My mother has ordered me to 
 bring it back, saying that this book is not for young girls/ 
 1 Very well, make a present of it to your father or mother. 
 
 S No, no, take it back, I beg of you ; I shall willingly lose half 
 the price/ I did not feel authorized to insist further, took back 
 the book, and restored the money. But what was my surprise 
 to see the girl joined by a priest, who evidently was awaiting at 
 some distance the result of the advice he had given ! 
 
 “ The next day, at Bassano, there was a repetition of the same 
 scene, with a young mail who, after having bought a Bible, 
 brought it back to me, saying that the priest had forbidden him 
 r to read it. Before, however, taking back the book, I strove to 
 make him understand why he was forbidden to read it. ‘ You 
 are intelligent enough to judge for yourself; read the book 
 which is the Word of God, and after that, you can get rid of it 
 if you find it evil/ The yoting man remained in thought for some 
 time, then exclaimed, ‘ You are right, I do wish to read it ! ’ and, 
 after wringing my hand, he went away quite pleased.” 
 
 Ah ! if the priests did not come between the Word of God 
 and these poor people ! Is it not as if some one withdrew from 
 the lips of a thirsty traveller a glass of fresh and pure water, to 
 give him instead a tainted draught ? 
 
 The few facts we have just related (and we could quote many 
 similar ones) will give some idea of what faith, self-denial, 
 love, and courage are needed to carry on the work of the col¬ 
 porteur in Italy. The people who have been spoken to by our 
 colporteurs during the last year, and who have heard something 
 of Divine truth, may be counted by tens of thousands. May we 
 not hope that in many cases the seed of the Kingdom has 
 fallen upon good ground ? From year to year opposition 
 diminishes in strength, and those who formerly sympathized 
 with us only in their secret hearts, now begin to say openly what 
 they think. It is no rare thing now, for a stranger to praise 
 the colporteur’s books, and induce the bystanders to procure 
 them for themselves. Nay, we have had the great satisfaction 
 of numbering a 'priest among these voluntary defenders and 
 ^ advocates. At Pesaro, in the Boman provinces, the colporteur 
 offered some gospels to a priest, who in place of bursting 
 into invectives as most priests do, took them, and examined 
 them saying, “ I do not buy them because I have them already; 
 but I declare that these are good books.” Many of the by¬ 
 standers who heard him, hastened to make purchases. What 
 untold good the priests might do in Italy, if only they acted 
 like this one ! 
 
 Ajnong the new centres which have been opened to the Gos¬ 
 pel is Savigliano, a pretty town of 20,000 inhabitants, two hours 
 distant by rail from Turin. We only began last December, and 
 
10 
 
 already we have thirty hopeful catechumens there. We have sent 
 a pastor, who finds around Savigliano several other towns, such 
 as Cuneo, Alba, etc., in which we have friends and adherents. 
 The Waldensian Church once had flourishing congregations 
 in this part of Piedmont, but they were completely destroyed by 
 the great persecutions of the 15th and 16th centuries. For long, 
 w r e awaited anxiously some sign to tell us that the time was come 
 to sow anew in these fields watered by the blood of our fathers; 
 and what was our joy, when, in December last, that call came ! 
 
 But there is another corner in Italy which we have explored 
 this year for the first time, and the 'news from it has deeply 
 stirred many hearts. We speak of that part of Calabria, colonised 
 by the Waldenses in the 14th century. Our enemies in 1560 
 believed that they had succeeded. in entirely destroying this 
 colony by the emissaries of the inquisition. A small number 
 indeed managed to escape, and to return to the valleys after 
 unheard-of fatigues and sufferings ; bht it was thought that not 
 a single Waldensian remained in Calabria itself. Some time since 
 a strong desire took possession of Signor Pons, our pastor at 
 Naples, to search whether this really were the case ; and in the 
 month of May last he was enabled to go to Calabria, with the 
 assistance of the London Continental Society. 
 
 The account of his journey having been published by many 
 journals, we shall not give it here in detail, but we may 
 perhaps be allowed to quote a few sentences from letters which 
 he wrote to the Commission of Evangelization at the time. 
 “ I have been for five days in the capital of the original 
 Calabria (Cosenza), whose inhabitants seem to me only half 
 civilized ; what will those be of the towns which I yet intend to 
 visit ! The Syndic, to whom I had an introduction, received 
 me courteously, and presented me to the Prefect. Thanks to 
 their good offices, the archives of the Commune, the province, 
 and the Bishopric were open to me. Unfortunately, I could dis¬ 
 cover nothing in them about our colony. The documents 
 have been destroyed ... I visited the castle where the Wal¬ 
 densian pastor Pascale (or Pasquali, as he is called here) was 
 imprisoned. 
 
 “ Fuscaldo, to which I next proceeded, is now the chief town of 
 the province. The letters with which I was furnished by the 
 Syndic of Cosenza, have opened all doors to me. The principal 
 gentleman of the place invited me to dinner. For two conse¬ 
 cutive evenings, upon the Piazza of the Casino, I addressed a num¬ 
 ber of people on the history of the Waldenses, and their religious 
 beliefs. Amongst the audience were five priests, who approved 
 all I said. I found many Waldensian names $nd traditions. 
 Guardia Piemontese, a town of 12,000 inhabitants, is perched on 
 a hill 400 metres in height. The path which leads to it is horrible, 
 but the view from the top magnificent. The population are 
 
distinguished from other Neapolitans by the costume of the 
 women, by the dialect, and their customs and traditions; their 
 dialect is a mixture of that of Bobbio and Angrogna. I was under¬ 
 stood in using the latter dialect, and I also understood what they 
 said. It was touching to see these simple people crowding round 
 me, overwhelming me with questions, and more touching still, to 
 hear them, as they turned to each other, say, in the Waldensian 
 dialect, “ Ve nostre fraire •, a ven dal pa'i de nosta gent.” (He is 
 our brother, he comes from the country of our people.) They 
 have carefully preserved their ancient traditions, and well know 
 the persecutions which their fathers endured. An old priest, 
 to whom I gave a Bible, thanked me with tears in his eyes, and 
 said, “Thank you, it is our people’s book.” The people are 
 poor, but each family has a little cottage and a small field. In 
 the two schools I visited, I found the children seated on the 
 ground. . . . During the whole day I have felt an emotion I 
 
 cannot express.” 
 
 These descendants of the Waldenses amount to about 5000 
 souls, scattered about the different villages mentioned above. 
 Guardia Piemontese is the principal nucleus of this small popula¬ 
 tion ; and, though at present Boman Catholic, and though three 
 hundred years have elapsed since the terrible persecution, the 
 inhabitants have preserved a distinct physiognomy and dialect 
 which keeps them apart from the other inhabitants of the country. 
 Had they remained Protestant, one could understand their pre¬ 
 serving their individuality, as in the valleys of Piedmont. But, 
 being Poman Catholics, one might have expected them to be 
 mingled with their neighbours, yet they live apart. Is this a mere 
 chance result, an unimportant coincidence ? or has God reserved a 
 future for them, in view of which He has prevented them from be¬ 
 coming assimilated to the other inhabitants of the country 1 ? No 
 one will wonder if we incline to the latter alternative. The 
 explanation given by local tradition of this phenomenon is very 
 touching. The men, and many of the women, were killed by the 
 cruel emissaries of still more cruel inquisitors; but a certain 
 number of the women embraced the Bomish faith to save the lives 
 of their children. To their children, when grown up, these poor 
 mothers told the story of the massacre of their fathers, and so the 
 remembrance of it is carried down from generation to generation, 
 to our own day. One characteristic of these people is their deep 
 repugnance to confession. 
 
 We cannot enter into fuller details; but I hope to be able next 
 year to $ive more news of these brethren, who are Boman 
 Catholics and yet our brothers. i^h! would that we could apply 
 to their case the last verse of the 15th chap, of St Luke—“ It is 
 meet that we should make merry and be glad; for this, thy 
 brother, was dead and is alive again, was lost, and is found!” 
 
12 
 
 SCHOOLS. 
 
 Our schools progress well. The number of our scholars in the 
 Sunday Schools is over 2000, and nearly as many attend our 
 week day schools, while we have 460 young people attending our 
 evening classes. 
 
 Had we sufficient means to prosecute Christian education on 
 a large scale, these schools would be among the best instruments 
 for raising our beloved country. Through their means the rising 
 generation would be drawn away from the superstitious fanaticism 
 which stupefies our people, and protected from a materialism still 
 more debasing. The fact that our schools maintain their ground 
 in spite of the bitter opposition of the priests, is an evident proof 
 of their usefulness, and the growing esteem they enjoy. Signor 
 Botta, a deputy of the Italian Parliament, to whom Signor 
 Trapani, one of our teachers, was introduced, shook him heartily 
 by the hand, and congratulated the town of Trabia on possessing 
 an Evangelical school of which Mr T. was the master. 
 
 Viereng is a village of the Yal d 5 Aosta, not far from Yerres. 
 
 Our school there numbers twenty-three scholars. One day a 
 little girl, hearing her mother and some other women pity the 
 priest who had to carry the last unction (the Santissimo) to a sick 
 man who lived on the top of the mountain, called out: “There 
 is no need to carry up there a little god of bread, the great God 
 of heaven and earth is there already.” The horrified mother, 
 hearing such heresy, promised solemnly to her friends and neigh¬ 
 bours that her daughter should never again set foot in the Evan¬ 
 gelical school. The next day the child was in her usual place. 
 
 This same child has a walk of two hours in summer between her 
 chalet and the school, and yet arrives always one of the first. 
 
 j Ried is in the centre of Sicily, seven hundred miles from Yiereng. 
 
 The populations of Biesi differ from that of Yiereng as widely as 
 the distance which separates them, in manners and in char¬ 
 acter ; yet the gospel produces the same effect in both places. 
 
 The Bishop having come to Biesi to confirm the children, a 
 little boy of six years, and a pupil of our school, absolutely 
 refused to submit to the ceremony. His parents employed by if 
 turns threats and caresses ; all in vain ; the child still refused and 
 said, “ Mi ha cresimato Gesu Cristo, die Centra il Vescovo ? ” “ Jesus 
 has confirmed me, what has the bishop to do with it?” The 
 parents, struck by this firmness, to them incomprehensible 
 in a boy so young, resolved to see and judge for themselves, and 
 have begun to attend the Evangelical service. 
 
 In the school of Catania, a new comer drew from her pocket an 
 image of Jesus Christ, and kissed it. “What are you doing?” 
 asked two of her companions. “I am kissing the Lord Jesus.” 
 
 “ But the Lord Jesus is in Heaven,” they replied ; “ and do you 
 
13 
 
 not know that God’s law forbids us to do these things l ” The 
 image appeared no more in school. 
 
 A new and interesting movement began this year in the schools 
 of Catania and Naples. At Catania, the lessons turned one Sun¬ 
 day upon the duties which children, as well as grown-up people, 
 owe to one another. Next morning some of the pupils approached 
 the desk with a paper in their hands. “ What do you want 1 ” 
 “We wish to form a society,” answered the little orator of the 
 party. “ A society ! really, and what is it to be called 1 ” “ Societa 
 deiJigli della pace.” (The Society of the Sons of Peace.) “That 
 is a beautiful name ; but what is your object ?” “ To help each 
 
 other.” “ Excellent.” “ How many are you 1 ” ■“ Six ; and we 
 
 would like you to assist us in drawing up rules,”:—a request we 
 gladly complied with! The objects of the Society are to encourage 
 observance of the Lord’s day, to spread the Gospel, and to visit 
 and help sick children. Each member contributes five centimes 
 a week. Last July “ the Sons of Peace ” numbered forty-four ? 
 and the funds amounted to fifteen francs. The sick had been 
 regularly visited, and boys and girls rivalled each other in zeal to 
 fulfil their duties as members of the Society. 
 
 At Naples, too, the pastor writes : “ One Sunday morning in 
 September, the pupils of the Sunday school gave me an 
 agreeable and touching surprise. Without being urged or ad¬ 
 vised by any grown person, they formed themselves into a Sunday 
 Society, with the object of aiding in the development of the school. 
 Each member promised to be present every Sunday, or to pay a 
 fine of one sou for each absence without good reason. The fines, 
 if there are any, go to the missionary box.” The number of mem¬ 
 bers has risen to fifty-six. 
 
 One smiles to think of these young creatures, from six to 
 twelve years of age, thus banding themselves together ; but at the 
 same time, tears moisten our eyes as we exclaim, “ Lord, out of 
 the mouths of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise.” 
 May God bless these dear children, and stir up many to imitate 
 them amongst their'young compatriots ! Italy is flooded with 
 “ societies ” of all kinds, but there is only one “ Society of the 
 Eriends of Peace” with a like object and spirit, and we find it 
 in these humble schools of Catania and Naples. What if this 
 were the beginning of something great %. Why not ? That 
 magnificent oak was very small when the foot of a passing 
 traveller kicked the despised acorn into a crevice of the earth. 
 Little facts like those we have related encourage us more than 
 we can tell. They seem to us to testify, more surely than many 
 which make more noise in the world, to the presence of Him 
 who has said, “ Suffer little children to come unto me.” If He 
 be present, is not the victory assured to us at the last % 
 
 And now, we would willingly omit the remaining paragraphs 
 from our report, were it not that necessity, which has no law, 
 
14 
 
 obliges us to write them, and to ask our friends kindly to read 
 what we write on the following subject. 
 
 Permit us, then, to tell you with all frankness of a difficulty 
 which perplexes us very much, that, namely, of finding the funds 
 required to sustain the work of evangelisation as it extends and 
 grows. God has miraculously sustained us hitherto, and He Will 
 do so still; but as He makes use of His children for this purpose, 
 it is necessary that they should thoroughly understand the state of 
 matters. The financial revolution which took place in Italy last 
 year did away with the agio or exchange on gold (about 10 per 
 cent.). As eight-tenths of our funds were paid us in gold, the 
 result is a clear loss of 20,000 francs (£800) a year ; that is, while 
 there is no falling off in the subscriptions, yet these, converted 
 into Italian money, yield £800 less than in 1881. Generous 
 Christian friends came to the rescue last year, and by special 
 donations enabled us to close our books without a deficit, and we 
 gladly take this opportunity to express our gratitude to these 
 friends, whose names are as follows :—Robert Miller, Esq. ; E. 
 Smith, Esq.; J. Stevenson, Esq.; J. White, Esq. of Overtoun; P. 
 Denny, Esq., Glasgow; W. F. Burnley, Esq., Edinburgh; Dr J. 
 
 A. Campbell of Stracathro, M.P. ; Messrs Robson & Westgarth, 
 London; a lady in Torquay, and Miss Lennox of New York. 
 
 But alas ! the same difficulty presents itself this year again, for 
 neither the subscriptions from abroad nor the contributions from 
 our own churches have increased so as to meet it. Nay, the 
 difficulty is greater, seeing that we cannot go back to the same 
 kind friends to ask for a repetition of their gifts. 
 
 In the midst of our perplexities, an encouragihg letter has come 
 to us from England. The President of our Mission Board had 
 written to a friend to explain the state of affairs, and his letter 
 was shown to a lady, who replied in the following terms : “ I am 
 glad of this opportunity to give something extra to the Wal- 
 denses. I thought there would have been a meeting, although I 
 had no intention of giving the sum I enclose (£20). If you have 
 a list of subscribers, put me down as ‘ A Friend.’ As their funds 
 will be permanently diminished, until new subscribers come for¬ 
 ward, please make my annual subscription two or three guineas. 
 
 I hope they will get their £1000, for they deserve to be esteemed ¥* 
 and honoured. Believe me, &c., E. W. A.” 
 
 He who suggested to the writer of this letter how best to help 
 us, may put the same generous thought into the hearts of others 
 of His children. We have had cause to trust God in the past, 
 for have you not, dear friends, been constant in your sympathy 
 and support % And has not the Lord also inclined some to give 
 a tangible proof of their interest in the mission work of the 
 ancient Waldensian Church by bequeathing a legacy before 
 answering the call of the Master to join Him in the heavenly 
 mansions ? More than once have these unexpected legacies 
 
15 
 
 reached us, providentially relieving us of some embarrassment, 
 or enabling us to respond to appeals which otherwise must neces¬ 
 sarily have been neglected. Yes, the Lord reigneth; and He 
 who has produced a hungering and thirsting after righteousness 
 in the hearts of so many Italians, will not send them empty 
 away. 
 
 Allow us to relate, in closing, the kind action of one of your 
 own number, whose name we shall withhold for fear of hurting 
 his modesty. Of its kind it is rare, if not unique :—This friend 
 collects yearly for one of our schools, and contributes himself 
 £90 a year. He has been so pleased with the good results of 
 this school, for which he labours and prays as for a well-beloved 
 child, that he is raising a sum to endow it. He desires that after 
 his death his dear school may be as well supported as it is now. 
 To love even to death ! That, we may well call remarkable 
 constancy and affection. But to love even after death ! ! . . . 
 
 The following is the list of “ Sundays ” and “ Days ” appropri¬ 
 ated by churches and Christian friends, each contributing £25 a 
 year to support the Waldensian Church Missions :— 
 
 do., 
 
 do., 
 
 do,, 
 
 do., 
 
 do., 
 
 do., 
 
 St John’s Wood Presby. Ch., London, Pev. Dr Monro Gibson 
 Hampstead 
 Marylebone 
 Norwood 
 
 Rev. Canon Fleming’s Church, do., 
 
 Pev. Gilbert Karney’s Church, do., 
 
 Sefton Park Presby. Ch., Liverpool, 
 
 St Thomas’ Espiscopal Ch., Edinburgh, Pev. E. C. Dawson. 
 
 St Cuthbert’s Church, do., Pev. Dr Macgregor. 
 
 St George’s, do., Pev. Dr Scott. 
 
 Renfield Street U.P. Church, Glasgow, Rev. Grierson Scott. 
 Park Church, do., Pev. Dr Macleod. 
 
 The Mariner’s Episcopal Ch., Kingstown,Pev. W. E. Burroughs. 
 
 Rev. John Matheson. 
 Pev. Dr Fraser. 
 
 Pev. Robert Taylor. 
 Church of England. 
 Church of England. 
 Pev. John Watson. 
 
 S. Cameron Corbett, Esq., London, 
 Hugh Matheson, Esq., do., 
 
 Mrs Hugh Matheson, do., 
 
 Henry Robson, Esq., do., 
 
 S. Williamson, Esq., M.P., do., 
 Samuel Morley, Esq., M.P., do., 
 Robert Miller, Esq., do., 
 
 A. Balfour, Esq., Liverpool, 
 
 Thomas Matheson, Esq., do., 
 
 A. Guthrie, Esq., do., 
 
 J. A. Campbell, Esq., M.P., Stracathro, 
 W. F. Burnley, Esq., Edinburgh, 
 
 Miss Burnley, do., 
 
 James Ford, Esq., do., 
 
 • / 
 
 2 days. 
 1 day. 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 55 
 
 55 
 
 55 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 V 
 
 V 
 
 V 
 
 V 
 
i 
 
 16 
 
 W. J. Ford, Esq., Edinburgh, 1 day 
 
 John Cowan, Esq., Beeslack. 1 „ 
 
 Miss Josephine Cowan, do., 1 ,, 
 
 W. J. Duncan, Esq., £10, ) 
 
 A Friend, £10,' ‘ > 1 ,, 
 
 J. F. Cathcart, Esq., £5 
 Eobert Miller, Esq., Glasgow, 
 
 
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 mulii/d io qot PloiiilJJvr lljuia aw sumur saouw /ismtifiu fiwo 
 
 Note. —In addition to the above special contributions, two 
 churches in Edinburgh pay the salaries of two of the pastors, 
 each amounting to £150 per annum. Free St George’s supports 
 the Eev. G. D. Turino of Milan, and Broughton Place U.P. 
 
 Church, the Eev. Aug. Malan of Messina. 
 
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 St George’s Edinburgh (Church of Scotland) contributed more 
 than £25 for their Sunday, the amount being £38, 17s. 8d.. 
 
 Dear friends, again we thank you. May our heavenly Father 
 give you back a hundred fold what you have done for us, in 
 spiritual blessings on yourselves and on your churches. 
 
 (Signed by the Members of Commission.) 
 
 M. Prochet, President. 
 
 G. D. Turino. 
 
 Cavaliere Tito Chiesi. 
 
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