L Q_ q Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019 with funding from Columbia University Libraries https://archive.org/details/waldensianchurchOOrost to East Greenwich ITALY "Udine Scale ofl:'*.000.000 CoiU-O Chilometf'es Milano ;M on via tn J[»a no THE WALDENSIAN VALLEYS C Kur ekes Stations Cnne o C aiuie s^Six Bomhmo Lceno OnbeteHo Chieti Gal do X.M add alena • Rirvir STola MWu it'UUifc •indiai r Lecce Roccalmperiale •Iglesias • Gian'e - Riposto lari a lEXdeodifl ‘Catania ° Grotte •Siracusa West o .1. B. Paravift . nvinlcrs - Turin 1). Locchi des. Ta NY\ — 'Ta UwTO ^ THE WALDENSIAN CHURCH . AND HER WORK OF EVANGELIZATION ITALY BY F. ROSTAN TORRE PELLICE TIPOGRAFIA ALPINA 89 < 4 . » mm rrm mum I. The Waldensian Church a) Her origin. In the North of Italy, and in the midst of the Gottian Alps, with the glorious Monte Yiso standing like a crowned monarch and looking down upon the other mountains, are the Waldensian Valleys the home and refuge of the Waldensian people. They are but a small community, not exceeding 25,000 in number, chiefly peasants; yet both the Christian church and the world would be poorer to-day but for the existence and ex¬ traordinary history of this little flock. They have been called the Israel of the Alps, and in many features their story is not unlike that of God’s ancient people. He long since revealed Himself to them; he kept them a separate people from the surrounding idolatry; they were long and sorely oppressed; yet through it all mar¬ vellously preserved and finally delivered from their op¬ pressors, they have begun a wonderful work of evange¬ lization among their countrymen throughout the whole of the Italian Peninsula. The chief interest attaching to the Waldenses is that they are a Bible loving people, 4 who, in the country of the pope, maintain a pure faith and practice, and that they are the descendants of those who, long before the Reformation, obeyed God’s word in opposition to Rome. The antiquity of the Waldensian church is indispu¬ table. This church in fact, comparatively insignificant, though it be, is the oldest evangelical Church in Europe . It would carry us too far from our purpose in this short sketch to say to a great length when the Waldenses began to be a separate people. Some have attempted to trace the presence of the Gospel teachers in the Wal¬ densian Valleys from the earliest Christian centuries, others say that they originated in the ninth century with Claude, bishop of Turin who was himself a refor¬ mer before the Reformation, and lastly it seems to be prevalent with the modern historians that the Walden¬ sian church owes its origin to the evangelistic labours- of Peter Valdo in 1180, a rich merchand of Lyons, who having consecrated all his wealth to the relief of the poor and to the cause of religion went everywhere preaching, and gathered many disciples. But one thing is certain, that in the fifteenth century, when the reformation dawned, the reformers of France, Switzer¬ land and Germany were amazed to discover that a lit¬ tle people, hidden among the recesses of the Alps had for ages past, possessed the light which only then was bursting on others parts of Europe, and had possessed the same faith which they themselves had only now adopted. In fact the Waldenses did not become protes- tants like the English, German or Swiss three hundred years ago; for, for centuries before they had been pro¬ testing against the errors of Rome and suffering even to death for their protest. If therefore, the romanist asks you with a sneer: •« Where was your church before Luther? » You can reply: « Its doctrines were in the word of God, its mem¬ bers were in the Valleys of the Waldenses». b) Persecutions endured by the Waldensian Church. The antiquity of the Waldensian Church is not her only claim to the sympathy and interest of the Chris¬ tian people! One of her own historians long ago defined the marks of a true church to be these three: « Conformity to the word of God. A holy life; and persecution or the -cross. « This last mark the Waldensian Church has borne deeply stamped all through her history. For six hundred years at least , she has been the object not only of implacable dislike and hatred, but of active per¬ secution on the part of the church of Rome. There are distinct traces of suffering endured for conscience sake in the Waldensian valleys very far back in history; but we have a detailed account of an appalling massa¬ cre by which these beautiful Valleys were desolated at Christmas 1400; and from that period onwards till the end of the seventeenth century, one persecution follo¬ wed another, with interruptions of varying length. Bo¬ dies of brutal soldiery were sent into that region to force the unoffending inhabitants either to abandon their father’s faith or to endure unheard of cruelties. Indeed on more than one occasion, the word was to ^exterminate man, woman and child within these Val¬ leys from the face of the earth and for no crime save 6 that of obeying God rather than man! Words cannot describe the fiendish cruelties perpetrated on these helpless people on the one hand nor the heroic struggles which they made on the other to defend their homes. The ostensible authors of the Waldensian persecutions were their own princes, the dukes of Savoy sometimes in league with the Kings of France; but the real insti¬ gators of the persecutions were the popes of Rome. Leger, a Waldensian pastor, wrote, more than 200 years ago an account of the persecutions of which he was himself an eye witness. It is a terrible record. Some of its pages could hardly be read to a public audience. Speaking of the conduct of the soldiery Leger says : «My hand trem¬ bles so that I can hardly hold my pen, and my tears mingle with my ink while I write the deeds of these children of darkness ». No words, he adds, could more literally describe our condition than those of the 79 th Psalm «Oh God! the heathen are come into thine inhe¬ ritance: the dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth; their blood have they shed like water, and there was none to bury them ». In 1653 the rage of Rome burst upon the Valleys of Piedmont in an unprecedented massacre. For once ho¬ wever human malice outwitted itself. When the tidings of that butchery spread abroad, all protestant Europe was filled with horror. Oliver Cromwell then «Lord Protector » of England, determined to become protector of the Waldenses likewise and at once dispatched Sir Samuel Morland to Turin as ambassador to remonstrate with the duke of Savoy, threatening war if he did not immediately terminate these horrors. He did more, h& ordered a general fast throughout England and a codec- 7 tion to be made that day in all the churches to relieve the homeless survivors in the Valleys. Cromwell himself showed a noble example by contributing Ls. 2000 out of his privy purse. John Milton was at the time Cromwell's secretary and in 1655 he wrote the immortal sonnet which he entitled : « On the late massacre of Piedmont». Avenge, 0 Lord, thy slaughtered Saints, whose bones, Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold ; Even them who kept thy truth so pure of old When all our fathers worshipped stocks and stones. Forget not; in Thy book record their groans, Who were thy sheep, and in their ancient fold Stain b}^ the bloody Piemontese, that rolled Mother with infant down the rocks. Their moans the vales redoubled to the hills, and they To heaven. Their martyred blood and ashes sow Over all the Italian fields where still doth sway The triple Tyrant: that from there may grow A hundred fold, who having learned thy way Early may fly the Babylonian woe ». In 1686 all the sufferings of the Waldenses culminated. After having been greatly diminished and weakened by emprisonment or otherwise, they were in the cold of mid winter, driven from their ancestral lands across the icy Alps into foreign countries, no doubt with the in¬ tention that the exile should be for ever. But the hope was baffled. After three years the banished ones, unaided by the might of man, but with a superhuman bravery and endurance, came back to settle down once more in the lands of their fathers. 8 Up to the year 1848 when the priests were in power, nothing could exceed the vexations and intollerant op¬ pressions to which the Waldenses were subjected. Their children were on the slightest pretext, and even without pretext at all, liable to be taken from them and educated in popish convents. A cruel law doomed them to poverty, by not suffering them to hold an inch of soil out of their own narrow territory. No Waldensian pastor was per¬ mitted to sleep, not even for a single night, under pain of imprisonment in a neighbouring popish parish. No Waldensian could practice medecine or law save among his own people. A much more heavy land tax was im¬ posed on the Waldenses than on the Romanists. In 1847 the Marquis Roberto d’Azeglio, a man of high birth and reputation, took into his consideration the claims of the Jews and of their bretheren in bondage, the protestants of the Valleys and eloquently pleaded the double emancipation, in a petition addressed to the King and signed by upwards of six hundred of the most in¬ fluential persons in the realm. The 25 th of February, 1848, arrived, and with it the emancipation so ardently desired, so long withheld accorded by Charles Albert, who granted the Waldenses an equality of civil rights with his other subjects, and free toleration in religious matters. c) The missionary spirit of the Waldensian Church. It might be imagined that the struggling church had enough to do to provide for her own spiritual wants, but no, we we find her from the earliest period laying aside a part of her scanty means to minister to the more 9 urgent necessities of others. We find her sending forth her wisest and most hopeful men on missions although aware that danger and death tracked their steps. Her pastors went like the first disciples, two by tw r o. The extension of their mission field was great, from Germany to a part of France, Switzerland to the south of Italy. They used to go as travelling pedlars from place to place. Here is a description of their way of doing by the in¬ quisitor Reinerus Sacco. «They offer for sale to people of quality, ornamental articles, such as rings and veils. After a purchase has been made, if the pedlar is asked « Have j'ou anything else to sell?» he answers: «I have jewels more precious than these things. I would make you a present of them, if you would promise not to betray me to the clergy ». Having been assured on this point he says: «I have a pearl so brillant that a man by it may learn to know God; I have another so splendid that it kindles the love of God in the heart of him who possesses it, and so forth ». The Christian literature owes an interesting version of this incident to the pen of the well known American poet Whittier who went to his rest some years ago. THE VAUDOIS TEACHER. « 0 Lady fair, these silks of mine Are beautiful and rare; The richest web of the Indian loom, Which beauty’s self might wear. And these pearls are pure as thine own fair neck, With whose radiant light they vie; I have brought them with me a weary way: Will my gentle Lady buy? » 10 And the Lady smiled on the worn old man, Through the dark and clustering curls That veiled her brow, as she bent to scan His silk and glittering pearls; And she placed their price in the old man’s hand, And lightly turned away; But she paused at the wanderer’s earnest call, « My gentle Lady, stay 1 « 0 Lady fair, I have yet a gem Which purer lustre flings Than the diamond’s flash of the jewelled crown On the lofty brow of kings; A wonderful pearl of exceeding price, Whose virtue shall not decay; Whose light shall be as a spell to thee, And a blessing on thy walk! » The Lady glanced at the mirroring steel Where her youthful form was seen ; Where her eves shone clear and her dark locks waved «y Their clasping pearls between : « Bring forth thy pearl of exceeding worth, Thou traveller grey and old ; Then name the price of thy precious gem, And my pages shall count thy gold. » The cloud went off from the pilgrim’s brow, As a small and meagre book, Unchased with gold or diamond gem, From his folding robe he took; « Here, Lady fair, is the pearl of price; May it prove as such to thee — Nay, keep thy gold, I ask it not, For the word of God is free . » 11 The hoary traveller went his way ; But the gift be left behind Hath had its pure and perfect work On that high-born maidens’s mind. And she hath turned from the pride of sin To the lowliness of truth, And given her contrite heart to God In the beautiful hour of youth. » And she has left the grey old halls, Where an evil faith had power, The courtly knights of her father’s Train, and the maidens of her bower And she has gone to the Vaudois Vales by lordly feet untrod, Where the poor and needy of earth Are rich in the perfect love of God ! II. The work of Evangelization of the Waldensian Church What use have the Waldenses made of the freedom which was granted by their King Charles Albert in 1848 and which put in their power to extend their influ¬ ence and action beyond their own valleys. To what ex¬ tent has the previously suffering church, with all beau¬ tiful Italy before it, become a working church? What congregations has it formed? what schools has it foun¬ ded down in the far stretching peninsula? What have this people done in the interval to justify the testimony of their present King Humbert that they have been im¬ portant agents in promoting intelligence and morality among his subjets. The remainder of this short sketch will be consecrated in answering such interesting ques¬ tions. A word or two only about the strength of the church in the Valleys proper, then the information will run about the large mission field. In the Valleys there are at present 17 pastors, 15 parishes, 14248 members, 3290 children in the Sunday schools. Against those figures, outside the Valleys and scattered all over Italy, that is to say over a country with more than 30,000,000 of inhabitants, the Waldenses have 44 churches ministered to •and superintended by 43 pastors, these pastors having in some instances more than one congregation entrusted to their care. Kindred to these, there are also 47 stations with 47 evangelists and 8 teacher evangelists, the likelyhood being that when these stations have reached a requisite measure of numerical strenght and their constancy has been tried they shall be organised into churches with all their privileges and responsabilities. The number of commu¬ nicants or members in full communion is 5018. This does not include occasional hearers nor the children who have not as yet sought a closer fellowship with the church, though they are under its systematic tuition and vigilant oversight. The number of catechumens or applicants for full membership is 739. The Waldenses during their long history of centuries, and while commonly restricted within their own val¬ leys, uniformly showed a warm and enlightened interest in the education of their children. The teacher might almost to be said to have held an official position in the church, standing in honour and influence next to the pastor himself and they have carried with them this traditional custom in their evangelistic work in Italy to such an extent as to draw down the commendation of the press and the public authorities. Already they num¬ ber 29 day schools with 54 teachers and 2397 scholars. There are also 12 evening schools for adults and spe¬ cially for working men whose education has been insuf¬ ficient or utterly neglected in their boyhood. In these most useful schools, we find 368 scholars. The Sunday schools send their irrigating streams into many an Ita¬ lian home and even hovel, and reach many children whose parents could not be even approached by the evangelist. There are 61 Sunday schools with 3119 chil¬ dren who receive regular weekly instruction in religion 14 from a good number of voluntary teachers, in which also the pastor, as well as the teacher, usually takes a part. There are also 8 colporteurs and 6 Bible readers wor¬ king to their own special mode of Christian usefulness outside their old mountain limits and labouring not in vain, sowing the seeds which will be brought back one day in golden sheaves. Before we ask our reader to accompany us on a mis- sionarj r tour from the North to the South of the Peninsula in order to have an idea of the importance of the work accomplished b}^ the Waldensian Church, let us say a word about her finance. — At a glance one can see that it is impossible to cultivate such a large field without considerable expense, varying from Ls. 10 to 12,000 a year. The greatest part of this sum is generously pro¬ vided by the friends of Europe and the United States. But even these new born churches or stations of yes- •/ terday are very far from being entirely dependent on foreign aid. 5018 members contributed in one year Ls. 3029,10 s. and let it be observed that trade is far from satisfactory in Italy. The waldenses are ready to go down in the pit, let their friends hold the rope. We begin now our missionary tour and as we have no much time at our disposal we are obliged to leave aside the small localities in order to give more time to the large towns. We leave by train Torre Pellice the head quarters of the waldensian people, and in half an hour we arrive at Pinerolo. Situated on the confines of the Valleys, its fortress harboured their invaders, thousands of in¬ nocent captives perished in its dungeons, and its monas- 15 teries were the receptacle of their abducted children. We cast a glance at its spacious temple erected by some generous American friends and we hasten on to Turin (Pastor G. Tron, 15 Via Pio V) where we can admire in one of the principal thoroughfares the first church raised by the waldenses outside their own Valleys. It looks beautiful, does it not? While the building of it was going on a Clergyman of the English church who was there in 1852, in his delight and enthusiasm, mounted the scaffolding, trowel in hand, that he might have his share in the joyful work, fin¬ ding on the highest part of the scaffolding, in spite of his lameness, the indefatigable General Beckwith, by whose efforts and generosity the church was opened December 15, 1853. what a day for the poor persecu¬ ted church, to preach by her ministers the Gospel in the very capital of the dukes of Savoy now kings of United Italy! If we had leisure to remain in Turin over a Sunday we could in the morning worship in the French language with a large congregation of influen¬ tial people and in Italian in the afternoon and evening with a still larger gathering, hut train and tide w^ait for no man, away we go without forgetting that from Tu¬ rin it would have been so easy to make a trip in the country, in order to salute our brethren of Coazze , Susa , Courmayeur , La-Salle , Aosta, Champ de Praz , Irrea , Val di Brosso, Cuorgne , Torrazza , Verrua, Biella , Piedicavallo , Casale , Pietramarazzi , Cuneo , Demonte , Tenda , Savigliano , ecc., ecc. From Turin to Milan the distance is not great, three hours of railway travelling or so. In the ancient capital of Lombardy, for about 18 years, our congregation was obliged to meet in a dark and close place for worship 16 and notwithstanding that hindrance from 1867 to 1877 the number of communicants rose from 80 to 135 and they are now 349. Our Committee was able to purchase from the muni¬ cipality the church of « San Giovanni in Conca », si¬ tuated in a tine street, only a few minutes’ walk from the magnificent cathedral, and now signor Paolo Longo, (15 Corso Porta Nuova), the present minister, is able to report that there is no other church who gathers such large audiences as the Waldensian Church does all the year round, lent time excepted when the Roman catho¬ lics are particulary zealous. — A tourist does not fail to pay a visit to the Italian lakes, Maggiore, Varese and Como. On the shores of the last named lies the town of Como. We do not stop to admire its far famed silk ma¬ nufactures, but to listen to the information which our pastor, (signor E. Rivoir, 8 Via Garibaldi) is able to give about his work. The great wish of our brethren is that thev would like to build a church in order to give a fresh impulse to the evangelization of the people. Clim¬ bing up a mountain brings us to San Feclele, where there is a small congregation, then we go to Lugano and Arogno where the roman catholics would like to use their arguments ad hominen on our pastor, if the Swiss government dit not teach them that we do not live any more in the middle ages. From Lugano by a roundabout journey we go on to Brescia specially dear to the waldenses as the native city of Arnaldo da Brescia, who as early as 1130-1150 dared to preach there and at Rome that the church ought to be a spiritual institution supported by its mem¬ bers, that its rule ought to be the Bible. He was burned by order of Pope Adrian the fourth, in 1155. Ten years 17 ago, we had a thriving church there, but owing chiefly to the unfortunate place of worship little by little it de¬ cayed; now we have rented from the municipality a «nice old abandoned Romish church ». We have, writes the pastor Dott. Gay (8, Borghetto San Lazzaro) to the « Voice from Italy » a congregation of between 150 and 200 hearers, of whom 60 are communicants and the others are catechumens, friends or regular attendants at worship. We have a Sunday school, numbering 24 pupils, divided into three classes which are taught by three distinguished ladies. In Brescia are manufactured good weapons to destroy the bodies of men, but our mi¬ nister brandishes the sword of the Spirit for the salva¬ tion of the soul. We mention by the way Eclolo, Castiglione delle Sti- viere and Guidizzolo, only six miles apart, we hail Mantova, the new station of Revere, a most refreshing oasis in the surrounding bigotry and superstition, sleeping Guastcdla, and we enter the walled city of Verona where a Roman oratory has. been purchased for the use of the congregation. As Verona is one of the strongholds of Italy there is a numerous garrison and often the soldiers find their way to our place of worship. From Verona we proceed to Venice (Pastors B. Revel and P. Chauvie, Palazzo Cavagnis) once the Queen of the sea, the birth¬ place of Fra Paolo Sarpi, the greatest of the Venitians, as he has been called by his latest biographer. Our congregation, composed of good devoted people, ever ready to testify to their faith, meets in a large and com¬ modious palace near the church of Santa Maria Formosa; our two ministers, besides their work in the town, are constantly making missionary tours to Treviso , Pede- rodba , Poffabro , Andreis , Tramonti di sopra , Udine y 2 18 where the meetings are held in private houses, and where there are some staunch confessors of the faith who stand fast, notwithstanding the fierce persecutions to which they are exposed. Now we start for Tuscany and begin our tour by visiting Florence , (pastor G. Luzzi, 51 Via dei Serragli and P. Geymonat D. D. id. id.) a city which had for a short time the honour of being the capital of Italy. Florence is the central station in the Italian Kingdom, as the Theological College with its three professors and the printing press for books and religious periodicals are there. There too are to be found two congregations con¬ nected with the Waldensian church, they have between the two over 500 members. The sufferings of Francesco and Rosa Madiai, the emprisonment of Pastor Geymonat and Count Guicciardini have not been in vain. The Floren¬ tines were in modern times the first to suffer for conscience sake, the Florentine church is also the first for its member¬ ship. From Florence to Lucca , (pastor G. Rodio, via Galli Tassi 181), the distance is not great, but what a difference between the two as regards religion! Lucca is second to none of the Italian cities for superstition. For centuries she has boasted of possessing the «volto santo », the countenance of our Lord carved in wood by Saint Joseph! Why does not Lucca boast of being the birthplace of Pietro Martire Vermigli and of Giovanni Diodati the author of one of the best translations of the Bible! We salute the few brethren of Barga and in one hour the train brings us to Pisa. (Pastor S. Revel, via del Museo 9). which had as one of its earliest evangelists Doctor Prochet, now of Rome. The work seems somewhat hindered by the distance of the church from the centre of the town, but there are prosperous schools with 164 19 pupils and they would be more numerous still if we had accomodation for all the applicants. We visit the Leaning Tower, the Battistero and the Duomo and we start for Livorno. Doctor Stewart, for a long time minister of the Free Church of Scotland, the great benefactor of the Waldenses, with General Beckwith, Canon Gillv of Durham, Doctor Guthrie, D. r Robertson of Grey Friars, is no more, hut M rs Stewart is still living and as ready as ever to take a lively interest in our schools which are largely attended. Signor Quattrini (2, Via Calzabigi) ministers there to a congregation of 146 members in full communion. While we pass near the harbour and see the steamers getting ready to start on their journey, we cannot help thinking that it would he a pleasure for a Christian traveller to go to visit the Island of Sardinia , where we have some brothers in the faith at Iglesias , Sassari, Isola Maddalena or to go to the Island of Elba , the residence of Napoleon the First for a hundred days. We could see then Rio Marina with its prosperous congregation and its schools, the most numerous of Tuscany, and pay a visit to Portoferraio where the Italian government has a large penitentiary and the Waldensian church a small station where that Gospel is preached which, if followed, would make all the penitentiaries of the Kingdom useless. But instead of a sea voyage, we have before us a long journey by land through the Campagna. Like the apostle Paul we want to see Rowe. A Waldensiam Church in Rome, the Rome of the Popes! How wonderful! Truly God has done great things whereof our hearts are glad! When the visitor who goes down Via Nazionale, one of the principal thoroughfares of the eternal city, reaches the number 107, he sees standing before his eyes a beautiful 20 building, property of the Waldensian Church.On the ground floor there is the temple usually crowded every Sunday morning with worshippers belonging to the various classes- of society and a small chapel for the week day services. On the third storey there is the apartment of the Presi¬ dent of the Committee of Evangelization, Doctor Prochet who, when in Rome, (often he may be seen in London or New York as well), besides his multiferious occupa¬ tions, preaches every Sunday morning, while he is as¬ sisted for the evening services by a younger colleague. The church is prospering and does not forget its high position as the church of the capital. We have besides Rome Orhetello and Civitavecchia , in the old Roman pro¬ vinces, some struggling stations at Ancona , Poggio Mirteto and Grosseto. But how hard is the soil there! Macchiavelli was right when he wrote: «The nearer to Rome the further from the faith». We leave Rome and go to Naples. In a building a few steps from Via Toledo, the principal street, we have the church, the schools and the parsonage. We translate a few sentences from Signor Pons’ (Chiesa Valdese a San Tommaso)* report to have a peep at his work in beautiful Parthe- nope. «If to be present at the religious services, to draw near the Lord’s table, and to live correctly are the tokens of religious life, we possess it. The number of communicants is 220, the week-day schools and the Sunday schools by their cheering number of children are our purest spiritual joy». On our way to Sicily, the last of the five districts into which Italy has been divided, we pass by many churches and stations, some under the guidance of a pastor or of an evangelist, while others are more or less regularly visited. We simply give the names of some- 21 of them: Fragneto-V Abate, Castelvenere , San Barto¬ lomeo in Galdo , Schiavi , Villa-Canale, ecc. Brindisi , the starting point of the Indian mail on its way to London, Corato in a wine growing country, Taranto, famous for its shell-fish and oysters, Rocca Imiperiale, where our agent, besides his ministerial duties, was for some years the mayor or «sindaco» of the place, Reggio di Calabria the capital of a large province. Reggio is well known to the reader of the Acts of the Apostles as the harbour where St. Paul stopped for a day on his way to Rome, Gallico a village of 4,000 inhabitants, where we have lately got a footing. The review of our work in the Peninsula is finished, we cross the Straits of Messina and in twenty minutes we reach the shores of Sicily, the pearl of the Mediterranean Sea. We will now accompany Signor Prochet in one of his missionary tours and give some extracts of a very in¬ teresting pamphlet which he published in the French language some years ago. How beautiful does Messina (Pastor D. Buffa, 546 Via Garibaldi) look, seen from the sea with her «marina» bordered by a long row of palaces, and her harbour, one of the largest and surest of the Mediterranean. But our great attractions there are not the natural beauties of the town, nor its large and prosperous trade of oranges, lemons or mandarines, we do not speak of its history nor of how much Messina suffered in 1848 at the Bourbons’ hands, so much so as to be partially burnt down and to be called the Mis- solungi of Italy, The interesting thing for us is the Waldensian church of Monte di Pieta in the very centre of the town. It was an old Romish church which had been for some time made use of as a timber depot. A particularity of this congregation is that it is not 22 formed of the lower classes only, but is, as it were, a collection of representatives of the different classes of so¬ ciety. There are 155 communicants,and their contributions for different purposes are about one hundred and thirty pounds a year. Our friend Giovanni Fazio who has suffered much for his faith in his native Barcellona has come all the way to see us, so we are at liberty to take the train for Catania . Travellers say that the railway line between Messina and Catania is the finest in the world ; all along it is bordered by cactus, rose bushes and geraniums as tall as trees. Midway we see Taormina perched like an eagle upon a rock, its scenery vies with the finest of the whole earth; we pass without stopping through Giarre Riposto and Iaci Reale which share with Lucca in Tuscany the sad privilege of being the most bigoted places in the kingdom. Our train now steams between two walls of hard lava, affording us a sufficient proof that Catania (Pastor L. Rostagno, 14, Strada Naumachia) situated at the foot of the Etna, is not far off. Signor Bellecci, an ex-priest, has long iaboured there, and he has seen, spring¬ ing up in the city of « Santa Agata » a good congrega¬ tion with a day school and a Sunday school. A neat little church with a parsonage has been lately built there by our Committee. We leave Catania, salute the brethren of Sta. Maria di Licodia and we proceed on our journey.. Syracuse (Pastor B. Lissolo) which will now attract our attention is no longer the rich and populous Syra¬ cuse of the Greek and Roman domination. In its heyday it had at least 500,000 inhabitants, now the population has dwindled down to 25,000. Syracuse has been the birthplace of a galaxy of great men, suffice it to name Archimedes. This town has* 23 given hospitality toAeschyles, Pindar and Simonides, mil¬ lions of ships from the time of Syracuse’s origin (538 B. G.) have cast anchor in its splendid harbour, but the most interesting for us is the ship « whose sign was Castor and Pollux », with the apostle Paul on board. After an interruption of some years, we have tried again to evan¬ gelize the people and for more than two years the services have been held in the minister’s house. If from the dawn one may argue what kind of day it will be, the prospects are rejoicing. In the same province the minister visits the stations, of Noto, Ftoridia and Modica. We leave him engaged in his labour of love and we go to Vittorio, . The liberalism of the inhabitants is well known, they give their approval to the Gospel, but to approve is not to follow. In our Sicilian tour, starting from Messina we have followed till now the sea-coast, now we go to Riesi* in the very centre of the Island. The journey thither is by no means an easy one, we have to cross swollen torrents without bridges, climb hills and mountains, travel where there are no roads; but the drawbacks of the fatiguing journey are more than compensated by the warm reception which we receive from our evangelist Signor Ronzone, once a colonel in the American army, now a soldier of Christ. Riesi is called in Sicily the protestant Riesi and in fact a large proportion of the people leans towards the evangelical church. There are 267 children in our day schools, 250 in the Sunday school and 56 in the evening school. Aidone has been opened to the Gospel for two years. Caltanisetta , capital of the province of the same name, has a little company of believers called together by a royal engineer, who has now left the place, but the 24 influence remains notwithstanding the strongest opposi¬ tion from the clerical party. Grotte, in the midst of a mining district, has a church with 40 members. Girgenti , the old Acragas or Agri- gentum , is finally a station of evangelization. Our mi¬ nister Signor Golia has had a hard fight with the priests and with the people. We leave now the south side of the Island and we go on to the northern coast. Trabia has a flourishing school, for the parents are delighted that their children should learn, though they do not care for the Gospel themselves. We have now to speak about the last, though not the least, of our churches in Sicily, the church of Palermo. Palermo is in a lovely situation called the «Conca d’oro» or «the Golden Shell». There a converted priest, who had studied at the Theological College of,Florence now prea¬ ches the faith which he once opposed. The church is on the ground floor of a large unfinished palace in Via Macqueda. The membership is 110 and 87 children attend the Sunday school. Our congregation in this large town, one of the largest of the Italian kingdom, has passed through a severe ordeal, but we have not the shadow of a doubt that under Signor Muston’s care, (Via Espo- sizione, Casa Civiletti) it will go on progressing as it does presently. We name Trapani , only 95 Kil. from Palermo as the crow flies but 195 kil. by railway and our Sicilian tour is finished. It remains now only to saj^ something about a part of our work, that is to say about Genova and some other towns. We have only to go on board of one of the large steamers which are plying two or three times a 25 week between Palermo and Genova. After three days na¬ vigation we go from the shores of Sicily to Genova (Pastor Signor G. D. Turino, 2, Via Curtatone) the proud, the city of palaces, the birthplace of Cristoforo Colombo. From the year 1852 a good work is going on there. As from the beginning the hired room in which the meetings were held was too small for the enquiring throng, efforts were made to provide means to build a temple which was erected in Via Assarotti and is made use of by the Lutheran and the Waldensian congregations, the one on the ground floor, the other in the hall above. If from Genova we went Eastward we would see the stations of Chiavari and Favale but our way is West¬ ward. There is an ever growing congregation in San Pier d' Arena, a town of 40,000 inhabitants, close to Genova. Good schools with 110 children in all are to be found in San Remo . (Pastor G. Petrai, 30 Via Vittorio Emanuele) a favourite winter resort. An orphanage in Bordigliera (Pastor A. B. Tron, villa Violetta) established by M. rs Boyce is doing a work among destitute boys who but for this would have remained without education. At Ventimiglia we cross the frontier which divides France from Italy and along the Corniche, well known to tou¬ rists, we go to Nice (Pastor A. Malan, 50 Rue Gioffredo). Nice became a French town in 1860, but a Waldensian Church flourishes there and during the last year the church subscribed a sum of over six hundred pounds. The atten¬ dance at worship is from 400 to 500 during winter time and from 120 to 150 in summer and there are 156 children in the Sunday school. « What is it that you leave the most unwillingly in Nice, asked the superintendant of the Sunday school to a girl ten years old who w r as going 26 away. « The ‘Sunday school and the flowers » answered the little girl. Our work is done, we beg to be excused for its manifest imperfection. We have shown to the best of our power what the Waldensian Church is doing in Italy, we did not speak of the work which other sister churches accomplish because such was not our purpose. But let it be well understood that great is the sympa¬ thy, which we have for the Free Italian Church, the Wesleyan Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Baptist Churches, in a word, for all the agencies which in Italy work and pray in order that the Kingdom of God may be established and the devil’s power destroyed. We have passed also in silence the new opening at Rosario, South America, where there is a flourishing colony lately visited by our untiring president. While we take leave of our reader we beseech him to pray for our great work and to help us according to his means. For this short sketch on the History of the Waldenses, we are greatly indebted to Doctor Thomson’s letters written in connection with the Bicentenary commemo¬ ration, and to the Rev. D. K. Guthrie’s lecture on the Waldenses. The American reader who would desire to know more of the history of theWaldenses might apply to the Publication Society of the Presbyterian Church, Chestnut Street, Phi¬ ladelphia, for a volume on the history of the Waldenses. At the beginning of this pamphlet the reader has already found a map of Italy upon which are marked the churches and the stations in the mission field and at the end he will find a statistical and a financial table. W. Dulles Esq. 53, 5 th Avenue, New-Y ork, will receive 27 and forward regular subscriptions and donations in favour of the work. The friends who would for any reason send the money directly to Italy, may do it by a cheque on any American bank, endorsed to Mess. rs Nast-Kolb and Schu¬ macher, bankers, 9 Via della Mercede, Rome, or to the President of the Waldensian Board Committee, Comm. Matteo Prochet, D. D. 107, Via Nazionale, Rome. {-- 3 V 23 GENERAL STATIS Workers 1 At Public i Worship. DISTRICTS Pastors Evangelists Schoolmaster Evangelists Schoolmasters Colporteurs Bible readers TOTAL Regular Attendants Occasional Attendants Piedmont-Liguria 14 Churches 12 Stations • 14 — 5 14 2 — 35 2415 14378 Lombardo-Venetia 10 Churches 11 Stations 10 1 1 3 15 1212 13660 Tuscany 6 Churches 6 Stations 5 " " 14 19 880 4606 Rome-Naples 6 Churches 6 Stations 8 4 9 3 2 26 1348 10550 Sicily 8 Churches 12 Stations 6 2 2 16 3 1 30 1258 12000 Total Churches 44 Stations 47 43 6 8 54 8 6 125 7113 55194 29 TICAL TABLE 1 ( Scholars Communicants Losses Admissions Catechumens 1894-95 cd Q Sunday -——- i Evening Contributions from the Mission Churches for a] purposes, 1688 128 147 230 494 783 57 Doll. 5542 72 938 60 90 77 25 269 24 3301 73 918 71 86 106 703 641 83 1977 55 736 50 98 163 359 543 21 2519 57 738 54 89 163 816 883 213 1805 92 5018 363 510 739 2397 3119 368 15147 49 30 GENERAL FINAN RECEIPTS America Contributions Doll. 11413 28 Austria do » 85 15 Denmark do » 185 82 France do » 104 18 Germany do » 8028 81 England do 14928 24 Ireland do » 817 61 Italy do » 11181 47 Holland do » 278 87 Russia do » 25 25 Scotland do » 18722 68 Sweden do » 970 47 Switzerland do » 7815 8 TOTAL » 74536 91 Rome , the 12th of July 1894. 31 CIAL STATEMENT EXPENSES Deficit Doll. 13707 37 Salaries » 41659 59 Travelling expenses for evangelistic purposes 5 » 2701 27 Travelling expenses for collecting purposes 1952 17 Removals » 523 94 Rent, repairs, taxes ecc. » 3986 73 School expenses, Subsidies » 956 79 Printing, Books, Office expenses » 2092 40 Palermo and Piedicavallo » 1748 2 Repayments to the Table » 1407 92 Donations for special objects » 500 53 Interest « o to GO 38 Due by the Bankers » 2371 80 TOTAL » 74536 91 . ^ ^ g»g3fiQ fi Aft»|h p r ~l 1 Subscriptions and Donations (during the year 1893-94) {Extract from the Annual Report of the Commission of Evangelization.) 1 st Presb. Church, Ashville — N. C. • L. it. 120 50 M rs Elliott F. Sheparcl, N. Y., for a day. Doll. 125 » 682 80 M rs W m Jay Schieffelin N. Y. » » 125 » CX OO iO OO o Mrs m c Cormick, Chicago » 200 » 1174 Mrs Borden » for a day » 125 » 733 75 Emile Rudert Esq. » » 25 » 146 75 Miss Williams » » 20 » 117 40 Hubbard Esq. » » 20 » 117 40 Miss E. Skinner » » 20 » 117 40 Miss F. Skinner » » 20 » 117 40 M rs Blackstone » » 10 » 58 70 Coldenbach Esq. » » 9 (V » 11 74 3 d Presb. Church » » 21 85 » 128 25 6 th Presb. Church » » 9 » 52 83 Italian Church » » 32 50 » 190 77 Congregational Church, Evanston . » 15 50 » 90 99 M rs S. Reid, Lake-Forest 35 » 205 45 3 34 Miss C. L. Gostenhofer, N. Y. . Doll. 148 69 L.it. 868 95 Uni versity Place Church,N.Y.,one Sunday » 114 75 » 664 64 4 th Presb. Church, Chicago » » 135 » 775 35 Kenwood Evang. Church » • » 23 96 » 141 60 M rs Mather, Cleveland % » 300 1774 03 R. F. Smith Esq. » • » 50 » 295 50 Stone Presb. Church S. S. Cleveland » 50 » 295 50 Miss Ann Walworth » » 25 » 147 75 M rs J. L, Ozanne » » 25 » 147 75 E. C. Highbee Esq. » » 25 » 147 75 P. M. Hitchcock Esq. » » 25 » 147 75 M r and M rs A. P. Fenn » » 25 » 147 75 Miss Sarah Walworth » » 10 » 59 10 G. H. Ely Esq. » » 10 » 59 10 M rs A. Stone » » 10 » 59 10 M. rs L. C. Austin » » 5 » 29 55 Rev. D.r Hayden » » o » 29 55 T. P. Handy Esq. » » 5 » 29 55 E. R. Perkins Esq- » » 5 » 29 55 J. A. Robinson Esq. » » 5 » 29 55 W m P. Stanton Esq. » » 5 » 29 55 W m P. Johnson Esq. » » o » 29 55 S. L. Severance Esq. » » 5 » 29 55 Friends in D.r Hayden’s Church » » 3 30 » 19 50 Friends in D.r Ladd’s Church » » 9 35 » 55 25 Friends in D.r Pomeroy’s Church » » 7 50 » 44 32 Friends in Rev. Waugh’s Church » » 9 36 » 55 31 Friends in Rev. Kepp’s Church » » 4 » 23 64 W m E. Dodge Esq. New-York, donation » 500 » 2861 60 Mrs W. E. Dodge » for a day » 125 » 715 40 John Sinclair Esq. » • » 100 » 572 20 Friends in D.r Thompson’s Ch. N. Y. » 13 » 74 36 Erie Seminary, Painesville, 0. • » 10 57 20 M mo della Motta, New-York • » 1 » 5 72 B. Blakeman Esq. » • » 25 » 142 50 Mrs w. D. Sloane » • 500 » 2887 87 35 M rs Elliot F. Shepard » donation Doll. 500 L.it. 2887 87 Francis P. Freeman Esq , Lakewood » 50 » 288 50 M"s F. P. Freeman » » 25 » 144 25 S. A. Davis Esq. » » 25 » 144 25 Geo. Taylor Esq. New-York » 50 » 288 50 G. A- Strong Esq. » » 25 » 144 25 Madison Ave. lief. Church » one Sunday » 127 2 2 » 734 06 H. P. Crowell Esq. » » 10 » 57 70 A. Friend » » 10 » 57 70 J. C. Havemeyer Esq., Yonkers » r' o >> 28 85 Rev. D.r Dashiel, Lakewood . » 9 » 11 54 M rs Deforest » » 1 » 5 77 Collec. in Rev. John Boyd’s Cli. Char¬ lotte .N. C. » 50 » 293 Some Ladies of Charlotte . N. C. » 15 » 87 90 Collect, in D r Rumple’s Cli., Salisbury N .C. . . . . . . » 30 » 175 80 Mr. Wiley and Son, Salisbury N. A. » 6 » 35 16 The Misses Childs, Washington » 10 » 58 60 Friends per Rev. D r Sunderland, Washington . » 1 50 » 8 79 Colonia Valdese, Valdese, N. C. » 20 » 117 20 Sig. Leger e sorella » N. C. » 0 50 » 9 93 M rs Mary B. Wheeler, New-York . » 100 » 586 Miss Wheeler » » 50 » 293 Rev. Stuart Dodge, New-York for a day, 1893 » 125' » 733 47 » » » for a day, 1894 » 125 » 733 47 H. B. Barnes Esq. » » 50 » 293 M rs Dorman » » 25 » 146 50 Morris K. Jesup Esq. » » 25 V 146 50 4 th Presb.S S. per Mr. Blume,New-York » 25 » 146 50 Friends per Mr. Blume, » » 50 » 293 M ra Schieffelin . » 25 » 146 50 Miss Rachel L. Kennedy . » 100 » 586 Mi’ s Jane A. Wallace » 50 » 293 30 A. J. Miller Esq., Chicago • Doll. 10 L.it. 58 60 S. S. New-York Ave. Presb. Ch., Washington .... • » 30 » 175 80 D. R. Holt Esq., Lake-Forest . • » 50 » 294 50 D.r Mason, Brooklyn • » 50 » 294 50 Rev. D.r Mackay-Smith, Washington » 30 » 176 70 Andrew F. Derr, Esq. Wilkesbarre, Pa . » 50 » 291 50 Friends in D.r Spooner’s Ch. Camden » 22 » 129 58 Miss Maud Shillingsburg . » 10 » 58 90 Friends in Wellingford per M rs Spear » 25 » 147 25 Collect, in D.r Baker’s Church, Philad. a » 30 25 » 178 17 » >> Wilson’s Church » » 41 05 » 241 78 » » M c Cook’s Church » » 157 36 » 928 85 » » Graham’s Church » » 4G 26 » 272 47 » » Munro’s Church » » 61 » 359 29 » » Hoyt’s Church » » 55 92 » 329 37 » » Dickson’s Church » » 112 75 » 664 52 M rs Knight and Sister » » 15 » 88 35 M rs Id. H. Reed » » 50 » 294 50 Robert C. Ovden Esq. » » 50 » 294 50 M rs A. A. Burt Philad. » » 100 589 The Misses Adjer » » » 50 » 294 50 M rs Dickson » » » 10 » 58 90 The Misses Otto » » » 40 » 235 60 M rs Sinclair, Philad., for a day » 125 » 737 25 N. N. » » 2 » 11 78 Rev. D.r Matlack » » r-* o » 29 45 D.r Moorehead » » p-' o » 29 45 M ra Courly and Miss Wentz » » 20 » 117 80 J. C. Converse Esq. » » 25 » 147 25 Miss Henrietta Baker, New-York » 10 » 58 90 A Friend to the religious cause, Philad. » r-' o » 29 45 D r and M rs W. E. Schenck » » 10') » 585 62 Miss Schott » » 50 » 292 50 Collect, in Wylie Memorial Church » » 89 28 » 522 28 37 West Pruce Presb. Ch., Philad., one Sunday.Doll. Collect, in Presb. Church, Newville » Collect, in Presb. Church, Carlisle . » Collect, in Presb. Church, Chambersburg » jst Presb.Church(D r Kumler’s) Pittsburg » 1 st u. Presb. Church (D r Reid) » . » Calvin Wells Esq. » . » M rs Will- m Thaw »foraday» J. J. Buchanan Esq. » . » J. P. Hanna Esq. » . » W.™ R. Thompson Esq. » . » Charles Lockart Esq. » . » V. M. » . » » » Tommaso Ribetti Esq. Miss Arbuckler Allegheny, for a day » M rs Jamison » » » 4 th u. Presb. Church » . . » » » S. S. » . • » Felix E. Brunot Esq. » . . » Miss M. W. Denny » . . » James M c Cutcheon Esq. » . . » 1st Presb. Church » . . » Miss Scott » . . » M rs Sunderland, Washington . . » Miss M c Bride » » Rev. D.r Wallace, Sewickley-Walley » Miss Sallie M c Dowell, Xenia . . » 2 d U. Presb. Church » . . » 1st and 3 d Church » . . » Rev. D.r Th. Converse, Louisville. Ky. » Friends in D. r Hemphill’s Church, Louisville.» 1 st Presb. Church, New-Orleans » Pry tan ia Presb. Church » » M rs Richardson » » 125 L.it. 727 92 39 60 » 230 47 30 » 174 60 48 35 » 281 41 46 15 » 268 39 140 95 » 818 01 100 » 580 125 » 726 50 » 290 50 » 290 50 » 290 20 » 116 11 » 63 80 10 » 58 125 » 726 125 » 726 31 » 179 25 » 145 50 » 290 20 » 116 10 » 58 10 70 » 62 06 5 » 29 5 » 29 o » 29 10 » 58 125 » 726 36 » 208 80 13 60 » 79 10 » 56 90 10 » 56 90 200 » 1138 26 » 147 94 10 » 56 90 38 Pass Christian Presb. Ch. » Doll. 6 25 L.it. 35 56 M rs W m Clark, Newark for a day ». 150 » 853 50 M rs Drees, Xenia • • » 1 » o 69 A Friend, Shippensburg • • » 1 » 5 69 A Friend, Harrisburg • « » 0 50 » 2 85 Honor. John Wanamaker, Pliilad., for a day .... • • » 125 » 711 65 J. D. JefTeris Esq. Pliilad. » 75 » 426 75 Eugene Delano Esq. » • • » 100 » 569 D.r Fox’s Church, Brooklyn • , » 12 » 68 28 American Bible Society • , » 500 » 2850 M rs W m Jay Shieffelin, N. York, for a day (94-95) « • » 125 » 711 25 1 st Presb. Church, Scranton Pa. » 65 » 371 15 A. G. Agnew Esq. New-York . 50 » 285 50 F. B. Schieffelin Esq. » » 20 » 114 20 Miss E. de Graff-Cuyler » » 25 » 142 75 M rs James Talcott » » 25 » 142 75 John Aitken Esq. » » 200 » 1142 M rs Robert Marshall » for a day » 125 » 714 85 Chiesa Valdese di Monett. Mo. » 10 » 56 20 Miss Monaham, New-York for a day » 125 » 702 50 Highland Presb. Church, Louisville Collected by Rev.Th. Fenwick, Ontario, » — » 28 25 Canada: W. P. Telfer . • • » 0 50 A. Friend • • » 0 25 H. Langlois • • » 0 50 Chancellor Boyd • • » 2 85 St. Andrew’s Ch., Vaughan . » 8 » 70 70 Total L.it. 570G6 41 ' > s • THE WALDENSIAN CHURCH AND HER \ WORK OF EVANGELIZATION IN ITALY BY F. ROSTAN TORRE PELLICE TIPOGRAFIA ALPINA i 89 4. I. The Waldensian Church a) Her origin. In the North of Italy, and in the midst of the Cottian Alps, with the glorious Monte Viso standing like a crowned monarch and looking down upon the other mountains, are the Waldensian Valievs the home and refuge of the Waldensian people. They are but a small community, not exceeding 25,000 in number, chiefly peasants; yet both the Christian church and the world would be poorer to-day but for the existence and ex¬ traordinary history of this little flock. They have been called the Israel of the Alps, and in many features their story is not unlike that of God's ancient people. He long since revealed Himself to them; he kept them a separate people from the surrounding idolatiy; they were long and sorely oppressed; yet through it all mar¬ vellously preserved and finally delivered from their op¬ pressors, they have begun a wonderful w r ork of evange¬ lization among their countrymen throughout the whole of the Italian Peninsula. The chief interest attaching to the Waldenses is that they are a Bible loving people, 4 who, in the country of the pope, maintain a pure faith and practice, and that they are the descendants of those who, long before the Reformation, obeyed God’s word in opposition to Rome. The antiquity of the Waldensian church is indispu¬ table. This church in fact, comparatively insignificant, though it be, is the oldest evangelical Church in Europe* It would carry us too far from our purpose in this short sketch to say to a great length when the Waldenses- began to be a separate people. Some have attempted to trace the presence of the Gospel teachers in the Wal¬ densian Valleys from the earliest Christian centuries, others say that they originated in the ninth century with Claude, bishop of Turin who was himself a refor¬ mer before the Reformation, and lastly it seems to be prevalent with the modern historians that the Walden¬ sian church owes its origin to the evangelistic labours of Peter Valdo in 1180, a rich merchand of Lyons, who having consecrated all his wealth to the relief of the poor and to the cause of religion went everywhere preaching, and gathered many disciples. But one thing is certain, that in the fifteenth century, when the reformation dawned, the reformers of France, Switzer¬ land and Germany were amazed to discover that a lit¬ tle people, hidden among the recesses of the Alps had for ages past, possessed the light which only then was bursting on others parts of Europe, and had possessed the same faith which they themselves had only now adopted. In fact the Waldenses did not become protes- tants like the English, German or Swiss three hundred years ago; for, for centuries before they had been pro¬ testing against the errors of Rome and suffering even to death for their protest. If therefore, the romanist asks you with a sneer: « Where was your church before Luther? » You can reply: « Its doctrines were in the word of God, its mem¬ bers were in the Valleys of the Waldenses ». b ) Persecutions endured by the Waldensian Church. The antiquity of the Waldensian Church is not her only claim to the sympathy and interest of the Chris¬ tian people! One of her own historians long ago defined the marks of a true church to he these three: « Conformity to the word of God. A holy life; and persecution or the -cross- « This last mark the Waldensian Church has home deeply stamped all through her history. For six \hundred years at least , she has been the object not only of implacable dislike and hatred, but of active per¬ secution on the part of the church of Rome. There are ■distinct traces of suffering endured for conscience sake •in the Waldensian valleys very far back in history; but we have a detailed account of an appalling massa¬ cre by which these beautiful Valleys were desolated at Christmas 1400; and from that period onwards till the end of the seventeenth century, one persecution follo¬ wed another, with interruptions of varying length. Bo- ■dies of brutal soldiery were sent into that region to force the unoffending inhabitants either to abandon their father’s faith or to endure unheard of cruelties. Indeed on more than one occasion, the word was to •exterminate man, woman and child within these Val¬ leys from the face of tbe earth and for no crime save 6 that of obeying God rather than man! Words cannot describe the fiendish cruelties perpetrated on these helpless people on the one hand nor the heroic struggles which they made on the other to defend their homes. The ostensible authors of the Waldensian persecutions were their own princes, the dukes of Savoy sometimes in league with the Kings of France; but the real insti¬ gators of the persecutions were the popes of Rome. Leger, a Waldensian pastor, wrote, more than 200 years ago an account of the persecutions of which he was himself an eye witness. It is a terrible record. Some of its pages could hardly be read to a public audience. Speaking of the conduct of the soldiery Leger says : «My hand trem¬ bles so that I can hardly hold my pen, and my tears mingle with my ink while I write the deeds of these children of darkness». No words, he adds, could more literally describe our condition than those of the 79 th Psalm «Oh God! the heathen are come into thine inhe¬ ritance: the dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of heaven, the flesh of thj r saints unto the beasts of the earth; their blood have they shed like water, and there was none to bury them ». In 1653 the rage of Rome burst upon the Valleys of Piedmont in an unprecedented massacre. For once ho¬ wever human malice outwitted itself. When the tidings of that butchery spread abroad, all protestant Europe was filled with horror. Oliver Cromwell then «Lord Protector » of England, determined to become protector of the Waldenses likewise and at once dispatched Sir Samuel Morland to Turin as ambassador to remonstrate with the duke of Savoy, threatening war if he did not immediately terminate these horrors. He did more, he ordered a general fast throughout England and a collec- 7 tion to be made that day in all the churches to relieve the homeless survivors in the Valleys. Cromwell himself showed a noble example by contributing Ls. 2000 out of his privy purse. John Milton was at the time Cromwell's secretary and in 1655 he wrote the immortal sonnet which he entitled : « On the late massacre of Piedmont». Avenge, 0 Lord, thy slaughtered Saints, whose bones, Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold ; Even them who kept thy truth so pure of old When all our fathers worshipped stocks and stones. Forget not; in Thy book record their groans, Who were thy sheep, and in their ancient fold Stain by the bloody Piemontese, that rolled Mother with infant down the rocks. Their moans the vales redoubled to the hills, and they To heaven. Their martyred blood and ashes sow Over all the Italian fields where still doth sway The triple Tyrant: that from there may grow A hundred fold, who having learned thy way Early may fly the Babylonian woe ». In 1686 all the sufferings of the Waldenses culminated. After having been greatly diminished and weakened by emprisonment or otherwise, they were in the cold of mid winter, driven from their ancestral lands across the icy Alps into foreign countries, no doubt with the in¬ tention that the exile should be for ever. But the hope was baffled. After three years the banished ones, unaided by the might of man, but with a superhuman bravery and endurance, came back to settle down once more in the lands of their fathers.. 8 Up to the year 1848 when the priests were in power, nothing could exceed the vexations and intollerant op¬ pressions to which the Waldenses were subjected. Their children were on the slightest pretext, and even without pretext at all, liable to be taken from them and educated in popish convents. A cruel law doomed them to poverty, by not suffering them to hold an inch of soil out of their own narrow territory. No Waldensian pastor was per¬ mitted to sleep, not even for a single night, under pain of imprisonment in a neighbouring popish parish. No Waldensian could practice medecine or law save among his own people. A much more heavy land tax was im¬ posed on the Waldenses than on the Romanists. In 1847 the Marquis Roberto d’Azeglio, a man of high birth and reputation, took into his consideration the claims of the Jews and of their bretheren in bondage, the protestants of the Valleys and eloquently pleaded the double emancipation, in a petition addressed to the King and signed by upwards of six hundred of the most in¬ fluential persons in the realm. The 25 th of February, 1848, arrived, and with it the emancipation, so ardently desired, so long withheld accorded by Charles Albert, who granted the Waldenses an equality of civil rights with his other subjects, and free toleration in religious matters. c) The missionary spirit of the Waldensian Church. It might be imagined that the struggling church had enough to do to provide for her own spiritual wants, but no, we we find her from the earliest period laying aside a part of her scanty means to minister to the more 9 urgent necessities of others. We find her sending forth her wisest and most hopeful men on missions although aware that danger and death tracked their steps. Her pastors went like the first disciples, two by two. The extension of their mission field was great, from Germany to a part of France, Switzerland to the south of Italy. They used to go as travelling pedlars from place to place. Here is a description of their way of doing by the in¬ quisitor Reinerus Sacco. «They offer for sale to people of quality, ornamental articles, such as rings and veils. After a purchase has been made, if the pedlar is asked « Have you anything else to sell? » he answers: «I have jewels more precious than these things. I would make you a present of them, if you would promise not to betray me to the clergy». Having been assured on this point he says: «I have a pearl so brillant that a man by it may learn to know God; I have another so splendid that it kindles the love of God in the heart of him who possesses it, and so forth ». The Christian literature owes an interesting version of this incident to the pen of the well known American poet Whittier who went to his rest some years ago. THE VAUDOIS TEACHER. « 0 Lady fair, these silks of mine Are beautiful and rare; The richest web of the Indian loom, Which beauty’s self might wear. And these pearls are pure as thine own fair neck, With whose radiant light they vie; I have brought them with me a weary way: Will my gentle Lady buy? » 10 And the Lady smiled on the worn old man, Through the dark and clustering curls That veiled her brow, as she bent to scan His silk and glittering pearls; And she placed their price in the old man’s hand, And lightly turned away; But she paused at the wanderer’s earnest call, « My gentle Lady, stay' « 0 Lady fair, I have yet a gem Which purer lustre flings Than the diamond’s hash of the jewelled crown On the lofty brow of kings; A wonderful pearl of exceeding price, Whose virtue shall not decay; Whose light shall be as a spell to thee, And a blessing on thy walk! » The Lady glanced at the mirroring steel Where her youthful form was seen ; Where her eves shone clear and her dark locks waved t j Their clasping pearls between : « Bring forth thy pearl of exceeding worth, Thou traveller grey and old ; Then name the price of thy precious gem, And my pages shall count thy gold. » The cloud went off from the pilgrim’s brow, As a small and meagre book, Unchased with gold or diamond gem, From his folding robe he took; « Here, Lady fair, is the pearl of price; May it prove as such to thee — Nay, keep thy gold, I ask it not, For the word of God is free . » 11 The hoary traveller went his wa}^; But the gift be left behind Hath had its pure and perfect work On that high-born maidens’s mind. And she hath turned from the pride of sin* To the lowliness of truth, And given her contrite heart to God In the beautiful hour of youth. » And she has left the grey old halls, Where an evil faith had power, The courtly knights of her father’s Train, and the maidens of her bower And she has gone to the Vaudois Vales by lordly feet untrod, Where the poor and needy of earth Are rich in the perfect love of God ! 12 II. The work of Evangelization of the Waldensian Church What use have the Waldenses made of the freedom which was granted by their King Charles Albert in 1848 ^and which put in their power to extend their influ¬ ence and action beyond their own valleys. To what ex- tent has the previously suffering church, with all beau¬ tiful Italy before it, become a working church? What congregations has it formed? what schools has it foun¬ ded down in the far stretching peninsula? What have this people done in the interval to justify the testimony of their present King Humbert that they have been im¬ portant agents in promoting intelligence and morality among his subjets. The remainder of this short sketch will be consecrated in answering such interesting ques¬ tions. A word or two only about the strength of the church in the Vallejos proper, then the information will run about the large mission field. In the Valleys there are at present 17 pastors, 15 parishes, 14248 members, 3290 children in the Sunday schools. Against those figures, outside the Valleys and scattered all over Italy, that is to say over a country with more than 30,000,000 of inhabitants, the Waldenses have 44 churches ministered to .and superintended by 43 pastors, these pastors having in ) 3 some instances more than one congregation entrusted to their care. Kindred to these, there are also 47 stations with 47 evangelists and 8 teacher evangelists, the likelyhood being that when these stations have reached a requisite measure of numerical strenghtand their constancy has been tried they shall be organised into churches with all their privileges and responsabilities. The number of commu¬ nicants or members in full communion is 5018. This does not include occasional hearers nor the children who have not as yet sought a closer fellowship with the church though they are under its systematic tuition and vigilant oversight. The number of catechumens or applicants for full membership is 739. The Waldenses during their long history of centuries, and while commonly restricted within their own val¬ leys, uniformly showed a warm and enlightened interest in the education of their children. The teacher might almost to be said to have held an official position in the church, standing in honour and influence next to the pastor himself and they have carried with them this traditional custom in their evangelistic work in Italy to such an extent as to draw down the commendation of the press and the public authorities. Already they num¬ ber 29 day schools with 54 teachers and 2397 scholars. There are also 12 evening schools for adults and spe¬ cially for working men whose education has been insuf¬ ficient or utterly neglected in their boyhood. In these most useful schools, we find 368 scholars. The Sunday schools send their irrigating streams into many an Ita¬ lian home and even hovel, and reach many children whose parents could not be even approached by the evangelist. There are 61 Sunday schools with 3119 chil¬ dren who receive regular weekly instruction in religion 14 from a good number of voluntary teachers, in which also the pastor, as well as the teacher, usually takes a part. There are also 8 colporteurs and 6 Bible readers wor¬ king to their own special mode of Christian usefulness outside their old mountain limits and labouring not in vain, sowing the seeds which will be brought back one day in golden sheaves. Before we ask our reader to accompany us on a mis¬ sionary tour from the North to the South of the Peninsula in order to have an idea of the importance of the work accomplished by the Waldensian Church, let us say a word about her finance. — At a glance one can see that it is impossible to cultivate such a large field without considerable expense, varying from Ls. 10 to 12,000 a year. The greatest part of this sum is generously pro¬ vided by the friends of Europe and the United States. But even these new born churches or stations of yes¬ terday are very far from being entirely dependent on foreign aid. 5018 members contributed in one year Ls. 3029,10 s. and let it be observed that trade is far from satisfactory in Italy. The waldenses are ready to go down in the pit, let their friends hold the rope. We begin now our missionary tour and as we have no much time at our disposal we are obliged to leave aside the small localities in order to give more time to the large towns. We leave by train Torre Pellice the head quarters of the waldensian people, and in half an hour we arrive at Pinerolo. Situated on the confines of the Valleys, its fortress harboured their invaders, thousands of in¬ nocent captives perished in its dungeons, and its monas- 15 teries were the receptacle of their abducted children. We cast a glance at its spacious temple erected by some generous American friends and we hasten on to Turin (Pastor G. Tron, 15 Via Pio V) where we can admire in one of the principal thoroughfares the first church raised by the waldenses outside their own Valleys. It looks beautiful, does it not? While the building of it was going on a Clergyman of the English church who was there in 1852, in his delight and enthusiasm, mounted the scaffolding, trowel in hand, that he might have his share in the joyful work, fin¬ ding on the highest part of the scaffolding, in spite of his lameness, the indefatigable General Beckwith, by whose efforts and generosity the church was opened December 15, 1853. what a day for the poor persecu¬ ted church, to preach by her ministers the Gospel in the very capital of the dukes of Savoy now kings of United Italy! If we had leisure to remain in Turin over a Sunday we could in the morning worship in the French language with a large congregation of influen¬ tial people and in Italian in the afternoon and evening with a still larger gathering, but train and tide wait for no man, away we go without forgetting that from Tu¬ rin it would have been so easy to make a trip in the country, in order to salute our brethren of Coazze , Susa , Courmayeur , La-Salle , Aosta , Champ de Praz , Ierea , Val di Brosso, Cuorgne , Torrazza , Verrua , Biella , Piedicavallo , Casale, Pietramarazzi , Cuneo , Demonte , Tenda , Savigliano , ecc., ecc. From Turin to Milan the distance is not great, three hours of railway travelling or so. In the ancient capital of Lombardy, for about 18 years, our congregation was obliged to meet in a dark and close place for worship 16 and notwithstanding that hindrance from 1867 to 1877 the number of communicants rose from 80 to 135 and they are now 349. Our Committee was able to purchase from the muni¬ cipality the church of « San Giovanni in Conca », si¬ tuated in a fine street, only a few minutes’ walk from the magnificent cathedral, and now signor Paolo Longo, (15 Corso Porta INnova), the present minister, is able to report that there is no other church who gathers such large audiences as the Waldensian Church does all the year round, lent time excepted when the Roman catho¬ lics are particulary zealous. — A tourist does not fail to pay a visit to the Italian lakes, Maggiore, Varese and Como. On the shores of the last named lies the town of Como. We do not stop to admire its far famed silk ma¬ nufactures, but to listen to the information which our pastor, (signor E. Rivoir, 8 Via Garibaldi) is able to give about his work. The great wish of our brethren is that thev would like to build a church in order to give a fresh impulse to the evangelization of the people. Clim¬ bing up a mountain brings us to San Fedele, where there is a small congregation, then we go to Lugano and Arogno where the roman catholics would like to use their arguments ad hominen on our pastor, if the Swiss government dit not teach them that we do not live any more in the middle ages. From Lugano by a roundabout journey we go on to Brescia specially dear to the w a hlenses as the native city of Arnaldo da Brescia, who as early as 1130*1150 dared to preach there and at Rome that the church ought to be a spiritual institution supported by its mem¬ bers, that its rule ought to be the Bible. He was burned by order of Pope Adrian the fourth, in 1155. Ten years 17 ago, we had a thriving church there, but owing chiefly to the unfortunate place of worship little by little it de¬ cayed; now we have rented from the municipality a «nico old abandoned Romish church ». We have, writes the pastor Dott. Gay (8, Borghetto San Lazzaro) to the « Voice from Italy » a congregation of between 150 and 200 hearers, of whom 60 are communicants and the others are catechumens, friends or regular attendants at worship. We have a Sunday school, numbering 24 pupils, divided into three classes which are taught by three distinguished ladies. In Brescia are manufactured good weapons to destroy the bodies of men, but our mi¬ nister brandishes the sword of the Spirit for the salva¬ tion of the soul. We mention by the way Eclolo, Castiglione delle Sti- viere and Guidizzolo, only six miles apart, we hail Mantova, the new station of Revere, a most refreshing oasis in the surrounding bigotry and superstition, sleeping Guastalla, and we enter the walled city of Verona where a Roman oratory has been purchased for the use of the congregation. As Verona is one of the strongholds of Italy there is a numerous garrison and often the soldiers find their way to our place of worship. From Verona we proceed to Venice (Pastors B. Revel and P. Ghauvie, Palazzo Cavagnis) once the Queen of the sea, the birth¬ place of Fra Paolo Sarpi, the greatest of the Venitians, as he has been called by his latest biographer. Our congregation, composed of good devoted people, ever ready to testify to their faith, meets in a large and com¬ modious palace near the church of Santa Maria Formosa; our two ministers, besides their work in the town, are constantly making missionary tours to Treviso, Pede- rotiba, Poffabro , Andreis , Tramonti di sopra, Udine , 2 18 where the meetings are held in private houses, and where there are some staunch confessors of the faith who stand fast, notwithstanding the fierce persecutions to which they are exposed. Now we start for Tuscany and begin our tour by visiting Florence , (pastor G. Luzzi, 51 Via dei Serragli and P. Geymonat D. D. id. id.) a city which had for a short time the honour of being the capital of Italy. Florence is the central station in the Italian Kingdom, as the Theological College with its three professors and the printing press for books and religious periodicals are there. There too are to be found two congregations con¬ nected with the Waldensian church, they have between the two over 500 members. The sufferings of Francesco and Rosa Madiai, the emprisonment of Pastor Geymonat and Count Guicciardini have not been in vain. The Floren¬ tines were in modern times the first to suffer for conscience sake, the Florentine church is also the first for its member¬ ship. From Florence to Lucca , (pastor G. Rodio, via Galli Tassi 181), the distance is not great, but what a difference between the two as regards religion! Lucca is second to none of the Italian cities for superstition. For centuries she has boasted of possessing the «volto santo », the countenance of our Lord carved in wood by Saint Joseph! Why does not Lucca boast of being the birthplace of Pietro Martire Vermigli and of Giovanni Diodati the author of one of the best translations of the Bible! We salute the few brethren of Barga and in one hour the train brings us to Pisa. (Pastor S. Revel, via del Museo 9). which had as one of its earliest evangelists Doctor Prochet, now of Rome. The work seems somewhat hindered by the distance of the church from the centre of the town, but there are prosperous schools with 164 19 pupils and they would be more numerous still if we had •accomodation for all the applicants. We visit the Leaning Tower, the Battistero and the Duomo and we start for Livorno. Doctor Stewart, for a long time minister of the Free Church of Scotland, the great benefactor of the Waldenses, with General Beckwith, Canon Gilly of Durham, Doctor Guthrie, D. r Robertson of Grey Friars, is no more, but M ra Stewart is still living and as ready as ever to take a lively interest in our schools which are largely attended. Signor Quattrini (2, Via Calzabigi) ministers there to a congregation of 146 members in full communion. While we pass near the harbour and see the steamers getting ready to start on their journey, we cannot help thinking that it would be a pleasure for a Christian traveller to go to visit the Island of Sardinia, where we have some brothers in the faith at Iglesias , Sassari , Isola Maddalena or to go to the Island of Elba , the residence of Napoleon the First for u hundred days. We could see then Rio Marina with its prosperous congregation and its schools, the most numerous of Tuscany, and pay a visit to Portoferraio where the Italian government has a large penitentiary and the Waldensian church a small station where that Gospel is preached which, if followed, would make all the penitentiaries of the Kingdom useless. But instead of a sea voyage, we have before us a long journey by land through the Campagna. Like the apostle Paul we want to see Rome. A Waldensiam Church in Rome, the Rome of the Popes! How wonderful! Truly God has done great things whereof our hearts are glad! When the visitor who goes down Via Nazionale, one of the principal thoroughfares of the eternal city, reaches the number 107, he sees standing before his eyes a beautiful 20 building, property of the Waldensian Church. On the ground floor there is the temple usually crowded every Sunday morning with worshippers belonging to the various classes of society and a small chapel for the week day services. On the third storey there is the apartment of the Presi¬ dent of the Committee of Evangelization, Doctor Prochet who, when in Rome, (often he may be seen in London or New York as well), besides his multiferious occupa¬ tions, preaches every Sunday morning, while he is as¬ sisted for the evening services by a younger colleague. The church is prospering and does not forget its high position as the church of the capital. We have besides Rome Orhetello and Civitavecchia , in the old Roman pro¬ vinces, some struggling stations at Ancona , Poggio Mirteto and Grosseto. But how hard is the soil there ! Macchiavelli was right when he wrote: «The nearer to Rome the further from the faith». We leave Rome and go to Naples. In a building a few steps from Via Toledo, the principal street, we have the church, the schools and the parsonage. We translate a few sentences from Signor Pons’ (Chiesa Valdese a San Tommaso)- report to have a peep at his work in beautiful Parthe- nope. «If to be present at the religious services, to draw near the Lord’s table, and to live correctly are the tokens of religious life, we possess it. The number of communicants is 220, the week-day schools and the Sunday schools by their cheering number of children are our purest spiritual joy». On our way to Sicily, the last of the five districts into which Italy has been divided, we pass by many churches and stations, some under the guidance of a pastor or of an evangelist, while others are more or less regularly visited. We simply give the names of some- 21 of them: Fragneto-VAbate, Castelvenere, San Barto¬ lomeo in Galdo, Schiavi , Villa-Canale, ecc. Brindisi , the starting point of the Indian mail on its way to London, Corato in a wine growing country, Taranto , famous for its shell-fish and oysters, Rocca Imperiale, where our agent, besides his ministerial duties, was for some years the mayor or «sindaco» of the place, Reggio di Calabria the capital of a large province. Reggio is well known to the reader of the Acts of the Apostles as the harbour where St. Paul stopped for a day on his way to Rome, Gallico a village of 4,000 inhabitants, where we have lately got a footing. The review of our work in the Peninsula is finished, we cross the Straits of Messina and in twenty minutes we reach the shores of Sicily, the pearl of the Mediterranean Sea. We will now accompany Signor Prochet in one of his missionary tours and give some extracts of a very in¬ teresting pamphlet which he published in the French language some years ago. How beautiful does Messina (Pastor D. Buffa,, 546 Via Garibaldi) look, seen from the sea with her «marina» bordered by a long row of palaces, and her harbour, one of the largest and surest of the Mediterranean. But our great attractions there are not the natural beauties of the town, nor its large and prosperous trade of oranges, lemons or mandarines, we do not speak of its history nor of how much Messina suffered in 1848 at the Bourbons’ hands, so much so as to be partial^ burnt down and to be called the Mis- solungi of Italy, The interesting thing for us is the Waldensian church of Monte di Pieta in the very centre of the town. It was an old Romish church which had been for some time made use of as a timber depot. A particularity of this congregation is that it is not 22 formed of the lower classes only, but is, as it were, a collection of representatives of the different classes of so¬ ciety. There are 155 communicants,and their contributions for different purposes are about one hundred and thirty pounds a year. Our friend Giovanni Fazio who has suffered much for his faith in his native Barcellona has come alt the way to see us, so we are at liberty to take the train for Catania . Travellers say that the railway line between Messina and Catania is the finest in the world ; all along it is bordered by cactus, rose bushes and geraniums as- tall as trees. Midway we see Taoy'mina perched like an eagle upon a rock, its scenery vies with the finest of the whole earth; we pass without stopping through Giarre Riposto■ and hci Reale which share with Lucca in Tuscany the sad privilege of being the most bigoted places in the kingdom. Our train now steams between two walls of hard lava, affording us a sufficient proof that Catania (Pastor L. Rostagno, 14, Strada Naumachia) situated at the foot of the Etna, is not far off. Signor Bellecci, an ex-priest, has long iaboured there, and he has seen, spring¬ ing up in the city of « Santa Agata » a good congrega¬ tion with a day school and a Sunday school. A neat little church with a parsonage has been lately built there by our Committee. We leave Catania, salute the brethren of Sta. Maria di Licodia and we proceed on our journey.. Syracuse (Pastor B. Lissolo) which will now attract our attention is no longer the rich and populous Syra¬ cuse of the Greek and Roman domination. In its heyday it had at least 500,000 inhabitants, now the population has dwindled down to 25,000. Syracuse has been the birthplace of a galaxy of great- men, suffice it to name Archimedes. This town has 23 given hospitality toAeschyles, Pindar and Simonides, mil¬ lions of ships from the time of Syracuse’s origin (538 B. G.) have cast anchor in its splendid harbour, but the most interesting for us is the ship «whose sign was Castor and Pollux », with the apostle Paul on board. After an interruption of some years, we have tried again to evan¬ gelize the people and for more than two years the services have been held in the minister’s house. If from the dawn one may argue what kind of day it will be, the prospects are rejoicing. In the same province the minister visits the stations, of Noto, Floridia and Modica. We leave him engaged in his labour of love and we go to Vittoria . The liberalism of the inhabitants is well known, they give their approval to the Gospel, but to approve is not to follow. In our Sicilian tour, starting from Messina we have followed till now the sea-coast, now we go to Riesi in the very centre of the Island. The journey thither is by no means an easy one, we have to cross swollen torrents without bridges, climb hills and mountains, travel where there are no roads; but the drawbacks of the fatiguing journey are more than compensated by the warm reception which we receive from our evangelist Signor Ronzone, once a colonel in the American army, now a soldier of Christ. Riesi is called in Sicily the protectant Riesi and in fact a large proportion of the people leans towards the evangelical church. There are 267 children in our day schools, 250 in the Sunday school and 56 in the evening school. Aidone has been opened to the Gospel for two years. Caltanisetta , capital of the province of the same name, has a little company of believers called together by a royal engineer, who has now left the place, but the 24 influence remains notwithstanding the strongest opposi¬ tion from the clerical party. Grotte, in the midst of a mining district, has a church with 40 members. Girgenti, the old Acragas or Agri- gentum, is finally a station of evangelization. Our mi¬ nister Signor Golia has had a hard fight with the priests and with the people. We leave now the south side of the Island and we go on to the northern coast. Trabia has a flourishing school, for the parents are delighted that their children should learn, though they do not care for the Gospel themselves. We have now to speak about the last, though not the least, of our churches in Sicily, the church of Palermo. Palermo is in a lovely situation called the «Conca d’oro» or «the Golden Shell». There a converted priest, who had studied at the Theological College of Florence now prea¬ ches the faith which he once opposed. The church is on the ground floor of a large unfinished palace in Via Macqueda. The membership is 110 and 87 children attend the Sunday school. Our congregation in this large town, one of the largest of the Italian kingdom, has passed through a severe ordeal, but we have not the shadow of a doubt that under Signor Muston’s care, (Via Espo- sizione, Casa Civiletti) it will go on progressing as it does presently. We name Trapani , only 95 Kil. from Palermo as the crow flies but 195 kil. by railway and our Sicilian tour is finished. It remains now only to say something about a part of our work, that is to say about Genova and some other towns. We have only to go on board of one of the large steamers which are plying two or three times a 25 week between Palermo and Genova. After three days na¬ vigation we go from the shores of Sicily to Genova (Pastor Signor G. D. Turino, 2, Via Curtatone) the proud, the city of palaces, the birthplace of Cristoforo Colombo. From the year 1852 a good work is going on there. As from the beginning the hired room in which the meetings were held was too small for the enquiring throng, efforts were made to provide means to build a temple which was erected in Via Assarotti and is made use of by the Lutheran and the Waldensian congregations, the one on the ground floor, the other in the hall above. If from Genova we went Eastward we would see the stations of Chiavari and Favale but our way is West¬ ward. There is an ever growing congregation in San Pier d' Arena, a town of 40,000 inhabitants, close to Genova. Good schools with 110 children in all are to be found in San Remo, (Pastor G. Petrai, 30 Via Vittorio Emanuele) a favourite winter resort. An orphanage in hordighera (Pastor A. B. Tron, villa Violetta) established by M. rs Boyce is doing a work among destitute boys who but for this w^ould have remained without education. At Ventimiglia we cross the frontier which divides France from Italy and along the Corniche, well known to tou¬ rists, we go to Nice (Pastor A. Malan, 50 Rue Gioffredo). Nice became a French town in 1860, but a Waldensian Church flourishes there and during the last year the church subscribed a sum of over six hundred pounds. The atten¬ dance at worship is from 400 to 500 during winter time and from 120 to 150 in summer and there are 156 children in the Sunday school. « What is it that you leave the •/ •/ most unwillingly in Nice, asked the superintendant of the Sunday school to a girl ten years old who was going 26 away. «The Sunday school and the flowers» answered the little girl. Our work is done, we beg to be excused for its manifest imperfection. We have shown to the best of our power what the Waldensian Church is doing in Italy, we did not speak of the work which other sister churches accomplish because such was not our purpose. But let it be well understood that great is the sympa¬ thy, which we have for the Free Italian Church, the Wesleyan Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Baptist Churches, in a word, for all the agencies which in Italy work and pray in order that the Kingdom of God may be established and the devil’s power destroyed. We have passed also in silence the new opening at Rosario, South America, where there is a flourishing colony lately visited by our untiring president. While we take leave of our reader we beseech him to pray for our great work and to help us according to his means. For this short sketch on the History of the Waldenses, we are greatly indebted to Doctor Thomson’s letters written in connection with the Bicentenary commemo¬ ration, and to the Rev. D. K. Guthrie’s lecture on the Waldenses. The American reader who would desire to know more of the history of theWaldenses might apply to the Publication Society of the Presbyterian Church, Chestnut Street, Phi¬ ladelphia, for a volume on the history of the Waldenses. At the beginning of this pamphlet the reader has already found a map of Italy upon which are marked the churches and the stations in the mission field and at the end he will find a statistical and a financial table. W. Dulles Esq. 53, 5 th Avenue, New-York, will receive 27 and forward regular subscriptions and donations in favour of the work. The friends who would for any reason send the money directly to Italy, may do it by a cheque on any American bank, endorsed to Mess. rs Nast-Kolb and Schu¬ macher, bankers, 9 Via della Mercede, Rome, or to the President of the Waldensian Board Committee, Comm. Matteo Prochet, D. D. 107, Via Nazionale, Rome. {-- 3 23 GENERAL STATIS Workers At Public Worship. DISTRICTS Pastors Evangelists Schoolmaster Evangelists Schoolmasters Colporteurs Bible readers TOTAL Regular Attendants Occasional Attendants Piedmont-Liguria 14 Churches 12 Stations 14 — 5 14 2 — 35 2415 14378 Lombardo-Venetia 10 Churches 11 Stations 10 - 1 1 3 15 1212 13660 Tuscany 6 Churches 6 Stations o " 14 19 880 4606 Rome-Naples 6 Churches 6 Stations 8 4 9 3 2 26 1348 10550 Sicily 8 Churches 12 Stations 6 2 9 16 3 1 30 1258 12000 Total Churches 44 Stations 47 \ 43 6 8 54 8 6 125 7113 55194 29 TICAL TABLE Scholars Communicants Losses Admissions Catechumens 1894-95 >» o3 Q Sunday Evening Contributions from the Mission Churches for a] purposes, 1688 128 147 230 494 783 57 Doll. 5542 72 938 60 90 77 25 269 24 3301 73 918 71 86 106 703 641 83 • 1977 55 736 50 98 163 359 543 21 2519 57 738 54 89 163 816 883 213 1805 92 5018 363 510 739 2397 3119 368 15147 49 30 GENERAL FINAN RECEIPTS America Contributions Doll. 11413 28 Austria do » 85 15 Denmark do » 185 82 France do » 104 18 Germany do » 8028 81 England do 14928 24 Ireland do » 817 61 Italy do » 11181 47 Holland do » 278 87 Russia do » 25 25 Scotland do » 18722 68 Sweden do » 970 47 Switzerland do » 7815 8 TOTAL » 74536 91 Rome, the 12th of July i894. 31 CIAL STATEMENT EXPENSES Deficit Doll. 13707 37 Salaries » 41659 59 Travelling expenses for evangelistic purposes » 2701 27 Travelling expenses for collecting purposes » 1952 17 Removals » 523 94 Rent, repairs, taxes ecc. » 3986 73 School expenses, Subsidies » 956 79 Printing, Books, Office expenses » 2092 40 Palermo and Piedicavallo » 1748 2 Repayments to the Table » 1407 92 Donations for special objects » 500 53 Interest « 928 38 Due by the Bankers » 2371 80 TOTAL » 74536 91 ■ r . ■ •" - ■ ■ *"• ' ‘ Subscriptions and Donations (during the year 1893-94) n<3\<5'v!5\5 v (Extract from the Annual Report of the Commission of Evangelization.) 1st Presb. Church, Ashville — N. c. L.it. 120 50 M rs Elliott F. Shepard, N. Y., for a day. Doll. 125 » 682 80 Mrs wm Jay Schieffelin N. Y. » » 125 » 682 80 Mrs M c Cormick, Chicago » 200 » 1174 Mrs Borden » for a day » 125 » 733 75 Emile Rudert Esq. » . » 25 » 146 75 Miss Williams » » 20 » 117 40 Hubbard Esq. » . » 20 » 117 40 Miss E. Skinner » » 20 » 117 40 Miss F. Skinner » . » 20 » 117 40 M rs Blackstone » » 10 » 58 70 Coldenbach Esq. » . » 2 » 11 74 3 d Presb. Church » . » 21 85 » 128 25 6th Presb. Church » » 9 » 52 83 Italian Church » . » 32 50 » 190 77 Congregational Church, Evanston . » 15 50 » 90 99 M rs S. Reid, Lake- -Forest » 35 » 205 45 3 34 Miss C. L. Gostenhofer, N. Y. . Doll. 148 69 L.it. 868 95 University Place Church,N.Y.,one Sunday » 114 75 » 664 64 4 th Fresh. Church, Chicago » » 135 » 775 35 Kenwood Evang. Church » • » 23 96 » 141 60 M rs Mather, Cleveland » 300 » 1774 03 R. F. Smith Esq. » • » 50 » 295 50 Stone Presb. Church S. S. Cleveland » 50 » 295 50 Miss Ann Walworth » » 25 » 147 75 M rs J. L, Ozanne » » 25 » 147 75 E. C. Highbee Esq. » » 25 » 147 75 P. M. Hitchcock Esq. » » 25 » 147 75 M r and M rs A. P. Fenn » » 25 » 147 75 Miss Sarah Walworth » » 10 » 59 10 G. H. Ely Esq. » » 10 » 59 10 M rs A. Stone » » 10 » 59 10 M. rs L. C. Austin » » 5 » 29 55 Rev. D.r Hayden » » ET o » 29 55 T. P. Handy Esq. » » 5 » 29 55 E. R. Perkins Esq. » » 5 » 29 55 J. A. Robinson Esq. » » 5 » 29 55 W m P. Stanton Esq. » » 5 » 29 55 W m P. Johnson Esq. » » 5 » 29 55 S. L. Severance Esq. » » 5 » 29 55 Friends in D.r Hayden’s Church » » 3 30 » 19 50 Friends in D.r Ladd’s Church » » 9 35 » 55 25 Friends in D.r Pomeroy’s Church » » 7 50 » 44 32 Friends in Rev. Waugh’s Church » » 9 36 » 55 31 Friends in Rev. Kepp’s Church » » 4 » 23 64 W m E. Dodge Esq. New-York, donation » 500 » 2861 60 M rs W. E. Dodge » for a day » 125 » 715 40 John Sinclair Esq. » • » 100 » 572 20 Friends in D.r Thompson’s Ch. N. Y. » 13 » 74 36 Erie Seminary, Painesville, 0. • » 10 » 57 20 M mo della Motta, New-York • » 1 » 5 72 B. Blakeman Esq. » • » 25 » 142 50 Mrs w. D. Sloane » • » 500 » 2887 87 35 M rs Elliot F. Shepard » donation Doll. 500 L.it. 2887 87 Francis P. Freeman Esq , Lakewood » 50 » 288 50 M”s F. P. Freeman » » 25 » 144 25 S. A. Davis Esq. » » 25 » 144 25 Geo. Taylor Esq. New-York » 50 » 288 50 G. A. Strong Esq. » » 25 » 144 25 Madison Ave. Ref. Church » one Sunday » 127 22 » 734 06 H. P. Crowell Esq. » » to » 57 70 A. Friend » » 10 » 57 70 J. C. Havemeyer Esq., Yonkers » K o >> 28 85 Rev. D.r Dashiel, Lakewood . » 2 » 11 54 M rs Deforest » » 1 » 5 77 Collec. in Rev. John Boyd’s Ch. Char¬ lotte .N. C. » 50 » 293 Some Ladies of Charlotte . N. C. » 15 » 87 90 Collect, in D 1 ' Rumple’s Ch., Salisbury N. C. » 30 » 175 80 Mr. Wiley and Son, Salisbury N. A. » 0 » 35 16 The Misses Childs, Washington » 10 » 58 60 Friends per Rev. D r Sunderland, Washington. » 1 50 » 8 79 Colonia Yaldese, Yaldese, N. C. » 20 » 117 20 Sig. Leger e sorella » N. C. » 0 50 » 2 93 M rs Mary B. Wheeler, New-York . » 100 » 586 Miss Wheeler » » 50 » 293 Rev. Stuart Dodge, New-York for a day, 1893 » 125 » 733 47 » » » for a day, 1894 » 125 » 733 47 H. B. Barnes Esq. » » 50 » 293 Mrs Dorman » » 25 » 146 50 Morris K. Jesup Esq. » » 25 » 146 50 4th Presb.S. S. per Mr. Blume, New-York » 25 » 146 50 Friends per Mr. Blume, » » 50 » 293 M rs Schieffelin. » 25 » 146 50 Miss Rachel L. Kennedy . » 100 » 586 M rs Jane A. Wallace » 50 » 293 36 A. J. Miller Esq., Chicago . Doll. 10 L.it. 58 60 S. S. New-York Ave: Presb. Ch., Washington .... • » 30 » 175 80 D. R. Holt Esq., Lake-Forest . • » 50 » 294 50 D.r Mason, Brooklyn • » 50 » 294 50 Rev. D.r Mackay-Smith, Washington » 30 » 176 70 Andrew F. Derr, Esq. Wilkesbarre, Pa. » 50 » 294 50 Friends in D.r Spooner’s Ch. Camden » 22 » 129 58 Miss Maud Shillingsburg • » 10 » 58 90 Friends in Wellingford per M rs Spear » 25 » 147 25 Collect, in D.r Baker’s Church, Philad. a » 30 25 178 17 » >> Wilson’s Church » » 41 05 » 241 78 » » M c Cook’s Church » » 157 36 » 928 85 » » Graham’s Church » » 46 26 » 272 47 » » Munro’s Church » » 61 » 359 29 » » Hoyt’s Church » » 55 92 » 329 37 » » Dickson’s Church » » 112 75 » 664 52 Mrs Knight and Sister » » 15 » 88 35 M^ h. H. Reed » » 50 » 294 50 Robert C. Oyden Esq. » » 50 » 294 50 M rs a. A. Burt Philad. » » 100 » 589 The Misses Adjer » » » 50 » 294 50 Mrs Dickson » » » 10 » 58 90 The Misses Otto » » » 40 » 235 60 Mrs Sinclair, Philad., for a day » 125 » 737 25 N. N. » » 2 » 11 78 Rev. D.r Matlack » » 5 » 29 45 D.r Moorehead » » o » 29 45 Mrs Courly and Miss Wentz » » 20 > 117 80 J. C. Converse Esq. » » 25 » 147 25 Miss Henrietta Baker, New-York » 10 » 58 90 A Friend to the religious cause, Philad » 5 » 29 45 D.r and Mrs w. E. Schenck » » 100 » 585 62 Miss Schott » » 50 » 292 50 Collect, in Wylie Memorial Church » » 89 28 » 522 28 37 » . » »foraday» » » » » » » » » » » » » West Pruce Presb. Ch., Philad., one Sunday.Doll. Collect, in Presb. Church, Newville » Collect, in Presb. Church, Carlisle . » Collect, in Presb. Church, Chambersburg » 1st Presb. Church (D r Kuraler’s)Pittsburg » 1 st u. Presb. Church (D r Reid) » . » Calvin Wells Esq. Mrs Wiii.m Thaw J. J. Buchanan Esq. J. P. Hanna Esq. W. ra R. Thompson Esq. Charles Lockart Esq. V. M. Tommaso Ribetti Esq. Miss Arbuckler Allegheny, for a day » M rs Jamison » » » 4 th u. Presb. Church » . . » » » S. S. » . . » Felix E. Brunot Esq. » . . » Miss M. W. Denny . » . . » James M c Cutcheon Esq. » . . » 1 st Presb. Church » . . » Miss Scott » . . » M rs Sunderland, Washington . . » Miss Me Bride » . . » Rev. D.r Wallace, Sewickley-Walley » Miss Sallie M c Dowell, Xenia . . » 2 d U. Presb. Church » . . » 1st and 3 d Church » . . » Rev. D.r Th. Converse, Louisville. Ky. » Friends in D. r Hemphill’s Church, Louisville.» 1 st Presb. Church, New-Orleans » Prytania Presb. Church » » M rs Richardson » » 125 L.it. 727 92 39 60 » 230 47 30 » 174 60 48 35 » 281 41 46 15 » 268 39 140 95 » 818 01 100 » 580 125 » 726 50 » 290 50 » 290 50 290 20 » 116 11 » 63 80 10 » 58 125 » 726 125 » 726 31 » 179 25 » 145 50 » 290 20 » 116 10 » 58 10 70 » 62 06 5 » 29 5 » 29 5 » 29 10 » 58 125 » 726 36 » 208 80 13 60 » 79 10 » 56 90 10 » 56 90 200 » 1138 26 » 147 94 10 » 56 90 A’l; O' 38 Pass Christian Presb. Ch. » Doll. 6 25 L.it. 35 56 Mrs \V m Clark, Newark for a day » 150 » 853 50 M rs Drees, Xenia . ... » 1 » 5 69 A Friend, Shippensburg » 1 » 5 69 A Friend, Harrisburg » 0 50 » 2 85 Honor. John Wanamaker, Philad., for a day. » 125 » 711 65 J. D. Jefferis Esq. Philad. » 75 » 426 75 Eugene Delano Esq. » » 100 » 569 D.r Fox’s Church, Brooklyn » 12 » 68 28 American Bible Society » 500 » 2850 Mi’s yym j ay Shieffelin, N. York, for a day (94-95). » 125 » 711 25 1 st Presb. Church, Scranton Pa. » 65 » 371 15 A. G. Agnew Esq. New-York . » 50 » 285 50 F. B. Schieffelin Esq. » » 20 » 114 20 Miss E. de Graff-Cuyler » » 25 » 142 75 M rs James Talcott » » 25 » 142 75 John Aitken Esq. » » 200 » 1142 M rs Robert Marshall » for a day » 125 » 714 85 Chiesa Valdese di Monett. Mo. » 10 » 56 20 Miss Mohaham, New-York for a day » 125 » 702 50 Highland Presb. Church, Louisville » — » 28 25 Collected by Rev.Th. Fenwick, Ontario, Canada: W. P. Telfer .... » 0 50 A. Friend .... » 0 25 H. Langlois .... » 0 50 Chancellor Boyd » 2 85 St. Andrew’s C1 l, Vaughan . » 8 » 70 70 Total L.it. 57066 41