there is a real call for the preaching of the gospel
in a given country. That question can be answered only by a candid
consideration of the facts in the case and not by the bigoted notion
that all who do not agree with us are to be driven from the face of the
earth.

What is the religious status of Brazil? Is there any call for
Protestant effort? I answer after giving serious study to this
question, and after personal observation of the effects of the
religious practices upon the people, that there is the same imperative
call for missionary effort in Brazil that comes from China or any other
heathen country, viz., the gospel is not preached to the people.

The priests hold services, to be sure, in the churches, but there are
many churches in Brazil in which there has been no pretense of
preaching a sermon within five years. The priests do not preach. They
say mass, read prayers and sing songs in Latin, a language which is not
understood by the people. Occasionally, a Catholic fraternity will
invite a special orator to preach a sermon upon some great feast day.
This visiting brother does not preach. His theme upon such an occasion
would either be a discussion of the special saint whose day is being
celebrated, or he would speak upon some civic question which had more
or less to do with the moral or political life of the people. In the
interior these special occasions occur only once every two to five
years, so that even this semblance of a sermon comes rarely. In the
cities these special addresses are made on one saint's day each year or
on some special anniversary, or when some dignitary is making a visit.
Usually this dignitary will say a mass and not preach. When one of
these special days occurs the preaching is not heard very extensively
for the reason that the noise and commotion about the stalls for
gambling, drinking and other attractions is sufficient to drown the
voice of the speaker. These side-show attractions fill all available
space about the building, giving it the appearance of a circus more
than anything else. They are run by individuals who pay a tax to the
church for the privilege. The preaching is not the feature of the day,
the chief object seeming to be to furnish amusement for the people and
money for the church. It cannot be said that on such days the gospel
can possibly be preached successfully.

Occasionally there is held in the church what is called a special
mission. This is conducted by vi