he time of my sojourn at Evora I repeated my visit every day, and
remained there about the same time, and by following this plan I believe
that I spoke to near two hundred of the children of Portugal upon matters
connected with their eternal welfare. Of those whom I addressed I found
very few had received any species of literary education; none of them had
seen the Bible, and not more than half a dozen had the slightest
knowledge of what the Holy Book consisted. I found that most of them
were bigoted Romanists and Miguelites at heart. When they told me they
were Christians, I denied the possibility of their being so, as they were
ignorant of Christ and His commandments, and rested their hope of
salvation in outward forms and superstitious observances which were the
inventions of Satan, who wished to keep them in darkness in order that at
last they might stumble into the pit which he had digged for them. I
said repeatedly that the Pope whom they revered was a deceiver and the
prime minister of Satan here on earth, and that the monks and friars, to
whom they had been accustomed to confess themselves, and whose absence
they so deplored, were his subordinate agents. When called upon for
proofs, I invariably cited the ignorance of my hearers respecting the
Scripture, and said that if their spiritual guides had been really
ministers of Christ they would not have permitted their flocks to remain
unacquainted with His word. Since this occasion I have been frequently
surprised that I received no insult or ill-treatment from the people
whose superstitions I was thus attacking, but I really experienced none;
and am inclined to believe that the utter fearlessness which I displayed,
trusting in the protection of the Almighty, may have been the cause.
When threatened by danger the best policy is to fix your eye steadily
upon it, and it will in general vanish like the morning mist before the
sun; whereas if you quail before it, it becomes more imminent. I have
fervent hope that the words which I uttered sunk deep into the hearts of
some of my hearers, as I observed many of them depart musing and pensive.
I occasionally distributed tracts among them, for although they
themselves were unable to turn them to much account, I thought that by
their means they might become of service at some future time, and might
fall into the hands of others to whom they might be instruments of
regeneration; as many a book which is cast on the waters i