may be a brave look assumed, yet there always hangs a cloud over the countenance of the sin-stained and fear-driven man, be he a religionist or atheist.  This change in appearance is produced by a change in their way of living.  When they are converted they cease drinking, gambling, Sabbath-breaking, and often the men give up smoking and the women cease taking snuff.  The fact is they sometimes are extreme upon this subject.  I heard of one church that made the giving up of tobacco and another the laying aside of jewelry the test of fellowship.  These people coming out from under the domination of a religion of fear into the light and liberty of the gospel are changed from glory to glory, having upon them the light of God’s countenance.

They are liberal givers.  There is a much larger proportion of tithers among them than among the Christians in the States.  Here, too, they often go to extremes.  More than one church in Brazil makes tithing obligatory upon its members.  Last year the Brazilian Baptists gave as much per capita for foreign missions as did the Baptists in our Southern States.  They have set their aim this year higher than the Southern Baptists have.  They sustain foreign mission work in Chili and Portugal.  They engage in this foreign mission endeavor because the leaders think that the foreign mission principle is vital to the life and development of the churches.  This giving to foreign missions is not to the neglect of their home enterprises.  They have Home and State Mission Boards which they support liberally.  They have am Education Board to which they gave forty cents per capita last year and all of this giving out of such grinding poverty!

Here and there are people of larger means who are munificent in their gifts.  It was the generous offer of $5,000 by Captain Egydio that made possible the founding of the Collegio Americano Egydio, which school was established by the Taylors in Bahia.  He paid $650 the first installment upon the furniture, but his sudden taking off prevented the college from realizing the whole amount promised, because the family lost so heavily by persecution after the father had been taken away.  Col Benj.  Nogueira Paranagua, a rich cattleman, built a church, school and library building at Corrente in the State of Piauhy at his own expense and afterward paid the salary of a teacher for the school.  When the church in San Fidelis, which was established in the face of trying persecution, was considering how it could possibly build a meeting house, a coffee farmer, who was not yet a member, rose and said:  “I am old and useless, but I want to do something for Jesus and His church.  I, therefore, offer to erect the church building and the church may pay me six per cent. annually until I die, and then the building will belong to the church as a legacy which I intend to leave.”  As the work on the house progressed he signified his desire to be the first one to be baptized in the baptistry.