56 V 
 
 ie Coming of 
 The Slav 
 
 Charles Eugene Edwards 
 
THE COMING 
 OF THE SLAV 
 
 BY J 
 CHARLES EUGEN^ EDWARDS 
 
 Author of 
 "Protestantism in Poland" and "Prayers from Calvin" 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 THE WESTMINSTER PRESS 
 1921 
 
Copyright, 1921 
 CHARLES EUGENE EDWARDS 
 
 Printed in the United States of America. 
 

 TO MY WIFE 
 
 f 
 
 468914 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface 7 
 
 Foreword 10 
 
 Introduction 13 
 
 Chapter I. Historical Aspects 17 
 
 Dr. Washburn. Survey. Slav languages. Czechoslo 
 vakia s situation. Need of the gospel. Lord Radstock 
 and Pashkof. The Reformation. 
 
 Chapter II. Colportage 38 
 
 Colportage throughout Slavdom, results, anecdotes. 
 Whittier. History of colportage. Bible societies. 
 The Apocrypha. 
 
 Chapter III. Early Missions Among Slavs 73 
 
 Statements by Drs. Montgomery, McEwan, Losa, Boyce, 
 S. J. Fisher. 
 
 Chapter IV. Encouragements 91 
 
 Mr. Prudky s journeys. Great accessions in Czecho 
 slovakia. President Masaryk. Monthly concert of 
 prayer for missions. American Hussite Society. 
 
 Supplement 117 
 
 Bibliography. Area of Slavdom. Lord s Prayer in three 
 languages. Justification for evangelical missions. 
 Slav periodicals, versions of Scripture. Letters of 
 Drs. Elterich and Hays. Mr. Prudky s journeys 
 continued. Statistics. Comenius, 
 
THOMAS GARRIGUE MASARYK 
 President of the Republic of Czechoslovakia 
 
PREFACE 
 
 THE following preface was written during the busy 
 sessions of the Pan-Presbyterian Council at Pittsburgh 
 in September, 1921, by Dr. F. Zilka. He is a professor 
 in the Evangelical Theological Faculty of John Huss 
 in the University of Prague, and was decorated by 
 the Sorbonne of Paris. Rev. J. V. Kovar translated it 
 from the Bohemian; and it is worthy of mention that 
 Mr. Kovar traveled thousands of miles in Siberia with 
 Czechoslovak troops. The writer wishes here to express 
 cordial gratitude for the kindness of Prof. Zilka, and 
 of Mr. Kovar. 
 
 It is not customary for a foreigner to call the atten 
 tion of the reading public to a book by a native author, 
 and it was only with great hesitation that ^yielded to 
 Dr. Edwards request to write these few sentences. 
 In explanation of this unusual step, and at the same 
 time in justification of it, is the fact that the subject 
 of the book is far more alien to American readers than 
 to myself. To me, as a Slav and a Czech, the matter 
 with which Dr. Edwards is dealing is indeed near, 
 very near to my heart. For this reason, though with 
 some doubts, I consented to violate custom, and as a 
 foreigner address a few words to American readers. 
 
 Let me say, right at the beginning, that the book of 
 Dr. Edwards bears traces of its American origin; it is 
 specifically American. I think that any Slav would 
 deal with the subject in a different way. But for 
 American readers, and for that matter the English- 
 reading public in general, the American way of grasping 
 the whole problem, the American selection and arrange 
 ment of the material is an advantage, because it takes 
 
 7 
 
;THK CODING OF THE SLAV 
 
 into account the interest of an American reader, and 
 responds to his requirements. And if Slavic readers 
 will not find in the book everything that they would 
 like to see, no doubt they will appreciate the undeniable 
 fact that Dr. Edwards is the first to draw attention to 
 an important world problem, and to turn toward it 
 the eyes of the other hemisphere in this way and from 
 this standpoint. 
 
 The interest of Dr. Edwards in the Slav was not 
 awakened by the World War. When eleven years ago 
 I had the pleasure of meeting him, I found that he had 
 already a crystallized understanding of European 
 Slavdom. Dr. Edwards attempt to contribute to the 
 solution of the Slav problem is not therefore, as with 
 some, of a very recent date, and has not been called 
 into existence only by the latest events, through which 
 the Slavs were forced upon the attention both of 
 America and of the rest of the world. It was not the 
 collapse of the Russian front which caused a turn in 
 the war and placed upon the Allies new and heavier 
 tasks, after Russia had greatly helped by stemming 
 the first and strongest and most dangerous impact of 
 the German steam roller in the east, just as France 
 and England did in the west; nor was it the present 
 Bolshevik regime in Russia, and the horrors of famine 
 and pestilence that drew the mind of Dr. Edwards 
 to the distant east. If I am right, it was on one hand 
 a purely scientific interest in unknown nations, and 
 on the other, the practical problem of a polyglot immi 
 gration to the United States, the Slav immigrants 
 numbering millions, that led Dr. Edwards more than 
 ten years ago to write his first publications about Slavs. 
 
 Since that time his interest in Slavdom has not 
 diminished, but rather increased. This shows that 
 English-speaking readers in general, and Americans in 
 particular, have at hand an outcome of a theoretic as 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 9 
 
 well as a practical study of this subject. Some portions 
 of this book are the first attempt to throw light upon 
 the Slav problem, and upon its significance for the 
 world at large. It has its own viewpoint, which is 
 evident in the conception and arrangement of the 
 material. In a book of such limited proportions, no 
 one will try to find a solution of all phases of the Slav 
 problem, but I think that none has been overlooked. 
 The book itself is a proof that it does not contain all 
 that Dr. Edwards knows about Slavs. Much will 
 depend upon the reception that this book may receive 
 from its readers, to encourage him to tell more, perhaps 
 from another angle. Let the book speak for itself, for 
 its author, for Slavdom. 
 
 I desire to call attention to one thing only: the 
 problem of the Slav is not merely a European and 
 Asiatic problem; it is a world problem. Great Britain 
 and America are directly interested, the former by its 
 proximity to Slavdom in Asia, the other because it is a 
 neighbor across the Pacific, which does not divide but 
 unites, is not a barrier as it used to be, but a bridge. 
 At the same time the Slav problem reaches the heart of 
 Europe and dominates the whole of its southeastern 
 portion, a region where three continents meet and 
 many interests intermingle. It is and will be a world 
 problem indeed. 
 
 I hope that the love and enthusiasm of this dear 
 friend of Slavs, which prompted him to undertake the 
 writing of the book, will be rewarded by a kind reception 
 on the part of the reading public. I further hope that 
 readers will be stimulated to a more thorough study of a 
 question which is inevitably going to be a deeply burning 
 question in the near future. 
 
 F. ZILKA. 
 Prague, Czechoslovakia. 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 THE World War began with the Slavs, Serbia in the 
 foreground, Russia soon involved. The entire course 
 of it, especially many of its crises, was largely affected 
 by Slav successes or failures. The achievements of th? 
 Czechoslovak army shone more brilliantly by contrast 
 with their dark background, the collapse of Russia. 
 The leading spirit in the organization of that army, 
 and subsequently in the formation of the Czechoslovak 
 Republic of which he is the head, President T. G. 
 Masaryk, emerged as the most popular and successful 
 statesman of Europe. The War was a new revelatior 
 of the Slavs, especially to America. Christian America 
 should appreciate the lesson, and should know the 
 importance of evangelizing Slavdom. The Slav family 
 of nations has generally been omitted from consideration 
 in the great missionary conventions of the past genera 
 tion. If this habit continues, it will seriously impair 
 the grand strategy, as soldiers express it, of the world s 
 evangelization. The logic for evangelizing the vast 
 Slav lands of Europe and Asia, which are neighbors to 
 the bulk of the world s population, is the logic which 
 justifies the Reformation itself, or the same as the 
 arguments for evangelizing Latin America, which were 
 thoroughly demonstrated by the Panama Congress. 
 
 No Slav land has so many evangelicals as Czecho 
 slovakia. No other is rated so high for intelligence 
 and culture. No other has so intense an admiration 
 for its great Reformer, John Huss. Thus there is "a 
 spark of Protestantism in every Bohemian." A far 
 greater movement than "Los von Rom" ("away from 
 Rome") of some years ago, is progressing in Bohemia 
 
 10 
 
GEORGE W. MONTGOMERY, D.D. 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 11 
 
 and Moravia toward the ideals of Huss and the Hussites. 
 America helped Czechoslovakia to win her present 
 liberty, after a thralldom of centuries. Christian 
 America should now help these seekers after a Saviour 
 to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made 
 us free. 
 
 No Christians in America have done more for Slavs 
 than the Presbyterians, especially in the work of 
 colportage, which is illustrated in portions of this book. 
 No presbytery has done more for the Slavs in its bounds, 
 also for Czechoslovakia, than Pittsburgh Presbytery, 
 under the guidance of its superintendents, Dr. Vaclav 
 Losa, and the late Dr. George W. Montgomery. Dr. 
 Montgomery s death was a sore bereavement for this 
 cause. Dr. W. L. McEwan, who was instrumental in 
 sending the call to Dr. Losa to begin work for Slavs in 
 this presbytery, has proposed the best method for 
 aiding Czechoslovakia, through the "American Hussite 
 Society" which he organized, and of which he is the 
 first president. Dr. Losa is its corresponding secretary, 
 with his office in the Fulton Building, Pittsburgh. If a 
 multitude of members could be enrolled in this society, 
 this new Hussite movement might not only pervade 
 Czechoslovakia, but Slavdom also. Then, with Slav 
 dom as a base, the evangelization of the world would 
 be hastened. It is the purpose of this book to turn 
 attention to this part of the Christian conquest, and 
 awaken prayer for so glorious a consummation ! 
 
 Note 
 
 WE have abundance of books on the evangelization 
 of Latin America and of Latin Europe. There are the 
 three volumes of the Panama Congress, works on Mex 
 ico and South America, some prepared as mission-study 
 class books. There is George Sorrow s "The Bible in 
 Spain," recognized as a classic of English literature. 
 
12 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 There are books about the McAll Mission in France, 
 about French Protestants, about Waldensians in Italy, 
 and so on. The population of the Latin world may 
 exceed a hundred and seventy millions; and the world 
 probably has as many millions of Slavs. But precious 
 little has been written about the evangelization of 
 Slavdom; and this work is probably the only book 
 written from a Presbyterian standpoint on the subject. 
 In English we have five words meaning the same 
 thing: Slav, Slavian, Slavic, Slavonic, Slavonian, 
 though the latter may refer to Slavonia, a crownland 
 of Hungary. It is superfluous to add a sixth word, 
 "Slavish," which is a misspelled German word, and 
 also objectionable, as it might be mistaken for "slavish." 
 Slavdom, "the domain or sphere of influence of the 
 Slavs," has equivalent expressions, as "the Slavic 
 nations" or "the Slavonic world." 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 MANY Slavs have dreamed of a day when Slav 
 nationalities shall have a greater prominence in the 
 world s affairs than has ever been recorded in history 
 for the Latin or Teutonic races. This hope seemed 
 warranted by the progress of Russia. 
 
 But Czechoslovakia, from a religious point of view, 
 may hold this key of promise. Survey the vast extent 
 of Slavdom. Note the strategic position of Slav nations, 
 in closer contact with each other, and with the masses 
 of the world s population, than are the widespread 
 Latin nations. Note the advantages in religious work 
 from the similarity of Slav tongues. Then, too, it is 
 easy to perceive that with Bohemia s central situation 
 in Europe, with the intelligence of its people, with its 
 language, having some possibilities of a "world lan 
 guage" in dealing with other Slavs, it could become a 
 power for righteousness and peace, if it is a propagator 
 of the gospel. 
 
 Russia has been considered a menace to India, the 
 more so if Germany controls its destinies. But if a 
 new Reformation spreads through Czechoslovakia, and 
 onward into Russia, the menace can be changed into a 
 blessing. Every evangelical Slav can testify that 
 Slavdom needs the gospel; and the arguments which 
 prove that the gospel should be given to Latin America 
 are entirely applicable to the Slavs. These are demon 
 strated by conditions prevailing among Russian priests, 
 and by the situation revealed in Russia through the 
 labors of Lord Radstock and his convert, Pashkof. 
 Finally, the history of the Reformation among two 
 Slav peoples, the Bohemians or Czechs, and the Poles, 
 
 13 
 
14 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 which was stopped only by brute force, massacres, and 
 exile, shows that the modern missionary movement, an 
 expansion of the Reformation, is the hope and promise 
 for all Slavdom. 
 
 One form of evangelical effort has been applied to 
 all of Slavdom, and among Slavs in America, namely, 
 colportage. Bibles or Testaments were prepared in 
 some Slav languages before the Authorized Version 
 appeared in English. Experiences in such work at 
 Pittsburgh, and by colporteurs of the Presbyterian 
 Board of Publication, illustrate it for America; and the 
 annual reports of the British and Foreign Bible Society 
 furnish anecdotes of it in Slavdom. There is greater 
 hindrance for colportage among Slavs dominated by 
 Rome than among the Greek Orthodox. Not a Slav 
 nation is without its converts and its Bible readers. 
 And everywhere, for instance, among Italian Walden- 
 sians, colporteurs are often pioneers for established 
 missions. A difficulty encountered by colporteurs in 
 Europe is that Catholics, Greek Orthodox, and German 
 Lutherans insist upon having the Apocrypha. Are the 
 great Bible societies right in excluding the Apocrypha 
 from their publications? They certainly are, for the 
 Apocrypha contain ridiculous or hurtful errors; and 
 these facts should be more widely known. 
 
 American evangelical missions among Slavs are 
 examples for similar enterprises in all Slavdom. For 
 years the Presbyterian roll of Slav workers has been 
 longer than that of any other denomination. This 
 statement should occasion no absurd pride, but pro 
 voke to love and good works. In the Czechoslovak 
 Review, July, 1921, an account is given of Dr. Vincent 
 Pisek s work in New York City where he was ordained 
 and installed pastor of the Jan Hus Presbyterian 
 Church in 1883. In 1887 he induced three theological 
 students to come to America, Drs. Pokorny, Bren, 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 15 
 
 and Losa, who eventually labored in Bohemian settle 
 ments in western states. This work of theirs has 
 since grown into two presbyteries.* 
 
 Not in rural communities only, but in cities also, 
 have Bohemian churches been organized; and Presby 
 terians in Chicago, New York City, and Cedar Rapids 
 have erected probably the finest evangelical Bohemian 
 church buildings in America. It has been published 
 that Chicago is the third Bohemian city, next to Vienna 
 and Prague, and the third Polish city, next to Lodz 
 and Warsaw. Suppose it be debated whether it stands 
 second only to Prague as a Bohemian city, and second 
 only to Warsaw as a Polish city. Still for years it has 
 been undeniable that outside of Slavdom there is no 
 greater Slav center than Chicago, and scores of Ameri 
 can towns have Slav colonies. In St. Louis, for years, 
 Rev. George Wales King has interested Presbyterians 
 of that city and also those of adjacent Illinois districts 
 in Slavs, especially Balkan Slavs. He has devoted 
 time and energy to the details of colportage, and in 
 many a bulletin has he advocated all such missionary 
 work. In Dubuque, Iowa, and Bloomfield, New Jersey, 
 the Presbyterian Church has schools, originally German, 
 where for many years Slav instructors and students 
 have been enrolled among other nationalities. 
 
 Presbyterian Slovak work has been centered in 
 Pennsylvania, its Polish work in Baltimore, its Ruth- 
 enian work in Pittsburgh and some eastern cities. To 
 describe all this fully would be to traverse the ground 
 of the late Dr. McLanahan s book, "Our People of 
 Foreign Speech," or on a smaller scale, the appendix 
 to Dr. Grose s "Aliens or Americans?" This plan 
 
 * Statistics, 1921: Central West (Bohemian) Presbytery: Min 
 isters, 20. Churches, 21. Communicants, 1939. Infants baptized, 
 129. Sunday-school members, 1343; Southwest Bohemian Presby 
 tery: Ministers, 9. Churches, 12. Communicants, 479. Infants 
 baptized, 52. S. S. members, 526. 
 
16 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 requires a periodical revision, or even a series, like 
 "Sion," the Bohemian Yearbook edited by Dr. Losa. 
 A large space is here given to Pittsburgh Presbytery s 
 work, partly because of its remarkable features and its 
 methods, the same as those of foreign missions, and 
 partly because this book owes much to the cooperation 
 of numerous friends in that region. 
 
 It is almost unknown to Americans that Bohemian 
 colonies, some having Reformed churches, are found in 
 parts of Russia, also in regions dominated by Poles, 
 and a few in Jugoslavia. Here are possible centers for 
 aggressive missionary work in regions of Slavdom at 
 various distances from Czechoslovakia. The journeys 
 of Mr. Prudky among these settlements are accordingly 
 significant. In Poland are two Reformed synods of 
 Polish churches, with which these Bohemian churches 
 are in correspondence. The overwhelming accessions 
 to evangelical churches in Bohemia and Moravia have 
 had no parallel in Europe for centuries. At such a 
 juncture it greatly aids their cause that the President 
 of their Republic, Thomas G. Masaryk, is one of their 
 number. His apt quotation from the great Bohemian 
 reformer, Comenius, when he addressed the Czecho 
 slovak National Assembly, reveals his spirit. 
 
 In conclusion, two things are always urged in plans 
 for missionary progress: prayer, and money or its 
 equivalent. Summing up the practical things that 
 American Christians could do for Czechoslovakia, one 
 is to give to it and to Slavdom some place in the topics 
 for the Monthly Concert of Prayer for Missions ; another 
 is to form branches of the "American Hussite Society" 
 which has been created for the purpose of aiding this 
 truly Hussite movement. 
 
Chapter I 
 HISTORICAL ASPECTS 
 
 THE LIVING AGE, in February, 1898, published an 
 article under the caption, "The Coming of the Slav" 
 by Dr. George Washburn, who was at that time president 
 of Robert College, Constantinople. He first gives the 
 substance of an address delivered not long before by 
 a young Slav: 
 
 "The Latin and Teutonic races have had their day, 
 and they have failed to establish a truly Christian civili 
 zation. They have done great things in the organization 
 of society, in the development of material wealth, in 
 literature, arts, and science, and especially in recog 
 nizing and securing in some degree the rights of the 
 individual man; but they have exalted the material 
 above the spiritual, and made Mammon their god. 
 They have lost the nobler aspirations of youth and are 
 governed now by the sordid calculations of old age. 
 We wait the coming of the Slav to regenerate Europe, 
 establish the principle of universal brotherhood and 
 the Kingdom of Christ on earth." 
 
 Discussing this he remarks: "If it were the fancy of 
 a single brain it would not be worth noticing; but as 
 it is, in fact, the dream of a hundred million brains in 
 Europe, it has some interest for those who are to be 
 regenerated by the coming of the Slav. Englishmen 
 and Americans used to have such dreams, and some 
 how, without much wisdom or much conscious direction 
 on the part of their rulers, these dreams have got them 
 selves fulfilled in a measure. If we have failed to 
 establish a truly Christian civilization in the world, 
 and have left something for the Slavs to do, it is, per- 
 
 17 
 
18 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 haps, our fault; but we have certainly done something 
 toward the evolution of society. . . . The Latin 
 races had certainly failed to realize their dreams when 
 the Teutonic races took up the work and put new life 
 into it. If now the Slavs can complete it, so much the 
 better for us and the world, however painful the process 
 may be. The Latin races have lost nothing worth 
 having by our leadership, and if the Slavs arc to bring 
 in a truly Christian civilization and universal brother 
 hood, then Latin, Teuton, and Slav will share alike in 
 all the happy results which must follow. Dr. Wash- 
 burn s conclusion was that "for the present the coming 
 of the Slav means the extension and increase of the 
 political power of Russia." 
 
 Since that date much water has flowed under Slav 
 bridges. The rise and liberation of Czechoslovakia was 
 a remarkable phenomenon of the War. Without ven 
 turing to prophesy that this event foreshadows a 
 universal Slav advancement, it is certain that for 
 centuries Czechoslovakia has had no such opportunity 
 as that afforded by its new freedom; and that this is of 
 profound significance with reference to its evangeliza 
 tion, together with that of other Slav countries. More 
 over, this evangelization will hasten the same Christian 
 work throughout the world. 
 
 A glance at maps of continents would show the folly 
 or wrong of any program for world evangelization which 
 omits Slavdom. Europe and Asia contain most of the 
 world s population. Supposing a conqueror to gain the 
 mastery of these two continents, the domination of 
 the world might seem an easy problem. Such visions 
 have fascinated military minds, will probably do so 
 again, and are suggestive for the statesmen of Imman- 
 uel s kingdom. Russian arid Polish dominions, Czecho 
 slovakia, Jugoslavia, and if we note its language, not 
 its racial antecedents, Bulgaria that is Slavdom. In 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 19 
 
 its sphere of influence, at least, as noted by anxious 
 diplomats, are Japan, Korea or Chosen, Manchuria, 
 China, Tibet, India, Persia, Asia Minor, some other 
 Asiatic countries also being sensitive to Slav power; 
 and in Europe, the Turks, Greeks, Italians, Hungarians, 
 Germans, Scandinavians, and others meet the Slavs 
 in war and peace. England and France were allies of 
 Slavs. This survey of nations aggregates possibly a 
 billion of souls. 
 
 A hint of danger to the world s peace, also to the 
 cause of evangelical missions, may arouse us to the 
 importance of including Slavdom in any statesmanlike 
 scheme for world evangelization. In the Nineteenth 
 Century, October 1919, page 786, Herr Werner Daya s 
 book, with its subtitle, "Russian Asia as Germany s 
 Economic Peace- Aim" is quoted: 
 
 "For the first time in history the closing-in naval 
 policy of England, which for centuries has held the 
 mastery of the world by a uniform concentration of 
 all her forces in one direction, will be countered by an 
 equally comprehensive and equally powerful concen 
 tration of an Overland policy." Then, if Germany 
 controls Russian Asia, "we should be able in any 
 future war to sweep down upon India and drive the 
 English out of Asia into the sea." What then would 
 become of the great work of British and American 
 missions in that Indian Empire, built up for genera 
 tions, and ere long to gain, as has been fondly hoped, 
 several millions of converts? America can sympathize 
 with the danger perceived by British statesmen, when 
 they stopped the propaganda of German missionaries 
 in India, and removed them from their fields. Will 
 Germany, approaching India through Slavdom, turn 
 the tables upon Anglo-Saxons, and expel all our mission 
 aries? On the other hand, let America follow Christ, 
 believing that he is Lord of peace and war, and that his 
 
20 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 command to seek first the Kingdom of God and his 
 righteousness, will add political advantages to the 
 nations that obey it. Then another and expanded 
 Reformation may, through the grace of God, occur in 
 Slavdom as well as in India. The Reformation defeated 
 the plans and power of those who thought that the 
 dominion of the world was in their hands. Modern 
 evangelical missions have the same doctrines, purpose, 
 methods, and results as those of the Reformation. 
 America is the child of the Reformation, and owes its 
 common schools to John Calvin. Let America be a 
 worker together with God, and while she redoubles her 
 aid for India, let her aid evangelical brethren in Slav 
 dom, whose spiritual ancestors were the first Reformers. 
 Thus a danger will become a victory which will speed 
 the salvation of the world. 
 
 At^first sight, the great array of publications that con 
 cern Slavdom would indicate that it has no solidarity. 
 History records that Poles have fought Russians. Their 
 churches are different, though their ideas of religion 
 may be much the same, the reverse of evangelical. 
 Serbians fought Bulgarians, though both have Greek 
 Orthodox churches, which are the most numerous in a 
 summary of Slavdom. Greeks themselves have fought 
 Greek Orthodox Slavs. The Greek and Roman 
 churches among Slavs are opposed, excluding each 
 other s members. The unity of Slavdom is further 
 broken by a singular compromise, the Greek Catholic 
 organizations, adhering to the pope but without a 
 Latin ritual, whose married priests have surprised the 
 Irish Catholics in America. In smaller numbers there 
 are Protestant Slavs and Mohammedan Slavs. Some 
 statesmen have feared Pan-Slavism; others, aware of 
 these divisions, see as much diversity of feeling among 
 Slavs as among other Europeans. 
 
 Yet there is a solidarity, too little understood and of 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 21 
 
 practical importance, due to the resemblance of Slav 
 languages. A Bohemian can learn to read Polish or 
 Russian in a month. The Slovak language has some 
 grammatical forms more like the tongue of John Huss 
 than the modern Bohemian. There has been no 
 distinct Slovak Bible, and where they were allowed to 
 read it, they have used the famous Kralicka Bohemian 
 Bible. Grammars have been prepared for Croatians 
 and Serbians, who speak the same language, a Croatian 
 page in Roman type, the opposite Serbian page in a 
 modified Russian alphabet. No wonder the Allies 
 approve the experiment of combining them with the 
 Slovenes, in one government of Jugoslavia. The 
 Russian alphabet with modifications is used by Rus 
 sians, Ruthenians, Serbians, Bulgarians, and the 
 Roman alphabet, with diacritical marks, by Bohemians, 
 Slovaks, Poles, Croatians and Slovenes. But, as spoken, 
 this family of tongues has striking resemblances. Their 
 declensions of nouns, their pronouns, prepositions, 
 adverbs, and some common words of their vocabulary, 
 are features of the family likeness. "Mamma, give me 
 a kolatch," a little cake with preserves in the center, 
 is a word universally understood by Slavs. Seton- 
 Watson, states that a Slovak peddler "can wander from 
 Pressburg to Vladivostock without encountering seri 
 ous linguistic difficulties." 
 
 Take the Gospel of John as a language lesson. Let 
 a Pole hear it read in Bohemian, or a Bohemian hear 
 it in Polish. It is profound in theology, of doctrinal 
 importance, but simple, with many repetitions in 
 vocabulary, having about eight hundred words of 
 common life, a good start for a beginner in any language. 
 With attention the Pole or the Bohemian recognizes 
 so many words of the other s language that he soon 
 comprehends whole paragraphs or chapters. With 
 varying facility, perhaps corresponding to the relative 
 
22 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 distance of other Slavs from Czechoslovakia or from 
 Poland, they would comprehend the pronunciation 
 and vocabulary of all other Slav nations. 
 
 Here is an interesting consequence from these 
 resemblances. In. Russian churches the ritual is 
 recited in "a dead language," and it has been sup 
 posedly as dead as the Latin of the Romish ritual. 
 Cyril and Methodius, the first missionaries among 
 Slavs, used that language of the Russian ritual a 
 millennium ago, a language now no longer spoken. 
 Seemingly contradictory statements about it need not 
 puzzle us. Stupid, inattentive hearers may not com 
 prehend it. Cultured or attentive listeners, hearing it 
 frequently, recognize the words as they would from 
 any other Slav tongue, and, with profound interest in a 
 language made venerable by religious use for centuries, 
 proudly declare that they understand it all. Anglo- 
 Saxon Gospels are also traced to early centuries, and 
 are part of a course in English study; yet it is doubtful 
 if any Englishman could understand them when read 
 as easily as Slavs comprehend their ancient ritual. 
 
 But there are consequences more practical and 
 important. Dr. V. Losa, a Bohemian, undertook 
 mission work in Pittsburgh Presbytery in 1900. He 
 was in contact from the first with Bohemians, Slovaks, 
 Ruthenians, and other Slavs. All soon understood 
 Bohemian preaching and joined in singing Bohemian 
 hymns. In his prayer meetings, Scriptures were read, 
 verse about, from different Slav versions, as each man 
 preferred, yet this variety of languages made no con 
 fusion, but added interest to the exercise. For years, 
 with growing usefulness, Dr. Losa demonstrated that 
 a well-prepared Bohemian could regard the entire 
 mass of Slavs as his mission field, especially as a body 
 of well-trained helpers from these nationalities, with 
 the divine blessing, was formed to cooperate with him. 
 
VACLAV LOSA, D.D. 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 23 
 
 Let similar methods and evangelical zeal be applied a 
 thousandfold, in ten thousand communities of Slavdom, 
 and an evangelical solidarity, the best in the world, 
 will be created among all Slav nations. 
 
 Czechoslovakia, about a thousand kilometers long 
 and in places hardly more than a hundred kilometers 
 broad, lies in the heart of Europe, equally distant from 
 the great seas, the Adriatic, the North, and the Baltic. 
 It has four divisions, Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, and 
 Slovakia, and later, Rusinia, a district of Ruthenian 
 Slavs was added, by request of its people, to the east 
 of Slovakia. The total area is about 56,000 square 
 miles, and the population fourteen millions. It lies 
 athwart the Berlin-Bagdad Railway, an important fact 
 in international relations. 
 
 Bohemia is supposed to get its name from an ancient 
 Celtic tribe, the Boii, who also gave their name to 
 Bavaria. The native name of the people, the Czechs, 
 is understood to be derived from an ancient ancestor. 
 The country is the westernmost Slav land in Europe, 
 like a wedge between northern and southern Germans, 
 hence a battle ground of the two races for centuries, 
 and long before Huss. It is diamond-shaped, the points 
 coinciding nearly with those of the compass. Its streams 
 generally flow into the Moldau (Vltava), a branch of 
 the Elbe flowing northwestward, a channel for com 
 merce through Saxony. And Bohemian commerce 
 follows the Danube southeastward. If canals connect 
 the Danube with the Elbe, the Oder, and the Vistula, 
 Czechoslovakia will be a center of extensive communi 
 cations; and it hopes for development of water power. 
 Bohemia s area is rich, half of it under cultivation; 
 more than half of Austria s revenue from taxation 
 came from Bohemia. There are mountain walls on 
 three sides, but no distinct ridge toward Moravia, 
 where the people speak the same language, and have 
 
24 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 always been associated with Bohemians. The famous 
 Moravian Brethren after emigrating to Germany 
 became Germanized. Brtinn (Brno) is Moravia s 
 capital; and Prague, the capital of Bohemia, was pro 
 nounced by Humboldt the most beautiful inland town 
 of Europe. With the annexation of suburbs, and the 
 influx of population since the armistice, Prague may 
 soon contain more than a million souls and become more 
 attractive to tourists than Vienna or Budapest. Czecho 
 slovakia has minerals, also mineral springs, such as the 
 Karlsbad and Marienbad resorts, and others, some 
 thirty-three places in all, visited annually by hundreds 
 of thousands. 
 
 Slovakia in its first year of liberty made a rapid 
 advance in education. It had about 5000 teachers in 
 elementary schools; and in grammar, secondary, 
 technical, and university grades, about 600 Czech 
 professors, besides many Slovaks. There were 42 
 secondary schools, with nearly 4800 pupils. There 
 was a development also in the press and in libraries. 
 Bela Kuhn, in 1919, cruelly invaded Slovakia and over 
 ran a third of the country, which lost a billion crow r ns; 
 but this roused and united the patriotism of all 
 Czechoslovakia. 
 
 The great need of Slavdom is the gospel. America s 
 polyglot immigration gives her the best of opportuni 
 ties for planting evangelical missions among these 
 people. In free America Bunyan s vision has been 
 fulfilled, and the tyrant, grinning from his cave, has 
 not been able to molest the pilgrims on their way to the 
 Celestial City. The two main groups of this European 
 throng are Latin and Slav. The Slav converts, some 
 times with tears, ask Dr. Losa why America s religious 
 privileges could not be enjoyed in Europe, especially in 
 countries that never had a Reformation. Here are 
 evangelical organizations equipped with everything 
 
M n> n> , 
 
 CW^E: o p. 
 
 Ililrl 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 25 
 
 that wealth can buy; surely the gospel cannot be an 
 American monopoly which is not for Slavs. 
 
 Christian workers soon see how tactless it is to ques 
 tion the sincerity of such people. It is like a question 
 of veracity, which quickly kindles an American s 
 indignation. It does not improve matters to intimate 
 that their former state of superstition of formalism is 
 good enough for their class of immigrants. If such 
 darkness is not good enough for Americans, it is not 
 good for any nationality on earth! True converts 
 become epistles "known and read of all men." He 
 that stole steals no more, but works with his hands 
 that he may have to give to him that needs. Putting 
 away lying, he speaks truth with his neighbor. No 
 longer drunk with wine, he is filled with the Holy 
 Spirit. He knows, too, that his new experience is due 
 to God s power, "according to that working of the 
 strength of his might which he wrought in Christ, 
 when he raised him from the dead, and made him to 
 sit at his right hand in the heavenly places," the most 
 sublime of illustrations. Not the lapsed only, the 
 apparently susceptible, but the bigoted and fanatic, 
 like Luther himself, may be the subjects of divine 
 grace, should be offered the means of grace, and may 
 become the best of accessions. 
 
 Slav converts learn how America pours forth 
 increasing millions for the evangelization of all races, 
 in every clime, in every condition. And Slavdom, 
 with its needs, is to them an open book. In normal 
 times they are in unceasing communication with 
 kindred beyond the seas. A Slav obtains that incom 
 parable treasure, the Bible, and writes to a kinsman or 
 friend about it. The destination of that letter may be 
 Prague in Bohemia, or Brno in Moravia. It may be 
 Riga, the Baltic seaport, or Petrograd, or Moscow. 
 It may be Warsaw or Lodz, the great towns of Poland, 
 
26 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 or Belgrade, in Balkan regions, or Odessa, the port on 
 the Black Sea, or Tiflis, in the Caucasus, or Vladivos- 
 tock, on the Pacific Ocean. It may be any one of the 
 vast number of Slav communities from the Adriatic 
 to the Pacific. 
 
 Now show these Slavs the nine volumes of the 
 Edinburgh Conference in 1910 and the three volumes 
 of the Panama Conference in 1916. The wonder 
 grows that Slavdom is omitted, when every logical, 
 doctrinal, strategic reason calls for its inclusion. The 
 Panama Conference was an American victory for 
 missions. In 1900, at the Ecumenical Conference in 
 New York, Latin America was included in the dis 
 cussions; but it was excluded from the Edinburgh 
 Conference, through the opposition of some German 
 societies and of elements in the Anglican Church. 
 They regarded it as nominally Christian. At Edin 
 burgh missionaries from Latin America drew up a 
 defense of their cause. They did not inquire whether 
 dominant churches in these lands are not Christian 
 churches, but affirmed that millions are there without 
 the Word of God and the gospel. The work of societies 
 in the United States and Canada has included missions 
 in Latin and Oriental churches, while British and 
 Continental societies have a narrower basis. The 
 action of these American missionaries led to the 
 Panama Conference; and their arguments lay the same 
 foundation for the evangelization of Slavdom. If the 
 Holy Spirit is poured out, why may not this Slav line 
 of progress become the most rapid and effective of all, 
 and a reenforcement for Christian missions in pagan 
 and Mohammedan lands? 
 
 Anatole Leroy-Beaulieu wrote three volumes on 
 "The Empire of the Tsars and the Russians," devoting 
 the third volume wholly to the subject of religion. His 
 purpose, like that of most writers on Slavdom, is not 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 27 
 
 evangelical, yet evangelical -readers may obtain sug 
 gestions from this work. He writes at length on relig 
 ious feeling in Russia, on the Greek Orthodox Church, 
 its usages, its clergy, married and unmarried; of the 
 Schism or Raskol, the various sects not in the national 
 Church, those that have priests, those that do not. 
 
 Turn to the pages where he describes parochial 
 visitations, where the "priest and deacon, in their 
 vestments, go from house to house to sing an * Alleluia. 
 The moment they enter, they turn to the eikons in the 
 corner, rapidly recite the prayers for the occasion, give 
 the inmate the crucifix to kiss, pocket their money, and 
 go to the next house. . . . The clergy, on such occa 
 sions, frequently become the victims of a fine national 
 quality hospitality. ... So the parish clergy travel, 
 . . . in full canonicals, dispensing blessings, and 
 everywhere receiving in exchange a drink and a few 
 kopeks. The consequences are easily divined. By 
 nightfall there is little left of the priest. . . . Such 
 scenes are naturally not calculated to bring the dissen 
 ters back to the bosom of the Church. I once saw, in 
 Moscow, in a picture gallery belonging to a wealthy 
 raskolnik, a canvas by Perof representing just such a 
 scene. The priest, crucifix in hand, totters along, while 
 the drunken deacon soils the sacred vestments." 
 
 In contrast we have the volume of "Pastor s 
 Sketches" by the late Dr. Spencer, a Presbyterian 
 pastor of Brooklyn, New York. He gives a touching 
 account of his visits to a skeptical young Irishman, who 
 died a believer in the atonement of Christ, and his 
 interviews with the indifferent or irresolute, to whom 
 he gave the earnest message, "Behold, now is the day 
 of salvation!" 
 
 Dr. Dalton, of Petrograd, told a story of Lord 
 Radstock s evangelistic labors in that city, and of 
 his convert, Colonel Pashkof, which appeared in the 
 
28 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 Catholic Presbyterian of August, 1881. It illustrates 
 the possibilities for gospel work in Slavdom when 
 liberty is assured. Lord Radstock was an adherent of 
 Plymouth Brethrenism, somewhat modified; but the 
 story is not of theological tenets, telling rather how this 
 fisher of men used his net in the service of his Master. 
 He could address his hearers in French and English, 
 with which many of the Russian nobility were familiar, 
 and being a nobleman himself he could approach them 
 on an equal footing. 
 
 "His first appearance was somewhat strange. He 
 knelt in silent prayer, then invited the audience to 
 join him, as in the very simplest speech he lifted up his 
 heart unto God. He spoke in an ordinary conversa 
 tional tone, regarding those things of which his heart 
 was full. The loose threads of the somewhat vaguely 
 expressed argument were all connected with the ever- 
 recurring topic, the blessedness of those saved by 
 Christ saved now, for the Saviour is ever present 
 and offers salvation to the sinner; and when this salva 
 tion has been truly received, he cannot be lost, for the 
 Good Shepherd watches over his sheep. . . . 
 
 "The worship of saints, and their supposed inter 
 cession, as maintained in the Russian as well as the 
 Roman Catholic Church, have an evil effect upon the 
 relation of the soul to the Saviour. Worshipers prefer 
 to address saints rather than the Saviour, shrinking in 
 their sinfulness before the majesty of the divine Son; 
 and to this feeling of aversion his future advent as the 
 Judge of the world, adds, as it were a fresh force." 
 Lord Radstock said nothing against the "Orthodox" 
 doctrine on this point; he carefully abstained from any 
 attack upon the Church of the country, and indeed 
 sought to maintain cordial relations with all. At the 
 same time he was able, by the grace of God, to bring 
 the personality of the Saviour, through the warm and 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 29 
 
 loving way in which he expressed himself, almost 
 into personal communication with the seeking and 
 longing souls whom he addressed. So it came to pass 
 with them, as with the disciples on a certain occasion, 
 "they saw no one, save Jesus only"; the cloudy veil of 
 saints disappeared like the veil of clouds on a morning 
 in spring; they saw before them in their devotions 
 Jesus only, the Light of the world, and felt how 
 graciously he laid his hands upon them, blessed, healed, 
 and comforted them, and forgave their sins. As we 
 are from youth accustomed to such views in evangelical 
 Churches, we do not readily comprehend what a power 
 ful effect is produced when these truths are first brought 
 home to the members of the Greek or the Romish 
 Church. This side of the truth, moreover, is not pre 
 sented and emphasized as it ought to be in the teaching 
 of the evangelical Church. 
 
 "For weeks, in the highest society, in the circles of 
 the nobility in Petrograd and Moscow, and even in the 
 distant provinces, the most frequently recurring name 
 was that of Lord Radstock. Some were enthusiastically 
 in his favor; some derided the wonderful saint. Some 
 who came to scoff remained to pray. 
 
 Dr. Dalton then mentions one of these, Colonel 
 Basil Alexandrovitch Pashkof, who was one of the 
 richest men in Russia, who had in youth served in the 
 Guards, and had an early introduction to the highest 
 circles of the aristocracy. When converted by the 
 truth, "he took up the yoke of his Lord and Master, 
 Jesus Christ. The nobility of the man s character was 
 seen in the thoroughness with which, from the begin- 
 ming, he was ready to confess Christ. He soon became 
 the central point of the movement. . . . About this 
 time, Dr. Craig, of the Religious Tract Society, had 
 found his way to Petrograd, desirous of doing some 
 work of usefulness in the Russian capital, on the lines 
 
30 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 of the society. The importance of such work was at 
 once discerned by Lord Radstock. The emperor had 
 already permitted the Bible to be circulated in the 
 vernacular language of the country, and it was impor 
 tant that the circulation should be urged forward 
 throughout the whole extent of the vast empire. If, 
 hand in hand with this dissemination of the Scriptures, 
 there could be circulated tracts and publications of a 
 character fitted to counteract the influence of per 
 nicious and revolutionary publications, which had 
 already begun to spread, it was clear that a most 
 important point would be gained." 
 
 Dr. Dalton then tells how the first meeting of a 
 new association for this purpose met in his house, also 
 the difficulties that were experienced in preparing suit 
 able literature, since mere translations from other 
 languages were often ill adapted to Russian needs. 
 He also describes the Christian activities of the 
 Pashkof circles in hospitals and prisons, giving details 
 of the conversion of a student nihilist, who himself 
 wrote a tract entitled "He Loves Me." 
 
 Further, he describes Colonel PashkoFs activities 
 as a lay preacher. In droshky stalls and factories, 
 year by year he carried on his work, telling his fellow 
 sinners in plain language of the Saviour he himself had 
 found. He strove to awaken first the consciousness of 
 sin and then to lead them to the Saviour who bestows 
 pardon and peace. "On Sunday evenings the people 
 assembled in PashkoFs own house; and the splendid 
 apartments which were formerly open only to the elite 
 of Russian society for balls now stood open and were 
 filled to overflowing by crowds, mostly belonging to 
 the very lowest orders of society, who desired to hear 
 the good news of salvation, and were moved to tears 
 and supplications for relief from the burden of sin." 
 Sometimes the crowd numbered as many as thirteen or 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 31 
 
 fourteen hundred. Dr. Dalton met a peasant far in 
 the interior of Finland, who said, "Pashkof has done 
 us much good." He was informed that many Finnish 
 laborers who worked in Petrograd had learned the Russ, 
 and attended the meetings, carrying the same doc 
 trines that they had learned to their distant homes. 
 Dr. Dalton also states how Colonel Pashkof courteously 
 wrote a letter in answer to a request by a Russian 
 Church dignitary, and depicted his own spiritual 
 development, in the heartfelt language of one who has 
 passed from death unto life, "who speaks in the joyful 
 tone of one who cannot wait to know whether his 
 utterances square with ecclesiastical standards or not." 
 The reply by this dignitary, also published, has "the 
 reserved language of one who is accustomed to regulate 
 all his utterances by such standards, and who is unable 
 to conceive that there is any truth which cannot be 
 regulated by them." Dr. Dalton in conclusion says 
 that the Pashkof meetings had been prohibited, and 
 that Pashkof had been requested to travel abroad for a 
 time. He returned unmolested, but his princely halls 
 were no longer crowded by willing hearers of the gospel. 
 His followers were still active in various charities. 
 Dr. Dalton s last sentence is: "The present arrest, 
 however, that has been laid on the work is not to be 
 regarded with dismay; there remains abundant encour 
 agement for the prayer of faith and the patience 
 of hope." 
 
 In a very different tone M. Leroy-Beaulieu relates 
 some later vicissitudes of this movement: "It would 
 be unjust to look on Pashkovism or Radstockism merely 
 as one of fashion s vagaries. . . . Neither Radstock 
 nor Pashkof claimed that they had invented a new 
 doctrine. They avoided all semblance of dogmatical 
 controversy, merely commenting on the gospel. The 
 success of this drawing-room revival was due princi- 
 
32 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 pally to the fact that it answered a spiritual need too 
 long neglected by the Orthodox clergy. Since the 
 priests would not preach, laymen preached in their 
 place. 
 
 "The Pashkovites are not outside the pale of the 
 Church. They are a living proof of the great latitude 
 which can be enjoyed within her ancient precincts, 
 from the lack of authority on doctrine. For the 
 teaching of these Orthodox Evangelicals is tinged with 
 Protestantism, with Calvinism; it is based on justi 
 fication by faith, wherein it differs from that of 
 Sutayef and others, who declare religion to consist 
 entirely of works. The Radstockists believe them 
 selves to be assured of salvation when they feel inti 
 mately united with the Saviour. Have you Christ? 
 Lord Radstock used to ask each of his hearers; seek 
 and ye shall find. While the English lord could 
 address only society people, Mr. Pashkof extended his 
 apostolic work to the lower classes. He gathered 
 together in his own house all sorts and conditions of 
 men. . . . This was a great novelty for Russia, 
 where the cultured and illiterate were not heretofore 
 in the habit of being served with the same intellectual 
 nourishment. Similar gatherings took place in Moscow 
 and other cities, under the patronage of society women, 
 who took particular pleasure, in their own salons, in 
 seating the footmen behind the masters." He mentions 
 Mr. Pashkofs activity in publications, which were 
 scattered broadcast in thousands of copies as far as 
 the Caucasus, and in Siberia. The narrative continues: 
 
 "So long as Radstockism was confined to the 
 privileged classes, the government did not pay much 
 attention to it. If there is freedom anywhere in 
 Russia, it is in the drawing room. It was different 
 when the propaganda passed from the dress coat to 
 the sheepskin. The people, with their innate logic, 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 33 
 
 did not always observe, in their attitude toward the 
 Church and clergy, the deference dictated by good 
 taste which persons drilled in the compromises of 
 society life continued to show them. It happened, so 
 one of Mr. Pashkof s friends told me, that some 
 peasants heard him discourse on the uselessness of 
 ceremonies and observances; and the first thing they 
 did on returning to their izbas was to throw their 
 eikons out of the window. The imperial government 
 then thought it time to institute proceedings against 
 the preaching aristocrats. Mr. Pashkof was sent out 
 of Petrograd and advised to stay on his estates, then 
 invited to travel abroad. Count Korf also had to 
 leave the capital. The society founded by these 
 gentlemen was dissolved in 1884; their press organ, the 
 Evangelical Sunday Paper, was suppressed." 
 
 It is contrary to the Constitution of the United 
 States, and, thank God, to that of Czechoslovakia, to 
 forbid evangelical assemblies, preaching, teaching, 
 publications, and the formation of evangelical churches, 
 open to all qualified applicants. As it is the purpose 
 of this book to emphasize the significance of liberty 
 in the land of Huss, reference to Bulgaria, and to 
 Jugoslavia, is here omitted, except to mention that the 
 American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis 
 sions, also the Methodists, have had missions in 
 Bulgaria, duly reported in their publications. The 
 Great War has spread abroad American ideas, among 
 others, religious liberty, making it easier than before 
 to win friends for that cause. The world never will 
 find the way to safety and progress, until liberty for 
 the gospel is won. 
 
 No discussion of religion in Slavdom is adequate 
 without mention of its Reformation. Such mention, 
 among evangelical Bohemians, seems to be their irre 
 pressible habit. When they are to describe something 
 
34 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 contemporaneous they seem instinctively to begin 
 with Huss or later Reformers. The suppression of 
 their Reformation was a trick of foreign oppressors. 
 The same oppressors tried to suppress their language, 
 their literature, their national spirit. Time was when 
 ninety-five per cent of their Bohemian population 
 was accounted evangelical. Persecutions, massacre, 
 exile, changed this, so that more than ninety-five per 
 cent for a long period has been nonevangelical. Poland, 
 too, had its Reformation, and Reformed churches, as 
 by a miracle, survive in both these Slav lands. Yet 
 there are books or chapters in books about the Reforma 
 tion which entirely omit the Slav Reformation, or 
 barely allude to it. It is like a discussion of the War, 
 which omits mention of any but the western front! 
 At one time it seemed probable that Slav evangelicals 
 would win great masses of Slavdom for the gospel. 
 At one time nearly all the Polish Parliament were 
 Protestants. If Calvin s hopes had been fulfilled, the 
 history of all Slav nations since his day would have 
 been different. His correspondence with Polish and 
 Bohemian evangelicals shows a zeal for the extension 
 of the gospel among these two Slav peoples that should 
 be imitated by his followers to-day. A brief account of 
 the Bohemian Reformation by Dr. W. G. Blaikie, the 
 "Story of the Bohemian Church, was published years 
 ago by the Presbyterian Board of Publication. Its 
 last paragraphs, doubtless the best that could then be 
 written about the needs of Bohemia, are now out of 
 date. As a counterpart the writer prepared an account 
 of the Polish Reformation, "Protestantism in Poland," 
 published by the same Board. He was the more inter 
 ested in the subject from a knowledge of the noble 
 labors of Dr. R. J. Miller, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 
 in promoting the evangelization of Poles, and his 
 efforts to interest United Presbyterians and others in 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 85 
 
 that work. Dr. Miller has succeeded in obtaining aid 
 from the Presbyterian Board of Publication toward the 
 support of a Polish evangelical paper, Slowa Zywota. 
 
 On July 6, 1415, John Huss was burned to death by 
 decree of the Council of Constance, and on that date, 
 Bohemians of all creeds or of no creed unite to com 
 memorate his martyrdom. How is it that after five 
 centuries they still seem to worship that hero, and, 
 that as a proverbial consequence, there is "a spark of 
 Protestantism in every Bohemian"? 
 
 Huss was distinguished as a popular preacher. As 
 a Reformer, he was advancing on the same doctrinal 
 lines as his English predecessor, Wyclif. He opposed 
 the sale of indulgences. He desired the circulation of 
 the Scriptures, and that communicants should partake 
 of the cup as well as the bread, so that to this day, 
 "the Book and the Cup" are symbols of the Reformed 
 Bohemian Church. Huss so evidently loved the gospel 
 that a true Hussite is clearly evangelical, and in fact 
 Hussites were afterwards classed as Calvinists. Huss 
 also cultivated the novelty of congregational singing. 
 But as a patriot his name is endeared to multitudes who 
 care nothing for religious doctrines. 
 
 In 1409 German influence in the University of Prague 
 gave way to native Bohemians, by a change in the 
 voting. Then thousands of Germans departed and 
 formed the University of Leipsic, while Huss became 
 rector of the University. Huss reformed the spelling 
 of the language, and the diacritical marks of Bohemian 
 or Slovak are due to him, by which c, thus marked, 
 has the sound of ch in church, and s, similarly, is 
 sounded as in shall. His hand is thus seen in the 
 grammar of every modern Bohemian or Slovak sen 
 tence and in the development of the literature. 
 
 Through centuries of Hapsburg tyranny, the German 
 iron entered the Bohemian soul, so that Huss was 
 
36 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 always the ideal of their national aspirations. Cru 
 sades were preached, hosts were assembled from nearly 
 all of Europe to crush this small nation in the Hussite 
 wars, but the genius of the Hussite general, Zizka, who 
 was never defeated, drove them back. His battle 
 hymn is still sung, in Bohemian and English, and is 
 published in a fine illustrated edition of Bohemian 
 folk songs, by Dr. Vincent Pisek, of New York City. 
 Other Hussite hymns are still sung in Bohemian 
 congregations. 
 
 Wily enemies took advantage of divisions in Bohe 
 mian ranks. The Utraquists, also known as Calix- 
 tines, from the chalice or cup which they demanded 
 for the laity, became the aristocratic party, and the 
 stricter Reform party, the Taborites, became the 
 democratic party, sometimes disastrously conflicting 
 with each other. The destruction of the Taborites 
 ended the Hussite wars. More than a hundred years 
 after the death of Huss, when Luther took part in the 
 famous disputation at Leipsic, he thrilled the audience 
 by daring to criticize the Council of Constance, and by 
 announcing himself in effect a Hussite. On November 
 8, 1620, the liberties of Bohemia were lost in the battle 
 of the White Mountain, and only restored in part by 
 the edict of Toleration in 1781. For over a hundred 
 and fifty years the Bible could have been read only at 
 the risk of life. Real religious liberty was assured by 
 the triumph of the Allies in 1918, and by the constitu 
 tion of Czechoslovakia, as well as by the character of 
 President T. G. Masaryk, who is of evangelical 
 affiliation. 
 
 Count Valerian Krasinski in 1838 dedicated his work 
 on the Polish Reformation, "To the Protestants of 
 the British Empire and of the United States, by a 
 Polish Protestant." For fifty years it made rapid 
 advances, and a glance at a map of that time, showing 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 37 
 
 swarms of evangelical churches in Poland would astonish 
 anyone ignorant of that history. An account of the 
 evangelical schools, printing presses, and Bibles of 
 that period would deepen the impression. In the next 
 fifty years there was a rapid decline. Finally Poland 
 itself, "after a career of degeneracy almost unexampled 
 in the history of the world," disappeared from the 
 map. Again we quote Dr. Dalton, when in 1884 he 
 addressed the Presbyterian Council at Belfast: 
 
 "It is my deepest conviction, as the result of long 
 years of study, that Poland has been strangled by the 
 Romish Church. Had that noble people remained 
 true to the leading of John Laski, then to the present 
 day had those melancholy words, Finis Poloniae, 
 remained unspoken. If anyone wishes to understand 
 what the audacious man of Rome, with his bodyguard 
 of Jesuits, can make out of a noble country, let him 
 study the history of Poland to the present day, the 
 history of a people that, as few others, offered in its 
 worldly circumstances so many favorable points to a 
 Presbyterian development." 
 
Chapter II 
 
 COLPORTAGE 
 
 THE form of evangelical effort known as colportage 
 has for a long time, and on a larger scale than any 
 other, been employed throughout the most of Slavdom, 
 and among multitudes in the United States. A col 
 porteur may not always be, as the French word sig 
 nifies, "one who carries" something "on his neck," yet 
 as a servant of Bible or tract societies he is a sort of 
 book agent, needing all the courage, tact, energy, and 
 perseverance that may be associated with that calling. 
 Some western cattlemen have amusingly confounded 
 the word with "cowpuncher." When such w r ork began 
 in Japan, the natives called the colporteur "The-Holy- 
 Book-to-sell-go-about-man." Another beautifully ex 
 pressive term is "Bible messenger." 
 
 The colporteur is an itinerant, generally a lay 
 missionary. His main function is to distribute books, 
 not specially to hold prayer meetings, start new 
 Sunday schools, begin or organize new missions, or to 
 preach, though on occasion, if qualified, he may do all 
 these things. But if books are not circulated, Bible 
 societies must go out of business. 
 
 The colporteur promotes the reading of the Word. 
 A good statement of the relative importance of the 
 work is in the Westminster Shorter Catechism: "The 
 Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the 
 preaching, of the Word, an effectual means of convincing 
 and converting sinners, and of building them up in 
 holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation." 
 Preachers and missionaries often find colporteurs indis 
 pensable. Volumes might not suffice to tell of the mis- 
 
 38 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 39 
 
 sions that have originated from the reading of Bibles, 
 by individuals or groups, in widely different parts of 
 the world. It would be unjust to demand either from 
 colporteurs or preachers that they produce some 
 "permanent," showy results in some given time, 
 according to a critic s caprice. We cannot dismiss 
 Christ s rule for his Kingdom, "first the blade, then 
 the ear, then the full grain in the ear." The Egyptian 
 boatman casts his grain, his "bread" into the fertile 
 flood of the Nile, "upon the waters," but he does not 
 expect to find it till after "many days." Luther s 
 conversion is usually traced to his reading of the Bible, 
 which he first saw in Latin about the year 1504, when 
 he was twenty years old; while his Reformation dates 
 from 1517, years after. 
 
 Bible women have accomplished things in Christian 
 work that could not be done by an angel from heaven; 
 but it is best that our colporteurs should be men. They 
 may be required to carry from fifty to seventy pounds 
 of books, under a blazing sky, or through winter s 
 mud and snows and rains. They may walk through 
 lonely forests, or through dangerous city neighbor 
 hoods at night. They are "in journey ings often, in 
 perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by" their 
 own "countrymen, in perils by the" heathen, "in 
 perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils 
 in the sea, in perils among false brethren." Students 
 on vacations may take up this work, men with years 
 of education, or new converts so illiterate that they 
 can barely scrawl their reports. Sometimes the 
 uneducated men make the best salesmen. It would be 
 difficult suddenly to abandon the support of an ordained 
 man, a lady missionary, a mission station. But a 
 colporteur may be supported in one region for a month, 
 transferred to another for three months or a year, on 
 short notice, to renew work whenever new occasions 
 
40 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 call for it. "Uncle John Vassar," colporteur of the 
 American Tract Society, said that he was not a shep 
 herd, but a shepherd s dog, to bring the sheep to the 
 shepherd. Colporteurs are scouts of the Church. We 
 can say to a colporteur what Moses said to his friend : 
 "Thou mayest be to us instead of eyes." 
 
 Colportage is the most flexible, most economical, of 
 all Christian work, and it should be vigorously 
 increased at home and abroad. Colportage, moreover, 
 is a continuous survey, cheaper, more practical, and 
 more evangelistic than any other kind of survey. 
 Colporteurs often are required to pause, for some 
 purely humanitarian errand, in behalf of the sick, the 
 unemployed, the unfortunate, or those who may need 
 an interpreter. 
 
 The writer was superintendent of colportage for the 
 Young Men s Bible Society of Allegheny County at 
 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1900 and part of 1901. 
 This was the first work of the sort this venerable 
 organization had undertaken among foreigners. Two 
 of the lessons from that experience prove the great 
 usefulness of colportage: 
 
 First, as never before, the Slav colporteurs revealed 
 in that important center of evangelical churches the 
 accessibility of the Slavs. One day a colporteur re 
 ported that Schoenville, near the city, would be a 
 good place for a mission. The writer called the atten 
 tion of Dr. W. L. McEwan, his former fellow student, 
 to these facts. Dr. McEwan warmly welcomed the 
 idea, began a correspondence, learned the name and 
 recommendations of Rev. V. Losa, then a pastor of a 
 Bohemian Presbyterian Church at Clarkson, Nebraska, 
 and did not rest until the latter was called to begin 
 his mission at Schoenville. Developments made 
 necessary a joint committee of Pittsburgh and Alle 
 gheny Presbyteries and, later, the union of these two 
 
WILLIAM L. McEWAN, D.D., LL.D. 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 41 
 
 presbyteries, mainly for the more effective prosecution 
 of this work among foreigners. These brethren had 
 sturdy minds, and strong local attachments, old and 
 loved traditions, so that it cost a sacrifice of sentiment 
 and convenience to make such changes, all of which 
 began with these colporteurs. Dr. McEwan was an 
 unwearied advocate and leader in the cause, year 
 after year, and the results make up an important part 
 of the achievements of his ministerial career. In 1902 
 the joint committee of these two presbyteries began 
 colportage. No sales among Slavs had been reported 
 from any part of the United States that were greater 
 than those of the Bible Society at Pittsburgh. But 
 the first year s sales among Slavs by the Presbyterian 
 colporteurs were double those of the local Bible Society 
 for a corresponding period. 
 
 If colportage is a power for good in the region of 
 Pittsburgh, why not for other regions in this country? 
 With this conviction the writer corresponded with the 
 late Dr. J. A. Worden, with the result that the Pres 
 byterian Board of Publication in the summer of 1902 
 took up the work, the writer assisting in securing and 
 directing their first colporteur among Slavs, a Bohemian, 
 afterwards ordained as a minister, Rev. Frank Uherka. 
 This work was done in Lehigh Presbytery, beginning 
 at Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. Some years ago the 
 estimate was made that the Presbyterian colportage of 
 the country, including this Board and Pittsburgh 
 Presbytery, exceeded that of the other denominations 
 combined. Boasting is excluded; for no denomination 
 has done all that it should have done for this work. 
 
 Another result was achieved by Slav colporteurs of 
 the Bible Society in Pittsburgh; they started a move 
 ment among translators across the sea. Bible trans 
 lators have been called "the pioneers of civilization; 
 but the pioneers of pioneers are the colporteurs," and 
 
42 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 here is an instance. The colporteurs reported that 
 Lithuanians would not accept the Bibles that were 
 offered to them, as they were in an alphabet that they 
 did not use. Inquiry showed that for many years in 
 Russia there had been no permission to publish any 
 books in the Lithuanian language. Consequently the 
 Lithuanians were more destitute of Scriptures than the 
 Dakota Indians, who have the Bible in their own 
 tongue. The writer had a correspondence with the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society on this subject, 
 especially after he became pastor in 1902 at Shenan- 
 doah, Pennsylvania, which was a Lithuanian strong 
 hold. Questions arose as to the proper style for modern 
 Lithuanian. Copies of Lithuanian newspapers, pub 
 lished in America, in the Roman type used by the mass 
 of Lithuanians to-day, were obtained and sent to 
 London to the "B. F. B. S." And here the writer may 
 be allowed to pay an American s tribute to the officials 
 of that noble Bible Society, for the courtesy of their 
 correspondence, and the patience and perseverance 
 with which they met the problems of a new Bible 
 version. The chief correspondent on such questions 
 was the late Rev. John Sharp, of the Church of Eng 
 land, the editorial superintendent. His successor is 
 Dr. R. Kilgour, a Presbyterian, formerly a missionary 
 in India. At last Russia removed the ban from the 
 publication of Lithuanian Bibles. Colporteurs of the 
 Presbyterian Board of Publication have sold them in 
 America, and thousands of copies have been sold in 
 Europe. 
 
 At this point some explanations may naturally be 
 made as to Lithuania. Disregarding what some lexi 
 cographers or philologists may say as to the relation 
 between the Lithuanian and the Slavic group of lan 
 guages, the experience of colporteurs is that while Slavs 
 can communicate more or less readily with other Slavs, 
 
THE COMING OP THE SLAV 43 
 
 they can scarcely understand one word of Lithuanian. 
 Lithuania was once part of Poland, and many Lithu 
 anians speak Polish, and thus communicate with Slav 
 colporteurs. It pleases them that they may claim a 
 high antiquity for their language, since scholars mark 
 the resemblance between the Lithuanian and the 
 venerable Sanskrit of India. But a professor in Oxford, 
 England, objects to the claim that Lithuanian is "the 
 oldest language in Europe," preferring to class it as a 
 "well-preserved language" whose literary monuments 
 are hardly more ancient than the Reformation era. 
 In a survey of Slavdom, waiving questions of linguistic 
 relationship, the practical fact is before us that Lithu 
 ania always did and must have dealings with the Slav 
 group, especially Poles and Russians; that the Great 
 War leaves it recognized as a separate nationality; 
 that it, too, proclaims religious freedom; and that it 
 has interesting Lithuanian Reformed Churches, having 
 knowledge and fellowship with Polish Reformed 
 churches and adherents who are leaders in Lithuanian 
 national affairs. In one of the Lithuanian publications 
 we may see a facsimile letter addressed by John Calvin 
 to their synod. The Reformers are their spiritual 
 ancestry. American Presbyterians should establish 
 regular communications with brethren of our own 
 branch of the Church of Christ, kindred who too long 
 have been obscure to us, who need a helping hand, and 
 who may have inspiring successes to comfort them for 
 centuries of hindrances. 
 
 Americans would learn many lessons, if they could see 
 the colporteur at his work. One of these men found a 
 group of men at cards, perhaps drinking, and was sa 
 luted with "Oh ! Go away ! We do not want your books !" 
 
 "Ah!" he answered, "that is not fair! You should 
 give me a hearing ! This book says, Husbands, love your 
 wives, as Christ loved the Church. Is that a bad book?" 
 
44 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 "Oh, well, maybe it is not such a bad book!" 
 
 "And this book says" and as soon as possible, the 
 colporteur read the Book, and let it speak for itself. 
 If any asked about the Virgin Mary, he turned to a 
 passage where she is mentioned. If any inquired 
 whether the Book contains any prayers, he read,"Create 
 in me a clean heart, O God." Sometimes colporteurs 
 are asked if the Book tells anything about the sufferings 
 of Christ, and one colporteur said that he sold many 
 a New Testament after reading Matt., ch. 27, the 
 account of the crucifixion. Tears have streamed down 
 the faces of those who hear in their language this story 
 from the gospel. 
 
 Some of the anecdotes published by Dr. George W. 
 Montgomery in a booklet for Pittsburgh Presbytery are 
 worth repeating: 
 
 "Shortly after the work among the Slavonic people 
 was begun in Schoenville, in the year 1900, a Bohemian 
 man from Slavonia, Joseph Kujinek, was induced to 
 attend the meetings. The place where our meetings 
 were held was a small, unattractive rented room. 
 Joseph had been a bad character in the Old Country, 
 was often drunk, and his wife suffered greatly at 
 his hands. As soon as he entered our mission he became 
 very much interested in what he heard and hardly 
 three weeks elapsed before he was soundly converted. 
 He asked to be received into membership in the 
 mission. We were very careful about receiving 
 members into the mission, preferring to exercise a 
 watch over them, ofttimes for weeks, that we might 
 make no mistake. But we were obliged to make an 
 exception in the case of this man. His testimony was 
 so earnest and so touching that we admitted him at 
 once to full communion. He stayed with the mission 
 six months and was a most exemplary member. 
 
 "After six months he returned to his European home 
 
i*j; 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 45 
 
 where he remained. Letters reached us of how tender 
 his meeting with his wife was. She went to the station 
 to meet a drunkard, as she supposed, from whom she 
 expected to suffer more than before, because she had 
 heard that he had joined the "Devil s Church" in 
 America. To her great surprise, however, he not only 
 did not go to the saloon, but when he reached their 
 home he opened a big book (Bible), read a chapter 
 from it, and knelt down and thanked God for a safe 
 return to his home. He read from his Bible every day 
 and was a very tender husband, a thing to which his 
 wife was not used. His wife was so moved after three 
 or four days that she begged him with tears in her eyes 
 to take her over to the same church to which he 
 belonged. The following Sunday they both made a 
 journey of three hours to the nearest Protestant 
 Church where they became members. 
 
 "Since that time they have lived a happy life in their 
 home though bitterly persecuted for their faith. When 
 Joseph learned that there were Protestants scattered 
 about in the neighborhood, he began to visit them and 
 within half a year he had found about sixty Protestant 
 families. He was eager for meetings, but there was no 
 building anywhere in the neighborhood which could be 
 rented for Protestant use. He therefore bought a little 
 house, made one room out of two, and began to gather 
 the Protestants every Sunday. Within two years this 
 work of one convert grew into a church. 
 
 "Mr. Medvid, a Ruthenian convert, who a few years 
 ago did not know of the existence of the Holy Book, 
 was converted in Schoenville. Right after his conver 
 sion he lost his job because he would not bribe his 
 bosses any more, he would not go to saloons, and he 
 would not swear. When he applied for work the boss 
 sent him to the church to pray. It was impossible for 
 him to get work hi Schoenville. He therefore moved to 
 
46 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 Coraopolis where he got work in an oil refinery. Almost 
 all the workmen there happened to be Protestants and 
 very good men. Before he got this job, however, he 
 walked across the country from Coraopolis to Moon 
 Run. When he was returning it was dark. Three men 
 held him up and demanded money. One of them was a 
 Negro who pointed a revolver in his face, threatening 
 to kill him. This is the characteristic reply Mr. Medvid 
 made to his threat: Money I have none, but as to 
 your killing me I want to say that I am not afraid. 
 My soul cannot be killed. It belongs to God. Such 
 an unusual answer moved the Negro and he said: I 
 had a good Christian mother who taught me to believe 
 in God and obey him, but I went the wrong way. I 
 will not harm you. Here is your watch; go your way; 
 you are safe ." 
 
 An illustration of the power of the printed page in 
 shaping lives will be found in the following: 
 
 "In some unknown way a copy of the Krestanske 
 Listy, a paper that is published in Pittsburgh in the 
 Bohemian language and edited by Dr. Losa, super 
 intendent of the presbytery s foreign work, fell into 
 the hands of a Bohemian woman at Raccoon, Pennsyl 
 vania. She, together with her husband and quite a 
 colony of Bohemians, had been living a life of sin and 
 great indifference to religious matters for a number of 
 years. When this paper came into her hands she was 
 so deeply impressed with what she read that she came 
 twenty -eight miles to the city of Pittsburgh to seek 
 Dr. Losa and beg him to teach her more about the way 
 to Godo Her child of seven or eight years accompanied 
 her on this journey. More than two hours of time was 
 spent in the office where she was directed to look to 
 the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the 
 world. She went away from the office with her face 
 aglow with the new joy that had come to her by faith 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 47 
 
 in Jesus Christ. She returned to her home and in a 
 short time that entire community became quiet, 
 peace-loving, and orderly." 
 
 A brief account taken from a publication kindly 
 furnished by the superintendent, J. M. Somerndike, of 
 the work undertaken among Slavs by our Presbyterian 
 Board of Publication may here be sufficient: 
 
 "The efforts of the Board in behalf of foreign immi 
 grants may rightly be termed "evangelizing" because 
 they are concerned solely with the giving of the evangel 
 or glad tidings to the host of foreigners in America. 
 The Board s work is to sow the seed of the Kingdom, 
 preparing the field for cultivation and harvest. Its 
 efforts are confined to the preparation of evangelical 
 literature in the languages of immigrant peoples and 
 the distribution of such literature, together with the 
 Scriptures, through the work of colporteurs. These 
 colporteurs, who are missionaries in the truest sense, 
 canvass foreign colonies and settlements, especially 
 in the large cities, doing personal work besides gathering 
 information which frequently prepares the way for the 
 establishment of permanent mission stations. 
 
 "Apart from the preached Word, the most effective 
 means of spreading the gospel, especially among the 
 immigrants, is through the printed page. Who can 
 measure the far-reaching effect of the silent yet forceful 
 messenger of God s truth in the form of a brief tract or 
 leaflet placed in the hands of one who may be seeking 
 the light? 
 
 "While the Church continues to make liberal use of 
 literature in introducing the gospel into heathen lands, 
 it has been neglected in America, where it is even more 
 urgently needed. The influx of millions of immigrants 
 from southern Europe, speaking strange tongues, found 
 us unprepared. With a very inadequate supply of 
 evangelical literature in foreign languages, and with 
 
48 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 only a few Protestant ministers who could speak the 
 languages of these newcomers, the Church found itself 
 well-nigh helpless to convey the message of the gospel 
 to any large numbers. 
 
 "The Missionary Department of the Presbyterian 
 Board of Publication and Sabbath School Work, with 
 the assistance of other agencies, began to develop for 
 this new immigration a series of tracts and booklets in 
 the same manner as it met the immigrant problem of a 
 generation ago, when the majority of those who came 
 to our shores were from the countries of northern 
 Europe. The Board also saw the necessity of reviving 
 the work of the colporteur, who in former days had 
 rendered such effective service in reaching the Swedes, 
 Norwegians, French, and others who came to America 
 in the earlier immigration. 
 
 "A class of missionaries concerning whom we hear 
 and read but little, consists of the humble colporteurs, 
 or Bible men, who are taking the gospel to the people 
 of many tongues in the language of their native lands. 
 The colportage system of evangelization has been tried 
 and tested for centuries." 
 
 An account of the Slav periodicals published by 
 the Presbyterian Board is given in the supplement to 
 this book. 
 
 In the Russian Empire for a number of years, col 
 porteurs of the B. F. B. S. had special privileges from 
 the Russian Department of Railways in the granting of 
 free passes and for the free carriage of goods, thus 
 saving thousands of pounds for the Society. Steam 
 ship companies on the great Siberian rivers were like 
 wise generous. In one report from Siberia, mention is 
 made of an agent s journey of fifteen hundred miles, 
 first class and free of charge; and that the total weight 
 of Scriptures carried to and from the headquarters of 
 that agency in that year was seventy-six tons. When 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 49 
 
 the railways were congested during the War, these 
 privileges were withdrawn. The colporteurs accord 
 ingly did not sell so much on trains, but devoted them 
 selves to the towns, especially those that have rail 
 way junctions. 
 
 In the summer, every year, one of the colporteurs 
 journeyed from Petrograd to the White Sea. Among 
 other places, he would go to the island of the famous 
 Solovetsky Monastery, visited by thousands of pilgrims. 
 He always received a welcome there, sometimes, too, 
 much assistance in his colportage work, as the monks 
 take supplies for the pilgrims. At the Verkolsky 
 Monastery he once met the famous Father John of 
 Kronstadt, who was making a visit. He had tea and 
 dinner with him. 
 
 "You have for a long time been serving in the Society, 
 my friend," said Father John. "It is a good service 
 one might call it apostolic." 
 
 "Yes," said he, "I am now in my thirteenth year of 
 service." 
 
 When Father John s steamer was leaving, the 
 colporteur asked if the former would give him passage 
 with him back to Archangel; Father John at once con 
 sented, and on the voyage spoke to him further about 
 his work as a colporteur, rejoicing at his great success. 
 When questioned about his health the colporteur 
 replied that now, thank God, he was well, but that 
 eighteen months before he had undergone a serious 
 operation. 
 
 "It is evident," said Father John, "that the Lord 
 still had need of you, as he has brought you back to 
 health and strength." 
 
 On that journey of six thousand miles, the colpor 
 teur circulated nearly three thousand copies of Scripture. 
 
 The same colporteur earlier in this tour arrived at 
 Archangel and found difficulty in obtaining a place 
 
50 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 to store his stock of Scriptures, of which he had about 
 a thousand rubles worth. He went to the archpriest, 
 and begged him to allow him to keep the books in the 
 cathedral building; his request was granted, thus saving 
 the Society all expense for storage. On another tour 
 he was in a barracks where three hundred workers 
 were quartered. His stock was rapidly exhausted, and 
 one man who took several copies was besieged by the 
 others: "Ivan Petrovitch! For Christ s sake, give me 
 one little book, and I shall always pray for you!" 
 
 A bookseller in Archangel remarked to him that in 
 the north he supposed sales of Scripture would be 
 small. "On the contrary," said the colporteur, "about 
 a hundred rubles [then ten pounds sterling] a week." 
 The bookseller wondered, for he himself did not sell as 
 many of such books in a year, and asked how the 
 colporteur managed it. 
 
 "I go everywhere," was the reply, "and wherever 
 there are doors open, there I offer the Scriptures. 
 Here, for instance, in your own street, I have sold 
 twenty-one copies in a drapery establishment and 
 twelve in a grocer s shop. I go to the people, I 
 bring the books under their noses, I tell them the 
 price. I show them that it is the gospel, and urge 
 them to buy that is all." The report adds: "That 
 is all; but there lies in that just the very secret 
 of being a colporteur." 
 
 A suggestive paragraph in a B. F. B. S. report tells 
 how the men are selected and trained. A colporteur 
 is always admitted on probation for a period of from 
 six to nine months. He has to show what is in him in 
 the way of endurance, physical and moral; the col 
 porteur s life will try a man quite sufficiently in this 
 respect. He must show whether he has the gift of 
 making himself and his vocation acceptable to people 
 of different classes; he must show that he can exercise 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 51 
 
 practical wisdom in his going to and fro among the 
 people; he must show that he has some idea of the 
 higher nature of his calling as a bearer of the Word 
 of God: 
 
 "Probationers often fail to attain our standard for 
 admission to the full rank of colporteur. We hesitate 
 sometimes in the case of a man who proves himself to 
 have the salesman s gift but to be apparently devoid of 
 any other qualification associated with the name colpor 
 teur. Yet we have seen such a man at first a mere 
 salesman, though a good one begin in the course of 
 time to be interested in Bible circulation as such, and 
 at last become proud of his calling as a colporteur and 
 devoted to it. On the other hand, we have sometimes 
 to do with good and earnest Christian men whose 
 period of probation has shown them to have no aptitude 
 for colportage." Elsewhere in these reports a col 
 porteur whose reports were lengthy was advised to 
 "write less and sell more." 
 
 Speaking of objectors, a colporteur remarked that 
 the least dangerous unbelievers are those who discuss 
 Noah s ark, Balaam s ass, and Jonah s whale. Fre 
 quently we find testimonies to the Word of God from 
 surprising sources. On a train in Siberia one passenger 
 exclaimed: "Brothers, those of you who do not possess 
 a copy of this book, or have it in your homes, are not 
 worthy of the name of orthodox Christian. In this 
 book you will find knowledge, grace, and strength to 
 fit you for the battle of life." Several fellow passengers 
 then bought Testaments. 
 
 On another occasion a soldier stimulated sales in a 
 train by his exhortation: "Comrades, this book is for 
 all the orthodox, and is the Book of books. Come, all 
 who care for religion, and buy a copy!" 
 
 A colporteur on another train offered books to a 
 group of Kirghiz Tatars, who are Moslems. One of 
 
52 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 them could read Russian characters, and taking a 
 copy of the four Gospels, he said: "I will buy the book. 
 I know its contents, and they are good." He advised a 
 Russian peasant sitting opposite to buy a book that 
 he was examining, saying, "In this book you will find 
 capital rules for daily life." The peasant did so, sur 
 prised that a Kirghiz should commend the Scriptures 
 to him. 
 
 In a Cossack village the priest said to his congrega 
 tion: "Brethren, we have among us to-day a man sent 
 our way with copies of the Scriptures, a colporteur. I 
 hope that in each house a copy of the Word of God 
 may be found. We all have need of this Book." 
 
 Another Siberian incident encouraged a colporteur. 
 A peasant thanked him for his persuasion to take a 
 New Testament the year before, saying that he was 
 fleeing from sin and believed in Christ. He had had a 
 discussion with a friend, Simon, about the passage in 
 Heb., ch. 11: "Women received their dead by a 
 resurrection: and others . . . that they might ob 
 tain a better resurrection." Simon supposed that 
 there must be two resurrections, but asked his friend 
 to explain it. 
 
 "I, how can I explain it to thee? * was the reply. 
 "I m no pope [priest], but I ll give thee my idea on the 
 verses. For example, thou and I are sad drunkards, 
 Simon, thieves, swindlers, and revelers; our wives 
 suffer all kinds of unpleasantness. They know no 
 rest, and are always anxious for our return, on which, 
 when we are drunk, we beat them unmercifully. Now 
 all of a sudden, you, Simon, and I, Achim, start coming 
 home sober to our wives, and begin to converse with 
 them about faith and God and the Scriptures, tell 
 them that we are now reformed men, take no part in 
 revels or rogueries, but become honest men, and never 
 touch vodka, or torment our wives. Is not that also, 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 53 
 
 Simon, a case of returning to our wives, having obtained 
 a resurrection and shaken off sin?" "I do not know," 
 Simon answered, "but I think thou art talking sense, 
 and perhaps there are two resurrections." 
 
 "Six months have passed since then," said Achim 
 to the colporteur, "but drink has never passed his lips; 
 and this, mind you, is all the result of your selling me 
 that copy of the New Testament." 
 
 The region east of Lake Baikal is the most difficult 
 section of Siberia, with a sparse and migratory popula 
 tion. Some years ago an order was signed by the 
 commander in chief of the Kazan Military Circuit: 
 
 1. Prikaz (i. e., Order) No. 509, December 25, 1912. 
 
 Hereby is issued an order, to be carried out to the 
 very letter, without any deviation whatever, in all 
 companies and detachments of the regiments, at morn 
 ing prayers to read daily one chapter in succession of 
 the Gospels, in a clear, loud voice, and intelligible 
 manner. 
 
 The officers of the companies and detachments must 
 select the men who are to read the Gospels, as well as 
 see that this order is fulfilled to the letter, and duly 
 carried out. 
 
 For information: This order was issued for the Kazan 
 Military Circuit on December 7, 1912, under No. 359. 
 
 The report adds that if similar orders were every 
 where in force, it would pave the way for colporteurs to 
 gain access to Russian barracks in the Far East. 
 
 Just before the Holy Synod of the Russian Church 
 passed out of existence, it issued a permit for a reprint 
 of the 1907 edition of the Russian Bible, without the 
 Apocryphal books; and the Synodal Press, before it 
 was declared the property of the State, had the sheets 
 ready for delivery at the end of the year. This edition 
 of twenty-five thousand Bibles came at a time when 
 the stock of Bibles in various languages was exhausted 
 
54 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 in Russia, and when, through the breakdown in trans 
 portation, no more could be had. When the railways 
 reopened for a while the B. F. B. S. books were accepted 
 free of charge, as under the old regime. 
 
 Some anecdotes are given concerning colportage 
 among Ruthenians, or as we may now designate them, 
 Ukrainians. One very successful worker at Breslau 
 said that of all the Slav nationalities passing through 
 that center, these were the most approachable, and 
 most receptive of gospel teaching. Thousands of 
 books sold there find their way to the villages of 
 Austria, and orders sometimes come to this Breslau 
 colporteur from Galicia. So, in the barracks at Prague, 
 a colporteur noted the avidity of Ruthenian soldiers to 
 possess the Scriptures. Poverty was a hindrance in 
 Galicia. In one village a group of men was formed to 
 purchase a Bible as common property; and it was 
 arranged that they should meet alternately in one 
 another s houses for the purpose of Bible study. Often 
 the colporteur was asked to tell stories from the Bible, 
 and he always did so. One little Ruthenian maid 
 bought a Gospel, and later the colporteur found her 
 reading aloud to a crowd of villagers. "Here is the 
 man from whom I bought it," she exclaimed, and in a 
 few minutes he had sold ten more Gospels, a Bible, 
 and several New Testaments. In the Bukowina a 
 saddler informed a colporteur that there were only 
 two complete Bibles, one of which w r as in the hands of 
 the Pope of Rome and the other belonged to the 
 archbishop of Lemberg! 
 
 In the Bukowina, a colporteur working among Poles 
 and Ruthenians sold a Bible to a Roman Catholic 
 laborer, who said, "I am in perpetual wonder about 
 this book, for there is no book in all the world so suited 
 to all conditions in life, none so suitable for every rank 
 and class." 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 55 
 
 At a railway station in Russia a Polish soldier 
 recognized and hailed a colporteur who was offering 
 Scriptures to the men who were looking out of the car 
 windows. He had bought a Bible on that very spot, 
 on his way to the Far East, read it constantly, and 
 found in it the way of everlasting life. Then he turned 
 to his comrades and said, "Here, brothers, is the man 
 who sold me the Bible, and counseled me to read it 
 every day." As a consequence, the colporteur there 
 and then sold ten more Polish Bibles. 
 
 A Polish farmer was found, a man of saintly char 
 acter and life, who had bought a Bible nine years 
 before the colporteur s interview with him. A workman 
 bought a Polish Wujek Bible and went from house to 
 house reading it. This prepared the way, years after 
 ward, for the colporteur who sold copies in that village. 
 In a difficult region, a Polish family was visited that 
 needed a new Bible, since they had been reading their 
 copy for fifteen years. Another family near Cracow 
 had treasured their copy for twenty-five years, resisting 
 the priest in his efforts to obtain it. In Russian Poland 
 a family that had been converted by reading the Bible 
 had much trouble with their priest, who afterwards 
 became friendly and bought a Bible for himself, a rare 
 case. One enthusiastic laborer, a Pole, in East Prussia, 
 treasuring his Bible, declared that when he returned to 
 Austria he would tell his friends of the happiness he had 
 found through believing in Jesus Christ. 
 
 A curious story was reported from Germany. A 
 young man who bought a Polish Bible was jeered at 
 by his companions and took the Bible back to the 
 colporteur, who entreated in vain that he should keep 
 it. He finally left it on the fence by the roadside. 
 Some time afterwards this worker was accosted by a 
 woman who wanted to see his books. She had found 
 the Bible on the fence, took it home, and as it was in 
 
56 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 her language, she would not be parted from it. In the 
 region of Moscow, a man made a special journey to 
 meet a colporteur and get a Polish Bible, as he had 
 seen one in the hands of a fellow villager. 
 
 Yet with painful monotony yearly instances are 
 given of opposition, intense, organized, from the 
 Polish Catholic priesthood, and in all parts of Poland, 
 Russian, Austrian, or German. A colporteur mentioned 
 a Pole who six years before had bought a Polish Wujek 
 Bible from one of the colporteurs in eastern Germany. 
 He discovered that he was a great sinner, but that he 
 could be saved, not by works but by faith. A priest 
 visited him, took the book from him, and kept it for 
 some time. The Pole went to law and obtained a judg 
 ment against the priest, who had to return the Bible. 
 The priest finally informed the Pole that he had been 
 shut out of the Catholic Church and declared a heretic. 
 
 In a village not far from the town of Posen a girl 
 was sent to a colporteur with a Testament that her 
 mother had bought, asking him to refund the money. 
 The girl said that her mother had ordered her to throw 
 the book into the fire, because it distinctly stated that 
 Peter had denied our Lord. The news went like wild 
 fire through the village that he was circulating books 
 slandering St. Peter. He complained that he was 
 hunted like a wild beast. 
 
 The priests visit all families where the colporteur 
 has been, and burn all the books he has sold. They 
 fulminate against him from the pulpit, warn school 
 children of his coming, publish descriptions of him in 
 the press, so that these workers are sometimes in 
 danger of their lives. Even the Wujek, a Catholic 
 version in Polish, is seized and burned. One Bible was 
 taken from a Pole in Galicia to be sent to Rome "for 
 the pope s inspection." He was assured that it might 
 be some years before the pope would send it back. 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 57 
 
 In Posen the people regard tKe Bible as antagonizing 
 not only the Catholic Church but also the Polish nation. 
 They say, "These are Protestant books, which are 
 meant to steal our religion, after a law has been made 
 to steal our land." The people are in fear of the priests, 
 lest they refuse them the Communion and absolution. 
 On a steamer going from Warsaw to Plotsk, a man 
 asked a colporteur to come with him to a quiet part of 
 the vessel and give him a Bible "inconspicuously." 
 Often men and women who buy a Gospel hide it under 
 a pillow, for fear the priest might burn it. In Posen 
 the colporteur is often regarded as an emissary of 
 Prussia, and is hooted through the streets by the 
 children, or pelted with stones and heavy missiles. 
 Yet encouraging hopes are expressed in one of these 
 reports that the Poles, who are a religious people, will 
 some day be transformed, when they become a Bible- 
 reading people. Some Poles declared to a colporteur 
 that they had lost faith in their priests. 
 
 The same opposition from a Romish priesthood is 
 seen among Slovenes and Croatians. The question 
 naturally arises as to whether this is because the Bible 
 if known would end their domination. We read of a 
 woodman who bought a Slovenian Testament with 
 eagerness. After finishing work at one place, a col 
 porteur, himself a Slovene, found a man following him 
 through the forest. He had had a copy of the Scriptures 
 which the priest had taken from him. For more than 
 an hour the colporteur talked with him in the forest, 
 and after that Bible class, the Slovene returned, 
 rejoicing in his new copy of the Word. Another 
 Slovene in South Styria asked him whether his books 
 contained anything about the Virgin Mary. It was a 
 lucky thing that he satisfied him, as it was the man s 
 intention otherwise to throw him into a pond. In one 
 place a priest preached against the B. F. B. S., saying 
 
58 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 that it was the ruin of the Holy Catholic Church. 
 "This Society offers us its books, but they are poison 
 ous. Many have fallen from the faith through this very 
 Society, whose books teach a different faith than ours." 
 
 The B. F. B. S. report for 1908 gives an account of 
 the restrictions and delays and some instances of perse 
 cution in colportage work. The situation was intoler 
 able. In some provinces, regions visited by throngs 
 of American tourists, in Upper Austria, the Tyrol, 
 Vorarlberg, and Salzburg, licenses were withheld from 
 the colporteurs. It was a crime to sell a Bible in Vienna ! 
 Yet Rosegger, Austria s greatest novelist, said: "I can 
 never weary, all my life long, of pointing to the gospel. 
 In Austria, where this Book lies fallow, we little dream 
 what lies therein, how it encourages, elevates, and 
 inspires suffering, wrestling, hopeless men. After the 
 day s labor we lie down in our beds, full of care. That 
 which we have sought and wished we have seldom 
 attained, and the morrow sees once more the beginning 
 of the worry and struggle of existence. How would it 
 be, were we to take every evening that immortal book 
 which is called the New Testament, and read a chapter 
 or two aloud in our family circles and speak about what 
 we have read? In this way we should disperse many a 
 dark cloud. We should conquer our lot, instead of 
 being conquered by it." 
 
 Croatia is rated as a difficult field. Yet a Turk 
 bought a Croatian Bible from a colporteur. A gendarme 
 bought a Croatian Testament. A keeper of a light 
 house ordered a Croatian Bible after the colporteur 
 explained to him that the Bible was a great Light. 
 Another was sold to a burgomaster who borrowed the 
 money for it from a policeman. A young lieutenant 
 said: "You sold a New Testament to one of my men. 
 I have been reading it with great pleasure." Later 
 on he visited the colporteur and bought a Croatian 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 59 
 
 Bible. A high government official in one of the courts 
 to whom he had brought a Bible held it aloft and said 
 to his friends: "Gentlemen, this is the most important 
 book in the world. It should have its place in every 
 house and be read in every family." 
 
 By contrast the colporteur s work is easier in Serbia 
 and Bulgaria. A report says: "In Serbia we enjoy 
 perfect freedom to carry on our work. The priests of 
 the Serbian Greek Church are, as a rule, friendly. One 
 priest bought over two hundred New Testaments for 
 the members of his community." Priests tell the 
 colporteur of the altered lives of those of their flock 
 who study the Scriptures; peasants speak of the young 
 men of their villages ceasing to follow ungodly ways 
 since the Bible has been introduced among them. "As a 
 rule, the Serbian loves the Scriptures. In this, he 
 resembles his Russian cousin." Some Serbians said 
 to the Bible man, "We do not want novels, but some 
 thing about Jesus Christ." Another Serb said: "I 
 would not resell my Bible for ten times its price. The 
 money which it costs is as nothing to the treasure it 
 contains." This last incident occurred in the wilds of 
 southern Croatia. On a festival of the Greek Orthodox 
 Church some Serbian young men bought Scriptures for 
 their partners in a dance. 
 
 The B. F. B. S. in Bulgaria has the northern half of 
 the kingdom as its field, while the American Bible 
 Society works in the southern part. Almost every 
 year, the B. F. B. S. reports work done through the 
 American Methodist Episcopal Mission which had its 
 headquarters at Rustchuk. 
 
 An officer in Rustchuk said to his men, "Buy this, 
 read it attentively, and you will find it good both for 
 your bodies and your souls." 
 
 "But sir," said a soldier, "some say it is a Protestant 
 book." 
 
60 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 "Yes, it is a Protestant book, because it always 
 protests against sin and wickedness." 
 
 One aged priest took a New Testament from the 
 hands of the colporteur and held it forth to the assem 
 bled people, saying, "This is the holy gospel, the record 
 of the words of our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ." 
 Then turning to the colporteur he said, "God bless 
 you abundantly, my son, that your work may prosper 
 to the salvation of our beloved nation." 
 
 A chorister said to a colporteur, "Although I have 
 been singing for years in the Orthodox Church, I found 
 nothing to feed my soul upon, such as I find now in 
 the New Testament." 
 
 A priest at the Rustchuk railway station said to a 
 Bible man, "You have a blessed lot in being privileged 
 to distribute this Word of Life." Then turning to the 
 bystanders he said, "Every household which does not 
 possess this Book, and read it every day, is not worthy 
 to be called a Christian household." 
 
 Without giving further instances, we may quote 
 once more: "Everywhere we are met by kind advice 
 and encouragement from those in authority who wish 
 to strengthen the interest of the Bulgarian people in 
 the New Testament." 
 
 The classic poem in English that portrays the soul 
 of colportage is Whittier s "The Vaudois Teacher." 
 It is well adapted for missionary programs. 
 
 "O lady fair, these silks of mine are beautiful arid 
 
 rare 
 The richest web of the Indian loom, which beauty s 
 
 queen might wear; 
 And my pearls are pure as thy own fair neck, with 
 
 whose radiant light they vie; 
 I have brought them with me a weary way will my 
 
 gentle lady buy?" 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 61 
 
 And the lady smiled on the worn old man through the 
 
 dark and clustering curls 
 Which veiled her brow as she bent to view his silks 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!" 
 
 "O lady fair, I have yet a gem which a purer luster 
 
 flings 
 Than the diamond flash of the jeweled 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 way!" 
 
 The lady glanced at the mirroring steel where her form 
 
 of grace was seen, 
 Where her eye shone clear, and her dark locks waved 
 
 their clasping pearls between; 
 "Bring forth thy pearl of exceeding worth, thou traveler 
 
 gray and old, 
 And name the price of thy precious gem, and my page 
 
 shall count thy gold." 
 
 The cloud went off from the pilgrim s brow, as a small 
 
 and meager book, 
 Unchased with gold or gem of cost, 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 W T ord of 
 
 God is free!" 
 
62 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 The hoary traveler went his way, but the gift he left 
 
 behind 
 Hath had its pure and perfect work on that high-born 
 
 maiden s mind, 
 And she hath turned from the pride of sin to the 
 
 lowliness of truth, 
 And given her human heart to God in its beautiful hour 
 
 of youth ! 
 
 And she hath left the gray old halls, where an evil 
 
 faith had power, 
 The courtly knights of her father s train, and the 
 
 maidens of her bower; 
 And she hath gone to the Vaudois vales by lordly feet 
 
 untrod, 
 Where the poor and needy of earth are rich in the 
 
 perfect love of God! 
 
 A history of colportage could be made a compre 
 hensive affair. We might go back to apostolic days, 
 and refer to the earliest Christian itinerants. Paul 
 asked Timothy to bring with him the "books, especially 
 the parchments." Dr. C. R. Gregory says that it 
 would be difficult to discuss intelligently the question 
 of the spread and general acceptance of the books of 
 the New Testament among the Christians of the 
 various lands and provinces, without referring to the 
 possibilities of travel then and there. He says that a 
 Roman in Greece or Asia Minor or Egypt would have 
 been able to travel as well as most of the Europeans 
 who lived before 1837. At that time many people 
 traveled pretty much all over the world that was then 
 known, which was the Roman Empire. The freight 
 ships of the Mediterranean were not small, and they 
 carried large cargoes of grain with the most punctual 
 regularity. Along the splendid Roman roads Caesar 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 63 
 
 traveled from Rome to the Rhone in his four-wheeled 
 carriage in about eight days, making seventy-seven 
 miles a day. In his two-wheeled light carriage he 
 made ninety-seven miles a day. An inscription tells of 
 a merchant in Hierapolis who traveled from Asia 
 Minor to Italy seventy-two times. 
 
 At the Ecumenical Conference in New York in 1900, 
 Canon Edmonds remarked: "From whichever of the 
 great missionary centers we start, from Antioch, from 
 Alexandria, from Carthage, or from Constantinople, 
 the footprints of the translator of the Bible are there. 
 Beautiful are their feet, and their footprints are not 
 only beautiful but indelible." Christian travelers then 
 did the work of the modern colporteur, and spread 
 abroad the ancient Gospels in the original Greek, also 
 in Coptic, in Syriac, and in Latin, thus reaching im 
 portant centers and provinces of the Roman Empire. 
 Later, in more distant regions, even beyond the boun 
 daries of the Romans, they carried Gothic, Anglo- 
 Saxon, or the Slav Scriptures of Cyril and Methodius. 
 The stream of such a history becomes broader when 
 we reach the times of Wyclif, the "morning star of the 
 Reformation." 
 
 Mrs. Conant speaks of Wyclif s version as "England s 
 first Bible, and for a hundred and thirty years her only 
 one. The great, practical Reformer had not urged 
 through this gigantic task as a mere experiment. He 
 had his eye on a definite, practical result, the means 
 for accomplishing which were in his own hands. . . . 
 He had at command one of the most effective agencies 
 of modern publication. The active, hardy, itinerant 
 preachers whom he had sent out to proclaim by word 
 of mouth glad tidings to the poor now formed a band 
 of colporteurs for the written Word." Dr. Fisher in 
 his history of "The Reformation" says of the Wyclifites 
 or Lollards, "They were not exterminated; but the 
 
64 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 principles of Wyclif continued to have adherents in 
 the poor and obscure classes in England, down to the 
 outbreaking of the Protestant movement." Then 
 came the Reformers, who had a vast advantage over 
 their predecessors in the printing press, with its streams 
 of Bibles in the principal tongues of Europe, and an 
 unknown, immortal host of distributors. Dr. Fisher 
 says, again: "In all Protestant lands, the universal 
 diffusion of the Bible . . . has carried into the 
 households, even of the humblest classes, a most effec 
 tive means of mental stimulation and instruction." 
 
 America may never know how much she owes to 
 colportage. At the time of the organization of the 
 American Bible Society in 1816 it was estimated that in 
 eight states and territories alone there were still 
 seventy -eight thousand families destitute of the Word 
 of life. Samuel J. Mills in his missionary journeys 
 met a man in Illinois who said that he had been trying 
 for ten years to buy a Bible. It was brought home to 
 his heart that this man w r as one thousand miles from 
 any place where a Bible could be printed, and that 
 many people in that wilderness must remain thus 
 destitute to the end of their lives. Eminent patriots, 
 statesmen, educators, were in the convention that 
 organized the American Bible Society in New York 
 City in May, 1816. In his "Centennial History of the 
 American Bible Society," Dr. Henry Otis Dwight says: 
 "One of the great facts of Bible distribution is that 
 multitudes who have never read the Bible are every 
 year persuaded by the colporteurs to read the Book, 
 and are led to yield to its influence for good." 
 
 The greatest development of colportage the world 
 had seen was during the nineteenth century, through 
 the Bible societies. The British and Foreign Bible 
 Society was organized at the London Tavern in March, 
 1804, and its "Centennial History" was written by 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 65 
 
 William Canton. A history of colportage must very 
 largely employ the records of the American Bible 
 Society and the British and Foreign Bible Society. 
 But for a long time the British and Foreign Bible Society 
 had the distinction of being greater than all other 
 Bible societies combined. In its yearly reports of 
 funds expended, workers employed, Scriptures dis 
 tributed, new translations or revisions of translations 
 of Scripture, and languages used, it far surpasses the 
 American Bible Society. Where is the Christian patri 
 otism of America, which can calmly allow so large a 
 part of the world s burden of need thus to rest upon 
 British shoulders? American enthusiasm for its own 
 Bible Society seems feeble and faint in comparison 
 with the powerful organizations, the demonstrations of 
 loyalty and affection, that continually support the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society, which is the greatest 
 colportage agency in the world. In the spring of 1920 
 it reported at its annual meeting that through col 
 porteurs in the previous year it had placed nearly five 
 and a quarter million volumes in the hands of people 
 speaking hundreds of tongues. This result, which is a 
 quarter of a million greater than in 1918, "appears the 
 more remarkable when we recollect that in central and 
 eastern Europe, as well as in Russia, hardly any of our 
 colporteurs have as yet been able to resume their work 
 since the war." From the monthly magazine of the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society, June 1921, we 
 further quote concerning the 538 versions in the 
 Society s historical table of languages: "Of these, 160 
 fresh names have been added since the present century 
 began. The list now includes the Bible completed in 
 135 different forms of speech, and the New Testa 
 ment completed in 126 others." This statement shows 
 us all the kingdoms of the world as the field for col 
 portage. 
 
66 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 The report of the British and Foreign Bible Society 
 for 1910 states that in 1909 the Holy Synod of Russia 
 refused to authorize an edition of the Russian Bible 
 without the Apocrypha. Accordingly the Society for 
 years could circulate in Russia only the New Testa 
 ment, or Pentateuch, or Psalms, or other portions, and 
 the report says, "Thus the problem of the Apocrypha 
 meets us at every turn on the Continent of Europe." 
 Between the years 1821 and 1820 a controversy was 
 carried on which resulted in the exclusion of the Apocry 
 pha from all Bibles issued by the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society. At that period the Scottish Bible 
 societies withdrew, later forming the National Bible 
 Society of Scotland. These two Bible societies, also 
 the American Bible Society, agree in this principle and 
 exclude the Apocrypha from their publications. The 
 Jews did not accept the Apocrypha as inspired, and 
 these books are not in Hebrew Bibles. Jesus, also the 
 New Testament writers, freely quoted from or alluded 
 to the Old Testament, but never the Apocrypha. 
 
 Three forms of the Apocrypha exist, first in the 
 Greek Old Testament of the second century B.C. A 
 legend narrated that it was made by seventy trans 
 lators, hence its name, the Septuagint, from septuaginta, 
 the Latin for "seventy," also its symbol, the "LXX." 
 For hundreds of years this first translation of the Old 
 Testament was the most widely circulated Bible, many 
 Jews using Greek, though the existing copies are from 
 Christian sources. Many leading Fathers of the 
 Church in western Europe, including Augustine him 
 self, never knew Greek. In the fifth century A.D. 
 Jerome, the most learned of ancient translators, 
 finished the Latin Vulgate, and included the Apocrypha, 
 with some changes from those of the "LXX." For 
 flip; Viilxm.te editions omit tlif Third Bonk of 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 67 
 
 not inspired, and that "it requires the utmost prudence 
 to extract gold from mud." But he placed after 
 Revelation, at the close of the book, III and IV Esdras, 
 and the Prayer of Manasses, which both Catholics 
 and Protestants reject as not canonical. The West 
 minster Confession of Faith, in the first chapter, says, 
 4 The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of 
 divine inspiration, are no part of the canon of Scripture; 
 and are therefore of no authority in the Church of God, 
 nor are to be any otherwise approved, or made use of, 
 than other human writings." The Council of Trent 
 said, "If anyone receive not, as sacred and canonical, 
 the said books entire with all their parts as they have 
 been used to be read in the Catholic Church, and as 
 they are contained in the old Latin vulgar edition, let 
 him be anathema." Accordingly, we have the list of 
 the LXX; then also, with changes in arrangement and 
 verses (for instance, in Esther) , in the Vulgate editions ; 
 and lastly, in modern Catholic Bibles, as in the English 
 Douay, the list of the Vulgate, but omitting the three 
 above mentioned. Thus we have eleven: Tobit, 
 Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch (including the 
 Epistle of Jeremiah), the two books of the Maccabees, 
 the additions, or "The Rest of ... Esther" and three 
 additions to the book of Daniel, namely, the Song of 
 the Three Holy Children, The History of Susanna, and 
 Bel and the Dragon. There are no Apocrypha for the 
 New Testament, the problem wholly concerning the 
 spurious additions to the Old Testament. 
 
 The late Dr. B. B. Warfield s explanation of inspira 
 tion was that it is "the fundamental quality of the 
 written Scriptures, by virtue of which they are the 
 Word of God, and are clothed with all the character 
 istics which properly belong to the Word of God. 
 Accordingly, the very words of Scripture are accounted 
 authoritative and not to be broken ; its prophecies 
 
68 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 are sure; and its whole contents, historical as well as 
 doctrinal and ethical, not only entirely trustworthy 
 but designedly framed for the spiritual profit of all 
 ages." On the other hand, the reader s attention is 
 invited to passages of the Apocrypha, showing errors 
 of fact and history, errors of doctrine, where falsehood 
 or other crimes are praised, morality based on expedi 
 ency, alms commended as atonement for sin, and 
 approval of prayers for the dead, or to saints. A vast 
 amount of evangelical literature is safer and saner than 
 these writings. 
 
 In Tobit 1 : 4, 5, we learn that the ten tribes revolted 
 from Judah under Jeroboam in Tobit s youth, making 
 him two hundred and seventy years old at the time of 
 the Assyrian Captivity. But, ch. 14 : 2, he died at 
 the age of a hundred and two years, (or in LXX 
 14:11, a hundred and fifty -eight years.) An angel, 
 ch. 12 : 15, calls himself Raphael, also one of the cap 
 tives of the tribe of Nephthali, ch. 7 : 3, also ch. 5 : 18, 
 that he is Azarias, son of Ananias, and as Dr. W. H. 
 Green remarks, contrary to all analogy of angels visits, 
 goes on foot with Tobit, three hundred miles. 
 
 In Judith 1:5, Nebuchadnezzar reigns in Nineveh, 
 whereas Babylon was his capital. Holofernes march 
 was a "most extraordinary zigzag." Joachim or Elia- 
 chim is said to have been the contemporary high priest, 
 "whereas there was no high priest of this name until 
 after the Exile, and then the kingdom of the Medes, 
 ch. 1 : 1, had passed away " 
 
 The story of Esther begins, ch. 1:3, in the third 
 year of the king s reign, Esther is presented to the 
 king, ch. 2 : 16-21, in the seventh year, but in the 
 Apocryphal addition, ch. 11:2, Mordecai is rewarded 
 in the second year. The cause of Hainan s hatred 
 for Mordecai, ch. 3, is contradicted by the addition, 
 ch. 12 : 6. And, ch. 16 : 10, Hainan is a Macedonian, 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 69 
 
 v. 14, seeking to transfer the Persian kingdom to the 
 Macedonians. 
 
 Wisdom claims to have been written by Solomon, 
 ch. 9 : 7, 8, "Thou hast chosen me to be a king. . . . 
 and hast commanded me to build a temple." In 
 ch. 15 : 14, "The enemies of thy people, that hold them 
 in subjection," contradicts I Kings 4 : 20-25, since 
 there was no such subjection in his time. He wrote 
 in Hebrew; but in the LXX ch. 4:2 are words 
 borrowed from Grecian games not in use till long after 
 Solomon s time: "It triumpheth crowned for ever, win 
 ning the reward of undefiled conflicts." See also ch. 
 10 : 12. There are imaginary additions to the miracles, 
 ch. 16 : 20, 21 : "Thou didst send them from heaven 
 bread . . . agreeing to every taste . . . and 
 serving to the appetite of the eater, tempered itself to 
 every man s likings." So, in the sixteenth and seven 
 teenth chapters are additions to the words of Moses 
 concerning the plagues of Egypt. A wrong significance 
 is given to the priest s dress, "a virtue which was 
 due only to his office and mediation," ch. 18 :24, "for 
 in the long garment was the whole w^orld." Chapter 
 10 : 4 mentions the murder of Abel as the cause of the 
 Flood. In ch. 14 : 15 idolatry is traced to fathers 
 making images of their dead children, instead of the 
 reason in Rom. 1 : 21, "Their foolish heart was dark 
 ened." There are also quotations, somewhat modified, 
 from Isaiah who lived long after Solomon: ch. 13 : 11 
 from Isa., ch. 44; ch. 11 : 23 from Isa. 40 : 15; ch. 
 5 : 18-21 from Isa. 59 : 16, 17. 
 
 Baruch, a "pious fraud," ch. 1 : 15, quotes the prayer 
 of Daniel from his ninth chapter; and ch. 2 : 11 quotes 
 Neh. 9 : 10, whereas, Nehemiah and Daniel lived in 
 later times than Baruch and Jeremiah. Baruch 1 : 
 1-3 says that Baruch was in Babylon when Jerusalem 
 was taken, contradicting Jer. 43 : 6, 7, saying that 
 
70 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 Jeremiah and Baruch were taken to Egypt. Baruca 
 1 : 7-10 refers to the Temple as still standing; but 
 the Temple was burned when Jerusalem was capturec . 
 After the Exile, Ezra 1 : 7, Cyrus brought forth and 
 sent back to Jerusalem the vessels which had beei 
 taken by Nebuchadnezzar; Baruch 1 : 8 says they wera 
 sent back in the time of Jeremiah. Baruch 1 : 14 says 
 this book was to be read in the Temple of the Lore , 
 but there is no trace of such a custom among the Jews. 
 The Epistle of Jeremiah inserted in a different plac3 
 from its position in the LXX, says, Baruch 6 : 2, that 
 the Captivity in Babylon was to be seven generations, 
 though Jeremiah prophesied that it would be seventy 
 years. 
 
 Of the additions to Daniel, The Song of the Three 
 Children, inserted in the third chapter, is not appro 
 priate to its occasion, which was their deliverance from 
 the fiery furnace; for instance, "O ye ice and snow 
 . . . O whales, and all that mo vein the waters!" Verso 
 47, of Catholic Bibles adds a statement not warranted 
 by Daniel: that the flame mounted up above the 
 furnace forty and nine cubits. The History of Susanna, 
 ch. 13, vs. 54, 55, 58, 59, quoted by Jerome, has 
 plays upon Greek words in the LXX, demonstrating 
 clearly its Greek origin, whereas Daniel was written 
 mostly in Hebrew, with chapters or passages in Ar 
 amaic. The third of these additions, styled by Saint 
 Jerome, the "fable" of Bel and the Dragon, Dan., 
 ch. 14, opposes the statements of Daniel in several par 
 ticulars. The two books ascribe the hatred of the great 
 men against Daniel to completely different causes; as 
 one writer says, "Both cannot be true; and we are in no 
 difficulty as to which we should give the preference." 
 
 Historians do not confirm the statement, I Mace., 
 1:6, 7, as to the death of Alexander. And con 
 cerning the Romans, I Mace. 8 : 16 is incorrect, "And 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 71 
 
 that they committed their government to one man 
 every year, who ruled over all their country." Anti- 
 ochus dies in Babylonia, I Mace. 6 : 4, 16, but is be 
 headed in Persia, II Mace. 1 : 13, 16, and dies of a 
 plague in the mountains, II Mace. 9 : 28. II Macca 
 bees abounds in fables, for instance, about the sacred 
 fire, ch. 1 : 19, about Jeremiah in Mount Nebo, ch. 
 2 : 4, and about the apparition that prevented Helio- 
 dorus from invading the sanctity of the Temple, 
 ch. 3 : 25. The LXX in II Mace. 1 : 18 says more 
 plainly than the Vulgate and Catholic Bibles, that 
 Nehemiah built the Temple and the altar, which were 
 built long before he came from Persia, Ezra 3 : 2. 
 
 Concerning any claim to inspiration, see II Mace. 
 15 : 39, almost the end of the book, "Here will I make 
 an end, and if I have done well, and as is fitting the 
 story, it is that which I desired: but if slenderly and 
 meanly, it is that which I could attain unto." Calvin 
 in his "Antidote to the Council of Trent" exclaimed, 
 "How very alien this acknowledgement from the 
 majesty of the Holy Spirit!" Also the prologue to 
 Ecclesiasticus : "Wherefore let me entreat you to read 
 it with favour and attention, and to pardon us, where 
 in we may seem ... to come short of some words. 
 . . . For the same things uttered in Hebrew, and 
 translated into another tongue, have not the same 
 force in them." Perplexity arising from the absence of 
 a prophet is alluded to in I Mace. 4 : 46; 9 : 27; 14 : 41. 
 
 More serious than errors of fact are errors of doctrine. 
 In Tobit the angel s falsehood has been mentioned. 
 Judith, ch. 9 : 13, prays for a blessing upon her false 
 hood: "Do thou strike him by the graces of my 
 lips." By the way, this book is the only evidence 
 in history of the existence of such a place as 
 Bethulia. Judith s conduct is praised. Ch. 15:10-12. 
 In ch. 9, she praises the crime of Simeon, which is con- 
 
72 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 demned in Gen., ch. 49. Yet, ch. 11 : 10-13, a breaci 
 of the ceremonial law, is thought a deadly sin. Ii 
 Tobit 6 : 19 the angel advises him to lay the liver of 
 the fish on the fire, that the evil spirit may be driven 
 away; with which we may compare Matt. 17 :21, 
 "This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fast 
 ing." And ch. 12 : 12, the angel as mediator con 
 veyed his prayer to the Lord, contrary to I Tim, 
 2 : 5, "one mediator." As to alms, Tobit 12 : 9, "Alms 
 delivereth from death, and the same is that whicii 
 purge th away sins, and maketh to find mercy and lifo 
 everlasting." See also ch. 4 : 9-12 and Ecclus. 3 : 33. In 
 Wisdom, it seems that the doctrine of emanation is 
 taught, ch. 7 : 25; also the preexistence of souls, ch. 
 8 : 19, 20; also, the creation of the world from 
 preexisting matter, ch. 11 :18; and that "the corruptible 
 body presseth down the soul," ch. 9 : 15. Ecclus. 
 12:5-7, "give not to the ungodly: hold back thy 
 bread, and give it not unto him," differs from the 
 Sermon on the Mount. So also, ch. 33 : 25-30, advising 
 cruelty to slaves, and the expression of hatred, ch. 
 50 : 27, 28. Its morality is based on expediency, ch. 
 38 : 16-18, "Let tears fall down over the dead . . . 
 use lamentation, as he is worthy, and that a day or two, 
 lest thou be evil spoken of." Baruch 3 : 4 has been 
 used as a proof text for praying to saints: "Hear now 
 the prayers of the dead Israelites." See also II Mace. 
 12 : 41-46, "It is therefore a holy and a wholesome 
 thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed 
 from sins," and ch. 15 : 14, the vision of Jeremiah, the 
 dead prophet, praying for Israel. II Mace. 14 : 37-46 
 commends the suicide of Razias.* These quotations 
 complete a chain of evidence showing errors in all 
 these apocryphal books. 
 
 * Dr. W. H. Green of Princeton, New Jersey, "General Introduc 
 tion to the Old Testament, The Canon." 
 
Chapter III 
 EARLY MISSIONS AMONG SLAVS 
 
 THE views of Dr. Montgomery as to the principles 
 of missionary work among foreigners are well known 
 among his brethren. His great emphasis was for the 
 gospel and its proclamation. From unpublished por 
 tions of a manuscript that he prepared we have here 
 his statements of the true and only foundation for all 
 this work: 
 
 "From a forest-clearing, river-trafficking hamlet, 
 Pittsburgh has sprung forward within a century to 
 leadership in the world s great centers, industrially, 
 commercially, educationally, and religiously. The 
 question of what she may be in the future, and what 
 her influence on the world will be, will depend upon 
 whether her citizens have the courage, at any cost to 
 themselves, to maintain for themselves and transmit 
 to their children the heritage of faith in and devotion to 
 the God of their fathers, by the dissemination of the 
 teachings of an open Bible; against such the gates of 
 hell shall not prevail." He adds his conviction that the 
 people have such courage, and that the thing will be 
 done. He further discusses the obligation of the 
 Church: 
 
 " As the Father hath sent me into the world, even 
 so send I you, was spoken to the Church, and nothing 
 short of a full surrender and a complete dedication on 
 the part of the Church can possibly please him who 
 gave the commission while he himself stood within 
 the shadow of Calvary. The whole life and purpose 
 of the Son of God in this world was an interpretation 
 of the character of God and a manifestation of the 
 
 73 
 
74 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 immeasurable love of God for the human race and r. 
 revelation of the unspeakable hatred of God for sii 
 which is the curse of that race. When Christ came intc > 
 the world it was because God so loved the world, thai 
 he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believetl 
 in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. . . 
 It is therefore clearly the business of the Church to inter 
 pret to the whole world the character and purpose of 
 Christ, as it was his business to interpret the heart of 
 God the Father. Go . . . make disciples of al 
 nations this is the commission. It is not difficult oi 
 interpretation. There is no ambiguity here. 
 
 "The field is white already unto harvest. No such 
 opportunity was ever before given to any nation as is 
 given to the Church now in the United States of Amer 
 ica. If to the stranger within our gates is given the 
 helping hand as he comes with the hand of help, if the 
 nations of the world mingling in the toil of American 
 industry learn not to hate one another, if old mis 
 understandings which have caused bloodshed and 
 bitterness may be corrected, if somehow there may 
 come out of the melting pot a flow of humanity that 
 has been freed from dross and superstition, if the 
 blight of centuries of spiritual tyranny and priestcraft 
 can be cured by the illumination of the intellect and 
 the regeneration of the soul, then will American liberty 
 be secure, and eastern and southern Europe will be 
 aroused to greater and better things through the return 
 of their sons, who in America, like Onesimus with Paul 
 at Rome, have come back in newness of life and purpose 
 to enrich the homeland in that which is worth far more 
 than gold." 
 
 A few years prior to the establishment of Presby 
 terian work among Slavs in western Pennsylvania, 
 missions had been begun among the French and Italians 
 in Pittsburgh and Allegheny Presbyteries. History 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 75 
 
 must here record the labors of a faithful man of God, 
 Rev. John Launitz, for many years pastor in Alle 
 gheny of the German Presbyterian Church, who could 
 also preach in English, French, and Italian. 
 
 Slavs in the Pittsburgh region outnumber French 
 and Italians combined. From the time that Slav 
 evangelization was first suggested here, Dr. W. L. 
 McEwan, pastor of the Third Presbyterian Church, 
 Pittsburgh, was its leader and champion. If docu 
 mentary evidence of this were desired, it might be 
 seen in two of his published discourses, the first being 
 an address before the Presbyterian Synod of Pennsyl 
 vania, October, 1902. Here he describes the nature and 
 the needs of the newer immigration: "The first diffi 
 culty that confronted us in our efforts was the lack of 
 qualified men to w^ork among these people. It is 
 hardly possible to secure from the old country Protes 
 tant ministers to undertake unorganized mission work. 
 After much correspondence [doubtless largely conducted 
 by Dr. McEwan himself] we were able to secure Rev. 
 V. Losa, to whose wisdom, spirituality, tact, and 
 earnestness we are indebted largely for the progress 
 that has been made. ... It was wuth great difficulty 
 he was induced to leave a settled, comfortable pas 
 torate in Nebraska to begin a work among the thou 
 sands of people single-handed, as far as human help 
 was concerned, and with no possible introduction to 
 those among whom he was to work.* He then quotes 
 Dr. Losa s own account of his method of work as he 
 began at Schoenville, a short distance from Coraopolis, 
 near Pittsburgh: 
 
 "At first my work consisted of visiting only. I 
 announced services at once, but for several weeks I 
 had no audience. I saw plainly that my work must be 
 personal. When I noticed that I was welcome in a 
 house, I revisited it again and again, and prolonged my 
 
76 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 visits. I read and explained the Scriptures to those 
 who would listen, and thus interested them in the Word 
 of God. Soon they began to read the Bible then- 
 selves, and ask questions on my next visit. My visits 
 lasted often three hours at a time. In a few months 
 four of the men gave their hearts to Christ. Others 
 were reached in the same way. Very soon after I 
 started my work I made it a point to visit the hospit.il 
 once a week. There was often a Slav among the 
 inmates. Once I met a young man in the hospital, 
 part of whose hand was amputated. He was filled 
 with joy when he learned that I was a Protestant 
 clergyman. He purchased a Bible at once and read it 
 daily. I followed this young man from the hospital 
 to his place of boarding, and to-day we have about ten 
 young men in one mission reached through this hospital 
 patient. I am thoroughly convinced that it requires a 
 steady perseverance with individuals to be successful 
 in this work, and, of course, a man unable to speak 
 their language cannot do the work. 
 
 "The English mission in the town, before I came 
 there, was utterly inadequate. There is another point 
 I emphasize. As soon as a man was converted, I con 
 vinced him that it was his duty to bring others to Christ, 
 and taught him the different ways in which he might 
 hope to do this: First, to live an exemplary Christian 
 life; second, not to lose an opportunity to give his per 
 sonal testimony to the power of Christ to save; third, 
 to distribute tracts and take an order for a Bible 
 whenever anyone inquired for it. In this way, of course, 
 I was helped immensely, and when other duties came 
 to me and I was unable to make so many and so long 
 visits, there were substitutes at work among the con 
 verts. In the summer of 1901 our audiences were so 
 large that crowds were standing on the street. Ever 
 since, our quarters have been filled with regular attend- 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 77 
 
 ants. If many of the regular attendants had not moved 
 away during the last eighteen months, I would have 
 been very much embarrassed as to how to shelter them, 
 as our little room is packed when forty members are 
 present. Sometimes when we had fifty present some 
 had to be placed in the adjoining kitchen. 
 
 "Our converts come from Roman Catholic, Greek 
 Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed people. The plain 
 est preaching of the simple gospel will reach these 
 people. It must be taken for granted when you 
 address them that they do not know even the alphabet 
 of Christianity, and when they are converted they 
 will tell you that you were right. Protestant or not 
 Protestant, they are spiritually dead, ignorant of the 
 fundamental Christian doctrines and full of super 
 stition. I consider it a great mistake to gather the 
 nominal Protestants, irrespective of their spiritual con 
 dition, into a church. Sometimes this is done with a 
 view of teaching them to live better lives, when already 
 they are in the full communion of the Church, but 
 repeatedly this method has proved to be a failure. 
 There are many obstacles and hindrances in this work. 
 The people do not care for you at first, and many of 
 them become your enemies and hate you when you 
 begin to teach them to abandon their vices. Then 
 priests and nuns try to neutralize your work. Beer 
 and whiskey men see an enemy in you, and multiply 
 their efforts to make the people drink heavily; but 
 against all these and other hindrances stands the 
 ever-powerful gospel. It requires that one firmly 
 believe that God means what he says, and that he 
 will fulfill his promises. Had I not believed this most 
 sincerely and firmly when I started this work I would 
 have abandoned it before I began it. From the human 
 standpoint it was just as the physician in Schoenville 
 told me upon my arrival. He said, You had better go 
 
78 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 back to Nebraska, as the obstacles are insurmountable 
 here. Now three of my young men, two of whom 
 have been employed for months as colporteurs, are in 
 school with a view of being educated as missionaries." 
 
 Dr. McEwan states that "during the year of 1902 
 six young men, converts under the preaching of Mr. 
 Losa, have been employed as colporteurs and their 
 work has been remarkably successful. With their help 
 and the help of the woman missionary, Mr. Losa has 
 started and is carrying on five Sunday schools about 
 Schoenville. Cottage prayer meetings are also held, as 
 well as the regular prayer meetings and the two church 
 services. A suitable building for the work at Schoenville 
 is now under construction, w T hich will be provided with 
 classrooms, night-school rooms, bathrooms, and an am 
 ple auditorium seating 250 people." 
 
 His later discourse, published in 1906, shows progress 
 in the work. His text was Num. 15 : 16: "One law 
 and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger 
 that sojourneth with you." "The American govern 
 ment has one law and one manner for its citizens and 
 the strangers that sojourn among them. The American 
 public-school system receives the children of every 
 nationality, only requiring that they be able to speak 
 enough English to understand and recite. It is to the 
 credit of these people, and by the mercy of God, 
 rather than by our own wisdom and provision, that 
 there are as yet so few breaches of the law and so little 
 to cause us apprehension. Many of them will learn 
 to love this new country of freedom. . . . There are 
 others who form organizations to keep up their alle 
 giance to the land from which they came, and who have 
 no appreciation of the blessings they receive here. It is 
 a problem for all statesmen and all patriots and all 
 educators, and for every citizen." 
 
 He here speaks of three ministers laboring among 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 79 
 
 the Slavs, of a membership of 130 in the mother church 
 at Schoenville, of nine young men from its ranks who 
 were studying for the ministry, of ten women mission 
 aries working in nine different schools; and he gives 
 facts about the colporteurs, some of whom from time to 
 time had been lent to other presbyteries. All this work 
 was then under the " Joint Committee of the Presby 
 teries of Pittsburgh and Allegheny." In 1904 a Pres 
 byterian Missionary Training School was begun, where 
 young women of various nationalities could be pre 
 pared to do mission work among their own people. 
 Dr. McEwan had pleaded for this. He now reports, 
 "A suitable building in Allegheny has been leased; a 
 qualified matron is in charge." 
 
 Finally he makes this appeal : "It is enough to break 
 the hearts of those who are familiar with the great needs, 
 and who see the open doors that constitute providential 
 calls, to attempt to carry on this work with the inade 
 quate support that is provided. The feeling is constant 
 that if only the facts could be put before the Christian 
 people who have means, the responses would make the 
 funds to be multiplied. In the name of common 
 humanity we can make our appeal for these people 
 whose physical surroundings are incompatible with 
 health and morality. In the name of patriotism we 
 can appeal that these people be educated into the 
 responsibility of citizenship, and that the great Chris 
 tian institutions of the civilization which we enjoy 
 may not be broken down by the sheer weight of igno 
 rance and alienage. In the name of your own safety 
 and security we can appeal for help for these people. 
 Now, by reason of the prosperity and activity in indus 
 trial life, they are kept busy and measurably con 
 tented. If some time of depression and idleness should 
 come, unless they are educated and Christianized, it 
 does not require the eye of a prophet or the spirit of a 
 
80 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 pessimist to foresee incalculable dangers. In the name 
 of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose salvation is for all men, 
 who came into this world "to seek and to save that which 
 is lost," who shed his blood for the remission of sins, 
 who commanded us to preach the gospel to every 
 creature, we can appeal to you to help these poor and 
 needy souls. It is difficult to see how a stronger appeal 
 could be made to a Christian than to let the bare facts 
 concerning the number and the needs of these people 
 speak for themselves." 
 
 One striking fact in the history of this Schoenville 
 Mission throws a flood of light on the evangelical 
 purpose of all this work. When the building that Dr. 
 McEwan mentions was planned, one patron contrib 
 uted sixteen hundred dollars to include a swimming 
 pool. The time of the workers was more and more 
 absorbed in the spiritual part of their routine, in prayer 
 meetings, in Bible classes, and the like. This swimming 
 pool then became a distraction and a burden. At 
 last they abandoned the care of it, and closed it up. 
 More power to such institutions ! Many chapters could 
 be written of very different management in other 
 institutions which ask the help of Christian men, where 
 the physical, the recreational, has crowded out the 
 higher, the spiritual work; where the swimming pool 
 has eclipsed, or rather submerged, the prayer meeting; 
 where young foreigners may learn to dance or to play 
 billiards, but are not led to the Bible class. 
 
 The story of the way in which the Training School 
 was transferred to Coraopolis should be remembered. 
 At the beginning of his work, it was necessary for 
 Dr. Losa to choose a residence in Coraopolis, no suitable 1 
 house being available at Schoenville. Scarcely any 
 foreigners were there, but gradually some servant girls 
 and day laborers, Slavs, began to locate there, and 
 -Dr. Losa succeeded in gathering them for regular 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 81 
 
 prayer meetings. Mrs. Losa, herself an experienced 
 missionary, rendered invaluable assistance. At one 
 of these prayer meetings some asked why they might 
 not have a church building of their own in Coraopolis, 
 instead of going for such services to Schoenville. Dr. 
 Losa explained that the people of the presbytery were 
 contributing more than before to missions, and would 
 not be likely to add this project until the people did 
 something for themselves. They requested him to 
 draw up a subscription paper. About thirty were pres 
 ent, day laborers and servant girls almost exclusively; 
 and scarcely one subscribed less than twenty to twenty- 
 five dollars, or several hundred dollars in all. This 
 again aroused Dr. McEwan, who soon added to the 
 amount. Some lots were purchased in Coraopolis, but 
 in 1908 a building formerly used as a sanatorium became 
 available for the Training School. This was purchased 
 and used for some time for church services, and also as 
 a school. The first payment for this property was 
 accomplished through the sale of the lots, which had 
 been a result of the prayer meeting and the Slav sub 
 scriptions. At a later time, the presbytery built a fine 
 church at another corner of the lot, and secured next 
 to it a residence for Dr. Losa. 
 
 One great evangelical purpose has been clearly 
 marked from the beginning in this work among for 
 eigners. That purpose, as stated very simply by Dr. 
 Losa, is "to bring people to Christ." This purpose 
 dominates the details of every department or phase of 
 work. In a sewing class the sewing lesson is preceded by 
 devotional exercises, and the Scripture has more 
 emphasis than the other instruction. In 1920, Rev. 
 Frank Svacha acted as a field secretary, and his reports 
 show this same spirit. His use of the stereopticon was 
 admirable; but whether it was used to illustrate Christ s 
 "Last Week" or the life of Washington, the gospel was 
 
82 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 in evidence. His report on "The Devotional Spirit of 
 Our Vacation Bible Schools" says: "At the very 
 beginning of our devotional service there must be an 
 atmosphere of worship. Let us realize that it is the 
 quiet hour with God, that shall be the very best founda 
 tion for the morning session of our school. If that is 
 attained, then under its influence the work that follows 
 becomes a pleasure. The sweet influence of the Spirit 
 of God dwells in the soul and gives both the teacher 
 and pupil the patience, perseverance, and faithfulness 
 that are so much needed to make the work successful." 
 The pages that recount his numerous visits among the 
 missions, ascertaining their condition and progress, 
 are incidental proof that the only Americanization that 
 is worthy of such a name is Christian Americanization. 
 The program and exhibit planned by the superin 
 tendents, Drs. Montgomery and Losa, for the session 
 of Pittsburgh Presbytery in November, 1920, seemed 
 like a climax for their twenty years of evangelical work 
 among Slavs. It was held, only a few weeks before 
 Dr. Montgomery s death, in the main auditorium of the 
 First Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 
 and in the adjoining room there were interesting photo 
 graphs with legends as to phases of the work, also a 
 display of Scriptures and Christian literature in the 
 languages used by the colporteurs and an exhibit of 
 needlework. The program lasted about two hours, 
 was instructive, convincing, and had much variety, 
 There were recitations by children from the missions, 
 speeches by missionaries of different nationalities, 
 music in chorus by pupils of the Training School at 
 Coraopolis, and singing in English, though some of 
 the participants had arrived in this country from 
 Czechoslovakia only a few weeks before. One hymn 
 was sung by the throng of workers in ten languages. 
 The superintendents made addresses. Dr. Mont- 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 83 
 
 gomery s was not committed to writing and therefore 
 cannot be reproduced. From Dr. Losa s notes we 
 have the following: 
 
 "Twenty years ago Pittsburgh Presbytery decided 
 to try an experiment. Among a hundred thousand 
 foreigners they had two little missions, Italian and 
 French. They then called from the West a man who 
 was inexperienced in the many-sided problem of 
 beliefs, languages, and customs, but willing and devoted 
 to this cause. Difficulties in the initial stages of this 
 work were such that it is a wonder that it did not die 
 in its infancy. And the credit for the survival of this 
 child belongs to another man of this presbytery who in 
 the providence of God was its most gentle nurse. Of 
 course, you know that I refer to Dr. William L. 
 McEwan, who will always be lovingly remembered by 
 the first little groups of workers of twelve, fifteen, and 
 twenty years ago." Dr. Losa also complimented the 
 committees, "committees that cannot be matched in 
 the United States: First, the Home Missions Com 
 mittee of the Presbytery of Pittsburgh; second, the 
 Joint Committee of Pittsburgh and Allegheny Presby 
 teries, that followed; third, the trustees of Pittsburgh 
 Presbytery, who have for their executive officer a 
 man (Dr. Montgomery) who has not only a rare 
 knowledge of the field, and wisdom and tact in using 
 this knowledge, but also a genuine love toward these 
 immense masses of future United States citizens, and 
 toward the workers. And here lies the secret of the 
 success and all the rest of the credit for any success 
 in this work belongs to these faithful and untiring 
 workers of many nationalities that stand before you 
 to-day, and the converts that do not stand before you. 
 . . . You must read between the lines to comprehend 
 fully what has been done. That some fifteen hundred 
 actual members were received, twenty ministers 
 
84 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 ordained, twenty girls became missionaries, fifteen men 
 became colporteurs, thousands of children were gath 
 ered in Sabbath schools those figures will give you 
 only an incomplete idea of the whole work. Also, the 
 thirty thousand dollars worth of Bibles, New Testa 
 ments, and religious books sold, and millions of pages 
 of tracts distributed, will not tell you the full story of 
 your colporteur s w r ork. You would have to read 
 between the lines about thousands of souls who were 
 influenced by your missionaries and missions, about 
 hundreds of converts who exerted a wholesome influence 
 in their native countries, and some who started congre 
 gations in Italy, Jugoslavia, and other places, to 
 appreciate the work. . . . You would have to follow 
 your missionaries from door to door and live through 
 the experience of having the doors slammed in your 
 face, of being ejected from some houses, of having 
 promises to come to the meeting or to send the children 
 to the Sabbath school, ninety -five per cent of which 
 are never fulfilled, to appreciate the heroic spirit of 
 your workers. 
 
 "And you would have to enter the closed rooms of 
 your missionaries and see their tears, the pessimism that 
 slyly but persistently enters their hearts, and would 
 surely destroy their usefulness and chase them away 
 from their work if it were not for the new strength, new 
 enthusiasm, that fills their hearts again after a fervent 
 prayer that is poured out often in agony. You would 
 have to meet some of the converts and hear the story 
 from their own lips to realize fully that this kind of 
 work done in this way and by these men and women, 
 foreign-born or of foreign parentage, is the only kind 
 that lays the right foundation for pure and true 
 Americanism; and you would realize also the folly of 
 the other kind of work that is so much emphasized 
 to-day, and that goes only halfway, and the minor half 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 85 
 
 at that just to the mind and head, but not to the heart 
 and spirit. These exhibits will prove to you that we 
 go the whole way and that the final goal is never lost 
 sight of." 
 
 Then he discussed their periodical literature, and if 
 the life of the American people is to be gauged by what 
 they read, especially on Sunday, "what shall we say 
 of the foreigners who have no religious papers, and 
 whose secular papers are far below those of Americans 
 in spiritual respects, papers that write only sneeringly 
 of religion and faith in Christ? Brethren, the letters 
 that come to the editors of the papers published by the 
 Board of Publication and Sabbath School Work under 
 your supervision would convince you that these papers 
 that are weekly visitors to thousands of foreign families 
 are bringing untold blessings to them, and save many 
 of them, hundreds of individuals, from infidelity. 
 
 "Do we make and have w r e made any mistakes? 
 The speaker confesses that he learned more from his 
 mistakes than from his professors and books. Each 
 mistake, rightly viewed, was a great asset to him for 
 future work." 
 
 Finally he appealed for the workers, that the brethren 
 would be patient with them, encourage them, and not 
 let them suffer financially. The presbytery always 
 has taken good care of them; yet none must suppose 
 that any of them are living in luxury! 
 
 It was a pleasure to Dr. Montgomery to read a number 
 of letters testifying to appreciation of this exhibit. One 
 of these was from Dr. Isaac Boyce, as follows, dated, 
 from Allison Park, Pennsylvania, November 26, 1920: 
 
 "It was my privilege to be present in the meeting of 
 the Presbytery of Pittsburgh on November 9, and to 
 note and study carefully the exhibit of the foreign- 
 mission work under your superin tendency; and I feel 
 that it is but just to give you my personal appreciation 
 
86 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 of the work being carried forward in the region of 
 Pittsburgh among the foreign population residing in it. 
 
 "I was, as you are aware, for twenty-seven years a 
 missionary of our Foreign Board in Mexico. I am not, 
 therefore, a stranger to mission problems, and am able 
 to appreciate the difficulties met with in carrying on 
 such a work. ... It is, therefore, a very great 
 pleasure to me to express to you my approval of your 
 work, and to congratulate you on the fine results so 
 far obtained in it. 
 
 "Your organization meets with my most hearty 
 approval. Mission work is, after all, the same the 
 world over. It was my privilege to have a considerable 
 part in the organizing and developing of our work in 
 Mexico, as well as to study mission organization in all 
 our world-wide work. It was rather surprising, as I 
 studied your methods and your organization, to note 
 how closely you have followed the general plan of 
 work obtaining in the whole foreign-mission work of 
 the Church, and I am enough of a Presbyterian to 
 believe that our system is not excelled by the plans and 
 methods of any Church. I note: 
 
 "First. That while you recognize the absolute 
 necessity of money for carrying on your work, you yet 
 seem to appreciate that money is not by any means 
 the most important factor entering into it; and that it 
 has to be constantly watched lest it become a danger 
 to the largest measure of success possible in such a work. 
 
 "Second. You evidently recognize that the foreign 
 worker, whether lay or minister, is the factor which 
 must, in the long run, insure success or result in failure. 
 There is always the danger of giving undue importance 
 to the Americans who direct the work. Missionaries 
 the world over have come to recognize the danger 
 resulting from giving undue importance and promi 
 nence to the American missionary, and looking on the 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 87 
 
 foreign worker as of rather smaller importance. In the 
 beginning of such a work the American looms large; 
 but in the development and permanent organization 
 and growth of such an enterprise the native worker, 
 whether he works in the U. S. A. or in a foreign coun 
 try, must take the prominent place, and gradually come 
 to control and direct in large part the work. The 
 American worker must decrease and the native increase. 
 And I was happy to note in your exhibit that you 
 appreciate this fact. 
 
 "Third. The importance you are giving to the 
 training of foreign workers meets with my most hearty 
 approval. You are wise in giving such large place in 
 your work to the school in Coraopolis. Without an 
 educated native constituency on which, in ever- 
 increasing ratio, the responsibility can be laid, the 
 fullest measure of success cannot be realized, or even 
 hoped for. I am convinced that the foreign nations in 
 which evangelical work is being prosecuted will never 
 be evangelized save by well-equipped native evangelists 
 and pastors and teachers; and my conviction rests on 
 long experience, and, as well, on some failure in my 
 earlier mission experience to appreciate the importance 
 attaching to the native worker and to his fullest 
 equipment for his work. 
 
 "In closing, let me say that I watched very closely 
 for any seeming tendency to patronize the native 
 worker and the native church. On no single particular, 
 perhaps, do so many missionaries make shipwreck as 
 on this not altogether unnatural tendency. We believe 
 that our institutions and our methods are the best, but 
 too marked a tendency to make our feeling promi 
 nent is galling to the native worker and kills his 
 initiative, or at least chills it very decidedly and makes 
 it impossible for him to put his very best into his work. 
 It was, as it always has been, grateful to me to note 
 
88 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 the cordial relations existing between Dr. Losa, and 
 other prominent workers, and yourself. You, very 
 wisely, push them to the front, and apparently strive 
 to impress on them that the work in hand is primarily 
 their work, and that its success depends principally 
 on them. 
 
 "Let me say that I most heartily enjoyed your exhibit 
 in the recent meeting of presbytery. It brought back 
 to me old memories which are very precious to me, and 
 which I would not exchange for anything I can think of. 
 It was just the repetition of things I had been through 
 many, many times, and awakened in me a desire to 
 be once more in a work to which I gave so many years; 
 and which to my mind is the greatest enterprise which 
 can engage the soul, and stimulate the very best that is 
 in the soul, the spirit of the man or woman who loves 
 the Lord Jesus, and prays intelligently for the coming 
 of his Kingdom." 
 
 A report was prepared for the presbytery s exhibit 
 from which we have the following: 
 
 "We have in Coraopolis a three-story frame building 
 containing thirty-two rooms altogether. We can house 
 twenty -two pupils comfortably. There are, living with 
 the pupils, a matron and two teachers. ... So far, 
 seventy-one girls have graduated. There are seventeen 
 in the school at the present time. Four of them will 
 graduate next spring (two Slovak, two Bohemian). 
 . . . The rest of the girls, thirteen, came from Bohemia, 
 every one of them a high-school graduate. Two of 
 them are daughters of Presbyterian ministers. . . . 
 We have been favored in having exceptionally capable 
 and spiritual girls as our missionaries. ... At one 
 time we had eighteen missionaries at work. This 
 number has been curtailed on account of lack of workers. 
 
 "Almost from the beginning of the foreign work 
 under the general supervision of Dr. Losa, until now, 
 

 P. W. SNYDER, D.D. 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 89 
 
 the women, first by a joint committee from the presby 
 teries of Allegheny and Pittsburgh, and after the 
 union of the two presbyteries, by the Woman s Presby 
 terian Home Mission Society, have cooperated with 
 the men in the work. Their efforts have been confined 
 very largely to the educational department in connec 
 tion with the Training School located at Coraopolis, 
 and to the support of certain women missionaries in 
 specified fields of foreign work. . . . This cooperative 
 work on the part of the Woman s Home Mission 
 Society has been most harmonious and helpful, so 
 much so that the monetary support of the work now 
 amounts to more than ten thousand dollars a year. 
 Too great credit cannot be given to the consecrated 
 women who have so loyally supported this work." 
 The report gives details as to organization and work of 
 the "Joint Committee on Education" of the trustees 
 and the Woman s Society. 
 
 In April, 1921, the Presbytery of Pittsburgh ap 
 pointed Dr. -P. W. Snyder as its new Superintendent 
 of Missions. Dr. S. J. Fisher, who has had long experi 
 ence in the presbytery, a popular writer for our Church 
 newspapers, and the recording secretary for the 
 American Hussite Society, has kindly furnished the 
 following statement, dated at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 
 July 23, 1921: 
 
 "In regard to your inquiry concerning the action of 
 the Presbytery of Pittsburgh, in electing a successor 
 to the late Dr. George W. Montgomery, as Superin 
 tendent of Presbyterian Missions, I can heartily say 
 that the presbytery feels it has made a wise choice in 
 electing Dr. P. W. Snyder as superintendent. This 
 mission work has been a constantly enlarging and 
 increasingly important work. In diversity of operation, 
 in the variety of its workers, and need of larger financing, 
 it has grown remarkably through the years. A proper 
 
90 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 supervision calls for considerable ministerial experience, 
 acquaintance with this region and its race problems, 
 as well as a strong faith and appreciation of the need 
 of the guidance of God. The presbytery feels that in 
 Dr. Snyder it has found one who by training and quali 
 ties of mind and heart is well fitted to discharge the 
 duties of this important office. His experience as a 
 pastor on the South Side, and great success at Home- 
 wood, his years of relationship to the problems of 
 Church comity and survey of the responsibility of each 
 denomination in this city, have prepared him for an 
 intelligent study and supervision of this work in this 
 region. His acquaintance with the problems of the 
 weaker church, and his sympathy with such enter 
 prises and fields, gives the presbytery every reason to 
 believe his plans, suggestions, and purposes shall give 
 those missions an added value, and a still greater suc 
 cess. As a man of experience, open-minded, and yet 
 able to resist unwise or hasty experiments, he can be 
 relied upon." 
 
REV. FRANCIS PRUDKY 
 
Chapter IV 
 
 ENCOURAGEMENTS 
 
 REV. FRANCIS PRUDKY, pastor at Olomouc, Moravia, 
 was sent by the Church Missionary Society, an organiza 
 tion which renders assistance to churches beyond the 
 bounds of Czechoslovakia, to investigate a number of 
 Bohemian colonies; his journeys throw light upon the 
 possibilities of evangelizing various regions, populous 
 or important, between the Baltic and the Black seas, 
 through the work of evangelical Czechoslovaks. 
 
 This story follows closely the recital given to the 
 writer by Mr. Prudky during his visits to Pittsburgh 
 in the latter months of 1920. Occasionally he observed 
 differences in soils, occupations, or as to whether the 
 people owned or rented their ground; for such details 
 affect Church life in Europe as in America. Especially 
 important is the difference of situation for the Bohemian 
 colonies in regions dominated by Poles, or those in 
 Russian districts; for convenience no distinction of 
 Ukrainians as different from Russians will here be 
 noted. In Poland he visited four centers of Bohemian 
 Reformed churches, the largest church being at Zelov, 
 and the largest city being Lodz. He journeyed farther 
 among localities in two of the Russian "Governments," 
 those of Volhynia and of Kherson. 
 
 His first journey, in 1908, was through Russian 
 Poland. A verst is .66 of a mile, or 1.06 kilometers; 
 and some thirty versts from the notorious monastery 
 of Czenstochov, where robberies and misdemeanors 
 disgusted many in Russia, is Kucov, a village wholly 
 Bohemian, of sixty or seventy families, with other 
 families in neighboring villages. They had a good 
 
 91 
 
92 THE COMING OP THE SLAV 
 
 church building, destroyed by artillery in the second 
 year of the War, but now rebuilt. They have also a 
 parochial school and a schoolmaster. Their homes are 
 neat, contrasting with Polish villages. They burn peat 
 for fuel. The women have an elaborate linen head 
 dress worn only on Sundays. The people are religious, 
 loving the gospel. Though it was a week day, all left 
 their work and came to church, where Mr. Prudky 
 preached twice. The Russian Government made so 
 many difficulties for pastors or others in securing 
 passports that though they were not far from Moravia, 
 they had little communication with it, and they had 
 many questions to ask. 
 
 Some twenty-seven miles beyond this place is Zelov, 
 near Lask, which is the nearest station to Lodz. The 
 Laski family of the nobility was famous in Poland, 
 and from it came John Laski, the great Reformer of 
 Poland, a friend of Calvin. Zelov, with 5000 inhab 
 itants, is the largest Bohemian colony of Poland. 
 Some 2500 are Bohemians, 2000 Jews, the rest Poles 
 or Germans. The Bohemians came from German 
 Poland in 1815, purchasing a portion of territory from a 
 Polish nobleman, the deed of which Mr. Prudky 
 examined. The soil is sandy, not rich, and the impor 
 tant occupation is weaving cloth for the Lodz factories. 
 The Czar Alexander I helped them to build a fine 
 Reformed church, and they also have their parochial 
 school. At first all were Reformed adherents, but some 
 twenty years ago, Baptists and, later, Congregation- 
 alists undertook missions there. The people are great 
 Bible readers, and some time ago declined to take 
 religious newspapers, saying the Bible was sufficient, 
 for it was to them a spelling book, reader, geography, 
 history, and their poetical literature. They speak the 
 same fine dialect of Bohemian that is preserved in the 
 Kralicka Bohemian Bible. In the forenoon of Sunday 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 93 
 
 Mr. Prudky found their church full, a larger audience 
 than the Reformed could then assemble in Bohemia or 
 Moravia, for their congregation numbers five thousand 
 souls. Before the War, it was the largest Reformed 
 Bohemian congregation in the world. Connected with 
 Zelov as headquarters, are some villages. In one of 
 these the rent of the forest sustains their school. The 
 schoolmaster, with a family of ten children, has a home 
 of two rooms containing the kitchen and living room, 
 and while there is only one knife for the entire company 
 at table, each has a spoon ! 
 
 This tour then leads to Lodz, next to Warsaw, the 
 largest town in Poland, growing rapidly before the 
 War, with several hundred thousand inhabitants, a 
 town of cloth factories. The Reformed churches have 
 a thousand souls, originally from Zelov, and a fine 
 school. Mr. Prudky was there at the time of the 
 revolution. Cossack soldiers escorted through the 
 streets a carriage with mails and letters which they 
 had captured. Soldiers w^ere in the cars, scrutinizing 
 passports closely. Mr. Prudky s impression of the 
 people there, in the meetings which he held, was that 
 they also were lovers of the Bible and devout. At 
 that time they depended for pastoral care upon the 
 pastor in Warsaw, a Bohemian, Rev. Mr. Jelen, whose 
 death some time afterward was much lamented. A 
 cantor or teacher conducted their pulpit services, as 
 Mr. Jelen could come only at intervals of some months. 
 Congregationalists also hold services in Lodz. Lodz 
 was originally German, and the eight or ten Lutheran 
 churches there at first used the German language. 
 Now they all use the Polish language. It is singular 
 that German statesmen failed so signally to Germanize 
 Posen s Poles, while these Germans of Russian Poland 
 have been Polonized. Y 
 
 The last community visited in Poland was Zyrardow, 
 
94 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 between Lodz and Warsaw. Here are almost ten thou 
 sand people, whose homes, factories, churches, the 
 cemetery with its sections, the entire place, all belongs 
 to one German mill owner. He built and owns the 
 Bohemian Reformed Church, as he does all the others 
 in the town. It is a town of cloth factories. The 
 Reformed number some six hundred souls, supplied by 
 a cantor, with occasional visits from the pastor in 
 Warsaw, Mr. Jelen, who was at that time superin 
 tendent of the synod. On the occasion of Mr. Prudky s 
 visit, the town was full of soldiers who were keeping 
 order during a strike. 
 
 There was no Bohemian Reformed Church in W r ar- 
 saw, the capital of Poland, but a fine Gothic Reformed 
 Church there. The superintendent of the synod, 
 Rev. Semadeni, and the pastor of this Church, Rev. 
 Skierski, were both ardently patriotic Poles. The four 
 centers above mentioned are all that the Bohemian 
 Reformed Church has in Poland; and all these are 
 descendants from emigrants who left Bohemia after 
 the disastrous battle of the White Mountain. 
 
 It was a rare scene that occurred at the time when 
 Mr. Prudky was present in the Synod of Vilna. There 
 he was, a Bohemian Reformed leader, listening to dis 
 cussions of Polish Reformed leaders, both ministers 
 and laymen, the presiding officer being a Polish noble 
 man. He conferred with them as to the difficulties of 
 Bohemian Reformed churches in their Polish districts. 
 In his tours he also made the acquaintance of Polish 
 evangelical leaders in their Synod of Warsaw. It is 
 doubtful whether any other representatives of the 
 Polish and Bohemian peoples could be found who 
 could hold conferences in so Christian and fraternal a 
 manner as such evangelical men. The chariot of the 
 gospel might speed victoriously among Slav peoples, 
 when their watchmen see thus eye to eye. 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 95 
 
 As he passed on into Russian regions, in the two 
 Governments of Volhynia and Kherson, holding meet 
 ings, he learned the conditions of the people, their 
 difficulties, their needs. Details, some of which are 
 recited elsewhere, show the attitude of the Russian 
 authorities of that period toward these Reformed 
 churches. The primitive houses built by Slav farmers, 
 in some places with walls of earth and straw, can also 
 be found in America. Very different conditions obtain 
 in German Silesia, now a part of Poland, where the 
 Bohemians of the younger generation have to some 
 extent been Germanized. A singular contrast is that 
 many German Lutherans in Poland have been Polon- 
 ized. A still different situation appeared in districts 
 now belonging to Jugoslavia, the territories of Croatia 
 and Slavonia. In reports of such tours, to find churches 
 in a low state, pastorless for years, hampered by 
 unfriendly officials and oppressive governments, should 
 not abate Christian hope and zeal. "The king s heart 
 is in the hand of the Lord." And the Lord of the 
 harvest hears the prayer that he himself has inspired, 
 and raises up the laborers that are needed. All these 
 moral wastes can be transformed into spiritual flocks 
 of men. And when devout households are found, far 
 from churches, who instruct their children in the Bible 
 and catechism and eagerly profit by a minister s visit, 
 this should have a place in the same narrative which 
 describes centers with their hundreds or their thou 
 sands of Church members. Moreover, to see a convert 
 from America whose life was transformed from being 
 brutal and drunken become a kind Christian husband, 
 an earnest reader of the Bible, who helped to gather 
 scattered families into a congregation and was serving 
 as a church treasurer when Mr. Prudky found him, is 
 good news from a far country, as cold water to a thirsty 
 soul. 
 
90 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 Since the Reformation no Slav land has afforded 
 such encouragement for evangelical work as Czecho 
 slovakia, after the armistice was signed. Thereupon, 
 losing no time, Bohemian Reformed and Lutheran 
 Churches, whose separation had been an arbitrary 
 enforcement of outsiders, united as the "Evangelical 
 Church of Czech Brethren," with a constituency o\ 
 about two hundred thousand; and they cultivate close 
 acquaintance with about five hundred thousand Slovak 
 evangelicals. Beholding many open doors, they ar( 
 "like them that dream." A rapid survey of the region 
 where Mr. Prudky labors, in North Moravia, w r ith 
 Olomouc as headquarters, is demonstrative for all oi 
 Czechoslovakia. 
 
 Moravska Ostrava has been growing like a lesser 
 Pittsburgh into an important manufacturing center. 
 For some time in 1904 Mr. Prudky visited the place 
 once in two months, gathering a small company of 
 worshipers. An evangelical church is there, made up 
 of Germans and of Polish Lutherans. These Poles, 
 however, differ somewhat in dialect and disposition 
 from other Poles, preferring to be classed as "Mora 
 vians," and they readily send their children to Bohemian 
 schools. In 1920 the Bohemian Reformed congrega 
 tion, which had increased to nearly three hundred 
 souls, was augmented to three thousand souls, by the 
 union of Bohemian Lutheran and Reformed congrega 
 tions. Germans naturally stood aloof from such a 
 union; and the Poles had no more control in the church 
 which had been erected partly by their contributions. 
 To use that church for their services, this congregation 
 must pay a goodly rent. The Poles having no Bohemian 
 traditions, being in a transition state, scarcely know 
 where they are ecclesiastically; and it is an urgen! 
 problem to interest them in the erection of another 
 building, when the building that they formerly had 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 97 
 
 4 
 
 seemed to be the last contribution they needed to make. 
 They are mostly miners, and the community is the 
 most important field for development now in Czecho 
 slovakia. 
 
 The surroundings of Olomouc make a territory of 
 about 4000 square miles with half a million people. 
 It is a district that contains some of the best soil in 
 Moravia. Pferov, since Mr. Prudky s visit to America, 
 has become a separate charge, since Rev. C. A. Chval, 
 of Pittsburgh Presbytery, toward the close of 1920 
 went there as pastor, his support being assured through 
 funds raised by Drs. Montgomery and Losa. It is 
 headquarters for several other communities. A neat 
 church building was erected here in 1908. It is a 
 historical place, the birthplace of Blahoslav, who died in 
 1571. His excellent translation of the New Testament 
 from the Greek was afterwards, with minor revision, in 
 corporated into the Kralicka Bible, and he w r as the author 
 of many hymns and religious works. Here, too, is still 
 shown the Gymnasium where for four years, 1614-1618, 
 Comenius was the principal. A Bohemian Reformed 
 statesman of that locality, Karel ze Zerotina, went into 
 voluntary exile after 1620, but was allowed to revisit 
 his estates, and died during such a visit. In a neigh 
 boring village, Hranice, a former chapel of the Bohe 
 mian Brethren still exists, now used as a warehouse. 
 
 Another important locality, which should be a 
 separate charge, is Prostejov, where there are many 
 workmen. It has had services on alternate Sunday 
 afternoons, with no church building, in a place of 
 worship available only on Sundays. Mr. Prudky s 
 assistant minister, Rev. Sedy, had his headquarters 
 in Svebohov, afterwards changed to Hrabova, and the 
 story of its origin as told by a Bohemian coworker in 
 Germany so interested the hearers that a society was 
 formed to provide the salary for the worker there. 
 
98 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 Since the War, this support has been withdrawn, and 
 the support must be furnished by Bohemians. A 
 century ago, a Bohemian Catholic attended a church 
 festival in Prague and obtained a Bible. He gathered 
 his friends, and the reading of this Bible together led 
 to the creation of the Reformed Church at Svebohov 
 Intolerable persecutions hindered them. It was found 
 that they did not have the certificates, always required, 
 that they had been to the confessional. "Our certifi 
 cates," they said, "are our consciences." To be recog 
 nized as Protestants, they must affirm their purpose to 
 become such in "examinations," for six weeks. By a 
 subterfuge the hours in a period of six weeks were 
 counted, and this ingenious inquisition extended for a 
 year or more, with every other annoyance added that 
 could be invented. Yet by 1850 this Reformed group 
 numbered seventy souls. They were allowed to retain 
 their own cemetery, and to build a mausoleum, and 
 this served as their place of worship until more tolera 
 tion was granted. The assistant holds services in 
 Zabr*eh, where Jiri Strejc was born, a writer of Bohemian 
 metrical psalms. Zabreh has two villages, also Mirov 
 in its circuit, where there is a state prison that should 
 be regularly visited. Mr. Prudky visited eight places 
 to catechize the children, his assistant visited six more, 
 and a schoolmaster cared for another locality. There 
 are also devoted women workers and young people 
 who help in Sunday schools, in church support, and in 
 the care of the poor. v 
 
 In Hrabova, during July, 1921, Mr. Sedy wel 
 comed his first confirmation class of twelve children 
 who had been instructed there, and on the same occa 
 sion received a hundred adults as Church members. 
 In describing the work, he emphatically declares that 
 our Board of Publication, by its picture cards and its 
 Bohemian papers for children and for adults, has 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 99 
 
 rendered invaluable service. "I do not know what 
 could be done without your help; not half of what has 
 been accomplished," he writes to Dr. Losa. And he 
 mentions, as in almost every letter, a service in a new 
 locality. Another pastor made a tour in what may be 
 called "Moravian" Slovakia, where the dialect, in one 
 Moravian village after another, increasingly resembles 
 the Slovak. Often the attendance in the places men 
 tioned was two hundred, or three hundred, with in 
 stances of five hundred, nine hundred, a thousand, 
 once fifteen hundred. In a hall where this instance 
 occurred, of nine hundred present, he discoursed for 
 an hour. But when he finished, all remained seated, 
 and a voice requested, "Please continue." But he was 
 too weary, and had to consider the care of his voice, in 
 those frequent meetings; yet such behavior and re 
 quests from audiences are not uncommon. Formerly, 
 Bohemians would discuss anything but religion. Now, 
 the news is reiterated, that in trains and everywhere, 
 groups soon form that plunge into religious discussions, 
 and audiences that would not listen to discourses on 
 politics or socialism will crowd any auditorium to hear 
 about Huss and the gospel. The pressure increases, 
 urging Presbyterian Bohemian ministers in America, 
 even for limited periods, to return to Czechoslovakia; 
 and it is the exception, proving the rule, that when 
 such men can be spared, and means provided, those 
 who are already qualified, but no other Americans, 
 could well be sent to relieve the emergency. 
 
 Here, then, should be several separate charges in 
 Mr. Prudky s former field. He dedicated a new church 
 building, a beautiful structure, in July, 1920. Soon 
 after he made his tour in America. When he returned 
 home, he found most of his congregation strangers to 
 him, for the new accessions, largely in his absence, 
 a total of over three hundred for that year, made a 
 
300 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 new situation. Moreover, in the opening months of 
 1921, he welcomed two hundred more, so that his 
 new church was already too small. His assistant s 
 congregation grew from eighty members to eight 
 hundred; and Mr. Chval, arriving in January, 1921, 
 soon welcomed two hundred members. Moreover, 
 Mr. Prudky had visited other localities, where he 
 had lectured on John Huss. For Bohemian audi 
 ences, so long misled by blind guides, this is the best, 
 most congenial first lesson in gospel instruction. If 
 twenty qualified pastors were suddenly to appear, he 
 could promptly assemble audiences similar to those he 
 has addressed, in strongly Catholic neighborhoods, now 
 friendly to the gospel. New charges can be formed in 
 the same way as those now being cultivated. In 
 southern Moravia is Uhersky Brod, one of the reputed 
 birthplaces of Comenius, also Uhersky Hradiste, with 
 similar needs and promise; likewise, in southern 
 Bohemia, Budejovice (Budweis). Rev. Krenek, of 
 the Central West Presbytery, Bohemian, left the 
 United States for an evangelistic tour in Czechoslovakia 
 and everywhere was greeted by great audiences, often 
 in the open air. Somewhat later, Rev. Dobias, of 
 the Southwest Bohemian Presbytery in Texas, made 
 a visit of nine months in a region of Czechoslovakia, 
 of western Bohemia, at Domazlice, where a Protestant 
 was a rarity. Two hundred members he found there, 
 but when he returned to this country at the end of that 
 visit, he had increased that number to three thousand ! 
 In one week delegations from fifteen villages of the 
 vicinity visited him, asking him to appoint services in 
 their towns. 
 
 Another Bohemian minister, in the fall of 1920, went 
 from America to that land to engage in Y. M. C. A. work. 
 He wrote that on March 6, 1921, he preached in Kralo- 
 vice, where there had not been a Protestant previous 
 
THE COMING OF THR SLAV 
 
 to January, 1921. After his sermon seventy-nine new 
 members joined the newly organized Church. There 
 were five hundred in the audience; the same Sunday, 
 he preached in two other towns under similar condi 
 tions. In this same season, it was reported that in 
 Zizkov, a suburb of Prague, 5000 persons had united 
 with the evangelical Church. Also, in Hrabova there 
 were four hundred Protestants, gaining about ten new 
 members a week, where a year before there were prac 
 tically none. At the meeting of the Synod of the 
 "Czech Brethren" in February, 1921, the pastor of the 
 Pilsen Church stated that in and around Pilsen, there 
 were some 13,000 accessions to his Church, enough 
 for ten churches, or enough to make a new seniorat, 
 or presbytery; while he was the only pastor available 
 for them! Three times on Sunday the Pilsen Church 
 was emptied for different audiences. So, in Brno (Briinn) , 
 the capital of Moravia, two services were held in its 
 church each Sunday morning, for the multitude had 
 thus to be accommodated; and like arrangements are 
 spreading elsewhere. 
 
 These details may suffice to indicate a movement 
 unexampled in Europe for centuries. The Czechoslovak 
 census of February, 1921, adds its own testimony. The 
 population is over thirteen million. The Evangelicals 
 number about 1,500,000; "without Confession," or 
 churchless, 4,500,000. Besides, parallel with the evan 
 gelical movement is one of the "National" Bohemian 
 Church. Some 142 priests petitioned for mass in the 
 vernacular, the circulation of the Bible, the marriage 
 of priests . They were excommunicated ; called * generals 
 without an army." The Evangelicals welcomed them, 
 believing that they were bound for an evangelical goal. 
 And this census indicates that their adherents are 
 800,000! For Bohemia and Moravia, where Rome had 
 claimed ninety-eight per cent, it seems that it could 
 
-10* THE^COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 retain only about fifty per cent; besides, these seces 
 sions from its ranks continue. 
 
 Dr. Herben, one of the foremost of journalists, 
 wrote in the largest paper of Czechoslovakia: "Easter 
 week in the rural districts of Bohemia and Moravia 
 was absolutely a religious demonstration. Whole 
 towns and villages were looking for some one to come 
 and teach them what to do. Had there been enough 
 preachers and teachers in the Evangelical Church of 
 the Czech Brethren, whole districts would have been 
 celebrating Easter according to the Protestant rites, 
 entirely outside of the Roman Catholic Church. Such 
 is the attitude and such is the tendency of the people. * 
 
 A religious paper of Bohemia in 1921 stated that in a 
 year s time or less a hundred new preaching stations 
 had been established in Bohemia alone, some of them 
 already surpassing in numbers and zeal the older, self- 
 supporting churches; and that every Sunday fifty 
 ministers and laymen are endeavoring to supply these 
 points, though not able to serve half the localities that 
 call for the gospel. The movement has been mostly 
 among the workingmen and the middle class; but is 
 winning its way also among intellectual, cultured 
 leaders. 
 
 As this book goes to press, the news comes that 
 Rev. Kenneth D. Miller, Associate Director of City 
 and Immigrant Work for the Presbyterian Board of 
 Home Missions, New York City, has undertaken a tour 
 of investigation in Czechoslovakia and some adjacent 
 countries. Some years ago he received an appointment 
 to one of the fellowships provided by the Board, en 
 abling him to spend some time in Bohemia, where he 
 became proficient in the language. His service later 
 for the Board was varied by work for the Y. M. C. A. 
 among Czechoslovak troops in Siberia. He can readily 
 get the viewpoint of Czechoslovak leaders. Arrange- 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 103 
 
 ments are progressing also to send two or more Bohe 
 mian ministers from America to Czechoslovakia. Dr. 
 Losa s correspondence reveals further improvement in 
 the organization of the "National" or Czechoslovak 
 Church, whose priests often suffer hardship, as no pro 
 vision has been made for their salaries since they left 
 the Catholic Church. The latest indications are that 
 a hundred thousand Bibles may not supply the present 
 demand ifor them in Czechoslovakia. Owing to the 
 increased cost of these, America ought to help in pro 
 viding them. 
 
 The foregoing pages describe a movement in Bohemia 
 and Moravia. But in Slovakia a similar need has been 
 recently discovered, which may lead to important de 
 velopments. 
 
 In Slovakia the masses have been either Romish or 
 Lutheran; and leaders of the Bohemian Reformed 
 churches scarcely knew of the existence of any Slovak 
 Calvinists. When Mr. Prudky was in America he met 
 some of them, who asked him to visit their brethren in 
 Slovakia. In the summer of 1921 two delegations of 
 Bohemians did so, and found twenty thousand of them 
 in a fertile plain, having views of the Carpathians to 
 the north, a region between Kosice and Uzhorod, a 
 region that suffered in the wars, the Great War, and 
 the later war between the Bohemians and the Reds. 
 Whole cemeteries were the evidence. Magyar leaders 
 gave warning of these visitors, wolves in sheep s 
 clothing, as they said; or as a teacher declared, they 
 were not Calvinists but Hussites, not praying to God 
 but to Huss! But their way was prepared by Rev. 
 John Sirny, who had charge of the Presbyterian Slovak 
 Church at Monessen, Pennsylvania, and who was 
 visiting Slovakia. Their audiences welcomed services, 
 sometimes Communion services, in their own tongue. 
 Their dialect was interesting. "Thy speech bewray- 
 
104 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 eth thee," is a principle of linguistic science. And 
 here were Slovaks, whose salutations, various accents, 
 and phrases, were different from those of western 
 Slovaks, sometimes purely Bohemian, suggesting plausi 
 bly that they were descendants of Bohemian exiles 
 driven out by persecutions centuries ago. 
 
 Magyar kultur, religious and otherwise, said Mr. 
 Prudky in his letter to Dr. Losa, was plainly visible, 
 for the school, church, magistrates, army, all aimed at 
 the obliteration of Slovak self-consciousness, at their 
 serfdom, at their separation from Bohemians. Their 
 Calvinism was a confess! onalism, to emphasize a 
 separation from Slovak Lutherans, formal rather than 
 spiritual. Their very orthography was Magyarized, so 
 as to make it difficult for them to read the writings of 
 Slovaks or Bohemians. Yet the children who memor 
 ized catechisms in Magyar parochial schools, or the 
 people who heard sermons in that tongue, understood 
 it no better than Latin. The visitation of twenty-three 
 churches by these brethren supplied them with abun 
 dant evidence as to such facts. The Magyar Reformed 
 Church aims at "autonomy" for them, which means 
 their domination by Magyar bishops and pastors. 
 These leaders even choose the delegates for their 
 ecclesiastical gathering, the "Conventus"; their pastors 
 also are appointed, the people having no opportunities 
 of electing them. 
 
 The results of this tyranny are deplorable. It is not 
 strange that the people sometimes call themselves 
 "Magyars" though they do not know that language. 
 They have been as serfs, looking up to Magyars as 
 aristocrats, so that they do not comprehend true 
 liberty. Since the Czechoslovak Republic was estab 
 lished, the Calvinistic Magyar parochial schools have 
 been closed, and the children are without instruction. 
 There is no Slovak Bible with Magyar orthography, 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 105 
 
 and the people are without Bibles. They are not apt 
 to read anything, and drift into an unthinking habit, 
 so that some Calvinists voted for the clerical party! 
 They have learned to emphasize forms only; they have 
 superstitions, even prayers for the dead, sometimes 
 paying for masses in Catholic churches. Their pastors 
 have their own farms, their tithes, their fees for 
 baptisms, or other functions, but no salary otherwise. 
 Thus the people have no idea of benevolence and its 
 contributions, and their relations with ministers are 
 pitiable. These have been as lords over God s heritage; 
 the people cannot be born, or live, or die, without 
 these officials, mere ceremonialists, and they must be 
 paid. Love and confidence are absent ; and increasingly, 
 many people refuse services that formerly were volun 
 tarily rendered. The people make merit by adorning 
 profusely the pulpit and table with embroidery and 
 artificial flowers, and the long farewells for the dead at 
 funerals are aids to superstition. 
 
 Mr. Prudky has some counsels for this situation. 
 Communications with Czech Brethren having thus 
 begun, should be continued. Until the separation of 
 Church and State is complete, the government should 
 not recognize pastors who do not understand the 
 language of their people. Spiritual teachers are needed 
 for the schools, and if they are not available, even 
 State schools are preferable to parochial schools under 
 a Magyar regime. Good schools are a necessity. Bibles 
 are a necessity, for a true evangelization; and a good 
 colporteur, going from hut to hut, might introduce a 
 new era. Literature easily understood is a necessity. 
 A little paper, printed at first in Magyar orthography, 
 changing slowly to Slovak, and containing some politi 
 cal or agricultural articles, would do good. Finally, a 
 Slovak seniorat or presbytery is a necessity. Stipends 
 and subsidies should be provided for Slovak students 
 
106 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 for the ministry, and only efficient, spiritual men should 
 work in Slovakia. 
 
 This unique situation in Bohemia, Moravia, and 
 Slovakia warrants the hope that in the future, and 
 that not distant, a hundred qualified pastors, and then, 
 if the Holy Spirit be poured out, a thousand, may not 
 suffice for the flocks that need spiritual care in Czecho 
 slovakia, requiring many problems of training, instruc 
 ting, organizing the workers and the people. God 
 grant that America may do her part in this time of 
 harvest ! 
 
 The Czechoslovak Review of Chicago published the 
 Constitution of Czechoslovakia. Article 106 says that 
 "All inhabitants of the Czechoslovak Republic enjoy, 
 equally with the citizens of the Republic, in its terri 
 tory full and complete protection without regard to race 
 or religion." But as Washington s character and influ 
 ence was a powerful guarantee for the terms of the 
 American Constitution when it was regarded as an un 
 tried experiment, so the influence of Thomas Garrigue 
 Masaryk, the first President, elected for life in 
 Czechoslovakia, is a fortunate asset for the stability 
 and progress of that promising country. He was born 
 March 7, 1850, in South Moravia. He had struggles 
 with poverty in getting his education, in the grammar 
 school of Brno, capital of Moravia, in the University of 
 Vienna, and later in the University of Leipsic. In one 
 of his journeys in Germany and Russia, he met Miss 
 Charlotte Garrigue, an American lady, who became his 
 wife. In 1879 he established himself as a lecturer in phi 
 losophy at the University of Vienna; and when the Uni 
 versity of Prague was divided into a German and a Czech 
 University, he was transferred to this new Czech insti 
 tution. A significant fact, not always mentioned, was 
 that in the course of these activities, though born a 
 Catholic, he united with the Reformed Bohemian 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 107 
 
 Church. In 1891-1893, he served as a deputy in the 
 Austrian Parliament, coming to the front rank as a 
 political leader, patriotic, honest, and fearless. His 
 eyes were opened to the hopeless corruption of Austria, 
 and after leaving Parliament he continued to write 
 and to advocate reforms. In various questions he 
 took the unpopular side, facing storms of opposition, 
 sometimes from powerful clerical organizations, yet 
 finally winning his case. He was reflected to Parlia 
 ment in 1907, and exposed the forgeries by which the 
 Austrian authorities tried to implicate Serbia in a 
 conspiracy, and by which in the Agram political trials 
 fifty Jugoslav youths were condemned to death, but 
 rescued by Masaryk s efforts. The War broke out while 
 he was on important journeys. But we might well 
 let him tell his story as he did in his first presidential 
 message to the National Assembly, in the ancient 
 royal castle of Prague, in December, 1918: 
 
 "I myself saw clearly that I could not and must not 
 remain in the service of Austria-Hungary. It is true 
 that at first I hesitated to act; I felt the tremendous 
 responsibility. I counted the cost of defeat but our 
 soldiers, refusing to serve, and surrendering to the 
 Allies, the criminal execution of our men who rejoiced 
 at the promises of the Russian commander, the entire 
 machinery of Vienna and Budapest barbarity, forced 
 me to a decision." He mentions his journeys, seeking 
 information, in Vienna, Holland, Germany. "In the 
 middle of December, 1914, I departed for Italy, then 
 still neutral, and from there to Switzerland. I had 
 hoped to return once more to Prague and communicate 
 the information gained by me, but it was no longer 
 possible. In the fall of 1915 I proceeded to London, 
 whence I made frequent trips to Paris." In London 
 he was welcomed, and was appointed a professor 
 at King s College. Moreover, he was then direct- 
 
108 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 ing the whole Czechoslovak movement in Russia, 
 America, and France. When the Russian revolution 
 broke out, he went, at a critical time, to Russia, and 
 it was due to him that the Czechoslovak army was 
 organized. "In May, 1917, I had to go to Russia; 
 from Russia I departed early in March by way o* 
 Siberia to Japan, through Japan to the United States, 
 and after seven months residence there I returned a : 
 the call of our government after a lapse of four years 
 as the first president of the Czechoslovak Republic. 
 . . . The history of our army in Russia is the history 
 of Russia during the War. Kerensky at first was against 
 us, until he found out that his offensive was to a large 
 extent carried out by our three regiments, and thai 
 our boys covered the fatal flight of the Russian army. 
 After many attempts we finally managed to organize 
 an army corps; and I can say without boasting that 
 organizing this army during the anarchy and the 
 complete break-up of the Russian army is the best 
 testimony to the maturity not merely of our boys, but 
 of the whole nation, for 100,000 men is enough to 
 represent a nation. . . . Our army fighting on three 
 fronts won our liberty for us." lie then recounts the 
 steps by which the Allies recognized Czechoslovakia, 
 saying, "It is natural that recognition by England 
 and the United States, the greatest Allied Powers, 
 strengthened us greatly, as the behavior of the enemies 
 made plain. . . . Bismarck said that the master of 
 Bohemia is the master of Europe. He described thus 
 in his own way the special world significance of our 
 nation. We are the westernmost Slav branch in the 
 center of Europe, and we successfully helped to balk 
 the German push toward the east. Our victory is 
 likewise the victory of the other small nations menaced 
 by Germany and Austria." He then shows the impor 
 tance of cultivating harmonious relations with sur- 
 
THE COMING OP THE SLAV 109 
 
 rounding nations, and with a renewed Russia. When 
 he discussed the Magyars, he tactfully changed from 
 the Bohemian to the Slovak dialect. One writer in the 
 Bohemian Review, commemorating his seventieth 
 birthday, speaks of the love and reverence of the nation 
 for him: "The Czechoslovak movement for inde 
 pendence, its struggles and final victory, were not 
 possible without Masaryk." Accordingly it means 
 much that such a man, identified with the Reformed 
 Church, began this historic message with a quotation 
 from the famous educator and reformer, a well-known 
 prophecy of John Amos Comenius: "O Bohemian 
 people, I trust in God, that when the tempest of his 
 wrath brought upon our heads for our sins, will have 
 passed away, the reign of thy cause will again be 
 restored." 
 
 The evangelization of Slavdom can be furthered by 
 a plan so simple that it is within the reach of every 
 American Church and Christian. It would be an 
 unspeakable boon, both to America and to Slavdom, 
 if the Monthly Concert, a truly concerted movement 
 among Presbyterians, were to restore and retain 
 Czechoslovakia or Slavdom in its list of topics. Every 
 month these topics receive regular discussions, for 
 thousands of readers, in monthly or weekly Presby 
 terian periodicals throughout America, and the 
 missionary societies, young people s meetings, mid 
 week services, echo and emphasize them. But for 
 many years, up to 1920, Slavdom has been excluded 
 from this sphere of blessing. Yet this is a sad departure 
 from the former ideals of our fathers. Every year, 
 their Monthly Concert program included "papal 
 Europe," and while Italy and France received more 
 attention, being more familiar, we may refer to the 
 former Presbyterian magazine, the Foreign Mission 
 ary, for November, 1883, where there is a brief 
 
110 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 quotation concerning the history and spiritual needs 
 of Bohemia and Moravia. This spiritual sympathy, 
 not only for this part but for all the rest of Slavdom, 
 is greatly needed now. This magazine for September, 
 1879, quoted the report of a previous General Assembly 
 as follows: "Believing that an instrumentality which, 
 in the history of our Church, has been so signally blessed, 
 may be yet made a means of blessing to the whole world, 
 your committee call the attention of ministers and 
 elders to the paramount importance of making more 
 efficient the monthly meeting of prayer for missions 
 where it is observed, and of reviving it where it is 
 fallen into disuse." 
 
 The Foreign Missionary for August, 1886, gives a 
 table of statistics of organizations of Reformed churches 
 on the Continent, in Bohemia, France, Italy, Belgium, 
 et cetera, also another table showing the contributions 
 sent to these Reformed churches from the Presbyterian 
 churches of Scotland, England, and Ireland. "The 
 above," it adds, "does not tell the whole story. Many 
 special missions are aided from Scotland and England. 
 . Best of all, a number of students have been 
 brought from the countries of Austria, educated for 
 the ministry in Scotch Theological halls, and sent back 
 to their homes. The Reformed churches in papal lands 
 have solid ground upon which to appeal to American 
 Presbyterians. Their debtors we are. Our spiritual 
 and temporal prosperity depend upon principles for 
 which their earlier generations contended. It is but 
 due return for us now to help them back to temporal 
 and spiritual vigor. The five thousand dollars con 
 tributed to them from the treasury of our Presby 
 terian Foreign Board last year might well be multi 
 plied tenfold." Sad to say, for many years, all such 
 advertisement or regular news and discussions of 
 Bohemia, now in Czechoslovakia, or of Slavdom, as 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 111 
 
 well as of Latin Europe, have disappeared from Pres 
 byterian papers in the United States, such publications 
 now being sporadic, irregular; and such contributions 
 are no longer reported by our Foreign Board. These 
 probably never were part of a regular budget; yet 
 special gifts, due largely to these publications, no 
 doubt, have always been forwarded according to desig 
 nations by donors.* 
 
 The Presbyterian denominations of this country 
 should now consider anew their spiritual responsibility 
 for Slavdom. These Monthly Concert programs 
 would be enriched, varied, made more adequate, if 
 Czechoslovakia or Slavdom were included. A former 
 secretary of the Presbyterian Foreign Board was of the 
 opinion that whatever the topic for a monthly mission 
 ary meeting, the whole world as the field for evangeliza 
 tion should be the real theme. A multitude of states 
 men have perceived that no sufficient discussion of 
 world powers could be had if Slavdom were omitted. 
 And shall the children of this world be "in their genera 
 tion wiser than the children of light"? 
 
 The history of the Monthly Concert of Prayer for 
 Missions, or as it has sometimes been expressed, of a 
 "Concert of Prayer for the Conversion of the World," 
 has never been fully recorded. We may note two 
 landmarks in such a blessed history : First, a discourse, 
 making nearly two hundred pages, of Jonathan 
 Edwards, America s greatest theologian. This was 
 "An Humble Attempt To Promote Explicit Agreement 
 and Visible Union of God s People in Extraordinary 
 Prayer For the Revival of Religion and the Advance 
 ment of Christ s Kingdom on Earth." His text was 
 Zech. 8 : 20-22: "Thus saith the Lord of hosts; It 
 shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, 
 and the inhabitants of many cities; and the inhabitants 
 
 *The recent news is welcome, that our Foreign Board will include Czechoslovakia 
 and other countries of Europe in its topics, as of yore. 
 
112 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily 
 to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts : 
 I will go also. Yea, many peoples and strong nations 
 shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and 
 to pray before the Lord." He quoted a number of 
 other prophecies, and showed that they were never 
 fulfilled before the coming of Christ, and hence must 
 refer to the glory and enlargement of the Christian 
 Church. This text shows how this advancement 
 should be introduced : "By great Multitudes in different 
 Towns and Countries taking up a joint Resolution, 
 . . . that they will, by united and extraordinary 
 Prayer, seek to God that he would come and manifest 
 himself, and grant the Tokens and Fruits of his gracious 
 Presence. . . . This Disposition to ... Prayer, 
 and Union in it, will gradually spread more and more, 
 and increase to greater Degrees; with which at length 
 will gradually be introduced a Revival of Religion. 
 . . . In this Manner Religion shall be propagated, 
 till the Awakening reaches those that are in the highest 
 Stations, and till whole Nations be awaken d, and there 
 shall be at length an Accession of many of the chief 
 Nations of the World to the Church of God." 
 
 He then discusses a memorial that had been sent 
 from Scotland to America, "for continuing a Concert 
 for Prayer, first entered into in the Year 1744." A 
 number of Scottish ministers had made an agreement 
 to observe some times for special prayer, and to con 
 tinue this for two years. At the expiration of the time, 
 this memorial was published, and some hundreds of 
 copies sent to America, urging that the arrangement be 
 continued and extended. 
 
 The second part of this discourse offered "to Con 
 sideration some Things, which may induce the People 
 of God to comply with the Proposal and Request." 
 This master mind then marshaled arguments, as if 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 113 
 
 burdened with a message of high import. He showed 
 that many prophecies of the future glories of the Church 
 are yet unfulfilled, surely worth praying for. He had a 
 chapter on what Christ did and suffered to obtain that 
 day. Surely his Disciples . . . should also . . . 
 be much and earnest in Prayer for it." Of all the 
 encouragements to this duty, signifying importunity 
 in prayer, he knew of nothing in the Bible so striking 
 as Isa. 62 : 6, 7: "Keep not silence, and give him no 
 rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a 
 praise in the earth." Throughout the Bible, especially 
 the psalms, no other prayers are so frequent as those 
 for the advancement of the Church, God s Kingdom of 
 grace on earth. After urging the special needs of that 
 time, in the eighteenth century, and the advantages of 
 such a union of Christians, he refuted some objections 
 and in conclusion quoted Isa. 25 : 9: "It shall be said 
 in that day, Lo, this is our God; ... we will . . . 
 rejoice in his salvation." 
 
 Another publication, a book of about a hundred 
 small pages, by Dr. Samuel Miller, of Princeton, New 
 Jersey, appeared in 1832, "Letters on the Observance 
 of the Monthly Concert in Prayer: Addressed to the 
 Members of the Presbyterian Church in the United 
 States." He, too, discussed the necessity of prayer, 
 and of intercession, and the blessedness of union with 
 others in this. He referred to the origin of the Monthly 
 Concert in the Church of Scotland about a hundred 
 years before, and how Edwards, "then of Northampton, 
 in Massachusetts, labored with no small diligence and 
 zeal to ... promote the plan." In 1784, this 
 appointment was made monthly, on the first Monday 
 evening of each month. The Presbyterian General 
 Assembly in 1830 issued a pastoral letter calling atten 
 tion to this subject. A few years later, it recom 
 mended a change to the first Sunday afternoon in 
 
114 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 every month for the churches that might find it con 
 venient. Dr. Miller fervently pleaded for more mission 
 ary zeal in this matter. "Again I say to every minister, 
 every member, and every well-wisher of our Zion, 
 Awake! Awake! Pray and labor without ceasing until 
 there shall be a general and united movement of our 
 whole Church to carry the glorious gospel to every 
 kindred and people and nation and tongue; until the 
 knowledge and glory of the Lord shall cover the earth 
 as the waters fill the sea, Amen!" 
 
 The Presbyterian Church has followed in its missions 
 a different plan from that of some other denominations, 
 since it never has sent missionaries to Europe. Dr. 
 Ferdinand Cisaf, superintendent for the Reformed 
 Church in Moravia, emphatically approved this plan 
 in his article on "Los von Rom!" ("Away from Rome!") 
 in the Presbyterian and Reformed Review, October, 
 1901: "Perhaps only Presbyterians have the better 
 understanding of the matter that to strengthen the 
 Continental Protestant Churches is the safest way to 
 evangelize Catholic Europe." Some years ago the 
 question was raised in the General Assembly whether 
 it might be well to change this plan, and the matter 
 was finally referred to the Board of Foreign Missions; 
 its report in part is as follows (Minutes of the General 
 Assembly, 1909, p. 341): 
 
 "I. That it is inexpedient at the present time for 
 the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian 
 Church in the U. S. A. to establish Foreign Missions 
 on the Continent of Europe, for the following reasons: 
 
 "(a) The Presbyterian Church has already more 
 foreign missionary responsibilities than it is dis 
 charging. (6) The primary responsibility for work in 
 Europe rests upon the Evangelical Churches of Great 
 Britain and the Continent, which have recognized this 
 obligation, and which in turn leave the vast work to 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 115 
 
 be done on the western hemisphere to the American 
 and Canadian Churches, (c) The establishment of 
 Foreign Missions in Europe by the American Churches 
 is regarded on the Continent and Great Britain as an 
 unwise and harmful policy. 
 
 "II. But there is need of friendly help in behalf of 
 the Reformed Churches on the Continent, and the 
 Evangelical Churches of Great Britain and America 
 should show a large sympathy for their brethren in the 
 Continental countries. The Board, however, cannot 
 make any provision for such help out of its woefully 
 inadequate income; but it is cordially ready to receive 
 and forward any special designated gifts for these 
 churches and their work, provided that the agents to 
 whom the money is to be sent and the objects of work 
 to which it is to be devoted are officially authorized by 
 the highest ecclesiastical courts of the Churches con 
 cerned, and approved by the General Secretary and 
 Executive Committee of the Presbyterian Alliance. 
 In acting thus for those interested, the Board could not 
 assume any responsibility of accounting for the receipt 
 of funds and transmitting them to the authorized 
 agent." 
 
 To propose resolutions of sympathy in the General 
 Assembly for the Reformed Churches of Czecho 
 slovakia, and then do nothing, is like saying, "Depart 
 in peace, be ye warmed and filled, "notwithstanding the 
 fact that urgent needs are unsupplied. Organizations 
 were formed some years ago, which interested numbers 
 of Presbyterians, to help Reformed Churches of France 
 and Belgium, also Waldensian societies to assist the 
 Waldensians of Italy. A sensible and practical plan 
 for helping the Reformed Churches of Czechoslovakia 
 has been proposed by Dr. W. L. McEwan, of Pitts 
 burgh, Pennsylvania, and put into effect by his organ 
 ization of "The American Hussite Society." If thou- 
 
116" THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 sands of Presbyterians throughout the United States 
 were to become members and contributors toward this 
 organization, it would go farther than ever to supply 
 the needs of Slav saints, and occasion many thanks 
 givings to God. 
 
 Summary 
 
 The two things here to be emphasized are the Amer 
 ican Hussite Society and the Monthly Concert of 
 Prayer for Missions. The Hussite Society is admirably 
 adapted to be the organ for all the Presbyterian and 
 Reformed Churches of America in obtaining funds for 
 Czechoslovakia. The true policy for all these denom 
 inations must be to send no American missionaries to 
 Europe, but to send funds to aid our Reformed brethren 
 there. The need for this is formally recognized, but in 
 practice such contributions are difficult to secure, in 
 the face of the increasing regular budgets of all churches. 
 Hence the need for this organization. Moreover, the 
 Monthly Concert of Prayer, including Czechoslovakia 
 in its topics, will be a powerful help, making its appeal 
 to thousands, through Church papers and missionary 
 organizations. Thus there will be a more extensive 
 publication of the great and growing importance of 
 Slav countries, and the need of more evangelical work 
 in them, including colportage and the training of a host 
 of missionaries. 
 
 "Pray ye ... the Lord of the harvest, that he 
 will send forth laborers into his harvest." "If thou 
 forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and 
 those that are ready to be slain; if thou sayest, Behold, 
 we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the 
 heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth 
 not he know it? and shall not he render to every 
 man according to his works?" We ourselves, the 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 117 
 
 whole Church to-day, need the same spirit as that 
 of Samuel, when he spoke to Israel: "Moreover 
 as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the 
 Lord in ceasing to pray for you." 
 
 Supplement 
 
 A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 McLanahan: "Our People of Foreign Speech." 
 
 Grose: "Aliens or Americans?" 
 
 Count von Liitzow: "Bohemia: An Historical Sketch." 
 
 Thomas Capek: "The Slovaks of Hungary." 
 
 R. W. Seton- Watson : "Racial Problems in Hungary." 
 
 W. S. Monroe: "Bohemia and the Czechs." (See also 
 his work on "Bulgaria and Her People.") 
 
 Francis H. Palmer: "Austro-Hungarian Life in Town 
 and Country." (Also the volumes of the same series 
 pertaining to Slav countries. Likewise, the volumes 
 in the series, "The Story of the Nations.") 
 
 W. R. Morfill: "The Story of Poland." 
 
 Leroy-Beaulieu : "Empire of the Tsars and the Rus 
 sians." 3 vols. 
 
 Latimer: "Liberty of Conscience Under Three Tsars." 
 
 Pamphlets, published by the Presbyterian Board of 
 Publication and Sabbath School Work: "Protes 
 tantism in Poland," C. E. Edwards; "The Story of 
 the Bohemian Church," W. G. Blaikie. 
 
 Senate Document No. 662, 1911: Dictionary of Races 
 and Peoples. 
 
 National Geographic Magazine: February, 1917, and 
 December, 1918. 
 
 Emily Greene Balch: "Our Slavic Fellow Citizens." 
 
 POPULATION AND AREA OF SLAVDOM 
 
 Taking the number of Slavs as given in the Ency 
 clopedia Americana, 1920, disregarding their losses in 
 
118 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 the World War, it would exceed a hundred and seventy 
 million. If these were to have the happy increase 
 recorded in the United States in the first decades of 
 its history, doubling every thirty years, then before 
 some infants of to-day reach fourscore years the Slavs 
 themselves would number nearly a billion. Their 
 territories, too, if properly developed, without any 
 annexations, would amply support them. For this an 
 American illustration, without details of discussion, 
 may suffice. If the potato, an important article of 
 diet be supplied, famine would not seem so threatening. 
 Assume five hundred bushels of potatoes per acre, not 
 a record yield, to be obtainable by modern industry, 
 and the per capita consumption annually two and a 
 half bushels, then potatoes for a billion persons could be 
 produced by one fourth the arable land of Colorado, 
 described as the most mountainous of American states. 
 If the vast, undeveloped areas of Slavdom are culti 
 vated by an industrious, intelligent race, the cost of 
 living might everywhere be relieved. The area of all 
 the Russias before the War would eclipse that of the 
 full moon. Without here quoting logarithms, we may 
 recall that the area of a sphere is the square of its 
 diameter, multiplied by "pi" which is nearly 3.1416. 
 The diameter of the moon is 2163 miles, and the full 
 moon presents to us half the area of that sphere, or 
 something over seven million square miles. Russian 
 dominions exceeded eight million square miles, eclipsing 
 the full moon, "which was to be proved," as geometries 
 have said. 
 
 COMPARISON OF MATT. 6 : 9-13, IN BOHEMIAN, POLISH, 
 AND MAGYAR 
 
 The cruelty of forcing the Magyar tongue upon 
 Slovaks may be illustrated by a comparison of two 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 119 
 
 Slav versions of The Lord s Prayer, the Bohemian, 
 practically identical with Slovak, and the Polish, with 
 the Magyar. If rendered audibly, the resemblance of 
 the first two, to a Slav ear would be far more striking 
 than to American eyes from the printed page. Only a 
 little more than one word to a verse in these Slav 
 tongues is unlike, and these may be guessed by Slavs 
 from the connection. Not a single Magyar word 
 resembles any corresponding Slav word. The only 
 word common to all three is the Hebrew word, Amen! 
 
 Bohemian 
 
 9. Otce nds, kteryz 
 jsi v nebesich, 
 posvSt se jmeno 
 tve\ 
 
 10. Pfid kralovstvi 
 tve. 
 
 Bud vule tva jako 
 v nebi tak i na 
 zemi. 
 
 11. Chleb nas vez- 
 de j si de j nam 
 dnes. 
 
 12. A odpust nam 
 viny nase, jakoz i 
 my odpoustime 
 vinnikum nasim. 
 
 13. I neuvod nas v 
 pokuseni, ale zbav 
 nas od zleho. 
 
 Nebo tve jest krd- 
 lovstvi, i moc, i 
 slava, na v8ky. 
 Amen. 
 
 Polish 
 Ojcze nasz, kt6rys 
 
 jest w niebiesiech! 
 
 Swie sie, imie. 
 
 twoje; 
 Przyjdz krolestwo 
 
 twoje; 
 badz wola twoja 
 
 jako w niebie, tak 
 
 i na ziemi. 
 
 Chleba naszego 
 powszedniego daj 
 nam dzisiaj. 
 
 I odpus"c nam nasze 
 winy, jako i my 
 odpuszczamy nas- 
 zym winowajcom; 
 
 I nie wwodf nas na 
 pokuszenie, ale 
 nas zbaw ode zle- 
 
 go; 
 
 albowiem twoje jest 
 kr61estwo, i moc, 
 i chwala, na wieki. 
 Amen. 
 
 Magyar 
 
 Mi Atyank, ki vagy 
 a mennyekben, 
 szenteltessek meg 
 a te neved; 
 
 Jojjon el a te orsza- 
 god; 
 
 legyen meg a te 
 akaratod, mint a 
 mennyben ugy a 
 foldon is. 
 
 A mi mindennapi 
 kenyeriinket add 
 meg nekiink ma. 
 
 Es bocsasd meg a mi 
 vetkeinket, mike- 
 pen mi is megboc- 
 satunk azoknak, a 
 kik eUenunk vet- 
 keztek; 
 
 Es ne vigy minket 
 kisertetbe, de sza- 
 badits meg min 
 ket a gonoszto"!. 
 
 Mert tied az orszag 
 es a hatalom ^s a 
 dicsosdg mind 6r- 
 okke. Amen! 
 
120 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 Americans should recognize the difference between 
 Magyars and Slovaks. Slovaks come from Hungary, 
 but are not real Hungarians. Magyars, rulers of Hun 
 gary, oppressed Slovaks in a way never experienced by 
 Americans, even under George the Third, since they 
 forbade them to learn their own language. Some Slav 
 leaders estimate that the Magyar tongue is spoken by 
 about seven millions. The Bohemian or Slovak tongue 
 is a key to languages spoken by nearly two hundred 
 millions. The Magyar is an agglutinative language, 
 not inflected like Slav or Indo-European tongues; it is 
 not Indo-European, but an Asiatic intruder, a linguistic 
 island in the midst of Europe. 
 
 A TYPICAL JUSTIFICATION FOR EVANGELICAL MISSIONS 
 
 Converts among immigrants in America have a 
 keen appreciation of the Reformation, and desire 
 another Reformation for their own homelands. They 
 would see their experience justified in a document which 
 was a landmark of that movement, Calvin s reply to 
 Cardinal Sadoleto, a work that Luther said "had 
 hands and feet." Note the following paragraphs: 
 
 "Since you have cited us as defenders to the tribunal 
 of God, I have no hesitation in calling upon you there 
 to meet me. Our cause, as it is supported by the 
 truth of God, will be at no loss for a complete defense. 
 I speak not of our persons, whose safety will be found 
 not in defense, but in humble confession and suppliant 
 deprecation; but in so far as our ministry is concerned, 
 there is none of us who will not be able thus to speak: 
 
 "O Lord, I have, indeed, experienced how difficult 
 and grievous it was to bear the invidious accusations 
 with which I was harassed o"n the earth; but with the 
 same confidence with which I then appealed to thy 
 tribunal I now appear before thee, because I know that 
 in thy judgment truth always reigns. They charge 
 
THE COMING OP THE SLAV 121 
 
 me with two of the worst crimes, heresy and schism. 
 The heresy was that I dared to protest against the 
 dogmas which they received. But what could I have 
 done? I heard from thy mouth that there was no 
 other light of truth which could direct our souls into 
 the way of life, than that which is kindled by thy Word. 
 I heard that whatever human minds could conceive of 
 themselves regarding thy majesty, the worship of thy 
 deity, and the mysteries of thy religion was vanity. I 
 heard that the introduction into thy Church, of doc 
 trines sprung from the human brain, was presumption. 
 . . . But when I turned toward men, I saw very 
 different principles prevailing. Those who were 
 regarded as leaders of faith neither understood thy 
 Word nor cared greatly for it. Among the people 
 themselves, the highest honor paid to thy Word was 
 to revere it from a distance as a thing inaccessible, and 
 to abstain from all investigation of it. Thy Christ 
 was indeed worshiped as God, and retained the name 
 of Saviour; but where he ought to have been honored, 
 he was left almost without honor. There was none who 
 duly considered that one sacrifice which he offered on 
 the cross, and by which he reconciled us to thyself, 
 none who ever dreamed of thinking of his eternal 
 priesthood, and the intercession depending upon it 
 none who trusted in his righteousness only. . . 
 And then when all, with no small insult to thy mercy, 
 put confidence in good works, when by good works 
 they strove to merit thy favor, to procure justification, 
 to expiate their sins, and make satisfaction to thee 
 (each of these things obliterating and making void the 
 virtue of Christ s cross), they were yet altogether 
 ignorant wherein good works consisted. For, just as 
 if they were not at all instructed in righteousness by 
 thy law, they had fabricated for themselves many 
 useless frivolities, as a means of procuring thy favor, 
 
122 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 and on these they so plumed themselves, that, in com 
 parison of them, they almost condemned the standard 
 of true righteousness which thy law recommended. 
 That I might perceive these things thou, O Lord, didst 
 shine upon me with the brightness of thy Spirit; that 
 I might comprehend how impious and noxious they 
 were, thou didst bear before me the torch of thy Word; 
 that I might abominate them as they deserved, thou 
 didst stimulate my soul. . . . As to the charge of 
 forsaking thy Church, which they were wont to bring 
 against me, there is nothing of which conscience 
 accuses me, unless, indeed, he is to be considered a 
 deserter, who seeing the soldiers routed and scattered 
 and abandoning their ranks, raises the leader s standard, 
 and recalls them to their posts. . . . Always, both 
 by word and deed, have I protested how eager I was 
 for unity. Mine, however, was a unity of the Church, 
 which should begin and end in thee." 
 
 This solemn scene was supplemented by another 
 confession from a layman : 
 
 "I, O Lord, as I had been educated from a boy, 
 always professed the Christian faith. But at first I had 
 no other reason for my faith than that which then 
 everywhere prevailed. Thy Word, which ought to 
 have shone on all thy people like a lamp, was taken 
 away, or at least suppressed as to us. . . . I antici 
 pated a future resurrection, but hated to think of it, 
 as being an event most dreadful. And this feeling not 
 only had dominion over me in private, but was derived 
 from the doctrine which was then uniformly delivered 
 to the people by their Christian teachers. They, 
 indeed, preached of thy clemency toward men, but 
 confined it to those who should show themselves 
 deserving of it. They, moreover, placed this desert 
 in the righteousness of works, so that he only was 
 received into thy favor who reconciled himself to thee 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 123 
 
 by works. . . . When, however, I had performed all 
 these things, though I had some intervals of quiet, I 
 was still far off from true peace of conscience; for, 
 whenever I descended into myself, or raised my mind 
 to thee, extreme terror seized me terror which no 
 expiations nor satisfactions could cure. . . . Still, 
 as nothing better offered, I continued the course which 
 I had begun, when, lo, a very different form of doctrine 
 started mp, not one which led us away from the 
 Christian profession, but one which brought it back to 
 its fountainhead, and, as it were, clearing away the 
 dross, restored it to its original purity. Offended by 
 the novelty, I lent an unwilling ear, and at first, I 
 confess, strenuously and passionately resisted; for 
 (such is the firmness or effrontery with which it is 
 natural to men to persist in the course which they have 
 once undertaken) it was with the greatest difficulty I 
 was induced to confess that I had all my life long been 
 in ignorance and error. . . . My mind being now 
 prepared for serious attention, I at length perceived, as 
 if light had broken in upon me, in what a stye of error 
 I had wallowed, and how much pollution and impurity 
 I had thereby contracted. Being exceedingly alarmed 
 at the misery into which I had fallen, and much more 
 at that which threatened me in view of eternal death, 
 I, as in duty bound, made it my first business to betake 
 myself to thy way, condemning my past life with groans 
 and tears. And now, O Lord, what remains to a wretch 
 like me, but instead of defense, earnestly to supplicate 
 thee not to judge according to its deserts that fearful 
 abandonment of thy Word, from which, in wonderful 
 goodness, thou hast delivered me." 
 
 The conclusion of this reply, as Dr. Reyburn says, 
 in his "Life of Calvin," sums up the whole argument : 
 "The Lord grant, Sadoleto, that you and your party 
 may at length perceive that the only true bond of 
 
124 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 Church unity is Christ the Lord, who has reconciled 
 us to God the Father, and will gather us out of our 
 present dispersion into the fellowship of his body, 
 that so, through his one Word and Spirit, we may 
 grow together into one heart and soul." 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN SLAV PERIODICALS 
 
 The Board of Publication and Sabbath School Work 
 of the Presbyterian Church makes interesting state 
 ments about its periodicals for Slavs: 
 
 "There are more than sixteen hundred newspapers 
 published in the United States in foreign languages. 
 Most of them are devoted exclusively to the printing 
 of secular news and not a few of them are the pro 
 moters of socialistic and anarchistic propaganda of 
 the most virulent type. During the War many of them 
 were filled with disloyal utterances and some were dis 
 continued by order of the Federal Government. Since 
 the close of the War, the vigilance of the Government 
 with reference to these publications has relaxed and 
 many new periodicals have appeared representing the 
 most radical views 
 
 "Without doubt it is the duty of the Church to meet 
 this situation, which in some quarters has become 
 fraught with danger to our American institutions, by 
 an equally aggressive and persistent publication and 
 distribution of literature devoted to the propagation 
 of evangelical truth and Americanization." For the 
 Bohemians or Czechoslovaks, "Our sixteen-page weekly 
 paper, KresfanskS Listy (Christian Journal), has been 
 published since 1906 under the editorial and business 
 management of Dr. Vaclav Losa, a Bohemian mission 
 ary pastor, who, because of his knowledge of the needs 
 of the immigrants and his unusual executive ability, 
 was appointed superintendent of the work among 
 foreign-speaking peoples in Pittsburgh Presbytery. It 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 1*3 
 
 is worthy of note that under his guidance the Presby 
 tery of Pittsburgh is maintaining a larger work among 
 foreign-speaking people than any other presbytery. 
 Under his efficient leadership this Bohemian paper 
 has been the means of strengthening the efforts of our 
 own and other evangelical bodies among that people. 
 . . . For the use of the children in the Bohemian 
 Sunday schools we are publishing a weekly paper, 
 Besidka (Story Hour), containing stories for children 
 which the parents may read to them." 
 
 Concerning the Ruthenians (or Ukrainians), "while 
 the Protestant constituency among Ruthenians is 
 comparatively small, their need of a periodical is as 
 urgent as that of other classes of immigrants whom 
 we are endeavoring to influence. During recent years 
 there has been a well-defined movement away from 
 the authority and worship of the Greek Catholic Church. 
 Large numbers have turned to athesim and infidelity. 
 For many years, under the oppression of Russia and 
 with the approval of the Church authorities, these 
 people have been prohibited from using their own 
 language either in the schools or in print. In America 
 they have a few newspapers, but our weekly paper, 
 Sojuz (Union), is the only religious periodical in the 
 Ukrainian tongue published in the United States." 
 
 Lastly, as to Poles, "for the use of missionaries 
 among the Polish immigrants our Board has united 
 with the Publication Board of the United Presbyterian 
 Church in the publication of a monthly periodical 
 entitled Slowa Zywota (Words of Life). We have but 
 few missions among the Poles, and at present these 
 papers are circulated mainly through our colporteurs. 
 The seed that has thus been sown is giving evidences 
 of growth and the outlook for the future of this work is 
 very encouraging." 
 
126 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 THE SLAV VERSIONS 
 
 A new version of the Bible is "a well at which 
 millions may drink"; and the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society has excelled all other evangelical agencies 
 in opening such wells for Slavdom. Data may be 
 obtained from its annual reports, but especially from 
 its encyclopedic work, the greatest ever attempted of 
 its kind, "A Historical Catalogue of Printed Editions 
 of Holy Scripture." The first volume, the English 
 section, appeared in 1903. 
 
 Beginning with the most ancient of the Slav versions, 
 that which is popularly called "Slavonic," we quote: 
 "The term Slavonic is popularly applied to that form 
 of Slav speech which survives in ecclesiastical use in 
 Russia and other Slav countries. Scholars distinguish 
 three main recensions, Bulgarian, Serbian, and Russian, 
 in ecclesiastical Slavonic. The majority of the editions 
 belong to the Russian form of ecclesiastical Slavonic 
 which is now in use among all Slavs of the Orthodox 
 Church." The earliest editions were the Psalter 
 (A.D. 1491), the Gospels (1512), the Acts and the 
 Epistles (Moscow, 1564), generally considered to be the 
 earliest book printed in Russia, and the entire Slavonic 
 Bible in Volhynia, Russia, in 1581. But in the seven 
 teenth and eighteenth centuries, the hundreds of 
 editions, Testaments, and portions of this version 
 catalogued, would amaze all who are unacquainted with 
 such a history. All this implies myriads of readers. 
 The Russian Bible Society was founded in 1813. 
 Before it was suppressed in 1826 it was estimated that 
 it had published at Moscow and Petrograd editions of 
 the Bible and New Testament in Slavonic and Russian 
 amounting to over 500,000 copies." 
 
 Of Russian Scriptures we note: 1. The White Rus 
 sian, in which a version was made in the first part of 
 the sixteenth century. The language is "a Polish 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 127 
 
 Russian, used in White Russia and parts of Lithuania. 
 To-day the White Russian differs from the standard 
 form of the language in little else than pronunciation. 
 The first editions were at Prague, (Job, 1517)." 
 
 2. The Great Russian, which is simply the standard 
 form of modern Russian. "All the editions are printed 
 in the Russian character ( Grajdanski ) which is the 
 modern form of the Cyrillic character introduced by 
 Peter the Great. As in the case of the Slavonic Bible, 
 the order and number of the books in this and other 
 editions of the Old Testament, published by the Synod, 
 agree with those in the Septuagint." The B. F. B. S. 
 report for 1910 gives further details as to the Old 
 Testament authorized and issued by the Russian 
 Church. "It is a translation from the Hebrew. But 
 the short variations which are found in the LXX are 
 inserted in the text within square brackets, with a 
 footnote on the first page pointing out the significance 
 of these brackets. Of such additions there are a dozen 
 in the first chapter of Genesis. The apocryphal books 
 and passages are also included, with a footnote in every 
 case stating that they are translated from the Greek." 
 
 3. The Little Russian, or Ruthenian, used in Galicia 
 and southern Russia. The Ruthenians now prefer to 
 be called Ukrainians. The first edition of the Ruthenian 
 Scriptures was the Pentateuch (1869) at Lemberg. 
 The B. F. B. S. reports state that the entire Ruthenian 
 Bible was published in 1904, and that thus another 
 European race is provided with the whole Bible at the 
 expense of the B. F. B. S. and through its instru 
 mentality. In 1910 it was stated that this edition, of 
 course not containing the Apocrypha, had been for 
 bidden in Russia, but would now be allowed if duty 
 be paid. 
 
 The earliest editions of the Serbo-Croatian Scriptures 
 were the Liturgical Epistles and Gospels (1495) and 
 
128 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 the New Testament (1563). The Croatians gave us 
 the word "cravat," from their national name. In 
 B. F. B. S. price lists, the Croatian Scriptures are 
 included under "Serbian," with the statement that they 
 are in Latin character, the Serbian being in a modified 
 Russian alphabet. Their report for 1919 mentions 
 progress in preparing an improved Serbian version. 
 
 In the report for 1902, mention is made of the death 
 of Dr. Long, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, "till 
 recently a professor in Robert College on the Bos- 
 phorus. Dr. Long s relations with the Bible Society 
 go back to 18GO, when he and the late Dr. Riggs, with 
 two native Bulgarian scholars, were appointed to 
 revise and further translate the Scriptures into Bul 
 garian. This little band completed its labors in 1871, 
 when the whole Bible was printed at Constantinople. 
 This has ever since been the standard Bulgarian 
 version." The report for 1919 mentions a revised 
 Bulgarian Bible, nearly ready for the press. 
 
 Some years ago, it was estimated that Slovenian was 
 spoken by 1,500,000, of whom 1,300,000 inhabited 
 southern Austria. As early as 1555 we find Matthew s 
 Gospel in Slovene; in 1558, the Gospels and the 
 Acts, and in 1584, the Slovene Bible, editio princeps. 
 There is a Hungaro-Slovene Testament and Psalms 
 for 75,000 Slovenes in Hungary, their New Testament 
 in 1771, apparently reprinted in 1817. The report for 
 1915 announced that the complete Slovene Bible was 
 published and added for the first time to the Bible 
 Society s list. 
 
 As to the interesting remnant of the Wends, they are 
 112,000 German subjects inhabiting a district along 
 the river Spree, formerly known as Lusatia, now 
 divided between Prussia and Saxony. They all belong 
 to the Evangelical Lutheran Confession, except about 
 12,000 who are Roman Catholics. The term "Wend" 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 129 
 
 is the appellation given them by their German neigh 
 bors, but they call themselves "Serbs," and this name 
 becomes in Latin, "Sorabus." Hence German phi 
 lologists call this language "Sorbisch," and English 
 scholars refer to it as "Sorb" or "Serbian." The 
 Upper Wends are 77,000 in Prussia and Saxon Lusatia, 
 and the Lower Wends have 35,000 in Prussian Lusatia. 
 The B. F. B. S. price list, 1915, had a Testament and 
 Psalms in Upper Wend. 
 
 In Polish the earliest versions are Ecclesiastes, 1522, 
 the New Testament, 1552, 1553, and 1556, and the 
 Radziw^ll Bible of 1563, bearing the name of a noble 
 Reformed family; besides the Roman Catholic Polish 
 New Testament, 1593, and Bible, 1599, of Jacob Wujek 
 at Cracow. The B. F. B. S. colporteurs circulate the 
 latter as well as the standard Bible, of course without 
 Catholic notes. 
 
 In 1912 the publication of some tentative transla 
 tions for Slovaks was announced, three of the Gospels; 
 and the price list for 1915 contained a Slovak New 
 Testament. 
 
 History ascribes the earliest Bohemian translation 
 of Scriptures to Cyril and Methodius, perhaps A.D. 860. 
 This was revised by John Huss (1373-1415). The 
 editio princeps of the New Testament is dated 
 1475, and that of the whole Bible, 1488. These were 
 versions from the Vulgate. A century later the United 
 Brethren appointed a committee to translate the Bible 
 from the original tongues. This version was printed 
 in 1593 at Kralitz Castle and has since been known as 
 the Kralicka or Kralitz Bible, a great literary monu 
 ment of the Bohemian language. The B. F. B. S. 
 report for 1912 adds, that for many years Pastor 
 Jan Karafiat, of Prague, has been comparing this 
 version with the Hebrew and Greek texts, and noting 
 more exact renderings of the original. Though delayed 
 
130 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 by the War, Mr. Karafiat s revised Bohemian Bible 
 has been published, and copies have lately arrived 
 in America. 
 
 LETTERS OF DR. ELTERICH AND DR. HAYS 
 
 From the long list of letters commending Pittsburgh 
 Presbytery s exhibit, two additional messages are 
 given here, one from Dr. W. O. Elterich, Presbyterian 
 missionary of Chefoo, China, the other from Dr. C. C. 
 Hays, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a former moderator 
 of the Synod of Pennsylvania: 
 
 Dr. Elterich: "It was a great pleasure to me to attend 
 recently the Foreign Missions meeting of the Presby 
 tery of Pittsburgh held in the First Presbyterian 
 Church. I was exceedingly interested in the exhibit, 
 the history of the work done among the foreigners of 
 this region, and in the performances of the young 
 women from the Coraopolis Bible Training School. I 
 doubt if there is another presbytery in our Church in 
 this country which can make such a fine showing. To 
 a foreign missionary like myself who has been in China 
 for many years, this work has especially appealed. I 
 feel that the Presbytery of Pittsburgh has found the 
 most sensible and effective way of dealing with the 
 problem of evangelizing the European foreign popula 
 tion in this country. The selection and training of 
 foreign workers with an efficient foreign superintendent 
 is the method which has made foreign missions such a 
 success in non-Christian lands. It stands to reason 
 that the same principles applied and adapted to the 
 work for foreigners in this land are bound to be suc 
 cessful, and this work of the Pittsburgh Presbytery is 
 a striking example of the same. 
 
 "In view of the millions in Europe who are coming 
 to our shores as fast as they can get over, all churches 
 and denominations should seriously consider how to 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 131 
 
 handle this multitude to make them Christian citizens 
 of our Christian Republic. Pittsburgh Presbytery is 
 an example and model as to how this work can be done. 
 May God s richest blessing rest upon the efforts of 
 your committee and fellow workers who are doing 
 this work." 
 
 Dr. Hays: "It was a fine thing for Pittsburgh Pres 
 bytery to set apart a day for the consideration of 
 its foreign work and I took great pleasure in calling 
 the attention of the Synod of Pennsylvania to what the 
 presbytery is doing. I was greatly impressed with 
 the interest manifested on your special day. The large 
 attendance, including many like myself from outside 
 your own presbytery, was itself an evidence of the 
 success of your work throughout many years. The 
 exhibit showing work done, buildings in operation, and 
 the number and quality of teachers employed, was a 
 most effective object lesson. No one can question that 
 the work among foreigners is to-day the great work of 
 Pittsburgh Presbytery." 
 
 MR. PRUDKY S JOURNEYS CONTINUED 
 
 We now follow this itinerary from Poland to the 
 region of Volhynia in Russia, where there are about 
 50,000 Bohemians, including a Reformed element. 
 First we note the village of Kupicev, near the cele 
 brated fort of Brest-Li to vsk, and Kovel. It is seven 
 miles from its train station, Holoby. Mr. Holub, a 
 Presbyterian of Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, was married 
 in Kupicev. One half of this village is Russian, the 
 other half Bohemian, and they are in great contrast. 
 These are comparatively new settlers, not of two 
 centuries ago, but since 1870. When the famous 
 Bohemian historian, Palacky, and his son-in-law, 
 Rieger, visited Russia, at a national convention in 
 Moscow, they recommended that Bohemians emigrate 
 
132 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 to Russia in preference to America. There is a Re 
 formed Bohemian school there, and they hold their 
 meetings in it, as their brethren do in some other 
 places where there is no church. The Russians have 
 an Orthodox Church. A cantor supplies the Reformed 
 congregation, and once a year, a Polish pastor from 
 Vilna who has learned Bohemian to some extent, 
 makes them a visit, as he does for Cesky Borjatin. 
 
 Cesky Borjatin, the next place visited, is two miles 
 from Luck, and has a fine Bohemian Reformed Church, 
 with about five hundred souls, not counting some in 
 surrounding villages. These are more cultured, and 
 have more means than their brethren in some other 
 centers just described. The soil is rich, yielding good 
 crops of hops. The Bohemians suffered in the War. 
 When an Austrian army captured the place, naturally 
 they welcomed Bohemian soldiers who were in their 
 ranks. The Russians recaptured it and proceeded 
 to punish Bohemian civilians as traitors. The worthy 
 Reformed curator, Opocensky, was imprisoned, and 
 for some time in danger of execution, but later was 
 released by the revolutionists. Another good worker 
 is Joseph Baloun, also Janata, an elder, efficient in 
 their church and in Sunday-school work. Baloun s 
 son also had his escapes in war, eventually engaging in 
 Y. M. C. A. work in Brno. 
 
 The Russian Government had an idea that Bohemians 
 were inclined to be Hussites; and while it did not favor 
 Polish Roman Catholic churches, it was willing to 
 encourage a Hussite movement, supposing that this 
 would finally become Greek Orthodox. Accordingly 
 they supported three Bohemian Catholic priests, 
 married men, who were accepted as Hussites. In 
 practice, according to policy, in one community these 
 would conduct a Reformed service, in another a 
 Catholic service, and elsewhere a Greek Orthodox 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 133 
 
 service. In fact, they were not perfectly agreed, one 
 preferring a Hussite organization, another the Old 
 Catholic, while the third was undecided. Yet this 
 peculiar style of Church unity did not appeal to 
 Russian authorities, who abandoned their Hussite 
 experiment, and decreed that all these Bohemian set 
 tlers must become Orthodox. Some Bohemian Ortho 
 dox churches still survive. But the Bohemian Re 
 formed, deprived of their church and school, made 
 protests. Later on, the czar became ill, and prayers 
 everywhere were made for his recovery. Seizing such 
 an opportunity, the Reformed asked that they too 
 might assemble for prayer, and this was granted. 
 After the czar passed away, and the new czar took the 
 throne, a brave petitioner, risking arrest, fell on his 
 knees before him with a petition. The czar graciously 
 received him, and at last granted by a ukase religious 
 freedom to the Reformed Bohemians. Mr. Prudky 
 considered their Church life to be of a good type. They 
 greatly desired a Bohemian pastor for themselves and 
 the neighboring villages, and this occasioned another 
 journey later on for Mr. Prudky to the Reformed 
 Synod of Vilna. Mr. Prudky met one of the priests 
 referred to, Kaspar, still Orthodox, no longer able to 
 conduct a school as he had done for some time. He 
 also met in Cesky Borjatin the widow of another of 
 the priestly trio, Hrdlicka. In this place there is a 
 Bohemian Orthodox school, with an Orthodox teacher, 
 and the Reformed children, as it is a public school, are 
 in attendance. 
 
 Mr. Prudky next went to Michaelovka, near Rovno. 
 In that region is the series of fortresses, Dubno, Luck, 
 and Rovno. He held three meetings, morning, after 
 noon, and night, taking most of the day. The mayor 
 is a religious man. Here the Reformed have four 
 hundred souls, and the Baptists a small number. The 
 
134 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 cause of temperance, or as they call it, abstinence," 
 has made gains in that locality. The people have not 
 the advantages of the culture and the soil which belong 
 to those of Cesky Borjatin. The whole village belongs 
 to a Polish nobleman. The Bohemians are renters, 
 and the ground is not so well cared for as if they owned 
 it. In this village, also in the next, of this tour, the 
 people were originally from Zelov, hence from an 
 emigration of 1620, and later. This next place is 
 Hlupanin, with only eighty souls of the Reformed 
 Church, but two or three hundred Baptists, who also 
 have a resident minister. Mr. Prudky called upon 
 him, and he and his people attended Mr. Prudky s 
 service, which was held, as the Reformed here must do, 
 in a private house. This ends the story for Volhynia, 
 so far as it concerns Bohemian Reformed churches. 
 In Hlupanin, far from any educational center, is a 
 layman with a fine library, a man well versed in history 
 and intelligent in theological discussions. 
 
 From Volhynia, Mr. Prudky s tour led him to the. 
 Kherson Government over Russian steppes, without 
 trees, wood, or coal, first to the village of Alexandrowka, 
 over a mile from Birzula, which is the junction of 
 railroads connecting the important cities of Kiev and 
 Ekaterinoslav. Their houses are neat, but primitive, 
 the walls made of a mixture of earth and straw, repaired 
 every year. Dr. Losa has seen such houses in Canada, 
 constructed by emigrants from that part of Russia. 
 These Bohemians built their houses in common, then 
 distributed them by lot. They use agricultural 
 machines, and rotate crops by changing a district of 
 pasture to farm land, and the reverse, each year. 
 For fuel they use a mixture of straw and manure, which 
 some American westerners have called "Kansas coal." 
 They raise wheat, corn, and sunflowers, for the people 
 eat the seeds of the sunflower as Americans eat peanuts. 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 135 
 
 The soil is very good, but the whole place is owned by 
 a Russian nobleman; and as they must move away in 
 a few years, they have no inducement to plant trees, 
 evidently a wretched system for so good a country. 
 In a later journey, Mr. Prudky observed that some 
 soldiers, veterans of the war with Japan, owned small 
 tracts allotted to them. Many farmers own fifty 
 horses, and more than forty cows. There is no church, 
 but a school used also as a meeting place. The Bohe 
 mian Reformed have three hundred souls, and there are 
 a few Baptists. Mr. Prudky afterwards sent them a 
 teacher who is now in the United States, an ordained 
 minister, Mr. Drobny. Originally these, too, were 
 from Zelov. 
 
 About twenty miles from this village, Mr. Prudky 
 saw Bohemka, newly built, a larger place, "like a 
 swallow s nest," he says, and having a fine view over 
 the steppe. The Reformed have five hundred souls. 
 They meet in the school, located in the center, where a 
 flag is displayed at the time of service. Stundists are 
 not far away, but Mr. Prudky was not able to visit 
 them. He held three services on Sunday, and states 
 that they are a good, spiritual people, loving their 
 Bibles and their hymns. In these towns all can read, 
 though not all can write, but they are surrounded by 
 an illiterate population. 
 
 The last part of this journey brought Mr. Prudky to 
 two groups of families, all originally from Zelov. Four 
 brothers, all with large families, live in Ljubasevka, 
 which is a train station between Birzula and Ekateri- 
 noslav. They own their land, and have good buildings, 
 vineyards, fine grapes, vegetables, and flowers. Here 
 also were trees. For their children they have a Bohe 
 mian governess, instructing them in the Bible, cate 
 chism, and the like. During three days, in forenoons 
 and afternoons, they assembled to hear Bible expositions 
 
136 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 from Mr. Prudky, and as Baptists and Stundists were 
 in their neighborhood, they had special questions to 
 ask concerning their dealings with them. 
 
 Farther on, in the hamlet of Zachovka, were three 
 families, two of whom rent the ground, and one fur 
 nishes labor. These have a few trees, a large planta 
 tion of watermelons, also their gardens, and their 
 primitive houses of earth and straw. A patriarchal, 
 intelligent man, who has a library with religious books, 
 the father of one of the families, lives with them. Here 
 for the first time Mr. Prudky read an evangelical relig 
 ious paper in Russian, published in Petrograd, the 
 Evangelical Christian, copies of which he has seen 
 since. This is interesting, as it shows the survival of 
 publications from the Pashkof movement, to which it 
 really belongs. Two meetings were held here, and 
 people came sixteen miles from Bohemka to visit them. 
 Mr. Prudky finished this tour with a brief visit again in 
 Bohemka. For some years these Bohemka people 
 had lived in the Samara Government on the Volga, 
 where they had bought ground; but they had no rain 
 for two years, and had to abandon the region. Some 
 of them had gone from Samara to Siberia where they 
 founded Novopavlovska in the Akmulinska oblast or 
 province. They own their ground, and have a school 
 for their meetings. They desired Mr. Prudky to visit 
 them, but this would have involved a trip of fourteen 
 days by train, and two hundred miles farther than their 
 nearest station, which was impossible. And Mr. 
 Prudky did not have time to visit the Stundists of the 
 region at a period when they suffered persecutions. 
 
 During two days in June, 1909, Mr. Prudky attended 
 a Reformed Synod in Vilna, his second journey in 
 Russia. There w r ere two Reformed synods then in 
 Russia, the one of Vilna, the other of Warsaw. There 
 is some interchange of visiting delegates between these 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 137 
 
 synods, Bohemian pastors are in the Warsaw Synod; 
 but Kupicev, Cesky Borjatin, Michaelovka, and some 
 others send their representatives each year to the 
 Vilna Synod. On this occasion, two were sent from 
 Cesky Borjatin, earnestly seeking a pastor. A fine 
 Polish f nobleman presided; and Rev. Fastrzembski 
 was the superintendent. Mr. Prudky was cordially 
 received. The synod still has some endowments, or 
 had at that time; it was willing to assist Cesky Borjatin 
 financially, and it made recommendations for a pastor. 
 But difficulties intervened. Such a pastor must be a 
 Russian subject, and must pass an examination in 
 four of the eight classes or grades of a Russian Gym 
 nasium, including a knowledge of the Russian language. 
 Hence the Russian Government refused permission, 
 and this charge has had no pastor since 1909 ! No such 
 restrictions applied to Zelov, where an Austrian subject 
 might serve as pastor. It seemed to be Russian policy 
 then to encourage Bohemian churches in Polish terri 
 tory, but to discourage them in purely Russian regions. 
 But since Poland gained independence, Poland has 
 closed Bohemian schools, which still are allowed in 
 Russia, for instance, in Volhynia. 
 
 The third journey of this series was in 1911, into 
 German Silesia, now Poland, though west of Breslau 
 it is Germany still. Husinec is now in Germany near 
 Breslau, and has a Bohemian Reformed church, but 
 no school, as the children are forced to attend German 
 schools. They had preaching in Bohemian, and a 
 German service once in three weeks, though invariably 
 the hymns were in Bohemian. The Bohemian pastor 
 then would accept no help from Mr. Prudky, so the 
 latter held no service there, but visited the people, 
 the elder Bohemians in villages near by, especially 
 Upper, Middle, and Lower Podiebrad. The people 
 here speek the classic Bohemian of the Kralicka Bible. 
 
138 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 Among the Germans they are formal, but among 
 themselves familiar; with the former it is "Sie," and 
 with their Bohemian brethren it is "du." They are 
 prosperous, and in the markets their produce has 
 the highest reputation. These Reformed people number 
 more than six hundred, and they have a fine church 
 building. 
 
 Some time after this visit, the pastor died, and they 
 called a minister from Pilsen. He came and preached 
 with great acceptance to the older people, but the 
 German Government refused its permission, and sent 
 instead a German minister of Huguenot ancestry, who 
 had learned some Bohemian in Friedrichstabor. This 
 was some three years after Mr. Prudky s visit. The 
 people protested against having a German pastor 
 and a man of liberal theological tendencies. Recently 
 the German Government, still pursuing its Germanizing 
 policy, sent German hymn books for their services. To 
 the older Bohemians their language is sacred, and the 
 opinion they expressed to Mr. Prudky was that as their 
 children lost their Bohemian language, they would be 
 exposed to German influences and also lose their faith. 
 For the benefit of Bohemians in German regions, a 
 famous book of the great Bohemian educator and 
 reformer, John Amos Comenius (Komensky), has been 
 printed in Gothic type,- and used with excellent effect. 
 It is, "The Will of the Dying Mother" "in which she 
 divides among her sons and heirs the treasures entrusted 
 to her by God." This message, issued in the middle of 
 the seventeenth century, at the close of the great 
 Thirty Years War, in which Bohemian liberties were 
 lost, is a work that stirs the Bohemian heart by its 
 pathos. 
 
 The next locality visited was Friedrichsgratz (Bed- 
 richuv Hradec) near Oppeln (Opoli) where there was a 
 Slovak pastor, using Slovak and German. The German 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 139 
 
 Government supports Germanizing pastors. He had a 
 diploma from the German Government commending 
 the progress of his school and church. That church is 
 a loyal Reformed Church; he sought to make it Luth 
 eran. Consistent Reformed people have a distaste for 
 the use of the cross and for pictures in the church. 
 Mr. Prudky remarked to him that there was one 
 "picture" that he missed, which was a Bohemian Bible 
 in that church! The children were being Germanized, 
 as he observed in one family which he visited. He had 
 no opportunity to conduct a Bohemian service on a 
 week day, when people could be gathered together 
 only with difficulty. This church has over a thousand 
 souls. The homes of the people are neat. One old 
 man told Mr. Prudky that he did not expect the 
 Bohemian tongue to die out in that community; but 
 Mr. Prudky did not share his hope. 
 
 Like a true Bohemian, Mr. Prudky was much inter 
 ested in a visit to Lesno (Lissa), near Posen, which has 
 a library and a museum, with manuscripts and memo 
 rials of Comenius, who for years administered the 
 Gymnasium and the church there after leaving 
 Bohemia during the Thirty Years War. The pastor 
 of the German Reformed church was a good historian 
 of Comenius. One of the treasures is a sacramental 
 cup of gold, adorned with jewels, brought by a Bohe 
 mian nobleman. There Mr. Prudky met Rev. 
 Kurnatowski of Kovno province, a Reformed Polish 
 pastor; and as a result of their interview there was 
 held later in Prague a conference of evangelical Slav 
 workers of several nationalities. 
 
 Seen next in this tour was Friedrichstabor (Bed- 
 richuv Tabor) with its villages, Cernin among them, 
 in German Poland, near Bralin, a congregation with a 
 total of twelve hundred souls. Here was the pastor 
 above mentioned, who was afterwards transferred to 
 
140 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 Husinec. At the time he was friendly, and requested 
 Mr. Prudky to preach, hoping for something to check 
 a movement about which he was concerned, toward a 
 so-called "Pentecostal" development, also some Baptist 
 innovations. Old people were present who could not 
 speak German, who wept when they heard the gospel 
 once more, after years of privation, in their native 
 tongue. Later on the church was for two years without 
 a pastor, and the elders wrote asking Mr. Prudky to 
 visit them. He asked the consent of the German pastor 
 of Bralin, who sent a characteristic German response 
 that he did not wish to see him in that part of the 
 country, and that he would oppose him! So he could 
 not return there. On this tour he revisited Zelov, and 
 some other places above mentioned. 
 
 The fourth and fifth journeys were in a different 
 direction, to Croatia and Slavonia, by way of Vienna 
 and Zagreb. He confessed that these travels were not 
 so enjoyable as those in Russia; for he was impressed 
 with the difference in an emigration from spiritual 
 motives, such as could be found there, and an emigra 
 tion induced by material gains. He did not see such 
 spirituality in those colonies as in Russia. He noticed 
 a peculiarity in the country, that the population was 
 mixed to some extent as in America here a Croatian 
 village, there a Serbian, another Italian, another 
 German, and so on. First he saw Uljanik in Croatia, a 
 small town, where the Bohemian church and manse 
 were in one building, a congregation of some two 
 hundred souls. 
 
 Next he visited a congregation of some three hundred 
 souls in Herzegovac. They had no church building, 
 but worshiped in a public school. The character of the 
 community may be inferred from the fact that they 
 gladly arranged with a German minister to supply 
 them, one who spoke Croatian, inasmuch as he offered 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 141 
 
 to do so without salary! Mr. Prudky considered the 
 congregation to be in a low state, materialistic, indiffer 
 ent as to whether services were held in German or 
 Bohemian. 
 
 The last place visited in Croatia was BrsTjanica, 
 where there were some ten Reformed families, most of 
 whom had removed from Uljanik. Although it was 
 far off, it could be reached by their horses, so that they 
 could go there. They assembled for Mr. Prudky s 
 service in a private house, and were thankful for it, 
 showing a better spirit than those in Herzegovac. 
 
 The last place in his journeys about Slavdom was 
 Pletenica in Slavonia near Bosnia. (There is no 
 Bohemian Reformed Church in Bosnia.) Church and 
 manse here are one house, and a German minister 
 supplied them who could preach in Croatian, the 
 hymns also being in that language. Here he met that 
 remarkable convert, Kujinek, their treasurer, the fruit 
 of Dr. Losa s mission. On his fifth tour, revisiting this 
 region, he brought them a Bohemian missionary, a 
 deacon. 
 
 This fourth journey had an additional excursion. 
 From Pletenica Mr. Prudky went to Belgrade (Be leh- 
 rad), capital of Serbia, spending two days seeing 
 Mohammedan mosques and other places of interest. 
 Here there is a small evangelical congregation, mostly 
 German, with a church building, a school, and a 
 parsonage. The pastor was friendly, a Croatian, a 
 converted Romish priest, who had studied in Bielefeld, 
 in Germany, and whose school was German, though 
 emphasizing the study of Serbian. His preaching was 
 in German. This is the only evangelical church in 
 Belgrade, or so far as Mr. Prudky learned, in all Serbia, 
 only scattered groups of evangelicals being found else 
 where. Good work has been done in the colportage of 
 the British and Foreign Bible Society. This church, 
 
142 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 apart from recognition by State laws, had direct 
 support from the Serbian king and his prime minister. 
 On New Year s Day, the pastor was regularly and 
 formally received by the king, and in the church was a 
 chair as a seat of honor for visitors from the court. 
 The Slav Mohammedans have lost all Slav character 
 istics, are classed as Turks, and differ from other 
 Mohammedans only in being monogamists. Relatively 
 they are not numerous in Belgrade, but abound in 
 Bosnia. 
 
 After a trip of six hours on the Danube, he arrived 
 at O Moldawa, a station on that river. He had written 
 to a pastor in this part of southern Hungary, who 
 replied that he was in charge and had no need of help 
 from Bohemia or any visitor from there. He sent 
 gendarmes to investigate. They delayed Mr. Prudky 
 for about an hour, but could not hinder his errand, as 
 his passports were perfectly in order. Taking a car 
 riage, he went eight miles up into the mountains, 
 with views of fine scenery, as the famous "Iron Gates" 
 of the Danube were not far off. Bohemians had had 
 their colonies, some six villages, in this region for a 
 hundred years. His purpose was to visit the only 
 evangelical village of the group, Szensilona, where the 
 Reformed have four hundred souls, and the Congre- 
 gationalists, who came later, a hundred souls. The 
 Reformed have a fine church, no Sunday school, but 
 a public school. The mayor, Cermak, received him 
 cordially. The pastor, whom he met in the market 
 place was very unfriendly. He spoke only Magyar, 
 which Mr. Prudky did not understand. He read his 
 sermons in Bohemian, but the people could not under 
 stand him; as for his personal characteristics he was 
 wholly unacceptable to them. He, too, would have 
 prevented this visit, if possible, by summoning gen 
 darmes. Mr. Prudky met a few of the Congregation- 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 143 
 
 alists in their missionary s house. Altogether, his stay 
 in the village was only about two hours. He never 
 revisited Hungary. 
 
 A note may be added as to Zagreb (Agram), the 
 important capital of Croatia, a university town, with 
 more or less than 100,000 inhabitants. On his fourth 
 journey, Mr. Prudky visited a Reformed family pos 
 sessing a fine estate near the city. A few other Bohe 
 mian families are scattered in the region. They go 
 occasionally to Zagreb, though the evangelical church 
 there is German. Their pastor must also know Croatian, 
 and the church records must be in that language. 
 Germans hold the fort, and expect all Reformed or 
 Lutheran, all of the Augsburg or of the Helvetic Con 
 fessions, to come to them, no matter whether they are 
 Bohemians or of other nationalities. So it was for 
 merly in Bohemia and Moravia. After the beginnings 
 of toleration, the Bohemian Reformed congregations 
 were all rural. German influences, even Protestant, 
 opposed their coming into towns, as a Bohemianizing 
 scheme. After 1880 (earlier than that in Prague), they 
 did organize Reformed congregations in cities. (Brno, 
 1884; Olomouc, 1898, et cetera.) So when the Zagreb 
 pastor died, and Pastor Gerza, who had been pastor 
 in Uljanik ten years ago, visited there in 1917, of 
 course the Germans did not call him to be their pastor 
 in Zagreb. 
 
 Prochazka, the deacon Mr. Prudky brought with 
 him to Slavonia on his fifth journey in 1913, did good 
 work, but in two years he died. During the War, in 
 1917, Pastor Gerza went from Bohemia to visit all 
 these fields of the Bohemians in Croatia and Slavonia, 
 finding all pastorless, sheep without a shepherd. Mr. 
 Prudky adds to the sad picture their materialistic 
 neglect of education. In the poor public schools, 
 sometimes overcrowded, the Bohemian children, not 
 
144 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 knowing Croatian, are at a disadvantage and learn 
 little. He saw a Bohemian boy of thirteen years, 
 unable to read or write, which would be rare in 
 Bohemia itself. 
 
 STATISTICS OF THE BOHEMIAN BRETHREN, 1920 
 
 The Kalich ("Cup") or Church Yearbook of the 
 Bohemian Brethren for 1920 gives statistics for the 
 Reformed and Lutheran Bohemian churches separately, 
 since their merger has not been completed in detail. 
 A "seniorat" corresponds somewhat to our presbytery. 
 Their synod, in February, 1921, planned to divide 
 Bohemia and Moravia into twelve seniorats. In 
 Bohemia, this Yearbook reports, of the former Reformed 
 bodies, v in the seniorat of Prague, 15 churches, 23,189 
 souls; Caslav seniorat, 15 churches, 16,578 souls, and 
 without repeating, corresponding figures: Chrudim, 
 15, and 19,957; Pode"brad, 17, and 20,495. Thus these 
 four seniorats have over 80,000 souls. And of the 
 former Lutherans in Bohemia, of parishes, 15, souls, 
 14,080. In Moravia the western seniorat, 18, and 
 27,362; the eastern, 10, and 16,245; and the Vsetin 
 seniorat, 13, and 19,816, or a total of over 63,000 souls. 
 Besides, there are "Moravian Brethren" supported 
 by those of that name in Germany, with six congrega 
 tions, 1331 souls, mostly Bohemian. It is now 
 expected that German support will be withdrawn, and 
 these too, merged in this united body. 
 
 Of the officers of the synod, the names of some 
 leaders may be mentioned: President, Rev. Josef 
 Soucek, of Prague; vice president, Rev. Ferdinand 
 Hrejsa, who is also a superintendent, of Prague; 
 treasurer, Ferdinand Kavka, and secretary, Dr. 
 Josef Krai, both of Prague. Of the synod s committee, 
 Dr. Ferdinand Cisar, superintendent for Moravia, at 
 Klobouky, Moravia; and of the substitute com- 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV H5 
 
 mittee, Rev. Francis Prudky, pastor at Olomouc, 
 Moravia. These all can read English correspondence, 
 and there are many other pastors or workers besides 
 who can correspond in English. 
 
 COMENIUS, AND "THE WILL OF THE DYING MOTHER* 
 
 John Amos Comenius, famous as an educator and 
 a reformer, was born in Moravia, March 28, 1592, and 
 died in Amsterdam, November 15, 1670. After the 
 Battle of the White Mountain, 1620, he fled to Poland, 
 where in 1632 he was elected bishop of the "Unitas 
 Fratrum Bohemorum," or Bohemian Brethren, being 
 the last bishop in the history of that noble Christian 
 communion. His educational writings gave him honors 
 in Sweden, and England and a world- wide reputation. 
 In 1654 he fled from Lesno or Lissa in Poland, in another 
 war, to Holland, where he spent the remainder of his 
 life. Among his numerous works is one in Bohemian, 
 not translated into English, containing the remarkable 
 prophecy of the future triumph of righteousness in his 
 country: "The Will of the Dying Mother In Which 
 She Distributes the Treasures Which Were Granted 
 to Her by God." It is rich hi quotations of Scripture, 
 and its pathos stirs emotion in every true Bohemian 
 heart. 
 
 It begins in the legal phraseology of a will, with the 
 solemn utterances of a deathbed scene. The "Dying 
 Mother" has no silver or gold, is in widowed circum 
 stances, deprived of her churches and her property, 
 but enriched with her Master s spiritual treasures, 
 which she now bequeaths to her children and to her 
 sisters, representing four classes. First, to the Bohe 
 mian Brotherhood, she gives parting instructions. Some 
 of them have strayed from their fellowship, or have 
 compromised with their enemies. A tearful repentance 
 is her bequest to them. They should turn to God like 
 
146 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 the Ninevites, and return to their first love. To her 
 faithful ones, she leaves the better land, the hope of 
 eternal life, the white robes and palms of the new 
 Jerusalem, and the welcome voice, "These are they 
 which came out of great tribulation, and have washed 
 their robes, and made them white in the blood of the 
 Lamb." To the Polish Brotherhood, really an offshoot 
 of the Bohemian Brethren, this "Mother" speaks, as 
 to her "second daughter," praying that no such desola 
 tion may befall them as that of Bohemia. There were 
 those who said they were Jews, but were not; they, too, 
 should not have the name of the Brotherhood, while 
 they were not of it. They should remember their 
 origin, and should not be a degenerate, barren vineyard. 
 They should maintain discipline, as many do not. If 
 pastors bring in strange doctrines from foreign coun 
 tries, let them beware lest the Church grow colder and 
 colder, many forsaking it (as, in fact, many Polish 
 nobles did in later times), and beware lest their candle 
 stick be removed "out of its place." If they should be 
 dispersed in foreign countries, let them serve Christ 
 in other evangelical Churches, doing this in simplicity: 
 "Walk in the good way that I have taught you, and 
 seek concord and peace in every country where you 
 may sojourn." 
 
 In the course of these farewells, is a parting word to 
 the Church of Rome, which had been a cruel step 
 mother to many of them; and to it the "Dying Mother" 
 bequeaths her own example! 
 
 Then to her beloved sisters, first, to the Helvetic 
 Brotherhood, to whom John Calvin had been sent, 
 that he might bring them as a chaste virgin, to Christ, 
 the "Mother" bids farewell, rejoicing that this Brother 
 hood has discipline; and bequeaths her wish, that they 
 may be more and more thoroughly established upon 
 Christ; that they may abound in love, as well as in 
 
THE COMING OF THE SLAV 147 
 
 knowledge; that they may be more reverent, not seeking 
 by their reason to pry too deeply into the mysteries of 
 God. Referring to various sects, some in England, and 
 their dangerous work, she commends to her sister the 
 prayer of David, Ps. 25:21: "Let integrity and 
 uprightness preserve me." 
 
 Also she addresses her German sister, who had been 
 her best beloved sister, but whose love for her in 
 estrangement had grown cold. Her bequest is the wish 
 for more discipline; and for a better understanding of 
 the doctrine, "by faith alone" which had been abused, 
 to the neglect of good w r orks. Luther s building was 
 good, but unfinished, and now they are only living in 
 its ruins. "Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now 
 made perfect by the flesh?" It is all in vain to 
 have a mere knowledge of Christ; they would deceive 
 themselves, to seek the consolations of the gospel 
 without observing the law of love. 
 
 The "Mother" then turns to all Christians, earnestly 
 exhorting all to seek for more mutual love and unity. 
 Finally, she turns to the Bohemian nation, and to 
 Moravia. "I turn first to you, my native country, 
 and entrust to you my treasures." And here is the 
 prophecy above mentioned as to the return of righteous 
 ness to that land. Her parting wish is that they may 
 love the truth of God as taught by John Huss, and that 
 they might grant freedom to the truth; that they use 
 the Bible to learn more of God, since it has been so 
 well translated from the original languages; that they 
 maintain discipline, without which there could not be 
 Christian life; that they be whole-hearted, not dividing 
 their heart with the world; that they retain their 
 Bohemian language in its classic purity; and that they 
 care for the education of youth, in which other nations 
 had made progress, while in Bohemia it had been 
 neglected. 
 
148 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 
 
 "And what more shall I say? I must speak to you 
 as Jacob did to his sons, or as Moses to his people: 
 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a 
 well; whose branches run over the wall. The archers 
 have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated 
 him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms 
 of his hands were made strong, by the hands of the 
 Mighty God of Jacob/ Let Bohemia live and not die, 
 and let not her men be few. Bless, Lord/ her 
 substance, and accept the work of her hands: smite 
 through the loins of them that rise against her, 
 and of them that hate her, that they rise not again/ 
 The eternal God is thy refuge and underneath are 
 the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the 
 enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them/ 
 Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing 
 is upon thy people/ 
 
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