The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-05-14

had been granted to us, and we thought this was a chance for Benigna, We al- lowed her to come, and l shall never forget the sensation of utter despair that filled my mind when saw this It, tie shepard girl; her face was as blank, more so, perhaps, than the face of one of her own sheep she looked as though we could do nothing with her in educational matters; and as ours was not an orphanage nor home, but school. We felt that perhaps we had make a mistake; but couldn't believe 1t a mistake, because In all these first steps, and In fact all the way along, we have had to follow Gods leading, and we have tried to believe that every step we have taken has been directed by Him. This litle girl became a member of our family, and I watched her day by day with almost increasing anxiety. Nothing seemed to impress her. She did not seem to realize where she was or what she was expected to do, and some of her mistakes were almost lu- dicrous, showing how little accustomed she was to what We call the ways of civilized life. But after @ year that face began to change; the light of in telligence came into those eyes; that peculiar dropping mouth and lips al- tered; and to make long story short, Benigna is to-day our mainstay in the school in San Sebastian. She changed year by year; and when Christian flight came into her heart she gradually grew in intelligence, and learned more quickly, and showed her adaptability, as almost no other girl has ever done, to the varying wants of such family as ours. This young girl. of whom have spoken, after two or three years proved to us her ability to be all that we could desire. In very quiet way unassuming and modest, almost retir- ling, she gradually worked her way into the sympathies of all the family, and became, as have said, the most neces- sary member of our family I know of no one whom we could spare with as much difficulty as Benigna. She learn ed to use stenography. Why? Not be- cause we asked her, for we never thought of such thing. But she did it because she said she could be more useful. She took up the accounts, the daily accounts of marketing, and keeps them and has kept them for sev- eral years. And the other day I had a letter from her in which she says: "If you will send me an American system, or system of stenography in English, Will learn that before you come back and then I can be more useful to you and save you many time." It shows how God does use his children; how He sent this young ignorant girl, and we took her in faith, believing that she would possibly in time be able to go back to little village school some where among the hills, but she has proved one of our greatest blessings.
 Take another case. Some fifteen years ago gentleman from Santander, where we first lived, was passing a church early In the morning; he heard a baby cry on the church porch, and thinking 1t strange, went in there and found little child in basket that had been abandoned there by an un- natural mother. He was, as would be singular to relate here, a Free Mason. There are number of Free Masons in Spain, and 1t happened that this one saw this child. According to his belief, that he should succor those who are in want, he took this little one to his home: 1t was cared for and after few years was sent to a school in which nuns were the teachers. He was not satisfied with the instruction that this little one received, and as we had moved from Santander to San Sebas- tan in the meantime, he sent this little one to us; and the lodge of Free Masons Iof Santander paid for the instruction and maintenance of that child for seven years until she was ready to be a teach CT. And she is today the teacher of
 the day school of Bilbao, the station next to us, along the coast. She is To- masa de la Cantava. Her name, Canta-
 va, means simply, and gives to under
 stand to the whole world that she Is a
 founding, because the name of the pro-
 vince or the country in which such chil- dren are found is always appended to
 the name given to them. Tomasa of the Cantavarian coast She has nc
 name, but she says pitifully, In one of
 her recent letters to me- 'I am making
 a family for myself" And she says so truly, because the children love heI dearly and her influence is good all through the city, where the missionary Spanish pastor and his associates have influence.
 Recently, as fifteen years were about finished of our work since we began
 this school, I thought 1t would be pleas ant to know definitely what each one
 of the graduates was doing at the time
 l sent out a circular letter, and I have with me here forty-nine responses from
 those who are really working for Christ
 in Spain, in Mexico and in France We have two in Mexico; one teaching In a mission school of the Baptists, and
 another in France, who is the wife of a young man, product of our church in ISantander, who Is then missionary to the Spaniards in Southern France. So ] feel that we may report two foreign
 missionaries as part of our working force.
 What are the other girls trying to do?
 Everything. Everything that they car for Christ. It has been our custom dur
 ing the last years, In order to have
 these girls understand Christian work
 to form different societies, so that the
 whole school Is to be found In one or
 another or perhaps in several of these
 I d;