A Bible for a Pistol
A True Story
"See, mother, see what I have brought you!" exclaimed
a young Brazilian, holding up to view a well-bound,
gilt-edged book. "Antonio Marques told me
that the priest ordered him to burn it, but he did
not like to destroy so good a book, and was afraid to
displease the priest by keeping it, so I offered to trade
my old double-barreled pistol for it. I thought you
might like to have the book, for they say it is all about
religion, and you are so religious. It might be of
some use when you go to repeat your prayers for
people who are dying."
The mother took the book from her son's hands, and slowly reading the title, "A Santa Biblia," said: "Ah! this is good; this the 'Rule of Life,' I am glad to have it." Then beginning at the first of Genesis, she glanced over several chapters until she reached the tenth. "Yes, you are right, my son; here is just the kind of prayer I want. Here is a long list of names, and as they are all in the Bible, they must all be of saints, and some of them will surely help the poor creatures."
The youth frequently found his mother with the book before her when he came in from his work, and had he taken the trouble to look over her shoulder he
