- Foreword
- Chapter 1—Chronology
- Chapter 2—A Historical Prologue
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- A miniature general conference
- Reports from the Missions
- Presenting the Truth in Love
- Question-and-Answer Periods
- Response to Sister White's Testimonies
- Value of Tent Meetings in Europe
- Pressing Financial Needs in Basel
- Length of Conference Extended
- A Controversial Problem Arises
- An Unwise Interruption
- A Victory Meeting
- A Vision in the Night Season
- D. T. Bourdeau's Printed Testimony
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- Appointments in Basel, Geneva, and Lausanne
- Faith and Sacrifice of the Believers
- The White Apartment in Basel
- Various Activities Day by Day
- Reinforcements From America
- Literary Assistants Help Ellen White
- L. R. Conradi Comes to Europe
- A Horse and Carriage for the Visitor
- Strenuous Personal Labor
- Good Meetings in Bienne
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- Developments in Norway and Denmark
- A Symbol of Sister White's Work
- Needs of the Church in Christiania
- A Disciplinary Recommendation
- Response of the Committee
- A Disappointing Board Meeting
- A Final Service With the Church
- Heartaches in Faraway America
- Next Stop: Copenhagen
- The Round Tower of Copenhagen
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- The visit to Paris, Nimes, and Valence
- The Light of the Advent Message
- Brief Stay in Paris
- A Walk Through the Streets of Paris
- Invalides and the Tomb of Napoleon
- Arrival at Nimes
- Roman Ruins in Nimes
- The Young Watchmaker
- Meetings in Historic Valence
- The Cathedral of Saint Apollinaire
- Reflections on Valence
- Third Visit to the Piedmont Valleys
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- Chapter 26—Literary Work
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Milan and the Great Cathedral
Since their train was not to leave until ten-thirty next morning, they improved the time sight-seeing.*The American traveler's diaries reveal that her “sight-seeing” was usually done while waiting for trains en route to appointments or peering out the windows of the cars, during a few free hours while in the cities of Europe, or attending council meetings. Recreational activities as far as she was concerned were always subordinate to the demands of the work. Yet she did take time for rest and change, and this she considered essential. (See Testimonies for the Church 1:514, 520.) The main point of interest, of course, in Milan, was the grand cathedral, the most important Gothic structure in Italy. The cathedral, begun in 1386, was just then being completed. She confessed that no one could fail to be impressed with the grandeur and immensity of the huge white-marble building, but she still looked upon it as a vast “extravagance.” Some art critics have had similar reservations about the cathedral, but her judgments were colored by factors other than mere artistic taste. While she was overwhelmed by the architecture, she was favorably impressed by “the windows and walls ... adorned with high-colored pictures, painted by the finest Italian artists. These paintings represent scenes in Bible history and in traditional church history. It seemed to me that I never saw such a gorgeous combination of colors.”—The Review and Herald, June 1, 1886.EGWE 175.1
But she was pained as she saw the worshipers enter, dip their fingers in a marble basin of “holy water,” make the sign of the cross, and go quietly to seats in front of the altar. As she saw them bowing before the images, it seemed to her a pathetic sight not unlike pagan worship. “How I longed to lift my voice in this grand old building, and point the poor, deluded souls to God and heaven!” The sight of women kneeling before the confessional boxes was even more painful to her. “It was placing a man with like passions as themselves in the place of Christ,” she said (Ibid.).EGWE 175.2
The cathedral is decorated inside and out with no less than 2,245 statues and images, and it is little wonder that Ellen White remarked later, “How the Roman church can clear herself from the charge of idolatry we cannot see. True, she professes to worship God through these images: so did the Israelites when they bowed before the golden calf” (Ibid.).EGWE 176.1