Produced by John Bechard (JaBBechard@aol.com)






HISTORY
OF
THE MISSIONS
OF THE
AMERICAN BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS
TO THE
ORIENTAL CHURCHES.

BY RUFUS ANDERSON, D.D., LL.D.,
LATE FOREIGN SECRETARY OF THE BOARD.

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. II.

BOSTON:
CONGREGATIONAL PUBLISHING SOCIETY.
1872.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by
THE AMERICAN BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS,
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

RIVERSIDE, CAMBRIDGE:
STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY
H. O. HOUGHTON AND COMPANY.






CONTENTS.


CHAPTER XXIV. THE ARMENIANS.--1846-1855.

Agency of Sir Stratford Canning.--Of Lord Cowley.--Lord Palmerston's
Instructions.--Action of the Porte.--The Chevalier Bunsen.--A
Vizerial Letter.--Further Concessions.--The Firman.--Good Counsel
from Sir Stratford to the Protestants.--Dilatoriness of the Turkish
Government.--Still another Concession by the Sultan.--Agency of the
American Minister.--Greatness of the Changes.--The Divine Agency
recognized.--The Danger.--Why Persecution was continued.--New
Missionaries.--Pera again ravaged by Fire.--The Aintab
Station.--Native Zeal for the Spread of the Gospel.--Activity of the
Mission.--The Patriarch deposed.--Native Pastors.--Death of Mrs.
Hamlin.--Death and Character of Dr. Azariah Smith.--Mr. Dunmore
joins the Mission.--Removal into Old Constantinople.--The
First Ecclesiastical Council.--The Gospel introduced into
Marsovan.--Visited by Mr. E. E. Bliss.--A Persecution that was
needed.--Unexpected Relief.--Changes in the Mission.--Missions by
Native Pastors.--Death of Mrs. Everett.--Death of Mr. Benjamin.

CHAPTER XXV. THE ARMENIANS.--1855-1860.

The Crimean War subservient to the Gospel.--Its Origin.
--Providential Interposition.--Probable Consequences of Russian
Success.--Effect of the Fall of Sebastopol.--The Mission in
1855.--Schools.--Church Organization.--Church Building.--The
Printing.--Editions of the Scriptures.--The Book Depository.--Aid
from Abroad.--Greek Students in Theology.--Licentiates.--Accession
of Missionaries.--Death of Mr. Everett.--Miscellaneous
Notices.--Renewed Agitation about the Death Penalty.--The Hatti
Humaïoun.--How regarded by the English Ambassador.--Includes the
Death Penalty.--Is recognized in the Treaty of Paris.--How estimated
by the Missionaries.--Indications of Progress.--Aintab.--Death of
Mrs. Schneider.--Girls' School at Constantinople.--Seminary at
Bebek.--Division of the Mission.--Turkish Missions Aid
Society.--Visit of Dr. Dwight to England.--A Remarkable
Convert.--Death of the second Mrs. Hamlin.--Arabkir.--Sivas and
Tocat.--Harpoot.--Geghi.--Revivals of Religion.--Girls' School at
Nicomedia.--Fire at Tocat.--Mr. Dunmore's Explorations.--Church at
Cesarea.--A former Persecutor made Catholicos.--Death of Mrs.
Beebee.

CHAPTER XXVI. THE ARMENIANS.--1860-1861.

A Result of the Crimean War.--Religious Opinion in Constantinople.
--Change at Rodosto.--Outbreak at the Metropolis.--A Remarkable
Native Helper.--Great Change in Marsovan.--Changes elsewhere.
--Telegraphic Communication.--The Mission further divided.--First
Native Pastor at Harpoot.--Rise of the Station.--Dr. Dwight's Second
Tour in the East.--Changes since the First Tour.--Triumph of the
Gospel at Marash.--Tribute to the Wives of Missionaries.--Change at
Diarbekir.--Decline of Turkish Population.--Death and Character of
Mr. Dunmore.--The Missionary Force.--Training School at
Mardin.--Other Portions of the Field.--Scripture Translations.
--Publications.

CHAPTER XXVII. THE ASSYRIA MISSION.--1849-1860.

Origin of the Mission.--Mosul reoccupied.--Why it had been
relinquished.--Proposed American Episcopal Mission.--The Mission of
the Board reinforced.--Dr. Bacon's Experience in the Koordish
Mountains.--Punishment of the Robbers.--How the Gospel came to
Diarbekir.--Church organized.--Arrival of Mr. Dunmore.--Tomas.
--Persecutions.--Mr. Marsh's Visit to Mardin.--Dr. Lobdell's
Experience at Aintab and Oorfa.--Outrage at Diarbekir.--Descent of
the Tigris.--Diarbekir a Year later.--Congregational Singing at
Mosul.--Dr. Lobdell as a Medical Missionary.--The Yazidees.--Dr.
Lobdell's Visit to Oroomiah.--His Views of the Ecclesiastical Policy
of the Mission.--Return to Mosul.--The Church at Diarbekir
reorganized.--Strength out of Weakness.--Native Preacher at
Hainè.--The Gospel at Cutterbul.--Relief at Mosul.--A Special Danger
growing out of the Crimean War.--Excessive Heat.--Death of Mrs.
Williams.--Dr. Lobdell visits Bagdad.--His Sickness, Death, and
Character.--Religious Services at Diarbekir.--The Gospels in
Koordish.--New Station at Mardin.--Remarkable Case of Conversion.
--New Station at Bitlis.--Death of Mrs. Marsh.--Return of Mrs.
Lobdell with Mr. Marsh.--Difficulties in the way of occupying
Mosul.--Great Prosperity at Diarbekir.--Close of the Assyria
Mission.

CHAPTER XXVIII. THE NESTORIANS.--1851-1857.

Mr. Stoddard's Reception on his Return.--Death of Judith Perkins.
--Progress in the Mountains.--Progress on the Plain.--The
Seminaries.--A suggestive Case of Native Piety.--Scenes on a
Tour.--Nazee, a Christian Girl, at her Mountain Home.--Elevations of
Places.--A Russian Friend.--Mr. Stocking's Return Home.--A Robbery.
--Another Revival.--Seminary Graduates.--Extraordinary Enthusiasm.
--Books.--Death of Mr. Crane.--Audacity of Papal Missionaries.
--English and Russian Protection.--Mr. Cochran at Kosrova.--Matter
of Church Organization.--Death of Deacon Guwergis.--Hostility of the
Persian Government.--A new Revival.--Gawar vacated for a time.
--Discomfiture of the Enemy.--The Lord a Protector.--The Monthly
Concert.--Mountain Tours.--Search for a Western Station.--An
Interesting Event.--Violence of Government Agents.--How these Agents
were removed out of the Way.

CHAPTER XXIX. THE NESTORIANS.--1857-1863.

Death of Mr. Stoddard.--His Character.--Death of his Daughter.
--Retrospective View.--Death of Mrs. Rhea.--Decisive Indication of
Progress.--A Winter in Western Koordistan.--Mosul and its Vicinity.
--The Mountain Field.--An Appeal.--Failing Health.--New
Missionaries.--Death of Mr. Thompson.--Failure of the Plan for a
Western Station.--Failure of Mr. Cobb's Health.--The Nestorian
Helpers.--Tenth Revival in the Seminary.--Literary Treasures of the
Nestorians.--Marriage of Mar Yohanan.--Advance towards Church
Organization.--Death of the Patriarch.--Extraordinary Outburst of
Liberality.--Dr. Dwight's Visit to Oroomiah.--His Opinion of the
Church Policy of the Mission.--Improvements.--Appearance of the
Native Preachers.--Death of Mr. Breath.--Apprehended Aggressions
from Russian Ecclesiastics.--More Revivals.--Death of Mar
Elias.--His Character.--Armenians on the Plain of Oroomiah.--Manual
for the Reformed Church.--Retrospect of the Mission.--Miss Rice in
sole Charge of the Female Seminary.--Care of the English Government
for the Nestorians.

CHAPTER XXX. THIRTY YEARS AMONG THE JEWS.--1826-1856.

The First Missionaries.--Arrival of Mr. Schauffler at
Constantinople.--Jews in that City.--Baptism of a German
Jew.--Religious Excitements.--Visit to Odessa.--The Psalms in
Hebrew-Spanish.--Printing of the Old Testament at Vienna.--Whole
Bible in Hebrew-Spanish.--Unsuccessful Opposition.--Generous Aid
from Scotland.--Demand for the Scriptures.--The Grand Difficulty.
--Present Duty of Christian Churches.--The German Jews.--Interest of
Protestant Armenians in the Mission.--The Italian Jews.--Service for
the Germans.--Why so much Preparatory Work.--New Editions of the
Scriptures.--Important Testimony.--Change of Relations to
Constantinople Jews.--Attention turned to the Jews in Salonica.--The
Jewish Population there.--Missionaries to Salonica.--The Zoharites.
--Relations of the Jews to Christ's Kingdom.--The Practical
Inference.--Death of Mr. Maynard.--New Missionary.--The People
without Education.--Their Capacity for Self-righteousness.--Literary
Labors of Mr. Schauffler.--A New Missionary.--Insalubrity of the
Climate.--Dangerous Sickness.--Death of Mrs. Morgan.--Removal to
Constantinople.--Salonica partially reoccupied.--Labors among the
Smyrna Jews.--Labors of Mr. Schauffler.--Why the Mission was
relinquished.--Mr. Schauffler turns to the Moslems.

CHAPTER XXXI. THE BULGARIANS OF EUROPEAN TURKEY.--1857-1862.

The Geographical Position.--Moslem Population.--The Bulgarians.
--Their Origin and Early History.--Their Conversion to
Christianity.--Their Ecclesiastical Relations.--Their Aversion
to the Greek Hierarchy.--Danger from the Papacy.--Seasonable
Intervention of Protestantism.--Their Struggle with the Greek
Patriarch.--First Exploration of Roumelia, and Dr. Hamlin's
Report.--The Result.--Division of the Bulgarian Field between
Methodist Missionaries and those of the American Board.--Friendly
Coöperation.--Report of a Tour by Mr. Bliss.--Commencement of the
Bulgarian Mission.--Papal Opposition.--The Mission enlarged.--The
Accessible Population.--Desire for Education.--Readiness to receive
the New Testament.--Church formed at Adrianople.--Labors of Mr.
Meriam.

CHAPTER XXXII. THE BULGARIANS OF EUROPEAN TURKEY.--1862-1871.

Brigandage in Bulgaria.--Mr. Meriam murdered by Brigands.
--Distressing Circumstances and Death of Mrs. Meriam.--Successful
Efforts to Punish the Assassins.--Check to the Brigandage.--Further
Enlargement of the Mission.--School for Girls.--New Station at
Samokov.--Results of a General Missionary Conference.--The Great
Obstacle.--Signs of Progress.--Unexpected Hindrance.--Popularity of
the Schools.--The People not accessible to Preaching.--Awakened
Interest.--Girl's School at Eski Zagra.--Cases of Domestic
Persecution.--A Serious Loss.--Effect of False Reports.--A
Successful Intervention.--Public Celebration of the Lord's
Supper.--Its Significance.--New Missionaries.--Death of Mr.
Ball.--Death of Miss Reynolds.--The Connection with the Armenian
Mission dissolved.--The Mission as thus constituted.--The Bulgarians
Ecclesiastically Free.--First Effect of this Freedom.--Promising
Events.--Death of Miss Norcross.--Removal of the School from Eski
Zagra to Samokov.--A Church organized at Bansko.--Translation of the
Bible into the Spoken Language.--The Mission in its Preliminary
Stage, but ready for an Onward Movement.

CHAPTER XXXIII. THE ARMENIANS.--1861-1863.

Dr. Dwight's Visit to the United States.--His Sudden Death.--His
Life and Character.--His Views of Missionary Policy.--The Actual
Call for Missionaries, and the Discretion awarded to them.--Bebek
Seminary to be removed into the Interior.--Its History.--Removal of
Boarding School for Girls.--Its Usefulness.--Exploration of the
Taurus Mountains.--A Beautiful Scene.--A Barbarous Expulsion from
Hadjin.--Murder of Mr. Coffing.--Successful Efforts to apprehend the
Murderers.--One of them executed.--The Result.--Mrs. Coffing remains
in the Mission.--Dr. Goodell's Estimate of Progress in the Central
Mission.--Progress at Aintab.--At Oorfa.--At Harpoot.--Theological
School.--A Native Preacher.--Mosul.--Ordination of a Native Pastor
at Diarbekir.--Contrasted with an Oriental Ordination.--Disturbing
Efforts of Garabed.--Progress at Bitlis.--The Church at Erzroom.
--Progress at Arabkir.--Sojourn of Dr. Wood at Constantinople.
--Accessions to the Mission.--Ordination of Native Pastors.

CHAPTER XXXIV. THE ARMENIANS.--1864-1865.

A Reaction.--The Apparent Cause.--Consequent Movements.--Results.
--Position of the Entire Field.--Obstacles to be surmounted.
--Painful Experience at Marsovan.--Accessions to the Mission.
--Working Force at the Metropolis.--Robert College and Bebek.--An
unsuccessful Disorganizing Movement.--Great Fire at Broosa.--New
Missionary Station.--Influence of the American War at Adana.
--Diminished Force in Central Turkey.--Evangelical Progress at
Aintab.--Two Churches formed.--Girls' Boarding School.--High
School.--Graduating Class at Harpoot.--Singular Method of
Opposition.--Progress of Self-support and the Evangelical Spirit in
the Churches.--Death of Mrs. Williams.--General View of the Eastern
Mission.--Methods of Opposition.--Liberal Support of the Gospel.
--Prosperity at Diarbekir.--Death of Mr. Dodd.--Death of Mr.
Morgan.--Death of Hohannes.--Interesting Ordinations.--Reception
of Mr. and Mrs. Walker.--A Native Church in the Absence of both
Missionary and Pastor.--Death of a Native Helper.

CHAPTER XXXV. THE ARMENIANS--1865-1867.

Harpoot Evangelical Union.--Other Similar Associations.--Their
Utility.--A Poor Church enriched.--John Concordance, the Blind
Preacher.--His Sermon on Tithes, and his Wide Influence.--Meeting of
the Harpoot Union.--Death of Mrs. Adams.--New Missionaries.
--Multiplication of Newspapers.--The Avedaper, or "Messenger."--The
Reformed Church and Prayer-Book.--Consequent Excitement.
--Bible-women.--Eleven Years at Harpoot.--Week of Prayer at Harpoot,
and Bitlis.--Revival at Bitlis.--Broosa after Seventeen Years.
--First Evangelical Greek Church.--Death of Mr. Walker.--His
Character.--Return Home of Mrs. Walker.--Contrast at Choonkoosh.
--A Foreign Mission resolved upon.--New Revival at Harpoot.--The
Past and Present.--Injurious Effect of Prosperity in a Church.--The
Recovery.

CHAPTER XXXVI. THE NESTORIANS.--1864-1868.

Death and Character of Deacon Isaac.--Death and Character of Miss
Fiske.--Death of Deacon Joseph.--Mountain Tours.--The Mountain
Work.--Visit to the Young Patriarch.--The Seminary for Girls.--Great
Usefulness of Dr. Wright.--His Death.--Death of Mr. Ambrose.
--Nestorian Vagrancy.--Death and Character of Mr. Rhea.--Hostility
of Mar Shimon.--Friendly Agency of the English Ambassador.--Royal
Donation.--Success of the Girls' School.--Male Seminary.--A Private
School.--Death of Priest Eshoo.--New Medical Missionary.--Estimates
of Population.--Interesting Armenian Colony.--The Patriarch thwarted
in his Hostility.--Favoring Indications.

CHAPTER XXXVII. THE NESTORIANS.--1867-1870.

Convention of Nestorian Churches.--Ordination of a Nestorian
Missionary.--A Satisfactory Tour.--Movement towards Self-supporting
Churches.--Progress of the Reformation.--Retirement of
Missionaries.--What Dr. Perkins had seen accomplished.--Rekindling
of the Ancient Missionary Spirit.--Foreign Missions become a
Necessity.--The Reviving Missionary Spirit illustrated.--Death of
Priest Abraham.--Failure of the Original Plan of Church
Organization.--Mar Yohanan.--Erratic Proceedings of Priest
John.--The best People stand firm.--The Past not to be condemned.
--Separate Churches become a Necessity.--Signs of Revival.--The
Foreign Missionary Field for the Nestorians.--The Missionaries.
--Assignments of Fields.--Transfer of the Mission to the
Presbyterian Board.--Death and Character of Dr. Perkins.

CHAPTER XXXVIII. SYRIA.--1857-1860.

Death of Dr. Eli Smith.--The Work performed by him.--Dr. Van Dyck
succeeds him as Translator.--The Missionaries.--Death of Dr. De
Forest.--The Schools.--Progress in Fifteen Years.--Ain Zehalty.
--Church at Hasbeiya.--Attitude of the Maronite Clergy.--B'hamdûn.
--Kefr Shema.--A High-minded Christian.--Religious Toleration.
--Prospect of a Native Ministry.--A New Call for the Gospel.--Church
at Alma.--Successful Ministry at Cana.--First completed Protestant
Church Building in Syria.--The Missionary's Wife at Cana.
--Persecution.--The Women at Alma.--Training of Helpers.--Ain
Zehalty again.--Struggles in the Department of Education.
--Accessions to the Churches.--New Protestant Community at Deir
Mimas.--A Cheering Annual Meeting.--Friendly Aid from United States
Ambassador.--Arabic New Testament published.

CHAPTER XXXIX. SYRIA.--1860-1863.

Another Civil War in Syria.--The Missionaries Safe.--Massacre near
Sidon.--Mr. Bird at Deir el-Komr.--Destruction of Zahleh.--Massacre
at Hasbeiya.--Massacre at Damascus.--Relief for Suffering
Thousands.--Remarkable Escape of Missionaries and Native
Protestants.--Foreign Interposition.--Effects of the War.--Arabic
New Testament published.--Cooperation of American and English Bible
Societies.--Importance of the Version.--Sales of the Scriptures.--A
Voweled Arabic New Testament.--The Field Brightening.--A Good
Governor.--Further Evidences of Progress.--Persecution.--A
Significant Event.--Evidence of Divine Agency.--Changes in the
Mission.--Growth of Beirût.--Demand for Education.--Proposal for a
Protestant College.--What hindered a more Rapid Progress in the
Mission.

CHAPTER XL. SYRIA.--1863-1869.

Personal.--Boarding Schools.--Printing.--Completion of the Arabic
Translation of the Scriptures.--Multiplication of Copies.--Improved
Government of Lebanon.--The Native Ministry.--Druze High School.
--Value of Druze Protection.--Death of Tannûs el-Haddad.--Native
Pastor at Hums.--Remarkable Awakening at Safeeta.--Remarkable
Persecution.--Firmness of the persecuted People.--The Persecution
closed.--Decline and Recovery of the Church at Hums.--Native
Missions.--Administration of Daoud Pasha.--Accessions to the
Mission.--Books published.--The Publishing Department strengthened.

CHAPTER XLI. SYRIA.--1869-1870.

But few Students in Theology.--Institution of a Theological
Seminary.--Female Boarding Schools.--THE SYRIAN PROTESTANT COLLEGE.
--Demand for a College.--Its Objects.--Range of its Studies.--Why an
Independent Institution.--Its Location and Government.--Its
Endowment.--Its Students.--The Religious Influences.--First
Graduating Class.--The College Edifices.--Transfer of the Mission to
the Presbyterian Board.--Feeling awakened by the Transfer.--RESULTS
OF THE PAST.

CHAPTER XLII. THE ARMENIANS.--1867-1869.

New Missionaries.--Revival at Marash.--Revival at Mardin.--Oosee, a
Native Candidate for a Foreign Mission.--Church organized at
Mardin.--Wife of Oosee.--Struggle with the People of Zeitoon.
--Deadly Assault on a Missionary.--The Rescue.--The Gospel gains a
Footing in Zeitoon.--Coast of the Black Sea.--Death of Dr. William
Goodell.--His Life and Character.--Prolonged Tour in Eastern
Turkey.--Meeting of the Evangelical Union at Diarbekir.--Mardin.
--Remarkable Church and Pastor at Sert.--Bitlis.--Extreme Poverty on
the Plain of Moosh.--Oppression by the Priesthood.--Death of Mrs. H.
S. Barnum.--District of Erzroom.--Diarbekir.--Native Mission to
Koordistan.--Native Mission to Moosh.--Seminaries at Harpoot.--Cruel
Persecution at Mardin.--Revival at Oorfa.--Apprehended Doctrinal
Errors.--Reception of Mr. Wheeler on his Return to Harpoot.
--Progress of Civilization at Aleppo.--Death of John Concordance.
--Aintab after Twenty Years.

CHAPTER XLIII. THE ARMENIANS.--1869-1872.

Another Revival at Marash.--Another at Bitlis.--New Church and
Pastor at Havadoric.--Great Change in Hadjin.--The Marsovan
Seminary.--Angora.--Erzingan.--Crisis in the Koordistan Native
Mission.--Mr. Wheeler's Visit to it, and Mr. Pond's Visit to Sert.
--Mosul.--Death of Dr. Williams.--His Character.--Women in the
Region of Cesarea.--Missionary Visit to Van.--Death of a Native
Pastor.--Dr. Clarke's Impressions of Cilicia.

CHAPTER XLIV. THE ARMENIANS.--EDUCATION.--1872.

Common Schools a Necessity.--The Four Seminaries.--The Female
Boarding Schools.--Tabular View of the Higher Schools.--Marsovan
Seminary.--Harpoot Seminaries.--Marash Seminary.--Mardin
Seminaries.--Training School at Tocat.--High School at Aintab.
--Marsovan Female Seminary.--Harpoot Female Seminary.--Female
Boarding School at Aintab.--Marash Female High School.--The ROBERT
COLLEGE.--Its Origin.--Obstacles to be overcome.--To be a Christian
Institution.--The Founder.--Fully established.--How Obstacles were
surmounted.--The College Self-supporting.--Gifts by the Founder.
--The Demand for Liberal Education.--_Proposed College in the
Interior_.--How the Idea originated.--Interesting Statement from
Aintab.--To be located in Aintab.

CHAPTER XLV. THE ARMENIANS.--PRESENT CONDITION.--1872.

Unreasonable Demands on Foreign Missions.--How the Millennium is
made possible.--The Evangelizing Progress.--Changes in the
Metropolis of Turkey.--National Progress.--Influence of the
Protestant Faith.--Reform in Worship.--The Missionaries Hopeful.
--The Degree of Progress.--Illustrations.--The Harpoot Community.
--General Statements.--The Result.

CHAPTER XLVI. THE MOHAMMEDANS.

The Mohammedans to be approached through the Oriental Churches.
--Largely of Christian Origin.--Degree of Security for Moslem
Converts.--Mohammedan Susceptibility to Christian Influence
illustrated.--General Character of the Illustrations.--The Gospel
yet in its Incipient Stage of Influence among them.--Why so little
Direct Effort hitherto.--Demand for Laborers of the same Race.
--Experience favors the Plan hitherto pursued.--The Probable
Future.--The Relations of the Missionary to the Moslems.--The Turks
not an Unhopeful Race.






MISSIONS

TO THE

ORIENTAL CHURCHES.






CHAPTER XXIV.

THE ARMENIANS.

1846-1855.


Several European governments, and especially England, performed an
important part in securing civil and religious freedom to the
Protestant Armenians.[1]

[1] This is impressively set forth in the _Correspondence respecting
the Condition of Protestants in Turkey_, published by order of
Parliament in 1851, pp. 154 folio.

In March, 1846, Sir Stratford Canning, English Ambassador at
Constantinople, reported to his government thirty-six evangelical
Armenians as persecuted by the Patriarch. To this he added personal
efforts to meliorate their condition, which resulted in promises
from Turkish officials and the Patriarch of better treatment,
promises that were by no means fulfilled.

Upon learning that the Armenian Protestants had been organized into
a church, he transmitted to Lord Palmerston, the Foreign Secretary,
their declaration of reasons for so doing, and their confession of
faith.

The Hon. H. R. Wellesley, better known as Lord Cowley, on taking,
the place of Sir Stratford during his visit to England, cordially
took up the unfinished work of his predecessor, and urged upon Lord
Palmerston the importance of procuring from the Porte a recognition
of the Protestant Armenians as an independent community. He showed
that, in spite of the liberal assurances extorted from the
Patriarch, they were exposed to daily injury and insult, and would
continue to be so until recognized by the Porte as a distinct
community among its Christian subjects. At the same time, he
forwarded a copy of an able declaration by the American missionaries
of their objects in coming to Turkey, which they had made to the
Porte through Mr. Carr, the American Minister. Lord Cowley was
instructed by Lord Palmerston, "to bring the situation of these
people earnestly under the consideration of the Porte, and urgently
to press the Turkish government to acknowledge them as a separate
religious sect." In December the Porte freed the Protestant
Armenians from the rule of the Armenian Patriarch, so far as
regarded their commercial and temporal affairs, and allowed them to
appoint an agent, who should manage their affairs with the
government; and also to keep separate registers of marriages,
births, and deaths. The Chevalier Bunsen, the well known Prussian
Ambassador in Paris, now entered into the work, and recommended,
that their recognition be as durable and complete as that of the
other Christian nationalities. To this proposal Lord Palmerston
cordially assented; but the Turkish officials were, as usual,
disinclined to go forward.

On the 19th of November, 1847, Lord Cowley had the satisfaction of
announcing, that the Grand Vizier, wishing, as he said, to do
something that he knew would be agreeable to his lordship, before he
should leave the country, had obtained the Sultan's permission to
issue a vizierial letter in his Majesty's name, which would
establish their independence at once.[1]

[1] This letter may be found in _Missionary Herald_ for 1848, p. 98.

At the suggestion of Lord Cowley, the Porte promised to send letters
to five different pashalics where there were Protestants, requiring
them to act in accordance with the letter; in which was granted the
privilege of toleration to all Protestant subjects alike, whether
from the Armenian, Greek, Syrian, or Roman Catholic Churches, or
from the Jews.

This letter was of great importance under the existing
circumstances; but the privileges it conferred might all be taken
away on a change of ministry. Accordingly Sir Stratford Canning, on
his return to Constantinople in 1850, lost no time in commencing
negotiations for a more stable basis of protection, and succeeded in
obtaining an Imperial Firman with the autograph of the Sultan, in
behalf of his Protestant subjects; giving to their civil
organization all the stability and permanency that the older
Christian communities enjoyed in Turkey. It was issued in November,
1850; and translated into English, reads as follows:--

"To my Vizier, Mohammed Pasha, Prefect of the Police in
Constantinople, the honorable Minister and glorious Councillor, the
model of the world, and regulator of the affairs of the community;
who, directing the public interests with sublime prudence,
consolidating the structure of the empire with wisdom, and
strengthening the columns of its prosperity and glory, is the
recipient of every grace from the Most High. May God prolong his
glory!

"When this sublime and august mandate reaches you, let it be known,
that hitherto those of my Christian subjects who have embraced the
Protestant faith, in consequence of their not being under any
specially appointed superintendence, and in consequence of the
patriarchs and primates of their former sects, which they have
renounced, naturally not being able to attend to their affairs, have
suffered much inconvenience and distress. But in necessary
accordance with my imperial compassion, which is the support of all,
and which is manifested to all classes of my subjects, it is
contrary to my imperial pleasure that any one class of them should
be exposed to suffering.

"As, therefore, by reason of their faith, the above mentioned are
already a separate community, it is my royal compassionate will,
that, for the facilitating the conducting of their affairs, and that
they may obtain ease and quiet and safety, a faithful and
trustworthy person from among themselves, and by their own
selection, should be appointed, with the title of 'Agent of the
Protestants,' and that he should be in relations with the Prefecture
of the Police.

"It shall be the duty of the Agent to have in charge the register of
the male members of the community, which shall be kept at the
police; and the Agent shall cause to be registered therein all
births and deaths in the community. And all applications for
passports and marriage licenses, and all petitions on affairs
concerning the community that are to be presented to the Sublime
Porte, or to any other department, must be given in under the
official seal of the Agent.

"For the execution of my will, this my imperial sublime mandate and
august command has been especially issued and given from my sublime
chancery.

"Hence thou, who art the minister above named, according as it has
been explained above, wilt execute to the letter the preceding
ordinance; only, as the collection of the capitation tax and the
delivery of passports are subject to particular regulations, you
will not do anything contrary to those regulations. You will not
permit anything to be required of them, in the name of fee, or on
other pretences, for marriage licenses, or registration. You will
see to it that, like the other communities of the empire, in all
their affairs, such as procuring cemeteries and places of worship,
they should have every facility and every needed assistance. You
will not permit that any of the other communities shall in any way
interfere with their edifices, or with their worldly matters or
concerns, or, in short, with any of their affairs, either secular or
religious, that thus they may be free to exercise the usages of
their faith.

"And it is enjoined upon you not to allow them to be molested an
iota in these particulars, or in any others; and that all attention
and perseverance be put in requisition to maintain them in quiet and
security. And, in case of necessity, they shall be free to make
representations regarding their affairs through their Agent to the
Sublime Porte.

"When this my imperial will shall be brought to your knowledge and
appreciation, you will have this august decree registered in the
necessary departments, and then give it over to remain in the hands
of these my subjects. And see you to it, that its requirements be
always in future performed in their full import.

"Thus know thou, and respect my sacred signet! Written in the holy
month of Moharrem, 1267 (November, 1850).

"Given in the well guarded city Constantiniyeh."

At the request of Sir Stratford Canning, thirteen of the leading
Protestants called upon him, on the occasion of his procuring this
charter of rights; and for nearly an hour he addressed them on their
duties and responsibilities, in their present position in the
empire. He told them that they ought to thank God that they were the
first to be relieved from the shackles of superstition, and made
acquainted with the pure Gospel of Christ. He told them that many
eyes were upon them, and that they ought to excel all others in the
land in faithful obedience to the government, in a brotherly
deportment to those of other religious opinions, and an example of
uprightness in every relation. Again and again did he exhort them to
act, in all things, according to the principles and doctrines of the
Gospel.

Three years after this, on the 6th of December, 1853, on his return
to Constantinople as Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, the same noble
friend of religious freedom, wrote to the Earl of Clarendon, that he
had endeavored in vain to obtain the official transmission of the
firman to the Pashas throughout the empire. This was strikingly
characteristic of Turkish procrastination. But he was then able to
state, that the Porte, "out of consideration for his repeated
representations," had officially transmitted the firman to all
Pashas where a Protestant society was known to exist.

In 1854, his lordship obtained the concession from the Turkish
government, that Christian evidence, in matters of criminal
jurisdiction, should stand on the same footing everywhere in Turkey
as the testimony of Mohammedans; thus removing a great wrong, under
which the rayahs of the empire had labored for centuries.

While gratefully acknowledging our obligations to the
representatives of other nations, I should also record, that our
brethren, both in the Armenian and Syria missions, were under
continued obligation to Mr. Carr, our Minister at the Porte, for
personal protection as American citizens. He acted with decision
whenever their rights were invaded. In the repeated efforts made to
remove them from the country, his reply to the formal demands of the
Porte was, that he had power to protect the missionaries as American
citizens, but not to remove them; and furthermore, that while papal
missionaries from France and Italy were permitted to reside in
Turkey, Protestant missionaries from America must also have the same
privilege.

Here we may properly pause, and consider what God had wrought, not
alone through the agency of the churches, but with the coöperation
of the great powers of the earth. Twenty years before, Messrs. Smith
and Dwight did not find a single clear case of conversion in their
extended travels through the Turkish empire. How many and great the
subsequent changes! First came the national charter of rights, given
by the Sultan in 1840; which, among its other results, destroyed the
persecuting power of the Armenian aristocracy. Next came the
abolition of the death penalty, in 1843, and the Sultan's pledge,
that men should no more be persecuted for their religious opinions.
Then, after three years, came the unthought of application of this
pledge to the Armenian Protestants, when persecuted by their own
hierarchy. In the next year followed the recognition of the
Protestants as an independent community. Finally, in 1850, came the
charter, signed by the Grand Sultan himself, placing the Protestants
on the same national basis with the other Christian communities of
the empire.

How wonderful this progression of events! So far as the central
government was concerned, missionaries might print, gather schools,
form churches, ordain pastors, and send forth other laborers,
wherever they pleased. Attention had been awakened, and there was a
disposition to inquire, renounce errors, and embrace gospel truths.
There was a progressive change in fundamental ideas; a gradual
reconstruction of the social system; a spiritual reformation. At
least fifty places were known, scattered over Asiatic Turkey, in all
of which souls had been converted through the truth, and where
churches might be gathered. Ten churches had been formed already,
and in part supplied with pastors. Aintab, scarcely known by name
five years before, numbered more Protestants than even the
metropolis, and was becoming one of the most interesting missionary
stations in the world.

In this remarkable series of results we recognize the hand of God,
who makes all earthly agencies subservient to the great work of
redemption; so that secular agencies come as legitimately into the
history of the republication of the Gospel in Bible lands, as do the
labors of the missionaries. They were among the ordained means; and
the leading agents cannot fail to command our grateful admiration.

The danger at this time was, that the reformation so auspiciously
begun, would pass its grand crisis before the central lights had
grown bright enough, and a knowledge of the Gospel been sufficiently
diffused in the empire. There was everywhere a curiosity to know
what Protestantism was, and to hear what the missionaries had to
say; but this curiosity, regarded as a national feeling, was in
danger of dying out. In the year 1851, the President of the National
Council of the Armenians said to Mr. Dwight: "Now is the time for
you to work for the Armenian people. Such an opportunity as you now
enjoy may soon pass away, and never more return. You should greatly
enlarge your operations. Where you have one missionary, you should
have ten; and where you have one book, you should put ten in
circulation." Constantinople, Smyrna, Broosa, Trebizond, Erzroom,
and Aintab, were already occupied as stations. It was proposed at
once to occupy Sivas, Arabkir, Diarbekir, and Aleppo. Mr. Adger,
after a laborious and most useful service in the literary department
of the mission, was constrained, by his health, in 1847, to retire
from the field.

The statement of Lord Stratford, that three years were allowed to
pass before the Sultan's firman was transmitted to the provinces,
will account in part for the fact that persecution did not cease. In
general, whenever evangelical views entered for the first time into
a place, a battle was to be fought, and the first recipients of
these views were sure to suffer more or less from the hands of their
former co-religionists. But relief was almost sure to come on an
appeal to the capital; and thus there was a gradual progress towards
the full protection of the Protestants as a distinct community.

The accession of missionaries during the time now under review, was
as follows: Joel S. Everett, in 1845; Isaac G. Bliss, in 1847;
Oliver Crane, in 1849; Joseph W. Sutphen, in 1852--who died before
the close of the year; Wilson A. Farnsworth, William Clark, Andrew
T. Pratt, M. D.; George B. Nutting, Fayette Jewett, M. D., and
Jasper N. Ball, in 1853; Albert G. Beebe, George A. Perkins, Sanford
Richardson, Edwin Goodell, and Benjamin Parsons, in 1854; and
Alexander R. Plumer, and Ira T. Pettibone, in 1855. All these were
married men, except Mr. Pettibone. Mary and Isabella, daughters of
Dr. Goodell, returned to the mission within the last two years.

In June, 1848, Pera was again ravaged by fire, and Messrs. Dwight,
Homes, and Schauffler lost their houses, and most of their effects.

In October of the same year, seven persons were added to the church
at Aintab, five of whom were women. In this month, Dr. Azariah Smith
returned to that station with his wife, and made it his permanent
abode.

The church at Aintab had a commendable zeal for the spread of the
Gospel in the surrounding villages; but their colporters were never
suffered to remain long in a place, the Armenian magnates persuading
the Turkish authorities to send them away as vagabonds. They now
resorted to an ingenious expedient for protecting themselves with
the authority of law. Five men, who had trades, went forth to
different towns, with their tools in one hand and the Bible in the
other. Wherever they went they worked at their trades, and at the
same time preached Christ to the people. The experiment succeeded
wonderfully. They could no longer be treated as vagabonds, and the
spirit of religious inquiry spread in all directions. The
congregation in Aintab became so large that two houses were opened
for worship at the same time, and urgent appeals came from Killis,
Marash, Oorfa, Diarbekir, Malatia, Harpoot, Arabkir, and other
places near and remote.

Mr. Crane succeeded Mr. Schneider at Broosa. Mr. Benjamin made a
missionary tour from Smyrna to the interior of Asia Minor; Mr.
Schneider made one to Aintab, on a temporary mission; Messrs.
Goodell and Everett to Nicomedia and Adabazar; Mr. Peabody into the
province of Geghi; Mr. Homes to Nicomedia; and Mr. Johnston to
Tocat. The building occupied by the Seminary at Bebek became now the
property of the Board. The printing at Smyrna, in Armenian,
Armeno-Turkish, Hebrew-Spanish, and Modern Greek, amounted to
twenty-one thousand copies, and five million five hundred and
eighty-two thousand pages. There was printing done at
Constantinople, but the amount was not reported. Among the works in
process of publication was D'Aubigne's "History of the Reformation."

The persecuting Matteos had now finished his career as Patriarch.
Before the close of 1848, he was convicted of frauds upon the public
treasury, and of forgery, and was degraded, and passed into
retirement on the shores of the Bosphorus.[1]

[1] _Missionary Herald_, 1849, p. 42; _Report_, 1849, p. 115.

Three additional pastors were ordained during the year which closed
with May, 1849; Baron Mugurdich, at Trebizond, Baron Hohannes
Sahakian, at Adabazar, and Baron Avedis, as co-pastor at
Constantinople. The reader is aware that Hohannes received the
greater part of his education in the United States. He possessed a
delightful spirit, and developed far more talent than he was
commonly credited with in America, where he could communicate his
thoughts only through the medium of a strange language.

The mission suffered a painful bereavement on the 14th of November,
1850, in the death of Mrs. Hamlin, at Rhodes, whither she had gone
with her husband in the hope of relief.[1]

[1] See an account of her last sickness in _Missionary Herald_, for
1851, p. 82; also in her Memoir, _Light in the Dark River_, by Mrs.
Lawrence.

Another bereavement occurred at Aintab in the death on the 3d of
June, 1851, of the Rev. Azariah Smith, M. D. Such was his peculiar
adaptation to different fields, that he had labored in many places,
but had a special attachment for Aintab. The uncommonly rapid
development of the active Christian graces at that station was
largely owing, under God, to his skillful efforts, and he wished
there to spend the remainder of his days. In this he was gratified.
He returned from laboring at Diarbekir greatly in need of quiet. But
finding so much to be done in the absence of Mr. Schneider at the
annual meeting in Constantinople, he allowed himself no relaxation.
His labors for the last six weeks of his life were incessant. A
violent fever did its work in a fortnight. At the outset he gave
specific directions as to the treatment of his case, feeling that
soon he would be unable to prescribe for himself; and expressed a
wish that no native physician should be employed, as there was no
competent one to be had at Aintab. While in full possession of
reason, he spoke of his departure with the composure of one on a
short journey, and soon to return. As the native brethren came in
one by one and in companies, he reminded them how often he had
preached to them salvation through Christ alone. "In his lucid
intervals," says his missionary brother, "and even in his delirium,
his soul seemed intent on measures for the good of this people. At
last he appeared to be at the gate of heaven. When no longer able to
articulate words, he would utter faint syllables expressive of his
growing rapture. Then he would move his lips as if in prayer; and,
again, for minutes together, he would attempt to sing. It was a
blessed privilege to be by his side." Mr. Dunmore was present at the
funeral, and says: "The chapel was crowded, and the roofs of the
surrounding buildings were covered. There was abundant proof of the
presence of grief-stricken hearts in gushing tears, and sobs were
heard throughout the assembly. There were six or seven hundred
present, and nearly as many accompanied us to the grave. I scarcely
ever saw in America a more quiet and solemn procession. In the
Protestant burying ground, by the side of his only child, lie the
remains of our dear departed brother."

The Rev. George W. Dunmore and wife had joined the mission early in
1851, and proceeded to Diarbekir by way of Aintab. Broosa was now
left for a time, as Nicomedia and Adabazar had been, to the care of
a native pastor, under the superintendence of the Constantinople
station; and useful evangelical tours were performed by different
brethren.[1]

[1] See _Missionary Herald_ for 1851, pp. 24-32, 78-81, 160-162,
232-236.

The law forbidding the residence of foreigners in Constantinople
proper having become a dead letter, two of the brethren took up
their abode near the "Seven Towers," amid an Armenian population,
and a third evangelical church was formed in February, 1852, in the
suburb of Has-Keuy.

Among the miscellaneous labors of the brethren at the capitol, was
the distribution of letters received at the mission post-office from
the European mails. Not less than fifteen hundred letters were thus
disposed of in the year 1851, as the Turks had no arrangements for
distributing letters that came by steamers. There was also much
other secular labor for the brethren at this central station.

Difficulties in the church at Trebizond occasioned the calling of an
ecclesiastical council,--the first one convened in the Turkish
empire. Pastor Simon was present from the first church in
Constantinople, pastor Hohannes from Adabazar, and Mr. Dwight from
the mission. Pastor Hohannes was chosen moderator, and pastor Simon
scribe; and Mr. Dwight describes them as managing the case with
admirable tact and prudence. The results were satisfactory.

Marsovan began now to claim special attention. It stands in one
corner of a lovely plain hemmed in by mountains, and then contained
eight hundred Armenian houses, with twice that number of Turkish
families. The story of the entrance of the Gospel into this place is
so interesting that it deserves to be recorded. Pastor Simon visited
it in September, 1851, on his return from the council at Trebizond,
and learned that, eighteen years before, a respectable inhabitant
made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and bought in Beirût a few
Armeno-Turkish tracts, not knowing what they were, only that they
were written in his own native tongue. He read them carefully on his
way home, and liked them so well that he retained them; but not
until Protestants and Protestant books were anathematized in the
churches did he learn their origin. They had been printed in Malta
under the supervision of Mr. Goodell. Soon after this, Der Vartanes,
on a missionary tour through Armenia, spent a night at the convent
in Marsovan. This man was present in the evening, and recognized the
similarity between the teachings of the stranger and his favorite
tracts, but did not dare to speak out before the Vartabed. He
managed, however, to see the good priest alone, and with great
difficulty they contrived to unite in prayer under a tree in the
garden. This was the only evangelical prayer he ever heard till Mr.
Powers visited the place in March, 1851. We need not say how
cordially he was received by the owner of the tracts; nor by him
alone, for the missionary could scarcely get a moment to himself day
or night. No wonder Mr. Powers felt that God had good things in
store for this people. When he returned in July, he was disappointed
in not being met by his friend, till he learned that six weeks
before he had been dragged from his bed at midnight, and sent a
prisoner with four others to Amasia, a town twenty-four miles
distant. There for two weeks they were shut up with the vilest
criminals, and one day they were chained together, two and two. The
charge brought against them by the governor and council of Marsovan
was, that they had made a violent assault upon the court. Nor would
the Pasha of Amasia, who, according to Turkish custom, had "eaten" a
large bribe, listen to any denial of the preposterous accusation.

The outrages which they suffered at length produced such an
excitement at Marsovan, that the primates hastened to give an order
for their release. The spirit of religious inquiry now greatly
increased, and a large number signed a petition to be set off from
the Armenian Church as Protestants.

Mr. E. E. Bliss visited Marsovan in October, and was there three
months. His presence was greatly needed. There had been a decline of
piety, and only a small number of the Protestants retained their
interest in spiritual things. Conversation turned not so much on the
truths of the Gospel as on the errors of the Armenian Church; nor so
much on these as on the corruption of their priesthood and the
exactions of the government. All were convinced of the truth of
Protestantism, but its particular charm was in its promise of good
for the life that now is. There was an obvious need of more
persecution.

During the first month, Mr. Bliss preached every evening in the
week, and twice on the Sabbath. The audiences ranged from fifty to
two hundred and fifty, and there were increasing evidences of
interest in the preaching. Then came tribulation because of the
word. The power of wealth and political influence was enlisted
against the truth. The taxes of those who had joined the Protestant
community were more than doubled, and those who could not or would
not pay them, were thrown into prison. Indeed, former scenes in
Constantinople were now repeated in Marsovan. No mercy was shown,
except on the one condition of leaving the Protestant meetings. When
day after day passed and brought no relief, the feeble began to
yield. One by one they made their submission to the Vartabed, and
received his blessing. Only four stood firm.

But now the Lord sent a partial deliverance, in an unexpected way.
An authoritative copy of the Sultan's firman was sent from
Constantinople, by a brother who was ignorant of the circumstances.
No such copy had before reached that part of the interior, so that
any official who pleased could ignore its existence. The news of its
arrival brought out the affrighted Protestants from their
hiding-places. Many whose sympathies were with them, were as joyful
as themselves. Before night five or six, who had submitted to the
Vartabed, bore to him a written recantation of what they had done;
and he, having heard of the firman, received the recantation and was
silent. After that there was comparative peace, and the number
attending on the preaching of the missionary increased.

I have dwelt on these developments at Marsovan, as an illustration
of what, in various degrees, was experienced in other places at this
stage in the reformation; as in Marash, Kessab, Demirdesh, and
Adana.

Mr. Wood, of this mission, being detained in the United States by
the failure of his wife's health, was elected, in 1852, a
Corresponding Secretary of the Board, to reside in the city of New
York. The widow of Dr. Azariah Smith had remained in active labors
at Aintab, but disease now obliged her to retire from the field.
Miss Maria A. West took charge, with Mrs. Everett, of the girls'
boarding-school at Constantinople; and Miss Melvina Haynes, a sister
of Mrs. Everett, gave herself to a species of labor among Armenian
females, which has since risen to importance in the missionary
field. Mrs. George B. Nutting died at Aintab, July 9, 1854.

In the Reports of the Prudential Committee to the Board for 1852 and
1853, a hundred important towns and villages are named, into which
the reformation had gained entrance.

Pastor Simon, of the first church in Constantinople, spent a summer
at Aintab; but his absence was the occasion of serious injury to his
own charge; and so it was at Adabazar. Pastor Hohannes, of that
church, with teacher Simon, of Nicomedia, devoted eight months to a
missionary tour through Asia Minor. Their course was by way of
Smyrna and Beirût, to Kessab, Aleppo, Killis, Aintab, Marash, Oorfa,
Albestan, Cesarea, Marsovan, and Samsûn; thence by steamer to
Trebizond; thence to Erzroom, Khanoos, Moosh, Van, Bitlis, and back
again through Diarbekir, Harpoot, Arabkir, Egin, Divrik, Sivas,
Tokat, Amasia, Marsovan, and Samsûn. An inspection of the map will
show that these brethren traversed Asia Minor by three lines,
visiting all its most important places. They spent a considerable
time in many of them, and everywhere found ready listeners to their
message. In numerous places there were inquirers, who needed only
leaders to withstand the fire of persecution.

The mission suffered a sore bereavement in the death of Mrs. Everett
at Constantinople, in December, 1854. She possessed a transparent
and beautiful character, with eminent capacity for usefulness.[1]
Mr. Benjamin also died at Constantinople, the next year, at the age
of forty-four. He was nine years in the mission to Greece. His
labors in the Armenian Mission,--first at Smyrna, and then at
Constantinople,--were mainly through the press, in which he was
eminently useful. He had a clear conviction, in devoting his life to
giving the Armenians an evangelical literature, that he was doing
the work to which his Master called him. Nor did he overrate the
importance of this branch of the work. His missionary experience in
another field was of much value in guarding him against mistakes. At
Pera, in addition to his literary labors, he preached statedly in
modern Greek to a small congregation.[2]

[1] See _The Missionary Sisters_,--Mrs. Everett and Mrs. Hamlin,
--written by Mrs. Benjamin.

[2] See an obituary notice of Mr. Benjamin in the _Missionary
Herald_ for 1855, pp. 142-147.






CHAPTER XXV.

THE ARMENIANS.

1855-1860.


There are times when the movements of armies are evidently made
subservient, in divine Providence, to the progress of the Gospel;
and the history of missions to the Oriental Churches would be
imperfect without some notice of the Crimean war of 1854 and 1855.
The historian of that war has shown, that it originated in the
desire of Nicholas, Czar of Russia, to secure certain rights in the
"holy places" at Jerusalem (in which he was opposed by the Roman
Catholic government of France), and to obtain a formal recognition
of himself as protector of the millions in Turkey professing the
Greek religion.[1] But for the seasonable return to Constantinople
of Lord Stratford de Redcliffe in 1853, there is reason to fear,
that the extraordinary persistence of the Czar might have been
successful, and that the protectorate would have been used to
destroy the evangelical missions.[2]

[1] See volume first of Kinglake's _Invasion of the Crimea_. He
describes very minutely how the English nation was drawn into the
war; but it is not necessary to go into that subject here. The
nation was doubtless much influenced by its desire to uphold the
Turkish government in order to keep open its communication with
India.

[2] Some idea of the spirit in which such a protectorate might have
been exercised, may be obtained from two out of a number of kindred
articles of the Russian Penal Law:

"Article 206. Whoever is found guilty of having induced others to
secede from the Greek Orthodox Confession, and to join another
Christian Church, will be condemned to the loss of the rights of his
social position, to transportation to Tobolsk or Tomsk (Siberia), or
to the punishment of the lash, and one or two years of imprisonment
in the house of correction.

"Article 207. Whoever endeavors, by preaching or writing, to seduce
members of the Orthodox Church to join any other Christian
community, will be punished the first time, with the loss of some of
his special rights, and imprisonment for one or two years in a house
of correction; the second time, with imprisonment in a fortress from
four to six years; the third time, with the loss of all his personal
and social civil rights and status, and transportation for life to
Tobolsk or Tomsk (Siberia), with imprisonment of one or two years."
--_New York Observer_ for August, 1871.

The author was in the interior of Asia Minor a short time while the
Crimean war was in progress, and heard of reports among the
people,--circulated, as was believed, by Russian agents,--that if
Nicholas were victorious, he would secure the withdrawal from Turkey
of Protestant missionaries. Exasperation caused by the failure of
his negotiations with the Sultan, brought on the war; and the fall
of Sebastopol was a more direct benefit to the missions, than it was
to the nations that fought against it. But for the result then
obtained, at vast expense of treasure and life, very different might
have been the prospect of a successful republication of the Gospel
in Bible lands.

The number of missionaries in the Armenian Mission in 1855, was
twenty-six. One of these was an ordained physician, and there was a
physician unordained. There were twenty-eight female assistant
missionaries, three of whom were unmarried. Of the Armenian helpers,
thirteen were pastors and preachers, and sixty-four were
lay-helpers. The stations,--called such because missionaries resided
at them,--were fourteen. Twelve of these were north of the Taurus,
and two were south of that range.

Constantinople, Tocat, and Aintab had each a training-school for
native preachers and helpers, and there was also a girls'
boarding-school at Constantinople; and thirty-eight free schools
were scattered over the field. Nine years after the organization of
the first evangelical church, the number of churches was
twenty-three. The church at Aintab was the largest, containing one
hundred and forty-one members. Kessab, a long day's journey south of
Antioch, where no missionary had ever resided, had a church of
forty-one members. The first edifice for Christian worship in the
Ottoman Empire, erected on a new site, was the stone church at
Aintab. Prior to this, Christians had only been allowed to repair
their old churches, and to rebuild on the old sites. The obtaining
of this new indulgence was probably owing, in a measure, to the
influence of the Crimean war. The dedication service, early in 1855,
was attended by more than twelve hundred persons, and more than
eleven hundred were present on the following Sabbath.

The printing reported for this year amounted to thirty-five thousand
volumes, and nearly five millions of pages, in the Armenian,
Armeno-Turkish, Greek, Greco-Turkish, and Hebrew-Spanish, but
chiefly in Armenian. A religious periodical was issued every two
months called the "Avedaper," or "Messenger." Dr. Dwight was editor
of this, but the general supervision of the press, after the decease
of Mr. Benjamin, devolved on Dr. Riggs.

Octavo and duodecimo editions of the Armenian Bible were going
through the press, as was also an octavo Bible in Greco-Turkish. The
New Testament had been issued in the ancient Armenian, in the Ararat
dialect or Eastern Armenian, in the Ararat and Ancient Armenian in
parallel columns, in the Greco-Turkish, and in the Armeno-Turkish.
The Gospel of Matthew was issued in the Koordish language, and the
Psalms in the Bulgarian. A demand for the Bible in the Turkish
language came from almost every part of the empire.

The book depository was removed from Pera across the Golden Horn
into the old city of Constantinople, and the Moslems made no
objection. More than twenty boxes of books were sent to a single
place in the interior within the space of a year and a half. At one
time two boxes were ready for Diarbekir, one for Cesarea, one for
Aintab, and another for Jerusalem.

In this work the mission was liberally aided by the American, and
the British and Foreign Bible Societies, by the London Religious
Tract Society, the American Tract Society, and more recently by the
Turkish Missions Aid Society. Mr. Barker, agent of the British and
Foreign Bible Society, and the Rev. C. N. Righter, of the American
Bible Society (who died not long after at Diarbekir), did much to
promote the work of Bible distribution in the countries around the
Mediterranean and Black Seas; and the Constantinople Bible Society
employed a French and English colporter among the soldiers of the
allied powers. More Bibles and religious books went into the hands
of Mohammedans from the depository of the mission during the years
1854 and 1855, than in all the previous years of its existence.
Twenty thousand copies of the Bible were scattered through Turkey in
that space of time.

The transfer of Dr. Riggs to the department of the Press made it
necessary to suspend the Greek department in the Seminary at Bebek,
and four of the six Greek pupils were sent to Dr. King at Athens.[1]
Another became a teacher in Demirdesh, and another went to the
United States to complete his professional studies.

[1] The author regrets being obliged to say, that these all
disappointed the expectations of their benefactors.

Five Armenian students had been licensed to preach, and sent to
Adrianople, Cesarea, Sivas, Diarbekir, and Kessab. Another, having
the ministry in prospect, was a teacher in the new training-school
at Tocat, under Mr. Van Lennep. A similar school existed at Aintab.

The accession of missionaries from 1855 to 1860 was as follows: In
1855, Orson P. Allen; in 1856, George A. Pollard, Tillman C.
Trowbridge, and Misses Mary E. Tenney and Sarah E. West; in 1857,
Crosby H. Wheeler, Charles F. Morse, Oliver W. Winchester, Jackson
G. Coffing, George H. White, and Julius Y. Leonard; in 1858,
Theodore Byington, George Washburn, and William Hutchinson; and
Herman N. Barnum, who, being at Constantinople as a traveller, made
an offer of his services, which was accepted in this year; in 1859,
William W. Meriam, Joseph K. Greene, James F. Clarke, George F.
Herrick, and Henry S. West, M. D., and Miss Myra A. Proctor; in
1860, Alvan B. Goodale, M. D., William F. Arms, Zenas Goss, William
W. Livingston, and Lysander T. Burbank. Messrs. Washburn,
Trowbridge, Pettibone, Barnum, Herrick, and Goss came to the mission
unmarried; Mr. Washburn afterwards married a daughter of Dr. Hamlin,
Mr. Barnum a daughter of Dr. Goodell, and Mr. Trowbridge a daughter
of Dr. Riggs.

Mr. Everett, a devoted servant of Christ, was called to his rest on
the 5th of March, 1856, after a sickness of a few days. His orphan
children returned to the United States in charge of Miss Haynes, the
sister of their mother. Messrs. Isaac G. Bliss and Edwin Goodell, in
consequence of the failure of health, were released from their
connection with the Board. The former afterwards recovered his
health, and returned to Turkey as agent of the American Bible
Society, in which capacity he has rendered very valuable service.
Antioch and Aleppo were transferred from the Syrian to the Armenian
Mission. At Erzroom the war drove away, not only the church-members,
but most of those who were interested in the truth. Mr. Richardson
removed to Arabkir to supply the place of Mr. Clark, who had been
called to the seminary at Bebek; left without a teacher by the death
of Mr. Everett and the temporary absence of Dr. Hamlin. At Marash,
in consequence of the war and the proximity of the rough
mountaineers of Zeitoon, the missionaries were at one time in no
small danger.

The beheading of a young Armenian, who had rashly declared himself a
Mohammedan, and then repented of his rashness, and the consequent
successful efforts of Sir Stratford Canning, in procuring a pledge
from the Sultan that no person should be persecuted in Turkey for
his religious opinions, were described in the first volume.[1] This
was in 1843 and 1844. Ten or eleven years later, there was another
beheading at Adrianople for a like cause, and another at Aleppo; and
the same high-minded statesman was again aroused to effort, not only
for a more effectual abrogation of the death penalty itself, but to
obtain for the Protestant Christians freedom from persecution, and
for the Christians generally the privileges that were enjoyed by
their fellow-subjects of the Moslem religion. The eighty folio pages
of documents on the subject, which were presented to both Houses of
Parliament in 1856, form an important and interesting chapter in the
history of those times. The principal writers, in addition to Lord
Stratford de Redcliffe and the Earl of Clarendon, were the Earl of
Shaftesbury, Lord Cowley, Sir Culling Eardley Eardley, President of
the Turkish Missions Aid Society, the Rev. Cuthbert G. Young, its
Secretary, and Mehemet Fuad.

[1] Vol. i. p. 135.

As the result of all, a Hatti Humaïoun, or Imperial Firman, was
issued by the Sultan in February, 1856. When read in public, the
Sheik el Islam, the highest Moslem ecclesiastic, invoked the divine
blessing on the Imperial Edict; but probably without an
apprehension, either by himself or by his government, of the full
significance of the instrument. By many of the Mohammedans it was
regarded us opening the door for them to become Christians. Not a
few of the Armenians and Greeks were displeased with it as favoring
Protestantism; and this fact did not escape the sagacity of
Mohammedans.

The Imperial Rescript, as translated from the French, is as
follows:--

"Let it be done as herein set forth.

"To you, my Grand Vizier, Mehemed Emin Aali Pasha, decorated with my
Imperial Order of the Medjidiyé of the first class, and with the
Order of Personal Merit; may God grant to you greatness, and
increase your power!

"It has always been my most earnest desire to insure the happiness
of all classes of the subjects whom divine Providence has placed
under my imperial sceptre; and since my accession to the throne I
have not ceased to direct all my efforts to the attainment of that
end.

"Thanks to the Almighty, these unceasing efforts have already been
productive of numerous useful results. From day to day the happiness
of the nation and the wealth of my dominions go on augmenting.

"It being now my desire to renew and enlarge still more the new
institutions, ordained with the view of establishing a state of
things conformable with the dignity of my empire and the position
which it occupies among civilized nations; and the rights of my
empire having, by the fidelity and praiseworthy efforts of all my
subjects, and by the kind and friendly assistance of the great
powers, my noble Allies, received from abroad a confirmation which
will be the commencement of a new era, it is my desire to augment
its well-being and prosperity, to effect the happiness of all my
subjects, who in my sight are all equal and equally dear to me, and
who are united to each other by the cordial ties of patriotism, and
to insure the means of daily increasing the prosperity of my empire.
I have, therefore, resolved upon, and I order the execution of, the
following measures.

"The guaranties promised on our part by the Hatti-Humaïoun of
Gul-Hané, and in conformity with the Tanzimat, to all the subjects
of my empire, without distinction of classes or of religion, for the
security of their persons and property and the preservation of their
honor, are to-day confirmed and consolidated; and efficacious
measures shall be taken in order that they may have their full and
entire effect.

"All the privileges and spiritual immunities granted by my ancestors
_ab antiquo_, and at subsequent dates, to all Christian communities
or other non-Mussulman persuasions established in my empire under my
protection, shall be confirmed and maintained.

"Every Christian or other non-Mussulman community shall be bound,
within a fixed period, and with the concurrence of a commission
composed _ad hoc_ of members of its own body, to proceed, with my
high approbation and under the inspection of my Sublime Porte, to
examine into its actual immunities and privileges, and to discuss
and submit to my Sublime Porte the reforms required by the progress
of civilization and of the age. The powers conceded to the Christian
Patriarchs and Bishops by the Sultan Mahomet II. and his successors,
shall be made to harmonize with the new position which my generous
and beneficent intentions insure to these communities.

"The principle of nominating the Patriarchs for life, after the
revision of the rules of election now in force, shall be exactly
carried out, conformably to the tenor of their firmans of
investiture.

"The Patriarchs, Metropolitans, Archbishops, Bishops and Rabbins
shall take an oath on their entrance into office, according to a
form agreed upon in common by my Sublime Porte and the spiritual
heads of the different religious communities. The ecclesiastical
dues, of whatever sort or nature they be, shall be abolished, and
replaced by fixed revenues for the Patriarchs and heads of
communities, and by the allocation of allowances and salaries
equitably proportioned to the importance of the rank, and the
dignity of the different members of the clergy.

"The property, real or personal, of the different Christian
ecclesiastics shall remain intact; the temporal administration of
the Christian or other non-Mussulman communities shall, however, be
placed under the safeguard of an assembly to be chosen from among
the members, both ecclesiastics and laymen, of the said communities.

"In the towns, small boroughs, and villages, where the whole
population is of the same religion, no obstacle shall be offered to
the repair, according to their original plan, of buildings set apart
for religious worship, for schools, for hospitals and for
cemeteries.

"The plans of these different buildings, in case of their new
erection, must, after having been approved by the Patriarchs or
heads of communities, be submitted to my Sublime Porte, which will
approve of them by my imperial order, or make known its observation
upon them within a certain time.

"Each sect, in localities where there are no other religious
denominations, shall be free from every species of restraint as
regards the public exercise of its religion.

"In the towns, small boroughs, and villages, where different sects
are mingled together, each community inhabiting a distinct quarter
shall, by conforming to the above-mentioned ordinances, have equal
power to repair and improve its churches, its hospitals, its
schools, and its cemeteries. When there is question of the erection
of new buildings, the necessary authority must be asked for, through
the medium of the Patriarchs and heads of communities, from my
Sublime Porte, which will pronounce a sovereign decision according
to that authority, except in the case of administrative obstacles.
The intervention of the administrative authority in all measures of
this nature will be entirely gratuitous. My Sublime Porte will take
energetic measures to insure to each sect, whatever be the number of
its adherents, entire freedom in the exercise of its religion.

"Every distinction or designation tending to make any class whatever
of the subjects of my empire inferior to another class, on account
of their religion, language, or race, shall be forever effaced from
the administrative protocol. The laws shall be put in force against
the use of any injurious or offensive term, either among private
individuals or on the part of the authorities.

"As all forms of religion are and shall be freely professed in my
dominions, no subject of my empire shall be hindered in the exercise
of the religion that he professes, nor shall be in any way annoyed
on this account. No one shall be compelled to change their religion.

"The nomination and choice of all functionaries and other employés
of my empire being wholly dependent upon my sovereign will, all the
subjects of my empire, without distinction of nationality, shall be
admissible to public employments, and qualified to fill them
according to their capacity and merit, and conformably with rules to
be generally applied.

"All the subjects of my empire, without distinction, shall be
received into the civil and military schools of the government, if
they otherwise satisfy the conditions as to age and examination
which are specified in the organic regulations of the said schools.
Moreover, every community is authorized to establish public schools
of science, art, and industry. Only the method of instruction and
the choice of professors in schools of this class shall be under the
control of a mixed council of public instruction, the members of
which shall be named by my sovereign command.

"All commercial, correctional, and criminal suits between Mussulmans
and Christian or other non-Mussulman subjects, or between Christians
or other non-Mussulmans of different sects, shall be referred to
mixed tribunals.

"The proceedings of these tribunals shall be public; the parties
shall be confronted, and shall produce their witnesses, whose
testimony shall be received, without distinction, upon an oath taken
according to the religious law of each sect.

"Suits relating to civil affairs shall continue to be publicly
tried, according to the laws and regulations before the mixed
provincial councils, in the presence of the governor and judge of
the place. Special civil proceedings, such as those relating to
successions or others of that kind, between subjects of the same
Christian or other non-Mussulman faith, may, at the request of the
parties, be sent before the councils of the Patriarchs or of the
communities.

"Penal, correctional, and commercial laws, and rules of procedure
for the mixed tribunals, shall be drawn up as soon as possible, and
formed into a code. Translations of them shall be published in all
the languages current in the empire.

"Proceedings shall be taken with as little delay as possible, for
the reform of the penitentiary system as applied to houses of
detention, punishment, or correction, and other establishments of
like nature, so as to reconcile the rights of humanity with those of
justice. Corporal punishment shall not be administered, even in the
prisons, except in conformity with the disciplinary regulations
established by my Sublime Porte; and everything that resembles
torture shall be entirely abolished.

"Infractions of the law in this particular shall be severely
repressed, and shall besides entail, as of right, the punishment, in
conformity with the civil code, of the authorities who may order,
and of the agents who may commit them.

"The organization of the police in the capital, in the provincial
towns, and in the rural districts, shall be revised in such a manner
as to give to all the peaceable subjects of my empire the strongest
guaranties for the safety both of their persons and property.

"The equality of taxes entailing equality of burdens, as equality of
duties entails that of rights, Christian subjects, and those of
other non-Mussulman sects, as it has been already decided, shall, as
well as Mussulmans, be subject to the obligations of the Law of
Recruitment. The principle of obtaining substitutes, or of
purchasing exemption, shall be admitted. A complete law shall be
published, with as little delay as possible, respecting the
admission into and service in the army of Christian and other
non-Mussulman subjects.

"Proceedings shall be taken for a reform in the constitution of the
provincial and communal councils, in order to insure fairness in the
choice of the deputies of the Mussulman, Christian, and other
communities, and freedom of voting in the councils. My Sublime Porte
will take into consideration the adoption of the most effectual
means for ascertaining exactly and for controlling the result of the
deliberations of the decisions arrived at.

"As the laws regulating the purchase, sale, and disposal of real
property are common to all the subjects of my empire, it shall be
lawful for foreigners to possess landed property in my dominions,
conforming themselves to the laws and police regulations, and
bearing the same charges as the native inhabitants, and after
arrangements have been come to with foreign powers.

"The taxes are to be levied under the same denomination from all the
subjects of my empire, without distinction of class or of religion.
The most prompt and energetic means for remedying the abuses in
collecting the taxes, and especially the tithes, shall be
considered. The system of direct collection shall gradually, and as
soon as possible, be substituted for the plan of farming, in all the
branches of the revenues of the State. As long as the present system
remains in force, all agents of the government and all members of
the medjlis shall be forbidden, under the severest penalties, to
become lessees of any farming contracts which are announced for
public competition, or to have any beneficial interest in carrying
them out. The local taxes shall, as far as possible, be so imposed
as not to affect the sources of production, or to hinder the
progress of internal commerce.

"Works of public utility shall receive a suitable endowment, part of
which shall be raised from private and special taxes, levied in the
provinces which shall have the benefit of the advantages arising
from the establishment of ways of communication by land and sea.

"A special law having been already passed, which declares that the
budget of the revenue and expenditure of the state shall be drawn up
and made known every year, the said law shall be most scrupulously
observed. Proceedings shall be taken for revising the emoluments
attached to each office.

"The heads of each community and a delegate, designated by my
Sublime Porte, shall be summoned to take part in the deliberations
of the Supreme Council of Justice on all occasions which might
interest the generality of the subjects of my empire. They shall be
summoned specially for this purpose by my Grand Vizier. The
delegates shall hold office for one year; they shall be sworn on
entering upon their duties. All the members of the council, at the
ordinary and extraordinary meetings, shall freely give their
opinions and their votes, and no one shall ever annoy them on this
account.

"The laws against corruption, extortion, or malversation, shall
apply, according to the legal forms, to all the subjects of my
empire, whatever may be their class and the nature of their duties.

"Steps shall be taken for the formation of banks and other similar
institutions, so as to effect a reform in the monetary and financial
system, as well as to create funds to be employed in augmenting the
sources of the material wealth of my empire.

"Steps shall also be taken for the formation of roads and canals to
increase the facilities of communication and increase the sources of
the wealth of the country. Everything that can impede commerce or
agriculture shall be abolished. To accomplish these objects, means
shall be sought to profit by the science, the art, and the funds of
Europe, and thus gradually to execute them.

"Such being my wishes and my commands, you, who are my Grand Vizier,
will, according to custom, cause this Imperial Firman to be
published in my capital, and in all parts of my empire; and you will
watch attentively and take all the necessary measures that all the
orders which it contains be henceforth carried out with the most
rigorous punctuality."

Lord Stratford, in replying to a congratulatory address from the
missionaries, declared his agreement with them in the opinion, that
something great had been gained; though he believed the principles
involved would require persevering efforts to carry them into
practice. He said that he was himself but an humble instrument in
the hands of divine Providence, and that he had never felt the hand
of God so sensibly in any other measure he had carried through, as
in this, which, after he had given it up for lost, had succeeded all
at once, in a way that filled him with astonishment.[1]

[1] That the Hatti Humaïoun was really intended to include the death
penalty, is made exceedingly probable by the official correspondence
which preceded it, and which was in fact its procuring cause. Only a
few brief extracts can be given in this note.

Referring to the punishment of death as applied to apostates from
Islamism, the Earl of Clarendon, English Minister of Foreign
Affairs, writes thus to Lord Stratford de Redcliffe: "As the Turkish
empire is, by treaty stipulations, to be declared part and parcel of
the European system, it is quite impossible for the powers of Europe
to acquiesce in the continuance in Turkey of a law, and a practice,
which is a standing insult to every other nation in Europe."

Again, on the 17th of September, 1853, the Earl of Clarendon writes
thus to Lord Stratford: "Her Majesty's Government distinctly demands
that no punishment whatever shall attach to the Mohammedan who
becomes a Christian, whether originally a Mohammedan, or originally
a Christian, any more than any punishment attaches to a Christian
who embraces Mohammedanism. In all such cases the movements of human
conscience must be left free, and the temporal arm must not
interfere to coerce the spiritual decision."

Referring to the Imperial Rescript, February 12, 1856, Lord
Stratford says, writing to the Earl:--

"If no one is to be molested on account of the religion he
professes, and no one to be punished as a renegade, whatever form of
faith he denies, I do not see what room there can possibly be for
any practical persecutions in future within the limits of the
Sultan's empire." See _Correspondence respecting Christian
Privileges in Turkey, in Parliamentary Papers for_ 1856, pp. 15, 24,
25, 33, 55, 60, 66, 67, 77-80.

The plenipotentiaries of Great Britain, Austria, France, Russia,
Sardinia, and Turkey, assembled in February, 1856, at the close of
the Crimean war, to negotiate what is known as the Treaty of Paris.
It is evident from the Protocols of their Conference, that, having
the Earl of Clarendon and Lord Cowley among them, they were intent
on giving weight and perpetuity to this firman of the Sultan, by a
formal recognition of it in the treaty. This was done in article
ninth, after much deliberation, and with the full concurrence of all
the plenipotentiaries, including the representative of the
Sultan.[1]

[1] "NINTH ARTICLE. His Imperial Majesty the Sultan, having, in his
constant solicitude for the welfare of his subjects, issued a
firman, which, while, ameliorating their condition without
distinction of religion or race, records his generous intentions
towards the Christian population of his empire, and wishing to give
a further proof of his sentiments in that respect, has resolved to
communicate to the Contracting Parties the said firman, emanating
spontaneously from his sovereign will.

"The Contracting Powers recognize the high value of this
communication. It is clearly understood, that it cannot, in any
case, give to said Powers the right to interfere, either
collectively or separately, in the relations of his Majesty, the
Sultan, with his subjects, nor in the internal administration of his
Empire." See _Treaty of Paris_, March 30, 1856, in _Parliamentary
State Papers_, vol. lxi. p. 20. Also, appended, _Protocols of
Conferences_, pp. 8, 13, 51, 57, 58.

The Hatti Humaïoun of 1855 was much more than a confirmation of the
Imperial Firman of 1850, nor was it a dead letter. A year afterwards
Dr. Jewett, while admitting that it was inefficient in certain
respects, declared it to have been in an important sense, a
quickening spirit. "Never," he says, "within the same space of time,
has there been as much religious discussion with the Mussulmans as
since the issue of the late firman, and never before, I think, has
there been such a spirit of religious inquiry among Mohammedans, and
readiness to discuss the merits of the Christian religion, as has
been evident during the past year. It has awakened hope of a good
day even for the Moslems." A few years later, Dr. Goodell, speaking
of it says: "To the Protestant communities here, and to all who live
godly in Christ Jesus, this Hatti Humaïoun is a boon of priceless
value. Heretofore its principal use was to secure us from the
molestation of these corrupt churches, but we have now begun to test
its importance with reference to the Mohammedans themselves. Only a
few years since, the headless bodies of apostates from the
Mohammedan faith might be seen lying in the streets of the great
city. But now such apostates may be seen at all hours of the day
walking these same streets without any apparent danger, urging the
claims of Christianity even in the very courts of the royal mosques,
and teaching and preaching in the chapel, in the private circle, and
sometimes even in the palaces of the great, that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father. And all this wonderful
security is, under God, owing entirely to the Hatti Humaïoun." He
adds, "It is said that the Turkish government is sometimes guilty of
violating some of the great principles of that document. And who
that knows anything of human nature, or of the history of our race,
ever supposed they would not be guilty of it? To suppose the
contrary would be to suppose the Turk advanced very much farther
towards perfection than any other nation on the face of the earth."

A correspondence arose, about this time, in the old Armenian Church,
between those who inclined towards the Papal Church and those who
were opposed, and it was gratifying to see that the principal
Armenian newspaper, published under the sanction of the Patriarch,
drew its arguments almost wholly from the Scriptures, scarcely
anything being said of the Councils, or of the Fathers.

The out-stations of Nicomedia, Adabazar, Rodosto, Baghchejuk, and
Broosa were prosperous. A Protestant Greek community at Demirdesh
stood firm under persecution, though without a spiritual guide. The
Pasha did little for their protection, but divine Providence had
other instruments for their deliverance. The French Vice Consul,
having to feed immense herds of cattle for the French army, selected
the principal Greek Protestant of the place as the most competent
overseer, and empowered him to employ the needful agents. This
brought to his feet some who had beaten him and even threatened him
with death. He freely employed them and paid them honestly, thus
returning good for evil.

The training-school at Tocat was composed of pious young men who
made considerable progress in their studies. A footing was gained at
Tarsus and Bitias, south of the Taurus range, and a native pastor
was ordained at Kessab. Here was a Protestant community of more than
four hundred.

At Aintab and in its neighboring villages, after only nine years of
labor, there were twelve stated religious services, nearly half of
them conducted by native preachers, two thousand Protestants, old
and young, two hundred and sixty-eight church-members, a large
congregation on the Sabbath, three promising young men in the
pastoral office, and two more prepared for that office. The year
1856 was one of unbroken prosperity in all temporal concerns at
Aintab. The influence of this prosperity, however, had its usual
effect in developing a love of the world, and a feeling of
self-consequence, resulting in some perplexities within the church.
Such results are known in much older communities, and ought to be
expected in the early religious life of such a people. Between the
pastor Kara Krikor and his people there was all that could be
expected of mutual confidence and harmony, and his monthly salary
was paid with a promptness unusual in such cases.

The death of Mrs. Schneider on the 29th of September was a great
loss to the mission. This excellent woman had an earnest desire for
the salvation of every one she met, and old and young listened with
pleasure to her instructions. It became known, soon after her
decease, that three or four small companies of native sisters had
begun of their own accord to hold meetings in various quarters. The
progress among the women of Aintab had been great. When the first
missionary arrived, only one woman was known who was able to read.
It was now ascertained that nearly three hundred could read the New
Testament.

The boarding-school pupils at Constantinople received a pupil this
year from each of the following places--Trebizond, Diarbekir,
Rodosto, Haskeuy, Scutari, and Baghchejuk. The chief difficulty in
teaching was the want of suitable text-books in the modern language.
In addition to the usual studies, the pupils were allowed an
opportunity to acquaint themselves with domestic duties, and they
did it in most cases with hearty good-will. Dr. Goodell exercised a
fatherly care over the institution.

During most of the year Mr. Clark had charge of the Seminary at
Bebek. The prescribed course of study embraced four years in the
scholastic department and three in the theological, and was designed
to secure to the pupils a systematic training. The qualifications
required for entering, raised the character of the common schools
connected with the mission. During vacations the students were
required to support themselves. The average number was forty-five,
and it was necessary to reject no less than sixty applicants, mainly
from inability to support them. Among them were Bulgarians,
Albanians, Wallachians, and Servians. Seven students were in the
theological department, and three others went through a part of the
course, one of whom was a Turk, and another a Greek. Dr. Hamlin gave
instruction in this department after his return, assisted by Dr.
Schauffler in Turkish. Nine of the students in the seminary were
church-members, and others gave evidence of piety.

The growth of the Armenian Mission, along with its great extent, of
territory, required a division for the more convenient
administration of its affairs. Hence a Southern Armenian Mission was
organized in November, 1856, having the Taurus for its boundary on
the north, and embracing the stations of Aintab, Marash, Antioch,
Aleppo, and Oorfa. Its printing was to be done at Constantinople.
The members of this mission were Messrs. Schneider, Pratt, Beebee,
Perkins, Morgan, Nutting, Cotting, and White. The field of the
Northern Mission extended from the Balkans in European Turkey to the
eastern waters of the Euphrates.

The "Turkish Missions Aid Society" was formed in England in 1854;
"not to originate a new mission, but to aid the existing evangelical
missions in the Turkish empire, especially American." The funds
contributed to the American missions were given expressly for a
Native Agency; and important aid has thus been rendered down to the
present time. The funds of the Society having suffered diminution in
1857, Dr. Dwight was invited to visit England. He arrived in March
of the following year, and visited the principal cities, in company
with the Secretary. "I was everywhere received," says Dr. Dwight,
"with the most overflowing kindness, and my simple story was
listened to with the most intense interest. Clergymen and laymen of
all evangelical denominations were usually present at the meetings,
which were held on week days, and I saw nowhere anything like a
sectarian spirit, but uniformly the very reverse. Ministers of the
Church of England, as well as others, publicly advocated the plan of
aiding the American Mission in Turkey, rather than sending forth a
mission of their own." Valuable as the coöperation of this Society
has been in the bestowment of funds, its moral influence in Turkey,
as a visible illustration of fraternal feeling among Protestant
Christians of various names and countries has been of far greater
value.[1]

[1] The aid afforded by the Turkish Missions Aid Society to the
missions of the Board in Western Asia, has averaged about ten
thousand dollars a year.

An account was given, in a former chapter, of the conversion, in
1842, of a "Papal Armenian.[1] His name was Bedros Kamaghielyan, and
his death occurred in 1857, fifteen years afterward. His conversion
was remarkable, and so was his subsequent life. He was for some
years an efficient helper at Salonica among the Jews, and ever after
that, he was a successful assistant of Dr. Dwight in Constantinople.
Eminently wise to win souls to Christ, it is believed that many,
among the different races in Turkey, will rise up and call him
blessed. The first Turkish convert who became a preacher, received
his first impressions from Bedros at Salonica. Years later, the
missionaries learned that the origin of an interesting work of grace
among the Greeks of Cassandra, in that region, was traceable to him.
Though suffering from bodily infirmity in the later years of his
life, his labors were unceasing for the salvation of souls, and for
the edification of the church. He was noted for his humility and
self-denial, and his piety was a steady glow of light. His views of
the gospel method of salvation were clear, and his manner of
presenting it exceedingly happy. He was eminently a peacemaker in
the church, and his good sense was in constant demand in the
settlement of difficulties. As a deacon in the Yeni Kapoo church he
was constantly looking after the sick and infirm, visiting families
in the Protestant community, and instructing their women in the
doctrines and duties of Christianity. When attacked by his last
sickness, Bedros very soon received the impression that it would be
fatal. Once, in great bodily suffering, he exclaimed, "O, what a
Saviour is my Saviour! He scatters all my darkness, and gives me
peace." At another time, he wished the missionaries might all be
called to his bedside, that he might declare to them his great joy,
and what things the Lord was doing for his soul. A Mohammedan of
some distinction, who had often had religious conversations with
Bedros, called upon him without knowing of his sickness. The sick
man, though in extreme bodily weakness, spoke very faithfully to his
visitor, and told him of his joy in view of death, and his hope of
going to be forever with the Lord Jesus Christ, and added: "This is
the only way of peace and salvation, and Christ is the only Saviour
of sinners for you, and for me, and for all the world." The eyes of
the Turk filled with tears. He had never seen a Christian die
before; and to hear a man talk with so much gladness of his
departure from the world overcame him, and he hurried from the room.
An aged Moslem called, who had known Bedros, and gave some evidence
of being a Christian. Going to his bedside, his eyes streaming with
tears, he embraced and kissed him in the most affectionate manner.
Dr. Dwight closes his statement with the following testimony: "Thus
has passed away one of the choicest spirits this world ever saw. I
feel that I have many lessons to learn from his quiet, humble, and
most useful life; and I trust that his death may be greatly blessed
to all the missionaries, and to all the people."

[1] Chapter ix. p. 130. See, also, _Missionary Herald_, 1857, pp.
387-390.

The second Mrs. Hamlin died suddenly, on the 6th of November, 1857.
Though not permitted to give her dying testimony, the record of her
life was that of a meek, lowly, and quiet spirit; diligent,
faithful, and affectionate in every duty.[1]

[1] See Memoir, _The Missionary Sisters_, written by Mrs. Benjamin.

The region, of which Arabkir is the centre, was now rising in
importance. The territory dependent on this station for instruction
extended from northeast and southwest, along the western bank of the
Euphrates, one hundred and seventy-five miles, with a population of
one hundred thousand; about equally divided between Armenians and
Mussulmans, with few Greeks, no Roman Catholics, and no Jews. A
large number of the Mussulmans were known as Kuzzelbashes. The field
was first occupied in 1853, and churches had been organized in three
cities and two villages, all of which enjoyed the stated preaching
of the Word.

Sivas, west of Arabkir, and Tocat on the northwest, were missionary
centres of populous fields, extensively accessible; the former
containing a population of more than a hundred thousand, and the
latter of nearly half a million,--Armenians, Turks, Kuzzelbashes,
Koords, and Greeks.

Harpoot lies cast of Arabkir, on the other side of the Euphrates.
Mr. Dunmore commenced this station in 1855, and was alone in this
city of twenty-five thousand inhabitants; the failure of his wife's
health having obliged her to return to the United States. He had
been usefully employed here nearly three years,--the last with
Messrs. Wheeler and Allen,--when, having a taste for exploration and
pioneer labors, he was transferred, in 1858, to Erzroom, with
special reference to the region south of that city; and Messrs.
Wheeler and Allen were joined at Harpoot, in 1859, by Mr. H. N.
Barnum. The city is the centre of a population of about one hundred
thousand, and stands on a lofty hill, looking to the distant range
of the Taurus on the south, and scores of villages on the
intervening plain. Northward, across the eastern branch of the
Euphrates, is the still loftier range of the Anti-Taurus; while the
distant horizon to the east and west is shut in by mountains.
Arabkir was occupied for several years by Messrs. Clark, Pollard,
and Richardson, but in 1865 was included in the Harpoot field.[1]

[1] Mr. Wheeler's _Ten Years on the Euphrates_.

Geghi is about ninety miles from Harpoot, in the direction of
Erzroom. It was visited by Mr. Peabody and Mr. Bliss in 1848 and
1851. Mr. Peabody found the Vartabed of the place and ten of the
people deeply interested in reading the Scriptures. Mr. Wheeler
visited Geghi in the summer of 1858 and found the truth much
opposed, but taking a firm hold among the sixteen hundred Armenians
of the place. He was touched by their earnest entreaties to remain
with them a few mouths; or if that might not be, that he would leave
his native helper till some one else could come among them. As with
the Apostle Paul at Troas, the eagerness of the people to hear led
him to protract his labors on one occasion, till an hour and a half
past midnight, and on another till the breaking day.

The year 1859 was signalized by a revival in the Bebek Seminary. At
its commencement, nearly half the students were regarded as
hopefully pious, and these all seemed at once to have new views of
spiritual things. The Holy Spirit not only revived the graces of
such, but put forth a converting power. Within a few weeks nearly
all the students gave credible evidence of piety. There were several
cases, also, of hopeful conversion in the girls' boarding school;
and similar awakenings were reported at Marsovan, Yozgat,
Baghchejuk, Broosa, and Marash. At the last place thirty-seven were
added to the church at one time, making eighty-six by profession
since the beginning of 1858.

Mr. Parsons had received frequent complaints from the brethren of
Nicomedia, that their girls had not been properly cared for by the
teacher, and from the teacher that the brethren were intermeddling.
He answered by withdrawing all aid until they could agree among
themselves. The effect was immediate. They began to pay a tuition
fee, and made special efforts to render the school attractive. The
number of pupils was increased to seventy-eight, and the school
ceased any longer to need aid.

A fire destroyed the mission premises at Tocat in 1859. The flames
were so rapid as not only to consume the buildings, but the clothing
and bedding of the pupils, the books and apparatus of the school, a
portion of the furniture of Messrs. Pettibone and Winchester, who
had been recently placed at the head of the school, and all the
effects of Mr. Van Lennep, including a large and valuable library,
and a manuscript Armenian translation of a commentary on the Bible,
made, and to have been printed, at the expense of the Prince of
Schönberg. In view of this calamity, it was deemed expedient to
close the training-school. A similar one was opened in the fall of
the same year, at Harpoot. Mr. Clark returning to the United States,
Dr. Hamlin renewed his connection with the Bebek Seminary.

Mr. Dunmore, after describing a tour he had made of twelve hundred
miles from Erzroom to Oroomiah in Persia, and from thence, on his
return, through Russian Armenia, gives the following summary of his
missionary travels: "I have travelled on horseback over six thousand
miles in Turkey, and one thousand in Persia and Russia, between two
and three hundred on goat skins upon the Tigris, and over fifteen
hundred by steamer, without sickness by the way, without accident,
or the loss of an article of value. And I have never taken a guard
when travelling alone, for protection from robbers. Surely we may
safely trust Him who says: 'Believe in God, believe also in me.'"[1]

[1] _Missionary Herald_ for 1859, pp. 306-313.

The missionaries at Cesarea were much encouraged by the progress of
the work there. Mr. Leonard thus writes: "The church, though
constantly dismissing members to other churches, still maintains its
numbers by fresh accessions from without, and is at the same time
evidently advancing in consistent, intelligent Christian character.
Here are some noble exemplars of faith and piety, who search the
Scriptures daily, and adorn their doctrines by a godly life. I have
often wished I might introduce some of our American friends into our
teachers' meetings on a Sabbath afternoon, or to the Sabbath-school
at the intermission of public worship, where nearly the whole
congregation remains, exhibiting a zeal and aptness in the
discussion of religious truths scarcely surpassed in the most
favored churches in New England. The weekly woman's prayer-meeting
is sometimes left entirely in the hands of the native sisters, and
any one of half a dozen is always ready without embarrassment to
take the lead, discoursing very appropriately from her Turkish
Testament. This, I am told, is a rare thing in Turkey, where woman
has been so long held in ignorance and degradation."

The reader will remember the Patriarch Matteos, and his degradation
in 1849. After ten years passed in retirement, he was elected
Catholikos of all the Armenians, and removed to Echmiadzin. His
election to such a post at this time was significant, but the
probability of his being able then to hinder the reformation did not
create serious apprehension.

Mrs. Beebee died peacefully at Marash, on the 28th of October, 1858,
after protracted sufferings, and her husband returned some months
after to the United States with broken health, and was released from
his connection with the Board.






CHAPTER XXVI.

THE ARMENIANS.

1860-1861.


The fleets and armies of Europe had retired, and the Turk felt in a
measure freed from a troublesome guardianship; which had, however,
greatly promoted both religion and reform in Turkey. The fact that
the war had materially weakened Russian influence at the Porte, may
have been among the reasons that induced England now to relax its
hold on the government of the Sultan. As a consequence, French
diplomacy was decidedly in the ascendant, and lent its influence to
promote Papal schemes. "The Armenians," writes a well informed
missionary, "accept a declaration of the Bible as ultimate, and as
the Protestant missionaries made the Bible the basis of all their
work, and accustomed the people to refer to it for authority in all
spiritual matters, the Papists have been shut up to the use of
political measures to gain adherents. This they have done by
espousing the cause of any party in litigation on condition that he
should register himself a Roman Catholic. This influence was very
powerful throughout the country, as it was supported by the
intervention of the French embassy, and led to violence and
persecution in various parts of the empire, especially at Mardin,
where the papal power was comparatively strong."

Anticipating the history, it may be said, that the Franco-German war
changed all this. The Turkish government then no longer feared the
French, and hence no longer lent itself to Papal intrigues. The
dogma of the Papal Infallibility has been also a severe blow to the
Oriental Papacy.

No one was more competent than Dr. Dwight to testify concerning the
state of religious opinions among the Armenians of the metropolis.
Writing in February, 1860, he said it would be hard to find an
intelligent Armenian in Constantinople, unless among the
ecclesiastics, who did not acknowledge that there were many errors
in the Armenian Church, and that the evangelical system was the
best.

About the game time, he found a great change for the better at
Rodosto, on the northern shore of the Sea of Marmora. The
evangelical brethren had suffered many indignities from the
Armenians, but now even the magnates were disposed to cultivate
friendly relations with them. This he attributed, in great measure,
to the wise and yet firm demeanor of Apraham, the native preacher,
who afterwards became pastor of the Rodosto church. He was a native
of the place, and was once a deacon in the old Armenian Church, and
a candidate for the offices of vartabed and bishop. His first
knowledge of the truth was gained while in the Armenian monastery at
Jerusalem. From thence he came to Bebek, where he studied theology.
He was an exception to the rule, that a prophet has no honor in his
own country, for without compromising the truth, he had gained the
respect of all. He showed his missionary friend a list of eighty
families, upon which he called in regular order. Though most of them
belonged to the old Armenian Church, they received him kindly. The
missionary called with him upon two of these families prominent in
the Armenian community, in one of which they spent an entire
evening. A copy of the Bible, in the modern language, was in the
house, and was brought forward, read, and commented upon, just as if
this had been a Protestant family.

Dr. Dwight attended the examination of the Protestant school at
Rodosto. More than half of the pupils were from non-Protestant
families; and an audience of two hundred and fifty expressed very
general satisfaction with the attainments of the pupils. On the
Sabbath he administered the Lord's Supper. A large number not
connected with the church, were present, and gave close attention to
the preaching. Many must have come from mere curiosity, but the
missionary never preached with greater certainty that he had the
sympathies of his audience.

In the following July, events showed that the new influences had in
some way reached all classes of Armenians in the metropolis. An aged
Protestant died and his body was borne by his friends to an Armenian
cemetery, which hitherto had been open to all bearing the Christian
name. Now, however, a mob, composed of the very lowest class of
Armenians, seized the coffin, and forcibly carried it out of the
burying-ground, where it remained four days. The mob increased to
thousands, and kept possession of the ground day and night. The
American and English Ambassadors were at length roused, and
remonstrated with the Porte and the Patriarch. The burial was
assented to, and the Seraskier, or Minister of War, came with
several hundred troops. A place was selected for the grave within
the cemetery, but the mob, at the first blow of the pickaxe, rushed
forward with a savage yell. The troops were ordered to resist, but
not to fire. After twenty or thirty had been wounded, the mob fell
back. The Patriarch and other dignitaries of the Armenian Church now
came upon the ground, and gave their sanction to the spot selected
for the burial, and the grave was dug. Just then the Seraskier, for
some unexplained reason, ordered the grave to be filled, and another
to be dug outside of the cemetery, in the middle of the public
highway. The Protestants declined taking part in the burial in such
a spot, though entreated to do so by the Seraskier, but remained and
looked on in silence, while Mussulmans dug the grave, put the coffin
into it, and filled it up. As soon as this was done, the mob rushed
forward and trampled spitefully upon it, in the presence of the
Pasha and Patriarch. The representatives of the Protestant powers
now united in a strong remonstrance to the government; and Stepan
Effendi, the civil head of the Protestants, was speedily notified,
that ground would be given them for cemeteries wherever Protestants
were found.

A native assistant died at Baghchejuk, near Nicomedia, early in the
year, who had from the beginning been intimately connected with the
work in that place, and was called the "prince of colporters," on
account of his success in distributing the Scriptures. Being by
nature an earnest man, when converted he became zealous in
disseminating the truth. As he was respected through all the region,
there was great anxiety among the Armenians to regain him, and an
ex-Patriarch visited Baghchejuk, in the hope of bringing him back.
Promises and threats were equally vain, and the storm of persecution
finally burst upon him. His vineyards and mulberry orchards were cut
down, and much of his property was wrested from him. He was beaten
and stoned, and his name cast out as vile. When they were building
the church he brought a basket full of stones and brick-bats, which
had been thrown through his windows, to be incorporated in the
foundation wall. He described the effect of persecution in his own
case, thus: "The truth in my heart was like a stake slightly driven
into soft ground, easily swayed, and in danger of falling before the
wind; but by the sledge-hammer of persecution God drove it in till
it became immovable." "His working power," says Mr. Parsons, the
resident missionary, "like everything else in his possession, was
consecrated to Christ. With great self-denial on his part, two
hundred piasters a month (about eight dollars) enabled him to give
all his time to street preaching, and the sale of the Scriptures. As
a bookseller he was eminently faithful and successful. Not contented
with sitting in the book-stall waiting for purchasers, he used to
shoulder a basket of books, and go through the streets and lanes of
town and city, offering for sale the 'Holy Book;' the 'Book that
would not lie;' the 'Infallible Guide;' and proclaiming, in
a loud voice, its divine origin, man's need of it, and its
light-and-life-giving power. This he did as time and strength
permitted, from Broosa to Angora, and from Bilijik to the Black Sea.
He everywhere either carried with him, or had near at hand, a supply
of Bibles in the Turkish, Armenian, Greek, and Jewish languages.
Probably not less than one hundred thousand persons have heard from
him the proffer of the word of life."

"The word of God," continues Mr. Parsons, "was his constant
companion. He was so familiar with it, that he could turn with
facility to any passage desired. He walked with God. He was a man of
prayer. His happiest moments were seasons of devotion--private,
social, and public. I should say, rather, that next to the work of
bringing others to Christ, his delight was in prayer and praise. He
has rested from his labors, but his works do follow him. Before he
died, he could rejoice in a rich harvest from his own sowing, but a
greater harvest is yet to be reaped from the seed so widely
scattered by his hand. He has gone, a sheaf of the first-fruits of
the work in Baghchejuk. He 'came to his grave as a shock of corn
cometh in in his season.'"

Mr. E. E. Bliss passed through Marsovan on his way to Harpoot, and
found that the rampant hostility of eight years before had died
out.[1] Instead of the hootings and stonings, which then greeted his
arrival, he was met, a long way out, by a goodly company to escort
him to his lodgings. On the Sabbath, in place of the little company
assembled in a lower room of his own house, he now preached to a
good audience, in a large and commodious chapel.

[1] See chapter xxiv.

"I spent," he says, "a few days at Sivas, where I was eight years
ago, and found the small room, where ten or fifteen then met for
God's worship, exchanged for a large upper room, filled with an
audience of more than a hundred. And as we went onward to places we
had never before visited, it was a continual feast to see the extent
to which the work of God had spread in the whole country. In almost
every place where we stopped for the night, however obscure the
village, some would gather around us as brethren in the Lord. They
were often coarsely dressed and rude of speech, undistinguishable in
appearance from the mass around them; but a few words of
conversation would show that their souls had been illuminated by the
truth."

The annual meeting of the Northern Armenian Mission for 1860, was
held at Harpoot, east of the Euphrates, seven hundred and fifty
miles from Constantinople. And it was a significant fact, that the
delegates from the metropolis were able to communicate with their
families over the telegraph wires, destined to connect London with
Calcutta.

The distance from the capital, and of the stations from each other
was so great, as to render it difficult to assemble in the annual
meetings, that were indispensable for an effective administration.
At this meeting, what had been known as the Northern Mission, was
divided into Western and Eastern, and Erzroom, Harpoot, and Arabkir
composed the Eastern Mission. The Southern Mission then took the
name of the Central; and the stations of the Assyria Mission were
united to the Eastern. It will be convenient to use the names
Western, Central, and Eastern in designating territory, but we
shall, as far as possible, treat the three divisions as constituting
one great mission.

The church at Harpoot received its first native pastor at this
annual meeting. He was one of several young men, who left Diarbekir
for Constantinople, eight years before, for the purpose of obtaining
a Protestant education at Bebek. They were subjected to many
revilings on their way, and few showed them any kindness. Some who
were in sympathy with them deprecated their removal from Diarbekir,
as the withdrawal from that place of the little light which had
begun to shine. Now, having completed the course of study at the
Seminary, Tomas, one of that company, was preaching the Gospel every
Sabbath in Diarbekir, and was to become pastor there; and Marderos,
another, combining great excellence of character, was made pastor of
the flourishing church at Harpoot.

Mr. Dunmore, when he commenced the Harpoot station, five years
before, found not a single Protestant in that city. It was now only
three years since the arrival of Messrs. Wheeler, Allen, and Barnum,
and there were thirty-nine church-members, and Harpoot was fast
becoming an important centre of influence. There were schools in ten
of the thirteen out-stations, eleven of which were supplied with
preaching on the Sabbath by the missionaries and students of the
Seminary, and in all the surrounding regions there was an increase
of attendance on preaching. Women learned to read, and groups were
found studying the Bible. In the numerous villages of the Harpoot
plain and outlying districts were many faithful disciples of the
Lord Jesus. The spirit of freedom had gone forth, as was seen in the
growing activity of laymen, and the consequent decline of
superstition and ecclesiastical despotism. Instruction was
communicated to large numbers of both men and women, and it was
beginning to be regarded as disgraceful for adults of either sex not
to be able to read.

The theological school contained twenty-four pupils, of whom eleven
were from the vicinity and ten were married men. The students
devoted their winter vacation of four months to preaching and
teaching, and in term time they preached at out-stations.

Mrs. Dwight, after twenty-one years of eminently useful service,
died at Constantinople in November, 1860. Dr. Dwight's family being
thus broken up, he commenced, with the approval of his brethren, a
tour through Syria and Asiatic Turkey, intending to go over much of
the ground he had traversed with Dr. Eli Smith in their explorations
thirty years before.

How great the changes in the intervening period! Then, for fourteen
and a half months, he was unable to receive tidings from his wife,
whom he had left in Malta. Now, from beyond the Euphrates, he could
have communicated daily with Constantinople by telegraph. Then, no
fellow-laborers were to be found between Smyrna and the little bands
of German and Scotch brethren soon after to be driven away from
Russian Armenia and Georgia, and nowhere did they meet among the
people any religious sympathies in unison with their own. Now, the
survivor found missionaries scattered over the land, and he scarcely
entered a place where some one, at least, did not greet him with a
joyful welcome. Then, the object was to explore an unbroken scene of
spiritual death. Now, it was to confirm living churches, and help
forward a growing spiritual work.

The tour was extended as far as the Nestorian mission, and occupied
about eight months. Reviewing this journey of almost unprecedented
interest, Dr. Dwight could not refrain from using the language of
Christian triumph: "I have visited," he says, "every station of the
Board in Turkey and Persia excepting those among the Bulgarians. It
has been my privilege to see all the missionaries and their
families,--a rare body of men and women, of whom our churches and
our country may well be proud,--and also to become personally
acquainted with hundreds and thousands of the dear Protestant
brethren and sisters of this land--God's lights in the midst of
surrounding darkness; God's witnesses even where Satan dwelleth."

Dr. Dwight was at Marash in April, and this is his own vivid
description of what he saw there: "This place is indeed a missionary
wonder! Twelve years ago there was not a Protestant here, and the
people were proverbially ignorant, barbarous, and fanatical. Six
years ago the evangelical Armenian church was organized with sixteen
members, the congregation at that time consisting of one hundred and
twenty. On the last Sabbath I preached in the morning to a
congregation of over a thousand, and in the afternoon addressed
nearly or quite fifteen hundred people, when forty were received
into the church, making the whole number two hundred and
twenty-seven. Nearly one hundred of these have been added since Mr.
White came here, two years ago. One old woman of seventy-five years
was admitted who was converted only four months ago. She was
previously a bigoted opposer, but now she seems full of the love of
Christ. Her emotions almost overpowered her on approaching the table
of the Lord.

"The church-members here impressed me from the first as men who
thought more of the spiritual than the temporal. The Holy Spirit has
been evidently at work here during the whole of the year, and
especially through the past winter, and conversions are constantly
taking place. The burden of conversation among the brethren is in
regard to praying and laboring for the salvation of souls.

"On the Sabbath the half of the body of the church was filled with
women packed closely together on the floor. The other half, and the
broad galleries around three sides of the house, were completely
crowded with men. A new church is needed immediately in the other
end of the town. I bless God that He brought me here, and I feel
almost like saying, 'Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace.'"

It should be said that this visit to Marash was in the midst of a
revival. The resident missionary, Mr. White, describes the work as
being chiefly among the Armenians and Roman Catholics. "Every night
they met in the houses of the Protestants and spent hours, sometimes
even till near morning, examining the Scriptures and comparing them
with the corrupt teachings of their own churches. Our young men were
very active, laboring both day and night, so much so, that the
Catholic bishop said he could not understand it; that if the young
men were paid for thus laboring, the missionaries had not money
enough; and if they were not paid, they had a love which he could
not understand. Many of his people, however, seemed to comprehend it
better than he did, and are now regular attendants at our church."

The veteran missionary pays a noble tribute to the wives of the
missionaries at the several stations of the central mission: "I felt
myself rebuked when I saw the earnest, self-devoted spirit of my
missionary sisters, who are laboring in Aintab, in Marash, in
Antioch, in Aleppo, and in Oorfa, for the salvation of their
degraded sex; thinking little of the sacrifices they have made in
leaving America, to live in such a country as Turkey. It would be
difficult to find in Christendom a more happy class than these, our
helpers in Christ Jesus. The holy object which fills their hearts
lifts them above the distracting and embittering influences of
external circumstances."

The change at Diarbekir, during the score of years since Dr. Grant
and Mr. Homes barely escaped with their lives, had been truly
wonderful. Drs. Dwight and Schneider and Mr. Nutting, on their
approach from Oorfa, were met, eighteen miles out, by a deputation
of Protestant brethren on horseback; and, a few miles further on, by
another detachment, headed by Mr. Walker and the native pastor; and
when near the city, by a third on foot, thus giving them a sort of
triumphal entry. Nor, during their whole stay, was there anything to
awaken a feeling of insecurity, but convincing evidence, that
Protestantism had a strong hold on many minds.

Dr. Dwight noticed a decline of the Turkish population in the region
of the Euphrates. Several entire quarters in Diarbekir, formerly
Turkish, had passed into Christian hands, and the process was going
on. Armenians, Jacobites, and Protestants were buying Turkish
houses, but seldom did a Turk buy one of theirs; and around the
outskirts of the city there were extensive Turkish quarters all in
ruins.

Mrs. Dunmore had come to the United States in 1856, in consequence
of the failure of her health, and was never able to return. Her
husband continued his self-denying labors four years longer, until,
seeing no prospect of her recovery, he believed his duty required
him to follow her. It was then a time of civil war in his native
land, and his public spirit led him to accept an invitation from a
regiment of cavalry to be their chaplain. A detachment, with which
he was connected, was surprised early in the morning of August 3,
1861, and he fell, shot in the head before he was fairly out of his
tent.[1]

[1] See _Missionary Herald_, 1862, p. 321.

In courage, enterprise, tact, and efficacy, Mr. Dunmore stood in the
front rank of missionaries. "He did not write much of what he did,"
says Mr. Walker, his successor at Diarbekir. "He cared not to be
known. But he cared for the souls of this poor people, and for
Christ's kingdom. I think that few missionaries are so well fitted
for the work, and very few labor with the same zeal and self-denial.
To few is it given to accomplish so much. There is comparatively
little accomplished in Diarbekir, Arabkir, Harpoot, and Moosh, which
is not, under God, due to this brother. His influence will long be
felt in these parts. Paul was his model, and there are few who come
so near to that exemplar. He had wonderful power in attaching the
natives to him. He could sympathize deeply with them, and aid them
as few can. His heart was in the work here, and it was a very great
trial for him to return to America. His fearless journeys among the
Koords in this land, led us often to feel apprehensive for his life.
The Lord forgive the Texan, whose bullet cut short a life so
valuable."

In the years 1860 and 1861, the ill health of either husband or wife
deprived the mission of the labors of Messrs. Clark, Hutchison,
Parsons, and Plumer, and their families. Mr. and Mrs. Peabody
returned to their native land, after a faithful service of nineteen
years. Dr. Schauffler also terminated his official connection of
twenty-nine years with his missionary associates, and entered the
service of the American, and the British and Foreign Bible Societies
in the work of Bible translation for the Turkish Mohammedans. Miss
Tenney was married to Dr. Hamlin, who had been released from his
connection with the Board to take charge of a Protestant college in
Constantinople, though without any change in the great object of his
labors.

Mr. Williams reoccupied Mardin in the year 1861. This was then, as
now, the capital of the Syrian Church, and the natural centre of
operations among the Arabic-speaking people in Eastern Turkey. It
embraced Mosul, and multitudes of towns and villages scattered over
a wide region, and required more than one missionary; though that
one was a man of first-rate abilities and eminent devotion to his
work. It was put in connection with the Armenian Mission, partly
because its missionary policy was the same, and partly because it
seemed necessary to work that whole field from one central station,
and by a small number of missionaries, and because it would require
the moral support of the larger mission in its neighborhood.

A training-school was commenced at Mardin in the following year, on
the plan of the one at Harpoot, with a class of eight hopefully
pious young men. The congregation had doubled since Mr. Williams'
return and Protestantism had a more favorable position; but as yet
the intellect accepted the truth more readily than did the heart.

Trebizond had only a native pastor, and the day-school was reported
as one of the best in Turkey. Khanoos, southeast of Erzroom, had
been faithfully cultivated for some time by the native pastor,
Simon, who was now removed to Moosh, where he would have a better
field. Erzroom was again without a missionary in consequence of the
necessary removal of Mr. Trowbridge to the capital.

In addition to notices of versions of the Scriptures in the
preceding chapter, it should now be stated, that Dr. Goodell had
completed the great work of his life,--the translation of the Bible
into the Turkish language, as written in the Armenian character and
spoken by the Armenians. The version was from the Hebrew and Greek;
the New Testament had received three distinct revisions, and the Old
Testament one. His principal helper, for thirty years, was Panayotes
Constantinides, who died March 11, 1861. "He had greatly desired,"
writes Dr. Goodell, "to live to see the end of the revision, and we
pressed on together, returning thanks at the end of every chapter,
that we had got so far on our journey. But his strength failed him
on the way, and when there was but little further to go, he laid
himself down, and the angels carried him to his home in heaven." Dr.
Schauffler had nearly completed a translation of the New Testament
in Turkish, with the Arabic or sacred character, and after much
difficulty had obtained the consent of the government to its
publication. Dr. Riggs had reached the books of Kings, in addition
to the Psalms, in his version of the Scriptures in Bulgarian, and
had also given time to preparing and editing Bulgarian tracts.

The amount of publication in the year 1860, in the Armenian,
Armeno-Turkish, Bulgarian, and Modern Greek, was 164,500 copies, and
13,296,000 pages. The total expenditure was $15,789, from the
following sources:--

American Bible Society              $3,473
British and Foreign Bible Society    1,243
American Tract Society, New York     2,646
American Tract Society, Boston         674
London Tract Society                 1,175
American Board of Commissioners
   for Foreign Missions              5,462
Other sources                        1,116
                                   --------
                                   $15,789

Among the books published were a Reply to Archbishop Matteos in
Armenian, a Commentary on Matthew, Hymn-Book, Theological
Class-Book, and Geography,--the last at the expense of Haritûn
Minasiyan, an Armenian printer. The Word of God was more in demand
than any other book. The Armenian Bible, with marginal references,
electrotyped and printed in New York by the American Bible Society,
was highly prized. The American Tract Society had also electrotyped
and printed several works for the mission, which were admired for
their beauty, and were furnished more cheaply than they could have
been prepared in Constantinople.






CHAPTER XXVII.

THE ASSYRIA MISSION.

1849-1860.


Mosul is related to the Syria Mission in language, the written
Arabic being essentially the same in both fields; but there is
considerable difference in the language of preaching and social
intercourse, "Near Mosul, and especially on the east of the Tigris,"
writes Dr. Leonard Bacon, after his visit to Mosul, "the language is
Syriac, or as they there call it, _Fellahi_, the peasant language.
In other districts, Turkish and Koordish are spoken by many nominal
Christians. The people in Mesopotamia are very different from those
in Syria. They are of other sects. Instead of the Greek Church, the
Greek Catholic, and the Maronite, we find, as we travel east of the
Euphrates, and especially as we approach the Tigris, the Jacobite,
the Syrian Catholic or Romanized Jacobite, the Nestorian (almost
exterminated), and the Chaldean or Romanized Nestorian. And the
condition of these sects, as it respects the feeling of strength and
pride, is very unlike that of the sects in Syria. The Maronite
Church, and the Greek Catholic, are strong and proud in their
relation to Rome, and in the feeling that they are protected by the
great papal powers in Europe. The Greek Church may be likened to a
Russian colony in the Turkish empire. But the more eastern sects,
remnants of what were once the great Oriental Church, are in far
different relations, ecclesiastical and political. The Jacobites,
like the Nestorians, feel themselves weakened and depressed. The
Syrian Catholic and the Chaldean are not very firmly united to Rome,
and are little affected by European influences. Nor is this all. The
nominal Christians of Mesopotamia are of a very different race and
blood from those of Syria. The Greek element, which characterizes
the Arabic-speaking Christians west of the Euphrates,--an element of
subtlety of disputation, and of intellectual pride,--is not so
prominent in these more Oriental communities. For these and other
reasons, I cannot but think that this field should be occupied by
the brethren of the Mosul station, and be regarded as entirely
distinct from that of the Syria Mission. Mosul, as a centre of
missionary labor, is much more nearly related to Oroomiah, than to
Beirût, or Aleppo."[1]

[1] _Report of the Board for_ 1851, p. 82.

The visit of Messrs. Perkins and Stocking to Mosul, in May, 1849,
has been already mentioned.[1] That visit did much to prepare the
way for Mr. Ford, of the Aleppo station, who went there at the close
of 1849. He was kindly received by Mr. Rassam, the English Consul,
and had a joyful greeting from the little band of "gospel men," who
welcomed the return of their long lost privileges of Christian
instruction. Of the fifty who soon called upon him, about twenty
appeared to be decidedly evangelical, and ready to stand by the
Gospel at all hazards, though few of them gave evidence of a work of
grace in their hearts. Twenty more were enlightened and favorably
disposed; and the remaining ten might be regarded as indifferent or
hostile. This little band was the remainder of those who had been
brought under the influence of the Gospel, when our brethren of the
Mountain Nestorian Mission were detained in the mysterious
providence of God, to labor and suffer there. Yet the Lord had not
forsaken them, for Meekha, the ingenious mechanic, who had learned
the truth from Mr. Laurie, had given them the benefit of his
steadfast piety and diligent instruction.

[1] Chapter xx.

The reader knows, already, what led to the temporary occupation of
Mosul by the Board, in 1841. Its relinquishment in 1844, was chiefly
in view of the fact, that the Episcopal Church of the United States
had a mission then in Turkey, with the avowed object of laboring
among the Jacobites of Mesopotamia.[1] That mission having been
withdrawn from the Turkish empire, the operations of the Board were
naturally extended again to Mosul, to look after the fruits of
former labors, as well as to meet the exigencies of the mission in
western Koordistan.

[1] This was first known through Dr. Grant, who forwarded a copy of
a letter from seven of the American Episcopal Bishops to the Syrian
Patriarch at Mardin, as evidence of the fact. After stating the
object in sending the Rev. Horatio Southgate to reside for a time at
Mardin, with the hope of associating two others with him, to which
no exception could be taken, the Patriarch was informed by the
letter, that Mr. Southgate "will make it clearly understood, that
the American Church has no ecclesiastical connection with the
followers of Luther and Calvin, and takes no part in their plans or
operations to diffuse the principles of these sects."

The Rev. Dwight W. Marsh arrived at Mosul on the 20th of March,
1850, going by way of Beirût, Aleppo, Aintab, Oorfa, and Diarbekir;
from this last place he floated down the Tigris on a raft supported
by inflated goat-skins, in less than four days to his new home. He
describes the river as breaking through between bold precipices, and
scenery delightfully and unexpectedly romantic. Mr. Schneider was
his travelling companion from Aintab to Diarbekir, and Mr. Ford was
at Mosul to greet him on his arrival. The Rev. William Frederic
Williams removed from the Syria Mission to Mosul in the spring of
1851, going in company with Dr. Bacon and his son Mr. Leonard W.
Bacon, then travelling in the East. Salome Carabet, the eldest of
the girls in Mr. Whiting's family at Abeih, went with Mr. Williams,
to take charge of a school of thirty girls.

Dr. Bacon's visit to Mosul was in compliance with a request of the
Prudential Committee, that he would make his tour of relaxation and
improvement the occasion of visiting the several stations of the
Board in Western Asia. The attempt to proceed from Mosul to Oroomiah
through the mountains by the most direct route, was unsuccessful.
The two travellers, in company with Mr. Marsh, soon after crossing
the Zab, were set upon by Koordish robbers, who had been requested
by an Agha, near Akra, to kill them. So imminent was the peril, that
they united together in prayer to God, led by Dr. Bacon. Some
Moolahs seeing this, interceded for their lives, and though they
could not hinder their being plundered, they succeeded in sending
them safely to another Moolah, three hours distant, who was revered
for his sanctity; and it was through his resolute protection, under
God, that they effected a safe return to Mosul. Mr. Rassam gave
information of the outrage to the English Ambassador, and the Pasha,
in the following year, having received orders from Constantinople,
sent three hundred men, with three cannon, against the robber, who
was compelled to pay the full value of the losses, and much more
besides to the government.[1]

[1] _Missionary Herald_, for 1851, p. 295, and 1852, p. 388.

The Assyria Mission was so named for geographical reasons. Its most
northern station at this time, was Diarbekir. Dr. Grant passed
through this city with Mr. Homes, in 1839, Messrs. Hinsdale and
Mitchell passed through it in 1841, and Mr. Laurie in 1842. The city
was visited by Mr. Peabody in 1849, when he found several persons
awakened by reading the Scriptures and other books, brought there by
colporters. It was visited again by Mr. Schneider in the following
year, who reported that nearly fifty Armenians were accustomed to
meet on the Sabbath for reading the Scriptures. These were then
subjected to a severe persecution, and they sent to Constantinople
for a vizierial letter, which was granted, but brought little
relief. Dr. Azariah Smith organized a small church at Diarbekir in
the spring of 1851. It included both Armenians and Jacobites; but
only those were to be received who gave satisfactory evidence of
piety. As soon as this restriction was announced, the most
influential Syrians in the congregation resolutely set themselves to
secure admission to the church for all Protestants of good moral
character. For a time their efforts to unite the congregation in
opposition prevented attention to their ordinary business; and but
for the conservative spirit of the Armenian portion, perhaps the
audience, as a whole, would have gone back to their churches. In the
end all were persuaded to listen to a discourse on the subject, by
Dr. Smith, and the character of the young ruler, in Luke xviii.
18-30, was unfolded in connection with Acts ii. 43-47. The
exhibition of a church, as an association of men devoted, body and
soul, time and wealth, to the extension of Christ's kingdom, was new
to them. That repentance involved the ceasing to live for selfish
and worldly ends, and that faith in Christ included the consecration
of our energies to his service, was no part of their old creed. And
though these truths had been previously preached by the
missionaries, the practical connection in which they now came up
made them more impressive.

Mr. and Mrs. Dunmore, after spending some months at Aintab, arrived
at Diarbekir in November, 1851. They were accompanied by Stepan, a
graduate of the seminary at Bebek. This man, not long after his
arrival, was rudely arrested by a Turkish officer as a Protestant,
and cast into a prison, where he spent the night with vagabonds and
thieves. The Pasha refused Mr. Dunmore a hearing, but at once
ordered Stepan's release.

Mr. Dunmore had not yet a free use of the Turkish, which was the
language spoken by the Armenians; but an average of more than
seventy persons came on the Sabbath to hear Stepan, and new faces
were seen at every meeting.

Soon after the arrival of Mr. Dunmore, a young man of talents, named
Tomas, who had long been vacillating, boldly declared himself a
Protestant, and though his bishop offered him the monthly reward of
two hundred piastres for two years, paid in advance, if he would
leave the Protestants, his reply was: "Go tell the bishop that I did
not become a Protestant for money, and that I will not leave them
for money, even should he give me my house full of gold." Tomas was
then nineteen years of age, and had an orphan brother and two
sisters dependent on him. He had been a prosperous silk
manufacturer, but after he became a Protestant, both nominal
Christians and Moslems refused to trade with him, and he was
impoverished. It was decided to send him to the Bebek Seminary, with
his younger brother; and to send his older sister to the Female
Seminary at the same place; while Mr. and Mrs. Dunmore took the
youngest, a bright little girl of six years. In this young man we
have the future native pastor of the church in that city.

The persecutions inflicted on the Protestants at Diarbekir were
similar to those described elsewhere. But not only were the native
converts, in this remote city, oppressed in every possible way, but
the missionary reports himself as being grossly insulted, and even
stoned in the streets whenever he went abroad.

About this time Mr. Marsh performed a missionary tour to Mardin,
through Jebel Tour, a branch of the great Kûrdish range of mountains
which crosses the Tigris above Jezirah, and goes westward toward the
Euphrates. These rugged, though not lofty mountains, cover fourteen
hundred square miles, and form the stronghold of the Jacobites.
Their ecclesiastical capital is Mardin. "High up the mountain's
side," writes Mr. Marsh, "with a steep descent of six or seven
hundred feet to the plains, the city wall mounts up still higher,
three hundred feet or more; and a large castle on the mountain top
crowns the view." Here he found several persons favorably inclined,
and recommended the place for a missionary station.

The Rev. Henry Lobdell, M. D., and wife, reached Mosul in May 1852.
They came through Aintab, Oorfa, and Diarbekir. Such was the desire
of the people of Aintab for a missionary physician to take the place
of Dr. Smith, that four hundred and twenty of them signed a petition
in a single evening, requesting him to remain; but he felt
constrained to give them a negative. He speaks with pleasure of his
brief sojourn at Oorfa, which he describes as beautifully situated
on the west side of a fertile plain, and retaining many marks of its
ancient greatness.

In the ten days which Dr. Lobdell spent with Mr. Dunmore at
Diarbekir, he was impressed by the hold the reformation was taking
in that place. At the same time, he and his missionary brother had a
startling illustration of its hostility to the Gospel. They were
looking at the great mosque of the city, formerly a Christian
church, and in the words of Mr. Dunmore, "As we were standing in
front of it, in the public highway, examining its architecture,
several lads came up and began to insult us and to order us away. We
did not notice them, but went further from the mosque, and stopped
to examine some old marble pillars. Soon, however, we found a rabble
about us, who began to jerk our garments. I then turned and spoke to
them, and they instantly rushed upon us like tigers. They seized Dr.
Lobdell's hat, threw it into the air, and began to beat him. One
ruffian seized me by the throat. By main strength I loosed his
grasp, and was moving off, when two men tried to wrest my cane from
me, but did not succeed. We retreated as last as possible, but when
we got out of the reach of their hands, they resorted to throwing
stones, some of them weighing two or three pounds. One hit Dr.
Lobdell in the side, and we saw no alternative but to run for our
lives. We went immediately to the Pasha, taking one of the largest
stones with us, and made a statement of the facts in the presence of
the council. He refused to do anything more than to send a man to
inquire who was in fault, the ruffians, or we! He said he knew
nothing about us."

In a tent supported by a raft of one hundred and twenty inflated
goat-skins, Dr. and Mrs. Lobdell floated down the Tigris to Mosul.
"The Arabs, who swam out upon their goat-skins, and the Kûrds armed
to the teeth upon the shore, were alike unable to touch us, as the
river was unusually high and swift. I do not remember having enjoyed
four successive days so much. The scenery is grand, equaling that of
the far-famed Hudson. It might not wear as well, but it is unique
and wonderful." Mr. and Mrs. Williams were there to welcome them.

Mr. Marsh was absent on a visit to his native land, from whence he
returned with his wife in May, 1853. He was accompanied as far as
Aintab by Rev. Augustus Walker and wife, and from thence to
Diarbekir, by Messrs. Schneider and Walker. Mr. Dunmore's
congregation had then risen to nearly two hundred hearers.

Mr. Marsh was especially struck, on returning to Mosul, with the
greatly improved singing of the congregation, which he thought was
now better there than at Diarbekir, Aintab, Constantinople, or
Beirût. This was due to the unwearied pains taken by Mr. Williams,
though the people seemed to have a better ear for music than
elsewhere in Western Asia.

Dr. Lobdell found his medical profession a great assistance to him
as a preacher of the Gospel. Jacobites, Papists, and Moslems came in
considerable numbers, and he preached the Gospel alike to all. He
was overworked, and it was perhaps a favor to him that the judge was
stirred up by Popish priests, as the Moslems affirmed, to forbid the
Mohammedans coming to his preaching. The judge was willing that they
should call upon him for medical aid, if he would not preach the
Gospel to them; but the doctor declined administering to the body,
unless he could, at the same time, explain to them "the words of
Jesus" (which all Moslems professed to receive) for the benefit of
their souls.

Salome Carabet returned to Syria, very much in the manner of Rebecca
of old, to become the wife of the young pastor at Hasbeiya; and the
female school was thus deprived of its teacher.

A visit by Dr. Lobdell to the Yezidees in October, 1852, developed
interesting and valuable information. Their doctrines he regarded as
a strange fusion of Mohammedanism and Christianity with the
philosophy of the older Persians.[1]

[1] See _Memoir of Dr. Lobdell_, pp. 213-227; also _Missionary
Herald_ for 1853, pp. 109-111.

In June, 1853, Dr. Lobdell travelled through Koordistan to Oroomiah.
One of his objects was the improvement of his health; but he greatly
desired, also, to confer with the brethren of the Nestorian Mission,
and to preach the Gospel in the regions between. He took with him a
native, who not only spoke the Syriac and Arabic, but the Turkish
and Koordish.[1] "He came to us," wrote Dr. Perkins, "for the
benefit of his impaired health. Yet was he buoyant as a lark, being
overjoyed to find himself in our happy circle, after his perilous
journey across the mountains." Two days after his arrival he was
seized with a fever which proved severe and obstinate. But he
recovered, and was able to give much thought to the somewhat
peculiar method of proceeding in that mission; in which no separate
Protestant community had been formed, and no church organized;
though the missionaries had the communion by themselves, to which
they invited only those whom they believed to be truly regenerated.
His preconceived opinions had been somewhat adverse to the plan, and
he and his brethren at Mosul had adopted other methods. But he wrote
to the Secretaries of the Board his approval of the main policy of
his brethren in Persia, as justified by their peculiar
circumstances, and ratified by the blessing of Heaven. He specified
some things in which he thought more decided measures might be
taken; but advised that the mission be left to follow the leadings
of Providence, until a crisis should come in the Nestorian Church,
and then to act as they should deem wise at the time.

[1] _Missionary Herald_, 1854, pp. 18-22.

Before returning, Dr. Lobdell made an excursion of three weeks in
the province of Azerbijan, going as far as Tabriz. It was while he
was at Gawar, on his way home, that Deacon Tamo was liberated from
his long imprisonment. Messrs. Rhea and Coan accompanied him to
Mosul. Dr. Lobdell represents the two highest peaks of the Jelu
Mountains as distinctly visible from Mosul. Every step through
Koordistan reminded him of the devotion, courage, and energy of Dr.
Grant.

Some difficulties existed in the Protestant community at Diarbekir,
growing out of the old leaven of baptismal regeneration, from which
the church itself had not been thoroughly purged. The church then
contained eleven members,--eight men and three women. Six of the men
were Syrian Jacobites, and four of these were formerly deacons in
their church. The difficulties encountered by Dr. Smith in 1851,
when he declared his intention of admitting to the church none but
such as were truly pious, and baptizing only them and their
children, were now revived.

In view of these things, a meeting of the Assyria Mission was held
at Mosul for ten days, in March, 1854. It was then decided that
Messrs. Marsh and Lobdell should return with Messrs. Dunmore and
Walker, and assist in reorganizing the church at Diarbekir. Out of
twenty candidates whom they examined, eleven were accepted; and, in
the presence of three hundred persons, were organized into a new
church, with a creed and covenant.[1] Dr. Lobdell had a hundred
Christian patients daily while there; but the Pasha still continued
to refuse protection, and the missionaries were still hooted and
stoned in the streets. They believed, however, that the Gospel had
taken such hold in the city as to insure its ultimate triumph.

[1] I find, in the archives of the Board, an extended analysis of
the baptismal question by these brethren, in its bearing on the
Oriental Churches.

The church was subjected to a severe trial, immediately after its
reorganization. The Mosul brethren had to return to their own work;
it was necessary for Mr. Dunmore to join his sick wife at Arabkir;
and as it was unsafe for Mr. and Mrs. Walker to be left alone at
Diarbekir, they went to Aintab for the summer. The Koords robbed
them on their way, but they returned in the autumn, accompanied by
David H. Nutting, M. D., and wife. Mr. Dunmore remained at Arabkir
till the spring of 1855, when he commenced the important station of
Harpoot. The missionaries at Diarbekir now enjoyed the very welcome
protection of W. R. Holmes, Esq., the newly appointed English
Consul. Dr. Nutting's professional services to the Pasha, in a
dangerous illness, soon after his arrival, gave him an introduction
to almost all the officers of the government and influential Moslems
in the city, and obtained for him a public expression of the Pasha's
gratitude. Instead of stonings in the streets, without redress, as
under the preceding Pasha, the missionaries received respectful
treatment, and had free access to all classes. Mr. Walker found the
state of things better than he anticipated. Certain disaffected
members of the Protestant community had repented of their errors.
Persecution had not shaken the faith of any in the church. During
the winter the congregation increased to two hundred. In April,
1855, six were admitted to the church, and not less than four
hundred and fifty persons were present. The accessions were not only
from the Armenian and Jacobite Churches, but also from the Catholic
Church, though fierce persecution and imprisonment were the
consequence. A large portion of the Jacobite Church were convinced
of the truth, and of the emptiness of their own rites and
ceremonies. Some openly avowed that they retained their connection
with their old church merely to fight against it, hoping to turn the
whole community to Protestantism. The people demanded that the Bible
should be read in the church in Turkish or Arabic, instead of the
ancient Armenian and Syriac, which were, to most of them, dead
languages; and the Jacobite bishop was forced to yield. Finding, at
length, that this must rapidly undermine the priestly influence, he
secretly removed the Scriptures from the church. But the word of the
Lord was not bound, for the deacons or readers carried their own
Bibles.

At the out-station of Hainè, Stepan, the native preacher who had
come to Diarbekir with Mr. Walker, was enabled by divine grace to
maintain his position. The Pasha at one time ordered him to leave,
but he thought it right to disobey. At a subsequent period, being
stoned and beaten in the streets, he was obliged to flee, and the
Protestants suffered much oppression. Through the energetic efforts
of the Consul at Diarbekir, the persecuting governor was deposed,
and another appointed.

Across the river from Diarbekir is Cutterbul, a large Christian
village, where were twenty Protestants, with several church-members;
and the missionary, in his occasional visits, gathered almost as
large a congregation as the one at Mosul. The preaching would have
been acceptable in Turkish, or Koordish, though the people preferred
the Arabic. Cutterbul was but a sample of what the villages on all
sides of Diarbekir might have been, were the station fully manned.

The Protestants at Mosul obtained no relief from their oppressive
taxes until January, 1854; when, through the efforts of Lord
Stratford de Redcliffe, a firman was addressed to the Pasha for
their protection. The Pasha then ordered an equitable rate to be
made for them, which encouraged the Protestants, and disheartened
their enemies. The year was one of progress. Five were added to the
Protestants, and two to the church, while there was a decided
improvement in the attention given to preaching. The boys' school
prospered, with forty pupils. Women were to some extent instructed
in reading the Bible by the scholars, who went from house to house
for the purpose. Thirty adults were taught at their houses, and
thirty others attended the male school regularly. The church-members
gained a reputation for strict honesty, temperance, and general
excellence. The mere existence of a church upon an apostolical
basis, worshipping God in simplicity, told with force against the
corrupt hierarchies.

The excitements at Mosul during the Crimean war, were often intense.
At one period there was great danger of an outburst of Mohammedan
fanaticism, so that the Christians were in terror for their lives.
Stringent orders from Constantinople aroused the local authorities
to do their duty, and the insolence of those ready for deeds of
blood was checked. Early in May, 1854, a volunteer reinforcement of
two thousand Koords for the Turkish army, was quartered in the city,
and certain outrages indicated an approaching massacre of Christians
and Jews. The evil was averted by the bold decision of the English
Consul, who went to the Pasha, and demanded that the Koords be sent
at once out of the city. They were soon on their way to the seat of
war.

Mosul was regarded as free from miasma; but the heat of the summer
days was exhausting to the foreigner, and the natives also suffered.
For a hundred days in 1853, the mercury stood, at two o'clock in the
afternoon, as high as 98º; and for eighty days it ranged from 100º
to 114º. The highest point in the shade was 117º. It was much the
same in the following year.

As the summer advanced, the health of Mrs. Williams declined, and it
became obvious that she could no longer endure the excessive heat.
She was desirous of removing to a cooler climate, and Dr. Lobdell
went with her and her family to the mountains. When they were near
the Zab river, they met Dr. Wright from Persia, who had come with
the hope of conducting them to Oroomiah. The rest is told in the
words of Dr. Lobdell. "We could go no farther, and on the 29th of
June, at sunset, were on our way towards Mosul; our sick friend
being anxious to go there to die, but most of the time unconscious
of the incidents and fatigues. On the last day of June we reached
Akra; a litter was made, twelve Christians bore it, and the next
morning at six o'clock, while moving on the road, that litter became
a bier! An hour farther, and a rough box way made ready for her we
had loved. The children knew not what had happened. At evening, the
box was bound upon a mule, and we rode silently for fourteen hours,
and crossed to the ruins of Nineveh shortly after sunrise. The flag
of the English Consul was thrown over the body as we crossed the
Tigris. A narrow house had already been prepared for it outside the
walls (not even the dead body of a Moslem could have been carried
within the gates); Mr. Marsh had a short service; and there we laid
the wife, the mother, down to her last sleep."[1]

[1] Memoir of Dr. Lobdell, p. 330.

The Crimean war inflamed Mohammedan fanaticism all over Western
Asia. Such was its influence in Persia, that the missionaries
requested Dr. Lobdell, in view of his recent visit, to go to Bagdad,
and represent their critical situation with reference to the Persian
government to Mr. Murray, English Ambassador to Persia; who was to
be there in January, 1855, on his way to his post. He accordingly
commenced his voyage down the river on the 10th of January, upon the
customary raft of skins, and on the fourth day reached Bagdad. The
ambassador arriving on the 8th of the following month, Dr. Lobdell
had a satisfactory interview with him, which probably led to the
subsequent visit of Mr. Murray to Oroomiah. His return was by
post-horses in fifty-eight hours. The road made a long curve to the
east to avoid the Arabs of the desert. The nearest route would have
been on the west side of the Tigris.

Ten days after this, Mr. Marsh and Mr. Williams went to Diarbekir to
attend the second annual meeting of the mission. The next day Dr.
Lobdell prepared a sermon, talked with a crowd of papists, preached
to eighty-five patients, delivered his sermon to the church in the
evening, and went to bed with a chill and fever. On the day
following, he wrote his last letter, and made his last entry in his
journal. He gradually grew worse, and was at times delirious. A
message was sent for the absent brethren, but, owing to the
disturbed state of the country, it was the twentieth day of his
sickness, and only five days before his death, when Mr. Marsh
reached Mosul. As he entered the room, the Doctor threw his arms
about his neck and wept. The church-members prayed earnestly for his
recovery, and were eager to serve as watchers. He passed easily
away, as the Sabbath was closing, on the 25th of March, 1855, to his
eternal rest. His age was twenty-eight.

Dr. Lobdell's life was short to fill four hundred pages in Professor
Tyler's excellent Memoir, but the volume is none too large. His
life, measured by activities and results, was long. His character
was many sided, and every side glowed with consecrated ardor. He
made the most of himself as a man, a scholar, a Christian, and a
Christian missionary. Like the Apostle Paul, "forgetting those
things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which
are before," he pressed "toward the mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus."

He had a strong desire to go as a missionary to China, but the
author, in his official correspondence, though seldom venturing to
oppose such predilections, was so impressed with the difficulties to
be overcome at Mosul, and with Dr. Lobdell's adaptation to that
field, that he called his attention to it, and soon received the
reply that he would go, as soon as he could get ready; and from that
time the new field grew in his affections. That he could or would
have done more for the kingdom of Christ, in any other sphere of
labor, no one who attentively considers his remarkable life will
venture to affirm.

Dr. Henri B. Haskell succeeded Dr. Lobdell at Mosul, and reached
Diarbekir, with the Rev. George C. Knapp and wife, appointed to that
station, in April, 1856. The Christian worship at Diarbekir had now
assumed a regular form. There were four services on the Sabbath. At
the first, an hour after sunrise, fifty persons assembled for prayer
and praise, and the meeting was conducted by two native teachers;
one reading his own translation of Doddridge's "Rise and Progress"
in Turkish; the other, after having read through Dr. Goodell's
"Notes on Matthew," and a volume of his sermons in Turkish, had
commenced reading discourses of his own. The second was at the time
of "noon cry" from the minarets, when Mr. Walker or Baron Tomas, now
returned for a time from Bebek, preached to about two hundred
persons, who listened more attentively than most American
congregations. At the ninth hour (three o'clock in the afternoon)
Baron Tomas met a Bible-class of sixty or eighty of the more
intelligent Protestants. The last preaching service, at the tenth
hour, was usually attended by a hundred or a hundred and fifty
persons. From forty to seventy persons were present at the Friday
evening meeting. The monthly concert was well attended, and with
increasing contributions. Mrs. Walker had a Wednesday afternoon
meeting for the women, at which from twenty to forty were present.

The Gospels had been translated into Koordish by the native helper
at Hainè, and copies of Matthew had been received from the press in
Stamboul. As soon as the good deacon Shemmas could get the box
containing them from the custom-house, he retired to his room and
poured out his soul in thanksgiving to God for his great mercy, and
prayed that He would now greatly bless his Word in this new tongue.

The church at Diarbekir was doubled in 1856, and all belonging to
the mission, both male and female, found full employment in
imparting instruction. Baron Tomas returned to Bebek, to spend two
years in the study of theology.

Excepting the death of the second Mrs. Williams, on the 25th of
December, there was nothing in 1857, specially demanding attention.

Mr. Williams spent the summer of 1858 in Mardin, intending to occupy
it as a new station, and returned in November to make it his
permanent residence. He found the people, as he expected,
exceedingly bigoted, yet hardy and intelligent. There was an
important advantage in the pure mountain air of the place. The
language was Arabic, as at Mosul. More than half of the twenty
thousand inhabitants were nominal Christians; there were three
Arabic-speaking villages within six miles, and the whole of Jebel
Tour was accessible. He found the Romish Church stronger than he had
expected, having a Papal-Syrian patriarchate just established within
the city. He was received by the ecclesiastics with bitter
denunciations. For a time, no one dared to acknowledge himself a
Protestant, though many Mohammedans called upon him, and seemed to
appreciate his very intelligent and gentlemanly conversation and
manners.

Subsequently a papal priest, to whom, in former years, he had given
a Bible, joined himself to the missionary, and patiently endured
severe persecution. But the most encouraging case was that of an
influential merchant named Meekha. He was originally an Armenian,
and, thirty years before had become a Papist, and carried over one
hundred houses with him. He was the champion of the papal party. His
conversion was on this wise. The priest just mentioned had sown much
Gospel truth among his disciples, and among them was a son-in-law of
Meekha. At length the old man, provoked by an instance of dishonesty
and falsehood in his bishop, and unable to read himself, sent for
his son-in-law to read to him the Gospel. The young man was kept
reading for three days, until the Gospels and Epistles were all
finished. Amazed to find his religion opposed by the whole spirit
and teachings of the divine oracles, Meekha sent for the priests and
they came. "Prove me your doctrines from the Bible," said he.
Convinced, from their manner of reply, that they had nothing to say,
he ceased from the worship of the Virgin, and declared himself a
Protestant; and his wife was as sincere and earnest as he. Though
father, mother, and three unmarried daughters were excommunicated,
and subjected to continued insults, their souls were overflowing
with joy and thankfulness that the Gospel had come to them.

Speaking of this family, Mr. Williams says: "I have never witnessed
such amazed eagerness as that with which, for the first time,
they comprehended that salvation is without money and without
price--absolutely free and gratuitous. It was to them _news_--good
news; and when I call to mind Meekha's impetuous temperament, and
see him listen with such docility to Christ's teaching, I cannot but
hope that, though imperfectly sanctified, the 'good work' is begun
in him, which God's grace will complete. He accepts no new truth
without a challenge, and nothing short of a 'Thus saith the Lord,'
will give it currency with him. At one of my evening lectures I
alluded to Isaiah's statement, 'All our righteousnesses are as
filthy rags,' when two or three spoke up: 'What 's that?' On
repeating it they were incredulous, and demanded chapter and verse.
I gave it to them next day, and it has taken hold of them like iron.
I have seen Meekha since throw that verse into a crowd of opposers
with such force as to start them from their seats with an emphatic
'God forbid,' and the most positive denial that such a verse could
be in the Bible. When I turned to the passage, and put the book into
their hands that they might read it for themselves, they could not
believe their own eyes, but continued poring over it, reading
carefully from the head of the chapter; and this very day some of
them came in to ask what it meant, and so changed in their manner I
could hardly believe my eyes. Before, obstinate, dogged,
unreasonable; now, meek, docile, and asking what the will of the
Lord is. One said, 'That went like a dagger to my heart, and I slept
none all that night.' And when to-day, I turned to Rom. iii. 26,
Eph. ii. 8-9, and Rom. iv. 1-4, they listened as children. Truly the
word of the Lord _is_ a sharp sword, piercing to the heart."

Mr. Knapp's health forbidding a longer residence at Diarbekir, he
commenced, in May, 1858, a new station at Bitlis, a healthy place
several thousand feet above the level of the sea. Dr. and Mrs.
Haskell were with them during the latter half of the summer, and
spent the summer of 1859 at Mardin; but Mr. and Mrs. Marsh and Mrs.
Lobdell decided to remain at Mosul. In May, Mr. and Mrs. Marsh were
called to part with their second and only surviving child. A
fortnight later, Mrs. Marsh herself had a severe attack of fever,
but soon recovered. The fatal attack was three months later, and her
death occurred unexpectedly. The thermometer in the early part of
the night before, stood at 113º. During the day it was 120º; and on
the night of her death it was 100º on the roof, where they slept.
She had had a slight illness for a few days, and it now became a
burning fever, with delirium, and all remedies proved vain. She died
on the 12th of August, at the age of thirty-two, after a residence
of six years at Mosul, as an earnest and faithful laborer. Her
mother and her only sister had died before reaching the age of
thirty, and it is possible Mrs. Marsh might not have lived as long
in her native land, as she did at Mosul. "Yet it is probable," as
her husband wrote at the time, "that the heat, so unusually extreme,
cutting the leaves from the tree in our court by thousands, and
causing many natives of the country to fall dead by the roadside,
was the immediate occasion of her death."

Mrs. Lobdell found reason, in the necessities of her children, for
returning to America, and in April, 1860, she bade adieu to the
little band of women, who, for eight years, had sat at her feet to
learn of Jesus. She reached her native land in August, in company
with Mr. Marsh.

Mosul remained unoccupied during the summer, the heat at that season
being found too great for endurance; though the climate is agreeable
for nearly three fourths of the year. The summer retreat prepared by
Dr. Lobdell at Deira, near Amadiah, was distant seventy miles, or
four days' travel, and it required at least nine days to reach
Mardin.

There were but two or three places in Turkey where missionaries, up
to this time, had had such marked success as in Diarbekir. The
church, at the close of 1859, numbered sixty-one, and after the
April communion, seventy-three. Rarely did a communion pass without
some additions. Protestants were a recognized power among the
people, and their influence was extending. Books were eagerly sought
after and paid for. Illegal taxes had nearly ceased in the city
itself. After a weary struggle of nine years, the assessment of the
tax-roll for the Protestants was made upon a satisfactory plan,
which bid fair to be permanent. The commercial standing of the
Protestants was above that of any other sect, though there were no
wealthy men among them. But the increase of the congregation had
been retarded by the want of sufficient accommodations for public
worship. The lamented removal of Mr. Holmes, the English Consul, to
a more desirable consulate in European Turkey, while it was a great
loss to the mission, threw his house upon the market, and it was
purchased for a place of worship at less than half its cost. It
required only slight alterations, and could be indefinitely
enlarged. The members of the church subscribed a thousand dollars
towards its purchase, and a certain amount was granted by the Board.
The school for boys, and the one for girls, were both eminently a
success. At Cutterbul, half the village was Protestant and the rest
more than half so, and the place of prayer would not hold the
congregation.

In 1860, the stations of the Assyria Mission were brought within the
field of the Eastern Turkey Mission, and the Assyria Mission ceased
to have a separate existence.






CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE NESTORIANS.

1851-1857.


The return of Mr. Stoddard, accompanied by his wife and Mr. and Mrs.
Rhea, was mentioned in the first volume. He thus describes the
manner of his reception: "While crossing the plain of Oroomiah, we
arrived at a village twelve miles from the city, where a company of
our brethren and sisters, with their little ones and many of the
Nestorians, greeted us with tender emotions. A tent had been
pitched, and a breakfast prepared; and we all sat down on the grass,
under the grateful shade, to partake of the repast. Our hearts were
full. During the three hours which we spent at this village,
Nestorians of all classes, many of them our brethren in Christ, were
continually arriving; and when, soon after noon, we set out for the
city, our progress resembled more a triumphal procession than a
caravan of weary travellers. Every mile increased our numbers. Our
way was often almost blocked up by the people who came to meet us,
some on horseback, some on foot; bishops, priests, deacons, village
teachers, members of the seminary, with whom I had many times wept
and prayed, all pressing forward in eager haste to grasp our hands,
and swell the notes of welcome. Three years ago, they followed us
out of the city, holding our horses by the bridle, and begging us
not to leave them, while their mournful looks bespoke the sorrow of
their hearts. Now I was returning to them with restored health, to
identify my interests with theirs. I brought with me the salutations
of many thousand Christians in our native land, and was accompanied
into the harvest-field by new reapers. As I turned from thoughts of
the past, and looked on the animating scene around us, the contrast
almost overcome me."

This was in 1851. In October of the following year, Dr. and Mrs.
Perkins, going to meet Mr. and Mrs. Crane, and Sarah Stoddard, on
their way from Trebizond, experienced a severe affliction in the
death of their only surviving daughter, a very interesting girl. The
journey was expected to be of advantage to the health of Mrs.
Perkins and to their two children, Judith and Henry; and it was due
to the new-comers that some one, acquainted with the language and
country, should aid them through the long and tedious route from
Erzroom. After a ride of thirty miles, they were unexpectedly
exposed to a pestilential atmosphere at Khoy, where they spent the
night. All went well with them until they had crossed the plain of
Khoy, and the mountain beyond, and passed their last resting-place,
when the beloved daughter showed signs of cholera. They could not
rest there under the burning sun, and there was no water near; so
they were obliged to proceed three or four miles further, to the
Moslem village of Zorava. The nature of the disease was now
painfully certain. The Mohammedan villagers were terrified and
inhospitable. They would not even allow a morsel of bread to be sold
to the faithful Nestorians who accompanied the family, nor even
barley for their tired, hungry horses. And when the limbs of the
child were cold and stiffening under the power of the deadly
disease, they would not sell one stick of wood to warm water for
her; but again and again ordered the heart-stricken travellers to
leave the village with their dying child. As a further aggravation,
after the father had twice administered laudanum, the vial
containing the medicine disappeared from their tent, and could no
more be found. There were all the usual accompaniments of the
cholera, and in that high region the night air was cold. Collecting
dry weeds, they managed to kindle a fire, and heated a stone which
they placed at her feet.

The spirit of the child was quiet, and beautifully resigned to the
will of God. There had been no doubt as to her piety before her
sickness, and the whole scene was all that could have been expected
of an older person. At length the end came. "Breathing shorter and
shorter for fifteen or twenty minutes," writes her father, "she
gently slept, as we believe, in Jesus, at three o'clock on the
morning of September 4, 1852, aged twelve years and twenty-six
days."

The bereaved and afflicted family was now a hundred and forty miles
from home; but home was the place for her burial. The mother washed
the corpse with her own hands, and dressed it for the grave. As no
coffin could be obtained, the loved one was sewed in a strong
oriental felt of the size and form of a bed-quilt, and placed upon a
bed, and two willow sticks, cut from the margin of the brook, were
sewed upon the sides of the bed, and it was then bound to the back
of a faithful horse; the panic-stricken villagers calling upon them
all the while, "Depart, depart." With what different feelings were
they received on their return, by their large circle of weeping
friends! One of the Nestorians, who had accompanied the family,
standing by the grave, artlessly described to the Nestorians the
affecting scenes he had witnessed, and all were bathed in tears. "In
all the families of the village," wrote Miss Fidelia Fiske, "Judith
had taken a deep interest, and several of the middle-aged women had
been taught by her in the Sabbath-school. Indeed, she had greatly
endeared herself to all the scores and hundreds of Nestorians who
knew her, and was a universal favorite among the people. A Nestorian
of a distant village said, on hearing of her death, "There was none
like her,--so beautiful, so wise, so pious. She would pray like an
angel."[1]

[1] See _The Persian Flower; A Memoir of Judith Grant Perkins of
Oroomiah, Persia_.

The Gospel made its way among the Nestorians amid many
discouragements. Yet there was progress, Even in the mountains of
Koordistan, where the brethren could do little more than watch the
leadings of Providence, there was much that was hopeful. It was an
indication of promise, that the people of Memikan, the mountain
station, notwithstanding their sufferings for the sake of the
Gospel, did not falter in their adherence to it. Strangers, after
listening to the reading and reciting of the school children,
sometimes went away exclaiming, "Glory to God! There is nothing bad
in all this." Religious worship was well attended. Even in the busy
season, when the laborers were in their fields before dawn, and
worked till late, a goodly number attended the daily evening
service. Nor was it here, only, that a listening ear was found. In a
tour among some of the largest neighboring villages, the
missionaries were kindly received. Some sat from morning till the
setting of the sun, giving earnest heed to the preaching. Could the
people have been assured that they had nothing to fear from the
civil power, they would have braved their ecclesiastics. Even as it
was, the missionary pursued his work without molestation, and was
treated with uniform respect by the authorities.

On the plain of Oroomiah, there was more preaching than ever before,
and the line of demarkation between an evangelical church and a dead
Christianity, was becoming more and more distinct. Mar Yohannan
boldly discarded many customs of his Church, and then seemed
disposed to go as fast in the work of reformation as his people
could be induced to follow; and there was the same spirit among the
helpers of the mission.

The two seminaries were coming under a stricter discipline, and
aimed at a higher standard of scholarship. About half of the forty
students under Mr. Stoddard were hopefully pious, and some of them
gave high promise of usefulness. One was appointed to succeed the
bishop of the largest diocese in the province. Several were from
different mountain districts, and one was from the valley of the
Tigris.

The number in the female seminary had increased from forty to fifty,
and it was delightful to witness the intelligent zeal of some
teachers in the Sabbath-schools. The ten who graduated in March were
all hopefully pious, well educated, and quite refined, and most of
them were expected to become teachers in their own villages.

The description given by Mr. Stocking of a very aged priest, whom he
saw among the hills north of Gawar, encourages the belief that the
Holy Spirit sometimes makes the faintest rays of Gospel light
effectual to salvation. The man was nearly deaf, and bending under
the weight of a century or more, according to the statement of the
people, but was able to converse intelligently about events which
happened two or three generations before. "We were much surprised,"
writes Mr. Stocking, "at the correctness of his views in regard to
some of the cardinal doctrines of the Scriptures, and particularly
as to the necessity of an evangelical faith, in distinction from one
that was dead, and of the work of the Holy Spirit in renewing and
sanctifying believers. Though not remarkable for his learning, he
appears to have been taught by the great Teacher himself; for he had
never before seen a missionary. As I left him, to see him no more,
he affectionately took my hand, and said he had one request to
make, which was that we would remember him in our prayers at the
mercy-seat. He also requested a New Testament in the ancient and
modern Syriac, for his village, which we sent to him."

In August, 1851, Mr. Coan, accompanied by Priest Dunka and Deacons
John and Khamis, visited the districts of Jeloo, Bass, Tekhoma,
Tiary, and Diss, and discoursed to more than four thousand persons.
A part of this ground had never been trod before by a missionary.
The ecclesiastics were, as usual, the greatest opposers, but there
were two pleasing exceptions. In Alsan, a village of five hundred
souls, there was one priest who, at first, seemed reserved, but as
his prejudices were removed, he became, with his people, an
attentive listener. The missionaries tarried four or five hours,
preaching the Word to the hungry multitude. The people, in little
companies, conversed about what they had heard, and publicly
upbraided their priest for letting them remain in such ignorance. He
made humble confession, and expressed a desire to send his little
boy, a bright looking lad, to Oroomiah for instruction. At another
village, they found a decidedly evangelical priest. That his
influence over his large village was good was apparent in the quiet
and orderly behavior of the people, and their attention to the
Gospel. Indeed, they were accustomed to the word of exhortation
daily at their evening prayers. This priest had a small school every
winter, to which several lads resorted from neighboring districts.

A very different scene was witnessed in the village of Mar Ziah,
which was thronged with ecclesiastics who obtained their livelihood
by begging. "They were dressed," Mr. Coan writes concerning them,
"in scarlet and silk, and were exceedingly haughty in their bearing.
We met the people in the churchyard, but, after a few words, there
arose such a tumult as I hope never to see again. For an hour or
more, the place was like a pandemonium. Some wished to hear what we
had to say; but others, with savage fierceness, flew at them,
yelling at the top of their voices, and looking as if ready to drink
their blood. In the course of an hour or two their rage had spent
itself, and after a few words of solemn admonition, we left them."
At another village, scarcely three miles distant, where was no
priest, a few persons assembled in a room where the missionaries
stopped, and their solemn and tearful attention was very unlike the
noisy scene they had just left. One young man begged, with tears, to
receive a copy of the Gospel.

Nazee was one of three Tiary girls who came to Oroomiah after the
massacre of the mountain Nestorians, and in the seminary became
hopefully pious. She was now living at Chumba, and having heard of
the coming of her missionary friends, was standing on the bank of
the impetuous Zab, awaiting their arrival. There was no fording the
torrent, but the travellers ventured across on two single string
pieces, bending under them at every step. She greeted them joyfully,
and hastened to prepare a place for their lodging. While she was
gone, the Malek came and took them to his house. Nazee was
disappointed, but followed, eager to hear every word. During the
address to the villagers assembled on the roof, it was affecting to
see the eagerness with which she listened. Though others left she
could not leave, and not till near midnight did she bethink herself,
and apologize for keeping Mr. Coan up so late after a fatiguing
day's journey. She was a light in her village, by which the deeds of
the wicked had been reproved, and she had consequently suffered much
persecution. Some friends in America, interested in the account
which had been given of her while in the seminary, had sent her
articles of dress; but her neighbors assembled and maliciously tore
them into fragments before her eyes. She bore it meekly, and only
prayed for them. She expected fresh insults because of the kindness
shown her in the present visit. Long before light, on the day they
were to leave, she was with the visitors, anxious to improve the few
moments left for Christian conversation; and she followed them,
lonely and sad, to the river's side. There they kneeled by the
roaring stream, and commended her to the Great and Good Shepherd.

Mr. Stoddard mentions the visit of Mr. Khanikoff, a Russian
scientific gentleman, in the summer of 1852, to obtain information
concerning the elevations and climates of these districts. Lake
Oroomiah was ascertained to be about four thousand one hundred feet
above the ocean, and the city four thousand five hundred feet, the
plain sloping down gently towards the lake. Mount Seir rises two
thousand eight hundred and thirty feet above the city, and seven
thousand three hundred and thirty feet above the ocean; differing
not greatly, in real height, from the White Mountains in New
Hampshire. The mission residence, on the mountain side, is a
thousand feet above the city. The mountains of Koordistan, some of
which are capped with snow through all the year, often rise to the
height of twelve thousand feet, and one peak is supposed to be
fourteen thousand feet above the sea. Mr. Khanikoff afterwards
became Russian Consul General at Tabriz, and proved himself a
sincere and valuable friend to the mission.

Failure of health constrained Mr. Stocking to return, with his
family, to the United States, and he was never able to resume his
missionary labors. Since his lamented decease, a son has taken his
place among the Nestorians.

It should be gratefully acknowledged, that violence towards
missionaries has almost everywhere been the exception, and not the
rule. It has been so even in Koordistan. But Mr. Cochran, while
travelling with several Nestorians through Nochea, was assailed by
five robbers in the employ of a Koordish chief, named Seyed Khan
Bey. As Moslems the assailants were of course reckless of the life
of Christians; and, for a time, the party were apprehensive of being
murdered. But at last, while the freebooters were intent on their
prey, the company fled up the steep mountain side, leaving their
effects. Their horses were afterwards recovered.

The year 1854 opened with a revival in both the seminaries. At the
commencement of it, scarcely half the students in either of the
institutions gave evidence of piety, which was an unusually small
proportion. The thought of this, and especially that several of the
senior class were about going forth into the world without Christ,
led to earnest prayer, and to efforts which were followed by an
immediate blessing. The special religious interest continued several
weeks, and extended to the large village of Geog Tapa, but the
results appear not to have been distinctly reported.

The eighteen young men who graduated in 1854, were of higher promise
than any previous class. Several of the performances at their
graduation were very gratifying, particularly the valedictory
addresses, pronounced by a young man of eighteen, which would not
suffer in matter or manner, Dr. Perkins thought, by the side of
similar addresses at any American college. Nearly all were hopefully
pious, and were returning to homes widely distant from each other.

In some parts of the field there was much enthusiasm. In Geog Tapa,
for example, about seventy adults had commenced learning to read.
The mode pursued there and elsewhere, was to induce teachers,
scholars in the village schools, and other readers to teach adults,
by the promise of a Bible, Testament, or other book, if they were
successful. At an examination, the forenoon was devoted to the
girls' school, taught by two graduates of the female seminary, and
the afternoon to the Sabbath-school. Such a crowd of Nestorians was
present, that it was necessary in the afternoon, to meet in a grove.
The first class examined in the Sabbath-school consisted of men from
twenty to seventy years of age, headed by the chief man of the
village. Then followed a class of women, fifty or sixty in number,
from forty to fifty years of age. These classes, not being able to
read, had been taught orally. Next came a class of men, about twenty
in number, and a class of twenty-three women, who had recently
learned to read. These had been taught individually by boys
connected with the village schools, each of whom received a copy
of the Old Testament as a reward. On the plain of Oroomiah
seventy-three free schools were reported, with more than a thousand
boys, and one hundred and fifty girls and women as pupils.

In Gawar, two schools embraced fourteen boarding and thirty-two day
scholars. Fourteen of these were from Jeloo, Bass, and Tekhoma
districts. Among them were four deacons, four from the family of the
bishop of Jeloo, and nearly all were from prominent families. They
were wild mountaineers, and in some thing's difficult to manage, but
they acquired knowledge rapidly and with delight; and the constant
study of the Bible wrought a perceptible change in them. In the
Bootan districts, hitherto inaccessible to missionary influence,
there was now a strong desire for schools, and for the labors of
evangelical teachers.

The New Testament in the modern language was beginning to be
circulated among the people; a much enlarged edition of the hymn
book had been issued, and a volume, entitled "Scripture Facts," had
a wide circulation. Mr. Perkins had completed a translation of
Doddridge's "Rise and Progress," and was engaged in translating
Barth's "Church History."

Mr. Crane died at Gawar on the 27th of August, 1854, at the
commencement of a career of bright promise. So ardently was he
beloved by the people there, that at the funeral service the whole
assembly repeatedly broke forth into weeping. The afflicted widow
was called, within a week of her husband's death, to mourn also the
loss of a beloved son, and removed to Mount Seir, where she was a
valued helper in the mission. She returned home in 1857. Mr. Rhea
and Miss Harris were united in marriage in October, and spent the
winter at Gawar.

The audacity of the papal missionaries, backed by the French
embassy, was marvelous. The American mission having been importuned
to open a school in the large village of Khosrova, in Salmas, where
popery predominated, two young men, graduates of the seminary, were
successively sent thither. The first was several times driven away,
through the instigation of the Lazarists, and those who were
friendly to the mission also became objects of persecution. The
second was assailed by the mob, headed, by the French chief of the
Lazarists, and by a bishop. These two men, with their own hands,
threw him into a canal, and called on the people to drown or kill
him. He was mercifully delivered, but narrowly escaped with his
life. The matter being reported to Mr. Abbott, the English Consul at
Tabriz, the chief of the Lazarists, with some fifteen of his
satellites, went thither, and apprehending a cool reception from the
Consul, whose protection the Lazarists enjoyed in common with the
American missionaries, he applied for assistance to the Russian
Consul, proposing to transfer his passports to his hands. Mr.
Khanikoff refused, and severely rebuked them for their conduct. Mr.
Abbott obtained an order from the Governor of Azerbijan to lay heavy
fines on the Mussulman deputies of Khosrova for withholding
protection, and on the principal papists for their acts of violence,
with the requirement of bonds for future good behavior.

Messrs. Abbott and Stevens, English consuls at Tabriz and Teheran,
kindly exerted their protecting influence, and Mr. Cochran
subsequently spent a week at Khosrova, and had his house thronged
every evening with from fifty to a hundred and fifty people, eager
to listen to the preaching of the Word. The ecclesiastics raged, and
stirred up the agent of the master of the village (who lives in
Tabriz) to endeavor to drive our brother away; but the attempt
failed. Sixty houses gave their names and seals, wishing to become
Protestants. They were exceedingly desirous of having a missionary,
and even threatened, good-naturedly, to take one by force to live
among them.

The reader may remember what Dr. Lobdell said of the course of this
mission in respect to the forming of distinct churches.[1] Dr.
Perkins, writing in May, 1855, gives the following account of the
progress of the reformation towards that result: "Our communion
occurred about two weeks ago, and nearly one hundred communicants
sat down to the table of the Lord, including our mission. It was a
solemn and delightful season. Among the native brethren present were
Mar Yohannan and Mar Elias; and most of the others, of both sexes,
were educated and quite intelligent; but, what is of far greater
importance, they were, as we trust, true Christians. It would be
easy at once to triple the number from those who, in the judgment of
charity, are the children of God; but we think it better to
introduce them somewhat gradually and cautiously to the ordinance;
while, at the same time, we would not too long allow any of the
sheep and lambs of Christ's flock to suffer for want of this
important means of grace. It is exerting a powerful influence on
those who participate in it, and on many others; and it cannot fail
ultimately to produce the effect either of redeeming the ordinance
from abuses, as administered in Nestorian churches, or drawing off
the pious part of the people to a separate observance of it. We are
quite willing that the scriptural administration of the ordinance to
the pious Nestorians should work out either of these results, in the
legitimate time and way, or both of them, as the Lord shall direct."

[1] Chapter xxvii.

Some months later, notice was given that, in the future, instead of
personal invitations, the door would be thrown open for all who
should consider themselves worthy candidates. Uniting with the
missionaries would thus seem more like a voluntary and public
profession of religion. None were to be received, however, to the
communion without a private examination. On one sacramental occasion
about one hundred united with the missionaries, and more than thirty
of them for the first time. A large number were also present as
spectators, many of them deeply interested.

Deacon Guwergis of Tergawer, the well known "Mountain Evangelist,"
died on the 12th of March, called suddenly from earnest and most
useful labors to his reward.

The course of the Persian government towards the mission and its
friends, at this time, was very unsatisfactory. Asker Khan, a
general in the Persian army, was appointed to investigate the truth
of certain charges brought by the papists against the American
missionaries, and early evinced a most unfriendly feeling towards
them, and a partiality for their accusers. Indeed, he took no pains
to conceal his hostility, and did all he could to stop the schools
and other evangelizing agencies. But the missionaries had the aid,
as far as aid could be rendered, of the Hon. C. A. Murray, the
English Ambassador, and of Mr. Abbott at Tabriz, and Mr. Stevens at
Teheran, and also of Mr. Khanikoff, the Russian Consul General at
Tabriz. The disturbed state of political relations, and especially
the want of harmony between the English and Persian governments,
made it impossible for these friends to accomplish what they desired
to do in their behalf. After withdrawing from Teheran, Mr. Murray
visited Oroomiah, and the correspondence which then passed between
him and the missionaries, showed his desire to aid both the
suffering Nestorians and the missionary work. In his absence, the
Russian Consul General became their protector,--"at first," as he
said, "unofficially, but with very good heart; and officially,
whenever he should have the right so to do." It is remarkable, and
reveals a protecting Providence, that no department of labor, with
the exception of village schools, very materially suffered at this
time.

In February, 1856, there began to be indications of the special
influences of the Holy Spirit in some of the villages occupied by
native helpers; and very soon there were marked indications of
another work of grace in the two seminaries. The feeling in both the
schools became very general. The voice of prayer was heard on every
side; and a large proportion of those who were not pious, appeared
to be seeking in earnest the way of life. On the 30th of March, Mr.
Cochran reported that, with the exception of those most recently
admitted, nearly all were hoping that they had passed from death
unto life. In the villages, also, there were cases of peculiar
interest.

Mr. and Mrs. Rhea were alone in Gawar. In the autumn it was deemed
advisable, in view of the insurrectionary state of Koordistan, that
they should withdraw for a time. They at first felt it their duty to
remain; but the progress of events soon made it plain that Gawar was
an unsuitable place for a lone lady, especially when winter should
render it impossible for her to remove. Mr. Rhea, while at Oroomiah,
continued, as far as possible, to superintend the labors of the
native helpers in Memikan, and he returned the next summer, with
Mrs. Rhea, to their mountain home. The Koordish chieftains, who had
proudly boasted, that they would put their heels upon the necks of
the poor Christians, were soon fleeing in dismay before the
advancing Ottomans.

Mr. Stoddard wrote, in September, 1856, that for six months, in
consequence of the withdrawal from Persia of the English Ambassador,
the missionaries had been without any political protection, and at
the mercy of a hostile government, yet there was perhaps never a
time when their work presented a more cheering aspect on the whole.
The seminaries, being on the mission premises, suffered less
annoyance than did the village schools, which were scattered widely
over the plain. The teachers in these schools had many of them been
educated in the seminaries, and were altogether superior as a class
to what they were a few years before; and thus the standard of
instruction was raised, and more religious influence was exerted
over the pupils. Nor was there ever a time when more people were
brought within the sound of the gospel, or when there were more
stated attendants on preaching. And much use was made of the Monthly
Concert on the first Monday of the month. The whole day was devoted
to the natives. "Early Monday morning," writes Mr. Stoddard, "some
of our friends arrive from the nearer villages, and others are
continually dropping in during the forenoon. At about the dinner
hour, nearly all are assembled. We occupy considerable time with
them in private, or in little companies, each one attending to the
helpers under his care, in hearing the monthly reports of their
labors and trials, their hopes and fears, and intermingling the
reports with religious conversation and prayer. At three in the
afternoon we assemble, and spend an hour or two in public religious
exercises. In the evening a similar meeting is held, when the
natives not only speak freely, but often occupy nearly the whole
time, leaving the brother who has charge of the meeting little to
do. It very often happens, also, that after the meeting has been
together two hours, there are several who feel that they want to be
heard, if but for a few moments." These monthly occasions Mr.
Stoddard enjoyed exceedingly, and came to look upon the "First
Monday" as the great day of the month.

In October, Messrs. Stoddard and Cochran and Miss Fiske made a tour
of three weeks in the mountains of Koordistan. At Gawar they were
joined by Mr. and Mrs. Rhea, and visited the districts of Ishtazin
and Bass. From that point Messrs. Cochran and Rhea extended their
journey to Amadiah, and returned to their party at Tekhoma, a week
later. Thence they passed through the districts of Tâl, and up the
Zab to Gawar. The fact that American ladies traversed in safety the
gorges and precipices of central Koordistan, was an encouragement to
native helpers and their families to reside in those difficult
regions; but such tours were too fatiguing, probably, to be often
repeated.

The object of the visit to Amadiah was to make further explorations
with reference to the formation of a station on the western side of
the mountains. The mass of the people were on that side, and could
not be advantageously reached from Oroomiah. The eastern district
was fast becoming supplied with pious helpers, and it seemed very
desirable for that section of the country to share in this
initiatory work, before anything occurred to hinder it. The
convictions of the brethren as to the desirableness of commencing a
station there were much strengthened, and Mr. Cochran offered his
own services for that purpose.

November was ushered in by an event deeply interesting to the
mission families; a public profession of religion by the three
eldest children of the mission; and hope was entertained as to the
piety of some of the younger.

Asker Khan, agent of the Persian government at Oroomiah, now became
more troublesome than ever, resorting to every form of annoyance in
his power. At the instance of Mr. Khanikoff, Dr. Wright and Mr.
Stoddard visited him at Tabriz, to see what could be done to induce
the government to check the doings of its agent. But in this they
failed, though the Consul did all he could to assist them. Even the
Turkish Consul volunteered his aid, but almost in vain. Through Mr.
Khanikoff, they learned that the orders from Teheran to the Kaim
Makam required him to forbid the labors of the missionaries in the
province of Salmas; to see that no school was established save in
the two places where missionaries resided; and that the number of
the schools should not exceed thirty, nor the number of pupils one
hundred and fifty. He was to require that no girl receive
instruction, at all events, in the same school with boys. The
missionaries were not to induce any person to change his religion,
and were to enter into a written engagement not to send forth
preachers. Books conflicting with existing religions in Persia were
not to be printed, and native teachers and preachers were to be
approved by Mar Yoosuf and Mar Gabriel, two unprincipled and bitter
opposers of evangelical religion. Such were the orders issued, it is
believed at the instigation of the French, by the Prime Minister of
Persia, and Messrs. Stoddard and Wright, unable to secure even delay
in carrying them out, returned to Oroomiah. The mission now, at the
suggestion of the Consul, made a formal application for protection
to the Russian Ambassador at Teheran.

Asker Khan was assassinated six days after the return of the
brethren from Tabriz, by a Koordish chief at Mergawer. But his
coadjutor, Asker Aly Khan, governor of the Nestorians, pursued the
same persecuting course, urged on by the Kaim Makam at Tabriz. The
career of the Kaim Makam, however, was now short, for in January,
1857, the populace of that city, exasperated by his oppression, rose
in a body, broke into his palace, plundered it, and compelled him to
flee for his life. He was subsequently summoned to Teheran, and on
his approach to that city, was stripped of his honors, mounted on a
pack saddle, and thus led to prison, while a fine was imposed on him
of a hundred thousand tomans.






CHAPTER XXIX.

THE NESTORIANS.

1857-1863.


The sojourn of three weeks at Tabriz had been a source of constant
anxiety to Messrs. Stoddard and Wright, and the former had
premonitory symptoms of fever on his way home. But he was not
apprehensive on that account, and finding Mr. Cochran and two of the
native teachers disabled by sickness, he devoted much time and labor
to the Seminary, and to the correspondence which had accumulated in
his absence. Yet fever was threatening, and on the 22d of December,
ten days after his return, he became decidedly ill. On the 25th he
was confined to his bed, where he lay for two and thirty days, while
the fever ran its fatal course. He died in great peace January 26,
1857, in the thirty-ninth year of his age. The public funeral
services were in Syriac, and his remains were borne to their last
resting-place by graduates of the seminary, whose conversion dated
back to the first revival.

The mind of Mr. Stoddard was cast in a fine mould. The older members
of the Board remember him at the Annual Meeting in Pittsfield in
1849. My own thought at the time was, that were an angel present in
human form, his appearance and deportment would be much like those
of Mr. Stoddard. A calm, seraphic joy shone in his face, and all
that he said and did was just what all delighted to hear and see.
His presence did much to give a character to that meeting. Mr.
Stoddard had a frail body, and an almost feminine grace of person,
like the popular impression of that disciple who leaned on the bosom
of his Lord; but, like that disciple, he had strength of principle
and inflexibility of purpose. His consecration to the missionary
work was no sudden impulse. It was the result of repeated, and
sometimes unexpected, meetings and conferences with Dr. Perkins,
whose sagacious eye had marked him for a missionary. But the
question once settled, it was settled for life. He went whole-souled
into the work, and never doubted that his call to it was of God. His
talents, which were of a high order, and his learning, which excited
the admiration of Persian nobles and princes, were unreservedly
consecrated. "He goes among the churches," said the lamented
Professor B. B. Edwards, of the Andover Seminary, "burning like a
seraph. So heavenly a spirit has hardly ever been seen in this
country."

Mr. Stoddard's daughter Harriet followed him to the grave within two
months, at the age of thirteen, a victim to the same disease. She
was sustained by the same calm trust in Christ, which lighted up the
last hours of her excellent father.

Dr. Perkins wrote in 1857, that when the mission was commenced,
twenty-four years before, hardly a score of Nestorian men were able
to read intelligently, and but a single woman, the sister of the
Patriarch. The people had no printed books, and but few copies even
of portions of the Bible in manuscript, and these were all in the
ancient Syriac, and almost unintelligible. Their spoken language,
the modern Syriac, had not been reduced to writing. Their moral
degradation was extreme. Still there was a remarkable simplicity in
their conception of religious doctrines, and a remarkable absence of
bigotry in their feelings, as compared with other oriental sects,
and they were very accessible to the missionaries. The change had
been great. Of the fifty-six in the male seminary when he wrote,
thirty were hopefully pious; and so were ninety-one of the one
hundred and fifty who had been connected with it. These were the
fruits of seven revivals. Of the one hundred and three who had been
connected with the female seminary, sixty, or more than one-half,
gave good evidence of conversion; and the same might be said of
three fourths who were then in the school. A large portion of the
young men who had left the seminary, were either preachers of the
gospel, or very competent teachers in the village school; and the
greater part of the religious graduates of the other seminary were
married to those missionary helpers. This seminary had been blessed
with eight revivals. The instruction in both institutions had been
almost wholly in the native tongue.

The entire Bible had been translated into the spoken language, which
the mission had reduced to a written form; and two thousand
intelligent readers, the result of the schools, had been supplied
with the sacred volume. Indeed, the Scriptures had been printed and
given to the people in the ancient Peschito version, as well as in
the spoken tongue. To these were added valuable works on
experimental and practical religion, for the use of the schools, and
to meet the wants of a community in the early stages of a Christian
civilization.

Though separate churches had not been organized, none but pious
Nestorians, for the last two or three years, had been admitted to
communion with the mission church. The number who had thus communed
was about two hundred, and it was thought that from one hundred and
fifty to two hundred more were worthy of a place at the Lord's
table.

The French Jesuits and their emissaries had been a sore trial, but
their success had not been great; and they had probably been useful,
by stimulating the mission and the pious Nestorians in their
Master's service.

Mrs. Rhea had been two years a member of the mission as Miss Harris,
and three as Mrs. Rhea. Her active and useful life closed on the 7th
of December, 1857, at the age of twenty-nine years and five months.
"Her sick room," says Dr. Wright, "was a hallowed place, where the
Sun of Righteousness shone with wonderful brightness."

Another revival of religion occurred in both the seminaries, at the
opening of the year 1858, which was extended to Geog Tapa and other
villages. Miss Fiske, in charge of the female seminary, relates a
fact of much significance. She writes: "Some of the girls' pious
friends came to pray with them yesterday, and I was led to inquire
how many of them have a pious father or mother (or both), or older
brother or sister; and I was surprised to find, as I think you will
be to know, that about two thirds of them have such praying friends.
I contrast this with the facts respecting their friends in 1846, and
feel that we ought to be thankful and humble before our God, for
what he has done for them."

Mr. Rhea spent the winter of 1857 and 1858 on the western side of
the Koordish mountains, and everywhere found an open door for
preaching to the rude dwellers among the rocks. In Shermin, Usgan,
and Argin, Nestorian villages southwest of Amadiah, he was cordially
welcomed to their houses and churches, and had large congregations
that gave earnest attention to his preaching. Snow fell eleven out
of fifteen days, and when ready to return to Amadiah, he found the
way entirely blocked up. Mr. Marsh having joined him from Mosul,
they spent a number of days among large papal villages in that
region, where they found ample opportunity for preaching the Gospel;
and several individuals seemed earnest inquirers after the way of
salvation from the power of sin. With reference to Mosul and
vicinity, Mr. Rhea writes: "I am deeply impressed with the evidence,
that the labors of the mission here have not been in vain, and that
their results are not to be measured by the number of names on the
church roll. The Jacobite Church here is now shaken to its
foundations; and it cannot be doubted, that whatever of feeling
after something better exists among many of its members is owing to
the steady light of the Protestant church streaming in upon its
darkness." He was absent six months, and for one third of this time
was in Mosul. He regarded the proper field of the mountain branch of
the Nestorian Mission as extending from Amadiah on the north to
Mosul on the south, and from Akra on the east to Bootan on the west;
including the mountain districts between Gawar and Amadiah. The
Christian population was one in respect to nationality and language,
and was a remnant of the once great Syrian Church. The language was
the same substantially as that spoken in the eastern districts.

As the result of these explorations, Mr. Rhea made an eloquent
appeal for more effective labor in Western Koordistan, which was
published in the "Missionary Herald," but cannot be sufficiently
condensed for these pages.[1] His health had suffered in his
mountain tours, which resembled those performed by his eminent
predecessor, Dr. Grant. This rendered it necessary for him to spend
a year for recovery in his native land, where his missionary
addresses were well received. Two other members of the mission,
second to none in the field,--the venerable Dr. Perkins, and Miss
Fidelia Fiske,--were obliged to visit the United States in 1858; the
former to care for the health of Mrs. Perkins, who, after burying
six of her children, had accompanied Mrs. Crane to America, taking
her only surviving child; and the latter, in consequence of a
disease, which proved fatal after a few years. Dr. Perkins was also
accompanied by Mrs. Stoddard, and three children of the mission.

[1] See _Missionary Herald_, 1858, pp. 317, 318.

Mr. Rhea's appeal had not been without effect. The Rev. Thomas L.
Ambrose joined the mission near the close of 1858, the Rev. John H.
Shedd and wife in 1859, and the Rev. Henry N. Cobb and wife in 1860,
with direct reference to the mountain field; and the Rev. Amherst L.
Thompson and Rev. Benjamin Labaree, with their wives, and Frank N.
H. Young, M. D., in 1860, to strengthen the force on the plains,
together with Misses Aura Jeannette Beach and Harriet N. Crawford.
Mr. Thompson had given much promise of usefulness, but died at Seir,
August 25, 1860, only fifty-four days after his arrival. Miss Beach
was to be associated with Miss Rice, who had rendered efficient
service in the girls' Seminary as the associate of Miss Fiske, but
was then alone and overburdened.

The unexpected but providential withdrawal of so many older
laborers, at this juncture, was not favorable to a more enlarged
occupation of the field; and the plan of forming a station on the
western side of the mountains, was not carried out. The height of
Amadiah above the plain of Mesopotamia, and its salubrity in summer
were found to have been overestimated; and further researches made
it evident, that the demands of so trying a mountain field were more
than the average health of missionaries would be able to endure at
any season of the year. Indeed, impaired health obliged Mr. and Mrs.
Cobb, who had been specially designated to the mountain district, to
return home within two years; and, to their own great regret and
that of their associates, they have never been able to rejoin the
mission.

The Nestorian helpers, as a class, were pronounced able and faithful
men, remarkably so for Orientals. But they could not fully take the
place of missionaries. "They do nobly," wrote Mr. Coan, "if properly
directed and watched over, better perhaps, in some circumstances,
than we can; but it is not the work of a day, nor a year, thoroughly
to eradicate the habits of life of those who are brought up in gross
superstition."

Early in the year 1859, the seminary for young men was blessed with
its tenth revival, in which a third of its pupils were hopefully
converted. There had then been eleven such spiritual refreshings in
the seminary for girls. In most of these outpourings of the Spirit,
as now, the villages were more or less favored. The effects of these
revivals were by no means limited to the souls converted. An
enlightening, softening, elevating influence affected the masses.
The young men from the seminary were generally of good abilities,
having been selected from a large number of candidates, and many of
them were distinguished for piety; and quite as much might be said
of the other seminary.

More than fourteen millions of printed pages had been distributed
among the Nestorians. The Old Testament with references formed a
part of this literary treasure; and the New Testament was about
being issued in that form.

Among the novelties to be recorded was the marriage of Mar Yohanan,
in violation of the canons of the Nestorian Church. The bishop had
been connected with the labors of the mission from the beginning. He
pleaded the example of Luther and the Apostles. The step was one of
his own choosing, and taken in the face of many threats, as well as
the imputation of unworthy motives; but the "evangelicals" almost
universally approved his course. The excitement was much less than
had been apprehended; and another of the bishops, after some time,
followed his example.

In 1860 the observance of the Lord's Supper, instead of being
confined to the missionary stations; was held, once in four months,
in the various villages where the converts resided, and about a
score of virtually reformed churches were thus planted and watered
in as many different places. The native pastor was held responsible
for the persons whose names were presented to the missionary, as
suitable to be admitted to the Lord's table. Mr. Coan speaks of
those little churches, as being such in fact, "scattered in the
different villages, as so many moral light-houses in the surrounding
darkness."

Mar Shimon, the Nestorian Patriarch, died near the close of 1860, at
the age of fifty-nine, and after having been thirty-five years in
office. His successor was a nephew, eighteen years old, and a youth
of amiable disposition. The patriarch had stood variously affected
towards the mission, but was, for the most part, unfriendly. The
effect of the Gospel in diminishing the superstitious reverence of
the people for him, was one of the causes of his hostility.

About this time, a spirit of unlooked-for liberality was manifested
among the Nestorians. It should be borne in mind that the people are
poor, that the man worth five hundred dollars is counted rich, and
that probably no Nestorian is worth two thousand dollars. The
indications in our own country were at that time very unpromising;
and when the prospective embarrassments of the Board were stated at
the monthly concert in Geog Tapa, John, the pastor, urged the people
to support their own missionary in the mountains, and one of the
audience rose and pledged nearly a month's support. Others
contributed unwonted amounts, and soon the whole congregation was in
a blaze of enthusiasm. Those who could command money gave money,
others contributed wheat, or other produce, and even women took off
their ornaments and gave them. At the monthly concert the next day
in the city, the people were more aglow than at Geog Tapa, and gave
on a larger scale, though frequently reminded that they were poor,
and urged not to give more than their cooler judgments would
approve. The amount contributed was five hundred dollars. They
seized upon the figure of "a bride"-- more forcible in Persia than
in America,--which Mr. Coan had used in his address; and one and
another contributed for her "shoes," "dress," and other things,
until the "church," the "Lamb's wife," had a very comfortable
outfit.

This outburst of benevolent effort was too sudden and excessive to
last in the same measure. The advantage gained by the elevation thus
reached, was the practicability of keeping the converts up to giving
according to their ability, which is the Gospel standard. Dr.
Perkins, writing two years later, thought there was a real gain by
this effort, though it had reacted somewhat. Most of the pledges
were redeemed after the next harvest and vintage.

Dr. Dwight was eighteen days at Oroomiah during his Eastern tour in
1860 and 1861. Mr. Wheeler had accompanied him from Harpoot. Some
important changes in the practical working of the mission, made at
the Annual Meeting, threw a greater responsibility on the native
pastors. They were to have the responsibility, not only of
administering baptism, but of the Lord's Supper; and the children of
none except communicants were to be baptized. The relation of pastor
and people was thus made more prominent and distinct. Dr. Dwight
declares himself satisfied by what he saw at Oroomiah, that nothing
more than this was needed to complete the organization of the
reformed church. He had had the impression, for years, that sooner
or later the converts among the Nestorians, like the same class of
persons among the Armenians, would be organized into separate
churches, wholly distinct from the Nestorian Church. The
excommunications and persecutions that had led to that result among
the Armenians, he seemed to think would not occur among the
Nestorians; and it was evident to him that the old ceremonies of the
Church were silently vanishing away, and that reformed services were
taking their place, as the result of a fundamental change in the
minds of the people. A distinct theological class was to be formed
in the seminary of promising young converts, and no more men were to
be educated in that school than could afterwards be profitably
employed. The conclusion was also reached, in view of past
experience, that the mountain regions should not be occupied by
American families; reserving them as the peculiar field of the
reformed church of the plain; as a training-school for their
missionary spirit, and a necessary outlet for their pious zeal.

The native preachers and helpers held a two days' meeting at
Oroomiah while Dr. Dwight was there, in which several important
subjects were discussed. He liked their appearance, admired the
spirit of many of them, and was greatly moved by the extraordinary
fire of their eloquence, though he understood them only through an
interpreter. He was specially impressed by the childlike piety of
the venerable Mar Elias.

Mr. Breath, the ingenious and efficient missionary printer, died of
cholera on the 10th of November, 1861. He had so far succeeded in
training native printers and book-binders, that there was no further
call for such workmen from the United States. Mrs. Breath returned
home, with her three children, in the following year.

Some uneasiness was created about this time by rumors, that priests
of the Russian Church were coming to Oroomiah to proselyte
Nestorians. They did not come; but emissaries were sent by them
secretly, who made large promises, that deceived many; yet the
evangelical party, with two or three exceptions, kept aloof from the
affair. The proposal was that the Nestorians should renounce their
religion, and receive the seven sacraments of the Greek Church; the
inducements held out being such as the payment of their taxes for
some years, and salaries to all ecclesiastics and head men of the
villages. The Persian government at length became somewhat alarmed
by these proceedings, and the English Consul, Mr. Abbott, having
demanded the official interference of the authorities at Tabriz,
measures were adopted promising some degree of relief to the
oppressed and therefore discontented Nestorians.

I have passed in silence, for the most part, the long series of
efforts by the Persian government to embarrass the mission, since
they appear to have been generally prompted by bribes from
emissaries of the Papal Church, and proved strangely inoperative.

Another interesting revival of religion occurred in the two
seminaries in February, 1862. It seems to have been marked rather by
an increase of grace in the church-members, than by the number of
converts. The first months of 1863 and 1864 were also distinguished
by special religious interest, extending to many of the villages on
the plain.

On Sabbath morning, December 6, 1863, the good old Mar Elias died,
more than four score years of age. Until within a week of his death,
he was accustomed to walk to town to attend the monthly concert, a
distance of five miles, and for many years he had visited the
villages of his diocese on foot. He was sick only three days, and
his mind was clear. When asked by the young men about him for his
dying charge, it was, "See that ye hold fast to God's Word." An
immense concourse gathered from the surrounding country to do honor
to his memory; and Dr. Perkins preached from the text: "My father,
my father! The chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof."

As a most cheering illustration of what Nestorians may yet become,
through the grace of God in the Gospel, I quote largely from an
account of the venerable man, by Mr. Rhea.[1] "While our good old
bishop was not an educated man,--his knowledge in books extending
little beyond the Word of God,--and had but ordinary intellectual
ability, he was still one of the most interesting characters among
the Nestorians. There is no name among them that will be more
fragrant; none that deserves a more honored place in the annals of
his Church. The singularity of his position here, thirty years
ago,--devout, spiritual, God-fearing, and active, when a deep night
hung over his whole people,--like a mountain beacon, whose summit
had caught the first beams of the sun, which was soon to flood all
below with its glory; his prophetic anticipation of the coming of
missionaries; his joy in welcoming them; his peculiar attachment to
them and their families; his true-hearted devotion to them as God's
ministers, and to their work, through all kinds of vicissitudes; the
charming guilelessness of his character, ingenuous as a child; his
wonderful love for the Word of God, making it his meditation by day
and by night,--not able to pass two or three hours consecutively,
without drinking from this well-spring of life; the child-like
gentleness of his character,--though, when stirred in God's behalf,
he showed a lion-hearted courage, tearing down the pictures and
images which Papal hands had stealthily hung on the walls of his
church, and pitching them indignantly from the door; his love of
sound doctrine, holding forth the word of life in his humble way,
always and everywhere, his face never so full of spiritual light as
when rehearsing a conversation he had just had with some Mussulman
friend, to whom he had opened the Scriptures, and talked of the
kingdom yet to fill the whole earth,--the brotherhood of all
races,--the one flock and the one shepherd; his silent patience, in
a land of cruel wrong, under heavy burdens, borne uncomplainingly
for many years; his wonderful spirituality, all things earthly being
but the types of the heavenly,--the one, by resemblance or contrast,
constantly suggesting the other, so that he could not be reminded
that he was late to tea without the quick reply, 'May I not be late
at the marriage supper of the Lamb,' or 'Jesus will gather us all
in, in season;' all these traits of Christ-like beauty combined to
make a character which, in this weary land, was a constant rest to
the toil-worn missionary,--an influence for good, continually
streaming forth into the darkness of spiritual death around him.
God, who accurately weighs all men, only knows how much his kingdom
in Persia has been advanced by Mar Elias, than whom the Nestorian
Church never had a more spiritual and evangelical bishop."

[1] See _Missionary Herald_, 1864, pp. 146, 147.

Almost five thousand Armenians inhabit the plain of Oroomiah, and
the attention of the mission was gradually turned towards their
spiritual enlightenment, with a prospect of ultimate success.

At a general meeting of native helpers, in March, 1863, a Church
Manual, or Directory was adopted; "in the observance of which," Mr.
Cochran writes, "we have all that is essential to a reformed church,
with reformed pastors; and in the possession of the substance, we
can afford to dispense with the shadow of new organizations.....The
prospect, we believe, was never brighter than at present for the
ultimate evangelization of the old Church."

During the thirty years from the arrival of Dr. Perkins, five of the
twenty men and seven of the twenty-four women, who had joined the
mission, had died; and five men and nine women had for various
causes been obliged to retire from the field, leaving in the mission
seven male and nine female laborers. In this time, the vast unknown
of men and things where dwelt the primeval race, had become well
known. A great work of exploration had been performed. So far as
knowledge of the field was concerned, many a valley had been
exalted, many a hill brought low. This was indeed preliminary work,
but it was indispensable, and was no small share of what is involved
in the conquest of the country for Christ. The seven missionaries
then in the field had more than fifty Nestorian fellow-laborers in
the gospel ministry, graduates of their seminary, and the nine
female missionaries rejoiced in scores of pious young women from
their seminary, abroad as wives, mothers, and teachers, doing a work
perhaps not second in importance to that of the pious graduates of
the other school. Nor should we overlook the reduction of the spoken
language to writing, the translation of the Holy Scriptures into it,
and the multiplication of books to the extent of seventy-nine
thousand three hundred volumes, and more than sixteen millions of
pages. Of the half a score and more of revivals in the seminaries,
Dr. Perkins affirms that they would compare with the purest revivals
he had ever witnessed in America.

The return of Miss Beach to the United States threw the whole care
of the female seminary on Miss Rice. She was afterwards materially
aided by Mrs. Rhea, and from time to time by other members of the
mission.

The interest taken by the English government in the oppressed
Nestorians, should be gratefully acknowledged. Mr. Taylor, English
Consul at Diarbekir, was sent early in 1864 through the Nestorian
districts of Koordistan, to ascertain their grievances, and report
to the Ambassador at Constantinople; and Mr. Glen, a pious attaché
to the British Embassy in Persia, spent several months on the plain
of Oroomiah for a similar purpose.






CHAPTER XXX.

THIRTY YEARS AMONG THE JEWS.

1826-1856.


The first missionary sent by the Board to the Jews in the Levant,
was the Rev. Josiah Brewer, who, while connected with the Board, was
supported by the "Female Society of Boston and Vicinity for
promoting Christianity among the Jews." Sailing from Boston,
September 16, 1826, he proceeded to Constantinople by way of Malta
and Smyrna, expecting there to find every facility for learning the
Hebrew-Spanish language, spoken by the Spanish Jews. But
disturbances, growing partly out of the Greek revolution, so
hindered his gaining access to the Jews, that he deemed it his duty
to turn to some more open field of missionary labor.

After the retirement of Mr. Brewer, the ladies assumed the support
of the Rev. William G. Schauffler who became his successor. He was a
native of Stuttgart in Germany, but early removed, with his parents,
to a German colony near Odessa. He came to this country through the
agency of the Rev. Jonas King, and spent several years at the
Theological Seminary in Andover, to prepare himself for a mission to
the East. He was ordained at Boston in November, 1831, and embarked
soon after, going by way of Paris, where he attended the lectures on
the oriental languages and literature, for which that city was then
distinguished. He had been familiar with the French language from
his youth, and, having an aptitude for such studies, applied himself
successfully to the Arabic and Turkish. His health beginning to fail
after some months, and the cholera making ravages in the city, he
resumed his journey through Germany to Odessa, and thence by water
to Constantinople, where he arrived on the last day of July,
1832.[1]

[1] For Mr. Shauffler's account of his residence at Paris and this
journey, see _Missionary Herald_ for 1833 and 1834.

The greater part of the Jews in Constantinople are descendants of
the eight hundred thousand who were expelled from Spain in 1492, and
their language is the Hebrew-Spanish; or the Spanish with a mixture
of Hebrew words, all written in the Spanish Rabbinical alphabet. As
soon as Mr. Schauffler had acquired this language, he began the
careful revision of a Hebrew-Spanish translation of the Old
Testament, already in print, but not intelligible to the common
people. He found the Jewish mind in an unquiet state. Eight years
before, as many as a hundred and fifty had renounced Judaism at one
time, but nearly all were soon driven back by persecution. Several
of these now requested baptism, and were ready to suffer for the
sake of becoming Christians; but they seemed incapable of
understanding that anything more could be required of them than an
exchange of external relations, and gave little evidence of piety.

Near the close of 1834, Mr. Schauffler baptized a German Jew, whom
he named Herman Marcussohn, having formed his acquaintance in South
Russia, sixteen years before. As he could not there profess
Christianity except by joining the Greek Church, he had come to
Constantinople, bringing letters to Mr. Schauffler, and was engaged
by him as a literary assistant.

Religious excitements were not wanting. Three young Jews became
anxious for Christian baptism, and both the Greek and Armenian
Patriarchs refusing it, they fell into the cold embrace of the Papal
Church. Three others expressed the same desire; and ten young men
took advantage of the death of the civil head of their community to
flee, as was supposed, for the sake of greater freedom in religion.
Mr. Schauffler's varying and perplexing experience constrained him
to believe, that private charity, and sacrifices for individual
Jews, should be employed very sparingly.

The year 1835 was chiefly employed in revising the Hebrew-Spanish
version of the Old Testament, and in preparing a Lexicon in the two
languages. He also commenced a series of tracts in Hebrew-German. To
some extent there was among the Jews a hearing ear, and to a greater
extent the absence of an understanding heart. The German and Polish
Jews were less bigoted and more intelligent than the Spanish Jews,
but were more greedy of gain, and more indifferent to religion. On
the great day of atonement they allowed Marcussohn to address them
in their synagogue on the Christian religion; the rulers of the
synagogue having first given him a seat on the platform among
themselves, where they read their Scriptures and prayers, and where
sermons were delivered.

A visit of some months made by Mr. Schauffler among his friends at
Odessa, in 1836, resulted, through divine grace, in a revival, as
has been already stated, among the German population, and was not
without good effects upon the demoralized Jews of that city. During
his absence, his revision of the Psalms in Hebrew and Hebrew-Spanish
was printed at Constantinople, under the superintendence of Mr.
Farman, a missionary of the London Jews Society. A relative of the
chief rabbi called on Mr. Schauffler after his return, and took a
hundred copies for distribution, and he thought his chief might be
induced to give his _imprimatur_ to the contemplated edition of the
Old Testament; but from some unknown cause, the chief rabbi became a
fierce opposer of the Psalms, and prohibited the use of the edition.

In May, 1839, Mr. Schauffler left for Vienna, to superintend the
printing of the Old Testament for the Spanish Jews. As he was
leaving, the caique, in which himself and family, including an
infant child, were going off to the steamer, upset, and the whole
party narrowly escaped drowning. His visits to Odessa, in going and
coming, were the occasion, as before, of spiritual blessings to the
people. His family expenses were paid by the Board, but the printing
was at the charge of the American Bible Society. He was absent
nearly three years, returning in August, 1842; and in that time
carried through the press three thousand copies of the Old Testament
in Hebrew-Spanish, in two volumes quarto, containing fifteen hundred
pages. The Hebrew occupied every alternate page. He also printed
five hundred copies of the Hebrew-Spanish Pentateuch, in two
volumes, 16mo., with the Hebrew on the opposite page. The Sefardim,
or Spanish Jews, having the New Testament previously, were now
favored with the whole inspired volume in their vernacular tongue.

Notwithstanding the anathemas of Jewish rulers, the three thousand
copies of the Psalms, printed in 1836, were nearly exhausted in
1844, and the book was in great esteem among the people. A vain
effort was made by the rabbis to suppress the Vienna edition of the
Old Testament. Only a few of the hundreds of copies in the hands of
the people were delivered up, and it was believed that those
confiscated by the rabbis found their way again into circulation.

About this time, the "Committee of the General Assembly of the
Church of Scotland on the Scheme for the Conversion of the Jews,"
made a grant of £2,162 (about $10,000) to this mission for the
circulation of the Hebrew Scriptures, the purchase of rabbinic type,
and the publication of school-books and tracts for the Jews. This,
while it generously enlarged the operations of the mission, afforded
no relief to the treasury of the Board.

Such were the calls for the Hebrew-Spanish Old Testament, that more
than twelve hundred copies went into the hands of the Jews previous
to June, 1843. One rabbi requested twenty copies for poor Jews in
Roumelia; another, and he the chief rabbi, asked for ninety copies
for six destitute places; and another, the rabbi of Orta Keuy, made
repeated solicitations for thirty copies for schools in that suburb,
and for twenty additional copies to place in reading rooms, where
Jews come together in a social manner, on their Sabbath, to read the
Bible.

Calls for religious conversation were frequent, but there was
painful evidence, that in most cases the object was more selfish
than spiritual. There appeared to be a general dissatisfaction with
Judaism, but no proper knowledge of Christianity. Poverty and
distress were the principal occasions of these calls. A few appeared
to be interested in more fundamental truths; and they attentively
read McCaul's "Old Paths," a controversial work that exposes the
absurdity of rabbinism. The chief difficulty with all was in respect
to the divine nature of the Messiah.

The Spanish Jews, numbering seventy or eighty thousand souls in
Constantinople, afforded a field for the faithful sower, rather than
the cheerful reaper. The tyrannical rule of their rabbis rendered
them less accessible, perhaps, than any other people in Turkey, the
Moslems alone excepted; and intellectually they were among the most
degraded races in the East. Yet they stood higher in their morals
than did the Turks. They had but few books; and until the issue of
the edition under Mr. Schauffler's superintendence, they had no copy
of the Old Testament in their vernacular tongue, that was accessible
to the people at large. Two editions of the Old Testament, in
Hebrew-Spanish and Hebrew and Chaldee, with Rabbi Solomon Jarchi's
commentary in opposition to Christian doctrines, had been published
in 1816, at Vienna, in six quarto volumes. Now the Christian church,
while waiting for a wider entrance among the people, was called on
to provide the books that would be indispensable when that entrance
should be secured. Among those most needed now, were a Hebrew and
Hebrew-Spanish vocabulary of the Old Testament (then in
preparation); a Spelling Book for schools; a short Hebrew Grammar; a
brief Arithmetic; a Geography of the Bible, and a Natural History of
the same; various religious tracts and essays on prophecies,
especially those concerning the Messiah; and a translation of
McCaul's "Old Paths" into Hebrew-Spanish.

The Ashkenazim, or German Jews, were only about two thousand, and
were chiefly young men driven from Moldavia by the Boyars, and from
Russia by the law of conscription that threatened them with the
hardships and perils of a soldier's life. This department was under
the charge of Mr. Allan, a missionary of the Free Church of
Scotland, in connection with Mr. Schwartz, a converted Jew.

The Protestant Armenians showed a deep interest in efforts for the
conversion of the Jews, and were forward to render their aid, Nor
could Jews or Mohammedans be wholly uninfluenced by the change then
going on in the Armenian churches of the metropolis in respect to
the use of pictures; the greater part of which had been removed, and
the patriarchal church, in place of them had set the example of
having passages of Scripture painted in large letters on the walls.

Besides the Spanish and German Jews in Constantinople, there was a
small body of Italian Jews who were generally destitute of all
religion. Then as there were many Germans in the city, Mr.
Schauffler held a stated service for them, in which his labors were
blessed to the hopeful conversion of some. The attendance was often
composed largely of Israelites. In the closing month of the year
1844, he baptized a Jewish physician.

The Jews are probably more strongly prejudiced against the Gospel,
than any other people. Their whole literature is anti-Christian. So
are their education and internal religious policy. The great effort
of Jewish learning for fifty generations, has been to prevent the
Old Testament from suggesting Christian ideas to the Jewish mind.
Hence a Jewish mission requires an extraordinary amount of
preparatory work, in the first instance; though its main objects and
duties afterwards will differ little, if at all, from those of other
missions.

Mr. Schauffler was specially adapted to the preliminary work in
Jewish missions, growing out of the peculiar state of the national
mind. What this was, up to the year 1845, has been sufficiently
indicated. In that year, a second edition of the Pentateuch, in
Hebrew and Hebrew-Spanish, was printed at Vienna; and a new edition,
of five thousand copies of the Old Testament in the same languages,
was commenced at Smyrna. The American Bible Society, which bore the
expense of these editions, also authorized the printing of a Hebrew
and Hebrew-German version of the Old Testament, for the German Jews.

The testimony of Mr. Schauffler is so explicit on a point of great
importance in a mission of the Jews, as to justify the following
quotation:--

"My own observation from the first, has established this fact, that
whenever a Jew is truly converted, the hope of seeing all Israelites
settled in Canaan sinks to the level of many other secondary ideas;
and Christ and him crucified,--Christ risen, ascended, and reigning
in glory, Christ and his kingdom, wherever its centre may
be,--becomes the all-absorbing theme. In other words, such Jews I
have always observed to be just what true converts among ourselves
are; differing from us only in this, that they cherish that desire
for the conversion of Israel, which we ought also to cherish, and of
which Paul has left so splendid an example. Half-converted men, in
whom the carnal pride of the old Pharisee has never been broken down
by a divinely wrought sense of the guilt of unbelief in Christ, who,
when they were baptized, thought they did Christ and his people an
honor; these, of course, never fail to consider themselves as
something special in the kingdom of Christ, and they expect to be
treated by Him accordingly. These make an exception. There are,
also, truly converted men among the proselytes, who cherish that
notion. They are those who have been under the influence of
missionaries, who make them a 'royal race,' amid the divinely
designated 'royal priesthood' (than which nothing can be higher) of
Christ's true people. We are all apt to believe what magnifies
ourselves. But I have observed no inherent tendency that way among
truly converted Jews, and never found it necessary to make efforts
to eradicate such carnal hopes."

The particular relations of the Board to the Spanish Jews in
Constantinople underwent an unexpected change in the year 1846.
Owing to the protracted and unavoidable delay in providing
associates for Mr. Schauffler, the brethren from the Free Church of
Scotland had so far taken possession of the ground, as to render
another mission in that city inexpedient. Whatever cause there may
have been for regretting this after the Board had obtained the men,
no blame was attached to our more zealous brethren of the Scotch
Church. Mr. Schauffler would continue to reside in Constantinople,
and would render valuable aid to all the missions to the Jews in
those parts.

Attention was now directed to Salonica (the ancient Thessalonica),
which had been visited by Messrs. Schauffler and Dwight some years
before. The city was visited again by Mr. Schauffler in July, 1847,
and he urgently recommended occupying it as a Jewish station. The
number of rabbinical Jews residing there was estimated at
thirty-five thousand, or about half of the whole population. The
number of their synagogues was fifty-six. The Jews were diffused
throughout the city, and not confined, as in Constantinople, to
certain quarters. There was, therefore, a good degree of
intermingling in civil life with other people. The natural
consequence was, that a Salonica Jew did not evince the shyness so
common elsewhere, in approaching Christians, or in entering their
houses. They were thankful for the gift of the Old Testament in a
language they could understand. Moreover, the centre of rabbinical
learning was at Salonica, and not at Constantinople; which made the
assent given by the Salonica rabbis to the correctness of the
Hebrew-Spanish version, the more influential.

The Rev. Messrs. Eliphal Maynard and Edward M. Dodd, appointed to
this mission, reached Salonica, with their wives, in April, 1849,
going by way of Constantinople. Mr. Schauffler was to remain at the
metropolis, but accompanied them to Salonica and was with them seven
weeks, helping them much towards a successful entrance on their
work. Both of the brethren devoted themselves to the Hebrew-Spanish.
Mr. Dodd gave, also, some attention to the Turkish, with a view to
the Zoharites, or Moslem Jews, numbering about five thousand; all of
whom seemed to rejoice that missionaries had come there to reside.
He describes them as among the noblest of the inhabitants of the
city, and as very ready to talk on religious subjects, with less
self-conceit than the rabbinical Jews.

The Prudential Committee, on sending forth these brethren, stated
the more important facts, principles, and usages, which should be
kept constantly in mind in their mission to the Jews.[1] The
relations of that people to Christ's kingdom were believed to be the
same with those of all other people; and they were no more shut out
from that kingdom by a "judicial blindness," or more really "cast
away," than any other perverse and wicked nation. The obstacles to
be overcome among them were substantially the same with those in the
Oriental Churches. The relations sustained to the spiritual
blessings of the Abrahamic covenant being no longer of blood, but of
faith, these blessings must be common alike to believing Jews and
Gentiles. Never again, in the spiritual kingdom of God, will there
be circumcision or uncircumcision, Greek or Jew. Never again will
there be a need of bloody rites, a mediating priesthood, and a showy
ritual. Never again will there be a theocracy with a sensuous
external economy, limited to a single nation. Never again, in the
kingdom of God, will he be accounted a Jew, in the evangelical
sense, who is one outwardly, nor that be accounted circumcision
which is outward in the flesh; but he will be a Jew, who is one
inwardly, and is, of course, heir to all the spiritual promises made
to the Jews in the Old Testament; and circumcision is of the heart,
in the spirit, and not in the letter. On these broad, fundamental
Scripture principles, rested the whole superstructure of our mission
to the Jews.

[1] More fully stated in the _Missionary Herald_ for 1849, p. 101.

The prevalent idea, that judicial blindness came upon Israel in
consequence of their crucifixion of the Son of God, precluding their
conversion as a people until the arrival of some great prophetic
era, seems without any proper Scripture warrant. They were blinded
only "in part;" only "some" of the branches were broken off; they
are not "cast away" as a people; and when the rest of mankind shall
embrace the Gospel, and come into the kingdom, the Jews will do the
same.

The practical inference drawn from all this was, that the same
general course should be pursued in Jewish missions, which is proper
in missions to any other unevangelized people. They must be
instructed as to the oneness of Christ's body, the church, and the
equal membership of all true disciples. If a church be formed of
Jewish converts alone, it should be in full communion with all other
Christian churches.

Manual labor schools and hospitals for the Jews, employing converts
merely for the sake of giving them employment; boarding-schools to
serve as houses of refuge for the children of converts; expenses
incurred for shielding converts from persecution or for teaching
them trades; were not regarded as within the range of missionary
work; but the converts were, in general, to be left, as the Apostles
left them, to meet the consequences of their conversion upon their
persons, their families, and their business, as God in his
providence and by his grace should enable them.

Mr. Maynard was removed by death from his labors within five months
after his arrival. In company with a New England clerical friend, he
made a tour into the delightful region of Thessaly for relaxation
and health. Unconsciously they exposed themselves to malaria, and
both took the same fever; of which Mr. Maynard died at Salonica, and
his friend at Athens. Mrs. Maynard soon afterwards returned home.
The place thus early vacated was filled, in the following summer, by
the Rev. Justin W. Parsons, who was accompanied by his wife.

The Salonica Jews had scarcely more than the shadow of education. A
school taught in the principal synagogue contained about a thousand
pupils, but with the least possible intellectual value in the
instruction. Half as many more were in private schools, where Hebrew
and Hebrew-Spanish were taught, but nothing like Grammar, Geography,
or History. In a small select school, supported by rich Jews,
Italian (the commercial language) and French were taught.
Familiarity with the Talmud was regarded as the perfection of
knowledge, so that a man needed to know nothing else. "Oh," said a
beardless youth to a missionary, "if you had only read our Talmud,
you would throw all your books into the fire." Salonica was famous
for its books, but they were servile imitations of the Talmud. The
spoken language was essentially Spanish, but, with a deficient
vocabulary, and greatly corrupted with Turkish and Hebrew words,
while subject to constant change. Consequently the many books and
tracts in Hebrew-Spanish, which were published by the English
missionaries in Smyrna, were comparatively useless at Salonica,
because of the difficulty of understanding them. These Jews
therefore needed missionary schools.

The excessive self-righteousness of this people, as described by Mr.
Dodd, disclosed a serious obstacle to missionary success among them.
"Two thousand years of punishment," he says, "have not destroyed the
feeling, that they are the beloved of heaven. They pray, morning,
noon, and night, and that too in the holy language. They always ask
a blessing on their food. They neither eat nor touch any unclean
thing. Except they wash their hands oft, they eat not. When they
fast, it is by entire abstinence from food. They read the Word of
God almost continually. In passing through the bazaars, you may see
the shop-keepers taking up the Bible to read in their leisure hours;
and if a visitor has to wait for you a few minutes, with a Bible
within reach, you will certainly find him reading it, though it be
in an unknown tongue; and once a year they sit up all night to read
through the law. Their recognition of Providence is excessive. Every
event is referred to God. He is thanked for every good; submission
to his will is expressed in every trial. Every hope is uttered
conditionally, in dependence on him; and his aid is invoked in
trouble as frequently, and with as little meaning, as many
Christians speak of fortune, or luck. As to the outward semblance of
piety and devotion, I do not think another such people can be found.
Like their fathers, they seek God daily, and delight to know his
ways. As a nation, they take delight in approaching God. 'Is not the
Lord among us?' 'No evil shall come upon us.' Talk to them of God's
glory, and they will answer by quoting some beautiful Psalm of
David. Talk of man's sinfulness, and they will repeat Psalm 51st,
with seeming penitential devotion. Speak of God's wrath against sin;
they will assent readily, but add, that he is pitiful, remembering
that we are dust. Thus the missionary is baffled. Let him search the
Word of God to find expressions that shall penetrate to their
consciences; the Jew is familiar with them all, and repeats them
every day in his prayers. They either mean nothing, or through a
talmudic gloss, aided by self-righteous blindness, they foster his
confidence in the mercy of the God who is his peculiar friend, and
loves him more than he loves the Gentile world, or even his own
justice and truth."

Mr. Parsons also says, after a visit to Seres, a city fifteen miles
northwest of Salonica: "The Jews of Seres have the same blind
submission to the rabbis, the same prejudices, the same evasions of
the truth. Gold is their God, and traffic is their religion,--one
would say, who should meet them only in their fair. But in their
prayers, and their Sabbath observance, the deceiver makes them
appear to themselves the holy favorites of heaven, separate from the
nations."

Mr. Schauffler had now printed his Hebrew grammar, and commenced the
printing of his Hebrew lexicon. The edition of the Pentateuch was
nearly exhausted.

The Rev. Homer B. Morgan and wife reached Salonica in February,
1852. The brethren were of the opinion, that while for two thirds of
the year the climate of that city was tolerably healthy, the low
portions, where the Jews and Greeks chiefly resided, were subject to
malaria. The missionaries, therefore, would have resided in the more
elevated parts occupied by the Turks, but could neither hire nor
purchase houses in that quarter. The best they could do was to live
in the upper stories of their houses. Mr. Dodd suffered from a
bronchial affection, and sought to recruit his health by an
excursion into Thessaly, where he enjoyed some excellent
opportunities for preaching the gospel, both to Jews and
Gentiles.[1] Mr. Parsons visited the part of Macedonia, which lies
northwest of Salonica, and then extended his journey to Sophia, the
capital of Bulgaria.[2]

[1] _Missionary Herald_ for 1852, pp. 235-238.

[2] _Ibid_. pp. 78-83.

The health of Mr. Dodd did not improve, and he repaired first to
Malta, and then, with the consent of the Committee, to the United
States. In August, 1852, a mouth after his departure, Mr. and Mrs.
Parsons, and Mr. and Mrs. Morgan were all prostrated by intermittent
fever. Mrs. Morgan did not yield to the disease, till she had
exhausted her strength in caring for the others; and then, after a
short illness, during most of which she was unconscious, she was
removed to her heavenly home. Mr. Parsons was at one time very low;
and the three survivors were subjected to such frequent returns of
fever during the winter, that they were advised by physicians to
spend the spring and summer on the Bosphorus. They left the station
in charge of native helpers, and removed to Constantinople. Until
sickness came, their labors had been uninterrupted. Their circle of
acquaintance was constantly increasing, and they were generally
regarded by the Jews as their sincere friends. They were expected in
their visits to declare and make personal applications of gospel
truths. A little volume upon the inspiration of the Old and New
Testaments, by Mr. Dodd, was favorably received by many of the Jews.

It was not deemed expedient for the brethren to resume their
residence in Salonica. Mr. Morgan and Mr. and Mrs. Parsons removed
to Smyrna, where they shared with their English brethren in labors
among the Jews. They hoped to continue to occupy Salonica through
Armenian native helpers, and to visit it themselves in the healthy
season. Mr. Morgan was married to Mrs. Sutphen, of the Armenian
mission, at the close of 1853, and on the return of Mr. and Mrs.
Dodd to Smyrna in the autumn of 1854, they went to Salonica,
expecting to remain there during nine months, and then to retire
before the miasma of summer. Mr. Morgan was welcomed by his Jewish
acquaintance, and found that the spirit of inquiry had spread, and
that there was greater boldness on the part of a few. But whatever
their secret conviction of the truth, none confessed the Saviour
openly. The first fruits ripened elsewhere. A family of three fled
to Malta, and were baptized there; another, a converted rabbi, came
to Smyrna, and became a teacher. There had been a considerable
advance in female education, since Mrs. Dodd had, with great
difficulty, persuaded a Jewish girl to encounter the odium of
learning to read. Some prominent rabbis were teaching their
daughters, and the tide seemed evidently turning.

The Jews of Smyrna were found to be more worldly, and less given to
religious thought, than the Jews of Salonica. But an avowedly
Christian school of near twenty pupils was sustained during the year
1854, and taught by the converted rabbi above mentioned. The teacher
was known to be a proselyte. The New Testament was read daily, and
biblical instruction occupied a large place. It was hopeful that
Jews were found willing to place their children in such an
atmosphere. A boarding-school was opened for a few of the more
promising boys belonging to the day-school. The parents of five
actually signed a contract binding them to the missionaries for
three years. This they did after the most explicit declarations,
that while the boys would be trained for the highest usefulness and
happiness in this world, they would be carefully instructed in the
way of salvation through Jesus of Nazareth. The experiment could not
proceed without opposition. The chief rabbi interposed. The eldest
boy in the school manifested an inclination to embrace the Christian
religion, and was beaten, dragged to the synagogue, and compelled to
go through the form of worship. He was then put in irons procured
from the mad-house. He afterwards fled to Constantinople, where he
was baptized by one of the Scotch missionaries. The teacher was also
thrown into prison, on a false accusation. A young Jewish physician
appeared fully to embrace the truth, and was not moved by the most
cruel threats, or flattering promises. Mr. Parsons was greatly
encouraged.

The instruction of inquirers at Constantinople had passed mostly
into the hands of English and Scotch missionaries to the Jews, while
Mr. Schauffler's labors were chiefly literary. He was preparing a
new translation of the Psalms into Hebrew-Spanish, in a more popular
style; but could hardly expect entire success, owing to the
peculiarities of the language as spoken by the common people in
different places. His translation of the Old Testament into
Hebrew-German, after revision by Mr. Koenig, of the Scotch Free
Church Mission, was printed by the American Bible Society. He was
able to preach in various languages, and did not neglect employing
his talent in that direction. The printing of his Hebrew Lexicon was
completed in 1854.

The reader will scarcely be prepared for the relinquishment of this
mission, which took place early in 1856, though not in consequence
of failing success. The Armenian and Jewish missions, at their
united annual meeting in the spring of 1855, recommended that the
Board relinquish to some other society the Jewish stations of
Salonica and Smyrna. Constantinople, as such a station, had been
practically relinquished some time before. At a conference of
missionaries in Constantinople in November of that year, on occasion
of a visit from the Foreign Secretary of the Board, the subject was
carefully considered, and the question was decided according to the
personal convictions of the brethren in the Jewish mission. The
result was in favor of relinquishing the Jewish field to the English
and Scotch Societies; and of the younger members of the mission
devoting their strength to the Armenian field, the exclusive right
to which had been conceded to American missionaries by the general
consent, as it were, of Protestant Christendom. It had become
certain that the Board could not command laborers enough to do
anything like justice to both fields; while the English and Scotch
churches manifested a special interest in laboring for the
conversion of the ancient people of God; and there were both English
and Scotch missionaries in Constantinople, and English missionaries
in Smyrna; and others from the Established Church of Scotland were
ready to occupy Salonica.

Mr. Schauffler subsequently devoted himself to labors for the
Moslems, many of whom were becoming interested in the spiritual form
of Christianity presented in the Protestant Armenian communities,
that were springing up throughout the empire.






CHAPTER XXXI.

THE BULGARIANS OF EUROPEAN TURKEY.

1857-1862.


The geographical position of European Turkey brings it directly in
contact with European civilization. Its interior may easily be
reached from the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmora, the Dardanelles, the
Grecian Archipelago, the Adriatic Sea, and from the Danube flowing
down from the heart of Europe. The Mohammedan population is
estimated at four millions, and three fourths of these are supposed
to be of Christian origin, and less firmly wedded to the Moslem
faith than the remaining million of Osmanly Turks. And even these,
born and educated on the borders of Europe, in the midst of divers
Christian races, must form a character different from that of the
Asiatic Turks in other parts of the empire.

Of the various races in European Turkey, the Bulgarians, properly so
called, who are estimated at four millions, speaking the Bulgarian
language, claim our first attention. They inhabit not only Bulgaria
proper, extending from the Danube to the Balkan Mountains, but also
an extensive region south of these mountains, reaching to the
Bosphorus, the Marmora, and Albania; and embracing a good part of
ancient Thrace, Albania, and Macedonia.[1]

[1] On the map, this country is called _Bulgaria_, _Roumelia_, and
_Macedonia_. _Roumelia_, formerly called Moldavia and Wallachia,
north of the Danube, is peopled by a race supposed to be descended
from the old Roman military colonies. The language has an affinity
to the Latin. _Servia_ is peopled by Slavs, who speak substantially
the same language with the Bulgarians. The population of Roumania is
estimated at 3,864,000, and that of Servia at 1,078,000.

The Bulgarians are of Slavonic origin, and their race is among the
oldest in Europe. In the latter part of the fifth century they
crossed the Danube, and gave their name to the country between that
river and the Balkan Mountains. In subsequent ages they extended
their conquests into Thrace and Macedonia, and, encamping before the
walls of Constantinople, sought to drive the Byzantine emperors into
Asia Minor. In 712, the Bulgarian troops defeated the armies of the
Eastern Roman Empire, and laid siege to Constantinople. Three years
later their king concluded a commercial treaty with the Emperor
Theodosius III. which is said to have remained in force for a long
time. In the year 814 the Bulgarians again invaded the Roman Empire,
captured Adrianople, and carried a bishop named Manuel, with others
of the citizens, into captivity. This person formed the companions
of his captivity into a church, and they remained true to their
faith, and labored earnestly for its spread. Having made proselytes
among the Bulgarians, the bishop and many of the captives suffered
martyrdom. Somewhat later, a captive monk, named Constantine
Cypharas, endeavored to carry forward the work thus commenced; but
the Greek empress, Theodora, for some special reasons, was led to
redeem this monk, and procure his return to his native country. At
this juncture, a sister of the Bulgarian king Bogoris was residing
at Constantinople, whither she had been conveyed as a captive in
early youth, and where she had been educated as a Christian, and the
effort to secure the return of the monk resulted in her being sent
back to her friends. She now labored to gain over the king, her
brother, to the Christian faith. Circumstances at length favored her
pious efforts, and she sent for Methodius of Thessalonica, a monk
and a skilful painter. He was afterwards joined by his older brother
Constantine, or Cyrill, surnamed the Philosopher, on account of his
learning. Cyrill reduced the Slavonic language to writing, taught
the barbarous nation the use of letters, and translated the
Scriptures into that language. In the year 861 he baptized king
Bogoris. The king undertook to force his people to change their
religion and they revolted. He succeeded in suppressing the
rebellion, and showed the superficial nature of his Christianity by
the cruel revenge he took on the leaders of the revolt. Then the
nation followed the lead of their king, and has ever since been
nominally Christian. Neander says, that Cyrill was distinguished
from all other missionaries of that period, by not yielding to the
prejudice which regarded the languages of the rude nations as too
profane to be employed for sacred uses, and by not shrinking from
any toil which was necessary to master the language of the people
among whom he labored.

The Bulgarians wavered for a time, according to the sway of their
political interests, between the Greek and Latin Churches, until
finally they decided wholly in favor of the former, and a Greek
archbishop and bishops were set over them.[1]

[1] Neander's _Ecclesiastical History_, vol. iii. pp. 307-316,
Torrey's Translation; and Dr. Murdock's Note to p. 51 of Mosheim's
_Institute of Ecclesiastical History_, vol. ii.

In the year 924, Simeon, the Bulgarian monarch, compelled the
Byzantine Emperor, Romanus I., to recognize the National Church of
Bulgaria as wholly independent of the Greek Hierarchy. This
independence, after about fifty years, was partially destroyed by a
Greek Emperor; and in 1018, Basil II. restored the supremacy of the
Patriarch of Constantinople. The kingdom was revived in the latter
part of the twelfth century, but was again overthrown in 1393, by
the Sultan Bajazet I. Mohammed II., when he subverted the Eastern
Empire in 1453, made the religious chiefs of the Christian sects
responsible, not only for the spiritual administration of their
respective flocks, but also for that of a large share of their
temporal affairs,--such as public education, civil suits, contracts,
wills, and the like. The Bulgarians appear for a time not to have
been formally recognized by the Turks as belonging to the Greek
Church, and of course were not subject to its Patriarch; but the
Fanariote Greeks succeeded at last in making the Porte believe that,
being of the same religion with the Greeks, they should be placed
under the direct authority of the Patriarch of Constantinople; and
this was effected in the year 1767. Thus the Bulgarians lost their
religious independence.

Since then, they have ever cherished an intense dislike of the Greek
bishops, whose aim has always been to extinguish every remnant of
national feeling, and obliterate all traces of their origin. They
earnestly desired to have the Bible and the church-services in their
own vernacular language, while the Greek Patriarch and his bishops
insisted upon using only the ancient Greek. The people desired to
have their children taught in the schools through the language of
their own homes, while the bishops insisted that the instruction
should be in the Greek language. They desired that their bishops and
other ecclesiastics should be chosen from among themselves; but the
Patriarch forced upon them Greek bishops, men of a foreign tongue,
and foreign habits and sympathies, whose whole aim was to keep the
people under the galling yoke of ecclesiastical tyranny.[1]

[1] _Missionary Herald_, 1858, p. 322.

What the Bulgarian people specially desired was ecclesiastical
independence; and, in order to be freed from their forced dependence
on the Greek Patriarchate, their leading men sometimes inclined to
go over to the Pope. This of course was favored by the intrigues of
the Jesuits, and politically by all the power of France. This
awakened state of mind led many to examine the teachings of
Scripture, and compare them with those of the Greek and Papal
Churches; and some made inquiries of the missionaries at the several
stations, as to Protestantism; and the question naturally arose,
whether it would not be as well to become Protestants, as Roman
Catholics.

The Greek Patriarch was decided and bold. In 1861, he summoned the
Bulgarian bishops to appear and answer for themselves before his
great ecclesiastical Council at Constantinople; but they refused,
declaring that they owed him no allegiance. The summons was thrice
repeated, but in vain; whereupon the bishops were anathematized, and
it was resolved to banish them to Mount Sinai. This was prevented by
the interference of the Protestant Ambassadors, and the Bulgarians
rallied to the defense of their bishops. Three thousand of them
gathered at one time in one of their churches in the metropolis, and
were prevented from proclaiming a Free Bulgarian Church only by the
intervention of the Turkish government. Meanwhile the Bulgarian
nation was agitated with the discussion of religious doctrines and
ecclesiastical relations, and the Papists flooded the land with
their publications. When the anathema against the bishops was sent
to the Bulgarian towns, the people in some places would not allow it
to be read, and publicly burnt it. They even caused a counter
anathema to be read against the Greek Church. They doubtless
regarded this matter as wholly a religious one; but, in an
evangelical point of view, it was little more than a national
movement for securing their rights. Sentiments were sometimes
uttered, however, which strongly reminded one of the commencement of
the Reformation in Germany. "The religion of the Greeks," says Mr.
Crane, "has been denounced as contrary to the Bible, and the
Scriptures eulogized and recommended to the people. In their printed
speeches we have seen no instance, in which they have called upon
Mary and the saints for protection, but many in which they have
called upon God to vindicate their cause."

Roumelia was partially explored in 1857 by Dr. Hamlin, accompanied
by the Rev. Henry Jones, Secretary of the Turkish Missions Aid
Society, then visiting our missions in Turkey. From Rodosto to
Adrianople, a distance of seventy-two miles, they saw but few
Bulgarian villages. Yet what came within their observation was of
special interest, "Wherever we saw flocks, we saw Bulgarian
shepherds; and wherever we saw cultivation, we saw Bulgarian
laborers. They are indeed spread all over Roumelia, as laborers and
shepherds, and the industry of the country is in their hands. The
land is generally of excellent quality. It lies spread out in
beautiful levels, and undulating, gently rising hills. In the
neighborhood of villages it is covered with rich fields of grain,
but elsewhere, for successive miles, it is roamed over by flocks of
sheep, which, however, cannot crop a tithe of the grass. It is a
beautiful region, waiting for the taste and intelligence of virtuous
industry to make it a paradise."

We have also a charming view given us of the hundred miles of
country between Adrianople and Philippopolis, as it presented itself
to the travellers in the opening of spring. "The Greek race
disappears entirely from the soil, and the predominant race is the
Bulgarian. So entirely unconscious are the people of the Balkan's
being the boundary, that when I spoke of Bulgaria, I was repeatedly
corrected by the remark, 'You are now in Bulgaria.' The soil along
our route is of the finest quality, and large villages were
occasionally seen on our right and left, with magnificent views of
cultivated lands and vast pastures, the snowy Balkan summits
bounding the north, and lower ranges of hills the south. The fields,
clothed in the brightest verdure of spring, gave promise of
unsurpassed abundance; and in view of the inspiring scenes before
us, we could not forbear exclaiming, with the Psalmist: 'Thou
crownest the year with thy goodness, and thy paths drop fatness. The
pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over
with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.'"

Dr. Hamlin speaks thus of the people: "In the midst of this
fertility, we had only to cast the eye upon one of the villages in
order to feel that cruel oppression and spiritual darkness are upon
the people. In some of the Bulgarian villages we saw no window, nor
even a place for one, in a single house. The country being destitute
of forest trees, there is no timber, except what is brought from a
great distance, and so they construct their dwellings of the
lightest material possible. They are generally of wicker work,
plastered within with mud. A large mud chimney and a door are the
only openings. And yet the Bulgarians, in these miserable cottages,
are the cleanliest people in the world. Excepting the rice
cultivators, who dress expressly for their muddy work, we saw not a
ragged Bulgarian between Adrianople and Philippopolis. Their clothes
are of home manufacture, coarse, strong, whole, and clean. The
unembarrassed, kind, respectful bearing of the people, men, women,
and children, must impress the most cursory observer. An impudent
laugh, an over-curious gaze, or a rude remark, we did not meet with
from old or young. We could hardly say this after going ten steps
into a Greek or Turkish village."

The favorable report made by Dr. Hamlin to his mission, awakened
much interest, and it was resolved, "That the Bulgarian and other
Slavonic races inhabiting European Turkey, call loudly for immediate
and vigorous missionary efforts; and being providentially thrown
upon the American churches as the chosen instrumentality for
evangelizing them, are worthy of their most devoted patronage."

The mission was commenced with the understanding, that the
operations of the American Board would be in the country south of
the Balkan Mountains; while the missionaries of the American
Methodist Episcopal Church were to occupy stations north of these
mountains. The Methodist brethren desired the aid of one of the
older missionaries at Constantinople in the selection of their first
station, and Mr. E. E. Bliss accompanied them. They visited Varna,
Shumla, Rasgrad, and Rustchuk, and decided upon occupying the first
and second of these places. The acquaintance thus formed between the
two missions was ever after a source of mutual pleasure and profit.
Mr. Bliss thus concludes a report of his visit:--

"This, my first acquaintance with the Bulgarians, has given me a
very favorable opinion of them. Others have expressed a different
opinion, but I should rank them before the Armenians in native
intelligence and cultivation. Certainly a higher degree of
civilization prevails among them, than among the Armenians of Asia
Minor. They have better homes, better vehicles, better implements of
husbandry. Wherever we went, we found much to remind us that we were
in Europe, and not in Asia. Our road from Varna to Rustchuk was
bordered by the posts and wires of the telegraph. Every town had its
telegraphic station and corps of operators--French, English, and
Polish gentlemen. More than once, through their unsolicited
kindness, our approach to a stopping place was announced by the
wire, and we found lodgings made ready against our coming. This, to
me, was quite a strange feature of missionary travelling, very
unlike my experience in Asia Minor."

The Rev. Charles F. Morse, who joined the Armenian mission in 1857,
was appointed to commence the mission. Leaving his family at
Constantinople until he had completed his arrangements, he proceeded
to Adrianople in March, 1858, with Hagopos, a graduate of the Bebek
Seminary, as an assistant. The population of Adrianople was then
estimated at one hundred and forty thousand, of whom forty thousand
were supposed to be Turks. The books in the Turkish language found
in Mr. Morse's baggage, including a large number of New Testaments,
were at first detained at the custom-house, under instructions from
the Porte, but were released upon application of the American and
English Consuls. His bookseller obtained a firman for the sale of
books, and freely exposed the Turkish Testament, and Mr. Morse was
himself allowed free access to the largest and finest of the
mosques,--a favor not granted at the capital.

The most formidable opposition apprehended was from the Romish
missionaries. They had been quick to see a double advantage in the
disaffection of the Bulgarians with the Greek Church, and the fall
of the Russian Protectorate, and had already erected a fine church.
The French residents, their consul, and even the English consular
agent, were Catholics. An intelligent Bulgarian expressed the
opinion that Protestant missions furnished the only possible
safeguard against Rome in that country, and one of the best informed
of the American missionaries declared his belief, that the greatest
contest of Protestantism with Rome, since the era of the
Reformation, would be in Turkey.

The Rev. Theodore L. Byington and wife joined the mission in 1858,
and were stationed at Adrianople. In the next year, the mission was
strengthened by the arrival of Rev. Messrs. William W. Meriam and
James F. Clark and their wives, who commenced a station at
Philippopolis, in ancient Thrace. The Rev. William F. Arms and wife
arrived in 1860, and were associated with Mr. Byington in a new
station at Eski Zagra, seventy-five miles northwest from Adrianople,
sixty northeast from Philippopolis, and twenty miles south of the
Balkan Mountains. Mr. Oliver Crane was transferred from the Western
Turkey Mission to Adrianople, in 1860. The population of
Philippopolis was estimated at about sixty thousand, of whom twenty
thousand were Bulgarians, sixteen thousand Mohammedans, fourteen
thousand Greeks, and five thousand Jews. Surrounding the city, there
were, within a circuit of thirty or forty miles, more than three
hundred villages, including a large population, mostly Bulgarians.
These villages were easy of access, and some of them would afford a
healthy retreat in summer. There were numerous mosques, and five
Greek and three Bulgarian churches. The Romanists were building a
large church edifice. The situation of Eski Zagra was at the
northern extremity of a luxuriant and beautiful plain, and contained
ten thousand Bulgarians and eight thousand Turks.

Mr. Byington found a remarkable zeal for education. There were in
the town six Bulgarian schools for boys, with eight hundred
scholars, and four for girls with one hundred and thirty-five
scholars; and in the surrounding villages there were eleven schools,
with three hundred pupils. For the two principal schools they had
spacious buildings, that would grace a New England town. The
teachers were gentlemenly men, and enthusiastic in their work. This
class of teachers had generally received their education abroad, for
the most part in Russia, where they could secure it without expense.
They were earnest in their efforts to introduce a higher
civilization, and gave the missionaries a cordial reception. It was
otherwise with the priests.

The readiness of the Bulgarians to receive the New Testament in
their spoken language, is deserving of special note. An English
gentleman, at one of the fairs in 1857, sold four hundred copies,
which was all he had. Several editions were printed under the
direction of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and were
exhausted in 1859. At least fifteen thousand copies had been
distributed, chiefly by sale, and the demand did not seem
diminished. Mr. Byington reports at Eski Zagra in September, 1860,
that, at the examination of one of the schools, each of twelve
members of the most advanced class was presented by the Trustees
with a handsome copy of the Bible Society's edition of the New
Testament. Subsequent experience tended somewhat to diminish the
value of such facts.

A church was formed at Adrianople, on the first Sabbath in 1862,
with a mixed membership. Pastor Apraham, already known to the reader
in connection with the church at Rodosto, came by invitation, with
one of his deacons, to assist in its formation; as also did the
missionaries from Eski Zagra.

Mr. Meriam at the close of 1861, stated as the results of
observations in his recent tours, that in villages and towns where
colporters had penetrated with the Word of Life, the people were no
longer afraid of Protestants, but respected and confided in them;
while they venerated and clung to their own form of religion; and
that the obvious way to benefit the people, spiritually and
temporally, most thoroughly and speedily, was to have suitable
native helpers quietly settled in such villages. His account of some
of the incidents on these tours will prepare the reader to
sympathize with this excellent missionary, and his estimable wife,
in the sad events soon to be narrated.

"On reaching Tatar Bazarjik, the family of one of our boarding
scholars would not permit me to go to a public khan, but insisted
that I should go to their house. I accepted the kind invitation, and
while with them, at their request, conducted family worship, morning
and evening. Visited a dozen families and was cordially welcomed by
all. In walking the street, one morning, I heard a voice from a shop
inviting me to come in, and on entering found a company of
Bulgarians, with their faces all aglow with the questions they had
to ask. A number of persons collected from other shops, and after an
hour, all seemed still unwilling that the conversation should be
broken off. Their questions showed an intelligent desire for light
on the true way of salvation."

"Early Sabbath morning, a number of Bulgarians came to our room at
the khan (at Otluk-Keuy), and began to ask questions about Christ,
the Virgin Mary, the New Testament, Popery, Protestantism, the
ceremonies of the Greek Church, etc., etc. The number of persons
increased until we had an audience of forty. They gave us no time to
eat until nightfall; and in the evening nine more came, and seemed
convinced of the truth. We spent a week in this village. Wine is
drank largely, and most of the young men are very wild, but we found
some whose conversation encouraged us much. For example, there are
three who hold regular meetings for the study of the New Testament
on Sabbaths and fast days. Such questions as they cannot solve for
themselves they reserve, until some one who can, passes through
their village. They have become fully aware, by their study of the
New Testament, that the Greek Church is not the one established by
the Apostles. One of their earnest questions was, 'Can we find
salvation in the Greek Church?' We found one enlightened priest in
this village, and spent a half day conversing with him. He informed
us that he was endeavoring to have the church service in the vulgar
tongue, so that all might understand. He quotes Scripture readily,
and is doing much good. All the other priests are miserable wine
drinkers. On my refusing the invitation of one of these to drink
with him, he exclaimed in astonishment, 'What! are you not a
Christian'?"






CHAPTER XXXII.

THE BULGARIANS OF EUROPEAN TURKEY.

1862-1871.


Brigandage has at times prevailed in some parts of Bulgaria,
especially in the Balkan Mountains. In the spring of 1862, the roads
were more or less infested with highwaymen, but the one from
Philippopolis to Adrianople, and thence to Rodosto, being constantly
travelled, was deemed safe. By this road Mr. Byington, and Mr.
Meriam with his wife and child, went to Constantinople, to attend
the annual meeting of the Western Turkey Mission. Returning, Mr.
Byington started a week before Mr. Meriam, and reached Eski Zagra
safely, going from Adrianople to Philippopolis alone. Mr. Meriam
passed over the same route with his family. Nothing noticeable
occurred till they reached Hermanli, twelve hours from Adrianople,
at noon, July 3d. Here they found a company of half a score or more
of men, with four wagons, hesitating to proceed on account of a band
of mounted brigands, said to be lying in wait to rob them.
Unfortunately the courageous advice of Mr. Meriam decided them to
proceed, accompanied by two armed guards. After they had started,
Mr. Meriam became convinced that it would have been safer for him
and his family to have gone alone; and such was the fact, for the
robbers did not know of his presence, and designed only to plunder
the rayahs. The brigands came upon them about three o'clock in the
afternoon. The faithless guards fled at once, and some valuable
horses were seized. The drivers of the two forward talaccas, of
which Mr. Meriam's was one, then increased their speed, endeavoring
to escape; when the robbers pursued, firing rapidly upon the wagons,
piercing the covering of Mr. Meriam's, and killing or wounding two
or three occupants of the next vehicle. The missionary and his
family were shielded for a time by the boxes in the hinder part of
the carriage, till the fall of one of the horses wheeled it round,
so as to face the assailants. Mr. Meriam sprang out to protect his
wife and child, and immediately fell, pierced by two balls. When the
agonized wife expostulated with one of the brigands, saying, that
"he loved the Osmanlees, and wished to do them good," he replied,
"Why then did you flee"? Had they quietly waited, though they might
have been robbed, life would probably have been spared.

Mrs. Meriam retained her presence of mind, and placing her infant
upon the ground, carefully collected the papers and other articles
which the robbers had scattered about, and then sat down to watch
the lifeless remains of her husband. The Turkish authorities of the
next village sent a conveyance to take her and her precious treasure
to a khan. When the moodir saw her in her little room, with her babe
and the corpse of her husband, he was much moved, and did what he
could for her comfort. He sent a telegram to the governor of
Philippopolis, designed for Mr. Clarke, but Mr. Clarke received no
notice, and consequently no friend came to meet her. She conveyed
the body in her own carriage; and spent the whole of the next night,
with her babe, watching the talacca in the open air, vainly
listening for the coming of the messenger whom she had so much
reason to expect. On the next and last day, she prevailed on a
Bulgarian boy to hasten on with a message, which brought Mr. Clarke
to her relief, but only just before she entered the city. An
immediate burial was necessary. The Austrian, Greek, and French
Consuls were very kind, and the Bulgarian church was offered for the
funeral.

Mrs. Meriam possessed an excellent constitution, but the strain had
been too much for her. A premature confinement followed, and fever,
which assumed a typhoid form, closed her earthly career, July 25,
about three weeks after her husband's murder.[1]

[1] A statement, made at the time, that Mr. Meriam fired on the
assassins was afterwards found to be untrue. Nor did Mrs. Meriam
receive any injury at the time of the murder. Nothing was taken from
her personally, and no violence was offered her. _Missionary
Herald_, 1863, p. 143.

It was necessary that an example should be made of the murderers.
Mr. Seward, Secretary of State at Washington, took Mr. Webster's
view as to the rights of missionaries, and removed the doubts of Mr.
Morris, the American Minister at the Porte, which had occasioned an
unfortunate delay; so that he, with Mr. Goddard the Consul General,
put matters in train at Adrianople, which led the Pasha of that
province to offer four hundred dollars, and soon after as much more,
for information that would insure the detection of the assassins,
and to distribute bands of soldiers over the country. Mr. Blunt, the
English Consul at Adrianople, offered a reward of ninety dollars on
his own responsibility; and with him the Austrian Consul, Mr.
Camerlobe, actively coöperated.

These efforts resulted in the arrest, conviction, and execution of
three of the five engaged in the murder. The remaining two met with
an ignominious and violent death; one having been assassinated, and
the other shot down while committing highway robbery in an adjacent
province.

A very effectual check was thus put to the brigandage so prevalent
before, and the attention of all classes was drawn to the character,
position, and aims of the missionaries.

Scarcely a year had elapsed, since Mr. Coffing had fallen by the
hands of assassins in Central Turkey; and who can tell how much the
punishment inflicted on the murderers of these missionaries, has
contributed to the safety of their brethren, or how much it will be
instrumental in preventing future massacres of native Christians, as
well as missionaries, by fanatical Mohammedans.

The Rev. Henry C. Haskell and wife joined the mission in the autumn
of 1862, and assisted Mr. Morse in forming a new station at Sophia,
about four days' journey northwest of Philippopolis. In the
following year, Miss Mary E. Reynolds took charge of a school for
girls at Eski Zagra, which had been successfully commenced by a
young woman from Catholic Bohemia, who spoke the Bulgarian like a
native, and gave good evidence of piety. The school was designed for
the education of female teachers. The health of Mrs. Crane obliged
her and her husband to return home, and ask for a release from their
connection with the Board. Adrianople was thus left, for a time,
without a missionary. The death of Mr. and Mrs. Meriam stirred up
several young men in the school at Philippopolis who became active
and successful colporters in the surrounding villages. Many of the
people in Sophia were found to possess the Scriptures, and a
considerable number were known to read them with interest; but as
soon as the fact became known to their acquaintance, they were
subjected to persecution.

At Samokov, a pleasant town nine hours to the southeast of Sophia,
with a Bulgarian population of ten thousand, there were encouraging
indications, and that place proving to be more healthful and a
better centre than Sophia, the station was removed thither in 1869.

In 1863, the missionaries of the American Board and the Methodists
working in this field held a meeting at Eski Zagra, for cultivating
the friendly relations already existing between them. Dr. Wood and
Mr. Isaac G. Bliss were present from the Armenian Mission. They
found themselves in substantial agreement as to the methods of
missionary labor, and also as to the nature of the field. "While
some facts of a more or less hopeful nature," writes Mr. Byington,
"were reported, the general feeling seemed to be, that the
Bulgarians were a very different people from what they were supposed
to be, six or eight years ago, and that in our efforts for their
good, patience must have her perfect work. They cannot be said to be
a particularly depraved people; they are not probably addicted to
the grosser sins in any unusual degree; but there seems to be among
them a great want of impressibility. When the truth is presented,
they at once assent to it, but without any apparent impression on
the heart. The brethren generally spoke of the pleasant social
intercourse which they enjoyed with the people, but upon religious
matters a very painful indifference was manifested."

One great obstacle to the reception of evangelical truth among the
Bulgarians, was the attachment of all classes to their national
unity. The same had been found among the Armenians and Greeks. Men
objected to the examination of evangelical doctrines, lest the
result should be a schism in the nation; not being able to see how a
change in religious belief could consist with national loyalty. Yet,
though the progress of the work had not equaled the expectations
awakened at the outset, it was obvious that increasing acquaintance
with the missionaries was perceptibly removing prejudice. The
conviction was gaining strength with many, not only that Protestants
had a Christian faith, but that it was purer than their own. The
girls' school at Eski Zagra had thirty pupils in regular attendance,
and a score of applicants were refused for want of room. Mr. Clarke
having been overworked, it was necessary to secure aid for him, and
Mr. Haskell removed to Philippopolis. Mr. Ball, after a long
detention at home by the decline of his wife's health, joined the
Adrianople station in 1865. Some new prejudice against the
missionaries was now created by accusations transferred from English
newspapers, made in defense of the intolerance of the Turkish
authorities, and of what certainly seemed an unfriendly policy in
Sir Henry Bulwer, the English Ambassador.

But the school for young men at Philippopolis, and that for girls at
Eski Zagra, conciliated favor. The former had fourteen pupils, who
made good improvement in mental and moral character, and manifested
a good degree of religious feeling, a spirit of benevolence, and a
readiness to labor for the good of others. During vacation, six of
them were employed as colporters. Nearly all the older students
seemed ready to take their stand on the Bible, and did not fear the
name of Protestant. The girls' school numbered about thirty pupils,
whose progress in study had been gratifying, and there had often
been deep feeling under religious instruction. Members of the common
council of the town, and others who witnessed an examination of the
school, sent to Mr. Byington a letter of thanks, and assured him
that the missionaries would yet be recognized by the Bulgarians as
benefactors of their nation.

The people could not, as yet, be drawn, in any numbers, to attend
the regular religious services of the missionaries. They were banded
together against receiving spiritual truth. Still something could be
done by personal conversations and the circulation of books and
tracts. Touring in the villages was often attended with
encouragement.

The year 1867 was one of peculiar promise. The moral stupor, which
for so many years had taxed the faith of the mission, seemed to be
yielding to the awakening power of the Word of God, and Gospel truth
was not only better apprehended by the intellect, but also was
impressing the heart and conscience. Though the awakening was
neither as extensive, or thorough, or spiritual as was desired, it
was real, and indicated the entering upon a new stage of the work.

Miss Roseltha A. Norcross became the associate of Miss Reynolds in
the school at Eski Zagra. The arrival of a new teacher and many
applications for admission, led to an enlargement of the school. Two
sisters, however, who were among the most interesting pupils, were
called to severe trials. One of them left in 1866, but the other
remained, and was the best scholar in the school. Both possessed
more than ordinary intelligence and amiability, and for more than
two years had been heartily devoted to Christ. "The younger who had
left the school," says the report of the mission, "was taken, a few
days since, into a room where many of her relatives and a priest had
assembled, to extort from her a renunciation of her faith, and was
told that she would either have to give up, or die; that they would
give her no peace so long as she persisted in her present course.
But the Lord sustained her. They resorted to entreaty, and besought
her merely to make the sign of submission, telling her that she need
not in her heart change her belief. But their seductions were as
unavailing as their threats. It is more than a year since she left
the school, and though, during this time, her closet, her Bible, and
the conversation of her sister have been her only means of grace, it
is evident that, in the midst of this wearing domestic persecution,
a Christian character of unusual loveliness is being developed. She
is as frail as a lily, but the strength of the Lord rests upon her."

Another case was that of a pupil who had left a year and a half
before, to teach a Bulgarian school. "Unaided," says the mission,
"except from on high, she has fought a good fight during the past
year. The parents of her pupils complain because she will not
conform to the rites of their Church, but the trustees of the
school, not wishing to lose her services, have been wise enough not
to make conformity a condition of remaining in their service. Her
parents have forbidden her visiting the missionary premises, but
they have not been able to separate her from her Lord, nor to
prevent her laboring for the spiritual good of her pupils. Although
she has been occupying, for more than a year, a position beset with
temptations, and has been in a great degree deprived of the sympathy
and advice of Christian friends, we still hear from her that she is
kept by the power of God."

The mission suffered a most serious loss in the return of Mr. and
Mrs. Byington to their native land, in consequence of the failing
health of the latter.

The great complaint of the missionaries had been of the indifference
of the people. But after the departure of Mr. Byington, there was no
ground for this at Eski Zagra. False reports were circulated with
such effect, that the day-scholars were taken from the school, and
the boarding-school was reassembled with difficulty. The oldest
assistant teacher was forcibly abducted, but escaped and returned. A
mob soon gathered, broke open an outer door, cut away some of the
bars to the windows, and broke sixty panes of glass with stones. The
proprietor of the house now sent for the police, which dispersed the
rioters. Such outrages could not be allowed, and representations
were made to Mr. Morris, the American Minister at Constantinople,
and to Mr. Blunt, the friendly English Consul at Adrianople. Their
prompt efforts were effectual. More than a score of the offenders
were sentenced to imprisonment of different lengths, but were
pardoned at the request of the missionaries. This act of clemency
had a happy influence on the people, and the persecution had a good
effect on the school.

A young man who had been for five years a student at Philippopolis,
was licensed to preach the gospel on the 24th of July; and on the
following Sabbath, ten Bulgarians, six of whom were girls in the
school, sat down at the Lord's table, in the presence of forty
spectators. This was the more significant, as the Bulgarian council,
a month before, had enjoined upon the different "trades" of the city
and neighboring villages, to have no dealings with two individuals
whose names and places of business were specified, nor with any
others who were known as inclined to Protestantism. Such persons
were therefore refused bread, or the right of baking at the public
ovens, and some were reduced to great distress. The missionaries
talked seriously with the leading men of the city in favor of
religious _freedom_, but only a few of them conversed reasonably on
the subject, and the masses were wholly opposed to it. Three men, as
a means of asserting their religious liberty, went before the
Turkish authorities and declared themselves Protestants, which
seemed to be the beginning of a Protestant Bulgarian community. The
missionaries were sometimes threatened with personal violence, but
the Turkish government was ready to defend them.

In January, 1869, four Bulgarians were admitted to the communion at
Eski Zagra, two of them pupils in the school, and two married men.
The number of Bulgarian communicants in that place was now eleven.

The mission was strengthened, in 1868, by the arrival of Messrs.
Lewis Bond, William Edwin Locke, and Henry Pitt Page, all ordained
missionaries, and their wives. Mr. Bond was stationed at Eski Zagra,
and Miss Esther P. Maltbie came thither as a teacher in 1870. Mr.
Haskell welcomed the arrival, at Philippopolis, of Miss Minnie C.
Beach, in 1869, and Messrs. Locke and Page commenced a new station,
before noticed, at Samokov, in ancient Macedonia. Mr. and Mrs. Ball
of Adrianople and Miss Reynolds of Eski Zagra found it necessary to
return to the United States on account of their health; and it soon
appeared that it was too late for them to recover. Mr. Ball died at
Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, June 6, 1870, after a useful connection of
seventeen years with the missionary work, and Miss Reynolds, at
Springfield, Massachusetts, June 1, 1871, just eight years from the
day of her sailing for Turkey, and after a life of singular
devotedness and success.[1]

[1] See _Missionary Herald_, 1871, p. 247.

Previous to the year 1870, the missionaries to the Bulgarians had
sustained a nominal relation to the Western Armenian Mission. This
connection was now dissolved, and the associated brethren took the
name of the EUROPEAN TURKEY MISSION. Its stations were Eski Zagra,
Philippopolis, Samokov, and Adrianople; and Dr. Riggs was reckoned
as a member of it, though he continued to reside in Constantinople,
his labors being chiefly for the Bulgarians. The Rev. Henry A.
Schauffler, then in the United States, was also transferred from the
Western Turkey Mission, and was expected, on his return to the
field, to go to Philippopolis, where he would use the Turkish and
Greek for the benefit of those who spoke these languages; and with
the expectation that the work among the Bulgarians would everywhere
connect itself, as soon as possible, with that of the large
Mohammedan and Greek population, with whom they were intermingled.

The Sultan, having confirmed the appointment of Bishop Anthimas, of
Widdin, to be Exarch of Bulgaria, the Bulgarians thus virtually
acquired their ecclesiastical independence, and so both their
national spirit and their unwillingness to allow Protestantism to
come in as an element of apprehended division, acquired strength.
Few were yet able to see how one could be both a Bulgarian and a
Protestant, and no general movement on the part of rulers and
ecclesiastics towards Protestantism, was to be expected. But the
Scriptures and evangelical publications were extensively circulated.
Thoughtful minds were reached, and examples of what the Gospel could
do to regenerate character and give peace to troubled spirits were
beginning to attract attention. There was not such liberty to
persecute as there had been in Asiatic Turkey. Truth was gaining a
hold in cities and villages. The girls' school at Eski Zagra, under
Miss Norcross, numbering twenty-six pupils, contained several who
gave evidence of spiritual renewal, and applications for teachers
had come from several towns and villages, accompanied by
comparatively liberal subscriptions for their support. The hope, at
Philippopolis, of getting helpers from the high school for young
men, had been much disappointed, but some of its pupils were doing
good. An influential merchant in Samokov was an active convert, and
there was much to encourage in that region.

Early in the autumn of 1870, Miss Norcross sickened, and on the 4th
of November died, greatly to the grief of her pupils and of the
whole mission.[1] Miss Maltbie arrived in less than a month after
she had passed away. It was soon resolved to remove the school to
Samokov, as a more healthful place, and more eligible on other
accounts. A regular Sabbath service was held at this station, and a
weekly prayer-meeting. The audiences were very small, and but five
persons were deemed worthy to be received to church fellowship. At
the out-stations, though there had been no striking success, there
were everywhere signs of an advance. The native helper in the
beautiful town of Bansko had a school of twenty-two pupils, and a
congregation of sixty-five, and the little company contributed to
Christian objects, during the year, nearly two hundred dollars,
including the purchase of a site for a house of worship. The cause
was greatly advanced by the labors of an earnest and devoted
Bible-woman, whom the women of Bansko helped to support.

[1] See _Missionary Herald_, 1871, p. 53.

Bansko will have the ecclesiastical distinction, hereafter, of being
the place where the first evangelical Bulgarian church was formed,
and fully organized. This was in August, 1871. The candidates were
fifteen, nine men, and six women. In accordance with a written
invitation from the people, Messrs. Locke, Bond, and Page started on
Tuesday, August 22d, and went by a circuitous, though a pleasant,
picturesque and easy route, passing through two cities, where they
found several who were examining the truth, and reached their place
of destination on the 24th. The brethren at Bansko had arranged
liberally for the brethren and their horses, at their own houses,
and gave them a hearty welcome. The candidates for church-membership
were all examined, and answered the questions put to them more
clearly than the missionaries had thought possible, considering the
advantages they had enjoyed. The candidate for ordination as pastor,
Mr. Evansko Touzorve, was examined on Saturday afternoon. He had
been preaching there as a helper of the mission, and the examination
was quite satisfactory, especially on the evidences of Christianity,
just then a subject of special importance in that field, owing to
the influx of German and French infidelity.

Sabbath, August 27th, was devoted to the organization of the church,
and the ordination of the pastor. A deacon had been previously
chosen. The service was concluded with the Lord's Supper. The people
were to have the services of the pastor eight months in the year,
and to pay half his salary for that time, and the mission was to
employ him the other four months in another part of the field. The
new church could not then pay more towards the salary, having bought
a lot of land, on which to build a church. The little flock was
jubilant and of good courage. "What a contrast," exclaims the
missionary, "between this state of things, and that two years ago,
when the people seized our horses, and drove us from the village!"

One of the most important results of the mission to the Bulgarians,
has doubtless been the translation of the whole Bible into their
present spoken language.[1] This was published for the first time,
in the year 1871. "Methodius and Cyril, who first preached the
gospel to the Bulgarians a thousand years ago, gave them the
Scriptures in their then spoken language, the Slavic. But this
ancient tongue, the mother of the modern Russian, Bulgarian,
Servian, Polish, Illyrian, etc., has long since ceased to be the
vernacular of any of the nations. Hence the necessity of new
translations of the Word of God in all these dialects." One of the
earliest results of the waking up of the Bulgarian people, was a
translation of the four Gospels by Messrs. Seraphim of Eski Zagra,
and Sapoonoff of Trevna, published at Bucharest in 1828. The first
edition of the whole New Testament in Bulgarian was issued at
Smyrna, in 1840, at the expense of the British and Foreign Bible
Society; but the literary labor was performed by a Bulgarian, the
Rev. Neophytus P. Petroff, of Rila, with the aid of Hilarion, the
Metropolitan Bishop of Ternovo. This edition was well received, and
sold rapidly. It was faithfully, carefully, and ably prepared.

[1] See Dr. Riggs' statement in the _Missionary Herald_, for 1872,
pp. 76-79.

The British and Foreign Bible Society published seven editions of
this Testament, or about forty thousand copies, and authorized the
preparation of a translation of the Old Testament. Mr. Constantine
Photinoff, of Smyrna, to whom this work was committed, just lived to
complete the first draft of a translation of the Old Testament, and
died in 1858, only a few days after having removed from Smyrna to
Constantinople, in order to revise it for publication, with Dr.
Riggs.

Meanwhile a rapid change had been going on in the Bulgarian
language, and it had become manifest that the work must have a
thorough revision. The translations of both the Old and New
Testaments had been made in the Western, or Macedonian dialect; but
the Eastern, or Slavic, was now taking the lead, and the language
was evidently to be mainly moulded after that model.

It is an interesting fact, stated by Dr. Riggs, that the government
censor for Bulgarian publications called on him, the day after Mr.
Photinoff's death, and expressed his hearty interest in the work of
translating the Scriptures, and his hope that it would not be
delayed.

In the preparation of this work, Dr. Riggs was aided by two of the
best Bulgarian scholars, the one trained in the use of the Western,
and the other of the Eastern dialect. In the revision of the New
Testament, he was also aided by the Rev. A. L. Long, D. D., of the
Methodist Bulgarian mission. With such assistance, it is believed
that this translation of the Bible will become a standard work. The
first edition was printed in an imperial octavo volume of one
thousand and sixty pages, with the references of our English Bible,
which will be of special value to a people having as yet no
Concordances, Bible Dictionaries, or Commentaries. Dr. Riggs brought
to the annual meeting of the newly organized mission, in 1871, the
first copy received from the binders.

It should be borne in mind, that only preliminary work has been done
as yet in this most inviting field. Scarcely fourteen years have
elapsed since the field was first explored, and only twelve since
stations began to be occupied. It is not time to expect any other
results than first fruits. The missionaries have become thoroughly
acquainted with the field, with its wants, and its strategetic
points, and are ready to move forward as fast as they shall receive
the needful aid.






CHAPTER XXXIII.

THE ARMENIANS.

1861-1863.


Dr. Dwight having completed his eastern tour, visited the United
States, where he arrived in November, 1861. It was arranged, that he
should prepare and publish the results of his extended missionary
observations. But the Head of the Church had ordered otherwise. On
Saturday, January 25, 1862, while passing in the cars through
Shaftsbury, Vermont, on his way to spend a Sabbath at Middlebury
College, "the stormy wind, fulfilling His word," lifted the car from
off the rails, and tossed it down a steep embankment; and one of the
heavy trucks, following and dashing through it, at once set free the
sanctified spirit of our brother, and gave him a sort of translation
to the regions of the blessed. It was a sudden and unexpected close
of a most useful life.

Dr. Dwight was born at Conway, Massachusetts, on the 22d of
November, 1803. His family removed to Utica, New York, and there, at
the age of fifteen, he was hopefully converted during a revival of
religion, and united with a Presbyterian church. He graduated at
Hamilton College in 1825, and, while in the Theological Seminary at
Andover, became deeply interested in the missionary work, and took
great pains, along with some fellow-students, to illustrate the
beginning of foreign missions from the United States. In his last
year at the Seminary he offered himself to the American Board, and
was appointed one of its missionaries. After completing his studies,
he entered upon an agency for the Board, which continued until 1829.
From this time, through more than thirty years, the events of his
life form an important part of the history of the mission to the
Armenians. That mission grew, in his time, from a single station at
Constantinople to twenty-three stations, and eighty-one
out-stations, extending over the greater part of Western Asia; and
whereas, at the commencement of his labors, he did not know of a
single convert in the whole country, at their close, there were
forty-two churches, with sixteen hundred members, twelve ordained
native pastors, forty-three licensed native preachers, thirty-four
catechists, fifty-five teachers, and thirty-nine other helpers.

He was made to be a leader in the Lord's host. There was in him a
rare combination of sound common sense, piety, resolution, firmness,
candor, and courtesy, and withal an honest simplicity, a godly
sincerity, and a practical tact, that seldom failed to secure for
him a commanding influence; and the mission, of which he was so long
a member, was sufficiently eventful to give full exercise to all his
powers.

It affords much pleasure to the writer, that he is unable to recall
an instance, in all the thirty years, where Dr. Dwight's opinions
were seriously at variance with those of the Committee and
Secretaries of the Board. It may be that, under the influence of a
more extended correspondence, there was sometimes greater progress
in their opinions on questions of missionary experience, than in
his; but there was never any collision of thought; and it was most
gratifying, on his arrival in this country, after his instructive
and interesting tour of observation among the missions and mission
churches, to find this eminent servant of Christ in full accord with
his Committee on all the great points of missionary practice. The
prominent trait, however, in his character was spirituality. This
was in him an ever-growing quality. From day to day, from month to
month, from the commencement of his missionary life until his death,
he was wholly devoted to the kingdom and glory of his Redeemer. He
walked with God, and was not, for God took him.

It will be appropriate, at this stage of the history, to quote some
of the views of Dr. Dwight on missionary policy in Turkey, as they
were embodied in a circular letter to the brethren of his own
mission, and substantially communicated to the Secretaries in their
personal intercourse with him just before his lamented death. Coming
from such a man, after so long and varied an experience, they
deserve thoughtful attention. He speaks first of the education of a
native ministry.

"I am inclined to think that we have made our education at the Bebek
Seminary too comprehensive, considering the actual circumstances and
wants of the people. True, our course of study is nothing compared
with that of American colleges; but it is much, compared with the
amount of education existing in this country; and it seems to me we
are in danger from two sources; namely, first, that our native
preachers will be educated too far above their people; and,
secondly, that they will require much more for their support, in
consequence of their education, than their people can give. The plan
of removing the Bebek Seminary to the interior, strikes me very
favorably."

Again, as to the support of the native ministry: "I think it very
evident, that the past system is fraught with too many evils to be
continued. I would not favor any sudden change, but it seems to me,
that the experience we have gained, by the working of the past,
would lead us to begin immediately on a new plan; and the providence
of God, in restricting our means, is giving us an admirable
opportunity for so doing. We may urge with great weight upon the
churches the support of their own pastors, and leave the
responsibility there, even when the treasury of the Board shall be
relieved. I begin to question, whether we ought even to give regular
aid from our funds, for the support of settled pastors, or even
stated supplies of churches fully organized. Would it not simplify
our relations to those churches, as well as call forth much more
efficient effort from themselves, if we were to leave them, as the
Apostles did their native churches, to take care of their own
pastors, after such have been ordained? The native churches should
be expected and encouraged to take, as fast as possible, the work of
evangelizing surrounding districts upon themselves; and it will be
better to leave them to choose and support wholly their own
laborers. The plan of having such men supported partly by the
mission and partly by the native churches, does not work well. If it
is necessary for the mission to assist the churches in this work, I
would do it irregularly, and without any pledges as to the amount or
frequency of such aid."

These views had been already exemplified, substantially, in the
Central mission; and they have since had a more full practical
development in the Eastern mission; as will appear in the progress
of the history.

It was not found easy to determine the number of stations or of
missionaries desirable in Eastern or Western Turkey. The early
theories in relation to this matter have been considerably modified
by experience. It was natural to suppose, that many missionaries
could labor among the million of people in Constantinople, without
interfering with each other, or standing in the way of a native
ministry. And so they might, could they at once have access to a
considerable part of the population. But this was not true in fact,
either as to missionaries, or the native ministry. It has been
found, that it results in loss to place more preachers on the
ground, than can find full scope for their ministry. Even should the
overcrowded ministry be of the same denomination, it works badly,
but far worse if made up of rival sects. For a time at least, all
must operate upon nearly the same persons. In the rural districts,
the missionaries reside in the centres of population, and generally
where two families can dwell together, and where each missionary can
have a distinct field of labor. But even there it is deemed
expedient for the churches to have native pastors; nor there alone.
The aim is to have constellations of churches with native
office-bearers, around every missionary station. Not otherwise can
the whole country be permeated by evangelical influences.

It is plain that in a work so unlike anything at home, missionaries
ought to have large discretion as to the time and manner of
organizing native churches. Nor, since these infant communities are
only partially enlightened and sanctified, is there reason for
discouragement should they sometimes be not perfectly harmonious
with their missionary fathers. It was so for a time with one of the
first churches formed at the metropolis. The missionaries had of
course the sole responsibility of determining what use should be
made of the funds remitted by the Board. But the pastor and a
portion of the church thought they ought to have a voice in their
disposal. As this could not be, dissatisfaction arose, and
complaints were publicly made against their American brethren. But
these misunderstandings have in good measure passed away.[1]

[1] See _Missionary Herald_, 1862, p. 300, 1863, p. 268; and Report
of the Board for 1871, p. 23.

The Western Turkey Mission resolved, in 1862, to suspend the Bebek
Seminary, with the expectation of reviving it at Marsovan. This
institution was commenced by Dr. Hamlin, in November, 1840. It was a
boarding-school, with a course of study believed to be adapted to
the great ends of the mission, and soon became a very efficient
means of gaining access to the people. Its third year, ending
November, 1843, was called the "year of a thousand visits," because
so many came desirous to learn the religious belief of the
missionaries. The Principal was obliged to stop their coming, in
order to save the school; but the work among the Armenians then
received an impulse which it never lost. Dr. Hamlin continued in
charge of the Seminary till the year 1857; aided, at different
times, by most of his brethren. Messrs. Clark, Bliss, and Pettibone,
had charge of it afterward. The building at Bebek, which had been
some time occupied on a lease, became the property of the Board in
1849. In 1853, the number of students was fifty, of whom fifteen
were Greeks, under the instruction mainly of Dr. Riggs; and there
was then a theological class of eleven Armenians. The Greek
department was suspended in 1855. The students were very useful as
evangelical laborers within and around Constantinople; and not a few
of the graduates occupy, and have occupied, important posts of
usefulness in different parts of the empire. It is recorded that, in
1857, sixty applicants were rejected for want of means to support
them; and it was believed that, with adequate pecuniary means, one
hundred could have received instruction as easily as fifty.

The metropolis was not found the best place to train men for the
seclusion and small salaries of interior pastorates; but the school
was nevertheless a most important instrument for good, and quite
essential in the early progress of the mission. Of the forty-five
students in the five years from 1857 to 1861, for which the Seminary
was fairly held responsible, seven were preachers at the opening of
1862, and thirteen were members of the theological class.

The expediency of continuing the Seminary at the metropolis, had
been discussed in the mission for several years. The other missions
preferred training their native ministry within their own bounds;
and the interior stations of the Western mission had strong
objections to sending their pupils to be educated where expensive
habits were almost necessarily acquired.

It was resolved, in the same year, to discontinue the
boarding-school for girls at Constantinople, with the expectation
of reviving it, also, at Marsovan. It was commenced in 1845. The
whole number of pupils had been one hundred and twenty-eight, of
whom one half became members of the church. Eighty-three were from
Constantinople and vicinity, and forty-five from the interior.
Thirty-seven completed the course of four years. Two of the older
graduates were teachers of self-supporting schools at Nicomedia;
another, whose parents lived at Trebizond, taught at Marsovan; a
fourth, since married to a graduate of the Bebek seminary, devoted
herself to teaching the girls in a day-school at Adabazar, in charge
of the native pastor; another was mistress of a school of forty
pupils at Baghchejuk; and still another had a school of forty-five
girls at Diarbekir, and was otherwise a shining light. Five were
wives of pastors,--at Constantinople, Broosa, Bilijik, Harpoot, and
Diarbekir; three of preachers,--at Nicomedia, Bandurma, and Aidin;
and several of helpers in different places. The school was located
successively at Pera, Bebek, and Hass-Keuy; and its teachers were
Miss Lovell, Mrs. Everett, and the two Misses West.

The summer heat at Adana was supposed to be too intense for the
health of a missionary family. Mr. Coffing was therefore
commissioned, by his brethren, to explore the Taurus Mountains, west
and north of Marash, for a suitable summer residence. He performed
this service in the autumn of 1860, accompanied by Mrs. Coffing and
Deacon Sarkis. An interesting account of the tour may be found in
the "Missionary Herald," for 1861.[1] Mr. Coffing requested
permission, on his return, to occupy the new field, and left Aintab,
with his family, for this purpose, in July, 1861; intending to
reside at Hadjin, or Nigdeh in the mountains during the summer heat,
and in the winter at Adana. As they went forth from Aintab, nearly
the whole Protestant population, about fifteen hundred, stood on
both sides of the road to bid them farewell, and as they passed,
sang,--

   "How sweet the tie that binds
    Our hearts in Christian love;"

and also an original hymn, expressive of their feelings on parting
with this mission family. More than a hundred persons accompanied
them during that afternoon, returning the next day; and many were
the prayers offered for them, and for the dark town in the mountains
whither they went. Their road through or rather upon the Taurus
Mountains, was difficult, and in some places dangerous; but without
serious accident they reached Hadjin on Saturday, July 14th. There
they were kindly welcomed by the people, and commenced their labors
with pleasant prospects of success. But, after a few weeks, the
Moslem governor and the Armenian priests commenced a cruel
opposition, scarcely paralleled in the missionary experiences of
Turkey, and drove them from the place, with much loss and suffering.
Arriving at Adana, where the native brethren gave them a kind
reception, Mr. Coffing sought redress from the government, but in
vain, as the Pasha was unfriendly; and the native Protestants of
that city were subjected to many outrages during the winter.

[1] _Missionary Herald_, 1861, pp. 169, 170.

After six months, Mr. Coffing left Adana to attend the annual
meeting of his mission at Aleppo, going by way of Alexandretta. The
road being dangerous around the head of the gulf, he took a guard of
three soldiers; but in the latter part of the route, he dismissed
two of them, going on with the other, two muleteers, and a pious
Armenian servant. When three miles from Alexandretta, he was fired
upon by two men concealed in a thicket near the road. Two balls
struck his left arm above the elbow, shattering the bone and
severing an artery, and one entered the body. Though severely
wounded, he rode on two miles further; and then, from loss of blood,
sunk down upon the beach, not far from Alexandretta, and sent to
that place for help. It was promptly rendered by Mr. Levi, the
American Vice Consul, Arthur Roby, Esq., the English Vice Consul,
and other gentlemen, and the fainting missionary was taken to the
house of Mr. Levi, where he died the next morning, March 26th, 1862.
The Armenian servant died four days later from his wounds, and
another, who was wounded, recovered.

Mr. Johnson, United States Consul at Beirût, took energetic
measures, in connection with Mr. Morgan at Antioch, for apprehending
the murderers. They had the coöperation not only of the gentlemen
above mentioned, but also of Capt. Hobart of H. B. Majesty's Ship
_Foxhound_, Capt. Simon, of the French Frigate _Mogador_, and Col.
A. S. Frazer, H. B. M. Commissioner to Syria. The Turkish
authorities acted with commendable decision, and two young Moslem
robbers of the mountains, to whom the crime was traced, were finally
captured; though one of them afterwards escaped, and was protected
by the Pasha of the district. The other was executed in September,
1862, and the offending Pasha was removed from office. Robbery was
evidently no object with the assassins, and it was believed, that
they were instigated by others. The hostile Armenians of Hadjin and
Adana were, for a time, under great apprehension, and were so much
impressed by the forbearance of Mr. Johnson and Mr. Morgan, that
they assured the latter of their readiness to receive any preacher
he might choose to send among them. The sorely afflicted widow
resolved to remain in the mission, where she is still very usefully
employed among her own sex. It should be added, that this is the
only instance in the history of the Board, in which a missionary has
suffered a violent death, inflicted because he was a missionary,
from the hands of the people among whom he labored.

Dr. Goodell attended the annual meeting of the Central mission in
1862; and so strong were his impressions that the appropriate work
of the missionary was nearly accomplished at some of the stations,
that he apprehended there might be more danger of the missionary's
staying too long, than that he would go too soon.

At Aintab, for example, he found the church supporting its own
pastors and common schools, and taking upon itself the supply of
nearly all its out-stations. No appropriations were asked of the
Board, except for the theological class, the female boarding-school,
and one out-station; for all the rest the church provided. For these
objects, for their own poor, and for their taxes to government, the
sum total raised by the Protestants, in the then closing year, had
been two thousand five hundred and fifty-six dollars, averaging one
dollar and a quarter for every man, woman, and child in the
community. The congregation being too large for one pastor,
arrangements had been made to form a second church, and thus to have
two churches instead of one. The theological school was on the point
of being removed to Marash, and it was his opinion that, were it not
for the female boarding-school, which would probably remain, the
missionaries at Aintab should be preparing to withdraw from that
place, and go to "regions beyond." While he deprecated too sudden
changes, he thought the great question for the brethren at that
station was: "How can we, in the most graceful manner, set up in
life this first born child of ours, now come of age, and ready to
act for itself?"

Dr. Goodell speaks of Oorfu, along with Aintab and Marash, as
advanced in Christian knowledge. About the year 1851, a native
helper from Aintab spent three years in Oorfa, working at his trade
as a weaver, but receiving a partial support from the mission, and
reading and explaining the Scriptures to all that came. Mr.
Schneider visited this place in 1854; a church was organized by Dr.
Pratt in December, 1855, and Mr. Nutting commenced his residence
there in 1857. Mr. White was also there a year or more, till 1859.
The church was then small, and very partially sanctified. The number
of church-members, in 1861, was fifteen, and nearly all the members
were active, working Christians; and the real progress had been
greater than the statistics indicated. Protestantism had become
known, and was exerting a good influence. The congregation supported
three schools, containing ninety-four pupils, of whom thirty-one
were from non-protestant and non-paying parents, and thirty were
girls. The Oorfa church regarded the evangelization of Germish, a
neighboring Armenian village of a thousand souls, as their
appropriate work.

The report of the Harpoot station for 1862 states, that there was
an increasing number in the city, and at nearly all the fifteen
out-stations, who gave serious attention to the truth; and that
there was a growing agitation among those who kept aloof from the
preaching. A reform party among the old Armenians was rapidly
acquiring influence; and to satisfy their demands, mid-day Sabbath
services, for expounding the Scriptures in the modern tongue, were
held in the churches of several villages. In the city, the party had
formed a society for mutual improvement, and one of its rules was,
that the Bible should be read in all their meetings. The sale of
Bibles, or portions of it, in two years, exceeded two thousand, and
the same was true of other volumes. The Theological school contained
thirty-nine pupils,--twenty-one in the first class, and eighteen in
the second. It occupied the upper story of a substantial building,
erected chiefly by the aid of friends in America; while the lower
story furnished a neat and well lighted place of worship. Mr.
Wheeler writes: "Supplied as it is, without expense to the Board,
with solar reflectors and two neat pulpit lamps, it is exerting an
influence for good in the villages. Already the people of three
villages have covered the black mud walls of their chapels with a
neat white plaster, and four villages have each purchased one of the
'wonderful lamps, by the light of which a man can read on the
opposite side of the room.' At their own expense they are also
furnishing their places of worship with clocks, and are beginning to
learn that (to an oriental) very difficult lesson, to be prompt, and
to value time." A girls' boarding-school was opened in 1862.

Hadji Hagop, an old and valued helper at this station, went one
Sabbath to Hulakegh, an out-station, to preach. On leaving the
Protestant chapel, he met the teacher of the Armenian school with a
Bible under his arm, going to the church, where they were to have a
"preaching meeting,"--as was the case in several villages where the
mission had congregations, partly in imitation of the mission, and
partly to counteract its influence,--and he asked Hagop to go with
him. He went, and the leading men urged him to preach, which he
consented to do. The news spread through the village, and the
congregation almost immediately swelled to two hundred and fifty. He
preached Christ and Him crucified for about an hour, securing most
fixed attention, and it is said the women were nearly all moved to
tears.

Mr. Walker, the resident missionary at Diarbekir, visited Mosul in
1861, and found the congregation in that city about as it was when
the missionaries left. Subsequently, when visited by Mr. Williams,
the Mosul church sent an earnest plea for a missionary to the
Prudential Committee. Mr. Williams was with them three months,
married three couples, baptized several children, and admitted one
to the church.

Mr. Walker's tour was extended more than a thousand miles, and he
found much that was very painful, and yet much that was encouraging,
among the Arabic-speaking people in Eastern Turkey.

The church in Diarbekir numbered eighty-four members in 1862, and
the pupils in the Sabbath-school were two hundred and eighty-four.
At Cutterbul a house had been built, to be occupied as a place of
worship on the Sabbath, and for a school-house during the week, and
there were hopeful indications in places near. At the annual meeting
of the mission, in the following year, Baron Tomas Boyajian[1] was
ordained as pastor of the first evangelical church in Diarbekir. His
examination was well sustained. The ordaining services were
necessarily in the open air, and were conducted in Armenian,
Turkish, and Arabic. More than a thousand, adults were present,
besides hundreds of children, and the interest was sustained to the
end. The members of the church pledged themselves to furnish nearly
half the salary. Thirteen members, heretofore connected with that
church, were formed into a separate organization at Cutterbul.

[1] Known to the reader as _Tomas_. _Baron_ is equivalent to _Mr_.

These services were like our own; and how much more rational and
appropriate must they have appeared to the people, than the
ordination services prescribed in the Liturgy of the Armenian
Church, as described by Mr. Goss. "In the first place, the exercises
are all performed in an unknown tongue, the old Armenian. The bishop
sits at one end of the church, the candidate enters at the other,
walking on his knees, and thus proceeds to the altar. The skirt of
the bishop is thrown over his head, and the bishop asks a few
general questions, which are answered by a third person, either
priest or deacon. They are such as these: 'Does this man understand
the Scriptures'? 'Is he the child of a lawful marriage'? etc. An
affirmative reply is given, when perhaps the man cannot read. He is
then asked, if he is a disciple, not of Christ, but of certain
church fathers. Also, if he will pronounce 'Anathema maranatha' upon
all heretics. Then Arians, Nestorians, and other heretical sects are
mentioned, and the sweeping question is put,--'Will you pronounce
all accursed who do not acknowledge Mary to be the mother of God?'
The candidate repeats the names of these sects, and curses them all.
Then follows the re-baptism, with the sacred oil, according to the
Armenian custom with infants. The hands of the new priest are then
bound together and oiled, and he is made to stand outside of the
church, when the congregation come, and, kissing his hands, put
their paras[1] on a plate, which is near by to receive them. The
priest is then imprisoned forty days in the church, with the cuffs
of his sleeves and his trousers sewed close to his limbs. In this
condition, he is not allowed to brush off an insect, or to relieve
his body from any unpleasant sensation whatever. He cannot change
his clothes during the whole time, and his food is of the coarsest
quality. His wife passes through a similar ordeal at home."

[1] About a mill of our money.

Considerable annoyance was felt, about this time, growing out of the
efforts of an Armenian, named Garabed, to form a church at
Diarbekir, which should admit persons to the sacrament of the Lord's
Supper without requiring evidence of piety, and baptize the children
of any who might desire it. He made similar efforts at Aleppo,
Aintab, and Marash. He visited Jerusalem, and so far gained the
confidence of English missionaries residing there, that the
excellent Bishop Gobat was induced to give him ordination. But he
failed to secure the confidence of the missionaries and native
pastors in Central and Eastern Turkey, where he was better known;
and the evidence at hand constrains me to add, that the missionaries
at all the stations anticipated nothing but evil from such
intrusions, at this stage of the missionary enterprise in Turkey.[1]

[1] "We desire to call your attention to the efforts of our English
(Church) brethren to obtain a foothold in Aintab. It seems that
large sums of money have been appropriated under the direction of
Bishop Gobat, of Jerusalem, for this purpose; and a large and costly
church building is being begun under the superintendence of the
English Consul at Aleppo. We are surprised and grieved at this
breach of courtesy on the part of these English friends, especially
so soon after the earnest protests of the officers of our Board
against such interference by other missionary societies."--_Letter
written in_ 1872.

The congregations at Bitlis were composed mostly of young men,
apparently drawn together by love for the truth. About twenty were
known as Protestants, and five of them had gone through a fiery
trial of persecution. The Bible class, which had been broken up by
that means, was now regularly attended by about thirty young men,
some of whom developed rich natural endowments, and gave promise of
future usefulness. Sabbath-school instruction was found a valuable
auxiliary to the preaching of the missionaries, on account of the
opportunity it afforded for free and familiar illustration and
personal application of the truth. It also made the missionary
acquainted with the superstitions and errors of the Armenian
religion. The women's meeting, conducted by Mrs. Knapp and Mrs.
Burbank, was well attended and influential. A school for girls,
taught by the wife of the helper, was broken up by the violence of
Armenian ecclesiastics. The missionaries appealed to the Pasha, and
to Mr. Dalzell, the friendly British Consul at Erzroom. The result
was that the priests commenced a free school for boys and girls, and
also a preaching service, hoping thus to deter the people from
becoming Protestants. The Porte had given orders that the
Protestants in every city should have a suitable cemetery, but every
effort to secure one at Bitlis had been without success.

Dr. Dwight was much interested in this city. Its population was
thirty thousand, and one third were Armenians; the rest were Koords
and Turks, and there were hundreds of villages within the district.
The place was proverbial for salubrity, and he saw enough to
convince him that the leaven of the Gospel was working powerfully
among the people. Moosh, an out-station of Bitlis, was occupied by
the native pastor Simon. The truth had taken some hold there, but
the people were more degraded than at Bitlis.

Erzroom had several changes of missionaries in the six years
previous to 1862. Being near to Russia, it suffered greatly during
the Crimean war. The church was disbanded, but was reorganized by
Mr. Trowbridge. Mr. Pollard removed thither from Arabkir, and was
received with unexpected favor. The government now granted an
eligible cemetery; and the Armenian Bishop, having had the benefit
of a two years' residence in the United States, was friendly towards
the American missionary.

The removal of Mr. Pollard left Mr. Richardson alone at Arabkir. His
report for 1862, shows that there was much to encourage him. Turkish
women came to the female prayer-meetings; and the opening of
Protestant schools had led the Armenians to establish schools for
their own children, in some of which a large proportion of the
pupils were girls, though but a few years had passed since it was
considered a shame for females to learn to read. Eleven young men
from seven different cities and villages in this district, were
connected with the Harpoot Seminary, giving the prospect of an
improved class of helpers. Yet most of the former helpers had proved
themselves sincere and pious; and after having done what they could
to bring forward younger men of higher attainments, they were
themselves humbly and gracefully returning to their former trades
and callings, and laboring for the advancement of the good cause as
Sabbath-school teachers and private Christians.

At the close of 1862, Dr. Wood, the Corresponding Secretary of the
Board at New York, in consideration of his former experience and his
familiarity with the Armenian language, was requested by the
Prudential Committee to reside at Constantinople for a year or more,
laboring in connection with the mission to Western Turkey. This was
necessary in consequence of the sickness of several missionaries,
and the special demand, at that time, for labor at that important
post. He returned in the summer of 1864, after having rendered
important service to the mission.

The clerical accessions to the mission, in 1862 and 1863, were
Messrs. John Francis Smith, Moses P. Parmelee, and Giles F.
Montgomery, with their wives; and their respective assignments were
to the Western, Central, and Eastern missions. In addition to these,
Miss Arabella L. Babcock went to Harpoot, Miss Ann Eliza Fritcher to
Marsovan, and Miss Mary E. Reynolds to the Bulgarian Mission.

In May, 1863, native pastors were ordained at Antioch, Bitlis,
Adana, and Tarsus. In June, a fifth was ordained at Killis, the
officiating clergy in this last case, with a single exception, being
natives.






CHAPTER XXXIV.

THE ARMENIANS.

1864-1866.


A reactionary movement took place among the Mohammedans of the
capital in 1864. The government had encouraged the introduction of
European science. Men high in civil positions had delivered courses
of lectures on history and other topics, in a surprisingly liberal
spirit, and to audiences embracing hundreds of Turks. A "Literary
and Scientific Gazette," published monthly under the auspices of a
native "Oriental Society," discussed questions of political and
social economy from an occidental stand-point; and the press was
active in issuing pamphlets and books by native writers, indicating
and promoting a new intellectual life. All this the devotees of the
"Old School" regarded with suspicion. They were even more alarmed by
the religious liberty, which had been successfully claimed for
converts from Mohammedanism, who had been openly baptized, and lived
unmolested as Christians. The government had some time before been
led to discourage Christian education by missionaries and other
foreigners, when they could do this indirectly and under plausible
pretexts; and they were somewhat rigid in their censorship of the
religious press. The Scriptures, however, were allowed to be printed
and circulated in the Arabo-Turkish, or sacred character, and no
objection was made to simple expositions of Christian truth in that
language.

But when copies of Dr. Pfander's book[1] were brought to
Constantinople, which defended Christianity against Mohammedanism,
and assailed the latter, it was detained at the custom-house; yet
copies got abroad in some way, without foreign agency, and were
sought by Mohammedans who were interested in the great question it
discussed. A Moslem published a bitter reply; and in July, the
manifest increase of both Christian ideas and pantheistic infidelity
among the people, and the growing excitement among the fanatical
party, began to alarm the government. There was believed to be a
somewhat large body, who wished to reform the Mohammedan faith; and
it was said that a petition was presented to the government, by some
Moslems calling themselves Protestants, for a mosque in which to
worship in their own way.

[1] Dr. Pfander, was a highly respected missionary of the (English)
Church Missionary Society. The work was printed in London.

The fears of the Sultan were aroused. For several weeks spies beset
the missionaries at every step. Finally, on a set day, several
Turkish converts were arrested, and cast into prison, some of them
being treated with great indignity. On the next day, the printing
presses used by the missionaries were seized and put under seal, and
rooms occupied by English missionaries, and the bookstore of the
American mission and the two Bible Societies were also closed by the
police.

These proceedings, being in direct violation of rights secured by
treaty, were at once met with a decided protest from Mr. Brown, who,
in the absence of the American Minister Resident, was the
representative of his government; and after some delay, the British
Ambassador, Sir Henry Bulwer, also sent in a remonstrance. An
examination of the bookstore discovered no prohibited publications;
and after two days it was allowed to be re-opened. The printing
offices were likewise restored. A correspondence followed between
Sir Henry Bulwer and the Turkish authorities, and between him and
the missionaries resident at Constantinople. The Mohammedans
professed not to oppose their people's embracing the Christian
religion, but only such reckless proselytism, as endangered the
public peace; and they declared their willingness to release the
imprisoned converts if it could be done consistently with their
personal safety. But the missionaries believed that the intention of
the Turks, and also the tendency of Sir Henry's movements, were
seriously to curtail their own liberty and that of their converts,
and greatly to embarrass the propagation of the Gospel, as well
among all the nominally Christian sects, as among the Moslems.

The immediate effect of these things was to prevent attendance by
the Turks on preaching, the circulation of Christian books, and
personal intercourse with the missionaries.

The position of the entire field, at the opening of 1864, from
Constantinople to Diarbekir on the East, and to Antioch on the
south, was one to interest the intelligent observer. The laborers
employed in this wide and populous region, not including the
Bulgarians, were--

Missionaries                    36
Missionary Physicians            2
Female Assistant Missionaries   41
Native Pastors                  20
Licensed Native Preachers       43
Teachers                        83
Other Helpers                   58
                               ---
                  Total        283

The printing was done at Constantinople for all the missions; and
that reported for the year 1863 was as follows:

In Armenian              1,821,000 pages
In Armeno-Turkish        1,128,000   "
In Arabo-Turkish           264,000   "
In Greek                     6,000   "
In Bulgarian             1,896,000   "
                         ---------
                  Total  5,115,000   "

Of Turkish Scriptures twice as many copies had been distributed as
in previous years. More than twenty-five thousand copies of the Word
of God went into circulation, in at least twenty different
languages. The following is a statement of the Scriptures prepared
and printed, under the supervision of the missionaries of the Board,
from 1840 to 1863:

In Modern Armenian          37,500
In Ararat                    8,000
In Armeno-Turkish            6,500
In Greco-Turkish            55,000
In Koordish                 13,000
In Bulgarian                 4,000
In Hebrew-Spanish           23,000
Armenian Psalms             14,000
                           -------
                  Total    161,000

Of these, there were published at the expense of the British and
Foreign Bible Society, 100,000; of the American Bible Society,
54,000; and of the American Tract Society (New York), 7,000. In
addition to the above printed in Turkey, 10,500 copies of the modern
Armenian version were printed in New York, from electrotype plates
of the American Bible Society; and 5,000 copies of the same version
were printed in London, by the British and Foreign Bible Society.

The number of churches was forty-seven, with one thousand nine
hundred and thirteen members. There had been received from the
beginning two thousand three hundred and thirty-seven. The efforts
to bring the churches to the point of self-support were not always
appreciated. The people were poor, and sometimes felt their poverty
more than they should, and in almost every church there were members
who were ready to resent any transfer of pecuniary responsibility
from the mission treasury to themselves. Moreover, it was sometimes
not easy for a native pastor, with the tastes acquired during his
education, to live in a manner that would put him in sympathy with
his people, and encourage the hope of their soon assuming his
support. Nor was it easy for the native pastor, from his different
stand-point, to appreciate the responsibilities of the missionary. A
union of the churches was needed, but had been delayed by their
distance from each other and their poverty.

It has been already stated that the Western mission resolved, in
1862, to remove the two seminaries from Constantinople to Marsovan.
Mr. Leonard and his wife and Miss Maria A. West were already there.
Mr. Dodd and family, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and Miss Fritcher now
removed thither. The delightful harmony and Christian zeal which
existed at this station when the mission passed the resolution, had
been followed by painful disagreements. Through the mistaken zeal of
a young school-teacher, anxious to effect some changes in the
school, the community were betrayed into an attempt to obtain
exclusive control of the funds of the Board appropriated to
education. This eventually led to a struggle with the mission for
the possession of the meeting-house and a dwelling-house connected
with it, which had been purchased by the Board a few years before.
Much ill feeling existed both in the church and the community while
this was in progress, and for about six weeks a large number
withdrew, and set up public worship in a private house, with the
teacher at their head. This separate movement was then given up, and
there was soon a return of peace and mutual affection; but neither
of the schools were opened before the next year.

The accessions to the missions in Turkey, in the time now under
review, were Messrs. Walter H. Giles, Henry A. Schauffler, Lucien N.
Adams, and Albert Bryant, with their wives; also Miss Clarissa C.
Pond.

The working force of the mission at Constantinople, consisting of
Drs. Goodell and Riggs, and Messrs. Trowbridge, Herrick, and
Washburn, was quite too small for the demands of that great
metropolis, and for the general work of the mission which had to be
performed there. The Rev. Isaac G. Bliss, agent of the American
Bible Society, rendered valuable assistance in the care of the book
department. Dr. Hamlin was no longer able to render the services he
had performed. Robert College was allowed the use of the Seminary
building at Bebek, belonging to the American Board, until another
building could be erected. Its twenty students paid forty pounds
each year for board and tuition. Its successful beginning in 1862,
under the munificent patronage of its founder, and the care of its
President, Dr. Hamlin, and Professors Perkins and Henry A.
Schauffler, was a subject for general congratulation.

The unhappy dissensions of the Protestant civil community had in
some degree subsided; but the Pera church, maintaining its attitude
of disaffection, sought patronage from the English Bishop of
Gibraltar, offering to receive Episcopal ordination for the pastor,
and to become a "Reformed Armenian church," which should reject the
grossest errors of the Armenian Church, while it approximated
closely to it in government, worship, and usages. Inquiries were
instituted by the proper ecclesiastical authorities, and
encouragement was withheld from the movement.

It is painful to state that Vertanes, so often favorably mentioned
in the early history of this mission, and frequently actuated by a
zeal which the missionaries judged too ardent, became now
disaffected, and it was necessary to dismiss him as a helper.

The Pera church, at the time of writing this history, is in full
fellowship with the missionaries and its sister churches.

The Protestant community at Broosa suffered severely in a
conflagration, which consumed nearly the whole Armenian quarter of
the city. The neat Protestant church edifice, and the dwelling of
the native pastor, happily escaped.

A railway connects Smyrna with Aidin, a city of about fifty thousand
inhabitants, eighty miles distant. A church had been formed there
previous to 1865; four persons were added to it in that year, and
the brethren were grateful for their native pastor, but desired a
missionary who could preach in Greek, as they could reckon up scores
of Greeks who seemed ready to receive the truth.

Adana remained unoccupied after Mr. Coffing's death, until March,
1863, when Mr. Goss arrived, and, afterwards, Dr. and Mrs. Goodale.
The native pastor was faithful and intelligent. Though neither
church nor congregation was large, there was an advance in the
observance of the Sabbath, also in self-support and general
benevolence. The increased price of the cotton grown on its
magnificent plain, as the result of the war in America, had given an
extraordinary impulse to the business of the place, and to the
spirit of commerce. There was much to encourage hope in respect to
this important station.

Dr. Nutting, being transferred from the Eastern to the Central
mission, was stationed at Oorfa, where his brother was laboring; Mr.
and Mrs. Montgomery were added to the Central mission; but the
return home of Mr. and Mrs. White and of Dr. and Mrs. Goodale, by
reason of a failure of health, made the number of missionaries in
that field less than it had been the year before.

Yet such was the advance in Aintab, that the mission resolved, at
its annual meeting in 1864, that there was no longer a call for the
residence of a missionary in that city. The church had increased to
three hundred and fifty members, and had two native pastors, both of
decided ability, sound judgment, harmonious views, and deep-toned
piety; and it was thought that the proper development of the
pastoral relation, and the most economical disposal of missionary
strength, would be promoted by leaving the station to native
cultivation, with occasional visits of missionaries. As, however, a
second church was to be formed, and a new house of worship to be
built, mainly with funds from England placed under Dr. Schneider's
direction, the mission approved of his remaining there till these
things were done, when he was to go--as he has since gone--to
another field, where he might hope, with his uncommon power as a
preacher in the Turkish language, to reap a harvest like that which
had resulted in the truly wonderful ingathering of souls at Aintab.

The division of the church took place in the following year. When
the time had fully come for it, the senior pastor proposed that each
head of a family choose between them. The result was, that the two
churches, thus formed, each contained about one hundred and fifty
members. The number in each congregation, small and great, was
between eight and nine hundred. The preponderance was slightly in
favor of the first church and congregation, of which Baron Avedis
was pastor. Baron Krikore became the pastor of the new church.

On the Sabbath when the formal separation took place, the customary
services were exchanged for addresses suited to the occasion by the
pastors and Dr. Schneider, and there was the same intermingling of
joy and sorrow which is sometimes witnessed on similar occasions in
our own land. Those who went out made the sacrifice cheerfully. In
the afternoon they assembled in their place of temporary worship,
which was filled to its utmost capacity. "Though uncomfortably
crowded, pleasure beamed in every countenance. The Confession of
Faith and the Covenant were read and adopted anew by the church, all
the members standing. Then they were addressed on subjects
appropriate to their circumstances, with a view to rousing them to
new zeal and activity. When all was over, little groups were engaged
in lively conversation over the whole house, showing that all were
especially interested in what had transpired."

The Female Boarding-school at Aintab, under the care of Miss
Proctor, was now firmly established, having overcome much prejudice
against female education, and against the regulations necessary in
such an institution. It had fourteen pupils, who acquitted
themselves well at a public examination in the presence of a deeply
interested assembly.

In the high school for young men at the same station, under the very
competent instruction of Baron Alexan, twelve candidates for the
ministry were taught in secular branches, to whom lectures were
delivered in the departments of theological study by Drs. Schneider
and Pratt. At an examination of this school in the church, in the
presence of several hundred persons,--including six Moslems of
prominent social positions, most of whom listened for several hours
with the deepest interest,--the scholars gave highly satisfactory
proofs of mental ability and discipline; while the simplicity of
their piety, and their readiness to labor where divine Providence
should call them, gave good promise of their future steadfastness
and usefulness. It was then resolved to remove the Theological
School to Marash, and place it under the instruction of Dr. Pratt
and Mr. Goss, assisted by Baron Alexan, and that none but pious
young men should be admitted. The course of study was to occupy
three years; and so much of their own personal expenses were to
devolve upon the students, or their friends, as might test their
character, and furnish a healthful stimulus to the Protestant
community on the subject of education for the ministry.

The Theological Seminary at Harpoot sent forth its first class of
eighteen young men near the close of 1863. Eight of these had been
licensed as preachers of the Gospel, and nearly all the rest were
employed at out-stations, as catechists and teachers. Some were
expecting to be soon ordained as pastors. The demand for additional
laborers was urgent, because of the very general increase in the
size, as well as number, of the congregations.

Social meetings for the study of the Scriptures were found to be so
influential for good in the Harpoot district, that the Armenian
ecclesiastics of the Old Church sought to counteract their influence
by the same expedient; but the result disappointed their hopes. In
Malatia, they appointed a meeting for such readings every evening in
the week, in each of the twenty-four wards of their part of the
city. Their intention was to have the Scriptures and the church
books read in the ancient language; but the people insisted on
having the Bible alone read, and read in the spoken language. So
every night the Word of God, in the vernacular, was read and
commented on in twenty-four assemblies of from forty to sixty
persons.

Of more significance was the fact, that many of the local
communities, besides the one at Harpoot, were taking upon themselves
the support of their pastors and preachers, and were beginning to
relieve the Board of the expense of their schools. A missionary
spirit was also springing up. The churches in the cities were
beginning to care for the villages. Missionary societies were
formed. In one of the out-stations of Harpoot, the school boys had
an evangelical society. On Saturdays they met and had prayers,
singing, and the reading of a tract; and the next day they went out,
two and two, to the houses of such Armenians as did not come to the
Protestant place of worship, and asked the privilege of reading from
the New Testament. Being children, they often found a hearing where
older persons could not. A boys' missionary society in Diarbekir
bore the expense of a scripture reader in a large Armenian village
nine miles distant. A like association of men paid seven eighths of
the salary of a helper in another village. Subsequently, a door
being found open in an unhopeful village near the city, the native
brethren hired a house, and each Sabbath sent one of their own
number to spend the day as a scripture reader. A similar zeal was
manifested at Bitlis by a number of young men, who were studying at
their own charges.

But there were trials. Some of the young men in the Harpoot Seminary
refused to exercise the self-denial necessary to live on the means
allowed for their support, and returned to their homes; and a few of
the graduating class preferred to enter secular business, rather
than accept the salary offered. This was not without its uses, as it
confirmed a wholesome principle, and was the means of bringing some
men, after a time, into the service under a more just apprehension
of the true value of the ministry.

The Eastern Turkey Mission was painfully afflicted in 1865 and 1866.
The three families at Harpoot each lost two children; and Mrs.
Williams was called to her rest, depriving the mission of a highly
valued and beloved member, and leaving her husband alone, in the
sole charge of a difficult station. Mr. and Mrs. Richardson were
obliged by illness to visit their native land, and the Arabkir field
was placed under the permanent care of the Harpoot station.

The Eastern mission had now ten missionaries, with as many female
assistant missionaries, six native pastors, seventeen licensed
native preachers, twenty-five native teachers, and thirty-two other
helpers. The out-stations had increased to forty-seven, eighteen of
which were connected with Harpoot. The average attendance at the
regular religious services was over two thousand and two hundred;
and many more heard the informal preaching of colporters and other
assistants. Twenty-two Sabbath-schools embraced one thousand and
four hundred pupils. There were sixteen churches, with a membership
of four hundred and fifty, of whom sixty-eight were admitted on
profession of faith in 1864, and one hundred and twenty were women.
The number of registered Protestants was three thousand five hundred
and thirty. Besides four hundred adults receiving instruction, there
were one thousand five hundred children in fifty common schools, of
whom more than five hundred were girls. The girls' boarding-school
at Harpoot had forty-two pupils. The Misses West and Fritcher, from
Marsovan, had been very usefully connected for a time with this
school, in consequence of the return home of Miss Babcock. Miss
Clarissa C. Pond was now connected with the school, and early
succeeded in gaining the language. The mission was much encouraged
by a growing interest in education, especially among the women.
Parents who, a few years before, thought it wholly unnecessary, if
not a disgrace, for their daughters to read, and who could hardly be
induced to allow them to attend school, now gladly paid considerable
sums for their tuition. This advancing spirit of intelligence was
seen, not only among those who were brought directly under the
influence of missionary labor, but also among the Armenians
generally, compelling their ecclesiastics, in some places, to open
schools of their own. So, also, to keep the people away from the
Protestant chapels, extra services were established in Armenian
churches, in which the Bible was read and explained, and prayer was
offered in the modern or spoken language. In the village of Ichme,
they even went so far as to open an opposition prayer-meeting, a
female prayer-meeting, and an evening meeting; and societies were
formed in several places professedly to carry the Gospel to
neighboring villages.

There was much suffering from poverty, this year having been one of
special trial in this respect, but there was great liberality on the
part of the churches. In the Harpoot district, "there was a
promptness in paying their pastors, preachers, and teachers," says
the report of that station, "which would put to shame some richer
and more enlightened communities, even in Christian America. The
sums paid by the people for the support of pastors, schools, chapel
building, the poor, and for other benevolent objects, amounted
during the year to $1,224 (in gold), and would have been larger had
not the mass of the people been unusually poor, even for them." Two
things are noted that were especially cheering in regard to them:
"First; so soon as they become interested in the truth, they
earnestly desire a pastor of their own, and, _when necessary_, are
willing to pay according to their ability for his support. Secondly;
they are easily pleased, and are not fickle minded; do not desire,
but rather oppose change. The preacher who has once been given to
them, almost without exception they learn to love; and having
learned this, they do not wish to part with him."

Mr. Williams was at Diarbekir in February, and found the church in
great prosperity under the pastorate of the Rev. Tomas Boyajian. For
a year the station had had no missionary; and it was a year of high
prices, almost a famine, and great stagnation in business throughout
Eastern Turkey. At the same time, owing to the trouble in
Constantinople, the Turkish officials were more averse to
Protestants than ever before. Sickness, too, had prevailed,
thirty-three having been buried at Diarbekir from the congregation
over which the young pastor was settled. "Yet," says Mr. Williams,
"the city work is in advance of any _one_ thing at Harpoot. The
congregation at the Sabbath-school, three fourths of whom are
adults, numbered three hundred and thirty-nine, and I wish those
whose contributions have aided in planting this vine, could have
looked upon the clusters of faces which were studying the Book of
Life, and heard the hum of voices asking and answering questions!
They would have felt that there are some places where the missionary
work is _not_ a failure. The figures I have not by me, but since Mr.
Walker has been absent, the church has increased, the congregation
has increased; and that it is not an idle increase is shown by the
fact, that this one congregation has, in the year of the
missionary's absence, contributed four hundred dollars for the
support and spread of the Gospel; for schools, two hundred and
forty; for the poor (a year of high prices and great want), two
hundred and seventy-five; and for the national head at
Constantinople, forty."

The year 1865 was signalized by the death of two very useful
missionaries,--Rev. Edward Mills Dodd, and Rev. Homer Bartlett
Morgan. Mr. Dodd died of cholera at Marsovan, on the 19th of August.
He was a native of New Jersey, and his first labors were among the
Jews of Salonica, commencing in April, 1849. In 1863, he was
transferred from Smyrna to Marsovan. Mr. Barnum, of Harpoot, who was
there at the time of his death, speaks of him as a sincere Christian
and an earnest missionary, working up to and often quite beyond the
strength of his feeble constitution. "His first missionary language
was Hebrew-Spanish, of which, I have been told, he had a fine
command. When he was transferred to the Armenian work he learned the
Turkish, which he used with much more than ordinary correctness; and
some of the best sermons which I have heard in that language were
from him. He devoted considerable attention to Turkish hymnology,
and many of the best of the Turkish hymns now in use were
contributed by him."[1]

[1] See _Missionary Herald_, 1865, pp. 380-383.

Mr. Morgan died at Smyrna on the 25th of August, at the age of
forty-one. He was from the State of New York, and obtained his
education at Hamilton College, and at the Union and Auburn
Theological Seminaries. He joined the mission to the Jews at
Salonica in 1852. After that mission was relinquished, he removed,
in 1856, to Antioch. Seven of the remaining nine years of his life
were spent in that place, whence the great Apostle went forth on his
first foreign mission; and the last two at Kessab, in a perfectly
successful effort to restore unity to a divided church. The failing
health of Mrs. Morgan rendered a visit to her native land
imperative. Being detained ten days in the malarious atmosphere of
Alexandretta by the non-arrival of their expected steamer, Mr.
Morgan took the fever. Supposing it to be only an intermittent, they
embarked for Marseilles, but on reaching Smyrna he was too ill to
proceed farther. There, in a missionary family, he had the best of
attendance, and after a week of delirious wanderings, he finished
his earthly course, and was laid to rest in the cemetery of the
Dutch hospital. His first wife was taken from him at Salonica, his
first-born at Antioch, a second child at Bitias, and a third at
Kessab; and the father sleeps in Smyrna, his old home.

                           "Far from thee
   Thy kindred and their graves may be,--
   And yet it is a blessed sleep,
   From which none ever wakes to weep."

Repeated bereavements chastened the strong and decided character of
Mr. Morgan. He grew in the grace of patience, and in spirituality
and self-abnegation. He was an indefatigable worker, and was fitted
to exert, as he did, a commanding influence on the policy of the
mission. He soon made himself familiar with the Turkish language,
and never wearied of studying its beautiful structure, and wrote
some of the best Turkish hymns. The well known hymn,--"Not all the
blood of beasts"--he clothed with not a little of the strength and
power of the original.[1]

[1] See _Missionary Herald_, 1865, pp. 383-385.

The year was also signalized by the death of Rev. Hohannes Der
Sahagyan, pastor of the church in Nicomedia, and widely known as one
of the two young men who first attached themselves to the teaching
of the missionaries in Constantinople, also for his consistent
piety, earnest zeal, and the severe persecutions which he suffered
at different periods, as a follower of the Lord Jesus.

A scene at the ordination of a native pastor at Perchenj, a village
two hours from Harpoot, graphically described by Mr. Williams, has
its chronological place here. It was in a large garden, with the
pulpit under the wide-spreading branches of a mulberry-tree, and
mats and carpets spread out in front. "Around the pulpit sat the
council,--lay and clerical delegates, representing most of the
evangelical ministry in this part of Turkey; then the regular
Protestants of Perchenj, Harpoot, and the villages about, to whom it
was a 'festa,' as was evident from their dress. Outside these were
the partially committed ones, who, though they did not 'dress up'
for the occasion, seemed to have taken the day for it; and again,
outside that company, were men drawn in by the interest of the
occasion from their work, with their field dresses on, tools in
hand, leaning on their long handled spades, bending forward to catch
question and answer, wholly unconscious of the picturesque finish
they gave to the scene.

"In the afternoon exercises, the pastor of Ichme and the pastor of
Harpoot took prominent parts. The same was expected also of the
pastors from Arabkir and Shapik, but unfortunately they were not
present. The sermon was by Mr. Allen, and was moving and effective.
It was very difficult to count the audience, at least from where I
was. If I could have exchanged places with some of the boys, and
hung myself among the mulberries, perhaps I could have succeeded
better. Nothing in all the exercises seemed so American as the
natural way in which the boys took to the trees. We judged there
were, in the forenoon, about seven or eight hundred, and in the
afternoon, six or seven hundred. To the last, everything was quiet,
and all went off pleasantly. As you know, the community furnish half
the pastor's salary from the start."

In October, four months later, there was an ordination of much
interest at Cesarea, where the churches in Constantinople, Marsovan,
Sivas, and Yozgat were represented. It was in one of the most
important centres of influence. Gregory the Illuminator was ordained
in Cesarea, and he went forth from that place to his great work of
Christianizing the Armenian nation nearly sixteen hundred years ago.
There were born the great church teachers of Cappadocia, Basil of
Cesarea and his brother Gregory of Nyssa. In the middle of the third
century, the bishop of Cesarea protested against the usurpations of
the bishop of Rome.

"Wednesday morning the council met and organized. The whole day was
given to the examination of the candidate, which was held in the
church, and was attended by from two to three hundred persons. The
candidate occupied three fourths of an hour with a statement of
personal experience and reasons for entering the ministry. This he
made in a manner so clear, forcible, and satisfactory, that the
council felt the need of asking scarcely a question. To the
congregation it was especially impressive, showing how far removed
from the religion of forms, to which they have so long been bound,
is that faith which works by love. Three hours were then devoted to
an examination of his theological views, and he gave unmistakable
evidence of being a man accustomed to think for himself,--one who
has well-defined opinions, and is prepared to defend them."[1]

[1] _Missionary Herald_ for 1866, p. 53.

Mr. and Mrs. Walker, having recruited their health in their native
land, were once more at their post in Diarbekir. What a change since
the arrival of Mr. Dunmore among that people in the year 1851. Mr.
Walker thus describes his reception: "When two or three hours
distant from the city, we began to be met by companies on horseback;
and farther on by those on slower mules and donkeys, and as we
neared the city, a great company of men, women, and children gave us
their hearty 'Hoshgelden' (word of welcome); and the children of one
of the schools stood in line by the side of the road and sung
theirs. Thus we were escorted by two hundred or more, through the
gates of the city, and to our own home, which was swept and
garnished for our coming."

The church, during a part of Mr. Walker's absence, had been without
the services of its native pastor, he being at Constantinople; but
one of their own number, who had been educated at the Harpoot
Seminary, was engaged to supply the pulpit, and not a service had
been omitted. The Sabbath-school never fell below one hundred and
forty. Divine goodness spared the lives of the Protestants, with a
single exception, while fifteen hundred persons were dying in the
city of the cholera. The active piety of the church seemed to be
quickened by their trials; and thirty, out of one hundred and one
members, were wont to go out two by two, by appointment, to spend
Sabbath evenings in religious conversation at different houses. The
result was that their place of worship became over-crowded, and a
new building was prepared for a second congregation that would seat
four hundred and fifty persons.

Miss Maria A. West, of the Western Turkey mission, spent the winter
in the family of Mr. Walker, and took a very active interest in the
success of the women's weekly prayer-meetings. The attendance at
these meetings sometimes arose to seventy, and the results of labor
in this direction can hardly be over-estimated.

Ararkel, a very valuable helper at one of the Bitlis out-stations,
died in August, 1865. He was a most active opposer of the truth when
the gospel was first preached in Moosh, but one of the first to
accept it, being convinced by reading the Scriptures. He was
persecuted unto imprisonment, but bore all patiently. Being
naturally gentle and discreet, he was peculiarly fitted to be a
pioneer, and was sent as a helper to Havadorik, a village on the
mountains, among Koords, known as the dwelling-place of thieves and
robbers. He there labored for two years, until his death, with much
success. "His mouth," says Mr. Burbank, "was always full of
evangelical doctrines. His prayers were mingled with tears, and his
Bible was wet with them." He died of fever, leaving two little
orphan boys and an aged mother without any means of support. The
Armenians cheerfully granted him a burial in their own cemetery.






CHAPTER XXXV.

THE ARMENIANS.

1865-1867.


An association of native churches and pastors, called the Harpoot
Evangelical Union, was formed at Harpoot near the close of 1865. It
was to serve the purpose of a Home and Foreign Missionary Society,
also of an Education and Church Building Society. It could form new
churches, ordain and dismiss pastors, grant licenses to preachers,
and depose the unworthy. It was to hold an annual meeting, and such
other meetings during the year as circumstances might require.
Aggrieved church-members might appeal to it under certain
limitations.

A similar association had been formed, September, 1864, by the
churches in the Broosa and Nicomedia districts, called "The Union of
the Evangelical Armenian Churches of Bithynia," embracing eight
churches, and afterwards including the churches of Constantinople.
Another was formed at Marsovan, at the close of 1868, and called
"The Central Evangelical Union," and another in Central Turkey,
called "The Cilicia Union."

The effect of these organizations has been to enlarge the views of
churches and ministers, and make them feel that the work of
evangelizing the people around them belonged naturally to
themselves. It also greatly developed a spirit of self-denying love
for their work among the pastors and preachers, and a spirit of
unity and independence among the churches. "Five years ago," writes
Mr. Wheeler in September, 1866, "the pastor of the Harpoot church,
now President of the Union, when we put upon his people an increased
amount of his salary, inquired, 'By what right do these men put this
burden on my church?' But when, in this meeting, a proposition was
made to get the pastor's salaries from other sources than their
churches' treasury, this same man, aided by the pastor at Arabkir,
so conclusively showed the folly and hurtfulness of the proposal,
that the mover of it dropped it in shame. The Arabkir pastor said:
'This is to enable the pastor to be independent of the people, and
to say, What have you given me that I should be your servant?' The
force of this pithy argument is felt here, where ecclesiastics rule
and devour the people, and where the tendency in that direction is
so strong that we need to guard against it in laying the foundations
of the churches. He then went on to show that it would be for the
good of the churches to support their pastors. They would thus love
and heed them more. 'The pastor,' he continued, 'who should get his
support from any source outside of his own people, would be beyond
their control.' In a subsequent discussion on supporting the poor of
the church, he said: 'I am fully persuaded, that every church is not
only able to support its poor, but its pastor too.'"

The truth of this last remark was strikingly illustrated by the
church in Shepik, the poorest and feeblest in the field, which for
thirteen years had paid almost nothing for preaching, and was
supposed to be a permanent pensioner on missionary bounty; but all
at once it raised enough for the support of the preacher, besides
nearly two hundred dollars in gold for the building of a house of
worship. A blind preacher from the Harpoot Seminary had been the
means of this unexpected result. He was known as John Concordance
(Hohannes Hamapapar), on account of his wonderful readiness in
quoting Scripture, chapter and verse. He was sent to Shepik, and
hearing the complaints of the people about their poor crops and
poverty, replied: "God tells you the reason in the third chapter of
Malachi; where he says, 'Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have
robbed me.'" Then taking for a text, "Bring ye all the tithes into
the storehouse," etc., he inculcated the duty and privilege of
setting apart _at least a tenth_ of their earnings for God. The
people were convinced, and after paying half of their crops,
according to usage, to the owner of the soil for rent, and a tenth
to the government for taxes, as they must needs do, they gave
another tenth to the Lord's "storehouse,"--a room they had set apart
for receiving the tithes. And the sermon of this blind preacher, and
the example of these poor people, have wrought wonders in the
land.[1]

[1] Mr. Wheeler's _Ten Years on the Euphrates_, chap. x. For an
abstract of John Concordance's sermon on _Tithes_, preached at
Harpoot, see, _Missionary Herald_ for 1868, pp. 308-312.

During the year and a half after its formation, this union held five
general meetings. The last of these was the most interesting. Eleven
native pastors were present,--from the Harpoot district, and from
Cesarea, Tocat, Adiaman, and Cutterbul. Nearly all the helpers of
the Harpoot, Diarbekir, and Mardin fields were there, with twenty
delegates from churches and from congregations that expected soon to
have churches. There were also present the members of the
Theological school, Mr. Livingston from Sivas, and Mr. Williams from
Mardin, who had brought his students to spend the summer in the
school at Harpoot.

On the 15th of November, 1866, Mrs. Adams died at Aintab, of
consumption, much lamented.[1] Mr. Richardson, on his return from
America, joined the Broosa station. Mr. Williams was then alone amid
the multitudes using the Arabic that centered around Mardin and
Mosul; and Mr. Walker was the only missionary at Diarbekir, with at
least a thousand towns and villages in his district. Yet it was a
year of decided progress in Turkey. The missionary force received an
unwonted accession in the years 1866 and 1867. Five ordained married
missionaries arrived in the last of these years, namely, Messrs.
Henry T. Perry, Theodore Baldwin, Henry S. Barnum, Charles C. Tracy,
and Lyman Bartlett, with as many unmarried female assistant
missionaries,--Misses Roseltha A. Norcross, Mary E. Warfield,
Harriet Seymour, Sarah Ann Closson, and Mary G. Hollister. Mr. Henry
O. Dwight, son of the distinguished missionary, Dr. H. G. O. Dwight,
arrived at Constantinople as secular agent, with his wife, a
daughter of Dr. Bliss. Miss Mary D. Francis arrived in 1866, and was
afterwards married to Mr. Adams.

[1] See _Missionary Herald_ for 1867, p. 98.

Among other signs of progress was the increase of newspapers in
Constantinople, and one or two other cities of Turkey. In
Constantinople, five years before, a newspaper was rarely seen in
the hands of any one of the thousands of persons passing up or down
the Bosphorus and Golden Horn in the steamers which take the place
of the street cars of Boston or New York. Now it had become a common
sight, and newsboys thronged the thoroughfares with their papers, in
Turkish and other languages. The standard of journalism was not
high, but the thoughts of men were stirred. The influence of these
papers was generally adverse to the missionary work. Partly to
counteract this influence, the missionaries published, once a
fortnight, a small newspaper called the "Avedaper," or "Messenger."
It appeared alternately in the Armenian and Armeno-Turkish
languages, and had fifteen hundred subscribers scattered over
Turkey. Mr. E. E. Bliss, the editor, estimated the aggregate of
readers at ten thousand. One incident may illustrate its influence.
A villager living on the Taurus Mountains was so impressed with one
of the sententious speeches of President Lincoln, translated in the
paper, that he committed the whole to memory, that he might teach to
others its lessons of "malice toward none, and charity to all."[1]

[1] _Missionary Herald_, for 1867, p. 82.

The general progress towards right religious opinions, had led to a
division of the Armenians who remained in the Old Church into two
parties, called the "Enlightened" and the "Unenlightened." The
former was continually increasing, and had sharp contests with the
Unenlightened on questions of clerical control in civil affairs.
Their failure to secure even the partial reforms they sought
convinced them of the necessity of more radical changes; and an
Armenian paper announced a movement for the formation of a Reformed
Armenian Church; on the principle of restoring the purity of
doctrine and simplicity of worship, which they supposed existed in
their Church at the beginning. The same paper advocated the complete
separation of civil and ecclesiastical affairs; and announced that a
book would soon be published, setting forth the doctrines and
proposed form of worship for this new church. The new Prayer-book
made its appearance early in 1867. It contained a Creed; a Ritual
for Baptism, the Lord's Supper, Ordination, etc.; Forms for Daily
Prayer in the churches; and Hymns and Songs. Judged by the standard
of the New Testament, the book contained not a few errors of
doctrine, and sanctioned many superstitious practices; yet it was a
decided improvement upon the books in use in the Armenian Church.
The Armenians of the Old Church regarded the changes as very
radical, and the Patriarch denounced the book officially, and warned
his people against it.

"The most noteworthy part of the book is its Preface, which was
printed last, and may be regarded as the platform of the reformed
party. After giving a sketch of the history of the Armenian Church,
its original purity of doctrine and worship, and the subsequent
introduction of error and superstition, through the influence of the
Greek and Roman Churches, it declares that the Armenian Church has
come at last to be a mere 'satellite of Rome,' and that the time has
come to assert its independence, to cast off the 'ultramontane
influence,' to rescue the Church of their fathers from the 'Papal
claws.' Three particulars are then set forth in which a
'reformation' is needed. First, in reference to doctrine. 'The
Armenian Church has,' it is said, 'doctrines introduced from abroad,
which place faith in respect to salvation upon a wrong foundation,
transferring man's hope from God to things created and material.
Means are confounded with ends, and ends with means, and thus a
thick veil is interposed between the eyes of the people and the
simple doctrines of Christianity.' Secondly, 'The Church has now
rites and ceremonies (unknown in purer times), which are a
laughing-stock to the unbelieving, a grief to the truly pious, an
offense to all enlightened men, and which have converted our
churches into theatres, deprived worship of its spiritual character,
and made it like the shows of a fair.' In the third place, 'The
present relations of the clergy to the people are opposed to the
spirit and substance of Christianity. Instead of being teachers,
pastors, and fathers to the people, they claim to possess
supernatural authority, rule by the terrors of that authority, teach
the people only that which serves their own purposes, and are an
obstacle to every good work.'"[1]

[1] _Missionary Herald_, 1867, pp. 237-239.

For twenty years there had not been such a religious ferment in
Constantinople, as there was at the time of issuing this Reformed
Prayer-book. It was not a revival of religion. The question was not,
"What must I do to be saved?" but "What did our Church teach in the
days of its purity?" and "What are the doctrines of the Word of
God?" Meanwhile the advocates of reform were continually driven to
take higher ground; and such was their progress while carrying their
book through the press, that they were obliged to reprint some of
the first sheets, to make them conform to their new convictions. It
may be stated as an illustration, that baptismal regeneration was
taught in one of the original sheets, but in the reprint it was
omitted.[1] So far as is known, this book has never been used in any
church; but it is an index of the reform movement, and it has been
useful in awaking inquiry.

[1] _Missionary Herald_, 1867, p. 238.

Bible-women began to be employed in Constantinople early in 1866.
Five such women were supported by funds derived from the American
Bible Society, and were kindly received in Armenian families. They
sold many copies of the Scriptures, and met with much encouragement
in their work. At this time, wherever missionaries labored in
Turkey, large numbers of women were learning to read the Bible; and
the majority of them were usually found at the women's prayer
meeting.

The progress at Harpoot, only eleven years from the commencement of
the station, as described by Mr. Allen, is worthy of special
attention. The leaven of the gospel was permeating the mass of the
people. Many who persistently refused to be called by the unpopular
name of "Protestant," were evidently under the influence of
evangelical doctrines. The rising generation was growing up with
enlightened views. Many young men would have taken a stand at once
on the side of truth, but for the difficulty of separating from
their parents. Societies had been formed, consisting of several
hundred men not reckoned among the Protestants, for the purpose of
having good schools for their children, and plain practical
preaching in their churches. The magnates of one church had closed
its door against the native evangelical preachers, and placed two
Turkish soldiers to guard it. At another church the people were more
resolute, saying, "We built this church, and we will be martyred
upon its threshold, if necessary to defend our right to have the
Gospel preached to us." At this the chief men gave way, contenting
themselves with reporting the matter to the Patriarch at
Constantinople. As an additional motive, the party of progress
threatened to attend the services of the missionaries, if not
allowed to have a service of their own.[1]

[1] _Missionary Herald_, 1866, pp. 169-171.

Quite a number of the young men and women in the Protestant city
congregation dated their conversion from the "Week of Prayer." This
week was duly observed at Harpoot from the first, and in 1866, with
deeper religious feeling, than had ever been seen before. The
morning and evening prayer-meetings were kept up till the close of
May, when it was decided to discontinue the morning meetings, and to
sustain the others every day, one hour before sunset. Three fourths
of the congregation attended them regularly, and an earnest and
tender spirit was manifest in the remarks and prayers.

During this same week of prayer, Messrs. Burbank and Knapp, at
Bitlis, aided by the native preacher Simon, afterwards pastor of the
church, commenced a prayer-meeting at the dawn of day, which was so
crowned with spiritual blessings, that it was continued, daily, for
more than six months. The attendance increased from twenty to sixty,
and was at one time nearly a hundred. The church had then only five
members; and at the communion season in March, each of these five
men publicly confessed his sins, and formally renewed his covenant.
Many were in tears. Some in the congregation, who had thought
themselves Christians, when they saw the church thus making
confession, were amazed, and felt that they were themselves lost,
and literally cried, as did the publican, "God be merciful to me a
sinner."

This was the commencement of the first revival of religion in
Bitlis. Two meetings were held weekly for inquirers, at which
between forty-five and fifty were usually present, of whom from
fifteen to twenty-five were women. "Among the latter, was one over
seventy years of age, who, being in the previous winter too feeble
to walk through the deep snow to attend the meetings, had been
carried by her stalwart son. Now she was a weeping penitent, seeking
salvation at the foot of the cross, and that son was rejoicing in
the hope of salvation." Forty men usually attended the sunrise
prayer-meeting. Not as many of the fruits of this revival were
gathered into the church as might have been anticipated, because of
the very high standard--too high it would seem--which was required
for admission.

There had been great progress at Broosa. When Dr. Schneider left
that place in 1849, on his removal to Aintab, no church had been
formed, and his audience never exceeded fifteen natives, and
sometimes it was not more than eight. No Protestant community had
been formed, and in those days of fierce opposition very few were
ready to face the consequences of an open acknowledgment of what
they were convinced was the truth. But he found all this passed
away, on his visit there in 1866. There was then a church of fifty
members, and a Protestant community of one hundred and fifty,
chiefly young men of enterprise, and a Sabbath congregation of one
hundred and fifty. They had a beautiful house of worship, a
prosperous day-school, and an excellent native pastor. There were
many whose beards made them venerable. Dr. Schneider believed that
half the Armenians in the city were convinced of the truth.

The first evangelical church in Turkey, composed of Greeks, was
organized by the Union of Bithynia at Demirdesh, in November, 1867.
Mr. Kalopothakes was present from Athens. The church was composed
exclusively of evangelical Greeks, and six of its thirteen members
were women. Pastor Hohannes of Bilijik, on behalf of the Union,
welcomed them to the fellowship of the churches; which he said had
been lost through the departure of the Greeks and Armenians from the
gospel, but was now recovered. The preacher was a Greek, and a
native of the place.[1]

[1] The members of the church formed at Hasbeiya in 1851 (p. 376 of
vol. 1st) were seceders from the Greek Church, but were regarded by
the Syrian mission as of the Arab race.

The mission was sorely afflicted in September by the sudden death of
Mr. Walker of Diarbekir. The cholera was prevalent in that city, and
seemed to follow no laws. In the previous year, it had been almost
wholly among the Mohammedans; but this year, it prevailed most in
the Christian population. Mr. and Mrs. Walker removed to a khan
outside the walls. "His last sermons were from the texts 'The Master
has come, and calleth for thee;' and 'Except ye repent, ye shall all
likewise perish.' On Monday, September 10th, he went into the city,
spending some time over one stricken with cholera, besides customary
duties. Tuesday morning, after a somewhat restless night, he rose as
usual, and proposed a mission excursion to Cutterbul, but was
persuaded to remain at home and rest. The premonitory symptoms soon
appeared, but nothing peculiarly alarming, and as he had been held
back from over-exertion, and been very careful in diet, all were
full of hope. At the first whisper of illness the Christians
gathered to aid, and the faithful Shemmas, without Mrs. Walker's
knowledge, telegraphed to Mr. Williams, who started from Mardin at
one o'clock, P. M., on Wednesday, and riding all night reached
Diarbekir after sunrise to find that six hours before, September 13,
1866, his brother had gone 'to be with Christ.'" His age was
forty-five.

"Diarbekir was filled with mourning. Not Protestants alone, but
Moslems and Armenians, all were stricken. Such a funeral, as of one
who was a father to all, was never witnessed there before. The
native preacher conducted it appropriately and tenderly, praying not
only for the stricken there, but for those in his native land who
would so feel the loss."[1]

[1] _Missionary Herald_, 1867, pp. 33-37.

Mr. Walker was one of the best of missionaries. "His warm and
affectionate nature," says Mr. Barnum, "quickly gained the hearts of
the people wherever he went. His great desire was to see men coming
to Jesus; and this he never forgot, whether at home or abroad. I
have been with him not a little, and seldom have I seen an
opportunity for a personal appeal, though only for a moment, pass
unimproved."

The tribute to Mr. Walker's memory from his brother Williams, of
Mardin, who knew him well, and has so lately followed him into the
eternal world must not be omitted.

"His peculiar gifts were three:--1. He remembered faces, and
recalled the names which belonged to them. He knew everybody.
Ordinarily he needed to meet a man but once to recognize him ever
after. And this pleases men; it appeals to their self-appreciation;
they feel that they have made a permanent impression. Especially is
this a power among a people who look up to the missionary as
occupying a higher plane of civilization. It gives him a vast
influence over them.

"2. Partly as the result of this, but still distinct and beyond it,
he had a marvelous faculty of making every man feel that he was
especially an object of personal interest. Perhaps not that he alone
was such, but that he was one of those taken into the inner sanctum
of his affections. Love begets love, and believing that they were so
dear to him, he was soon very dear to them. And he was never lacking
in the outward expression of love. He was not afraid they would
think he loved them too much.

"3. He always had something to say. I suppose there is some good
done by public preaching, but it is the preacher who is ready, in
the face-to-face opportunity, who comes home laden with sheaves. Mr.
Walker was always ready. Meet a man when he might, where he might,
just the right word was on his tongue. And that warm grip of his
hand, into how many souls has it infused a new and spiritual life.
So he begot his children in the gospel; and by his sermons, which
were always thoughtful, he built them up into Christian characters,
as a workman who needeth not to be ashamed. Our Cutterbul deacon
says to me since his death, 'I _never_ saw such a man.' When he left
for Constantinople in 1859, perhaps one hundred men waited upon him
out of the city, and he spoke to every one, and repeated nothing,
but had a special word for each, exactly adapted to his case."

Mrs. Walker returned to the United States, with her four children,
in the following summer, and has since been recognized,--in
connection with a benevolent lady in New York city,--as sustaining
a relation of maternal guardianship to returned children of
missionaries.

At the close of the year Mr. Wheeler and others made a visit to
Choonkoosh, two days' journey from Harpoot. Many of the people came
several miles to welcome them, and crowds escorted them into the
city. "Nine years ago," says Mr. Wheeler, "I made my first visit
here in company with brother Dunmore, and we were hooted at, stoned,
and at last driven from our room, in the pouring rain and splashing
mud of a dark night." Now, every house seemed open to receive them.
"Their new place for Protestant worship testified to the remarkable
change. The men had brought all the timber, by hand, a distance of
from three to five miles, and it sometimes required thirty men to
bring one piece. Women and children brought water, earth, and
stones; and women were still busy in plastering the walls, so that a
meeting might be held there before we left!"[1]

[1] _Missionary Herald_, 1867, p. 108.

The foreign missionary spirit was being developed. The Harpoot
Evangelical Union resolved at Diarbekir, in 1866, to send a mission
into the wild region eastward of that city, where the Armenians,
living among the Koords, had lost all knowledge of both the Armenian
and Turkish languages, and were in the grossest darkness. A dozen
small churches, with a membership of hardly more than five hundred,
undertook to educate seven young men to go as their missionaries,
and the movement excited much enthusiasm. At the same time, the home
missionary spirit received strength. The brethren at Harpoot were
endeavoring to occupy fifty or more stations, within their home
field, at most of which there were a few persons somewhat
enlightened and more or less desirous of instruction.

A blessing followed. The week of prayer, in the opening of 1867, was
signalized by a revival at Harpoot.[1] There were indications of
deep feeling in the church; and on one of the last days of the week,
three of the most prominent men in the community openly identified
themselves with the Protestants. One of these, named Sarkis Agha,
became a very active and useful Christian. Feeling that he had been
a stumbling-block to others, he lost no time in going to the market,
and inviting twelve or fifteen of his most intimate friends, all men
of influence, to his place of business, and telling them of his
change of feeling. He expected only ridicule, but the majority were
affected to tears, and requested him to read the Bible and pray with
and for them.

[1] An interesting account of this revival, by Miss Maria A. West,
may be found in the _Missionary Herald_ for 1867, pp. 139-142.

It was winter, and the travelling was very bad, so that they could
not reach the more distant out-stations; but the members of the
church visited the principal ones on the plain. Among these was
Hooeli, about ten miles distant, where Mr. Barnum spent two days.
The whole congregation appeared to be interested, prayer-meetings,
morning and evening, were attended by from a hundred and twenty to
two hundred persons; and through the entire day, till nearly
midnight, the room of the missionary was thronged with inquirers. A
large number of those with whom he conversed, appeared to be truly
regenerated. Mr. Wheeler, on the following Sabbath, found the
interest more widespread. Four hundred persons crowded into the
chapel, and listened with fixed attention.

Three years before, there was not a Protestant in the place. One
year before, at the dedication of the chapel, when three hundred and
fifty persons were present, the audience was so rude that there was
the greatest difficulty in preserving quiet.[1] Both men and women
were now quiet and serious listeners. A still larger attendance was
reported on the following Sabbath, when more than a hundred failed
of getting into the house of worship. There was also a revival of
considerable power at Perchenj, another out-station, seven miles
from Harpoot.

[1] Mr. Barnum thus describes Miss Fritcher's meeting with seventy
or eighty females in this place, two years before: "The chapel was
nearly full of women, all sitting on the floor, and each one
crowding up to get as near her as possible. They were very much like
a hive of bees. The slightest thing would set them all in commotion,
and they resembled a town meeting more than a religious gathering.
When a child cried it would enlist the energies of half a dozen
women, with voice and gesture to quiet it. When some striking
thought of the speaker flashed upon the mind of some woman, she
would begin to explain it in no moderate tones to those about her,
and this would set the whole off into a bedlam of talk, which it
would require two or three minutes to quell."

Human nature is everywhere essentially the same. The people of
Hooeli being thus strengthened, they, with a little aid from abroad,
erected a larger and finer house of worship, and then began to
desire a new minister. Their humble and earnest but not eloquent
preacher, whose labors God had so blessed among them, would do, they
said, to gather the lambs, but not to feed the sheep. Contrary to
the advice of the missionaries, they called two popular men of the
graduating class, one after the other, but both declined, choosing
harder fields.

"Meanwhile their preacher was called to another place, and the
people came to the city, with their donkeys, to take him and his
family home. These were quietly sleeping at his house, expecting to
start on the morrow, when, at midnight, nine of the principal men of
Hooeli roused him from sleep, and began to beg pardon for their
rejection of him, saying, 'Come, get your goods in readiness, and go
with us.' It seems that they took their failure to secure the others
as a rebuke from God for their pride; and having met to pray, sent
these nine men to ask pardon of Garabed in person, while others
wrote letters asking his forgiveness, and begging him to come back.
Both parties then appealed to the missionaries, who declined to
interfere, advising them to pray and decide the matter among
themselves. They agreed to accept the preacher's decision as God's
will, and he after prayer and reflection, decided to return to his
old people. In the mean time, twenty of the women of Hooeli,
impatient at the delay, met also for prayer, and with difficulty
were prevented from going in a body to take their old pastor home.
But the brethren kept them back, and when at length he reached the
village, no other preacher ever had such an ovation in all that
region, within the memory of man."[1]

[1] _Ten Years on the Euphrates_, pp. 278-280.






CHAPTER XXXVI.

THE NESTORIANS.

1864-1868.


Deacon Isaac, brother of the Patriarch, died in the early autumn of
1864, universally lamented. In character, as well as position, he
was a prince among his people. I abridge the account of him by Mr.
Rhea, who loved him as a friend.[1] Seen in his plain dress and
Simple manners, no one would have thought of him as once the
mountain chieftain, ready to break a lance with Koordish robbers.
Growing up amid some of the grandest scenery in the world, it had
its effect on his character; and that character the grace of God
moulded into symmetry and beauty. His intellect was strong, his
insight into human nature remarkable. The wily Persian official,
baffled by him and mortified, exclaimed: "We cannot manage _him_."
While he was accessible to little children, and poor distressed
women, there was a dignity which prevented undue familiarity. The
Patriarchal family were proud of him. He grew up in a land where it
was no shame for noblemen to lie, yet always spoke the truth. He
lived where bribery was practiced unblushingly, and his house was a
court-room for the settlement of numberless cases of litigation, yet
he took no reward for his services, much less to pervert justice.
"He grew up where little deference was paid to woman; yet took pride
in showing his respect for his wife Marta,--mentioning her name,
quoting her opinions, and treating her with the utmost kindness.
Their relation was a beautiful example of conjugal attachment, of
untold worth in such a land and among such a people. He was
naturally of a proud spirit, that could not brook an insult. Once,
when insulted by a French Lazarist, he sprung to his feet, and put
his hand to the hilt of his sword; but from that day he never wore
the sword again."

[1] _Missionary Herald_, 1865, p. 45.

Miss Fidelia Fiske died at Shelburne, Massachusetts, the place of
her birth, July 26th, 1864, at the age of forty-eight. She both
studied and taught at the Mount Holyoke Seminary, and partook
largely of the spirit of its founder, the well-known Mary Lyon. She
embarked at Boston in March, 1843, in company with Dr. and Mrs.
Perkins, Mr. and Mrs. Stoddard, and some others, and reached
Oroomiah in June. After laboring there with unprecedented success as
the Principal of the Seminary for fourteen years, the state of her
health constrained her return to the United States in 1858.

Up to her arrival at Oroomiah, the school had only day scholars, and
the pupils were of course in habitual contact with the vice and
degradation of their homes. She sought to make it a boarding-school;
and after two years the prejudices of the people had been overcome,
and the day scholars were all dropped. Her grand object was the
salvation of her pupils, and of their relatives who visited the
institution. After the first revival, in 1846, the school became the
centre of holy influence for the women. She, and her worthy
associate Miss Rice, found enough to do, day and night. When they
went to a village, the women expected to be called together for
prayer; and when these women returned the visit, they asked to be
prayed with alone. There was a revival almost every year of her stay
at Oroomiah; and probably few servants of Christ have had more
occasion for gratitude, in being the means of bringing others to
him, than Miss Fiske. When leaving Oroomiah on her return home, the
many women and girls who gathered around to bid her farewell, asked
"Can we not have one more prayer-meeting before you go, and in that
Bethel?"--meaning, her own room. There they prayed, that their
teacher "might come back to mingle her dust with her children's
dust, hear the trumpet with them, and with them go up to meet the
Lord." They were accustomed to style her "mother," and themselves
her "children."

Her usefulness after her return to the United States, was probably
as great as it ever had been. This was not owing to the predominance
of any one quality in her character, but to a combination of
qualities of mind and heart surpassing anything I have ever seen in
any other person. Her emotional nature was wonderfully sanctified,
and each of her powers being well developed, and all nicely adjusted
one to another, the whole worked with regularity and ease. Hence
that singular accuracy of judgment, and that never-failing sense of
propriety, for which she was distinguished. Hence the apparent
absence of fatigue in her protracted conversations and
conversational addresses. Hence the habitual control of her
sanctified affections over her intellectual powers, so that she
seemed ever ready, at the moment, for the call of duty, and
especially to meet the claims of perishing souls. She seemed to me
the nearest approach I ever saw, in man or woman, in the structure
and working of her whole nature, to my ideal of the blessed Saviour,
as he appeared in his walks on earth.

The amount of her usefulness was as extraordinary as her character,
and probably the tidings of no death have awakened so many voices of
lamentation over the plain of Oroomiah, and in the glens of
Koordistan.[1]

[1] See _Woman and her Saviour in Persia_, by Dr. Thomas Laurie, and
_The Cross and the Crown, or Faith working by Love, as exemplified
in the Life of Fidelia Fiske_, by Dr. D. T. Fiske.

Another death occurred this year, which was also sensibly felt by
the mission. It was that of Deacon Joseph, of Degala. Dr. Perkins
lamented the loss of his services in connection with the press, a
kind of labor for which his qualifications were unequaled among the
people. His well-balanced mind, his fine scholarship, the solidity
of his Christian character, his eminent services in this department,
especially the very important assistance he rendered in translating
the Old Testament from the original Hebrew, would have secured him
an honorable position in more enlightened lands.

In 1863 and 1864 Mr. Shedd made extended tours in his mountain
field. In the first, he crossed to Mosul, and from Oroomiah to
Amadia he travelled mostly on foot, in native snowshoes and
moccasins, with much fatigue and exposure. At Mosul, he enjoyed the
hospitality of Mr. Rassam, and had conferences with Mr. Williams of
Mardin. The second tour was in the autumn, and extended as far as
Tiary.[1] The mountaineers may be viewed, he says, in two very
different lights; first, as feeble, unreasonable, and lawless;
poverty stricken, and lacking in self-respect, and self-reliance;
connecting their interest in spiritual things too often with the
hope of temporal benefits. Then there are constant feuds between
villages, clans, and chiefs. The hopeful side is in the great
preparatory work that has been accomplished, the general
friendliness of the people, and the growing influence of the mission
helpers. The following tabular view will give some idea of the
mountain work in its incipient state, for, in some important
respects, it was in that state as late as the year 1863:--

                 Occupied Districts.
                 Gawar Tekhoma Amadia Rakan Nerwa Jeloo Berwer Total
No. of Christian
 Villages.          -      6       6     3     4     -      -     -
Estimated
 Christian
 Population.        -    4000      -    250   300    -      -     -
When first
 occupied by
 Helpers.         1852   1856    1857  1861  1862  1862   1863    -
No. of Helpers
 the Past Year.     4      4       2     1     1     4      2    18
No. of Villages
 visited by
 Preachers the
 Past Year.        20      6       5     3     3     9     10    56
No. of Villages
 with stated
 Congregations.     5      3       3     1     1     2      1    16
No. of Persons in
 Congregations.    88     55      55    15    10    90     35   348
No. of Sabbath
 Schools.           3      2       1     1     1     2      1    11
No. in Sabbath
 Schools.          42     25      25     8     7    75     25   207
No. of Regular
 Day Schools.       2      -       1     -     -     1      -     4
No. of Scholars.   21     10       8     5     5    28      3    80
No. reached by
 Family
 Visitation.      550    250     100    50    50   560    100  1660
No. of
 Communicants.     20      7       4     1     1     9      -    42
No. of Candidates.  2      1       9     -     1     2      -    15

[1] _Missionary Herald_, 1863, pp. 358-363; 1864, p. 231.

Mr. Shedd visited the young Patriarch, in his second tour. The
leaders whom he met there from different mountain districts, were
surprised by the friendship shown to the missionaries by Mar Shimon,
and that they heard not a word against them in the Patriarchal
mansion. There were frequent interchanges of visits, and Mr. Shedd
was assured that the young Patriarch was well disposed towards the
mission and its labors. But there was no evidence that he had any
real conviction of the truth.

The seminary pupils were now working on a higher level. To a large
extent, the pupils were daughters of Nestorian helpers and other
pious parents, who had given them a Christian training. The contrast
was striking between their general appearance and that of the
earlier classes in that favored school. A considerable part of the
expense was now met by the parents of the pupils.

The Rev. Austin H. Wright, M. D., was the immediate medical
successor of Dr. Grant, at Oroomiah,[1] where he arrived July 25,
1840. To be thoroughly furnished for his work, he determined to
master the Turkish, Syriac, and Persian languages; and it was
doubtless his perfect acquaintance with these, coupled with his
knowledge of medicine, and the gentle courtesy of his manners, that
gave him so much influence among all classes of the people. "The
influence of Dr. Wright in Oroomiah," said an intelligent Nestorian,
"is that of a Prince." He is said to have spoken each of the
languages above named with a precision, fluency, and grace, rarely
equaled by a foreigner. In consequence of this proficiency, the
intercourse with the higher classes was to a great extent in his
hands. Persian gentlemen, polite and courteous in the extreme,
appreciated the dignified yet simple ease and grace with which he
met them. Having gone out alone, he was united in marriage June 13,
1844, to Miss Catherine E. Myers, who joined the mission in 1843,
and was then engaged in teaching. After twenty years his health and
the interests of his family demanded a visit to his native land.
Here he remained four years, devoting the latter half of that time
to a revision of the Syriac New Testament, preparatory to its being
electrotyped and printed in pocket form by the American Bible
Society. To this the Psalms were afterward added. Mrs. Wright and
four of the children remained in this country; but taking with him
his eldest daughter Lucy, he returned to Oroomiah in September,
1864. His return was joyful to him, and to the mission, and no less
so to the Nestorians; but in three short months the summons came,
calling him to a higher service.

[1] For a biographical account of Dr. Wright, see _Missionary
Herald_ for 1865, pp. 129-134.

It had been arranged that he and Mr. Rhea, should translate the
Scriptures into Tartar-Turkish for the benefit of the Mussulman
population of Azerbijan and the regions beyond; but Dr. Wright's
work was finished. His disease was typhoid fever, and during much of
his sickness he was unconscious.

In the twenty-five years of his service, he performed a great
variety of labors,--as a preacher, a physician, a co-laborer in the
department of the press, and, not least, as a shield to the poor
oppressed Nestorians; for he was greatly respected by their
Mohammedan rulers. And these duties he performed with marked
ability, scrupulous fidelity, and an almost unerring judgment.

In this year, also, died the Rev. Thomas L. Ambrose, on the 19th of
August. The three years he spent in the mountains were to him years
of suffering, the result of an ardent mental and moral temperament,
as well as of the labors he performed. He returned home in 1861,
hoping to resume his missionary work; but feeling that his country
had claims upon him, and receiving an unsolicited appointment as
chaplain of a New Hampshire regiment, he entered the service, was
wounded while passing from entrenchments to a hospital, and after a
few weeks died in the General Hospital at Fortress Monroe. In his
relations to the mission and the Nestorian people, he beautifully
exemplified the spirit of his Lord, in not desiring "to be
ministered unto, but to minister."

The harvests of 1865 were abundant, but there had been a famine in
several of the previous years; and this had given a stimulus to the
vagrancy, so frequent and annoying among the Nestorians. "Of the
four thousand vagabonds," writes Dr. Perkins, "from the less than
forty thousand Nestorians of Oroomiah, who made want their pretext
for scattering themselves over Russia and other parts of Europe, as
common beggars, hardly less greedy for lucre and for vice, than are
locusts for every green thing, only a moiety return; many dying in
those distant regions, from diseases induced by strange climates, or
oftener by criminal indulgence; and many who survive, lying in
prison for crimes, or preferring their vagabond life to the decent
restraints of home. Many who do return are worse than lost to their
people; coming only to spread a moral pestilence, being thoroughly
demoralized; recklessly squandering their ill-gotten treasures till
hunger drives them off again to beg. Happily they are now shut out
of Russia by the government, and they have little hope from England.
But Germany is still a golden land to them."

Mr. Rhea, another very able member of the mission, was suddenly
removed from earth on the 2d of September, 1865. He was on his
return from Tabriz, with his wife and children. The whole scene, as
described by Mrs. Rhea in the Memoir of her husband, is one of the
most touching in missionary history.[1] He was ill when they left
Tabriz, and not until they had gone too far to return did his wife
awake to the alarming fact, that his disease was cholera.

[1] See _The Tennesseean in Persia and Koordistan, being the Scenes
and Incidents in the Life of Samuel Audley Rhea_, by Rev. Dwight W.
Marsh, for Ten Years Missionary in Mosul, pp. 338-349.

She then hoped to reach Ali Shah, a village four hours from
Oroomiah. It was necessary to put the bedding on one of the loaded
horses, and then to place Mr. Rhea upon it, and for two men to hold
him on; which was done by the faithful Nestorians, Daniel and
Guwergis. The motion of the horse extorted frequent, though gentle,
groans of pain. He was very thirsty, and both the children were
crying for water. There was none. At a brackish brook he had tried
to drink, but spit out the bitter draught in disgust.

"At length the moon rose, and the children became quiet. Daniel
passed a rope around Mr. Rhea's back, and over his shoulders, to
keep him from shaking about on the horse; and, taking off his hat,
protected his head with a flannel. He grew quiet, and I said, 'He
sleeps.' So we rode on and on in the still night; no sounds except
from the horses' feet, or an occasional word about the precious
load. 'Will the village never appear?' They said it was very near.
O, how long the way seemed!

"My mind was very active, picturing that comfortable room where we
should rest, the refreshing water, the quiet rest, the soft bed for
the dear invalid, the quick cup of tea, his sweet words, our
subsequent journey home in the takhterawan, our safe arrival there.
All this time my eyes were on him, and my ears strained to catch a
sound. 'How long he sleeps! How still he is!'

"At length the weary, weary road was passed. We reached the village,
and stopped at a house where they said we could find a room. Daniel
and I ran in to see it first, opened the windows, and spread down
the shawl and pillows where he could rest; then went back to the
gate, and I charged the men not to let him exert himself at all, but
to take him down like a little child, and carry him carefully in. I
ran forward then, opened my satchel, and got out the wine and
camphor, and spreading a pillow on my lap, received him in my arms.

"Just as they deposited him in my arms he drew one long, deep sigh.
I wet his lips, bathed his face, spoke to him, called his name,
raised him up, kissed him, and entreated him to speak. I chafed his
soft, warm hands, felt his heart, his pulse, his temples, his neck,
seeking everywhere for signs of life. In vain. He was dead!"

Help came at length from the mission, and the mortal remains of Mr.
Rhea, found their resting place at Seir, by the side of loved ones
who had gone before him.

Mr. Rhea died at the age of thirty-eight, in the very height of his
usefulness. His mental abilities were very superior, and so were his
acquirements, especially in Oriental languages. During his first
winter's residence in Gawar, in addition to a systematic course of
reading in Church History, and his study of Syriac, he went
thoroughly through his Hebrew Bible. The Modern Syriac he spoke with
great accuracy and fluency, and he preached with acceptance in the
Tartar Turkish. He had also made progress in the Koordish language.
"As a preacher," writes Mr. Coan, "he was earnest, faithful, and
pungent; the glowing words leaped from his lips, while the Word of
God seemed a fire shut up within him. He poured out his whole soul
in the messages he delivered. I have seldom been edified by the
discourses of any one as I have been by those of this dear brother.
These discourses, whether in the pulpit, the social prayer-meeting,
or at family devotions, seemed drawn from his own experience of the
inexhaustible treasures in Christ. They were eminently fitted to
make men better." Dr. Perkins said of him, "He is one of the finest
preachers I ever heard, whether in English or in the Nestorian
language. The Nestorians denominate him Chrysostom, from his
remarkable powers as a preacher." He was excelled by few men in the
beauty and eloquence of his address on public occasions, of which
there was a fine illustration on the Fourth of July, 1865, the last
before his death. Though a native of Tennessee, his heart was poured
out in thanksgiving that the war was really over, and that the right
had gained the day.

The reader will not be surprised to hear that the young Patriarch,
influenced by his nearest relatives, was following in the footsteps
of his predecessor. In Gawar, he tried persuasion, blandishment, and
compulsion; but the authorities gave him to understand that there
could not be persecution. The independent tribes of the mountains
were, civilly, under his power, and he was determined to keep his
mountain diocese in its ancient ignorance. He diffused a vindictive
spirit. No ecclesiastic ever had stronger motives to enter upon a
path of reform, or fewer obstructions. But, refusing all fellowship
with the gospel, he showed that the Nestorian Patriarch could no
more adjust himself to the coming age of light and liberty of
conscience than the Pope of Rome.

Mr. Alison, English Ambassador at the Persian Court, seasonably
interposed when there were powerful combinations to effect the ruin
of the mission, headed by the bigoted Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The Papal party had seized upon the Nestorian church at Ardeshai,
and rebuilt it; and the Shah, upon the representation of Mr. Alison,
granted a site for a new church, and subscribed £100 towards its
erection.

This royal donation was in December, 1865. In the April following,
the mission had a friendly visit from his Royal Highness, Prince
Ahmed Meerza, the governor of Oroomiah, and uncle of the King. He
had come to the province strongly prejudiced against the mission,
but had been becoming better informed. He was on the mission
premises two hours and a half, and saw everything that could be
shown him, in the way of schools, printing, type founding,
sewing-machines, and medical dispensary. The last seemed to impress
him most as to the benevolent character of the mission, and he left
with strong expressions of good will.

The examination of the female seminary, at the close of its term,
was highly satisfactory, especially in the Bible and in theology. In
the other seminary, superintended by Mr. Shedd in the absence of Mr.
Cochran, there had been much religious interest. Many of the pupils
being from the mountains, Mr. Shedd's labors in the seminary had a
direct bearing on his particular portion of the field. Geog Tapa had
a very fine school, entirely supported by the people themselves,
which almost vied with the seminaries.

The mission suffered another severe loss in the death of Priest
Eshoo, already known to the reader, on the 19th of April, 1866.
Thirty-one years before, the Koords plundered his native village on
the plain of Gawar, and he removed to Degala, near Oroomiah. He was
then about thirty years of age, a sedate, dignified, upright man and
very righteous in his own eyes. Gentle and unassuming, he yet
commanded the respect of all, and his reputation as a scholar soon
secured for him the place of a teacher in the incipient male
seminary. For many years he was its first teacher, and down to the
close of his life sustained a relation to one or the other of these
institutions. He and his lovely daughter Sarah were among the first
converts in the revival of 1846. While remarkable for humility, he
was firm in defense of the truth. His judgment was cool and
discriminating, and he was known as a safe counselor. He was a good
preacher, and several volumes of his sermons, neatly written by his
own hand, showed that they were carefully studied.[1]

[1] See vol. i. pp. 326-329.

Dr. Van Norden and wife entered the mission in October, 1866, taking
the place of Dr. Young, who had left three years before.

Mr. Labaree communicates the result of careful inquiries by Mr.
Thompson, of the British Legation, who had been spending some time
at Oroomiah. Mr. Thompson estimated the Nestorians in Oroomiah,
Tergawer, Sooldooz, and Salmas, at twenty thousand; the Armenians in
Oroomiah alone at about two thousand eight hundred; the Papal
Chaldeans in Oroomiah, Tergawer, and Sooldooz at six hundred and
twenty-five; but the Chaldean and Armenian population of Salmas he
did not learn. He thought that the population of Persia could not be
more than from five to seven millions, and his opinion was deemed of
great weight, as he had made himself familiar with the civil and
political affairs of Persia during a long residence, and had
travelled extensively through the country, with a very observant
eye.

Among the new lights breaking forth in Western and Central Asia, was
a community of evangelical Armenians in the Russian province of
Sherwan, near the Caspian Sea. A Nestorian brother had been sent to
inquire into their condition early in 1862, and there had been
occasional intercourse ever since; but cautiously, lest their cause
should be jeoparded. They had suffered sore persecution, and had met
in glens and deep recesses of the mountains, for the worship of God
and the study of his Word. Their leader, Varpet Sarkis, had been
exiled, their children left unbaptized, their young people
unmarried, their dead denied the right of burial, and they the
privilege of commemorating the death of their Lord. In August, 1866,
an Imperial Ukase was brought them by a Lutheran clergyman from
Moscow, granting them full liberty to worship God publicly as their
consciences should dictate, and restoring to them all their
privileges. Pious Nestorians, who had gone there from Oroomiah,
reported that the Lutheran clergyman remained there a week,
organized a church, received a hundred and six persons to Christian
fellowship, and performed the necessary baptisms and marriages; and
that they were expecting the return of their beloved guide and
teacher from exile. Nearly two thousand copies of the Scriptures
were sold among this people within three and a half years, besides
many other good books and tracts.

Mar Shimon, acting under the evil advice of his father and uncle,
issued an order for the expulsion of all the helpers of the mission
from Tehoma, and threatened not to leave one in all the mountains.
Events providentially occasioned delay, and meanwhile Mr. Rassam,
the British Vice Consul at Mosul, hearing of Mar Shimon's
proceedings, addressed him a very strong letter of remonstrance,
assuring him that the American missionaries were the truest and most
efficient friends of the Nestorians, and urging him to invite their
preachers back with the same publicity with which he had ordered
their expulsion. The letter, coming from one to whom the Nestorians
were greatly indebted, had the desired effect, and they were quite
abashed by receiving such an emphatic rebuke from such a quarter. In
addition to this rebuff, another was received, soon after, quite as
mortifying. The Patriarch had written to Mr. Taylor, British Consul
at Erzroom, offering to make over his people to the English Church,
if the English government would extend to them its protection from
Turks and Koords. The reply of the Consul was a decided rejection of
the proposal, couched in language not at all flattering to the
Patriarch. Thus baffled and censured, he privately signified his
willingness that our preachers should remain at their places without
molestation.

The mission commenced the year 1868 with the encouraging fact, that
one hundred Nestorians had been received to the communion during the
previous year, which was a larger number than had been admitted in
any one year before. This number embraced the fruits of revivals in
several villages on the plain of Oroomiah, and in the two
seminaries, with individuals scattered through the Koordish
mountains. Mar Yooseph, the helper in Bootan, on the Tigris,
reported, that he had held his first reformed communion in that
distant region, and that seven came to the table of the Lord. There
had been no opposition. The native preaching force in the mission
was then sixty-two, of whom eighteen were in Koordistan, under the
care of Mr. Shedd; and there were seventy-eight regular preaching
places. Connected with nearly all these congregations were
Sabbath-schools and Bible-classes, and in not a few instances the
entire congregation was connected with them. The habit of giving was
very generally established, affording evidence that the people might
be expected eventually to support their pastors.






CHAPTER XXXVII.

THE NESTORIANS.

1867-1870.


The annual convention of helpers and representatives of the
Nestorian churches occupied three days of October, 1867. Ninety
members were in attendance. Mar Yohanan was elected moderator, and
Priest Yoosep of Dizza Takka, the former moderator, preached the
opening sermon. The aged preacher lamented the prevailing
worldliness of the church, and earnestly enforced the duty of prayer
as the great remedy. He alluded feelingly to the destruction, by a
Koordish chief, of one of their oldest and best churches, which
dated back more than a thousand years. A part of the materials had
been used to construct a fort, and a part to build a mosque upon the
site of the church. The recent increase of wine drinking, among some
of the communicants, received a faithful rebuke. Carefully prepared
papers were presented on practical subjects, such as education,
benevolence, temperance, family worship, and the means for promoting
the spiritual efficacy of their body as a communion, and these were
followed by free and animated discussions. The duty of assuming more
fully the support of the gospel and of schools among the entire
people, was earnestly enjoined; and during the discussion the spirit
of self-denying benevolence rose to an unusual pitch. Several
pledged a tenth of their income, and the contributions on the plain
rose higher than ever before.

There were pleasing episodes during these deliberations,--in the
reports of Deacon Yâcob, a seminary graduate, of two and a half
years' colportage in Russia, and of Deacon Eshoo concerning his
successful labors for some years in Tabriz. Deacon Yâcob reported
the sale of nineteen hundred Bibles and Testaments, and many other
books and tracts, in Modern Russian, German, and other languages. He
also spoke of revival scenes, resulting in the hopeful conversion of
several adherents to the Greek Church. The Emperor of Russia, he
said, encouraged the circulation of the Scriptures in the spoken
language, allowed free passports to colporters, and exacted no
duties for the largest sales.

"The subject of wine drinking," writes Mr. Cochran, "the greatest
bane of the people in the wine-making districts, was discussed with
vigor, and, with one or two exceptions, in the spirit of a
determined purpose to urge forward a reform. It was manifest that,
on the whole, there had been a decided growth of conviction, that
total abstinence is the only safe remedy for the evil. It was
gratifying to hear no complaints of the use of stronger drinks,
except among those outside of our communion."

Several churches, as well as the seminaries, had enjoyed special
seasons of revival. A sunrise prayer-meeting of an hour was held
each day of the session, was well attended, and characterized by
much fervor and importunity in prayer, and the last evening was
spent in devotional exercises. The burden of prayer seemed to be for
the outpouring of the Spirit on the churches and the conversion of
souls, and many of the congregation were at times deeply moved.

Deacon Yâcob was ordained in the month following, that he might be
able to administer the ordinances to the converts among the Malakans
of Russia. Mr. Shedd wrote of him as "a man whom we delight to have
among us, so full is he of the Holy Ghost and of faith." One other
person was also ordained as an elder or priest, and four as deacons,
in connection with meetings of district conferences composed of
preachers and delegates.

In the first week of 1868, the "week of prayer," Mr. Labaree made a
tour in five villages, and never passed that interesting season more
delightfully, finding in each village cheering evidence of the
special presence of the Lord. The Christians were induced to pray
and labor earnestly for the unconverted around them. In each village
two meetings were held each day, and were attended by considerable
numbers outside of the church. Indeed that week was observed,
generally, among the evangelized Nestorians, and there were
indications of a blessing in the two seminaries, and in several
villages.

It is an important step towards the support of religious
institutions, when a people have once acknowledged such support to
be their duty; and this admission will be the more effectual when
organizations exist that can attend to the performance of the duty.
In the progress of events there had grown up four ecclesiastical
bodies, called _Knooshyas_, that is, assemblies, three on the plain,
and one in the mountains; which had their confession of faith and
rules of discipline. The local assemblies sometimes met together as
one body. As in kindred bodies among the Armenians, the missionaries
were admitted for counsel, but not to vote. At a meeting of one of
these bodies, the duty of self-support was fully acknowledged, and
the desire was strongly expressed to show their gratitude to the
American churches by assuming the entire support of the gospel among
themselves, and sending it to regions beyond, as did their fathers.
The following resolution was adopted, namely: "That it is the duty
of every member of the church, as he has received spiritual benefits
from his pastor, to aid in the temporal support of the same; and
also to aid in meeting the necessary expenses of the church
according to his ability."

It was recommended that pastors preach on the subject of these
resolutions; and that the pastor and lay-delegates, on their return
home, use their influence with the brethren and congregations of
their respective villages to bring the people up to their duty in
these matters.

The following reflections by the venerable Dr. Perkins, written
about this time, will be refreshing to the reader: "The progress of
our work," he says, "is steadily onward, and is probably as rapid as
would consist with its highest prosperity. This progress is not
always in a uniform current. It often resembles a succession of
circling eddies, caused generally by obstacles in the stream, but
sometimes by the accelerated speed of the current, which, but for
these self-regulating checks, might bring upon the work serious
disaster. Such eddies are often our best missionary regulators,
correcting mistakes or undue haste, and giving to our converts
occasion and time to examine the foundations of their faith."

Miss Nancy Jane Dean joined the mission in October, 1868, to labor
in the female seminary. Miss Rice and Mrs. Rhea had left Oroomiah in
the previous May, with Dr. Perkins, and arrived at New York in
August. Miss Rice had been connected with the female seminary
twenty-two years, and her good influence was felt in hundreds of
Nestorian homes on the broad plain and in the wild glens of the
mountains. Mrs. Rhea's return was due to her children, but, like
that of Miss Rice, it was a sad loss to the mission circle, and to
the women of Persia. The return of Dr. Perkins, the father of the
Nestorian mission, seemed like a removal of the foundations. "It is
difficult," wrote Mr. Shedd, "to over-estimate his labors, continued
now for more than a third of a century, or the value of his
experience. It is a gratification to him, and to us all, that he can
leave us in the atmosphere of revivals; and that, after he is gone,
the many works from his pen will continue to speak to the people
whom he loved. But many will sorrow at his leaving Persia, and most
of all that they shall see his face no more."

Dr. Perkins had seen much accomplished in the thirty-six years of
his connection with the mission. From eighty-five centres, and to
congregations averaging nearly two thousand four hundred, the gospel
had come to be proclaimed, by more than a hundred native helpers, of
whom fifty-eight were fully recognized preachers; and more than nine
hundred persons had professed their faith in Christ, of whom seven
hundred and twenty were then connected with the evangelical
communion. The seminaries had educated hundreds of youth, whose
influence was seen in the general social and moral elevation of the
people. In the common schools there were more than a thousand
pupils; and from the press more than half a million of pages had
gone forth in the year preceding his departure; making an aggregate
of nearly nineteen millions (18,996,450) from the beginning.

The mission was commenced with the expectation that the revival of
gospel light and influence among that people would rekindle their
ancient missionary spirit. Extreme oppression and poverty have made
the development of this spirit very difficult. But we have already
seen among them as fine specimens of it, probably, as there ever
were in the olden times. Witness the venerable Bishop Elias, Tamo of
Gawar, Guwergis of Tergawer, Isaac of the Patriarchal family, Joseph
the translator, Priest Eshoo of the Seminary, Oshana of Tehoma, and,
more recently, Yâcob, among the Malakans of Russia, and Deacon Eshoo
in the commercial capital of Persia. These were really missionary
men; and there seems also to have been even a greater development of
the genuine missionary zeal among the Nestorian women. There were,
and doubtless there are now, men and women, who would have
resolutely carried the gospel into Central Asia, had the door been
open.

The time had now come, when it could be no longer safe for the
reformed Nestorian churches to defer entering upon incipient foreign
missions. The healthful reaction of such missions had become as
indispensable as it was when the churches at the Sandwich Islands
were providentially led to send missionaries to Micronesia and the
Marquesas. The churches at the Islands, living under a free
constitutional government, were indeed able to support their
missionaries, and the oppressed and impoverished Nestorians are not;
but it was a great thing to have messengers go forth from among
themselves to make the gospel known to less favored peoples.

And here, to illustrate the high-toned missionary spirit of the
Nestorians of our day, I will quote from the correspondence of
Sarah, a daughter of Priest Abraham, of Geog Tapa. She was a convert
of the first revival in 1846, and one of the earliest graduates of
the female seminary. She seems to have gone, after graduation, to
reside with her father, then laboring at Ardishai, one of the most
wicked villages of the plain; where she persuaded her father to go
and work for Christ. She was afterwards married to Oshana, one of
those named above; and the following letter, written two years after
to Miss Fiske, then in the United. States, will give a good idea of
her spirit. She is giving an account of her visit to Tehoma, with
her husband, Oshana, and her two little children:

"Through the favor of our heavenly Father, I have made a journey
into these mountains, rejoicing in the opportunity to labor for my
people. I am very happy that my father and friends brought me on my
way in willingness of soul. From the day that I left my own country,
in every place that I have entered, until now, my heart has been
excited to praise my Guide and my Deliverer, and I have also been
grateful to my teachers, who brought me to labor in a desolate
vineyard joyfully; I, who am so weak, and such a great sinner. In
all the various circumstances through which I have passed, your
counsels have been of great benefit to me.

"I think you will be glad to know, that the gospel door is wide open
here. You and your friends will pray, that the Lord of the harvest
would send forth laborers into his harvest.

"We left Oroomiah, May 6th, and on May 8th we reached Memikan, and
remained there three days. It was our first Sabbath in the
mountains, and I met that company of women, for whom our departed
Mrs. Rhea used to labor. May 12th we left Memikan, and went up to
the tops of the snowy mountains of Gawar. The cold was such that we
were obliged to wrap our faces and our hands as we would in January.
As we descended the mountain, we found it about as warm as February.
That night we spent in the deep valley of Ishtazin, in the village
of Boobawa, where Yohanan and Guly dwell. The people here are very
wild and hard. Yohanan and Guly were not here, having gone to visit
Khananis. Only a few came together for preaching. The people said,
'Yohanan preaches, and we revile.' May 13th, we left Boobawa, and
soon crossed the river. Men had gone before us, and were lying in
wait there. They stripped us, but afterwards of themselves became
sorry, and returned our things. As we were going along this
wonderful, fearful river, and beheld the mountains on either side
covered with beautiful forests, we remembered Mr. Rhea, the composer
of the hymn, 'Valley of Ishtazin.' And when filled with wonder at
the works of the Great Creator, we all, with one voice, praised him
in songs of joy fitting for the mountains. Here the brethren
reminded me, that our dear Miss Fiske had trodden these fearful
precipices. This greatly encouraged me in my journey. This day we
went into many villages, and over many ascents and descents. At
evening we reached Jeloo, and remained over night in the pleasant
village of Zeer, which lies in a valley made beautiful by forests
and a river passing through it. They showed great hospitality here,
and were eager to receive the word of the Lord. May 14th, we left
Zeer, and went to Bass. It was Saturday night, and we remained over
the Sabbath in the village of Nerik. I shall always have a pleasant
remembrance of the Sabbath we passed there. From the first moment
that we went in till Monday morning, we were never alone, so many
were assembling to hear the words of the Lord. With tearful eyes and
burning hearts, they were inquiring for the way of salvation. They
would say, 'What shall we do? We have no one to sit among us, to
teach us, poor, wretched ones.' Truly a man's heart burns within him
as he sees this poor people scattered as sheep without a shepherd.
May 16th, we mounted our mules, and went on our way. Half an hour
from Nerik we came to the village of Urwintoos. An honorable,
kind-hearted woman came out, and made us her guests. This was
Oshana's aunt. As soon as we sat down, the house was filled with men
and women. They brought a Testament themselves, and entreated us to
read from that holy book. Did not my heart rejoice when I saw how
eagerly they were listening to the account of the death of our Lord
Jesus Christ! When the men went out, the women came very near to me,
entreating for the word of the Lord, as those thirsting for water.
Then I read to them from the Book.

"There are many sad deeds of wickedness among these mountain
Nestorians; and when Christians hear how anxious they are to receive
the words of life, will they not feel for them? We reached Tehoma
May 17th. Now, from the mercy of God, we are all well and in the
village of Mazrayee. I am not able to labor for the women here as I
desired, because many of them have gone to the sheep-folds. It is so
hot we cannot remain here, and we will go there also, soon. I trust,
wherever I am, and as long its I am here, I shall labor for that
Master, who wearied Himself for me, and who bought these souls with
his blood."

Sarah returned to Oroomiah in the spring of 1860, and left in 1861
for Amadiah. During the winter of 1861-62, no messenger could cross
the snow-covered mountains between Oroomiah and Amadiah, and she
thus wrote in March, 1862, to Miss Rice.

"I did greatly long for the coming of the messenger. We were very
sad in not hearing a single word from home. Now I offer
thanksgivings to Him, in whose hands are all things, that He has
opened a door of mercy, and has delighted us by the arrival of
letters. They came to-day. Many thanks to you and your dear pupils!
The Lord bless them, and prepare their hearts for such a blessed
work as ours.

"Give Eneya's salutations and mine to all the school. I think they
will wish to hear about the work of the Lord here. Thanks to God,
our health has been good ever since we came, and our hearts have
been contented and happy in seeing some of our neighbors believing,
and with joy receiving the words of life. Every Sabbath we have a
congregation of thirty-five, and more men than women. For many weeks
only the men came; but now, by the grace of God, the women come too,
and their number is increasing. I have commenced to teach the life
of the Lord Jesus from the beginning. I have strong hopes that God
is awakening one of them. His word is very dear to her. Her son is
the priest of the village, and a sincere Christian. Four other young
men and five women are, we trust, not far from the door of the
kingdom. We entreat you, dear sisters, to pray in a special manner
for these thoughtful ones, that they may enter the narrow door of
life.

"From the villages about us we have a good report. They receive the
gospel from Oshana and Shlemon, who visit them every Sabbath. In my
journeys through these mountains, I have seen various assemblies of
men and women listening to the gospel; poor ones, exclaiming, 'What
shall we do? Our priests have deceived us; we are lost, like sheep
on the mountains. There is no one to teach us.' They sit in misery
and ignorance. They need our prayers and our help. I verily believe
that if we labor faithfully--God help us to labor thus--we shall
soon see our Church revived, built up on the foundation of Christ
Jesus, and adorned for Him as a bride for her husband. With tears of
joy we shall gaze on these ancient ruins becoming new temples of the
Lord. Soon shall these mountains witness scenes that will rejoice
angels and saints. Those will be blessed times. Let us pray for
them, and labor with Christ for their coming."[1]

[1] _Woman and her Saviour in Persia_, pp. 216-221. Similar
illustrations could be multiplied from this remarkable volume, some
of them scarcely less interesting than the above.

Priest Abraham, the father of this excellent woman, died in 1871. He
was one of the first to coöperate with Dr. Perkins, and was faithful
unto the end.

There was the more call for some new missionary movement from the
fact, that, whatever may be affirmed as to the wisdom of the plan
adopted for reforming the Nestorian Church, in the earlier stages of
the mission, experience had shown that the Old Church, as such,
could not be reformed. It was proper that, from time to time, the
favorable facts on this subject should be stated in this history, as
they appeared to the men then on the ground,--to Dr. Lobdell;[1] to
Dr. Dwight;[2] to Mr. Coan;[3] to Dr. Perkins;[4] indeed to the
whole body of the mission. But the experience of six and thirty
years had shown, that the dead Church could not be galvanized into
spiritual life. There was no way for the truly enlightened but to
leave it, and form reunions on the Apostolic basis.

[1] Chapter xxvii.

[2] Chapter xxix.

[3] Chapter xxix.

[4] Chapter xxviii.

The necessity had become obvious, but it was a trying process. It
was too much for Mar Yohanan. He must be spoken of kindly, for he
had long stood in friendly relations with the mission, though the
evidence of his piety was never entirely satisfactory.

Priest John, of Geog Tapa, gave unquestioned evidences of piety in
early life. But in 1868, if not earlier, his gold had become dim,
and his proceedings and their consequences must have a place in this
history.

Becoming extravagant in his habits, and thus involved in debt, he
was disaffected because the mission could not accede to exorbitant
demands, and relieve him from pecuniary embarrassments. So he went
abroad to collect money for this purpose, and made his way to
England, where he succeeded in interesting several of the
dignitaries of the Established Church. Returning home in the autumn
of 1869, he made such a report of his visit, and excited such
expectation of the coming of Episcopal clergymen, and large
patronage for ecclesiastics and civil protection for all classes,
that many of the simple-hearted people were carried away. The
mission had been hoping to get some of the evangelical churches, ere
long, upon a self-supporting basis; but the hopes thus excited of
their burdens being assumed by the Church of England, put back for a
time this work of self-support.

The narrative is continued in the language of Mr. Cochran: "Priest
John returned from England flushed with the apparent success of his
mission. At Geog Tapa, the next Sabbath after our communion, at
early dawn he baptized fifteen children with much display. More than
two hours were spent in reading the English Liturgy, chanting
Psalms, and explaining and vindicating the usages of the English
Church. He announced his intention to give the communion to all who
desired it. This innovation upon the evangelical usage of more than
a dozen years (though he had once previously practiced
indiscriminate baptism), was not inappropriately followed by the
suspension of the Sabbath-school and preaching service, and the
turn-out of the whole village, headed by Malek Yonan and Priest
John, to meet the son of the master of their village, who happened
to return on that day from a long absence in the army. In the delay
of the young Khan's arrival, a young deacon, more zealous than
discreet, proposed a service by the roadside, but many voices cried,
'We have become Episcopalians, and don't want any more preaching.'
This public and flagrant violation of the Sabbath, headed by the two
leading Christians of the village, painfully illustrates the
material found there, and sadly contrasts with the better days of
the excellent and lamented Malek Agha Beg and Mar Elias.

"We have heard nothing from friends in England, but from other
sources infer the probability of at least a visit of Episcopalians
to Mar Shimon, and possibly to Oroomiah, the coming spring. Priest
John states, that Dr. Perkins did him harm in England by his
published statement, that he (Priest John) had come, not as an
accredited agent to secure Episcopal interference, but rather on a
private and personal begging expedition (the truth of which is well
known in Oroomiah, and confirmed by a written stipulation lodged
with friends here, that his companion should receive one third of
the avails of the excursion). To destroy the force of Dr. Perkins'
statement, Priest John has secured the signature of a large number
of names, including Patriarchs, Bishops, Maleks, and principal men
among the people. The paper was circulated privately, but we learn
that only one of our employees, and very few, if any, of our
communicants, could be persuaded to sign it.

"If asked, what is the true state of feeling among our communicants,
an extensive and familiar acquaintance with them enables me to
testify with great confidence, that, with the exception of a very
small high-church party, headed mainly by Mar Yohanan, I discover no
special tendency to Old Churchism of any kind, and if let alone,
they are more than satisfied with the gospel simplicity and
spontaneity of worship."

Under date of January 10th, 1870, Mr. Cochran adds, "Geog Tapa
continues to witness novel scenes under the eccentric and reckless
Priest John. At the close of the fast of the nativity, the communion
was administered to the whole village, and numbers from surrounding
villages were also invited in. Many who had not communed for from
ten to thirty years, as well as the more superstitious and the
lowest rabble, participated. Four priests, all of whom are of
doubtful piety (though two were in our communion), officiated,
clothed in white. The whole Old Church service was read in ancient
Syriac, and long Psalms were chanted in the same. The baser sort
were exultant, but the thoughtful, even of those not with us, were
sad. Every artifice was used to draw in our communion, but we were
rejoiced to find that all except ten,--consisting of the family of
Priest John, and the priests and deacons who officiated,--refused to
partake with them.

"I have preached there three times since. Yesterday was our
communion. The house was crowded at both services. It was judged
that seven hundred were inside, and not less than one hundred and
fifty outside. I preached in the morning on the spiritual character
of a true church, and newness of life as the condition of admission,
and that the ordinances belong exclusively to the church, and not to
those outside. All listened attentively, though a disturbance was
feared. In the afternoon I 'fenced' our communion fully, but Priest
John had the effrontery to partake. I have since learned that had it
been withheld, he, with the rabble, would have taken it by force. A
perfect separation seems called for, and with it a casting out of
unworthy members from the church. But the heart of the body is
right, and will, I trust, stand by the truth."

"Enlightened villagers," adds Mr. Shedd, under date of January 20,
1870, "besides members of the evangelical communion, did not
partake. It shows the movement for high-church aid in its true
colors. Such aid on the part of the English bishops is nothing more
nor less than salarying Mar Shimon and his ecclesiastics, for
reading their old prayers and using their dead forms and rites, as
they have done for ages past. We rejoice in so simple an issue, and
are sure it can do no injury to vital Christianity."[1]

[1] _Missionary Herald_, 1870, p. 190.

The time having come for separate and independent church
organizations, these painful occurrences seem to have been
providentially designed to promote that result.

Mr. Cochran thus writes: "The progress of the gospel and
providential occurrences, are bringing us into many new relations to
the old Nestorian Church, and grave questions, affecting the purity
and future growth of our churches, are now forcing themselves upon
us. So long as the Old Church did not oppose evangelical labors, so
long as she freely opened her doors to our services, consenting to a
separate administration of the ordinances for the hopefully pious,
and silently tolerating many ecclesiastical and social reforms, and
an abandonment of the liturgical service; in short, so long as we
could see, under the preached gospel, the hold on the old
superstitions steadily lessening, and the masses being leavened with
evangelical truth, we were more than content to labor on without a
separate church organization.

"But experience in other fields, as well as our own, has proved that
such labors can only be prosecuted for a time. From year to year we
have found the old ecclesiastics more restive under their loss of
support, and more jealous of the progress of spiritual life. Mar
Shimon, as you are informed, has for years openly opposed the
gospel, and now so intimidates the interior mountain districts under
his immediate control, that it seems preposterous to attempt to
prosecute labors there, unless on a separate foundation. And we now
find the opposition on the plains, and all over the field, not less
positive, and daily becoming more concerted and potent.

"Mar Yohanan has also, for years, secretly, and often openly and
most offensively, opposed spiritual and reformatory labors. Priest
John, a most untiring and reckless man, is arousing a furor of zeal
for Old Churchism,--a fanaticism that will not be likely to subside
with the spasmodic efforts he may make. He and others are now
administering the communion every few weeks to the whole people,
without distinction of character. They also enjoin the fasts and
saints' days, resume the use of the liturgy in ancient Syriac, burn
incense daily, bow before the altar, and make the sign of the cross;
though some, as yet, refuse to come into all these measures.

"With the return of these old superstitions, there is also a painful
throwing off of moral restraint, and intemperance and kindred vices
have greatly increased.

"In these circumstances the question has arisen, first in Geog Tapa,
and subsequently in other places; Can 'the evangelicals' further
unite in the morning and evening service conducted by priests--and
there happen to be five or six in that village--who are reviving
these superstitions? Almost the whole church are surprisingly united
in the decision to withdraw. This has been done for the last two
months, and we find upwards of one hundred members there, who are
firm, and daily waxing stronger in faith and opposition to the old
superstitions."

These and other distractions seriously hindered the spiritual growth
of the churches in the winter of 1869 and 1870. But in the spring, a
very thorough work of grace was enjoyed at Degala, and it was
believed that there were more than twenty genuine conversions,
mostly among the aged and middle-aged. The church in that place paid
half the salary of its pastor, and was expected soon to pay the
whole. Mar Yooseph, the young bishop at Bootan, wrote that his
congregation had increased to one hundred and fifty, and that, for
much of the time, Christ and his salvation formed the only theme of
conversation. He had hopes concerning considerably more than a score
of new converts. Deacon Toma, who had spent a year in the Seminary,
was with him as a helper, and promised to become another Deacon
Guwergis.

The immediate foreign mission field of the Nestorians, is among the
Armenians in Russia, and the same people at Tabriz, Hamadan (the
ancient Ecbatana), Teheran, and Ispahan in Persia, with the numerous
villages in the intervening regions; descendants, to a great extent,
of Armenians carried captive, in the year 1605, from the regions of
Ararat by Shah Abbas the Great. They furnish the field
providentially offered to the Nestorians, as the Koords do for the
Armenians in Turkey. Hamadan is about three hundred miles southeast
of Oroomiah, on the great caravan road between Tabriz and Bagdad. On
the 28th of May, 1870, the mission resolved, that they considered it
a duty urged upon them to embrace at once within their efforts the
Armenians and the Mussulman sects of Central Persia, by planting a
station at Hamadan; and they expressed the hope that the Board would
heartily endorse this action, and help them to carry it out without
delay, and also to occupy Tabriz.

The members of the mission, in the spring of 1870, were the Rev.
Messrs. Coan, Labaree, Cochran, and Shedd, and Dr. Van Norden, with
their wives, and Miss Dean, principal of the female seminary. The
mission was now known as the "Mission to Persia," in view of plans
to reach the entire population of the country. To Mr. Cochran was
assigned the superintendence of twenty out-stations in Oroomiah,
Sooldooz, and Tergawer, and the field outlying these, together with
the male Seminary, To Mr. Coan was committed the press, the editing
of the "Rays of Light," care of the treasury, and the oversight of
the city church, and of two out-stations. To Messrs. Shedd and
Labaree, jointly, was given the care of twenty out-stations in
Oroomiah and Salmas, besides Tabriz and Hamadan, with the Armenian
work in general; and, separately, to Mr. Shedd the mountain field,
and to Mr. Labaree the Mussulman work. Dr. Van Norden was to carry
on his medical department, and to translate the Gospel of John into
Turkish.

In the autumn of this year the Mission to Persia was formally
transferred to the care of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign
Missions; reserving, however, the Armenian work in the northern
portion of the field, from its intimate connection with the mission
to the Armenians of Turkey.

It remains only to speak of the honored founder of the mission.

Dr. Perkins lived through the entire connection of the mission with
the American Board, and died at Chicopee, Massachusetts, on the 31st
of December, 1869, when he had nearly attained the age of
sixty-five; having been born on the 12th of March, 1805. He
graduated at Amherst College in 1829, taught the next year in
Amherst Academy; spent the two following years in Andover Seminary;
and was tutor in his Alma Mater for the greater part of another
year. The engagement last named was shortened by his call to
commence the mission among the Nestorians. His life, from the time
of his sailing from Boston, with Mrs. Perkins, in September, 1833,
for six-and-thirty years, is largely the history of the Nestorian
mission.

The careful reader of this history will not need a portraiture of
his character. He was evidently made for the position he so long
occupied. He was an acknowledged leader in the Lord's host; a Moses
and a Joshua, with traits of character resembling those both of
Elijah, and of the Apostle Paul. To idleness, vagrancy, and
drunkenness, besetting sins of the Nestorians, he was the old
prophet; and in his longing desire to make them savingly acquainted
with the gospel, he was the apostle. Their spoken language he
reduced to a written form, and gave them, in their vernacular, the
Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments; with a commentary on
Genesis and on Daniel. Is it too much to pronounce him the Apostle
to the Nestorians? He came to his end as a shock of corn fully ripe;
and glorious results of his self denying, and in some respects
suffering mission, he will assuredly behold in the heavenly world.
Where in his native land could he have labored, with the prospect of
so large a spiritual harvest, taking no account of the widely
reacting influence of his labors on the churches at home? And we
might propose the same inquiry with respect to the departed
Stoddard, and Rhea, and Grant, and Fidelia Fiske, and others, both
among the dead, and the living.






CHAPTER XXXVIII.

SYRIA.

1857-1860.


Dr. Eli Smith, whose name has an honorable place among the
translators of the Scriptures, died at Beirût, Sabbath morning,
January 11th, 1857.[1] Thirty years had elapsed since his first
arrival in Syria, and he had before been connected for several
months with the press at Malta. In 1829, he made an exploring visit,
with the author, to the Ionian Islands, the Morea, and the Grecian
Archipelago; and the next year, he and Dr. Dwight explored Armenia,
and a part of the Nestorian country. The other more important events
of his life are so far known to the reader, that they need not be
repeated.

[1] Dr. Smith expressed a decided opinion, in his last sickness,
that no memoir of his life and labors should be published, since he
had never kept a journal, and there were not sufficient materials.
In this he was probably correct, considering what the public would
have expected. A well written obituary, somewhat extended for that
publication, may be found in the Missionary Herald for 1857, pp.
224-229. See, also, pp. 123-125.

The mind of Dr. Smith was rich in general principles, and in
well-considered applications of them to the missionary work; though,
in this latter respect, he was restricted more than his brethren
among the Armenians, by the less pliable nature of the materials on
which he was called to operate. After having explored countries
which others were to occupy; after contributing largely to the
accuracy, variety, and value of Dr. Robinson's "Biblical
Researches"; and after securing the formation of type that would be
acceptable to the most fastidious Arab; he set himself to prepare a
new translation of the Bible into the Arabic language. With this in
view, he pursued the study of Arabic and kindred languages to a
greater extent than was necessary to become either a good speaker,
or a good preacher. His learning was both extensive and accurate,
and he was continually adding to his stores by a wide range of
judicious reading. To a good knowledge of the ancient classics, he
added an acquaintance, more or less perfect, with the French,
Italian, German, and Turkish languages. With the Hebrew he was
familiar; and the Arabic, by far the most difficult of all, was to
him a second vernacular.

Dr. Smith was eminently a man of business, and was accustomed to
give attention to the minutest details. He spent much time in
superintending the cutting, casting, and perfecting of the various
fonts of type, made from models that he had accurately drawn from
the best specimens of Arabic caligraphy.[1] For many years he read
the proof-sheets of nearly every work that was printed at the
mission press; and he bestowed much thought and labor upon the
mechanical apparatus and fixtures of that establishment.

[1] See. vol. i. p. 233.

To him every pursuit was subsidiary to a faithful translation of the
Word of God into the Arabic language. Yet he did not neglect the
regular preaching of the gospel, which he regarded as the first duty
of every missionary; and having early become a fluent speaker in the
Arabic, this was ever his delight. "Almost as a matter of course,
his preaching was expository and didactic. In clear, lucid, logical
exposition of divine truth, he had few equals. His language, though
select and grammatical, was always simple, and within the
comprehension of the humblest of his hearers. In regard to matter,
his discourses were eminently Biblical, sound, and evangelical. In
form and costume, his theology was that of Edwards, and Dwight, and
Woods,--the theology of the Puritan fathers of New England. Upon
this system of divine truth his own hopes of eternal life rested,
and it was this which he earnestly labored, for thirty years, to
infuse into the Arabic literature, and transplant into the hard and
stony soil of Syria's moral desert."

The author, having had the best opportunities for knowing Dr. Smith,
bears testimony to his excellent judgment, and to the great value of
his correspondence with the executive officers of the Board, in the
forming period of the missionary work.

It did not please the Lord to grant the earnest desire of Dr. Smith
to live and complete his translation of the Scriptures; and it must
be admitted, that his ideal of perfection in the work was such, that
it is doubtful whether he ever could have been satisfied that his
entire translation was ready for publication. Only Genesis, Exodus,
and the first sixteen chapters of Matthew, had received his final
revision, and were acknowledged by him as complete. But, with the
help of Mr. Bistâny, his assistant translator, he had put into
Arabic the entire New Testament, the Pentateuch, the Historical
Books of the Old Testament, and the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Lamentations, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, and Nahum.
He had revised, and nearly prepared for the press, the whole of the
New Testament, and all except Jeremiah, Lamentations, and the last
fourteen chapters of Isaiah, of the books named in the Old
Testament. With these finished specimens, and with so large a
portion of the remainder translated and carefully revised, together
with the helps to translation which he had accumulated, his brethren
believed that he had laid the foundation for one of the best
versions of the sacred Scriptures to be found in any language.

Dr. Van Dyck had been connected with the mission since 1840, and
very soon made himself master of the spoken Arabic, in which he
greatly excelled as a preacher. It soon appeared, that he was the
man to succeed Dr. Smith as translator of the Scriptures, and the
mission arranged his removal, for that purpose, from Sidon to
Beirût; so that in due time he was enabled to bring the great work
to successful completion.[1]

[1] See chapter xl.

Mr. Aiken had joined Mr. Wilson at Hums, a new station north of
Damascus, where he was bereaved of his wife before she had been six
months in the field. The arrangement for 1857 was that Beirût should
be occupied by Messrs. Van Dyck and Ford, and Mr. Hurter, the
printer; Abeih by Messrs. Calhoun and Bliss; Sidon by Mr. Eddy; Deir
el Komr by Mr. Bird; Bhamdûn by Mr. Benton; Tripoli by Messrs.
Jessup and Lyons; and Hums by Mr. Wilson. Dr. Thomson and Mr. Aiken
were in the United States; the latter with health so impaired as to
forbid his resuming his mission. He had previously married Miss
Cheney. In the following year, Miss Jane E. Johnson and Miss Amelia
C. Temple arrived to take the care of a girls' boarding-school at
Sûk el Ghurb, on Mount Lebanon; but the former was soon found unable
to endure the climate. Dr. Thomson, while in this country, published
a valuable work on Biblical literature, in two volumes, entitled
"The Land and the Book." Dr. and Mrs. De Forest had come to this
country in the hope of a restoration of his health; but on the 24th
of November, 1858, this excellent missionary was released from long
and severe physical sufferings by a peaceful death.

The health of Mrs. Wilson made it necessary, for a time, to leave
Hums without a resident missionary. The principal operations, both
here and at Deir el-Komr, were through schools for both sexes, which
had been embarrassed by Syrian and Greek opposers, but in no case
suppressed. The female department of the school at Deir el-Komr
commenced with a dozen pupils, but in six months the attendance
exceeded fifty. When Mr. Bird came to that place, he thought there
were not six females in the nominally Christian population, who
could read; but a year had not passed before half the pupils in his
girls' school could read their Bibles. There were other mountain
schools under the care of the station, and in one there were more
than sixty pupils.

The following contrast of the state of things in 1857 with what it
had been fifteen years before, indicates a preparatory work in no
small degree encouraging. "Then, the missionary could hardly
purchase here the necessaries of life; and when he left, he was
followed by stones and execrations. Now, he is welcomed and honored.
Then, fear kept even his friends from venturing to visit him; now,
priests and even a bishop are ashamed not to return his calls. Then,
the Protestant sect could not be vilified enough; now, it is spoken
of with favor in public and in high places. The old Emir Beshir,
once the persecutor and terror of Protestants, has passed away, and
his dilapidated palace is used as barracks for Turkish soldiers. His
prime minister, or secretary, who did much injury to the cause of
evangelical religion, and whose mansion was, as it were, the
stronghold of the enemy, is no more. What remains of this
Ahithophel's house is the abode of the missionary, and furnishes
apartments for Scripture schools, and a Protestant chapel. His
sons-in-law were leaders in the movement which brought us to Deir
el-Komr, and are among our firmest friends. His grandchildren learn
the folly of popery by the knowledge of the Bible they acquire in
our schools.

"Time was, when every one trembled at the anathema of the clergy.
Now, the latter dare not show their impotence by pronouncing it.
Some of the people would be glad to be thus dissevered from a church
which they abhor, for they would thus not only gain their end, but
retain the sympathies of many who would else oppose them. Those who
send their children to our schools, have been refused admission to
the confessional and the eucharist; the Maronite bishop, however,
has at length yielded the point, and tries to win, rather than
compel. Their high school he has made free of charge, and has
promised to open a girls' school beside. In the Greek Catholic
communion, on the other hand, the men and some of the women remain
"suspended;" yet they are of good courage, some glad of so excellent
an excuse to get rid of the confessional, and others incensed at the
glaring injustice that would admit the drunkard and the notoriously
vicious, but exclude the respectable and the moral. We have here the
anomaly of those being thrust out of the church, who are still its
very pillars, its substantial supporters, whose names are known, and
whose influence is felt, throughout the region.

"We have reason to thank God and take courage. Still we long to see
a work more purely spiritual. Light is being diffused, but there is
not the corresponding religious interest. The truth is viewed by
many as a beautiful theory, the heart remaining a flint. We have to
regret the fact, that some of the best minds in the place are tinged
with skepticism. Happily the most influential are, notwithstanding,
our firm friends, and are in favor of good education and good
morals."

Ain Zehalty, a village situated in the heart of Lebanon, has been
already mentioned.[1] Mr. Bird says, "We now have there five
church-members. There have been regular Sabbath services under the
charge of the native helper, Khalil. The audience has been on the
increase, and is now not only larger than that in Deir el-Komr, but
is composed of better materials. Those who come desire instruction,
and are regular attendants and declared Protestants." An Ain
Zehaltian, when out of his village, if not a Druze, was set down at
once as a Protestant. The day school in that place had forty
scholars, and half as many attended the evening school for adults.
This school was for the special purpose of studying the Bible, and
the pupils had gone through the historical books of the Old and New
Testaments. Their custom on Saturday and Sabbath evenings was to
read the devotional parts, and hold a prayer meeting.

[1] Vol. i. p. 383.

Mr. Ford made a visit to Hasbeiya in February, 1857, with Mr. Jones,
Secretary of the Turkish Missions Aid Society. He had never before
been in that region, and speaks highly of the native laborers. Of
the church-members he says: "When compared with the rock from which
they were hewn, and the hole of the pit from which they were digged,
they show the genuineness of the work of grace in their hearts."
"The signs of the times," he adds, "in the community around, are
most encouraging. I will only refer now to a remarkable stirring up
of the Maronites to defend themselves against the inroads made by
the gospel upon their hitherto solid ranks. Their ecclesiastics have
always maintained an attitude of proud contempt, as though conscious
of the strength of their hold upon their people, and they have
rarely deigned to come into personal contact with the despised
preachers of the gospel. But the serious diminution of their numbers
in various parts south of us, and the diffusion of spiritual light
among the rest of their flocks, have forced them down from their
assumed elevation, and now they select the ablest of their priests,
ordain him bishop, and send him on a crusade through Deir el-Komr,
Hasbeiya, Merj Aiun, and so on to Alma, where the spirit of Asaad
es-Shidiak, the modern martyr of Syria, seems to be revived in the
hearts of a simple people, preparing them to brave death itself for
the Gospel's sake. This bishop has sought public discussions with
Mr. Bird, at Deir el-Komr, and also with Mr. Wortabet, at Hasbeiya.
In the latter place there had been two such discussions held just
before we arrived. In the first, the bishop was effectually caught
in his own craftiness, and so completely worsted, that he and his
friends came to the second session prepared to regain by violence
the advantage they had lost in argument; and the result was a stormy
debate, terminated abruptly by an assault upon some of the
Protestants present."

Kefr Shema, a promising out-station, became a station by the removal
thither from Aleppo of Mr. and Mrs. Eddy. No objection to their
residence was made by the people, though it was not four years since
they had combined in a desperate attempt to drive all Protestants
from the village. The missionaries were visited and welcomed by
many.

Honorable mention is made of Antonius Yanni, the only native
Protestant in Tripoli, who had been two years connected with the
mission church, and had suffered much for the cause of Christ. He
had refused the honorable and highly lucrative post of vice-consul
for Russia, because its acceptance would necessarily have made him
subservient to the corrupt Greek Church, and an attendant upon its
services.

There had been preaching for several years at Aramon, three miles
from Abeih. But the congregation was broken up in midsummer by a
mob. Mr. Calhoun, who was regarded with great respect by the people,
visited the place, and in a very kind, gentle manner, told the
people that religious freedom was guaranteed to all, and that they
of the mission should be allowed to worship in their own hired
house. The people listened with attention. On Monday Mr. Calhoun
referred the case to the English Consul-general, and to the acting
Consul for the United States. Late in the week, two officials from
the government in Beirût, and two from the governor of the mountain
district, met Mr. Calhoun at Aramon. "When the time for service
arrived, the officials publicly stated, that there is to be perfect
religious freedom for all;--to-day, to-morrow, this year, next year,
and for all time. This they repeated over and over again, as the
will of the Sultan, and then ordered some one to go upon the
house-top and proclaim aloud, after the manner of the Mohammedans,
_that it was time for prayers, and that all who wished to come might
come_. Services were then conducted as usual, with an attentive
audience; and at the close, in a place appointed, the officials
demanded that the persecutors should ask pardon of the persecuted,
which was accordingly done, many kissing the hand of the man whose
house they had entered, and which we had hired. The governor also
called some of the men to his own village, and threatened them with
severe punishment if they should again molest any one on account of
his religion. He then, Mohammedan as he was, repeated, in substance,
the sentiment advanced, in the presence of his officers, by Mr.
Calhoun, that religion pertains to the individual conscience and to
God alone." Henceforward Mr. Aramon, the first teacher in the
seminary, met with no opposition in a regular preaching service.

The number of pupils in the Seminary, at the close of the year, was
twenty-five, and some of them were of unusual promise. A theological
class, of four middle-aged, married men, was kept up during the
summer, and then they went forth preaching the gospel, or laboring
as teachers and colporters. Thoroughly-educated young men, otherwise
qualified to preach the gospel, could only be obtained to a limited
extent. But men of riper age, of good common sense and
simple-hearted piety, could be fitted, by a few months of direct
Biblical training annually, to preach to the uninstructed
peasantry,--a labor for which there was the loudest call.

On the 12th of January, 1858, a deputation of four young men was
received by Mr. Eddy, at Sidon, from a large village east of Tyre,
called Cana. These brought a letter, signed by twenty-six persons,
professing their dissatisfaction with their own corrupt Church, in
connection with which they obtained no knowledge of God or of
heaven, and asking that a preacher might be sent to them at once,
and a teacher for their children. They denied being actuated by any
worldly motive, and were sent back with two New Testaments, and the
assurance that some one would be sent to instruct them as soon as
possible. They were, accordingly, visited by Daher Abud, a faithful
native helper, who was much gratified with the zeal and interest he
found among them. In February, Mr. Eddy went himself, and was warmly
welcomed. About forty men attended his preaching, whose eagerness to
hear and converse detained him over the next day.

From thence he went to Alma, a village of five hundred inhabitants,
a long day from Cana, beautifully situated upon the summit of a high
range of hills, two miles from the sea. The evangelical movement had
commenced there two years before, and there was a Protestant
community of about forty, including nine members of the church.
"This was considered, in some respects," writes Mr. Eddy, "one of
the brightest spots in the Syrian field. The great adversary of
souls tried in vain, by the terrors of persecution and the
seductions of flattery, to recover the people to himself. Failing in
this, he sought to sow discord among brethren, and thus to conquer
them; and for several months past he has rejoiced in seeing this
'house divided against itself.' I felt much anxiety as to the issue
of my visit, and had made it the subject of special prayer. I spent
three days among the people, one of which was the Sabbath. The
conversation and the preaching were mainly directed to the end of
securing peace, and a day of fasting and prayer was observed. On the
morning of the fourth day the clouds parted, and the Saviour
revealed himself in love. Then, amid tears, and confessions, and
promises, and prayers, the covenant of peace was signed, and
thanksgiving offered to God, and we separated."

Mr. Eddy visited Cana twice in the summer, and found the people,
young and old, eager to be instructed in the Word of God. So many
children attended the school from Catholic families, that the priest
sent word to the bishop in Tyre, that if he did not interpose his
authority, all the village would turn Protestant. Accordingly the
bishop came, bringing with him several wealthy and influential men
of the city. The Protestants were all invited to assemble at the
house of the head man of the village, and then these friends of the
bishop, in company with the head man and the priest, labored most of
the night to induce them to return to their church. It would have
been beneath the dignity of the bishop to have interceded directly
with them, especially if he had not succeeded. The effort was a
failure. Next the Prior of all the convents in that part of the
country, hearing of the bishop's ill success, came, and sought to
obtain, by love and promises, what the bishop had failed to
accomplish by threats. But he too returned disappointed; and
coincident with his departure, two persons came out from the
Catholic Church and joined the Protestants.

The month of November found Mr. Eddy again at Alma, to dedicate the
first completed Protestant church in Syria. The enrolled Protestants
numbered then about fifty. Dr. Van Dyck, before leaving Sidon, had
selected a site for the building and seen the foundation laid, and
had since collected from native Christians and foreign residents
nearly the amount required for the church, which was of stone,
thirty-two feet long and twenty-two feet broad, and capable of
holding from one hundred and fifty to two hundred persons. It cost
about three hundred dollars; thirty of which were contributed by the
people of Alma out of their deep poverty, besides a large amount
freely bestowed in labor. No opposition was made by the government
to its erection.

After the dedicatory sermon, the Lord's Supper was administered to
the nine church-members, who renewed their vows to the Lord; and
these, with other appropriate services, made it a Sabbath long to be
remembered.

In the summer of 1859, Mr. Eddy again visited Cana, taking Mrs. Eddy
with him to secure access to the women. He pitched his tent, the
first night, on the banks of the ancient Leontes, six or seven miles
north of Tyre, and the next day at noon they were at Cana. The poor
women, ignorant, yet eager to be taught, had never before enjoyed
such an opportunity, and prized it exceedingly.

The people had passed through severe sufferings. Several of the
women had been beaten, and the men had a bitter tale to tell of
oppression by their governor. He demanded a duplicate payment of
taxes, and when the head man of the Protestants respectfully showed
him a receipt, with his own seal affixed, he ordered him to be
severely beaten and placed in confinement. He then sent officers to
bring others of the Protestants before him, but, suspecting his
intention, all except two fled into the open country. These two,
when brought, were thrown down upon the ground before the governor,
and beaten with staves without mercy upon their backs and feet, he
encouraging his servants to deal harder blows with commands and
threats. Thus beaten till their backs were livid and swollen, they
were wounded also by being kicked and stepped on by those who beat
them, to make them lie still. When hardly left alive, chains were
placed upon their necks and feet, their hands were placed in wooden
stocks, and they were cast into prison, where they spent the night
with companions who had been previously beaten. Next morning they
were brought before the governor, and two of them were again beaten,
when they were dismissed with a threat, that if they left the
village he would pull down their houses. They however, despite his
threats, made their way to Tyre, whence they embarked in a vessel to
Beirût, to seek redress from the Pasha, and sympathy from the
missionaries. When they appeared before the Pasha's court, their
backs were ordered to be uncovered, and their wounds exhibited; and
the greatest indignation was expressed by the members of the council
against him who had so barbarously treated them, in violation of the
laws of the realm."

The governor was sent for, and the indications were, that he would
be expelled from office. But he was not. The Pasha suddenly changed
his tone towards the Protestants, ordered one of them to be cast
into prison on a false charge by the governor, and forbade the
council to proceed further against him. The Cana people were
detained two months from their homes. The proffered interposition of
the English Consul was rudely rejected, and their release, when it
was effected, was with no regard to the claims of justice. The visit
of Mr. and Mrs. Eddy at that time must have been very seasonable and
acceptable.

From Cana they proceeded to Alma, where they remained about a week.
The women here, being more numerous and more enlightened, and some
of them members of the church, were prepared to receive greater
benefit from the instruction of a Christian sister. Three additions
were made to the church. The people, though poor, had here also been
compelled by their governor to pay their taxes twice.

The Seminary at Abeih was now made more directly a training school
for native preachers and helpers; and a female boarding-school was
opened at Sûk el-Ghûrb, a village six miles north of Abeih, under
the direction of Miss Temple. The training of female helpers was its
leading object, and the removal of Mr. Bliss thither made a home for
the pupils.

Ain Zehalty continued to be a marked village, and the papists made
great efforts to reclaim it. A Maronite bishop at one time, and a
wily Jesuit at another, repaired thither, at the urgent request of
the papal party, to uproot the dangerous exotic. The coming of the
bishop was with great boasting on the part of his adherents, but,
much to their chagrin, he declined commencing a controversy with
Khalil, the native helper there; and was afterwards so hotly plied
with texts of Scripture by some of the church-members whom he
ventured to attack, that he fled for refuge to the more
accommodating "traditions of the elders." It was supposed that the
disciple of Loyola would carry all before him; but the undaunted
Bible-men were more than ready to meet him, which they did
effectively; and his visit was productive of more good than harm.

The report of the mission for 1858, furnishes many striking
evidences of the influence exerted, especially in the department of
education. Soon after the opening of the first Protestant school at
Tripoli, the Greeks opened a school for boys, which soon became
large and prosperous. And when the Protestant girls' school became a
success, a board of directors was organized, under the direction of
the Greek bishop, to break up the other, if possible. Not finding an
educated woman in Syria who was not a Protestant, the Greeks applied
to two Protestant young ladies to take their school, but without
success. To secure the needful pecuniary means, they constrained the
Patriarch to surrender a part of the convent revenues for this
purpose. The Russian government, moreover, took up the subject of
education in Syria, and remitted twelve thousand piasters (four
hundred and eighty dollars) to the Greek school directors in Tripoli
for the city schools; but with the injunction, that the tenets of
the Greek Church should be the chief subject of instruction.

Nineteen persons were added to the churches of the mission during
the first half of the year 1859. This of course involved various
local indications of progress, for which the limits of this history
afford no space. A new place, however, is brought to our notice by
Mr. Eddy, named Deir Mimas, a large village on the river Litany. A
few had here professed Protestantism about two years before, and had
encountered a storm of persecution from members of the Greek Church,
and from the Mohammedan governor of their district. Yet they had
constantly increased in numbers and strength. The missionary
spending several days there, was delighted to find an audience each
evening of more than one hundred, after their severe labors, all
eager to hear. The number of men professing Protestantism was above
sixty, and counting the women and the children, the number was one
hundred and fifty, the largest in Syria. Their enemies were on the
alert, and it was a sad fact, that no competent native teacher could
be found to reside among them. They were then dependent on a native
teacher, who came to them each Sabbath from a distance, having first
preached in his own village.

The annual meeting of the mission in this year was one of unusual
interest. "From the beginning to the end of the meeting, it was
apparent that there was much of a spirit of prayer among the native
brethren. The native female prayer meeting in Beirût was more fully
attended than usual; and the union meetings in Arabic and English,
held in the chapel, in which the missionaries and native brethren
united and large audiences assembled, were occasions of deep
interest. The statements made in the meeting when the annual reports
were read, at which W. A. Booth, Esq., of New York City, and Hon.
Alpheus Hardy, of Boston, a member of the Prudential Committee, were
providentially present, filled the minds of all with the conviction,
that never before in the history of the Syria mission have we had so
much encouragement, or such strong proofs that God is with us, and
that the work is going forward in this land."

Before this meeting, the mission had been favored with a visit from
the Hon. James Williams, United States Ambassador at Constantinople,
whose friendly and most useful agency was duly acknowledged by the
mission. His reply to them may be found in the "Missionary
Herald."[1]

[1] See _Missionary Herald_, 1860, p. 163.

The translation of the New Testament was now completed and published
under the care of Dr. Van Dyck. The pocket edition was admitted to
be one of the most beautiful books, in its typographical execution,
in the Arabic language. It had this advantage, that it could be
carried and read without attracting notice; which was something in a
land where Bible readers met with so much determined opposition.






CHAPTER XXXIX.

SYRIA.

1860-1863.


The year 1860 was noted for a civil war in Syria, and for savage
massacres on Lebanon, at Hasbeiya, Damascus, and elsewhere, which
awakened the indignation of the Christian world. The Druzes were
prominent in these massacres, and so suffered greatly in character;
yet the Turks were believed to have been the instigators. The war
commenced in June; but the government for months had foreborne to
check private assassinations and angry collisions, until the
condition became unbearable.

All the Greek and Papal Christians united against the Druzes, with
the declared purpose of not leaving one of them on Lebanon, but they
had miscalculated their power. The Protestants decided to take the
side of neither party. It was believed at Beirût, that the main
object of the foreign Jesuits and native Catholic clergy was to
exterminate the Protestants, who had their homes chiefly among the
Druzes. The Druzes were aroused to desperation, and thirty or forty
Maronite and Greek villages were burned early in June. The
inhabitants who escaped massacre fled to Beirût. Not one of these
fugitives was a Protestant.

The missionaries at Abeih, Deir el-Komr, and Sûk el-Ghûrb were not
molested, and Messrs. Calhoun and Bird and their families remained
at their several stations. It was thought best for those at the Sûk
to descend to Beirût. Disturbance having arisen at Sidon, an English
war steamer was sent thither to look after the foreigners. The
steamer brought Mrs. Eddy and her children to Beirût, but Mr. Eddy
and Mr. and Mrs. Ford decided to remain at Sidon.

In the country and gardens near that city, hundreds of unarmed men
and defenseless women and children, many of whom had fled thither
for their lives, were afterwards savagely butchered by Moslems and
Druzes. The missionaries then asked for a guard from the city
governor, which he refused until the American Consul in Beirût
demanded it.

Mr. Bird, at Deir el-Komr, supposing that all was quiet around the
city, left home to look after the little company of Protestants in
Ain Zehalty. In his absence, the Druzes attacked Deir el-Komr on
every side, and when Mr. Bird returned towards evening, he saw the
town in flames, but could not enter. One of the more than one
hundred houses burned, was a school-house belonging to the mission.
The Druze Begs declared it was a mistake, and promised to rebuild
it. The Christians had fought until their ammunition was exhausted,
and then surrendered. Mr. Bird found his family unharmed, though the
fighting and burning had been very near them. The Pasha coming up
from Beirût made such arrangements that Mr. Bird and family decided
to remain.

The Druzes were now masters of Mount Lebanon south of the Damascus
road, and there was no power left in that district to oppose them,
save in the town of Zahleh. It was from this town that a company of
horsemen went to Hasbeiya, sixteen years before, to compel the
Protestants there to recant; and from this same town, not many
months before, Mr. Benton and his family had been expelled with
great violence by a mob. Its time had now come. Mr. Lyons passing
that way in October, with relief for the survivors of the massacre,
thus speaks of Zahleh: "It presents one of the saddest spectacles in
all the wide field of desolation. Only a few months before, I had
seen this then flourishing town in all its beauty and pride. Now,
nothing remained but a vast collection of roofless houses, with
blackened, shattered walls, and shapeless heaps of stones and
rubbish. Shops, magazines, costly dwellings, and elegant churches,
all had shared in the common ruin."

The Protestants in Hasbeiya began to be troubled, early in the year,
by premonitions of a coming storm. Mr. Eddy was there in May,
accompanied by Mrs. Eddy and Miss Temple, who devoted themselves to
labor for the spiritual good of the women in that community. Hardly
had they returned to Sidon, when Hasbeiya was surrounded by hostile
Druzes. They were driven off at first, but on the 3d of June the
commander of the Turkish soldiers told the Christians to retire
within the palace, and he would protect them. On the 11th the Druzes
surrounded the palace, and the Turkish commander opened the gates,
and allowed the Druzes to cut them in pieces. Some saved their lives
by crawling under the dead bodies, and others by escaping over the
walls. The Protestant church was partially destroyed, but not
burned; its walls and roof remaining uninjured. At Rasheiya the
Druzes told the Christians to give up their guns, and they would be
safe. In the night, they set fire to the houses, and killed nearly
all of one hundred and thirty men. More than one thousand persons
were murdered in Hasbeiya and the surrounding region. Of these only
nine were Protestants.

At Damascus, on the 9th of July, the wild Moslems, from one of the
suburbs of the city, with Koords, Druzes, and Arabs, burst upon the
Christian quarter, plundering, butchering, and burning; not opposed,
but aided, by the Turkish soldiers, who could have suppressed the
insurrection at any time. The slaughter continued several days, and
the killed were estimated at five thousand. The whole Christian
quarter of the city was plundered of its great wealth, and the
houses and churches were laid in ruins.

Those who escaped these massacres fled towards Beirût and Sidon,
destitute of everything. Appeals were at once made to the Christians
of England and America, and the missionaries, acting for the
"Anglo-American Relief Committee," were the chief almoners. The
expenditure in August for food, clothing, bedding, shelter,
hospital, and soup, was at the rate of about sixty thousand piasters
a week, or two thousand four hundred dollars, and yet it seemed to
make little impression on the mighty mass of misery. Dr. Thomson had
the especial care of the clothing, bedding, shelter, and
soup-kitchen, Dr. Van Dyck of the hospital and the sick in general,
Mr. Jessup of the distribution of bread to about six thousand
persons daily, and Butrus Bistany and Michael Aramon, two of the
native brethren, had the daily distribution among about two thousand
five hundred poor. The funds up to this time had come chiefly from
the people of England, and English merchants at Beirût gave much
time to managing the large financial business connected with so vast
a charity. Dr. Thomson declares that the male children were
generally murdered, and that the killed were largely mere boys; and
who, he asks, were to support the thousands of widows, with their
fatherless daughters? The country had no factories, and scarcely any
kind of business by which such widows could gain a support. The
silk, grape, and wheat harvests had been destroyed, the olive was
likely to perish from neglect, there were no animals for the plough,
no implements for husbandry, nor was life safe in the fields. He
adds: "There was never, perhaps, a darker hour for missions in
Syria; yet we are becoming acquainted with the people more rapidly
than ever, and should we be permitted to visit them months hence, we
shall have a most friendly welcome."

Rasheiya and Deir Mimas were burned. Cana and Alma, being far from
the Druze district, were not invaded. Tripoli was undisturbed. The
destroyers in the neighborhood of Baalbec were not Druzes, but
Moslems and Metawales. It is a remarkable fact that, excepting
perhaps in Damascus, no injury was offered to a missionary; and
Protestants, when recognized as such, were generally safe. The
arrival of ships of war and a detachment of the French army at
Beirût, with apprehensions of an alliance of Christian powers for
the protection of the Christian population, had, at first, a
restraining, and finally, a controlling influence, on the Turkish
government. The Prime Minister was sent to Damascus, and inflicted
terrible justice on one or two hundred of the guilty there.

The direct effects of the war upon the missionary work were
doubtless injurious. Immorality increased, the baser passions were
aroused, and the hearts of many were hardened through suffering. But
priestly and feudal power, the two greatest obstacles to the Gospel,
were weakened, and new civil rights were secured to the Protestants.
The respect for Protestant Christianity was increased, and
prejudices were dissipated by witnessing its beneficent fruits;
while multitudes were brought within the reach of the Gospel, who,
but for these troubles, would never have heard its messages.

The connection of Mr. and Mrs. Benton with the Board and the mission
terminated in June, 1861, though they remained in Syria some time
longer.

The Arabic New Testament having been completed and published, the
mission resolved to proceed, as soon as possible, with the
translation and publication of the Old Testament, under the
direction of Dr. Van Dyck. The British and Foreign Bible Society
requested permission to adopt this version; instead of the one
formerly issued by them. The result of a friendly negotiation was,
that the American and the British and Foreign Bible Societies agreed
to publish the version conjointly, from electrotype plates furnished
by the former. The price of the reference edition was fixed at ten
piasters, and of the pocket edition at five, or about forty and
twenty cents, which placed them within reach of nearly all who could
read.

The importance of this work cannot easily be overestimated.
Imperfect translations, and type which seemed to caricature their
alphabet, had done much to prejudice Arabic scholars against the
Christian Scriptures. By the labors of the mission, these objections
were now removed. The educated Arab finds a book printed in
characters modeled after the most approved specimens of Arab
caligraphy. He soon perceives the style to be that of a man who is
master of this wonderful language in all its grammatical and
idiomatic niceties and rich resources. As a literary work it secures
his respect, and thus invites a candid perusal. If he reads it, he
finds the truths of Christianity clearly and correctly stated. Its
beneficial influence will yet be felt, it is hoped, not only by the
Christian sects of Mount Lebanon and Syria, but by the many millions
who speak that language in other parts of the world. This work
alone, worth many times what the mission had cost, could not have
been accomplished, except by Christian scholars residing permanently
among Arabs, and for substantially missionary purposes.

The sale of the Scriptures, notwithstanding the poverty of the
people, was unprecedented. In 1859, it amounted to four hundred and
forty-eight copies; in 1860, to four thousand two hundred and
ninety-three,--a nearly ten fold increase.

Dr. Van Dyck was preparing a voweled edition of the New Testament,
suitable for Mohammedans, written in the style of the Koran, which
required much care and labor. This was completed in 1863.

The field manifestly brightened in the two or three years after the
war. There was an interesting development of the missionary spirit.
Not less than six different missionary societies were formed,
embracing nearly all the Protestants of the various towns and
villages, and a commendable degree of liberality was shown by the
natives in collecting and contributing. A hundred dollars thus
raised will not appear a small amount to any one, who knows the
extreme poverty of most of the congregations. There had been a great
influx of population at Beirût, and preaching services, during some
months, were held daily. The Sabbath-school numbered two hundred,
and the children sang the same songs in Arabic, which American
children love to sing in their own language. The mountain stations
reported unusually large and attentive audiences. Ain Zehalty was
wholly under Protestant influences. Its civil ruler was a member of
the Protestant church, and its church edifice, purged of its altar
and pictures, was no longer used for the idolatrous Greek service.
The Gospel was preached in nine places in connection with the Sidon
station, the congregations had doubled their number, and schools of
both sexes were demanded. There were cases of unusual interest among
the young men. Hasbeiya and Rasheiya were not yet safe for the
return of their people, but their Protestants retained an ardor in
the cause which was very encouraging. Ibl and Deir Mimas were still
centres of evangelical light, and the people of Boaida, numbering
one hundred, were all professed Protestants, and placed themselves
under Biblical instruction. Mr. Ford and his family spent the summer
in the district of which Deir Mimas is the centre, and more than
thirty women were taught to read by Mrs. Ford. The field was open
for schools, for preaching, and for influencing individuals,
families, and communities. The only drawback was the want of
laborers.

Brief extracts from a letter of Mr. H. H. Jessup, written in March,
1863, portray the work at that time.

"Delegation after delegation, of men from various villages and
different sects, call upon and write to us, entreating us not to
neglect them. They ask for preachers, and we have none to send. They
ask for schools, and we have not the means to support them. We are
in _great straits_, and lay the case before our Christian brethren
at home, throwing the responsibility upon those to whom God has
given the means, and especially upon the young men in a course of
preparation for the ministry."

"The people of the village of Ain Kunyeh, near the Lake of Merom, on
the upper waters of the Jordan, have with one consent turned away
their priest, shut up their place of worship, and are entreating one
of our Protestant helpers to come and teach them the way of life."

"A few Sabbaths since, while we were assembled for divine service in
the Beirût chapel, a crowd of thirty men came in, and with
difficulty found seats, so full was the chapel already. Upon
inquiry, after service, we learned that they are from the village of
Rasheiya-el-Wady, north of Mount Hermon, and are a part of the
residue of the people who escaped the massacre in that place in
1860. They ask for a teacher, or native preacher, but we can give
them only the most indefinite promises."

"Twenty men from the village of Koryet-el-Hosson, near the famous
castle Kolat-el-Hosson, halfway between Tripoli and Hums, write that
they too have seen the light, and wish some one to come and instruct
them; but what can we do for them, when the twenty-five men of
Sheikh Mohammed, who petitioned us some time since, have been sent
away empty?"

"This morning a white-bearded priest called, with his aged brother,
and several younger men. They declared their wish to become
Protestants, and beg most earnestly for a school. They belong to a
large and powerful family, and the Lord may use them as the entering
wedge, to open that strong Greek district to the gospel. What shall
we answer them?"

Daoud Pasha, the new papal Governor, secured in 1862 by foreign
intervention for Mount Lebanon, was at first supposed to be a bigot,
and a tool of the Jesuits, but he soon proved himself an impartial
and excellent ruler. He had several Protestants in office about him,
in very important situations. Instead of objecting to missionaries
establishing schools, he encouraged all efforts to educate the
people.

Among other evidences of an advance it may be stated, that in Hums
two hundred and fifty persons avowed themselves Protestants, and
sought earnestly for a Christian instructor. It was immediately
decided to send them Suleeba Jerwan, who had lived two years in that
place with Mr. Wilson, and was well acquainted with the people; and
the native missionary society at Beirût decided to support him as
their first missionary. This was done with a cordiality and
earnestness that was most promising. Hasbeiya women and girls
pledged weekly contributions for the spread of the Gospel, some
promised two cents a week, and some half a cent; but even these
small sums were large for them, and they gave with a hearty gladness
that was most cheering. Two hundred and thirty Maronites in Bteddin
had for months adhered steadfastly to the Protestant faith, and a
flourishing school existed among them. In Cana the Protestant
community had been augmented threefold, and the same was true of
Deir Mimas. There had never been a time when so many were inquiring
on the subject of religion; and a greater number avowed themselves
Protestants within twelve months, than in the whole previous forty
years. A new church edifice was built in Merj-Aiyun, costing about
five hundred dollars, without drawing from the resources of the
Board, and a new church had been formed in that district of
seventeen members, most of them from the Hasbeiya church. In the
Sidon field six persons had been admitted to the church, and there
were twenty-two hopeful candidates. In Beirût and Abeih, there were
seventeen such candidates, besides nine admitted to the communion.
Bible classes were largely increased, and an unusual number of
adults were learning to read, that they might study the Scriptures.
Thirty of the best Sabbath-school songs published in America, had
been translated into Arabic, and published at the expense of a
sewing society at Beirût, and thus gospel truths, in an attractive
form, were reaching the children all over the land.

The president of the missionary society at Beirût stated in May,
1862, that in the two previous months, they had not only sent a
missionary to Hums, but had sent also a colporter to Jezzin,
maintained religious meetings every Sabbath at Kefr Shima, and
employed a city missionary in Beirût.

But with these signs of prosperity, there seems to have been a need
of chastening. The clergy of the Greek church at Hums, excited, as
was supposed, by foreign influence, set their people so against the
Protestants, that it was feared few would be able to stand. The
native brethren were stoned and beaten in the streets, and abused by
all classes. Quite a large number returned, nominally, to the Greek
church; but many of these commenced a Bible class in the Greek
church itself, thus bringing the truth to many, who would not
otherwise have heard it. About fifteen men stood firm, and met
nightly with Suleeba, for reading the Scriptures, prayer, and
conference. The priests had expected the utter overthrow of
Protestantism, and were enraged at the firmness of these brethren,
and forbade all dealings with them. Letters to Suleeba from the
missionaries were taken from the mail, read, and destroyed, and the
Protestant places of meeting were assailed with stones. In the midst
of these trials, Suleeba wrote expressing his gratitude to God for
sustaining grace. Some alleviation was experienced through the
efforts of Colonel Fraser, Her Britannic Majesty's Commissioner, so
that the Protestant community became regularly organized, with a
representative in the Mejlis, and a tax roll distinct from other
sects.

The Protestants in Ain Zehalty were also called to suffer. An order
having come from Constantinople, requiring the restoration of all
church edifices to their original sects, Daoud Pasha issued an order
for giving up the edifice at Ain Zehalty. He must have acted under a
misapprehension, since the building had never been the property of
the bishop, but was built and still owned by the family of Khalil,
the Protestant preacher. The Catholics were a very small minority in
the village, yet the edifice appears not to have been recovered.
Another convenient house of worship was soon after provided by
Protestant friends.

Mr. H. H. Jessup wrote respecting Hums:--"Quite recently, one of the
more enlightened among the Greeks was taken ill, and sent for
Suleeba, the native helper. He went, and found quite a company of
relatives and friends. The sick man asked him to read a portion of
Scripture. The passage selected contained the ten commandments, and
while he was reading the _second_, the wife of the sick man
exclaimed,--'Is that the Word of God? If it is, read it again.' He
did so, when she arose and tore down a wooden picture of a saint at
the head of the bed, declaring that henceforth there should be no
idol worship in that house; and then, taking a knife, she scraped
the paint from the picture, and took it for use in the kitchen. This
was done with the approbation of all present. The case is the more
remarkable, as it was the first instance in Syria, in which a woman
had taken so decided a stand in advance of the rest of the family."

The manifest agency of the Holy Spirit is the highest encouragement
in the missionary work. "One of the members of the Beirût church,"
Mr. Jessup writes, "has passed through an interesting religious
experience this summer. He was for a time troubled with blasphemous
thoughts, till he gave himself up as lost. His language was not
unlike that of Bunyan in his "Grace Abounding;" and only after
protracted struggles in prayer, the study of God's word, and finally
resolving to go forward and do his duty in both light and darkness,
did he find relief. The case was interesting as indicating the
presence of God's Spirit, in leading him through a most severe
struggle into ultimate peace in believing. Several young Protestants
of Hasbeiya, resident in Beirût, are now passing through very deep
conviction of sin. I have rarely seen persons so completely broken
down by a sense of their lost condition. On Monday I spent several
hours with two young people, who were passing through deep waters.
They burst into tears, exclaiming, "We are lost, we are lost!" The
Spirit of God was striving with them. Never have I felt more deeply
the need of Divine aid, than when trying to lead these heavy-laden
ones to Christ. Yet the missionary can have no more delightful labor
than this."

The mission was strengthened, in 1863, by the arrival of Rev.
Messrs. Samuel Jessup, Philip Berry, and George Edward Post, M. D.,
and their wives. Miss Temple retired from the mission in consequence
of the obstructions to the higher education of girls growing out of
the massacres, but with the esteem of all her associates. Mr. Lyons,
broken down by overwork, was also under the necessity of withdrawing
from the field. The girls' boarding-school had been transferred from
Sûk el Ghûrb to Sidon, where it was under the care of Miss Mason.

The population of Beirût was now not less than seventy thousand. A
bank, a carriage road to Damascus, steamers plying to almost every
maritime country in Europe, telegraphs in several directions,
numerous schools and hospitals, and three printing presses, made it
the commercial and intellectual capital of Syria.

The tendency was to intellectual rather than spiritual progress, and
there was a growing demand for education. The Jesuits were striving
to reap the benefit of this, by opening colleges and seminaries in
various parts of the country; nor could the fact be overlooked, that
zealous Protestant educators, from different parts of Europe, were
becoming so numerous at Beirût as to embarrass the mission in its
natural development. The exigency at length constrained the mission
to consider whether advantage should not be taken of the offer of
Christian friends at home to found a Protestant College at Beirût.

This was well, as will appear in the sequel. But it is impossible
not to see, that the progress of the mission, in the years
immediately following 1863,--in the increase of converts, and the
multiplication of churches, with native preachers and pastors,--was
not such as the facts already stated gave reason to expect. This the
brethren on the ground foresaw, and their anxious appeals for help
abound on the pages of the "Missionary Herald," and were enforced by
appeals from the Prudential Committee. The "Annual Report" for 1863
thus states the deficiency of laborers at that time:--

"The field north of Beirût, a hundred miles long and fifty wide, has
no missionary, although hundreds in Hums, and the large district of
Akkar, are looking to the mission for instruction. A score of
villages, in each one of which a faithful preacher would find an
audience, do not receive a visit once a year from a gospel minister.
Mount Lebanon, with its four hundred thousand inhabitants, scattered
through its thousand villages, into nearly every one of which more
or less light has penetrated, and from which cries for help
constantly come, has but two missionaries; and one of them is
confined, for the most part, to the Abeih Seminary. The southern
district, comprising one half of the Syria mission field, with its
ten regular preaching places, crippled by the disability of its
oldest native helper and by the death of another, has but two
missionaries, one of whom is just commencing to learn Arabic. Within
the last eight years, thirteen missionary laborers, male and female,
have entered the Syria field, while twenty-five have left it. During
this period, the work has increased tenfold. Many who have fallen
asleep took part in sowing, where now the harvest is so great that
the few who remain cannot gather it; and unless the Lord of the
harvest send more laborers, much precious fruit will be lost."

It is painfully evident, that the degree of missionary spirit in the
churches at home then fell short of the providential calls for
evangelical labor in this field. Yet it is by no means certain what
would have been the effect of a very large, sudden increase in the
working forces. Without the restraining grace of God, it might have
been the occasion of a fierce and malignant outbreak of opposition.

The deficiency of laborers sufficiently accounts for the slow
progress, and even the decline there was in not a few of the places
named; as in Tripoli, and Hums, not to speak of promising villages
in the western and southern sections. Churches, towns, cities in the
most favored portions of New England would suffer a decline in
religion and morals, if left, as these places necessarily were, with
no more of the means of grace.






CHAPTER XL.

SYRIA.

1863-1869.


Mrs. Henry H. Jessup died at Alexandria, after a prolonged sickness,
on the 2d of July, 1864, whither her husband had taken her on his
way to the United States. Mr. George C. Hurter, after laboring
twenty-three years as printer and secular agent with great
usefulness, found himself constrained by domestic circumstances to
withdraw from the mission. Mr. Bird was prostrated with a dangerous
sickness for several months at Abeih, but a merciful Providence
spared his valuable life.

A boarding high-school was established at Beirût by Mr. Butrus
Bistany, with nearly a hundred and fifty pupils. The charge for
tuition and board was large for that country, yet the school was
self-supporting. The pupils were made up of Greeks, Maronites,
Greek-Catholics, Druzes, Moslems, and Protestants. A girls'
boarding-school in the same city, under native instruction and
government, promised also to be soon self-sustaining. The common
schools of the mission were twenty-five, with five hundred and
forty-eight pupils. The Seminary at Abeih had thirty-three pupils, a
larger number than ever before. Five were in the theological
department, and several others gave good evidence of piety. The
graduates of this institution were now scattered over a wide region.
The boarding-school for girls at Sidon, under Miss Mason, had ten
pupils, and was making a favorable impression. It became evident,
however, that pupils could not be obtained there sufficient to
warrant so large an outlay, taking also into view the unhealthiness
of that climate, and Miss Mason returned home, though with great
reluctance. The girls' boarding-school at Beirût, under the care of
Mr. Aramon and Miss Rufka Gregory, was prosperous.

The printing, in 1862, amounted to eight thousand volumes and nine
thousand tracts, making an aggregate of 6,869,000 pages, more than
two thirds of which were Scripture. The number of pages from the
beginning, was about 50,000,000. Somewhat more than six thousand
volumes of Scripture were distributed during the year.

The translation of the Scriptures into Arabic was completed on the
22d of August, 1864, and the printing of the whole Arabic Bible in
March of the next year. This event, of the highest importance to a
large portion of the human race, was appropriately celebrated by the
missionaries and their native brethren. In the upper room where Dr.
Smith had labored on the translation eight years, and Dr. Van Dyck
eight years more, the assembled missionaries gave thanks to God for
the completion of this arduous work. "Just then," writes one of
them, "the sound of many voices arose from below, and on throwing
open the door, we heard a large company of native young men,
laborers at the press and members of the Protestant community,
singing to the tune of 'Hebron' a new song, 'even praise to our
God,' composed for the occasion by one of their number in the Arabic
language. Surely not for many centuries have the angels in heaven
heard a sweeter sound arising from Syria, than the voices of this
band of pious young men, singing a hymn composed by one of
themselves, ascribing glory and praise to God, that now, for the
first time, the Word of God is given to their nation and tongue in
its purity." The hymn was composed by Mr. Ibrahim Sarkis and
translated by Dr. H. H. Jessup, as follows:--

  "Hail day, thrice blessed of our God!
    Rejoice, let all men bear a part,
   Complete at length thy printed word,
    Lord, print its truth on every heart.

  "To Him who gave his precious word,
    Arise and with glad praises sing;
   Exalt and magnify our Lord,
    Our Maker and our Glorious King.

  "Doubting and darkness flee away
    Before thy truth's light-giving sun,
   Thy powerful word, if heeded, may
    Give guidance to each erring one.

  "Lord, spare thy servant, through whose toil
    Thou giv'st us this, of books the best;
   Bless all who shared the arduous task,
    From Eastern land, or distant West.

  "Amen! Amen! lift up the voice;
    Praise God whose mercy 's e'er the same;
   His goodness all our song employs,
    Thanksgivings then to His Great Name."

Ten different editions of parts of the Scriptures were printed as
the version was gradually prepared for publication, and over thirty
thousand copies had been put into circulation, nearly all by sale.
The demand for the volume, in one form or another, after the version
was completed, was greater than the mission presses could meet,
though worked by steam. The American Bible Society wisely undertook
to electrotype several editions of different sizes, and Dr. Van Dyck
came to New York to superintend the work. But after the royal octavo
edition had been stereotyped, it was thought best for him to return
to Syria, with the understanding that the Bible Society would enable
him to electrotype the version in other forms, at Beirût.

The press was now unable to meet the demand which had arisen for the
books, as well as for the Bible. The issues were called for on the
southern and eastern coasts of Arabia, and in India, and a box of
them was sent to the interior of Africa.

The administration of Daoud Pasha, the Christian Governor of Mount
Lebanon, continued to be marked by commendable justice, vigor, and
liberality, and there was a sense of security to which the land had
long been a stranger. Industry and thrift began to appear, and all
the interests of society received an impulse. Much, however,
depended on the foreign Protestant Powers exerting a proper
influence on the councils of the Turkish government in favor of
religious liberty.

The only ordination of a native preacher by the mission, up to this
time, was that of the Rev. John Wortabet, in 1853, afterwards pastor
of the Hasbeiya church. On the 10th of May, 1864, Mr. Suleeba Jerwan
received ordination at Abeih. He had gone successfully through a
four years' course of study in the Seminary, and had for some time
proved himself faithful and efficient as a teacher and preacher.

The Druzes had a prosperous high school at Abeih, under the special
patronage of His Excellency Daoud Pasha, supported by the income
from their religious establishments. Both of the instructors were
Protestants and graduates of the Abeih Seminary. Though not a
religious institution, such a school must have had an important
bearing on the future of that singular people. In 1866, the
Principal left, and was succeeded by another Protestant, also a
graduate of the mission Seminary. Referring to the Druzes, the
brethren of the Abeih station close their report for the year 1864
with the following remarkable declaration:--

"While it is true that the government of the mountain was never
better, and we are free to open schools wherever parents dare send
their children, it is no less true that the Protestants are a small
and hated minority. Providence has made the Druzes a wall of
defense, for the present. To them, under God, it is due that we
pursue our labors on this mountain."

Tannûs El Haddad, the oldest and most esteemed native helper in the
mission, died in 1864, after more than thirty years of efficient
labor. "A guileless, spiritual man, whose lovely spirit disarmed the
enmity even of those who hated his religion. The church of Christ in
Syria owes much to the holy life and faithful teaching of this man
of God. The missionaries owe much. He long upheld their hands by the
strength of his affection and sympathy."

The installation of Suleeba Jerwan as pastor of the church in Hums,
occurred in 1865. The Protestants there had long resisted the
settlement of a native pastor, hoping to obtain the residence of an
American missionary, but their welcome to the native pastor was now
cordial. His wife was an excellent young woman, formerly a pupil in
Mr. Bird's family, and his assistant in the instruction of her sex.
Both pastor and people had a varied experience in after years, not
unlike what is often seen in Christian lands.

In the spring of 1865, the oppression of the Turkish government
became so unbearable at Safeeta, in the district of Tripoli, that a
large number of the people resolved to seek relief in Protestantism.
A deputation of sixty heads of families, representing nearly five
hundred souls, was accordingly sent to the missionaries at Tripoli.
Their motives were wholly secular, and they were not at all aware of
the spiritual object of the missionaries. This had to be explained,
and they were told, that it was beyond the power of the mission to
afford civil protection. The government allowed them to register
their names as Protestants, and they listened with marked attention
to the spiritual instructions of Dr. Post; Mr. Samuel Jessup, the
other missionary, being then at Hums. On leaving, they asked for
books, and to be more thoroughly inducted into the new way.

The region of Safeeta was new to Protestant missions, but was
populous and fertile, and bordering on the Nusaireyeh. Among the
names handed to Dr. Post, as interested in this movement, were one
hundred and fifty of this strange people, and there were a number of
them in the deputation; but all of this class soon fell away. Dr.
Post visited Safeeta in May, and arrangements were effected with the
government, which opened the door for Christian teaching. He had
audiences of one hundred and fifty every night, listening with
reverent attention to words they had never heard before. "I taught
them hymns," he writes, "and heard them repeat passages of Scripture
and answer religious questions. On Sunday they commenced coming at
five, A. M., and kept pouring in upon me all day long, till ten P.
M.,--just allowing me time to eat, and not even leaving the room
while I did that. Our large meetings in the evenings were by the
light of the moon, as an open light would have been extinguished,
and we had no lantern. A most interesting feature was the number of
women in the audiences, an exceptional thing in all new religious
movements in Syria." Two horsemen came from distant villages, to
inquire about the new faith and sect. The motive was doubtless
secular, but there is always hope where the Gospel gains a hearing.

The fires of persecution soon began to burn with fury. The Greek
bishop bribed the Turkish government, and the people were driven
from their homes; everything was broken that could be broken,
everything eaten that could be eaten, and women were left to the
brutal lusts of the Turkish soldiers. It was surprising with what
tenacity the people held out against all this. A few had become
earnest inquirers; but without a more general acquaintance with the
truth they could not be expected long to stand such an onset. Some
relief came after a few weeks, through the death by cholera of the
Greek bishop.

Failing to find relief from English intervention, the newly made
Protestants went _en masse_ to the governor of Tripoli; and failing
to meet him, they then crossed the mountains to the Governor-general
at Damascus, taking with them their wives, that the sight of their
distress might move the heart of the Moslem ruler. At last they
secured a hearing from him, and he promptly removed the oppressive
tax-gatherer at Safeeta, and gave the poor people some money in
token of his sympathy. But returning to their homes, they were still
oppressed by their local governor. Mr. Samuel Jessup writes in
October, that poverty and want had come upon them beyond anything
seen elsewhere in Syria, excepting at Hasbeiya. Some had no means of
buying their daily bread. They were promised a restoration of all
that had been taken from them, if they would return to their old
faith, but they stood firm. They desired a school for their girls,
and a married teacher was sent them for a boys' school, so as to
accommodate a female teacher in his family.

Some months later, the cattle of a Protestant strayed, and while
driving them home he was met by one of their persecutors, of the
house of Beshoor, who, with some savage Nusairiyeh, threw him on the
ground, stamped upon him, and drew a sword, threatening to kill him
if he did not desist from his unclean religion. They dared not do
more through fear of witnesses. Again, the plowmen of this same
house plowed up the wheat belonging to the Protestants, ruining
their hopes of a coming harvest, and leaving them without means to
pay their taxes; which they must pay or go to prison. They also
gathered all the olives of the Protestants, reducing them to the
greatest straits for the means of living. The Moslem governor
received large bribes to exterminate the sect, and would give them
no hearing, but quartered his soldiers on them, who ate up all their
scanty food, and distrained even their miserable cooking utensils,
that they might sell them for barley for their horses. Many lived
from day to day on what they could beg, or borrow. Still, after a
year of such trials, they remained firm; which is the more
wonderful, as only a few of them gave evidence of piety, and the
time had not come for organizing them into a church. The school was
doubtless helpful, being a decided success. Even the shepherds took
tracts and primers, and studied them while tending their flocks.

In January, 1867, the whole Protestant community of Safeeta were
arrested, men, women, and children, and imprisoned in a small room,
and a fire of cut straw was made on the floor to torture them with
smoke. This wanton cruelty was based on a false demand made on them
for money. Their sufferings were so great that they were finally
released. In the evening, while assembled for worship, with their
native preacher, government horsemen broke open and plundered their
houses, and in the night drove them all, old and young, mothers and
children, boys and girls, into the wilderness.

The terrible experience of this people in the summer of 1869,
somewhat more than two years later, is too suggestive and
interesting to be passed in silence. I give the facts as related by
Mr. Samuel Jessup.

"For four years, a large number have been Protestants, and the
oppressors have added persecution to oppression. Many fell away at
first, but since then we have seen no special signs of apostasy
until lately. Their enemies recently made a desperate effort to
crush out Protestantism from that region. They took the leading men,
one by one, and led them through fire and perils of all kinds;
promising, at every step, to give immediate relief, if they would
only return to the Greek Church. They fulfilled their promises to
some who yielded, and then increased the pressure on the others. At
length, seizing the opportunity when our teacher was absent, they
made another grand onset. On Sunday morning, the Greek bishop and
the abbots of the neighboring convents, with priests and people from
all the region around, together with a great number of horsemen and
footmen, made a grand parade, and came down like locusts upon the
Protestants. Their former oppressor is dead, but his son, Tamir
Beshoor, is making his little finger thicker than his father's
loins. He headed a grand parade, and brought with him a supply of
new garments, which he had purchased as bribes for the occasion.
With the bishop and others, he entered the house of every
Protestant, and by bribes and promises, followed by fiendish
threats, carried off many captives. Some few had previously sold
themselves, and agreed to take their stand on this occasion, and
then they headed the crowd, and declared that every Protestant had
decided to return, and that Protestantism was dead. Where they found
a house locked, they forced it open, and sprinkled holy water in it.

"But though their success was far too great, it was not complete.
They succeeded in taking with them, that morning, twenty-one males.
Eleven of them have not been to the Greek church since that time,
but continue to meet with our brethren for prayer; and though it is
now an important Greek fast, they do not observe it. The other ten
either dare not or care not to come back to us, though all came to
see me.

"Before finishing their work that Sunday morning, they sent men to
our school-room, broke it open, sprinkled it with holy water, and
stole our bell."

The firmness of some of the church-members is thus described: "After
exhausting their catalogue of promises and threats on one, he said
to them,--'Take my property, my house, my clothes, my family, even
my body, and do with them what you will, but my soul you cannot
have, and nothing will induce me to leave Christ.' Another said,
when they came to his house,--'Come in, and let us read in the New
Testament together, and perhaps you will see that we are right.' One
girl, who had been two years in the Sidon school, saw her parents
and relatives all fall into the procession; but when special effort
was made to induce her to yield, she said,--'Though you should cut
my body in pieces, I will never go with you.'

"I reached Safeeta a few days after, and found that those who had
stood firm had been obliged to flee for safety, and did not dare
return until I went there. The wrath of their persecutors seems to
have reached its height, and the poor people know not what to do.
Appeal to the government seems useless, for it is from the
government that their chief oppressor gets his power to persecute.
All who went back came to call on me, and most of them attended the
services. They said, in palliation of their course, 'We are flesh
and blood, and have families to support. We have waited for
deliverance for years, and now Tamir (the chief oppressor) says,
Come back and I will restore to you all; remain as you are, and I
will strip you of the little you have left, and drive you out of the
country. And so we went back, but our hearts are with you, and we
will come here too, though they compelled our bodies to go with
them.' One woman showed a striped gown, threw it on the ground, and
trampling on it said, with tears in her eyes, 'With that they bought
my husband.' Some of the women, with tears and entreaties, tried to
keep their husbands and friends from going, telling them that death
was better."[1]

[1] _Missionary Herald_, 1869, pp. 407-409.

Twenty men were standing firm at Safeeta in February of the
following year, though there had been little abatement of
persecution. In April Dr. Jessup wrote, that it had just terminated,
and the brethren at the Tripoli station had good hopes that there
would be peace in that long persecuted community. This was owing, in
great measure, to the interference of the American and English
Consuls-general, and their influence with the Governor-general of
Syria.

The people of Hums becoming dissatisfied with their pastor, Suleeba,
his connection was dissolved, three years after his settlement. The
church remained in a divided condition for a year or more, without
any celebration of the Lord's Supper. In the summer of 1869, Mr.
Samuel Jessup visited the city, and finding the Protestants in a
better state of feeling, invited the communicants to assemble at the
Lord's table. All came and seemed to enjoy it as a season of rest
and refreshment, after a long and weary wandering. They were ready
to take a native pastor who suited them, and pay the larger part of
his salary. They needed one well acquainted with the historical
defenses of the Gospel, because of the inroads of European Jesuits
and French infidel literature. Suleeba found demands for his
faithful labors in other places. "The news," says Dr. Jessup, "from
'scattered and peeled' Safeeta and from distracted Hums, is alike
cheering, and indicative of progress in the right direction."

The Tripoli station sent forth two of the Safeeta church-members as
missionaries to visit the villages to the north and east, sending
two together, as it would not be safe for one to go alone. The
native missionary society at Beirût employed a zealous colporter,
whose tours took a wide range, from Acre on the south to Hamath and
even to Aleppo on the north, and his monthly reports showed that,
throughout the country, there was not only urgent need of such
labor, but also an increasing number prepared to profit by the
visits of the gospel messenger. During the latter part of the year,
another person was employed in similar work near Beirût. He also
testified to a great increase of desire among the people for
religious instruction.

Daoud Pasha, alter inaugurating important reforms and improvements
on Lebanon, was promoted to a seat in the cabinet at Constantinople.
He had started a newspaper, "The Lebanon," established telegraphic
lines, commenced a carriage road, encouraged education, and made his
pashalic the safest in the empire for travelling. His successor was
Franco Pasha, a Latin Catholic. The Beirût Arabic official journal,
in speaking of his arrival, says, that "although attached to his own
religion, he is free from bigotry, and will guarantee liberty of
conscience to all."

The mission was strengthened in 1867 by the arrival of Samuel S.
Mitchell and Isaac N. Lowry, and their wives; and in 1869, of James
S. Dennis, and Misses Eliza D. Everett, and Nellie A. Carruth.
Messrs. Berry and Mitchell were constrained, by the failure of
health after a short service, to leave the mission. Miss Carruth,
also, though deeply interested in the work, and after valuable
service in the girls' school, felt constrained soon to return to the
United States.

Among the books printed in this time, were Edwards' "History of
Redemption;" Bickersteth's "Scripture Hand-book," with additions by
Mr. Calhoun; a large Psalm and Hymn Book; Curwen's "New System of
Musical Notation;"[1] a Children's Hymn Book; Bistany's Arabic
Dictionary, and his Elements of Grammar; and an Arabic Almanac,
probably the first ever printed in Arabic, although "Al-Manakh" (the
climate) is an Arabic word. The press was now under the direction of
Mr. Henry Thomson, a son of Dr. Thomson, who relieved the Beirût
station of a heavy burden of care. The necessary preparations were
completed in 1868 for electrotyping the Arabic Scriptures in Beirût.

[1] By this, musical notes written in a syllabic form can be given,
like the Arabic, from right to left. The staff, notes, and
signatures are dispensed with, and single letters are arranged in
succession, with separations by dots and marks. As a result, the
ordinary Arabic types can be used to print the most intricate music.






CHAPTER XLI.

SYRIA.

1869-1870.


Though the Seminary at Abeih had a few students preparing for the
ministry, under Mr. Calhoun, it could not properly be called a
Theological Seminary. Only at Hasbeiya, Hums, and Ain Zehalty had
native pastors been found for the churches. There were five churches
without pastors. The eight churches had two hundred and forty-five
members. The thirty-one common schools numbered a thousand male and
one hundred and seventy female pupils. Eight of the teachers were
church-members, and four of these were females. The demand for
education was beyond the ability of the mission to supply.

At the recommendation of the Prudential Committee, a Theological
Seminary was commenced at Abeih in May, 1869; and Dr. Jessup from
Beirût, and Mr. Eddy from Sidon, were associated with Mr. Calhoun in
its instruction. Seven students composed the first class, and, with
but one exception, evinced a good Christian spirit, studied hard,
and seemed anxious to live an active and useful Christian life. The
five winter months of their vacation were spent in evangelical
labors.

As far back as 1865, there was a prosperous female boarding-school
at Beirût, under the care of Mr. Aramon and Miss Rufka Gregory,
natives of Syria. In the following year, this school had thirty
boarders and twenty day scholars. It was the first Protestant school
in Syria that demanded pay for the education of girls, but its
receipts for tuition and board equaled about half the expenses.
"Among the causes," say the brethren of the Beirût station, "which
operated to prevent the raising of the rates of board and tuition to
a self-supporting basis, was the existence of competing schools
furnished with European teachers, rendering it difficult for the
seminary to induce parents to pay the full expense. This was a grave
difficulty, and one which, in one form or another, has met every
attempt to establish the principle of self-support in Syria, in all
departments of our work; but it only makes it the more important
that this native institute, with native teachers and adapted to
native tastes and habits, should be steadily sustained, lest the
impulse already given in the direction of self-support, be lost." A
building was completed for the school in 1867, at the cost of about
$9,000, chiefly the result of contributions in the United States,
but without any organic connection with the mission. Of its
seventy-six pupils fifty-seven were boarders, and the income was
$3,220 in gold, which was $1,000 short of its expenses. There was
still the impediment of unwise competition. The pupils were from
Moslem, Greek, and Greek-Catholic, as well as Protestant families;
though it was well known that the institution was an evangelizing
agency, and that all were expected to attend Protestant worship on
the Sabbath, and were daily taught in the Bible.

In the absence of Miss Gregory on account of failing health, Mr. and
Mrs. Aramon carried on the school, with the assistance of ladies
from the mission. The school increased in numbers and the
examination in 1868 was attended by a great throng of the people,
from all classes and all sects. It was a noticeable fact that
Mohammedan parents in Beirût were beginning to insist earnestly upon
the education of their girls. The Beirût Arabic official journal,
the "Kadethat el-Akhbax," published a list of schools in the
city,--possibly somewhat exaggerated,--in which it was said, that
there were two thousand girls and three thousand boys and young men
in the various Protestant, Greek, Maronite, Catholic, and Mohammedan
schools.

The school passed under the care of Misses Everett and Carruth on
their arrival in Syria, and substantial progress was made towards
self-support, but less than would have been but for the French,
English, and German schools, which tended to draw away the girls,
and the families they represented, from the influence of the
missionaries.

There was, also, a female boarding-school at Sidon, which had been
growing in numbers and influence. The scholars were all Protestants,
selected with care from the various schools of the country. "They
have come," wrote Mr. Eddy, "from all parts of the land,--from Hums
and Safeeta on the north, from Mount Lebanon on the east, and the
district of Merj Aiyun on the south; and besides the good they gain
for themselves while here, they will carry light and civilization,
and we trust religious influence with them to their widely scattered
homes." The school was in the immediate charge of Mrs. Watson and
her daughter, English ladies, and more recently Miss Jacombs, for
five years a teacher on Mount Lebanon, and supported by a society of
ladies in England. It was fully in sympathy, however, with the
mission, and had the sympathy, prayers, and aid of English
Christians. The number of pupils was twenty.


THE SYRIAN PROTESTANT COLLEGE.


The desire for education had visibly increased, and was due, in
part, to commercial intercourse with western nations, and the
interference of foreign powers in the political affairs of the
country; but far more to the schools, books, preaching, and personal
influence of missionaries. Schools had been multiplying for
elementary and high school instruction, but there was no provision
for a liberal education. The Jesuits, indeed, had institutions, but
their teaching was partial, fitted to repress inquiry, and
exclusively to foster their own ecclesiastical and sectarian ends.

THE SYRIAN PROTESTANT COLLEGE. [image]

The demand for a Protestant college was discussed at a meeting of
the mission, in the spring of 1861, and again in the following
August, when an outline of the proposed scheme was presented.[1]

[1] In this statement concerning the College, I make such use as my
limits will allow, of an able document, drawn up by Prof. D. Stuart
Dodge, and kindly sent me, at my request, by the President, Dr.
Daniel Bliss. It bears date May, 1872.

"The objects deemed essential, were to enable natives to obtain, in
their own country, in their own language, and at a moderate cost, a
thorough literary, scientific, and professional education; to found
an institution, which should be conducted on principles strictly
evangelical, but not sectarian; with doors open to youth of every
Oriental sect and nationality, who would conform to its regulations,
but so ordered that students, while elevated intellectually and
spiritually, should not materially change their native customs. The
hope was entertained, that much of the instruction might at once be
intrusted to pious and competent natives, and that ultimately the
teaching could be left in the hands of those, who had been raised up
by the College itself."

The curriculum embraced a period of four years; and the studies were
the Arabic Language and Literature, Mathematics, the Natural
Sciences, the Modern Languages, Turkish Law and Jurisprudence, and
Medicine,--the last to have special prominence, since the East was
filled with ignorant native quacks and medical jugglers. A leading
place would also be given to Moral Science, and Biblical Literature,
with the Scriptures as a constant text-book. Theology, as a system,
would be left to the care of the several missions.

It was thought that the American Board could not undertake so large
a literary work in any one mission, and that the College should be
separate from and independent of the Board and its missions, as
such; but that, being on so broad a basis, other evangelical bodies
among the Arabic-speaking race might be invited to share in its
advantages and control. Denominational distinctions set aside, those
engaged in similar missionary operations could unite in an
enterprise designed to advance their common interests.

The College was to be at Beirût, the chief seaport of Syria, and a
place of enterprise and growing importance, occupying a central
position in respect to all the Arabic races. The local Board of
Directors was to be composed of American and British missionaries
and residents of Syria and Egypt, with several consular officials
and leading merchants; of which a quorum should always reside in
Beirût and its immediate vicinity.

The Rev. Daniel Bliss, six years a missionary of the American Board
on Mount Lebanon, was cheerfully released by the Prudential
Committee from his connection with the mission, that he might take
the Presidency of the College, and visit the United States and
England to obtain the needful endowment.

To secure public confidence, it was found indispensable to have the
institution incorporated in America, with a responsible Board of
Trustees. A charter was accordingly obtained, in April, 1863, in
accordance with the laws of the State of New York, and in May, 1864,
additional power to hold real and personal estate was granted by act
of the Legislature. A constitution was framed, binding the
institution to evangelical and unsectarian principles; formally
constituting the body, appointed by the mission, a local Board of
Managers, with large liberty in administration; and defining the
relations between the Boards in America and Syria and those of the
various officers to be connected with the College. It further
provided, that the Board of Trustees should have the right to
exercise final authority in all matters, and that funds for
endowments should be retained in the United States, the income only
to be transmitted to the East.

An endowment fund of $100,000 was secured from a small number of
contributors, the Trustees and their immediate friends being the
largest donors.[1] In addition to this, Dr. Bliss obtained £3,000 in
England; Lords Shaftesbury, Stratford de Redcliffe, Dufferin,
Strangford, and Calthorpe, among the nobility, indorsing the
enterprise; and the Turkish Missions Aid Society rendered valuable
assistance. The "Syrian Improvement Committee" gave £1,000, from
funds remaining after the relief of sufferers from the Lebanon
massacres.

[1] Among the more active and influential of these, as I learn from
other sources, was the Rev. D. Stuart Dodge. In 1872, the endowment
fund was reported to be $130,000.

Dr. Bliss returned to Syria early in 1866. The first college class
consisted of fourteen members. A preparatory department was
afterwards added, and eighty names have been enrolled in the two
departments. The students have evinced, in most instances, an
aptitude and zeal for study, that would be creditable in more
favored lands. The charge for tuition is twenty-five dollars for the
collegiate year of nine mouths; and fifty-five dollars additional
for those who board in the institution. The sects represented are
the Protestant, Orthodox-Greek, Papal-Greek, Latin, Maronite, Druze,
Armenian, and Coptic.

All boarders are required to be present at morning and evening
prayers, and to attend Protestant worship and Bible classes on the
Sabbath; and Bible lectures or Scripture recitations are of daily
occurrence. A voluntary prayer-meeting is maintained by the
students.

Most of the thirteen who have graduated from the Academic
Department, are acceptably employed as teachers of a higher grade in
Syria and Egypt. Two have entered the Medical Department, and two
are studying Law. The first Commencement was in July, 1870, and the
addresses were in three languages. The College has a Medical
Department, and the first medical class was graduated in July, 1871.

A building fund of about $70,000 having been contributed chiefly by
the donors to the endowment fund, a plot of nearly twenty acres of
ground was purchased at Râs-Beirût, in the immediate vicinity of the
city; facing Lebanon, overlooking the Mediterranean, healthy,
accessible, yet sufficiently retired; and the edifice is in the
process of erection. The corner stone was laid, December 7, 1871, by
the Hon. William E. Dodge, and appropriate exercises, in English and
Arabic, accompanied the ceremony.

The Medical Hall is located at some distance from the College
edifice. These buildings may be seen from almost every quarter of
the city, and from the villages on the western slopes of Lebanon;
and they will be the first objects to greet the eyes of all who
enter the harbor, and will stand as the exponents and dispensers of
sound Christian learning.

The connection of this mission with the American Board continued
until the latter part of the year 1870, wanting only two years of
half a century, when the reunion of the Presbyterian Church gave
rise to the question of a transfer of the mission to the
Presbyterian Board. The events above described, connected with the
Syrian Protestant College, favored such a result, and the question
was kindly, though reluctantly entertained. On the 20th of
September, 1870, the following paper was received at the Missionary
House:--

"The Syria mission, at a special meeting held in Abeih, August 16,
1870, had laid before them two documents, one from the Prudential
Committee of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions, and the other from the Committee of Conference of the
General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church with the American
Board,--touching the transfer of the mission from the American Board
to the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions; and having given the
subject their serious and prayerful consideration, they have adopted
the following action:--

"1. That the mission regard the subject thus presented as one which
has not originated with themselves, but as having been brought
before them by the Providence of God; and as not to be decided at
all by them on personal grounds or ecclesiastical preferences, but
to be decided solely in view of its bearings upon the cause of
Christ in this land, and among the churches at home.

"2. That the mission appreciate the delicacy and kindness with which
the Prudential Committee of the American Board of Commissioners for
Foreign Missions conveyed the consent of the Board to the withdrawal
of its members from their service, with the view of forming a new
connection, if they deem it expedient, and the hearty assurance of
their readiness to continue the support of the mission should they
decide to remain as heretofore.

"3. That they also equally appreciate the cordial invitation
extended to them by the Committee of the Presbyterian Church, and
the pledge conveyed to the mission, that they shall enjoy, in the
new proposed connection, all the freedom of action, 'in respect to
their policy and ecclesiastical relations,' which they have hitherto
possessed.

"4. That the mission find great difficulty in considering calmly and
impartially a question involving their separation from the American
Board, the severing of ties which have existed until within two
years of half a century, which have been interwoven with the
earliest recollections of childhood, which have grown strong by
personal connection and active coöperation during years of service,
and which we had anticipated would only be dissolved by death. No
language can express how much of pain to their hearts the thought of
this separation involves. Their relations to the Secretaries, to the
Prudential Committee, and through them to the churches, have been
most tender and happy.

"In these relations they have found the largest liberty and the
fullest sympathy, and personally, the mission have no cause to
desire a change.

"The feelings of the mission on this point will be more fully
expressed by individual communications from its several members, to
the Prudential Committee.

"5. In view, however, of the weighty considerations which have been
set before the mission for this change of their connection,
considerations whose reasonableness and justice are apparent to
their minds, and in view of the expressed opinion of what is their
duty, on the part of the reunited Presbyterian Church, they cannot
but feel that the call is from God, and the step to be taken is one
demanded by the highest interests of Christ's Church.

"6. That the mission express their conviction, that no change is
demanded in the ecclesiastical connections of any of its members.

"In accordance, therefore, with these views of this whole subject,--

"_Resolved_, 1st; that the mission present to the Prudential
Committee a request for a release from their connection with the
American Board, with a view to placing themselves under the
direction of the Presbyterian Board.

"And 2d, That the mission accept the invitation conveyed in the
letter of the Rev. J. F. Stearns, D. D., Chairman of the Committee
of Conference of the Presbyterian Board of Missions, dated June 19,
1870, to place themselves under the care of the Presbyterian Board.

"Although the official ties which have bound us to those with whom
we have been so long and so happily associated may thus be severed,
we feel that the bonds of sympathy and of prayer remain unchanged,
and will continue so to remain until, in the higher work of praise,
our hearts and voices shall be again and forever _united_."

In accordance with this action the individual members of the mission
sent a request to be released from their connection with the
American Board, and they were released by vote of the Prudential
Committee.

The members of the mission, at that time, were Drs. Thomson, Van
Dyck, and H. H. Jessup, and Messrs. Calhoun, Eddy, Bird, Samuel
Jessup. I. N. Lowry, and James S. Dennis. The author would naturally
have great pleasure in quoting from their letters of farewell, but
can only refer the reader for them to the "Missionary Herald."[1]

[1] _Missionary Herald_, 1870, pp. 391-398.


RESULTS OF THE PAST.


The history of the mission of the American Board to Palestine and
Syria cannot be closed better than by the retrospective summary made
by the mission at the close of their relations with the Board. They
are speaking of the results of past labors.

"To Protestant influence, in great part, may we ascribe the changed
feeling, which has come over the minds of the Mohammedans towards
Christians. The Christian religion has become understood by them to
be not wholly the system of idolatry, which they once regarded it,
nor professing Christians as devoid of morality as they once seemed.
As a consequence, there has been a sensible quenching of the flame
of Moslem bigotry, and a greater respect for Christians, their
rights, their Bible, and their religion. The relative positions of
the crescent and the cross are not what they were when the
missionaries came to Syria. The Bible has gained ground, and the
Koran has lost it, as a controlling influence in the land. Some
Mohammedans are among the attendants upon our preaching, and these
would doubtless be more numerous, but for the risk to property and
to life, which inquirers from among them incur.

"Not without results have the children of the Druzes been taught in
our schools during all these years, and so many conversations been
held with adults of that sect. The leaven of the Gospel has
penetrated even to the secret inner sanctuaries of their religion;
and the white turbans of the initiated Druzes seen in our Sabbath
congregations, the inquirers who come to our houses, and the
baptized converts from among them, show that not in vain to the
Druzes has the light of the Gospel again dawned upon Syria.

"But principally among the nominally Christian sects have the
indirect results of missionary labor extended. These are visible in
the changed power of the clergy. Once excommunication was a terror
above all terrors. Now it is so powerless a weapon, that those who
once wielded it so effectively are ashamed to challenge ridicule by
exposing its weakness.

"Protestantism, once regarded by the mass of the people as the
blackest of heresies, finds everywhere its defenders and
vindicators, even where it lacks followers, and no longer can the
lies gain currency, with which the clergy were accustomed to
frighten away their flocks from gospel influence.

"The religious instruction given in their churches has been
modified. More Bible is taught, and less tradition. The preaching is
more of Christ, and less of the saints. The adoration of pictures
has greatly lessened. All sects have been compelled to introduce
schools, and to educate both boys and girls, to educate their
priests, and to remove the restrictions from reading the Bible.

"The circulation of the Scriptures, and of religious books, has been
wide-spread, and we have heard of some who have been enlightened by
these silent teachers, and have through them found Christ as their
Saviour, and died in joyful trust in Him; though they never had an
opportunity to publicly profess their faith in Him.

"Among all sects, Mohammedan, Druze, Greek, Maronite, and Catholic,
the glaciers of prejudice, which for centuries have been forming,
are now melting under the warmth of the Gospel.

"The gift of the Bible to this people in their own tongue, is the
rich golden tribute which the West has returned to the East, in
acknowledgment of its obligation to the land whence the Bible came.

"Brighter than the light, which kindles early and lingers late upon
the crests of Lebanon and Hermon, crowning them with glory, is the
light of the Gospel, which has shone into dark hearts, in hamlet and
city, recalling the memories of a past not inglorious, and presaging
a fairer splendor in the future.

"Not in vain have Hebard, and Smith, and Whiting, and De Forest, and
Ford, sowed the seed of the Word in tears, even though they went
home with few gathered sheaves. From the heights of heaven they now
behold the springing harvest. Not in vain have others toiled here,
whose summons has not yet come. They bless God for what their eyes
see and their ears hear of the Lord's working around them.
Reluctantly have those yielded to the sad necessity of returning
home, who, having just thrust in the sickle, found their strength
unequal to the toil.

"The churches in America, which have aided in sustaining the mission
by their offerings and their prayers, have seen fewer results, than
have crowned their labors in other fields; their faith has been
sorely tried; but they have been permitted to hear, from time to
time, of souls ransomed from darkness and sin; echoes of the songs
of triumph sung by departing saints have been borne to their ears,
and they have felt that their labors have not been unrewarded.

"By God's grace we have laid anew the foundations of God's living
temple, Christ being the chief corner-stone, and we have seen some
courses already built upon it. We have set up and maintained the
banner of the cross in the face of its pretended friends and its
avowed foes. We have collected a little army on the Lord's side, and
armed them with the sword of the Spirit. We have prepared an arsenal
of spiritual weapons for future conflicts, in the Scriptures and
other religious books translated and committed to the people. We
have established outposts of schools and seminaries, have raised
strongholds of the truth in churches planted here and there
throughout the land. We have taken possession of the land in the
name of King Immanuel, and we aim to subdue and hold it wholly for
him."[1]

[1] From the _Foreign Missionary of the Presbyterian Church_, April,
1871, p. 305-307.






CHAPTER XLII.

THE ARMENIANS.

1867-1869.


The year 1868 added five to the ordained missionary force of the
missions; namely, Messrs. Alpheus N. Andrus, Carmi C. Thayer, John
Edwin Pierce, Royal M. Cole, and Theodore S. Pond. Messrs. Milan H.
Hitchcock, Edward Riggs, Henry Marden, and John Otis Barrows, were
added in 1869. These were all accompanied by their wives. Besides
these, there were George C. Reynolds, M. D., and wife, and ten
unmarried women; namely, Misses Rebecca A. Tracy, Charlotte
Elizabeth Ely, Mary A. C. Ely, Harriet G. Powers, Cyrene O. Van
Duzee, Olive L. Parmelee, Isabella C. Baker, Flavia S. Bliss, Ursula
C. Clarke, and Ardelle M. Griswold. Mardin was now manned, for the
first time, with three missionaries, Messrs. Williams, Andrus, and
Pond, with Misses Parmelee and Baker, two unmarried young women. Dr.
Van Lennep and Mr. Ladd closed their labors in connection with the
mission in 1869.

It was not alone at Harpoot, that the year 1869 opened with a
revival of religion. Aintab, Bitlis, Marash, and Mardin were favored
with the like blessing. The "Week of Prayer" at Marash was described
as a jubilee. Both houses of worship were opened, each day, an hour
before sunset, and in each was a gathering of at least two hundred
and fifty; where the many spontaneous prayers, and the pastor's vain
endeavors to close the services within the hour, showed that the
attendance was not a mere form. Twenty-nine out of fifty-two
candidates were admitted to the first church, and twenty-one out of
forty to the second. Nearly all these were able to read; and the
examination was deemed more remarkable than the number received.

In respect to Mardin, I cannot refrain from quoting the expressive
words of Mr. Williams, whose pen had much of graphic power. "The
community here received the proposal to observe the week of prayer
most joyfully, and preferred two meetings a day to one,--the first
at sunrise, the second an hour and a half before sunset, each an
hour long. Our first meeting was in a pouring rain, thirty present.
This is the first pleasant day, and seventy-six were present in the
morning. One of the preachers opens the meeting by singing, reading,
remarks, and prayer. This occupies from twenty-five to thirty
minutes, and then the meeting is thrown open to others, and six or
eight prayers, short and pertinent, fill the time till the hour is
up. We never before have been able to start a prayer-meeting here,
and now they move off in a line, as if they had done nothing else
all their lives. I think as many as twenty-five persons have led in
prayer."

A church had not yet been formed, but the Protestant community
undertook the entire support of their preacher, and also of one of
their own number as a missionary to the Koords. The latter is thus
described by Mr. Williams: "A great, six feet, brawny fellow, with
unwashed clothes (he is a tanner), long, disheveled hair, large,
open features, and eyes black as coal, that shine like stars; but so
simple in his trust, so tender in his love to Jesus, and earnest in
his efforts to do good! He learned to read with steady, earnest
application, and his questions are so spiritual, so humble, so
childlike, that it is as the sun whenever he enters my door.

"One evening Oosee (Hosea) came in with clothes torn, fez[1] gone,
face bloody, hair wildly disheveled, but the same genial lustre
beaming from his eyes, accompanied by another Protestant, Daoud
(David), who was earnest, almost imperative, that I should at once
go to the governor and enter complaint. Asking for particulars, I
learned that, returning from his garden soon after sunset, Oosee was
set upon by a crowd of Papists, and escaped in the plight I saw him.
Daoud insisted that unless those men were at once imprisoned, no one
would be safe. I asked Oosee how he felt about it. 'Just as you say,
Khowaja,[2] was his reply. I read to him parts of Rom. xii. and
xiii., and showed him that he was justified in entering complaint,
that he had a right to protection, and that those who had set upon
him doubtless deserved punishment; but said I, 'Would those men have
touched you when you were a Papist?' 'Not one.' 'Why?' 'They dare
not. Why, they knew I could thrash the whole of them, and would have
feared I'd kill them. They knew me.' 'And now?' 'Now they think I'm
a Prote, and wont strike back.' 'Did you?' 'Not a bit; I only tried
to get away from them.' 'And if now, instead of throwing them into
prison, you forgive them, and treat them as if nothing had happened,
do you think they will see any difference between Oosee the Papist,
and Oosee the Prote?' 'Of course they will.' 'To what will they
charge the difference?' 'To my new religion.' 'Will not that lead
them to admit the power of the Gospel? Will it not honor Christ?'
'Yes, I believe it will.' 'Well, Oosee, just as _you_ say. If
you on the whole wish it, I will go to the governor and enter
complaint,--you have a clear right to this,--or I will let it drop
just here, as you please.' 'No, Khowaja, I'll not complain, I
forgive them. I'll go home and treat them as if nothing had
happened. That is what Jesus says, and I'll do it. Perhaps they will
come to Christ.' He has never since been molested.

[1] Red Turkish cap.

[2] Gentleman--a title given to the missionaries in Eastern Turkey.

"When it was decided to take a new class of training pupils in
Arabic, Oosee was the first to whom I spoke about joining it. The
proposition was wholly unexpected, and I wish you could have seen
the joy that shone in his eyes and beamed from every feature! I
asked him if he thought his wife would consent to his going. 'We
will ask Jesus,' he said. 'If he wants me to go he will make her
willing. I don't think she'll oppose.' To some, who attempted to
dissuade him on the ground that the allowance was insufficient for
his family, he said, 'If only they will let me study, we will
consent to live in the yard; no matter about a house, we'll get on
any way; anything for Jesus.' Some days after, I said; "How about
the wife?' 'O, she says go, and if need be we'll sell our vineyard
to meet expenses. She is more anxious to go than I.' The vineyard
would possibly bring, if sold, forty dollars in currency."

A church was organized at Mardin in February, which engaged to
choose and support a pastor. On Sabbath afternoon, when it was
organized, and the sacraments were administered, there were present
three hundred and fifty persons, in a room which Mr. Williams says,
"I had always insisted would hold one hundred and fifty, if properly
packed." While candidates were being examined, the wife of Oosee
presented herself. "No one had thought of her as a church-member,
but before her examination was through, each had written against her
name 'accepted.' We were as much delighted as surprised at her
answers, and the meek, loving spirit she showed." Oosee did not go
on the proposed mission, not deeming himself sufficiently educated;
but is understood to have adorned his Christian profession down to
the present time.

The reader has already some acquaintance with the people of Zeitoon,
inhabiting the mountains north of Marash. Until subdued by the Turks
in 1862, they were famed for their defiance of all law. The town
contained about twelve thousand inhabitants, all of them Armenians.
The men were described as of athletic make, quick step, and piercing
eyes, showing in all their bearing that they breathed the free air
of the mountains. The town is about thirty-five miles from Marash,
built against the side of a high rock, the houses hanging one above
another, so that the roof of the house below is the front yard of
the house above.

Two years after their subjugation, Dr. Pratt made a professional
visit, to attend one of their leaders then dangerously sick, and
suffered no molestation. Two years later, at the earnest
solicitation of several Protestants, Mr. Montgomery attempted a
visit, with Pastor Avedis of the second church of Marash, and a
deacon of the first church. The town being then under Turkish
authority, they anticipated no special danger. "At evening, as we
were entering the city," writes Mr. Montgomery, "to visit the
governor of the place, according to custom, a furious mob of men and
boys dragged us from our horses, and at once began beating and
stoning us with frantic rage, rending the air with savage yells. Our
Protestant guide was driven out of sight amid volleys of stones, the
mob crying, 'Kill him! kill the wretch!' The deacon was allowed to
secrete himself; but for Avedis and myself there was no escape till
the mob had spent their fury, stoning us, and afterwards kicking and
beating our prostrate bodies, while we were looking for escape only
through death."

At this crisis, a great strong man, yelling so as to appear in
sympathy with the mob, rushed up to where Mr. Montgomery was lying,
and threw him on his horse, saying to him in an under tone, "Don't
be afraid, trust me;" and then with curses hurried him out of the
way, and took him and the pastor in the dark to his own house,
where, as he dared not to keep them, he got them ready, as well as
he could, to return at once to Marash.

"Thus we were saved," continues Mr. Montgomery, "after having been
in the hands of the mob over two hours. We had a hard ride that
night, hatless, our clothes bloody and torn, and our bodies so
bruised that we could scarce sit on our horses; but we were enabled
to pick our way homeward by the rough mountain paths."

It was subsequently known that this outrage was instigated by the
priests at Marash, with the connivance of the governor. Meanwhile
the Zeitoon people were fearful lest they had gone too far, and the
Protestants began to breathe more freely; and many, who had failed
to declare themselves before, now stood up openly for the truth.

In the summer of 1868, a native preacher was sent to Zeitoon by the
home missionary society of Marash, and was allowed to remain
unmolested, with ample opportunities for preaching the Word. At the
close of the year, Mr. Trowbridge, having removed from
Constantinople to Marash, made a visit to Zeitoon, and remained
there laboring freely from Thursday till Monday. His guide homeward
was a Zeitoon Protestant,--"a tall, gaunt man, past middle life, who
has suffered much there for Christ's sake. At one time the people
blackened his face with a coal, put him astride of a donkey with his
face towards the tail, and thus paraded him through the streets; a
crier shouting before him, 'Thus shall it be done to all who reject
the worship of saints, and do not honor the Virgin Mary.' There is
now no persecution."

Hopeful indications once more appeared among the Greeks at Erzroom
and Trebizond, and also at Kerasun and Ordo, on the coast of the
Black Sea west of Trebizond. Mr. Parmelee visited the two places
last named, and put a helper named Harootune at Ordo, around whom
the people gathered, earnestly desiring to learn the way of life.
Even the women, who were precluded by their notions of propriety
from assembling with the men, anxiously inquired when the helper
would bring his wife, that she might teach them also. Persecution
arose, but as usual it was overruled for good.

Dr. William Goodell, after more than forty years of successful
missionary service, returned in 1865, in feeble health, to spend the
evening of life in his native land. With his wife, who had been his
faithful companion from the first, he made his home with his eldest
son, a physician in Philadelphia. There, beloved and revered, he
lived until February 18, 1867, when he was removed to his heavenly
home, at the age of seventy-five.

To the early friends of Dr. Goodell it seemed that his providential
call was to be a preacher of the Gospel; and such he really was
all through life, and the printed volume of his sermons in
Armeno-Turkish, translated also into Armenian and Bulgarian, has had
a very extensive circulation.[1] But Divine Providence so ordered
the events of his early missionary career, that translating the
Scriptures became his principal work. He began at Malta to translate
the New Testament from the original into the Armeno-Turkish. That
done, he entered upon the Old Testament; and he completed the last
revision of the Bible in 1863. It was a great and good work, and
will transmit his name for grateful remembrance to future ages.

[1] The report of the Nicomedia station for 1871, contains the
following: "In Diermendere, a basket-maker has learned Turkish, and
is supplied with books and tracts in that language for use among the
Turks. The book he thinks most of, and which he begs may be put into
the Arabic character, is Dr. Goodell's sermons. A Baghchejuk
brother, whose business takes him often among the Turks in the
vicinity of Armash, always takes these sermons with him. He says
that the Turks always listen with interest, and sometimes with
tears. He is often requested to read the same sermon over and over
again." The Marsovan report for the same year contains the
following: "At Vizier Keopreu a change in public sentiment has taken
place to such a degree, that the Armenian teacher is preaching Dr.
Goodell's sermons to attentive audiences of his own people."

Dr. Goodell had few equals as an agreeable letter-writer. The author
was in official correspondence with him through his whole missionary
life, and never ceased admiring his vivacity, humor, and felicity of
expression, the aptness of his thoughts, and his very appropriate
quotations of Scripture. He had the power, beyond most men, of
passing at once and by an easy transition, from the merriest
laughter to the most serious topics. His addresses to children had a
resistless charm, and his power of turning a conversation into
channels of his own choice was invaluable, in dealing with conceited
disputatious orientals. "Indomitable in his purpose to do good,
affable and courteous in manner, of ready tact, and abounding in
resistless pleasantry, he gained access wherever he chose to go, and
wielded an influence powerful for good upon all with whom he chose
to associate. He commanded the respect of foreign ambassadors and
travellers, of dignitaries in the Oriental Churches, bankers, and
the highest in society, as well as the common people. Even enemies
were constrained to honor him. Few possess in so high a degree the
admirable faculty of doing good without offense, and of recommending
personal religion to the world."[1]

[1] See _Missionary Herald_ for 1867, pp. 129-133: also 1865,
p. 350.

Mr. Herman N. Barnum's account of a tour to Diarbekir, Mardin, Sert,
Bitlis, and Moosh, in 1867, brings the Eastern field vividly before
us. His new associate, Mr. Henry S. Barnum, together with the
pastors connected with the Evangelical Union, and nine recent
graduates of the Seminary, accompanied him as far as Diarbekir,
where they arrived on Saturday. There was a union service of the two
congregations, on the next day, in the yard of one of the chapels,
at which as many as eight hundred were present. The church in
Diarbekir, though its pastor had been absent for two and a half
years, and there was only one native preacher for the two
congregations, yet had maintained the ordinances, and secured
frequent accessions to the community. They supported their preacher,
and also several schools, sent money to their absent pastor, and
supported two students at the Theological Seminary, whom they had
sent thither to be educated for the mission in Koordistan. They
chose several of their more intelligent members to assist the
preacher in keeping up the services of the two congregations; thus
proving their ability to care for themselves under very unfavorable
circumstances.

The Union was in session four days, and its meetings were well
attended. The evangelizing of Koordistan received a good deal of
attention. The five young men who were preparing for it, had
locations assigned them, their salaries fixed, and thus the native
pastors were acquiring experience in missionary superintendence.
Seven young men, just graduated from the Seminary, were carefully
examined for licensure, especially in their religious experience and
their motives for entering the ministry.

The last day of the session was the most interesting, when one of
the pastors read an essay upon the "means of promoting an awakening
among the unconverted;" which was followed by remarks from nearly
all the pastors present. The interest was greatest when some gave
expression to their deep feeling of responsibility, and to the
conviction that their own want of earnestness and spirituality was
the reason of so much indifference among the unconverted.

From Diarbekir the missionaries and six of the pastors went to
Mardin, whence, after ordaining one pastor, they went a journey of
five days to Sert. There they took part in another ordination, and
the formation of a church. Elias, the new pastor, had labored long
and faithfully in this place, and refused a most pressing call from
Mardin, though in worldly things it was much more desirable. He
believed he could be more useful where the poor and oppressed looked
to him as their spiritual father. Out of seven persons who offered
themselves as candidates for church-membership, six were organized
into a church. The congregation was small and poor, but a long
series of persecutions had wonderfully purged them of selfishness.
They had paid largely for their house of worship, had provided the
pastor elect with a new suit of clothes for the ordination, and,
considering their deep poverty, had made extraordinary subscriptions
towards the required half of his salary. They now adopted the system
of tithes cheerfully, which had been so successfully advocated by
John Concordance.

From Sert Mr. Williams proceeded to Mosul, and the rest to Bitlis.
There the congregation had long desired for their pastor Baron
Simon, who received ordination as an evangelist years before at
Constantinople. He has been repeatedly mentioned as Pastor Simon,
and was a man of experience and sterling worth. There were no
missionaries then at Bitlis. From hence they passed on to Moosh. The
plain on which the town is situated, is sixty miles long and ten or
twelve wide, and contains about seventy nominally Christian
villages. The travellers were exposed to a snow-storm while crossing
the plain. "It was genuine winter weather," writes Mr. Barnum, "yet
I think I never saw anywhere else, not even in the warm sunshine of
Egypt, so much nakedness, total or partial. Adults of course had the
semblance of clothing, though it was often a mass of rags, sewed or
tied together; but the poor children! It makes my heart ache to
think of them. Some had a tolerably whole shirt and drawers, some
had no drawers, and what was once a shirt was now a few shreds,
hanging from the shoulders. Many had merely a rag, as a sort of
jacket, with holes to put the arms through, and others had not a
thread upon their bodies. The people seem to be almost bedless.
Wherever we went, we found that the beds were a piece of carpet, or
felt, or only a little straw, with a piece of carpet as a covering.
In the six or seven villages visited by us, we did not notice a
woman, or a child, who had either stockings or shoes. They walked
about in the snow, and over the frozen ground, with bare feet. The
soil is fertile, and the people own the land themselves,--not
the Turkish Aghas, as is the case in many other parts of the
country,--so that it must be mere thriftlessness, rather than any
stern necessity, which makes them so destitute. They have not
learned to raise cotton, and consequently do not have on hand the
material for making clothes, except some kinds of woolen garments;
and as they do not like to pay money for cotton cloth, they live in
this truly barbarous state. Our pastors had never seen any
destitution like this among their Christian brethren, and it made a
deep impression upon them."

Mr. Barnum adds: "The spiritual condition of the people is as bad as
the physical. In the three or four monasteries surrounding the
plain, there are said to be fifty vartabeds--men of more or less
education. What a work they might do in these seventy villages, in
improving the condition of the people, if they only had the heart
for it. They are in a great measure responsible for this state of
things. They come down periodically from their haunts of
dissipation, and gather up and carry off whatever the people can
spare; and this has helped to discourage enterprise. The great want
now is the pure Gospel. This will not only save their souls, it will
give them true civilization and refinement. To us it seemed that the
people were ripe for the reception of the truth, for they are
growing tired of their present condition. The pastors turned away
from Moosh plain with the determination to induce the Evangelical
Union, if consistent with the work undertaken in Koordistan, to do
something for these people."

This journey of five hundred and fifty miles occupied thirty-eight
days, and was too much for the new missionary, who reached home
"jaded and worn," and had a serious illness. Before his recovery,
and probably in consequence of her care of her husband, Mrs. Barnum
was prostrated by typhus fever, which proved fatal on the 31st of
December, 1867, a little more than three months after her arrival at
Harpoot. But even in so short a time she had greatly endeared
herself to her associates.[1]

[1] _Missionary Herald_ for 1868, p. 136.

North of the territory traversed by Mr. Barnum, is the Erzroom
district. Of the sixty thousand inhabitants of the city of Erzroom
in 1868, fifteen thousand were Armenians. The hundred villages
scattered over its plain are smaller and more scattered than those
on the plain of Harpoot. But then the territory connected with
Erzroom is nearly as large as New England west of Maine, and has a
population of half a million, two thirds of whom are Armenians.
Touring in this territory is easy, as compared with the Harpoot
district; since the roads, almost everywhere, admit of the use of
wheels, and on the public thoroughfares the khans are comparatively
good. A wagon road was then in a sluggish process of construction
from Trebizond across the mountains.

The church in Diarbekir continued to grow, even during the three or
four years' absence of the pastor. They were active in communicating
the truth to their neighbors, and were especially interested in
securing the introduction of the Gospel into the surrounding
villages, and into Koordistan. But since then, the energy bestowed
upon these outside enterprises has been turned toward the building
of a large church, by means of funds collected by the pastor chiefly
in England, and to strictly home affairs.

The young men sent on the mission to Koordistan addressed themselves
chiefly to the Armenians and Jacobites, without neglecting the
Moslems, Koords, and Yezidees. These sects, in their social
intercourse, used only the Koordish language; but in their prayers,
the Armenians used the ancient Armenian, the Jacobites the ancient
Syriac, and the Koords the Arabic, all wholly unintelligible to
them. And it was a new thought to them, that God could be addressed
in the Koordish language.

A company of native missionaries was sent from Harpoot, in the
summer of 1868, to the benighted region of Moosh. This was a result
of the tour just described, and was a self-denying enterprise, but
the sacrifice was cheerfully made.

The two Seminaries at Harpoot were now full. Including the students
brought thither for a time from Mardin, and the Koordish students,
there were fifty in each Seminary; and these, with their children,
made a colony of one hundred and fifty.

It became manifest, soon after the Crimean war, that the Papal
ecclesiastics in Turkey, emboldened by the increased prospect of
French protection, grew relentlessly cruel where they had power, in
their persecutions of the Protestants. A painful illustration of
this occurred at Mardin in the summer of 1868, upon the arrival of a
new Papal Patriarch. He and the Papal Armenian bishop resolved to
make a determined effort to crush out Protestantism. The charges
upon which the proceedings were based, were pretended arrearages in
the payment of taxes, whereas none of the taxes were due.

On July 25th, six Protestants were arrested, and taken, not to
prison, but to the cavalry camp, to bring water for the horses,
sprinkle the ground, build mangers, clear privies, etc. Suleeba, the
Protestant preacher from Diarbekir who was laboring there at the
time, went to the Muteserif or governor of the city, and represented
the injustice of the proceeding. As a result, he was ordered to
prison himself, but was soon released. After various other efforts
with the Muteserif and the Pasha to secure justice (in which he was
opposed by the Papal Syrian Patriarch, and by priests and leaders of
the other sects at Mardin), and after presenting receipts which had
been given the Protestants for their taxes, Suleeba was delivered to
the soldiers, with the rest. He writes:--

"A gendarme took me to the camp. On seeing me the soldier said,
'This is their priest; bring some _large_ jars (water jars) for
him.' They fastened two jars to my neck, one before and one behind,
and gave two into my hands.[1] A soldier was assigned to each one of
us, and each one carried a long stick of wood, an inch in thickness,
and with these they freely beat us. In filling the jars which were
fastened to us, the soldiers would pour nearly as much into our
necks as into the jars, so that we were thoroughly drenched all the
time. Once I was so much fatigued that I begged permission to set
down the jars and rest, but the soldiers would not allow me. I
dropped one of them, as I could not hold it any longer, for the road
was long and my hands grew weak. In trying to recover it I fell to
the ground, and the soldier beat me severely with his stick."

[1] The four jars, when full of water, weighed more than one hundred
and fifty pounds.

It was on Monday that Suleeba was sent to the camp, and things
remained thus till Friday. "A little after sunrise on that day, a
gendarme came and said, 'The Protestants are wanted at the palace.'
We were taken to the Muteserif, and he began to curse us in the
vilest manner for not giving the money. I said, 'Examine our
accounts, and if you find that we owe anything we will pay it.' He
then ordered a stick to be brought,--it was a strong one, thicker
than my thumb,--and telling a soldier to take me by the head and
bend me forward, he gave the stick to a centurion, who gave me ten
or twelve blows. I still feel the soreness, though he was not
violent in his beating."

"About nine o'clock they called us to the Mejlis, or city council.
After a careful examination of the documents, in which the Pasha's
scribe, Fettah Effendi, took a prominent part, the Mejlis said with
one voice, to those on the other side, 'You have no claim whatever
on the Protestants.'" This decision was not accepted by the enemies
of the Protestants. In the afternoon of the same day, Suleeba
writes: "The Patriarch and the Papal Armenian Bishop called on the
Pasha. They stayed about half an hour. Before they left, a
lieutenant came from the Pasha, accompanied by two priests, and said
to the Muteserif, 'The Pasha orders that you instantly deliver each
one of the Protestants to two gensdarmes, and collect the money from
each one _at once_, according to this paper.' The Muteserif replied,
'There is no claim upon these men. What shall we collect?' He
replied, 'This is the Pasha's order.' The Muteserif said, 'We have
just examined these men's accounts, and have found that the
Protestants do not owe a para. Tell the Pasha so.' The Lieutenant
replied, 'The Patriarch and Bishop were with the Pasha just now, and
he told them that this money should be collected.' The Muteserif
then turned to Fettah Effendi, of Diarbekir, and urged him to go and
explain to the Pasha, but he did not wish to go. He then called out,
much excited, 'Come, gensdarmes, take these men and kill them.' I
then said, 'How much money do you want? Tell us, and we will give
it.' The Muteserif said, 'I don't know.' I said, 'You are delivering
us over to these soldiers. Tell us how much you want and we will
give it, and save ourselves from them.' The Muteserif then asked
Fettah Effendi, who had looked over our documents, and who had said
that the Protestants owed nothing, 'How much are these men to pay?'
He said, 'I don't know.' He then turned to the members of the other
sects and said, 'How much do you want of these men?' They said, 'Let
them come to the market [where the chief of police was receiving
taxes], and we will see.' So we were hurried off there. This was
less than an hour before sunset. We were taken to the shop occupied
by Daoud Agha, the chief of the police. A great crowd gathered as we
went along, and afterwards, which completely filled all the streets
in that vicinity. As we entered, Daoud Agha, who is an old enemy of
the Protestants, said to his men, 'Bring me two bottles of raki and
three or four candles, and I will collect this money before
morning."

The reader will remember the interesting account Mr. Williams gave
of the conversion of an influential merchant at Mardin named
Meekha.[1] This is the old man, Muksi Meekha, whom the chief of the
police delivered over to the gensdarmes, with the charge to collect
six thousand piasters from him. Mr. Barnum thus describes the
treatment he received: "They took him out into the street and began
to beat him with their gun-stocks. This is done by taking the gun in
both hands and striking with it endwise. He promised to give
security for the payment of the money in the morning, and begged to
be allowed till morning to raise the money, as the shops were all
shut; but they said, 'We must have the money now.' He wandered
through the market in the vain hope of finding somebody who would
advance the money, the guard all the time beating him, and so
severely that he several times fell down, and his outer garment was
torn into shreds; and he has since that time, now more than a week,
kept his bed most of the time. At last he met a member of the Mejlis
(a Turkish member), who told the guard that if it was money they
wished they must take _kefil_ from him, and wait till morning, as it
was now evening, and nobody could raise money at that time; 'but,'
he said, 'if your object is to kill him, take him back to the chief
of police and butcher him there.' They then took him back to the
crowd, and he found a man who gave a part of the money and a note
for the payment of the rest in the morning, and he was released. He
thinks that he would have been killed but for the intervention of
the Turk.

[1] See Chapter xxvii.

"Each one of the prisoners was then passed over to two gensdarmes.
Some of these were at once delivered, by their friends advancing the
money; but four of them, besides Muksi Meekha, were treated just as
he was, and all of them have kept their beds most of the time since.

"The police were at the same time sent to the houses of all the
other Protestants, and they were brought, and the money which the
sects demanded collected from them, by their paying the money or
getting security for its payment in the morning. In this way, in the
space of a few hours, and that evening, nineteen thousand piasters
were collected."

Only a very small portion of this money was ever refunded.

Mention was made, in connection with Dr. Goodell's visit to the
central mission in 1862, of the progress of the evangelical
reformation at Oorfa. Two years later, Mr. Nutting, the resident
missionary, announced an interesting revival of religion among his
people. Both church and congregation were aroused, and the
missionary had never seen more thorough conviction of sin, than was
apparent in many. They had been studying the Westminster Assembly's
Catechism for two years, and recently had attended lectures on the
Epistle to the Romans; "and the fundamental truths thus lodged in
their minds," writes Mr. Nutting, "had been greatly blessed." They
met entirely the expense of their own religious and educational
institutions. In February, 1865, the church numbered forty-two, and
as many more were known to be inquirers.

About this time there arose considerable uneasiness in the mission
from an apprehension of doctrinal errors in a candidate for the
pastorate of this church. To what extent such errors actually
existed, was never determined with certainty, but there was a spirit
of alienation and division, which was regarded with concern. The
churches in Oorfa and its four out-stations contained a total, in
1870, of one hundred and sixty-one members, of whom twenty-five had
been received in the previous year. The Report of the Board for 1871
declares the difficulties of former years to have happily passed
away; except that unsound doctrinal views continued to disturb the
harmony of the church at Severek, and that this place was noted, in
early times, for the prevalence of similar errors.

Mr. Wheeler returned from his visit to the United States in October,
1868, accompanied by Mrs. Wheeler, and the Misses Parmelee and
Baker; and they were met, six hours or nearly twenty miles out, by
the Harpoot and village pastors, and quite a delegation from the
city. The last day was a constant succession of welcomes. As they
drew near the city, they saw a large crowd on the hill, with a white
flag. It was the theological students drawn up in a line; and next,
the women and girls of the school; and then men, women, and children
crowded to greet them. It was the spontaneous expression of love to
those who had told them of Christ and his salvation.

The return of Dr. David H. Nutting from the United States to the
Central mission, in the autumn of 1868, led him to speak of the
progress of civilization at Aleppo. "All the stations of this
mission are now connected with this city by telegraph, while it is
connected with Constantinople. A line from here to Killis, Aintab,
and Marash, has just been constructed. We have French and Russian,
as well as Turkish, posts. A semi-weekly paper called the "Frat"
(Euphrates), is printed here, in three languages--Arabic,
Armeno-Turkish, and Arabo-Turkish. The streets are being repaved and
widened in some places, and street-lamps are put up. A carriage-road
from here to Alexandretta, the sea-port, is to be built
immediately."

John Concordance, the blind preacher at Havadoric, died at that
place in March, 1869, greatly beloved and lamented, and not by his
own people alone. The Armenians vied with the Protestants in
attending to the burial services, and especially in seeing that
Hohannes' particular requests were carried out to the letter, and
both classes were genuine mourners at his grave. His influence in
the matter of consecrating one tenth of one's income has been
extensively felt; and he practiced what he preached. His salary was
only eight dollars a month, and although he had a wife and child to
support from this, he never failed of giving one tenth into the
"store-house;" thus leaving but little more than seven dollars for
the monthly support of himself and family.

In the year 1868, Dr. Schneider, after a residence at Aintab of a
score of years, returned again to Broosa. It was natural for him to
review the progress of the good work at Aintab during his connection
with it, and his statement will interest the reader.

"I preached my first sermon in Aintab to a company of twenty-five or
thirty in the year 1848. Now, the average audience is near one
thousand, and often rises to twelve or fifteen hundred. Then, there
was a church of only eight members; now, there are two churches,
containing three hundred and seventy-three members. Then, the entire
community of Protestants numbered only forty souls, while at present
there are nineteen hundred, small and great. The number has become
so large, that a division into two separate congregations became a
necessity; and while there was then hardly any native laborer, now
two able native pastors are settled over these two churches. In the
beginning, next to nothing was done in the way of self-support and
general benevolence; while now, these communities pay the salaries
of their pastors and school-teachers, and all their other expenses.
Besides this, nearly five hundred dollars in gold were given for
general benevolence, and more than nine hundred towards a second
church edifice. All this in a community where a day-laborer receives
thirteen and a half cents per day, and a mason or carpenter
thirty-two cents. In view of their poverty, and the exactions of the
government, this is extraordinary liberality. More than one half of
the male members of these churches give a tithe of their income to
benevolent objects.

"In the beginning, we worshipped in a private house; but for many
years a large church edifice has been filled, and a second one, for
the benefit of the second church, will be completed in a few months.
At first, there was no school through the week, or on the Sabbath;
now, there are seven common schools, with nearly four hundred
pupils, and a Sabbath-school averaging a thousand, which has been as
high as sixteen hundred. More than a score of pastors and preachers
have been trained at Aintab, most of whom are still in the service,
and a large number have been sent forth as teachers and colporters
into the surrounding regions. Finally, when the Gospel was first
preached in Aintab, the Protestants were despised and persecuted;
while now, they are not only recognized as a regular community, with
rights and privileges, but they have acquired for themselves a name,
respect, and influence."






CHAPTER XLIII.

THE ARMENIANS.

1869-1872.


The year 1870 commenced at Marash with another revival. A thousand
persons were present at the prayer-meeting on the 3d of January,
which was admirably conducted by Pastor Murad. The missionaries,
though present, did not deem it necessary to assist him. Fifty-three
new members were received into the two churches, and a much larger
number offered themselves for admission. Successful efforts were
made to reach the women, who were visited in their own homes by the
wives of students in the theological school, and by the older
scholars in the girls' school. The number of houses thus visited
during six weeks, was three hundred and eight, and there were
fifty-five prayer-meetings.

A revival was also in progress at Bitlis. For many weeks there had
been a sunrise prayer-meeting every day; and it was fully attended
for eight months; its location being changed occasionally to
accommodate different parts of the city. The meeting on the 18th of
February was the most interesting and profitable. Nearly ninety
persons were seated on the floor of a room thirteen feet by twenty.
Pastor Simon had charge of the meeting, and so ready were the
people, that it continued two hours and three quarters before he
could bring it to a close. As many as seventeen spoke, and about as
many prayed. During the meeting, a prominent church-member called
the attention of the weeping congregation to the importance of
making a covenant with God _now_; and after reading a beautiful and
appropriate hymn, he requested all who were ready to make such a
covenant to rise. Nearly all rose, and while they were standing, he
offered an earnest prayer for the aid of the Holy Spirit in keeping
that covenant. It was an impressive scene. Forty were added to the
church as the result of this revival. The people paid the debt on
their chapel and parsonage, and enlarged the former. They also gave
a site for the building to be erected by the two Misses Ely for the
girls' boarding-school, in which were twenty pupils, for the most
part wives of native helpers.

Some time in the month of April, the good people of Bitlis observed
a day of fasting and prayer for the village of Havadoric, where the
blind preacher, John Concordance, had labored, and where he died.
After a few weeks, Mr. Knapp visited the place, with Pastor Simon,
and they found delightful evidence of the presence of the Holy
Spirit. It was in contemplation to organize a church in that place,
and the church in Bitlis had sent three delegates, who walked
forty-five miles over the muddy roads. Ten hours were spent, the day
after their arrival, in examining more than a score of persons for
the new church, and eleven were approved, including two women. After
the church had been organized, Avedis, a graduate of the Harpoot
Seminary, was ordained as pastor. Fifty were present at the Lord's
supper from Bitlis, Moosh, and Khanûs.

The barbarous expulsion of Mr. and Mrs. Coffing from Hadjin, in
1862, will be remembered.[1] This was attributed, at the time, to
the priests and the Turkish governor, and not to the people. Mr.
Adams from Adana, and Mr. Trowbridge from Marash, went there in
1870, in company with Hagop Effendi, the Civil Head of the
Protestants in Turkey, who was then on an official tour through the
empire. They found the door for Christian effort wide open, as
Messrs. Montgomery and Perry had done the year before. Though
situated on the northern side of the Taurus mountains, Hadjin is
more conveniently cared for by the Central mission than by the
Western, and that section of country had been transferred
accordingly. Native laborers had gone there, and a great change had
taken place. Thirty-two had been enrolled as Protestants, and no
mention is made of opposition. At the evening services on the
house-top, where the missionary's tent was pitched, not only the
Protestants, but large numbers of the Armenians, listened with eager
attention. From early morn until dark on the Sabbath, there was
hardly an intermission in the preaching, exposition, or reading of
the Word of God.

[1] See p. 221.

In the autumn of 1869, Dr. Schneider, by direction of the mission,
attended the examination of the Theological School at Marsovan. He
writes, "The examination continued through most of three days, and
as a whole was quite satisfactory. The appearance of the students in
theology was peculiarly gratifying. The readiness and propriety of
their answers proved that they had bestowed thought on the various
points brought up, and saw their relations to one another. Their
public addresses, when they received their diplomas, were all
excellent, while some were of quite a superior order, and exhibited
no common degree of oratorical power." He was also much gratified by
the appearance of the girls' boarding-school.

Seven days' travel, on his return to Broosa, brought him to Angora,
a city of from forty to fifty thousand inhabitants. The probable
estimate gave ten thousand to the Catholics, three hundred to the
Greeks, a thousand to the Armenians, and five hundred to the Jews;
the remainder were Mussulmans. Many books had been sold there, much
light disseminated, and a small body of Protestants earnestly
entreated for a missionary to reside among them, or at least for an
educated native preacher. No uneducated man could sustain himself
there against the powerful array which the Roman Catholics could
bring to bear upon him by means of their educational establishments.
Among the obstacles to be encountered, were the extreme worldliness
of the people, and their devotion to sensual pleasures. Angora is
within the limits of the ancient Galatia, and very probably was the
site of one of "the churches of Galatia." It appears not yet to be
occupied as a station.

Another interesting place was Erzingan, within the Erzroom district,
visited by Mr. and Mrs. Cole in the autumn of 1870. They travelled
the whole distance of a hundred miles in a gig; with many risks, it
is true, but with no disaster. The city was supposed to contain as
many as ten thousand Armenians, forming a third part of the
population. Mr. Dunmore, the brave pioneer, had spent three months
there, and various helpers had been stationed there from time to
time. The missionary and his wife were received with the utmost
kindness, and had crowded meetings during the nine days they were
there. Mrs. Cole had several interesting meetings, also, with the
women. "Thus time passed," writes Mr. Cole, "and you may be sure it
was a continual feast to the soul, and we felt quite reluctant to
turn homeward."

The mission sent by native churches to the Koords, like most new
missions, had a tardy success; and, after four years, the zeal of
the native churches began to flag, and some of the native pastors
proposed to stop the work in Koordistan, and devote themselves more
fully to the "home field." Knowing that the influence of such a
course would be disastrous, Mr. Wheeler threw himself into the
breach, and was off for a three weeks' tour in Koordistan. Redwan,
the seat of the mission, was eighty miles east of Diarbekir. He was
accompanied by Hagop Effendi, Civil Head of the Protestants, and two
native preachers; and was rejoiced to find at Redwan a congregation
of eighteen men, thirteen women, and twenty-two children. They had
learned, or begun to learn, to read in the Armeno-Koordish, into
which the four Gospels had been translated; and some were learning
the Armenian language, so as to be able to read the whole Bible.
Their chapel, of sun-dried brick, ten feet by twenty, was crowded on
the evening of their arrival. "They sang 'Sweet hour of prayer,'"
writes Mr. Wheeler, "and 'There is no other name so sweet,'
translated from Armenian by their preacher, who had also translated,
with the help of Pastor Mardiros of Harpoot, 'Forever with the
Lord,' 'How lost was my condition,' 'My faith looks up to Thee,'
'Safely through another week,' 'My days are passing swiftly by,' and
others. Perhaps it was all romance, but somehow that little, close,
low, dark, foul-aired chapel seemed to me almost a heavenly place,
as we joined,--they in Koordish and I in Armenian,--in singing those
sweet hymns." At an expense of forty dollars in gold, the people
bought a fine lot for a larger building, including chapel,
school-room, and parsonage, which they hoped to put up in the
following year. They desired also the formation of a church, and the
ordination of a pastor. "Do you wonder," adds Mr. Wheeler, "that I
returned with a light heart to tell the churches these good news
from their mission field?" The Harpoot church immediately decided to
send a school-teacher to Redwan, so that the preacher might give
himself entirely to his work.

Mr. Pond, of Mardin, went to Sert four days distant in Koordistan,
and experienced the usual trials by the way,--sleeping in "stifling
stables, with a perfect menagerie of animals and fowls, and creeping
creatures too numerous to catalogue."

The church at Sert he found full of brotherly love, simple faith,
and a desire for knowledge. It had given freely to the brethren in
Redwan, and paid the entire salary of its own pastor. "Indeed," says
the missionary, "but for this church in Sert, we should almost
despond for the Arabic-speaking portion of our field. In Mardin, it
is true, we have a flourishing church and community, but not so
refreshing in its simplicity and strength of faith and love. The
pastor of the Sert church is one of the best men for the pastoral
work I have ever seen in Turkey, and is the chief cause, under God,
of the cheering state of his flock."

Mr. Pond next visited Mosul, and found it no longer an unpleasant
part of their field. "Once, and that not long ago, it was the least
hopeful spot in all our bishopric. For over thirty years has the
Gospel been preached there, and by such men as Grant, and Lobdell,
and Williams, Marsh, and Hinsdale. The church contained at one time
twenty members, but had dwindled to ten."

A pastor was to be ordained at Mosul, and Mr. Andrus, missionary
from Mardin, Pastor Jurgis of Mardin, Pastor Elias of Sert, and
delegates from these two churches were there to aid in that service.
The pastor elect was ordained, the dead branches in the church were
cut off, and eight new members were added, while as many more were
ready to join at the next communion.

Dr. Williams died at Mardin on the l4th of February, 1871, at the
age of fifty-three, broken down by an accumulation of labors and
cares, which, until near the close of his life, he had been
compelled to bear alone. It was a great loss to the mission, but
especially to Mardin; and he was called from earth just when the
clouds, which had made his field seem dark to him, began to break.
He saw it, and rejoiced. He said he was like Moses, who was
permitted to look into the promised land from Pisgah, but was not
allowed to enter it.

Mr. H. N. Barnum, who knew Dr. Williams intimately, while admitting
that he was unduly disposed to distrust his own powers and judgment,
says that, aside from this, he was a rare man. "He had great
self-control, and was so undemonstrative, that those who did not
know him intimately can scarcely be said to have known him at all.
He possessed genuine refinement; and with his marvelous fund of
information in almost all departments of knowledge, his fine command
of language, and his good nature and enthusiasm, he was, in his more
cheerful moods, a fascinating member of our social circle. His clear
mind had been carefully cultivated, and his acquisitions were very
exact. However much he distrusted his own judgment, his associates
confided in it. He was forward to acknowledge any mistake, and
correct it, and he was enthusiastic in his zeal for the policy of
self-support in the missionary work. His students held him in the
highest admiration, and very few missionaries have secured the
affection of the people for whom they labor so fully as he did. Had
he remained at home, I am sure he would have stood conspicuous among
the clergy. He was very careful in the use of missionary funds, and
in everything maintained a conscience void of offense. He was,
withal, eminently spiritual. His many trials had wrought in him a
deep and thorough work of grace."

"The _one_ attraction of heaven for Mr. Williams," writes his
bereaved wife, "was _Jesus_. 'Like Jesus,' and 'without sin,' and
'to be with Jesus and see Him as He is,' were phrases ever on his
lips. He used often to speak of the great host gone before, and of
the loved ones constantly gathering there; but it was rare to hear
him speak of joy at the prospect of meeting them. It was always
'_Jesus_, the joy of loving hearts.' Neither did he long for heaven
as a place of _rest_, until very near the end. He loved toil, and
felt a great desire to live and labor for the Master." "At last,"
she says, "he did grow very weary, and often exclaimed; 'So tired,
O, so tired.' In one of those weariest hours, he asked me if I
remembered Bickersteth's description of Paradise. 'Well,' he said,
'I can't bear to think of it. To think of climbing over those
mountains, it is so wearisome. I think, 'In my Father's house are
many mansions,' and I want to be taken right into one of them, and
laid down to rest--to rest--O, how sweet.' His intellect was clouded
in the last hours."

I find some facts, received in 1871, concerning the women in the
region of Cesarea, indicating a decided progress. "Three years ago,
with the exception of Cesarea, Yozgat, and Moonjasoon, the truth
seemed to have gained but very slight hold upon the women at our
several out-stations. But few were ever found in the Sabbath
congregation, scarcely any could read, and some bitterly persecuted
their husbands. But now a marked change is visible, and the women
form no inconsiderable part of all our congregations; large numbers
are learning to read; female prayer-meetings are held at nearly or
quite every out-station; and an earnest desire for improvement is
everywhere apparent. As a consequence, a corresponding change is
observed in the conduct of these women. They become better wives and
mothers, and their influence is felt for good upon those around
them."

Messrs. Wheeler and Reynolds made a visit to Van in the summer of
1871, preparatory to the occupation of that important post. Most of
the ninety miles from Bitlis to Van, was within sight of the lake;
its waters reposing in quiet beauty amid the mountains, on whose
loftiest peaks there still lingered patches of snow. They reached
the city in September, and were there a week. They found more
readiness to receive the Word of God, and its teachers, and to have
intercourse with them, than they had expected. They were also
agreeably disappointed in the number, who were desirous that
missionaries should reside among them. The region southeast of Van,
which they had supposed was exclusively a Koordish-speaking section,
they found to contain a number of Armenian villages, speaking their
own language, with Bibles in the modern tongue, and men accustomed
to read them. At the time of writing these pages, missionaries are
understood to be on their way for the permanent occupation of Van,
should such be the will of Providence.

The church at Cutterbul, and indeed the whole region around
Diarbekir, experienced a severe bereavement early in 1872, in the
death of its first pastor Abd en Noor. "He was a thoughtful man,"
writes Mr. Andrus of Mardin, "and a more independent thinker than
many. He had made him a place in the village, so that even the young
men of the Jacobite community looked to him as their father. He was
very anxious to improve the condition of his race, was faithful both
as a preacher and as a pastor, and in the latter capacity was more
especially active during the past winter. He was one of the eight
pupils received into the first class formed by Dr. Williams in
Mardin, in September, 1862 (was then about thirty years old), and
remained three years in the class, supplying the pulpit in Cutterbul
during the winter months, where he had been preaching before he
entered the school."

The impressions made on Dr. Clarke, Foreign Secretary of the Board,
by occurrences in 1871, on his way from Adana to Aintab, are
significant of the work of grace, now in progress in the region
distinguished by the early labors of the Apostle Paul. His route was
across the Cilician and Antioch plains, over the Amarus mountains
and another range, and for the most part through a region of
wonderful fertility, needing only proper cultivation.

"The journey," Dr. Clarke writes, "was not without some items of
missionary interest, as showing how widely the truth is diffused.
The first night out we encamped a little distance from a village
that bears the name of Missis, built on the ruins of the ancient
Mopsuestia--a place of some note in the early history of the Church.
As we were setting up our tent, two Armenians from the village
accosted us with the question,--'Are you the men that are bringing
light into this dark land?' On being assured that we were just those
very men, they gave us a hearty welcome, and did their best to
assist us in every way, remaining till dark, and coming again in the
early morning. This they did as a labor of love, and to receive some
words of counsel and cheer. They were Protestants, but not
church-members, who had come here for business--one from near
Antioch, and the other from the neighborhood of Harpoot. Here, where
no preacher of the truth had ever been stationed by us, these men
were faithful to the light they had, spending the Sabbath together
in studying the Scriptures and in prayer, and speaking to all who
would listen of the Gospel of Christ. One of the men had formerly
been a keeper of a drinking shop. One day, while plying his trade,
he called out to a passer-by to come in and drink. The reply, 'I
cannot, I am a Protestant,' arrested his attention, and eventually
led him to give up his wicked traffic for an honest calling.

"On another day we met a party of laborers coming down into Cilicia
from Eastern Turkey, whom we at first mistook for Koords. But coming
nearer, Mr. Trowbridge recognized them as Armenians, and at once
asked if there were any Protestants among them. 'O yes,' cried
several; and in proof they drew Testaments from their bosoms. One of
them, a leading Protestant from Haboosi, on learning who I was, at
once beset me to hurry on to the dedication of their new church,
that was to come off in a few days. He, poor man, had been obliged
to come away, but was very anxious to have me go. I was really sorry
I could not do so, and thus be a witness to some of the ripe fruits
of the great work in the villages about Harpoot. What may not be
accomplished by such a party of Christian laborers, going into
villages and neighborhoods unreached by other means? It is thus that
the good seed is now scattered broadcast over the land.

"We had hoped to reach Hassan-Beyli for the Sabbath, but the
distance proved too great, and as it was three hours off from the
main road, we had to give up a visit to this mountain eyrie,--now a
centre of Christian influence, a few years ago a nest of robbers.
But they would not let us off so. Tuesday morning, by six o'clock,
we were surprised to see a half dozen of those stalwart men, who had
left their mountain crags, three hours before, to come down and
exchange Christian salutations. As I looked at them, I could not but
wonder at the work of grace manifest in them. After words of
exhortation through an interpreter, on mounting my horse I took them
each by the hand, while the grasp tightened and eyes flashed and
filled at the words--'Christ, Hallelujah, Amen.'"






CHAPTER XLIV.

THE ARMENIANS.--EDUCATION.

1872.


The common school is as much a necessity in mission fields, as it is
that the people should be able to read the Word of God; and it has
everywhere been a primary object of attention; but always, and more
especially of late years, with the aim and expectation, that it will
speedily derive its support from the parents of the children.

Properly conducted, the tendency of the common school is to
development. Teachers are learning all the while; new branches of
study are introduced; there is greater thoroughness in the teaching
and discipline; till at length the Academy is evolved, and perhaps
the College.

This would be the natural order of development, were general
education the leading object of missionary societies. But the
unevangelized nations must be evangelized, and chiefly by their own
people. Consequently one of the first efforts is to raise up
teachers and preachers.

Enough has probably been said, in this history, respecting the
common schools. So, also, of the Seminary at Bebek, instituted in
1840,[1] and the Girls' Boarding-school in the metropolis,
instituted in 1845.[2] The Bebek Seminary was in some respects the
forerunner of "Robert College." But however suitable its proximity
to the capital may have been, regarding it as an incipient college,
the location was not well adapted, on the whole, for a school to
raise up young men for pastoral work in the towns and villages of
the interior. Hence its discontinuance in 1862, and the opening of a
training Seminary in Marsovan, in 1865. The delay of three years was
owing to peculiar and unexpected causes. The Girls' Boarding-school
at Constantinople was also discontinued for similar reasons, and was
reopened at Marsovan in 1865.

[1] See Chapter xxxiii.

[2] See Chapter xxxiii.

A highly intelligent Armenian gentleman thus addressed Dr. Hamlin:
"The Bebek Seminary has given birth to influences, which have waked
up our young men all over the land; and you are regarded as a public
benefactor, although you can never be regarded as our religious
guide. Still, in sentiment, you have--not eight thousand, but eight
hundred thousand followers. We shall never be called Protestants; it
is not an Armenian term; but we hope to see the day when the
Armenian Church will be as evangelical as yours."

The present Theological Seminaries are at Harpoot, Marsovan, Marash,
and Mardin. There are, besides these, theological classes at
Cesarea, Broosa, Sivas, Harpoot, Bitlis, Erzroom, and Eski Zagra.
The first of the four seminaries above named originated in 1859, the
second, in 1865, the third in 1868; and the fourth, in 1870. Like
similar institutions in the United States, they are intended to
receive only such as not only give evidence of piety, but are
promising candidates for the gospel ministry. The course of study at
Harpoot illustrates, substantially, the education given, or
contemplated, in each of those institutions.

For the _first_ year, Exegesis, the Synoptic Gospels and Pentateuch,
the Turkish and Ancient Armenian languages, Algebra, Physiology,
Reading, Writing, and Spelling Armenian.

For the _second year_, Exegesis, Isaiah, Daniel, and Revelation,
Geometry, Natural Philosophy, and Astronomy, Rhetoric in Ancient
Armenian, Evidences of Christianity (Turkish).

For the _third_ year, Exegesis, Acts, Pauline Epistles, except
Romans and Hebrews, Mental Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, and
Theology.

For the _fourth_ year, Exegesis, Pastoral Epistles, Romans, Hebrews,
and Gospel of John, Sermonizing, Pastoral Theology, Church History,
and Logic.

Weekly exercises in composition and declamation through the first
three years; and lectures on Physical Geography, Geology, History,
and Chronology, and lessons in singing, distributed through the
course at convenience.

The female boarding-schools are mainly designed to educate teachers,
Bible-readers, and wives for native teachers and pastors. They are
in Marsovan, Aintab, Marash, Harpoot, Mardin, Bitlis, Erzroom, and
Samokov. The pupils in the theological seminaries and classes, and
in the female boarding-schools, as reported in the year 1871, were
as follows:--

                           Theological Theological      Female
                            Seminaries.  Classes.  Boarding-schools.
WESTERN TURKEY. Marsovan.       26          -             38
                Cesarea.         -          5              -
                Broosa.          -         13              -
                Sivas.           -          2              -
CENTRAL TURKEY. Aintab.          -          -             20
                Marash.         35          -              -
EASTERN TURKEY. Harpoot.        17         25[1]          34
                Mardin.          5          -              5
                Bitlis.          -          9             20
                Erzroom.         -          6              8
                              -----      -----          -----
                Total.          83         60            125

[1] More properly called a "Normal school."

Thus the number in training for the gospel ministry, in 1871, was
one hundred and forty-three, and the number in the female
boarding-schools was one hundred and twenty-five.

The Marsovan Seminary commenced with eight pupils, and the number
was increased in two years to twenty-four. Classes were organized at
the stations, to prepare candidates for admission to the seminary,
and to train such helpers as were not to take the full course of
study. The plan of instruction in the seminary has recently been
enlarged so as to include the training of native agents for the
Greek-speaking races of southwestern Asia Minor. Eight young men,
who graduated in 1869, received licenses to preach from the "Central
Evangelical Union," and were in great demand. Thirteen were thus
commissioned in 1870, in which year a convenient seminary building
was finished.[1]

[1] See Chap. xxiv. p. 17; Report of the Board for 1870, p. 21; and
_Missionary Herald_ for 1869, pp. 87, 122, 257; and for 1871, p.
109.

Mr. Wheeler has given a full and interesting description of the
theological and female Seminaries at Harpoot, in his valuable work,
entitled "Ten Years on the Euphrates," and to that the reader is
referred.[1] Eighteen pupils graduated in 1863, seven in 1865, and
eleven in 1867; of whom thirty-two became pastors, preachers, or
helpers.

[1] _Ten Years on the Euphrates_, pp. 162-221.

Theological classes were taught at Aintab and Marash, as early as
1860. It was resolved, eight years afterwards, in view of the
greater number of students at Marash, that the Theological Seminary,
then about being established, should be at that station. The
examination of the students of this seminary in 1869, drew together
an audience of a thousand persons. Thirty-three students were here
in the following year, and it was necessary for the resident
missionaries to give themselves almost wholly to their instruction;
while the work in the city and at the out-stations was committed to
the churches in Marash. That was a year of growth and prosperity to
these churches; sixty-six new members being added to them on
profession of faith. A new class of eighteen members was received in
October.

The Seminaries at Mardin are conducted on the same principles as
those at Harpoot. They are comparatively new, and are designed to
reach the race speaking the Arabic language.

The training-school at Tocat was broken up by the fire, which
consumed the mission premises in 1859.

A very valuable high school was taught for some years at Aintab, by
Mr. Alexan; who was transferred to Marash, in 1864, as assistant
teacher in the new Theological Seminary.

Thirty-five pupils attended the female Seminary at Marsovan in 1869,
and many of them were hopefully converted. In 1870 there were forty
pupils.

A majority of the young men in the Seminary at Harpoot were married,
and one main design of the female seminary at that station was the
education of their wives. These kept house for their husbands, and
attended school about seven hours a day, five days of the week.
Their younger children were committed to the care of a woman
employed for the purpose, while the older ones went to one of the
city schools. Of the ninety-four connected with the seminary
previous to 1867, forty-one were hopefully converted while in it.
Their chief text-book was the Bible; and some of them, besides
learning to read intelligently, and to write, keep accounts, and
know something of geography and astronomy, became intelligent
students and expounders of the Bible, and, with hearts warm with
love to Christ, proved themselves wise and efficient in winning
souls to Him.[1] This institution has had several valuable teachers
from the United States, prominent among whom was Miss Maria A. West.

[1] _Ten Years on the Euphrates_, p. 189.

The Female Boarding-school at Aintab was commenced under the care of
Miss Proctor in 1861, with eight pupils. The number was increased to
fourteen in 1864, and to twenty-five in 1867, of whom ten gave
evidence of piety. It is one of the best schools in Turkey.

Mrs. Coffing's labors among the women of Marash, in 1867, and in the
four schools of which she had the oversight, were of great value. In
1868, she had charge of a girls' high school, which was an
institution of much promise. The pupils were thirty-eight, six of
whom were wives of students in the Theological Seminary. Of the
hundred girls who had been in this school from the beginning,
twenty-one were hopefully converted while in the school. In 1872, a
boarding department was added for the benefit of girls from the
out-stations.


THE ROBERT COLLEGE.


This college has no direct connection with the American Board, nor
with the mission as such; yet our history would be incomplete
without some account of it.

The college may be said to have grown out of the efforts of Dr.
Hamlin to furnish employment to Protestant Armenians, whose
evangelical principles had thrown them out of business. For this end
a flour mill and bakery were established with unlooked for success;
and when the Crimean war broke out, very large quantities of bread
were furnished by this Protestant bakery to the English troops and
hospitals at Constantinople.

Christopher R. Robert, Esq., of New York, was then travelling in the
East, and his attention was attracted to a large boat load of
excellent bread _en route_ from the bakery to the English camp. This
led to further inquiries, and to an acquaintance and permanent
friendship between himself and Dr. Hamlin.

The project of a college was first suggested by the sons of Dr.
Dwight, one of the most honored founders of the Armenian mission;
and a meeting for consultation, called by them, was held at the
house of Mr. Robert in New York, in October, 1857. Several such
meetings were held, but no agreement was reached as to the
principles which should govern the College.

Mr. Robert, finding that nothing was to be done, then proposed to
Dr. Hamlin to take up the work in coöperation with himself; which,
after consulting his brethren and the officers of the American
Board, he decided to do. I now quote from a statement kindly
furnished me by Dr. Hamlin.

"While all agreed in the necessity of a higher education, there were
various views in regard to the proposed College. Some regarded these
three obstacles as insuperable. (1) The variety of races,--Turkish,
Armenian, Greek, and Slavic,--which have no common sympathies, and
would not unite in one institution. (2) Variety of religious
faith,--Islamism, Romanism, the Oriental Orthodox, and Armenian
Churches,--which could never agree in one institution. (3) Variety
of language,--Greek, Armenian, Turkish, and Slavonic,--each of which
would seek preëminence.

"It was decided, however, to make the experiment. The College was to
be a Christian institution. The Bible was to be read, and prayer
offered, morning and evening, at which all should be present. There
would be Christian worship and Bible teaching on the Sabbath, but
freedom of conscience would be sacredly regarded.

"The American civil war, breaking out in 1861 prevented any attempt
to obtain an endowment in the United States, and Mr. Robert, who had
already advanced $10,000 for the purchase of a site, then deposited
$30,000 in the hands of trustees, in order to commence the work.

"The Turkish Government, at the instigation of Jesuit and French
diplomacy, prevented the College from using the beautiful site it
had purchased, although official leave to build there had been
obtained from the department of Public Instruction. After much
delay, expense, and fruitless effort, the College was opened in the
building belonging to the American Board, and formerly known as the
Bebek Seminary. It was called 'Robert College;' though without Mr.
Robert's knowledge, because the name, having no special significance
to the people there, would excite no local prejudice.

"The College, thus founded in 1863, slowly but steadily gained the
confidence of the communities around it. During the fourth year of
its existence, the building was filled with students, and was
considerably enlarged. On the fourth of July, 1869, the corner-stone
of a new and large building was laid on the purchased site, leave
having been obtained after seven years' effort. The new building,
capable of receiving two hundred and fifty students, was entered,
and the college opened publicly, September 15th, 1871. It has so
rapidly filled with students, that the Trustees have resolved to
raise an endowment, and erect another still larger building,
confident that it also will soon be filled.

ROBERT COLLEGE. [image]

"All the supposed obstacles have disappeared. There are seventeen
nationalities and six religions represented in the College, and
there are no peculiar difficulties of government. Two forces
contribute mainly to unify the whole. (1) All are subject to the
daily influence of Christian instruction. (2) All study the English
language in the preparatory department, and the College course is
wholly in that language.

"Another feature of the college should be noticed. It is
self-supporting. It was designed to offer a sound Christian
education to those who would pay for it. Two hundred dollars in gold
are paid by every student for board and tuition forty weeks in the
year. This is more for Turkey, than twice that sum would be in the
United States.

"Mr. Robert has given nearly $175,000 for this institution, or more
than fivefold what he originally contemplated.

"Nothing but the very highest education that can be attained, will
now satisfy the Turkish community. Jesuit colleges have fallen into
disrepute. They cannot meet this demand fairly, and satisfy it. New
ideas of religious freedom pervade these communities; the old bonds
are broken, and the college that gives the best culture, moral and
mental, will be the most patronized by all. Missionary Societies
cannot properly prosecute the work in this highest department of
education. And yet foreign missions would be a failure if their work
should stop in those classes where it usually begins. It must
pervade and control the intelligence and enterprise of the land, and
it cannot culminate in this result without the Christian College,
and ultimately the Christian University."


PROPOSED COLLEGE IN THE INTERIOR.


As one result of the establishment of "Robert College" at
Constantinople, a desire was awakened among the Protestants of
Central Turkey for a similar institution, though on a less extended
scale, and somewhat differently constituted; to be established
either at Aintab, or Marash. Both places were anxious for the
location, and set forth their claims with much ability, but the
decision inclined in favor of Aintab. The subscriptions pledged by
the people of that city, on condition of securing the college, were
regarded by Dr. Schneider as equivalent to $60,000 of American
money, or more than twenty dollars for each church-member, Nor were
the offerings at Marash less liberal, in proportion to their means.

The idea appears to have had its origin with the people of Marash;
who state that their own condition, the number and power of their
enemies, and the baneful influences of infidelity among them, made
them feel that the standard of education in the Theological Seminary
ought to be so raised as to meet the exigency. The failure of this
proposal suggested the college; and the plan of one, elaborated by a
committee, was brought before the "Union." By that time, however,
the Protestants of Aintab had become fully awake to the importance
of the measure, and the claims of the two cities were so earnestly
pressed, that the Union declined deciding between them, and referred
the decision to the Prudential Committee of the American Board.

The very able pleas by the Protestants of the two cities drawn up in
the spring of 1872, are before me, in the English language. The
Aintab document opens with an interesting statement of their past
progress in the matter of education. "We well remember," they say,
"what our condition was, twenty-five or thirty years ago. We had
then not even a thought about the necessity or advantages of
education. A population of ten thousand Armenians was content with a
single common school, where only reading and writing were taught.
When, however, through the agency of the American Board, the Bible
was translated into our modern language, it soon changed our
opinions as to the importance of education, we can hardly explain
how. Soon, the evangelical Armenians, not to speak of members of the
Old Church, were not content with even three or four schools, nor
were they satisfied with educating their sons, but began to plan for
the education of their daughters. We discovered that mere reading
and writing were not enough, and saw plainly the necessity of a
higher grade of studies. Whereas once, we were hardly willing to
send our children to schools where all the expense was borne by the
missionaries, we were now anxious to open schools of a still higher
character, and support them ourselves. We now realized, under the
light of God's Word, that if men are to be good Christians, good
fathers and mothers, and useful members of society, they must be
educated. In this respect, our desires have been greatly
strengthened by watching in our churches the constantly increasing
demand for a stronger class of preachers and teachers. All the
churches within the bounds of the Union are convinced of the
necessity of a more thoroughly educated ministry. Hence the desire
for a college in this section of the country."

The decision was in favor of Aintab in view of its greater financial
ability, its centrality, its comparative healthfulness, the
abundance of good building materials, the lower price of skilled
labor, the prospective railway communication between the coast and
the interior, the proper distribution of educational advantages (the
Theological Seminary being already at Marash), and the interest felt
by all classes at Aintab, including the Old Armenians and the
Moslems.






CHAPTER XLV.

THE ARMENIANS. THE PRESENT CONDITION.

1872.


It seems often to be required of missions, though not properly, that
they shall exert a vastly greater reforming influence on
unevangelized countries, than the Gospel has yet done in Christian
lands. When we speak of "the conversion of the world," we are
generally understood as meaning the introduction of the
"Millennium." But what we refer to is not the millennial state, but
such a diffusion of gospel agencies and influences through the
unevangelized world, as we see in the most favored Christian
communities.

This is all that can reasonably be expected from missionary efforts.
The Millenium, whether it be near or remote, doubtless implies such
a previous extension of gospel agencies as we are now attempting,
but will be the actual result of a universal outpouring of the
Spirit, such as we are taught to expect when the time comes for the
ultimate triumphs of the Christian dispensation.

The question naturally arises, in closing this History, how far
progress has been made in evangelizing Turkey, or in preparing the
way for its future evangelization. From the nature of the case,
there can be only an approximation towards an exact reply; and
perhaps none can be given more satisfactory, than is furnished by
the narrative already recorded in these pages. Yet a brief notice of
some of the more important facts, may reasonably be expected here.

It must not be supposed, that some of the first facts that will be
mentioned are regarded as direct results of missionary effort, or as
indications of evangelizing progress; but even these mark a progress
in the condition of society, which is very cheering, and full of
promise with reference to future efforts for the introduction and
establishment of a true and pure religion; white others noticed have
a more direct and full connection with the missionary work.

Where there has been intellectual and social progress on a large
scale, we naturally look for material improvements. Turning, first
of all, to the great metropolis, Dr. Wood testifies to such
improvements as these: "The streets are named, and doors designated
by numbers. Scavenger carts are supplanting the dogs. The terrible
conflagrations have secured broad avenues, and handsome stone and
brick structures, in place of mean wooden buildings, on streets so
narrow that the sun could hardly enter them. Spacious flag-stone
sidewalks are taking the place of the rough pavements of horrible
memory, and macadamized roadbeds help one to climb the steep
hill-sides of Constantinople. 'Tramways' are built or building, a
boon of inexpressible value to the aged and feeble, and a thousand
dwellings have been demolished for the track of the Belgrade and
Vienna Railroad, entering at the Seven Towers, and carried along the
Marmora, and around the Seraglio Point, to its terminus on the
Golden Horn. The demolition of much of the sea-wall to make way for
it and furnish materials for embankments, is a suggestive symbol of
the social and religious reconstruction, which is tearing up old
foundations, and using the labors of ages past for that which is to
be."

Dr. Wood next instances the significant telegraph lines, running to
all points of the compass, of which he counted twelve on one side of
a street, and four on the other. "The spectacle of small craft on
the waters, sea-going steamers of the largest class, smaller
passenger-boats for the Bosphorus and ports on the Marmora, and the
magnificent iron-clads anchored in front of the Sultan's palaces,
impresses both residents and strangers with a vivid sense of the
greatness, wealth, and power, which, in spite of mismanagement,
corruption, misrule, and all the elements of weakness and decline in
the country, are here concentrated."

"Costumes," he says, "are changing, and customs and ideas change
with them. Even Turkish women are adopting Frank articles of dress,
worn beneath the external covering, and go about tottering on
high-heeled shoes of latest Parisian style; and Armenian women
appear in public with unveiled faces, attired like ladies of Europe.
Thirteen newspapers--three of them dailies, three tri-weeklies, and
seven weeklies (one of which issues a daily bulletin), for Armenians
alone, at the capital--attest a new intellectual life, by the fact
of their existence, and by the freedom of their discussions.

"Schools for girls are multiplying; even a normal school for Turkish
girls has been established under government patronage; but a still
greater zeal is displayed for the education of boys. The notions of
the people concerning education are, indeed, very faulty, and much
of the instruction given is poor enough in quality; but the waking
up on the subject heralds a brighter day in the future. That this is
far greater among the Christian populations, than in the Mohammedan
and Jewish, and that the former are gaining more and more upon the
latter in the possession of wealth, is suggestive of coming events,
of the highest interest and importance."

Dr. Clarke, Foreign Secretary of the Board, writing in the same year
(1871), after his visit to the East, mentions the following
indications of progress: "Hundreds of miles of railway, begun and
under contract; telegraphic communication between the principal
towns; postal arrangements for the conveyance of money, as well as
letters, established within a few years between many places; police
regulations, securing protection to life and property as never
before; the suppression of robber-hordes, which had infested
different sections; and the beginning of a newspaper press. The
public mind in the great centres is waking up to what is going on in
the outside world. The war in our own country, by its derangement of
commerce, led to much inquiry; and the later conflicts in Europe
have excited a lively interest in many minds. And not the least
significant matter is the change of sentiment in reference to France
and French influence. Already is it said by native merchants, that
their children must learn English, or German, instead of French; and
the power of Romanism, upheld so long by French consuls, is sensibly
weakened. And Protestantism is quietly doing its work of
enlightenment,--directly, in thousands of minds, and indirectly, in
thousands more."

Mr. Adams, of Adana, writing a year earlier, affirms that the
Christian populations are far more ready to hear and read the Gospel
than is commonly supposed, and that the Protestant faith has found
its way into the remotest corners of the land. He says, we should
not measure the success of missions by "tabular views" alone, for it
often happens that a missionary's strongest grounds of hope are
quite outside of the largest array of figures. "As I write this," he
adds, "a statement of Hagop Effendi occurs to me. He said: "I have
travelled a great deal among the Protestants of Syria and Turkey,
and the strongest impression I have does not arise from the schools,
books, or churches, as pledges that Protestantism is to be a success
in Turkey, but from the prodigious extent to which the country at
large is leavened by Protestant truth. The grandest results of your
labors are not apparent."

Another testimony is by Mr. Leonard, of Marsovan, under date of
January, 1871. "Evidence," he says, "of a gradual reform in the
Oriental churches, especially the Armenian Church, chiefly as the
result of evangelical labors, crops out in almost every city.
Consecrated pictures leave church walls for the garret; silver
crosses go into the refining pot; auricular confession is neglected;
many superstitious ceremonies and foolish restrictions, imposed by
the priesthood, are regarded only as a curious relic of the past. We
note, also, a growing friendliness towards Protestants, and
occasionally very sensible efforts, in emulation of them, to educate
the people."

Mr. Leonard doubtless had a special reference to the Armenian Bishop
of Amasia, who, having secured a majority of the people in his
favor, swept two churches of their gold and silver images, crosses,
and vestments, and appropriated the avails to the erection of
school-houses and the support of teachers. The minority appealed to
the Patriarch at Constantinople; but he is known to have been in
sympathy with the reforming party in the church before his election,
while at Van and Moosh, and is said to have sanctioned the whole
proceeding, and to have followed his sanction with an exhortation to
preach the Gospel.[1]

[1] _Report of the Board_ for 1871, p. 27.

Another testimony is from Mr. Wheeler, of Harpoot, written in April
of the same year: "Henceforth we shall need less money, and more
prayer; for this finishing of the work is, in some respects, even
more perilous than was its beginning. The people expect and demand a
thousand things, which they cannot _now_ have; and sometimes the
more earnest ones are inclined to take the missionaries by the
throat, with a 'Pay us that ye owe!' We are encouraged by the
reflection that such experiences necessarily enter into such a work
of awakening and reform, as is here going on."

The testimony of Hagop Effendi, the Civil Head of the Protestants of
Turkey, should also be adduced. He says: "The fact that eighty-five
per cent. of the adults in the Protestant community can read, speaks
greatly in favor of its members. Any one acquainted with the social
condition and religious ideas of the Orient, who will take pains to
compare them with the liberal institutions now introduced, can
readily imagine the state of society that must necessarily follow
such a change. As yet, the people do not possess the intellectual
and moral elements necessary for the maintenance of the liberal
institutions of Protestantism independent of foreign aid." "Those,"
he adds, "who have become Protestant in principle, far exceed in
number the registered Protestants. The indirect influence of
Protestantism has been greater and healthier than is apparent." He
then instances the strictly sober habits of the Protestants, among
whom the use of strong drink is very rare, and habitual drunkenness
is hardly known. And he was everywhere gratified to find, throughout
the empire, a great improvement in domestic relations, as compared
with the condition of families before they became Protestants.

The districts of Harpoot, Aintab, and Marash are probably more
advanced in the matter of self-governing, self-supporting,
evangelical churches, than any other considerable portions of the
field in Western Asia. The Rev. Herman N. Barnum, of the Harpoot
station, while in the United States, drew up, at my request, a
statement of some of the more important results of missionary labor
in his own district, which may be regarded as illustrative of the
results of missionary labor in other districts.

He states these as rules,--that no church is to be organized without
a native pastor; that no church is to receive aid from the mission
for more than one half the salary of the pastor, and none for more
than five years. Eighteen churches have been formed in the district,
with six hundred and fifty members, and most of them on this plan.
The church at Harpoot was self-supporting from the outset. Wherever
a fully organized and self-supporting church existed, the peculiar
work of the missionaries was regarded as completed in that place;
the church and pastor, rather than the missionaries, being
henceforth held responsible for the evangelization of the
surrounding community. The missionaries aid, if necessary, by their
counsel and in other ways, but what they do is through the church.
His response as to the character of the churches, which I
necessarily abridge, is deemed applicable, substantially, to the
seventy-four churches among the Armenians. He says:--

"1. They are becoming intelligent. Making the Bible a study, they
become established in Christian doctrine.

"2. Church discipline is better maintained than it is in American
churches. Their 'watch and care' are delightful to witness. Many of
these Christians came out of the grossest corruption, but the
fellowship of the church is a shield and a support.

"3. They are self-denying. The support of their own institutions,
including the building of their school-houses and houses of worship,
with very little missionary aid, necessitates the sacrifice of
comforts which they cheerfully forego. Experience in Turkey has
abundantly proved, that dependent churches are nearly worthless for
evangelizing agencies. When the institutions of the Gospel are
supported for them, they regard the work of extending it as
belonging especially to the missionaries; and hence, however lavish
the expenditure, they often complain that money is not more freely
spent, and the work prosecuted on a grander scale. Complaints
against missionaries come chiefly from churches doing little for
themselves. On the other hand, self-supporting churches regard the
work of propagating the Gospel as their own, and whatever is given
them, they gratefully receive as aid in doing their own work.

"4. These churches resemble the primitive churches in their
disposition to work for others. They are imbued with a spirit of
labor. They go from house to house, reading and preaching the word.
This is the theme in the shop, the field, and by the way-side.

"The chief source of discomfort is in the Armenian character itself,
in which there is a lack of stability, and a want of perseverance.
But there is ground for hope, that even this national trait may be
overcome by the power of the Gospel.

"In Harpoot and its seventy out-station is a Protestant community of
about five thousand souls, characterized by a remarkable reformation
in the outward life. Many of them are doubtless Christians, who, in
the great care which the churches use in receiving members to their
fellowship, are in a certain sense on probation. The Protestant name
has become a synonym for integrity and uprightness.

"The extent, to which the Gospel has affected the communities not
Protestant, cannot be appreciated by one not in actual contact with
them. It manifests itself partly in the weakened power of
superstition, the multiplication of schools, the number of adults
who have learned to read, the increase in general intelligence and
knowledge of the truth, the decrease of intemperance and vice, the
promotion of enterprise and good order; and, in short, the
beginnings of a civilization, that has a Christian aspect. There
have been sold at Harpoot about four thousand copies of the Bible,
and twenty thousand portions of the same, with nearly fifty-five
thousand volumes of other books, religious and educational, from the
mission press. Large numbers of these have gone into the hands of
the unevangelized, and are silently exerting an influence. This
class of persons is always represented in our congregations. They
hear the truth discussed everywhere, and thousands of them have
accepted it intellectually, who have not yet separated themselves
from their own religious communities. All this suggests the
possibility of a rapid development, when the Spirit shall be poured
out from on high.

"Were the Harpoot field limited to the district seventy miles
square, of which the city is the centre, it might now be safely
left, with its seminaries and hundreds of villages, to the eleven
churches and the native laborers found there, with an annual grant,
for a few years, from the American Board. As it is, there is good
hope that, by the blessing of God on the means in use, the whole
district, embracing more than twenty thousand square miles and half
a million of souls, may, in a few years, be relinquished as a
missionary field."

Some estimate may be formed of the influence exerted by the press,
when it is considered that more than ten and a half millions of
pages were issued, in the single year 1870, in the Armenian,
Armeno-Turkish, Græco-Turkish, and Bulgarian languages; and that
nearly three hundred millions of pages have been issued by these
missions since they began their operations. The number of
missionaries among the Armenians, in 1870, was forty, and of female
assistant missionaries sixty.

When the missionaries entered Turkey, religion was administered
wholly by the hierarchy, and had everywhere a stereotype form. Death
was the penalty for heresy among the Moslems; and it was scarcely
less in the prevailing sentiment of the nominal Christian sects. The
history relates how far this obstacle existed, and how far it has
been overcome. Whatever be true as regards thy ecclesiastics, the
people have now accepted, in some good degree, the principle of
religious freedom, and so has the government of the Sultan.

Before the institution of Protestant missions, the school-books
among the Turks, Armenians, and Greeks were in the ancient
languages, and the schools were consequently of little practical
value. One of the first things done by the missionaries was the
publication of school-books in the languages spoken by the people;
and this simple movement took wonderfully with both Christians and
Moslems, and has wrought a mighty revolution in the empire.

The principle of self-support in native churches appears now to be
the well-defined policy of all the missions in Turkey, to be
realized in practice at the earliest possible day. In some of the
missionary districts, the forming of the church and the ordination
of the pastor are expected to occur at the same time; and when aid
is given it is only for a limited series of years; and the schools,
and all other necessary agencies, are to be transferred at the
earliest moment from the mission to the people themselves. As a
general rule, the missionaries do not now take the lead in the
building of school-houses and places of worship. They aid as may
seem necessary; but the responsibility and chief pecuniary burden
are left with the people; except where the power of precedent, from
a different course, is too strong to be overcome at once.

The various testimonies embodied in this chapter will not affect all
minds alike. Yet all must admit, that the Gospel has gained a
deeper, firmer hold on the Armenians, than it ever had before, from
the days of Gregory "the Illuminator" until now. A mental, moral,
and social revolution is in progress, and mainly as a consequence of
the republication of the Gospel by missionaries in the past half
century; and there is no probability of any event occurring that
shall be sufficient to arrest it. Doubtless great evil would result
from extensive inroads of sectarian zeal. But there is hope of
triumph even then,--from the Bible in their own language, brought by
the press within reach of thousands of families, with fathers,
mothers, and children able and free to read it; from self-governed,
self-supported, self-propagating churches, scattered over the
empire, each with its indoctrinated native pastor; from woman
holding such a place in the family and social circle, as she never
held before; and from common schools, and normal schools, and high
schools, and theological seminaries, and even colleges, all
independent of the hierarchy, and beyond the power of the Jesuits;
with the logic of free thought, and a free conscience.

It would seem that it may not be needful greatly to enlarge the
present number of missionaries among the Armenian people. The native
ministers and native churches are the main thing. And it must be
admitted, that the Gospel, through the grace of God, has been
republished, and its institutions replanted, extensively and most
hopefully in the Armenian Church of the Orient. "In the midst of
fermentation," writes the Constantinople station in 1872, "the
leaven of truth is making its way; and so is, also, that of
infidelity; but the latter is temporary in its influence, the former
permanent. There is far more Protestantism outside of the Protestant
church than within it. Protestant ideas of truth, of liberty of
conscience, of progress, are spread far and wide, and are convulsing
these nations."






CHAPTER XLVI.

THE MOHAMMEDANS.


The necessity for republishing the Gospel among the Oriental
Churches, in order to approach the Mohammedans successfully, was
stated in the Introduction to this History.[1] It seems proper now
to give some illustrations of the effect this republication is
likely to have upon that people.

[1] See Volume i. pp. 1-6.

A large portion of the Mohammedan population of Turkey is
undoubtedly of Christian origin, and therefore less firmly wedded to
the Moslem faith and ritual, than are the Osmanly Turks. Three
fourths of the four millions in European Turkey, are believed to be
of this class. The Kuzzelbashes in Eastern Turkey have a tradition
that their Christian ancestors were compelled to become Mohammedans,
and they are now regarded by the Turks as little better than
infidels; nor are the Koords in much higher repute. Of the Druzes
enough was said in the first volume.[1]

[1] See Chapter xv.

Though the penalty of death for embracing the Christian religion has
been abrogated in Turkey,[1] yet the convert from Mohammedanism does
not feel himself free from danger of secret assassination. Far
greater security of life and property is enjoyed by Protestant
Armenians and Bulgarians, than by Protestant Turks. Indeed, it is
not long since Protestant Turks had no security whatever; and in
Persia, they have none now. When Koord, Kuzzelbash, and Turk shall
feel as free to inquire, and to act on conviction, as the members of
the nominally Christian sects, there are facts encouraging the
belief, that large numbers of Moslems may be expected to embrace the
Christian faith.

[1] See Chapters ix. and xxv.

There is no more satisfactory way of illustrating this than by a
simple statement of some of the more important facts. Indeed, it is
requisite to the completeness of this history, that these be now
stated, since they were designedly omitted in the preceding pages,
in their various connections, in order to be recorded here.

I begin with the year 1854, when the Imperial Firman of 1850 became
known in the provinces.[1] Mr. Dunmore, on his way from Arabkir to
Diarbekir, with Priest Kevork, spent the first night at a Moslem
village. They had travelled in the rain, and were scarcely dry, says
Mr. Dunmore, "when a company of Turks asked us to read to them from
the New Testament, and tell them something of our belief. Kevork
read to them from the Gospels, explaining, as he passed along, the
precious teachings of our Lord, and closed with prayer. All listened
attentively, and pronounced it, 'Good,' 'True,' 'Just.'"

[1] See Chapters xxiv. and xxv.

At another place, Mr. Dunmore found Turks desirous to hear the
Gospel. "More than once," he says, "in passing through the streets,
rich Moslem merchants called us into their shops, expressed their
sympathy with us, and an earnest desire that we would remain. They
called the Armenians to discuss questions with us, but the latter
did so only when constrained by fear, or shame. We were frequently
followed by a number of respectable Moslems, as we went from shop to
shop to converse with the Armenians; and one day so many gathered
about us that we could scarcely proceed on our way; all exclaiming,
'Right,' 'True,' 'Good,' to all that we said."

The Hutti Humaïoun was promulgated in 1855. In that year the Turkish
Scriptures were sold openly on the bridge between Galata and
Constantinople, no man forbidding.

In September, 1857, Dr. Hamlin described the official examination,
at his house, of a family converted from Mohammedanism. It was made
at the instigation of the mother of the wife, who was almost frantic
at the baptism of her daughter and grandchild. "Our dear friends,"
wrote Dr. Hamlin, "stood firm as a rock, and at length the officers
arose and said to me, as nearly as I can state; 'We are fully
convinced that no compulsion has been used in this case, and, so far
as we can see, the accusations of the mother are false. It is the
will of his Majesty, our Sovereign, and it has become the law of the
empire, that every subject, without exception, should enjoy entire
religious freedom. The Mussulman is now as free to become a
Christian, as a Christian is free to become a Mussulman. The
government will know no difference in the two cases. It will only
undertake, whenever an accusation of restraint or compulsion is
brought, to ascertain the true state of the case; and then only in
order to secure the most unexceptionable freedom of choice.'"

In May of the following year, Dr. Hamlin wrote, that Selim Effendi,
a converted Mussulman employed as an evangelist among his
countrymen, had many inquirers. "I think he conversed with eleven
last week; among whom a woman expressed a very decided desire to
embrace Christianity, but she was afraid of her son. Her son had
sometimes expressed the same wish, but he was afraid of his mother!
Selim introduced them to each other."

"Let the following statements be appreciated," said Dr. Schauffler,
in September, 1858, "and the difference between the present and the
former state of things will be better understood. (1.) The Imans and
Ulemas are obliged to resort to moral suasion and entreaty. No
threats of persecution are employed; the government takes no
responsibility in these matters; the police has nothing to do with
them. (2.) Although there are fewer purchasers of the New Testament,
yet men buy it publicly, fearing no civil penalty. 'Why do you buy
this infidel book?' says a bigot to a Mohammedan purchaser of the
Gospel. He replies: 'I chose to buy it, and with my own money; you
are welcome to mind your own business;' and so the matter ends. (3.)
We hear of no search being made for the books in circulation among
Mussulmans, No New Testaments have been burned yet, that we know of,
by the Turks, as many copies have been by the Greek or Catholic
priests and bishops."

Mr. Dunmore wrote, in the same year, after visiting thirty villages,
mostly Kuzzelbash and Turkish: "I really felt ashamed, that in
touring I had ever passed by a Turkish village, without stopping to
point them to the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the
world? And I testify what I have seen, when I say, that the Turks
are approachable; and many of them ready to listen to the Gospel;
while others are anxious to search the Scriptures, and are
restrained only by the pressure of fears, which, as yet, the
Hatti-humaioun has scarcely begun to remove in this region."

I quote again from the same missionary: "At a Koordish village of
twenty houses we spent two hours in preaching the Word to a company
of thirty. One of them, who seemed to have received a few rays of
light from enlightened men, boldly declared, that he believed the
time was near, when the sword would no more be used to keep men in
Moslem bonds, but that they all would soon be free to embrace the
Gospel, if they wished. We spent a night at a Kuzzelbash village of
forty houses. Immediately on our arrival, we had an audience of
thirty or forty; and during the long evening, fifty or more listened
to the great truths of the Gospel. We preached 'Christ crucified;
the way, the truth, and the life;' and they received the word with
eagerness. When the evening was far spent, we bowed together before
the mercy-seat, after which our audience reluctantly retired. These
are but samples of our visits among Kuzzelbashes and Turks on this
tour."

Dr. Hamlin, speaking of Turks near the close of 1858, says: "There
have been, here and there, some burnings of the New Testament; not
publicly, but in private, or in small social circles. Among
Mussulmans themselves a spirited debate has repeatedly arisen as to
the moral character of the act. Some have approved, others have most
decidedly condemned it, affirming that the New Testament is the Word
of God. What impressed us most strongly is the bold manner in which
orthodox Turks have declared it to be the Word of God, and that to
burn it is a sin."[1]

[1] See _Missionary Herald_ for 1858, p. 380.

Dr. Dwight wrote in May, 1859: "The work among the Turks is looming
up; and if not hindered by some untoward event, or by our neglect,
it will by and by assume very large proportions. That Turkish
officials through the country have been instructed not to persecute
Mohammedans who embrace Christianity, is very evident. The governors
of Sivas, Cesarea, and Diarbekir have, to our knowledge, within a
short time, and with actual cases before them, publicly declared,
that a Mohammedan who became a Christian could not be molested."

Mr. White visited a place on the north of the Taurus Mountains in
May, 1860, and had many calls from Mussulmans. "Every day they
came," he says, "with an apparently sincere desire to learn the
truth; and held long conversations on man's sinfulness, and how it
was possible for God to forgive sin. 'We have lost God;' 'We have
lost the road;' 'We cannot find God;' were expressions they used
very often. At almost every meeting, from three to five Mussulmans
were present. One is known all over the city as a Protestant; and a
second is a member of the Governor's Council."

Mr. Herrick, speaking of the Turkish department in the Bebek
Seminary, wrote thus, in the same year: "Quite a number of
Mohammedans have renounced Islam, and become true Christians; many
more are soberly inquiring after the truth; and many others are
turning, unsatisfied, from a religion which cannot save, or wavering
in a merely nominal devotion to Islamism. That which is most
striking is the clear evidence, often, of the work of God's Spirit
in individual cases, and in general movements."

Dr. Schneider gives this testimony concerning the Mussulmans at an
out-station of Aintab: "There is a willingness among the Moslems
here to listen to arguments in favor of Christianity, that is
uncommon. By intercourse with Protestants, and the reading of the
Scriptures, many of them have obtained glimpses of the truth, and a
few are more or less convinced that Christianity is true. While I
was there, fifteen Mussulmans and several women attended a service.
Apparently there is no place in this region where there is so much
prospect of a speedy work to be done among the Mussulmans."

The inducement to labor among the Moslems, was much increased in the
year 1860. At one large town in the heart of Asia Minor, a Moslem
said to a Protestant, "Since you came here, you have caused us to
fall into doubt and fear." At another, a Turk and his wife appeared
to be true Christians. Though the man was zealous in making known
the Gospel, the Moslems agreed to ignore his being a Protestant. At
Diarbekir, a Turk declared himself a Christian, and a captain of the
army at Harpoot did the same. Many Turks in the latter region
purchased the New Testament, and some the whole Bible. The military
Pasha of this district bought a Bible publicly, and so did the civil
Pasha; thus showing the effect of the thorough evangelization of
that community. At Constantinople, Dr. Dwight reported his having
read the Scriptures and bowed in prayer with a high officer of the
army in the palace of a Pasha, in the Mussulman quarter of the city,
and in the presence of servants; the officer appearing to be
strongly under the influence of evangelical ideas and feelings. Six
Moslem converts were baptized that year at the capital. One of these
was an Iman, seventy years of age. There had then been fifteen
baptisms of adult converts from Mohammedanism in Constantinople.[1]
The Grand Vizier subsequently required the Serasker to call Abdi
Effendi, the baptized Iman above mentioned, and examine him. This
was done, and the old man made the following confession and
statement: "We are no ghiaours (_i. e_. we worship neither pictures,
nor crosses, nor saints); we assemble and read out of this book
(drawing out of his bosom the New Testament); we sing out of this
one (producing a Turkish Hymn Book); and we listen to preaching from
the Gospel, and engage in prayer for all men. If there is anything
wrong in this book, please point it out to me." He supposed (on
inquiry) that there might be some forty men who were like him, and
mentioned some of their names.

[1] In part, by English missionaries.

It would be easy to multiply illustrations like the foregoing of the
susceptibility of Mohammedans to Christian influence; and the reader
will notice that they are of the same general nature with the early
manifestations of interest among the Armenians. There have been,
also, Turkish converts, who braved death in their Christian
profession, and remained steadfast unto the end.

No churches have been formed by our missionaries exclusively of
Turkish Christians; and it can hardly be said, that the Board has
yet had an organized mission to this people. Of the four
missionaries sent especially to the Turks, Dr. Schauffler has
devoted himself chiefly to translating the Scriptures into the
Osmanli-Turkish; Mr. Herrick, besides doing service by his
commentaries and other literary labors in that language, has been
mainly employed in the Turkish department of the Theological
Seminary, first at Bebek, and then at Marsovan; the younger Mr.
Schauffler was born on the ground, as we may say, and began his
labors amid the strifes of the Armenians in Constantinople with the
missionaries, which was a great hindrance to his work, and the
health of his family not allowing him to remain in Turkey, he is now
a pioneer in the new mission to Austria; and Mr. Hutchison had
scarcely entered the Turkish department of the Bebek Seminary, when
the failure of his wife's health required a return to the United
States. The mission of the Rev. James L. Merrick to the Persian
Mohammedans, in 1834, was little more than a tentative exploration
of the field, and was not continued.[1]

[1] It should be stated that the English Church Missionary Society
has had a missionary to the Mohammedans in Constantinople since
1862, and reports five converts who are communicants. For the
reactionary movement among the Turks at Constantinople, in
consequence of the distribution of Dr. Pfander's _Defense of
Christianity against Mohammedanism_, see page 234 of this volume.

With a field so inviting as the Armenian along side of the
Mohammedan, it was not easy to obtain missionaries to the Moslems.
Then again, missionaries to the Armenians soon became engrossed by
their labors. "The Mohammedans," wrote Dr. Schauffler in 1859,
"never will be cared for by missionaries to the Armenians or the
Bulgarians. We can all render each other important services, but no
missionary can take charge of two nationalities. Each one, soon
after coming, finds his hands so full of business for which he feels
responsible, that he cannot do much besides. Moreover, every man
gets his sympathies enlisted for the people of his charge. This is
probably necessary to enable us to labor with energy, and suffer
with patience; but this needful concentration of feeling precludes
the idea of universality in missionary labor."

Experience has also developed the great law here, as well as
elsewhere, that the main work of winning races to Christianity must
be performed by men of the same race. A Moslem will listen more
patiently to a Christian Turk ("renegade" though he be), than he
will to an Armenian; nor has it been found easy to enlist the
Protestant Armenians effectively in labors for the Turks. It may be
otherwise when the work is more advanced, and the Armenians are
elevated to a higher social level. But a ministry raised from among
themselves, is indispensable to the most efficient evangelization of
the Turks.

It would seem, therefore, that, up to the present time, the original
plan of the mission to Turkey has been more promising of good, than
any other; namely, that of operating upon the Mohammedans through
regenerated churches planted in the communities where they dwell;
and the greatest usefulness of these churches, for obvious reasons,
must be expected in the interior, rather than in the capital. Thus
far, there has been no material or very obvious change in the
missionary policy; and the risk of such a change, and its probable
advantages on the whole, should be carefully estimated. The
Protestant nations of Europe are substantially with us in our
evangelical labors among the Oriental Churches; and the churches we
gather are "our epistle," "known and read" by the Mohammedans.
Gradually, it may be, some of the missionaries now in the field, who
are familiar with the Turkish language, and have their Armenian
churches supplied with pastors, will turn their attention mainly to
the Moslems, in the exercise of a sound discretion, both as regards
the Turks and the Christians. It may be found that both classes may
be happily inclosed in the same fold. The missionary now occupies a
higher and more influential position with both, than he did years
ago. The Turk, too, is better appreciated as he becomes known. He
has more of manliness, self-respect, and religious feeling, than
some races for whose salvation our labors have been blest. The
masses are by no means hopeless, and the middle class is full of
promise.

The future is in the hands of the great Head of the Church; who has
so crowned with success the past labors of his servants in Turkey,
as to warrant the expectation, that whatever is needful to the
effectual republication of the Gospel in those Bible lands, may be
attempted with the glad assurance of success.






MISSIONARIES






MISSIONARIES.


When no date occurs in the right hand column, it is because the
missionary is still in the field.

In several instances, the date of the wife's arrival in the field
precedes the arrival of the husband. The explanation is that the
wife, previous to marriage, had been connected with the mission as a
teacher.

Dr. Eli Smith's Exploring Tour is included in his thirty years'
missionary service. So in the case of Dr. H. G. O. Dwight, and some
others.

Cyprus is included in the Mission to Greece and the Greeks; the
population consisting largely of that element.

The asterisk (*) placed before a name, denotes that the person is
deceased. When it is placed before a _date_, in the right hand
column, it denotes that the person died _at the time there
indicated_, and in the field.

The Assyria Mission terminated in November, 1860, when it was merged
in the Mission to the Armenians. The persons composing that mission
remained at their stations.

It should be specially noted, that this table is not destined to
state the time of a missionary's connection either with the Mission,
or with the Board, but only of his residence in the field.

MISSION TO PALESTINE.

  ORDAINED            WIVES OF           TIME OF        TIME OF
MISSIONARIES.       MISSIONARIES.       ENTERING.       LEAVING.
*Pliny Fisk                          Jan. 15, 1820.  *Oct. 23, 1825.
*Levi Parsons                        Jan. 15, 1820.  *Feb. 10, 1822.
*Jonas King, D.D.    [See Mission
                       to Greece]    Nov.  2, 1822.   Aug. 26, 1825.
*George B. Whiting   [See Mission
                       to Syria]     Oct.,    1834.   Autumn,  1843.
                     Mrs. Matilda S.
                       Whiting       Oct.,    1834.   Autumn,  1843.
Wm. M. Thomson, D.D. [See Mission
                       to Syria]     April,   1834.
                     *Mrs. Eliza N.
                       Thomson       April,   1834.  *July 22, 1834.
*John F. Lanneau     [See Mission
                       to Syria]     May   1, 1836.   June 11, 1846.
Charles S. Sherman                   Sept.,   1838.   July  1, 1842.
                     Mrs. Martha E.
                       Sherman       Sept.,   1839.   July  1, 1842.
MISSIONARY PHYSICIAN.
*Asa Dodge, M.D.                     Sept.,   1834.  *Jan. 28, 1835.
                     Mrs. Martha
                       Dodge         Sept.,   1834.            1838.
ASSISTANT MISSIONARY.
                     Miss Betsey
                       Tilden        June 16, 1836.   March 1, 1843.

Messrs. Beadle and Keyes were at Jerusalem from July 17, 1840, to
January, 1841.

THE PRINTING ESTABLISHMENT AT MALTA.

  ORDAINED            WIVES OF           TIME OF        TIME OF
MISSIONARIES.       MISSIONARIES.       ENTERING.       LEAVING.
*Daniel Temple       [See Mission
                       to Armenians] Feb. 22, 1822.  Dec.,     1833.
                     *Mrs. Rachel B.
                       Temple        Feb. 22, 1822. *Jan. 15,  1827.
                     *Mrs. Martha E.
                       Temple        Feb. 25, 1830.  Dec.,     1833.
ASSISTANT MISSIONARY.
Homan Hallock        [See Mission
                       to Armenians] Dec. 10, 1826.
                     Mrs. Elizabeth
                       Hallock       Mar. 26, 1828.

MISSION TO SYRIA.

  ORDAINED            WIVES OF           TIME OF        TIME OF
MISSIONARIES.       MISSIONARIES.       ENTERING.       LEAVING.
*William
   Goodell, D.D.     [See Mission
                       to Armenians] Oct. 16, 1823.  May   2,  1828.
                     *Mrs. Abigail P.
                       Goodell       Oct. 16, 1323.  May   2,  1828.
Isaac Bird                           Oct. 16, 1823.  Aug.,     1835.
                     Mrs. Ann P.
                       Bird          Oct. 16, 1823.  Aug.,     1835.
*Eli Smith, D.D.                     Feb. 18, 1827. *Jan. 11,  1857.
                     *Mrs. Sarah L. H.
                       Smith         Jan. 28, 1834. *Sept. 30, 1836.
                     *Mrs. Maria W. C.
                       Smith         June 17, 1841. *May  27,  1842.
                     Mrs. Henrietta S.
                       Smith         Jan. 12, 1847.  May,      1857.
Wm. M. Thomson, D.D. [See Mission
                       to Palestine] Sept.,   1834.
                     Mrs. Maria
                       Thomson       Aug.  3, 1835.
*Story Hebard                        Mar. 14, 1836. *June 30,  1841.
                     *Mrs. Rebecca W. Hebard
                       [formerly Miss
                       Williams]     Nov. 13, 1835. *Feb. 18,  1840.
Elias R. Beadle                      Oct. 15, 1838.  Sept. 27, 1842.
                     *Mrs. Hannah
                       Beadle        Oct. 15, 1838.  Sept. 27, 1842.
Samuel Wolcott, D.D.                 April 1, 1840.  Jan.   2, 1843.
                     *Mrs. Catharine E.
                       Wolcott       April 1, 1840. *Oct.  26, 1841.
*Nathaniel A. Keyes                  April 2, 1840.  April  5, 1844.
                     *Mrs. Mary
                       Keyes         April 2, 1840.  April  5, 1844.
Leander Thompson                     April 1, 1840.  March  1, 1843.
                     Mrs. Anne E.
                       Thompson      April 1, 1840.  March  1, 1843.
C. V. A. Van Dyck, D.D.              April 1, 1840.
                     Mrs. Julia A.
                       Van Dyck      Dec. 22, 1842.
*George B. Whiting   [See Mission
                       to Palestine] Autumn,  1843. *Nov.   8, 1855.
                     *Mrs. Matilda S.
                       Whiting       Autumn,  1843.  Mar.  14, 1856.
*John F. Lanneau     [See Mission
                       to Palestine] Feb.,    1844.  Feb.  17, 1846.
                     Mrs. Julia H.
                       Lanneau       Feb.,    1844.  Feb.  17, 1846.
Simeon H. Calhoun                    July 28, 1844.
                     Mrs. Emily P.
                       Calhoun       March 6, 1849.
Thomas Laurie, D.D.  [See Mission to
                       Nestorians]   Dec. 11, 1844.  May    9, 1846.
William A. Benton                    Oct. 20, 1847,  Con. terminated
                                                       June, 1861
                     Mrs. Loanza G.
                       Benton        Oct. 20, 1847,        "
*J. Edwards Ford                     March 8, 1848.  June,     1865.
                     Mrs. Mary
                       Ford          March 8, 1848.            1865.
David M. Wilson                      March 8, 1848.  May    4, 1861.
                     Mrs. Emeline
                       Wilson        March 8, 1848.  May    4, 1861.
Horace Foote                         Aug. 24, 1848.  Autumn,   1854.
                     *Mrs. Roxana
                       Foote         Aug. 24, 1848.  Autumn,   1854.
*Wm. F. Williams, D.D. [See Assyria
                       Mission]      March 6, 1849.
                     *Mrs. Sarah P.
                       Williams      March 6, 1849. *July   1, 1854.
William W. Eddy                      Jan. 31, 1852.
                     Mrs. Hannah M.
                       Eddy          Jan. 31, 1852.
William Bird                         April,   1853.
                     Mrs. Sarah F.
                       Bird          April,   1853.
J. Lorenzo Lyons                     Feb. 25, 1855.  June,     1863.
                     Mrs. Catharine N.
                       Lyons         Feb. 25, 1855.  June,     1863.
Edward Aiken                         April,   1856.  May    1, 1858.
                     *Mrs. Susan D.
                       Aiken         April,   1856. *June  20, 1856.
                     Mrs. Sarah C. Aiken
                       [formerly Miss
                       Cheney]                       May    1, 1858.
Daniel Bliss, D.D.                   April,   1856.
                     Mrs. Abby M.
                       Bliss         April,   1856.
Henry H. Jessup, D.D.                Feb.  7, 1856.
                     *Mrs. Caroline
                       Jessup        April,   1858. *July   2, 1864.
                     Mrs. Harriet E.
                       Jessup        Nov. 22, 1868.
Samuel Jessup                        Jan. 24, 1863.
                     Mrs. Ann E.
                       Jessup        Jan. 24, 1863.
Philip Berry                         Oct.  7, 1863.  Oct,      1865.
                     Mrs. Magdalene
                       Berry         Oct.  7, 1863.  Oct,      1865.
Geo Edwd Post, M.D.                 Dec.,    1863.
                     Mrs. Sarah P.
                       Post          Dec.,    1863.
Samuel S. Mitchell                   June 12, 1867.            1868.
                     Mrs. Lucy M.
                       Mitchell      June 12, 1867.            1868.
Isaac N. Lowry                       Nov. 22, 1867.            1869.
                     Mrs. Mary E.
                       Lowry         Nov. 22, 1867.            1869.
James S. Dennis                      Feb. 10, 1869.
MISSIONARY PHYSICIANS.
*H. A. DeForest, M.D.                Mar. 23, 1842.  May    8, 1854.
                     Mrs. Catharine S.
                       DeForest      Mar. 23, 1842.  May    8, 1854.
ASSISTANT MISSIONARIES.
George C. Hurter                    April 15, 1841.  Spring,   1864.
                     Mrs. Elizabeth
                       Hurter       April 15, 1841.  June   7, 1861.
                     *Mrs. Rebecca W. Williams
                       [afterwards Mrs.
                       Hebard]       Nov. 13, 1835. *Feb.   8, 1840.
                     *Mrs. Anna L.
                       Whittlesey    May   2, 1851. *May    1, 1852.
                     Miss Sarah Cheney
                       [now Mrs. Edwd
                       Aiken]        April,   1853.  May    1, 1858.
                     Miss Jane E.
                       Johnson       Aug. 31, 1858.  May   15, 1859.
                     Miss Amelia C. Temple
                       [now Mrs. Geo.
                       Gould]        Aug. 31, 1858.  Spring,   1862.
                     Miss Adelaide L.
                       Mason        April 11, 1860.  June,     1865.
                     Miss Eliza D.
                       Everett        Nov. 22, 1868.
                     Miss Nellie A.
                       Carruth        Nov. 22, 1868.           1869.

MISSION TO GREECE AND THE GREEKS.

  ORDAINED            WIVES OF           TIME OF        TIME OF
MISSIONARIES.       MISSIONARIES.       ENTERING.       LEAVING.
Josiah Brewer                        Dec. 27, 1826.  Spring,   1828.
*Elnathan Gridley                    Dec. 27, 1826. *Sept. 27, 1827.
*Jonas King, D.D.    [See Mission to
                       Palestine]    April,   1831. *May   22, 1869.
                     Mrs. Anna A.
                       King          April,   1831.            1869.
Elias Riggs, D.D.    [See Mission to
                       Armenians]    Jan.,    1833.
                     Mrs. Martha Jane
                       Riggs         Jan.,    1833.
Samuel R. Houston                    Nov.,    1834.            1840.
                     *Mrs. Mary R.
                       Houston       Nov.,    1834. *Nov.  24, 1839.
Lorenzo W. Pease                     Nov.,    1834. *Aug.  28, 1839.
                     Mrs. Lucinda
                       Pease         Nov.,    1834.  Spring,   1841.
James L. Thompson                    May,     1836.  Autumn,   1841.
Daniel Ladd          [See Mission to
                       Armenians]    Oct.,    1836.
                     Mrs. Charlotte H.
                       Ladd          Oct.,    1836.
*Nathan Benjamin     [See Mission to
                       Armenians]    Nov.,    1836.
                     *Mrs. Mary G.
                       Benjamin      Nov.,    1836.
George W. Leyburn                    June,    1837.            1842.
                     Mrs. Elizabeth W.
                       Leyburn       June,    1837.            1842.

MISSION TO THE ARMENIANS.

  ORDAINED            WIVES OF           TIME OF        TIME OF
MISSIONARIES.       MISSIONARIES.       ENTERING.       LEAVING.
*William Goodell, D.D. [See Mission to
                       Syria]        June  9, 1831.  Summer,   1865.
                     *Mrs. Abigail P.
                       Goodell       June  9, 1831.  Summer,   1865.
*H. G. O. Dwight, D.D.             Feb. 27, 1830.[1] Jan.  25, 1862.
                     *Mrs. Elizabeth
                       Dwight        June  5, 1832. *July   8, 1837.
                     *Mrs. Mary
                       Dwight        Sept. 4, 1839. *Nov.  16, 1860.
*Daniel Temple       [See Print. Estab.
                       at Malta]     Dec. 23, 1833.  Summer,   1844.
                     *Mrs. Martha E.
                       Temple        Dec. 23, 1833.  Summer,   1844.
Thomas P. Johnston                   Jan. 19, 1834.            1853.
                     Mrs. Marianne C.
                       Johnston      Jan. 19, 1834.            1853.
Benj. Schneider, D.D.                Jan. 19, 1834.
                     *Mrs. Eliza C.
                       Schneider     Jan. 19, 1834. *Sept. 29, 1856.
                     Mrs. Susan M.
                       Schneider     Oct.  1, 1858.
John B. Adger, D.D.                  Oct. 25, 1834.            1846.
                     Mrs. Elizabeth K.
                       Adger         Oct. 25, 1834.            1846.
Philander O. Powers                  Jan. 12, 1835.  Summer,   1861.
                     *Mrs. Harriet G.
                       Powers        Jan. 12, 1835.  April,    1841.
                     *Mrs. Sarah L.
                       Powers        Jan. 11, 1843.  June,     1861.
Philander O. Powers  [Reappointed]   June 25, 1866.
Henry A. Homes                       Dec. 26, 1835.  Dec.  10, 1850.
                     Mrs. Anna W.
                       Homes         June 17, 1841.            1849.
William C. Jackson                   Feb.  1, 1836.            1845.
                     Mrs. Mary A.
                       Jackson       Feb.  1, 1836.            1845.
Cyrus Hamlin, D.D.                   Feb.  4, 1839.
                     *Mrs. H. A. L.
                       Hamlin        Feb.  4, 1839. *Nov.  14, 1850.
                     *Mrs. Harriet M. Hamlin
                       [formerly Miss H. M.
                       Lovell]      April 18, 1845. *Nov.   6, 1857.
                     Mrs. Mary E. Hamlin
                       [formerly Miss M. E.
                       Tenney]       Jan. 22, 1856.
H. J. Van Lennep, D.D.              April 13, 1840.  Summer,   1869.
                     *Mrs. Emma L.
                       Van Lennep   April 13, 1840. *Sept. 12, 1840.
                     *Mrs. Mary E.
                       Van Lennep    Nov. 24, 1843. *Sept. 27, 1844.
                     Mrs. Emily A.
                       Van Lennep    June 16, 1850.  Summer,   1869.
Josiah Peabody                       July,    1841.  July,     1860.
                     Mrs. Mary L.
                       Peabody       July,    1841.  July,     1860.
George W. Wood, D.D.                April 28, 1842.  Sept.  4, 1850.
                     *Mrs. Martha B.
                       Wood         April 28, 1842.  Sept.  4, 1850.
George W. Wood, D.D. [Reappointed]            1871.
                     Mrs. Sarah A. H.
                       Wood                   1871.
Daniel Ladd          [See Mission to
                       Greece]      Sept.  3, 1842.  Aug.,     1867.
                     Mrs. Charlotte H.
                       Ladd         Sept.  3, 1842.  Aug.,     1867.
*Azariah Smith, M.D.                 Jan. 11, 1843. *June   3, 1851.
                     Mrs. Corinth I.
                       Smith        Sept. 20, 1848.            1853.
Edwin E. Bliss, D.D.                April 16, 1843.
                     Mrs. Isabella H.
                       Bliss        April 16, 1843.
E. Riggs, D.D., LL.D. [See Mission to Greece and the
                       Bulgarians]            1844.
                     Mrs. Martha J.
                       Riggs                  1844.
*Nathan Benjamin     [See Mission to
                       Greece]       August   1844. *Jan.  27, 1855.
                     *Mrs. Mary G.
                       Benjamin      August   1844.            1855.
*Joel S. Everett                    April 18, 1845. *March  5, 1856.
                     *Mrs. Seraphina
                       Everett      April 18, 1845. *Dec.  27, 1854.
Isaac G. Bliss, D.D.                 Aug. 24, 1847.
                     Mrs. Eunice B.
                       Bliss         Aug. 24, 1847.
Oliver Crane                         March,   1849.            1854.
                     Mrs. Marion D.
                       Crane         March,   1849.            1854.
Oliver Crane         [Reappointed]            1860.            1863.
                     Mrs. Marion D.
                       Crane                  1860.            1863.
*Joseph W. Sutphen                   Jan. 16, 1852. *Oct.   9, 1852.
                     *Mrs. Susan H.
                       Sutphen
                       [afterwards Mrs.
                       Morgan]       Jan. 16, 1852.            1865.
Wilson A. Farnsworth                 Jan. 22, 1853.
                     Mrs. Caroline E.
                       Farnsworth    Jan. 22, 1853.
William Clark                        Jan. 22, 1853.   Aug.,    1859.
                     Mrs. Elizabeth W.
                       Clark         Jan. 22, 1853.   Aug.,    1859.
Andrew T. Pratt, M.D.                Jan. 22, 1853.
                     Mrs. Sarah F.
                       Pratt         Jan. 22, 1853.
George B. Nutting                    Feb.  9, 1853.   Summer,  1868.
                     *Mrs. Sarah E.
                       Nutting       Feb.  9, 1853.  *July  9, 1854.
                     Mrs. Susan A.
                       Nutting       Autumn,  1856.   Summer,  1868.
*Fayette Jewett, M.D.               April 20, 1853.  *June 18, 1862.
                     *Mrs. Mary A. A.
                       Jewett       April 20, 1853.   Summer,  1862.
*Jasper N. Ball                     Sept. 21, 1853.   Aug.,    1861.
                     *Mrs. Caroline W.
                       Ball         Sept. 21, 1853.   Aug.,    1861.
*Jasper N. Ball      [Reappointed]   Jan.,    1865.            1869.
                     Mrs. Martha Ann
                       Ball          Jan.,    1865.            1869.
*George W. Dunmore                   May,     1851.            1861.
                     Mrs. Susan
                       Dunmore       May,     1851.            1856.
Albert G. Beebee                     Sept.    1854.   March,   1860.
                     *Mrs. Sarah J.
                       Beebee        Sept.,   1854.  *Oct. 28, 1858.
George A. Perkins                    Sept.,   1854.   Spring,  1861.
                     Mrs. Sarah E.
                       Perkins       Sept.,   1854.   Spring,  1861.
Sanford Richardson                  Sept. 25, 1854.
                     Mrs. Rhoda A.
                       Richardson   Sept. 25, 1854.
*Edwin Goodell                      Sept. 25, 1854.            1855.
                     Mrs. Catharine J.
                       Goodell      Sept. 25, 1854.            1855.
Benjamin Parsons                    Sept. 25, 1854.            1860.
                     Mrs. Sarah W.
                       Parsons      Sept. 25, 1854.            1860.
Alexander R. Plumer                  Feb.  8, 1855.            1859.
                     Mrs. Elizabeth P.
                       Plummer       Feb.  8, 1855.            1859.
Ira Fayette Pettibone                Aug.  4, 1855.            1868.
Ira Fayette Pettibone [Reappointed]  May,     1866.
Justin W. Parsons    [See Mission to
                       the Jews]     Sept.,   1855.
                     Mrs. Catharine
                       Parsons       Sept.,   1855.
*Edward M. Dodd      [See Mission to
                       the Jews]    Sept. 28, 1855. *Aug.  19, 1865.
                     Mrs. Lydia H.
                       Dodd         Sept. 28, 1855.  June,     1866.
Orson P. Allen                       Dec.  9, 1855.
                     Mrs. Caroline R.
                       Allen         Dec.  9, 1855.
*Homer B. Morgan     [See Mission to
                       the Jews]     Jan.,    1856. *Aug.  25, 1865.
                     Mrs. Susan H.
                       Morgan        Jan. 16, 1852.            1865.
Tillman C. Trowbridge [See Mission to
                       the Jews]     Jan. 22, 1856.
                     Mrs. Margaret
                       Trowbridge             1861.
George A. Pollard                    Jan. 22, 1856.            1868.
                     Mrs. Mary H.
                       Pollard       Jan. 22, 1856.            1868.
Crosby H. Wheeler                   March  2, 1857.
                     Mrs. Susan A.
                       Wheeler      March  2, 1857.
Charles F. Morse     [See Mission to
                       Bulgarians]  March  2, 1857.
                     Mrs. Eliza D.
                       Morse        March  2, 1857.
Oliver W. Winchester                March  2, 1857.  June,     1865.
                     Mrs. Jeannette S.
                       Winchester   March  2, 1857.  June,     1865.
*Jackson G. Coffing                 March  2, 1857. *Mar.  26, 1862.
                     Mrs. Josephine L.
                       Coffing      March  2, 1857.
George H. White                     March  2, 1857.  Autumn,   1863.
                     Mrs. Joanna
                       White        March  2, 1857.  Autumn,   1863.
Julius Y. Leonard                   Sept.  4, 1857.
                     Mrs. Amelia A.
                       Leonard      Sept.  4, 1857.
George Washburn                      August,  1858.
                     Mrs. Henrietta L.
                       Washburn     April 15, 1859.
Joseph K. Greene                     Feb. 22, 1859.
                     Mrs. Elizabeth A.
                       Greene        Feb. 22, 1859.
Herman N. Barnum                     Autumn,  1858.
                     Mrs. Mary E.
                       Barnum        July,    1860.
William F. Arms                               1860.            1864.
                     *Mrs. Emily F.
                       Arms                   1860. *March,    1861.
Alvin B. Goodale, M.D.               Mar. 25, 1860.            1864.
                     Mrs. Mary E.
                       Goodale       Mar. 25, 1860.            1864.
*Zenas Goss                          Mar. 25, 1860. *Aug.  28, 1864.
William W. Livingston               Sept.  3, 1860.            1871.
                     Mrs. Martha E.
                       Livingston   Sept.  3, 1860.            1871.
*Wm. F. Williams, D.D. [See Mission to
                       Assyria]      Nov.,    1860. *Feb.  14, 1871.
                     *Mrs. Caroline P.
                       Williams      Oct.  4, 1861. *Jan.  15, 1865.
                       [for. Miss C. P.
                       Barbour]                      Dec.  25, 1857.
                     Mrs. Clarissa C.
                       Williams
                       [formerly Miss C. C.
                             Pond]   Oct. 15, 1864.            1871.
*Augustus Walker     [See Assyria
                       Mission]      Nov.,    1860. *Sept. 13, 1866.
                     Mrs. Eliza M.
                       Walker        Nov.,    1860.   July,    1867.
George C. Knapp      [See Assyria
                       Mission]      Nov.,    1860.
                     Mrs. Alzina M.
                       Knapp         Nov.,    1860.
Lysander T. Burbank                  Oct. 13, 1860.            1871.
                     Mrs. Sarah S.
                       Burbank       Oct. 13, 1860.            1871.
John Francis Smith                   July  8, 1863.
                     Mrs. Laura E.
                       Smith         July  8, 1863.
Moses P. Parmelee, M.D.              Aug. 14, 1863.
                     *Mrs. Nellie A.
                       Parmelee      Aug. 14, 1863.  *Feb. 17, 1870.
                     Mrs. Julia
                       Parmelee      Sept.,   1871.
Giles F. Montgomery                  Dec.,    1863.
                     Mrs. Emily R.
                       Montgomery    Dec.,    1863.
*Walter H. Giles                     Nov. 17, 1864.  *May  21, 1867.
                     Mrs. Elizabeth F.
                       Giles         Nov. 17, 1864.
Lucien H. Adams                      June  9, 1865.
                     *Mrs. Augusta S.
                       Adams         June  9, 1865.  *Nov. 18, 1866.
                     Mrs. Nancy D.
                       Adams
                       [formerly Miss N. D.
                       Francis]      June 25, 1866.
Albert Bryant                        Oct. 28, 1865.  June,     1868.
                     Mrs. Mary E. I.
                       Bryant        Oct. 28, 1865.  June,     1868.
Henry T. Perry                       Jan. 11, 1867.
                     Mrs. Jennie H.
                       Perry         Jan. 11, 1867.
Theodore A. Baldwin                  Aug.  9, 1867.
                     Mrs. Matilda J.
                       Baldwin       Aug.  9, 1867.
Henry S. Barnum                      Aug. 10, 1867.
                     *Mrs. Lucretia L.
                       Barnum        Aug. 10, 1867.  *Dec. 31, 1867.
                     Mrs. Helen P.
                       Barnum                 1869.
Charles C. Tracy                     October, 1867.
                     Mrs. Lemyra A.
                       Tracy         October, 1867.
Lyman Bartlett                       Nov.  8, 1867.
                     Mrs. Cornelia C.
                       Bartlett      Nov.  8, 1867.
Alpheus N. Andrus                    May  30, 1868.
                     Mrs. Louisa M.
                       Andrus        May  30, 1868.
Carmi C. Thayer                      July,    1868.
                     Mrs. Mary F.
                       Thayer        July,    1868.
John Eldwin Pierce                   Sept.,   1868.
                     Mrs. Lizzie A.
                       Pierce        Sept.,   1868.
Royal M. Cole                        Sept.,   1868.
                     Mrs. Lizzie C.
                       Cole          Sept.,   1868.
Theodore S. Pond                     Dec. 13, 1868.
                     Mrs. Julia J.
                       Pond          Dec. 13, 1868.
Milan H. Hitchcock                   June  5, 1869.
                     Mrs. Lucy A.
                       Hitchcock     June  5, 1869.
Edward Riggs                         July,    1869.
                     Mrs. Sarah H.
                       Riggs         July,    1869.
Henry Marden                         Oct. 15, 1869.
                     Mrs. Mary L.
                       Marden        Oct. 15, 1869.
John Otis Barrows                    Dec. 23, 1869.
                     Mrs. Clara S.
                       Barrows       Dec. 23, 1869.
MISSIONARY PHYSICIANS.
Henry S. West, M.D.                  Feb.,    1859.
                     Mrs. Lottie M.
                       West          Feb.,    1859.
D. H. Nutting, M.D.    [See Assyria
                       Mission]      Nov.,    1860.
                     Mrs. Mary E.
                       Nutting       Nov.,    1860.
*H. B. Haskell, M.D.   [See Assyria
                       Mission]      Nov.,    1860.  Summer,   1861.
                     Mrs. Sarah J.
                       Haskell       Nov.,    1860.  Summer,   1861.
James A. Milne, M.D.                 Aug.,    1867.            1868.
                     Mrs. Arabella
                       Milne         Aug.,    1867.            1868.
Geo. C. Reynolds, M.D.               Nov. 26, 1869.
                     Mrs. Martha W.
                       Reynolds      Nov. 26, 1869.
Mary L. Wadsworth, M.D.              June,    1871.
ASSISTANT MISSIONARIES.
Homan Hallock        [See Print. Estab.
                       at Malta]     Dec.,    1833.            1841.
                     Mrs. Elizabeth
                       Hallock       Dec.,    1833.            1841.
                     *Miss Harriet M.
                       Lovell
                       [afterwards Mrs.
                       Hamlin]      April 18, 1845.  *Nov.  6, 1857.
                     *Mrs. Sarah C.
                       Hinsdale
                       [widow of Rev. A. K.
                       Hinsdale]              1845.            1855.
                     Miss Melvina
                       Haynes        Jan. 22, 1853.  July      1856.
                     Miss Maria A.
                       West          Jan. 22, 1853.
                     Miss Isabella H.
                       Goodell                1855.
                     Mrs. Mary E.
                       Goodell
                       [afterwards Mrs. H. N.
                       Barnum]                1855.
                     Mrs. Mary E.
                       Tenney
                       [afterwards Mrs.
                       Hamlin]       Jan. 22, 1856.
                     Miss Sarah Elizabeth
                       West          Jan. 22, 1856.  Sept.,    1862.
                     Miss Myra A.
                       Proctor       July 28, 1859.
                     Miss Arabella L.
                       Babcock       Sept.,   1862.  May,      1864.
                     Miss Ann Eliza
                       Fritcher      July  8, 1863.
                     Miss Clarissa C.
                       Pond
                       [afterwards Mrs. W. F.
                       Williams]     Oct. 15, 1864.            1871.
                     Mrs. Nancy D.
                       Francis
                       [afterwards Mrs. L. H.
                       Adams]        June 25, 1866.
                     *Miss Mary E.
                       Warfield     April 27, 1867.  *Feb. 12, 1870.
                     Miss Harriet
                       Seymour      April 27, 1867.
                     Miss Sarah Ann
                       Closson       Nov.  8, 1867.
                     Miss Mary G.
                       Hollister     Dec.,    1867.
Henry O. Dwight                      Dec.,    1867.
                     Mrs. Mary A.
                       Dwight        Dec.,    1867.
                     Miss Rebecca D.
                       Tracy         Sept.,   1868.            1870.
                     Miss Charlotte Elizab.
                       Ely           Sept.,   1868.
                     Miss Mary A. C.
                       Ely           Sept.,   1868.
                     Miss Harriet G.
                       Powers        Sept.,   1868.
                     Miss Cyrene O.
                       Van Duzee     Sept.,   1868.
                     Miss Olive L.
                       Parmelee      Oct.,    1868.
                     Miss Isabella C.
                       Baker         Oct.,    1868.
                     Miss Flavia S.
                       Bliss         Nov.,    1868.
                     Miss Ursula C.
                       Clarke        Nov. 18, 1868.
                     Miss Ardelle M.
                       Griswold      Oct. 15, 1869.
                     Miss Caroline E.
                       Bush          Aug. 27, 1870.
                     Miss Julia A.
                       Rappleye      Nov. 11, 1870.
                     Miss Sarah L.
                       Wood          Nov. 11, 1870.
                     Miss Julia A.
                       Shearman      Jan.,    1871.            1872.
                     Miss Cornelia P.
                       Dwight
                     Miss Mary S.
                       Williams      May,     1871.
                     Miss Mary M.
                       Patrick      Sept. 21, 1871.

[1] Dr. Dwight arrived at Malta at the date here indicated, but did
not settle at Constantinople till June 5, 1832. The intervening time
was employed partly in an exploring tour, and partly at Malta, in
labors tributary to the mission.

ASSYRIA MISSION.

  ORDAINED            WIVES OF           TIME OF        TIME OF
MISSIONARIES.       MISSIONARIES.       ENTERING.       LEAVING.
Dwight W. Marsh                      Mar. 29, 1850.  Summer,   1860.
                     *Mrs. Julia W.
                       Marsh         May   9, 1853.  *Aug. 12, 1859.
*Wm. F. Williams, D.D. [See Mission to
                       Armenians]    May,     1851.
                     *Mrs. Sarah P.
                       Williams      May,     1851.  *July  1, 1854.
                     *Mrs. Harriet B.
                       Williams      Nov.,    1857.  *Dec. 25, 1857.
*Henry Lobdell, M.D.                 May   8, 1852.  *Mar. 25, 1855.
                     Mrs. Lucy C.
                       Lobdell       May   8, 1852.  Summer,   1860.
*Augustus Walker     [See Mission to
                       Armenians]   April 27, 1853.
                     Mrs. Eliza M.
                       Walker       April,    1853.
George C. Knapp      [See Mission to
                       Armenians]   April  5, 1856.
                     Mrs. Alzina M.
                       Knapp        April  5, 1856.
MISSIONARY PHYSICIANS.
D. H. Nutting, M.D.  [See Mission to
                       Armenians]   Sept.,    1854.
                     Mrs. Mary E.
                       Nutting      Sept.,    1854.
*Henri B. Haskell, M.D. [See Mission to
                       Armenians]   April 19, 1856.
                     Mrs. Sarah J.
                       Haskell      April 19, 1856.

MISSION TO THE JEWS.

  ORDAINED            WIVES OF           TIME OF        TIME OF
MISSIONARIES.       MISSIONARIES.       ENTERING.       LEAVING.
Wm. G. Schauffler, D.D. [See Mission to
                       Mohammedans]  July 31, 1832.
                     Mrs. Mary R.
                       Schauffler    Feb. 26, 1834.
*Eliphal Maynard                    April  2, 1849. *Sept. 14, 1849.
                     Mrs. Celestia A.
                       Maynard      April  2, 1849.            1850.
*Edward M. Dodd      [See Mission to
                       Armenians]   April  2, 1849.
                     Mrs. Lydia H.
                       Dodd         April  2, 1849.
Justin W. Parsons    [See Mission to
                       Armenians]    June 24, 1850.
                     Mrs. Catharine
                       Parsons       June 24, 1850.
*Homer B. Morgan     [See Mission to
                       Armenians]    Feb. 16, 1852.
                     Mrs. Harriet G.
                       Morgan        Feb. 16, 1852. *Sept. 10, 1852.
                     Mrs. Susan H.
                       Morgan
                       [formerly Mrs.
                       Sutphen]      Nov.  7, 1853.

MISSION TO THE MOHAMMEDANS.

  ORDAINED            WIVES OF           TIME OF        TIME OF
MISSIONARIES.       MISSIONARIES.       ENTERING.       LEAVING.
James Lyman Merrick  [See Mission to
                       Nestorians]   Oct. 25, 1835.   Dec.     1842.
                     Mrs. Emma
                       Merrick       Mar. 11, 1839.   Dec.     1841.
Wm. G. Schauffler, D.D. [See Mission to
                       Jews]         May,     1858.
                     Mrs. Mary R.
                       Schauffler    May,     1858.
William Hutchison                    Nov. 14, 1858.   April,   1859.
                     Mrs. Foresta G.
                       Hutchison     Nov. 14, 1858.   April,   1859.
George F. Herrick                    Dec.  2, 1859.
                     Mrs. Helen M.
                       Herrick       Aug.,    1861.
Henry A. Schauffler  [See Mission to
                       Bulgarians]   June  3, 1865.
                     Mrs. Clara E.
                       Schauffler    June  3, 1865.

MISSION TO THE NESTORIANS.

  ORDAINED            WIVES OF           TIME OF        TIME OF
MISSIONARIES.       MISSIONARIES.       ENTERING.       LEAVING.
*Justin Perkins, D.D.                Nov.,    1835.   May  28, 1869.
                     Mrs. Charlotte
                       Perkins       Nov.,    1835.            1857.
*Albert L. Holladay                  June  7, 1837.   Spring,  1846.
                     Mrs. Anne Y.
                       Holladay      June  7, 1837.   Spring,  1846.
*William R. Stocking                 June  7, 1837.   June,    1853.
                     Mrs. Jerusha R.
                       Stocking      June  7, 1837.   June,    1853.
*Willard Jones                       Nov. 17, 1839.            1844.
                     Mrs. Miriam
                       Jones         Nov. 17, 1839.   Winter,  1844.
*A. H. Wright, M.D.                  July 25, 1840.  *Jan.  4, 1865.
                     Mrs. Catharine A.
                       Wright        June 14, 1843.   August,  1859.
*Abel K. Hinsdale                    June,    1841.  *Dec. 26, 1842.
                     *Mrs. Sarah C.
                       Hinsdale
                       [see Mission to
                       Armenians]    June,    1841.   Oct. 21, 1844.
*Colby C. Mitchell                   June,    1841.  *June 27, 1841.
                     *Mrs. Eliza A.
                       Mitchell      June,    1841.  *July 12, 1841.
*James Lyman Merrick [See Mission to
                       Mohammedans]  Dec.     1842.   Summer,  1845.
                     *Mrs. Emma
                       Merrick       Dec.     1842.   Summer,  1845.
Thomas Laurie, D.D.  [See Mission to
                       Syria]        Nov. 11, 1842.   Nov. 10, 1844.
                     *Mrs. Martha F.
                       Laurie        Nov. 11, 1842.  *Dec. 16, 1843.
*David T. Stoddard                   June 14, 1843.  *Jan. 26, 1857.
                     *Mrs. Harriet
                       Stoddard      June 14, 1843.  *Aug.  2, 1848.
                     Mrs. Sophia D.
                       Stoddard      June 26, 1851.   July,    1858.
*Joseph G. Cochran                  Sept. 27, 1847.  *Nov.  2, 1871.
                     *Mrs. Deborah W.
                       Cochran      Sept. 27, 1848.
George W. Coan                       Oct. 13, 1849.
                     Mrs. Sarah P.
                       Coan          Oct. 13, 1849.
*Samuel A. Rhea                      June 26, 1851. *Sept.  2, 1865.
                     *Mrs. Martha Ann
                       Rhea          July  1, 1852. *Sept. 16, 1857.
                     Mrs. Sarah Jane
                       Rhea          Oct. 25, 1860.   May,     1869.
*Edwin H. Crane                      Oct. 20, 1852.  *Aug. 27, 1854.
                     *Mrs. Ann E.
                       Crane
                       [afterwards Mrs. P. O.
                       Powers]       Oct. 20, 1852.   Nov.     1857.
*Thomas L. Ambrose                   Nov. 27, 1858.   August,  1861.
John H. Shedd                        Nov. 11, 1859.
                     Mrs. Sarah Jane
                       Shedd         Nov. 11, 1859.
*Amherst L. Thompson                 July  2, 1860.  *Aug. 25, 1860.
                     *Mrs. Esther E.
                       Thompson      July  2, 1860.   Summer,  1861.
Benjamin Labaree                     Oct. 25, 1860.
                     Mrs. Elizabeth E.
                       Labaree       Oct. 25, 1860.
Henry N. Cobb                        Oct. 25, 1860.   Autumn,  1862.
                     Mrs. Matilda E.
                       Cobb          Oct. 25, 1860.   Autumn,  1862.
MISSIONARY PHYSICIANS.
*Asahel Grant, M.D.                  Oct. 15, 1835. *April 24, 1844.
                     *Mrs. Judith S.
                       Grant         Oct. 15, 1835.  *Jan. 14, 1839.
*F. N. H. Young, M.D.                Oct. 25, 1860.   Summer,  1863.
T. L. Van Norden, M.D.               Oct.  6, 1866.
                     Mrs. Mary M.
                       Van Norden    Oct.  6, 1866.
ASSISTANT MISSIONARIES.
*Edwin Breath                        Nov.  7, 1840.  *Nov. 18, 1861.
                     Mrs. Sarah Ann
                       Breath        Oct. 13, 1849.   Summer,  1862.
                     *Miss Fidelia
                       Fiske         June 14, 1843.   July 15, 1858.
                     Miss Catharine A.
                       Myers
                       [afterwards Mrs.
                       Wright]       June 14, 1843.   August,  1859.
                     Miss Mary Susan
                       Rice          Nov. 20, 1847.
                     *Miss Martha Ann
                       Harris
                       [afterwards Mrs.
                       Rhea]         July  1, 1852. *Sept. 16, 1857.
                     Miss Aura Jeannette
                       Beach         July  2, 1860.   Sept.,   1862.
                     *Miss Harriet N.
                       Crawford      July  2, 1860.   May,     1865.
                     Miss Nancy Jane
                       Dean          Oct. 19, 1868.

MISSION TO THE BULGARIANS.

  ORDAINED            WIVES OF           TIME OF        TIME OF
MISSIONARIES.       MISSIONARIES.       ENTERING.       LEAVING.
Charles F. Morse     [See Mission to
                       Armenians]    Mar. 26, 1858.            1870.
                     Mrs. Eliza D.
                       Morse         Mar. 26, 1858.            1870.
Theodore L. Byington                Sept.  4, 1858.            1867.
                     Mrs. Margaret E.
                       Byington     Sept.  4, 1858.            1867.
*William W. Meriam                  April 22, 1859.  *July  3, 1862.
                     *Mrs. Susan
                       Meriam       April 22, 1859.  *July 25, 1862.
James F. Clarke                      Oct.,    1859.
                     Mrs. Isabella G.
                       Clarke        Oct.,    1859.
William F. Arms                      July,    1860.   June,    1862.
                     *Mrs. Emily
                       Arms          July,    1860.  *Mar. 31, 1861.
Oliver Crane         [See Mission to
                       Armenians]   Sept. 19, 1860.   Aug.,    1863.
                     Mrs. Marion D.
                       Crane        Sept. 19, 1860.   Aug.,    1863.
Henry C. Haskell                     Dec. 13, 1862.
                     Mrs. Margaret H.
                       Haskell       Dec. 13, 1862.
*Jasper N. Ball      [See Mission to
                       Armenians]    Jan.,    1865.            1869.
                     Mrs. Martha A.
                       Ball          Jan.,    1865.            1869.
Lewis Bond                           May  29, 1868.
                     Mrs. Fannie G.
                       Bond          May  29, 1868.
Wm. Edwin Locke                      June,    1868.
                     Mrs. Zoe A. M.
                       Locke         June,    1868.
Henry Pitt Page                      Nov. 26, 1868.
                     Mrs. Mary A.
                       Page          Nov. 26, 1868.
Elias Riggs, D.D., LL.D. [See Mission to
                       Armenians]             1871.
                     Mrs. Martha J.
                       Riggs                  1871.
Henry A. Schauffler  [See Mission to
                       Mohammedans]           1871.
                     Mrs. Clara E.
                       Schauffler             1871.
ASSISTANT MISSIONARIES.
                     *Miss Mary E.
                       Reynolds      Jul.  8, 1863.            1869.
                     *Miss Roseltha N.
                       Norcross     April 27, 1867.  *Nov.  4, 1870.
                     Miss Minnie C.
                       Beach         Oct. 15, 1869.
                     Miss Esther T.
                       Maltbie       Nov. 11, 1870.
                     Mrs. Anna V.
                       Mumford                1871.






ADDENDA.


The foregoing Tabular View of the Missionaries was made partly for
the author's convenience on commencing the second volume, by the
very accurate gentleman who prepared the List of Publications that
follows. Such a statement is very difficult to make; and it may be,
after all the subsequent corrections, that there are omissions and
errors. Should they be seasonably pointed out, the corrections will
be made in a subsequent edition.

The following should have had a place, under the head of the
_Mission to the Armenians_, namely:--

Rev. William A. Spaulding, who sailed in November, 1871.
Mrs. Georgia D. Spaulding.
Rev. Joseph E. Scott, who sailed in February, 1872.
Mrs. Annie E. Scott.

_Assistant Missionaries_.

Miss Laura Farnham, who sailed November, 1871.
Miss Phebe L. Cull, who sailed November, 1871.






PUBLICATIONS






CATALOGUE OF PUBLICATIONS


ISSUED FROM THE MISSION PRESSES CONNECTED
WITH THE MISSIONS OF THE BOARD TO THE
SEVERAL ORIENTAL CHURCHES.

_Compiled by Rev. John A. Vinton, Winchester, Mass_.

The sources of information were the "Missionary Herald" from 1821,
and the Annual Reports of the Board from the beginning of these
missions to the year 1871.

IN ITALIAN.

The Sabbath.
Dr. Payson's Address to Mariners.
Prayers for the Seven Days of the Week.
Dr. Ashbel Green's Questions and Counsel.
The Dairyman's Daughter, 78 pages, 1,000 copies.
William Kelley, 32 pages, 500 copies.
The Progress of Sin, 16 pages, 500 copies.
Dialogue between a Traveller and Yourself, 12 pages, 500 copies.
The Novelty of Popery.
An Address to the Children of Israel, 25 pages, 1,000 copies.
Christ's Sermon on the Mount, 16 pages, 1,000 copies.
The Negro Servant, 28 pages, 1,000 copies.
The Young Cottager, 72 pages, 1,000 copies.
The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain, 12 pages, 1,000 copies.
Serious Thoughts on Eternity, 12 pages, 1,000 copies.
Dialogue between Two Sailors, 18 pages, 1,000 copies.

Previous to November, 1827, the number of books and tracts printed
at the Mission Press in Italian, was 43; number of consecutive
pages, 1,430; of copies, 55,500; whole number of pages, 1,700,000.

IN MODERN GREEK.

The Dairyman's Daughter, 119 pp.
The Negro Servant, 32 pp.
Payson's Address to Mariners, 22 pp.
Short Prayers for Every Day in the Week, 70 pp.
Tract on Redemption, by Dr. Naudi, 72 pp.
Sixteen Short Sermons, 48 pp.
Progress of Sin, 20 pp.
Dialogue between a Traveller and Yourself, 14 pp.
Life and Martyrdom of John the Baptist, 28 pp.
Serious Thoughts on Eternity, 16 pp.
The Young Cottager, 87 pp.
The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain, 73 pp.
William Kelley, 45 pp.
Watts's Catechism for Children, 16 pp.
Address to the Children of Israel, 34 pp.
Chrysostom on Reading the Scriptures, 26 pp.
Content and Discontent, by Mrs. Sherwood, 24 pp.
Serious Address to Young and Old, 27 pp.
Life of James Covey, a converted Sailor, 16 pp.
Life of the Virgin Mary, from the Bible only, 20 pp.
An Appeal to the Heart, 34 pp.
Exhortation to Seamen, 20 pp.
Christ's Sermon on the Mount, 16 pp.

The following were printed from 1830 to 1833:--

Historical Selections from the Old Testament, 81 pp.
Life of Abraham, 36 pp.
Life of Joseph, 60 pp.
Life of Moses, 36 pp.
Life of Samuel, 24 pp.
Life of David, 64 pp.
Life of Elijah.
Life of Elisha.
Life of Daniel, 36 pp.
Life of Esther, 20 pp.
Abridgment of the Old Testament, 140 pp.
Abridgment of the Gospels, 48 pp.
Abridgment of the Acts, 60 pp.
Lessons for Children.
Bickersteth's Scripture Help, abridged.
Lyttelton on the Conversion of St. Paul.
The Ten Commandments.
Ecclesiastical History.
Dialogues on Grammar.
The Alphabetarion, 120 pp.
The Greek Reader, 156 pp.
The Little Philosopher, 72 pp.
The Child's Assistant, 60 pp.
The Child's Arithmetic, 48 pp.
Adams's Arithmetic.
History of Greece.
History of Rome.
History of England.
History of France.
History of the Middle Ages.
History of the Sandwich Islands.
The Priest and Catechumen, a Dialogue, 12 pp.
Peter Parley's Geography, with lithographed maps, 108 pp.
Pinnock's Catechism of Greek History, with remarks, 150 pp.

The amount printed in Modern Greek, while the press remained at
Malta, was about 350,000 copies, mostly 12mo, comprising 21,000,000
pages. Many of the editions were of 4,000 copies each. In the year
ending October 1831, 4,760,000 pages were printed.

After the removal of the press to Smyrna, in December, 1833, there
were printed in Modern Greek,--

Woodbridge's Geography, 296 pp.
Scriptural Teacher, 116 pp.
Questions on the Pentateuch, 88 pp.
Several Hymns for the Mission Schools.
Child's Book on the Soul.
Tract on Self-Examination.
Difficulties of Infidelity.
The Magazine of Useful Knowledge--a monthly publication commenced in
   1836 or 1837, and continued till 1843, when it was transferred to
   Mr. Nicholas Petrokokino. It had, in 1839, 1,200 subscribers.

About thirty million pages in Modern Greek had been printed by the
mission between July 1822 and 1837.

At Smyrna, in 1847 and 1848, were printed, Barth's Church History,
   354 pages, 3,000 copies; 1,062,000 pages.
At Constantinople, after the removal of the press, in 1853; Hymn
   Book, 112 pages, 2,000 copies; 224,000 pages.
In 1854, a tract of 20 pages, 2,000 copies; 40,000 pages.
In 1860, tracts, 5,000 copies, 40,000 pages.
In 1863, tracts, . . . . 6,000 pages.

Printing in Modern Greek, at Athens, under the supervision of Dr.
King:--

Up to 1844, 32 books and tracts, 3,717 consecutive pages,
   128,-215 pages in the whole.
In 1845, 2,000 copies, 664,000 pages.
In 1846, 3,000 copies, 190,500 pages.
In 1853 to 1856, a collection of the publications of the American
   Tract Society, vol. I.--V., making 2,500 consecutive pages of the
   five volumes.
In 1855, Chrysostom on Reading the Scriptures, 180 pages.
Two volumes of Sermons, 48 in number, by Dr. King.
A volume of Miscellanies, including his Farewell Letter to his
   Friends in Palestine and Syria.

IN GRECO-TURKISH (THE TURKISH LANGUAGE IN GREEK LETTERS).

Christ's Sermon on the Mount, 16 pages, 450 copies.
History of Moses, of Samuel, of Elijah, of Elisha, of Daniel, of
   Esther; each a volume by itself; total, 524,000 pages.
From 1840 to 1853, were printed 55,000 copies of the Scriptures.
In 1854 and 1855, the Bible in 8vo, 7,000 copies, 2,456,000 pages.
In 1864, 72 pages, 3,000 copies; in all, 216,000 pages.
In 1867, the Tract Primer, 5,000 copies, 340,000 pages.
In 1869, a Hymn Book, 264 pages, 2,000 copies; 528,000 pages.

IN ANCIENT ARMENIAN.

The New Testament, 836 pages, 2,000 copies. At Smyrna, 1838.
The Four Gospels, printed separately, 1,000 copies.
The Acts and Epistles, of the same edition, 1,500 copies, in 1843.
The Psalter, 274 pages, total 548,000 pages; 3,000 copies printed in
   1841; 2,000 copies in 1846.
The New Testament, 2,000 copies, 1,464,000 pages; in 1853.
The Christian Teacher, 136 pages, 500 copies; in 1838.
Daily Food for Christians, 62 pages, 1,000 copies; in 1838.
In 1869, printed 268 consecutive pages and 4,250 copies.

IN MODERN ARMENIAN.

Abercrombie on Mental Culture, 84 pages, 1,500 copies; 126,000
   pages. Printed in 1844, at the expense of the author.
Against Infidelity, 16 pages, 3,000 copies.
Almanac for 1837, 3,000 copies.
Almanac for 1839, 1,000 copies.
An Arithmetic, 1866.
An occasional paper, 4to, 20 pages, 500 copies.
Answer of Evangelical Armenians to the Patriarch's Manifesto, 104
   pages, 1,000 copies.
Anxious Inquirer.
Assembly's Shorter Catechism, with references, 104 pages, 2,000
   copies.
Astronomy, 104 pages, 3,000 copies.
Avedaper (The), or Messenger, a religious periodical in Modern
   Armenian, and in Armeno-Turkish. Published since January, 1855;
   once in two weeks, with a circulation, in each language, of 1,000
   copies.
Balbaith's Confession, in the form of a letter from a converted Jew,
   giving reasons for his profession of Christianity, 62 pages,
   4,000 copies.
Baptism and the New Birth, 112 pages, 1,000 copies.
Baxter's Saints' Rest. 1854.
Bible Dictionary. 1854.
Bible Hand-book, 240 pages, 300 copies.
British Martyrology. 1850.
Child's Entertainer, 296 pages, 1,000 copies, containing Watts's
   Divine and Moral Songs in Armenian verse, evangelical anecdotes,
   some natural history, etc, 1838.
Child's Instructor, 74 pages.
Concordance to the Bible, 8vo, 504 pages, 2,000 copies.
Dairyman's Daughter, 48 pages, 3,000 copies.
Evidences of Christianity.
False Claims of the Pope, 77 pages. It has been published in English
   by the American Tract Society.
Five Wounds (The) of Conscience, by Flavel, 1,500 copies.
Forever! 4 pages, 4,000 copies.
Friendly Letters to Sufferers by the late Fire, 16 pages, 500
   copies.
Good Works; a Tract on Justification, 48 pages, 4,000 copies.
Grammar, English and Armenian; 112 pages, 500 copies. Another
   edition of 272 pages, 1,000 copies.
Guide to Parents, 61 pages, 1,000 copies.
Guide to Repentance, 288 pages, 1,000 copies.
Handbills, (four) each one page, containing, The Decalogue: A
   Contrast between the Deaths of Haliburton and Voltaire; The
   Christian Sabbath; The Death-bed of a Modern Free-thinker; 4,000
   copies.
History of the Church of God.
History of Joseph, 326 pages, 3,000 copies.
History of the Reformation, by Merle d'Aubigne. In 2 vols. 8vo, with
   an Appendix of 50 pages, 1,000 copies, 1846. An enlarged edition
   was printed in 1866.
Holy Spirit, a Work on the, 1850.
Hymns, 25 pages, 500 copies.
Jones's (Rev. C. C.) Catechism, 203 pages, 4,000 copies.
Joy in Heaven, 24 pages, 3,000 copies.
Key to Reading, 8 pages, 1,500 copies.
Lancasterian Cards, 80 to the set. 100 sets.
Light of the Soul, 46 pages, 3,000 copies.
Lives of the Patriarchs and Prophets, 300 pages, 1,000 copies.
Lord's Supper, Treatise on the, 84 pages, 1,000 copies.
Mary Lothrop, 96 pages, 3,000 copies.
Messenger, The. See _Avedaper_.
Mother at Home, 288 pages, 300 copies.
Monthly Evangelical Preacher, commenced January, 1845, and suspended
   at the close of the year, 284 pages, 1,000 copies.
Monthly Magazine, four vols., for 1839-1842. The first year, 1,100
   copies, each following year, 1,500. Relinquished for want of
   funds. Resumed 1844, continued till 1846.
New Testament, 646 pages, 5,000 copies in 1842 and 1843. A new
   translation, carefully executed by four of the best scholars in
   the Armenian nation, and compared by Dr. Adger, word by word,
   with the original Greek.
New Testament, with marginal references, and parallel passages.
   Prepared by Dr. Adger and Dr. Riggs. 948 pages. 1848 and 1849.
New Testament, in the Ararat or Eastern Dialect of the Modern
   Armenian, with Scripture references, 8,000 copies.
New Testament, in the Ararat or Eastern Dialect of the Modern
   Armenian, with the Ancient Armenian, in parallel columns.
Old Testament, in four volumes, 500 copies.
Old Testament, imperial edition, 5,000 copies.
Payson's Thoughts, 180 pages, 2,000 copies.
Pentateuch, 684 pages, 1,500 copies.
Progress of Sin, 24 pages, 2,000 copies.
Pilgrim's Progress, with notes, 814 pages, 1,000 copies.
Protestant Confessions, 265 pages, 1,000 copies.
Psalter, in the Western Dialect of the Modern Armenian, 275 pages,
   3,000 copies.
Psalter, in the Ararat or Eastern Dialect of the Modern Armenian,
   275 pages, 5,000 copies.
Reply to Archbishop Matteos.
Scripture Rule of Faith, 364 pages, 1,000 copies.
Scripture Texts, 56 pages, 500 copies.
Scripture Text Book, 622 pages, 1,000 copies.
Sermon for the Whole World, 16 pages, 2,000 copies. It is the Sermon
   on the Mount.
Sin no Trifle, 16 pages, 2,000 copies.
Spelling Book, 60 pages. At least four editions.
Sunday-school Hymn Book, 8vo, 134 pages, 8,000 copies.
Sunday-school Hymn and Tune Book, 8vo, 128 pages, 5,000 copies.
The Two Lambs, 48 pages, 2,000 copies.
Tract on Self-Examination, 52 pages, 1,000 copies.
Upham's Intellectual Philosophy.
Vivian's Three Dialogues, between a Minister and his Parishioner,
   2,000 copies.
What must I do? 20 pages, 2,000 copies.
What is it to believe? 12 pages, 5,000 copies.
Whateley's Evidences of Christianity, 192 pages, 2,000 copies.

There were also many common school books.

The sum total of printing in the Modern Armenian, in the year 1869,
was 1,865 consecutive pages, and 25,920 copies.

IN ARMENO-TURKISH.

Printing in this language was commenced at Malta in 1828. In August,
1829, the number of publications was nineteen. The printing of the
Armeno-Turkish New Testament was begun January 8, 1830, and the last
sheet was corrected before the close of January, 1831. A second
edition of the same was printed at Smyrna in 1843, consisting of
4,000 copies. The Old Testament was printed at Smyrna in 1841, 3,000
copies. The Pentateuch was printed in a separate form, 2,000 copies.
The Book of Psalms, in a separate form, was printed in 1844, 2,000
copies.

The following publications have also been issued:--

Abbot's Young Christian, 350 pages, 2,000 copies.
Arithmetic, 66 pages, 3,000 copies.
Avedaper (Messenger), a monthly magazine. See _Avedaper_ in the
   preceding list.
Barth's Church History, 408 pages, 1,000 copies.
Bogue's Essay, 444 pages, 1,000 copies.
Capadose, Dr., Memoir of, 52 pages, 1,000 copies.
Catechism on Christ, 82 pages, 1,000 copies.
Chrysostom on Reading the Scriptures, 106 pages, 2,000 copies.
Commentary on Matthew, 1,000 copies.
Essay on Fasts, etc., 220 pages, 1,000 copies.
False Claims of the Pope, 112 pages, 2,000 copies.
Forever! 11 pages, 1,000 copies.
Gallaudet's Child's Book on the Soul, 156 pages, 1,000 copies.
Gallaudet's Natural Theology, 233 pages, 2,000 copies.
Good Works, A tract on, 44 pages, 2,000 copies.
Grammar, 213 pages, 3,000 copies.
Guide to the Use of the Fathers, 318 pages, 2,000 copies.
History of a Bible, 34 pages, 2,000 copies.
Hymn Book.
Intemperance, Tract on, 46 pages, 2,000 copies.
Jones's (Rev. C. C.) Catechism, 305 pages, 1,000 copies.
Light of the Soul, 48 pages, 2,000 copies.
Mary Lothrop, 172 pages, 2,000 copies.
Narrative Tracts, in one vol., 152 pages, 1,000 copies.
Neff's (Felix) Dialogues on Sin and Salvation, 140 pages, 1,000
   copies.
New Testament, with marginal references.
Old Testament, with marginal references, royal 8vo.

From 1840 to 1863, 6,500 copies of the Scriptures were printed,--

Physiology, Treatise on, 272 pages, 3,000 copies.
Pike's Persuasives to Early Piety, 70 pages, 2,000 copies.
Reader, No. 1, 63 pages, sixth edit., 5,000 copies. 1867.
Reader, No. 2, 72 pages, 5,000 copies. 1869.
Reader, No. 3, 84 pages, 5,000 copies. 1869.
Sabbath, A work on the, 116 pages, 2,000 copies.
Scripture Titles of Christ, 104 pages, 1,000 copies.
Serious Inquiry, 20 pages, 2,000 copies.
Sermon for the Whole World, 28 pages, 2,000 copies. It is the Sermon
   on the Mount.
Sermons, fourteen in one vol., 316 pages, 1,000 copies.
Spelling Book, 64 pages, 1,000 copies.
Theological Class Book.
The Ten Commandments, a handbill, 2,000 copies.
Without Holiness no Man shall see the Lord, 11 pages, 1,000 copies.

In Armeno-Turkish there were printed in 1869, 398 consecutive pages
and 16,000 copies.

IN ARABO-TURKISH (SOMETIMES CALLED THE OSMANLI-TURKISH. TURKISH IN
THE ARABIC CHARACTER).

Under the direction of Dr. Schauffler, an edition of the New
   Testament, of very beautiful typography, was issued in 1862.
   Also, Matt. v. in separate form.
A Commentary on Matthew and Mark, 400 pages, 1,000 copies. 1864.
The Decalogue, one page, 1,000 copies. 1867.
The Beatitudes, one page, 1,000 copies. 1867.
Selected Texts, one page, 1,000 copies. 1867.
Selected Texts, one page, 1,000 copies. 1867.
On Belief and Worship: an Explanation of the Christian Religion as
   understood and professed by Protestants, 128 pages, 3,000 copies.
The Primer, 64 pages, 5,000 copies. 1869.
Notes on the Decalogue, 80 pages, 3,000 copies.
Teachings of the New Testament, concerning the Judgment, 16 pages,
   5,000 copies.
Firman of the Porte in relation to the Protestant community, 300
   copies.

In this dialect, in 1869, were printed 161 consecutive pages, 13,300
copies--total, 531,300 pages.

In the Koordish Dialect, previous to 1863, 13,000 copies of the
Scriptures had issued from the mission press.

IN BULGARIAN.

In the year 1844, a small volume in this language was issued at
   Smyrna. It was Part I. of Gallaudet's Child's Book on the Soul,
   61 pages, 2,000 copies.
In 1851 and 1852, several Tracts were printed, in all 8,000 copies.
In 1853, the Book of Psalms.
In 1860, 59,000 copies, in part of the New Testament, and in part of
   other books and tracts, making 3,332,000 pages.
In 1861, the New Testament, Biblical Catechism, Child's Book on the
   Soul, etc., 1,195 consecutive pages, and 60,000 copies.
In 1863, 1,896,000 pages. Up to this time, 4,000 copies of the New
   Testament.
In 1864, 303 copies of tracts, etc., 39,000 consecutive pages.
The issue of the Old Testament, following the New, commenced 1866.
The Zornitza, or Day Star, a small monthly sheet, was commenced
   about 1866, having 750 subscribers.

After this time, the printing was as follows:--

                                                          TOTAL
                                      PAGES.  COPIES.    COPIES.
The Bible, commenced, imperial, 8vo     624    5,000   3,120,000
The Pentateuch                          352    1,000     352,000
Book of Genesis                         167    1,000     167,000
Book of Proverbs                         91    2,000     182,000
Hymn and Tune Book, finished             44    3,000     132,000
Dr. Goodell's Sermons                   522    3,000   1,566,000
Sermon on the Sabbath                    12    2,000      24,000
Commentary on Matthew                   240    3,000     720,000
Spiritual Worship                       156    2,000     312,000
The Bible and Tradition                  35    3,000     105,000
Protestants the Ancient Orthodox         43    3,000     129,000
Baptism                                  28    3,000      84,000
The Lord's Supper                        34    3,000     102,000
The Pope and the Roman Catholic Church   74    3,000     220,000
Answer to Infidel Objections             36    3,000     108,000
Bruch on Prayer                          48    3,000     144,000
The Way of Salvation                      8    3,000      24,000
Poor Joseph                               8    3,000      24,000
The Two Lambs                            18    3,000      54,000
On Fasting, third edition                16    3,000      48,000
The One Thing Needful, second edition     7    3,000      21,000
The Enlightened Priest, second edition   22    3,000      66,000
Index to Sermons                          4    3,000      12,000
The Heavenly Voice, and What it is to
   believe in Christ                     16    3,000      48,000
Confession of Faith                       8    1,000       8,000
Zornitza, "The Day Star," 12 Nos. 4to    96    2,000     192,000
                                     ------- -------- -----------
                                      2,709   70,000   7,964,000

In the Bulgarian, in 1869, were printed 519 consecutive pages, and
19,000 copies.

IN HEBREW AND HEBREW-SPANISH.

The Psalms, 3,000 copies, 1836. An edition in 1853, 5,000 copies.
The Pentateuch, 500 copies. Second edition of 2,000 copies.
The Old Testament, printed at Vienna, 3,000 copies.
The same, second edition, 5,000 copies, printed at Smyrna.
Oppenheim's Hebrew Grammar, at Smyrna, 2,000 copies. It was designed
   to lead the Jews from a fanciful to a grammatical construction of
   the Hebrew Oracles.
A Hebrew Vocabulary.
A Hebrew-Spanish Primer, of 20 pages.
A Hebrew-Spanish Lexicon, in part; extending to 187 consecutive
   pages; number of copies 8,000. So far in 1851. It appears to have
   been since completed.
In 1855, just before the close of the Jewish mission, 319 pages of
   Hebrew-Spanish literature were printed in Constantinople, 5,000
   copies.
Between 1840 and 1860, 23,000 copies of the Hebrew-Spanish
   Scriptures, under the supervision of missionaries of the American
   Board.

IN ARABIC.

Previous to the arrival of the Mission Press at Beirût, the
following tracts had been issued from it at Malta:--

Farewell Letter of Rev. Jonas King to his friends in Syria, in 1825.
Asaad Shidiak's Statement of his Conversion, and of his
   Persecutions.
Mr. Bird's Reply to the Maronite Bishop of Beirût, 535 pages.

In 1836, amounting to 380,800 pages, as follows:--

Spelling Cards, 8 pages, 500 copies.
Watts's Catechism for small children, 16 pages, 1,000 copies.
A Lithographic Copy-book, 200 copies.
Elements of Arabic Grammar, 168 pages, 1,000 copies.
Hymn Book, 24 pages, 200 copies.
Alphabet, lithographed, 200 copies.
The Dairyman's Daughter, 96 pages, 2,000 copies.

Since 1836, the issues of the press were as follows:--

Extracts from Chrysostom, 166 pages, 2,000 copies.
Extracts from Thomas à Kempis, 60 pages, 2,000 copies.
Smith's Arithmetic, 84 pages, 1,200 copies.
Proverbs of Solomon, 4,000 copies.
On Self-Examination, 40 pages, 4,000 copies.
Sermon on the Mount, 12 pages, 6,000 copies.
Tract on the Cholera, 12 pages, 4,000 copies.
Child's Book on the Soul. Part I., 104 pages, 2,000 copies.
Epistle to the Ephesians, 24 pages, 3,000 copies.
The Psalms of David, 276 pages, 5,000 copies.
Confession of Faith, 60 pages, 400 copies,
On Temperance, by Mrs. Whiting, 96 pages, 2,000 copies.
Child's Book on the Soul. Part II., 116 pages, 2,000 copies.
Little Henry and his Bearer, 84 pages, 2,000 copies.
The Acts of the Apostles, 150 pages, 2,000 copies.
Arabic Syntax, 74 pages, 2,000 copies.
The Passion of Christ, as in Matt. xxvii., 16 pages, 6,000 copies.
Thomas à Kempis, revised, 343 pages, 2,000 copies.
The First Sixteen Psalms, for Schools, 23 pages, 1,000 copies.
The Office and Work of the Holy Spirit, 256 pages, 2,000 copies.
Spelling Book, 63 pages, 2,000 copies.
The Westminster's Assembly's Catechism, 43 pages, 2,000 copies.
Good Works, their place, 87 pages, 2,000 copies.
Nevins's Thoughts on Popery, 156 pages, 2,000 copies.
Watts's Catechism for Children, 2,000 copies.
The Assembly's Shorter Catechism, with proofs, 1,500 copies.

In 1842, the Arabic printing at Beirût amounted to 1,708,000 pages.
In 1843, to 13,000 copies, and 1,282,000 pages. Number of pages from
the beginning, 6,077,000.

After the year 1845, the printing proceeded from year to year, and
the number of copies and pages was reported as formerly; but the
titles do not occur in the printed Reports, except as follows:--

The Spelling Book, from Bible; 59 pages, 1,500 copies.
Letter to the Syrian Clergy, 20 pages, 1,200 copies.
The Book of Genesis, 136 pages, 1,200 copies.
Union Question Book, Vol. I., 1,500 copies.
An Arithmetic, by Butrus el Bistâny.
Mrs. Whiting on Temperance, second edition.
Mr. Johnston's tract on Good Works, their Place, second edition.
Mr. Bird's Reply to the Maronite Bishop, second edition.
Mr. Calhoun's Companion to the Bible.
Dr. Van Dyck's Geography.
Dr. Alexander's Evidences of Christianity.
Dr. Van Dyck's Algebra.
Dr. Van Dyck's Sermon on the Second Commandment.
A small Arabic Grammar.
Dr. Meshakah on Skepticism.
Dr. Schneider on Rites and Ceremonies.
A new edition of the Psalms of David.

The New Testament, in the version made by Dr. Eli Smith, assisted by
Butrus el Bistâny, and revised by Dr. Van Dyck, with references, and
also a Pocket Edition of the same, without references, of 5,000
copies, was issued from the press in March 1860.

The printing of the WHOLE BIBLE IN ARABIC was finished in March
1865. Upon this great work Drs. Smith and Van Dyck had labored with
zeal and energy sixteen years, from 1838. Of this translation, ten
different editions, of the whole, or of parts, had been printed in
1865, comprising over 40,000 copies.

Two hundred copies of the first three chapters of the Gospel by John
were printed in raised letters, for the use of the blind.

Printed in 1866: volumes of all kinds, 28,434. Copies of Tracts,
23,000. Copies of Scripture, 14,554. Pages of Tracts, 888,000. Pages
of Scripture, 2,872,000.

Printed in 1867:--

Edwards's History of Redemption.
Bickersteth's Scripture Hand-book.
A large Psalm and Hymn Book.
A Psalter, versified.
A Children's Hymn Book.
A Monthly Missionary Arabic Journal.
Mr. Bistâny's Elements of Grammar.
Two editions of his Arabic Lexicon.

In 1867, were printed 16,800 volumes of all kinds, and 20,700
Tracts.

In 1868, 726,000 pages of Scripture, and 1,300,000 of other works.

In 1869, 5,147,000 pages of all kinds.

The reports for subsequent years are defective.

MODERN SYRIAC. (THE LANGUAGE OF THE NESTORIAN PEOPLE.)

The printing, in the year 1843, was 860 volumes, 6,940 tracts, and
611,580 pages.

In 1844, the Four Gospels, and the Dairyman's Daughter, were
   printed. Whole amount, 437,800 pages.
The New Testament, with the ancient and modern Syriac in parallel
   columns, was printed in 1846. In that year, 2,500 books and
   tracts, and 1,114,000 pages, were printed; of which about
   1,000,000 pages were quarto. Among the books was a new and
   enlarged edition of the Nestorian Hymn Book, a Spelling Book, and
   a Question Book.
The Pilgrim's Progress was commenced in 1847.
A monthly paper, entitled "The Rays of Light," was begun in 1848,
   and has continued till the present time.
In 1853 and 1854, an edition of the New Testament entire, was
   printed; also a Hymn Book, and a volume entitled Scripture Facts.
In 1855, Green Pastures for the Lord's Flocks, 392 pages.
In 1856, Barth's Church History, and a Scripture Geography.

Whole number of volumes printed this year, 3,000; 880,000 pages.

In 1857, 934,000 pages, of which 768,000 were of Scripture, in large
   quarto.

During the eighteen years following the arrival of the press, from
1840 to 1858, 68,000 volumes were printed, comprising 13,493,020
pages.

In 1860, the New Testament, with references, had been printed.
The Old Testament is spoken of as having been previously printed in
   that form.
A Christian Almanac was issued in 1862.
The Word of God was largely printed from year to year.
In 1866, Rays of Light, a monthly paper, 8vo, 384 pages, 400 copies.
   Wayland's Moral Science.

Volumes printed in 1866, 1,250. Tracts, including the monthly paper,
5,500. Pages of Scripture, and other works, 381,300.

Whole number of volumes from the beginning, 91,350. Number of pages,
18,052,050.

In 1867, Dr. Perkins's Commentary on Genesis; also a Christian
   Almanac.
In 1869, Rays of Light, monthly, 104 pages, 400 copies.
   Night of Toil, 221 pages, 500 copies.
   Signet Ring, 65 pages, 200 copies.
   Revival Hymns, 32 pages, 200 copies.
   Dialogue on the Papacy, 12 pages, 200 copies.
   Almanac, 44 pages, 200 copies.
   Dr. Perkins's Commentary on Daniel, 154 pages, 500 copies.

Printed in 1869, 632 consecutive pages, 2,200 copies.

Total pages from the beginning, November 1840, to the close of 1869,
19,529,150.



INDEX. [not included]



END OF VOLUME II.